Really need to get an iPad 2.

Ive been on the road for about 6 months, but am trying to be home more AND trying to meet up wiht my gal friends, and those guy friends who are a little more colorful.

I already have the UV machine, so I thought we could plan some times to get together, drink some wine and do our nails.

Okay maybe its incredibly cheesy – but I am making an effort!

I have some Base and Top Coat, but you may want a color other than my fave – purple (Rock Royalty)

Here are some links but you can browse Amazon…

Fear of freezing pipes, I called the gas company.

Apparently I owed a balance.

I told them I had forwarded my mail, but never received anything.

“We tracked you down to Bloomington, Illinois”.

I have never lived in Illinois, and isn’t that Indiana?

I Googled my name, and no cross reference to Illinois.

I tried to help the woman later and asked, how did you track me down there?

“We paid a company, and that is what they gave us.”

Could have taken her all of 3 seconds to search me on Google.

I shared that nicely, including the fact we got married and it was on the news.

(Most publicized non-celebrity wedding – but I held back that info…).

She snapped at me:

“That would be your married name. “

I explained that both of our names were listed.

In the end, it turns out she didnt care for my advice, and didnt care her company was paying another company to do shitty work.

Hope she is able to make a better day for herself.

So stalkers unite! Open up a business – I’m sure you can do better than whatever company TW Philips is paying.

Unfortunately it has taken me longer than it should have to remember that life is just better when balanced.

I had become too focused on work the last 6 months, and although I “tried” I did not take time to exercise. That is the sad part, the forgetting part.

Now for the joyous, excited, currently powered-by-endorphins part…

TODAY I HIT THE POOL.

So, it is with great EXCITEMENT that I announce the future fatality and obliteration of the added weight since I had broken my ankle, and the extra European calories that have been hiding out. Prepare to be annihilated.

Im in Newark waiting my connecting flight in the United Club.

I already moved once to get away form the German kid who’s parents havent realized that South Park has had a really nehative effect on his ability to “blend in”

So, it would have been nice to just graba bloody mary and get a good airport buzz going, but my laptop ran out of juice on the way back form London.
Ten minute from landing I notice the sign that describes that there is an outlet connected to my seat.

Was greeted by TSA and security as expected, a lot of rude people and a lot of impatient flyers battling it out.

Keeping my positive. I get to see my honey in 3 hours.

The TSA agent was the first one to say it officially, I remarked on this, how most people assume Miss, and he replied he has to observe these things and he saw my wedding ring.

I just took a snack break. Im finishing a huge project I have been working on for months related to Project Management.
Whoo-Hooo!

I had sardines and crackers in honor of dear old dad. And a stipend for another client in which I need receipts, so I splurged and went to Whole Paycheck.

I wish he were still alive, Id fill my suitcase with these lush sardines packed in lemon infused oil. He would probably scoff at the Pecan Crisps that pass for crackers.
Goodness, I miss him and is cantankerous ways.

I have been working my ass off this year. And now I can say that literally.

Before I start my 18+ hour days, I have been playing Wii Fit, drinking protein smoothies, and trying to get sleep when I can.

I am super excited about the work, but am looking forward to vacation – Burning Man in THREE WEEKS!!!

I cannot dye my hair purple this year – because I am leaving to come back early to teach in NYC.  Yes, cutting my vacation short.

Then it will be off to London. And probably not taking much extended time as we did last year for our pre-honeymoon. I still woudl like to take in sites in Scotland and Ireland.

October is filling up now.

I finally feel relatively comfortable with security of Karmoxie. Too bad self health insurance is so expensive. I have been flirting with the idea of going full-time somewhere else, but at this rte, I think I can afford medical costs to have a baby next year? and any other shenanigans my husband and I get into. We are accident prone, as you may know.

This was to be the year of catching up with friends and although it is only happened a couple of times, I cherish it, and look forward to more.

ELEVEN ELEVEN ELEVEN is right around the corner!

HUGE PARTY AT OUR PLACE

Peeps are coming in from around the country. Now just to get the canucks and euros to show up…

Much love to all, be good to all we meet, they may be having a shitty day and you can be that ray of sunshine

I have been absorbed by getting Karmoxie and Grape Thoughts moving forward, and the last 3 years have flown by.

There have been highs, there have been lows.

Two of the lowest things are:

1. my good friend passed away two weeks ago in an accident. It was very sad, and I have been trying to spend 2011 catching up with friends, but Laura and I had not gotten to see each other in a good many months.  I was just thinking of trying to get together. From now on, no delays.

2. I gained 40 pounds. WTF? It almost seems overnight, but it really had taken some time. Breaking my ankle didnt help. I am on Day 7 in a row of workign out, and today I started the Smoothie Shakedown.  I have a wine tasting event Tuesday but will go light on it. I really like using Ann Louise Gittleman’s advice.  I think my liver is not healthy, so Im not only eating right, but detoxing, and trying to give it a break.

