2014 Moratorium

It doesn't seem fair to do a moratorium in a year I'm still living in, if just for a few more hours, but I felt the urge to scribble a post.

2014 had a lot of good moments. It was a kind of relief from everything that had happened over the previous two years between Matt's mom dying and losing our dogs, Buddy and Zak.

Accomplishments: This one is not my own but I consider it a pretty major deal that Matt not only completed his Bachelor's Degree through Houghton College but he maintained a 4.0 the entire time!

Matt and I also celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary in July. It doesn't really seem like it has been 10 years!

Travel:

• Four-day trip to Washington D.C. in March to see our friends, Brian & Tim as well as getting to see M. (long time friend and shenanigans associate) and Brandy (Jamestown transplant)
• Overnight to Cleveland, OH in May to take part in an alumni orchestra rehearsal at Baldwin-Wallace under Dwight Oltman's baton one last time. Saw many old friends.
• 10th Wedding Anniversary trip to Burlington, VT with a day trip to Montreal in September to finally meet Maurice.
• plus numerous trips to Rochester, Buffalo, and Erie, PA.

Books: I read at least 15 books according to a scan of my Goodreads list in 2014, which is a marked increase from recent years.

Movies: Between Netflix, movies at The Reg, and our local theatre chain, we saw some good flicks including The Monuments Men, The Way Way Back, We Are The Best!, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Le Week-End, Guardians Of The Galaxy, Frozen, Mrs. Brown, A Single Man, Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day, The Trip, Funny Face, Slacker, New York, I Love You; Coffee & Cigarettes, Don Jon, Blue Is The Warmest Color, Geography Club, and The Interview.

Music: My top ten artists according to last.fm for 2014 have a lot of overlap when you consider that Johnny Marr and Morrissey both were part of The Smiths and Adam Schlesinger is writing/singing/performing songs for both Fountains Of Wayne and Ivy.

1. Fountains Of Wayne (132 plays)
2. U2 (126 plays)
3. Morrissey (99 plays)
4. Taylor Swift (62 plays)
5. The Smiths (59 plays)
6. Ladyhawk (52 plays)
7. Enya (51 plays)
8. XTC (48 plays)
9. Johnny Marr (47 plays)
10. Ivy (44 plays)

Violining: My violin was attached to my neck most of this Fall but for overall ensembles/concerts that I performed with this year, I offer this:

• March - "Annie Get Your Gun" at Falconer High School
• May - Jamestown Area Community Orchestra Spring concert at Jamestown High School
• October - Jamestown Area Community Orchestra Fall Concert
• November - "Les Miserables" at Jamestown Community College
• December - The Living Christmas Tree at First Covenant Church

Random Bits: I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism in October and have been on medications since that seem to have stabilized my levels so far. Matt made the decision in 2014 to get Lasik surgery on his eyes, but that won't happen until 2015. We bought a fancy, new convection oven, 5-burner gas stove in December after another pecan pie filling failure on Thanksgiving. I also bought a Pono device after buying Neil Young's pitch hook/line/sinker. It really does have great sound quality although I will admit I'm still mad at Apple for discontinuing the iPod Classic as that probably would have been my music player replacement for my iPod Touch, which is old and doesn't hold nearly enough music for my liking.

Looking Ahead to 2015: Who knows what could happen? It's going to be a year of some change with my office being moved to City Hall, Matt being able to see without glasses, and the fact that it's an election year for our Mayor. I've never been a fan of resolutions because they're far too easy to break, but I'm hoping that we go into 2015 with an open mind and patience for what lies ahead.

Little Road Trip

As you can see from the pictures below, Matt, Hector, and I got out of Chautauqua County for a few hours yesterday and headed straight for the waterfront in Erie, PA.

We took a look at the reconstructed version of the Flagship Niagara, grabbed a bite to eat at Smuggler's Wharf, then walked around Dobbins Landing where I spotted Rum Runners from a viewing platform. We sipped a few drinks there and people watched until the sun started setting. Since I was the designated driver at this point, I insisted on finding our way back to Peach Street so we could get gas and a Krispy Kreme. Yes, I'm still obsessed about the fresh version. I tried to order two, but the drive-thru window girl was playing the part of "Julia's Conscious" because she only gave me one (only charged for one).

