Archive: Out of Town
Wednesday, December 30, 2009 | 11:33 am | Out of Town
The year I started fourth grade, my parents decided to move me from the private Christian school I’d attended thus far into the public school system. Conveniently, this transition coincided when our district was introducing a new elementary school, so I wouldn’t be the only new kid. That summer, my mom and I visited my school for the upcoming fall so I would know where my rooms were (I’d be switching classes for the first time — oh, dread), and it so happened that my math teacher, Mrs. P, was in her room, preparing for the year. We popped in to say hi, and Mrs. P was warm and welcoming. She introduced herself and her daughter, Dawn, who was sitting at one of the desks, drinking a can of Mug root beer. She had curly brown hair pulled back into a ponytail and wore glasses. Dawn was my age, Mrs. P told us, but she would be attending the new elementary school. We nodded quietly at each other. My mom ushered me out of the room, and we continued on the tour.
As part of my new school, I had tested into the gifted and talented program, which took fourth- and fifth-graders out of their classes for of “enrichment activities” at the high school once a week. At my first day at Enrichment, Dawn was there, too! So, throughout fourth and fifth grade, we solved math puzzles, did miniature research papers, and went to nerd camp. We remained friends throughout high school, despite not having classes together until the ninth grade. Our schedules mirrored each other: Dawn was the marching band drum major, and I was the color guard captain; she was the stage manager of the school plays, and I was the dance captain; and we were both on the math team. There were a few bumps in our friendship due to petty teenager drama, but we came through it in one piece. Our birthdays are one week apart, and we always call to check in. Dawn is one of those friends I talk to about twice a year, and we just pick up where we left off.
Last year, Dawn got engaged! And started medical school in Portland, Oregon! And this year, she got married! On the day after Christmas! In Connecticut!
Um, yeah.
When she called to tell me the date, she was immediately apologetic, but I waved her off. “It’s on the calendar! We will make it work! Let me know if you need anything!” It was understandable, really. She was in school on the other side of the country, and time was limited. Who could blame her?
Practically, it was an ordeal. Christmas is stressful enough without worrying about interstate travel in the winter, and we realized that we’d have to do a lot of fancy footwork in order to take care of Ted, see my family, and trek up to the wedding. The bottom line was that during Christmas “vacation,” we traveled from Pennsylvania to New Jersey to New York to Connecticut to New Jersey to Pennsylvania: five states in five days. My plans included a complicated packing list, a folder of driving directions, a carefully-packed bag of presents for my family, multiple sets of batteries for my camera, instructions on how to navigate the New York subway, regular checks of the weather, and numerous reminders not to forget the wedding card.
It was a lot to manage, but we had so much help along the way. My in-laws took care of Ted for us. My sister made sure our presents were easily luggable for the various modes of public transport we were using. My parents booked us a hotel room five minutes away from the wedding venue to make our transition easier.
After all that, the wedding was really lovely. It was held at a cozy, rustic restaurant, and Dawn and Matt only had one attendant each. After a quick, heartfelt ceremony, we tramped upstairs to a larger reception area, where there was a huge spread of appetizers ranging from raw oysters to sushi to grilled lamb chops. For the first time, we got to sit at a table near the bride and groom, so Amy (the matron of honor), Dawn and I got to talk more than I expected. We compared notes: I had been married for almost five years. Amy had a second baby on the way. Dawn was married and almost a doctor. What the heck happened since high school? It boggled the mind.
Halfway through the reception, the weight of travel bore down on JG and me. We sat at our table with glasses of water, listening to songs like, “Shout!” and “The Twist,” but we couldn’t bring ourselves to join in. No, we agreed, we couldn’t handle those. It was time to turn in. We said our goodbyes, and Dawn and Mrs. P were both effusive in telling us how glad they were to see us. I’m so glad we made the trip to attend this wedding, and the best part was seeing Dawn and Matt so happy.
Over the next two days, we returned to New Jersey to retrieve Ted and finally landed back at home. It was all I could do to unpack, do laundry, and reassemble myself for the next work day. We ordered Chinese food and watched the Community marathon, and I fell into a dazed stupor. Everything we did was necessary and good, but man, Christmas did me in this year.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009 | 11:42 am | Out of Town
Walking briskly down a Dallas sidewalk, I chatted with a woman from the session I had just attended. To my relief, she had jumped at my timid suggestion to visit the original Neiman Marcus store, and we made our way there during the lunch hour despite the gloomy weather. The sun was making a valiant effort to show its face, but the gusty winds batted my hair all around and motivated us to keep a quick pace.
Once we arrived, the store had an eerie stillness among the willowy mannequins and glittering jewelry cases. I felt awkward and conspicuous, as though I were walking too loudly or being too bourgeois, and a salesgirl was mere moments away from swooping in and escorting me out of the place. It didn’t help that my companion and I had no idea where we were going, but finally, we found a store directory by an impressive bank of elevators encased in sleek, gray marble.
