pre and post hurricane

 I'm happy to report, that Sandy is gone, and all is well, here at least.  Monday was the "worst" day, where it rained the whole day, and it got really windy at night. As I mentioned in my last post, the lights flickered several times Monday night, but luckily our power never went out.

It is such a tragedy what has happened to many, due to the hurricane.  My heart and prayers go out to them as they move forward and try to rebuild their communities and their lives. It make it much more real when things like this happen not too far away from where you live.  I feel incredibly blessed that nothing happened to us or our belongings.

I think now on since the storm, the weather is going to stay cool (nooo!!) We're talking in the 40s-50s.  I don't want to talk about it...

Rewind a few days- this past weekend before Sandy moved in, we headed to Annapolis for an afternoon trip.  It was my first time being at a part of the Atlantic Ocean!  It was a cloudy day but we enjoyed walking around.  It wasn't as exciting of a harbor that we may have expected (maybe because people were preparing for the next few days), so we're hoping to get our next harbor fix in the near future in Baltimore; Wolfgang says it's "much better."   Here are just a few shots of Annapolis.

 

My cute husband :)

What you do during a hurricane

Oh hey! Noticed my blog dramatically changed?  Yeah, that's what you do when you're bored and it's not exactly safe to leave the house. You like?  I'm currently obsessed with all things maps, so hence the background.

Due to Sandy, it has been raining all day, and it's really windy outside.  The lights have flickered several times today, but we still have power! (knock on wood).

It was really nice to have Wolfgang at home all day with me, even if he had to work for a few hours. Tomorrow will just be a repeat of today, and maybe we'll get a little more creative with things to do.  My two interviews today were cancelled which was kind of a bummer, but it was for the best.  Plus, it's not like I would have been able to start work in the next couple of days with this weather anyway.

And guess what? Wolfgang is going to be blogging again!  He's currently getting it up and running again, so I'll share it when he's done.  This is kind of a big deal, since it's been several years (pre-wedding I think) since he's blogged; we'll see how long it lasts.

To all my friends and family (one cousin) on the east coast- keep safe!

Hello, Sandy

So, Hurricane Sandy is on it's way, and I'm glad I don't live right on the coast.  People here are going a little crazy, and doing everything last minute to be ready for the rain, high winds, and possible power outages.

A few days ago, our apt complex community association people whatevers sent us an elaborate email on how to prepare for the upcoming storm.  Then today in church, they also went over some things that would be a good idea to prepare.  If it's anything like the tsunami warnings we experienced in Hawaii, we're not too worried about it; but we'd also rather be safe than sorry.

Today we brought in our patio furniture as the association recommended, so that the high winds won't toss it around, and tonight we've been storing and boiling water, new batteries for the flashlights, etc.  Also Wolfgang has already been advised to work from home tomorrow (whoohoo!), and one of my job interviews was cancelled.

So if you don't see me blogging for a while, you'll know we are trying to save on our battery life, orrrr....I have nothing to blog about.

First day, last day.

Throughout my relatively short life thus far, I have held quite a few jobs.  Most manageable, and a few that I actually really enjoyed.

But then, there are a couple that have been down right, b-l-a-h. My latest and not-so-greatest job, has officially made it to my Top 2 Worst Jobs, EVER.  And it's really not so much the jobs themselves, but it's the douche bags jerks that have run the companies.

So most of you won't know, that last week I accepted a job, as a: Dog Walker.  Yes, a dog walker.  Laugh, laugh all you want!  I didn't tell too many people I got the gig, because I was honestly embarrassed.  But it was just something that I was going to pick up for the income, then drop-it-like-it's-hot when I found a better job.

I'll try to keep it short by saying, today was my first, AND last day. You might think, really responsible, right? Well, honestly I should have not taken the job in the first place.  But, I couldn't tell completely after the first interactions or two that the owners of the company were just plain unprofessional, disorganized, etc etc. Well, their true colors shone ever-so brightly through yesterday. Again, trying not to make this into a novel, let's just say that they were severely disorganized, and not to mention one of the guys forgot my name, approximately 3 times in about a 5 minute time frame.

For your enjoyment, let's replay some of this event.

D. bag #1- (on the phone, making arrangements with another dog walker, for me to get keys from him, me standing right there)  "...Um, hi, Um, I'm going to have, uh..." (pause, looks at me quickly)
Me: (whispers)  "Jaimie" (not sure that he heard me, but I am standing right in front of him)
D. Bag #1- "...This girl, call you and to make arrangements to get the keys (yada yada)"

THE NERVE, right?!  And this is after I had reminded him already of my name in our brief conversation.

Anyway, so today I walked 8 dogs (not simultaneously), and most I enjoyed.  Here are some of the dogs I walked today.

Sammy- calm, cute old dog

Zeke- isn't she cute?!

Hinckley- Isn't she ADORABLE?! 

Golden Retrievers are my favorite

Collage of Hinckley (unfortunate she has a boy name)

because I was obsessed with her.

