Just Say No to Husband Pimpin' Ride

I realize this post is a little on the personal side, but something very interesting has happened recently to our new vehicle. I was washing dishes when I heard Drew pull into the driveway. I looked out the kitchen door to see the website address he maintains on the roof rack fairing of our car!
There it was in big white stickers, WWW.ADKTRAILRUN.COM ! I thought I was imagining things and blinked a couple times to see if it was really there. I dropped the glass I was washing into the sink as he walked in to greet me. Even before asking him how his day was I said, “No, you didn’t.” Unfortunately, yes…yes, he did. He told me his coworkers liked it. I told him they were being nice.

Since I'm not holding anything back, I find it to be completely obnoxious and loud. This is the equivalent of me putting my blog’s web address on the side of my car and adding yellow and orange flames on the side just to make sure people notice me. A few of our friends own businesses and they tastefully advertise on their vehicles. I have no problem with that because it's their livelihood and it's not my car.

The day we bought the car, my husband had a small sticker that he wanted to put on the vehicle and asked me for my input on placement. I don’t know what happened to my husband that consulted me on stickers for our car two months ago, but I would like him back please. I will give the person I am currently sharing a bed with one week to advertise www.adktrailrun.com on the car and then future advertising will have to be discussed.

P.S. If said husband is reading this, you better take me out for ice cream in your pimped up ride tonight since I'm giving you some free advertising. :)

Hunan Oshaka's Latest Addition, Numero Dos

Last month I had mentioned that Hunan Oshaka and Kento the Chinese Japanese Restaurant in Lake Placid was going to be opening Mexico City soon.  The last few days the local radio station had been brainwashing me into trying it out for Cinco De Mayo, their "Grand Opening."  I couldn't convince Drew to take me there for their special offer of $3 margaritas and free appetizers.  I can't imagine why?  Come on, $3 margaritas!

Luckily, our friend Heather asked if we would go and Drew caved in.  Upon entering, we were warmly greeted by the owner and were seated in the back of the restaurant where they had Southwestern pictures hanging on the walls.  A couple of us at the table thought that they could have been playing some Mexican music rather than the radio station to create a better ambience.

We sampled the appetizers that they had at the buffet.  There were tortilla chips, mini tacos, and perhaps an empanada, but it was more like a cross between a pork pierogi and a sweet pot sticker.

 

A few people thought the margaritas were a little bit too salty, but were able to finish them with no problem.  

I hate to say anything bad about a business that is starting a new venture, but it's going to take something like $1 margaritas for me to give them a second try.  Lo siento Hunan Oshaka/Kento/Mexico City y feliz Cinco de Mayo!

Mud Season and a Confession

Spring is upon us in these neck of the woods and so we enter mud season.  After a winter's worth of sanding the roads, the snow banks start to look like this:  

Rather than calling it mud season, my husband calls it "Beer Can and Dog Poop Season." Charming huh?  Areas south of us are experiencing flowering trees and blooming daffodils.  We have beer cans and thawed out dog poop springing up everywhere.

I was contemplating all of this the other morning when I was walking a friend's dog while they were out of town.  Strolling along a side road, I was seeing just how accurate his seasonal phrase was.  

Then it happened, Gwen (the dog) went over to a grassy patch and pooped!  I know dogs poop and all, but the owner told me that she would just pee a bit and then I could bring her inside and give her one cup of food.  I didn't think she was going to poop on my shift.  I was totally unprepared to scoop it up in a baggy and bring it back to their trash bin.  I had to leave it. 

I am sorry that I added to this dismal Beer Can and Dog Poop Season, but at least Gwen's poop is a little more organic than this Natural Ice can I spotted. 

I may have left the poop, but I picked up the beer can in hopes of better karma.

Rude Valentine!

Yesterday was just one of those days where I needed to go to my friend Nancy's cubicle to get a little sugar pick me up and hope that it would turn my day a little sweeter.  I debated on taking a dark chocolate Dove heart, but in the end decided on a pouch of Necco Sweethearts.  