I want Emma to know I invoked her name a couple of times, especially when Matt and I mused about doing another mini-holiday in Erie sometime. That most likely won't happen until next summer though with how crazy our schedules are into the Fall. I can't believe it's been five years since that last holiday.

Having a beverage at Rum Runners.

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Hector and Matt on Dobbins Landing.

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Looking at the flagship Niagara in the Erie harbor.

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Regional Blogs

For the past couple weeks, it seems every time I check in with Buffalo Pundit, he has a new Buffalo-area blog added to the blogroll. It got me thinking about the local blogs around the Western Southern Tier (Chautauqua, Cattaraugus, and Allegany Counties) and I realized that either I'm totally in the dark about what's out there or people aren't as into blogging down here.

Take a look to the right at my list of Buffalo-Niagara region blogs and you can easily see the list is huge. I'm wondering if the effed-up state of Erie County and the city of Buffalo has anything to do with that. I would hope that it's not just that our web-addicted population is apathetic to local current events, because I wouldn't say everything is totally peachy-keen down here. For the record, there are some very good things happening to the north of our county but until the control boards are gone, I don't think anyone will say it's just fine and dandy in Western New York.

I've avoided getting too deep into local politics/issues on this blog over the nearly six years I've been writing it only because of where I've worked. Technically, I still have to be very careful lest it seems like I'm speaking in opposition to something that my workplace supports. That's how bloggers get fired, you know.

I will ask, invite, and cajole anyone who reads this to pass on any local blogs you know of that I don't already have linked.

"I knew it was bad, but I had no idea things were this bad..."

We saw Fahrenheit 9/11 tonight in Erie, PA. I don't think it's radical or hyperbolic to say that every American needs to see this film. And after seeing this film, every eligible American should register to vote if they have not done so at this time. We both stay very up to date on current events and the buzz going on around blogs, but even Matt commented that he had no ideas the lies, cover-ups, and corruption are as bad as they are. This led to me stealing his comment for the title of this blog.

Fahrenheit 9/11: The Official Site
View the Trailer for the Movie
The surprise review by FOX news
Register To Vote (courtesy of John Kerry)

Bizarre, Tragic Happenings in Erie, PA

I first heard about this story about a pizza delivery man died after a bomb attached to him went off when Matt and I went out for drinks with our media friends. They hadn't aired the story on our local news, even though we're only 47 miles from Erie, PA. I chastised them nicely since this is a big story and Erie is kind of in our market. It's truly bizarre though. It seems to me that some third entity was involved here. I guess we'll hear more over the next couple weeks. I'll never think of Peach Street the same way. Before Thursday it was a treasure trove of big box stores like Target, Lowe's, Kohl's, Barnes & Nobles, Krispy Kremes, and the like. Today, home to unfortunate men who rob banks with bombs attached to them. I guess we all have our Nushawn's (may require registration).

Getting Away From It

Matt and I were able to get out of town for a day and a half to Erie, Pennsylvania. Now Erie may not be the first place that pops into mind when you're thinking of escapes, but I'm slowly finding out that it's actually a decent small city. There were a couple things that made it nice this weekend.

1. Celebrate Erie was taking place
2. The beautiful bed and breakfast we stayed at: The Spencer House
3. The awesome dinner we had at Papermoon (Matt and I both had the Thai Basil Chicken)
4. And the sun breaking through while we lay on the beach at Presque Isle

I told Matt we'd have to go back since I still haven't been to the Erie Zoo, Art Gallery, or a variety of other places that seem to be hidden away. The trip also included shopping at Target and ended with me gobbling down a hot Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut. Praise the sweets gods for opening a franchise on Peach Street!

New PA Law Aims to Slow Work-Zone Speeders

If you've ever driven through the state of Pennsylvania, you know that inevitably you will run into construction. While I was attending Baldwin-Wallace College in Ohio, my parents and I became convinced that there were perpeptual work crews on I-90 around Erie, PA. It became a running joke of a sort, so it was quite a surprise when on one trip back to Ohio for visit there were no work crews to be had anywhere on I-90. It seemed like a miracle! Never fear, they're back again.

