Sunday, November 11, 2007
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Suburban Insanity
I just got hit up for the third time in three years for money to pay for a new Middle School band shirt. When I was in school band in the 1960’s and 1970’s, we wore our Sunday clothes to the two band concerts per year. This created a certain excitement as well as a very festive air. Here in Gwinnett County suburbs, the children must all buy an article of apparel so they all look the same playing their instruments in the gym for the spring and winter concerts. In my sister’s elementary school, in a very affluent suburb on Long Island, the children wear white shirts or blouses and black pants that they own. Why is it necessary for me to pay $80 for clothing that my child will wear for a total of 9 hours, or 3 hours per year? Would anyone be offended if the children in the band were not wearing matching outfits?
When I was in High School and on Varsity Gymnastics, the warm up suits were on loan for the season and returned at the end of the year. I guess that sounds disgusting to a lot of today’s parents. Today heaven help your pocketbook if your daughter makes the cheerleading squad! In fact, in many of the local high schools, the athletes are required to purchase a new uniform each year, even it still fits them and is identical to the one worn the year before.
Often a fundraiser is hidden into the price charged to the parents. It is common knowledge that a tee shirt can be purchased these days for only $2-$3. Yet we don’t cringe when asked to pay $10 for the group’s tee shirt. Be assured that your organization is pocketing the difference.
For many years my sons played Little League baseball. The team uniforms were included in the $150 we paid to join the league with the exception of the pants. The Team Mom always decided that the boys needed fancy pants: those with a double stripe down the side cost $24 a pair as opposed to $12 for plain, non-striped ones. Guess which ones our boys always wore? Guess how long these pants looked good? A lot of parents jump at the chance to open their wallets for the “embroidered name on baseball cap” option. After all when Johnny makes the Majors, his embroidered caps will be worth a fortune. Don't forget the all stars name-embroidered baseball bags too.
Don’t even get me started on the $275 I paid for uniform pieces that my son wore for 3 All-Star games. We needed a home jersey, an away jersey, a practice jersey, UnderArmour (only the brand name would do) and last but not least, the ever-necessary tee shirt with all the boys' names on the back.
Buying personalized apparel for every activity has become the mentality this decade in the suburbs. I feel it is out-of-hand, yet I am powerless to change it. Parents have to eventually realize that their materialistic priorities are totally out of whack. The children certainly don't appreciate it and why should they? It's not special, it's commonplace. Say something about it and risk being called “low-income” and receiving offers of financial assistance. Parents who have lots of disposable income seem to also have the free time to run the committees that are in charge of determining what constitutes necessities. While it is great that they volunteer for these committees, I think the majority of these people are out of touch with the meaning of a dollar. As much as I would enjoy spoiling my kids with personalized, expensive articles of clothing, I am trying to save for their college educations. Call me old- fashioned, but a 7- ear old will ruin those fancy pants in the first game and will be on 15 more sports teams in his youth and does not NEED his name embroidered on his cap. But heaven help the parent who speaks out about these luxury items, which have become considered necessities. So today I shell out another $20 for yet another piece of personalized apparel that is going to wind up with 100’s of others on the Goodwill rack.
When I was in High School and on Varsity Gymnastics, the warm up suits were on loan for the season and returned at the end of the year. I guess that sounds disgusting to a lot of today’s parents. Today heaven help your pocketbook if your daughter makes the cheerleading squad! In fact, in many of the local high schools, the athletes are required to purchase a new uniform each year, even it still fits them and is identical to the one worn the year before.
Often a fundraiser is hidden into the price charged to the parents. It is common knowledge that a tee shirt can be purchased these days for only $2-$3. Yet we don’t cringe when asked to pay $10 for the group’s tee shirt. Be assured that your organization is pocketing the difference.
For many years my sons played Little League baseball. The team uniforms were included in the $150 we paid to join the league with the exception of the pants. The Team Mom always decided that the boys needed fancy pants: those with a double stripe down the side cost $24 a pair as opposed to $12 for plain, non-striped ones. Guess which ones our boys always wore? Guess how long these pants looked good? A lot of parents jump at the chance to open their wallets for the “embroidered name on baseball cap” option. After all when Johnny makes the Majors, his embroidered caps will be worth a fortune. Don't forget the all stars name-embroidered baseball bags too.
Don’t even get me started on the $275 I paid for uniform pieces that my son wore for 3 All-Star games. We needed a home jersey, an away jersey, a practice jersey, UnderArmour (only the brand name would do) and last but not least, the ever-necessary tee shirt with all the boys' names on the back.
Buying personalized apparel for every activity has become the mentality this decade in the suburbs. I feel it is out-of-hand, yet I am powerless to change it. Parents have to eventually realize that their materialistic priorities are totally out of whack. The children certainly don't appreciate it and why should they? It's not special, it's commonplace. Say something about it and risk being called “low-income” and receiving offers of financial assistance. Parents who have lots of disposable income seem to also have the free time to run the committees that are in charge of determining what constitutes necessities. While it is great that they volunteer for these committees, I think the majority of these people are out of touch with the meaning of a dollar. As much as I would enjoy spoiling my kids with personalized, expensive articles of clothing, I am trying to save for their college educations. Call me old- fashioned, but a 7- ear old will ruin those fancy pants in the first game and will be on 15 more sports teams in his youth and does not NEED his name embroidered on his cap. But heaven help the parent who speaks out about these luxury items, which have become considered necessities. So today I shell out another $20 for yet another piece of personalized apparel that is going to wind up with 100’s of others on the Goodwill rack.
Sunday, September 02, 2007
The New Dog by the Crazy Poodle Lady
How I got The Nudge
On Monday at the Animal Shelter (see the post below), a poodle was having a terrible time. It seems his sister, who he spent his whole life with, was adopted and taken away from him. He was sullen and shaking and afraid of all the other dogs. Since I have a miniature poodle, they asked if I could bring him home as a foster child, and possibly adopt him.
I introduce to you Andy, better known as THE NUDGE. Here is my little white loving and scared poodle:
He follows me EVERWHERE! The other dog also follows me, so it is a little odd having 8 little pitter patter of doggie feet keeping me company throughout my day. I hope Skippy warms up to him, he is a little jealous and has been kind of mean. But I read that this is normal. He feels like he has been replaced.
