Months later, a new post appears! New things that aggravate me.

Yes, It's been ages since I last said anything. You have clearly gotten over it.


Alright, let's go over my current annoyances:

• I cannot get any work done in advance of its due date. This is nothing new, but still just as annoying. I would love to take advantage of the fact that I do not appear to have any homework due tomorrow, but a whole ton due this week. Instead, I'm writing this post here. Clearly, I have my priorities straight.

Dear People who make paper towel dispensers:

you know how you have to pull down on the sheet of paper, except the paper is never there, so you have to twist that little inconvenient knob on the side to get it out? Well, the thing is, paper rips when wet. So, having wet hands, and trying to pull a paper towel out of a dispenser that has significant resistance almost always results in ripped paper, and wet hands. 

STOP MAKING THESE DISPENSERS!

Either have it dispense automatically, or bring back the large push bars. I'm tired of fumbling for paper.

• There is no snow on the ground. Actually, it is currently 60 degrees out. No idea what's up with that. I would like to go snowboarding.

• We haven't had a fire drill at Adirondack yet. P-Safe is really slacking on this one. I'm super paranoid that it's gonna happen any minute. 

• I heard some very soft movement outside, so I went to check out the window. There was a skunk. I yelled at it a little bit, and then got bored. 

• It is nighttime at 6PM. This is dumb

That is all. For now, anyway. 

Here is a picture of the new building. (from last week)

Conclusions, part two

And we will now continue with more random findings from my time in Europe.


European Listerine is definitely stronger than the US version
Yup, that's right. Arctic Mint also has less of a "sweet" taste. I wasn't really surprised by this discovery, but it was interesting nonetheless. Also, the european version is only sold in smaller bottles, and they dont yell at you on the label to take it twice a day. Mouthwash isn't really "in" in Europe. Although I did see a tv commercial for it. 


Most European girls seem too good for their boyfriends. This is probably due to a lack of cool guys in Europe. I feel bad for them. 


There is nowhere to get a late night snack, unless you feel like eating bar food. Is it after 8:30PM? You're pretty much out of luck. You can look around all you want, but you aren't going to find an open store to buy food. If you're lucky, you know of a vending machine somewhere...


The Euro is a creative currency. There are one and two Euro coins, and they are used very often, because the smallest bill is a 5. If you're used to dollars, you aren't used to using coins that much. This is also very weird when you often get change from transactions only in coins. The Euro bills are also different sizes, and the 50 doesn't properly fit in my wallet (it's too tall). Not that I walk around with 50s...
     However, there is one thing that I find highly unnecessary: the two cent coin. Really? What a waste. There are 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, and 50 cent coins. 
My favorite is the 2 Euro coin. 


You can have a completely decent meal at a highway rest stop. I'm thinking of doing a food segment on this later, but for the meantime it is worth noting that I love French rest stops. They are often very well thought out, with activities and games for kids. 


Oh good, a nice place to rest for now, because I like cutting things up into unnecessarily short chunks. Also, I lose my train of thought, and can't focus


Now to find a nice picture....

My favorite view...

Back from Europe! Oh, and one year! +Conclusions

I missed my one year mark of this bizarre journal a few days ago on August 14th. Had I not been  in France, I may have posted something here.


Well, I'm back...for about four days. And then I'm going back to Burlington. Of course, I'm still adjusting to NY, and the fact that I'm "moving out" this weekend is completely irrelevant to me.


Over the past week or so, I've collected a bunch of "conclusions" from the time that I've spent in Europe over the past 18 or so years... Some of them are more thought out, and others are plain random. If they end up taking a long time to explain, I may break them up into several posts...


