Brianne Blogs?

The other day, Meghan and I woke up to the not so sweet sound of strangers in the apartment. Yes, they finally came to fix the ceiling. But they didn’t tell us when they were coming, so we got to wake up to it like a not so fun treat. So, we got dressed in a hurry and left the apartment as fast as possible. We then walked to the movie theatre and got there in time to eat some lunch and watch Julie & Julia.

This is the new movie about a woman in Queens who decided to cook all of Julia Childs recipes and blog about it in a year. She did this and wrote a book about it and the movie is based on this book as well as a book written by Julia Child about her life. It was really really good. One of the best movies I’ve seen in a long time. Far better than The Final Destination in 3-D.

I recommend this movie to all the girls who read this blog, but I’m not so sure about the men. Zak says his guy friends liked it, but they are theatre actors, so do with that opinion what you will. But the girl readers should definately go see it quickly.

Recent Random Info:

1. Four people played Darth Vader: David Prowse was his body, James Earl Jones did the voice, Sebastian Shaw was his face, and a fourth person did his breathing. (Do they not know who the mystery breather was?)

2. Tug of War was an Olympic event from 1900-1920.

3. Aristotle thought blood cooled the brain.

4. Hindu men once believed it to be unlucky to marry a third time. They could avoid misfortune by marrying a tree first. The tree (the third wife) was then burned, freeing the man to marry again.

5. You are more likely to lose your hearing than any of the other senses if you are hit by lightning.

Yes, the word in the title box is a made up word, not an unfortunate misspelling of the prehistoric bird, pterydactyl. On Sunday, when I got home from the Hamptons and we met for brunch and I hadn’t slept in a long time and then had several mimosas, I decided that Zak and Brianne should have a bird name the same way Maren and Jeff do, The Perretts. So, Zak and I decided that the two of us together will be called Pterodactyl, in tribute to Zak’s all-consuming love for dinosaurs. Then, Maren in her genius, decided that when the Perretts and Pterodactyl get together it should be called Perredactyl. Clever, no?

Thursday night was Jeff’s last night here before returning to Canada. Perredactyl got together for a game night. Maren made some yummy lasagna, Jeff made a yummy caesar salad, Zak brought liquor and I contributed absolutely nothing. Oops. We had a great meal and then started drinking and playing frustrated rummy. This is a new game that Maren and Jeff taught us that I found fun but made Zak really mad-or frustrated if you will.

After Maren and Jeff went to bed, Pterodactyl (Zak and I) went to Chelsea Grill where we had another drink and some waffle fries in preparation for our midnight showing of (get ready for it) The Final Destination in 3-D. That’s right, not only did we see it, we saw it the first possible showing. You see, Zak and I like to see bad horror films, especially if they are in 3-D and this was not exception. Sadly, I have to report that this wasn’t so bad it was good, it was just bad. The only positive thing we can say about it is that it was in 3-D and even that wasn’t done well. But, we still had a really great time, especially when our audience all screamed at one point.

So, we went to the Yankee game last night. And while I hate to admit it, the new stadium is really nice. But, I don’t think that it makes it okay to tear down 86 years of sporting history, even if it is super cool inside now.

Before the game, Hideki Matsui did the stupidest warm up dance move that we have ever seen. It was pretty funny and we’re pretty sure that it served no warming up purpose whatsoever.

This was Maren and Jeff’s first ever Yankee game. It was a good one. The Yankees won 9-2 and there were 3 homeruns. Sadly, none to where we were, even though Maren brought her glove and was prepared each time there was a new batter to take out the people around us to go for the ball.

Good times for the Perretts plus Brianne at the game. And in case you are wondering, we did indeed have hot dogs for dinner.

Jeff, Maren and I are headed to the Yankee game today and aside from the horror that is the new stadium and the tearing down of history and the money hungry underhandedness that it represents, I’m pretty excited.

I’m also excited that this is the last week of mandated reading of crap and then it’s back to the good stuff!

Also, I have this week off at school so that’s been quite nice. No history of psychology reading for me this week.

Additionally, I am no longer mad at Maren and Autumn as The Office problem that was making me so angry has been resolved.

Oh, and I found a dollar when I was cleaning out an old purse!

What a great week, indeed!

Kyle sent me the following e-mail for sharing on the blog:

hey will you maybe post this in a blog so grandma and other people like that who read your blog will know how college is going for me… thanks!!
“I have found my spoon! If you have seen season one of the popular TV show “Friends” you know what i am talking about. Well as for me i don’t mean it the same way Joey meant it. I’m talking about my future career in Architecture at the University of Oklahoma State. At the time of my enrollment i wasn’t aware that OSU’s Architecture program  is nationally recognized as being one of the top 5 in the country. Well I have found out that i love stilly, and everything Oklahoma State has to offer. My classes are challenging, but not to difficult. So far i have gotten a flat tire, had to change it (This was my first time to change a tire), and a man even backed his truck into my leg. Don’t fret i am doing great.
Sounds like an amazing first week huh?
So i had my first Architecture class and i an very excited that i chose this major! I might join the student government here on campus, or I was thinking of being a waiter at the local “Red Lobster”. We will see how i am doing in school.
Well thats what i have been doing!
I just thought all of Briannes Readers should have a mini Kyle update.”

