Welcome to Long Journeys

They are worth it...

The trip from where I live in New Jersey to where my dad lives in Virginia can be taken several ways. The quickest, is probably by plane, followed by taking the train. However planes and trains are expensive and can be inflexible with their timing. That's why I drive.

Again there are several routes that I can take to get to Virginia. The most obvious is via the Turnpike. It is also the one I hate to take the most. Mainly because New Jersey is notorious for two things: traffic and tolls. The tolls between Northern New Jersey and Baltimore are some of the worst and traffic is unpredictable at best. I therefore choose to go the "long way" through Pennsylvania. It adds about an hour to the trip (if traffic is good on the Turnpike) and only costs a dollar in tolls on the way out of New Jersey. So I can get into this state for free, but I have to pay an escape fee??? Thanks New Jersey.

I've made this trip four times already. I don't want to think about what it's doing to the mileage on my car. It's a long drive and I spend my time listening to music or audio books. I also come up with new plots for my writings (this blog included). Heck I sometimes come up with new theories in philosophy and science (though nothing that realistic). It might be a long drive, but it's worth it. Seeing my sister and dad this Thanksgiving was wonderful and I'm thankful that I was able to see them. I wouldn't trade the opportunity for anything.

I am very thankful for the flexibility in my schedule to travel to see my family. Last year I traveled across the United States to visit my family in California for Thanksgiving. It was a lot of fun and I hope to go out there again at some point.

Where as this past summer I spent a very long day (and two even longer ones coming back) traveling to the upper peninsula of Michigan. If you've never been there, it's well worth the trip. It's one of the most remote places I have ever been to and Lake Superior really does look like a giant sea. I honestly don't think I could survive up there in the winter. People might go weeks without seeing another person outside of their town.

Lighthouse in the middle of no-where Michigan.

The longest trip I've ever been on though was to Osaka Japan. I flew non-stop 13 hours to Tokyo and then another hour to Osaka on a Pokemon plane (plus a half hour or so drive to Nishinomia).  It was a tough trip for an 11 year old, but so much fun. I admit that I was a little emotional the first few nights because I was so far from my home and family, but it was so worth it. The memories and experiences I have from that trip are priceless.

My roommate's family is coming this month from Brazil. It's a really long trip by plane and they are getting into New York at around 6am. They might be really tired the first few days, but my roommate is so happy and excited. They'll get to see each other after a long time apart.

It might seem like a long way away (and traffic might be a pain in the butt), but hitting the road to see family or the world is priceless. I live far away from my family now, which makes the times I do see them all the sweeter. I'm thankful to see them whenever I can.

Until next week.

If you enjoyed this post (or you hated it) please like, share, or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope you guys like hearing from me. If you want to and since it's the weekend after Thanksgiving, leave a comment about what you're thankful for in the comments.

Welcome To New Jersey

A Comparison To The Great State Of Maryland

An artists liberal interpretation

At this time last year I was on vacation in the state of Hawaii. I had a significant other, a job in Maryland, and my own apartment. I had no idea that (fast forward one year) I would eventually move to New Jersey and pretty much start from square one. (Okay, the job is the same, but that's about it).

First things first, both states are expensive. Though in Maryland I could afford to live on my own, New Jersey not so much. Luckily I found a nice roommate with a great apartment. This (oddly enough) lowered my rent. My insurance rates also went down (again odd as far as stereo types go). That doesn't mean I'm still not spending a lot of money. Food and other merchandize are also at a mark up.Thus say that New Jersey is the more expensive.

Point goes to Maryland.

Now as for going to the DMV, driving to work, and having the convenience of shopping centers pretty much everywhere, it depends on where in the state you are. Where I am in New Jersey there is a ton of shopping, plenty of (moderately priced) public transportation and I can walk all over the place. There are also a few DMV locations that are friendlier and faster than in Maryland.

Where I was in Maryland the public transportation was cheap (like dirt cheap, I think that's where all my taxes went to), but shopping centers weren't as frequent and I had to do a lot of driving in heavy DC-Baltimore traffic.

Oddly point goes to New Jersey.