     Europeans drive better. I have come to the conclusion that this has a lot to do with the fact that a majority of them have cars with manual transmissions, and are therefore more "in touch" with their cars. In addition, there is less honking and impatience at traffic lights, because it is understood that it can sometimes be tricky to get a car in gear.
     However, there is a negative side: They are often completely unable to keep right on highways. Constantly driven by a need to be first, or in front, no one moves over after passing someone. This leads to people in multiple lanes of traffic all driving at similar speeds, creating a moving wall. 
     On the speed limit: The highways are generally limited to 130 km/h, which is about 80mph-a rare sight in the northeast. Interestingly enough, not everyone drives that fast. Of course, this creates a major problem when you factor in the issue of people not keeping in the right lane when not passing.
     When I first started driving this summer, I discovered that my mind/body has become accustomed to driving at 68mph (my standard cruising speed), and I was going slower than everyone else. Of course, as soon as I hop behind the wheel back here, I'll probably have to slow myself down.


Is it just me, or does that text above look smaller?


While we're on the topic of cars, if you think gas prices are high, don't forget that Europe has always been suffering way more. A gallon of gas? Just about $9. Yup, nine dollars. 


I need to chunk this post, because I'm going to get distracted if it's such a long writing.


Here's a picture of some yummy chips I bought in Barcelona Airport (which is beautiful. more on that later)

Having a supervisor yell at you is awesome! (Especially when you don't work for them)

Since I'm going away for a little over a month, I traditionally have the Post Office hold my mail so it doesn't overflow in the mailbox. However, they apparently only hold mail for 30 days. Since I'm going away for about 37, I wanted to know what would happen for those extra days. Finding nothing on their website, I called and spoke to someone on the phone. They told me that if the mail fills up outside of the 30-day hold window, then I would have 10 days to pick it up from the post office. But I hate going there, and didn't want to do it like that because I would rather have it dropped off at my house. The woman on the phone said that it would be possible to hold mail for longer than thirty days if I went to the Post Office to request it. I asked her if there was any other way for that to be done, and she said no. She also said that there would not be an additional charge.


Fair enough, I thought. And set off for the Post Office. I got there, and went to find a "Hold Mail" form to fill out, thinking I might speed up the process. Unfortunately, there were no working pens, so I decided to go up to the window anyway dispite the ominous signs warning to not approach the window without having all the necessary forms filled out. 


I stepped up to the window, and asked how I would go about having my mail held for more than 30 days. She said that it was not. I mentioned that I had spoken to someone on the phone, and they told me it was possible. She turned to her supervisor, and asked her if it was possible. "NO!" was the resounding answer. I opened my mouth to speak..."Did you just hear my supervisor???" she rudely interjected. "Why don't you speak with her?" I stared at her, and moved down to her supervisor. 


Her supervisor was sorting mail or some paperwork, and did not even bother to look up at me. 


Supervisor: You can't hold mail for more than 30 days


Me: Okay, I'm just a little confused because I spoke with someone at the 1-800 number, and she said that it would be possible to hold mail for longer if I came in to speak with someone


Supervisor: Look at that paper (Pointing to the Hold Mail request form I had), it says 30 days. You cannot hold your mail for more than 30 days. 


Me: I understand what it says on the form, however I was told that I could...


Supervisor: No. You cannot have your mail held for more than 30 days


Did I mention that she was literally screaming at me? Loud enough that everyone in the Post Office, including the employees, stopped to watch and listen. At no point did I ever raise my voice, not that it mattered, because she kept cutting me off before I could try to explain myself.


Supervisor: How long are you going away for?


Me: 37 Days


Supervisor: Okay, so your mail will be held for ten more days before it is sent back.


See, the thing is, I'd like my mail delivered, because I hate going to this Post Office. It's out of my way, and they are often unfriendly. Additionally, when I return from vacation, I like being able to review any important mail on the spot. 
What I was thinking, if it was not possible to extend the 30 days, was to not start the "hold mail" request until a week after I leave. That way, I can hopefully fit a week of mail in the box, and then I will have the held mail delivered upon my return. The risk with that, however, is if my box *does* fill up during that week, my mail will only be held for ten days, and then returned to sender.


Me: So if they try to deliver the mail after the "hold mail" window is up, and there isn't room, how do I get that mail back?


Supervisor: You really should have someone come into your house to get the mail for you. 


