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August 30, 2008
I Hate the Mail
Sorry, still no computer... I think everywhere is closed for Labor Day weekend so it might be a few days until I can get it back. Until then, I have a public complaint to make about the United States Postal Service. I ordered something for Brent's birthday a few weeks ago and was promised it would be here in 2-5 days. Finally, when Brent's visit was rapidly approaching, I called the USPS and asked them to tell me where my package was. It seems that it was shipped a couple weeks ago to Fort White, FL. I understand that mistakes are made and I wasn't about to get angry with anyone for a simple error, so I asked how to go about fixing this issue and my first phone call went somewhat as follows.
*****
Conversation with USPS Person #1
"Hi, a package being shipped to me a couple weeks ago seems to have ended up in Florida rather than Connecticut. Can I please locate that package and have it redirected to me?"
"Oh sure, one minute... Ok, so you sent your package to Florida, correct?"
"No, a package was being sent to me, here in Connecticut, but it went to Florida instead."
(long pause)
"Right. Ok, let me just make sure I'm understanding the situation... You sent a package to Florida but you meant to send it to Connecticut?"
"No, I am not the sender, my package went to Florida rather than to me, here in Connecticut."
"Let me transfer you to someone who might better be able to assist you."
USPS Person #2
"Hello, Lauren? I'm looking at your tracking information here. Your package is not lost, it has actually already arrived."
"No, it hasn't, that's why I'm calling."
"But see, it says "Arrived at Unit", and that means it arrived to you at your home address in Fort White, FL."
"I live in Connecticut."
"Yes, in Fort White."
"No, not in Fort White, not in Florida, in Connecticut... it's up by New York City, not anywhere near Florida, not even close."
"Right, so you can just drive on down to the local post office and pick up that package if you need it right away."
"No, it's in Florida and I am not in Florida."
"All right then Lauren, I'm glad we could resolve this issue for you. Please call back if you require any further assistance and have a nice weekend."
*****
I called again today and spoke with yet another genius who also tried to convince me that I am currently in possession of my package, here at my home in Fort White, FL. After that I pretty much gave up, but hopefully Brent's package will make its way here to the Connecticut that is not in Florida at some point in the next few days.
-Lauren
Posted by lauren at 11:51 PM | Comments (3)
August 28, 2008
What I'm Up To
Sorry I haven't been around lately, but I still need to get my computer up and running again. Right now, Brent is visiting for a few days so I won't have time to get anything fixed, but hopefully it'll get done sometime this weekend. Until then, I'll be posting without pictures....
Anyway, I'll write more when I have a chance, just wanted to give you all a quick update!
-Lauren
Posted by lauren at 05:42 PM | Comments (0)
August 24, 2008
What You're Reading
For those of you who haven't already heard me complain about it... my computer is broken. I even stumped not one but two geniuses at the Apple Genius Bar. Right now, Molly's boyfriend Tony is trying to help me get my files off of it so that I can start blogging my pictures again, but for now I really have nothing to give you. I figured I'd put together a little "What You're Reading" entry since I shared with all of you what I've been reading.
All of these have been taken from the comments you left, so here's what you're reading (click on any book cover thumbnail to be taken to its Amazon page):
Also, while you're here... check out my new Flickr "badge" in the right-hand column underneath the "Currently Reading" section! Maybe not having my computer has some benefit... I have more time to work on my blog itself!
Anyway, hopefully I'll be back with pictures soon!
-Lauren
Posted by lauren at 10:22 PM | Comments (4)
August 20, 2008
Book Reviews
Ok, so I'm having a small computer problem... well, a big computer problem. Basically my entire computer won't turn on properly so I can't get any of my photos for blogging. I'm taking it to the Genius Bar today and really hoping the geniuses will be able to fix it immediately, so keep your fingers crossed for me!
Until then, I'll have to stick to text-only blog entries. I usually rely on my pictures to distract from my post-college inability to tie sentences together, but no such luck today.
Since I actually have absolutely nothing else to write about, I'll say a little something about all the books I posted in Currently Reading. I noticed a lot of you out-clicked to the Amazon sites for my books, so that must mean at least a few of you are somewhat interested.
Here goes....
