StinkyLemsky: A Child of the 80s Grows Up

And that will be that

It's been a great run here, really. And I don't think this will come as a surprise to anyone who has faithfully kept me in their google reader list long past my "sell by" date, but the fact of the matter is that I'm shutting down here at Stinky Lemsky. I just have not been able to devote the time to writing that I used to be able to. Long ago.. way back in May of 2008, I was just a full time MBA student with a boring desk job trying to pass the time. Since then, I've finished my MBA, gotten a new job in Event Planning (after much woe and gnashing of the teeth during my 9 month job search process), and have done quite a bit of travelling. (Just got back from Punta Cana and head to Aruba in ten days).  

And now, now that I have this job where I am geniunely completely BUSY all day, where I'm dizzy from replying to emails and have started racking up the frequent flier miles again, I just don't have time to write any more. I think the tipping point came when I joined Facebook. All of a sudden if I had some pictures I wanted to share, my task list went from this: load pics to Walgreens.  To this: load pics to Walgreens, write blog entry, upload to Facebook, enter into Blurb book (gotta keep up, don't want to get behind!), update the digital picture frame, etc... And suddenly, things just felt like TOO MUCH. That is TOO MUCH time to spend at a computer when all I want to do is plop in front of the TV and ponder the mysteries behind the Real Housewives series.

So, instead of doing the rational thing and just cutting out one or two of the above options, I had just had enough and sort of stopped doing anything. And after a while, I realized it was okay. Nobody shed tears over the fact that they didn't have immediate pictures of my trip to Punta Cana, or an updated blog entry about the hilarious billboard by our house which advertises the Twitter Account for a local ER waiting room where you can get 'Real Time Updates on Waiting Room Wait Times'! Which, truthfully would have been a great post, right?

And then, when it comes right down to it, I didn't feel the same release from blogging that so many of my favorite writers seem to have. Many of my readers are friends and family and I just can't write the same way that I'd be able to if I was writing anonymously. No - I don't have any deep dark secrets or anything - it's just that I constantly had the feeling that I needed to consider my material and play to my audience and how much fun is THAT? Sometimes you just want to moan and complain about your workplace / friend / family member and a blog is certainly not the place for that, is it?

So, to make a long story short, I'm calling it quits. If I have second thoughts 2 weeks from now and continue to pay for my blogging account, I'd be happy to let you know - please send me an email at rma910 (at) aol (dot) com if you're interested.

Thank you for the comments & the friendship - it's been amazing & I look forward to reading YOUR blogs even more now that I'll not feel so guilty about mine the whole time!

Hey, I have an excuse!

Yes, I know it's been three weeks since I last wrote, but I promise I have an excuse. The fact of the matter is that I was so incredibly busy and VERY stressed out from work. If you think being an event planner isn't a stressful job, take a moment to think about planning your own wedding. Ready? Okay, now throw 2,000 guests into the mix (half of whom will be sharing a room with a roommate which needs to be assigned and communicated and approved...), and an entire weekend of festivities into the mix and maybe you can imagine what my life has been like! Of course, it has also been the time when the most interesting BLOGGABLE events have been happening to me as well - but what can you do?

Our event (the project I've been eating, breathing, sleeping, and dreaming for six months) was a huge sucess. We only had minor setbacks. My personal duties and responsibilities were completed as flawlessly as humanly possible, which was a major accomplishment considering the fact that I'm still trying to make a good impression on my boss and coworkers. Not only that, but I also got the chance to meet several celebrities (they were there doing meet & greets as a part of our function and I was roaming the VIP area). Here's a break down:

Misty May Treanor and Kerri Walsh - complete sweethearts! Just as down to earth and personable as you'd imagine them to be. My coworker even managed to get me a signed, personalized volleyball before they left town (we weren't having them do autographs during the event, so this was a surprise she orchestrated for me as a thank you for my hard work).

Dennis Rodman - exactly as you'd imagine him to be. He was most definitely enjoying the effects of some kind of - um - 'social lubrication' and thought he was WAY too cool to be in the presence of meer mortals. His handlers and entourage were just as bad.

Hulk Hogan - how could he be anything other than AWESOME?! Other than the fact that his girlfriend really does look eerily similar to his daughter, the guy was just plain cool. Friendly, personable, professional - he even helped calm down Rodman.

