Category Archives: just silly

September 2, 2011

Life. Uncomplicated.

By simply three cents

I feel like everyone has secret tips to make life easier. If we all shared, how much easier life could be! Here are three of mine.

Tip 1: Don’t you hate when you slip on a shirt or a dress and then you realize you just got deodorant all over a perfectly good outfit? It happens to me more often than not. I learned this trick years ago. Don’t wet it. Rub the material together — just rub a clean part of the material over the part that has the deodorant. May take a minute or two of rubbing but voila!

Tip 2: Tomatoes for taco night are a must. But I find chopping tomatoes messy, annoying and tedious. And I can never get it just right. Instead I buy pre-made bruschetta at the supermarket for taco night! They are already diced and seasoned so they instantly (and more importantly, easily) add kick to the meal!

Tip 3: Don’t you hate running out the night before a trip to pick up those last-minute things? When I know I am going away, I make my list early in the week so those ‘last minute’ things are done before the night before. Since my travel toiletry bag is always ready to go, I just have to take a peek to see if I am really low on something. Best case scenario (this doesn’t always happen) — I am packed and ready to go the day before. That way the night before is just compiling the little things that need to get packed the morning of (glasses, phone charger, phone).

What makes your life easier? Feel free to share your tips in the comments below.

Leave a comment | posted in just silly, tips

August 21, 2011

Walk to Walk…

By simply three cents

Funny that no matter how many times I am in the Village…I always seem to get lost and found.

It’s no longer a grid but just a mish-mosh of streets that ultimately connect in a fairly logical way when I’m not thinking about it. But when I am leading the way, as the “local,” it’s all but assumed that I will get myself turned around.

Case in point…walking, walking, looking for Bleecker Street…only to realize a few blocks later, we have been walking on it. All I can do is shake my head and laugh.

I have walked these streets countless times, but always to get to a specific destination…a restaurant, an apartment or to get from point A to point B.

I also realized, that I don’t think about or pay much attention to the places I pass. Our group stumbled upon cute boutiques and jewelry stores. Places that have probably always been there, but I just never stopped inside.

It was nice to ‘smell the roses’ today.

Leave a comment | posted in just silly, observations

August 19, 2011

For Better or For Worse

By simply three cents

I’m a fan of getting advice from locals. How else would you find out-of-the-way places to stay (getting a room on a coffee plantation after the storm of the year finds the Belize soccer team needing your hotel room for the night), drink at a gem of a wine bar near Mickey (Orlando, Florida), and sent you to a smaller, less populated day-trippers island (and according to the water taxi captain, supposedly with a better restaurant) off the island of Hvar (Jerolim, Croatia).

While I am a huge fan of doing your research before, research about a place, reviews about places, etc, there’s something to be said about interacting with the locals and getting their opinions on what’s great. Their perspective is absolutely 100% going to be different from from a guide-book. They will get you off the beaten path and they will get you

What’s the best and worst travel advice you have ever received — while on the road? You know, the advice you get from actually talking and interacting with the people who live there 😉

Share in the comments below.

Leave a comment | posted in just silly, observations, travel

August 16, 2011

Embarrassing one’s offspring

By simply three cents

Most people with kids and a Facebook account share photos of their kids on that Facebook account. Of course, it’s social, it’s sharing. Makes sense.

But…if you think your parents bringing out old embarrassing pictures of you was bad, what about when these kids are old enough to get a Facebook profile (if it’s still around). What about how parents have basically kept a running tally of their life, including those embarrassing naked pics that have been documented on their own Facebook account sharing those photos for all to see.

These kids will essentially have an online profile before they can talk and walk, and even that is documented.

No longer are the old embarrassing photos tucked away in old photo albums, now they are published for all to see. When these kids are old enough to realize, this will be an updated twist on parents embarrassing their kids with old photos!

Leave a comment | posted in just silly, observations

August 7, 2011

“But I don’t want to get off my train”

By simply three cents

‘This morning I was on a New Jersey Transit train heading home from a weekend with friends. I have been riding these trains for so long that I could sort my destination with my eyes closed.

But there was a young family sitting near us on the train and it was the first train ride for the little boy. He must have been three or four.

His excitement was contagious. He loved seeing us fly past the trees, and see other trains pass by. He had his face up against the window and couldn’t take his eyes off the outside.

If you take a step back, and not see it as a means to an end, but through a kid’s eyes, it really is a fun way to travel.

I figured he would love getting off the train because the station we disembarked has the trains on street level, so you actually have to climb up to get in the train, you aren’t just walking on a platform. So I figured for such a small kid, he would love that.

I was wrong.