The Animal Shelter
It all started when an SPCA Pet Adoptions opened up about a mile away from us. I had been looking into finding a Humane Society for Greg to volunteer at, since he loves animals so much. I inquired if he could be a volunteer and they said to come on over. We arrived and they asked if I would stay too, until he learned the ropes.
There is a room full of about 30 cats, mostly kittens. The first day we sat in that room and played with the adorable kittens. And I mean adorable! We washed the windows. They asked me to clean out the litter boxes, so I did. The next day they asked me to walk 15 dogs, so I did and picked up their poop.
The following day they had me wash dishes, mostly dirty cat litter boxes and dogfood bowls. In the meantime, Greg was assigned to the sole chore of making sure the kitties get socialized.
GREG HARD AT WORK:
So while he is in the cat room playing, I am working my butt off, literally drowning in poop. I ask myself how did I get into this? Then I realize I am doing this for him. I wonder why I am working for no money? I like the animals a lot but it really is a shitty job.
In any case, we go over there 3 days a week and work for about 8-10 hours a week. All kidding aside, I am really enjoying it. The dogs are really hard to handle. They are in cages and kind of depressed.
These are my 2 favorite kittens, Pinkie and Alex. Pinkie is all white, with one green eye and one blue eye. Alex is the most loving, affectionate little kittie I have ever known. He wants to be petted constantly. Both of them usually wind up in Greg's lap within a few seconds of coming in. If you are in Georgia and would like to adopt the world's sweetest kittens, leave me a message!
PINKIE & ALEX
There is a room full of about 30 cats, mostly kittens. The first day we sat in that room and played with the adorable kittens. And I mean adorable! We washed the windows. They asked me to clean out the litter boxes, so I did. The next day they asked me to walk 15 dogs, so I did and picked up their poop.
The following day they had me wash dishes, mostly dirty cat litter boxes and dogfood bowls. In the meantime, Greg was assigned to the sole chore of making sure the kitties get socialized.
GREG HARD AT WORK:
So while he is in the cat room playing, I am working my butt off, literally drowning in poop. I ask myself how did I get into this? Then I realize I am doing this for him. I wonder why I am working for no money? I like the animals a lot but it really is a shitty job.
In any case, we go over there 3 days a week and work for about 8-10 hours a week. All kidding aside, I am really enjoying it. The dogs are really hard to handle. They are in cages and kind of depressed.
These are my 2 favorite kittens, Pinkie and Alex. Pinkie is all white, with one green eye and one blue eye. Alex is the most loving, affectionate little kittie I have ever known. He wants to be petted constantly. Both of them usually wind up in Greg's lap within a few seconds of coming in. If you are in Georgia and would like to adopt the world's sweetest kittens, leave me a message!
PINKIE & ALEX
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Last Day in NYC: Central Park Zoo & The Yankees
It's taken me awhile, but I am finally going to finish the Manhattan series.
We had a fabulous brunch at the loft. Said a sad goodbye to our friends, and then we checked out of the hotel. I was ready to drive to Central Park to meet my cousins. I thought I had my route rather well planned out. Oh by now I know all the cabdrivers secret shortcuts. My plans were to get out of lower Manhattan via Pearl Street to Houston Street to 6th Avenue and go up to the zoo. I was doing great until there was a street fair on 6th Avenue and 42nd street and the road was closed! I was in a tizzy at this point. The only way to go was to drive around an extra 30 minutes. Finding parking put me into another tizzy. I wish I didn’t get so tizzied out but driving in Manhattan is all its cracked up to be- not for the easily tizzied!
We had a wonderful time at the zoo. And my cousins are so sweet. It was great to spend some more time with them. My cousin C, he is just insane. He doesn’t appreciate organic bread! he asks, "How can bread NOT be organic"?
The polar bear was sunbathing in 90-degree weather- it just seemed plain wrong! Andrew decided that the bear was really a grizzly and they painted it white. Then we saw the penguin feeding. Holy Mackerel! They sure are cute and I had no trouble herring the zoo worker’s talk. There was a fish tank, filled with evil marine fauna, but with fronds like that, who needs anemones?
Polar Bear catching some rays
My cousin explained to us the story of the Cardiff Giant. My friend Diane, really did have her facts wrong, but that is a story for another blog entry. Cousin C walks around as an encyclopedia of fascinating useless historical facts so it is always a hoot to hang out with him. My other cousin, Miss F, actually used to work at the Central Park Zoo. She had a real paying gig wearing a Butterfly or Turtle costume. That’s right they paid her to hang out on a rock in costumes-Show people! She was really happy to see her old friends the goats and llamas. My cousin took that picture of us outside the zoo. At that point I was feeling a little like I might have over-exerted myself. In the Beth Jablonsky philosophy of vacation rules, it was time for a treat! Lunch at the Zoo Cafe was excellent, I must say.
After that we drove through Harlem toward Yankee Stadium. We then came to a bridge that I had never seen, a drawbridge called the Macombs Dam Bridge, that crosses the Harlem River and takes you straight into Yankee Stadium. As we crossed it there was a magnificent view of the House that Ruth Built and that Steinbrenner is tearing down!
Macombs Dam Bridge
The Yankee game was awesome. Except for the $22 I spent on 4 hotdogs, it was a lot of fun. Here are some pics.
We had a fabulous brunch at the loft. Said a sad goodbye to our friends, and then we checked out of the hotel. I was ready to drive to Central Park to meet my cousins. I thought I had my route rather well planned out. Oh by now I know all the cabdrivers secret shortcuts. My plans were to get out of lower Manhattan via Pearl Street to Houston Street to 6th Avenue and go up to the zoo. I was doing great until there was a street fair on 6th Avenue and 42nd street and the road was closed! I was in a tizzy at this point. The only way to go was to drive around an extra 30 minutes. Finding parking put me into another tizzy. I wish I didn’t get so tizzied out but driving in Manhattan is all its cracked up to be- not for the easily tizzied!
We had a wonderful time at the zoo. And my cousins are so sweet. It was great to spend some more time with them. My cousin C, he is just insane. He doesn’t appreciate organic bread! he asks, "How can bread NOT be organic"?
