Panda dwellings

So, we pandas are picky about where we live. For the entire "living together" portion of our relationship, M and I have lived in high rises with door people, maintenance people, in building gyms, etc. We've grown a bit accustomed to the lifestyle and the general lack of things to worry about. Something's broken? Put in a service ticket and someone comes to fix it. Need a workout? Walk downstairs and use our gym. Getting packages delivered? No problem, our door people sign for them and store them for our return. Not only that, but the areas that we have lived in have been spectacular. Walking distance to work, walking distance to entertainment, walking distance to great food, walking distance to pretty much everything!

Now, however, M and I are in a bit of a conundrum. At some point in our lives we're going to want little panda cubs to raise and mold into our own images. However, the tiny dwelling we currently reside in would not suit that. Thus, we are on the hunt for bigger, better dwellings within to call our home. Our biggest question right now is whether to rent longer or buy.

The case for buying is quite simple. Interest rates are lower than they've ever been in our lifetimes, and there's really nowhere for them to go but up. However, we're running into so many dilemmas and questions that the process itself has become quite frustrating.

Do we go for a condo? That would allow us to keep our accustomed luxuries like a door person, gym, etc, but it would also mean that, on top of the mortgage, we'd be paying common charges for building upkeep that in many cases are equal to rent. Not only that, but we can't afford those glitzy condos in the super swank areas that would allow us to continue being able to walk to work, entertainment, or tons of awesome restaurants. Plus, if we want to have multiple children, and they're not the same gender, we'd need a 3 bedroom unit at a minimum, and we REALLY don't have the kind of money that any nice area would require for one of those.

If we don't get a condo, do we go for a house? A house would most likely cost less than a condo to buy, and it would offer us a lot more space and rooms with which to spread our junk. But houses are really only common in the outer boroughs, and even then they tend to be older. Most things I've looked at on the market within NYC were built some time before the Great Depression. Sure, people have remodeled and fixed things up, but come on, those houses are older than any of our relatives...

So then the question of where to buy comes up. Aside from cost and size, we need to make sure our new home is in a safe area and one with good schools. We really don't want to move with children so finding an area with excellent schools is very important to us. After all, what good are kids if they end up dumber than rocks? Of course, some of that will fall on us, but we can only do so much. Anyway, where are all of the good schools? Well, Battery Park City, but that's really expensive. Parts of Brooklyn and Queens are good too, but they're also expensive and also don't have too many places up for sale. So then we started looking at places just outside the city. Lower Westchester has very good schools, and the houses there are enormous compared to what we could get here in the city. However, are we really ready to move to the suburbs? We both grew up in suburban locales so it's not like we've never been through that before, but neither of us really feels ready to "settle in" to that type of lifestyle just yet. But with all things considered, that might end up being the best option.

So in the end, we're faced with some major questions. I would think that, based upon how little time we have to really look, do research, and pool resources, we may just rent for another year. With the way the economy is going, the interest rates don't look to be going up any time soon, and that would also allow us to save up a little more so we can maybe buy a nicer place than we'd be able to afford now. But no matter what we decide, I can almost guarantee that none of these headaches will be anywhere near as bad as when we actually have to move. That's something I'm definitely not looking forward to...

Names

Looking back at my last two posts, maybe the blog should have been called "Ranting Pandas." I really don't want to complain this much and I have plenty of things to talk about that don't involve complaining. But it seems like my limited time has made it so that I post only when upset. I need to change that...

Too Generous

I gave this afternoon's taxi driver way too generous of a tip.

 

I'm a pretty good tipper when it comes to taxi drivers.  20%, usually.  And with credit card payment, it makes it even easier.

 

So I took a bus back in from my asylum hearing and got dropped off at Port Authority.  It was bitterly cold (much colder than in Jersey) and I grabbed a cab.  The guy was not a great driver at all, stopping short all the time, which did wonders for my motion sickness from the bus.

 

We get to the office and he pulls over.  I pay by credit card.  I wait for receipt.  He starts yelling at me to get out of the car because the van behind him is beeping him.  I say I want the receipt.  (I want to be reimbursed and he is obligated to give me the receipt!)  He says he'll give it to me out the window but just to get out because of the van.

 

I open the door.

 

Some lady was trying to bike between the parked car and the taxi.  There are no bike lanes on 6th Avenue.  This apparently became MY fault.

 

Lady to me: "Watch it! You're trying to kill someone!"

I... opened... the... car... door....

 

I cannot see out the door!  I have no mirror.  STFU.  I am not TRYING to kill anyone.  The taxi driver yelled at me to open the door and I obliged.  You saw a stopped taxi.  What possessed YOU to try to ride between them?  Stopped taxi usually means someone's getting out, right?  And why would I get out on the other side with moving traffic?  Common sense, do you have any?

 

(And blah blah blah, she kept going... and then...)

 

Lady to taxi driver: "Why did you let her do that?"

 

What am I, 4?  Why are you talking about me in such a condescending tone of voice as I'm standing right there glaring at you?  It doesn't sound as bad written but the smug superiority dripping from her tone of voice because she was riding a bike.  Spare me.  I have sympathy for bikers in that it's not a very bike-friendly city but don't accuse me of attempted murder because of your choice (when common sense clearly could have dictated another choice) and because I opened the door because my taxi driver was repeatedly yelling at me to get out of the damn cab.  And then to assert that he could control my actions and would "let" me out of the cab? What a patronizing assumption.

 

Not to mention that he DID end up dictating my actions as he WAS the one berating me to get OUT of the cab.

 

So pissed off.  It's bad enough that I was arriving at the office today at 4:30 pm.  I didn't need that crap from her... especially since she's likely on her way HOME from work.  STFU.

 

And to the taxi driver who was yelling?  I'm avoiding your medallion number from now on.  I didn't need to be yelled at AFTER I gave you a pretty damn good tip.  I wish I didn't.  And guess what? You completely suck as a driver too. 

 

Ridiculous.  Now to try to work...

Jingle Cash Hassle

Walgreens has always been my pharmacy of choice.  It was cleaner, better laid out and just plain nicer than the dingy Duane Reade and CVS stores of the city (prior to all the recent renovations - now our local Duane Reade looks quite spiffy).  And not only that, they had the awesome Easy Saver Rebates. (RIP Easy Saver Rebates.)   I picked up so many toothbrushes, toothpaste tubes and shampoos from the free rebates.

 

I know what you're thinking - what incentive did they have to continue that program if it's basically giving the store away for free?  Well, in my opinion, the manufacturers had an incentive.  There were some products like Crest Pro-Health Rinse that I tried from the rebate and then bought (with REAL money and in BULK) after trying it.  And for the store, it created loyalty.  I loved it.  I always went to Walgreens unless I had no choice (i.e., before the Walgreens opened up in Times Square).

