Monday, February 26, 2018

Notes from the Team WestEnders branch of AAA...

Well, folks, we've come to that special time in the midst of the cold, dark season...when I aim to lighten the Winter mood by putting together the Summer agenda for our merry little band of wanderers. (Except that Mother Nature has been having, I don't know, hot flashes or something, causing February temps in the 70s, along with a delightful bombardment of pollen, from all the confused plant life blooming so early. But yeah, VACATION PLAN, WHOO HOO!)

So you might recall that on our drive back from Maryland over the December holidays, I queried the car full of males for help in choosing this year's destination. The very first reaction, predictably and inevitably, was a gleeful shout of "Cleveland!"...which has been Husband's standard response to ANY geographical question, for all of the 23 years I've known him. (To this day, I still Don't. Know. Why. But I've become quite adept at ignoring it, and moving on...) The rest of the vehicle's occupants--otherwise known as "the sons"--remained mute...aside from some incoherent mumbling...as they either tried to figure out a viable suggestion...or a way to avoid the question altogether. (Yeeeahhh, probably that LAST one...)

Waking up and remembering who I was working with, I helpfully jumped into the silence to remind them that it's our "domestic trip" year...which still got me nothing useful out of them. So I gave up and just started tossing out options, figuring I'd keep going until they indicated that they approved of one. I honestly didn't have to come up with too many choices, though, because all 3 of them stopped me at "Colorado", and expressed their enthusiasm at the notion of paying a visit to the wild, wild West...or what have you.

Now, Husband and I have been to the lovely Centennial State on several occasions...but not for a looooong time...and the kids never have, so it's pretty exciting for all of us. And then, because it'll be a relatively short--and close...ish--excursion, I mentioned that we could possibly do another little jaunt, like a 4-day-weekend road trip, perhaps. "Where might you like to go for that?" I asked. The answer came almost instantaneously from the back seat, where both of the kids simultaneously yelled, "Atlanta!" Alrighty, then...I think we've found our 2 winners! (With a minimum of threats, pulling teeth, and/or chucking things at them to force their cooperation--yay!)

With that decided, now all that was left was...oh, right, "the hard part". That would be me, acting as our Travel Agent, tidying up all of the logistical details to make the dreams a reality, as it were. I began with our southern neighbor, since the only moving parts that had to be nailed down ahead of time were a place to sleep...and baseball tickets (natch....). Although Derek had also decreed that he wanted to stay "in the exact same hotel we did last time" because "I fear change" (which is a load of hooey, by the way, but he enjoys being faux dramatic from time to time, since it cracks him up. Gooberhead...), I had to reject that particular institution, because the quoted price at the time we wanted to go was outrageously beyond my comfort level. I did manage to find something reasonable, about a mile away, so we're gonna call that a Win, and the teenager can get over it. A quick selection of seats at SunTrust Park for the Braves vs...the ORIOLES...and the advance booking for Hot-lanta was D-O-N-E.

Then I tackled Colorado--or at least the parts we intended to visit. We'd be flying into Denver, so I needed to find us lodging...to which I quickly added, once I started searching, "that doesn't cost an arm, leg, or any other body part". Easier said than done, as it turn out, partially because we are, at this point, 4 full-sized humans who need adequate bed space to get a good night's rest. (One side note: this was the very first time I'd ever had to enter "3 adults" into a search engine, because we'll be traveling after Derek's 18th birthday...which caused me a moment of shock...and then a sniffle...)

Once I'd successfully handled that particular puzzle--and obtained our tickets to the Rockies game (Seriously, is anyone surprised? Didn't think so...)--I turned my attention to the other city we'd be exploring: Boulder. You see, we knew we wanted to tour Rocky Mountain National Park, and Boulder happens to be smack dab between it and the capital, so it seemed to be a logical place to spend the middle days of our adventure. Besides, Boulder looks like a hip, happening town, with lots of stuff to do and see, so why not, right?