The polar bear was sunbathing in 90-degree weather- it just seemed plain wrong! Andrew decided that the bear was really a grizzly and they painted it white. Then we saw the penguin feeding. Holy Mackerel! They sure are cute and I had no trouble herring the zoo worker’s talk. There was a fish tank, filled with evil marine fauna, but with fronds like that, who needs anemones?
Polar Bear catching some rays
My cousin explained to us the story of the Cardiff Giant. My friend Diane, really did have her facts wrong, but that is a story for another blog entry. Cousin C walks around as an encyclopedia of fascinating useless historical facts so it is always a hoot to hang out with him. My other cousin, Miss F, actually used to work at the Central Park Zoo. She had a real paying gig wearing a Butterfly or Turtle costume. That’s right they paid her to hang out on a rock in costumes-Show people! She was really happy to see her old friends the goats and llamas. My cousin took that picture of us outside the zoo. At that point I was feeling a little like I might have over-exerted myself. In the Beth Jablonsky philosophy of vacation rules, it was time for a treat! Lunch at the Zoo Cafe was excellent, I must say.
After that we drove through Harlem toward Yankee Stadium. We then came to a bridge that I had never seen, a drawbridge called the Macombs Dam Bridge, that crosses the Harlem River and takes you straight into Yankee Stadium. As we crossed it there was a magnificent view of the House that Ruth Built and that Steinbrenner is tearing down!
Macombs Dam Bridge
The Yankee game was awesome. Except for the $22 I spent on 4 hotdogs, it was a lot of fun. Here are some pics.
Monday, July 16, 2007
Stepford Dentist
The highlight of my week was my trip to the dentist. Now I hate going to the dentist with a passion, but this place is bliss. My new dentist is exactly like Mr. Rogers. He says "now how are you today?" and "This may hurt a tiny little itty bitty bit but I'll try to go easy" "I hope that didn't hurt you too much". His assistant is a former Miss Georgia or a Runner-Up Miss USA (I think). People don't look like her, she is absolutely stunning. She also has a sugary sweet manner about her that does not exist in my world. My world of negative energy and constant stress. She is just like Baby Bop.
Email me if you want to get your teeth worked on by Baby Bop and Mr. Rogers. Smile and show us those pretty teeth!
Email me if you want to get your teeth worked on by Baby Bop and Mr. Rogers. Smile and show us those pretty teeth!
Saturday, July 07, 2007
The Vacation continues
Third Day in Manhattan: Super-Tourists
ST. PAUL'S CHAPEL
We took the subway to Penn Station and then walked around 10 blocks to the Empire State Building,. They said there was an hour wait. I have never been to the top so I felt we should do it. I was in the basement once. My friend and I decided that since everyone goes up, we would go down.
The place was packed! It was this huge crowded line, but extremely organized with employees ushering the mobs of humanity to the proper place. Every time you thought you got somewhere, you were on a new line. As I was queuing to pay for tickets, an employee pulled me from the line (oh what did I do now?) and whisked the 4 of us away to a special VIP elevator. He explained that he had observed Gregory and was concerned that with his disability, all that waiting might be a burden. That is something that never happened to us before! So we got VIP treatment up to the top and missed the one hour wait!
Then the boys were begging me to go to Madame Toussauds Wax Museum in Times Square, tourist rip-off joint extraordinaire, royally overpriced. With coupons it was $102 for the 4 of us! As we were leaving the first room, there was a “Chamber of Horrors”. Gregory was absolutely freaked out and threw a major panic attack. He was not budging. He almost knocked down The Donald. He threw himself on the floor behind Nicholas Cage and John Travolta and was kicking and flailing, making a real scene. I told his brothers to finish the tour. Finally, as I was in tears, some employees helped us out and helped me to find the boys. After an argument, I was able to get a refund for the admission for me and Greg since we didn’t see anything
Then we took another subway them to Washington Square Park. I wanted to go to the East Village to see the Punks, but H told me that the punks were run out of there by high housing prices. At Washington Square there was a contortionist that was unbelievable.- he folded his body into this tiny plastic box and walked on his but cheeks with his legs on his shoulders and stuff. The boys really, really enjoyed that. This guy was unreal.
WASHINGTON SQUARE PARK
It suddenly started raining. We tried for a long time to hail a cab. Finally a cab stopped. Some other people got in and started yelling at us to get out, that they had hailed the cab from the other side of the street, and it was their cab. The cab driver told them to get out, since he told them he stopped for us.
After that it was more walking around Times Square. My feet were shot at this point. We took the Subway back to our hotel to spruce up for the party at my friends house in our honor!
The party was beyond fabulous with a beautiful waiter, wonderful food and my best friends in the whole world! They had not seen the boys in a long time. The boys were very well behaved at this adult party. Greg got to pet Juanchi, my friends little dog. My sons were absolutely beside themselves over the Guacamole dip and said it was the best they had ever eaten.
I took the car out of the $40 Idiot Lot and we roamed around looking for a legal spot to park in. It was supposed to be easy since it was the weekend. The signs are very ambiguous and I have enough tickets to last a lifetime so it took awhile because I wanted to be 100% sure.
Then we walked around Lower Manhattan a bit and Tommy shopped at a huge music store. We went over to St. Paul’s Chapel, the famous church across the street from the World Trade Center. They have a September 11th exhibit inside the church. On display there are remnants of the cards and letters and photos they got from children around the world. My children sent letters and cards to the fireman from their classes and Cub Scout dens so it was educational for them to see those and this building with such an intense history. But Gregory really wanted to leave the church and warned me that we were “going to miss the Subway”.
ST. PAUL'S CHAPEL
We took the subway to Penn Station and then walked around 10 blocks to the Empire State Building,. They said there was an hour wait. I have never been to the top so I felt we should do it. I was in the basement once. My friend and I decided that since everyone goes up, we would go down.
The place was packed! It was this huge crowded line, but extremely organized with employees ushering the mobs of humanity to the proper place. Every time you thought you got somewhere, you were on a new line. As I was queuing to pay for tickets, an employee pulled me from the line (oh what did I do now?) and whisked the 4 of us away to a special VIP elevator. He explained that he had observed Gregory and was concerned that with his disability, all that waiting might be a burden. That is something that never happened to us before! So we got VIP treatment up to the top and missed the one hour wait!
