No Mariscos......

What a crazy, busy, yet wonderful summer so far and it is not even over yet! I have not blogged in quite sometime and I am in the process of writing about my recent trip to Costa Rica! In the mean time I have been convinced to continue to write about all the other amazing things this summer and keep you in suspense until I have finished my Costa Rica blogs!

So last month was quite the month for me. The first week I was in Sandbridge Beach, Va. Every year since I was probably 2 or 3 yrs old we have been going to the beach with the Maeyer family. During college it was a little harder to make it to the beach and especially difficult when I entered the real world and started flying. It was always such a special week and something I still do look forward to. Quite a few memories from that beach. This year was going to be fun since my whole family was going to be able to come and the entire Maeyer family would be there. I do not think Mike has been able to make it to the beach in about 6 or 7 yrs.

So I got home from work and gathered all my things. Mike and I had decided not to wait till the morning to leave so we could get an extra day in! The drive was nice and brought back even more memories. Sitting in the back seat of the jeep building car forts and drawing lines of whose side was whose. It was always fun until someone got hurt! We were getting close and all the sudden I received a text…. Hmm.. who could that be? All I saw was ONION… oh it was game on. The onion is the Sandbridge water tower and it looked like a ginormous onion. Every drive growing up there was a competition on who could spot the onion first. Mike always lost growing up! So I quickly texted back… GAME ON. He was sitting right next to me driving… It was dark out and a little bit tougher to see since the trees had grown up so much. As we came around the curve I heard Mike yell Onion Onion Onion….. damn it.. he finally won one.

We knew we were close now! That was always our sign. We ended up getting to the beach house at the same time as Jonathan and Jenine. The kids were passed out and they were taking them up to bed. As we walked in the house all you could smell was fresh cookies being baked. Pud was there behind the kitchen counter cooking away! The cookies were amazing! After some catching up it was off to bed. We wanted an early day at the beach tomorrow.

We finally made it down to the beach, it can take awhile with lots of kids and packing coolers. There was a nice sea breeze so there were no flies and the water was a perfect temperature. I was glad that we had come down early not only to get the day at the beach but to spend time with Jonathan’s kids. I had never really gotten the chance to spend time with them when not a lot of people and things were going on. By the end of the day we had caught a crab and Cassidy had shown me some new dance moves!

Over the next few days everyone finally arrived! There would be a total of 16 people staying at the house this year. I was nice and tanned and feeling completely relaxed! After numerous delicious dinners it was finally crab and shrimp night. I have never been informed by a doctor that I am allergic to shellfish. It is more of a self diagnosis but every time I am near it or if my food touches it things swell, I want to barf and get blotchy. So on crab night I always cook my own meal and the kids and well actually everyone usually eats it. This year I started cooking before anyone else was in the kitchen so I would not be in the way. I made chicken with artichokes, capers and sun dried tomatoes with pasta. Ended up being pretty good, not to toot my own horn. I will add the recipe to the blog!

 My dinner had finished cooking and I had set it aside and covered so it could not be contaminated by the poor crabs being dumped into the pot and the shrimp steaming away. Everyone was starting to gather around the table and the first round of crabs were dumped out. I was out on the porch eating with everyone else as I usually do every year. As I sat there more and more crabs were brought out and people were eating them just as fast as they were dumped. I finished my meal and went outside to call Adam. While on the phone my eyes really started to itch, badly. I would rub them and noticed my nose was becoming very stuffy. Adam and I joked about it and he wanted me to take a picture so he could see what was really going on. After more rubbing and sniffling I decided I should maybe get off the phone and get some eye drops or benadryl. When I walked in the house everyone was in shock. After a little bit of talk it was decided that I should head up to the fire department and be looked at. So my Mom and Heidi drove me up there. We walked up to the door and rang the bell. Immediately someone came to the door and took one look at me and called the EMT. They sat me down and hooked me up to an IV. They took my blood pressure and it was very high especially for me. We were advised that I head to the emergency room via ambulance. When all this talk started my chest started to feel extremely heavy and I felt as if I was about to pass out. Mom said I was slumped over in the chair and my eyes were rolling back….. I think that scared her quite a bit. They loaded me into the ambulance and off we went. I was starting to feel better on the way. They had given me medicine to stop the reaction. By the time I arrived at the hospital I felt a lot better. Just very tired. There they gave me a few more drugs, checked to make sure I was stable and sent me home.

I survived the night in case anyone was nervous and it is safe to say, yes I am allergic to shellfish. I now have to carry an Epi pen around and benedryl. I am not quite use to having it and forgot to bring it to Costa Rica. Adam was not very happy about that one and learned how to say allergic to shellfish very quickly! No mariscos allergico! Then we just returned from the beach and I had forgotten to bring it there and had a very mild reaction to Calamari. I think he reaction was, “ The two places we have been that is all about shellfish and you forget it…” Ooops.

Simply,
Meg

Stick to the "System"

I am back tracking just a little bit to catch you up on some things!

So a few days after I was reunited with my bag, it was my last day of reserve and of course I was not able to be released from work early… The weather was not the best in NY or DC so I thought there may be some cancellations but didn’t put too much thought into it.