Twilight Watch by Sergei Lukyanenko
Twilight Watch is the third in an as of yet incomplete four book series (the fourth is coming out in January). Lukyanenko is a famous Russian author, and this particular book series of his has been translated into English. I'm going to totally nerd you all out here - the books are about the forces of light and darkness with magicians, vampires, werewolves, sorcerers... I'm going to stop there, I'm already embarrassed. I fully admit that the reason I bought these books in the first place was to impress Brent, who is a not-so-closeted nerd himself. Anyway, he and I have been reading the series for a few months now and the books are actually fantastic! We even got my mom into them too. One piece of advice, though.... Night Watch and Day Watch (the first two books in the series) were both made into Russian films (the highest budgeted films ever in Russia!). Brent and I were pretty excited to rent Night Watch, considering that it was Russia's only blockbuster hit... and it was painfully bad. Therefore, if you've seen the movies and hated them, give the books a try anyway.
The Enchantress of Florence by Salman Rushdie
This book was a gift from Brent earlier this summer and maybe he will be able to give a more apt description because I don't even know where to begin. Anyone familiar with Rushdie's work knows that he writes magical realism, so just about anything can happen. The Enchantress of Florence begins with a foreigner arriving at the court of the Mughal emperor Akbar. He claims to be a long-lost relative and the rest of the story is a long, magical history of his family. If you have any interest in this book and have not previously read anything by Rushdie, I highly recommend you read The Satanic Verses first. Not to say that I didn't thoroughly enjoy The Enchantress of Florence, but I do think it's a bit of an acquired taste and would be completely unappreciated by someone who wasn't familiar with Rushdie's style of writing. Now I get to brag a little, that Brent and I actually got the opportunity to meet Salman Rushdie and speak with him briefly, and he's a very nice, friendly guy! I expected him to be completely intimidating but not at all! Meeting Rushdie wasn't like meeting just any world-famous author, he has a bounty on his head! We are so dangerous:
Heart Shaped Box by Joe Hill
First of all, Joe Hill happens to be Stephen King's son - he changed his name so that he'd know he had made it on his own and not because of his dad - and he did! Heart Shaped Box follows an aging rock star, Jude, and his much younger girlfriend, Georgia, as they deal with the aftermath of buying a ghost on eBay. This was another book from Brent, who is an excellent book picker-outer. It's a very creepy story full of suspense and I highly recommend it to anyone who has ever enjoyed a Stephen King novel because clearly the apple does not fall far from the tree. I was intrigued by the idea of buying a ghost on eBay and did a little investigation to find that yes, you can, in fact, buy a ghost on eBay.
The Emperor's Children by Claire Messud
I decided to read The Emperor's Children because it was a New York Times Best Book of the Year. Actually, that's not true, I picked it up because it was featured on the front table in Barnes & Noble - I'm extremely susceptible to even the weakest marketing attempts. It was, however, a Best Book of the Year, although I'm not sure if it was deserving of such commendation. The book follows several different characters (a few chapters devoted to each), all connected to one another as friends or family, as they pursue their separate lives in New York City pre-September 11th. It is a story without a hero, most of the characters being utterly deplorable in their own, unique ways. About 200 pages into the book, I thought to myself - What is this about? Nothing's even happened yet! - but I pressed on (my obsessive-compulsive tendencies don't allow me to stop books part way through, I can't even imagine it). Another problem, which shouldn't be a problem but it really really was for me, was that the story took place in New York City, but Messud used phrases like "Let's go to his flat" and "Do you think she fancies him?" British phrases have no place in a novel about New York City and I found this nearly impossible to get over. Now that I've been so harsh, I will say that starting about half way through, I simply could not put this book down. I think few authors manage to develop character depth in so many people, no matter how unlikable they are, and as a result I found myself so involved in each person's story that I couldn't wait for more. Many times I would peek forward at the first few lines of the next chapter to see which character it would be about. In the end, I really couldn't tell you what the book was about if I tried because it was about so many things... and also it was about nothing at all. It's definitely worth reading, but lacked a strong enough plot, in my opinion, to be named Best Book of the Year.
