Hank and the Piano

I know what you're thinking. "Is this going to be like Hank vs Bedsheet (here and here)?" No, I can assure you that Hank has more respect for things that make music than he does for things that cover his cage. Could it be that, since Hank likes to make music, he identifies properly with musical instruments? Perhaps.

One Saturday morning, I let Hank out whilst I was playing the piano. He flew around the apartment several times and eventually landed on the edge of the piano. He seemed so intrigued by the music; I was surprised he liked it so much even though he listens to the radio all day.

Eventually, he settled for just controlling the sound.

"B-e-e-r Spells Whiskey"

One of the fun things about being old is finding different things to do when you're on vacation. I recently realized that whenever I go to a new place, a brewery or distillery tour is usually on the itinerary. Even last week, when I was looking up things to do in Glasgow, Scotland, I found myself trying to decide which scotch distillery to visit (you know, just in case I can't get to both).

On my 2009 trip to N. Ireland, my cousins took me to the Bushmills whiskey distillery in County Antrim. We did the tour and got to sample some very nice whiskey. If you ever do go, I recommend taking my cousin Paul; he doesn't drink whiskey too often, so he'll let you have his share.

(The Bushmills Distillery, N. Ireland)

(This distillery is older than my country)

(Enjoying a 10-year old single malt at about 11am)

I was also going to add a few photos from my trip to the Dogfishhead Brewery in Milton, Delaware, but my computer and Facebook deleted them. This is one of those times when digital is not best.

In any case, brewery and pub tours are a lot of fun. Sometimes the tour groups are so small that you can really chat with the tour guides. At Bushmills, our tour guide Seamus thought it was great that 1.) I was an American and 2.) that we brought an 11 year old on the tour (my cousin Aaron). To demonstrate his appreciation for the Harris-Irvine party, Seamus let me pose with an 80-year old bottle of whiskey. Similarly, at the Dogfishhead pub, we befriended Jameson who happened to have the same watch as my brother; as a result, he let us hang out and have a bit more beer than we were entitled to.

(Trip to Bushmills)

(antique bottle of whiskey)

Will there be a possible brewery tour this weekend in St. Louis? Only time will tell....


*quote in subject line taken from Superfudge by Judy Blume; one of my favourite children's books ever.

Deserving of a Clean and Lovely Hotel Room

In planning where to stay in London and Scotland during my upcoming trip across the pond, I've been scouring travel blogs and TripAdvisor for recommendations. So far, I have found a mixed bag of scary airport-adjacent hotels and a few B&Bs to mull over (non-smoking is a must!).

As a friend of mine pointed out, TripAdvisor can be tricky as there are some people who will complain about anything and everything-even if those things are really not so bad (example: you can live without a hairdryer. I promise.). But there was one thing I did notice that bothered me a bit. Many of the negative reviews claimed that even though the tea kettle was filthy, there weren't any sheets on the bed, and the towels were threadbare it was still recommended for single travelers. If you have a family or are on your honeymoon, according to several reviewers, such a room is completely unacceptable. But lone travelers? Oh it's fine for that lot!

Why should such a distinction be made at all? Obviously, places that are family friendly should be promoted as such (especially if you need cribs or kid-friendly food), but a crappy hotel is a crappy hotel no matter who you are or aren't traveling with. It all seems so odd to me; I would never recommend that a couple shouldn't stay in a specific hotel because the bathroom is immaculate, and having two people use it would mess things up too much.

So if you're a lone traveler because you're on a work trip, your significant other couldn't come along, you enjoy traveling alone, or you simply prefer to have some privacy when visiting friends, I feel you are fully entitled to a lovely place to stay. Ignore the charlatans who believe that solo travelers are less deserving of clean sheets and fluffy towels. They are just jealous because you don't have to share.

Dear John Krasinski,

I am writing to you with deep sadness and regret to announce that I cannot watch The Office anymore. This has not been an easy decision for me to make, but recent episodes have shown me that things just aren't working. This doesn't have anything to do with you and your portrayal of cute office guy Jim, or the fact that the Jim/Pam relationship has been happily resolved. It's just that those little things that once made the show so memorable have either disappeared or have been replaced by people/situations that just don't make sense (read: Ed Helms's continuing presence).

To follow is a list of grievances:

• What happened to all the pranks Jim played on Dwight (i.e: the coins in Dwight's phone, convincing Dwight that it was Friday when it was actually Thursday, etc.)? Someone needs to keep Dwight in check (see item 3)!   
• Ed Helms = NOT FUNNY. 
• Dwight has crossed that fine line between annoyingly odd and completely sinister. It doesn't look like he's coming back either.
• Steve Carrell is leaving. I don't care what everyone is saying; it's going to be too weird and uncomfortable  without him (that's what she said).
• The new receptionist was delightfully dim at first, but now I wonder how she's lived this long without managing to walk headfirst into oncoming traffic...or how she can grasp the intricate workings of the fax machine.

