Kim Quigley's Blog

Funny things kids say

2009-04-12T02:59:19.82Z

My 6-year-old nephew had a conversation with my grandmother, his Bubby.

Tommy: Are you 80?
Bubby: I'm going to be 85.
Tommy: You're 84.
Bubby: That's right.
Tommy: That's big! You're old!

IE 8: Get it before it gets you!

2009-03-19T17:28:19.8Z

This is a public service announcement for all of my non-computer geek friends:

Microsoft released the newest version of Internet Explorer today, IE 8. You can download it at http://www.microsoft.com/windows/internet-explorer/default.aspx. If you choose not to download it now and you’re a Windows user with automatic updates turned on, then it’s probably going to end up on your computer eventually.

Those of you who ARE geeks probably already knew this was coming!

Judgment Day from a Toddler

2009-03-11T19:37:52.703Z

I was shopping in the soup aisle of the grocery store when suddenly a can of minestrone on the top shelf said "Goodbye cruel world!" and plunged to its untimely death right there on the linoleum floor. I stared at it in shock (It wasn't my fault... I'm not even tall enough to reach the top shelf!) but I was prepared to move on. Then I noticed the 3-year-old girl standing a few feet away. She was staring at me and the suicidal can, wide-eyed and tugging on her mother's shirt, beseeching her with cries of "Mommy? Mommy! Loooooook!" I glanced at the mess on the floor then at the child wondering how much of her innocence I would destroy if I kept shopping. She stared back, not yet ready to abandon her attempts to bring her mother's attention to the scene of the crime. Mommy! Mommy!! I closed my eyes and attempted reason... I didn't tell the soup to jump and even if I did, who cares if some rugrat witnessed the event? Her testimony wouldn't stand up in court. MOMMY!! Opening one eye, I peeked at the tot in time to see her drawing in a huge breath that, in a child, can only indicate that something very loud is about to occur. It was the kind of intake of air that is followed by events often described as "bloodcurdling" or "spine-chilling". With that, my decision was made and I scurried off in the direction of good karma and a store clerk.

A Beautiful Romance

2009-02-16T02:34:05.91Z

Brad and I spent Valentine's Day having dinner at a nice restaurant in downtown York. We knew it was fancy because the menu for the evening only had four entrees on it. To make our night special, the table was adorned with rose petals and a red heart-shaped candle. As an extra romantic touch, we were seated with a perfect view of another couple who was clearly having a memorable evening of their own. After all, what could be more beautiful than the romance between a man and his hooker?

What the Face, Space?

2009-02-09T22:28:04.737Z

Is Josh clueless or does he know more than me about the internet?

On Saturday night, Brad and I went to Cobblestones to celebrate Josh's 31st birthday and meet his new girlfriend. When Josh gets drunk he repeats nonsensical phrases which is always amusing. This time he started making fun of the internet by saying things like "Are you going to UPLOAD that to your FACESPACE?" and "Are you going to BLOB on your MYFACE?".

So today, just for fun, I tried hitting facespace.com. Not only does a site exist there, it's clearly a ripoff of MySpace and Facebook carefully selected to lure in people like Josh who can't keep their terminology in order. Or is it? I also discovered myface.com which happens to be (says them) the fastest growing social networking site! Maybe Josh actually knows what he's talking about when it comes to the web! Or, as Josh would say "Not! Huaaa!!!"

Key West

2009-01-26T16:16:18.58Z

Click here for pictures

Brad and I just got back from a vacation in Key West with my parents and an assortment of aunts and uncles where we stayed at the beautiful Alexendar's Guest House which happens to be owned by a guy named Raoul. We flew out on Sunday the 19th on Delta with a connection in Atlanta, which is the world's busiest airport, to the Key West airport which is the size of a McDonald's. We arrived in the late afternoon so we had plenty of time to hang out by the pool and get free drinks at the guest house's happy hour. We went out to dinner at a seafood restaurant with my parents and Uncle Barney and Aunt Sarah. Brad bought me pink fuzzy flamingo shaped slippers at the gift shop while we were waiting for a table.