Jerry Rice - amazing! So friendly and personable and willing to interact with our participants. They loved him! The guy knows how to work a crowd.

The Rams, Titans, and Dallas Cheerleaders - amazing, friendly, charismatic and patient. True professionals that really brought our event up to another level. The guys couldn't believe they were meeting REAL professional cheerleaders. On top of that? They were wearing pantyhose in 105 degree Las Vegas heat - it doesn't get more devoted to a job than that!

We had several other celebrities there (John Elway, Jerome Bettis, Bill Mazeroski, Steve Garvey, Rollie Fingers, and Spud Webb), but the ones above were the ones I interacted with the most.

And, lest you start to think I lead some incredibly glamourous life and you should be highly jealous, let me add that I now have SHINGLES. Yes, that's right - over the past 10 days I have basically come down with adult chicken pox. Apparently the stess of the last six weeks or so led my immune system to drop and for me to get SHINGLES (anyone can get them if they've had the chicken pox).They are incredibly painful and horrible and plain old awful. So, would I trade not having shingles for the chance to meet Misty May and Kerri Walsh? YES. Yes I would!

 

But that doesn't mean I'll be giving up my personalized volleyball anytime soon, either.

Yes, of course I took a picture!

You know, you really see some interesting things at the airport and on airplanes. Today, for example, I saw a man decked out in full business attire - complete with tie and jacket & carrying a briefcase -wearing navy crocs. I can only hope he had checked a bag with different footwear. 

Let's not forget some of the standard staples of travel: you've got your snorers, chatty mc-chatters (who somehow don't get the clue when you murmur uncommittingly, put on your headset and close your eyes), the loud laughers (getting their chuckles out of the newest Zac Ephron movie while you're trying to focus on the latest budget spreadsheet), the standard arm rest hogs, the less standard (but still not that unusual) flab flowing over the armrest and invading your space people, the stinkies, flirts and networkers. Then there are the typical loudly complaining about not being in an exit row whiners, rude to flight attendant "I'm kind of a big deal"-ers, and your "there's no way I could leave my precious pooch / rabbit / kitten / rodent / reptile at HOME"-ers. All par for the course and many times I've been stuck sitting next to someone fitting into more than one category above - or, worse yet, been stuck between two categories!!

But sometimes, every now and then, you're lucky enough to discover an entirely new breed of strange passengers. Take, for instance, the woman sitting next to me on the plane today. She looked like a friendly lady (think a thinner Susan Boyle). Seemed ordinary enough, if perhaps a bit batty, until I glanced over and noticed her well worn stuffed animal in the seat next to her. A stuffed dog, to be exact. On his own travel pillow. Blink. blink. ... People - I am not making this up.

See exhibit A: Snapped while she got up to use the restroom.

She had been tapping away on her laptop while listening to her ipod, so I'm assuming she was a fully functioning 'normal' adult. She doesn't appear to be deathly afraid of flying and in need of snuggly comfort item or anything. For all I know, she could have BOUGHT the seat between us JUST FOR HIM. It was a very full flight, this is possible.

Yes, you see all types on an airplane - I'm just glad this one didn't start talking to her keychain (also a sutffed dog) or invite me to join her local coven / Zac Ephron fan club / poetry reading group before I could get off the aircraft. After the initial confusion over her stuffed animal, I barely even noticed when she stood in the aisle put him in his own special backpack pouch and started doing squats while we waited to disembark.

In case you were wondering it is VERY nice to be home.

What was I saying about not being wined and dined?

Well, maybe the wined and dined part hasn't come true yet, but I certainly do feel like royalty. My hotel room turned out to be a two bedroom, two bathroom suite, complete with kitchen, family room, and dining room table. Honestly, it's larger than my first apartment! Easily! There's even a wine fridge. Albeit an empty wine fridge (come on, it's not like I've hit the big time), but still!

The really ironic part of the situation is that (while it's currently a very respectable 9:30pm here), I am completely exhausted and ready to head to sleep. Gotta love jet lag! I normally operate on East coast time, so it feels like 12:30am if you're looking at my standard work day. I have a FULL day tomorrow, so I won't even get to enjoy this luxurious flat-screen tv'd haven before my 4:00am departure on Wednesday. Yes, I said 4:00 am. My flight's not until 6, but when you're dealing with international flights you really can't risk getting to the airport later than 90 minutes prior. Oh, that's going to be very painful, I can tell already.