 My commute is incredible here. There's no traffic (except for the odd school bus). I have a reverse commute that gets me to my office between 15 - 20 minutes. This is comparable to the distance I have to drive daily. Maryland, ha, no such luck. Traffic is cruel in Central Maryland. I typically just doubled the driving time anywhere out of sheer habit.

So with such a great commute, what do I have to complain about the New Jersey highway system? Well, New Jersey seems to like tolls. To the point that going anywhere out of the state equals paying a fee. Heck, most roads to the airport seem to include a fee.

I'm going to call this one a tie.

That brings our count to:

New Jersey 2
Maryland 2

Huh, that was supposed to be my tie breaker. I guess my overall opinion is that New Jersey and Maryland are pretty comparable. Or at least as far as I can tell.

But Virginia is still the best!

If you enjoyed this post, or it really pissed you off, please like, share, or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope y'all love hearing from me (or at find me mildly amusing).

Welcome To Driving In The Rain At Night

Its a better metaphors for the future than I Thought

So I just got home (yeah I know, way after my bed time for a Sunday) and its raining. It's dark, hard to see the road and everyone seems to loose the ability to make good driving decisions. It can be a really stressful and I have to be able to react at a moments notice. Driving fast is also not an option as the chance of an accident greatly increases. This is not much like trying to plan for the future.

I have a very limited idea as to where I will be and what I will be doing six months, let alone a week, from now. Oh I can sort of visualize a few things that are coming up (moving to NJ is now set in stone), but I don't know if the universe is going to change directions, go into a tight curve and have me go over the edge of a cliff. 

I really hope not, but I don't put anything past the universe anymore. It loves to mplay so with me. All I can do is hope that I react in time to prevent disaster.

After many years of driving experience, driving at night in a torrential downpour doesn't faze me. However moving far away from the two cities I grew up around does. It's new and strange. I don't feel like I'm in control of my life.

I just have to take a deep breath, pay attention and trust my instincts (they're usually right). Wish me luck. I'll check in next week. It will be my last in post in Maryland.

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope you like hearing from me. Until next week.

Welcome To The Crazy Times

I hope everyone had a Happy Halloween, All Saint's Day, All Souls Day and El Dia de los Muertos. I enjoyed watching old horror movies (and one funny horror movie). I managed to catch the original Dracula, House on Haunted Hill and the hilarious 1960s remake of The Old Dark House. We had exactly three Trick or Treaters and plenty of candy left over. It was also the one year anniversary of my grandfather's passing. May he rest in peace.

I haven't had down time in a while. It feels like at every turn I'm doing something. Even things at work have been hectic. These are the times when if even one things goes wrong it feels like the whole world is ending (something I also managed to do this week).

How do I handle the crazy?

Usually I spend an entire weekend hibernating from the world. Well the weekend I had set aside for that unexpectedly changed (though not for the bad) into a fun weekend with a friend and my mom. Seeing my friend was awesome and we had a great time catching up.

This weekend I was all over Norther Virginia and DC. One of my friends was in the Color Run in DC yesterday. I honestly had no idea what to expect. I actually didn't run, but I did get to see the party afterwards. They threw these color packets into the air and got different colors everywhere. Here's a picture:

I did need to rinse off my cloths to get some of the additional colors off.

I spent most today in Winchester with my mom. We took a back road and saw all the beautiful leaves in the mountains. I miss the years we used to do Skyline Drive or go up to Gettysburg around this time. I love the drive when I'm a passenger, not when I have to drive. I can sit and stare out the window and day dream. It's wonderful.

If you enjoyed this post, or if really pissed you off, please like, share, and/or leave a message. I love hearing from my readers. Until next week!

Welcome to the Alternative Route

I had a very action packed weekend, so this entry will likely be on the short side. I love going down to Williamsburge VA (I have mentioned it in several posts). The normal route to Williamsburge requires you to take three different highways, one of them two lanes. If there are any accidents on the two lane highway, you get to sit there...forever.

The way around this problem, backroads. There are a few alternative routes you can take and all can be kind of creepy at night. One of theme doesn't have any street lights whatsoever and you go through the tidewater farm country. Heck a little over a month ago my mom had us take all back routes through Richmond and then to Fredericksburg. We got hopelessly lost a few times, but had a great time sightseeing.