Lesson I learned today- I still love dogs.

Gettysburg

About a week ago, my cousin Danielle invited us for a half-day "field trip" if you will, to Gettysburg.  We were quick to say yes, I brushed up on my history (Wikipedia, of course) and off we went, last Saturday.

It was a quick trip, but enjoyable nontheless.  It was nice to see Danielle, and I'm happy that we have her relatively nearby.  Bassie (the dog) was missed, by Wolfgang especially, but I think that was Danielle's  secret tricky way of making us come visit her in PA.

(some photos courtesy of Danielle)

Actual awkward family photo!

I should have known he was being Asian behind me.

 Attempt at awkward family photo with Abe. Me: FAIL

New kids on the block

This week has been a pretty good one.  Monday was move-in day into our new apartment!  We really like our place. I did feel bad for the movers however, because we live on the 4th floor, with no elevator.  Let me just tell you, that having your (husband's) work pay/take care of relocation, is SO SO nice.  Best thing ever.  Didn't have to pack/carry/PAY a. thing. ! I'm convinced that's the only way we'll go, ever.  Call me lazy, I choose, "smart" or "clever."

We really like the town that we are living in.  It's just beautiful with lots of green, which I've been longing for, for a while.  The commute for Wolfgang for work is a little long, but he finds it worth it, for where we live (so far).  I just might share pictures of our place, after it's a little more under control.  Although I am pleased to say that minus 2 or 3 boxes, we are completely unpacked. I am unemployed and childless and petless after all, so it's not all that hard to tackle it, even if it is kinda a pain.

 Actually, I do have a couple of pictures to share.  Here are some pictures of one awesome perk of our new place, the wrap around patio!  And a great view.

Sorry, not the best quality of pictures, but it gives you an idea. The first picture is of the windows from the dinning area, looking out to the patio.

Another perk about our place, is that we have a one car garage. A GARAGE!  How cool is that?  That was definitely a selling feature, because this place is the same price as other rentals we liked, however other places would charge us up to $150 per month for parking. whaaat? No thanks.

Ok, so maybe this post isn't as exciting for you as it is for me, but I do have to share one more thing.  The landlord gave us an option for furnished (= more per month) vs. unfurnished. We obviously picked unfurnished, because we shipped all of our stuff.  The day before we moved in, he called and asked if we wanted him to keep the tv (nice, flat screen, 42" ish) in the apartment. We told him no thanks, because he would charge us to keep it on a monthly basis.  Later that day we go to get the keys from him, and guess what? He kept the tv there, AND patio furniture, for free! We totally scored on his laziness.  We were definitely appreciative.  It's kinda weird having a tv now, but we like it. I'm like a 40 yr old woman, and I (we) LOVE the HGTV channel. 

Anyway, I wanted to share more in this post, but there has been enough words for now.

Come visit us!

You can't possibly look at this picture, and not smile.

Observations

Observations of the day/week:

1. So far, people are right: east coast people are not as friendly as west coast people.

2. East coast drivers aren't the best, nor the smartest.

3. IKEA apparently brings out the worst in people.  Today while we were there, there were several super cranky couples bickering at each other, as we walked on by and  had a good chuckle. 

On another note, we get the keys to our apartment tomorrow!

Just Playing...(aka Don't worry, MOM!)

disclaimer to my mother, and other worrisome relatives: the follow post should not be taken seriously.

confession: We've really been enjoying this whole "tv" and "cable" thing, while we are staying in a hotel room.  Such a weird concept, eh?  It's been a couple years since we've had a tv/cable.

Our biggest weakness has been:

We're kinda nerdy like that.  Currently, some bachelor is looking to land a place in Thailand, and I'm so amazed by how CHEAP it is to live there! This guy can be living well on just a few hundred $$ a month. 

So then I had this thought.  Wouldn't it be great to live in Thailand for a little while? We could live super cheaply, replenish our savings, and pay back student loans much faster.  Great solution, right?

Ok, so that probably won't happen, but it sounds like a great idea for about 4 minutes.

While on the subject of HGTV, I've been loving these guys' and their show the most, "Property Brothers."  Not to mention, they're HOT. and charming. and talented. But good looking.  They will grow on you, I promise.

Washington D.C.

Last Saturday, we hopped on the metro and headed to D.C.!  It was very exciting because it was the first time for both of us.

We had a bit of a late start so we only saw a small portion of what it all has to offer, but we enjoyed it all.  It's incredible the time, effort and talent it took to create all the monuments.  This is what we saw:

The White House

 It's actually not as big as I thought it was.  Don't get me wrong it's big, but it's not humungous like I thought. Although I'm sure it's massive up close!


Washington Memorial (Hard to miss)
 

 

WW2 Memorial

Korean War Memorial

Vietnam War Memorial

Abraham Lincoln Memorial

All of these memorials were truly incredible.  It kinda makes me want to re-learn about my country's history.  I look forward to returning to DC and to see all the other things it has to offer!