 

I was really missing the Easy Saver Rebates and the ability to try new things without risk when I saw the Black Friday ad mentioning Jingle Cash.  Sounded like the gift card option from the old rebates.  I was all over that.  I picked up lots of stuff and was excited to try them out.

 

I never noticed the expiration dates on the Jingle Cash coupons until I looked this morning.  And I don't remember them talking about the short expiration dates (a mere 2 weeks from purchase) or all the restrictions on the coupons in the ad.  It probably said some vague BS like "some restrictions may apply" but you wouldn't know what the restrictions were until you already purchased the product and got the coupon.  At least I don't remember seeing anything (and if it was all there, then my mistake for not noticing during the Thanksgiving frenzy or the bleary eyed Black Friday morning.

 

Knowing the expiration dates now, I took Jingle Cash coupons to work with me intending to stop by the store to pick up cough drops, coldeeze and maybe some candy.  I had $6 to work with.  And then I started reading the fine print.  And then I went to the store and had hassle after hassle (I feel bad for the poor worker constantly voiding the items every time I had to go back to change something).

 

Here's what happened.  I found that Walgreens brand cough drops were 2 for $3.  Halls were $3.19.  The Walgreens ones would give me a whopping 80 cough drops to the Halls 25.  Well, easy choice, right?

 

Not really.  Here's what I learned about Jingle Cash:

 

(1) It expires quickly.  See above.  2 weeks at a very busy time of year for many people?

 

(2) Your total number of coupons (Jingle Cash + manufacturers coupons, not that I had any) must be equal to or less than the number of products you are buying.  Therefore, you can't use 2 coupons to buy one bag of Coldeeze.  Annoying since I really thought Jingle Cash was just that... cash, but it's not.

 

(3)  Individual coupons have different restrictions so you have to read the fine print on every single one.  For example, paraphrased, "Thanks for buying a P&G product!  This Jingle Cash coupon can't be used on P&G products."  WTF?  You reward me for wanting your product by telling me if I want to buy another one I can't use the coupon, but if I buy your competitor's brand, I can?  How is that helping you P&G?

 

(4) Coupon must be less than the amount purchased, NOT less than or equal to the amount purchased,.  For example, my cough drops, nope, can't use the coupon, because they're not $3.01. 

 

I've already ranted on Twitter but you can only say so much in 140 characters.

 

So, no Walgreens brand cough drops.

 

And on top of the entire debacle, the cough drops which were $3.19 per the tag rang up at $3.49.  I know it's 30 cents but after everything that happened, 30 cents annoyed me.  For 30 cents I could almost buy that pack of tissues downstairs (I think she said it's 32 cents).  I'm not just giving the store 30 cents for nothing when I'm frustrated.  Especially when I knew FOR SURE after examining the tags for an extended period of time and comparing prices that it was not $3.49 and that it was $3.19.  I went back to take a picture of it to prove it and ended up getting my cough drops for 19 cents.  I bet next time the tags will be updated and it will cost $3.49.

 

All I wanted was a stupid bag of cough drops.  So much hassle and wasted time over a bag of cough drops.

 

I'm never going through this again if I can help it.  I'm going to use up the rest of my Jingle Cash coupons.  Then I'm going to very critically look at every other promotion from Walgreens before doing it even if it looks like a good deal.  Maybe I will stick to Rite Aid and their rebates instead since that's a check, except unfortunately people descend on our local Rite Aid like vultures for rebate items.

 

And as for regular shopping, I think I'll take advantage of my many scanner apps and figure out who has the best price.  There's a million Duane Reade stores around here, some CVS, some Rite Aid.  Instead of just blindly going to Walgreens because I love(d) Walgreens, I'm going to get the best deal instead.

 

I debated on posting this now or waiting until I used up my Jingle Cash, in case they ban me from the store because of it.  But I decided to post it because I think it's a legitimate complaint and something people need to be aware of, since among people I know, I'm usually the one reading the fine print.  A lot of people don't read the fine print.  I think they need to know how the coupons work before they get to the store and try to use 3 coupons on something expensive and find out they can't.  What a disappointment.  But let that be the lesson: read the fine print... immediately.  Caveat emptor.

Walking Dead

We caught up on The Walking Dead tonight (although we did not yet see tonight's episode, since I don't particularly like watching the show late at night).  What a great show.  I thought it was going to be a super-scary horror show and was a little worried about watching the pilot, but I thought the pilot was fantastic.  It was so sad and devastating.  I don't watch many shows that don't have some element of humor (not anymore, anyway, I need something to lighten my day!) but I added this dark show to my watch list.  Tonight, watching the second and third shows, I felt the same way as I did about the pilot.  Just such a good show.  I'm happy to see that it's been doing well in the ratings and will be returning for another season.

If you haven't watched The Walking Dead, here's why I watch:

1.  It's a devastating picture of a post-apocalyptic world.  Something bad has clearly happened in this world and turned everyone into zombies (walkers) except for a few survivors.  The immeasurable sense of loss and fear really make me think about what things would be like if we were faced with such a catastrophe.  In the pilot, the scenes where (spoiler) the husband contemplates shooting his wife because she is now a zombie and just can't do it were utterly heartbreaking.

2.  It's more about how people cope with survival than how to beat the zombies.  It's really a relationship drama at its heart but set in a bleak world where people are trying to survive.  It's like Independence Day, the movie I've seen about 100 times.  Once there is some larger enemy uniting us, we have to realize we're really all the same.  Yet we still have our differences and it's fascinating how people deal with them.  Granted, this is much deeper than that movie, but still the same type of thing.  (OK, it's a relationship drama that has a lot of gore.  Let's not forget that zombies eat anything alive.  There are many times that I watch through my fingers.)

3.  Glenn.  I love this character.  I felt so invested in him and knowing whether or not he survives that I went to go read the plot of the book.  

4.  The quality of the show is excellent.  If you feel like there's a lot of trash on TV, I would suggest checking this out for a show that's really well-made with good story, good pacing (my problem with Rubicon and why I stopped watching), good characters and just good filmmaking.

Can't wait to see tonight's.  But I definitely don't want it to be the last thing I see tonight.  Especially if they tear into another human or animal and there's blood and guts everywhere.

Rentals

I have serious real estate envy. I look at those giant (seriously, giant) condos off the West Side Highway every time we drive back into the city and wonder about the people who get to live there. River views, living rooms bigger than our one bedroom apartment, super sleek kitchens with lots of counter space. Who are all these people in Manhattan who make enough money to afford these palaces and where did they get it from? Some of the places are seriously beautiful. And huge. It's so hard to find affordable real estate here. With rentals upwards of $4000/month in some places and condos over $1 million (for ONE bedrooms!), sometimes it's kind of miserable figuring out what we can afford.

