My Random Musings | Peaches Prattlings

{March 16, 2016} Game addictions

Help! I’m addicted.

Nah, I like them and don’t want to stop. There are four games I play every day, a few times a day.

They are all based on Disney movies, Maleficent, Frozen, Cinderella and Inside Out,
and all Free Fall, along the lines of Bejeweled, where you need to match at least 3 in a row, but with different challenges and ways you can move.

Each of the games gives you points in different ways, I think Maleficent is the best in terms of points and extras. You get five lives at a time, you get to play until you lose five times, then it’s twenty-five minutes until you get full lives again.

EJS and MGS both like to play, they get a hold of my phone and it’s on. They don’t play all the time on mine, they have their own tablet and only when they remember I have it. I have, however, gotten JCT and ST addicted, at least to Maleficent! Muwahaha

Gotta go and play, see ya later!

{March 13, 2016} When do you tip?

I think it’s a valid question.

As a society, we tip. It’s different in different places, America vs. Europe for example.

We tip servers, the valet, hair stylists, nail technicians, just to name a few.

It’s not that I don’t want to tip, but where does it stop? I waited tables, I am very generous when it comes to tipping, even when I get breakfast included with my hotel stay, I make sure to tip.

When I valet at a restaurant, I tip, interesting, I don’t tip at my hotel, I found out they make good money. One of the valet’s drives 1.5 hours each way because the money is so good. I always bring him something from wherever I have dinner, he said he appreciates it, I feed him well, front desk staff too.

I got my nails done today, I tipped for both the mani and the pedi. The hard part with this and other things, like hair salons, etc, what do you tip? A percentage or a set amount? I’m sure there is a standard somewhere.

The reason I thought of this was being at the airport today. I have extra stuff coming back with me from Denver. I decided to take a chance and use curbside check-in for my bags, then take my rental car back. It worked!

Here’s what made me think of this. The people who work curbside check-in, just about everyone seems to tip them. Are we supposed to? Isn’t it their job? I didn’t tip him for taking my bags. I might have actually changed my mind if he was pleasant.

Just a random musing.

{March 7, 2016} Too cool, need to find this in more places

Tonight I did something different and fun.

I went to a place near my hotel called The Chocolate Bar. It’s a bar/restaurant that specializes in chocolate, as you might imagine. Drinks, food, dessert.

Mondays they have a promotion, Martinis abs Manis, buy a martini, get a free mani, fabulous? Yes! Wednesdays is Martinis abs Massages. It’s a hook and a gimmick, but it worked! Worth it, oh yeah!

They need to do this in more cities!

I found out about it from someone in one of my classes today, she was meeting a friend there herself. I had been wanting to go, I know, I don’t like chocolate, but I was curious.

I got there, ended up seeing the girl from class, we chatted while she word for get friend. The menu was extensive, well, the chocolate menu that is.

I ordered my first martini ever, chocolate and peanut butter. It tasted like a Resee peanut butter cup, except with vodka, um, not my thing, but I tried it. So I got a hot chocolate with amaretto, better. They had virgin martinis, but they were made with milk, oh well.

If you bite the ends off the chocolate stick, you can use it as a straw! That was tasty!

I ordered sweet potato fries with three sauces for dipping sauces, dark chocolate, which had a kick, rosemary butter and maple mayo, that was the best. I keep trying things, like chocolate to see if I like it, you know, tastes change! Not in this case!

Then I ordered a salad, very-berry, it was good, lots of berries and nuts in a giant martini glass! Tasty!

They had Willy Wonka in a loop in the bar, along with the I Love Lucy episode in the

chocolate

factory and some

episode of Sponge Bob selling chocolate on in the bathroom.

There were some interesting people at the bar while I was there, always fun to people watch.

Then it was my turn for a mani. The girl who did it talked 90 to nothin! She was very nice and chatty and when we talked about travel I asked if she traveled a lot, yup, to Florida and NYC all the time, but she wants more. I think she did a great job, it’s very dark green with a gold party nail, St Patty’s day is coming up, maybe this will give me a touch of luck!

Back to the hotel with my leftovers, way too much food! The valet and front desk were happy!

