On The Road Again

Phew! I am one tired girl.  The last few weeks have been super crazy and super busy.  Just a whirl.  I last left off with you guys right before going to Atlantic City.  Having not ever been to Atlantic City and not knowing much about it, I wasn't sure what to expect.  It's kind of like a mini Vegas.  There are several casino/hotel type compounds with restaurants, stores, pubs, and of course, the casino.  Julie and Farron had a free hotel stay from previous trips and were kind enough to invite me along.  Nobody did a lot of gambling. Everyone just dabbled a little (I was a wimp and only went for a few tries at the slots), but we still enjoyed the weekend just getting away from The City for a little while.  We walked along the boardwalk, we watched TV, we went to the casinos, we shopped.  We also found a little dive bar called Baltimore Grill that Julie's parents had recommended.  They live in Philly, which is pretty close to Atlantic City (a frequently visited destination for their family).  The bar was just what one would expect from a dive bar in Jersey.  The kitchen was open until 3 AM, and the bar was open 24 hours.  We went two nights in a row, and I guess for showing just that little bit of loyalty, the bar tender gave us a few beers on the house.  Speaking of beer, Julie introduced us to a nice-flavored Pennsylvania-brewed beer called Yeungling that's not available in Texas.  And seeing as how she has never been to Texas, she has never tried our local favorite, Shiner Bock.  Eventually, there is a planned face off between the two to decide which is better. 

And speaking of Jersey, there were some girls there that would definitely be considered "Jersey girls."  Think Snooki.  Think lots of overtanned skin, overdone makeup, jewelry, short skirts, and even one girl with a pair of fingerless gloves.  Julie and I decided to get "Jerseyed-out" just for fun by putting on our skirts, poofing up our hair, and stepping up the makeup.  Not really my style, but it was fun for a few hours. 



Atlantic City



This guy fell asleep at the slots

  

Our Hotel, The Tropicana

 

I think John had a crush.



This past weekend, I took a sickly trip to Texas.  Sickly because I felt like the snotty kid from class. It seems like everyone is getting sick around here, particularly those of us who are new to the city.  I hear that the allergens are a killler this time of year.  Maybe we newbies are just trying to adjust.  I got sent home sick from work on Friday but still headed to Houston to see my boy Parham.  We had a good weekend.  I ran some errands and found some great finds for my apartment.  Like I told you guys before, it is so difficult (and expensive!) to shop here that I really try to take advantage of being in Texas.  I got to see med school and intern-year friends and just chill out. I had a bit of a scare on Monday night -  by the way, I had Monday off because apparently we celebrate Columbus Day on this side of the country - because I thought I was going to get stuck in Philly.  There have been storms all around New York lately.  It actually hailed in Manhattan that night (something I've been told hasn't happened in 20+ years), and they temporarily had shut down the runways at LGA airport on top of having a curfew for landing that I was afraid we weren't going to make.  This would have been unfortunate since we had our biannual Grand Rounds at work on Tuesday.  Fortunately, we ended up taking off. BUT I had over an hour long wait for a cab waiting for me when I got to NYC.  Eeek! I didn't get home until 2 AM. 

So there is no rest for the goofy.  I am headed to my hometown of Abilene this weekend for my 10 year high school reunion.  Ooof.  I. am. old.  Ok, so not that old, but man am I getting there.  10 years?!? How is that possible?  Since I was a class officer in high school, I felt inclined to offer to do the slide show for the event.  What I didn't do was ask to be given notification less than 2 weeks before it needed to be ready.  Instead, I offered to start on it over a month ago and somehow only got wind that I would be doing it last week.  Argh.  So this evening I will be trying to get it all taken care of and get packed up so that I can leave straight from work tomorrow in time to make it for the high school football game.  I'm looking forward to seeing everyone, but again, I am one tired girl.  Oh well. Airplanes are like Ambien for me.  I usually fall asleep before the plane even takes off and then wake up right before landing to spend the rest of the flight worrying about things like "was I drooling?" and "did I snore or sleep with my mouth open?"  Oh well.

I'll let you know how it all goes.