Today I learned that the 2 guys that I happen to spend about 80% of my day in the kitchen alone with are in fact ex cons. They have each have spent time in jail for one reason or another.
This makes their conversations about the correct ways of making 'jail wine' so much realer.
Friday, April 25, 2008
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Hip to be a quilt square?
So if you're not aware already, I joined a book club. Next week is the first meeting. I finished the book last night. (Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See) It was really good. I liked it a lot. But now what do I do with my evenings? I pulled out my sewing machine and started back up on a quilt I started a while ago. It's nice to be quilting again. I love the results. I think it would be great to make some quilting friends here, ones that are under the age of 40 that is.
I've noticed there are yarn stores all over now a days. I have also noticed a growth in the knitting sections of craft stores. And then there is also the abundance of 'home made' scarves that pop up in winter. If its soo cool to knit can it be cool to quilt too? In Illinois I knew of quite a few quilt shops. Every time I went in I was always in awe of all the colors, the fabrics, the machines, and the possibilities. I've looked for quilt shops here and have only found one. ONE? In all of Philadelphia! I haven't gone yet but it really doesn't make any sense to me. Philly is surrounded by Amish country and this area is rich in quilting history. How can there only be one shop in the whole city?
In my quest for something to do in the evening I was originally looking for yoga classes, dance classes, or sewing classes. I found plenty of knitting classes but no quilting ones. I'm gonna keep an eye out and maybe by some stroke of luck I'll find a sewing circle. Unlikely though.
I've noticed there are yarn stores all over now a days. I have also noticed a growth in the knitting sections of craft stores. And then there is also the abundance of 'home made' scarves that pop up in winter. If its soo cool to knit can it be cool to quilt too? In Illinois I knew of quite a few quilt shops. Every time I went in I was always in awe of all the colors, the fabrics, the machines, and the possibilities. I've looked for quilt shops here and have only found one. ONE? In all of Philadelphia! I haven't gone yet but it really doesn't make any sense to me. Philly is surrounded by Amish country and this area is rich in quilting history. How can there only be one shop in the whole city?
In my quest for something to do in the evening I was originally looking for yoga classes, dance classes, or sewing classes. I found plenty of knitting classes but no quilting ones. I'm gonna keep an eye out and maybe by some stroke of luck I'll find a sewing circle. Unlikely though.
Monday, April 21, 2008
WeekEND
Friday: Barack the vote!
I was walking home from work when I noticed that they were setting up for the Barack Obama Rally. From what I was hearing was that the rally would start around 6. When I got home I told Gord about it. Since his path to work is the same as mine I knew he would have trouble getting to work with the rally going on. We left together. I wanted to see what was going on. When we got to Independence Mall we saw huge crowds of people. I decided to stay and check it out. I found a patch of grass, sat down, and started to read. As time went on more and more people started to show up. T-shirt and button vendors went up and down the rows of people selling their products. There were also girls selling brownies and 'home baked cookies'. I don't think that all of these people were part of the Barack campaign. It was like a circus. There were demonstrators, musicians, people drawing characters, police, secret service, news trucks, and helicopters.
I was sitting reading my book waiting for the speeches to start. The guy next to me was also alone and there were two girls sitting behind me. The guy, Paul a law student at Temple Univ., started talking to the girls behind me clearly hitting on one of them. She quickly said that the girl next to her was her boyfriend's sister. Shortly after their conversation died down the girls left. Paul then turned to me and started chatting me up. I too quickly mentioned my boyfriend. He was a nice guy but wouldn't stop talking. Law school this, ex wife that, I hate Hillary, bla bla bla. I started to text the two people I know in the city besides Gordon to try and get one of them to come save me from crazy lawyer Paul. Spike never responded but Trey did and said he would be there right after work.
