Three Days

12 of 12 has been updated... whats more exciting- only three days left till we take off!
I haven't even started packing :-X
Any last requests/suggestions for what to do while in Los Angeles/Palm Springs/San Francisco?

12 of 12 June

12 of 12 will be posted Sunday night when I get back to Philadelphia.


For photo essays from previous months, check out the archives, or click on the tags.

Instructions can be found on Chad Darnell's Blog. Photos click for a medium version. Large via flickr.

1) 6:30AM- finishing some last minute packing and getting ready for the trip. We were out the door by 7:30, and on the road for a good while. Got to Jonny's place in CT about noon and had lunch with his mother and sister before heading off again.

2) Around 3:30 we checked into the hotel.

3) The Intercontinental Boston is located next to the Boston Tea Party site, and was opened 3 years ago, so its very spacious and updated. Our room was nice enough, and I got a very good rate, almost 2 nights for the price of one.

4) Jon's favorite part of this hotel room was the bathroom, it had all of the finishes you'd expect from a four diamond hotel.



5) A view of the outside taken before we headed into the burbs for the pre-wedding events.



6) On 93 north, reminded me of the streets from the Batman movies...



7) Leonard P. Zakim-Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge leaving Boston.




8) The pre-wedding party was fun, lots of dancing, and everyone was celebrating the happy couple. The event took place at an the Willowdale Estate in one of the state parks. The old mansion was beautiful and here is one of the centerpieces from our table.

9) Dinner and speeches were held in the tent in the back, and a couple of LED boards provided mood lighting.

10) This 80 pound statue was carried into the foyer as decoration. I think it's Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and prosperity.



11) We left the party late, and headed back into Boston. Luckily we didn't get lost on the highway back, but the roads were a little bit confusing. I have never seen that many left hand highway exits in one day (PA->CT->MA).



12) One of the bridges behind the hotel, after we left the car with the valet, and headed up for a night of rest.

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These photos are also in my photostream, for any flickr users- send me a friend request/email to be added.

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California, is nice to the homeless...

The trip is booked. Hotels, flights, and rental car have been arranged.
We'll be flying from Philadelphia to Los Angeles, stay a couple of nights, then head over to Palm Springs for a few more nights, and up to San Francisco for pride.
Got some good deals cause I learned how to bid on priceline. It's kind of amazing that you can cut over a thousand dollars off of 11 nights in 4 star hotels.
All that's left is to plan what goes in between- Jonny and I definitely wanted to spend some time at the beach, but besides that plans are all up in the air. Any suggestions?

Ugh, I have to get back to running/working out, and find a new swimsuit.


AX had the pair above, which I liked, but only in size large :-(

So that leaves me with a few other options, I kinda like the Aussiebum version of the same, but blue... or red.

12 of 12 May

For photo essays from previous months, check out the archives, or click on the tags.

Instructions can be found on Chad Darnell's Blog. Photos click for a medium version. Large via flickr.

1) A hasty breakfast of one glazed doughnut and a handful of strawberries. NOM

2) The first time I rode the new elevator at work today! This one has really bright leds for all of the buttons and the arrows by the doors, too bright in real life.

3) Mid-day snack after my lunch of turkey on sourdough. Deliciousness. That is all...

4) With the end of the semester only days away- grades are submitted and I went over the course feedback surveys... Someone thought they could be funny. This does not look like a dog at all. It's obvious that the student is not an art major.



5) More excel. Yay. So glad that I finished all of that paperwork today.



6) Cooking up a little dinner for Jonny and me. Some teriyaki chicken.



7) And here is the final product. Well, the left overs, packed for the other half to bring to work tomorrow. One day, I will make an attempt at creating a bento like the ones on this blog- http://annathered.wordpress.com/.




8) Dessert time. Vanilla bean frozen yogurt with more strawberries. My second favorite fruit behind cantaloupe... well more properly muskmelon in the US.

9) Getting ready to see the new Terminator movie by watching the older ones. Last week we started the first, this week the second, next week will be the third. This one is a must watch for the Governator saying "chill dickwad."

10) What better to go with movies, than movie candy?



11) A little more work on the photo website for my brother, and then its almost time for bed... Some hosting services make it so hard to transfer domains, ugh.



12) Last thing to do for the day- defrost some beef for dinner tomorrow. It's taco night as per Jonny's request.

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These photos are also in my photostream, for any flickr users- send me a friend request/email to be added.

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Moving Forward

The following post will be boyfriend stuff, so if you're not interested in that kind of thing, just skip it entirely. After I get this out, we can return to something that might seem more interesting.

