I guess my blood is just the gift that keeps on giving. For donating my blood last week I have gotten:
10$ Book store gift card, 100$ gas card, 3 hours of comp time, the free juice and cookies, and then today I found out I won the little raffle they do after each drive and I got 2 free tickets to a Mets game in September. Woo!
Is there nothing blood can’t do?
This is going to be a long week. Next weekend is a long weekend (woo for labor day) but of corse I got stuck working Saturday at the lab. Feh! This past weekend we didn’t do too much. Walked along Myrtle ave. Saturday doing a little shopping (mmm…kinder eggs), Sunday it rained so we took the car and hit K-mart and Stop and Shop. Exciting life I know!
Works been going fine. A little crazy last few weeks split between doing: drug testing, admin office, and hair and fibers stuff. The trace work is interesting, for a change. So far I haven’t had anything too bad, some clothing and a bed sheet on Friday. All processed the usual way….pat pat pat with sticky tape. Just like on CSI.
So far no Labor Day plans. If it’s nice I would like to go to Forest Park for a little picnic, just have to wait and see.
Yesterday we went to CT to see my parents and visit Ikea. Meg is now an Ikea addict! She saw…well about 2000 things there that she wanted. Needless to say she didn’t get 2000 things but we did pick up a bookcase, dresser, DVD shelf, and chair, as well as a few other odds and ends. Amazingly enough we were able to fit it all into Meg’s car, it was a close call but a little trial and error and some moving of the seats and we got it all to fit.
The apartment it self is finally getting into some sort of decent shape. The girl still has some boxes of clothing to put away and some books to sort though but were in good shape. The furniture looks good but was just oodles of fun to put together. A dresser IS not supposed to fold into a flat box. But I was able to manage.
Today was grocery shopping day (after finishing the furniture assembly). Meg was excited because they had her soup. *I* was horrified because this is how she ate her soup:
Thats right…cold…un-diluted….out of the can…
She doesn’t get why I was so horrified. I just though it was ….odd is all I guess….but maybe it’s just me….
Well I am getting settled back into a semi-normal work/home routine after my vacation. Meg seems to be doing well too getting settled into my/our apartment. She has even made me dinner 2 nights in a row, which I warned her, was something I could get used to. I also had my first fun with being a car owner last night. Because NY is stupid I had to move the car to the other side of the street. Well seems that the back door wasn’t closed tight, in fact it was open enough for the dome light to be on, for two days. So needless to say it didn’t want to start up. So I panic having no idea what to do, I really wanted to move the car so as not to get a ticket today. Finally I ended up asking a taxi guy who was waiting for someone one house up, and for a negotiated price of 7$ he was able to give me a jump with one of those portable units and I got the car started and moved. Fun fun! So yah I got to get some jumper cables for the girls car if nothing else, and soon. I also sign
ed up for roadside assistance though my cell phone, I figure 3$ a month is worth it, should this ever happen again.
Work is going fine, seems I didn’t miss much. I did find out that I will be going down to do my 1 day a week in trace evidence starting this Friday. So that should be interesting/different.
This Saturday we are probably going to hit New Haven to see my parents, and I would like to try and go see the much anticipated movie “SNAKES ON A PLANEâ€. So just have to wait and see on that.
Otherwise all is well, though I would rather be back on our cruise ship right now then working but ah well.
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So as I posted before we made it to NYC alive! It has been a insane two weeks! To recap I left for FL on Aug 3. Flew in to Jacksonville on Jet Blue (which I totally loved, free wifi and direct TV at my seat). Plus my timing was good because 2 weeks later and I wouldn’t of been able to bring my bottle of water with me. Anyway teh_girl picked me up at the airport and we went back to her house. That night we had a special graduation dinner with her Mom, Step-dad, and grandparents. Had prime rib and mashed potatoes (per her request) with Ice cream cake as a desert. Then it was time for graduation presents! I got her a black 1gb Ipod nano, which she really liked. Then she opened her parents/grand parents present:
Friday we spent visiting with her Dad and step-mom (which was also my first time meeting her dad so yah that was fun) but all went well! Then Friday night was the big night and my girly graduated! W00T!
Saturday we spent with her Dad/step-mom and sister/sisters BF. Did lunch, a movie (Miami Vice…blah), and a quick trip to the beach.
