I’m a traitor

I  recently went to a “darker” side.

I’m at Squarespace, for now. I’m trying it out.

I like it.

So for “now” I’ll be there.

Overclockedmom.squarespace.com

Made good on my promise and some other stuffs

Now when I say I’m going to do something to make it up to them, I always keep my word. Which says a lot because my intentions are always good, but sometimes I can’t always keep every promise. Though I try my absolute best to all the time.

Getting back into the flow of work wasn’t so bad. When I came back my coworker Wanksta also came back from Okinawa, he was also on a trip for The Company, he brought back some cool JDM gifts for me. Even what we like to call the Rice Patty hat, which was the coolest gift ever.

But this weekend to make up for my absence and so Dustin and Kayla can return home saying they did something weird, I made plans to go tubing down the old cane road irrigation ditches. Now that does sound dirty, but it really isn’t. It was actually pretty laid back, fun, a great history lesson, and some great scenery.

The crappiest part of it all?

Waking up at 6am when we all went to bed around 1am or so. I was surprised my fat ass actually got up. Needless to say no one else was very happy. It’s a good thing it’s only up the road from our house.

I saw parts of our paradise “back yard” I never knew existed. The tour was awesome. The ride was pretty cool. Water wasn’t nearly as cold as I thought and hoped it would be. The only down side, was the damn disrespectful tourists that were on the tour with us. In end everyone had fun and we had yet another great memory together.

Sadly, my brother leaves tomorrow. 😦 So tonight we went out to dinner to stuff our faces full of sushi.

I remember when my brother first moved to the island. It was about 3 years ago, the siblings and I went to go eat Genki Sushi one afternoon and I picked up an ahi nigiri plate. Of course I asked my brother if he wanted some. His reply?

“Oh no I only eat tuna.”

Yea………. Ahi = Tuna. DER!

He did try and he loved it. Since then he’s opened up to a lot of sushi stuffs. My sister too.

Now Preston on the other hand…… I have to force it down his throat.

When I first met him I knew he was a mama’s boy. He NEVER ate what he should, aka veggies, he picked apart everything so he only ate the meat, aka chicken ceasar salads, and heaven forbids he eats a damn raw tomato.

I’ve gotten him out of his shell to atleast try everything once. So sushi, it’s slowly growing on him.

It grew enough on him to try Uzura – quail egg – sushi. Now I will admit quail egg somewhat made me shiver and I gagged, but if it’s on the menu someone must have thought it was tasty and I should give it a try. But why not make Preston try with me too?!?! I love torturing him, birthday or not. 🙂

Anyways, dinner was fun. It was long and service took ages, but we had fun. So much to talk about and literally very little time to do it in.

After dinner we came back home where 3 days prior I stole Naomi’s recipe for fried ice cream and made us some gourmet desserts. Which Nai everyone loved thank you for the recipe. I tried to soak up as much of my brother and his girlfriend as I could.

If I’m lucky I get to see them once a year, I should get our asses up there to see them some time.

I have to say though, some way and some how I always find a way to not really say goodbye. When I figure it out I’ll let you know. But some how I get away without the teary eyed farewells. Simply because I am a very attached person, I hate goodbyes, I hate seeing my loved ways leave to somewhere so damn far away.

I think I must end this entry, I have to say it has to be one of my long overdue scattered brained entries. I was wondering when it was going to show up.

So I leave with more pictures!!!!

Home Bound, Finally.

It’s great to escape every once and awhile. To completely take yourself out of your 24/7 routine and environment and throwing yourself somewhere new. Especially some where you don’t know where you are going, what you’ll be doing, and just taking it one moment at a time.

I’ve loved the last 6 days with Naomi and Devin. We did so much, in a sense it was almost a blur, a fun blur though. They moved away a few years ago to further their lives, better their careers, and to grow into even more amazing people. When I was sitting at the terminal I was missing them already, but I know I”ll see them soon enough. (I might be back to Buffalo in September.)