A Simple Plan by Scott Smith
A Simple Plan is about a man, Hank, who, along with his brother, Jacob, and his brother's best friend Lou, finds a bag full of money in a crashed airplane in the woods. Wanting to keep the money, the three of them (along with Hank's crafty wife Sarah) devise a "simple plan" to keep the cash and never get caught. Of course this novel would be extremely short if things ever went according to plan (and I won't give away anything more than that). This is Scott Smith's first novel, but the second one of his that I read. A few months ago, I read Smith's The Ruins. The Ruins was very different from A Simple Plan, but I thoroughly enjoyed both books and hope Smith comes out with a third book soon! There really isn't a whole lot of substance to Smith's novels... they certainly won't make you feel intelligent for reading them, but if you want to be entertained they make a great read.
Catching Up With Yesterday by Samuel Ayres Jr. (my grandpa)
Before passing away, my grandfather wrote this amazing book about his life, from start to finish. Rather than trying to introduce it myself, I'm going to quote his own introduction:
This is not an autobiography of Samuel Ayres Jr., attempting in his dotage to blow his horn in self-adulation (besides, my life has been on the whole far too circumspect and uneventful for anything so brash). And while, admittedly, it runs the gamut from infancy to adulthood, I view this more as a series of nostalgic recollections of a pleasant and more civilized age; one that, having suffered through the Great Depression and World War II, has since been scattered before the winds.
Furthermore, I seek no further audience for these endeavors than that of my children and my children's children, thereby entertaining the wistful hope that, at some future date, one of my 'grands' might happen across a copy of this and say, "So that's what things were like when Grandpa was young. Holy cow!"
And now--having modestly disclaimed any delusions of personal or literary grandeur--how am I to proceed with this authorial venture? Why, by beginning at the beginning, of course, in the town where as a mewling babe I first saw the light of day. How else does one start one's memoirs?
I absolutely loved reading Grandpa's book. It follows his life from childhood in Cohasset, meeting and marrying my Nana, starting a family of his own, watching his children grow up, all the way to finally moving with my Nana from their home of 40+ years in Marblehead, MA to a retirement community in North Andover. I feel so lucky that Grandpa left us all such a wonderful gift and I am currently trying to convince my dad to write his memoirs, too. At 22 I think I'm a little too young to begin my memoirs, but I hope to one day do the same for my children and grandchildren.
Anyway, this concludes my book-review entry. I still want to know what all of you are reading, so if you haven't commented yet, what are you waiting for?
-Lauren
Posted by lauren at 10:49 AM | Comments (6)
August 18, 2008
Currently Reading
As you may have noticed, I just added a "Currently Reading" section to the right-hand column of my blog, and I did it all by myself! I played around with the HTML code long enough and finally figured out how to do it. Anyway, I always love seeing what other people are reading.... I'm one of those people who in waiting rooms, on the train, at the airport, etc. is always snooping at other people's books, deciding if it's something I want to read. Usually it isn't, but now I'm giving all my fellow book lurkers a window into my "library."
This summer I've read the following:
and my paternal grandfather's memoirs (which I will have much more to say about another day):
Right now, I'm reading:
By the way, you can click on any of the book cover pictures (except for my grandfather's) to go directly to Amazon and view that book.
What are you reading?
People, I know you're out there and I know you're literate.... leave a comment and tell me what you're reading!
Posted by lauren at 01:21 AM | Comments (9)
August 17, 2008
Carnival of Fun
Every summer in mid-August, the fair comes to town. My friends and I have been going since we were little and didn't miss the opportunity again this summer! 22 isn't too old for the fair, right? We felt a little ridiculous when we got there and decided to bring children as props next year.
This ride, the Rip Cord, was absolutely terrifying:
The Ali Baba, an old favorite:
I think this is a cute picture of Hayley (taken by Cathy):
Ali, Greg, Me, Kristina, and Jason (we were WAY too big for this ride):
Cathy didn't want to go on but was nice enough to hold all our bags:
The Scrambler:
Tornado:
From the top of the Ferris Wheel:
Hayley and Cathy on top of the Ferris Wheel with me:
The Cliff Hanger:
Kristina and Jason:
The Scrambler (mid-scramble):
And last but not least, the Super Slide!
Can't wait for the fair to come back next year!
-Lauren
Posted by lauren at 12:29 AM | Comments (8)
August 15, 2008
Baby Madison
On Monday, my parents and I drove down to Pennsylvania to visit Geoff, Kari, Brady, and their new baby Madison!