Me: (Slightly thrown off by her comment). Okay, but it will not be returned?


Supervisor: 30 +10 is less than 40! You have 40 days to get your mail back!


Me: Okay, but...


Supervisor: What is 30+10?


Me: 40, but...


She went on and on about the 40 days, and finally I realized that she was saying since I was going away for 37 days, I still had three (really two, since I'll be returning in the evening) days to come and pick up my mail. 


I wanted to ask her if there was any possibility that my mail could be delivered after those ten days, but all she did was continue to point out that 30+10=40 and literally would not let me say anything else. I got fed up. Said "Okay, thank you", and left. 


As I walked out, I could clearly overhear her saying "I don't know what is wrong with him, 30+10=40 days. 


I was really horrified that this is what the Post Office defines as "customer service." Honestly, I'd refer to it as harassment. 


Here is what I feel should have happened:

• "I'm sorry, our representative misinformed you. We are unable to hold your mail for more than 30 days"
• "If your mailbox fills up, you will have 10 days afterwards to retrieve your mail"

There was *no excuse* for her to raise her voice at me. I did not interrupt her, or raise my voice. She did not want to listen to anything that I was saying, and instead preferred to insult me. And now, I might have to go back there to pick up my mail. I'm sure that will be fun. 

For your curiosity, this was at Cathedral Station on West 104th st. 

Back from Boston!

What can I say, I had a blast in Boston with my Dad. I've never been there, which is ridiculous (yess!!) when you think about it. 


We stayed at a relatively upscale hotel just on the edge of Boston Common and Chinatown. For the record, I was really hoping that I would see the Fung Wah Bus station in Chinatown, but I kept forgetting that the busses go to South Station because of congestion. 


Let's see. We went to the Museum of Science, which was really great. I was concerned at first because the first exhibit we walked into was literally identical to one at the New York Hall of Science. Luckily, the similarities stopped there. It took us about three hours to get halfway through the museum. It's really funny because when you're a kid, you just want to run around and play with stuff, but when you get older, you actually learn things!


We took the T all over the place, which was great, because if you know me, you know that I love anything that relates to travel/transportation. 


And then, the awesome part, was that I got to visit Jesse, Jon, and jAndrew! I went over to Jesse's house because he gratefully offered to watch over my fishies this summer. I keep getting distracted because three people are texting me and two facebook im all at once. Anyway, I drove over to Jesse's house. That was okay. I got stuck in some Boston traffic, which was to be expected. To my surprise, the Massholes aren't *that* terrible at driving, they're just all over the road. 


So, I went to Jesse's house, where Jon and Andrew eventually came over. We then decided to go crash through Alaina's life, and went to visit her. Turns out she has a pool, and inflatable rafts and things. So, that provided some entertainment! Even though Jesse was the only one who actually submerged himself in the water. Anyway, we then went to DQ, because DQ is awesome, and I haven't had a Blizzard since last August. 


Luckily, I survived another trip in that metal cage that Andrew calls a "car." After hanging out, and catching up for several more hours, it was 9:15, and I decided that I wanted to get back to the hotel, since it was about a 35 minute drive. I don't mind driving at night. I find it easier to navigate because I can know where a car is by tracking its lights. Anyway, I opened the sunroof, got on the highway, and blasted music. Because, well, I don't get to do that often, it helps me stay alert, and it was fun! Hahaha. Until out of nowhere, the sky opened up, and the rain came pouring down. Visibility was turrible. 


Got back to the hotel, Valet'd the car, and then decided I was still hungry. It was about 10:10PM. Well, it was then that I discovered that Boston doesn't really have any night life...No food anywhere. I ended up getting McDonalds, which was of course a really bad idea because it aggravated the heck out of my stomach. But it was okay, because the best part about going to a hotel is taking all the toiletries. 


Anyway, I was pretty exhausted last night, and went to sleep relatively early. At 1. This morning, I woke up at about 8ish, but probably didn't get out of bed until 830. I was gonna go ge breakfast, but my dad convinced me to accompany him to the gym and then we would get something to eat afterwards. Well, I went to the gym (which is actually a really nice legit sports club), but didn't really actually work out. (I did some rowing, but thats cause it was fun). 