The next day we decided to walk to Duval Street to explore. The weather was nice but then it rained and Brad got to see how tropical weather can go from sunny to rainstorm to sunny within 10 minutes. We went for an educational ride on the Old Town Trolley tour then had lunch at Croissant de France which was incredibly delicious. That night after dinner at Finnegan's Wake Irish Pub with my parents and Aunt Suzy, we went on a ghost tour. It was totally cheesy and we didn't see any ghosts, but we heard some wacky stories of crackpots who used to live in Key West, such as the story of Robert the Doll and the story of Carl Tanzler and his "wife". After the ghost tour, we met up with my parents, Aunt Sarah and Uncle Barney, and Aunt Suzy at the Hog's Breath Saloon.

Tuesday, January 20th was, of course, Inauguration Day. My family stayed at the guest house to watch TV, but Brad and I decided to go walk on Duval again. As the speech was starting, we noticed a crowd gathering on the street around a loudspeaker, so we stuck around to listen. It was exciting to hear church bells playing patriotic songs and to watch people get emotional as Obama spoke. After the speech we resumed walking because I was on a mission to find Kino sandals which are comfortable cheap shoes unique to Key West. Our plan for lunch was to take a ferry to Latitudes Beach Cafe with Barney and Sarah, but it was windy and cool that day so instead we ate at a little saloon where I had a prime rib sandwich and tater tots. After lunch Brad and I went to the Mel Fisher museum then went back to the guest house for happy hour. We decided to see a drag show that night, so we grabbed quick food at an ice cream shop on Duval then went to Aqua for the show. It was really funny, but it cost $15 each to get in, plus drinks, plus you have to keep tipping the "girls" with ones, and it was starting to cost more than a bad night at the casino so we cut out a little early.

On Wednesday we rented bikes and rode them to the marina where Brad took pictures of boats and a sponge monster. A waitress showed us a manatee floating in the water half under the dock, just a few feet from us. On impulse we decided to go on a two hour ride on a sailboat so we got sandwiches from an ice cream shop. It was only 60 degrees that day and was so windy on the water that we shivered under a blanket the whole time, but it was still really cool to be sailing. When we returned to shore, we biked back to the guest house and got in the hot tub to warm up while we waited for Aunt Gerri and Uncle Bruce who had rented a car in Miami and were driving down to Key West. Later, everyone gathered around the kitchen to sing happy birthday to Aunt Suzy because the whole trip had originated to celebrate her 50th. The old folks decided to order food for dinner and play bananagrams, but Brad and I went out to Mangia Mangia Pasta Cafe.

The next day we rode our bikes around to places like the cemetary and the southernmost point buoy. Uncle Bruce rented a plane that day and offered to take us for a ride, so we went back to the guest house to wait for our turn and I ate a frozen dinner from the corner store for lunch. The plane ride was awesome! Afterwards, we all went to Alonzo's for dinner and my mom was really drunk. Then we went to see a burlesque show at the Bourbon Street Pub. It was really wild, but especially interesting for us because some of the performers were staying in our guest house.

Friday was our last day in Key West and the weather was finally warming up so I was extra bummed about leaving. Our connecting flight on the way home was a few minutes late and we only had 40 minutes to get from one gate to the next in Atlanta, so by the time we got to the gate they had closed the doors. There were at least 10 other people from connecting flights standing there too. Usually flights will wait for the connections to arrive since they know you're in the airport, but apparently Delta's policy is "Screw you guys! Hahaha!!" A Delta employee was explaining that everyone had to go to the ticket counter when this woman started ranting and rushing at him. He told her if she didn't calm down he'd have to call 911 and she kept screaming so he called the police to arrest her and told her she wouldn't be able to fly with Delta that day. I wanted to stick around and watch her get arrested but we had to go find out what was up with our flight. Missing our flight actually turned out to be great because we were automatically reassigned to a later flight and it gave us enough time to get food and for Brad to smoke. We returned to PA without any more excitement.

Offcenter Grill

2009-01-10T02:43:21.55Z

I have some restaurant.com gift certificates to places we've never been to in York, so tonight Brad and I used one at Offcenter Grill. It was fancy and relaxing and nice.

Upper Respiratory Infection

2009-01-07T03:22:22.31Z

I've been in bed all day with an upper respiratory infection. Symptoms: sore throat, fever, achiness. This is the first time in a long time that I've been too sick to work from home. I just hope it's all gone before we leave for Key West.