Here are some pictures from the top of the Empire State Building:
Then the boys were begging me to go to Madame Toussauds Wax Museum in Times Square, tourist rip-off joint extraordinaire, royally overpriced. With coupons it was $102 for the 4 of us! As we were leaving the first room, there was a “Chamber of Horrors”. Gregory was absolutely freaked out and threw a major panic attack. He was not budging. He almost knocked down The Donald. He threw himself on the floor behind Nicholas Cage and John Travolta and was kicking and flailing, making a real scene. I told his brothers to finish the tour. Finally, as I was in tears, some employees helped us out and helped me to find the boys. After an argument, I was able to get a refund for the admission for me and Greg since we didn’t see anything
ANDREW WITH SHARON AND OZZY OSBORNE
ANDREW WITH SAMUEL L. JACKSON
TOMMY WITH WAXY DUDE SAMUEL L. JACKSON
Then we took another subway them to Washington Square Park. I wanted to go to the East Village to see the Punks, but H told me that the punks were run out of there by high housing prices. At Washington Square there was a contortionist that was unbelievable.- he folded his body into this tiny plastic box and walked on his but cheeks with his legs on his shoulders and stuff. The boys really, really enjoyed that. This guy was unreal.
WASHINGTON SQUARE PARK
It suddenly started raining. We tried for a long time to hail a cab. Finally a cab stopped. Some other people got in and started yelling at us to get out, that they had hailed the cab from the other side of the street, and it was their cab. The cab driver told them to get out, since he told them he stopped for us.
After that it was more walking around Times Square. My feet were shot at this point. We took the Subway back to our hotel to spruce up for the party at my friends house in our honor!
The party was beyond fabulous with a beautiful waiter, wonderful food and my best friends in the whole world! They had not seen the boys in a long time. The boys were very well behaved at this adult party. Greg got to pet Juanchi, my friends little dog. My sons were absolutely beside themselves over the Guacamole dip and said it was the best they had ever eaten.
Monday, July 02, 2007
2nd Day in Manhattan: The Museum of Natural History
Second Day in New York City
In the morning I head out to Long Island to pick up Gregory who had spent the last few days with my sister. Determined to drive properly in the city, I mapped out my route paying special attention to one-way streets on my map. Whoops, I didn’t realize Broadway only went south! I was going to head north on that. I just left and already I was driving in circles. I was heading to the Queens-Midtown tunnel. After the initial fiasco it was all going great. I was flying up First Avenue. There was a sign for the tunnel where I got in line to turn left and get on. I was waiting 45 minutes from that point to get onto the tunnel, one block away. People were cutting in. Finally it was our lanes turn to move. The man in front of me kept getting cut off and allowing it to happen. He seemed very non-aggressive and unable to move even when it was his turn. Finally he had a green light and the other cars were letting him in (shock!). I assumed he was going to go so I started to go. He stopped and I tapped the back of his bumper. He then got out of the car and told me I had a problem and called me an obscenity. I was so stunned that I did not say that I did not bump him on purpose. He assumed I bumped him on purpose! Honestly, I cannot imagine. I am sure he is blogging right this minute about the maniac who hit him while entering the tunnel.
I made it back to the hotel with NO MISTAKES, no wrong one-way streets, very smooth sailing. I felt like and NYC driving pro. Gregory wanted to go to the Museum of Natural History. We hopped on the subway, Gregory did great with the steps and I had been rather concerned. The subway arrives underground directly at the entrance at the basement of the museum. I was expecting to walk a few blocks to the entrance so that was a real treat. I paid a reasonable entry fee of $43 for the 4 of us to get in.
There are 4 floors of exhibits and like 40 rooms. We started in Dinosaurs. Gregory was off his rocker with joy.
I was there last in Kindergarten, like uh, 40 years ago. Things are a bit different. All I remember is the T-Rex, so it was great that we began in the T-Rex room. But somehow it was not how I remembered it at all. The T-Rex looked vaguely familiar in a big, big way, but something was off. It turns out that they took him apart, one piece at a time, a remounted him on the ceiling. His tail used to be dragging along the floor, and now it is up in the air, and looks like it could do some serious damage. About the time we hit the 3rd dinosaur room was when it started to hit me how immense this place is.
The Museum and Planetarium facilities consist of 45 permanent exhibition halls housed in 25 interconnected buildings, including the Rose Center for Earth and Space, totaling 1.6 million square feet on an 18-acre campus on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.
Yes, 45 exhibition halls. Each one JAMMED packed with unbelievable stuff. It is NOT possible to see it in one or two days. If I lived in New York, I would get a membership and take my time until I was done. Of the 45 rooms, we saw perhaps 20. Of those maybe only 5 in depth. And we were there for 4 hours. After I got home and did some research, I could kick myself for not going into the Hall of Human Origins. This is a brand new exhibit featuring Lucy and lots of ape-men and hominid ancestors.
After 3 hours of looking, we were starving. A sandwich at the museum cafeteria was $9. It was just a plain sandwich. In the interest of budget, I bought 2 sandwiches, 2 bananas and 2 drinks for $27.
There was a huge section of the Mark Twain tree with a historical timeline along its yearly rings. Foresters cut down this tree in the late 1800’s. It is 90 feet in diameter. It took 13 days to cut it down with a handsaw. The tree dates from 1300AD.
The taxidermy animals and birds were a lot more interesting than they might sound. Each species is set in a showcase glass diorama, with a background of its natural habitat. The birds, for example, are types you would never see in nature up close or in a zoo, so it is awesome to see them. Yes, the poor things are stuffed. They are arranged in unique and educational poses. There are about 500 of these. We really liked the “mammals of new york city” exhibit which featured stuffed bats and mice and rats of every size!
The new Oceans exhibit was 2 stories, with a LIFE SIZED blue whale hanging from the ceiling. The rooms went on and on an on.
Blue Whale
I have been to New York City so many times as an adult and it has never occurred to me to check out the Museum of Natural History. How could I be so stupid? It took Gregory to beg me to take him! I will be back on my next visit to see the meteorite and my ape men relatives.
Leaving the museum, we walked down Central Park West to Lincoln Center. The same architect responsible for SUNY Albany also designed Lincoln Center! Will wonders never cease. I took this time to ask a passer-by “How do you get to the Met?” But no one got the joke. After a bit, my kids finally got it, but the flower salesman didn't (never mind).