Umm...did I also forget to mention "popular"? Oh, and its less-desirable cousin, "pricey"? Researching hotels in the entire surrounding area quickly gave me a case of sticker-shock...so in desperation, I tried an alternative method, with which I admit that I have less experience, and more trepidation: the home sharing/rental industry. I went in gingerly, but I was reassured by the fact that I encountered what appeared to be clean, well-maintained, lovely houses/apartments/condos and the like--nothing sketchy, or scary, or seedy. After wading through a boatload of properties until my head was swimming with information (Okay, I promise I'm done with the water metaphor--I'm not really sure where that came from, anyway...sorry?), I FINALLY mustered my courage and just picked one, already.

And in as clear a case of "OMG, are you KIDDING me with this" as I've ever run into, the owner promptly emailed to let me know that she had 1) grown up in Maryland and 2) attended UNC. Holy "It's a Small World" Batman, that's crazy stuff! (And now you've probably got that infernal Disney ditty stuck in your head, as I do. And I'm totally not apologizing for that, because misery loves company...)

So I'm going to interpret this as a sign that the Travel Gods have put their preliminary Stamp of Approval on our Summer of 2018 itinerary so far. To continue to court their favor, I'll be sure to make regular sacrifices between now and when we depart. Hmmm....an offering of peaches for Atlanta is a given, yeah? And...maybe raise a few glasses of Coors for our friends to the west? (As long as it's more of a "symbolic gesture", and I don't have to actually, you know, DRINK it, I can certainly do that!) Now I just have to commune with the sometimes temperamental spirits of "airline travel" and "rental cars", and we'll be all set! Wish me luck...

Tuesday, February 20, 2018

College...Victory Tour? (Part 1)

Naturally, Derek was super-stoked to receive acceptance letters from his top two college choices. However, they remained, as he put it, "exactly equal" in terms of his desire to enroll in either one of them as an undergrad. He'd enjoyed both of his initial tours of the campuses, and there was nothing that stood out to him that would set either one above the other at this point. So, he proposed a plan to revisit each one, to refresh them in his mind and try to view them with a critical eye...and see if anything came out in the wash, as they say. (Actually, DO they say that? I might have mangled the actual idiom...or just flat-out made it up. Eh, whattya say we just go with it, and move on...)

Lo and behold, the Founding Father came through with a convenient Admitted Students Day, scheduled for February 17th. Thus we made a date with Mr. Madison, and planned our attack--um, make that "Friday Field Trip...The Higher Education Version". Since Harrisonburg is about 4 hours away, I even granted verrrry rare permission for Derek to miss his afternoon of High School classes, so we could get on the road early, drive up the night before, and be well-positioned for a running start on Saturday's full slate of activities.

Now, we'd only done this trip once before, trusting the GPS directions--which led us on what seemed at the time like a wild goose chase, with a plethora of easy-to-miss turns, tiny rural roads, and even a brief period in what appeared to be neighborhoods. In short, it struck us as a ridiculously convoluted method of travel, so we determined to figure out our own--preferably highway--route this time. Aaaannnd, about that...oh, we stuck to major interstates, all right...but guess what? We discovered that doing so adds about a HUNDRED miles to the delightful trek...and 90 minutes in the car. Ugh. Lesson learned: take the crazy-ass roundabout way, and Suck. It. Up.

We weren't exactly aided by the weather this time, either. You see, when we left Chapel Hill, we'd been basking in a glorious (albeit somewhat freakish) 75-degree, sunny day. I mean, even I was able to don shorts and a t-shirt for the beginning of our outing, so you KNOW it was warm. However, as we headed north, we encountered an array of factors--variable amounts of rain, from a drizzle to a downpour...intermittent high winds that were strong enough to buffet even the stalwart Subaru...and possibly my favorite, visibility-killing FOG--all of which conspired to drop the temperature by about 25 degrees in Virginia...and prompted me to make a desperate wardrobe change in a nasty gas station bathroom when we stopped for fuel and snacks.

Anyway, we did eventually arrive, check into our hotel, and get situated. I'd done some homework to find a dinner spot that included gluten-free and vegetarian options on the menu...and as a bonus, it turned out to be located in the heart of downtown Harrisonburg. Thus Derek and I had a light meal at the Golden Pony, where our waiter was a charming probably-college-student and our food was simple, but also yummy...and inexpensive. (Win!)