It seems like forever since I actually wrote out a post that wasn't 12 of 12 related.
Things just have been weird lately, I'm finding that the topics never actually get out onto the hypothetical paper.

The summer is barreling towards, and I'm both excited and sad for this (academic) year to end.
Jon has gotten into medical school and he wants a last hurrah trip across the continental US/or just a few weeks in California.
Come July, he will be moving back to Connecticut, and an apartment has been found, a lease signed, and preparations for packing/moving have already started.
Lately it seems traveling, moving, and "making the best of his time left in Philadelphia (by going out with his friends)" is all he ever talks about.
We got into a fight last week, I think the breaking point was when he told me that I would be coming up to visit him in Connecticut, and when I asked when he would be visiting me in Philadelphia- his answer was never. Apparently he would be too busy with school to even lift a finger.
Now, I'm all for Jon trying his hardest and striving to become a doctor, but even medical students have breaks.
The way he sees it, I'm expecting way too much of him, and I have no idea how much work he will have. Oh, and my medical student friends are just overachievers, so they have time to visit me and other people. Really, it just shows how much he is willing to do.
All I really wanted was for him to be a little more sensitive and show a little more tact. But I guess even that is asking too much.

It's interesting that one week from today will be our third year anniversary.
He's expecting me to take time off, go on this trip, help him move and not expect more from him.
I've put up with so many of these little nuances that maybe he just sees it as one more too add to the list. Might as well continue being the un-named roommate. Cause you know, lying is ok, but lying for everyone's benefit is just unheard of.
The more I look back on it, the more one sided this relationship has been and is becoming.

Yes, he reads this blog, and I have already made sure he knew how I feel, if it has gotten through his stubborn head, I don't know. I understand that he is going on to bigger and better things, and I bet he is going to be fine on his own, but I don't know if I will. I know that in some ways, he is focusing on moving, and the upcoming months as a way to avoid dealing with our current situation, but it doesn't make it any easier on me.
I have shown my vulnerability and torn down that wall, but what has it gotten me? Nowhere it seems.

12 of 12 April

For photo essays from previous months, check out the archives, or click on the tags.

Instructions can be found on Chad Darnell's Blog. Photos click for a medium version. Large via flickr.

1) My desk is a little sad this morning, as the laptop is in the shop getting a new keyboard installed.

2) Spent a good amount of time today spring cleaning, opened the window in my room for the first time this season!

3) Guess who went back to the piercing place... Here is a tease cause I'm still healing up. A quick sea salt soak, before the shower.

4) Some research on hotels/flights and mapping for the road trip. Still in it's early phase, we haven't figured out if it'll be driving both ways, driving one way, flying back, or flying both ways (most expensive to least expensive). One things for sure, Jonny and I will try to make it to SF pride for my first pride... I know, sad, I haven't been to a pride yet. At least it'll be a good one.



5) More cleaning, dishes into the dishwasher, and the counter tops all scrubbed.



6) Of course, Patrick is a lazy boy. He decided to sleep most of the day away. He didn't even try to hide his little belly pouch.



7) Movie/TV time while the dish washer runs... and then Jonny gets home and its off to make something to eat.




8) My favorite thing in the kitchen! The timer/thermometer magnet. Alton was right, and everyone should get one, it makes cooking so much easier.

9) We were in the mood for some pizza, but since the pizza places nearby aren't very good, it's digiorno for us.

10) Since the laptops away, the ipod is working as the jukebox in my room.

11) After some dinner, tea and cookies. Mmmm... Black tea with condensed milk is sooooo good.



12) Feeding Patrick (like he needs to get any fatter :-P) and off to bed.

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These photos are also in my photostream, for any flickr users- send me a friend request/email to be added.

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12 of 12 March

Sorry guys, the 12 of 12 post will be delayed a little bit. I took 12 pictures, but they are on a memory card in my apartment. I'm in NY for the weekend and forgot to upload them onto my computer. :-P Stay tuned.

For photo essays from previous months, check out the archives, or click on the tags.

Instructions can be found on Chad Darnell's Blog. Photos click for a medium version. Large via flickr.

1) Packing for a weekend visit home.

2) Midnight snack + catching some South Park. The episode was about Disney and how the Jonas Brothers was a way to sell sex to little girls. Hilarious, and totally true.

3) Jonny's away for the week, and my toothbrush is lonely. Then off to bed.

4) A map of the Philadelphia subway system... SEPTA (South Eastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority) runs 2 subway lines. One going east/west, and one going north/south. Don't let the map fool you, most of the lines are actually Regional Rail.



