Kayaking Delight

Today was one of those perfect summer weekend days that only comes along every blue moon. We woke up around 9:30 this morning (ahhh, weekend) and spent the next 2 and a half hours eating breakfast and couch louging. Then we got up and did some gardening, work around the house and cleaned up.

Around 2:30 we took our borrowed kayak down to the county park and performed some self-taught kayaking. It was a gorgeous day; about 85 Degrees with light white clouds. Kayaking is pure delight. It's just you and the water, skimming by turtles and woods. Seriously, I haven't felt that much at peace in a long time. Long story short, I think we may be taking up kayaking.

We did the obligatory weekend Target run and had yummy tex mex food for dinner. I feel like we not only got a lot accomplished today, but also had a great, relaxing day. Ahhhh.

Another fun Philly Day

We spent the day wandering around Philadelphia today and got to finish most of the Once Upon a Nation storytelling spots. It was a beautiful day and we really enjoyed the city on July 4th weekend. The Taste of Philadelphia was going on today. It was a pretty disappointing two blocks. Other than that, it was a nice day.

NJ shuts down money makers

Just another example of the idiocy of this state. Our illustrious governor and the state senate couldn't pass a budget by the June 30 deadline. Instead of cutting out some of the excess spending or corruption (your choice) he wants to pass a 1 cent sales tax increase and said that he'll refuse to pass any budget that does not include the tax. The senate is controlled by democrats, the governor is a democrat. Why can't they all just get along? Anyway, regardless of the fact that more taxes are the only way they seem to be able to pass a balanced budget, now the gov is shutting down all non-essential services. While I applaud the effort in theory, in actuality, this process is going to shut down all the things that make money for this state: lottery, casinos, state parks and historic sites. Not only are these the money makers, shutting them down means thousands of everyday working class people don't get paid. I guarantee the legislature is still drawing a salary though. Way to go gov!

On OZ

Ryan got made of pretty consistently when he first moved to NJ for talking so lovingly about Champaign. His friends started referring to it as “OZ.” While it may not be OZ, I understand the sentiment. Some days here I feel like I’m getting dumber, and not just from watching mind-wasting movies like Superman.

Growing up in a University town meant that people had a diversity of viewpoints and opinions. I grew up learning how to think and to defend why I believed what I did. (I blame my parents). I got into some really great discussions that ended with everyone’s mind stretched a little bit.

Attending the U for grad school only continued that process. Everyday I was forced to, at the very least stretch, if not exercise my brain power. As one of the most conservative people in my program, I often got into lively debate. Here, I’m a crazy hippie liberal and no one is really interested in having discussions that challenge their beliefs. People here are their group. Irish, Italian, Mexican, Catholic, Military, Union, all are group affiliations that define your beliefs, regardless of what you believe. I’m consistently amazed that people will go on about what they don’t like/believe about the Catholic faith and yet still consider themselves Catholic. Why? Because they were born that way.

The daily conversations here are about stuff and things. Women need their Coach pocketbooks. 16 year olds have birthday parties that cost more than my wedding. No one seems outraged that our Governor has broken nearly every campaign promise that he made. They’ll probably vote for him again. Because they vote Democrat. They just do.

I have a great concern that working everyday in a job that doesn’t force me to stretch is shutting down my brain. I can only hope that if I keep reading and keep trying to find new ways of looking at things I’ll stay nimble.

We’ve made some good friends here. I just really miss the people of the Emerald City.

Things I've read and liked lately

Kind of brings together the other three books on this list. Truly, the stories of history are about the oppression of one people by another. Unfortunately, these are the stories that don't get told in history classes. If I had known history could be like this I'd probably be earning my PhD in history right now instead of working in HR.

School made history dull. You learned about dates, places and wars. These books bring to life what it was like to live, love and die during these times.

