OK Cupid

I've been filling in my bio, adding a few photos and answering more questions on http://www.okcupid.com/. It's a free site where you can make new friends, find a possible date or maybe find someone to have sex with. I found the sex angle on the site somewhat shocking. They ask a lot questions about sex. I suspect there are some really weird people on that site. Still, it has its good points. I've been very impressed by how many single ladies it has in the Maryland, Washington D.C. and Northern Virginia area. I don't know what my chances are of meeting some of them. I will confess I'm picky. I want attractive and I won't settle for less. I'm content to keep going it alone if it means I have to compromise. I know a woman is more than looks and believe me, I take their personality into account too. I never forgot a date I had years ago with a stunner. Her personality stunk and the date was a massive dud. Another problem I suspect I'll run into is kids. I'm not real keen on becoming an instant dad because she has kids of her own. I think it's hard enough to make a relationship work without that addition of kids and ex's. Still, a lot women my age is likely to have them. Lastly, me and my gut are going to have to do battle. My job at the Post Office hasn't helped my weight situation. I'm subject to being called in on short notice and I can never be sure how long I'll have to work. That plays hell with my diet. I can eat a light breakfast and then not get home for 9 hours. By the time I get home, I'm starving and I overeat. My step-mom has suggested I carry snacks to re-energize myself but when I'm doing a route, I don't want to stop till I'm done. Also, after a long day at the Post Office, I don't feel like exercising. I hit the elliptical machine today for the first time in months. Boy, I was out of shape. I set it for level 5 and managed to last 25 minutes. My heart rate soared. Oh well. We'll see how it goes. Stay tuned.

Union Station

Per my previous blog on the D.C. Duck tour, I found myself with an hour and 45 minutes to waste before the tour left. I decided to explore Union Station. Union Station is the main train station for Washington D.C. All trains going through D.C. stop there. It is a very impressive building with beautiful statues, walls and ceilings. There are a number of Roman centurion statues that were designed by Louis Saint Gauden (I hope I have that name right). Each of the statues has a shield in front of it. The reason for this is that each statue is nude. When the statues were made back in 1908, people were more modest than we are today. As some people in those days would've been shocked at the sight of such brazen manliness, Gauden created was has come to be known as "modesty shields" which stand in front of the statues and hide each of the statue's manliness. I thought the story funny which is why I'm passing it on to you my reader.

The station has 3 floors. The bottom floor is filled with various restaurants. I can't tell you if any of them are any good as I've never tried any of them. The 2nd floor has a combination of shops, restaurants, Amtrak ticket counters and the gates for the various trains. I thought this part was neat as I checked out the various gates to see where the trains were going. A lot of them were going north to New York City with some going on to Boston. Some were going south to Newport News. To me, train travel is still pretty neat. You get to see towns and countryside on the train unlike in an airplane. You also arrive typically in the heart of your destination vice at some distant airport. My only complaint with the trains is their poor timeliness. I know airplanes are late too but, the airplanes have never been as late as some of the trains I've ridden on here in the states.

The 3rd floor on the station has some posh shops including Joseph Banks Clothiers. I've actually bought some very nice clothes here and I was very pleased with them. This is also where you find the connecting walkway to the station multi-floored parking lot. I've also used this parking lot though I don't remember what it costs.

Overall, Union Station is a very nice place. It's a great place to grab a bite to eat, do a little shopping, catch a tour of D.C. or take a train on a new adventure some where. If you're in D.C., you should check it out. Cheers all!

Washington D.C. Hard Rock Cafe

I had dinner at the Washington D.C. Hard Rock Cafe yesterday. After I finished a D.C. Duck tour (see previous blog), I took the Metro to MCI Station. From there, I walked to the cafe. The cafe was fairly busy. Since I was by myself, the cafe greeter wanted to sit me at some cocktail tables they have. I wanted a regular table. They granted my request but, I was seated in a corner where I was easily forgotten. My waitress Lori was also very busy with other customers so didn't have a lot of time to check on me.

I had their pulled pork sandwich and sinful sundae for dessert. The sandwich was nicely presented and came with 2 small sides of cole slaw and baked beans with a main side of french fries. Everything on the entree tasted good. Concerning my sundae, when you make a sundae, aren't you suppose to pour the chocolate syrup over the ice cream then cover it with whip cream and nuts? That's what I think and they didn't do. They poured it into this plastic glass and it went straight to the bottom of it. The ice cream itself was Haagen Dazs and was very good. They also did a nice job with the whip cream and sprinkles though I think they forgot the nuts they were supposed to put on the sundae.

Overall, the food was average and the service was below average. I wasn't pleased with this visit. The only thing I was pleased about was the waitress getting the credit right on my All Access Membership. For those of you who don't know, All Access Membership is a program the chain has where you can earn credit toward free t-shirts, pins or food. For every $200 you spend, you get $20 in credit. It's a nice program. I was very close to getting my next $20 credit which was why I really wanted to eat at the Hard Rock Cafe. At some of the cafe's I've eaten at, the waitresses haven't known how to enter the All Access information properly so I haven't gotten the proper amount of credit I was supposed to get for my purchase. Thankfully, Lori did know how to enter it and I earned my next $20 credit. Now, I have a $100 credit that I can use for whatever I want at any Hard Rock Cafe. I'm pleased about that. Barring that, I don't see myself busting my butt to visit this cafe for a while. I wouldn't recommend you do so either. Bon Appetit!

D.C. Duck Tour

I've wanted to do what is called a Duck tour for a while. I signed up for one during my March 2008 cruise but, it was cancelled and I couldn't make the morning tour as I had another tour scheduled during that time. A Duck tour for those of you who don't know is a tour of a city in what is called a Duck vehicle. The vehicle was created during World War II. It's purpose was to take supplies from a ship like a boat and then drive up on a beach and go to where ever the front lines were and deliver the supplies. So, it is a combination boat and truck or in the case of the tour bus. It's a pretty cool vehicle and is one of the draws of the tour.

The tour itself is reasonably priced. An adult ticket was less than $30. I don't know what a child's ticket would cost. The tour leaves from Union Station and lasts 90 minutes. The two duck drivers were called Captain Crunch and Captain Nemo. Captain Nemo was the one who drove the duck I rode in.

The tour itself was good. Captain Nemo was very knowledgeable about D.C. and pointed out the main points of interest and dropped occasional bits of trivia as well. When we reached the marina opposite the Pentagon, we entered the Potomac River and got to take a short river cruise. At this point, I was a bit disappointed with the tour because we didn't see anything of great interest on the river. The only thing that was some what neat was just before we exited the river. We crossed the flight path of jets that were taking off from Reagan National Airport. We actually had one fly right over us. Another nice thing Nemo was did was issue quackers. These are whistles that make a quacking sound. The rules were we quacked all buses we passed, all policemen and something else. It was goofy and it was fun. I know I looked stupid blowing my quacker whistle but, I enjoyed it.

Overall, I thought the tour was pretty nice. I thought Captain Nemo did a very good job. The tour itself is apparently very popular as they were able to fill 2 ducks for 2 p.m. when I made my reservation at Noon. The lady making the reservations told me they were nearly fully booked for the day. There is a duck tour in Baltimore and I plan to take that one too. I'm curious to see if that one will be more impressive on the water. We'll see. Cheers!

Impatient

I made my 2nd payment on the Globus Egypt tour I hope to take. I confess I'm a bit impatient about paying the trip off. I want it and the cruise I hope to take in 2009 paid off now. As it is, it'll take me another 5 months to pay the 2 trips off. 5 months is a long time and a lot of payments. Oh well. I'll just have to make myself be patient and wait. Thankfully, only 2 months till I get to on a Globus tour of France. Next month, I'll get the travel documents and my 3rd Globus carry bag. That's when the trip becomes more real. You get to see the tour itinerary, your tour number and you receive your name tag so every one in the group can know your name. It's pretty neat stuff. Plus, it's exciting travelling internationally. I can't get excited travelling in the states but I can when I travel overseas. To me, foreign travel is exciting and an adventure. Sometimes too, it has been a bit of a misadventure but those give me something to laugh about months later. I'll never forget my trip to Iceland because of all the mis-adventures I had there. 2 months to go till France and 2 months to go till the Egypt tour is paid off. I can't wait.

Show Review

Today, I saw "All Shook Up" at Toby's Dinner Theater in Columbia, Maryland. I decided to do my review on it while it's fresh in my mind. I'll cover ticketing/seating, food and the show itself.