He was so enthused by the moving trains, that when we all had to get off, as it was the last stop, you would have thought his parents were beating him. He screamed bloody murder…”BUT I DON’T WANT TO GET OFF MY TRAIN.”

I suppose eventually they were able to drag him off.

Leave a comment | posted in just silly, observations, train travel

August 3, 2011

WHY my hair?

By simply three cents

Went through security at Fort Lauderdale International Airport the other day. I went through this new machine (at least I have never seen it) where you go in sideways and you have to raise your hands above your head and stand there for a few seconds without moving. If you move, you are pulled for a pat down. So I stood as still as I could.

I’m not sure they know how to use the machine because it got backed up a bit while they had to reset it. In order to keep the line moving they were directing certain people in my line to the regular machine. I was curious to see this crazy machine, I’ve seen a lot, but never this one, so I hoped I got to go through this particular line, and I did.

When I came out, I was pulled to the side, because apparently it takes another thirty seconds to get the result. My result was fine, except, the TSA agent had to go through my hair. Like a pat down of my hair? What could possibly be in there? The ponytail holder had no metal in it, and besides, my hair is usually up when I am at an airport anyway.

I didn’t ask because I was flabbergasted, but what could I possibly be hiding in my hair? I don’t even have big hair where you might be able to sneak something in it. Maybe it was so soft and luscious, the TSA agent just had to cop a feel.

WHY Wednesday

Leave a comment   |  tags: | posted in just silly, observations, travel, WHY Wednesday

August 1, 2011

Making an awkward situation even more awkward

By simply three cents

I admit I make grammar and spelling mistakes. But I also admit I am one of those people who circles errors in take out menus. There are more of us, I hope?

So the other day I was in a doctor’s office, and the name of the facility was spelled wrong on one of the five forms I had to fill out. So because I was terribly nervous, and clearly this is when I am a comedienne, I kindly told the receptionist that the facility was spelled wrong. Not so quick on the uptake, she replied ‘That is the name of our facility.’

I replied, ‘It is but it is missing the letter c’ – and then, because now I couldn’t stop making an awkward moment even more awkward at this point, I pointed to the correctly spelled form to show her the difference on the incorrect form (Yes, I really did this and thankfully the waiting room was empty). She said ‘Oh’ and clearly didn’t care at all.

To lighten the mood (the extremely awkward mood I had just created) I told her that I am, in fact, someone who circles typos in take out menus so don’t worry about me finding a typo. I said something along the lines of, I’m sure most people don’t notice. I think this made it a little more awkward and finally secured my spot in the ‘She’s a wacko’ file. I was super nice and friendly to offset the freak factor so hopefully I am not totally written off as some kind of proofreading lunatic.

Leave a comment | posted in doctor, just silly

July 29, 2011

Surprise!

By simply three cents

I absolutely love surprises. But I’m never usually the surprisee. More often than not, I am the surpriser.

Surprise success yet again! I made it to Florida and was able to surprise my grandma for the weekend. I never tell her when I am coming and I’ve done these surprise trips for what seems like a billion times. I am pretty sure she has caught on by now – especially when I show up near her birthday or a few times for Mother’s Day – but the surprise is just so.much.fun.

I do realize that surprising an 80-year-old woman is probably not the best idea but she is usually sitting down when I surprise her. She is going to be 81 on Sunday and aren’t birthdays about celebrating with the ones you love?

Leave a comment   |  tags: | posted in just silly, things that make me smile, travel

July 28, 2011

The one with the bar stools and the wine flights

By simply three cents

Is this a sign we travel a lot?

Memorial Day weekend…At JFK for our flight…the boyfriend wants to go to wine bar we love. After walking around the entire JetBlue terminal…with me confused, because the food places are pretty much all in one spot, the boyfriend describes the wine bar…and I realize it’s in Newark at the Continental terminal. And I tell him that.

He busts out laughing, as do I. Then, with my eye on the restaurants, I steer us that way to let him decide his back up choice pre-flight, at JFK.

Oops. At least we were at the right airport for our flight.

Leave a comment | posted in just silly, travelogues

July 10, 2011

It just knows…

By simply three cents

Have you ever taken a look at some of the ads that appear on your Facebook account? It’s all highly targeted using your profile information, likes and interests.

So really, I shouldn’t be surprised that some ads are spot on for my gender (female), my demographic (early-mid 30s), my geographic location (in the NYC area) and interests (travel deals and wine clubs). Others are well, um, not so much.

Advertisers would be happy to know that I click some of the former….and the latter, well they are usually good for a laugh.

If you have any memorable ads targeted your way, please share in the comments below.

Leave a comment | posted in just silly, observations