7.16.2010, nj/philadelphia/ftw
1) i think ma was sad to see us go. when we showed up around 10a, staff said she refused to get out of bed. we got her up and convinced her to drink her morning milkshake. told her we'd be back. as much as i dislike travel, i realize that she won't be this lucid and content forever. a down thought.
2) my sweetie likes her new gps (berfday prezzie from my big sis) real much. what she didn't like: driving an average of 120 miles a day for a week.
3) good to see my buddy geoff from philly and his wife elizabeth in their rock 'n' roll home near a trailhead in roxborough. but the air quality in the city billy penn built is frighteningly bad. it's like a noxious brown cloud sits on top of the city 24/7, making eyes burn and visibility poor.
4) ate lunch at winnie's le bus in manayunk, down the hill from roxborough -- a 'hood that formerly had a stereotypical "up the hill, down the hill" relationship with his, now changed due to the explosion of bars and restaurants in this funky li'l district. ate the fish and chips: panko-crusted tilapia with a remoulade. genius!
5) never, ever, ever rent from budget rent-a-car. we spent over an hour there on the way in, _with a reservation_. on the way out, we discovered that we'd been charged $129 for the insurance that my sweetie declined but the harried, multi-tasking employee either ticked on the the contract by accident or on purpose. i suspect the latter, only because the lady that waited an hour to speak to a manager the first time we were there was complaining about the same thing. read those line items before you initial 'em, kids! put me in mind of sears, which was banned from doing auto repair in louisiana when i lived there because of all the unnecessary work they bilked gullible customers into authorizing. i saw it myself, one afternoon i spent in their waiting room and heard _every single customer_ told, "sir/ma'am, there's something we need to show you," escorted back to the bay and told of some bogus malfunction which, unrepaired, would ostensibly have dire consequences. feh. think we'll be giving the better business bureau a call next week -- not that it'll accomplish anything.
6) finished barbara kingsolver's the lacuna on the plane. a damn good read, courtesy of my english-degree-holding daughter. (actually she brought it for my sweetie, but she knows i read everything she brings.) the protagonist's name is harrison shepherd -- a novelist with an interesting life trajectory. coincidentally, i knew a kid in fifth grade named shepherd harrison, whom i doubt has ever written anything.
7) glad to be home with our cats. even the "curmudgeon zone" on west 7th looked good on the way in. benito's for breakfast today. i need a haircut, a shave, and a couple pairs of pants. glad i still have three days before i have to go back to work -- including my sweetie's b-day monday. maybe i'll even run tomorrow, if it's not too hellish hot. and my middle dtr said she'd pay us a visit. (i have art prints from her cousin for her.)
2) my sweetie likes her new gps (berfday prezzie from my big sis) real much. what she didn't like: driving an average of 120 miles a day for a week.
3) good to see my buddy geoff from philly and his wife elizabeth in their rock 'n' roll home near a trailhead in roxborough. but the air quality in the city billy penn built is frighteningly bad. it's like a noxious brown cloud sits on top of the city 24/7, making eyes burn and visibility poor.
4) ate lunch at winnie's le bus in manayunk, down the hill from roxborough -- a 'hood that formerly had a stereotypical "up the hill, down the hill" relationship with his, now changed due to the explosion of bars and restaurants in this funky li'l district. ate the fish and chips: panko-crusted tilapia with a remoulade. genius!
5) never, ever, ever rent from budget rent-a-car. we spent over an hour there on the way in, _with a reservation_. on the way out, we discovered that we'd been charged $129 for the insurance that my sweetie declined but the harried, multi-tasking employee either ticked on the the contract by accident or on purpose. i suspect the latter, only because the lady that waited an hour to speak to a manager the first time we were there was complaining about the same thing. read those line items before you initial 'em, kids! put me in mind of sears, which was banned from doing auto repair in louisiana when i lived there because of all the unnecessary work they bilked gullible customers into authorizing. i saw it myself, one afternoon i spent in their waiting room and heard _every single customer_ told, "sir/ma'am, there's something we need to show you," escorted back to the bay and told of some bogus malfunction which, unrepaired, would ostensibly have dire consequences. feh. think we'll be giving the better business bureau a call next week -- not that it'll accomplish anything.
6) finished barbara kingsolver's the lacuna on the plane. a damn good read, courtesy of my english-degree-holding daughter. (actually she brought it for my sweetie, but she knows i read everything she brings.) the protagonist's name is harrison shepherd -- a novelist with an interesting life trajectory. coincidentally, i knew a kid in fifth grade named shepherd harrison, whom i doubt has ever written anything.
7) glad to be home with our cats. even the "curmudgeon zone" on west 7th looked good on the way in. benito's for breakfast today. i need a haircut, a shave, and a couple pairs of pants. glad i still have three days before i have to go back to work -- including my sweetie's b-day monday. maybe i'll even run tomorrow, if it's not too hellish hot. and my middle dtr said she'd pay us a visit. (i have art prints from her cousin for her.)
posted by stashdauber at 5:36 AM
1 Comments:
glad to hear you had a nice time in our fair city. the air here ain't so oppressive in the colder months, but when it gets hot, hold onto your lungs...
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