We want to move. We have lived at the same place for years and need a change (not to mention more space). But it's so difficult to figure out where to go! And so many other questions: do we want to rent or buy? Do we want to (and can we afford to) stay in Manhattan? Should we move to the outer boroughs? Should we get an apartment or a house? I never thought about really getting a house, but considering we want space and washer/dryer, maybe that makes sense? So many questions, so few answers!

But we're never going to figure it out if we don't start looking at places. So today we ventured over to a rental building in our neighborhood (not saying which one) to check it out. We were really excited about it because it looks great from the outside - really tall towers, very new, nice drive-in space to unload stuff - and based on the website, also has great amenities including in-unit washer/dryers (man, I miss our Chicago apartment).

One thing that frustrates me about looking for a place to live is that, if you're not immediately on the move, people don't give a crap about you. Well, I'm sorry if it's because you're not getting a commission off us today, but if we like the place and had a great experience with you and come back later when we ARE going to move, maybe we would call you directly. But not if you repeat to us over and over that availability will change (which we already acknowledged and SAID in the beginning) and make us feel uncomfortable for looking now when we're trying to do our research.

Anyway, back to the building. The amenities are fantastic. Great gym, spa rooms, a pool (I really want a pool but good luck with that in this city), and everything is shiny and new. But, for about 1.5 times the rent we pay now, the rooms are SMALLER. How is that possible? I don't know. There were some good things, like the bathroom had more storage space than ours does (we have almost none), there was a walk-in closet (again, I miss our Chicago apartment), the kitchens are much more open and don't feel like a closet, they have high floors with great views and good light, everything is new, and of course, the in-unit washer/dryers. But for the size? I don't think it'll be worth the extra rent per month. It's our first stop though, so we'll have to re-evaluate as we see new places.

Now ... where to go next?

For Dummies

Our office building is having a book sale in the lobby. They leave the books out overnight - I guess on the honor system - and I saw this display:


Seriously? This is what the "for Dummies" series has come to now? Divorce for Dummies? Mobile Internet for Dummies? Using the Internet Safely for Seniors for Dummies?

Sigh...

So this past weekend I returned to basketball. My initial plan was to just go out and shoot around for about an hour similar to what I did the last time. However, one of the teams playing only had 4 players, and they needed me to be their 5th. The doctor did say I was healthy enough to go back to basketball, but I was trying to heed his advice to work back in slowly. Alas, my friends were in need, and I couldn't say no.

It felt good to get out and run up and down the court. I was obviously rusty and definitely not in any sort of game shape. I constantly found myself 2-3 steps slow in regards to what I wanted to do. The brain is still sharp, but the body... not so much.

Now, I'd like to say that I went through this game with little more than some bumps and scrapes, but that just wouldn't be me would it? No, within the first 2-3 minutes of the game, I planted hard on my left foot and immediately felt a surge of pain coming from one of the bones on the top of the foot. It felt exactly like a stress fracture I had suffered about 4 years ago. Now, had the team had more players available, I would have sat out more. However, being their 5th player, I had to play much of the game before we actually got more subs, and I could sit out.

So in my first actual game action coming back from my knee surgery, I potentially broke a bone in my foot. God I suck...

Oops

I've been a tad delinquent in blogging on either of our blogs. It's really something I'm not used to, though. I enjoy writing, and I want to do it more since I have less of a creative outlet at work, but in the end, I usually just forget. Or if I don't forget, I can never think of anything good to write about.

I mean, so far the only thing I've actually written about is my constant struggle with maintaining healthy knees (or knee as the case is most of the time). I thought about writing that ankle injury post I mentioned, but I just couldn't put that into words right now. Not sure why, but maybe it's just not the right time for it. That or maybe if all I write about are injuries and how I basically don't take care of my body, people will get the wrong impression of me.

But who am I really? The only people that would know are the people that M and I have told about this blog (I think 0 people at present...). Other than that, a random Google search won't really give you any insight into who I am unless you've played sports with me and are familiar with at least some of my many ailments or if you're a family member that has now discovered that we do blog.

So, let's give a basic description of me without giving away too many personal details...

I like playing basketball and ultimate, but ultimate has fallen more by the wayside. I used to play tennis, and I was really good at it too. I probably should pick that back up. I love things dealing with fantasy/sci-fi themes, and I grew up playing Dungeons & Dragons (I'm not ashamed to admit that). I am an avid cartoon watcher, and old-school action cartoons like Thundercats, GI Joe, Transformers, etc. always appeal to me. As for other cartoons, anime is definitely high on my list as well. I like computers and networks, but I'm not nearly as good as most people think I am with them. I love video games, but I have little time to play them these days.

Can't really think of much else that I can say without giving away too much information, but I'm sure I'm missing some minor, less important details. Anyway, I'm again writing a rather pointless post, but I promise to do better about blogging in the future whether it be food-related or not.

Zenyatta

We're watching the Breeders Cup coverage and I never realized that I could get so annoyed at commentating to horse racing. (As an aside, Zenyatta may not have won but the move up is really fun to watch - except for the fact that it looked like they were beating the crap out of her.)

They just keep going on and on about Zenyatta. Before the race, it was about the expectations on her and her perfect record, making her sound like an utter failure if she doesn't succeed. After the race, wondering how she feels about losing. She's a HORSE. I'm not sure she's crying inside at coming in second. Are you serious? Going on and on about how she feels not winning? Do horses even realize what they're involved in, about the racing and that they haven't won? Maybe they do, in which case I'm wrong, but stop imposing human feelings and expectations on the poor horse.

Enough ranting, back to work.

Weather Dumb

I love watching the Weather Channel.  I've never made any secret of that.  But lately, I seem to be a really poor judge of the weather outside the window, especially in terms of how it will feel and what to wear.

 

For example, right now, it's 50 degrees, feels like 46.  I wore sweatpants, a fleece sweatshirt and my down coat to work.  It felt really warm.  I mean, after all, it IS 50 degrees and 50's not REALLY cold, right?

 

But over the weekend there were temps very similar to the current temperatures (and the "feels like" temperature may have even been warmer) and I was freezing in my jeans, fleece sweatshirt and medium fleece jacket.  So cold that I went home to change into a down coat to make it through our outdoors day.