Endless construction often leads to drivers casually ignoring work zone speed limits. To combat this, a law has been passed that has tougher penalties if you're caught speeding in a construction zone. This includes losing your license for 15 days if you are caught going at least 11 mph over the speed limit. However, you're given better signage in return that notifies you that you're entering a work zone. An active work zone, meaning there are crews on duty, will include a strobe light designed to flash determinedly at you, imprinting the message, "Slow Down You Fool!" into your brain.

What A Weekend! So much to tellyoumumblemum..*snore*

I'm exhausted, but this weekend was worth it. The sleep depravation started to show through yesterday, but more on that in a bit.

Friday: The aforementioned weather got pretty bad. What normally is a 40-minute trip to Erie, PA took 2 hours. Matt kept muttering the whole time, "This is effing stupid," as I cautiously drove my little Toyota (with all-weather tires) down I-86. After grabbing a bite to eat in Erie, the weather cleared up, as did the roads. Smooth sailing from there out, but lots of motorists had "snowflake amnesia" and forgot how to drive, thus ending up in ditches or in collissions with other cars. We got into Cleveland a little after 9pm and had loads of fun at Heidi & Kevin's house with them and Heidi's friend, Sue. The first series of phrases induced by sleepiness started here during a game of Trivial Pursuit. Heidi had her head on the table while I asked her what large city was at the mouth of the Yangtze River. She kept asking me to repeat the question ie: "What river?.. What was the first part of the question.. etc". At one point I said, "What country isn't in China?" when trying to think of what cities weren't in China. We all went to bed soon after.

Saturday: After coffee, cinnamon rolls, and chatter, we took off for Columbus, OH. The drive was fine since the weather was much nicer. We found our motel no problem. Advice: never stay at the Econo Lodge in Columbus, OH unless you really need to. They shorted us on towels and the staff were no where to be found when we tried to remedy this problem. The staff was also barely coherant when it came to speaking English. The place was noisy and I just didn't sleep well there. That's life. But anyway! We met up with Kevin & Mickey around 6pm and got dinner at Chipotle's. We went straight to the airport to get Karen, whose flight was going to be in a little early. After chatting at various locales about where we were headed to, we ended up at Club 202. Much drinking, tweaking (I'll leave it up to your imagination), a little dancing, general hilarity, and some drama ensued. The gathering broke up sometime after 2 AM. Unbeknownst to us, riots had been going on for at least an hour in Columbus. Matt and I didn't find out until Sunday night on our way home.

Sunday: Everyone managed to pull themselves out of bed and go to Einstein Bros. for brunch. Incidentally, I have a problem with the fact that there's an Einstein Bros' in Potsdam, NY, but none in Jamestown. I could say the same thing about a lot of places though (like Target, Bruegger's Bagels, Lowes, SteinMart, Pier 1, Body Shop, Barnes & Nobles, etc). Brunch began my sleep-deprived moments of speech. I mistakenly referred to the "Tragedy of 7-11" instead of 9-11 and made up some sort of form of speech that only Mickey could understand. I really don't remember and the sad part is that I only had one drink on Saturday night. I blame lack of sleep. Good, good times though! I was super happy to see Karen, Kevin, Mickey, and everyone again, and aside from some bad weather/bad motel/alcohol induced drama, it was a lot of fun. Matt and I are going to have to find time/money to fly out to Seattle sometime so we can see Karen again.

You're Naked Inside Your Fear...

If I ever wondered why I liked the Goo Goo Dolls, last night's concert in Erie, PA made it abundantly clear. I had bought the tickets for the show for Matt's birthday, thinking that it would be cool to see the Goo's finally. I had read in the Buffalo News about their performances and how much they rocked. It was no lie! I knew it would be a good night no matter what since Lisa Loeb was the opener. Jenny would be very pleased to know that Lisa had a stuffed Hello Kitty on a stool on the stage throughout her acoustic performance.