5) One of the billboards in the subway station near the condo. See the new ad for Tropicana? It's got a very beefy guy squeezing a girl (his daughter, I suppose). Sex does sell, after all.



6) I really love working on the database... especially when I have to do it on a hard copy because there are so many mistakes to fix that it's hard to keep track.



7) After 2 weeks, I finally was able to input all my changes. And of course, right after doing so, the boss wants to add more stuff. BTW, her passive aggressive emails are the best... really. In almost every email about the database, she wants to set aside time to work on it together, and that she wants me to remind her how to make specific changes, but what she really means is- make these changes, so that I can say that they are done and I had some hand in the process.




8) Bored at work, here is a sign that we're required to post in rooms with x-ray equipment!

9) On the Megabus heading out of Philadelphia. I got to sit in the double decker bus this time! I snapped this as we were passing the Independence Hall. If you look really closely, there's the building that houses the liberty bell.

10) Somewhere in New Jersey, I think the Manhattan skyline is on the horizon, almost home! I <3>

11) After some dinner and family time, I got to some sorting/cleaning of the house. Found one of my dad's old cameras.



12) The reason for all the sorting/cleaning of the house- renovations! A pipe burst and Dad ripped out some walls. Of course, now that there is nothing, Mom wants to extend the bathroom and change the MIL suite.

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These photos are also in my photostream, for any flickr users- send me a friend request/email to be added.

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wtf moments in the last 24 hours

In the last 24 hours, I've witnessed a couple of what I'll call wtf-moments. These are things that make me glad my parents were smart enough to raise me correctly, and also make me sad for the future.
-In the ER at HUP, ambulance comes in with a serious trauma around 10PM, mother and father and some brothers/sisters are in the ER waiting room while the son is admitted (I'm guessing he was a teen/twenties from the age of brothers/sisters waiting). Bad news comes from the doctors, mother throws a fit, father has a panic attack, brothers sitting unphased, and sisters/cousins are throwing minifits where they cry for a few minutes really loudly and stomp and wail, then stop and watch the tv for a few minutes. Within 30 minutes of the first break out of fits, 20 more people come into the ER waiting room (where the hell did they all come from?) and soon enough, I find that more of them are throwing fits- crying, yelling, banging on hospital doors, all in all creating a ruckus. Not only were they causing all this commotion, but a couple of them brought their young children with them (5-9 years old). Now, who in their right mind, would bring a 5-9 year old to the emergency room and have them sit there for hours on end? It was almost 4:30AM when Jon and I finally got him admitted to the ER clinic and they still had the kids sitting there watching their parents throw tantrums. Any self respecting parent I know would at least considered bringing their young child to a neighbors or other family members place before going to the ER... isn't that common sense?
-Also what is remarkable is how many of the family members got admitted into the ER clinic before Jon actually was admitted, even if they had arrived later... their health problem? Absolutely nothing! When Jon was admitted, we saw them being carted around 2 on a bed, just laying there. They didn't even get registered/have wristbands. Instead the hopsital staff put them inside so they wouldnt cause such a commotion in the waiting area. Abso-fucking-lutely peachy. I think I could come up with a million other ways to better use hospital resources.
-Last point about the ER, I know some families are tight knit and all, but seriously... who feels the need to call all of your extended family into the ER when an emergency happens? What happened to immediate family only? As MSTPbound had said... "the er is not a civilized place," especially when its in a city with over 40% vagrants.

Fastforward to this afternoon...
-Walking to CVS from work for a quick snack. Oh, look, a fender bender. It's a good thing it was on campus, the police were there right away. SUV crunches next to a small 2 seater, both groups of passengers are on the sidewalk arguing. Whats that I see? One of the groups of passengers was holding an toddler in the front seat of the 2 seater? WTF IS WRONG WITH YOU? Another one of those- why are some people allowed to have children- moments. It's too bad the US is too liberal to pass rules and regulations like Japan, like how you have to have a parking spot at home in order to buy a car... In my opinion, you should have a car seat and a suitable car in order to have a child.

A little later this evening...
-Walking to the train station after work. Hey its the same cross street that I saw the fender bender. Oh and look, someones driving really fast... and turns right, onto a one way street going in the opposite direction, and DRIVES HALF A BLOCK against traffic honking at him.

Today is all summed up in one sentence from my co-worker, a Philadelphia native.
"Welcome to Philadelphia, ugh."

Oh yes, and a footnote- we were in the ER because Jonny had an allergic reaction to his antibiotic, no biggie, but he wanted to get it checked out anyway. He's feeling much better now, besides having to witness all of that stupidity in the waiting room.