 

I just don't know what to wear anymore!  I hear 60s and I think it sounds lovely, but half the time I forget that 60s still means a light jacket is advisable.  I used to hear 50s and would think, that's not soooo bad, but then I'd get outside and freeze.  So now I hear low 50s and bundle up and am too hot.  I love fall, but seriously, this is too hard.  Maybe it's because last week it was 70 degrees one day and 50 the next and wind chills in the 30s the next.  I don't know.  I've never felt this clueless when it comes to temperature.  Help!

Heat and Smoke

I hate secondhand smoke.  A lot.

Personally I don't care if people want to smoke.  It's not my business.  It's really harmful to your health and there's a lot of side effects, but I really don't care.  Until it affects me.  I choose not to smoke.  I shouldn't have to suffer the consequences because you (random third person you, not you the reader) decide you want to smoke.

The cigarette smoke used to come in through the vents in our apartment, usually the bathroom, sometimes the fuse box in the hallway.  It was like the polluted air was being pumped into the room and it was awful.  We were just stuck in it -- we couldn't leave every time it started to come in (which was like every hour).  This is our home.  Where are we supposed to go?  I used to walk around with a heavy duty dust mask on which was not pleasant.  I know a lot of smokers (from news articles) would say to just get an air filter, but we have multiple air filters.  It got so bad in the bathroom that we would clean the small bathroom air filter and it would immediately start buzzing again that it needed cleaning.  Terrible.

Lately, the smoke has been coming in through our heating unit.  The only explanation we can think of is that a neighbor downstairs is smoking on the patio.  I hate it because our entire living room becomes off limits but at the same time it's also hard for me to complain about this because I always say smokers should go outside so they don't end up pushing their poison in through the internal vents and this person is probably smoking outside.  So it's exactly what I always said neighbors should do to be good neighbors.  Except it's now in our apartment and I'm stuck in the bedroom.  (Which is fine, since, really, I should be asleep and I can read on my Kindle for iPhone, yay Kindle.)  If this person is smoking outside now, clearly neither time of day nor winter weather fazes them.  Something to look forward to all winter?  Or maybe the reason it is so strong in our living room is because the person is standing in the doorway of their apartment because they are cold and that's why it's just coming straight in without even dissipating into the air?

Anyway, does anyone have a magic solution to remove cigarette smoke from the air?  I always ask but I could really use one.  If not that, any recommendations for smoke-free rental buildings in NYC?

I Voted!

It's Election Day.  Have you voted yet?

 

I voted this morning at our usual polling place (and got a Foursquare badge, yay).  The process has completely changed from the last time I voted and it was a little unsettling!  Change is welcome, but feels weird sometimes.

 

The way NY has always voted -- from the time I went into the voting booths with my parents as a little kid -- was in this big antiquated voting booth where you pulled a lever to close the curtains, flicked little knobs to vote for each person, reviewed your votes, and then brought the lever back to record your votes and leave.  It may not have been the best system and it certainly had its problems, but after voting like that for years, it was very... comfortable.

 

Now, they give you a ballot and a "privacy sleeve" (a manila folder) and have you go back to a little cardboard booth with a (standing) desk to color in the bubbles (like the SAT) for your choice.  I don't know why but turning the knobs and hearing each one click felt so much better than coloring in little bubbles!  (Although I did like the sample for coloring in bubbles - vote for your favorite ice cream! But seriously - vanilla, chocolate and butter pecan?  When did butter pecan become ice cream flavor #3?  What about strawberry, pistachio, mint chocolate chip?  I was thinking maybe they picked it as some form of racial analogy or joke, but google research just told me that butter pecan ice cream really is the third flavor according to the "Ice Cream Association."  I've never even had butter pecan ice cream!  I always thought strawberry was #3!  Anyway.) Also most people missed the proposals before in the booth because they were set off to the side.  Now they're on the back of the page so they're even easier to miss.

 

When you're done, you take your sheet to the scanner, which takes it and then you're done.  Well, not me.  First, we realized that somewhere along the way I lost my card with my name and number on it.  The lady said it was because I was texting but I wasn't and had the card when I left the table but didn't have it when I got to the booth to color in my votes (and forgot she gave it to me -- I'm tired!).  But there was no card on the floor.  Turned out someone picked it up and gave it to someone.  So of course I didn't know what happened to it. 

 

Second, why wouldn't the scanner tell you your votes and ask you to confirm?  For all I know, they think I voted for the Republicans and misread my bubbles.  If it's an electronic system, how hard would it be to pop up the votes and ask you to press a button to confirm?  There's a lot of uncertainty here.

 

Third, the machine told me there was an error and to notify an election official.  On the same screen that it told me my ballot counted.  Huh?  So... did my vote count or not?  I sure hope it did.  I don't want a governor who thinks that I'm catatonic because I live in Manhattan.

 

I miss the old broken voting booths.  These new ones just feel weird.

Test

Attempting a post from email... but I didn't remember making this my password.  Will this work?

We Heart KLM

Another post written in Amsterdam to post later. Sorry for the absence - it's been busy around here! Hopefully we'll finish posting all about our trip by Christmas?

We had never flown KLM before. We booked through Delta and our flight out to Amsterdam was a KLM codeshare. We were excited because it sounded like a nice airline. Compared to the Delta flights we’ve previously taken, we’re really glad we got the KLM overnight flight!

First, all the flight attendants were really nice. They would refill drinks for people whenever they needed it, were always helpful and never got an attitude with anyone. How refreshing compared to the usual (outside of JetBlue).

Second, the food was surprisingly good. When we booked on Delta, they said we were getting breakfast, so anything more than that and the bag of smoked almonds they gave out shortly after takeoff was such a surprise.

An hour or so into the flight, they told us that they were going to serve dinner. KLM has been working with chef Daniel Green to put together healthy and tasty meals for their trans-atlantic flights. Instead of eating heavy food that makes you feel sick on the plane, or other junk, the idea of a light, healthy dinner was really appealing.


Dinner consisted of a hot dish, a warm roll, a salad and a dessert. And none of it was junk food!


First up, the cold salad. Lettuce, carrots, a big cherry tomato and seafood, dressed with a very light vinaigrette. The dressing wasn't overwhelming (in taste or quantity) so it left the salad very crisp and light. It wasn’t gross and clammy like a lot of seafood gets in a cold salad. The dressing wasn’t gloopy and all over the salad. I was wary about having a seafood salad on an airplane, but it was actually really good and full of flavor.


The hot dish, according to the wrapper, was a chicken thai red curry. The rice had good texture, not too hard or watery. The green beans were healthy. And the chicken was actually really good. Not good only by airplane food standards, but it would have been good even coming out of a restaurant kitchen. We were really happy to be having such a good and healthy dinner!


