Archive for ''Burg of the South'
I’m going to give this weekend an A. Or…no. Better than an A. I think I’ll give it an A to the 3rd power. An A cubed, if you will.
I know you will.
After a week filled with car problems (and, when I say “problems” I actually mean “total and complete frickin’ failure”), malfunctioning electronics, and broken dishes (I could go on), CK and I were down for some fun. But, you know what? You don’t realize how much you depend on a gigantic, plasma boob tube hanging smack-dab in the middle of your living area until it craps out on you.
You’re then forced to improvise.
After we got back from a delicious Macaroni Grill dinner (complete with an opera singer who was wandering around, singing from table to table? Really? Never noticed that phenomenon before…), we cracked open a bottle of wine and had some ridiculous fun taking turns playing old-school cds, trying to make each other crack up. There was some Firehouse, some Presidents of the United States of America (”peaches come from a can…they were put there by a man”), some Mighty Mighty Bosstones, and of course, some Snoop. It was awesome.
Top-notch non-tv time.
Then, Saturday night we headed downtown to the State Theater to see Chris McCarty. Awesome!!! This is the second time I’ve seen Chris play, and he’s fantastic. I’ve had his cd for awhile, and it’s very good. But, nothing compares to his live shows. I don’t really know how to describe him, but he plays with such obvious joy that his energy is completely contagious. We had a blast.
I wish I could tell you that I was going for “ambiance” with this picture, but the truth is my camera - as great as it is in most situations - kind of sucks in dark places. Here’s the best I could do.
See that smile??
Maybe this one’s a little better?
And, in true St. Petersburg fashion, we ran into some strange rangers right after the show. See, we promised our friend Kimmie that we’d stop at the Emerald on our way out since it was so close to the theater (she’s a bartender there). When we got there, though, there was no sign of Kimmie. HOWEVER. There did seem to be a group of people golfing inside the bar.
No, seriously.
I can’t make this stuff up. Let’s just say I HOPE there was a bar crawl of some sort involved here…
People in St. Pete are nothing if not inventive!!
CK and I were invited to the 4th Annual 4th Avenue Olympics last weekend, yo! Behold:
Well, CK’s been to this awesome event before. But, me? My first time. And let me tell you, it was impressive. Our friends Katie and Chad host the event, and it involves a number of their neighbors (luckily, since we were traipsing through their yards most of the afternoon) and friends getting together for some good, old-fashioned, kick-you-in-the-pants, country-tastic fun. With costumes. And shots!
When we first got there, we all gathered around for the Opening Ceremonies, with each country’s song loaded up on the ipod. Seriously. It was fantastic.
I was representing New Zealand……really for no good reason. (People kept asking me if it was because of that show “Flight of the Conchords.” But, sadly, I’m not that cool. We don’t even get HBO). Most of the big countries were there: USA, Italy, Germany, Mexico, Somalia (I’ll let you imagine what the costume might have consisted of there), and Chad was representing…well, Chad. Hilarious.
The events were: Frisbee Golf (totally awesome and harder than it sounds!), Darts, Egg Races, Baggos (kind of like horseshoes, but with boards and bean bags), and Ring Toss (just like at the amusement park).
Here were this year’s medalists in Frisbee Golf (each on his or her respective podium, of course). I was, naturally, not a part of it. My attempt at a curve on the dogleg of #9? Let’s just say it didn’t get me anywhere good. Or anywhere near the hole.
It was such an awesome time. And, CK took home the bronze!
I didn’t have a whole lot to show for my day of competition… I mean, really, it all fell apart for me after my first jello shot on the back nine of frisbee golf, but what are you going to do? Kiwis do love their tropical fruit gelatin-flavored alcohol. Am I right?
Florida is funny.
Not that Pittsburgh didn’t have a good run at cornering the panic-stricken weather person market or anything, but the weather people in Florida are hilarious. Because we’ve been having somewhat of a relief cold snap in temperatures, the weather has been the lead story on the news almost every night. And they’re just a tad alarmed about it. Like, “nobody freak out, but it’s going to go down INTO THE 40S TONIGHT! The 40s! We’re not certain you can LIVE THROUGH a cold spell like this! Stay inside! Cover your plants! Better yet, DIG UP your plants, bring them inside, and lodge them in your PREHEATED OVEN! Just to be sure!!”
So, anyway, in a seemingly unrelated turn of events (can unusually cold temperatures blow out transformers? No idea…but I doubt it), our power went out this morning. And, it didn’t just passively “go out” in the middle of the night. No, no. It BLEW out around 6:45 this morning. I mean, there was an explosion-y sound and a big bright flash of light (which I suspect was the light in the pool blowing out). Very dramatic. And, since I work from home, I’ve been forced out into the real world with the retirees.
