As I have mentioned more than a few times, B is a frequent traveler. I don't like his frequent travels, but I accept them because they are part of his job, and for the most part, we're able to work around his not being around. However, today I encountered one issue that I had difficulty working around--figuring out how to work the DVD player.
We don't actually have a DVD player--we use B's Play Station (or something, one of those game consoles; I can't keep them straight). The last game console that I operated was a Nintendo console--and I'm talking about old school Nintendo. It was much more straightforward and did only one thing--it let you play Nintendo games. This multi-tasking of game consoles is confusing.
First of all, I couldn't figure out how to turn it on. It had two buttons on the front--one to open the disk holder, and another to reset. Neither did anything. I looked all over the little black box until I finally found a switch on the back, which turned on a telltale light on the front. I was in business. Sort of.
I successfully inserted the disk without any problems (yay me), and the DVD started playing on its on (yay game console). But then a depressing-looking advertisement about the dangers of cigarettes came on. I consider myself to be adequately informed about such dangers and had suspicions that the movie would provide me with sufficient depression (a movie about Jane Austen is obviously not going to have the same happy marriage ending that characterizes her novals), so I decided to try to find the main menu for the movie.
The controllers for these new-fangled game consoles are chock full of buttons that have no relation whatsoever to playing a DVD. How am I supposed to know if the circle, square, or X button is going to get me to the main menu? I just started pushing buttons, and confusing menus appeared, and suddenly I was watching the movie but not at the beginning. I tried to go back and ended up right at the beginning (the part right before the depressing smoking ad).
Time to press more buttons. I restarted the movie 4 times before I gave up on finding the start menu and decided to let the DVD run its course (I could always mute the cigarette ad, or go get a snack, or something, and sometimes the previews are good), but then the movie started playing automatically, without my having to press Play or anything. I'm not sure if I broke its spirit or if it was functioning as designed, though that would be an odd design--attempt to dissuade your viewers from watching your movie by showing a man who talks with a machine due to years of smoking, and then allowing them to skip the depressing part when they display complete and utter incompetence trying to work the DVD player.
Either B needs to stop traveling, or I need to learn how to work this thing. I prefer the former.
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Thursday, February 21, 2008
This changes everything!
This past weekend, B and I did more planning for our Italy trip. "Italy trip" is a misnomer, but every other possibility that I've come up with sounds pompous--Our Mediterranean Escape? Our four-country sun binge? Our "enjoy the sans-enfants life while it lasts" trip? Well, anyway, the Italy portion involves the most planning, so we're focusing on Italy for now.
For our honeymoon in France, I created an itinerary that some have opined was excessively detailed, but those details ensured that we saw everything that was important to us (well, ok, perhaps the plan was skewed toward the creator's tastes, but I did include several museums, which were strictly for B's enjoyment). I scheduled each day's activities, trying to take advantage of smaller crowds or discounted admission. Some days we rebelled and didn't follow the itinerary, but for the most part, we followed the schedule (and were glad to have it).
One of the more memorable activities of the France trip was a guided tour to the inland Cote d'Azur. We traveled by minivan with our guide Michel and visited 6 towns that we could not have got to without a car. Our guide was knowledgable and helpful and funny and gave us information that wasn't in any guidebook.
I looked for similar tours in Italy and found a day trip to the Dolomites, a section of the Alps in northern Italy. The scenery is supposed to be beautiful, and the culture of the area is a combination of German and Italian--at a restaurant, you can expect pasta for dinner and streudel for dessert. There was only one problem with the tour: it was offered out of Venice on specific days of the week, and we weren't going to be in town for either option. And we couldn't do the trip on our own without renting a car, and I'm so not ready for renting in a foreign country.
B and I decided to take another look at our itinerary and consider adjusting it. Our original plan involved 3 nights in Florence, 4 nights in Cinque Terre, and 3 nights in Venice, and the Cinque Terre leg of the trip was problematic. We hadn't been able to find a decent, available hotel room at a reasonable price (I know, perhaps my expectations were too high), and I had concerns about the 3-4 train connections that we'd have to make to travel to and from the area, especially since Rick said that theft is common on trains. Cinque Terre was supposed to be the relaxing part of our trip but it was causing the most stress.
Our first decision was to extend our stay in Venice to accommodate the tour schedule for the Dolomites. A call to Starwood revealed information that we knew but had been trying to forget--if you pay with points for 4 nights, your fifth night is free. Suddenly, staying in Venice for only one extra night seemed silly, especially if the fifth night would be free. Since the same concept applied for Florence, we decided to take advantage of the free nights and do 5 nights in Florence and 5 nights in Venice. We've reserved a day trip out of Florence to the Cinque Terre, so we'll still be able to visit the area.