But back to the Goo Goo Dolls, they opened with one of my favourite songs, "Naked." Instant happiness! I knew just about every song they played including some more "obscure" AKA songs off albums before A Boy Named Goo. John Rzeznik had a real rapport with the crowd. He had a familiar personality, was down to earth, and he generally just made me smile. There were several moments of sing-a-longs (like in the beginning of "Broadway") and general moments of silliness (John borrowing a fan's cell phone and calling one of the people on the saved list). And of course they rocked out like this is exactly what they lived for each and every day. It was great to see that.

Only sour notes came during Lisa Loeb's set. The people behind us (and around us) were incredibaly rude, chatting, shouting, drinking too much. I was very happy to see most of them move somewhere else before the Goo Goo Dolls came on. As was Matt.

Here's a link for a review of last night's concert.

Travel To Beat the Heat

Matt and I headed out to Erie, PA last night to get out of the stifling heat in our house. Naturally we spent the evening at Barnes & Nobles since it's the closet decent bookstore. Matt bought a huge book on Python language for his RPG or MUD or whatever it is that he's building. I bought John Mayer's cd Room For Squares and the latest Yahoo! Magazine. Both seem to be good. Tonight we're traveling to Warren, PA to see Men In Black II. Don't ask about the Pennsylvania stuff. I don't get it either other than it's something different. Also, MIB II isn't showing in Chautauqua County until Friday.

Maybe I Should Try the LOTTO

My luck with games of chance happens to be doing very well right now. I have officially won the I Love Lucy 50th Anniversary Trip to Orlando, Florida. Matt and I will be going Columbus Day weekend in October. Neither of us has really been to Orlando before. I had been there 20 years ago (almost to the day we're going) when my parents decided on off-season trip would be fun. I'm waiting to hear from the woman who is making our flight/hotel arrangements so I can find out more details, but we're pretty excited to be going on a free trip for four days. And one thing we've already planned to do is eat at The Melting Pot again since there is an Orlando location. Mmmm... fondue!

Harry Potter & The Sorcerer's Stone

I have a new favourite movie. Not that you all weren't expecting that! Matt and I went to a matinee at Tinsletown on Saturday along with a horde of other people in Erie, PA. I could have done without the mindless adverts, but at least some of the previews were ok. My eyes were glued to the trailer for The Lord of the Rings. That looks like one exciting movie! Unfortunately, I probably will be hiding behind Matt during parts of it. I'm not one for scary stuff.

Harry Potter itself was great! There were parts I was surprised were not in there (the potions part at the end), but I did like how they re-worked the scenes with Norbert the Dragon to fit the allotted movie time. My favourite part at the moment would be the Quidditch match. I've been curious to how that would play out and I really did enjoy it. Plus, the guy who plays Oliver Wood is hot. *heh* There were times I thought I was going to cry. That's only because I was so happy to finally see the movie. Then there times I cried a little because it was so sad, like the scene where Harry finds the Mirror of Erised *sighs* I think if I had seen the movie alone I would have just bawled. But good stuff all in all. Hoping to see it again if I have time.

Dinner with Officials from Gjakova, Kosova

Friday night I got to have dinner with the Mayor of Gjakova, the new Sister City of Jamestown. The city of Gjakova, not the mayor. I'll provide a quick link to Matt's blog so you can get some background. It's easier than me explaining all the details.

Dinner was a lot of fun. I didn't really know what to expect. I knew the three people that were visiting really didn't know a lot of English, but their Mayor was really patriotic. Towards the United States I mean. It was a strange feeling, knowing that the Mayor of a foreign country is probably more patriotic than most of the Americans you run into on a daily basis.

Matt and I sat at the head table with the officials and Mayor Teresi. The main dinner course was lamb. Now, I don't mind lamb when it's in stuff.. like.. um.. well, I think I had it in a gyro once. It's fine that way, but served as a piece of meat by itself isn't too exciting for me. That's ok, I ate it anyway. There was plenty of homemade wine passed around. I passed in general (see past entry on holiday trip). Both Mayors made several speeches, and then the singing began. A couple of the ladies who live in Jamestown, but still know some Albanian, started singing some traditional songs. Pretty soon, everyone who knew the songs was singing. It was like being in the middle of a National Geographic special. I almost expected to see a N.G. journalist furiously scribbling away in the corner as he/she observed the party. I mentioned to Matt that it was too bad we didn't have any songs to sing. Almost a minute later we all stood up, held hands and sang "God Bless America." What a moment!

