Juliana’s Lair

While New York was in deep slumber on Monday night, September 29, 2008, we flew the friendly skies to cross the continent. This trip makes it the 14th country so far that I have visited. We will be here, in this country for a W-H-I-L-E.

I can’t write much on this post at this time, as I need to take that much needed rest, so I’m ready for tomorrow’s very exciting day. For now, let these pictures speak on my behalf.

Our temporary home by day

Excelsior by night

September 30th, 2008 | Tags: rome | Category: travel | Comments (21)

A friend of mine in California gave me a buzz in the middle of “my chaos” yesterday afternoon. Whenever she calls and I don’t pick up the phone, she’s one of those people in my life that won’t take the voice mail in exchange of my voice. So, after not picking up the land phone and my cell phone, she kept ringing me up on the land phone. She knows me so well, that she knows “my game.” At that specific date, day and time, she was not expecting me to be out of the house.

I finally picked up after five tries, and yes, she refused to leave a message. Do you have  a friend like her? She’s one special person, and we’ve been friends through thick and thin both literally and figuratively. Now that we’re  both gaining unwanted pounds, we might even try taking weight loss pills at the same time LOL. Seriously, she’s been on diet for as long as I can remember, even when we were still stressed out from work at P & G. I wonder why she was plump even then, while I was skinny as a rail given the amount of pressure I used to get.

Why was she calling me? That is my secret for now. She’s working today, and she’s certain that she won’t get me later, so she just wanted to say her piece. She’s one sweet friend, a real good friend in the strictest sense of the word.

September 29th, 2008 | Tags: relationships | Category: musings | Comments (2)

The weathermen were wrong again. Yesterday, it was supposed to be sunny and clear but it was cloudy and drizzly. Last Saturday, the forecast was rain and cloudy, but it didn’t rain at all. If there is any job in this world where you can keep that job even with numerous mis-forecasts, that would be the job of a  meteorologist. Lucky, right? When the storm changes its track, it becomes a convenient excuse for the mis-forecast.

It’s not actually an easy job I think, because you need to be very precise. On the other hand, the margin of error is so high. Why can’t they invent some kind of equipment that will really pinpoint the direction and intensity of the storm precisely? But then again, you are dealing with nature, and as we all know, mother nature is fickle minded, it’s very unpredictable.

Oh well, I hope that today will be one clear day. I need it to be clear, it’s a MUST!!!!

September 29th, 2008 | Tags: new york, weather | Category: musings | Leave a comment

Fall is finally here. I can now feel and see the change as far as our environs are concerned. With the passing of summer, I can’t help but think about the awesome beach bikes that I have seen this recent summer.

We live near the beach, and we have several private parks and playgrounds right here in the property where we live. While I’m used to seeing people biking around in the nice summer weather, I now see the parks devoid of it. That should not come as a surprise because I assume that those bikes must now be in storage.

My husband thought of getting a beach cruiser this summer but for some reason  he never really did. Even if he was enamored with one of the models at CruiserStyle.com, that online shopping haven for bikes, he never got to it because he was also concentrated on slaving himself at the gym, right here where we live. Whenever he’s free on the weekend, the gym is his dream destination, so to speak. That is the reason why I didn’t take him seriously when he said he wanted to get a bike.

Well, that will have to be in the back burner for now till summer comes along next year. He said, he will really buy a cruiser style bike next year. Let’s see.

September 28th, 2008 | Category: daily chatter | Leave a comment

It’s been one tiring weekend, but I can’t complain. It’s a good kind of tired, as in really good. You’ll know the reason why it’s a good kind of tired in a short while.

Saturday was a full packed day and although we were up very early today, it’s only now(6:30 p.m.) that I am finally online. Now you wonder who dropped EC’s on my behalf, as those drops were done earlier in the day today. An able help had to do that for me this weekend because I can’t delegate my tasks this weekend to anybody. It had to be done just by yours truly.

This entry starts my “online day” today. Let’s see where it will take me.

September 28th, 2008 | Tags: home life | Category: musings | Leave a comment

I’ve been seeing the financial guru, Suze Orman quite a lot lately on TV. No, I’m not referring to her weekend TV show, a show that my husband and I religiously tune in to every Saturday nights, but different shows other than hers. And most of these shows are on prime time.