Things I've read and liked lately

Follows the story of a slave woman in 19th century New Orleans trying to prove that she is instead a German immigrant lost as a little girl. This one is complete with notes from court rulings, newspapers and diaries from the period. A glimpse into what it meant to be less than human and how it was decided. Slavery attached through the mother so if she was a slave, so were you.

Things I've read and liked lately

A truly fascinating look into Hawaiian life and culture, beginning in the 1800s. It follows a family of women through the annexation of Hawaii by the U.S. and though modern times. Made me understand the Hawaiian independence movement.

Things I've read and liked lately

This is an excellent narration of what it was really like to be one of the pilgrims and what it was like to be an American Indian at the time of the Mayflower. I liked that it shows how cruel and kind both cultures were.

Keep your $17

Disclaimer: Stop reading if … 1. You liked Superman 2. You don’t want to ruin the “plot” of Superman 3. You don’t like reading rants.

We just got back from Superman. It was the most boring action movie I’ve ever seen. Not only did it clock in at 2 hours 30 minutes, there was only about 1 hour of actual movie material. The new Superman did a remarkable job of looking like Christopher Reeve. That was the good part of the movie. About halfway through, I started wondering if anyone was going to grow a personality. Lex Luther, arguably one of the greatest villains ever, was buffoonish. Lois Lane was shrill and unconvincing. Richard, her fiancé came in as an adorable doormat and the Superson spent most of the time mutely staring around the room. The only likable character was Jimmy. Give that kid a raise!

To be fair, Superman has never been my favorite superhero. The whole invincible except for kryptonite thing gets old, as does the Lois Lane/Clark Kent/Superman mistaken identity crap. If Superman is so great, why doesn’t he just incinerate all the kryptonite? This story is no Oscar-winner. Lex gets ahold of some super crystals and decides to grow his own, kryptonite-laced continent. The only problem is that it's going to kill pretty much everyone in the US. Also, Lois is Supe's Baby Mama. Too bad baby needs a personality.

Keep your $17. As a matter of fact, keep the $5 blockbuster fee or the $3.99 pay per view. Watch this movie on HBO with a good book. Truly, a terrible movie.

Goat gets demoted

This is the funniest story I've read in weeks. I especially enjoy what Billy does with his cigarette allottment.

A fun but strange night

Last night we went to a fundraiser concert at a firehouse on the shore. It was a good time, but ultimately, a very strange night. First of all, the evening started at 5. What kind of a concert starts at 5? I have to believe it's because they fed us overcooked hamburgers, potato salad and meat shaped like ribs. I guess 5 begins the dinner hour. The tickets were also "all you can drink" if you like beer. There were literally 20 different kinds of beer (including something called Golden Monkey that several of the group got schemed into) and 2 boxes of wine. Mmmmm, box of wine. I had one glass of something pink (I think the actual name on the box) and decided it wasn't worth the calories.

The band itself was fun, although it felt strangely like a wedding where we didn't know anyone. There were 3 year olds and 70 year olds on the dance floor. The 3 year olds by the way, had watched waaayy too many Britney Spears videos. It was fun to see some friends we haven't seen in a while and the band was a good time ... but I'm not sure that I'll go next year.

And so it begins

I don't really enjoy driving. Anticipated for years, it quickly lost its appeal after the errand running, sister driving, and parking space hunting final years of high school. Even in college, I didn't mind driving. It was certainly better than trying to drag home 8 bags of groceries on the bus. I never understood my husband's obsession with cars. As much as I enjoy my truck, I still give up driving whenever possible.

It's pretty ironic then that I ended up in a state where the average commute is over 30 minutes and mine comes in at 45 on no-traffic days. For the past three summers, I have dreaded the end of the school year. In NJ, school doesn't end until the 3rd or 4th week of June. Each week of the month means more schools out and more families traveling "down the shore" to their weekend slum houses. Now, I don't begrudge people their summer vacations, but I do get a little tired of 90-120 minute commutes every Friday during the summer. It doesn't really matter if I leave early. Today for example, I left the office at 3:30. Commuting time: 90 minutes. It sucked only slightly less than the 2 hours it would have been had I left at 5 pm, as usual. My options on Friday are 11 am or 8 pm. Not great options, if you want my opinion. Stupid shore anyway.