I guess what I'm saying is that I know these changes weren't up to you; it's not your fault. There are no hard feelings here. We had some good times: watching Michael grill his foot, seeing a new side of Dwight when he had that concussion, learning a new level of clever when Daryl taught Michael to speak "ghetto."

But no matter what, we'll always have Chili's.

Bugs For Dinner

I don't know if it was due to the author's way with words or just the fact that I'm feeling a bit out of sorts this week, but I found myself almost persuaded to consider eating bugs (key phrase here being "almost persuaded to consider").

Article here: "Dutch Try to Change 'Ick' to 'Yum'"

I did get the sense, though, that the cook who praised the open-mindedness of children doesn't really understand children. Yes, a child might not think it's weird to eat bugs unless their parents tell them so (or make gagging noises like my mom would), but children also eat dirt and paste and stick buttons up their noses. Does that really classify them as open minded? Would you say to your son, "Well done, Tommy!! Sticking that M&M in you nose really shows that you are receptive to experiencing all life has to offer you."

I'm not saying kids are stupid (in fact, most kids are a lot smarter than adults give them credit for), but instead I mean that just because your five-year-old doesn't see anything wrong with eating bug candy doesn't mean he/she has better taste. 

If you're that desperate for protein, wouldn't it be less weird/gross/expensive to just eat some chickpeas or a handful of cashews?

Also, I discovered why the word "meal" freaks me out; because it's part of the word "mealworm."

Oddities

(door knocker)

If you put something weird or unusual outside your house, do you ever wonder if people notice? I think for me, I would hope people would notice, even if they really didn't. Even if those people were tourists or office workers trying to get away from their computers for a bit.

Unless those people were vandals or thieves, that is.

Philly Near Winter's End

Just walking around a few weeks ago made me miss all the green than can be found in the city. Yes, in the city. You would not believe how many people are shocked when I tell them that there are several parks near my office. But they exist, and many of them are quite nice in the summertime.

Everything does seem to be waking up from its winter slump, though. Only four more days before spring is technically here.

Chicago

When I was in Chicago a couple of weeks ago (Query: why do people there call it "Chicagoland"?), I went to the Art Institute of Chicago for the afternoon. It is a massive place with a lot of famous paintings (some shown below). I am more of a person who likes paintings (the impressionist section was quite nice); I have trouble really getting the super modern art (a la Jackson Pollack and friends).

There were several Monets ("Water Lillies" below) which I stared at so long the staff probably wondered if I was casing the joint.

(Water Lillies)

 

And in another gallery, tucked back in what felt like a hidden nook, I found this woman all dressed up and writing about the paintings. She was super fancy looking, and for a moment I felt like I'd accidentally wandered into a movie from the 1960s.

(A Sunday on La Grande Jatte and myself)

But the one of the best paintings I saw was A Sunday on La Grande Jatte : also seen in Ferris Bueller's Day Off. This was the only famous painting I saw that seemed to be as large as it should be. Many of the other ones were a lot smaller than I thought they'd be.

And I couldn't leave without seeing "American Gothic." That was a fun one too...even if Sarah and I got super lost in the modern part of the gallery when we were trying to find it....

(American Gothic)

What You Missed

To my Friend/Co-Worker ArgyleSockGirl:

As you were not in the office today, here is a short list of things you missed:

1.) We were without a boss until about 11:30am; no major parties were thrown.

2.) Someone brought in a chocolate bar with pretzel pieces. No, not chocolate covered pretzels; an actual chocolate bar with bits of pretzel. I thought they were nuts for about 45 seconds.

3.) The ladies' loo suddenly smells like musty basement with the occasional whiff of spoiled milk. Flowery Lysol used to cover said smell only succeeding in getting stuck in my lungs and making me cough. Fail.

4.) All of the top entertainment headlines were about Charlie Sheen and/or Miley Cyrus. Not a "winning" day for celebrity journalism.

5.) It was cold and windy.

6.) I saw Nie's new basement post; I wasn't sure what those fabric/wallpaper choices were going to look like all together, but they turned out so lovely! Never question the Nie.

So the perfect day to be home, basically. :-)

Awful Library Books

There is really a website called Awful Library Books. 

One of my professors included this website as optional reading material for this week's class. It's an entire blog about the weirdest and/or most dated library books. My favourites include (but are not limited to) "Should we Tell Children That the USSR is No More?" and the last page of the ET book which says, "Little girls are for loving you...and sometimes hiding you in closets." hehe.

Becca, the book entitled "Why Cats Paint" was clearly written for Chewy.

Happy Birthday, Sister!

Today is my sister's birthday. She is only 17, but it's hard to remember a time when she wasn't around.

Happy Birthday, SISTOR!