Niagara Mohawk Power

This is the power company building in downtown syracuse. It is by far one of the coolest buildings I have ever seen. It is a huge deco monstrousity. It is gorgeous in the day, but I had never seen it at night until Saturday. I never would have guessed it would be lit up like this.

Pretty!

These were in the window of a neat glass shop in downtown syracuse. We stopped because they had all these great old stained glass windows - round ones and large arched ones. But they were too dark to photograph.

Fat and Happy

Of course we managed to get down three drinks between the 2 of us. Who would have known we had that much space left?

This is how much dinner I ate

After a long day

Our few brief moments at a Starbux that closed far too early for our liking.

My cute truckin' bunny

The view from the truck

Boy it sure looks good!

What can I say?

I'm helping...

I swear!

Happy boy

Even my heckling from the secret door into the truck cab could not dampen Jim's spirits.

Jim is such an engineer!

He tied everything down like a pro. This is all we had at the end - maybe a sixth of the space used?

It's not that bad

SASSY!

And this is where we started

We could not get the truck down to my apartment for fear that we would get it stuck. When Jim got in Friday, it looked pretty grim that we could get anything to the parking lot because there was so much snow, but after a good sunny day of 47 degree weather we were good to go.

It had a secret door!

Crosseyed

Jim made it in okay on Friday... just a little frazzled.

Ah... another great weekend

Jim and I had such a nice time, but it was WAY too short. He blew in Friday evening with a pretty (hahaha) truck. We went out to eat, and then came back to the apartment and just hung out. Saturday, we went on some wild adventures through the bad side of town, courtesy of my horrid navigation skills. No navigation system can save you if you don't have the street name right! We drove in circles, cackling, and Jim shaking his head in awe of my ineptness. I'm sure he wondered how I found my way to my car every morning. Several hours and several attempts later we found the creepy yet welcoming feed store (located in the heart of the ghetto?) where we bought some food for the babies. As a side note... It is amazing that Jim and I are malnourished, anti-nutrition, exerciseless, sugar-aholics, and we are FANATICAL about our dogs' wellbeing. They eat the best food we can get our hands on, no preservatives, no pieces-parts, and no people food. We made a pact long ago that although we were slackers we would have healthy, trim, gorgeous dogs. Wild and spoiled, but definitely happy.

We did a little shopping, I swear when you get Jim going, he is an awesome shopping buddy. Almost as good as you mom - he is much more easily embarrassed than you though. He wanted to crawl into the carpet when I got tangled in some "fancy" scarves in Target and when I tested every object I could find to see how it fit over my boobie.

After our adventure, we went back to the apartment to do our duty. We both were dreading loading the truck, and I was overwhelmed by all the stuff. It really wasn't bad at all. Jim and I actually had fun while we loaded - we giggled and played, and rested alot. The truck looked sad and empty when we were done. I really did not have that much. I was left with a blow up bed, tv, some kitchen stuff, my plants, and my clothes. We went to a cool little restaurant for dinner and gorged on some awesome "jojo" potatoes, fried fish, and italian food. Sick with happiness and good food, we made our way to Starbux. They closed insanely early. You could never guess Syracuse is a college town. We went back to the apartment after walking around downtown looking at some of the buildings. We watched cable tv sprawled out on the living room floor, and then fell asleep gabbing into the morning.

Poor Jim left about 4:30 am Sunday morning, and I worried about him driving that truck all the way back. It rained most of the way, but he was a good boy and stopped to rest alot. He told me when he left to get some sleep for him, so I did. I slept almost all day, for Jim... right! It felt so good.

I was so sad to see him go. We had a great time. I know we have lived apart for 8 months now, but now that the end is near, I think we are both just so ready.

I have moved my "bed" into the living room, and I made it official today... I am turning in my apartment keys and my cable modem on Friday the 10th. Mom and I should be leaving for the great west on Monday the 13th. I am set to get my offer tomorrow. My boss and his boss had to sign off on it, and his boss was out this afternoon - curses!