So, here I sit on the Jitney for my return trip from the hamptons. And what I somehow missed the several other times I have ridden was the theme song! That’s right, at the beginning and end of the safety/informational video is this theme song:
“Hampton jitney, you’re riding down the road with Hampton jitney”!
It’s a lovely little tune that would be perfect for a siding company or an insurance company.
I wish more modes of transportation had theme songs. Like if everytime you got on the subway you heard the classic:
“my baby takes the morning train, he works from 9 to 5 and then he takes another home again to find me waiting for him”.
How great would that be?
Take some time to ponder what the theme song for your car would be. If I had a car, I think I’d go with “Oklahoma!” cuz I love it and everyone knows the words and there are hand motions and spelling!! It’s everything you could want in a song and more! Jealous?

First, I am super happy to be headed back to the city today. I have missed it and my bed very much this week that I have been gone.

Second, I am also excited to be meeting Maren and Jeff and Zak for brunch where many mimosas will be consumed.

Third, I am officially mad at Autumn and Maren for pushing me to watch The Office for years and now that I have and bad things have happened and I don’t want to watch it anymore and I’m sad and confused and yearning for things that might never happen and I don’t like it! It’s like on GH when they taunt you with your favorite couple getting together and then take it away (Jason and Elizabeth). Or like when Kelly breaks up with Zach at Zach and Kelly’s prom (Saved by the Bell). It’s all bad and I’m now mad at Autumn and Maren and will continue to be mad at them until I watch some more episodes and the problem is fixed. If the problem is never fixed then I am afraid that Maren will no longer be allowed to live with me and I will have to stop pretending that Autumn is naming her baby Annie after me. That’s right, Brianne’s serious!

Daily readers…perhaps you have clicked on my blog link like you do every day and are now wondering “where am I?” Well, don’t fret, you are still on my blog, I just thought I’d spice things up a bit with a background change. This one lets me pick my own photo to put up top so I can change it with the season or my mood. How great is that? Plus, the last one was blue and I don’t wear blue, or own blue things so it didn’t seem to quite fit. So, don’t worry. I’m still here, you’re still here. My fanstastic stories and witty commentary are still yours for the reading. And above is a photo from the castle where the king and queen of Lichtenstein live. True story. So, scroll down for todays actual post about Switzerland.

Lucerne, Switzerland is the place we stayed during our three days in Switzerland. We called it our “hub” and it is from here that we took trains to our other Swiss destinations. It was cheap and in the middle of where we wanted to go and so we camped out. And I do mean camped out as we called our hostel “Camp Swiss”. It was on a lake and there were trails and canoes and hiking and we felt that at any moment there would be campfires, smores and craft time like the camps of our youth. Alas, there was no arts and crafts time, but we still enjoyed ourselves. The photo below is our side of the lake.

This photo is on the other side of the lake and is the view from our side.

Lucerne was an absolutely beautiful city. The old part of the city was from the 5th century and part of it was surrounded by a wall. You know, the way those Europeans like to do it. Below is a photo of that wall with another couple of tourists.

We walked over the old bridge which was burned down in 1992 and part of it had to be rebuilt. Note it in the background of this lovely photo.

They saved the old burned paintings that had been on the bridge and put them back up as a “reminder of what Lucerne and the world lost that night”. Serious stuff, no?

Near this bridge was my favorite bridge of the trip (everybody has a favorite bridge of their trips, right?). The Death Bridge. For some reason that no one really seemed to know, this bridge was built with paintings of death coming to get various people. As you walk along and look up, it’s death coming for a priest; death coming for a mother; death coming for a baby. It was creepy and awesome.

This picture of Zak is my favorite because it looks like he is seeing something frightening that is coming for him that none of the rest of us can see.

We wandered all over the old part of Lucerne and saw this statue of a lion that was built to commemorate those fallen in battle. It was gigantic. There aren’t words to describe how large this was. It was built into a giant stone wall on the other side of a small pond next to a glacier park. The best part is that it’s hidden behind a row of restaurants and real estate offices. So, you’re walking in the newer part of the city and then you cut a right, walk down an alley by an electronics store and here you are.

Zak and I spent a day wandering around this beautiful place and then ended the day at a rooftop bar overlooking the old and new parts of the city with the mountains in the background. It was truly a sight to behold. This is the view from our table on the roof.

We learned that Lucerne has a population of 70,000 people and had some of the best food of our trip. One of our friends requested we take pictures of everything we ate and we did that with gusto. So prepare yourselves for an all food blog to come shortly. And prepare to be jealous. For now, you can just enjoy the lovely pictures of Lucerne.