I felt relief as soon as we made our decision, so I know it was the right one. I'm glad to know that we can take our time in Florence and Venice. Plus our new schedule might allow for a little outing to the location known as The Mall--outlet shopping for Armani, Gucci, D&G, and every other Italian and non-Italian designer that you can think of. I knew a trip to Italy was a good idea!
For our honeymoon in France, I created an itinerary that some have opined was excessively detailed, but those details ensured that we saw everything that was important to us (well, ok, perhaps the plan was skewed toward the creator's tastes, but I did include several museums, which were strictly for B's enjoyment). I scheduled each day's activities, trying to take advantage of smaller crowds or discounted admission. Some days we rebelled and didn't follow the itinerary, but for the most part, we followed the schedule (and were glad to have it).
One of the more memorable activities of the France trip was a guided tour to the inland Cote d'Azur. We traveled by minivan with our guide Michel and visited 6 towns that we could not have got to without a car. Our guide was knowledgable and helpful and funny and gave us information that wasn't in any guidebook.
I looked for similar tours in Italy and found a day trip to the Dolomites, a section of the Alps in northern Italy. The scenery is supposed to be beautiful, and the culture of the area is a combination of German and Italian--at a restaurant, you can expect pasta for dinner and streudel for dessert. There was only one problem with the tour: it was offered out of Venice on specific days of the week, and we weren't going to be in town for either option. And we couldn't do the trip on our own without renting a car, and I'm so not ready for renting in a foreign country.
B and I decided to take another look at our itinerary and consider adjusting it. Our original plan involved 3 nights in Florence, 4 nights in Cinque Terre, and 3 nights in Venice, and the Cinque Terre leg of the trip was problematic. We hadn't been able to find a decent, available hotel room at a reasonable price (I know, perhaps my expectations were too high), and I had concerns about the 3-4 train connections that we'd have to make to travel to and from the area, especially since Rick said that theft is common on trains. Cinque Terre was supposed to be the relaxing part of our trip but it was causing the most stress.
Our first decision was to extend our stay in Venice to accommodate the tour schedule for the Dolomites. A call to Starwood revealed information that we knew but had been trying to forget--if you pay with points for 4 nights, your fifth night is free. Suddenly, staying in Venice for only one extra night seemed silly, especially if the fifth night would be free. Since the same concept applied for Florence, we decided to take advantage of the free nights and do 5 nights in Florence and 5 nights in Venice. We've reserved a day trip out of Florence to the Cinque Terre, so we'll still be able to visit the area.
I felt relief as soon as we made our decision, so I know it was the right one. I'm glad to know that we can take our time in Florence and Venice. Plus our new schedule might allow for a little outing to the location known as The Mall--outlet shopping for Armani, Gucci, D&G, and every other Italian and non-Italian designer that you can think of. I knew a trip to Italy was a good idea!
Monday, February 18, 2008
Bedroom makeover
This weekend, our bedroom received an unintentional and unplanned makeover.
As I mentioned in my last post, we bought new table lamps for our bedside tables. I think the lamps were the inspiration for the other purchases.
The lamps looked a little off in the room, and not because there was anything wrong with them. B's lamp was about 8 inches shorter than mine because his bedside table was considerably smaller than mine. My bedside table is part of our bedroom set, but an additional table didn't fit on B's side. We found a substitute table (which came from my parents' house and which I have been carting around with me since college), but it is too short and has no drawers or shelving. And it has seen better days. It was time for something new.
Our search for a new table took us all over town and through several websites. There were ok options at target.com, but you never know if your Target furniture is actually going to fit together correctly. Ikea had an ok option but it was more than we wanted to spend (and was technically for a bathroom, not that that would have stopped us). We finally found a fine enough and reasonably priced table at a nearby Marshall's, and it fits great. The color isn't an exact match, but from a distance, you can't tell.
While engaging in the Great Table Search, we found ourselves in our neighborhood TJ Maxx in the bedding department. I have been looking on and off for a new bedspread. Our current spread (whom we call Big Red), while beautiful, is starting to show her age and has a few tears. I saw a divine blue and brown bed-in-a-bag set and asked B what he thought. He liked it, so we bought it and decided that we could always return it if we decided that we wanted to stick with Red.
We got the new spread home, and the idea of even taking Red off the bed was heartbreaking to me! I didn't realize how attached to her I had become. I bought her after using a hand-me-down mattress and not-nice-enough-to-hand-anyone bedspread (from WalMart) for my last year of college and my first year and a half of post-college poverty. Red, along with a new mattress, transformed my bedroom into something that was shockingly adult like.