How do you get to the Met?
Then we took a cab to Times Square.
Times Square
At Times Square we met some rappers and they were nice but shysters. I bought 2 CD’s from them.
Shyster Rappers
We went into Toys R Us. Gregory was off his rocker with happiness over the giant dinosaur from Jurassic Park thing.
We went over to Rockefeller Center and St. Patrick’s Cathedral. The to see the famous lions on the steps of the New York Public Library.
"Artsy" picture of St. Pat's
Library Lions
Then we walked back to Times Square to take the subway back down to Lower Manhattan. We rested in the hotel for about 20 minutes and then walked to the South Street Seaport for dinner.
Brooklyn Bridge from South Street Seaport
Let me be YOUR Driving Instructor!
My 15 year old got his learner's permit this week. Last night we had our first lesson.
Of course, I am the perfect person to learn to drive from. In the past 6 months I have had only 2 speeding tickets, scraped up against only one very narrow wall, tapped only one Newjerseyite's bumper, ran into only one metal stake (see below), got white paint on the car and took a chunk out of the garage siding only once, and had one tiny teeny fender bender.
The Training Vehicle - note minor bumper and hood damage
Of course, I am the perfect person to learn to drive from. In the past 6 months I have had only 2 speeding tickets, scraped up against only one very narrow wall, tapped only one Newjerseyite's bumper, ran into only one metal stake (see below), got white paint on the car and took a chunk out of the garage siding only once, and had one tiny teeny fender bender.
The Training Vehicle - note minor bumper and hood damage
I was very serious and explained how to buckle up, put the car in park, put your foot on the brake and then tear out and see if you can pop a few wheelies.
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Trip to New York: First day in Manhattan
The blog entries about the trip will feature one or two days at a time because so much happened. They will also be posted out of order. This is about our first day in Manhattan, which was on the 6th day of the trip.
First Day in Manhattan
I arrived in our hotel, the Holiday Inn Wall Street District, totally frazzled. I thought I had mapped out perfect directions to get us to our hotel. But due to getting turned around on one-way streets and dead-ends and street closings, I got very frustrated just trying to go the last few blocks. Of course I had to pee like mad! The worst part was when we actually arrived on the street of the hotel, yet could not see it. The person I asked had no idea and it turns out he was standing right in front of it! The hotel was buried under tons of scaffolding, camouflaging the sign. The hotel seemed like it was in an alley, because in that part of the city, the streets are so old and they were never widened and are the original width from the horse and carriage days. Also the hotel is on the corner underneath 2 streets of complete scaffolding. I was unable to locate the parking garage where we would get our hotel guest “discount rate”. I was so exhausted that I pulled into a garage near the hotel- while trying to make a sharp left turn into a small entry way, I hit the wall and damaged the car. I was thrown out of that garage, entered a second garage only to be told that was not the right one either, to drive around the block! I nearly had a nervous breakdown at the thought of driving around the block! The discount on the garage was $40 a night because he said it was $10 extra due to the “SUV”. Okay, whatever, nothing like being ripped off. I was a little upset about the location but soon came to love that part of the city, once we figured out where we were, on Gold Street on the corner of Platte Street.
The boys immediately started asking me about the scaffolding. It seems it is all over NYC, especially in lower Manhattan. I asked around and it turns out that any time you want to replace a brick, you need to put up a scaffold. Also when the older buildings are cleaned or the facades restored, it is a very slow tedious job.
We took a walk around Wall Street area and saw the New York Stock Exchange, City Hall, Bowling Green, and Battery Park.
FAMOUS WALL STREET BULL STATUE
NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE
NEW YORK COURTHOUSE
I bought 3 sausage and pepper heroes and one Snapple from a street vendor for $22. We scarfed those down sitting in Battery Park on a bench. We had seen the Statue of Liberty up close 4 years ago on our last trip, so we did not take the boat ride. Instead we looked closely at the Monument to the World War II Dead in the park.
BATTERY PARK WORLD WAR II MEMORIAL
Then we went to see Trinity Church and very old graveyard- the boys did not seem too thrilled about the graveyard but I thought it was way cool.
TRINITY CHURCH GRAVEYARD
Then we went up to the World Trade Center site, which is nothing much to see since it is of course a construction site. I know they appreciated seeing where this horrendous tragedy occurred. We could see another building which was still standing and had a lot of damage.
We also stopped in Century 21, a famous New York discount department store. This store is gigantic and packed with shoppers. However, if you do not have a 27-inch waist, do not bother looking for jeans in there! Also the lines for the dressing rooms are at least 30 people long. I decided to try on a few things over my clothes and was scolded by a salesperson. I am sorry but if it is illegal to try things on on the floor, then why don’t you have more than 2 dressing rooms for the gazillions of shoppers?
Then we took the subway up to Chinatown. We got on an Express instead of a Local, which didn’t stop at Canal Street. However, I quickly figured out my mistake and was able to get off the train and turn us around. We were meeting our friends for dinner in Chinatown on Pell Street. We took our time walking around Chinatown. Last time I was in the city it was all Prada, Gucci and Kate Spade fakes. Now those brands are nowhere to be found, having been replaced by Dolce and Gabbana everything. I bought myself a glamorous pair of Dolce and Gabbana sunglasses for $8- you really cannot beat that! They are top of the line, I wonder why they feel like they are about to break? My sons and I were a bit surprised that every single shop on Canal street has the same inventory: sunglasses, handbags, watches, and backscratchers. More than once I was approached by a man saying “handbag, miss?”. I bet they had the really good fake bags!
We then walked through Little Italy, which I love. I wanted to buy some Va Fa in Culo Stronzo T-Shirts but I controlled my urge. I like the way they have demarcated Little Italy now with all the fire hydrants, street signs etc painted in red, white and green.
Then we tried to find the restaurant, Joe Shanghai’s on Pell Street. My map was so small that I got confused and walked 10 blocks in the wrong direction. Although my feet didn’t appreciate it, I think my boys did get to see native Chinese New Yorkers mad scramble to buy fresh fish of all sorts for their dinner. All sorts of fish that one does not usually see at Kroger.