Finally I got out of bed at my crash pad and started getting my things together. I was about to walk out the door and for some reason I decided that I wanted to put my car keys in my pocket. I figured I could get to them quicker when I get to my car in DC. I remember standing in the middle of the room and having a conversation with myself about this.

See I normally always place my keys in my purse, that is part of my “system”. For some reason not today. I guess I finally talked myself into placing my keys in the pocket of my jacket and off to the airport I walked.

I was trying to catch a flight on Delta so I made my way over to the Marine Air Terminal, known as the MAT. As I am walking up to security I see that my flight has been cancelled. I immediately turn around and race over to the US Airways Terminal. I had only 30 min before the flight took off. I head through security and see a screen that is now telling me  that this flight is also cancelled… You have got to be kidding. So I turn around and head back to the MAT  and again only having 30 min to make it. I get to the MAT and look at the screen, thank god my flight is on time. I was almost to the point of throwing some pennies if this one was cancelled. I was all worked up, but pretty motivated to get back home!

I land in DC and made my way to the car. On the bus to the parking lot I reached in my pocket for my keys...nothing…. Aw nooo… I frantically start searching through everything. Nothing. Then I start to think if I have a spare and I quickly remember that I was already using my spare. I had a little key incident in Colorado and my clicky keys are no longer programmed to my car. I am using my hide a key as the main entry into my car…. Ahhhhhh….. So I dread it but I call home… mom answers and I explain what happened and of course she is asking obvious questions… Did you look through your bag? I mean did you really look through your bag? Are you kidding me of course I did. She is not happy because now she is going to have to drive about 3 hours round trip to deal with my dumbass. Then I start thinking that she is also going to have to find my keys that are packed away in that black hole I have above the garage, tow my car to a dealership and reprogram my keys… All this would take a lot of time and a lot of money. I felt really bad.

After a minute I pull my head out of my ass and decide that I was going to head back to NY and find my keys. I was going to start with making sure I hadn't lost them on the plane I had just flown to DC in. I called some of the crew that I had known and none of them had their phones on… Ah.. So I got to the gate and asked the gate agent if the cleaning crew had found any keys. NO. So I knew I had to head back and was in for some more of my fantastic detective work!

While waiting for my flight back to NY a familiar face walks by. It was one of those people that you think that you may know or have seen before but you cant really put a finger on it.  I just knew that I had seen him before. Boarding begins and the gate agents cannot believe that I am actually heading back to NY. I get on and find a seat. Guess who sits right across the isle from me? The mystery man! But I have figured out how I know him. Are any of you top chef fans? Well it was Spike from top chef…. I couldn’t believe it. I had so many questions, so many things I wanted to talk about. Once everyone was on board I look over at him and whisper “ Hi!.... You were on top chef”. Smooth Meg real smooth. He laughs and says yes. Then we begin talking, I ask him everything about the show, cooking, you name it! Then the dreaded question of what I did and then it got real embarrassing really quick when he was wondering if I was coming or going to work.....

So I get to NY and sprint off the plane. If all goes well I can find my keys and make it on the last flight home that leaves in 45 min. I sprint to the MAT TSA checkpoint… no keys. Then I run outside and wait for either the Route A bus or the employee bus since I did take them both. First bus that rounds the corner was the employee bus and I was in luck because it was the same bus that I had been on earlier. The doors open and I ask the nice gentleman driving if he had found any car keys…. He looks at me and asks what kind of car do you drive? My heart starts pounding… a Jetta I reply. Ya, I found them let me go and get them. Oh my god!!!!!!!!! So lucky right now. The man returns and hands me my sweet sweet keys. I thought about, for just a second, planting a huge smooch on him, but that thought was quickly gone! I think I even said to him, “ OMG, I could make out with you right now!” His response (in a deep voice), “ Well suga thad be just alright with me!” So I said my thank yous and sprinted to catch the last flight home. I made it and instead of getting back nice and early, I believe I pulled into the driveway around midnight. What a day… what an IDIOT! Needless to say I definitely am sticking to my system. The next time I have a conversation with myself I will not stray from my routine!

Simply,
Meg

Thank you..

Sorry I have not blogged in quite some time… been very busy and maybe a little distracted from writing…. I have a few blogs almost finished and will share them shortly, but today I wanted to post a quick blog.

I woke up today to the news of the death of Osama Bin Laden. Some may believe a huge day in the war against terror, others may believe this may have woken a giant. I hope this news can bring many people closure.

We taxied into DCA today and I got out of cockpit to do my walk around. Next to our parked plane I watched a family gather around the cargo bin of a Delta MD88, accompanying them were military personnel. Carefully the ground crew loaded a coffin decorated with an American flag onto the luggage belt. With soldiers in full dress saluting the coffin as it passed by, the coffin was carefully loaded into the back of a hearse. The family was bringing their son/daughter to DC to be buried in Arlington Cemetary.

I felt deeply for the mother, a mother should never have to bury a child. I could not imagine the pain and grief that comes with that. Watching this touched me very much. As a tear came down my cheek, I couldn’t help but think how honored I am that this soldier and many others are fighting for my freedom I would like to take the time to thank the men and women who are overseas serving in our armed forces.

Simply,

Meg

IDIOT.....