I had been on that little patch of grass for 2 hours now and not much had happened. Then people started clapping and cheering... was this it? was he finally coming out? Nope it was Pennsylvania native Ed Kowalczyk, lead singer of the the band Live. He sang 'Lightning Crashes' then he sang 'Imagine'. After the crowd's cheering seemed to calm down it started up louder than before. Will I Am came out and sang his hit. Then there was more waiting. The sun had set and the temperature had dropped by now. It was 8:30 when Trey finally showed up. Barack still had not come out yet. Then all of a sudden there was a roar. "Are you ready for change?" The crowd went crazy. As his speech went on he talked about the history of Philadelphia and the great government that was formed here. He said a lot of positive things. He left the stage with a final roar from the crowd and Stevie Wonder's 'Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I'm yours' playing.
I'm glad I went. I cannot vote in the Pennsylvania primary but now I know a little bit more about a potential president.
Saturday: Harassment Day
Saturday was as normal as it usually is... I work. Gord works. Saturday was National Record Store Day and Gordon wanted to go buy some stuff. He said I could go a long with him. On my way to his building I cut through another building. I always cut through there. It gets me out of the cold and the rain, when its cold or rainy. It also is a great way to avoid the bums on that block of Market St. There is an entrance/exit to the subway in that building. Coming up from the trains was a guy. This is the conversation that followed:
him: Hey pretty lady.
me: no response, walk faster.
him: You're walkin' kinda fast pretty lady. Where you goin' so fast?
me: no response, don't look at him, walk faster.
him: I'm talkin' to you BITCH! (he's following me now)
me: no response, walk faster.
him: You can run but you can't hide. I'm gonna catch you.....(i cant remember everything)....when I get you I'm gonna grab you and hold you down....
me: pushing my way through the doors to the outside and running across the street
Once I got to the doors I saw two motorcycle police and ran to them. I told them there was a man inside that was harassing me. I gave a description and told them what he was saying. They apologized and said they would go in and talk to him. I can only assume that he saw the police too and saw me go to them and that is why he didn't come outside.
YUCK! I was so uncomfortable walking the rest of the way to meet Gordon and didn't feel safe till he was walking next to me.
Sunday: Eat too much day
I was able to get Gordon to wake up before 1pm and told him I would buy if he went to brunch with me. I usually work on Sundays so I really wanted to go out. We went to Jones. Gord ordered the special, eggs with chorizo cheese, peppers, onions, tots and toast. I ordered buttermilk pancakes with caramelized bananas, toasted walnuts and maple syrup. I also asked for a side of 2 eggs scrambled. The server looked at me like I was crazy. "Are you sure? It comes with tots and toast, is that ok?" Sure why not. Gordon also looked at me like I was crazy. I said I was hungry and I'm paying I can eat what I want. Then we saw the pancakes. WOW! They were huge! Not like 'woah that's a big pancake' but 'WOAH that's 3 HUGE pancakes!!!' Gordon kept saying that we needed a third person at the table. I ate and ate and ate. I finished all my eggs, most of my tots and half of the pancakes. By that point I swear I could feel the pancakes expanding in my stomach. The waitress came to check on us a few times, the last time I said, 'That's it. I'm full.' Gordon laughed and said, 'She's tapping out.' The waitress then asked if we wanted dessert. We said no thank you and were on our way.
I was walking home from work when I noticed that they were setting up for the Barack Obama Rally. From what I was hearing was that the rally would start around 6. When I got home I told Gord about it. Since his path to work is the same as mine I knew he would have trouble getting to work with the rally going on. We left together. I wanted to see what was going on. When we got to Independence Mall we saw huge crowds of people. I decided to stay and check it out. I found a patch of grass, sat down, and started to read. As time went on more and more people started to show up. T-shirt and button vendors went up and down the rows of people selling their products. There were also girls selling brownies and 'home baked cookies'. I don't think that all of these people were part of the Barack campaign. It was like a circus. There were demonstrators, musicians, people drawing characters, police, secret service, news trucks, and helicopters.
I was sitting reading my book waiting for the speeches to start. The guy next to me was also alone and there were two girls sitting behind me. The guy, Paul a law student at Temple Univ., started talking to the girls behind me clearly hitting on one of them. She quickly said that the girl next to her was her boyfriend's sister. Shortly after their conversation died down the girls left. Paul then turned to me and started chatting me up. I too quickly mentioned my boyfriend. He was a nice guy but wouldn't stop talking. Law school this, ex wife that, I hate Hillary, bla bla bla. I started to text the two people I know in the city besides Gordon to try and get one of them to come save me from crazy lawyer Paul. Spike never responded but Trey did and said he would be there right after work.