Red moved with me to several apartments, and she was on my bed when B first saw my bedroom. "Whoa!" was his reaction when he saw her. "That's quite a statement!" She transformed my 8x10 cell-like bedroom into a sanctuary of opulence and warmth. She inspired me to make my bed every day because my room looked sooo much better with a neatly arranged bedspread.
But now, four years after I got her, Red is breaking down, and she can't be working full-time anymore. It doesn't make replacing her any easier, though. While the new spread was attractive in the store, I had daydreams about mailing it off to faraway friends so we could get it out of the house and continue using Red. Irrational, I know. I decided to give the new spread a 3-week trial period. He's starting to grow on me. He's a little puffier than Red, and a little lighter, too, but still as warm. He's more understated, with clean and simple lines. It's hard letting Red go, but I know that she'll just be in our blanket chest and can be brought out at any time.
Rest in peace, Red. You will never be forgotten.
As I mentioned in my last post, we bought new table lamps for our bedside tables. I think the lamps were the inspiration for the other purchases.
The lamps looked a little off in the room, and not because there was anything wrong with them. B's lamp was about 8 inches shorter than mine because his bedside table was considerably smaller than mine. My bedside table is part of our bedroom set, but an additional table didn't fit on B's side. We found a substitute table (which came from my parents' house and which I have been carting around with me since college), but it is too short and has no drawers or shelving. And it has seen better days. It was time for something new.
Our search for a new table took us all over town and through several websites. There were ok options at target.com, but you never know if your Target furniture is actually going to fit together correctly. Ikea had an ok option but it was more than we wanted to spend (and was technically for a bathroom, not that that would have stopped us). We finally found a fine enough and reasonably priced table at a nearby Marshall's, and it fits great. The color isn't an exact match, but from a distance, you can't tell.
While engaging in the Great Table Search, we found ourselves in our neighborhood TJ Maxx in the bedding department. I have been looking on and off for a new bedspread. Our current spread (whom we call Big Red), while beautiful, is starting to show her age and has a few tears. I saw a divine blue and brown bed-in-a-bag set and asked B what he thought. He liked it, so we bought it and decided that we could always return it if we decided that we wanted to stick with Red.
We got the new spread home, and the idea of even taking Red off the bed was heartbreaking to me! I didn't realize how attached to her I had become. I bought her after using a hand-me-down mattress and not-nice-enough-to-hand-anyone bedspread (from WalMart) for my last year of college and my first year and a half of post-college poverty. Red, along with a new mattress, transformed my bedroom into something that was shockingly adult like.
Red moved with me to several apartments, and she was on my bed when B first saw my bedroom. "Whoa!" was his reaction when he saw her. "That's quite a statement!" She transformed my 8x10 cell-like bedroom into a sanctuary of opulence and warmth. She inspired me to make my bed every day because my room looked sooo much better with a neatly arranged bedspread.
But now, four years after I got her, Red is breaking down, and she can't be working full-time anymore. It doesn't make replacing her any easier, though. While the new spread was attractive in the store, I had daydreams about mailing it off to faraway friends so we could get it out of the house and continue using Red. Irrational, I know. I decided to give the new spread a 3-week trial period. He's starting to grow on me. He's a little puffier than Red, and a little lighter, too, but still as warm. He's more understated, with clean and simple lines. It's hard letting Red go, but I know that she'll just be in our blanket chest and can be brought out at any time.
Rest in peace, Red. You will never be forgotten.
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Online shopping and selling
I remember my first interaction with the internet. I was 10 or 11, and CDL had hooked up her new PC to CompuServe, the charge-by-the-hour predecessor to AOL. Although we didn't enter a credit card number, we thought that we had accidentally clicked the wrong button and somehow purchased something. Back then, the internet was new and unknown, and who knew what you were doing when you clicked different buttons?
To try to remedy the situation, her father called their customer service number and without introduction, told them that whatever he had bought, he didn't want it, and please cancel the order. Needless to say, no surprise package arrived on their doorstop (though our online surfing was subsequently restricted).
The internet--and my understanding of it--has come a long way since then, and the internet is now frequently the first place that I look when I want to buy something. One of my favorite sites for shopping online is craigslist.org.
Craig's List (CL) plays an important role in the furniture evolution of young people today. When we're first starting out, all of our furniture comes from other people, usually family and friends, who take pity and provide hand-me-down beds, tables, and couches. Eventually, we move up to paying for used furniture, and that's where CL comes in. CL lets sellers post descriptions and pictures of their items for free. Prospective buyers can email--also for free--to negotiate price and pickup information.