In the meantime, I visited several wineries today (just drive by visits, don't get too jealous with visions of tastings or anything like that!) and the golf course where we'll be offering a few tee times. It was completely and utterly stunning. Just beautiful. I'll have my camera out and ready tomorrow, so hopefully I'll have a chance to post some photos.

Oh, okay, I'll do a quick google search...

 

 

And, truly, it's much more beautiful in person.

Who am I kidding, it's more like 50 hours

Well if there's one nice thing I can say about a nearly five hour layover, it's that I get a chance to visit my poor neglected blog. I still haven't made the decision to pull the plug on this hobby of mine, so don't fret yet. I am sure you've been losing countless hours of sleep over the issue!

In case you were wondering, I'm in Seattle. Well, the Seattle airport, to be exact. Which, as any traveller will tell you, does not count as being actually IN Seattle. If you asked me if I had visited Seattle in my life, after today, I would still say, "NO."

Where am I heading? Well, I'm heading on an adventure known in the business as a "site inspection" to Kelowna, British Columbia (that's Canada, just in case your knowledge of geography started and ended with 'Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego,' like myself). As a side note, I would totally have lost that show. Give me Double Dare any day of the week. Those kids didn't even seem like they were TRYING. How hard could it be to throw yourself down a rubber slide covered in whipped cream? There is no excuse for failing at that obstacle course, ever.

Sorry - got off track there. Anyway, I'm headed to a site inspection where I will be checking out several venue ideas for dinner options, lunch options, and activity options. I'll check out a local golf course, spa, and the amazing winery where an entire day of our future program will be held. It's really supposed to be a beautiful area, and this is definitely one of the more fun aspects of my job. Of course, this won't be quite a typical site inspection because I will only be there for a day and a half, so there's not a ton of time to be wined and dined by the vendors (boo!). On top of that, I have a total of 24 hours of travel time in three day, so it's not quite the slumber party of fun it's made out to be.

However, does it beat sitting in a cubicle looking at database reports on weekly sales and distribution for widgets? Why, YES, yes it does! Thanks for asking! My job is high stress, high frustration, and high in hours worked. I spend literally hours of my life researching questions you'd NEVER want to know the answer to. For example: a) I can give you a 15 minute explanation on label makers, tape cartridge sizes and the extreme difficulty in finding a clear label that is precisely 1.5 inches wide without spending a cool $1,000. b) Have you ever wondered how much it would cost to rent out the advertising space in the Las Vegas airport baggage terminal? The answer is (and always will be) TOO MUCH TO FIT IN OUR BUDGET. c) Would you like to know the exact best place to eat in Lambert, St. Louis International Airport? Give me a buzz and I'll talk your ear off.

I'm a font of useless information. Actually, to steal a line from Iron Chef, my sister-in-law and I make up a "veritable pantheon" of event planning prowess. Sure, it's not finding a cure for cancer, and NO, the decisions I make aren't life and death (though most bosses of event planners would certainly like us to BEHAVE as though they were), and NO, I don't find it morally rewarding or anything - But, after spending a few years in a cubicle I can assure you there are worse ways to spend 40 hours of your week.

Trust me, it's not an image I'm parading around on the internet...

Happy to report that Mitch and I passed our in-class section of our scuba diving lessons. What followed shortly thereafter was a hilarious attempt on both our parts to don our rented wetsuits for the pool dive Saturday. Let's just say there's nothing funnier than basically attempting to pull on full-body pantyhose.

p.s. I do still exist and I'm trying to make some decisions about my blog - whether I'm going to continue paying for it when I really don't have the time to write anymore, etc. If you're still reading at this point, thank you, and I'll have a decision soon.

Better than being bored any day of the week

Well, I’ve decided if I’m ever going to try and find the time to post a blog entry I had better start writing in the air. That’s right, I’m writing this entry thousands of feet above the ground in my (actually quite comfortable) airplane seat. There’s a few things I’ve realized about traveling, which I’m sure will make their way to a different post one of these days, but the thing that most impacts me today is this: you can be in the B group on Southwest Airlines and still wind up with an aisle exit row seat. That may not be a big deal to you, but to me, well – let’s just say it makes my morning! Add the fact that nobody else is in my row and you may as well consider it the business traveler’s version of a winning lottery ticket.