Matt and I will probably end up going to Gjakova this spring sometime. I don't know if I'm going for sure, but I hope to. I feel it's important to understand this culture and what they all have gone through these past few years (and more).

Thanksgiving Holiday

I will be going home to Rochester again for the holiday weekend. Don't expect too much in blogging during that time, although I will be coming back to Jamestown on Saturday. I really do love this time period of Thanksgiving until New Year's day. It just seems warmer and much cheerier. All the decorations and whatnot probably help. My favourite way to kick it all off is to watch the Macy's Day Parade. I insist on seeing Santa Claus at the end, no matter what I'm up to that day (have had to work some Thanksgivings). To me that signifies the true start to the Christmas season. I must admit that I do have a lot of my gifts bought already. That's cool though. It allows me to concentrate on other stuff like getting the house together, putting up decorations, and then finally.. making fudge and peanut brittle. The latter is really my most unfavourite part of it all, but people would miss it if I didn't do it. Plus, it's an easy gift.

So if I don't write again on this before.. Have a Great Thanksgiving!

Fan Girl

Ok.. I'm not.. I repeat not salivating over the thought that I will get to see Harry Potter and The Sorceror's Stone this weekend. I did not rush home to call the movie theatre on the sheer hope that they were releasing the movie early (only because the sign already said it was showing in theatres 1 and 6). Um... I'm losing this one. Matt and I plan to see the movie Saturday in Erie, PA at Tinsletown. The screens are big and the sound is good.. oh yeah, and the seats are good too. We're going to do some holiday shopping while we're out there too. I have to do something adult-like!

Phew! What a Week!

This is the week that won't quit. I thought life was supposed to get easy after elections. I haven't had a regular work day yet in terms of going in at 9am and then leaving at 5pm. That's ok. I'm using the comp hours I'm adding up to take off the day after Thanksgiving. At least that it is my plan *hehe* I hope it succeeds because I would love to get together with Sean and Anne. Every year since 1994 (minus last year), Sean and I have gotten together Thanksgiving evening for coffee. One of those nice traditions. My relatives think I'm nuts since we all gorge ourselves during the day.. so why the hell would you want to go out for coffee?? Well, back then.. it was a matter of just getting out of the house *winks* I also haven't seen Sean and Anne since who knows when. I think this summer when they came to visit was the last time.. or was it back in September?? Hmmm.. I honestly don't remember. That's ok.

Agriculture Summit

We had the first ever Ag Summit here in Chautauqua County today. I got to go. Whoopee. There were some interesting bits, but since I'm not in agribusiness or agritourism some of it just went over my head or I was plain bored out of my skull. I spent an hour (at least) thinking about the Fall quarter of my freshman year in college. You know.. one of those if-I-knew-what-I-know-now-I-would-have-dumped-so-and-so-flat-on-his-ass kind of things. *grins* Some quick background: my boyfriend broke up with me.. because he liked my best friend.. but didn't tell me that when he dumped me flat on my ass.. my best friend did. *grins* It's really funny now to think about. They ended up dating for 4 years or so. It was cool. The funny part is that he and I were able to hang out and I didn't have the urge to tear out his eyeballs. Well.. aside from the first couple months he and my friend started dating. Can you tell I'm a forgiving soul?

Shopping

I've never been a fan of shopping. I get the dragging feet, long face, endless sighs effect going on when my mom thinks it would be fun to go shopping. I revert back to being in a kid almost instantly *snaps fingers* However, shopping by myself is another story. I'm still not a huge fan of shopping, but I can tolerate it a hell of a lot more.