The drive down wasn't so great.... We had a ton of traffic, a huge storm, and got lost once or twice. Here's a picture I took from the George Washington Bridge where you can actually see a wall of rain approaching - look at the green land on the left and right and you'll see where the sheets of rain start:
Once we got to Pennsylvania, we got lost in some of the most beautiful farmlands (I'm a huge sucker for farmlands):
Anyway, we finally made it there to meet baby Madison.
Mom and Madison:
Dad reading a book to Brady:
And now for a mini-tour.... here's Madison's adorable pink and green room:
And Brady in his big-kid bed:
Brady's amazing playroom:
Dad with Madison:
Holding Madison's teeny tiny hand:
Dad reading Make Way For Ducklings (a family favorite) to Brady:
Madison sleeping:
Geoff, Brady, and Kari:
Madison and Me:
Brady and Me:
Geoff and Brady:
Brady loooooves his baby sister Madison and gives her lots of kisses:
Geoff, Kari, Brady, and Madison in front of their new home:
Storm clouds on the drive home:
Anyway, we had a wonderful afternoon, and I can't wait to see my little nephew and niece again!
-Lauren
Posted by lauren at 08:41 PM | Comments (4)
August 14, 2008
This Is An Outrage!
This is an absolute outrage! As those of you who read The New York Times may have heard, The Waverly Inn in New York City's Greenwich Village does not accept reservations from anyone in the 203 area code! (For anyone who doesn't know, I am from the 203 area code) Apparently, our "sort" is not welcome. If anyone has a right to be infuriated by this, it's Blonde Excuse star Molly, whose family owned the Waverly Inn until recently!
You don't have to look hard to find the Waverly Inn in the news, it is the celebrity hot spot. The Waverly Inn makes appearances on Perez Hilton at least once a week, and is mentioned in countless articles about NYC. Of course, it was Molly's family that gave the Waverly Inn its reputation and made it a popular dining spot for Manhattan's rich and famous. I have many fond memories of visiting with Molly and going to her family's restaurant where, on any given night, you were likely to see someone worth seeing. Molly's family and their staff were friendly and welcoming to locals and even (gasp) 203 area coders!
My favorite memory of the Waverly Inn was doing coat-check with Molly and Cathy for Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick's private party. They were both so friendly and stopped to talk with us in the coat check room for a few minutes before heading out. In addition to that, I have often heard the story of Molly (when she was much younger) calling Britney Spears to invite her for dinner and getting a long phone call back from Britney the next day to apologize for not being able to make it. This friendly, open environment is, no doubt, due to the open, welcoming doors, and the fact that any patron of the Waverly Inn knew that they would be welcomed with a smile.
It's a shame that after Molly's family built up such a fine reputation for the Waverly Inn, that now the new owners would discriminate against an entire area code (that of its previous owners, even!).
Here are the articles regarding the tragic discrimination against Fairfield County's 203 area code:
On Greenwich Roundup
In the New York Times
On Gawker
From The New York Times:
"[...]Mr. Carter, who remains intimately involved in the room’s nightly seating plan, does have a view of who is not welcome.
He said he tried to avoid “any stars of reality TV and hedge fund managers. For that reason, we screen calls from the 203 area code,” he said, poking fun at chateau country in the Connecticut suburbs."
Don't worry, Mr. Carter. We will not be gracing your establishment with our presence any longer, nor will we be calling from our tainted phone numbers!
Posted by lauren at 10:14 PM | Comments (2)
Sun Shower
A sun shower on my street:
And now for a couple random pictures that I want to post before moving on....
Beautiful little Frisky:
I had to go to the eye doctor a couple days ago because I've been getting this really bad pain behind both eyes. It turns out my eyes are just fine, but I did have to get eye drops that dilated my eyes all the way. Look how creepy they are!
Ok, now I can move on to real posts....
-Lauren
Posted by lauren at 03:49 PM | Comments (0)
Rocky Point
A few days ago, my mom and I went to Rocky Point (one of the clubs we go to) to have lunch and read by the water. There was a storm coming in, so we didn't stay too long, but I did take a few pictures:
-Lauren
Posted by lauren at 12:31 PM | Comments (0)
August 13, 2008
Check Us Out
Check us out on the Black Bear website!