We then wandered into the basketball court (which was actually 1.5 courts), and I ended up shooting hoops with my dad for a good 45 minutes or so. It turns out, I'm actually better than I thought at Basketball. (But I'm still pretty bad). So that was good. We ate. and then checked out. We drove over to Cambridge, and walked around Harvard. We parked at the library, even though we weren't supposed to leave the premises. But oh well. We looked at the books. They were pretty. 


Wow. Okay, this was an exceedingly long post. As a consolation prize, here are some pictures.

Crazy happy with my bathrobe after a shower

Oh, look, turndown service! With chocolate!

View from the gym

We at the hotel!

So, I’m currently chilling on my bed in this ridiculously (hah! Ridiculous!) fancy hotel in Boston. Unfortunately, as with all upscale hotels, they all get away with charging obnoxious amounts for internet access. This one, however, charges you per device rather than just per room. This means that my dad has to pay, and I have to pay. Additionally, I cant use the internet connection to boost the crummy reception on my phone. How aggravating.
 
The last time this happened, I called the corporate customer service line and told them the rates were unfair. They immediately called the hotel, and we were given free access. Honestly, I don’t even feel like complaining right now. It’s a pain, but whatever. I don’t *really* need the internet. Hahah.
 
So, let’s recap: I’m in Boston, right by Boston Commons, which is like Riverside Park, except not in the same shape. The hotel has valet parking, which personally really aggravates me, because I feel that paying someone to do something that I'm perfectly capable of is absurd. But my dad wanted to get rid of the car, and just said whatever.
 
I just got out of the shower, which was great, and I'm now wearing my plush bathrobe. Cool! So far, I've decided that Bostonians are generally younger than New Yorkers, and they seem a little bit more laid back. However, they all walk around with ID badges hanging from the waist. Not cool.
 
Oh, this morning, I went to a sports doctor who took some x-rays and checked out my knee since it’s been bothering me for several months. Luckily, I only have Patellar Tendonitis, which is also known as “Jumpers Knee.” It’s very common in young males, and does not get operated on. 70 degrees is too warm, but 68 is too cold. I cant set the a/c to 69 though because that isn’t an even number or multiple of 5. So, the doctor gave me some stretches that I can do at home, and said that it will eventually go away. Fair enough. I’m just happy that he didn’t tell me I needed crutches or something.
 
Hohoho, I just thought of something. I'm gonna email this post to my dad’s iPad, and then post it online. That’s great.
 
I went to CVS tonight, and saved $31.48 cause I got mad coupons and there were sales. I felt very accomplished. However, I got a coupon for a free “air delight standard bar 1.4oz” but I couldn’t find it anywhere in the store. I assumed it was like a chocolate bar of some sort. So, I asked one person if he knew where it was, and he couldn’t find it. He asked someone else, who thought it was an air freshener, which might make sense, but it wasn’t that either. Finally, he came to the conclusion that it was a new product that they didn’t have yet. I just wanted it because it was free!
 
I brought Bankus and Hall with me, because Jesse has been kind enough to offer his services in watching over them while I'm away this summer. When I was unloading the car in front of the hotel, I told the bellhop that I needed to get my fish. As I walked to the car, he asked me if I would like him to put the fish in the fridge. I stared at him, before I realized that he thought I had brought like legit fish to eat. That was amusing.
 
I just realized that I cant email this post because I don’t have internet. What the hell. I know I’ll find a way. I cant think of anything. This is aggravating.

Well well well. I managed to send the file from my laptop to my phone via Bluetooth, and then I sent it to my dads iPad, where I'm posting it now. Sweet

Happy 4TH!!!!!

Ridiculous. NICE! Okay, sorry. 


I'd like to start by saying that I have this 4th of July t-shirt that I've had since I was little (it was way too big for me back then), and that fits me fine now. I have only successfully worn it once, maybe twice on the 4th. Well, I didn't wear it today either. I never have the shirt accessible at the right time. 