Then we got down to the business of figuring out our agenda for JMU, Take 2. Of course, there were some official presentations being offered, but Derek really only wanted to try and attend the 3rd (Biology/Biotechnology) and 4th (General Ed) ones. Other than that, his Must Do List included walking every nook and cranny of the entire campus, popping into the bookstore, exploring the student union, reacquainting himself with the rec center...and researching the proximity of off-campus necessities, such as a drugstore, supermarket, and/or Target (to determine whether they were easily accessible to a vehicle-less college student). We also kept in mind that it would be in our best interest to get our butts in gear in the a.m., since there was an ominous prediction for a "wintry mix" to arrive by 4:00...and ideally, we wanted to satisfy all of our own personal requirements for the Open House, and then vamoose before that happened.

That's why we happened to be up, reasonably awake, and out the door headed for the university by 8:25 on Saturday morning. Yeeeahhh...make that "us, and about a thousand other potential incoming Freshmen"...which made for a big old gridlock situation, crawling onto campus and toward the designated parking lot. So we missed a few minute of the introduction--no harm, no foul (we definitely weren't the last to meander in, after all). It was a gloomy, chilly day, meteorologically speaking...but the mood couldn't have been more cheerful, from the upbeat comments given by faculty and staff, to the brightly-clad student ambassadors posted at regular intervals to answer questions, direct people, hand out JMU swag...or just chat about how much they loved the place, presumably.

(When we arrived, there was even a group of them stationed outside the building to welcome visitors to the day's events. They were cheering and greeting people as they passed, which was sweet...but then they spontaneously broke into what I imagine must have been the alma mater song, which Derek and I felt was a bit...over-the-top...for first thing in the morning. Nevertheless, I applaud their enthusiasm...)

But Derek and I were on a...pedestrian mission, if you will...so we put the sneakers to the sidewalks and got moving. The first amusing thing that we noticed was that when we hoofed it from one corner of the grounds, diagonally to the far opposite side, it took us all of...7 minutes. We were so amazed by this that we did a full lap around, just to check and see if this was a fluke--and it still didn't take that long. This was useful information, because to us it meant that it's a compact campus that's easy to manage on foot..and yet it somehow manages to feel spacious at the same time, so that you never feel overrun by crowds.

After that, we scoped out the bookstore, which proved to be filled with a pleasingly extensive and tempting selection of purple merchandise (which we restrained ourselves from buying...at least until he decides once and for all where he's going to spend his next 4 years!). The rec center remained as impressive and enticing as we remembered it, with different types of courts (basketball, racquetball, volleyball), oodles of machines (weights, ellipticals, treadmills, bikes), various workout rooms (for yoga and other group classes), multiple pools (separated for "fun swimming", and laps), a track, and extras, like ping pong tables, several rock climbing stations, and a shop where you could purchase a healthy nosh before or after your exercise session.

On a related note, Derek wanted to see what the football, baseball, and soccer stadiums looked like--and, I suppose, judge whether they were up to his standards or not. (Hey, everyone has their own criteria for what's important for their collegiate satisfaction, right? Or whatever...I was just along for the moral support...) Honestly, the only thing that he found slightly...underwhelming...was the student union--but even that improved when we ascertained that there are 2 of them, one each for the East and West sides of campus. Oh, and somewhere in the middle of all of this...traipsing...we made it to one of the dining facilities to grab a drink...and a second one to actually sit down and eat lunch. (Also things that count as near and dear to a young adult male's heart...or, you know, "stomach"...) Suffice it to say, there were myriad options, most of which you could walk up and serve yourself--salad, sandwiches, pizza, waffles, other hot breakfast items, tacos, pasta, a bakery, ice cream, plus some that I probably missed in all the chaos (since it was afternoon by this point, and the late-starting coeds had now awoken and joined the fray).