Dinner was excellent featuring Joe Shanghai’s world famous soup dumplings. We had, I don’t know, maybe 7 servings of these. The soup is inside the dumpling. There is a very particular way to eat them so you get to drink the soup.
Uncle H was in his usual form, ordering every single thing on the menu, which my kids get a total kick out of. He had them try quail, which they had never eaten before. The food was really awesome, thanks to Isabella for making such a great choice!
After dinner we went to Little Italy for cannolis. Andrew said that he remembered every single cannoli he has ever eaten in his life, because he has only ever eaten two. Now I felt like the worst parent ever, what a deprived childhood. We took a cab with Uncle H back home. He explained to the boys what tenements were and other interesting tidbits about the history of New York.
First Day in Manhattan
I arrived in our hotel, the Holiday Inn Wall Street District, totally frazzled. I thought I had mapped out perfect directions to get us to our hotel. But due to getting turned around on one-way streets and dead-ends and street closings, I got very frustrated just trying to go the last few blocks. Of course I had to pee like mad! The worst part was when we actually arrived on the street of the hotel, yet could not see it. The person I asked had no idea and it turns out he was standing right in front of it! The hotel was buried under tons of scaffolding, camouflaging the sign. The hotel seemed like it was in an alley, because in that part of the city, the streets are so old and they were never widened and are the original width from the horse and carriage days. Also the hotel is on the corner underneath 2 streets of complete scaffolding. I was unable to locate the parking garage where we would get our hotel guest “discount rate”. I was so exhausted that I pulled into a garage near the hotel- while trying to make a sharp left turn into a small entry way, I hit the wall and damaged the car. I was thrown out of that garage, entered a second garage only to be told that was not the right one either, to drive around the block! I nearly had a nervous breakdown at the thought of driving around the block! The discount on the garage was $40 a night because he said it was $10 extra due to the “SUV”. Okay, whatever, nothing like being ripped off. I was a little upset about the location but soon came to love that part of the city, once we figured out where we were, on Gold Street on the corner of Platte Street.
The boys immediately started asking me about the scaffolding. It seems it is all over NYC, especially in lower Manhattan. I asked around and it turns out that any time you want to replace a brick, you need to put up a scaffold. Also when the older buildings are cleaned or the facades restored, it is a very slow tedious job.
We took a walk around Wall Street area and saw the New York Stock Exchange, City Hall, Bowling Green, and Battery Park.
FAMOUS WALL STREET BULL STATUE
NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE
NEW YORK COURTHOUSE
I bought 3 sausage and pepper heroes and one Snapple from a street vendor for $22. We scarfed those down sitting in Battery Park on a bench. We had seen the Statue of Liberty up close 4 years ago on our last trip, so we did not take the boat ride. Instead we looked closely at the Monument to the World War II Dead in the park.
BATTERY PARK WORLD WAR II MEMORIAL
Then we went to see Trinity Church and very old graveyard- the boys did not seem too thrilled about the graveyard but I thought it was way cool.
TRINITY CHURCH GRAVEYARD
Then we went up to the World Trade Center site, which is nothing much to see since it is of course a construction site. I know they appreciated seeing where this horrendous tragedy occurred. We could see another building which was still standing and had a lot of damage.
We also stopped in Century 21, a famous New York discount department store. This store is gigantic and packed with shoppers. However, if you do not have a 27-inch waist, do not bother looking for jeans in there! Also the lines for the dressing rooms are at least 30 people long. I decided to try on a few things over my clothes and was scolded by a salesperson. I am sorry but if it is illegal to try things on on the floor, then why don’t you have more than 2 dressing rooms for the gazillions of shoppers?
Then we took the subway up to Chinatown. We got on an Express instead of a Local, which didn’t stop at Canal Street. However, I quickly figured out my mistake and was able to get off the train and turn us around. We were meeting our friends for dinner in Chinatown on Pell Street. We took our time walking around Chinatown. Last time I was in the city it was all Prada, Gucci and Kate Spade fakes. Now those brands are nowhere to be found, having been replaced by Dolce and Gabbana everything. I bought myself a glamorous pair of Dolce and Gabbana sunglasses for $8- you really cannot beat that! They are top of the line, I wonder why they feel like they are about to break? My sons and I were a bit surprised that every single shop on Canal street has the same inventory: sunglasses, handbags, watches, and backscratchers. More than once I was approached by a man saying “handbag, miss?”. I bet they had the really good fake bags!
We then walked through Little Italy, which I love. I wanted to buy some Va Fa in Culo Stronzo T-Shirts but I controlled my urge. I like the way they have demarcated Little Italy now with all the fire hydrants, street signs etc painted in red, white and green.
Then we tried to find the restaurant, Joe Shanghai’s on Pell Street. My map was so small that I got confused and walked 10 blocks in the wrong direction. Although my feet didn’t appreciate it, I think my boys did get to see native Chinese New Yorkers mad scramble to buy fresh fish of all sorts for their dinner. All sorts of fish that one does not usually see at Kroger.
Dinner was excellent featuring Joe Shanghai’s world famous soup dumplings. We had, I don’t know, maybe 7 servings of these. The soup is inside the dumpling. There is a very particular way to eat them so you get to drink the soup.
Uncle H was in his usual form, ordering every single thing on the menu, which my kids get a total kick out of. He had them try quail, which they had never eaten before. The food was really awesome, thanks to Isabella for making such a great choice!
After dinner we went to Little Italy for cannolis. Andrew said that he remembered every single cannoli he has ever eaten in his life, because he has only ever eaten two. Now I felt like the worst parent ever, what a deprived childhood. We took a cab with Uncle H back home. He explained to the boys what tenements were and other interesting tidbits about the history of New York.
Friday, May 18, 2007
Squeezing Blood from a Stone
EBay has a new feedback rating system! I think they have forgotten who pays their bills: The Sellers. There was nothing wrong with the old system. But ebay has decided to keep the old system of Positive-Neutral-Negative with room for a comment and in addition ADD a 5 Star Rating system when Buyers can ANONYMOUSLY give the seller Stars in four categories.
Part of being a good seller is making things right. When a buyer anonymously decides that he is unhappy, and leaves one star out of five, and leave positive under the old system, how can you make it right? You don't even know who left it or why!