There was someone I missed even more, my son. I called him every chance I got. I damn near had a heart attack my first night away courtesy of my ex-husband. But when he was home safe with Preston my heart was at ease. Temporarily. I missed him. I cried like a big baby. Guilt fell on my heart.

I didn’t tell him I was going to New York when I left, simply told him I was going away for work, and I’ll be back before he knows it. He’s been wanting to go back to New York ever since we left in January 2008. But due to budget and time I couldn’t afford it, especially since The Company moved my flight up a whole week. Nonetheless I never told Nyx where I went. I was afraid he’d be really upset.

Eventually the smart boy he is found out where I was. It went exactly like this,

Nyx: Mom I know where you are…….

Me: Where am I honey?

Nyx: You’re in NEW YORK! That’s not fair, you went twice. I went only one time.

Me: I’m sorry, but maybe when I come out again you can come. There won’t be snow though.

Nyx: I want to go when there is snow. I’ll wait till there is snow.

I guess I shouldn’t have overreacted, I should have just told him. But he wasn’t too bothered. He knew, he accepted it, then he made sure I brought back lots of presents for him. More specifically he wanted his Naruto ninja outfit with shurikens and sais.

I have to say, which I am sure is common knowledge, it is so much easier to fly west than it is to fly east. The flights didn’t feel so long, the layovers were short, before I knew it I was hope again. Here’s the funny thing, I had to get back to work the very next day. No time to really recover from jet lag. I landed around 730pm, home around 830pm and was straight to bed. I seriously surprised myself when I woke up at 530am and was ready to get to work.

We NEVER wake up on time to get to work.

Saturday was the samething, I woke up at 630am ready to get the day started. I was a mad woman. Preston really just wanted to knock me out. Even though I love vacationing, I have to say with all the stress and headaches I really enjoy being home the most.

What is even better, my brother Dustin and his girlfriend Kayla flew down on the 8th to visit. So I have some plans to make with them, things to do with my boyfriend and I definitely need to make up for Preston and Roxanne’s birthdays.

Albany Day Six

This entire trip has been filled with new things, new adventures, and me discovering how much I love these new things. So why would the last day of my trip be any different?

Before I left for New York, Preston had arranged for us to go kayaking. Never been, better yet never wanted to. Kayaking requires paddling, paddling requires work, work requires me sweating. I’m so pathetically lazy. So when I found out I was leaving a week earlier I was half heartedly happy I missed the kayaking.

For what I missed, Devin and Naomi made sure I made it up 10 folds. Instead of kayaking we went canoeing in Sacadanga Lake. I have never picked up a paddle in my 24 years of life, never sat in a canoe or kayak, and certainly never planned to try. Just never seemed like something I’d enjoy. Mainly because I’ve always had back issues.

But I didn’t want to be a poor sport. I didn’t want to turn down a new opportunity, so I went into it head first and ready to take on whatever may happen.

The canoe was pretty big, it held 3 adults, 2 full grown beagles, and our picnic necessities. So space wasn’t an issue, the issue with me was tipping. Tipping over just sounds so scary, better yet tipping over in the middle of the lake sounds scarier. But I tried to not think of the negatives and focus on the great experience I’ll have.

Taking off wasn’t so bad, it was definitely better than what I pictured in my head. I had quick clips from America’s Funniest Home Videos of people pushing off their canoes and falling in playing in my head. Thankfully none of those happened. It took a while to steady. For each adult to find their balanced center and poor Nai in the middle trying to balance and control two energetic eager beagles in the middle.

Sad to say till I got the hang of it I screamed like a little girl and whimpered. But I overcame that fear, now to only master the paddling .It was weird to get a hang of paddling. Before I knew it I felt like a champ paddler. My paddles were long and deep and I developed my own pace. Thankfully, my back really didn’t bother me. Sitting in the front, paddling, and having the wind brush against my face was so invigorating it was like a freedom I’ve never known. I can totally be a pirate now.

