24 November 2008

philosophy & general happenstance & secrets

hiya

philosophical outlook...

Slowly but surely putting the pieces of my life in some semblance of order. What order is best? Alphabetical? Chronological? Increasing Price? The more I think about it, the more I enjoy disorder. There is comfort in not having everything planned out. If there is no plan--the plan can't go awry, right? Enjoy the ride. This is so contrary to how I used to live my life. However, as I continue to grow and learn about myself I've realized that straight-laced, prim, proper, rule follower isn't the best way to live. Don't get me wrong, I'm not planning on becoming an anarchist. Just letting my hair down. Unclenching. It's kinda cool, kinda scary, but I'm ok with it. I'm a work in progress, and I like it that way.


general happenstance...

Been keeping myself busy as of recent with an eclectic variety of tasks and adventures. The Pfaltzgraff outlet in my town (like all others across the nation) is going out of business--online store only in the future. Anywho, picked up a hinder-load of crazy cheap dishes for the homestead. It is amazing how much time and effort can go into removing pricetags and their gummy residue. Made some homemade Christmas cards at my pal's (Kim's) house the other night and then headed over to Becky V.'s to see Kathy who was visiting from Teh-hass (thnx Dee P.) where there was wine and Guitar Hero.

sidebar: Okay, I think I am the only person on the planet that is bored by GH and the endless clicking of the multi-colored "string-buttons". Everyone seems to enjoy it and I sit their with my plastic grin on, pouring myself more wine. No offense all you GH lovers, but it just ain't my bag. Give me Wii bowling anyday.

On Sat I cruised over to Sarah's house (G was off trying to kill large furry animals, and Amiah was in Lansing w/ her g-ma) and met up with some chicas (Deb, Stacy, & Missy) to watch the Sex & The City movie, while tossing back a couple of cosmos. I think I am too mid-west-wonder-bread to develop a taste for the high fashion portrayed in the movie. I prefer my own style to anything ever put on a catwalk. It doesn't work for everybody, but it works for me.

T-day will be spent with the fam on the East side. Looking forward to seeing my nephews (the furry one included) and just chillaxing a bit.


secrets...

So I just finished reading the PostSecret books a bit ago--they are wonderfully voyeuristic and funny and tragic and beautiful, I highly recommend them. Great coffee table books too, especially if you don't have "clutch the pearls" type guests that would be rifling through them, maybe even better if you do. I have't submitted any secrets, but I was intrigued by the notion. I like to think that I am a pretty open book and that I don't have a lot of secrets. I therefore challenged myself to come up with some things that I don't think many of you would know about me. Here's some that I came up with...

  • When I eat cottage cheese, I put enough fresh ground black pepper in it to turn it charcoal.
  • I am a closet NIN fan still--something slighty rebellious about having 'Closer' blast through your headphones at work while weaving software process.
  • I tried to buy a new bra last week--only one in my size in all of Kohl's, pitfalls of the zip code.
  • Bruce Willis has replaced Mel Gibson at the top of my fav actor's list.
  • There are 11 pillows (6 standard, 2 king, 2 European, & 1 body) on my bed--and I need nine of the in order to fall asleep there.
  • If I lose my job here due to layoffs, I'm 75% certain I will be pursuing a career in an entirely new field--and that intrigues me immensely.
  • To this day, I wouldn't be caught dead w/o my four toe rings and sparkly toenail polish
  • The password to most of my life is based off of a crazy song from GCHS years.

Got any secrets of your own?

Toodles

11 November 2008

...greek odyssey 2008 part I, Athens

Hiya.

I've been trying to figure out the best/most organized way to share my Greek adventure with ya'll, and I think I've finally settled on an approach. Yeah-rah! :)

While killing sometime prior to a Pampered Chef dealy and over lunches (somewhat) and after work this week, I was able to get the Athens portion of pics all compared, uploaded, and captioned. (Woo-Hoo!!)