I have some photos that I will try to get online soon - they are really good!

Sid

Sid is my man. I adore him. He is a machinist on the side, and he makes steam engines. He brought in a small one for me to see - it was solid brass - so cool. The car in the photo behind him was one he rebuilt himself. He is now onto another one. He is the one that makes farm animal noises, and refers to his wife as "the wife unit". He is hysterical.

Brian

Brian is our resident cartoonist. If it is weird and funny, he draws it! He is a hoot and a great source for places to go and things to see. What a sweetie! We traded photos.

Larry

He my next cube neighbor. He is a blast. We talk about all sorts of things, and he really looks out for me. I do wish he was a good gossip. He has worked here for 25 years, so he knows alot of good dirt. He alludes to it, but he rarely breaks down and tells me anything juicey.

John

John is a great guy and very funny. He worked at the Portland office for awhile, but he is an upstate NY boy all the way. He does extreme ski jumping - it is bizarre they jump ramps into a pool like snow skiers.

Chris

Chris is great, and he is very funny. He is from Columbus OH. He also likes to shock things and set them on fire. Good thing he is allowed to do that quite often. He reminds me of Bucky.

The guys

These next photos are of some of my favorite guys from work. They all sit downstairs in the basement with me, and they are all engineers and responsible for creating some of the devices we sell. I sure am going to miss them! We have had alot of fun.

The long tunnel

This is the tunnel I walk through everyday going from the parking lot to the building and back. I goes over the creek that runs through the old mill area.

Snowy sign

Some of the snow

This is when it is really pretty here, when the snow just sort of hangs on.

Jim is on his way!

My little Jim is popping in (hahaha) tonight to get some Jill-time and pick up the bulk of my stuff. I hate to see my new chair go, but it is for the greater good. I will keep enough to keep me going for the next few weeks.

I should be getting my official job offer on Monday. I will know then my official start date in Portland and my new salary! My last day at the office in NY is Friday the 10th. I hopefully will be able to drive to Indy (and get my mommy) that weekend, then drive on to Portland over then next week, and start at the Portland office on the 20th. Of course after a several weeks I will be going to Chicago to meet with some guys at the chicago office. That will be pretty good timing to fly with mom back to Chicago, so dad can retrieve her.

I have been making goodies for the guys again. They are SO going to miss me! They said they are going to start emailing me orders.

Cool projects

I have been working on some really cool projects lately.

Way to go Subaru!

I woke up this morning to 6 inches of snow. It looked so pretty and peaceful. My neighbor was walking her dog, and she let him off the leash so he could do his business without her having to wade through the snow. He of course butt tucked around the courtyard, scooping up snow, and kicking up mud and snow globs as he went. He was so happy. It made me happy, but at the same time it made me miss my babies something fierce.

The Subaru rocks! With the Infiniti I would have had a very horrifying, stressful, slippy-slidey trip into work. But I easily made it up the big hill in “downtown” Camillus, and there was no sliding or spinning. I had fun, and I can’t wait to drive home from work this afternoon. This is what driving in the snow should be like!

Snowy Swamp

This is one of the swamps I pass on the way home.

First snow since we got the Subaru

It has snowed in Indy since we got the Subaru, but not here. Poor Jim had to wade through 4 inches of snow not long ago. It snowed here. this afternoon, but just 2 inches. It was an easy drive home with no problems. I know however that this would have been difficult in the Infiniti.

"I farted"

Larry made me make change for him, and this was the five dollar bill he gave me. Someone made Abe say, "I farted".

Haha.

Warm and Fuzzy

I am keeping warm tonight in my fuzzy socks. Mary, Jim’s mom got these for me for Christmas, and I love them. They are so soft and warm. I wish they were big enough I could crawl in them and watch tv. They are made out of the same material as the yummy scarf Coral made me.

All A Twitter, Yes I Am!