So much has been going on in my life; I think I need an assistant to write it all down for me. I’m heading to Baltimore right now, for a quick overnight work meeting. Then, my husband is picking me up from the airport tomorrow and we’re driving straight to New Orleans! My youngest sister is moving from St. Louis to start Law School in the fall (sob). We’re “helping” her move (aka – moving her stuff in about an hour and then partying the rest of the weekend). We’ve even invited 2 of our good friends to meet us down there for some good old fashioned Bourbon Street fun. Good times.

What else… Oh! I still have pictures to post from my in-laws visit a few weeks ago. We went to a River City Rascals game (the local minor league team) and it was actually really fun and entertaining… I won’t spoil all the details for my later post though – let me just say one thing… “Roller Grill Derby” See, you’re hooked now, right?! I also have pictures from the weekend I babysat my nephews (I don’t know if you know this, but – newsflash - kids are a lot of work!) and our trip to the lake last weekend. Hmmm, looks like I had better get cracking on writing! Now if I could only get internet access ON the airplane, I’d be in business.

My google reader (that’s a fun contraption that keeps track of the blog posts I want to read, for those of you whose sole blogging experience is with my little piece of the internet) has almost 300 posts and I don’t know when I’m even going to be able to make a dent in it. My calendar has so many overdue personal tasks (really, when am I supposed to find time to get my eyebrows waxed?) that I start to sweat every time I open it. My next available weekend is in late October, and I have 30 more days of travel planned before December. Life is busy. Life is good. And, really, I am so very lucky.

I didn't say it was a GOOD post

Do you want to know the most ironic thing? Now that I'm finally doing some things worth blogging about, I don't have TIME to blog about them. That has to be some kind of time/space contiuum issue or something, right? Or is it the theory of relativity at work? Let me just say that I worked until midnight last night & found myself in the airport at 6:30 am this morning, heading to Sin City. Aka Las Vegas, aka my own personal H E double hocky sticks. Nah, I kid. It's not that bad... when you're picked up from the airport in a limo that is.

Yes, I had my own personal limo ride to a very nice Las Vegas hotel (still not sure how much I want to divulge via the Internets at risk of getting dooced, you know). After arriving at said hotel, I was promptly given a tour of several VIP areas in very popular dining establishments, offered free caffeinated beverages at the nearby Starbucks and eventually treated to an amazing multi-course meal. On the house. And yet.... and yet - I'd rather be home.

How horrible is that? No, really, I want to know. Do you think I'm crazy that I'd rather be snuggling with my hubby in suburban St. Louis than living the big life in Las Vegas? (well, let's not get too dramatic, it is only 9:15 here and I'm blogging in my room, not dancing on the bar at Pure or anything). The fact of the matter is that I have LIVED this life already. I travelled for 2 years and had some of the most amazing un-duplicate-able experiences that anyone could ever hope for. And... well... I think Dorothy said it best when she said "There's no place like home." Not that she coined the term of course, Glinda showed her the way.

Sorry I'm not making any sense tonight - can I blame jet lag when it's only a 2 hour time difference? Maybe it was the reisling at dinner. Maybe it was the exposure to all that extra oxygen they pipe into the casino floor - Either way, at least I got a chance to post, right?

Oh yeah, and other stuff happened too!

Since my weekend winery recap took longer to post than it did to actually experience, I have a bit of catching up to do. Two weekends ago, my favorite sister-in-law aka best friend aka Mitch's twin sister aka Katie came to visit. It's been TOO long since she last visited (though none of us were quite able to figure out exactly when that was, we're pretty sure it was around March - which doesn't seem like that long ago but it IS). I wanted to plan lots of fun stuff for her visit because we generally just lay around and discuss the finer points of SYTYCD (so you think you can dance, in case you're not into the acronym thing) when she's here.

So, Friday (after a long day of working from home together - MUCH more fun than working from home by myself), we decided to head to a local bar for some appetizers and drinks. Oh, and some highly excellent mullet watching. There were some INTERESTING critters there, let me tell you. When a guy busted out a personal collapsible neck & back massage chair (???) we were OUT of there. Our highly exciting night out turned into a highly exciting night in (punctuated by several games of darts and pool and I'm pretty sure it was very fun but my memories are diluted by the vodka tonics consumed in bulk).