The last few weeks of my life have been out of control. Let me just say before I start that I am not usually forgetful. I do have a “system” and rarely lose things. I would consider myself fairly responsible but.... my life can get crazy!

So it all started at the end of a 5 day stretch of reserve. I was hoping to be home early on my last day and was really looking forward to a nice evening with my dad, Sebastian, Oliver and Hannah. All day Friday I would be in DC renewing my passport, I had an 8 am appointment and in the evening I was getting together with some old friends. But… pretty standard move, scheduling was nice enough to give me a Chicago turn with bad weather. I was not happy and I let them know.
Me: You have sat me here for 5 days and on my last day you give me this.
Them: Well you will be able to make it home tonight.
Me: You and I both know I will not get home tonight. We will be delayed and probably sit in the penalty box for hours.
Them: We have no one else.
So I fly out to Chicago and of course on the way back we were delayed for two hours. While sitting in the penatly box I started to wonder if I will even get back in time to make the last flight home. We finally make it to La Guardia and I didn’t have to make the choice of whether or not I would be able to go home, it was made for me.

On our flights we have to leave our bags in the back with the passengers. I walked back to retrieve my bag and it is no where to be seen. I begin to panic, no actually freak out. Then it hits me, some IDIOT took my bag instead of theirs. I calm down enough to see straight and see a bag still in the overhead. It must be the "Idiots" and I am holding that damn thing hostage until I get mine back. First off the lone bag was not even on the same side as I had placed mine. Yes they were both black but this one was much lighter, uglier and shittier than mine. I even had a green crew tag on my bag. Who is this complete moron and how far is this dumbass going to get before he figures it out? I frantically search the outside of the bag for a name, number, anything. I found a name, the great, smart and intelligent Tim Boylan took my bag. There was a number, I am too frantic at this point so my captain calls the number and its probably better because my message would not have been as polite as his. I sprint up the jet bridge screaming at the gate agent to page Tim Boylan. Tell that idiot he has my bag…..

I am going to have to hunt him down myself and at this point he better hope he is nowhere near the airport. I am scurrying around checking everyones bag. I probably looked like a lunatic with a serious mental issue. I run outside and searched the taxi cab line, weaving in and out of people. No bag and no Tim Boylan. So I walk over to baggage claim and tell a man named Fritz what happened. He felt horrible for me and after a lot of thought my mind begins to wonder. Why is his bag so light? Did he steal my bag on purpose? Is he going through my things? All my underwear better be there……

So the 3 phone numbers we found on the bag did not work. Freak out mode. I ask Fritz if his information was with his booking information. So Fritz looks it up and there is no record of Tim Boylan even on the flight from Chicago to NY. Oh dear god….. Call the cops. I am reporting everything stolen. I start going through everything that is in my bag. Favorite shoes, shirts, jeans, makeup, jewelry… I am about to lose it.

Then it hits me…. Tim Boylan could have been on the flight from NY to Chicago. Fritz looks it up and there that idiot is. So Fritz tracks down all his information. In the mean time I decided I am going to search his bag. In the bag was a pair of dress pants, a dress shirt, belt, shoes, boxers, overnight kit and a jacket. So maybe Mr. Boylan had a meeting, serves him right, I hope it was really important one and all he has is panties, bras and gold boat shoes! Fritz finds his number but for some reason it is missing the last digit. So I sit there and call every number 0-9. Finally on the last number I dial I  reach his answering machine, I leave a very nice message to call me back. I wait a little bit and no call. I would think that if I had grabbed the wrong bag I would be doing some research to find mine. Guess guys are wired a little differently.

So I turn psycho and after the 10^th call and googling him, I hear back from him.
Tim: “Oh hi… um I am very sorry about the mix up.”
Me: Well where is my bag now?
Tim: Oh well it is back in my hotel room.
Me:You made it all the way to the hotel room before you noticed it was not your bag.
Tim: Yea I am just really sorry.
I wanted to go postal on this guy.
Me: So when are you coming back to NY?
Tim: Oh I will be back tomorrow at 5 pm.
Me:Ok well your bag is with Delta baggage claim please go there and exchange bags.
Tim: Ok no problem. Thank you very much.

So I headed back to the crash pad and decided that I will get up early and catch the first flight back to DC. It will get me in before my meeting and I can just spend the entire day in my uniform since that is all I have and its my favorite thing to wear. I get up, shower and brush my teeth with my finger. I know gross but what in the world am I suppose to do at this point. I make it to my appointment and was told that my passport would be ready around 2 pm. Great, so now I have to spend hours in this monkey suit. I decided that I need a haircut, manicure and pedicure. Three things I never thought I would be doing dressed in uniform, people were definitely staring and I think I gave the Asian ladies something to really talk about. Too bad you never know what they are saying.

I get my passport and I was actually able to make it home, shower, pull something together to wear and found some makeup. It ended up being  a great night despite everything that had gone on in the last 24 hours!

I had to spend the next few days without my bag. I was really starting to miss my electric toothbrush Ali had gotten me for my birthday and I had never wanted to see my bag so badly in my entire life. It was time to head to work and I was commuting up the same morning as my first day of reserve. I show up at the airport and both of my flights on two separate airlines cancel… You have got to be kidding me. So I call scheduling and explain what is going on. They tell me to just get on the first flight to NY and if something comes up they will call me. So I sit and wait, from 5 am to 930 am. I had a bit of entertainment. I must of watch for at least a good hour a few elderly ladies and their morning activities.