Sunday it was cruise time! We drove down to Port Canaveral and by Noon were on our cruise ship the M/S Sensation. Because our room wasn’t ready yet we hung around on the Lido deck in the Sea View grill and had us some free cruise ship food! Seriously there is food everywhere all the time. Not a place for those on diets. Finally we got to go to our cabin which we discovered was one with a window! (which is very lucky from what we were told). The cabin it self was nice, larger then I expected actually, though not by much. We spent the rest of that first day (after the lifeboat drill) relaxing and exploring the ship. That night we had our first fancy dinner in the Fantasy dining room. We had a late dinner seating, eating at 8:30 pm which was good because late=no kids. The food was just amazing, its a very fancy setup. I had more forks than I knew what to do with, and we could order as much of whatever we wanted (most nights Meg ordered two deserts). Over the 4 days we were there for dinner I had Lamb, Chicken, Jerk Pork Tenderloin, and Veal Parm. for dinner. The deserts were all really good/unusual too (roasted pineapple, lavender and basil ice cream, along with more normal stuff like cheese cake and pumpkin pie).
Monday, our first full day, was in Freeport and we ended up going Snorkeling! It was a lot of fun (even if Meg isn’t exactly partial to fish touching/bumping into her). When we first got into the water there were a few fish down near the bottom of the super clear blue water. But then the guys on the boat started throwing bread into the water and then there were entire schools of multi-colored fish all over and between us and the boat. The seas were a bit rough that morning so by the time we were done we were both quite tired. That and because there is like nothing near the docks in Freeport meant we didn’t really explore much else of the island, just went back to the ship to relax (which was fine with me, plus by the time we got back the ship was going to leave in like 3 hours anyway so we wouldn’t of had much time anyway). That night we did dinner and then went to see the Vegas style show “Curves” which was in the lounge. The show featured the “Sensation dancers” (read women and a few men, dressed quite skimpily, dancing around on stage). But the show was good (Meg REALLY liked the guys dressed up as baseball players singing “I feel pretty”) and just a lot of fun.
Tuesday morning we docked in Nassau and we had signed up for the Historical Highlights/Pirates tour. A van took us all over the island, and we got to see some of the old forts, as well as the different classes of society on the island. The took us though the “poor” areas as well as the “rich” beach front estate areas. One thing though the guide told us about the pour area was that most of the people owned their own houses outright! So that was all interesting. Then they dropped us off at the pirate museum which was cheese as we expected but fun. Had a scale model of a pirate ship and some scenes of pirate life with audio narration of what life on board ship was like back in those days. After we were done with the pirates we set out to explore (read shop) the rest of the island. Meg turned out to be quite the little shopper/bargener and didn’t pay full price for anything she bought, talking them down at least a few bucks on each item. As you can see from the pictures she also got her hair braided by a local girl (15 minutes which turned into 45 because Meg has LOTS of hair) but it came out really cute so it was worth it. I found a few little things to bring back (a wooden carving of the see/speak/hear no evil monkeys) among other things. Plus I got 3 bottles of dirt cheap Bahama rum (8$ a bottle!). Mmmm…just like the pirates used to drink. After a full day of shopping we went back to the ship, had dinner and went to see the show which was a comedian and juggler (One of the girls who was at our dinner table said she expected him to juggle fire or snakes or flaming snakes!) sadly it was not to be but he still put on a good show.
Wednesday was a “fun day at sea” which we spent relaxing up on deck enjoying the nice weather and the ocean breezes (we even saw two dolphins off the side of the ship at one point which was really cool, as well as a few flying fish!) That night we had our last fancy dinner and saw their 80′s music review show “not over yet” which was a lot of fun also.
Thursday sadly it was time to return to civilization and we docked back in Fl and drove home to Meg’s parents house in Jacksonville. We really didn’t have much time to relax because we had to finish packing her stuff up and getting ready for our drive to NYC.
We left Friday morning around 10:00 am and drove till about 6:00 pm which put us in the town of “Rocky Mount, NC”. Which we decided was a good place to stop for the day. Got a room at the Hampton Inn, because it was there and had free WIFI and Breakfast. We did dinner at Outback across the street from the hotel (where there was a man complaining about the ranch dressing being too spicy when it never was before and how it was because of the Mexicans or something, hey I did say this was in North Carolina!)