The worst though, is going through the woods at night in Northern Virginia. Not only are there lots of people (who don't know how to turn off their brights), there are a lot of winding roads with little to no stret lights with plenty of places for deer to jump out at you. Ah, yes deer, the enemy of all motorists (insert joke about roadkill dinner here).

Its not fun and there should be more areas for predators to keep the populations low. Alas, lots of people and fewer hunters equals explosive deer population. It's an aweful combination. I knew a girl whose car was hit by a deer. She was in the hospital for a while. It was pretty scary.

Taking backroads is usually fun. Especially with the leaves changing in the fall. I just don't like taking them at night with little to no lights. You never know what might pop out onto the road.

If you enjoyed this post, or it really pissed you off, please leave a comment, like or share. I love hearing from my readers and hope you guys enjoy these as much as possible. Until next week.

Welcome To Fall

It's The Best Season

It's officially the greatest season: Fall. It is the prettiest season. It is the most comfortable weather wise. Everything also seems to smell better in the fall. And don't forget the food, which is the most important.

Winter is way too cold, Spring is allergy hell and Summer is too hot. Ergo Fall wins. I especially love the flavors and decorations. I've seen some pretty cool Halloween decorations in stores (anyone for a wreath of skulls).

Since I've seen those lists on buzzfeed/facebook/insert social media here, I've wanted to do my own list. So here are my top 13 about fall. Why top 13, because I like prime numbers and have watched Nostalgia Critic.

1) Taking a walk - pretty simple and not too demanding. I like to leisurely take in the decorations and scenery. When I lived in Williamsburg, this was also the optimal time to go to the colonial area and get a mug of hot cider.

Speaking of hot apple cider...

2) Getting a mug of hot apple cider - I don't get it as often any more. Though I do still go out any buy the cold stuff and then heat it up. Hot apple cider is like having fall in a mug (pumpkin spice lattes are a close second).

3) Apples - Sure I can buy apples any time of year, but there's something special about fall apples. There always seems to be more variety of apples in the fall. Yumm.

But we can't forget about...

4) Pumpkin, pumpkin everywhere - Fall is pumpkin season, no questions asked. I love my pumpkin spice latte as much as the next girl (though I love pumpkin flavored coffee way more). I also just finished making pumpkin spice bread.

5) Novelty coffee - Specifically Target brand fall novelty coffee (no I'm not being paid by Target to advertise). Last year they had a really cool flavor called candy-corn. I was almost too afraid to try it. It was my favorite, totally beat pumpkin pie flavor.

6) Creepy kids' movies - I'm currently listening to Coraline in the background while writing this. I recommend both seeing the movie and reading the book (one of my favorite reads). I don't know what it is about scaring little kids using movies, but it's a lot more fun now that I'm an adult. Any Tim Berton claymation movie or some nostalgic Disney Channel original movie (Halloweentown anyone?) are a must see at this time of year.

7) Scary Old Movies - I'm not a big fan of slasher films. I prefer the creepy atmostphere of the original 13 Ghosts, Haunted House on Haunted Hill (not the 90s version), and Night of the Living Dead to today's blood fest. Well I do enjoy some older blood fest. There is just something more compelling with the older films.

8) Long drives - I grew up near the Shenandoah. I don't think I need to explain any further.

9) Cheap gas prices - Yeah, this is the time of year gas prices start to fall. I think it's a combination of it being the off travel season and the need to get rid of summer supply before the fall. Whatever the reason, gas prices fall and I am happy.

10) Sweater / Jean Jacket weather - Whether it's being warm and fuzzy or fashionable, sweaters and jean jackets are great at this time of year.

11) Barbeque - Now most people think BBQ is a summer food. I would like to disagree. Barbeque is best during the crisper months. You can really savor that smoked flavor when the air is less heavy and you really crave something to warm you up.

12) Corn mazes - Want to go on a date and see how well you both do when hopelessly lost? Hoping to see some cute animals? Love farm fresh food? Corm mazes are the place to go. Usually on some farm (they're the ones who grow the corn so obviously you go to a farm AJ) somewhere, corn mazes often have other attractions along with the maze. A few you can even do at night. They are well worth the number of hours you spend looking for the exit.