The list of things I need at the moment includes a huge list of shoes. I need black/brown/or burgendy loafers, black heels, white shoes (preferably with a heel), and navy/brown/ or burgendy dress flats. I think that covers it. I'm also scheming for new sandals and I might have to break down and buy some Clarks, no matter the price *sighs* I'm also on the lookout for a new summer purse (and don't tell me it's too late for one!!). I saw these smashing red purses by Nine West that I must have. I should have bought the one I liked at Steinmart in Erie, PA. Sounds like a good excuse to drive there this weekend (not including the fact that a DSW Shoe Warehouse just opened last month). Who would've thought I'd be so shoe nuts? Not me... that's for certain.

I just got an email Sean, who correctly guessed the identity of the person I sent the carnation to. Apparently he had no idea I had done this all the way back in high school (even though we were good friends then.. and still are) *laughs* I must have never told him about it I guess.

Tonight is the annual Public Safety Committee Summer Picnic/Meeting. It's at Long Point State Park and will involve really good food I guess. In past years they have had steak. I'm drooling over that prospect. No way in hell I could ever be a vegetarian. Nope. My only concern is that they will actually make me ride in the Sheriff's Patrol boat or helicopter. The committee chairman made a joke about that awhile ago, but other people that work in the Legislative offices confirm that it may not be a joke. Ut oh.

Another semi-work related note: Senator Chuck Schumer will be in town tomorrow night for a fundraiser. I'm helping out with that of course. It's a shorter event (thank god). Couldn't tell you much more than that.

Well, off to find stakes for signs. Bye.

"And you're listening to Mega-Rock!"

Matt and I took a drive down to Pennsylvania yesterday. I noticed that Jenny and her boyfriend Aaron also took a drive there too.. but for different reasons. We just needed to get out of town for a few hours. I'm not all that familiar with PA. I've been to Philadelphia, Lancaster, Erie, Warren, Bradford and parts of Amish country before, but most of it was so long ago that I really don't remember much. I do remember endless rows of "Amish" stuff that was ultra-commercialized around the Lancaster area. Blar.

Anywho, we drove into Warren and got a map of PA since I handily left my AAA map at home. Matt has been around a good chunk of Western PA after living in Corry for a little bit, so we decided to head directly south. We went by this brick house that I initially thought was cool but couldn't figure out what the guy in army fatigues hanging out on the front porch was all about. Add several American flags to the picture too. Matt took a look and said, "Oh, skinheads." That reminded me that Warren did have a Ku Klux Klan branch at one time (Note: that link takes you to an Anti-Klan page.. I'm not one to propagate hate.) Soon after going by this house we ended up on Route 666. I'm not kidding! Matt took a picture of the sign, so maybe one day when he finishes that roll of film and develops it we can scan it into my computer and upload it here. Then again.. maybe not.

The drive was really cool since Route 666 takes you through the Allegheny National Forest (lots of green hills/mountains!). We stopped at this little shop area. I think it was called Tall Oaks. I bought a Christmas ornament and some apple chips. Matt bought a 2002 Wolf Calendar. It was a really cute area. The shops were divided into themes (Christmas, Woodlands, Spirit of the Woods, Sweethouse, and a store with mostly candles in it) and connected by trails in this wooded area. Really calm and beautiful.

As we drove on, we saw an advertisement on the side of a barn that I should have taken a picture of: "Chew Mail Pouch Tobacco! The Best!" What a piece of Americana! It's amazing how the countryside really does look like old paintings sometimes. The approach to one town was perfect. A rolling pasture of cows before a large farmhouse and barn, a hill that had a huge old Catholic Church/School/Cemetery at the top. A bit spooky looking actually. The end of the line was Brooksville, PA. This is apparently the County Seat for Jefferson County. We ate at Gilbert's Restaurant. This is some sort of family diner place that was a step up from the usual greasy spoon. The cool thing was that I was able to get Cream Soda there. That's hard to find even in the grocery stores! Now, I must say that Brooksville is quite the happenin' place. It has several gas stations, restaurants and motels. I suppose it helps that it's right by I-80. Yeah, that's how far south we were from Jamestown (78 miles). But that was the end of the trip. We drove back, listening to Mega-Rock 105.5 FM, and collapsed at home.

It's amazing how big Jamestown seems after driving through cow country for awhile. I can't say it's due to the wide open spaces in Pennsylvania since the landscape is broken up by so many hills and forests, but that's what it is essentially.