However, I think I made Derek's day when I pointed out--of all things--the dispenser of milk, which proclaimed that it was obtained from a local farm, and boasted separate taps for whole, skim...and CHOCOLATE. (That's right--we began giving Derek Quik-flavored moo-juice when he was an underweight toddler and the pediatrician was encouraging us to pack as many calories as possible into the little guy. And to this day, the now-almost-6-foot dude is completely unable/unwilling to drink plain milk. I'm not even kidding--if it comes down to a tie-breaker between the 2 universities, this might be what tips it toward JMU.) And the look of child-like joy on his face when he took a big gulp? It was downright priceless, y'all.

However, due to the circus atmosphere occurring in the hallowed halls of college eating, it took us a while to get in, obtain edibles, and scarf them down, which caused us to unfortunately miss most of Session 3. (Rats! But I consoled myself with the thought that he'll have plenty of time to talk to these folks if he ends up at J-Mad...and commits to a science major of some sort. So yeah, there are still a lot of unknowns, which is why we didn't sweat it too much...).

While we were regrouping and considering how to kill a few minute until the next presentation, we happened to glance out one of the large windows in the Convocation Center...at the suddenly snowy scene outside. Well, harrumph! I simply hate it when Old Man Winter blows into town 3 hours early! Derek and I scrambled to rewrite our carefully orchestrated playbook, to prioritize what he most wanted to accomplish before we got the heck outta Dodge--er, "Harrisonburg". Luckily, since we'd been so diligent about using our morning hours wisely, he really felt that he'd gotten the full campus experience that he was seeking on this jaunt. (Yay, us!) Furthermore, as the flakes swirled around us and tiny shards of ice pelted our heads, he mused that "It's good to know that a dreary, cold, bad weather day doesn't change how much I still like it here!"

The only thing he still wanted to examine was the aforementioned retail piece of the puzzle, so we retrieved the car and set out to find the nearest shopping mecca. The verdict was: while there was nothing within walking distance, it would be about a 5-minute bus ride to a strip that contains everything from CVS to Food Lion to Target, Kohl's, and Dick's Sporting Goods. So, done...and DONE!
Before the mercury started falling and the roads got slippery, we hightailed it back to the interstate and commenced our southbound journey--resigning ourselves to using the preposterous GPS instructions and hoping for the best. (If you think for even a moment that I might be exaggerating...as I admit I am wont to do on occasion...here's a summary of the nonsense: I-81 (So far, so good, right? Wait for it...); I-64 (Still okay...); US 250; (aaannnd, now it goes off the rails) VA 151, 6, and 29; NC 86; Forest Avenue (What? Yes, that's just a small rural street...); Mt. Willing Road (Ditto); I-40 (Hallelujah, we're almost home!); Old NC 86. Now do you see what I mean? And that, my friends, is the quickest way to get there. At least it's...somewhat picturesque? Ay yi yi...)

It was definitely a whirlwind 28-ish hour undertaking--which both of us agreed was exhausting, but also thoroughly enjoyable, productive, and successful. Mind you, NOT that it helped Derek rule out one of his contenders; quite the contrary, he remained just as enamored of the university after spending another whole day there, during an actual semester, with campus life in full swing, wandering amongst the collegiate denizens.

But that's only half of our fact-gathering, of course. So in a couple more weeks we're doing it all over again with the University of South Carolina...where we most assuredly will not have to contend with any icy precipitation...and where we will be on the lookout for dairy-fresh chocolate milk, just in case it's needed when decision-time looms in April! To be continued...wish us luck...

Thursday, February 15, 2018

Love, Amusingly...

At Casa WestEnders, we've never taken Valentine’s Day terribly seriously. I mean, there are no romantic dinner dates, or pink champagne toasts, or…general mushiness. Nah—for us, it’s pretty much like any other day…but with a super-handy built-in excuse to eat copious amounts of CHOCOLATE! (Riiiight—as if we needed one…but whatever…)

Therefore, I felt a little alarmed-slash-intrigued when I was performing my routine online perusal of our recent account activity, and spotted an unknown charge on the credit card. (I confess that I check up on an almost daily basis, since A) our previous card got hacked 4 times before I finally gave up on it and B) let’s be real: that’s just how compulsive a Family Financial Manager I am. So on a side note--even though there was no telltale receipt presented to me to enter into the program I use to track all of our household expenses--good luck getting away with a “secret gift” around here, in the age of digital banking! But I digress…)