With the current financial woes we are facing right now, having Suze on these shows must bring in high ratings. With financial institutions closing their doors, the latest is that of Washington Mutual bought by JP Morgan Chase, I saw on TV how depositors made a mad rush to withdraw some of their money. It’s not easy to just brush this latest financial crisis aside. Listening to Suze’s sound financial advice on TV must have an impact to many viewers.

But, how much of an impact would it really make? If it’s gotten to a point that a certain individual is already in deep financial trouble, to the point of having to face debt collection agencies, that must be a tough situation to take. You not only worry about paying those debt. You likewise still have expenditures on a day to day basis in order to survive.

With the kind of economic climate we’re in nowadays, we have to be very careful about our finances. It’s scary to say the least. We don’t only worry about the security of our investments, we also worry about our employment. Such a tough life. But this too will pass.

September 27th, 2008 | Tags: finance, money matters | Category: just me thinking | Comments (3)

It’s the weekend and I’m supposed to be taking it easy. But no, “easy” is not the best way to describe this weekend for me, as I have “tasks” that I should personally attend to, something that can’t be delegated.

Yesterday, I did what I set out to do. The closets are now ready for the cold weather; none of our spring/summer clothes and shoes are now in sight. It was such a relief to be able to accomplish this. It took a good two hours to get everything in place. Dealing with three closets and an armoire is not such an easy task. The neat freak as I am, all the more took me a lot longer to get done. I didn’t mind, as I am now ready to take on a “task” that will be easier to handle because our fall/winter gears are now in place making it easy for me to grab and ……

That pretty much took my whole afternoon. Before I knew it, it was already getting dark. It was cloudy all day anyway, so darkness came earlier yesterday. I totally neglected to check out on the net the Cat5e patch cable that my husband requested me to order. As soon as he walked in, it was one of the first things he asked. What’s the rush? Honestly, I have no idea. So today, that is definitely on my agenda.

September 27th, 2008 | Tags: home life | Category: daily chatter | Leave a comment

It was a stormy day today in New York. It’s one of those days when you definitely would want to just stay in and enjoy the warmth of your home. It was very windy all day and the rain was heavy too. I wonder how those cars parked in the streets fared overnight, with the danger of falling trees and flying objects. They sure could have been safer if they are parked in carports. With the scarcity of  parking spaces  here in New York, you can be unlucky to get a parking spot on the street adjacent to a tree. Something you would definitely want to avoid during a storm.

Luckily I didn’t have to go out today , as I made sure to do all my errands yesterday. And you know what that means. I will only be heading out of the house to dine out as it is the weekend. Just one of the little perks of being a stay at home wife.

It’s now calm outside. The rain that was projected  by the weathermen to reach our area earlier tonight must have changed its course. Now, it’s dry and pleasant outside, though, a tad cool.

September 26th, 2008 | Tags: new york, weather | Category: daily chatter | Leave a comment

Business must be that bad, that not even a threat to cancel a policy won’t make an insurance company  adjust the premium on our car insurance.

At the end of this month, we will be renewing our car insurance policy with the same insurance company that we have been dealing with for a long time. What we don’t understand is the fact that although our vehicle has been getting older, the premium has only gone down in insignificant amount since we first bought the car five years ago. I will not name the insurer here, because I don’t want them to get more mileage from this site. They can’t even explain the reason for such, and I had to take it up with them one by one such as :
- is it our credit rating? NO, because my husband and I have perfect credit, no doubt about that, and they agree.
- is it our place of residence? NO, as they claim, that has nothing to do with it.
- is it because of a claim? NO because we have never claimed anything ever since, thank God.
- is it the car’s mileage? OH NO!!! this five year old car only has 9,880 miles on it.

So, what is it? There are no concrete reasons. As the adjuster said, and I quote: “that is the best we can do.”

With my busy schedule, as I have been preoccupied with something lately,  the search for a new insurer has taken a back seat, and we have already paid the premium for the next six months. I just do not have the energy and the time to deal with it. So for the meantime, we have to suck it up. I will get to it, when the dust settles. Should I find an insurer that offers a better rate, you bet, I’ll be quick to dump this gecko.

September 25th, 2008 | Tags: money matters | Category: musings | Comments (2)