As I had 1 more person than I had season tickets for, I had to pick up my extra guest's ticket at the box office. There was a little line but it moved well. When I got to the box office, the lady was prompt in finding my reservation as well as running up the charge so I could pay for it. Once I'd signed the charge slip, she gave me a card with our seating assignment which I gave to the seating assignment lady inside the theater. She promptly directed us to our table where we were able to be seated at once. The table was good one with excellent all around views.

Our waiter's name was Dave and he played the nerdy guy Dennis in the show. As a waiter, he did an outstanding job. As the nerdy guy in the show, he was great and he could sing! In regards to the food, it was plentiful and good. They had a full salad bar as well as cole slaw, pasta salad, green beans, potatoes, corn on the cob, spinach, tomatoes, some kind of pasta with cheese mixed in, shrimp, chicken, ribs, salmon, roast beef, ham and I think roast turkey breast. Each of the tables had fresh rolls. As you can see by the menu, if you didn't get thoroughly stuffed, you weren't trying. I made sure I had a light breakfast and, I didn't eat anything else the rest of the day in anticipation of their outstanding buffet.

The show were very funny and very well done. It was filled with great lines and the actors and actresses timing of the lines was smack on. The show has a number of great Elvis Presley hits. At times, they're used for comedic effect and other times for general audience pleasure. All the songs were well done. The show becomes increasingly Gilbert and Sullivanish as the love triangles get increasingly messed up. The biker Chad arrives in town and promptly falls for the stacked museum director. The grease monkey Natalie falls for Chad the biker who doesn't care for her and she decides to disguise herself as a man named Ed so Chad will get to know her/him. Dennis the nerd who became Chad's sidekick gives the job up to Natalie/Ed since he loves her though she doesn't love him. Dennis gives Chad a copy of Shakespeare's Sonnet 17 so he can capture the stacked museum director's heart. Chad has Natalie/Ed deliver the sonnet to the stacked female museum director and the director ends up falling in love with her/him. This is where things get kinky as you have the museum director in love with Natalie/Ed causing a potential lesbian romance though the director doesn't know it and Natalie/Ed isn't interested in her. She's still very much in love with the biker Chad. Things get more complicated and kinkier when Chad falls in love with Natalie's persona Ed causing what would look like a homosexual romance even though it isn't as Ed/Natalie is really a woman. Chad teaches his methods to Natalie's father who subsequently persues the same stacked museum director that Chad wants who doesn't want anything to do with Chad or Natalie's father. Natalie's father's friend Sylvia falls for Natalie's father and tries to get him to see that the museum director is going to leave him broken hearted. Sylvia's daughter Lorraine falls for the Mayor's son Dean who also falls for her and they have to hide their doomed love (he's white, she's black) from his mother. In typical Gilbert and Sullivan fashion, all ends well with a few surprises. I'll let you see the show to find out what they are.

My biggest complaint with the production was with the lead singer/actor who plays Chad but who we would recognize as the Elvis character. He can sing the songs BUT, he can't sing them like Elvis. He doesn't have Elvis's power and so really doesn't nail "Jailhouse Rock" down like he should. There were other songs where he is equally weak. In Toby's last show, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, they had an actor who sang like Elvis. He did a great job. I can only guess that the actor was too old for the part of Chad. It's unfortunate as he would've done a lot better job singing the various Elvis songs.

Overall, barring the lead actor/singer, I found the show really nice. The actors and actresses did an outstanding job. Their timing was smack on and they have some great lines. They were also superbly supported by the folks in costumes, props, lighting and music. The show is filled with laughs and should be enjoyed by everyone. If you like madcap comedy, good music (Elvis still rocks!) and good food, this show is for you. All Shook Up runs until August 24th.

Taper

Yesterday, I listened to my last cassette tape from R. B. Thieme Bible Ministries. Thieme's ministries decided to phase out the tapes. I suspect there were a number of reasons. Blank CDs would be cheaper to buy, to ship and you can put more lessons on them. My first MP3 CD from them had 35 lessons on it. In cassette tape terms, that would've been a box and a half of cassettes. I'm saddened to see them phase out the cassettes though. For all those who listen to Thieme's teaching, it was a badge of honor to say you were a taper. I've listened to Thieme's tapes since 1992 when Dr. Christopher Seidlitz, the head pastor of the base I was stationed at, recommended them to me. I've listened to over 1,500 of Thieme's tapes. Because of the tapes, I made a special effort in 1997 to get to see Pastor Thieme in person when he did a bible conference in Pensacola Beach, Florida. It was something to see the man in person. It saddens me that Pastor Thieme was struck with Alzheimer's disease. He was an incredible and fascinating pastor. Luckily bible teaching wise, his son Bobby took over the reins and teaches in the same manner as his father. On Sundays, I go to a church group where I listen to live broadcasts of Bobby's sermons. Some day, I hope to visit Thieme's church in Houston, Texas. I'd like to see the actual church where Pastor Thieme preached for over 50 years.

For now, I guess I'll be called a CDer as I'll be listening to the lessons on MP3 CDs. Today, I'll listen to my first lesson on my first MP3 CD. Also, I've sent in my order for my second CD. Still, I'll miss the tapes.

Rick Steve's France and Benelux DVD Review

I finished watching Rick Steve's France and Benelux DVD today. I bought so I could see some of the sights I'll get to see in France during the Globus tour of France I'll take in September. The DVD does show a number of highlights of various parts of France. You get to see the Musee D'Orsay (houses France collection of Impressionist paintings), the Palace of the Popes in Avignon, a Roman aqueduct that supplied water to Nimes for over 4 centuries, Nimes, the American Cemetery, the beaches of Normandy, the Bayeux Tapestry, Mont St. Michel, and Provence. In regards to the Benelux countries, you learn a little about Brussels and Bruges during the Belgium episode. During the Amsterdam episode, you learn about the canal cruise boats, eating raw herring, the notorious Red Light district (where they have legalized prostitution), coffee houses where you can buy marijuana and cafes where you can buy coffee, old fashioned and modern windmills, Haarlem as well as the Aalsmeer flower auction where flowers are bid on and shipped all over the world.

Benelux normally includes Luxembourg but Steve's doesn't include anything on at postage stamp size country. Steve's also introduces some of the tour guides who run Rick Steve tours in France, Belgium and Amsterdam. Quietly, he promotes his tours in the video while telling viewers of the various sights. He seems to encourage viewers to get out and see France but, I'd be leery of going off on my own unless I knew France pretty well and could understand some French so I could make myself understood there.

Overall, I found the DVD nice. I wouldn't care to take a Rick Steve's tour as I tend to like greater comfort travelling. It can give you some good ideas of places to see in the 3 countries. It also has some interesting information in it. I remember where he explained about the different level holes in the pool where the Roman aqueduct poured the water into in Nimes. The lowest level holes went to common wells throughout the city. Higher level holes led to pipes which carried water to the homes of the wealthy and to city fountains. Price wise, I believe the DVD cost me approximately $13 at Sam's Club. If you're going to France this would be a good DVD to buy to get some idea of the things you'll see there. Less so, if you're going to visit Belgium or the Netherlands. Cheers all!

The British Royal Family At Work DVD Review

As I've previously reported, I'm a bit of an anglophile. I'm fascinated with things British. Also, as I previously mentioned, I recently bought the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) DVD series Monarchy: The Royal Family at Work. This review is about that DVD series.

 

The series does what it says it does. It shows the British royal family at work. They promote hundreds of charities and causes. They recognize those who have done notable charity work. They promote British industry in the case of Prince Andrew. Lastly, the work to improve relations between various countries and Britain. They try to do all at an affordable cost to the British taxpayer. In the 5th episode, you learn that the British royal family costs each British taxpayer 68 pence ($1.34 U.S. at the current exchange rate of $1.99 U.S. to the British pound/Source of exchange rate: Yahoo Finance) per YEAR. To me, that seems very reasonable considering the hard work they do and the cache they bring to Britain.

 

However, some apparently don't agree. The series shows that some vehemently want to do away with the monarchy. They feel it doesn't serve any purpose. The BBC itself is said to have anti-monarchists working there which makes you wonder what their purpose was in doing the series. Were they truly neutral in the series or did they subtly try to convince people that the monarchy doesn't serve a real purpose anymore in Britain? In the series, the BBC isn't blatantly anti-monarch and yet, they fail to show the positive pound and pence impact they have on the charities they support. Princes William and Henry sponsored a concert which raised money for charities their mother the late Princess Diana of Wales previously sponsored. I don't know how much money the concert raised but the BBC definitely could've found out and told people just how much their efforts in pounds and pence helped those particular charities. They might've shown too the business that Prince Andrew helps generate for British industry. Scores of British charities seek royal patronage for a good reason. It helps them raise funds and it helps them raise awareness of their cause. In my opinion, the British royals do an invaluable job in this area alone.

