Day Date

Last Saturday Rob stepped up his game. Now that the music video is finished he is able to focus a little attention on me rather than the computer. So Saturday he packed a bag with some wine and picked up some hero sandwiches from Luigi's and took me to Central Park for a picnic. We sat on a rock and watched some Little League action while we ate. Our biggest mistake was forgetting what 80+ degrees really meant - we were both wearing jeans. After finishing our lunch (half of it anyhow, great leftovers) we walked through the park and over to Dylan's Candy Bar. A sugar overload that was giving away snow cones and had a chocolate fountain set up. We went upstairs to the ice cream bar. Where we shard the cookie explosion sundae (cookie mess ice cream, caramel topping, peanut butter chip cookie, candy, whipped cream, I'm sure I'm forgetting something) for $9. It was worth every bit of that, and it defeated us. We could not finish. I ate to much. Definitely ate to much of it, but oh man, it was heavenly. After we left the candy bar Rob took me shopping. Now this is why he is the best husband ever, not the only reason, but one of them, he takes me shopping and is good at helping me find things that look good and fit well.

There was this dress at Ann Taylor that I have been eying, and when we were in Boston, Rob saw the dress in a window and pointed it out. So we went to Ann Taylor, the only dress left in the whole store was the one in the window. So she looked up in the data base if any nearby stores had it. There was a store that had 3 left in my sizes. So Rob said let's do it, but if they don't have it we are going home. OK! I found a 4 and a 4 petite. I tried them on. Rob wasn't so impressed with the 4. He said it was too loose at the top. So I tried on the 4 petite. This one Rob liked, but wasn't so comfortable (as I'm not really petite) because the waist was a little too high. as I was in the fitting room contemplating, another woman in the fitting room wanted to know if I was getting the dress because if not she wanted to try it on. She really needed a 6P but the sales lady was explaining how the sizing worked, which is when I realized that I actually needed a size 2! I am back into a size 2! This is exciting for me. They had one left in the store, on the manican in the window. She got the dress, and it fits so nicely. Rob said I could buy it (there was no waiting for it to go on sale, there are like 3 left, it's sold out online) and I did. I now have the perfect dress for the summer weddings lined up this year.

Recap: Rob is awesome for his date planning and shopping.
I am a size 2 again, and that means there is a 90% chance all my summer clothes will fit this year.

My Sister

Emily is leaving in about a week to take a new job. She will be leading camping trips around the country. Just her, a van, a duffel bag, and a bunch of tourists. She will be gone for months. I will miss her, but I am proud of her for getting such a cool job. Before she goes, she has lots of packing to do and family to see, and she went turkey hunting with Dad. I went turkey hunting with Dad in college, it was more fun than I ever would have imagined (which is why I was 18 before I went for the first time). So here is Emily with her Turkey.

And so she doesn't kill me for posting this on the blog, a picture of us all dressed up at my wedding.

Love you sis, and I will miss you.

Boston

Last weekend Dad was in Boston for the marathon (he was not running), so Rob and I took a Bolt bus up. We love the Bolt bus because of the cheapish price and the on board electrical outlets and wi-fi. I can't be without the internet for too long.
We had a great weekend visiting - here are some pics. And there is only one of an old building. Who wants to look at pictures of old buildings, but on the other hand how can you go to Boston and not get pictures of old buildings...

Rob and I in front of the Old South Meeting house.
Independence Hall
Dad and I at Kingfish Hall where we ate.
Dad being goofy.

A passing Duck Boat. The tour was lots of fun. I went on one back in 2003 when I was living in Boston, and it is just as much fun as I remember. I mean its a truck AND a boat, and the crazy driver telling you all about Boston, some I which I am pretty sure is made up, but my radar isn't so good on that.


Rob and I on the tour. See how cold we are.
April in Boston is COLD. And we were outside in the wind AND on the water. I had the perfect windblown hair going though. And Rob is all bundled up.
Aunt Mary - the coat was the best gift! It is light enough for spring, and so warm and toasty to keep me warm in the wind.

OSD Party

A big thank you to all of our friends who came out last night. The screening at Blondie's was a hit. We had close to 200 people show up for the live performance by The Subterraneans and the screening of the music video "Test" lovingly also known as the Robot Video. We sold some CDs and shirts, and had a great time.