When I wanted to buy couches for my living room, I turned to CL (we still have them, and people are amazed that we bought them secondhand). When I became obsessed with folding bookshelves, I turned to CL. Our table and chairs, KitchenAid mixer, coffee/end table set, and TV stand also came to us by way of strangers who posted on CL.
I've since bought new furniture (from real furniture stores), but I always troll the CL pages first to see if a used (and cheaper) version is available. When I wanted to buy leather chairs, I turned to CL. However, one of the limitations of CL is the abundance of it-wasn't-that-nice-when-you-bought-it-thirty-years-ago furniture. Nice pieces that match our furniture styles are, unfortunately, at a wicked premium--both in availability and cost.
My years of buying from CL have waned, and now I find myself on the other side of the ads--I am posting and trying to sell impulse-buy furniture items that turned out to be less than useful.
First on the to-sell list is our Ikea bureau. Ikea prices are sometimes better than those on CL, so the store is a great alternative to the world of used furniture. We bought the bureau soon after we moved into our condo because keeping B's tee shirts and boxers in an open wooden cube structure didn't seem adult enough. We bought a bedroom set the following year, so the bureau was no longer necessary (though is still somehow filled with clothing...will have to do something about that before our prospective buyers come tomorrow).
Next up on the list is a set of table lamps. When you buy a house, you receive great coupons in the mail from furniture stores, including $100 to spend any way you want at Jordan's Furniture. Unfortunately, you have a limited amount of time to use the coupon, so we redeemed ours under a certain amount of duress and went home with the cheapest lamps that we could find. The total cost to us was about $18, and that's about the same cost of the 2 Target lamps that we wanted to replace. Unfortunately, we like the Target lamps better, and they received the place of honor in our bedroom, while we moved the Jordan's lamps from room to room, hoping that they would fit somewhere (they didn't). The lamps settled in the living room but look out of place, and we rarely turn them on, instead preferring the WalMart floor lamp that we got when we needed light to paint the living room after we bought the place.
I had been wanting to upgrade our lighting for a while, so when I found a couple of table lamps that I liked a store that wasn't Target or WalMart, I wanted to jump on the opportunity. Luckily, B liked the lamps, too, and we picked them up yesterday. The new lamps are in our bedroom, and the Target lamps have graduated to the living room (where they look lovely, even though the wood is chipping on one of them), and the Jordan's lamps have moved to the guest room, aka the holding zone for CL items.
In addition to the bureau and lamps, we're also trying to sell a desk, partially completed mosaic coffee table (long story), wall lamp/sconce, and desk lamp. What will we do with all of the space that we create? Why, fill it with new furniture and lighting, of course. But this time, we will be more careful about what we pick up.
To try to remedy the situation, her father called their customer service number and without introduction, told them that whatever he had bought, he didn't want it, and please cancel the order. Needless to say, no surprise package arrived on their doorstop (though our online surfing was subsequently restricted).
The internet--and my understanding of it--has come a long way since then, and the internet is now frequently the first place that I look when I want to buy something. One of my favorite sites for shopping online is craigslist.org.
Craig's List (CL) plays an important role in the furniture evolution of young people today. When we're first starting out, all of our furniture comes from other people, usually family and friends, who take pity and provide hand-me-down beds, tables, and couches. Eventually, we move up to paying for used furniture, and that's where CL comes in. CL lets sellers post descriptions and pictures of their items for free. Prospective buyers can email--also for free--to negotiate price and pickup information.
When I wanted to buy couches for my living room, I turned to CL (we still have them, and people are amazed that we bought them secondhand). When I became obsessed with folding bookshelves, I turned to CL. Our table and chairs, KitchenAid mixer, coffee/end table set, and TV stand also came to us by way of strangers who posted on CL.
I've since bought new furniture (from real furniture stores), but I always troll the CL pages first to see if a used (and cheaper) version is available. When I wanted to buy leather chairs, I turned to CL. However, one of the limitations of CL is the abundance of it-wasn't-that-nice-when-you-bought-it-thirty-years-ago furniture. Nice pieces that match our furniture styles are, unfortunately, at a wicked premium--both in availability and cost.
My years of buying from CL have waned, and now I find myself on the other side of the ads--I am posting and trying to sell impulse-buy furniture items that turned out to be less than useful.
First on the to-sell list is our Ikea bureau. Ikea prices are sometimes better than those on CL, so the store is a great alternative to the world of used furniture. We bought the bureau soon after we moved into our condo because keeping B's tee shirts and boxers in an open wooden cube structure didn't seem adult enough. We bought a bedroom set the following year, so the bureau was no longer necessary (though is still somehow filled with clothing...will have to do something about that before our prospective buyers come tomorrow).