Today was a good day. Everything is falling into place thus far. I have gotten mom and dad all a twitter about Oregon, and of course Jim and I have been in a state of all a twitterness for weeks. I had my “interview” this morning, and we discussed all the goodies – benefits, relocation, 401k, vacation time, etc. Nice, but I will remain hesitant until I receive and accept an offer. I really have the impression that they are a good company to work for. They are huge, but they still almost feel like a Ma and Pa operation. I’m not used to this good treatment. I thought companies like this were an urban legend.

I have been getting such nice feedback from people here. They are coming out of the woodwork and telling me all of the nice things they have heard about me. Wow… I feel wanted and appreciated.

Although I had the best of intentions to do some packing last night, I ended up going out to Auburn which is just 15 miles from my apartment. I went to their Wal-Mart, which is much nicer than the one in Camillus. It is a Super Wal-Mart. They are building one in Camillus, but it won’t be done until April… too late.

So my apartment still looks like a war zone. I have pulled most stuff out of the closets and into plain site. I am going to try to determine what I can get rid of. It will be hard by the way considering what kind of stuff I brought with me – aka essentials. I also did not buy that much while I was here – mainly clothes… oh… and a chair and ottoman (hahaha).

I also have this horrible eating disorder. I use food as a reward and a consolation. I feel stressed, so I think I’ll feel better if I eat “yummy” stuff. When in fact, that “yummy” stuff makes me feel even worse. Larry commented just now saying, “Is that your second or third candy bar this afternoon?” Yes, it is just 2pm. And no, it was just my second candy bar, but the second one was fat free. Does that count?

What are those boxes for you ask?

I found out today that they are definitely hiring me! I think I am becoming a bonafied employee in 2 weeks. They are making me an offer later this week.

Hold on to you cookies you guys! I'm being hired for the Portland Oregon Office! That's what the boxes are for - I'm moving.... in 2 weeks!

I am SOOOOOOOO excited. This is what Jim and I have wanted forever, and it is finally coming together! Jim and I had concluded some weeks ago that Syracuse would be a temporary stop for me. The job market was not good for Jim in Syracuse, so we decided he would go ahead and get things going in Portland. My intent was to work in NY for awhile then join him later. I never in a million years thought I could get there with them, but it sure is looking good.

Vermont welcomes you

The Vermont welcome center had a local art exhibit. They had some really nice stuff. This little guy was sitting out front. He is sitting next to an elephant and a giraffe. I accidently chopped off the giraffe's head.

One of MANY tolls

Massachusetts

The state line!

What a weekend

Yesterday I decided to get in some more site seeing. It was just too beautiful of a day not to. It is supposed to be gross all week, but nice again this weekend. I didn’t take many pictures. I was concentrating on covering ground and seeing all that I could.

I went over to Springfield Mass and then up to Vermont. I messed about and then went over to Concord NH. I cut across on secondary roads so I got to see a lot of the Vermont and New Hampshire countryside. It is really pretty. All of the lakes were iced over and looked so pretty, and they even still had QUITE a bit of snow on the ground. I even crossed the Appalachian trail. How cool! NH was pretty depressing though. Once you get away from any good sized town it is pretty rough. I then went over to Maine and went up to Portland. I messed around there – it was pretty cool. And of course the ocean was incredible. There was ice around the edges. Massachusetts was by far my favorite. It was so pretty the closer you got to the coast.

I panicked once I realized how long it would take me to get back to Syracuse! I left Portland about 6:30pm, and I got home a little after midnight. It was totally worth it though. There is no interstate that crosses from lower middle Maine over to NH and Vermont. So I had to go down, around Boston, and straight over to Albany NY. I knew taking secondary roads back across NH and Vermont would be hell.

So I had a great weekend. I did not get done all the things around the apartment that I had hoped to get done, so I guess that is what I’ll be doing evenings this week!

The drive home

How beautiful! I didn't alter this photo at all! I have never seen anything like this before. What a great finish to a great day!!