-Lauren
Posted by lauren at 08:00 PM | Comments (5)
August 12, 2008
Last Alive @ Five
Last Thursday, my friends and I went to the very last Alive @ Five of the summer. The band headlining was Boyz II Men (haha) and they drew in such a huge crowd that we weren't even able to get in! That's all right though, because there was a lot of thunder and lightning and we had more fun waiting it out in the bars:
First, I went to SBC where I met up with Kristina and some of her co-workers. We met Cathy, Kara, Steph, Hayley, and Jenn there too and had a few drinks before heading over to Black Bear.
At Black Bear, we all met up with Molly, Tony, Ali, and Greg and had a fantastic time.
Kara and Steph:
Cathy and Me:
Kara with someone we met at the bar:
Richard, who we also met at the bar:
Richard and the other guy said they are Ivy Leage grads who work at a hedge fund together. Then again, Kara claimed to have a son named Jasper who dreams of one day being a multi-lingual magician, so you never know with these things.
Steph and Richard:
I said this would be a good look (I lied):
After we got sick of Black Bear, we headed over to Tiernan's:
Molly and Tony:
Hayley, Ali, and Jenn:
Greg and Ali:
Me, Hayley, and Jenn:
-Lauren
Posted by lauren at 02:27 PM | Comments (2)
August 10, 2008
Golf With Dad and Uncle Sam
Last Wednesday, my Uncle Sam came for a visit. While he was here, my dad, Uncle Sam, and I all went out golfing together. I even had my best score ever!
Anyway, here are the very few pictures I took.
Dad in his golf cart:
Uncle Sam:
Dad and Uncle Sam:
If you haven't already, make sure you check out Uncle Sam I Am, my Uncle Sam's new star-studded blog!
Posted by lauren at 06:16 PM | Comments (4)
August 09, 2008
Another Beautiful Evening at the Beach
At night, my parents and I quite often take a quick drive around Tod's Point to see the sunset. As usual, it was a beautiful view and I took a bunch of pictures:
See that little black dot out on the water?
This is the life:
Seagull:
Of course I tried once again to get a picture of the eagle in the nest, but instead I found these two... hawks maybe?
I'm still waiting on that eagle!
The Queen Anne House:
Sunset:
And last but not least, the Tod's Point Turkey who has been there every night this summer:
-Lauren
UPDATE: A Blonde Excuse reader just informed me that those birds are not hawks but osprey!
Posted by lauren at 08:35 PM | Comments (5)
Smitten Kitchen Blueberry Crumb Bars
A few days ago, my mom and I decided to try a Smitten Kitchen recipe for Blueberry Crumb Bars and they were fantastic! I highly recommend that you head over there, get the recipe, and make them yourself!
-Lauren
Posted by lauren at 01:31 PM | Comments (4)
August 08, 2008
Uncle Sam's New Blog
My Uncle Sam (better known on the internet as Uncle Stud) just recently started his very own blog! His latest entry includes many a celebrity guest, so make sure you head right over and check out Uncle Sam I Am.
Posted by lauren at 12:43 PM | Comments (1)
August 07, 2008
313
Ok, so here's where you all lose faith in my sanity. For a number of years now (maybe 6 or 7) the number 313 has been following me. I look at the clock at 3:13 AM and PM constantly, I drop books that land on page 313, I get a score of 313 in video games, I pull over at mile 313 on the highway, you name it, it's happened. I've told a few people about the whole 313 thing, and they can verify for you that I'm really not making this up, it really does follow me.
Want proof? Here's the baseball ticket I was handed (at random) at last year's Red Sox game (take note of the row and seat number):
One of the most recent things that has been happening with 313 is that I wake up at 3:13am quite often and for no reason. If you don't already think I'm crazy, there's more.... Lately, when I wake up in the middle of the night, I've been seeing things in my room that shouldn't be there. It started with misplaced windows (I know this sounds stupid), then there was new furniture in my room, and finally, a dark figure shaking my bed and then walking through the nearby wall. I wanted to believe that this was all part of some very elaborate, realistic dream, but when it happened every single night, I really started to question it. Finally, I decided to set up my computer's built in video camera to record what's happening in my room at night. At 3:13am, after about 5 seconds of audio recording the sound of footsteps, the entire video shut off. Yes, it was exactly 3:13am.