And there is no 5 Star system to anonymously rate BUYERS. Only sellers can be punished under the new system. I think eBay forgets its origin and who sends them money!
Here I will analyze each of the four Star Rating categories and why it makes it very absurd to do business.
Category 1: Item As Described
The item may be as described but not exactly what you expected. This is common with clothes where a photo and a verbal desciption cannot convey the exact and actual feel and weight and color of the garment. You may have had another idea of the item in your head, and although the item was exactly as descibed in the auction, you are disappointed so punish the seller in this area by giving less than 5 stars.
Category 2: Communication:
I used to send a personal email to all the buyers at the end of the auction. Now ebay and paypal have automated everything, giving me extra time. The buyer gets 3 or 4 emails with a "personal" message from me in the text. Shall I go back to personal emails so I can get 5 stars under communication? Also it is common to get "Question for Seller from Buyer" while the auction is under weigh. If I am not on email 24 hours a day, it may take 12-16 hours to answer the questions. Shall I worry about checking my email more?
Category 3: Shipping Time:
Frankly I ship almost daily and promptly so I do not understand why I only have 4 1/2 stars out of 5 in this category. When people pay on Friday night, I do not send it until Monday. Most people are thrilled because unlike buying from Amazon or another online company, with priority mail they have item in hand 2-3 days after they pay for it.
Why am I losing stars in this category? I think that since 20% of my business is international, it must be the international buyers annoyed with how slow their nation's postal service is. I cannot do anything more than get the box in the mail ASAP. Although I admit when I know I have a few international packages, I wait (no more than one day) for all the payments to come through before shipping. The reason is that international shipments require me to wait on line- unlike domestic packages, I cannot print the postage online and drop the package off. I must get on line at the post office, wait my turn, fill out a Customs slip and be waited on by a clerk and pay the postage there. I drop all the USA boxes off without waiting in line or speaking to anyone. If I have 3 international packages, I would rather wait in line and do them all at once, rather than go 3 times. Not to mention that with the gas prices, it makes sense to combine trips. So sometimes I do wait a day or 2 until all of those come in. Plus I cannot use the US domestic shipping boxes: international shipping requires I provide my own box. Sometimes I have to search around awhile, and the packaging also takes more time. Now I have to add extra stress trying to rush out the second I get an international payment in order to avoid a bad star rating. Even though, if their customs office holds it up, they will lay the blame on me. I sent a dress to Russia and apparently it took 3 weeks. I sent it right out and it was not my fault. I also had a buyer from AUSTRALIA (on the other side of the world) complain to me after only 8 days that his package had not arrived yet, what did I do with it?
Category 4: Shipping and Handling charges:
Who is going to leave 5 stars for shipping and handling charges unless they get it for free or for less than the cost of shipping? Nobody! I see how this rating can punish those sellers who blatantly charge 4 times what it costs them. However, the buyer can always see very, very clearly how much shipping is and avoid buying from those sellers. To add insult to injury, the US Postal Service has again increase priority mail rates. On a flat rate box, which I send the suits it, it has gone up a dollar. On the under one pound box, which I send the pants in, it has gone up 55 cents. I don't dare pass this cost on to the buyers, because I will get a bad star rating in this category. I figured that do to the combination of the postal increase and the star rating, with my volume this will cost me $50-$80 a month in lowered profits. I have 4 stars out of 5 for shipping and handling fees now, when I only add about 50 cents to $1 to the actual cost of shipping. And when I ship to California I actually lose money. I used to not add any handling, but when ebay and paypal upped their fees to me by a huge margin for the second time in a year I had no choice. My profit margin became so low that I had to make 50 cents or so on the shipping in order to keep making money.
Another reason I am failing miserably in this category is the Canadians. They feel that shipping should be the same as to ship to the US- if not less- if not free. I have explained to countless Canadians that there order requires 3 times more work than a domestic order and costs more. A lot of them try to get away with adding the US price to their order hoping I won't notice when it says in HUGE red letters what their shipping price is. They also want me to lie on the Customs Form, but that is stuff for another blog entry.
Now if I up my shipping rates even to cover the cost, it is going to look too expensive for a buyer to want to bid on the item. Every time there is a shipping increase, I wind up selling my items for much lower prices.
I feel like between eBay and the US Postal service, the honest seller is being squeezed out of any sort of profit. Not to mention gas prices and now I have to make extra trips to the post office instead of waiting an extra day to combine shipments.
Since the star rating just started I was hoping maybe I would look better than the bad sellers at least: that 4 1/2 stars is actually outstanding. Until I started looking around at other sellers' feedbacks vs. Star ratings. Check this out:
Recent Feedback Ratings (last 12 months)
Positive
8138 - past month
62088 -past 6 months
114243 - past year
Neutral
102 -past month
715 - past 6 months
1367 - past year
Negative
119 - past month
860 - past 6 months
1562 - past year
One of the WORST sellers on eBay with 119 negatives A MONTH?? Isn't that about FOUR per day? And neutrals are just people too nice to give a negative but he has anohter 102 neutrals per month. Yes, I see he had 8000 happy customers in the past month. Wait a minute! Red flag, how does anyone keep track of 10,000 transactions a month without messing up a few every day? I won't by from these megasellers. Also their communication is atrocious. If you have a problem, good luck getting a person. The real kicker is that his STAR rating is essentially exactly the same as mine. Why would anyone buy from this seller? Yet his stars look identical to mine! The star rating system isn't flushing out the losers. It is just giving me angst. Stupid buyers will always buy from bad sellers and no worry that 4 transactions a day go sour. I had 3 transactions go sour in 7 years! True I only had 10,000 transactions total.
I need to come up with a new racket.
Part of being a good seller is making things right. When a buyer anonymously decides that he is unhappy, and leaves one star out of five, and leave positive under the old system, how can you make it right? You don't even know who left it or why!
And there is no 5 Star system to anonymously rate BUYERS. Only sellers can be punished under the new system. I think eBay forgets its origin and who sends them money!
Here I will analyze each of the four Star Rating categories and why it makes it very absurd to do business.
Category 1: Item As Described
The item may be as described but not exactly what you expected. This is common with clothes where a photo and a verbal desciption cannot convey the exact and actual feel and weight and color of the garment. You may have had another idea of the item in your head, and although the item was exactly as descibed in the auction, you are disappointed so punish the seller in this area by giving less than 5 stars.