930 finally came and I boarded the plane. Scheduling had not called so I was in the clear! I called them to let them know I was on the flight and if they needed me I would be in the air but would do whatever they needed me to do. All the sudden I hear them telling me to get off the plane. Get off right now. I sit there stunned and stuttering.
Me: Y y y you want me to get off the plane?
Them: YES NOW. We are going to get you a limo and have you taken to dulles. From there you will fly to Toronto then over night in Denver.
All I can think about is my bag patiently waiting for me to come and save her.
Me: Um… I do not have my flight case or even my overnight bag.
Them: Well that is fine I will make sure you get back to NY tomorrow.

So thank god Lucas and Jen saved me. They gave me a toothbrush and I was able to wear a pair of Jen’s jeans. The next day I made it back to NY and I swear I might of shed a tear when I saw my little bag. I hugged it and didn’t want to let go. First thing I did when I got back to my crash pad was brush my teeth and count my panties. All accounted for! Now my bag is covered in pink ribbon, but something tells me that would not of stopped Mr Boylan……

Simpy,
Meg

Cancun...Part 3... I do!

Those of you who might have been concerned…. Goobs survived the night! He only knocked over the table while getting into the hammock! The night before Daddy had informed us that he was not going to be able to stay for the wedding… He was nervous about getting back to work. Of course no one really believed him… But when I woke up there was an empty bed… No Daddy… It was a sad day in Cancun.

We met everyone for breakfast and then made our way to the pool The girls had a couple of hours before we had to start “putting our faces on”. Jen had a hair appointment at 12 and I decided to go with her so she could have a little company. The rest of us had appointments at 1. It was a nice relaxing afternoon, enjoying champagne and being pampered a little bit. After our appointments we had a nice lunch and immediately up to the room to get dressed.

Jen’s room over looked the reception site.  While we were getting dressed we were watching them set up for it. They were struggling quite a bit trying to keep everything from blowing away. It was such a windy day. Eventually the wedding coordinator spoke with Jen about moving the reception inside. She really didn’t want to, the spot was beautiful, overlooking the ocean. Eventually she decided to move it inside. I think at first she was a little upset about but it ended up being the best decision.

Jen was stunning and her dress was absolutely perfect. The bridesmaids dresses that Jen picked out were also perfect. Everyone looked very nice. After all of the girls were ready we walked over to my room, which just so happened to be right next to the ceremony. On our way over we had to walk past the pool, everyone started clapping and wishing Jen the best. We got to the room and were patiently waiting for everything to start. CNA was running this show! All the sudden he sends Jane, the mother of the bride, down the isle… Flora the wedding coordinator had not even made it into the room yet. I think I had to tell CNA that he needed to pump the brakes a little bit on this one.  Finally it was time, walking down the isle was an amazing site. Seeing everyone there and the view overlooking the ocean. Dreany made a funny point. No one in our group is ever very serious, we are always joking and kidding about. He said that he walked into the ceremony and he had never seen that group of people so serious in his entire life.

After pictures down on the beach we headed up to the lobby. I was dying to see the reception. We were finally able to enter the room. As we walked in we were handed blue cocktails that were absolutely delicious. The room was beautifully decorated and there was a large space for turnpikin'. Jen made a great decision. We didn’t have to worry about the weather or wind. Also the room was very private, drunks couldn’t walk by screaming, interrupting everything.  Each wedding party couple was introduced and had a song that they had to walk out to and give a little dance. Sprute and Kristen came out strutting that ass. Mexicali and Becky came out. And then Josh and I came out to Bottoms up… we did the classic shower followed by a turnpike. I think my favorite part of our entrance was when Josh turned to me and asked, " soo.. you wanna turnpike now!" After everyone was introduce dinner began. After dinner Lucas had wanted everyone to give speeches. I was a terrified because I had not done so well at paige’s wedding, shaking, forgetting my words, getting all choked up. This one I was much better at.. thanks for the practice Paige. I told few story of the party pigs! (Blog on party pigs to come!)

After everything Jen and Lucas had their first dance... at the end of it there were fireworks. It was awesome but smoked out the room for a little bit. Then the party began. It was finally time to make some bad decisions....The DJ was perfect, he didn’t talk at all and just played the music we wanted. We were all dancing like complete idiots and having the best time ever. At one point the wedding coordinator asked Lucas if he wanted to cut the cake. His response was, " NO, no cake... nothing is going to stop this party!" Then the tequila shots began and out of no where the wait staff brought out a beer bong… Are you kidding me? I took one bong of beer and that was going to be it. But these people were like those ladies in the night club a few nights ago. From what I recall...They shoved me on the floor and shoved the bong in my nouth, but this time it was not beer. It had tequila, some red stuff and god knows what else in there. Things got a little bit western! It was Game over for me!

