I've officially made my goal of once a month for the year 2016. In some months I even doubled the goal - like this month for instance. I've reached the goal but there's still one more trip waiting for me after Christmas. I gotta say - this goal was super fun to reach!
Today's trip consisted of a trip to Bryant Park - for more Arancinis of course, and more shopping, then an Off-Broadway show (more on the wonders of Sweet Charity and the awesomeness of Sutton Foster tomorrow). Then it was off to dinner at John's and a pop-up Hamilton! shop! Basically any day in NYC is perfect, but add to it the Christmas magic, and the city is down right irresistible.
Thanks for another awesome day NYC and here's to an even more fabulous 2017!
~ In weeks that are considered off season - the questions seem to get easier and we seem to get dumber. We literally ended the evening with 1 point...
~ Having the chance to bet all the points on the last question, instead of capping it 40 would have been a whole lot more fun if we had gotten the answer correct. Turns out 68 points disappear pretty quick...
~ Squab is pigeon meat as opposed to quail or pheasant meat. It's lovely when you know the answer to the question immediately. It's not so lovely when you talk yourself out of that answer, in favor of a wrong one.
~ For once the spelling question wasn't a gotcha tonight. Turns out the word "cynicism" looks really weird spelled any other way than the correct way.
~ It's a fact that the English nerds at the table will feel far superior to everyone else when it's discovered they're the only team that knew the 2 female characters in Hamlet (Ophelia & Gertrude). Also those very same English nerds will judge everyone else harshly for not getting that answer correct.
~ Pop-Tarts are Kellog's answer to something called Country Squares. In a million trillion years, I would never have thought of Pop-tarts as answer to a cereal. Also, Pop-Tarts are rectangular - if Kellogs was trying to beat a product called Country Squares, don't you think the pop-tarts should have been square?
~ How, how, how was Full Metal Jacket - a movie all about soldiers in Vietnam - filmed in the UK as opposed to the other more obvious choice, the Phillipines? I'm shocked and also annoyed because that was yet another question we got wrong.
~ From the teachers at the table - the answer to "What percentage of parents believe their child's hyperactive behavior is just a phase that they will grow out of?" is not 100%. It's not even 50%. 48% just doesn't seem high enough for as many times as this excuse is used in schools.
~ A Shakespeare question and a Musical question in one week - jackpot! Unfortunately, the musical they chose was Annie which is just not high up on the list of wonderful musical lists. But it might make it up there yet since we were able to gain some points by knowing Mrs. Hanigan's name.
I have to vent about something. I work for a cybersecurity company. I listen to lots and lots of cybersecurity stuff all day every day. Now I have no background in it, so I'm not saying I'm an expert. But I do work with a lot of experts that have gone to many years of school and gained many certifications that make them very, very smart in the field of Cyber. And I'm learning so I at least have a base of knowledge in the topic.
So when Donald Trump attacks the CIA/FBI on Twitter (which is an entirely other can of worms!) by saying that it's "almost impossible to track a hack after the fact" I'm pretty offended. Being offended by this man is par for the course these days, but let's just say I'm even more disgusted than usual. Every single cyber security expert would disagree with this ludicrous statement. The entire field of cybersecurity exists because this is patently false.
Forensic investigators have all sorts of tools and processes for tracking a system infiltration. In fact, there's an entire Framework built around these processes. Investigators can not only track how an attack has happened, but where it came from and who did the attacking. It is 100% possible and it's a point that's inarguable.
So why exactly does Donald Trump think the American people are stupid enough to not realize this? There are a lot of tech-savvy people out there. But, I suppose we can just add it to the list of things Donald Trump thinks we might overlook. What's even worse is that these tactics of diversion seem to be working for him. Hasn't anyone in power realized this isn't normal?
I'm feeling really good about this weekend! I'm exhausted, but I'm feeling good. Scrapping, Tree Trimming, Cookie Making, and wrapping! There's still so much to do, of course, but I'm choosing not to focus on that : ) 2 weeks to go - oh dear...
On Thursday I wrote about how lovely Midnight Madness is in Annapolis. So when we traveled to St. Michaels today for their Christmas event, I was sort of expecting more of that loveliness - stores open late, Christmas lights everywhere, maybe snacks in the stores. Not so much... Don't get me wrong, I love St. Michaels and the shops on Main Street looked beautiful all lit up. But that was about it. The stores all closed by 6 pm. The restaurants that looked delicious were all booked with reservations. And to top it all off, there wasn't a single hot chocolate or cookie being given out anywhere.
It was definitely a let down after the fun of Thursday night. However, any Christmas activity is a fun activity, so it definitely wasn't all bad.
This week is all about the best of the couch potato fun of 2016. This year wasn't the best year of television, but there were some definite standouts.
1. Speechless (Most likely to make me laugh then say aww!): I love this show so darn much. It's funny and sweet at the same time. And it totally gets special needs right. They don't go too overly sweet but they don't go too mean either. They show that a life with someone with disabilities is still just a life - with some extra add-ins. It's just so good!
2. This is Us (Most likely to make me blubber sometime in the near future): I know everyone else is talking about this show, but they're doing it for good reason. It's absolutely the best show I've seen in a long time. I want to be friends with every actor on the show. They're perfectly cast and are just awesome! I usually avoid anything that might make me cry, but this one's worth it.
3. Life in Pieces (Most likely to make me laugh out loud): I used to love Modern Family, but in the last few years it's gotten just a wee bit boring. Life in Pieces is my replacement for it. It's another show that's so well cast, that you just want to be a part of the family so you can hang out with them every week. On top of the acting and the laughs, it's creative too. 4 little stories every week - pretty perfect when you have TV-induced ADD like I do : )
4. Grease Live! (Most likely to make me smile from ear to ear, and get all sorts of nostalgic): For someone who loves musicals, this one wasn't even on my radar. I mean, I LOVE the original Grease and I've seen it upwards of a hundred times. So when they decided to remake it live, I wasn't willing to watch, because there's no way it was going to be as good as the original. Oh, how wrong I was. Aaron Tveit as Danny was amazing and dreamy and just awesome! They were able to keep all the fun and songs of the original while adding new fun to it. I gotta say, all future live musicals will have some high hills to climb. Of course, if they're able to bag the genius Tommy Kail for their direction, like Grease was able to, I think they'll be just fine.
5. Gilmore Girls (Most likely to make me fan-girl): I must start by saying that I haven't seen the last episode yet. I'm saving it because there are only 4 episodes and sometimes you just have to pace the awesomeness. I never knew exactly how much I wanted a Gilmore Girls reunion until I started watching the episodes. Oh how I missed Stars Hollow! The problem now is that now that I've had the 4 episodes, that's not really enough. I could really use another few seasons...
A few years ago, the city of Annapolis started Midnight Madness on the Thursdays leading up to Christmas. As a fan of all things Annapolis, let me just tell you this may be my favorite thing the city has ever done. All of the shops are open late, serving hot chocolate and cookies. There are bands playing Christmas music and carolers making the rounds. And there are Christmas lights EVERYwhere - over the streets and in the windows. There's even a Snowflake Alley covered in snowflake lights (obviously.)
Everything is just so festive and fun. And it's a great opportunity to get some last minute Christmas shopping in. However, most shops are chock full of people and that's just too much pressure, so there's not much shopping done for me. But it pretty much is the best place to get in the Christmas spirit!