We set back out Saturday morning and drove the rest of the way home. Finally making it in around 7:00 pm (would of been 6:00 if it wasn’t for the damn Jersey Turnpike) we were tired from sitting all day so we actually got most of Meg’s stuff out of her car because it meant getting to stand/walk around some. We ended up leaving a few boxes of books in there for today and got some china food for dinner to celebrate our first night together in the appt!
So there you have it, in obscene detail, and probably one of my longest blog posts ever. Tomorrow I go back to work while the girl…well sleeps in and gets to be lazy while she looks for a job! I REALLY don’t want to go back but sadly I must I suppose! Ah well! Just be sure to stay tuned for the New Adventures of Andrew and Meg in the big city and elsewhere (I got a car finally! woot!) Too bad I can’t afford to drive it because of the price of gas…I guess it’s the thought that counts 
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We drove from FL till about 6 yesterday and spent the night in Rocky Mountain, NC. Left there around 8:30 and drove all day (with stops) until we got into NYC around 7! (stupid traffic on the NJ turnpike). Got most of Megs stuff out of the car, just a few boxes of books. Right now we are finally taking it easy, got some china food, and just want to rest! It IS good to be home though!
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Only got a quick second. Got back from the cruise yesterday. We both had a blast. Will do a better post-cruise update with pictures in a few days because in about 10 minutes Meg and I will be setting out from Jacksonville, FL to start our drive up to NYC! W00t! We have everything packed as far as I can tell and are just getting the last minute stuff and then we are off. So unless we find a hotel with free WIFI tonight don’t expect to see any updates until we hit NYC which (god willing) will be some time Saturday!
Wish us luck!!!
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Well for those that don’t know I can now share the surprise. Meg’s graduation present was not in fact a pony but rather a cruise that her family got for her (and me)! We leave Sunday and don’t get back till Thursday, and will be visiting the Bahamas. Yes I plan to take lots of pictures, and hopefully even some underwater ones if I can convince the girl to go snorkeling! Needless to say Meg is very excited, I mean I am too but I have know about this for about a month and a half so I have had time to calm down a bit
So yah that was the big present, I got her an Ipod nano as a gift, which is nice, though is no cruise. Tonight she graduates officially, tomorrow we do some stuff with her dad/step-mom and her sister and get ready, and Sunday we sail away! I can’t wait!
Hi from the airport! Go JetBlue free WiFi! It may be a bit slow but, hey it’s free so I can’t complain. Airport was uneventful, had to take off my shoes and all that fun stuff. I just had a really good/cold smoothie and am just waiting for my flight, I have about an hour and a half till I board. Which is actually reasonable for me, usually I am waiting a good 3 hours at the airport
Well best save battery life for the flight it self! Next update….FL!
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Suitcase is packed, just have to finish doing my carry on bag which will be my laptop and stuff so thats the very last thing I will do. Just have to shower and dress and I am ready to go! (holding off on the shower/dress part because if I shower now I will just be gross and sweaty by the time I walk out the door).
I usually end up bring back a little bit more then I left with when I go on vacation but this time I will be bring back a car, several boxes of books, clothing, dvds,….oh yah and a girl!
Ok off to find pants I suppose (Stupid federal pants on a plane laws)…though I do with I could take nippy with me…because then (you know where this is going)…..there would be “Snakes on a plane!!!”
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W00T! In 24 hours hours I will be in Fl with my girly.
Last day of work was alright I suppose. Went to court, sat there for an hour or two, and then went back to the lab when the perp plead out. That was fun in this heat. Rest of the day went alright, finished up some stuff in the admin office and with Bob, mostly I just watched the clock till it was 6! I now consider my self officially on vacation. I just did a quick load of laundry and a bunch of other random last minute stuff but am now way too hot/tired to pack so I will do that in the morning. I’m a guy so it will only take me like 5 minutes. Just crunch all my clothing into a ball and smoosh into the suitcase
It’s really starting to hit me that in a week and a half I will have another person living here with me…which is good, don’t get me wrong…just very different. I hope nippy isn’t too jealous!
Tomorrow is my last day of work before vacation, it is also going to be one of the hottest days of the year to date. So of corse I get called to go to court up in the Bronx. Whee! What is it with my last days before vacation? Last one I had back in May I had to go to court too! So yah…whee for dressing up in a suit and then having to go to court on a nice hot day. Sigh. Anyway must look on the bright side, after tomorrow it will be vacation time in FL with teh_girl and then drive time from FL to NY with teh_girl! So w00t for that!
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