We made our way out in no time, making our first stop on a small island to take a break before I even knew it. Stopping at each island held such a mystery to them. I could totally picture Neverland being one of these islands and coming across the Lost Boys hidden hut. It was as time stood still and the world was at peace. The greenery untouched, the tall tress reaching for the sky, the suns rays breaking through the leaves and lighting some unknown wonders of the forest ahead of you. It was simply breath taking.

Naomi and I needed to reach our picture quota of the day of course. So pictures were to be taken. We even came across our first New York wild life, a pack of ducks. They stayed relatively close to us for photo ops, but far enough that Ceri and Vida didn’t get them.

The ducks also served another purpose other than for our awe. Ceri apparently isn’t a huge water person, she’ll play in it, but won’t really swim. But when she saw those ducks it was as if by the graces of some higher being she determined to get them. She would slowly make her way out to them, swim back to us, swim a little closer to the ducks, and come back to us. Each time she went out to the ducks she got out a little further and further. Before you knew it, she was a pro swimmer and the water was defeated. Sadly, she still get her ducks.

I’m going to make a note here you should remember: at this point Naomi asked me to take one of the dog balls and throw it into the center of the pack so she could get a picture of them running away on the water. Well first of all I’m a bad aim, second when I want to not hit something I usually do, and third just don’t ask me to throw anything I suck. So when I threw the ball it was a direct hit at mama duck. I felt so bad and mama duck was pissed.

We weren’t quite ready to eat yet, so we casted off our 2^nd island, which was the biggest island of them all, and decided to paddle all the way around and make a 3^rd stop at a tiny island across the way and eat lunch there. Well when we got to the 3^rd island it was much too small, and not that nice to eat on.  We decided to return to the 2^nd island, the big one, and eat there.

We casted off like normal, paddled like normal, 200 feet out from the shore we tipped like no other. It was out of the blue, completely unexpected. For a brief moment we – Nai and I – panicked, Devin kept his cool, grabbing anything that floated too far, Naomi did her absolute best to keep the dogs close. Had a good scare when Vida was stuck under the canoe, while be clawed at by Ceri because she was trying to stand on her head, and me in complete shock not knowing what to do and in what order. Devin and I tried our best to flip over the canoe, but that somewhat failed. We got it flipped over, but it was still filled with water. We threw the dogs up on top along with anything else we could grab, with the boat still partially underwater all 3 of us pulled and swam to shore. About 100 feet from shore Vida said “Screw This” jumped off and swam for shore. She had the right mentality, “Every man for him/herself” lol. That must have been the hardest 5 minute swim I’ve ever done. I’m totally out of shape.

So that side note you needed to remember? Well during that whole ordeal that same pack of ducks sat about 5 feet from us and I swear they were laughing. Just quacking away knowing we, I deserved it. I brought bad juju upon us. Well mama duck we are even, we are even. I still hold true to the fact they flipped us though.

A bit in shock and our nerves racked, we emptied the water from the canoe, unpacked the picnic backpack, and air out our cameras. Sadly, I don’t think Naomi’s camera made it, I’m sorry hun. I really wanted mine to be broken so I can have an excuse to buy a new one, it’s been two years man. I want a new one.

We rested for a little while, calmed our nerves, but it was inevitable we needed to cast off again to get back to the car. My greatest fear of all this came true, so there was nothing else for me to fear. Well other than tipping again. But I was determined to not let that happened. I paddled as hard and as fast as I could. I swear it felt like we got back faster than we got out there. So I guess it worked.

Even with tipping over and panic attack it really was a lot of fun, and I really would do it again. So lo and behold Preston when we get back home we are definitely going kayaking.

I have this to say though, I couldn’t picture ending my visit with Naomi and Devin any other way. My trip was filled with new experiences, thrilling rides, venturing foreign lands, near death experiences,  many memories, deep conversations, a 1000 miles of roads, laughter and love what else could you ever ask for?