Anyway, as the 89 year old custodian of the Rachel Casron Homestead told me – you get one body and one mind, take care of them.

1.    ask hotel desk guy for key to room since i lost it, he gives me 2 and says to keep 1 in car and one with me. i explain im checking out in the morning, and wont have time to lose it again.
2.    change for gym, grab my bottle for water
3.    grabbed ipod and got in car to drive 2.5 mile to Gold’s gym from hotel
4.    listened to Lynn Rossetta Casper – Splendid Table on ride over about Mexico’s food history. Another reason to honeymoon there. need to decide.
5.    realize gym is next to place i had sushi last night, but i resisted returning for fresh wasabi (mmm)
6.    Get inside gym and realize I don’t have the pass from the hotel
7.    Again, ignore sushi and get back to hotel
8.    As Lynn talks of Mexico – i see a MEXICAN restaurant, am tempted but ignore it
10.    decide to work out in room but first to cook some catfish
11.    bit of olive oil in 1 pan for fish,   and apple cider vinegar in another for greens
12.    Smoke FILLS the hotel suite and i wonder if the alarm will go off
13.    it doesn’t. i add the greens which stops the smoke in that pan
14.    decide to add lemon zest since Lynn’s guest is talking about lemons
15.    after lowering heat, i place the fish which is smeared with oil, and has a generous smearing of red curry
16.    get the fish going nice and well, then use the only small lid available to cover the fish
17.    go out to the car to get my bottle to make cranberry juice
18.    realize i have just locked myself out of the suite
19.    drive frantically over to the office to get another key – and hopefully sop the fish form burning down the hotel room
20.    get back to a nicely blackened catfish and yummy greens
21.    as i write this the ingredients in stump the chef include COLLARD GREENS

Its been hard to take time for myself, but my friend Laurie said I needed to, and we were talking about this recently and writing.

I have code I could be writing, wine blogs I could be writing, but Im taking the night off.

Instead I just wanted to share how today went.

Left Pgh at 5am to get to NYC financial district and setup my classroom for a CSS class.

My room wasnt ready but that was okay because I relaxed and had coffee and breakfast.

Hotel is far from work, but I was happy because my ankle is healed.

I took a break to head uptown and see Samir’s truck for the first time.

The most amazing Moroccon / Mediterranean food in New York City!!!  www.chefsamirtruck.com

Seriously, cous cous with amazing chicken and meat, a butternut squash soup, and Morrocon mint tea.

I am so excited for my friend Samir! Not only is he following his passion, but people of New York are getting to meet and be near this wonderful spirit!

Seeing him made my heart smile.

He is set up near Lexington and 56th, if you are in New York City. This just so happens to be near a Sephora’s.

I went in. My skin is so dry and itchy, I needed some pampering.
I got a moisturizer and a mini roll-on of vanilla-coconut perfume.

This really sweet Puertorican person helped me.  He/she was extremely sweet and sincere.

They shared a natural product with me that they use because they “have to shave”.
Funny, I realy dont know what this person’s situation was,  and it really didnt matter.

They just were nice and pampered me a bit. So much better than the last time I spent time in NYC, and an
accupuncturist/medical doctor made me super uncomfortable.

It was actually nice to hang out for a bit with this person and not feel threatened.
I also got some foundation and a bronzer that they also use.

When I left the store a constructor worker holla holla’d at me. (is that how you say it?)
I ignored him but it kinda was nice. I have felt so bleh lately.

On the subway on the way home, someone had a bag from Costa Rica. A destination we are considering,
maybe it is a sign.

Tired after a later meeting, I headed to the hotel.
I ran out to get some water and toothpaste.

One girl at the counter said she really liked my hat.
The other girl told me I smelled really good.

I know this all is really minor but in the rainy night I felt a bit lighter in my step,
even if my umbrella was inverting and tearing as I made it back to the hotel.

I passed a cute little restaurant I had noticed earlier. No one inside. Felt sad for them. I wondered what they have been doing for their marketing, and how I could offer some advice. I passed the restaurant dismissing this. I really do not need any clients  until at least February.

I then turned around, and went in. The girl was apologetic that they were closing. I told her I had already eaten, but I noticed the place and it was cute. I felt bad it was so empty.  She said that the food is really good and might I come back tomorrow?  I said I might, and asked if they had ever tried GroupOn. She reacted in surprise, saying, Oh my gosh! I never thought about that – I dont think the owner has! She asked me to come back again.

I hope they get business to reflect the energy and attention to detail they obviously put into the place.
It had a really nice feel. Maybe just a bad neighborhood.  By the way, it is called Table Tales Cafe.

Huh. I went to grab the URL for you http://www.tabletales.com/cafe.html and on their site is butternut squash just like my lunch I just wrote about.