Then it was time for dessert. It looked like ordinary chocolate cake but it was more like a sacher torte with fruit (raspberry?) flavor in the middle of spongey cake. It was delicious, fluffy and good.

Then, shortly before landing, it was time for breakfast.



Raspberry yogurt, a chocolate chip roll and orange juice. A nice start to the day.

Third, they have pretty good in-flight entertainment. I love when you have a personal screen instead of a hard-to-see one above someone's head. Granted, the one low spot was that mine didn’t work. The screen was fine, the remote was fine except the “enter” button – the one button you need to start the whole system – was broken, so I couldn’t get past the “choose your language” menu. I had to use A’s IFE and watched a cityfilm about Amsterdam and then listened to a “today’s hits” mix all the way until arrival.

Fourth, we got to listen to things in both Dutch and English. That was kind of fun.

Everything else was fairly standard but the service and the food put it for us in the same category as Singapore Airlines which we love (although Singapore Airlines will always be the gold standard). Nice, safe flight (considering the turbulence from Earl) and a good experience overall.

Next time: we sightsee at the airport.

If you follow our food blog, no, you're not crazy. Parts of this post were originally posted over at our food blog.

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween!


We didn't spend the holiday dressed up or going to any costume parties, but we did spend it doing 3 things we do love - eating good food, walking around under pretty fall colored trees, and people watching. We went down by the Village Halloween Parade and saw LOTS of people.

There were lots of zombies (timely) and bedbugs (also timely). But what was up with all the Teletubbies? Is there some Teletubbies resurgence that we just don't know about?

One of our favorite pairs was the green pig and the red bird from Angry Birds. That was awesome. As was the family we saw earlier in Central Park where the dad was Luke, the mom was Leia and the little kid was Vader. Lots of fun. Hope you had a happy Halloween!

Fake Locations

Castle is one of my favorite TV shows. I love the characters, the action, the story, the chemistry, everything about the show. I've watched it since episode 1 and have been really happy to see more people discovering the show. Hopefully it will be around for awhile.

But while I love the show, every so often I get taken out of the story when something doesn't look quite right. The show is set in New York but they film in Los Angeles. Usually I don't notice, but last night I did.

They claimed that a victim lived at 35th and 8th, and showed the suspect this picture:


The only problem is that 35th and 8th in Manhattan looks nothing like this. (Street view it.) It's a very crowded, non-green area near Madison Square Garden and Penn Station filled with old skyscrapers. There's no wide sidewalks with large plush trees. There's no spacious residential buildings with a fence, and there's certainly no grass. I paused and rewound the episode to make sure I heard them right.

It occurred to me that maybe it could be another borough but 8th Avenue in Brooklyn doesn't cross 35th Street because of the cemetery, and I looked up all the 8th Avenues in Queens and they don't cross a 35th Street either. Nothing in the Bronx or Staten Island that I know of.

It's certainly not a big deal but it wouldn't have made the story any less effective to show a picture of a skyscraper (except they're not always very distinctive) if you're going to use that address. The perils of living in NYC ... you can nitpick all the shows set here that don't film here!

Fun New Toy

I got a shiny new iPhone on Saturday. I probably don't need to tell you that it has been a ton of fun. But besides the fun games, there was one app I was really looking forward to - the Sleep Cycle app. It's supposed to track your movements when sleeping to determine when you're in deep sleep mode so that it can wake you up (within 30 minutes of your set time) when you're in less of a state of deep sleep. I am really hoping this works so that I can try to become a morning person. Sleeping before 2:30 am would help that too. Maybe tomorrow. Can't wait to see my sleep graph in the morning!

Thanks CBS

CBS announced today that they were giving full seasons to all five of their freshman TV shows. They are:

The Defenders (yay!)
Hawaii Five-0 (yay!)
Blue Bloods (yay!)
Mike & Molly (initially wanted to watch, time slot too packed, so don't care)
Crap My Dad Says (why?!)

I'm still not sure why the last one is a show... but I'm just thankful to CBS for giving full seasons to 3 of the new shows I actually like! Happy Thursday news!

A Shaky Start

Note: This post was written in Amsterdam to post later. It's a little long... but we have a lot to say about this!

We had been looking forward to our vacation in the Netherlands and Belgium for weeks. Probably more like months, but our wedding reception planning limited our ability to actually research the trip for some time. We couldn’t wait to get to Europe, experience the cities, soak up the history and soul of the towns and the neighborhoods, and try all the different foods.

We were scheduled to leave on a Friday night. Things didn’t quite go how we expected.

First, we stressed over Hurricane Earl and whether or not he would cancel or delay our flight. The storm was scheduled to be right by us right around the time we were leaving. Excellent. We followed the weather forecasts ever since Earl started heading up toward the East Coast and fretted over its impact. Luckily at the last minute, things took a turn and he ended up further offshore than we expected. Potential crisis averted.

Source
Second, things were crazy busy at work for M the few weeks leading up to the trip. She didn’t sleep much the week before the trip (and the night before, that “sleep” was a nap at 8 am, figuring this could be like a Spanish siesta and help get adjusted to the time difference). It was so busy that she didn’t start packing until an hour before we were scheduled to leave for the airport. Not the best planning there.

Third, the MTA almost made us miss our flight. It was a frustrating, miserable few hours. It only takes an hour to get from our apartment to JFK. You hop on the E, take it to Jamaica, hop on the Air Train and you’re done. You don’t hit traffic, the train whizzes along and you’re at the airport an hour later. Sometimes there are delays and it takes a little longer. Sometimes there are diversions and you end up traveling locally in Queens instead of express (which the E usually is) but those are usually planned in advance and you can adjust accordingly.

So we were late and frustrated, and then we ended up waiting in the station for an E train for almost half an hour. Unbelievable! We were well within the rush hour peak traveling period and there were no trains. At least 2 A trains and 2 C trains passed through and then finally the E came chugging in. We were relieved but hadn’t been extremely upset because, although late, we would still make it in time for our flight even if it took an hour.

An hour later and we were in Queens near the border between Woodside and Jackson Heights.

WHAT THE HELL MTA?!

We had been moving really slowly. It was the slowest moving E train we had ever been on. We could walk faster than the train. We were doing great in Manhattan. The lag time started picking up when we hit Queens. We dragged along like we were meandering on the subway tracks. We stopped. Every time we’d get a “thank you for your patience” or “there is a train directly ahead of us” or some other increasingly annoying message. After some time, how much can you believe? How can there be a train in front of us if we’re stopping all the darn time for long stretches? Something wasn’t adding up.

With only 5 stops remaining before we were free the conductor announced that because of an incident we were going on the local tracks. Not only did we go on the local tracks but we then proceeded to spend about 5 minutes stopped in each station, more time stopped between them... It was incredibly frustrating and we were sure we would miss our flight, increasingly so with every stop.