And Finally....

13) Celebrating Halloween - Arguably the best holiday, Halloween allows for even the oldest adults to dress up and feel like a kid again. When else is it appropriate to dress up, scare a few friends, and party all night long (fine anime/comic conventions don't count in this case). Halloween is awesome. And don't forget to remember All Saint's Day the day after. Halloween is the day that the spirits of our dearly departed loved ones get to cross over and spend some ghoulish time with us.

And that's my top 13 favorite things about fall. Let me know what you guys think is the best thing about fall in either my facebook comment section or the blog posts. Until next week!

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, comment or share it with friends, family or your worst enemies. I'll keep blazing through Wonderland while you guys sit back and read as the adventure unfolds.

Welcome To Your Commute

Traffic Is Your New Frienemy 

           It's been a tough week for me, but I figured out how to make my own soup. It was delicious and I might start posting some of my original recipes.

Welcome To Your New City

It’s Nothing like Your Old City

This weekend, my roommate from college came up to visit it me. We have both decided that it is really weird that we are no longer living together and that we should visit each other more often. She does not live that far away (when there isn’t any traffic), however it is still a bit of a hike to get to me. Since I live in the middle of suburbia, I thought that it would be a better idea to go into the nearest city to me: Baltimore.

She got to my place bright and early (10am) and we left not too long after that (you know you’re an adult when bright and early is waking up at 7am instead of 1pm). She made me drive. Since I am currently driving an SUV instead of my adorable sedan (I’ll explain that in another post) I spent a good part of the five minute drive into the city hoping I did not try to squeeze into anything two sizes two small.

This was not my first time in the city. The first time I had been there since moving was for a rugby interest meeting at a place called Alexander’s Tavern. Apparently it’s a hangout for rugby players (shouts out to my rugby friends!). I didn’t join the team (commute and time commitment was a bit much right now), but I did survive driving in an unfamiliar city at night. Before that adventure, I hadn’t been in the city of Baltimore since I was 15 years old. So I really did not have any idea where I was going. I also don’t own a smart phone or GPS. I have to rely on maps…from the Internet.

My official second adventure into Baltimore was a little bit less stressful. I still had no idea where anything was or where I was, but we did find a parking garage (I think it was in Little Italy) and a map of the Inner Harbor and Fells Point. Both are beautiful. Everything is expensive, but I was expecting that.

As we first entered the city from 295, we noticed all of the police out and about for the baseball game. This helped us plan when to leave the city to beat the baseball traffic. We then passed the convention center and realized that it was the weekend for Comic Con. I have never seen a Con before; just a quick glance was an eye opener. I would like to go to one before I die. I would also like to dress up as Franziska Von Karma from the Phoenix Write Ace Attorney games if I go to one (look her up if you don’t know who she is, trust me she’s awesome and not scantily clad).

It took us a little while to find a parking garage (though it was a little sketchy). We then headed over to the Inner Harbor. It was cool and very similar to how I remember it from when I was 15. I need a pin from the Hard Rock Café for my collection. We went into the Barns and Nobles, which was in an old factory building. I thought it was cool, but worried I might run into something.

After the ten minutes at the Inner Harbor, we walked to Fells Point, which isn’t that bad of a walk. The first place we ate at was a Tapas place that was really expensive. Only eat there if you don’t have a big appetite or if you have lots of cash. It was very yummy, but not worth the cost. We then walked around a bit more and discovered a place called The Daily Grind. We had to go in because at our old college campus, we had a place called The Daily Grind that several of our friends practically lived in (we also lived right next to it at one point). Though it was in an old factory building, the menu could have come straight from out college campus. It was great! It also made us (namely me) at bit homesick for school.

We left not too long after, but got a bit turned around finding my car. Getting out of the city wasn’t hard. The signs for 295 are a lot bigger than the ones for 83 and 95. We also beat the traffic from the game and the Con.

Baltimore is very different from my home city, even though they are very close. Fells Point does look like Old Town Alexandria, though. I find it charming and different, but I will always have a soft spot for home, even if it is one of the most annoying cities in America. I would recommend Baltimore for a visit and I would at some point like to live in the city, but not right now.