I wonder what my next adventure will be!!

{March 6, 2016} Personal space

We all have it, please go get your own.

I was at LaGuardia Airport and sitting at one of the tables, charging my phone. It’s cool, there are so many charging ports and ipads you can eat, play, stay entertained while you wait for your flight.

I sat down at one of these tables at the same time this woman stopped at the table. She was on the phone and I was thinking, ok, she’s going to move soon.

Nope.

She proceeded to stand there, got off the phone, put the phone on the table in front of me [these are small one person booths], then took out get charging cable and put on the table. Huh?

She then reached across from me to plug her charger in! What!? Let me tell you, there were other places she could have plugged in, instead of with me. She then proceeded to just stand there, pretty much over me.

I asked if she should like to sit there, I was willing to move and she could have the seat. “No, it’s ok, it’s fine, I’ll stand here.” What?

A moment later, a guy on the other side of the half wall got up and I pointed to it and told her she could use that one and sit at it, have a seat all to herself. She took me up on my offer.

Now, let me say this…I don’t have a problem sharing space. When I’m at a gate that has the charging ports on those stands, we’re all crowded together, sometimes standing right in front of each other.

But…when we reach over to plug in, we are courteous and ask, or at lease we are aware of each other and those charging stands are not at a personal table. If she has asked, I would have said yes, but she didn’t and she just stood there like this was ok and almost crowded me into the booth. Imagine if I had ordered food!

All I kept thinking of was Dirty Dancing “This is my dance space, this is your dance space”.

Really?

{March 4, 2016} Waiting ok…but for how long?

Here I sit, waiting…and waiting…and waiting…

We landed over 30 minutes ago, first, we circled in the air, a little snow in Boston and everyone was circling and diverting. Now, we’re finally on tree ground and we wait.

There is some de-icing happening, I think…but we sit. Don’t you just love this? I did, however, get up to use the facilities because, as I told the flight attendants, and it made them laugh heartily…”I’m trying to avoid a very different type of cleanup” when we get off the plane.

Ok, it’s been 45 minutes, are we there yet? Ooh, here comes the de-icing truck! Now, just the food trucks for the other planes.

Why couldn’t I be stuck in first class for this leg of my trip?

I hope I get off the plane soon, I don’t want to be blogging from here tomorrow!!! Ha ha ha!

See…so close!

{March 3, 2016} You sound familiar

I was recognized, does that mean I’m famous?

For the project I am currently on, I recorded the voice overs for several CBLs, Computer Based Learnings, that are pre-requisites for some of the classes I am teaching.

The other day, one of the students said to me, before class stated that I liked familiar. When we didn’t make a connection, he jumps and says “It’s your voice that’s familiar”.

“Did you take the pre-requisite?” Why yes. “Does it sound familiar? Ha ha

I’m famous!

{March 2, 2016} Did I just date myself?

Oh yeah, but I do it all the time! Don’t you?

When I teach, I bring stuff up I know people will laugh about, or at least get a chuckle. This is also dependent on their ages.

It was really funny yesterday because the class was full of women, 40s and up, I knew they would know what I was taking about. But I also knew that the intern, very young guy, wouldn’t have a clue!

Do you remember the old Prell commercial “and they told two friends, and they told two friends and so on, and so on”.

My favorite is talking about the records I had a kid, one in particular. So, now, we’re talking 45s and LPs.

But my favorite is talking about the story albums I had as a kid.

The reason I bring it up is depending on where I am teaching, I might need someone to navigate from my pc as I am at the front of the room where the slide deck is showing.

So, I ask the class if they remember those albums we had as kids, sometime’s 45s and others the LPs. Do they remember the stories that you would read along with? “When you hear this sound, turn the page” “ding”. My favorite, Cinderella.

So, the class laughs with great memories and nostalgia and then I say “ding” and the navigator goes to the next slide. And when I don’t say it, the class does!

A long way to go for that one!

{March 1, 2016} A look back

Tonight, I was thinking about my first beetle bug baby.

I was at dinner with one of my coworkers, SP, and we were talking about my car, why a beetle. I told him about my love of beetles since childhood and then I told him about my beloved beetle bug, Annie and how I lost her.