We finally pulled into the 65th Street station. Another train, I think an F, whizzed by. (Confused ... weren’t they supposed to be local and we the express?) Then we stopped. For a while. The conductor got on the intercom (and we could actually understand what he was saying) and said that there was a sick passenger on the train in front of us and we were going to be at this station until the situation was resolved.

You. Must. Be. Kidding.

Source. We didn't take these train lines to the airport but it's kind of accurate for how we felt about the MTA on our way there.
It started to get a little frantic on the train. It was crowded. Lots of people were standing and packed into the subway cars. Plenty of people with luggage on the way to their airport griping about missed flights. M wondered, as she fought her within-crowds claustrophobia, if the MTA could write an excuse letter to get us onto the flight since we were delayed for their problem, since they write those letters if people are late for work. Doubtful. We felt bad for the sick passenger but we were completely stuck with no options and that sucked!

What were we going to do? We were already cutting it close because we left so much later than planned, the train had gone ten times slower than usual and now we were stuck for an indefinite amount of time in a part of Queens that really isn’t known for having cab traffic.

We got off the train. It was better than sitting through it and not knowing whether or not our waiting and not seeking another option was costing us the seats on our flight. It was like an episode of Amazing Race: stay with option 1 and hope it works out because you’ve already invested so much time or cut your losses, try option 2 and hope it comes through.

First thought was maybe we try the LIRR if we can’t get a cab. After a panicked call to M’s parents, they suggested one of the car service places that advertises all over TV and that you usually have to call in advance. We tried but they weren’t coming up with anyone in the area. It was looking more and more likely than we would miss the flight.

Then a little white taxi came up to the corner. We must have looked like panicked wrecks on the corner with luggage. He offered his services. We took him up on it. The nice man in the little white car quickly got onto the highway and got us to the airport. We checked in our bag. We watched it go through security. We even had enough time to eat a heated BBQ chicken baguette sandwich before getting on the flight (which had been moved up 15 minutes without any notice). I think we got to the airport before we would have if we had stayed on the train and it had left right after we got off (which it didn’t). We are so thankful to the nice man in the white car. I don't remember his name and doubt he is reading this, but THANK YOU. He saved our trip. We gave him a good tip. He deserved it.

Our last minute meal at the airport once we finally made it
So after a shaky start where the trip looked in doubt… we made it. Next time: the awesomeness of KLM.

Recaps

It's been over a month now since we returned from the Netherlands and Belgium (sad), but we're going to start recapping our trip so we don't forget it (although I'm sure some of the details are already lost). We have been recapping on the food blog for a bit now but we're only 3 days in because there is so much to say! Hope you'll bear with us as we take a trip down (happy) memory lane even though the posts will be inbetween other posts about our current life. We'll tag all of the trip posts with the "2010 Europe Trip" label so it's easier to follow along. We loved our trip and can't wait to tell you all about it! Hopefully we'll finish blogging about it by the end of the year. :)

Results

I spent an hour at the chiropractic and physical therapy place. Seems like I have exactly what my mom thought it was - piriformis syndrome/sciatica. An hour of physical therapy has helped to the point where I can now walk without screaming in pain and stopping every 10 steps, so that's an improvement. But it seems like it might have been a result of trying to stand all day. I try to make a healthy change to my life and get hurt as a result? WTF!

Shooting Pain

I think I may have sciatica. Yesterday afternoon what I thought was my hip started bothering me. I thought it was because I recently switched to a standing desk setup from my usual sedentary life. I exercised and stretched a little and then sat without moving since it was more comfortable. The pain got worse by the hour to the point where right now I can barely walk. Hoping Aleve will work enough that I am able to walk to the chiropractor's office soon.

I had no idea what it could be until I mentioned it to my mom this morning and she suggested sciatica. I looked it up online and found the following description of sciatica, which is spot on:

The pain may be dull, sharp, burning or accompanied by intermittent shocks of shooting pain beginning in the buttock travelling downward into the back or side of the thigh and/or leg.

(I can't get the link to the site where I found that because it was on my blackberry and when I go to the site here, it doesn't say the same thing!)

Hoping the chiropractor and/or physical therapist will be able to do something to alleviate the pain. It's currently a 9 (since I'm sure something can be worse, even though this brings tears to my eyes) but I keep thinking about upgrading every time I get up and walk. The one block walk to the chiropractor looks like a mile right now.

State of Fall TV

It's week 5 of the fall TV season and "lackluster" is a good word to describe this year's crop of new shows. There's very few shows that I would say I really like. I'm not sure if this is because we're behind on so many shows and I would feel more attached to them if I saw more, or if they just kind of suck. I have sampled a lot of the shows and here's how they stand for me so far.

Shows I Like
These don't rise to the level of "love" (nothing this season does) but I would miss these if they went away.

The Defenders (up to date): Of course the one new show I really like is possibly in trouble because CBS has too many well-performing shows. This show is just pure fun. I don't care about the law. I just love watching the characters and the fun and ridiculousness. It's light-hearted and a good time. I hope it lasts.

Nikita (4 watched, 2 behind): It's fun and has a good story going. (Funny how the new CW shows are 2/2 for me.) I hope this gets a full season order at some point.

Blue Bloods (up to date): I have a soft spot for Blue Bloods because my dad met the cast when they were taping near his workplace last week. And they film in NYC which makes it more authentic. And the stories are good. And it's about a big family. I love shows about big families.

Shows I Kind of Like
I enjoy watching these, I would feel a little sadness if they were gone, but I'd get over it... fairly quickly.

Hawaii Five-O (2 watched, 3 behind): I like Hawaii. I like the cast. I like their chemistry. But in the end it's just a procedural. Maybe I need to watch the other eps.

Chase (up to date): I like the action. The cast is pretty good. But again, it's just another procedural. It's getting a full season (as of today) but I wonder if it'll be around next season.

Undercovers (1 watched, 3 behind): I like spies and relationships, and putting them together is even better. I like the show but I put it in this category because I am resigning myself to the fact that it will probably get cancelled at some point since it's not doing well. Therefore, I should keep myself from liking it too much.

Hellcats (3.5 watched, .5 lost by DVR & horrible CW player, 2 behind): A really fun show which is different from everything else on. It's refreshing. But I don't love it yet. But I can see this moving up to the next category.

Shows I Watch but Don't Care About or Am Undecided On
I think that's self-explanatory.

The Event (3 watched, 2 behind): It's no Lost. But it was interesting and I'm curious to see where they go with it. Parts of it are compelling and parts of it are just bland. I kept tuning out during the pilot because I was bored, but the episodes after it got better. Do I like it? I don't know yet, but I'll keep watching for now.