 

The series does give a small idea of how hard the British royal life is. The royals themselves bring some of the difficulties up themselves. Prince Edward mentions that there isn't any training manual for what they're doing. Princess Anne mentions about how awful she must have been when she first started doing royal engagements. This would've been tougher for her as she was a bit shy at first. Prince Charles points out that he barely gets people to relax, have people see that he is human and begin to connect with him when he has to dash off to another engagement. It also shows the difficulty Prince Charles has in trying to show that the monarchy is relevant i.e. trying to actually do something about some of the problems the British people are dealing with. Lastly, you get to see the enormous press coverage that follows the British royals. The press coverage is a mixed blessing at best as it does help them promote the various charities and causes they support but, it also hounds their private lives and won't hesitate for a second to rip the royals if they make a misstep. The British royal family have had to learn about public relations and managing the Press the hard way. I think there is little question they have learned though their relationship with the media still can be difficult with their readiness to rip them for the slightest misstep.

 

Overall, I found the DVD series very interesting. It does a good job of explaining how the British monarchy works. The series composes of 5 episodes which last 6 hours total. There is an added 9 short bits of things they trimmed from the main episodes. An example was the Queen attending the opening of the James Bond film Casino Royale. Cost wise, the set cost me $65. You might be able to find it cheaper through Amazon or Ebay. If you're interested in the set, I would also recommend you read the companion book A Year with the Queen which I reviewed on February 17, 2008. You can find that blog under the tags Book Review and Queen Elizabeth II. Anglophiles and those just interested in the British royal family should find both book and DVD series interesting and help broaden their knowledge of just what the British royal family does.

Travel Stories

Recently, I posted some travel stories on (http://www.exchangetravelstories.com/) about the Scandanavian tour I took with Globus in August/September 2007. I don't care for the standard sales pitch Globus puts on their tours. I want to know what people thought was good about a tour and what they thought stunk. I feel this is more honest and enables me to make a more informed decision on whether to do a particular tour with Globus or not. This is what I tried to do with my stories. They aren't sugar coated sales pitches for the tours. I try through descriptive words to give some idea of what some of the experiences were like. An example would be the 2 hour cruise we did on the Sognefjord. The quiet peaceful waters and pictureque small tours with vast mountains in the background. The numerous beautiful waterfalls spilling water into the majestic fjord. The stories we were told of people living to old age in those towns and claiming it was the water. The farm we got to see that was over 80 feet up! The group of 45 strangers that in 2 weeks time became 45 friends and shared incredible experiences. These are some of things that my stories told about.

Apparently, Globus liked my stories. Out of the 7 that I submitted, 6 were rated as High Quality. I think that's pretty neat. Now, I wish they would create a webpage for Denmark so I can finish telling of my Scandanavian adventure. There are stories to tell of Denmark such as the mad cyclists in Copenhagen and how Copenhagen got its canals. There the story of how we ended up polishing the floors in Christiansborg (Christian's Palace). Also, there is the story of how we happily contributed to the Danish arts and sciences. Yes, I gladly helped by savoring a good many pints of Carlsberg beer.

As I said in the end of my Oslo story, I'm looking forward to writing further stories for Globus's website. France should be nice and Egypt should be awesome. For those of you who don't care to check out Globus's website, stay tuned to this blog site and read of my further adventures and mis-adventures. Cheers all!

Post Office Summer

One nice thing about summers at the Post Office is that the mail volume goes down. You might say that's a bad thing as that means you won't get as many hours. In most cases, you'd be wrong. As I've previously mentioned, unless you manage to work 40 hours in 1 week, you don't get paid for all the hours you work at the Post Office. You get paid for whatever the route is assessed. This is usually less than what it actually takes you to do the route. If you get less mail then, you have less mail to case, pack up and deliver. That means, you can get the job done sooner which means you end up giving the Post Office fewer free hours of work. So, it's actually a good thing when the mail volume goes down during the summer. The only bummer is that it will go back up in the fall and continue to increase all the way through Christmas. Christmas is the worst time at the Post Office due to all the Christmas cards, sales fliers and packages. A route that might normally have 10 or 15 packages will suddenly have 30 or 40. All those packages can really slow you down.

So, for now, I'm enjoying the easier days at the Post Office. Barring the heat, I like getting done earlier and being able to get home sooner. The less time I spend at the Post Office, the happier I am.

Safety Meeting

Last Thursday, I attended my first safety meeting at the Post Office where I work. I volunteered to serve as the safety representative for the rural routes. I was nervous as this was the first time I'd ever served in some kind of official function at the Post Office. The meeting went well and we covered a number of topics. Before the meeting, 2 carriers had brought up items of concern to them to me. I'd promised I'd bring them up at the meeting and I did. Afterwards, I let 1 of the carriers know what had been decided (the other carrier was at the meeting).

My Postmaster wants those of us on the committee to be proactive i.e. don't just bring problems, also bring solutions and if you can solve them before the next meeting. I took him for his word and I'm working on a solution to another safety issue that was brought to my attention. The job of safety representative promises to be a challenging one.

Egypt Tour Update

Things went back and forth on the Globus Egypt tour that I hoped to go on. I wasn't able to get the class upgrade I hoped for on British Airways. When my travel agent Joel Mills checked on what Globus offered airfare wise, he found out that Globus wanted me to depart Cairo at 1:55 a.m. NO WAY! Luckily, he found a better way to get me there and back though I'll have to fly out of Washington Dulles vice Baltimore Washington International. It cost an extra $154 but, it's worth it. I'll fly on Egyptair non-stop from New York JFK to Cairo and back.

The tour itself went up an additional $100 and some odd bucks. In order to recover from the long flight to Cairo (9 and 1/2 hours), I plan to fly out a day early. That'll cost an extra $230. Ouch! Since I won't be flying using a Globus airfare, I'll have to pay extra for airport transfers to and from the hotel. Grrrrrr! Then, I had purchase travel insurance as there isn't any guarantee that I'll be able to get the time off from the Post Office. The date of the tour is too far out to get it approved plus, my current boss may not be in charge of the rural routes at that time (she'll find that out in August).

All totaled, the tour, airfare, transfers, travel insurance and long term parking will cost over $5,100! Still, it should be an incredible tour. A lot of other people seem to think so as the tour has sold out for the date that I'll be going on. I wonder how many that means will be in our group. I'll find out in March 2009. The tour promises more interesting blog entries and incredible photos. Also my faithful readers, don't forget that there are just 3 months to go till I start posting on the incredible sights to be seen France. I've been watching a Rick Steves DVD on France and it promises to be an exciting tour. Cheers all!

Here is the photo I promised earlier. Normally, I wouldn't buy the group photo as I consider it a rip-off but, I thought it so cool all of us being in Medieval/Renaissance costume that I had to buy the photo. It'll remain a cherished memory for some time.

New Show

Yesterday, I got to see the new show at Medieval Times in Arundel Mills Mall. I found the show nice. They did change the story line though they kept various bit from the previous show. King Phillip holds a tournament to honor the new peace between his kingdom and the Kingdom of Leon. So, you have knights jousting, spearing rings and throwing spears as before. Also, you get to see displays of fancy riding and a display of falconry.

Food wise, the menu hasn't changed. It's still all finger food barring your soup which you slurp. They served tomato vegetable so I had to use my fingers to scoop out the remaining veggies. They do give you a hot towel and plenty of knapkins to clean up with.

Service wise, barring getting a mug of ice tea poured into my lap, serving serf Matthew did a fine job. I made sure I tipped him as serving staff are the lowest paid people at the castle. It's expected that tips will make up for the low pay. Sometimes, it does and sometimes it doesn't.

Overall, I had a nice time and I was glad I went to see the new show. If you haven't seen it, you might want to check it out. You don't have to rush right out to see the new show as it will be playing for the next 4 years or so, you'll have plenty of time to catch it.

Side note: I bought the group photo that the castle takes of you when you arrive there. I know it's a bit of rip-off ($20) but, I wanted a memento of our group as we were wearing Medieval and Renaissance garments. I plan to post a copy of the picture on this blog later. I think it's pretty neat.

