Seems I've had very little to say

Sorry I've been quiet on this blog. I've been pretty active on the new one, as it seems there is always something food-related to talk about.

Can we talk about the Oscars for a sec? I've been completely out of it when it comes to movies this year, but I actually somewhat enjoyed the awards telecast. I thought Hugh Jackman did a really nice job as the host, even though he did very little hosting, and the stage looked gorgeous. I loved the crystal proscenium curtain. I also liked the orchestra onstage. I thought the ode to musical number was fun but completely gratuitous. I did like the toasts for the supporting and lead nominees by past winners. I liked the variety of people they had doing those. I also thought they were presented well and seemed sincere. They really served to remind the nominees and audience that even if someone doesn't win, all the nominees did something extraordinary to get there.

Here is Hugh Jackman's opening number in case you missed it. He is gamely assisted by the lovely Anne Hathaway.



Likes & Dislikes from the Oscars:
I hated the media fueled "tension" between Jen and Bradgelina. C'mon, give it a break.
I loved Meryl Street sitting there looking like the grande dame of American film that she is. She's really a classy and beautiful person.
I also liked the casual nature and excitement from all the Slumdog people and kids. I didn't like the "In Memoriam" clip reel. I thought there was too much too look at and it seemed hard to figure out who the person was when the shot panned back to show Queen Latifah signing. Didn't everyone know it would end with Paul Newman?
I didn't like Sean Penn and muted his acceptance speech. I would have gladly listened to Mickey Rourke's.
I hated Kate Winslet's hair.
I liked that Heath Ledger's family was there and gave warm, strong, loving speeches. That couldn't have been easy for them.
I didn't like the cut away shots of celebrities with the required sad, pity-filled, teary eyed expressions while the Ledgers were accepting the award.
I loved Tina Fey & Steve Martin's bit but was confused by Ben Stiller's riff on Joaquin Phoenix.
Lastly, I thought the beginning of Kate Winslet's speech sounded rehearsed, but I loved her spontaneous call out to her dad and his responding whistle that could be heard out on Highland and Hollywood Blvd.

Did I miss anything?

Return to Brooklyn

I posted this as a comment on David & Allison's blog in response to David's glamorous life of an airline pilot post, but thought it worthy of repeating here:

I had a glamorous day as a passenger yesterday. We left Steve's parents' house a little after 4:30 for Portland Jetport. It's about a 30 minute drive. When we left the house, we knew our flight was delayed by 30 minutes. No biggie. we expected a delay due to the winter weather in NYC moving towards Maine.

We board about when we were supposed to per the delayed departure time.

We pushed back, go the safety schpeal, and then stopped. JFK was closed until they got the taxiways and runways plowed and cleaned up. ATC told our hard working pilots that our new departure time would be 2 1/2 hours later.

A tug came and pulled us back into the gate. Then we sat. But I have to say, the Jet Blue crew and ground agents did an excellent job keeping us informed of all the changes and up to date on conditions and connecting flights at JFK. They deplaned some people who wouldn't make their connection, and one new passenger got on. Both the FO and CO talked to us using the flight attendant PA at the front of the cabin rather than from the flight deck.

After a good wait on the ground, they told us that working with dispatch and ATC, they got a departure time only 20 minutes from that point. So we quickly went through everything again - push back, safety schpeal because a new passenger got on - and rolled over to be deiced, because the storm had reached Portland in the time we had been sitting there. Then we took off and landed without any further holding or delays at JFK around 10PM. Our original arrival time was 7:30.

We took our time getting down to bag check, so they were there going around the carousel just waiting for us. Walked the half a mile in the airport to the Air Train, which then connected us to the A train to Brooklyn. After a transfer to the F train, we finally walked through our door just after midnight. Unpacked, ate some toast because we were starving, cooed over the cats, got situated, etc, and turned the lights off at 1:45, just about when you were getting home.

Long day for both of us.