The Whole Truth (up to date): I like legal shows. This one won't last though, and it's just OK anyway.

Shows I Stopped Watching

Detroit 1-8-7: I usually give shows 3 chances before I give up on them, and I stopped watching this during episode 3. It's not a bad show. I like the diversity in the cast and it seems well done. But it's just not my type of show.

Terriers: The critics seem to love this one, but I thought the 1st 2 eps were just OK. I liked the 3rd one, but not enough to log in to Hulu and watch the rest.

Shows We Still Haven't Seen Yet
Luther
No Ordinary Family

Shows That Got Cancelled Already

Lone Star: I rooted for Lone Star, mostly because it was different. It wasn't the best show out there, but I felt like everything else was a procedural and it would be nice to have something different to watch. I liked the storytelling and wanted to see where they would go with it. Perhaps it should have been something other than a show about a con man screwing over everyone in his life. Who could like or relate to him? I think I was more in like with the concept of a show like Lone Star on the schedule than the show itself.

My Generation: I was in the middle of watching the second ep on Hulu when they announced the cancellation so I just stopped. It was not a good show. I thought I would like it because I love shows that deal with history, high school, relationships, etc. The history segments were cool. The characters all kind of sucked.

Outlaw: I saw the first ep and thought it was ridiculous. I like legal shows but I couldn't care less if I saw this again. At least with The Whole Truth I wanted to see more eps if they made it to air. I completely ignored this after ep 1.

I'm going to check out Walking Dead after Halloween because I heard it's good but I worry that it will be too creepy for me and I may have to abandon it. We'll see.

Hopefully we can knock off that "shows we still haven't seen yet" category soon.

Why is this TV season so ... not extraordinary? Last year was great! Modern Family. Glee. Vampire Diaries. Good Wife. So many good shows. This year? This year people know more about the cancellations than anything else. Why does it suck so much?

Stupid

That's me.

M and I have a storage unit since we moved from a 641 sq ft apartment in Chicago to a 550 sq ft apartment here in NYC. It's amazing how little you can fit in a 550 sq ft apartment. Or maybe you can actually fit a lot provided you don't have stuff that was accommodated by an extra near 100 sq ft.

Anyway, I brought some stuff out to the storage unit tonight to try and free up some space. It was bulky and a little hard to handle, but I was able to carry everything to the garage to put into the car. Once I get there I realized that I hadn't grabbed the access key card to get into the storage areas. Frustrated, I locked up the car and walked back to the apartment to get the card. After finally driving my way to the storage facility, unloading the items, and taking the elevator up to our floor, I realized I hadn't brought the key to the lock. After much cursing and curbing of the desire to kick all of the items up and down the hallway, I made my way back to the car, reloaded everything back into the trunk, and drove back to the apartment.

I left the car double-parked outside our building and ran in hoping beyond hope that the minute or two that it would take me to grab the key wouldn't cause our car to get hit or ticketed. Luckily none of that happened, and I was able to get the stuff moved into the storage unit.

Upon returning to the garage, I was just in time to see someone pulling into the spot I had vacated nearly an hour earlier. Had I not been delayed several times by my own stupidity, I would have been able to park back in my spot on the ground floor right by the exit.

Sigh...

The Dog is Not Amused

Yesterday we went to the Grub Street Food Festival at the Hester Street Fair. We were really looking forward to it, but the place was ridiculously packed, too small for the overflowing crowds and nearly impossible to get food.



This dog has it right. His expression perfectly sums up how I felt about the festival (about which we'll write more later).


He does not look amused. He looks bored with it all. Like one big sigh. When you're waiting on line for a booth with 2 lines going in opposite directions and curling around in front of other booths, but you aren't really sure if you're in line or the crowd is just not moving... yeah, the dog has it right.

At least getting shoved around in the crowd led to one of my favorite photos that I've taken in awhile. Thanks, photogenic dog!

Uncle Gussy's

Food from a Greek truck? Yes, please.

I went to Uncle Gussy's, a truck located on 51st and Park, today for lunch. I wanted to take a walk and then got my mind set on a chicken pita, so I headed over. My plan B if the line was more than 20 people was to head back a few blocks and get chicken over rice from XPL.


Uncle Gussy's has pitas, platters, sandwiches, Greek salads and burgers. They also have daily specials "made by Mom." (Today it was tomatoes stuffed with rice and chopped meat.) The Greek salad sounded really good, but as I said, I was there for a chicken pita. Luckily the line wasn't that long and I quickly put in my order for a chicken pita deluxe.


I didn't really know what the difference was between a pita and the deluxe and didn't feel like asking at the time. I figured, it was my first time there, I'd find out what it was and then adjust accordingly next time. Turns out, unlike at diners where "deluxe" means fries but also the sandwich toppings, deluxe here just meant fries.


I got the sandwich on whole wheat pita. Liked having that option. I didn't add any other extras, so it came with lettuce, tomato, white sauce (tzatziki) and hot sauce.


And a better look at what's inside the pita:


The chicken pita was so good. I definitely want to go back for more, whether it's in a pita, platter or as the chicken gyro topping to the Greek salad. The chicken pita fulfilled my craving. Go visit Uncle Gussy's!

Programming Note

Just a programming note: we may cross-post here some posts that are also on our food blog. Want to check that one out too?

Knee pains

Ever since I was young, I've had bad knees. When I was 8 or 9, I was playing in a soccer tournament when I had 3 players fall on my fully extended knee and hyperextend it. I rested it for about a month, and I was cleared to get back on the field. A year later, in another tournament, we were playing in the semifinal game when out of nowhere, that knee just gave out. I could walk on it, but it felt loose. I couldn't generate any drive off that leg, and kicking was nothing more than me forcibly swinging the leg forward because the knee joint just didn't want to work. Doctors exams and x-rays showed nothing so everyone thought the worst was over. Oh, how they were all wrong...

I'm tall. I was always tall for my age. I grew a lot between 6th grade and 7th grade, and I had some serious knee pains during that initial growth spurt. If you've never had Osgood-Schlatter disease, let me tell you that it's not a pleasant thing. If you didn't go to the link, Osgood-Schlatter disease is a condition where the growth plates in your knee, for lack of a better term, split. The tendons connecting the kneecaps to the shinbones pull away from the shinbones. If you think that sounds painful, I can let you know that, yes, it is very painful.

I was a very active child, much much more active than my mostly sedentary lifestyle. That's part of what caused the issue. Years and years of basketball, soccer, and tennis put wear and tear on my young body. In the end, from ages 11-13 or so, I had to ice my knees after each time I ran even a little. Thankfully I finally stopped growing (when I was 18), but the pain abated soon after I turned 13.