Wasps

Today, I ran into another hazard that a mail carrier has to deal with: wasps. Wasps like to build their nests in dark places. The outgoing mail box on various multi-mailboxes apparently suits them just fine. I opened the outgoing box as usual on one multi-mailbox as this is where the latch is so you can open the doors to the box. I noticed one wasp fly out after I opened the mailbox. I put the mail in the various boxes, dropped the latch to close the doors and a wasp tried to come shooting out. I promptly closed the door to the outgoing mail slot. The wasp climbed out and flew around a little before returning to the mail box. To my great annoyance, the latch didn't lock. I was faced with a dilemma. There were wasps in the outgoing mailbox and if I opened the door, they would certainly fly out again. However, I couldn't leave the mailbox unsecured. I got the nerve up, opened the outgoing mailbox door and dropped the latch. This time, a wasp came flying right at me. I have rarely moved so fast as I did then. I managed to avoid the wasp. However, the mailbox wasn't locked. So, I had to wait for the wasp to go back in so I could close the door and very quickly lock the box. Once I locked the box, I made haste to my mail truck and carried on. I plan to tell who delivers rural route 11 tomorrrow that there is a wasp nest inside that particular box. Hopefully, the Post Office can send someone out to get rid of those wasps. I'm counting my blessings that I won't be doing rural route 11 tomorrow.

Heat

One of the hardest things that a mail carrier has to deal with is the weather. It isn't a cliche when the mail service says that neither rain nor sleet nor cold will stop the mail from getting through. The Postal Service means it. Yesterday, I got to deal with another weather element: Heat. The temperature was in the high 90's and it may have hit 100. You walked out of the Post Office and you could feel the heat at once. You promptly started sweating. You work as quickly as you can so you can get back to the Post Office and out of the heat. Also, you take plenty of fluids with you. It's easy to get dehydrated while you're delivering the mail. You're out in the heat for a long time. Yesterday, I was out in it for over 3 and 1/2 hours. The postal trucks have fans in them but these do little good in the heat. All they end up doing is blowing hot air into your face which may make the situation worse.

The forecast for the neat 5 days predicts temperatures in the 90's. It promises to be a hard week. Luckily, I'm scheduled to do Express Mail for 3 days. I'm hoping the schedule doesn't change. With Express Mails, you're outside a max of 90 minutes. That's one of the nice things about Express Mails. The bad thing about them is you are very pressed for time. The Post Office means it when they promise to deliver your package by Noon the next day. They won't accept any excuses from the carrier. We'll see how it goes.

Airlines

Tim Winship at Smarter Travel has a good article on what airlines are most at risk bankruptcy wise. According to the article, if the price of oil stays at $135 a barrel for the rest of the year, the airlines lose over $6 billion dollars this year. Not surprisingly, this will increase the chances considerably that some of them will go bankrupt. Here's a link (http://www.smartertravel.com/blogs/up-front-with-tim-winship/industry-forecast-is-bleak-bankruptcies-likely.html?id=2607361&source=dealalert&value=2008-06-05+00%3A00%3A00&u=3A79224A5F) to the article so you can read it for yourself. Things definitely aren't looking good travel wise.

Post Office Update

I got to deliver Express Mails today. For some reason, it was heavy today. We got 27 of them covering 4 different zip codes. That's a lot and we only had a little over 90 minutes to deliver them all. By the time I got done writing up all the PS Form 3849s for them (the form people have to sign), I had 75 minutes to deliver 14 of them. I had to haul some butt to get it done. Also, as part of the deal of getting the regular carrier to let me use his truck, I had to fill it up with gas. Our Post Office is tight on vehicles and we don't have a couple we could use just for them. Sometimes, I've had to use my car to deliver them. In that case, I'd get paid for the milage but I doubt it covers the cost of gas and wear and tear on my car. The main advantage of using my car is that I don't have to go to the various carriers and talk them into letting me use their truck. Carriers can be reluctant to let me use their truck because it could hold them up. I did my best to get the Express Mails I had done as quickly as possible but, it still took me over an hour and 45 minutes by the time I got back to the Post Office. The carrier who loaned me his truck was ready to go and waiting by the time I got back. I was sorry about that though there was nothing I could do about it.

On a different subject, it looks like the route adjustments will take effect soon. I know one of the powers that be was in today. He was plugging in the information for all the routes into the computer. I'll find out if I'll get an auxiliary route and how long it will be. The auxiliary route was supposed to be 2 hours but it might be less since they plan to move parts of routes to other routes to bring up their delivery times. I'm not worried as far as how things will go. I'm just curious to see what the changes will be. Any way it goes, things will work out.

Summer

Summer has definitely arrived here in Maryland. The temperatures have been consistently averaging 80 plus every day. Thankfully, the worst part of Maryland summer hasn't arrived yet. The worst part is the humidity. Around mid-July, the humidity will hit making Maryland something of a sauna. It's really annoying. You walk out and you instantly break into a sweat. I'll count my blessings that the humidity hasn't hit yet. Also, I'll start taking a cooler of water with me when I do a route so I won't get dehydrated. It's easy to do when you're outside for 4 or 5 hours at a stretch.

Rent

I received some nice news today rent wise. I found out my rent will increase $45 which isn't bad at all. That's an increase of just over 3%. I was fearing a lot worse. Also, the complex will allow me to lock that rent amount in for 15 months vice 12 for just $1 more a month. I told them to make the lease out for 15 months.

I haven't given up on my dream of owning my own place. While driving home, I saw a sign saying a house was going to be auctioned. I checked out the house. While it was way out of my price range, I did learn how the auctions work. I plan to keep an eye out for future auctions. I might be able to get something affordable that way in Maryland. We'll see.

Periodontist

Wednesday, I got to see Dr. Ronnie Jones at the Batz & Weiner Dentistry. Dr. Jones is their resident periodontist. A periodontist is a dentist that specializes in gum disease and gum surgery. I'd seen Dr. Jones previously because my gums became seriously infected. I haven't flossed like I should AND I didn't get my teeth cleaned regularly like I should've. Dr. Jones had to descale my teeth. What that is where they go into each root of each tooth and clean out all the built up tartar and infection. It was an expensive and long procedure. After that, I was supposed to see Dr. Jones every 6 months but I opted for every 3. I figured I could keep the tartar and any possible infection under control that way even with my poor record for flossing. So, I got to see Dr. Jones Wednesday. The news wasn't great but it wasn't bad either. None of my teeth were in really bad shape and most were in good shape. There was some minor bleeding in the gums which indicates that I had some minor infection in some teeth. If I got off my lazy duff and flossed more, there wouldn't be any. I'll try to floss more though it is a real hassle. I'll get to see Dr. Jones again the end of September.

Gas Prices

I don't know how gas prices are where you live my faithful readers but here in Laurel, Maryland; they continue to climb. Today, I had to fill up 2 of our postal trucks at 2 different gas stations in Laurel. A Chevron gas station on MD-197 close to the MD-295 Parkway was charging $3.99 for regular. At an Exxon station on MD Route 1 close to MD-32, they were charging $3.89. A BP station on MD-198 just down from MD-295 was also charging $3.89. Prices apparently are still going up around here. It makes me glad I didn't buy that townhome in PA. The commute would've been a real killer money wise.

Genesis Class Ships

I found out some more information on the Royal Caribbean Project Genesis ships. Royal Caribbean held a contest to name the 2 new class ships the winning names were Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas (Source: http://www.oasisoftheseas.com/releases/052308_Oasis_of_the_Seas.pdf). The ship class will be called Oasis. The new class of ship will be the largest cruise ship class in the world. It will accomodate 5,400 passengers, have 16 decks and 2,700 staterooms (Source: http://www.oasisoftheseas.com/releases/052308_Oasis_of_the_Seas.pdf). The class will be nearly half again the tonnage of Royal Caribbean's Voyager class (220,000 tons versus 138,000 tons). The Oasis of the Seas will be based at Port Everglades which is just outside Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Currently, Royal Caribbean features cruises to the Eastern and Western Caribbean from Port Everglades (Source: Royal Caribbean 2008-2009 Caribbean Vacation Planner). The Oasis of the Seas is due to start service in late 2009 and with its sister ship joining it at Port Everglades in 2010 (Source:

http://www.oasisoftheseas.com/releases/052308_Oasis_of_the_Seas.pdf).

This should be one impressive ship though I can't imagine trying to fill all those cabins. I suspect there will be some good prices on cruises on these ships. From what I've seen, you get a better deal on Royal Caribbean's larger ships than you do on the smaller ones.