ANYWAY…it was for a local bakery called Sugarland, on Franklin Street…so I figured I’d at least wait until after the 14th to see if it was actually Husband doing the purchasing…rather than some sneaky sweets-bandit who’d swiped our information…to feed his or her cookie addiction. Meanwhile, I did my own Target raid, to obtain treats for the boys, as small tokens of my undying affection. (Because nothing proclaims “I love you dearly” like fresh breath, yeah? What can I say—Altoids and black licorice are their faves, for some reason…)

Then I stood in front of the card rack for, oh, approximately 20 minutes, reading and rejecting (and sometimes groaning or gagging at) one offering after another, until I at last hit upon what I believe may be the most perfect sentiments EVER for all three of my guys. (Seriously, I should just stop here, and never patronize Hallmark again, because I suspect it’s not gonna get any better than this…) C’mon—the dishwasher? That’s an instant classic, I tell ya. And in the “Great Minds Think Alike” category (or, you know, “People Who Are Related to Each Other Have Similar Ideas”, which definitely doesn’t have the same ring, so just we’ll stick with the first one…) apparently Riley and I went the same direction this year, and decided to bring Spanish to the Dia de Amor (not to mention its punny cousin, “Spanglish”).




Husband, on the other hand, lamented that he’d gone to 2 stores (that obviously were NOT the illustrious Tar-zhay)
and been equally dissatisfied by the unsuitability and/or gooey sentimentality of this year’s selection…so he gave up on the packaged drivel and wrote his own message on a sheet of paper snagged from his office printer…plus bought flowers (Which earns valuable Spouse Points for his demonstrated effort, and persistence!) Oh, and the...confection mystery...was cleared up when he brought home a box of specially-ordered gluten-free cupcakes from the aforementioned shop (red velvet with cream cheese icing and YUM, in case you’re wondering). So, heart-day WIN for Husband, all around.


As for the rest of the 14th, it’s just the yoozh…school, work, soccer practice, blah blah blah. But as we all go about completing our regular tasks, at least there will be plenty of opportunities for...let's call them "cocoa-fueled mental health breaks"! Mmmmmm…. 

Wednesday, February 7, 2018

February folderol...

Everyone who knows me even a little bit is aware that Winter rates no better than my 8th favorite season, right down there in a tie at the bottom with “Cold and Flu”. Whattya mean there are only 4? No, no, no…there’s Spring (the most glorious, IMHO), Fall (a very close second), Summer (mostly good, when it’s not acting out its beastlier side, called “hot and humid”), Baseball (awesome…except of course when the Orioles stink), Vacation (loads of fun, albeit much too brief ), Holiday (Halloween to New Year’s: festive and delightful), Soccer (which is extra-special for Team WestEnders, since it happens TWICE a year in our household), and finally…the chilly, dark, sleet-and-snowflake time that shall not be named. (See what I mean? And I've probably even forgotten some...but any additions to the list would STILL probably rank above the Big W, for me...)

Well, if we've gotta be stuck in frosty limbo for a while, at least there was some excitement last month, with the monster storm—for this part of North Carolina, anyway—that dumped up to a foot of the white stuff in our area. But now it’s just…February (spoken with a groan and just a hint of whining)…that short, dreary placeholder between January 1st and March 1st--which in our area, signals the de facto beginning of the Warming-and Blooming period…that keeps us going until the calendar catches up with the official first day of Spring a few weeks later.

So yeah, there’s really not a whole lot to recommend the F-month. For the boys, the academic term has entered its 2nd semester, which doesn’t really change anything in terms of their classes. However, the cancellations from the aforementioned icy precipitation caused the Powers That Be to pretty much take back every holiday from now until Spring Break, so it’s gonna be a loooooong slog for the students. Oh, and also Derek now prefaces many conversations with his new catchall excuse: “Hey, I AM a Second Semester Senior…”, which translated from the Teen Dialect essentially means “I don’t want to be bothered with whatever it is you’re asking me to get back to you on/care about/do”. (Does that about cover it? Yeah, I think at some point we're ALL going to start counting the days until graduation...currently 122, if you're wondering...)