                What a night.... what a weekend. That will be a wedding that will be talked about for many moons! The next day at breakfast we started saying our goodbyes and reliving the weekend. Sprute and I decided to stay and extra day! It was a great decision. A day in Mexico recovering and relaxing. I needed that extra day for sure. I was not quite ready to get back to reality. We enjoyed the day out by the pool. It just so happened that the people who worked the wedding the night before were all out at the pool working..... Alejandro was waiting on us.... Once I finally made it out the the pool he walked over to us and started laughing... He looked at me and asked if I remembered him.. Of course how could I forget the waiter named Alejandro that the night before we requested Lady GaGa, Alejandro, for and he bonged a beer during his song!! Classic!

The weekend had finally come to an end for me. It was sad to go and say goodbye to all of my friends.... it would be weird waking up the next day and not going to breakfast, asking for a drink and it immediately being brought to me, having someone make me an omlete every morning..... but the time had come to leave.

Thanks Jen and Lucas for some great memories and a Flannnntastic weekend!! Love you mean it!! Now lets get trampled!

Simply,

Meg

Cancun... Part 2.... Scoop and Hammer

Me: Daddy, Daddy turn the jams down we are getting pulled over.

Daddy: No we are not…Are we really?

I look around the cab and the boys are shoving their money down their panties and throwing wallets under the seats. I just sat there frozen and terrified. Thoughts immediately started wondering through my mind. What if I get separated from the boys? Who do I call? What will happen to me? Donkey show?.. I had my purse, camera, flip and wallet full of everything on my lap, clutching it with a death grip…. The cab driver immediately jumps out and the cops come up to the car, shining his light on us, all over our laps… He doesn’t say a word, turns off his light and walks back to his truck. I see the cab driver speaking to the police. All of the sudden he hops back in the cab and floors it out of there. What in the hell was that all about? He turned to me and said in broken English nothing 10 dollars can't fix. The look on everyone’s face said it all, thank god we got out of that one. Piece of advice # 2 not followed…. At least we survived the night.

It just so happened to be Canadian spring break while we were there and we had met the Canadian Daddy. His name was “Lamarcus”, what a piece of work. He had these business cards that had his name on them with a quote: “ This is going to happen weither you like it or not” and down on the right hand corner was his room number, hand written. If you flipped the card over all it said was BOOM! He was classic! We couldn’t get enough of Canadian Daddy. He strolled around the resort always drink in hand with the bedroom slippers the hotel provides. At this point he was on his second pair and they were no longer white, more like a blackish gray color. Canadian Daddy did teach us some valuable things. My favorite was the “ Scoop and Hammer”. This is when you order a whiskey and coke. As soon as the waiter gives it to you, you begin to scoop out the ice. What you do with the ice is completely your choice. You can throw it on the floor, at people or in a near by bush. Then you hammer the drink. I was fortunate enough to witness the Canadian Daddy teach our Daddy this valuable tidbit! Almost piddled I was laughing so hard.

The next morning we were all in bed and Goobs was asleep out in  the hammock on our balcony… All of the sudden he comes flying in the room screaming, Do you think Chuck Norris Askey is sleeping the day away? Cancun never sleeps…buzzing around the room. Finally he hops in the shower and in no time at all is out the door starting his day. I just sat in bed wondering what in the hell just happened in here. Daddy and Mr. Pebbles had no recollection of any of this when they woke up. Eventually we got up and headed to  breakfast.

At breakfast Tim saw us and joined. We were recapping the night before when I looked over and Tim was wearing a Mexican wrestling mask. Where in the heck did that come from? The day before the Bostyan and Lilly family went to the Mexican flea market. This is where they found this little gem. It was gold with orange lightning bolts on either side of the holes for your eyes. On either side of the head were two black bull horns and in between the two horns was this orangish/brown pube like hair. We referred to him as Mexicali! It was the funniest thing I have seen. He was just hanging out at breakfast... as Mexicali.

After we ate we headed to the pool, it was like groundhog day. All of the sudden Mr. Pebbles had disappeared with Daddy. When he returned to the pool he was wearing cowboy boots, cut off jeans, and a wool/suede vest. Quickly Mexicali joined him. What a combo, they quickly became the talk of the pool. They even had their pictures taken with a massive iguana.

Everyone had finally made it to Cancun at this point and we headed to the beach for a few games of volleyball. Little did we know that Drean came fully prepared. He had brought a little bit of Wash Park. Out comes the volleyball from home. The same ball that we have played many games in Wash Park with. Thoughtful? Weird? Maybe both but it was perfect, good thinking Drean. So the games began again with a nice little beach bar right behind us. Jams pumping, on repeat… I swear I loved the Black eyed peas song Time… until the 50^th time it was played.

The most difficult thing about the trip was the fact that you have endless options of what to drink. It is really hard to figure out what you want and what you are really in the mood for. Plus it was hot, we were drinking all day and I did not want to feel bloated I quickly became friends with the bartender and he made me a drink called “After Sex”. It was amazing, refreshing and perfect. In it was Sambuca (I think that is what he said), watermelon liqueur, sprite and I would have him add vodka! They were dangerous.