The next day, we were adventurous and headed downtown to check out Pappy's - the best bbq in St. Louis according to some. You may have even seen it on Man vs Food. My oh my - it was DELICIOUS. I am still fairly certain that my husband's pulled pork is equally delicious, the sides were out of this world (and the sides are my favorite part of bbq, so that's a tasty coincidence). After that, we headed to the Science Center.

 

Now Mitch, be serious and stop threatening to eat your sister.

 

That's more like it.

We all enjoyed the science center exhibits (while we were a little underwhelmed by the T-Rex named Sue section, I'm sure it would have been more fun if we had my nephews with us as the exhibit had many features aimed at kids). The sensory exhibits were by far our favorite.

How high of a decible can you hear?

  Tracing using mirrors.

Serving Katie's head on a platter

Realizing my husband is more flexible than me

Building the arch. Note the heart monitor - he no longer has to wear it! Only one more Dr. Appointment and his whole accident ordeal is OVER. Hopefully.

Heading to the Planetarium

 Finding out how much it would cost to send me to outer space. I think we'll pass on that for now - well, forever really. I can think of a lot more things to do with 1.5 million dollars should the opportunity arise.

And, after catching an ocean movie at the Omnimax, we were totally exhausted and decided to head home where we ended up throwing an impromptu bbq party for several of our close friends that I hadn't seen in quite some time. We all used to travel together (long time readers of my blog may remember that's how I met Katie and therefore Mitch) and opportunities are scarce to meet up. Katie being in town gave us the excuse to hang out and reminisce about crazy adventures in Cabo, Vegas, Europe, South America.... the list goes on. Again, I consumed my weight in vodka tonics so many of the details are vague. I do, however remember that it was a complete blast & can't wait for Katie to come back soon!

Weekend at the Wineries, Part 5

Sorry about the time lag - I'm sure you were all waiting on bated breath for the next installment of our winery trip recap! Work has been so crazy lately that I can't really promise more than one or two posts a week anytime in the near future. Hopefully you'll keep coming back anyway, of course!

Anyway, we were leaving Oak Glenn and heading to Hermanhoff. But, first, we had to make a pit stop.

 

 

Oh, my - the cherry pie a la mode was fantastic. In between bites, there was ample time to get my hiney beat in checkers.

 

Yes, it was a total massacre. I did have one particularly cool triple jump that vindicated me somewhat, so don't feel too bad for me. After finishing up, we started five minute walk to Hermannhoff winery.

 

We settled on a dry white wine & found a covered table because rain was moving in. Above, you can see the view from our table - it was so peaceful. We had our wine and some chips and salsa and enjoyed our view of the town's 4th of July parade while we talked about everything from the finer points of salsa varieties (corn & black bean? manga habanero?) to which movie we wanted to watch later that night. No cell phones, no email, just hanging out with my hubby and a bottle of wine.

For dinner, we walked to a bar & grill for some pizza and beer before heading back to the B&B for some lounging. We didn't even go down to the river for the fireworks show because we were so comfy. (Which turned out to be a great idea because it started pouring rain by the time the show ended).

The next morning, we enjoyed our last room service breakfast before heading home - but not without promising each other we'd be back next year!

Weekend at the Wineries, Part 4

This year, since we had already done the tasting at Stone Hill Friday night before dinner, we figured we could skip Stone Hill Saturday morning & try something new instead. We decided we'll try a new winery every year until we've seen all of them, in fact! So, we found some directions in a brochure at the B&B and headed up the windy gravel path to Oak Glenn.

 

The site looked relatively new, and the views - overlooking the Missouri River - were breathtaking.

 

 

Gorgeous, right? Mitch and I decided to leave the picnic basked in the car while we headed inside to do some tastings and settled on a bottle of relatively sweet white wine with a peachy undertone - not quite as sweet as a reisling, but not very dry either.It was the perfect compliment to our lunch!

 

Oh, man! I am salivating just remembering the spread! We had sliced apples, salami, summer sausage, crackers & cheese & two small baguettes. MMMM. Before we knew it, we had finished the bottle & wanted to head out to our final destination - Hermanhoff Winery - for our afternoon festivities. While Oak Glenn was a short drive away, Hermanhoff was within walking distance so that night we could both drink and not have to worry about who would drive home to the B&B.