So I'll share the narrative here, along with a couple of key pics, and then I'll include a link to the Athens portion of the album. It the coming days, the process will be repeated for Mykonos and Santorini as well.

So, sit back and get comfy....

***FYI: there are apparently at least 9,628 different ways to spell greek words, so consider yourself warned***

Once upon a time two sisters, after some experiencing some kaka in their lives, decided to take off on an adventure. The debate raged on between Greece and Italy as a destination, throwing the Pacific US coast in there every once in a while when $$ worries clouded their vision. After some input from a trusted *friend*, Greece was declared the winner. The blonde sister (definitely denoting hair color, not smarts) used her travel agent connections and hooked us up with one honey of a deal.

So, in the afternoon on Wednesday, 26-Sep-2008, after sharing a nice meal with Leo & Judy, these two sisters hopped a 747 Amsterdam bound for the first leg of their trip. The flight there was rather uneventful except for the wisdom gained. Although there is more legroom in the bulkhead, if you sit on the aisle absolutely freaking EVERYONE will bump your shoulder on their way to/from the restroom.

The sistas arrived in Amsterdam ~ 7:30am local time and were intrigued by the group of Orthodox Jewish men donning their sacred robes and engaging in vigorous morning prayers at the empty gate next to them. They had something strapped to their foreheads--but the girls were too shy to inquire. Anywho, another 3-hour flight later and the chicas touched down in Athens--much hillier and browner than anticipated.

The driver was waiting to pick them up and take them to their hotel, the Titania, in downtown Athens, about a 40 minute drive from the airport. The chicas were pretty much quiet the whole car trip--just taking in their surroundings. The car stopped at a busy intersection en route and a few guys stepped out of the shadows with spraybottles and squegees in hand and approached the car--it was somewhat disconcerting, yet strangely comforting that some things are indeed universal. After checking in to the hotel, taking showers (no wash cloths provided), and enjoying a nice nap, the girls set out to grab some grub. They dined at Ideal, within walking distance of their hotel. They split an appetizer of zucchini croquettes and each had the special for dinner, pork tenderloin medallions with mushrooms, potatoes, with feta and oregano in a white wine sauce. Divine!

The next am the ladies were up bright and early--taking full advantage of the hotel's free breakfast buffet (yummy greek yogurt--altho blonde sister didn't like the aftertaste), before setting off on their guided tour of the town. The tour bus stopped at few other locations (including picking up 2 travelers from Brooklyn--painfully, loudly obvious to all within a 1/2 mile radius. There was a small amount of embarrassment in that these 2 were our fellow US reps abroad, but it quickly passed) before hitting our first destination, the Panathinaiko Stadium (aka Kallimarmaron or Kallimarmaro Stadium).



Panathinaiko Stadium
look closely and you can see the Olympic Rings dead center above the seats


The current stadium occupies the site of the orginal, built by Lykourgos in 330-329 BC. It was reconstructed during Hadrian's reign (117-138 AD) and then rebulit in white marble by Herodes Atticus for the Panathenaic Games in 144 AD. Neglected for many years, it was again rebuilt in white marble in 1895-1896 AD as a generous gift by Georgios Averof for the start of the first modern Olympic Games on 05-APR-1896. The current stadium is a faithful replica of Herodes Atticus's design and seats up to 60,000 souls.

The next stop on the tour brought the girls to the Temple of Olympian Zeus.



Temple of Olympian Zeus
that is Nanner standing there at the corner of the base with the acropolis in the background



The Temple of Olympian Zeus is the largest in all of Greece (315ft X 130ft X >60ft). Work began on the structure in the 6th century BC, although it was not completed until 650 years later. The grounds surrounding the temple were a favorite teaching spot of Socrates.


The next stop on the tour brought the girls to the base of the Acropolis of Athens.