Other than more pictures…….

Albany Day Five

It’s weird how everything can change when people start moving away. One day your drinking at their house nearly every weekend for almost 2 years straight, next thing you know they move away and you drink once in a blue moon, if that.

Since Naomi and Devin moved away, a lot of our other friends along with Preston and I hardly drink together anymore. It’s not a bad or good thing. It just died out. But I come to visit Naomi and Devin and BAM it’s like a drinking festival.

Today’s agenda: wine tasting along Cayuga Lake. There are 40 some odd wineries, of the 40 we choose 8 that had something new and different, but among the 8 we only did 3.At each winery you pay $1-$2 to sample 6-8 of their wines. Once again it was another late start, lol.

Another new thing for me, I never did wine tasting. To my understanding I do believe you are supposed to swish and spit when tasting, but who in their right mind will let such good wines go to waste. We drank every glass!

So we began in Seneca Falls, did you know this is where the first women’s protest was? I swear women’s rights were written all over this town. I wish we could have stopped to check it the town and discovered where women’s independence started. Pretty cool…..

Our first stop was Montezuma Winery, cool attraction: they made vodka out of honey. We chose are 6 wines each, sampled each others 6 wines, commented and noted our favorites. I really like the little crackers they give you. Reminds me of the snacks I gave my son when he was still a baby. We ended up buying a couple bottles of wines, bought souvenir glasses, and I got a nifty bottle stopper with Preston’s initials. Preston thinks it’s a pimp shank. Damn guy.

The honey vodka was amazingly good. I’m not a huge vodka fan, don’t get me wrong I love my screwdrivers, vodka crans, and lemon drops, but still not a huge vodka fan. It’s too harsh for my palette. But we sampled, we liked, then the nice lady offered to mix it with their Cranberry Bog wine and OMFG that hit the right spot. Naomi and Devin bought a bought of the Honey Vodka and Cranberry Bog. I kind of wished I did too now. It was really good I know Preston would love it. My choice of wine here to try: Cranberry Bog.

Next stop Knapp Winery, cool attraction ice cream made with wine. The drive there was beautiful; we drove right along Cayuga Lake. Of the 3 we visited I loved Knapp Winery’s shop the best. It had a great ambience inside. The people were so friendly, well every place we stopped had great people, but they let Naomi’s Bugs in so they didn’t have to be left alone in the car. We did our wine tasting, but the ice cream is what we really wanted. The ice cream was superb, sadly we never thought we would like it that much and to bring a cooler, so we couldn’t buy any to bring home. Next time, next time J. We bought another couple bottles and off to our last stop. My choice of wine to try here: Kat Knapp.

Last stop Gooseneck Winery, cool attraction: personalized wine bottles. By this point I was a bit buzzed, feeling really relaxed, kind of sad really. There was a cute blonde working the counter, in fact the whole shop. She gave us extra drinks. In the process of picking out my labels we found out I couldn’t get them till the next day and they don’t ship to Hawaii. So the personalized wines were a bust. L I still got some cool snacks to bring back to work. Didn’t pick up any wines there, because I was already nervous how I was going to get the other 3 bottles back home. My favorite part of this place was the immaculate view of Cayuga Lake outside their backdoor. I wish I got a picture. My Choice of wine to try here: Diamond.

So 3 wineries later, about 54 wine samples later we were ready to take a break and sober up for the long drive back to home base. What better way to do that than some Miniature Golf and Ice Cream?! We passed that little shop on our way to stop #2, Naomi was kind of anxious to stop then.

It was a really LONG time since any of us played miniature golf. It cute and simple too, there were electronic animatronics, childlike made obstacles, it really brought you back to your childhood. Sure it might have taken us about an hour or so to get there, but it was fun. Nothings better than enjoying fond memories of your childhood with great people. Although the ice cream lacked any and all pizzazz, it tasted just like watery strawberry Nesquick. Can’t win them all I guess.