Category 2: Communication:
I used to send a personal email to all the buyers at the end of the auction. Now ebay and paypal have automated everything, giving me extra time. The buyer gets 3 or 4 emails with a "personal" message from me in the text. Shall I go back to personal emails so I can get 5 stars under communication? Also it is common to get "Question for Seller from Buyer" while the auction is under weigh. If I am not on email 24 hours a day, it may take 12-16 hours to answer the questions. Shall I worry about checking my email more?
Category 3: Shipping Time:
Frankly I ship almost daily and promptly so I do not understand why I only have 4 1/2 stars out of 5 in this category. When people pay on Friday night, I do not send it until Monday. Most people are thrilled because unlike buying from Amazon or another online company, with priority mail they have item in hand 2-3 days after they pay for it.
Why am I losing stars in this category? I think that since 20% of my business is international, it must be the international buyers annoyed with how slow their nation's postal service is. I cannot do anything more than get the box in the mail ASAP. Although I admit when I know I have a few international packages, I wait (no more than one day) for all the payments to come through before shipping. The reason is that international shipments require me to wait on line- unlike domestic packages, I cannot print the postage online and drop the package off. I must get on line at the post office, wait my turn, fill out a Customs slip and be waited on by a clerk and pay the postage there. I drop all the USA boxes off without waiting in line or speaking to anyone. If I have 3 international packages, I would rather wait in line and do them all at once, rather than go 3 times. Not to mention that with the gas prices, it makes sense to combine trips. So sometimes I do wait a day or 2 until all of those come in. Plus I cannot use the US domestic shipping boxes: international shipping requires I provide my own box. Sometimes I have to search around awhile, and the packaging also takes more time. Now I have to add extra stress trying to rush out the second I get an international payment in order to avoid a bad star rating. Even though, if their customs office holds it up, they will lay the blame on me. I sent a dress to Russia and apparently it took 3 weeks. I sent it right out and it was not my fault. I also had a buyer from AUSTRALIA (on the other side of the world) complain to me after only 8 days that his package had not arrived yet, what did I do with it?
Category 4: Shipping and Handling charges:
Who is going to leave 5 stars for shipping and handling charges unless they get it for free or for less than the cost of shipping? Nobody! I see how this rating can punish those sellers who blatantly charge 4 times what it costs them. However, the buyer can always see very, very clearly how much shipping is and avoid buying from those sellers. To add insult to injury, the US Postal Service has again increase priority mail rates. On a flat rate box, which I send the suits it, it has gone up a dollar. On the under one pound box, which I send the pants in, it has gone up 55 cents. I don't dare pass this cost on to the buyers, because I will get a bad star rating in this category. I figured that do to the combination of the postal increase and the star rating, with my volume this will cost me $50-$80 a month in lowered profits. I have 4 stars out of 5 for shipping and handling fees now, when I only add about 50 cents to $1 to the actual cost of shipping. And when I ship to California I actually lose money. I used to not add any handling, but when ebay and paypal upped their fees to me by a huge margin for the second time in a year I had no choice. My profit margin became so low that I had to make 50 cents or so on the shipping in order to keep making money.
Another reason I am failing miserably in this category is the Canadians. They feel that shipping should be the same as to ship to the US- if not less- if not free. I have explained to countless Canadians that there order requires 3 times more work than a domestic order and costs more. A lot of them try to get away with adding the US price to their order hoping I won't notice when it says in HUGE red letters what their shipping price is. They also want me to lie on the Customs Form, but that is stuff for another blog entry.
Now if I up my shipping rates even to cover the cost, it is going to look too expensive for a buyer to want to bid on the item. Every time there is a shipping increase, I wind up selling my items for much lower prices.
I feel like between eBay and the US Postal service, the honest seller is being squeezed out of any sort of profit. Not to mention gas prices and now I have to make extra trips to the post office instead of waiting an extra day to combine shipments.
Since the star rating just started I was hoping maybe I would look better than the bad sellers at least: that 4 1/2 stars is actually outstanding. Until I started looking around at other sellers' feedbacks vs. Star ratings. Check this out:
Recent Feedback Ratings (last 12 months)
Positive
8138 - past month
62088 -past 6 months
114243 - past year
Neutral
102 -past month
715 - past 6 months
1367 - past year
Negative
119 - past month
860 - past 6 months
1562 - past year
One of the WORST sellers on eBay with 119 negatives A MONTH?? Isn't that about FOUR per day? And neutrals are just people too nice to give a negative but he has anohter 102 neutrals per month. Yes, I see he had 8000 happy customers in the past month. Wait a minute! Red flag, how does anyone keep track of 10,000 transactions a month without messing up a few every day? I won't by from these megasellers. Also their communication is atrocious. If you have a problem, good luck getting a person. The real kicker is that his STAR rating is essentially exactly the same as mine. Why would anyone buy from this seller? Yet his stars look identical to mine! The star rating system isn't flushing out the losers. It is just giving me angst. Stupid buyers will always buy from bad sellers and no worry that 4 transactions a day go sour. I had 3 transactions go sour in 7 years! True I only had 10,000 transactions total.
I need to come up with a new racket.
The Latest Catastrope
This is why a camera phone comes in handy. So I dropped my son at baseball practice and was driving home and I hit this-- sticking out in the road:
It is some type of stake to hold up a silt fence:
I hear something like a blown tire and pull over and I see this:
It also scratched some paint off the car:
A friend came to help and said I should call the police to get a police report about a hazard in the road. So the police in the area where it happened are the meanest on earth I really didnt want to. But he came and wrote up a report and said that it was the County D.O.T. who left the hazard that I should call them. I am glad I had my cell phone camera. I just do not have the energy to call them. It's just another big headache.
It is some type of stake to hold up a silt fence:
I hear something like a blown tire and pull over and I see this:
It also scratched some paint off the car:
A friend came to help and said I should call the police to get a police report about a hazard in the road. So the police in the area where it happened are the meanest on earth I really didnt want to. But he came and wrote up a report and said that it was the County D.O.T. who left the hazard that I should call them. I am glad I had my cell phone camera. I just do not have the energy to call them. It's just another big headache.
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