Map of the Acropolis of Athens


The Acropolis of Athens rises 490ft above sea level perched over the city. As the sisters walked the path up to the top they saw many sights incluing the Odeon (Theatre) of Herodes Atticus--a memorial built by the great leader for his wife, Aspasia Annia Regilla between 174 and 161 AD. The theatre holds 5,000 people and is still in use today as a popular venue for summer concerts and plays.


Odeon of Herodes Atticus (blue on the map)




Heading further up the path the girls encoutered the famous rock where St. Paul first preached Christianity to Greece, and then the Propylaea, or gateway to the acropolis. After you pass through the Propylaea the acropolis spreads out before you and the Parthenon is immediately to your right.



The Parthenon


The Parthenon is a fascinating building, especially if you are really geeky like me. It was built to honor the goddess Athena, the city's patron. She won the battle for patronage over the god Poseidon (who presented the citizens with a sea-water fountain) by presenting the citizens with an olive tree. Olive trees once totally surrounded the base of the acropolis--some can still be found today. Anywho, construction on the Parthenon started back in 447 BC and took nine years to complete. At the time the Greeks were striving for perfection and the crazy thing was they knew back then how to compensate for the imperfection of the human eye. Some of the 'tricks' employed to preserve the optical illusion of perfection included:


#1 The base of the Parthenon is ~ 12cm higher in the middle of its length than at the ends.
#2 The columns are not straight up and down, but actually lean inward.
#3 Each of the columns has a slight bulge in the middle (hmmm...wonder why my bulge in my middle doesn't make me look perfect...)


Ok, I won't bore you with any more nerd-o facts about the the building except to say the PBS NOVA show Secrets of the Parthenon (available to view online) is freaking AWESOME!




The back side of the Parthenon



Another intact building perched on the acropolis is the Erechtheion.






The famous Caryatids of the south porch of the Erechtheion



The Erechtheion was built between 421-406 BC and is considered the most sacred site on the acropolis--supposedly this is where Poseidon left marks in the rock with his trident during his battle with Athena over the city. The south porch is famous for its Caryatids. It was found out after departure that it also contained a ceremonial snake pit....nothing more need be said.

The last site the girls saw from atop the acropolis was the Theatre of Dionysus.





The Theatre of Dionysus (red on the map)


The Theatre of Dionysus is said to be humankind's first known theatre and is the birthplace of Greek tragedy. The plays of Aeschylus (ex: Agamemnon), Sophocles (ex: Oedipus Rex), Euripides (ex: Medea), and Aristophanes (ex: The Frogs) were all performed here.


The sisters next broke free from the tour and snuck down to the shops at the base of the acropolis where one found and purchased a lovely Opal (her birthstone) and silver ring. The tour bus then dropped the girls back off at their hotel, where after a pit stop, they took off on foot to explore the city.


The girls stopped to get a quick bite at a little pastry shop and then made their way to the rail car to take them up Lykavittos Hill, the highest point in the city at 910 feet above the city. The small whitewashed chapel of Agios Georgios sits perched atop the hill. The panoramic views are breathtaking.





View from atop Lykavittos Hill, looking towards the port town of Pyraeus and the Mediterranean--the Acropolis can be seen in the middle


The girls took the long way back to the hotel, trekking past the Presidential Palace, through the National Gardens, and past the Ancient Roman Baths unearthed when steam vents were being dug for the Metro.


At this point the tootsies were in need of a rest b4 din-din. After a short nap, the chicas dressed for dinner at The Olive Garden, atop their hotel where they split a roasted veggie salad and then enjoyed their chicken tagliatelle and duck & porcini risotto (so-so). The evening was rounded out taking pictures off the roof of the city at night.




View of the Acropolis at night from the Olive Garden Restaurant atop Hotel Titania



After an all-too-brief sleep the sistas took off the next morning on foot for the Ancient Agora, the central marketplace of Athens dating from 600BC. The agora is a fascinating place filled with the ruins of many old buildings as well as salvaged architetural sculpture. It is the site of the state prison where Socrates was indicted and executed. The planning for drainage and sewers back then doesn't seem that far from what is still done toady. The Stoa of Attalos, restored with the help of John D Rockefeller Jr. between 1953 and 1956, now houses an extensive museum.