As for Riley, he continues to slog away at his Freshman schedule, as one must do at this point in the year. Recently, though, he got to break up the usual routine of reading/writing/studying by constructing a model of a building—of his choice—for World History. He opted for a Greek temple, and came to me with the loaded question, “Hey, Mom, do you have time to take me to Michael’s for some craft supplies this weekend?” 

He fully knows that this is rhetorical, as the answer is always going to be an unqualified, “HECK YES, sweetie!” (What can I say? It’s a super-fun Nerd Field Trip, wandering around in the aisles, discussing what materials to use for the walls, roof, and columns; how to securely attach the pieces; and the best way to decorate his creation. Although he did 100% of the actual work himself, I earned my Design Consultant badge on this project, for sure.)

Then there's the fact that the "Spring" soccer games have just kicked off (Ha! Pun intended...), meaning that we'll be spending our weekends running all over God's Green Earth (which my mother used to say, as a general term...in this case, though, it encompasses "various sites in the Carolinas") for the next several months. For our first set of matches, we had a chilly one (sunny, but temps in the 30s) at a nearby field (15 minute commute), followed by a slightly warmer contest (50 degrees)...45 minutes away...in a steady downpour. (Which Husband volunteered for, believe it or not--but I think this might be used against me somewhere down the road...so keep your fingers crossed that it doesn't rain again on a game day...until we wrap it up in May, okay? Thanks for your support...)

And finally, we can't wrap up this segment of the news without a Derek story, right? Last night he came looking for me to enlist my help with some homework...which almost NEVER happens anymore, so I was extremely curious as to what input he could possibly need from me (beyond the usual "Please sign this" or "I need money for [fill-in-the-blank activity]"). It turned out that for an APES (A.P. Environmental Science) assignment, they were calculating their carbon footprint, and he wanted me to consult on some details of our family's...consumption of resources.

For example, he led off with, "So, how many pounds of fruits and vegetables do you think we go through in a month?" Oh, Jeez Louise, I don't know....can you just say a LOT?" Tragically, we had to come up with an actual amount, so I did some quick estimating...calculating...fabricating?...and threw out what seemed like a reasonable answer. But we were FAR from done...we also had to make up stuff--I mean "formulate a logical number"--for such items as: dairy products (Um...Hold on while I Google 'How many quarts of milk does a whole cow hold'? And cheese? Fuhgeddabout it--just put down a really big number and move on...); grains (including cereal? Good grief...can you convert "at least an entire grocery store shelf" into units of measurement?); and beef...broken down into "grain or pasture-fed" (to which Derek exclaimed, "How the heck should I know what it ate?" But I assured him that since we typically buy the box o'burgers from Costco, we'll just go ahead and admit to the less-environmentally-friendly option in this case...).

Then we had to tackle such entertaining brain-teasers as "How many kilowatts your house uses monthly". (Is "no clue" an acceptable response? No?) Siiiighhhh...I was just getting up to go check the electric bill when Derek waved me off and said, "Nope! We're just gonna enter the national average for that one!" We did at least take a stab at some of the more transparent queries, like "Miles you drive every month". And we did our best to mentally add up an approximate weight of plastic, glass, and metal that we recycle. But when all else failed, "national average" carried the day. At the end of all this, the spreadsheet did a handy-dandy calculation and figured out that Derek's carbon footprint, based on our semi-fictional data, was...2...which meant absolutely nothing to me. 

That is, until Derek explained that according to his teacher, everyone would probably end up between 2 and 4. Okay, so far, so good--but what does it MEAN? Apparently, it corresponds to the number of acres of land you'd have to theoretically cultivate, to offset your lifestyle. Therefore, Derek's score indicates that he should be tending 6 acres, to make up for his impact on the planet. Well, alrighty, then--that's good to know! (Not gonna happen, mind you, but valuable and fascinating information, nonetheless.

So there you have it...while it's true that we're still in the throes of my least preferred season, we're officially heading toward the much more pleasing double whammy of Spring...and Baseball...and who knows, we may even be getting smarter while we do it. We'll just go ahead and call that a Winter Win-Win