Don’t forget, PICTURES!

Albany: Day Four

After getting the rollercoaster thrill seeking and water park adventure out of system the day before we came back to home base to watch a few movies.

Now at some point Naomi’s friend Dave suggested we watch a swedish foreign horror movie called “Let the Right One In.” We heard horror, read it was vampires, and so we thought sounds good lets try it out. Let’s say I STILL don’t know what to think about the movie. It had a vampire that much is true. It had killing that was true. But it was the farthest away from horror as you could get. It was like a vampire romance. No where close to like Twilight, definitely no sparkling. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t good either.

It was like a tasty pastry that left a weird seemingly long after taste. Where you liked it, but don’t want to try it again.

It was that night Naomi introduced me to Harper’s Island. A murder mystery TV show that apparently is played on CBS. I’m kind of amazed considering how gory it is for CBS. I still have about 4 more episodes to watch. But I’ll have to wait till I get home to watch with Preston, which means watching it all over again.

So it was another late night, late rise.

After all the walking and strain we put our bodies through the day before we were still feeling it. My legs were still killing me. So through general consensus we called for relaxation. We lounged around the house. The original plan was to go for a hike and check out the Ausable Chasms, these really cool underground caves. Although it would have been really nice to do, the word hike just wasn’t in our vocabulary.

It was pretty much PJs day. Nai and Dev introduced me to Steam. I love video games, but as of the last 10 years PC games weren’t really high on my gaming list. I own and play everything between from my PSOne to PS3. So when it comes to PC games, I’m weirdly in the lost, considering how tech savvy I can be. Through the years I’ve been using my PC strictly for work, internet, video and photo editing.

When they introduced me to Steam I played the World of Goo, F.E.A.R 2 and Command & Conquer. I watched Dev play Mirror’s Edge. I feel in love with PC gaming all over again. So it’s a must when I get home to install Steam, buy Left for Dead and kill zombies side by side with Nai till my hearts content. Now my whole seizure FPS issue needs to be worked. I need to find a way around that.

Now we couldn’t stay in the WHOLE day, we went out that night. It first began with the hunt for tea. See the last time I visited her was this cute Mom & Pops tea shop called Tea Laden. I was running low and I loved that place. To my sadden heart I learned they closed down and moved to Texas. I can still buy from them online, but it’s just not the same to be able to walk in there and smell the sweet aromas. Since then Naomi has yet to find another place like them.

So we searched, found a couple places that might be a possibility, and decided to check one of them out. It just happens it was only a couple stories above our final real destination. The Melting Pot.

Teavana was the tea shop we checked out. It was in Crossgates Mall, which was kind of surprising considering we were just there and didn’t see the place. They had some really tasty samples, cute tea sets, gorgeous tea containers and smelt invigorating .I couldn’t decide what I wanted, but Nai bought a couple bags in hopes of relieving the need to buy V8 all the time.

After tasting and deliberating I left empty handed, which is ok, I think I’ll just revert back to ordering from Tea Laden. And it was off for some fondue fun at The Melting Pot.

Now I have never tried fondue, I’ve always wanted to since I was little. The thought of dipping things into a bowl of melted cheese and/or chocolate just sounds like so much damn fun.

It was pretty empty inside, probably due to the fact it was the middle of the week, and quite frankly our economy sucks. We met the owner, had a funny waitress, and almost the whole place to ourselves. Which thank god because Naomi and I were a bit loud and maybe, MAYBE, not saying the most tactful things. Plus, for as huge Naomi and I were on taking pictures of EVERYTHING I’m sure Devin was happy it was just us. We were like paparazzi on our food in our corner.

The food was amazing. Everything from my Raspberry Limoncello martini to the graham cracker covered marshmallow and everything between was delicious. Sorry to be cheesy (pun intended) but The Melting Pot is a Fon-definite  (again pun intended).

Once again, PICTURES!