I guess there's really nothing more to say than that.... Ideas anyone?
Posted by lauren at 02:11 PM | Comments (12)
August 06, 2008
Mom and Dad's 30th Anniversary
Mom and Dad recently celebrated their 30th Anniversary!
Mom, Dad, Grandma, Poppy, Jocelyn and I all went out to the yacht club to celebrate, where we had a delicious meal.
Mom and Dad:
Dad rolled up his sleeves for the occasion! A couple weeks ago, we got him to untuck his shirt for a whole hour! We're slowly but surely working on him.... Doesn't he look so laid back and casual?
Poppy and Grandma:
Jocelyn and Me:
The food pictures didn't come out quite so well because I didn't have the flash on, but you'll still be able to see how delicious it was.
Here's Jocelyn's crab cakes:
My "Surf and Turf" which, at the yacht club, is referred to as "Fine Selections from Land and Sea":
Beef filet and lobster, yum!
Jocelyn's crème brûlée:
My molten chocolate cake with cinnamon ice cream (the cinnamon ice cream is absolutely the best part):
The water at night:
And finally, isn't it sad that after thirty years of marriage I couldn't think of one single thing they'd both like as a gift?
Anyway, Happy 30th Mom and Dad!
-Lauren
Posted by lauren at 12:54 PM | Comments (6)
August 05, 2008
Rocky and Frisky
Just a quick "in-between" entry, I have a few adorable pictures of Rocky and Frisky.
Rocky likes to make himself little "nests" out of blankets:
Frisky, on the other hand, has taken up full-time residence in a paper grocery bag:
Who let the cat out of the bag?
Coming up next are pictures from Mom and Dad's 30th Anniversary!
-Lauren
Posted by lauren at 03:42 PM | Comments (2)
Lakeside Diner - Stamford, CT
A few days ago, my grandparents called up and invited my mom and me out to lunch at a real, old fashioned diner. Of course we said yes, and off we went to the Lakeside Diner in Stamford, CT, just off the Merritt Parkway.
The Lakeside Diner is just that, a lake-side diner, with an entire wall of windows for viewing the lake while dining:
Incidentally, the Lakeside Diner was also one of the filming locations for the recent movie, College Road Trip (one of the ever-important tidbits of trivia I picked up on Wikipedia).
Outside the large windows, not only do you get a view of the lake, but of a charming homemade birdhouse and, of course, a plastic alligator nailed to a tree:
Geese headed our way:
Mug-side advertising:
Specials:
Grandma and Poppy:
I'm sure we'll return again soon, I hear they have unbeatable pancakes!
-Lauren
Posted by lauren at 12:38 AM | Comments (2)
August 04, 2008
Eagle's Nest At Tod's Point
As those of you from town may have already heard, an eagle has made its nest at Tod's Point - appropriately, it is right on top of the eagle statue! My mom and I drove down to the beach to try to get some pictures, but the eagle was nowhere in sight. I did get a couple good pictures of the nest, though, and hopefully the eagle will be back next time I go.
It's a rare occurrence that one can say the nest is on top of the eagle:
Up close:
I have no idea what kind of bird this is, but it was in a nearby tree:
I waited and waited for the eagle to come back, but he never did turn up. In the meantime, though, I snapped a few shots of things around me (I already had my tripod and camera all set up, I didn't want it to be a waste...):
I finally gave up hope on the eagle returning and headed back home. While leaving, we drove through the "wishing gate." If you didn't know this already, whenever you drive through this gate, you get to make a wish:
A message to the Tod's Point eagle: I will be back, so get ready to spread your wings and look majestic!
-Lauren
Posted by lauren at 12:29 PM | Comments (2)
August 02, 2008
Storm at Tod's Point
A few days ago, my mom and I went to Tod's Point (the beach here in Greenwich) to watch a huge thunderstorm that was coming in. Tod's Point has the best view in town for big storms.
Geese clearing out to take shelter from the storms:
We bumped into Grandma and Poppy - also there to watch the storm:
If you get into trouble, don't worry, someone will save you in the Rescue Kayak:
Look at that wind:
Choppy water:
Anyway, that's all I have. The pictures aren't great because it was raining too hard... but oh well.
-Lauren
Posted by lauren at 04:27 PM | Comments (2)