Post by Holodoc on May 5, 2002 19:17:38 GMT -5
The first weekend of May always seems to end up as the most materialistic one of the year for me. I don't know. It just comes out that way.
First off, it's the annual runamok in IKEA. Grab a little plastic coated tape measure. pencil, combination shopping list and map, commandeer a shopping cart, and go absolutely bonkers.
(for those who don't know, IKEA is this Swedish interior accessories store, with items from clocks and bath towels to shelving and furniture. And Swedish cinnamon buns; their smell hits you the moment you enter the first leg of your journey.)
You learn Swedish as everything is tagged with a word most Americans have never heard or uttered before. It's real fun.
This is what I got:
Sola
Toftbo
Deka
Ribba
Raket (I got three of these)
Hushall
Vardag
Billeberg
Pulka
Glimm
Tidan
Trojka
I think I did all right for myself considering. They were out of the Fenomen I wanted to replenish.
Then, on to a health food store to get safe food. That wasn't cheap, and I didn't even get the yeast free bread I'm running out of.
The annual "Take The Offspring To The Outback Steakhouse" event was marred by our going to Applebee's last year. Was that ever a comedown! It gave me time to plan our meal. I polled assorted friends online over what was the best steak, and came up with the a scheme to share a large Prime Minister's Prime Rib and a Gold Coast Coconut Shrimp between myself and Dad instead of eating two entrees. And lest we forget the Bloomin Onion, which is about as much spice as I can handle in a 360-something day period. (He complained the shrimp tasted funny. I found out he put lemon on them. Everybody say "D'OH!")
Having only so many hours of the day, the adventure continued today, when Dad and I couldn't find an entrance into the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway to hit Lower Manhattan and dodge the marathon bikers and 2-plus parades in progress. We were on the border of Brooklyn when we decided to backtrack practically to where we started and take the Long Island Expressway in. Sheesh!
Then Park Row, which runs in an arc from Chinatown down along one side of City Hall and meets with Broadway on the other side of City Hall was blockaded. A cop at the blockade gave us goofy directions and we parked in a side street behind J&R. It was very disconcerting to be barely a few blocks from Ground Zero. This is the furthest south I've been since 9-11.
But I was there to come, see, and conquer. It took about 12 minutes in J&R to get the DVD player (it runs PAL scan video, VCD... the person at work said you could put tissue paper in it and it would play
). That done, we ran into another blockade and asked the cop there how to get back, and a new, innovative set of directions were imparted. It took 90 there, 20 coming back.
At least we got to know more about our great city. Dad didn't appreciate the enriching experience though. He just doesn't have the same penchant for adventure I have. But if he doesn't, I keep wondering why he insisted on using the car to go into Manhattan instead of taking the subway?
First off, it's the annual runamok in IKEA. Grab a little plastic coated tape measure. pencil, combination shopping list and map, commandeer a shopping cart, and go absolutely bonkers.
(for those who don't know, IKEA is this Swedish interior accessories store, with items from clocks and bath towels to shelving and furniture. And Swedish cinnamon buns; their smell hits you the moment you enter the first leg of your journey.)
You learn Swedish as everything is tagged with a word most Americans have never heard or uttered before. It's real fun.
This is what I got:
Sola
Toftbo
Deka
Ribba
Raket (I got three of these)
Hushall
Vardag
Billeberg
Pulka
Glimm
Tidan
Trojka
I think I did all right for myself considering. They were out of the Fenomen I wanted to replenish.
Then, on to a health food store to get safe food. That wasn't cheap, and I didn't even get the yeast free bread I'm running out of.
The annual "Take The Offspring To The Outback Steakhouse" event was marred by our going to Applebee's last year. Was that ever a comedown! It gave me time to plan our meal. I polled assorted friends online over what was the best steak, and came up with the a scheme to share a large Prime Minister's Prime Rib and a Gold Coast Coconut Shrimp between myself and Dad instead of eating two entrees. And lest we forget the Bloomin Onion, which is about as much spice as I can handle in a 360-something day period. (He complained the shrimp tasted funny. I found out he put lemon on them. Everybody say "D'OH!")
Having only so many hours of the day, the adventure continued today, when Dad and I couldn't find an entrance into the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway to hit Lower Manhattan and dodge the marathon bikers and 2-plus parades in progress. We were on the border of Brooklyn when we decided to backtrack practically to where we started and take the Long Island Expressway in. Sheesh!
Then Park Row, which runs in an arc from Chinatown down along one side of City Hall and meets with Broadway on the other side of City Hall was blockaded. A cop at the blockade gave us goofy directions and we parked in a side street behind J&R. It was very disconcerting to be barely a few blocks from Ground Zero. This is the furthest south I've been since 9-11.
But I was there to come, see, and conquer. It took about 12 minutes in J&R to get the DVD player (it runs PAL scan video, VCD... the person at work said you could put tissue paper in it and it would play
). That done, we ran into another blockade and asked the cop there how to get back, and a new, innovative set of directions were imparted. It took 90 there, 20 coming back. At least we got to know more about our great city. Dad didn't appreciate the enriching experience though. He just doesn't have the same penchant for adventure I have. But if he doesn't, I keep wondering why he insisted on using the car to go into Manhattan instead of taking the subway?