First Post of 2009

2009-01-06T02:17:09.793Z

I was going to make a New Year's resolution to blog daily, but it's January 5th so I failed already! Right now I'm watching West Side Story and marveling at how tough the guys aren't. This is one of my favorite movie musicals ever and I'm really excited that it's coming back to Broadway this year.

I think I might have strep or some other sore throat disease.

Holiday Recap

2008-12-01T15:33:04.337Z

Brad and I went to Williamsport for turkey on Thursday as we do every year, but unlike other years, my family didn't have anything planned. My parents decided that even if we didn't have a traditional Thanksgiving, they could still come to York for a visit. This was impressive because they don’t usually make the one-hour drive (because their house is nicer). They brought my nieces (10 year old Bianca and 16 month old Ella) and nephew (5 year old Tommy) which made it the Best Thanksgiving Ever! We took Bianca and Tommy to see the newest kid flick, Bolt. We loved it! Tommy kept announcing that he never saw it before.

After the movie, we went to the arcade where I came to the instant realization that it didn't exist for the purpose of entertaining children, but for teen hookups and drug deals and other things I didn't want to think about. I realized this because almost EVERY game was broken. Imagine my poor nephew running from game to game shouting "Aunt Kim! I want to play this one!" and my having to tell him that no, as much as I wanted to spoil his guts out, he could not play that game. One of the few working amusements in the joint was a balloon room. For only two dollars, you can send your child in to run laps around floating balloons.

York in the news

2008-10-26T03:49:20.53Z

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=95934562

Next Cruise: Carnival Destiny 10/20 - 10/25/2008

2008-10-15T17:48:43.847Z

On Monday I'm leaving on my sixth cruise, this time with my friend Tim. Today I was reflecting on my previous cruises and realized that after this trip I'll have been to 15 different cruise ports in the Caribbean.

Antigua
Barbados
Calica
Cozumel
Freeport
Grand Turk
Half Moon Cay
Key West (2x)
Labadee
Nassau (2x)
San Juan (3x)
St. Kitts
St. Lucia
St. Martin
St. Thomas (2x)

Paris is Right

2008-10-09T12:05:32.997Z

We ARE in the biggest depression since The Notebook!

Video: http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20231900,00.html?xid=rss-topheadlines

Back from vacation

2008-09-15T03:45:08.793Z

Susie, Lena, Sopy and I went on a 4 day Carnival Cruise on the Destiny from 9/3/2008 to 9/7/2008. We flew to Barbados 3 days early and stayed at the Silver Sands Resort. Our ship stopped at St. Lucia, Antigua, St. Kitts and ended in San Juan. When the ship arrived in Puerto Rico, we took a short tour of Old San Juan before heading back to the airport. Pictures: www.flickr.com/photos/kimquigley/sets/72157607188301382/.

Day 1 - Barbados
Our hotel in Barbados was not in a good area, so I would not recommend it because it cost about $50 to cab anywhere. We spent the day on the semi-private beach (By law, all beaches in Barbados are public) and at the pool. The pool was pretty nice, but we weren't impressed with the staff, the restaurant, our room or the cleanliness. If you're interested in seeing Barbados, stay in St. Lawrence Gap because that's where the fun is. But be prepared for restaurants that close between lunch and dinner. While we were waiting for the restaurants to open, we enjoyed 2 for 1 drinks at Cafe Sol where we met some nice Navy men who bought us a round of drinks. That night we were all asleep before 10 pm.

Day 2 - Barbados Tour
On the second day, we got up early for our day long tour of the "Best of Barbados." The tour guide picked us up at the hotel then drove to the cruise port in Bridgetown to pick up another couple. Our first stop was at Welchman Hall Gully where we saw exotic wildlife and where I accidentally murdered a snail. Next we went to Orchid World which offered amazing photo opportunities of beautliful flowers. I didn't realize that orchids grow suspended in the air and not in dirt. After that was a quick stop at Mushroom Rock in Bathsheba where I spotted a brain coral. Then we were off to the Wildlife Reserve where we saw turtles, monkeys, iguanas, pelicans, peacocks, snakes and more. It was mating season for the turtles and they weren't shy about it. The funniest thing we saw was a bunch of turtles lined up outside the ladies room. Our tour ended with lunch and then we returned to the hotel.