New content starts here!
Maine was pretty and cold the whole time we were there. We got very lucky with the weather as it never snowed or did anything else precip-wise. Surprisingly, we did quite a bit of shopping. I know, right? We live in NYC but went shopping in Maine. Maine has outlet malls and we had access to them. I'm also not one of those people who like to shop when on vacation. But it's hard to resist outlet prices at J.Crew, Gap, Banana Republic, and Crate & Barrel. We also visited the mothership of the L.L. Bean company in Freeport. Gorgeous flagship store. Steve took his much loved Bean backpack in to see if they would replace the zipper but apparently it isn't worth their time so they gave him a store credit and he was able to buy a brand new one. We also found a smaller version of his pack in a bin at the Bean outlet for only $12. Granted, it was embroidered with the name, "Jacey," but a seam ripper made that history. So he got two new backpacks which came in handy for transporting our purchases back to NY. I bought some new duds that are appropriate for work and Steve got some work-able clothes, too.

On Tuesday, we headed out to look for a Wii Fit (the balance board box) thinking that demand would be lower in Portland. After all, his father found us a Wii there and shipped it to us. No dice; everyone was sold out. Toys R'Us had a ton of Wiis but no Fits. On our way to Portland, I spotted a bald eagle soaring on a thermal right in Steve's neighborhood. There is no mistaking that bright white tail of a bald eagle. No other wildlife sightings except for a squirrel in the front yard.

Taking care of business

Well, things have been progressing rather mundanely the past week or so. It was with some relief that I found out I am meeting all expectations regarding my freelance/consulting work with Egmont. Phase 1 of my six-month contract is already over at the end of this month. Phase 2 starts March 1 and ends at the end of May. I was a little concerned about how I was doing because I feel completely in the dark communication-wise. I only get feedback when I'm in the office once a week to meet with my boss. I asked her and she said I'm going everything they wanted me to do and doing it well. So whew! My contract with them is pretty standard and gives either party a two-week notice contract cancellation policy.

Later that same day, my boss emailed me and asked if I would go to ALA Annual for Egmont. Even though I was doing the happy dance in my head, I played it cool, and simply said, "of course, I'd be happy to." I also have hopes that this is an indicator of either an extended contract or a movement towards a full-time on staff position with them. As I said, my contract ends at the end of May. ALA Annual is the second week of July. In Chicago.

On Thursday, Steve and I are headed to the Great White North. Oops, er, that's Canada. Maine. We're going to Maine. Since we had to scrub our Christmas visit due to finances and Kitty's required TLC after surgery, we are going now. Steve's folks haven't seen him in over a year, so a visit is well overdue. We'll be there about a week.

We are flying Jet Blue for the first time. Prices were astoundingly low - lower than taking the bus and definitely lower than the train - so we are flying. Even though it's only a little over an hour flight time, I'm looking forward to testing out the larger coach seats, personal tvs, etc. And we can check one bag each without an additional fee. It's amazing that a free checked bag is a perk now.

There is a cat sitter coming in twice a day - which costs more than our plane tickets - to take care of the furries. Cleo's medicine is best administered twice a day. We hired one of the techs from the vet clinic. Gotta remember to have an extra set of keys made tomorrow.

Tonight we are going to hang the curtains for the bedroom. Our bedroom is on the roof and could easily be accessed if someone felt like hopping from roof to roof. So I really want to get the curtains up to close up so should a potential thief roof hop, he won't be able to see in our windows. I also have to give Steve a haircut tonight. So many little things to take care of before leaving - put a hold on the mail, haircut, curtains, keys, pick up new pill pockets, save work documents to Google docs/USB memory stick to take with me, etc. At least laundry got done yesterday so we don't show up with dirty underwear. And I already stocked up on plenty of cat food for The Miss.

Like I said, things have been pretty ordinary around here.

New Blog

If you didn't get my email, here is the link to a new blog I've started. http://avecsucre.blogspot.com/