A wonderful day

I had a blast today. I am so glad I decided to go to Niagara Falls. It was great! The town is very much a tourist town. It was dead and almost everything was closed. I can't imagine that little town in the height of the season. Ack! The town itself was VERY depressing. Most of downtown was boarded up, and everything was just dirty and rotting down. I would think that they could sustain some cute little shops downtown... especially since the falls are right down there.

Jill had told me about a show she watched about Niagara falls. They have discovered that the reason it is considered such a romantic place was that the conditions at the falls actually cause a physiological feeling of "romance". The moral of the story is: Don't get married on a whim at Niagara Falls.

I started making my way back to Syracuse at 5pm. I cut across Beaver island into Buffalo. That was cool. I thought of you Jim when I crossed over the bridges. Oh, yeah, I was on the phone with you! I went through a really pretty part of buffalo.

I stopped at this dairy in one of the tiny towns and got some cheese for the guys at work. They had a bunch of kinds. I got swiss, cheddar, and cheese curds. I kinda gagged when I got back to the car. I had a flashback of a Food Network show on the making of cheese. Why on earth did I buy cheese curds? Gag!

Then I cut over so I could go through Batavia... I don't know why, but I have always wanted to go to Batavia. I DO NOT KNOW WHY. That was a dirty, scary, redneck little place. Did I mention scary? I did find a kick ass chocolate shop - Oliver's. Hey... maybe that is why I wanted to go to Batavia.

I went through Geneva, which is at the head of one of the finger lakes. It was really pretty, and then I went through Seneca Falls - it is also at the head of one of the finger lakes. Seneca Falls was AMAZING! There was a huge stretch of huge victorian mansions along rte 5. I wanted to go knock on all the doors and ask if they needed a servant. I would just die to live in one of those houses. The arched Doors, leaded glass, towers, woodwork, cool light fixtures, carriage houses... oh my.

I got back to little Camillus, and it just paled in comparison. But I was glad to climb into my pjs and make some hot tea.

Walk a day in my shoes

I got muddy and wet, but it sure was fun!

Wow

They had a model of the Niagara power service area in the museum. It had little houses, mini high voltage lines, and lights under the water.

Mini Kitchen

They had a display of miniature rooms in a house to show all of the things in the house that use electricity.

The museum at the power plant

I went to the power plant to go to the observation deck, but I discovered they had a great museum. The exhibits were incredible. They had tons of interactive educational ehibits about green power and how electricity works as well as historical artifacts from the power plant.

Robert Moses Niagara Power Plant

They had a cool observation deck at the power plant so I haeded on over after I left the falls.

Hooray for Butt Heaters!

After walking to the falls and back I was chilled to the bone. My body was frozen. I love the seat heaters in the Subaru!

People Counter

The observation bridge at the falls had counters on the turnstiles - mine was 306988. I wonder how often they reset them.

Congratulations are in order

There was a couple getting married by the falls. It was so sweet. By the time I got around to the side to take a photo, the herd of asian tourists that had been watching (and madly videotaping) the nuptuals, had gone on.

The bitter edge

The water was really green.

Niagara Falls

So... Yeah... It was beautiful. Niagara Falls is one of those places on my big list of things to do/places to go before I die. I can check it off!

I did not go out onto Goat island. I knew I could not get a better view of the big one than this without going into Canada.

Hey... that's canada

The bridges were awesome.

The trail under the bridge

International Historic Civil Engineering Landmark

This one's for you Jim!

How Cute!

I parked down from Niagara Falls at one of the gorge parks, and I walked over to the falls. It was about 2 miles each way, but it was so pretty. Luckily it had stopped snowing by then!

Oh Canada

This was as close as I got to Canada. Technically it IS the border. This was at whirlpool park.

The whirlpool

This was an area called the whirlpool. There was a great trail too. You could take stairs down into the gorge. They looked terrifying - so I skipped that part, but I did the upper trail.

The lighthouse door

Wow - the detail!