Another full day of sun and fun and we were ready for dinner. This night was going to be a tame one at least for me. We had dinner at a sit down restaurant and the food was very good. It was insane you could order anything off the menu because you didn’t have to pay for a thing. When it came to dessert time I was torn between flan and crème brulee, so why not have both of them! Oink Oink.  After dinner we all made our way back down to the beach and had a little roast for Jen and Lucas, just telling stories. Then Jen and Lucas introduced everyone and we all had a great laugh. Earlier where we had been playing beach volleyball they had set up a beach night club and we Jersey Turnpiked it all night. If Jen and I saw someone just standing there, we would both look at each other and say, “looks like he needs a little turnpikin”. I did learn that you have to be careful with who you turnpike. I saw a random guy standing looking a little bored and I felt generous so I tunrpiked him. Little did I know I would have a Stage 5 clinger… I finally slipped away from that poor guy. I wanted to be in bed a little earlier that night anyways, so I would be nice and fresh for the big day.

I was still awake when the boys made it back to the room. We visited for a little while. Then got ready for bed. Goobs was terrified of falling out of the hammock during the night. We said goodnight and Goobs headed out to his bed. All the sudden we hear a large crash. We all stare at each other. Then bust out laughing, he must of fallen out. We didn’t hear another peep....

To be continued……

Simply,

Meg

Cancun... Part 1... Advice

Success!! My work pants still fit! I mangaged to have the best time ever, eat and drink whatever I want, not work out a single day, unless you count dancing my face off and at the end of it was still able to fit nicely into my uniform!

First I would like to say congrats to the new Jennifer "Askey" Bostyan and Lucas "Askey" Bostyan!

I just got back from Cancun, Mexico. What a trip! I have so many things to tell you so I am going to break this blog into parts! Here we go... Part 1!

I had finished up a trip on Wednesday evening and was dying with anticipation for my alarm to ring at 5:15 am. A cab picked me up outside of the crashpad and my trip began! I thought that I would have plenty of time but JFK is a New Yorker crazed airport…. full of people in foul moods and dressed like the are attending a funeral. I bounced in the airport brightly dressed, huge smile on my face and ready for some sun! I arrived at the gate and the flight crew was very nice and pleasant. They immediately began to give me advice while I was in Mexico. It went something like this 1) DO NOT go anywhere alone. 2) Stay on the resort if at all possible 3) avoid the police at all cost. Little did I know that I would break two of the rules on the first night…….

My name was called and I jumped up to get my seat assignment. I was so excited… I walk down the jet bridge and there were probably 10 police officers with 3 dogs waiting for everyone to walk past, just to give us a little sniff. I start thinking about what the flight crew had told me before and was just sniffed on my way to the plane… Is Mexico that scary?

We land and the hot air smacks you right in the face. I instantly have swamp ass…. So I get to customs and of course I pick the slowest line possible… I make it through and head outside having no idea what I am about to walk into. I make my way through all the wandering people, god that drives me insane. I swear people check their brains with their bags. At this point I have no idea who am suppose to look for, I am drenched in sweat, frustrated and ready for a beer. I just begin to wander taking in the scene. Maybe I checked my brain too. I walk out the door and I am immediately ambushed. “Senorita, senorita would you like a ride?” Ah! Carumba,  totally confused a senor finds me and grabs my bag, I didn’t even have time to say no. He takes off with it and I am chasing after him (he was a quick little senor)… I start to laugh a little because I don’t think he realized how much my bag weighed. I could see the sweat just pouring off of him carrying that thing around at 100 miles a hour. He probably thought it can’t weigh that much, she is only little… but seriously meg, how can bathing suits weigh that much…. Ooops! I finally catch him and explain to him that I booked a shuttle and give him my name. Of course no record of my reservation. Great how am I going to get there…I am about to be taken to the cleaners on this one and about to go postal. I look up and I swear it was sparkling, there was a bar!!!!! I excuse myself and order my first cerveza, Pacifico! God that first sip was flantastic. I look over and the senor with my bag is setting up a ride for me.

First thing I see as we are leaving the airport is this…….Where else in the world would you ever see that!

ps. this is an Air Traffic Control Tower (for those of you who didn't know, now you know!)

I could not wait to see everyone! I get to the Gran Real Caribe and dropped all my stuff off at the room. I was staying with Mr. Pebbles, Daddy and Goobs. No one was in the room so thought I would find them at the pool. It didn’t take too long, must be my James Bond skills. Jen came running up drink in hand! As CNA (Chuck Norris Askey) would say all weekend, "It’s a party”! I threw on my suit and headed to the pool. Immediately the drinks start coming. With an all inclusive hotel you do not have to pay for a thing, just tip every so often. It was the weirdest yet most amazing feeling. We spent the morning at the pool and then decided to grab some lunch. After lunch we made our way down to the beach. It was a little windy, but beautiful. The water was so blue and the sand was so white. We had our own private Bostyan cabana and it was in the best location. There was a little beach bar right next to us and a volleyball net. The best part was, as we looked around, right behind us… it was a glorious sight, I think it was sparkling too… yes a beer pong table. What more could you ask for? Beer Pong with endless amounts of free beer! Congrats to Mr. Pebbles, Amanda and myself for running the table! Lets just say it started the night off right!