Knee troubles didn't take long to come back, though. Freshman year of high school in 1994, during basketball season, I didn't warm up properly and just jumped into a pickup game. First play in, the opposing team grabbed the rebound and hit the outlet that had leaked out for an uncontested layup. My philosophy is to never give up an easy basket so I took off at a dead sprint. I didn't get there in time and oddly decided to try and stop on a dime. I succeeded, sadly, and in the process hyperextended/sprained my knee. That put me out for about a month, but thankfully I did no real structural damage.

Knee issues over? No, but it would be many years before they would resurface. In 2007, after a nasty ankle injury (my ankles are actually worse than my knees, but that's a different post) I returned to basketball which actually caused the ankle injury in the first place, but I digress. I played an entire season with no troubles. Then, randomly, after waking up from a nap, I couldn't straighten or bend my knee any further than what it was stuck at when I woke up. Instead of calling out to M for help or maybe calling an ambulance, I forced my own leg straight to "fix" it. Much crunching and popping later, I realized that it may not have been the best of ideas for me to do so. Throbbing pain followed my stroke of genius, and a visit to an orthopedic surgeon was made.

X-rays and MRIs later, it was found that I had dislocated my kneecap while sleeping. The tendons in my knee had gotten so stretched from my injuries that the kneecap just slid out of place. Forcing the leg straight did pop it back into place, but I had destroyed a fair amount of the cartilage in my left knee. Luckily I managed to avoid any damage to my ligaments and tendons. Rehab for this injury went for about 3-4 months, and I got myself back on the basketball court (no, I never learn). Two or three seasons went by, and I wore a brace the whole time. Much of my mobility came back, but the knee never felt quite right. It was sore on and off regardless of whether I exercised or not, and I had to take pain medication prior to playing basketball to make sure I didn't feel any pain while playing. The drawback of that, however, was that I couldn't tell that I was destroying my knee in the process.

I took a season off to try and see if the rest and basic rehab exercises would relieve the pain. I then continued to take time off as M and I planned our wedding and attended several of our friends' weddings. It was in August of 2009 that I was in Chicago for a friend's wedding when I found that there really was something wrong. Walking through a revolving door to get back to our hotel, my knee seized up in intense pain. I couldn't put any pressure on my leg, and I basically crumpled to the floor in the lobby of the hotel in pain. Sadly, since M and I were getting married soon I didn't have a chance to get myself checked out prior to the wedding.

It took a month or so for M's insurance company to get me added, and even after that, we were busy with the holidays and trying to dig out of the mess of our apartment. Finally in March of 2010 I was able to see an orthopedic surgeon recommended by many of my basketball teammates. More x-rays and MRIs later, they found a tear in my post-medial meniscus. Surgery was scheduled for early April, and it went off without a hitch. It has now been over 6 months since surgery. I've done endless hours of physical therapy and rehab, and I've been safe about the activities I do. I'm not pain-free, but it's manageable, and it will lessen over time if the surgeon is to be believed. Now I'm finally able to get back on the courts and work my way back to actually playing (seriously, I never learn).

M warns me to take it easy, and to be honest, this time I really am. The old me would have jumped right back in without building my strength back up first. I was hoping that my knee problems would be past me, but I know that I have years of arthritis to look forward to as I grow older.

So you may be asking yourself what this post has to do with anything, and in all honesty, I really don't know. I guess I wanted to put down all of my knee injuries.

Look, it's my knee post-surgery!

Milagro en la Mina

One story gripped most of the world today - the miraculous and amazing rescue of the 33 Chilean miners trapped underground for months. The fact that all of the trapped miners and all of their rescuers made it to the surface in good condition was a miracle. After all of that time, after all of that hardship, after all the things that could have gone wrong - this was truly an amazing human story.

Since last night, I have been transfixed by it, glued to the TV, watching whatever I could. I watched most of the coverage on the Spanish channels, free from most of the useless commentary on the U.S. cable channels (did we really need to know that Mario Sepulveda shares his name with a Los Angeles street?). Of all the channels, I found Telemundo the best because they were the one channel that stuck with the rescue, every minute, every miner, every rescue. Gracias Telemundo.

When I couldn't watch it on TV (i.e., during work), I tried to stream it online but mostly kept up via twitter (I follow a LOT of Spanish news sites) and blogs (I liked Guardian's coverage the best). When history is happening, it's not something to ignore, even when you're at work. Especially something as amazing as this.

I don't know much about mining. But it seems dangerous and treacherous, and it's clear that the conditions miners work in aren't the safest. One thing that was on my mind throughout the entire time they were trapped there, but which I didn't dare voice for fear of jinxing it (not that I think I can jinx the entire operation, but why add a risk?), was earthquakes. With all the earthquakes Chile had in the recent past, what would happen if an earthquake struck near the miners? With everyone working toward the goal of rescue, would they be trapped there if the earth shifted? It's too horrific to think about, and luckily it didn't happen.

There are so many images I won't forget from the rescue. The beat up capsule, every time it rose to the surface, saving another life. The scene inside the mine every time another person was loaded into the capsule, filled with hope. The rescue of the first miner, a milestone step, knowing that someone who had suffered for so long was finally free. The families and their emotional reuniting - you could feel the love, the worry, the relief. It's making me tear up writing about it! Miner #2, Mario Sepulveda, emerging from the capsule cheering and running around, as the paper said, as if he had won the World Cup. His enthusiasm and happiness were infectious and he made me smile through the tears. The miner who proposed to his long time girlfriend from underground and their long hug when they reunited. Trying to figure out whether Yonni Barrios was meeting his wife or his girlfriend when he got out. The last miner, the foreman, and the celebration when all 33 miners were rescued and safe.

So many things could have gone wrong in the rescue. What's most amazing is that, between all the miners and all the rescuers, nothing did. Everyone's fine. Everyone's more than fine -- they're out of the mine, they're with their families, they are back to their lives.

Milagro en la mina, indeed.

Ramble On!

Hello! Welcome to the world of the rambling pandas.

Who are we? M and A. We are best friends who got married exactly one year ago today. We are starting this blog on our first anniversary to start sharing and recording our lives - both everyday adventures and exciting faraway journeys. We love pandas, we love to travel, we love TV, and we love to eat.

This blog will have a lot of random musings as we offer a small glimpse into our lives. We plan to talk about everything and nothing at all. As the name suggests, be prepared for a whole lot of random rambling.

Welcome to our world. Pull up a chair, grab some popcorn, and enjoy our wild, little ride.