I'd like to apologize because today isn't actually the 4th, it's the 5th, but I just got home, so it's okay. 


I went to see Bad Teacher this morning with Kate. Naturally, AMC still hasn't sent me their stupid new Stubs card, so I have the email confirmation that I can ask them to enter. I'm starting to straight up not care anymore, as I've mentioned in previous posts, this is just becoming a major pain. 


Now, of course they card me, because they seem to like to do that at the most random times. However, Kate apparently likes not traveling around with her ID, and the cashier refused to sell us tickets. I made a face, tried to act very disappointed, and walked away...Straight to the ticket machines. Where I bought the tickets, and headed straight upstairs. What a flawed system. 


Bad Teacher was a good movie. I enjoyed it. After the movie, we walked through Central Park to the East side, where we came upon a Wafels and Dinges cart. Nice! I really wanted an ice cream sandwich, but was concerned that the wafel was stiff, and would snap, causing the ice cream to fall, and me to be sad. So, I asked them "How is the structural integrity of your wafelwich?" to which they responded that it was a good question, and it would depend on how I ate it. Also, due to my use of the term "structural integrity," the guy asked me if I was an engineering major. Funny. Well, the wafelwich was great, and did not fall apart. Awesome. 


Back across the park, and more time killing people watching. Then off to the Time Warner Center. And then it was 6PM! Wow! So, Kate left, and I started to head uptown. Saw someone nearly got hit by a car. And I walked all the way up to 110 from Columbus Circle. I like doing that. Its good. 


Met Matt at 7, and we walked back down to 96th to meet Daniel, and have dinner at Taco Truck. Off to Chelsea Piers, where Matt had tickets to watch the fireworks from the driving range. Alex was gonna join us, but claimed that he was "tired." Yeah, okay Alex. Anyway, we cleared the Police checkpoint on 18th and 10th with our event passes, skipping past some angry loud guy screaming on his phone because the Police wouldn't let him in. Oh well. Suckkksss! Got into the Golf Center, and walked straight onto the green.


It was great! Wasn't that crowded, and one of the barges launching the fireworks was literally right in front of us. We then learned that the netting that encloses the driving range is motorized, and can be lowered. Awesome. They shut the lights off, and the show started at about 9:30. The fireworks were great.


Left at about 10 or something. We really don't know. Walked uptown, got some pizza, and hopped on the train at 42nd. Trains were crowded and backed up. Luckily, on my way home, the local went express, cutting about 15 minutes off my ride. Nice! I love when that happens.


What do you know, that's about it! Enjoy the pictures!

How I pack my travel bag

So, a while ago, during one of my trips home from school, I said that I would show you how I pack my bag when I'm traveling. Well, here it goes!!!


First, let it be noted that on this trip I would be flying US Airways due to the fact that I had an $100 credit with them. I really would have rather flown JetBlue, but this was $100. Unfortunately, this meant I could not check a bag (because I refused to pay their fee). So, I was left to be creative, as usual. 


This pictures were taken on the return leg of my trip home from Spring Break, mainly during the unpacking process. 


This is my bag (taken just now). It used to be my backpack for school, but then I decided that I didn't need a backpack for High School anymore. 

Isn't it amazing?

Anyway, on to the good stuff. First things first is usually always the heaviest single item, which tends to be my laptop power cord. 

Coiled neatly on the bottom

Then come the socks

Boxers

Pants

And finally, some shirts, my toothbrush, and my headphones!

Additionally, my personal items all go into that mesh pocket you see on the bottom. My headphones are always on top, because I need them to be easily accessible during my trip.


Oh, and in case you're wondering, I carry my laptop. Always. Ever since I've gotten my MacBook, I've never put it into the bag. 


Additionally, not pictured: on the side pockets go my phone charger and other cords, and in the front pocket goes copies of relevant paperwork. 

Oh, and in the top pocket: two extra cell phones, some zip ties, and my iPod charger