Transfer

One of the great ironies of working at the U.S. Postal Service is that it is one of the worst organizations to try to transfer from one state to another. It is ironic when you consider that no other organization/company has more branches throughout the U.S. than the U.S. Postal Service. In my case, I'd like to transfer to a post office that is in the York, PA area or to some post office close to I-83 in northeast Maryland. As either of those two areas are outside the Capital District that I'm currently part of, I'll have to take the rural carrier exam AGAIN even though I've been doing the job for almost 2 years now. Worst still, if I get picked up by a post office in the York area or northern Maryland area, I'll go to the bottom of the list of the subs at that Post Office. What does that mean? It means that I'll get the fewest hours and will be the last to get a route when one opens up. In order to transfer to the new post office, I'll forfeit all the seniority I currently have. It's one of the things that really bites working for the Postal Service.

Tax Rebate

I heard from the IRS yesterday. They told me how much of a tax rebate I'm going to get thanks to the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008. I'll receive $574.45. My first thought was "don't spend it all in one place." My second thought to myself was "do the imbeciles in Congress really think that is going to help me stimulate the economy." In my opinion, the Economic Stimulus Act is a joke. The money I'll get back won't make any dent in the economy and help very little in my finances. I see it as a sign of just how wacked out our representatives are in Congress. I also see it as a sign of how they just can't keep their stinking hands of my money and it is MY money, not theirs. I've rarely been so thoroughly disgusted with the buttheads in Washington as I am now. They continue to outdo themselves for sheer stupidity. I guess I ought to be grateful that they gave me back some of MY money but, I'm not. I'm not looking forward to next year as they'll take back all of the tax rebate thanks to them not making the tax cuts permanent. I'm certain we're headed for some hard times ahead and it will be largely due to the imbeciles in Washington D.C.

Stories

Today, I finally finished writing the stories of my Globus Scandanavian adventure. Writing the stories brought back the memories of the trip and the awesome things I got to do. I've kept in touch with a few members of the group we had. It's nice to hear from them. I wish they were going on the France tour I'll be going on as it would be great to see them again. The magic of the trip has faded some. It doesn't feel so close now. I may buy a videocam to take on the France tour so I can better remember the tour. Perhaps the magic of the experience will last longer that way. It might be funny to see how I do making an amateur video of France. We'll see. Once my friend Harvey and another member of the group have reviewed the stories, I plan to post them on the http://www.exchangetravelstories.com/default.aspx site. That way, others can see what the tour was like. It is definitely worth doing. Moments like what I got to do on that tour are what make life worth living. Cheers all!

Scare

I had a bit of a scare this past Friday morning. I was scheduled to work Montpelier Rural Route 2 at the Post Office. I got up early, had breakfast, got dressed and rushed out the door. I put my key into the door lock to lock the door and it wouldn't go in. I tried again and it still wouldn't go in. We've had a few break-ins at the complex where I live and I wondered if someone had tampered with the lock. As I wasn't about to leave my apartment unlocked, I called my supervisor at the Post Office. She hadn't come in yet so I left a message letting her know what had happened. Then, I searched for the number for maintenance at my complex. I couldn't find it but, I did find the complex office number on the web. I called that and they gave the number for emergency repairs. Subsequently, I called that number. A lady answered the phone. I told her my problem and she assured me she would pass it on to the maintenance person who would call me back within 10 minutes. Within 7 minutes, the maintenance person called. I explained to the person that I couldn't lock my door and I had no idea why. He said no problem and he would arrive in 20 minutes.

After about 20 minutes, the maintenance guy that was on call arrived. He inspected the lock and found out that a pin had come out. It was the pin that was preventing me from locking the door. He decided to replace the entire lock. That took only about 15 minutes. He tested the new lock and he had me try it too. It worked fine.

After that, I quickly drove to the Post Office where I got to work on the route I was scheduled to work. Because we are tight sub wise, they didn't have any one to cover for me. I was lucky in that the mail was light that day. I was able to get caught up in about an hour and hit the street at my normal time.

The door lock has been fine since. I was so pleased with the maintenance person who replaced the lock that I sent an email to the complex manager commending him for his work. I hope he gets to see the email. I was very grateful for his quick response and work.

Restaurant Review - Rita's

Rita's isn't a restaurant per se as a shop that specializes in flavored ices and frozen custard. I found out about it when I was delivered some mail to them. The stop is located in Laurel, Maryland on Maryland 198/Fort Meade Road just past the Maryland 295 Parkway. It's in a mall called the Corridor Marketplace.

The shop offers at least 8 different flavored ices as well as vanilla and chocolate frozen custard. They change the flavors of the ices regularly so they always have new flavors to try. They also offer cold drinks that combine one of the frozen ices with one of the custards. One item I've tried a number of times is their Misto shake. It is part ice and part custard thoroughly mixed together. Some of the flavors of their shakes have been very good. I particularly liked their Root Beer Float shake and their cream cicle shake.

Price wise, I've found Rita's reasonable. A large ice will cost you $2.50 and a large Misto shake will cost you $4.30 including tax. They have a card that you get stamped every time you visit. After your tenth purchase, you get a free item of your choice.

Parking is a little limited though I've never had a problem getting a spot. If necessary , you can use the bigger parking lot which is behind the shop.

Service has always been prompt, polite and knowledgeable. Also, there has rarely been a line when I've visited.

If you want something to cold to drink on a hot day here in Maryland and you happen to be in Laurel, you might want to give Rita's a try. They offer cool refreshing shakes, gelatis and ices that will make the heat more bearable. Cheers all!

Chik-Fil-A

Because my friend Modestine works at the Chik-Fil-A on Maryland 198 just off of the MD-295 intersection, I decided to treat myself to lunch there yesterday. It became something of a small course on Chik-Fil-A. For example, I learned that they make all their salads fresh on the premises. They must be awful busy in the morning getting all that stuff ready. Also, their lemonade is the real stuff with real squeezed lemons minus the pulp which they strain out. Modestine also gave me small samples of some of the stuff they sell. Their chicken strips were very good. Also, their sweetened ice tea had a good flavor. I liked their cole slaw which is made fresh every day. I'll be buying some more of that next time.

For my lunch, I tried their spicy chicken sandwich. I found that it wasn't terribly spicy. It was good. I had a large order of their waffle fries which were really good. Both the fries and the chicken were fried in peanut oil which I guess is lower in fat and has a less oily taste. Also, I had a large lemonade. I found their lemonade to be a bit tart. I wonder if it taste better if they sweetened it more. It was still good.

Overall, I had a nice lunch there and I plan to go back. Modestine has tempted me into trying some more of their items. So stay tuned for further updates on Chik-Fil-A.

Old Saying

There is an old saying that goes "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." I was reminded of this when I decided to upgrade to Outlook 2007. I had no idea all the problems it would cause. First, I tried to use the free version Microsoft sent me. I was never able to get that to work and I couldn't figure out why. Then, I bought the 2007 upgrade version Microsoft's Professional Office suite. I received the same errors I had with the free version. I wondered if the Outlook Connector program was the problem. I uninstalled it. Eureka! Outlook started working but, I couldn't access my Hotmail account through Outlook. No problem, I just downloaded the program, installed it and it would work. Wrong! After downloading it twice and installing it twice, I realized I had to contact Microsoft technical support. I called them and got bounced around like a ping pong ball. Eventually, I did reach someone who knew how to fix the problem. They had to create a new profile so I could connect to Hotmail. I was out of the woods right? Nope. I couldn't remember the password for the SprintPCS email account. So, I had to contact Sprint who reset it and helped me set the account up on the Outlook program.

So, my Outlook program is working finally AT LAST. I hope I don't have go through this crap for a good while. I will definitely remember that old saying about not fixing something that isn't broke and hopefully follow its sage advice.

Reminder

I just wanted to remind my readers that postage rates went up today. In the case of a first class letter, it went up 1 cent. If you have the forever stamps, you don't need to worry about the rate increase. Rates for other classes of mail also went up. To find out what they are, please check http://www.usps.com/.

Grrrrrr!

Recently, I received some errors with my Outlook program. According to the automated message that explains what causes the errors, my problem was my outdated version of Outlook (2002 version). Last year, Microsoft sent me a copy of Outlook 2007 since I use their Hotmail Outlook link. I decided to install the 2007 version. To my frustration, I haven't been able to get it to work. I may spend the money and buy the proper Office 2007 version so it'll work. We'll see.

Happy Mother's Day

I wanted to wish all mother's out there a Happy Mother's Day. May you enjoy your special day. A special wish to Kay and Judy.

2009 Travel

Well, I have good news for you my faithful readers. I sorted out my 2009 travel plans and there will be some exciting future posts on this blog. In March 2009, I'll be going on a 11 day tour of Egypt. I'll get to see the famous Valley of the Kings, Valley of the Queens, Queen Hatshepsut's temple, the temples at Luxor and Karnak and Abu Simbel. It should be an awesome tour. I'm more excited about that one than I am about my future tour of France.