Day 3 - First day on the ship
We spent the morning relaxing by the pool before packing up and heading to the cruise port. That's where we discovered that our cruise wasn't really a 4 day cruise from Barbados to San Juan. It was actually a 7 day round trip from San Juan, but about 100 guests were embarking in Barbados. That explained why our room was so cheap! This also made for a very quick check-in process. Also, our room was ready for us as soon as we got to the ship which was great.

Day 4 - St. Lucia
For our day in St. Lucia, we booked the Volcanic Island Experience & Mud Bath excursion. Our tour guide didn't speak, so we made friends with the other people in our group which included some locals from St. Thomas and Barbados. They taught us about their islands and also showed us how to eat a ginep fruit. The tour took us inside a live volcano. Did you know that volcanos stink like rotten eggs? It turns out that this is a good smell because it means the volcano is not about to erupt. The "mud bath" part of our trip was a pool of dirty water. I opted out, but some people climbed in and covered themselves in mud, even their faces. It was exciting to observe, although I did dip a toe in! That night, we watched the sun set from our balcony.

Day 5 - Antigua
Because we didn't get to spend any time on the beach in St. Lucia, we opted to spend the day in Antigua relaxing in the sand and blue water. While lounging on the beach, a man walked by with what appeared to be a pirate sword and a bunch of coconuts. For $2, he hacked off the end of a coconut and inserted a straw so we could drink the coconut water inside. Then he returned and chopped the coconuts in half and scooped our the coconut meat so we could eat it. (Delicious!) That night was formal night during which the girls enjoyed escargot. (Yuck!)

Day 6 - St. Kitts
If you look at a map of St. Kitts, it resembles a turkey leg. After getting off the ship and looking around, we opted for a tour that drove us around the "meat" of the island. We saw the projects, a batik demonstration, black sand beaches, military men with guns on the hunt for ganja, a car crash, The Marriot and more. I also bought a necklace made of silver and Larimar. That night at dinner, I feasted on prime rib and Susie finally tried the melting cake, which she loved.

Day 7 - San Juan
Because we had plenty of time to kill before our return flight, we booked a San Juan city tour. We saw the capitol building, a fort, and did a little shopping in Old San Juan.

I'm on vacation!

2008-08-31T15:31:34.487Z

I'm in Barbados and on a cruise until September 7th.

I'm off the charts

2008-08-26T14:46:00.21Z

I have a REALLY high prescription for glasses and contacts. Maybe you think you have bad vision or you think you know something with really bad eyes, but in almost every case, my eyes are worse.

After being rejected as a candidate for LASIK in 2001, the doctors told me to wait for FDA approval of ICL (contact lens implants). LASIK is better for lower prescriptions while ICL is better for higher prescriptions. I recently found out that ICL has been FDA approved for a few years, so today I went for initial tests to determine if I could get the surgery.

It turns out I'm not a candidate for ICL either. That means there are no surgical options available for me. I have to keep waiting until scientists invent something new and then get tested to see if I'm a candidate.

Amy Winehouse Rushed to Emergency Room

2008-07-29T01:09:45.053Z

The latest news right now on people.com is this: Amy Winehouse rushed to emergency room after suffering "a reaction to medication," according to her rep. That's weird because I've never seen "overdose" spelled like that.

My New MP3 Player

2008-07-14T20:58:51.733Z

I sold my iPod mini because the features weren't really working out for me. I'm about to buy a Creative Zen 8 GB from Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/Creative-Portable-Media-Player-Black/dp/tech-data/B000UV4EUG/ref=de_a_smtd

I like that it has photo support, an FM radio, color screen, a voice recorder and SD expandable memory. The iPod mini had none of that.

I'm endlessly amused by this

2008-07-10T18:51:00.81Z

Cosmo has a fictional blogger whose posts appear both on cosmopolitan.com and in the monthly magazine. I like reading the online blog with the realistic awareness that it's not for reals. On the website users, can post comments and I can't get over the things that some people people write, considering it says right on the page that it's fiction! They wish her luck on job interviews and offer relationship advice. Maybe the comments are fiction too?