As requested

A few shots of the final version of the patio.

In remembrance of Tufty

Pat is new to our family and hasn't heard all of our stories. To Pat ... I'm so so sorry. We got started talking about the Crapmobile this weekend. I had to bring out some of the pictures of Tufty just to warn everyone again why you should never, ever buy a 6 year old car from a maker that doesn't exist anymore from a cardealership with less than two dozen cars on the lot. Dad, I've learned my lesson.


Guess which picture earned Tufty his name? Of course, car from Hell was already taken.

In Law Tales

Frank and Pat left this morning, after visiting since last Thursday. All in all, it was a great visit. On Saturday we went to the beach, which was only OK since it was overcast. We also exposed Pat to Jersey Boardwalk. I don't think she was impressed.

Sunday was a great day. We went into Philadelphia to go to a Phillies game, but took in some of the historic stuff first. An organization called Once Upon a Nation has storytellers at many of the famous historic sites. They tell stories about living during colonial times. Some are even dressed up like famous people. Ben Franklin told us about traveling in a stagecoach. It was really fun. We only got to about a third of the sites, so I think Ryan and I are going to go back over July 4th weekend and try to do the rest of the locations.

The Phillies game was good fun. I had forgotten what a good time live games were. I think we're going to try and catch a few more games this summer. I really enjoy Philadelphia. The city is much more approachable than NYC. It's a great walking city and the people there are actually nice. It's also only a 40 minute drive, which is a huge bonus for me. I think we'll be spending a lot more time in Philadelphia now.

Patio Fest is Complete

32,000 pounds of stone, 2 OSHA recordable accidents, 7 people and 3 days later, we have a patio. I didn't realize how crappy our lawn looked last year at this time until I looked at the before and after pictures. A huge thanks goes to my Dad, Becky, Laurel, Sean and Paul. It rocks!

On Immigration

I'm already tired of the immigration debate in this country. I frankly don't understand why it is such a long, difficult process to gain legal status in this country. For the first time in several years, I find I actually support the President's plan for a guest worker program. I'm not sure where all the vehement opposition to this program comes from. The high strung, type A ninnies who like to scream about how illegal immigrants are "Breaking The Law!!" would be the first ones to cross the border if it meant providing food, shelter and safety to their families. Seven years is too long to wait to provide for a family. Thank goodness I had the fortune to be born in the US.

Not anti-blog

Just not too much going on in my life lately. It's been pretty quiet around here. Neither of us has been traveling and there's been no drama. Aaahhh.

Congratulations to my little sister Becky, who recently got engaged!

Ryan and I are putting in a patio. Well, to be completely honest, Ryan, my Dad, Laurel, Becky and I are putting in a patio. We lured the family out by cleverly calling Memorial Day "Patio Fest." We decided we had to put in a patio (with paving stones) because our township doesn't allow a deck within 10 feet of the property line. Since we're putting it on our side yard, we would have had a ridiculous decklet. The township doesn't regulate patios, so voila!

American Crackhead

Are you an American Idol watcher? Why is Paula Abdul on crack?

Today was administrative assistant day

And this is a funny story. These are the flowers I received for Adminstrative Assistant Day today. You might be thinking to yourself, "Self, Jenn isn't an administrative assistant, she's an HR Representative." Well, you'd be right.

Our mill manager is in his 60s and Brazillian. Today he had a luncheon to celebrate AA Day. The honorees? All the women in the mill, including myself and the mill accountant. He proceeded to give a lengthy speech in front of of the senior management staff about how the ladies in the mill enable them to get their jobs done on time and keep them organized.

I realize of course, that his heart was in the right place. I also had a hard time today deciding if I was going to be offended. Haven't decided yet if I'm going to be. What do you think, am I reading too much into an innocent gesture?