I had been on that little patch of grass for 2 hours now and not much had happened. Then people started clapping and cheering... was this it? was he finally coming out? Nope it was Pennsylvania native Ed Kowalczyk, lead singer of the the band Live. He sang 'Lightning Crashes' then he sang 'Imagine'. After the crowd's cheering seemed to calm down it started up louder than before. Will I Am came out and sang his hit. Then there was more waiting. The sun had set and the temperature had dropped by now. It was 8:30 when Trey finally showed up. Barack still had not come out yet. Then all of a sudden there was a roar. "Are you ready for change?" The crowd went crazy. As his speech went on he talked about the history of Philadelphia and the great government that was formed here. He said a lot of positive things. He left the stage with a final roar from the crowd and Stevie Wonder's 'Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I'm yours' playing.
I'm glad I went. I cannot vote in the Pennsylvania primary but now I know a little bit more about a potential president.
Saturday: Harassment Day
Saturday was as normal as it usually is... I work. Gord works. Saturday was National Record Store Day and Gordon wanted to go buy some stuff. He said I could go a long with him. On my way to his building I cut through another building. I always cut through there. It gets me out of the cold and the rain, when its cold or rainy. It also is a great way to avoid the bums on that block of Market St. There is an entrance/exit to the subway in that building. Coming up from the trains was a guy. This is the conversation that followed:
him: Hey pretty lady.
me: no response, walk faster.
him: You're walkin' kinda fast pretty lady. Where you goin' so fast?
me: no response, don't look at him, walk faster.
him: I'm talkin' to you BITCH! (he's following me now)
me: no response, walk faster.
him: You can run but you can't hide. I'm gonna catch you.....(i cant remember everything)....when I get you I'm gonna grab you and hold you down....
me: pushing my way through the doors to the outside and running across the street
Once I got to the doors I saw two motorcycle police and ran to them. I told them there was a man inside that was harassing me. I gave a description and told them what he was saying. They apologized and said they would go in and talk to him. I can only assume that he saw the police too and saw me go to them and that is why he didn't come outside.
YUCK! I was so uncomfortable walking the rest of the way to meet Gordon and didn't feel safe till he was walking next to me.
Sunday: Eat too much day
I was able to get Gordon to wake up before 1pm and told him I would buy if he went to brunch with me. I usually work on Sundays so I really wanted to go out. We went to Jones. Gord ordered the special, eggs with chorizo cheese, peppers, onions, tots and toast. I ordered buttermilk pancakes with caramelized bananas, toasted walnuts and maple syrup. I also asked for a side of 2 eggs scrambled. The server looked at me like I was crazy. "Are you sure? It comes with tots and toast, is that ok?" Sure why not. Gordon also looked at me like I was crazy. I said I was hungry and I'm paying I can eat what I want. Then we saw the pancakes. WOW! They were huge! Not like 'woah that's a big pancake' but 'WOAH that's 3 HUGE pancakes!!!' Gordon kept saying that we needed a third person at the table. I ate and ate and ate. I finished all my eggs, most of my tots and half of the pancakes. By that point I swear I could feel the pancakes expanding in my stomach. The waitress came to check on us a few times, the last time I said, 'That's it. I'm full.' Gordon laughed and said, 'She's tapping out.' The waitress then asked if we wanted dessert. We said no thank you and were on our way.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
It's not for sale.
We have this bar that we have kind of be come regulars at. Gordon went there the first time he came to Philly. Gordon and Spike drink there every Friday after their show and for the past month or so the three of us have been going every Saturday. We know the bartenders and servers and they know us.