Next up on the list is a set of table lamps. When you buy a house, you receive great coupons in the mail from furniture stores, including $100 to spend any way you want at Jordan's Furniture. Unfortunately, you have a limited amount of time to use the coupon, so we redeemed ours under a certain amount of duress and went home with the cheapest lamps that we could find. The total cost to us was about $18, and that's about the same cost of the 2 Target lamps that we wanted to replace. Unfortunately, we like the Target lamps better, and they received the place of honor in our bedroom, while we moved the Jordan's lamps from room to room, hoping that they would fit somewhere (they didn't). The lamps settled in the living room but look out of place, and we rarely turn them on, instead preferring the WalMart floor lamp that we got when we needed light to paint the living room after we bought the place.
I had been wanting to upgrade our lighting for a while, so when I found a couple of table lamps that I liked a store that wasn't Target or WalMart, I wanted to jump on the opportunity. Luckily, B liked the lamps, too, and we picked them up yesterday. The new lamps are in our bedroom, and the Target lamps have graduated to the living room (where they look lovely, even though the wood is chipping on one of them), and the Jordan's lamps have moved to the guest room, aka the holding zone for CL items.
In addition to the bureau and lamps, we're also trying to sell a desk, partially completed mosaic coffee table (long story), wall lamp/sconce, and desk lamp. What will we do with all of the space that we create? Why, fill it with new furniture and lighting, of course. But this time, we will be more careful about what we pick up.
Friday, February 8, 2008
Office-aholic
During my freshman year of college, my roommate and I and a few of our friends jokingly started a sorority called Omega Omega Omega. The "rushing" process consisted of creating a poster (we're not talking serious artwork here--our posters were on computer paper) that illustrated your obsessions. We hung them on the wall in our dorm room and that was the extent of our sorority activities. I still have all of the posters in my scrapbook, and my obsessions at the age of 18 were:
- Chapstick. Sadly, nothing has changed. This really falls into the "addiction" category. I am aware that it's an issue, but I have no interest in doing what it would take to wean myself from it. My chapstick addiction doesn't interfere with my life, though it would if I were to go on Survivor. However, my going on Survivor would never happen.
- Blue jeans. No changes here, either. But blue jeans rocked back then, and they always will.
- Brushing my teeth. Yeah. Minimum of 4 times per day. Usually more.
- Savage Garden. Australian musical duo. I wanted to marry Darren Hayes, the lead singer. He was married at the time--to a woman. They eventually split up. A year or so ago, he got married again. This time, his chosen partner was a man. Guess I didn't read that situation very well.
- Duct tape. This obsession has mostly faded away, but I am still a big fan. You can buy it in different colors now. Maybe if a company comes out with a glitter edition, I will resume my obsession and start making clothing and accessories from it.
The moral to be taken from this story is that I am prone to obsessing. And if I were to create an obsessions poster today, I'd have a new item to add to it: The Office--the American version. When it first started a few years ago, I tried watching but didn't like it. I thought it was awkward and offensive and somewhat dull. Then I read an interview with one of the stars, and she was an interesting person, so I decided to give it a try.
I watched occasionally on Thursday nights, usually during commercials for other shows. The show was growing on me, but when it went up against Gray's Anatomy, there was no question about which show I would be watching.
Then a couple weeks ago, I caught a terrible cold and was out of work for a little while. During my recuperation, I was scanning Netflix's rather shabby instant-watch selection and decided that season 1 of The Office was my best bet.
That was less than 2 weeks ago, and since then, watching as many episodes as I could has sort of taken over my life. While B was away this week, I stayed up way past my regular bedtime watching episodes. When each episode is only 21 minutes long, it's so easy to say, "well, just one more..." Then one turns into six and all of a sudden it's midnight and you have to get up in six hours and it's only Tuesday and how on earth are you going to make it to the weekend on this much sleep?
Well, it's time for me to rest easy, or at least rest, period, because I have watched every episode from seasons 1 through 3 as well as all of the season 4 episodes that are on the NBC website. While I am not grateful for the writer strike, at least it meant that I was able to go to bed at 10 o'clock last night after I finished watching the last episode. Had there been more episodes, I don't know what time I would have gone to bed.
I will be able to rest, for a few months anyway. While the writers' strike looks like it's close to a resolution, it could be months before this season's episodes resume filming, if they do at all. It could be September before I see another new episode. Sadly, at this point, I don't think that would be such a bad thing.
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