After a full day of sun and drinking it was time for dinner. We all met in Jen & Lucas’s amazing room and enjoyed a few beverages. In all of the rooms they had 4 liqour bottles hanging upside down and in a little mini fridge are mixers and beer = It’s a party (CNA)! We visited for a little while and made our way to the restaurant.

After dinner we met in the lobby and had a great visiting session! It was so nice to see everyone and meet all of Lucas’s Big Sky friends! But I was starting to feel a full day of drinking and sun. Lucas wanted to go out, it was his only night he would be able to go. He also has a way of talking me into doing anything, whatever the groom wants the groom gets. So I put my party pants on and got a second wind.  Two of the boys went to their rooms to change. One in blue leather snake pants, J-Wow and the other in cut off jeans, cowboy boots and sleeveless biker button down shirt, Mr. Pebbles.

This would be the first piece of advice that I did not follow...I left the resort. We got a cab and they dropped us off at Daddy-O’s. We figured we had to go there for Daddy's sake! As soon as we got out of the cab we were immediately harassed and people were trying to wheel and deal. The first guy wanted 45 dollars all you can drink for Daddy-O’s and 49 for two more place including Daddy-O’s… us being pilots said oh hell no…. I let the boys handle this one. While I was waiting for what we thought would be the deal of the century I took in the scene. I was in shock, there was a tug on my shorts and it was a 7 year old little girl. She was out with drunk ass people like us at 1 am trying to sell friendship bracelets. I couldn’t believe my eyes… What in the world? Who lets their 7 year old children see this hot mess….

The boys somehow made a deal… 20 dollars all we can drink. Jones up.. lets do this! The guy wanted us to follow him. We began walking down the street and we walked past a club with people dancing on the bar and it looked crazy. I know we are going to have a blast and I start looking for my spot on the bar…. Then I notice that we keep walking past more clubs further and further from Daddy-O’s. Wait a tick, I asked, um… where are we going? He pointed to a little porch area with not a single soul in the place. I guess you get what you pay for. We still rocked the place. I mean tore it up. Dancing on stage, the shower came out… jersey turnpikin, lucas gave us a vanilla ice performance, Bruggeman pole dancing, Diapers dancing with a crazy man and Sha-Wow gettin straight down!

While we were dancing there were these women that came out of nowhere… not dressed in very much, gross, and shoved a shot glass down Amanda’s shirt and shoved Bruggeman’s face into it. Then she stuck a shot glass down his pants and forced Amanda to take that one… then asks for 20 dollars…. What? I see him start to argue with her. They are so pushy around here and will do anything to squeeze a dollar out of you.

By the end of the night the dance floor was so sticky your shoes would stick to it. Goobs flip flop came apart because of it. I also think I was wearing more of the drinks than what had been drunk. We finally decided to leave… as Mr. Pebbles would say “ my dogs were barking”. Shockingly I wanted to walk home, which thank god no one listened to me and we got a cab. There were 6 of us at this point all piled into this little cab. Daddy in the front pumping the jams and Goobs, Do Do, Diapers, Mr Pepples and myself all in the back. All of the sudden I turn around and see cop lights behind us  and another cop truck pulls up next to us and with a speaker phone yells something in Spanish. Oh dear god…

To be continued.......
Simply,
Meg

Helloooo....

I know that it has been a few days since my last blog… sorry for those of you who follow! The last few days I have been very busy tracking one of my crashpad roommates….

It all started a few weeks ago when our little secret of a crashpad all of the sudden was no longer a secret. I know that it was only a matter of time before our little gem was discovered. Amanda and I share a room and a large bathroom with 3 other ladies. It had been so nice since hardly any of the other ladies were there. Eventually two of the ladies we were living with left. The third one is like a phantom of the night. I do not think I have ever seen her face…. She comes in at night and leaves early in the morning. So pretty much Amanda and I had the place to ourselves… lots of room for activities! Across the hall there are 3 other bedrooms and one bathroom with a total of 8 women and 2 men sharing it.

Then it happened… overnight, the pad was full, completely full. All of the new tenants are very nice, OLDER women. They chit chat for hours, watch the weirdest things on tv at loud volumes, make a ton of noise and……

About three days ago was the first occurance that raised an eyebrow. Amanda and I were peacefully sleeping and it was probably one of the first nights that I had actually fallen asleep, so I was thoroughly enjoying it. All the sudden we both hear someone come into our room. I look up and see a flash of pink… I am so out of it I just fall back to sleep. Not sure how much time passed but was woken again by a toilet flushing and again saw a streak of pink and the door shutting. Amanda looked at me and we both said who is using our bathroom and what the hell?

So that evening I start my reconnaissance work, maybe feeling a little James Bondish... Pretty quickly I figure out who the flash of pink was that snuck into our room. That night in the common room sitting on the couch, she was wearing a bright pink shirt and matching pair of pajama bottoms…. That was not so hard. Now just to figure out what she is really up to.

Night two, I am the only one in the room. Around 7 am I am woken again by someone opening the door. I pretend that it does not wake me and I stay awake trying to figure out what in the world is going on. She tip toes in this time and goes right into the bathroom. It takes a little time but I hear the toilet flush, the sink and then the door open and close. Hmmmm….. my wheels start spinning. She has a bathroom over on her side of the wing. Why is she coming in at crazy early times to use ours?