On Comedy Central, there was just a robot in a skit talking about molestation. If an acupuncturist comes up, OMG.

Oh, interesting instead it is a guy in makeup.

Time for bed.

Glad coincidences are back and Im feeling a bit chipper!

Well, let me tell you whats got a thorn in my side.

I rented a car from San Francisco Alamo on August 28th.
Immediately, I was getting lights saying that the car needed Oil Maintenance, and I also discovered that the second cigarette lighter outlet did not work. So, no iPod and Navigation system at the same time.

I called Alamo Roadside assistance and they said to take the car to any Firestone or Goodyear.
I took it to the Firestone in Reno who confirmed they have an account with Alamo.
After waiting for 30 minutes, I was told that it would take many hours to perform the diagnostics and change the oil. I asked them to just check the outlet, and when they called Alamo, were told they could not get approval to work on the car for two days.

Okay – so I decided to forget about it. I was going out of MY way to help them maintain THEIR vehicle, and ended up wasting MY time.

So, I head to the desert. I try to leave on Sunday, September 5th. All I want is an Indian Taco, a nice hot shower, and to prepare for a week of interviews with winery owners.

I back up the car, all is well.
I get out to hug my campmates good-bye, and get back in. The car refuses to start.

The first message was, move car to flat surface and depress the emergency brake completely.
Two things – it was already ON a flat surface, AND the thing didnt start so i could not move it.

Then, a new message appeared. It would flash, and was hard to catch.
Looking it up in the manual, it was the “Immobilizer System activated”

The manual went on to say that the car needed to be towed to a Toyota dealership, that the fob was no longer being recognized as belonging to the car, either because it was brought in contact with another fob, or metal.

WTF?

So, I called roadside assistance. This was not an easy feat – I was in the middle of the desert.

Luckily, someone had a satellite phone. This costs $1.50 per minute.

So, I get a hold of someone, relay to him the indicator message, and he says, Yes, you MUST have it towed to a Toyota dealership. He is able to send a tow truck, but needs an exact address.

I explain to him that I am on a satellite phone, in the middle of a desert, in a dust storm, and that the window is stuck in a down position since the car will not power up. I give him exact directions on how to get to my location. He tells, me, No, I need an address.

He starts asking me if I passed such and such street. I explain again that I am in the middle of the desert, exactly how to get to me, that I am on an expensive satellite phone, that the sun has gone down, and I am cold. He keeps asking me about streets, wasting my time.

He says he must be able to see the location on Google Maps in order to send a tow truck. He also explains that the tow truck will take 4 hours to get to me. So? Im STUCK IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DESERT.

I tell him, if he has Google Maps, he can go to a web address and get my location. He says he is unable to do so, and for me to call the police to find out my exact location.

The end result, $40 cash being paid to the owner of the satellite phone, and NO HELP WHATSOEVER from roadside assistance. He told me I would be reimbursed if I found a tow.
He did say he would arrange for a rental car to be available in Reno and gave me the number to call once I had gotten the car towed there.

SO…after 6 hours of having the car stuck in duststorms with the window down, I was able to get a tow.
$180/hour

We get towed about 2 miles, and the driver is told by another tow truck driver, have you checked the rear battery? Rear battery???

They jump said rear battery and the car starts.

Had roadside assistance, or any of the websites that I searched known this, I would not have been stuck all day in the desert.

If you ever get these messages, try jumping the rear battery of your Toyota Prius.

So, we drive all night long to get to Reno. Exhausted. Sleep in the car. Uncomfortable. And no Indian Tacos.

I call Reno Airport Alamo and am told by a nice woman that we will be taken care of, to bring the car in for an exchange and she would adjust the contract. I tell her we are exhausted, and can we bring it in the next day. She says yes.

So, we stay with a friend in Reno, and the next day go to the airport. Bikram listens to our story and says that he will exchange the car, but cannot adjust the contract without his managers approval.
We go to the car, and manager Robin Moon looks briefly inside the vehicle and says that we are being charged $250 for the dust in the car. I explain again the situation with the window being stuck down and the dust storm, but no sympathy.

After continued pleas, and crying, we are told the cleaning fee will be $50 – and will be added to the contract, but will not be deducted until the car contract gets settled in San Francisco, that she cannot make any adjustments.

She said that the fact that someone told me when I called that things would be taken care of meant nothing. That half the time when you call, you get someone from out of state. It seemed a negative to me that I would be getting different points of view and that different locations or people would be giving me different information.

Bikram assures us the $50 will not be charged, and that San Francisco Alamo will take care of us and the contract based upon our troubles.

The card they have on file emails me when I am charged anything. Interesting…I was charged $50 by Alamo the next day.

Im in the middle of interviewing winery owners for www.grapethoughts.com and it is not convenient to get myself to the airport at this point to deal with the situation.

I hope to post an update soon that ends this story on a good note.