I'm a "lucky" winner

2008-06-17T18:53:07.903Z

On my birthday, I entered a drawing to win a car at the Mount Hope Estate & Winery FlavorFest. A few days later, I got a call from Sundance Vacations saying that I didn't win the car, but I was the LUCKY WINNER of a cruise for two to Bermuda on the Royal Caribbean Explorer of the Seas. To collect my PRIZE, I had to go to the office in Harrisburg for a 1-hour presentation and pay port charges and taxes. That sounded easy enough, so I decided to see what would happen if I followed through with it. The actual cost of this particular cruise is $1500 or more depending on the date, but they make it so difficult to claim your PRIZE that I'm sure most people give up. Here's what happened.

The same day I got the phone call, I went to the Sundance office for the alleged 1-hour presentation. Two hours later, I emerged from their office with a certificate for a cruise (and no timeshare).
I was instructed to register the certificate on the myspirittravel.com website, which I did that night. The website then told me to wait for more information to come in the mail and it sent me a confirmation email.
About a week later, I got a letter in the mail instructing me to go back to the same website and select my 3 preferred travel dates which I did immediately. The website then said to look for a bill in the mail for the taxes and fees and again it sent me a confirmation email.
Less than a week passed before I got the bill for $398. That seemed steep to me because if you book through travelocity the taxes and fees come to $272.26, but it's still a good deal for a $1500+ trip. I wrote the check and photocopied it before mailing it June 17th.
On June 27th I got an email directing me to a different website where I had to enter my certificate number and confirm the terms of the deal. The website then presented me with a phone number to call to confirm travel plans.
I called right away and a representative answered. He said that unfortunately there are NO available dates for Bermuda cruises at all. However, they can offer 5 day cruises from other ports on Carnival or Royal Caribbean. The only problem is that I'd have to book a flight and flying is not cheap right now!
I decided to take a cruise with my friend Tim, so Tim and I called the phone number again and selected a 5 day cruise on the Carnival Destiny. However, the agent informed us that the "actual" taxes and fees for that trip were $451.36, so they had to charge the remaining amount to my card. I heaved a MAJOR sigh and went through with it.
Tim then bought our flights which also cost about $450 total. Overall, we basically got a nice discount on a cruise.

Another weekend in NYC

2008-06-17T00:24:01.463Z

I spent the weekend in NYC with Tim, my grandmother and my grandmother's friend Monique. Tim and I drove up Saturday, met the ladies for lunch at The Central Park Boat House. Then the 4 of us went to The Jewish Museum where we saw exhibits including Warhol's Jews: Ten Portraits Reconsidered. After getting caught in the rain, our friends went to St Patrick's Cathedral while we tried to win ticket at the Wicked lottery. There were probably 100 people there and only a few seats available, so we didn't win. We went to TKTS at the Marriot Marquis and got two tickets to Young Frankenstein which we went to see while the ladies were at a concert at Carnegie Hall. We had a drink at the Dream Hotel's lounge, Serafina, then went to sleep in our suite at the Manhattan Club. The next morning after brunch, we explored Greenwich Village for a few hours before heading home.

Young Frankenstein is the 12th show I've seen on Broadway. Here is the full list:

Aida
Avenue Q (2 times)
Brooklyn
Chicago
Fiddler on the Roof
Legally Blonde
Les Miserables
Rent (3 times)
Spring Awakening
The Producers
Wicked
Young Frankenstein

Braces are off and I have a cherry tree

2008-05-19T21:24:33.08Z

My braces were removed on May 9th and now I have a daytime retainer and a nighttime retainer. I've taken a ton of pictures since then but none of them feature my teeth, so I'll have to take one and update my flickr album called braces.

Travis the amazing landscaping guy came out on Sunday and made our yard look great. The best part is that he replaced a dead bush with a beautiful weeping cherry. If you need a landscaper, I'll give you his contact info.

Hairspray in Hershey!

2008-04-20T16:19:53.15Z

Tim and I are going to see Hairspray at the Hershey Theatre tomorrow night. There are still plenty of seats available if anyone wants to go. Tickets are $32, $42, or $52.

Taylor the Latte Boy

2008-04-20T04:58:54.697Z

Chicago and Teeth

2008-04-15T03:08:01.277Z

My mom got us tickets to see Chicago in NYC on May 24th! Best birthday present ever :)

Also, I'm getting my braces off on May 9th and then getting new front teeth the following week.