Monday they had a staff art show. Some of the stuff was really cool. They had paintings, photos, drawings, mix media art, and blown glass. Some were really expensive, others were available for trade. The pieces that Spike and I liked weren't for sale. I wasn't really looking to buy anything but Spike was a little irritated that the hot bartender wouldn't sell him her art. Who doesn't want to sell their art?
Tuesday was fun day. After living here for 2 1/2 months I finally met up with Marcia Green. We went to Starbucks and talked for 2 hours. While standing in line to buy something to drink we both said that we don't drink coffee. Neither of us like the taste of it. What were we doing at Starbucks?(I had apple cider she had hot cocoa) It was a nice evening. Hopefully there will be many more.
Tonight is a reading night. I joined a book club to try and meet people. I also thought it would be good for me to start reading more. The club reads one book a month which is something I feel like I can handle. Our first meeting is in a couple weeks. I've been reading every day but I haven't gotten very far. The book is good and I'm totally interested in it, but I don't start reading till I'm about to get into bed and then I get sleepy. I'm gonna start earlier tonight.
Monday they had a staff art show. Some of the stuff was really cool. They had paintings, photos, drawings, mix media art, and blown glass. Some were really expensive, others were available for trade. The pieces that Spike and I liked weren't for sale. I wasn't really looking to buy anything but Spike was a little irritated that the hot bartender wouldn't sell him her art. Who doesn't want to sell their art?
Tuesday was fun day. After living here for 2 1/2 months I finally met up with Marcia Green. We went to Starbucks and talked for 2 hours. While standing in line to buy something to drink we both said that we don't drink coffee. Neither of us like the taste of it. What were we doing at Starbucks?(I had apple cider she had hot cocoa) It was a nice evening. Hopefully there will be many more.
Tonight is a reading night. I joined a book club to try and meet people. I also thought it would be good for me to start reading more. The club reads one book a month which is something I feel like I can handle. Our first meeting is in a couple weeks. I've been reading every day but I haven't gotten very far. The book is good and I'm totally interested in it, but I don't start reading till I'm about to get into bed and then I get sleepy. I'm gonna start earlier tonight.
Monday, April 14, 2008
Home is where...
... ever Gordon is.
In late November Gordon was offered the possibility of becoming a full time on air DJ for a Philadelphia rock station. A few weeks later that offer became very real with an even realer 2 week move date. After long discussions and days of going back and forth over the idea of moving 800 miles away from the only city he had ever called home, leaving a great apartment, not being close to our friends and family, and me having to quit my job we decided to make the move. Gordon came and checked out the city and apartments. He moved here shortly after the new year. I packed up our apartment and desperately tried to sublet it so that we could avoid breaking a lease. I arrived at the beginning of February.
Things have been pretty good since we got here. I found an awesome job about a week after moving here. http://www.farmiciarestaurant.com/ I love it. I haven't loved my job in a very long time. The people are great, the food is good (I've already been given a chance to add some of my own things to the menu) and its close to home.
Everything is close to home here. I got rid of my car when we moved here. I walk everywhere. We are right in the middle of downtown Philly. I walk past the liberty bell and Ben Franklin's print shop every day. Its interesting to be in a city that is so deep in national history.
In late November Gordon was offered the possibility of becoming a full time on air DJ for a Philadelphia rock station. A few weeks later that offer became very real with an even realer 2 week move date. After long discussions and days of going back and forth over the idea of moving 800 miles away from the only city he had ever called home, leaving a great apartment, not being close to our friends and family, and me having to quit my job we decided to make the move. Gordon came and checked out the city and apartments. He moved here shortly after the new year. I packed up our apartment and desperately tried to sublet it so that we could avoid breaking a lease. I arrived at the beginning of February.
Things have been pretty good since we got here. I found an awesome job about a week after moving here. http://www.farmiciarestaurant.com/ I love it. I haven't loved my job in a very long time. The people are great, the food is good (I've already been given a chance to add some of my own things to the menu) and its close to home.
Everything is close to home here. I got rid of my car when we moved here. I walk everywhere. We are right in the middle of downtown Philly. I walk past the liberty bell and Ben Franklin's print shop every day. Its interesting to be in a city that is so deep in national history.
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