Night three, I am getting to the bottom of this and I have a plan. I think that I have a hunch on what she is up to. Again around 6 am I hear the door open and I watch her tip toe into our bathroom… this woman is like clockwork. I hear the toilet flush, I get out of bed, hair everywhere looking extra dazed...

Me: “ Helloooooo? Is someone in the bathroom?” 

She opens the door and I am standing right there. 

Pinky: “ Does the toilet always run?” 

I look at her completely puzzled dying to say I don’t know you are the only one that uses it at this awful hour of the morning…. But that would give my whole cover away.  

Me: “ Is someone using your bathroom or something? You really scared me. I didn’t know who had just come into my room.”

She immediately started stuttering. 

Spa spa spit it out junior, you are busted! She put her head down and scurried out.

Conclusion: This woman dressed in all pink would try to sneak into our room in the mornings to DROP IT LIKE ITS HOT! What the hell lady? I do not appreciate you waking me up every morning and using my bathroom to take your morning poo. 

Needless to say I was not woken this morning! Mission accomplished!

Simply,

Meg

Gusty Winds...

This morning I was on my way back up to NY to start my 5 days of reserve, 8am-8pm... It was a very early morning and after yet another sleepless night I could not wait to get to my seat on the plane and pass out. For those of you who know me, know that I could fall into a dreamy slumber sitting straight up on a bumpy log. Also that I could sleep right through a hurricane, tornado and earthquake all happening at once. I got to my seat and was dreaming away within minutes of sitting down. I slept through everything. Until... we landed.  I was quickly brought back to reality when we touched, well slammed, on to the runway. It felt like we were landing on the USS Ronald Reagan (aircraft carrier). I looked at my watch, 8:20 am. I had started my reserve period 20 min ago. I had no idea how late we were and quickly began freaking out. While I was in that deep sleep, little did I know that we had sat in what is called the "penalty box", where planes sit on the side of a taxiway waiting to be released to takeoff, for over 30 min and we also had to hold for another 20 min. What in the world had happened?....."Gusty Winds"

My mind began to race....What if work had called? Obviously there were delays into and out of LGA.... What if I was needed? I couldn't turn my phone on quick enough. For the first time I found myself staring at it praying there were no messages! Whew...... I was safe!

I got to my crashpad and finished my nap. When I woke up I decided that I needed to do something today. So like every other day I got ready to head to the gym. To get there I usually run or ride the "crashpad bike" and since the roads were finally clear of all snow and ice I  hopped on the bike and rode away. It is about 2 1/2 miles to get to the gym. When I run there are sidewalks the whole way so I do not fear for my life as much as I do when I am riding. If I go at an early age I am convinced it will be dodging the crazy drivers of NY. But today that was not my only problem, those gusty winds were not finisihed with me!

I was almost to the gym, climbing up the last hill, when this huge gust of wind came out of nowhere... It all happened so fast. I think I screamed, got the wobbles and the next thing I knew, I had toppled over.... of course there were tons of people around and most just walked by and laughed, I couldn't stop laughing myself. A very nice older gentleman finally helped me up.....

Lesson of the day, leave the bike at home on gusty days!

I made it to the gym in one piece, finished my workout and headed back to the pad... I walked into the room and told one of my roommates the story. Her advice was simple. "Eat a hamburger".....

Thanks Amanda!!!!

Simply,
Meg

Like a horse heading to the barn....

 I have decided that this will be the year that I run and finish a marathon. Today was a great day to start my training. The sun was out and not a cloud in the sky. I have been running the dirt road that I live on my whole  life, Hawlin Road. My relationship with that road has been like any other relationship.... it has had its ups, downs, breakups and makeups. There have been days when I have not wanted to leave it and others when I just can't wait to get away. Lately I have not loved my time on the road like I have in the past. I think I am ready to fall back in love....

Thanks to Allison Bowersock I have a little inspiration and a plan to get myself into fighting shape again. Along with that I have decided that Hannah, our golden retriever, will be by my side most of the way. She is not happy about it one bit. 

I have been trying to run with Hannah whenever I am home. I have to keep her on a leash until we get to our turning point or she just will not go. On the way back I will let her off the leash so she can run at her own pace, stopping to sniff if she wants. Surprisingly she keeps up, in fact she sets the pace.  For some reason I thought that today maybe she will want to go and kept her off the leash on the way out.... BIG mistake. I was not even 2 mins down the road and I had already stopped 3 times to beg her to keep up. She was at a pace a little faster than a walk. Right then I made the decision that today was not the day. As soon as she saw that I had turned and was heading home, she suddenly had a little more pep in her step. She was at a full sprint back home..... Reminded me of that old horse you get that is stubborn, lazy and terribly slow. You think how did I end up with this one. You can kick and cluck, he just will not go. As soon as you turn to head back to the barn that lazy horse you were on is at a full gallop home.... Poor Hannah, little does she know, she has many days of hitting that road and now ALWAYS on a leash!

After taking Hannah back I started my run and I "slayed" it! It felt so good to be out there again. I am definitely ready to rebuild my relationship. When I am out there it is my time. It's just the road and me. It allows me to really think about things, release emotion..... Looking forward to my date tomorrow!

Simply,
Meg