Icky Sticky boat ride

Now that B is working in JC and is no longer my commuting buddy in the morning, I'm starting to explore alternative commuting routes. When I take the Path train from Exchange Place to the World Trade Center and then north to Times Square, it takes me 45 minutes to get to work (door to door).

Today I experimented with the NY Waterway Ferry from Paulus Hook to 39th street. The walk to the boat was 5 minutes shorter than my walk to the Path, and then the boat ride was only 15-20 minutes long. However, afterwards I had to get on their shuttle bus and ride it to Times Square. Door to do this trip took 60 minutes. Plus, it cost $2 more than my normal route.

Even though I won't be taking this route on a regular basis, it was a really fun trip. The boat travels up the hudson river to Pier 79, making a quick stop in Weehawkin on the way. It was a very novel experience. Plus, everyone on the boat got a seat (which often doesn't happen on the path and the subways). The only thing that wasn't great about the actual boat ride was the weather today. It's hot and humid (78 degrees - 85% humidity), and my skirt was sticking to my legs by the end of the trip.

I would love to try this trip again sometime on a crisp sunny day.

Hear ye hear ye!

I haven't really posted much about my hearing problems here, but now that I have an update I might as well. Back in February I suffered from Sudden Hearing Loss. When it first happened, my hearing was completely gone. After lots of acupuncture, lots of pills, and three steroid injections into my eardrum, I've regained somewhere between 50-75% of my hearing (The amount I can hear varies daily and depending on the setting I'm in -- it is very difficult to hear when there is background noise such as air conditioning, vacuum cleaner, wind, chatter, etc... it is much easier to hear when it is pin silent).

To help cope with the hearing loss, I've gotten a hearing aid. At first, I thought it was great. I really noticed an improvement in my hearing with its help. Unfortunately, it seems as though my hearing changes fairly regularly (a symptom that my hearing loss might possibly be due to an auto-immune problem). Therefore, some days the hearing aid is a great help, while on other days it feels like it does nothing. The last few days it has felt as though my aid isn't helping me at all. Right now, I don't even know why I'm wearing it... I wonder, is my hearing getting worse? Or is my hearing aid not working? I sure hope its the aid not working :-(

Lee Child - book sigining in NYC

I'm so excited. Lee Child (Author of the Jack Reacher Books) is going to be in NYC signing books on July 16th. Depending on whether or not I'm working, I so want to be there!

July 16, 2009
6:30 PM
Madison Square Reads
Madison Square Park
23rd Street & 5th Avenue, in front of the Farrugut monument
New York, NY 10010
Borders to provide books available for purchase.
www.madisonsquarepark.org

To see if he will stop by your home town, check this out: http://www.leechild.com/appearances.php

Ahhh, vacation

My week in Sweden is going entirely too fast. I've had a great time so far. For those who are curious, here is a quick recap:

Thursday - Flew from Newark Airport to Stockholm Airport

Friday - Arrived at 12:00 in Stockholm. Spent 6 hours walking in the airport and drinking a beer on the side walk while waiting for our plane to Kristianstad. Upon arrival, we had dinner with the family before going to bed.

Saturday - We went to the lake and spent the day in the sun and in the water with Ulrica, cousin Jenny, Lasse, their daughter Linnea. Afterwards, we went to the store for some ice-cream and also picked up some wild boar jerky (this particular store also sells alligator jerky, bear jerky, ostrich jerky, and a large assortment of exotic dried meat). The jerky wasn't very good, but at least it was memorable. Later that night, Ulrica and Andreas had a joint birthday party in Andrea's barn up at Norragarden. It felt very "Anne of Green Gables". The barn was lined with picnic tables which were decorated with candles and wild flowers. The barn walls were covered with leaves to make the barn more festive and Christmas lights were hung from the rafters for light (it got dark around 10pm). Andreas set up his speakers, and we all hooked up our ipods for some music. We had tacos, wine, and lots of beer. It was a nice night.

Sunday - It rained most of the day. We played cards on the porch, and ate tacos (take 2) with Farmor and family for dinner. Later, B and I went to Kristianstad with B's friend Mattias to watch Transformers 2. I surprisingly enjoyed the movie. It was definitely better than #1. Maybe I enjoyed it because I went in with low expectations.

Monday - B and I took the ATV out for a ride. I was enlisted to pick up some stuff left in one of the fields, and managed to get the ATV up to 60 KPH on the way home. It was fun! I hope to do it again. Later, B went to a soccer game with his dad, while Ulrica went to Kristianstad with some friends for a concert. I stayed home and went for a long walk in the rain, took a nap, and read my book. It was gooooood.

Tuesday - B and I went for a long bike ride. I showed him a few places I had discovered during my walk on Monday, he showed me a few places he had never taken me before. We stopped at his cousin Emma's place and visited with her, Henke, and their two kids: Moa and Elize. Then we had waffles with jam and cream at a historic park (I'll have to get the name from him later). Later, B went fishing with his friend Jimmy while I stayed home.

Wednesday - I went for my birthday massage (cranio sacral therapy - Ulrica knows me very well - THANK YOU ULRICA!). This was followed by lunch with Farmor, B and Ulrica at the local Gasthus. The day was finished up with a trip to Hastvadamarknad, a local fair with booths and games, etc...

I can't wait to see what Thursday and Friday have in store for us.

Sookie Stackhouse & Reacher

For anyone that is paying attention, I ended up buying the first Charlaine Harris book: Dead Until Dark. I think it is a fun and fast read and I'm really enjoying it. I plan on buying the whole series for my e-reader as soon as I finish the first book. I also picked up "Gone Tomorrow" by Lee Child. I haven't started it yet, but I haven't yet been disappointed by one of the Reacher books.

Which book to buy?

I am getting ready to start packing and picking up last minute items for my trip to Sweden. Before I start actually packing, I like to make lists. A major hole in my list is which books I'll pack. I normally have a list a mile long of books that I want to read, but for some reason nothing on that list is popping out at me right now. I want something light and fun. Maybe a little adventure and intriguge, YA or Chicklit. I can't decide.

I have been debating whether to start the Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris, but I'm feeling a little tired of vampires. What to do, what to do...

Worst case scenario, I'll stick with my standbys: Lee Childs, Vince Flynn, John Grisham, and Linda Howard.