The Stoa of Attalos in the Ancient Agora






One of many salvaged pieces on display at the Stoa of Attalos


After a quick stroll through the Ancient Agora the sisters had just enough time to stop and take a few pictures at the modern Greek marketplace..it a word bustling....before heading back to their hotel to be picked up for the next leg of their trip.



One stall along the modern Greek marketplace



Full Athens album (138 pictures).

To Be Continued....

05 November 2008

aging -> halloween -> civic duties -> saying goodbye + greece pics

Hiya all.

Aging...
First off thanks to all of you for your warm b-day wishes. I had a really nice day and am blessed to have so many wonderful peeps to share it with. As for the traditional birthday treats, this year I put on a baked potato bar for my colleagues with all the trimings. That ancient old roaster I got at a garage sale up in Eagle Harbor for DZ Lambda Theta 25 year has been an awesome investment (especially seeing as I like to cook). BTW - Nicole, I know I owe you an email with an address in it--I hope to get that to you today.

Halloween...
We repeated the baked potato bar notion at the Halloween party on Fri. It was a big hit, and this time we added homemade chili to the spread. As for my costume, I was warm and cozy in my layers of velvet as some sorta goth dead vampy chica (waiting on pics). I was however, totally unprepared for how shocked everyone was/is at work by my new jet black locks. A dude who has know me since I started here, looked right at me and walked right past me all while he was looking for me. I'll dye it red again once the black starts to fade (I used the real hair dye - not the Halloweeny stuff). In the meantime, I'm digging a bunch of black clothes out of the back of the closet that I haven't worn in a while. That and I'm wearing a TON more eye makeup--otherwise it looks like I'm wearing a wig. The party itself was a hoot. No party poopers attended--which is too bad b/c I was looking forward to painting up someone's face. Oh well, there's always next year. :)

Civic duties...
I did go vote yesterday, as was my civic duty. However, I was so torn on the issues that are important to me and the candidates stance on those issues that I honestly put very little thought into the choices I made--seeing as overthinking it for 2+ years hasn't got me anywhere either. Either way I didn't run into any of the long lines that people were worried about. I guess there are benefits to living in a rural po-dunk area.

Saying Goodbye...
One of my favorite people in the whole wide world left work today. He's taking a 3 week trip to Spain with his wife before settling into his new job at a competitor. He is the first boss I had as a bonafide adult, and he was awesome at it. He slammed a beer with me after work on my first weekend here. He was the spirit behind the fun-filled trek to Isle Royale. He continued to rise through the ranks during his time here, but he never took on that pointy-haired management persona. He stayed completely true to himself. For that, he has my heartfelt admiration. He truly is one of the best men I have ever known. Although I will miss his calm, reassuring voice around here in times of chaos, I am so happy for him in his new journey. "Good Afternoon PVL!"

Greece pics...
Nanner was able to get me her pics this AM (thanks Nanner!!! :). I had a wee bit of time over lunch to look at them and start turning them all up-right and non-katy-wampus. If all goes well, a coherent album will be available by the beginning of next week. This reminds me, Em, I still have a camera to get back to you!

Odds & Ends...
*Two snaps up in a circle to Jeremy's 100% smooth surgery--may the recovery go just as well.
*Michelle P. - now that I have your email address (thanks Ang M.), I need to track you down and set up a time/date for that drink.
*Doc updates -- well let's just say the results of my tests were surprising, bewildering, and odd. I went back for follow-up tests and have another follow-up and need to schedule more tests. Yipee--I think this is the med industry's revenge on me for dissing them for so long. No worries--nothing alarming at this point, just weird.

Time to make like a banana...
Toodles!