The crowd

Rob giving his intro speech

Mesmerized by the awesomeness

Check out the website www.onestuckduck.com to see the film and you can also view "Talking to Strangers" and "Stormin' the Castle" (also known as the "Cat Shorts") on the site.
T-shirts are for sale. $15 and FREE Shipping.

Party Like a Robot: the video is finished

Only in New York...

..can you go to the library and share an elevator with a man dressed in drag, (mini-skirt, fishnets, heels, etc...) who starts changing from heels to more suitable walking shoes...and no one bats an eye.

So weird!

Easter Hat Parade

A tradition that dates back to at least the 1890's and started with people walking around and admiring (or showing off) the Easter finery which includes the Easter hat. It takes place on Fifth Avenue from 47th to 57th streets - in front of all the big churches. Today the parade has deviated some from it's origins, people still come out but the hats are more like costumes. One NY Times archived article called it a Halloween-like festival in the spring. After taking in the sights, we went to mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral. Here are some pictures from the street.Cathedral HatCathedral Close-upBunny got run over by a taxi.See his tongue sticking out...

Easter bunny caretaker - see the carrots

Windmills

Easter Bonnet Chicks (they're name, not mine, they even had cards)

These carrot hats had bubble machines inside!

Ladies on the church steps.

Science and all that Jazz

Yesterday was a day date! I'm so glad it's warm and we're doing this again. We only went on one in the first three months of this year. Day dates are when we spend the whole day out together and not doing errands etc.

Bank of America has this great program of offering free admission to museums and attractions the first weekend of each month if you show your BoA card. (Thanks Sarah for this tip) So we finally made it to the New York Hall of Science. Rob has been wanting to check it out for ages, and the one time we tried to go last year, I didn't check online first and it was closed.

It's a fun museum, and it's not just for kids (there are two designated pre-school areas). Although except for a group of teens we may have been the only adults sans kids. It's a museum all about discovery. There is a ton of learning to be done when reading the panels. Our favorite area was the lights and vision part. There were all these lights and mirrors and prisms to play with. Here we are on the anti-gravity mirror.

Then there was the biology section. The amount of grossness of every surface is pretty disgusting. I will continue my current train of thought which is to wash my hands often and try not to think about it too much. But this was pretty cool.It's a heat sensory monitor. So you can see which areas of your body emit the most heat. I opened my mouth to get more contrast. The picture doesn't really do it justice.

The last section we went to was the about how we move. There was a batting cage where you could throw different types of balls and see how fast you went. I threw the baseball at 30 mph as my top speed. I didn't do so well with the tennis ball. There were dragsters where it tested your reaction time in hundredths of a second on how fast you hit the gas after go. I did it once at 1! Go me, but averaged around 9. Rob got down to 9, but averaged a little higher. This was one of the areas that were crawling with kids, but most were just having a good time. The kid in the dragster next to me was having a great time just pushing the pedal, he had no idea what the purpose was, and was therefore uninterested in who won. Despite an annoying parent - who I think thought we (as adults without kids) just really shouldn't be there - we had a fun time.

We then went to lunch at Cheeburger Cheeburger in Forest Hills, and walked around this very suburban feeling neighborhood. When Rob said there were houses, he meant HOUSES. There is some great shopping here. I think exploring the neighborhoods of Queens is going on the summer to do list.

And now for the jazz. My friend Luke, from college had his masters jazz recital last night. So we went up to Broadway and 122nd street for that. Here is where I'm a little dumb. We got on the 2 train to go express and then transfer to the 1. But then I saw 116th street (our stop) on the 2 and thought that I had it wrong and we didn't need to transfer. So we stayed on the 2. What I didn't realize is that the 1 /2 split is at 96th street and the 116th we got off at was on the wrong side of the island. We had a very nice walk through Harlem, up the crazy stairs to Columbia, and through the campus to Broadway. Where the 1 train was, and then a quick walk up to the recital hall. It was all original composition. And reminded me how much I really do like jazz.

Day Date #2 of 2009 was a great success.

Another insurance update

For those keeping track. Over the last two weeks we got back the overpaid insurance money (what we paid for insurance that we didn't have) The total $131.
I called two weeks ago and was told that my insurance claims check had been mailed. I didn't receive it, so I called and was told it had been mailed to BROOKLYN! OMG! I was beyond angry. I asked to speak to a supervisor about why this issue (with my address that I have changed on multiple occasions as has Viacom HR) was still unresolved. I was told there was no one at customer service who could help me. I asked again, and was hung up on. Viacom HR is now hopefully resolving this issue.