I may have posted this at some point, so I apologize for the repeat, but I thought this was a really nice tribute to my baby and I wanted to share it with you. Tissues are possiblyneeded.

As you may or may not know, I got a new bug in May of 2012, it took some looking, but I am happy again and I can’t wait to see her in Hawaii! So don’t be sad for me!

This is what I posted on Facebook in 2010.

Tuesday morning, I was on my way to work, Ronald Reagan Parkway for those of you in the know and the person in front of me stopped, I did not stop in time, engaged the brakes, but still rear-ended him. The airbags deployed and then there were flames.

I got out of the car in plenty of time, grabbed my laptop bag, but my phone, my poor wonderful Droid, was not so lucky. I exited the car and watched the flames get higher and higher and higher and eventually… a big ball of orange with black flames that climed high into the sky.

Captain Carl or Herb, my apologies to the traffic dude… announced there was a Car-B-Q on Ronald Reagan Parkway that morning [and I thought I had coined a phrase of my own] and to take an alternate route.

I watched the fire fighters put out the fire and the tow truck operater load what was left of my be-be onto his flatbed and shovel the charred remnants onto the truck, then drive away.

I was able to call someone by searching my work e-mails for auto-signatures with cell phone numbers, realizing just how dependent we are on our cell phones!

I got to work eventually and heard about a lot of people who were late to work because of me, I was famous. When they found out it was me, I think they took back the things they grumbled about having to detour. I publically apologize to anyone who I knew I’d made late, I felt really bad!

So…I have MILD whiplash, which is getting better every day, I only took a muscle relaxer the first night, was not fully functional the next day, so no more of those.

The next day, while speaking with the adjustor, he asked me if she had heated seats, I said “well, yesterday she did”. I get to make jokes.

So, in closing, I am 100% fine, my car, sadly is not. Annie was such a great car, many happy memories, I still remember the day I brought her home, August 18, 2003, they opend the Jim Ellis show room doors and we drove out. She just passed 116,000 miles and had had a service completed. We all know how particular I am about where I park, even one of the firefighters said she looked brand new, as she was going up in flames. I got at least two complitments on her condition every month, a very proud momma!

Goodbye Annie. I will treasure you forever.

{February 29, 2016} Ouch…that hurts!

What’s a reasonable number of times to hit your head? In a day!

Yesterday was the day and three is the number, boo and ouch!

The first was in the shower, I dropped something, picked it up and went to stand up again and smack! Hairline, ouch!

The second, I was loading the trunk, went to put a bag in and apparently the trunk door wasn’t up all the way and I hit the latch, about the same place. Owwwww! That actually required a few choice words! There were even a few tears.

Last one, doesn’t seem possible, but I was on a flight, stood up too fast, and wham!

Needless to say, head hurts still, very tender right there. I only have one request…

Daddy, please come kiss my keepe and make it all better!

{February 27, 2016} Excuse…rude…much?

Shut it already!

I was traveling to Denver today with a layover in Atlanta. I wanted to get some lunch, so I decide on PF Chang’s, vegetable lettuce wrap, score!

I sit down and wait, eventually the server comes over and we hit it off, of course, but while I am waiting to order and then get my food, this woman was on the phone, speaking VERY loudly.

You know, it’s the airport, it’s a crowded restaurant, but that doesn’t give you the right to disrupt everyone else in the place! I asked the woman at the next table if she had been doing that a long time, yup, since she had been there.

Everyone keeps looking over at her, more like shooting death rays in her direction. She isn’t alone! I thought she was! Her husband, or traveling companion, at one point stands up and then he stands there while she talks and yells at the person on the phone, over the railing for at least another 20 minutes!!!

She finally cleared the table and about ten minutes later they left.

What I really felt bad about was that the waitress was missing out on making more money, so I left her a tip on my corporate credit card, since it’s a travel day and then left her twenty dollars cash, I know how hard it was waiting tables. She really was great.

So, come on people, have some common courtesy, seriously. Maybe karma will come around and the person who sits next to her on her flight does that to her!

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