In June 2009, I'll get to take my 2nd cruise. I'll get to visit 4 islands I've never been to: Barbados, St. Lucia, Antigua and St. Croix as well as return to St. Maarten. I'm also going to stay in a Junior Suite vice Deluxe Stateroom. I found out how much the price can go up when you hit high season cruise wise. My travel agent offered me 2 June dates for the cruise I wanted: June 7th and June 21st. As you can see, they are only 2 weeks apart. They are $400 apart price wise because the 21st is high season and the 7th isn't. Had I been able to travel a month earlier, I could've saved an additional $400. Apparently, as you get closer to high season, the price begins to climb. I'll remember that when I go on my 3rd cruise.

Lastly, I plan to do a 2 week tour of Ireland in October 2009. This will be interesting as it'll be with the tour company CIE. My travel agent says for Ireland, they do a slightly better tour than Globus. Based on what I saw of their website, I'd have to agree. The Ireland tour promises to be an enjoyable adventure filled with great natural beauty and delightful music.

Sakura's

It had been over 6 months since I last ate at Sakura's Japanese Steak and Seafood House here in Laurel. In my opinion, it's one of the finer restaurants in town. It has a nice decor, great food, excellent service and the chefs who prepare the food are very entertaining. I was reminded of the place last week when I delivered mail twice on rural route 15. The restaurant is one of the businesses on the route. So, I drove out there today.

The restaurant hasn't changed a bit. It still has a pleasant decor and service was excellent again. I was promptly seated and my order taken. The meal came with the standard soup (which is great) and salad (which is good). I had the scallops for an appetizer with the filet mignon, shrimp and chicken for the main course. The main course also came with a choice of appetizer and rice. For my second appetizer, I had the sauteed mushrooms and I chose their fried rice as it has more flavor than steamed rice.

The filet mignon was well prepared and very good. The shrimp was very tasty. The chicken was little dry. The fried rice and vegetables were excellent. The sauteed mushrooms were very good and the scallops were excellent, especially with some of the seafood sauce which the chef called yum yum sauce.

Overall, the meal was superb. My glass was rarely empty for long and my plate was filled up with food. Two people that ate across from me had to get doggie bags because of the large portions. Price wise, lunch cost me approximately $36 without tip. If you live in the Laurel, Maryland area, Sakura's puts out a 10% off coupon in the monthly Valupak you get in your mail. I used the coupon and it saved me $3.44.

I would definitely recommend this restaurant. Like I said previously, the food and service are excellent. The restaurant also has decent parking. The restaurant is located just off of Route 1 on the right before you reach the Route 1 and Contee Road intersection. Bon Appetit!

Townhome

As I previously blogged about, I've been considering buying a new townhome in Dallastown, PA. The reason is that it would be enormously more affordable than buying a place in Maryland. The downside is the hour and 15 minute (minimum) commute from PA to work. At times, I thought I had it all worked out and I wasn't going to buy then, I learned something that changed my mind to where I was going to buy. Finally, I figured out exactly what I wanted and I was set to buy and, I ran into another problem. They don't have a unit finished that has what I want. Ok, so they can build it right? Unfortunately, they can't build it before my current apartment lease expires. They plan to start building another set of townhomes this month which will be finished in late August/September. What am I going to be doing in September? I'm going to France for 2 weeks in September. Crap! Worse still, if I were to go month to month on my lease, I'd pay an extra $300 or $400 a month. So, there isn't any chance of me moving into one of those units. I could renew my lease for a year and plan on buying a place there next year however, the prices will almost certainly go up due to price increases as well as the fact that as more people move in, it's easier for them to sell the remaining units. I saw this happen with some new single family homes in Hanover, Maryland. In 2003, I looked into buying one and got price shock. At that time, it would've cost me $308,000. The mortgage, property tax and insurance would have cost me over $2,000 a month. I wasn't prepared to pay that. You can still buy homes in that development but, they'll cost you $450,000 now.

So, I'm left trying to figure out what to do. I could see if the apartment complex I live in will do a 6 month lease. However, I suspect that will be more expensive as it will be harder for them to find a new renter in February vice July. People don't tend to move during the winter time. I'm also wondering if this is what God wants me to do. Judging by the timing, I'd say not. We'll see what happens. Stay tuned.

Hobbit Update

If you haven't heard already, Guillermo del Toro was officially signed to direct The Hobbit and the link movie between it and The Lord of the Rings. Here is the press report on the news: http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/4496833a1870.html. Peter Jackson will be producing both movies. As Jackson used multiple directors during the Lord of the Rings trilogy, I suspect he'll still have a big part in the films so they should have the same realism and magic that was seen in the Lord of the Rings movies. Also, WETA will be responsible for all the special effects and costumes so there'll be continuity there. Sir Ian McKellen and Andy Serkis have signed up to do their parts in the movies again. (Source: http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/4501827a1870.html) McKellen was an awesome Gandalf and it'll be great to see him play the role again. My only complaint about this news is how long I'm going to have to wait for the movies to come out. I believe The Hobbit will come out in 2011 and the follow-on movie in 2012. That's a LONG time. Sigh. Oh well, at least it'll happen. I can't wait to experience the magic of Middle-Earth again.

Hobbit Update

If you haven't heard already, Guillermo del Toro was officially signed to direct the movie version (there was a cartoon version) of The Hobbit and a movie that will link it to the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Here is the link to the press article about it: http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/4496833a1870.html. Peter Jackson will still produce the two movies. Considering that Jackson used multiple directors when he made the Lord of the Rings trilogy, I think the two movies will still have Jackson's imprint on them. Also, Jackson will be very involved in the two scripts I suspect. WETA will be doing the special effects for the movies so there'll be continuity there as well. My only complaint about this news is how LONG I'll have to wait to see the movies. I suspect The Hobbit won't be released until 2011. That's a long time. Still, it'll be awesome to get to experience the magic of Middle-Earth again. I continue to marvel over the Lord of the Rings films. They were so well made. The Hobbit should be equally great.

France Tour

I received some great news from my travel agent Joel Mills at Carlson Wagonlit Travel. The beginning of November of last year, I book the La France tour with Globus. It's an awesome 2 week tour that covers many of the key sights in France. You get to spend 3 days in Paris. You get to visit the famous beaches at Normandy and the American Cemetary. A guide shows you the historic Bayeux Tapestry which depicts the Norman invasion of England. You do a tour of Mont St. Michel. It was said to have been one of inspirations for Minas Tirith in Lord of the Rings. There is a tour of Cannes, the place of the world famous film festival. There is an optional tour of Monte Carlo where you get to see how the jet set live.

However, with the economy tanking, the hefty price of the tour ($3,400 with single supplement) and the weak dollar, I was wondering if the tour would go. I thought people might decide to pass on such an expensive tour. To my delight, that isn't the case. Joel informed me that the tour is fully booked so it's definitely going. Now, I have to wonder what fully booked means i.e. how many people. The Scandanavia tour was fully booked and we had 46 PEOPLE on that tour! It would be a trip if there were that many on the France tour. We'll see. You my faithful readers can look forward to some interesting blog entries and pictures in about 4 and 1/2 months. For me, I'm going to have to start brushing up on my French. It would be nice if I could speak some and read a little. We'll see. Stay tuned for future adventures.

Laser Comb Update

I've been using the laser comb I bought for a week now. It's too early to tell if it's having any effect. I do know that it is annoying using the thing. You have to remember to use it 3 times a week on non-consecutive days. For me, that means using it on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. You also need to time how long you've used the comb. I've never used the stop watch function on my watch much but, I'm using it a lot now. It doesn't do any more good if you use the comb longer than 15 minutes. It's definitely easier to take Propecia vice using the comb. Thankfully, the comb's teeth haven't pulled out too much of my hair. According to the directions, you have to have the comb's teeth touch the scalp so the laser will hit the scalp. In regards to the laser on my scalp, the only effect I've felt is some tingling on parts of my scalp. I don't know if that's a sign the laser is working or not. According to the manual, I should be able to see some benefit in a couple weeks. Stay tuned for more updates.

Restaurant Review

My friend Modestine Baldon works as an assistant manager at the Chik-Fil-A at Corridor Marketplace which is right next to MD-198 close to the MD-295 Baltimore Washington Parkway. I've promised her I would stop by her restaurant and give it some business because of her. Thursday, I got the chance to do so.

I dropped in around 1 p.m. and I was surprised how busy they were. Their parking lot was nearly completely full. They had lines at 4 cash registers. I ordered their 12 nugget combo meal with a large lemonade and large vanilla milkshake.