We took an elevator up to the sixth floor to Zodiac, a suggestion from Slynnro. The host station was immediately outside the elevators, and again, there was a hush. This time, it was punctuated by the clink of glassware and flatware, and people’s conversations composed a dull murmur. The decor was modern and upscale, full of black and white and chrome. The host seated us at a small table on a raised platform, and it was all I could do to refrain from taking pictures of the silver napkin ring, sassy menu, and miniature floral arrangement. The waiter brought drinks and enormous popovers with accompanying strawberry butter that sported the Neiman Marcus logo. Darn! Another picture I didn’t take!
I ordered the lobster bisque, and it was silky and comforting, just what I needed after a morning in frigid meeting rooms. I racked my brain trying to think of the “proper” way to eat soup. Do I scoop away from me or toward me? Is it okay to tilt the bowl to get the last bit?
Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed two tall, impossibly thin women making their way through the dining room. One was wearing a flowing, leopard-print dress with sky-high heels, and the other had on a gray, pin-striped suit cut closely to her frame. They stopped at each table and gave a little spiel, and their listeners nodded agreeably. Were they models? I wondered. No, that can’t be. They must work for the store. Maybe they are making sure everyone is satisfied. Maybe everyone here dresses like that.
Before long, the two women came to our table, and the one in the leopard-print dress said, “Hello, we’re modeling [a designer I can't recall], and we’re having a reception on the second floor for the new collection. There will be complimentary champagne and desserts, so we hope you can join us.”
What!
We nodded placidly — hey, no big deal, we get asked to stuff like this all the time — but inside, my brain was fluttering. They were models! Who just invited us to a reception!
At first, we were all fired up to go, but sadly, the next session was all too soon, and we had to factor in walking time. Oh, well. At least I can look back fondly on that time I had the chance to get free champagne and dessert at Neiman Marcus.
Friday, July 24, 2009 | 11:16 am | Out of Town
After a long day of wandering around downtown Denver, JG and I trolled Larimer Square for a casual dinner spot, and we stumbled upon Lime. It was sort of a Mexican restaurant pretending to be a night club, with its bass-heavy music and dim lighting, but the food was tasty and the service was fast, so we were happy with the impromptu choice.
Halfway through the meal, the waiter came by with a small plate holding two upturned, squeezed lime halves. “They’re filled with tequila!” he shouted. “On the house!”
What? I looked after him in a daze and then kept eating, fully intending to leave those little limes just as they were, thank you very much.
“Come on,” JG said. “We have to do it.”
“Why?”
“It’s free!” JG has my number; free is my favorite flavor and just my size.
“But I’ve never done a tequila shot!”
“So what? We’ll do it together.”
Cringing, I picked up my lime half and waited for JG’s count of three. I only managed to get some of the tequila into my mouth before coming up sputtering. So awful!
JG eyed my half-full lime. “You didn’t even get all of it! That’s like half of a half of a shot.”
“It was spilling out all over,” I protested. “I guess I could have pinched it, though.”
“Hey, I figured it out.”
Well, excuse me!
We continued on with our meals, and JG commented, “I can’t wait until you tell your sister about this.”
I nodded. “She will flip out. And I still have to finish my margarita.”
Thursday, July 23, 2009 | 7:27 pm | Out of Town
While I was posting about the Gap, my dad’s birthday, and how indignant I get when questioned about my reproductive intentions, I was actually on an awesome vacation! In Denver! We returned from our highly anticipated trip last night, and I am still regaining my footing back in the real world, even though I haven’t touched my feed reader and its — let’s see — 166 items. Yikes.
In lieu of a cohesive wrap-up, I have numerical data! You are all shocked, I know.
Flights taken: 4
Each leg of the trip included a layover in Dallas, where I had never been before, and now have spent a total of two hours. My grand takeaway from that the Dallas-Fort Worth airport is that claiming one of those seats with a built-in ottoman is totally worth it.
Miles driven: almost 500
Our rental car came with a whole 14 miles on it, and we covered a lot of distance between driving around Denver and taking day trips to Colorado Springs and Boulder.
Restaurants patronized: 10
We were fortunate to stay with friends, so we didn’t have to eat out for every meal, but every restaurant we tried was a place we wished we had at home.
Activities accomplished and attractions visited: 18
This number is slightly inflated because there are some sites where we walked through briskly, whether it was our choice or not, and I have denoted those with an asterisk.
Souvenirs bought: 4 for us, plus 5 for the family, and 7 postcards
I had mentally resolved to buy only one souvenir during this trip, which I accomplished with a set of coasters from the Botanic Gardens. JG is not at all a souvenir guy, but he surprised me by buying a t-shirt at both the Olympic Training Center and Boulder Beer, plus two packs of math puzzle cards at the science museum. The puzzles are allegedly for his classroom, but I doubt his motives are entirely pure.
Pictures taken: 402
But per usual, after duplicates, only about 30% of them are really usable. The web album I sent out to our families has about 100 pictures in it.
Pages in our itinerary: 6
You knew there had to be an itinerary, right? How else would I have retained all of these details? What started out as a shared document for brainstorming turned into a chronological arrangement of activities, restaurant possibilities, admission costs, directions, and confirmation numbers. It warmed my little heart.