I decided that the Universe was indeed against me.  Amongst all the other normal hearts like "Be Mine" or "True Love" I got a heart that said, Fok You!  

It really made me wonder how from the Necco factory in Revere, MA where I'm sure it was stamped "For You", this heart traveled all the way to the Adirondacks and made a ride in Nancy's car Along the Ausable River to arrive in my hands on an already bad work day telling me Fok You!

Mean mean ATM machine!

This morning I went to get money out from the ATM machine at Community Bank in Lake Placid and became completely annoyed when the machine's screen went blank and decided not to give me my card back!  I furiously pushed the red cancel button several times and my card remained inside. I know it is not often that I give a bad write up of something in my area, but this really sucks! My bank used to be Citizen's Bank, but then it changed to Community Bank some time in October.  When they made the change one weekend of painting the bank's interior from green to maroon, they allowed no account or debit access from a Friday to a Monday.  When that Monday came, I still hadn't received my new Community Bank debit/credit card in the mail and had to file some paper work to receive it and wait 7-10 business days.  It was two weeks before I received the card.  

I was pretty sure I would cancel my account and move my money over to a different bank.  Once the card got to me and the transition from Citizens to Community became easier, I decided I'd just stay with Community Bank and not deal with the hassle of changing banks.

I called the 800 number this morning to report my card being gobbled up and the nice lady in Fargo, ND told me I would have to speak to my branch on Monday morning to receive a new card.  I guess I'll have to wait another couple weeks to get my new card again and walk up to the teller and get some cash out the old fashioned way.

I'm warning you Community Bank, one more problem and I'll be exiting Community Bank for good!

Poop Identification

Let me start by saying, I feel very violated this morning.

We had some kind of animal visit us in the night.  In trying to get my cat Mango in last night, I must have forgotten to latch the door from our "breeze way" into the mud room.  We had the garbage in the mud room because we are refinishing the kitchen floor and didn't want anything in the kitchen.  After waking up this morning and glancing into the mud room (excuse my language) I gasped, "Holy Shit!"  Here are some more pictures from the garbage poop incident:

Poop literally right inside my nice red fleece hat!

Poop on top of nails in breeze way!

Last but not least, poop patty on top of cardboard!

I would be really surprised if these poop patties belonged to a raccoon.  Could it really only be a raccoon?  Could it have possibly been a bobcat?  A skunk?  A bear!?  I'd like to say I would give out a reward for the person that can identify the poop, but I have no money.  Remember, we are renovating a house.  Please tell me this animal will go into hibernation soon and I won't have to worry about the poop bandit.

Road Rage and Leaf Peepers

Living here in the Adirondacks, one experiences a different kind of road rage than city dwellers. Rage against tourists.  On my daily drive to work it is common to experience a vehicle in front of you driving between 25-40 mph while in a 55 zone, especially during leaf peeping season. 

 

I am not talking about winter driving, because I am known to be very cautious in bad conditions.  I understand that the drive from Jay to Lake Placid on Rt. 86 is gorgeous, it is a reason why I chose to make this area my home, but for some reason when becoming a tourist in a far away land, you become oblivious to those behind you that are trying to get to and from work.  

The other night after work, there was a vehicle from Minnesota in front of me that was literally driving 35 mph .  So I called on my cell phone (yes, illegally) my coworker behind me to tell her that this was going to be a long drive home.  The universe must have been listening to our conversation because the MN van pulled over!   Of course, two miles later there was a vehicle from New Jersey driving about 40 mph in a 55 zone and loved hitting their brakes every curve. One can really calculate how oblivious the tourist driver is by counting how many cars there are behind them.  This car had 6 vehicles in their rear view mirror and didn't even know it.  Not the worst case I've seen, once this summer I counted 9!  

So, I beg of you tourist driver, please please please pull over and take some pictures!  I did.