The combo meal consisted of 12 small chicken breast nuggets and an order of waffle fries. I wasn't impressed with the nuggets. They tasted fine but they were SMALL. Considering I paid over $7 for them and the order of waffle fries, I thought I got ripped off there. The waffle fries were good and I'd guess they were a medium size order.

Their vanilla milkshake is reportedly hand spun. Whatever. I thought it was decent milkshake though it could've used some more vanilla flavoring in it.

The lemonade was allegedly fresh squeezed. I thought it was decent also. One thing I did like and I wish I'd known about was the free refills. I would've bought the medium lemonade in that case and skipped the milkshake. Oh well.

If you have kids, you might like this restaurant as they have kids play area and give out free balloons to the kids.

Overall, I wasn't wiped out with the place though it was decent enough. I definitely wouldn't order the chicken nuggets. If you go there, get one of their chicken breast sandwiches instead. Do take advantage of the free refills at the restaurant. One last item of note, all Chik-Fil-As are closed on Sundays. I think it's because the owner is religious. That's what I've heard. Bon Appetit all!

Published

To my total surprise, I will soon have something published that I wrote sort of. As I've mentioned in previous blogs, Globus and their family of tour groups has a website called The Travel Exchange (http://www.exchangetravelstories.com/default.aspx). You can post stories on this website of your adventures on one of their tours. You can also earn Go Points which are redeemable for gift certificates with Amazon and Gift Certificates.Com. When I found out about the site, I decided to tell about my Globus tour of Australia. The tour was absolutely fantastic and really sold me on Globus tours. Because of that tour, I did a tour last year to Scandanavia and will be doing a 2-week tour of France this year. Anyway, to my surprise, I heard from a lady at Globus who informed me they wanted to use an excerpt from one my Australia stories in their eNewsletter. I was delighted. I'm going to be published sort of. I think that's pretty cool. A side result of this is that I've started writing stories for the site about my Scandanavia tour. I hope those stories will turn out as nice as the Australia ones did. We'll see.

Ivy Ridge Townhomes

I checked out the demo townhome at the Ivy Ridge development in Dallastown, PA. I was impressed with it. The townhome is definitely bigger than my current apartment. Also, the townhome had a very nice appearance. On the negative side for me, I found out that York County has the second best schools in Pennsylvania and the people in that county pay for it. My property taxes which include school taxes would be $300 a month. Serious ouch! Since I don't have kids and I don't think I'll be having any soon, this is a big negative. Another negative is the commute. On the drive out, I confirmed that it'll be about an hour and 15 minutes to get to work. One good point of sorts is that it'll be virtually all highway driving so I'll get the best gas milage I can but, it'll still be a long drive (about 73 miles). Figuring 25 miles to the gallon, I'll burn 3 gallons of gas (over $10) each way. I'm getting a lot of 2 hour work days at the Post Office so that would make those days pretty pointless. Also, I've heard the auxiliary route I'd like to get will only be 2 hours each day. I would like to have my own place and stop the rent increases where I live but, I don't know if it would be worth buying at this development. I'll have to weigh the pros and cons some more. We'll see what I decide.

Pictures of Old San Juan

This is a picture of the fortress walls that surrounded Old San Juan. Originally, the walls came right up to the water's edge.

This is a picture of the only surviving gate for Old San Juan. It was through this gate that representatives from a ship would pass through and go to the Governor's palace. There, they would present their proofs that they were on legitimate business with the city. The man on the left was our tour guide Jose who did an awesome job.

This is one of the streets of Old San Juan. If you look at the road, you might be able to make out that it's covered in cobblestones which originally were used as ballast for ships coming out to San Juan.

This is Il Convenuto. It was originally a convent that was converted into a very nice hotel. The building still has fixtures from when it was a convent including things in the walls that held holy water. It's a beautiful hotel and right across the street from the San Juan Cathedral. Our guide Jose did say it was expensive.

This is the cathedral of San Juan. It wasn't very ornate but, it was still a very nice cathedral. Ponce de Leon, the first Governor of Puerto Rico is buried there.

Laser Comb

I used the laser comb I bought Tuesday for the first time yesterday. It was interesting using the thing. You have ensure the laser light hits your scalp and you have to give it enough time to have some effect. The operating instructions state you are the make sure the teeth in the comb touch the scalp. You also brush against the hair so the light will reach the scalp. In order for the light to have enough time to do any good, the comb has a timer. It beeps every 4 seconds telling you to move the comb 1/2 inch. You'll work through your hair front to back and right to left in an imaginery grid. By working the grid, you hit every spot on the top of your head. Once you've completed the grid, you start all over again. You keeping combing for between 10 and 15 minutes. If you do it any longer than 15 minutes, it doesn't do any additional good. I used the stop watch on my watch so I could time myself as far as the overall time. The whole procedure is a bit tedious but, if it helps me grow new hair, I'll be happy. Supposedly, if the comb works, I'll see some kind of results in a couple weeks. I'll report on if I see any results or not.

Dr. Ballon

I got to see Dr. Jonathan Ballon today. He's the hair restoration surgeon at Medical Hair Restoration's Bethesda office in Washington D.C. I had to see him to get my Propecia prescription renewed. The prescription is only good for 1 year. I don't know why it doesn't stay good longer. Also, I wanted to buy a laser comb from him. His office treated me really well my previous visit and I was grateful. I know I'm not one of their usual high profile clients.

In regards to the laser comb, I found out that you must use it 3 non-consecutive days for 10 to 15 minutes each time every week. You have to have the teeth of the comb touch your scalp so the laser reaches your scalp. If the laser doesn't reach your scalp, it won't work. As I understand it, what the laser does is break up the male hormone DHT in the scalp. The less DHT you have in your scalp, the more hair you'll have. Using the comb more than 3 days won't have any increased effect according to Dr. Ballon. As I previously blogged, the comb is supposedly between 30% and 90% effective. I guess they haven't been able to come up with a definite percentage like they have with Propecia. Dr. Ballon showed me one example where the comb did work. It did make a very noticeable difference. We'll see how it does on my head. Cost wise, the comb cost me $577. The comb will reportedly last for 15 years.

Concerning Propecia, I have found this drug to work. According to the folks at Dr. Ballon's office, Propecia is 90% effective in stopping any further hair loss. However, it won't cause any NEW hair growth. Propecia is also EXPENSIVE. A 3 month supply of it costs me $178.37 at Costco. According to Dr. Ballon, Merck & Co. is offering a $25 rebate for those who get a 90 day supply of the drug. According to the Merck website, the $25 rebate will be good till June 30, 2008. I hope they continue it after that.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Women and children are prohibited from taking Propecia and pregnant women should avoid all contact with Propecia as it supposedly can be absorbed through the skin.

Laurel Tavern

I decided to stop by the Laurel Tavern and buy some donuts today. While there, I found out they are now open on Sundays from 6 a.m. till 5 p.m. That means, they are open 7 days a week now. Their donut selection remains fair from what I saw though remember I stopped in there today around 1:30 p.m. They may have sold a lot of donuts earlier. I don't know. Their mini-burger prices haven't changed and remain pricey in my opinion. Bon Appetit all!

Travel/Geography Game

Purely by accident, I found out http://www.tripadvisor.com/ has a travel/geography game called World Challenge. You have to locate on a map various cities throughout the world (in some cases the map doesn't show the city and country as they are too small for the map so you have to click in the vicinity of where the city would be located) or in a certain part of the world such as Canada or Europe. You have less than 15 seconds to guess each one. The game has 12 levels with each level getting progressively harder. If you manage to score in the top 20, you get to be in the top 20 list where everyone gets to see your score, the level you reached (always level 12 if you want to be in the top 20) and your travel IQ Your travel IQ can be any where between 0 and 200. When you've finished playing you can save your score and see how you did in relation to others that played the game Ex. my best score was 570,037; level 12 with a travel IQ of 155. That put me at 1,674 on the list. My mind boggles at the folks that have scored 670,000 plus in this game. It is seriously hard and challenging. It'll definitely help you learn geography

My Cabin

I had to lighten this picture so you could see my cabin as it faced the balcony. The cabin had a good size bed, tv set, couch, drawers and bath room. I thought the shower was small though.






This shows the small couch, tv set, drawers and entrance to the bathroom.









This shows the view from the balcony. I really enjoyed watching as we came into or left port. The next time I go on a cruise, I will definitely get a balcony.

