6/9/06
hey there all...me again...sorry its been a while...i seem to always say that...but it is just impossible for me to update this blog any faster...sorry about that...time is flying in my life and TODAY i am jumping on a plane and headed to the pacific northwest for FIVE weeks of vacation and fun!!!! can't wait to see everyone and will try and update from the road...but i don't know how well that will go...also...people have asked me to post the website for the shcool in romania again...so click on this link and you can visit where i will be starting in august....
anyway...in the past few weeks i have been all over the place in PA, NY and NJ...plus i got a new tattoo...yep...my penguins....you'll see it at the end of this update, along with an explanation of what you are seeing...but let me tell you who i got to see on this most recent trip....below you see a picture of my good friend helen from college with her husband ed and THREE kids robert, sarah and emily...all extremely well behaved and a blast to play with...i visited with them over the memorial day weekend...and although their swim club was closed for repairs...we had a bunch of fun taking a LONG walk, eating ice cream, going to the firemen's jubilee and talking about the "westside"!!!!! it was a wonderful time and so much fun to catch up with this super cool family :) hopefully it won't take me so long to see them again....ps...hey emily...don't you wish your girlfriend was hot like me.....hahahahahaha
next up was my rainy trip to NYC....of course to check in and see my great friend lea...aka pinky...if you haven't caught her show...you should...she rocks...we went and had dinner and dessert with my "group" home friends from ecuador bel and luis....below you see a few funny and cute pictures from a night of laughs and awesome food...if you have never been to carmine's family style italian restaurant in NYC...you HAVE to go...its sooooooo yummy....i love the picture below of lea and i making fish kisses....okay...maybe its just scary....hahahahaha 
the next morning i had breakfast/brunch with my friends fern and michael...we went to this great place called popovers, also in NYC...where they made real old-fashioned styled popovers...yum, yum...i also got to see fern and michael's new and amazing apartment...below is a picture of them after we were walking back from breaky in the rain...the instrument is from india, i think....
later that weekend i headed out to long island...and let me tell you...driving on the LIE when its flooding sucks....it was a crazy drive...but it was all for an excellent cause...my friend heather was graduating with her masters in nutrition after a long and difficult road....a bunch of folks from BU were there and i am hoping to have a picture of the whole gang added to this blog in the next week or so...but i need to get it from friends...some of the "bad sisters" though did get together for a breakfast at a NY diner the next morning...it was fun hanging and catching up....especially over a diner styled omlette and never ending coffee....no pictures seem to want to add to this post...so i am giving up...i will post BU reunion pics another place...sorry about that
that evening i headed to NJ to hang with good friends sue and richie...we also went to a good-bye party for a teacher i worked with at my first teaching job at the montclair kimberley academy...it was quite a strange reunion of sorts, as i saw teachers i worked with and students of my past who are now teachers at the same school....talk about interesting and a blast from the past....it was a great time....unfortunately, i don't have any pictures from the visit...although i might try and find some...as it was a great party, with drumming being led by my good friend richie.....
the final stop on this trip was a lunch stop in NJ where i met up with my college buddy tim...also known to me as tim-o-tay-o....we had lunch at this amazing indian restuarant....yummy...i love the buffet style lunch....it was sooooooo great to see him and catch up and hear all the stories of his family, which has grown since i last saw him...overall it was a great trip to the "close" north...
finally....about two weeks ago now i went to a cool cat in manayunk, PA to get a tattoo...the dude's name was cosmo...and i have to say i am pleased with his work...below you will see a band of penguins around my right ankle...it is based on a picture i took my first summer down on the ice in mcmurdo...the best part of this picture was that the penguins, as they were traveling, alternated between one standing up and walking and one sliding on its belly...i thought this would make a great band...that means a lot to me....i'll try and get the original picture on here so you can compare them...but overall, i am quite pleased with the work....yahoo...as its permanent and all that....
well...i have to hit the road, as i am leaving in about an hour to get to the airport for my big trip west....yahoo!!! i hope all of you are well and happy and that you enjoy the beginning of your summer...i am going to send out an e-mail with my contact information for romania, as i head there on august 3rd....yahooooooo...its a very exciting time in my life and i hope the same is for you :) talk soon....and hopefully i'll post pictures from the road...