That’s right, folks. I’m at Panera.
On one hand, it’s nice to be among the humans for the day. However, I’ve learned an important lesson. The coffee-drinking and pastry-eating crowd are LOUD. But, you just can’t make up the stuff that happens to you out here.
So, I get into Panera this morning, and it was totally hoppin’. I order a big, fat cup of hazelnut coffee, get it all decorated with cream and sugar, and carry it over to a table by both a window (for me) and a plug (for my friend, the laptop). As soon as I pull my computer out of my bag, an elderly man appears by my side and says, “oh, are you planning on joining us, young lady?” Hmmm. Pardon?
See, I figured that the two-person table with nothing on it and no one sitting at it was free for the taking. Clearly that was my bad.
As far as I can tell, one of three things happened. Either (1) that was their usual table and they were unwilling to sit somewhere new, (2) they’d had their eye on that table and had subconsciously already put the flag into it, claiming it as their own, or (3) old people are messing with me.
Either way, I’m now sitting at the four-person table directly behind it.
And, I have the urge to see if my power’s back on.
Well, it’s official. I had my first visitors from the ‘Burgh!! And, it’s barely even winter yet!!
Huh.
They must actually like me.
So, one of my best friends, Jen, and her husband Chad came down to visit. They were in town for Chad’s Ironman World Championship competition up in Clearwater. Jen and Chad are both awesome athletes, and they compete in races almost all year long. This particular race was one only Chad was doing, though, so I headed to Clearwater to meet up with Jen and some members of Chad’s family to watch the race. I’d never seen a triathalon before, let alone an Ironman, so I didn’t really know what I was getting into. The worst part was the setting-my-alarm-for-4:50 AM-part (because, as CK was quick to point out, 4:45 would have been way too early, and 5:00 would have been way too late. I’m glad he sees it my way).
But, once I was up and moving, I have to tell you. It was amazing.
I was expecting a somewhat painfully-long day (sorry, but I was. Hi, Chad!!), but it was the complete opposite of that. Between the beautiful weather, the gorgeous scenery (including dawn on Clearwater Beach, which anyone who knows me knows that I would never get the opportunity to see that voluntarily!), the excitement of the race, the amazing athletes, and the great company, I had the best time. Anyway, this was the last race that wrapped up Chad’s season - and he finished in a personal best time - so, needless to say, they were ready to party.
They got to do a ton of cool stuff while they were here…parasailing, kayaking…(apparently you can take the athlete off the training schedule, but…). They kind of did their own thing during the day while I worked, and then CK and I took them to some of our favorite haunts in the evenings.
There were dinners out, beers at the bar, sunsets, Guitar Hero…just a quality time all around.
Here are some shots of us watching the sun go down at Caddy’s. They don’t call it Sunset Beach for nothin’!
Jen, Me, & My Arm Shadow
Jen & Chad
CK
Huh. I had no idea.
I’m not a baseball fan. I mean, I’m from Pittsburgh, so I guess I just assume this is implied. I haven’t paid attention to baseball since, oh, let’s call it 1992.
But, since I’ve moved to St. Pete, I’ve come to realize that “exciting baseball” can be something other than a horrible oxymoron. I’ve actually even witnessed a couple exciting games myself! And, while I’m so far removed from the love I once had for the sport, I find myself being really happy for my new neighbors all the same. Because, really. When you go from being the worst team in baseball to being in the World Series the very next season, all you can say is, “how long until the Super Bowl?”
Just kidding. Old habits…
Congratulations, Rays!!!!!!!!!
…when this shows up in your weekly grocery store flyer.
Here are some pics from last night’s sunset on, appropriately, Sunset Beach.
Dudes.
I live here.
I just moved to Florida.
That’s not really the most important thing about me, but I’d say it’s the most significant thing that’s happened to me…possibly ever.
My boyfriend, CK, and I have been dating for about two years. Even though we’re both originally from Pittsburgh, he’s been living and working in St. Pete for more than three years. We’d known each other for years but, of course, took the most difficult route imaginable and didn’t START dating until we could do it with the longest distance possible in between us: Pittsburgh to St. Pete. We were committed enough to make it work, but we knew we couldn’t do it forever.
He owned a house. I didn’t.
He lived by the beach. I didn’t.
He’s a very persuasive salesman. I…
Well, you get the picture. Long story short…I moved.
I got here about a month ago and am still adjusting. Adjusting to the weather, to working from home, to the bugs, to the bug BITES, to the surreal feeling of living 5 minutes from a beach, to just the Florida-ness of it all. And, I’m finding myself with a bunch of free time on my hands, what with all my friends and family being more than 1,000 miles away now!
And so, Internet, I give you my blog.