Considering

Last week, the primary carrier agreed to buy a new townhome in Dallastown, Pennsylvania. She told me her townhome cost around $140,000 (this is half what a place in Maryland would cost you) and it's really nice. Her mortgage payments are going to be under $1,000 a month. The only drawback she's going to have is the commute to the Post Office. She calls it 1 hour but Mapquest calls it 1 and 1/2 hours. Barring the commute, her new place sounded like a really good deal. For me, my rent is going to go up sometime this summer to over $1,500 a month and I'm not living in the most expensive apartments in town. There are apartments just down the street from where I live that are between $200 and $400 more a month.

Another appealing aspect of living in Pennsylvania is they don't tax military retirement pay. Maryland does. That would save me probably around $2,000 a year in state taxes.

I plan to drive out to the new development and see how the drive is. Also, I want to find out if there are any military bases along the drive. I like being able to use the base Commissary and base clinic. I don't like the prospect of a 2 hour drive to get to the closest base. We'll see what works out. For now, I'm considering the option. It would be nice to have my own place and to save money on taxes. We'll see what works out.

Size of Adventure of the Seas

I hope this picture will give you some idea how BIG the Adventure of the Seas was. Length wise, the ship was 1,040 feet long. Width, it was 154 and 1/5 feet. They didn't give the height though the surface part of the ship had to be over 4 stories high. Here is another picture that might give you an idea how big the ship was.

You can see building is 2 stories high and the ship towers over it. Lastly, here is a picture of ship taken from high on a high in Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands.

That should give you some idea just how big the Adventure of the Seas was. In my next set of pictures, I'll show how my cabin looked and some of the things they had on the ship.

Free Rice

I promised secret agent Emily (http://agentemily.blogspot.com/) that I would mention the Free Rice website (http://www.freerice.com/index.php) on my blog. I saw it on her site, checked it out and I was impressed with it. The site helps raise rice to feed needy people all over the world. How it does is pretty interesting. Advertisers on the site agree to pay for 20 grains of rice for every right answer someone answers with its vocabulary quiz. The rice is donated to the U.N. World Food Program. The vocabulary database for the quiz contains thousands of words which are placed in 55 levels of difficulty. When you get 3 answers right in a row, the program takes you to the next level of difficulty. If you get an answer wrong, you drop down to the next lower level. The program is a great way for a person to increase their vocabulary while helping others at the same time. I've played their vocabulary quiz a number of times now and I've found it very challenging. If you like challenging word games and would like to help feed the hungry at the same time, check out the link above and try it.

St. Thomas

We pulled into our last port of call. Charlotte Amalie was very hilly. It was the hilliest of any of the places we’d visited. The ship smoothly pulled into the cruise ship pier. Harvey and I had a nice breakfast, grabbed our cameras and took an elevator down to deck 1. By now, the procedure was old hat. We’d hand the security office our SeaPass’s which he/she would scan and we’d disembark. Then, we looked for someone with a sign listing whatever activity we planned to do. In this case, it was Blackbeard’s castle and shopping. An old gentleman met us who directed us to an open taxi. It was an interesting contraption as it had a number of bench like seats and no doors except for the driver’s compartment.

Once everyone was on board, we handed in our vouchers to Rupert our driver and set off. Just as we were getting ready to leave the pier area, Rupert got called back as some late arrivals showed up. So, we went back and got them. Then, we proceeded to drive up some of the hills surrounding Charlotte Amalie. It was an interesting drive.

The hills were very tropical and pretty. They gave great views of the town’s harbor. Driving to the other side of the hills, we saw great views of Magen’s Bay which was stunning. At one of our stops, we could see all of Charlotte Amalie’s harbor and found out that the Noordam (see St. Maarten blog entry) had followed us. It was tied up at the pier on the opposite side of town. Our driver/guide Rupert told us some of the history of the place as well as some of the other islands. There are 3 islands that form the U.S. Virgin Islands. They are St. Thomas, St. John, and St. Croix. From our stop, we could easily see St. John. People from St. Thomas would take a ferry over there for a nice stroll along the beach and to relax. From there, we could also see Blackbeard’s Castle. Blackbeard didn’t own the tower. Someone recommended they name it after a pirate as it would presumably help the island draw tourists. They did and it worked. They have another tower named after Bluebeard.

After our tour of the hills around St. Thomas was done, Rupert dropped us off at Blackbeard’s castle. Here, another guide would take over. Unfortunately, I forget his name. He told us more of the pirates the island was famous for. They had a number of metal statues of the more famous ones including Blackbeard, Mary Read, Calico Jack and Captain Jack Avery who was a dead ringer for Captain Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. He also showed us a number of old buildings and why they were built the way they were. It was a fascinating tour. At the end, he dropped us off at the shopping area of Charlotte Amalie. It was then that my next ordeal began. What gift was I going to get my step-mom Kay?

I’d promised I get her something. However, I figured if I bought her a t-shirt. I’d be dead meat. She suggested some kind of fabric but I didn’t see any bolts of it. The shops were filled with touristy stuff like jewelry, especially jewelry. I did see some lace like stuff but, it didn’t wipe me out. Another problem was funds. I needed to get some dollars. Finally, I found a bank with an ATM. It was First Bank and they only charged $2 to use their ATM. I felt like saying Nyaah at the cruise ship with their $5.50 ATM charge.

The only idea for a good gift I could come up with was getting her a real silver Spanish coin. It went with the Caribbean theme and it would be a cool gift. Where to get one though? I didn’t want one that was set as jewelry. I wanted just a basic coin.

Another concern was Harvey. While I was prepared to explore far and wide through Charlotte Amalie, Harvey wasn’t. Harvey has had a hip replacement and doesn’t care to do tons of walking. I wanted to find something for Kay within a reasonable amount of time so I wouldn’t drag him all over the place.

I think it was Harvey who spotted S.O.S. Antiques. We walked in and they had unadorned Spanish silver coins. Cool! I looked at the various ones. Then, a saleslady came over and we started talking prices. Uh oh! Real Spanish silver coins aren’t cheap. The cheapest one cost $299! I had second thoughts about getting this for my step-mom and might’ve gotten her something else except I couldn’t think of anything else to get her. I remembered I didn’t buy her a Christmas present so maybe I could make this a combined present. That made the cost somewhat more reasonable. After speaking further with the saleslady, I settled on a class 4 coin which you could see the coat of arms on and a cross on the other side. It came with a certificate of authenticity verifying that it came from the wreck of the Nuestra Senora de Atocha. I thought it was pretty cool. Interestingly, since the coin was over 100 years old (and then some), it was free of any U.S. duty. The store put a slip informing Customs of the coin’s age and the law exempting antiques that are over 100 years from duty.

Finally, I had my present for Kay. I had dollars and I had stamps to mail postcards with. I bought 10 stamps at a Post Office I found when I first started walking through the shopping area. It was interesting to see the Post Office there. It had the U.S. Postal markings but, it was different.

Harvey and I looked for a way back to the ship. To our delight, an open taxi like the one we used to see the hills and harbors of St. Thomas came by and asked if we needed a ride to the pier. We asked how much. He said $10. We hopped in. As we made our way to the pier, the driver picked up a couple more fares. We also passed a Hooters restaurant which reminded me of my brother Hank who is something of a playboy. See previous blogs about the Hooters calendar I absolutely must buy him every year.

We arrived back at the pier, skipped the tourist shops there and walked back to the ship. The ship was loading supplies. It was interesting to see all the booze the ship needed for its passengers.

While walking around, we’d noticed some dark clouds. Luck was with us. It didn’t start raining until we were on-board the ship and having lunch at the Windjammer Café. It ended up being a nice little downpour. I suspected we’d depart on time this time since folks weren’t going to want to stay out in that.

Later, Harvey and I knocked back a couple brews one last time before dinner. Tomorrow, we’d arrive back in San Juan and the cruise would be over. It had been a nice cruise and a learning experience. I felt certain the next cruise would go smoother. I’d already begun looking at Royal Caribbean 2009 Caribbean cruises. I found one cruise that would be ideal. The only problem was they didn’t list cruise dates for late April and May 2009 in the brochure. I’d have to keep an eye out to see if they offered that cruise on the Adventure of the Seas. After comparing Royal Caribbean’s bigger and smaller cruise ships, I preferred the bigger ones because they have more to do. Also, I wanted to try a suite next time if it wasn’t too expensive. It would be nice to have more room and a larger shower. I really enjoyed having a balcony so I could watch as we departed from or pulled into port. The next cruise, I’d make sure I had a balcony again.

After dinner, I went back to my cabin and packed. I also reviewed the departure procedures the ship staff had left in the cabin. Before I crashed, I put the color coded luggage tags on my two pieces of check-in luggage and left them outside my cabin. Ship staff would pick up the bags and leave them in the Customs area the next morning.