1000 Places to See Before You Die

Has anyone seen this book? A colleague of mine had it in her office and I borrowed it for a bit this afternoon to see how many places I've been to and how many I could potentially cross off the list in Thailand (I leave on Friday!). I've been to 62 of the places. I think I could potentially get four more in Thailand if I am ambitious. One of those is a classic Thai massage, which will definitely be crossed off. Ha!

Some favorites:
-Iowa State Fair (yes! This is the ONLY site/event/experience in Iowa in the book)
-Vienna and all of its top 10 sites
-Pubs in Dublin
-the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, which is even better than the Met
-La Sagrada Familia Cathedral, Barcelona

To my surprise, Sans Souci Palace in Potsdam, Germany made the list. I went there with Mom, Dad, Grandma and Grandpa Recker in spring 2001. Grandpa got tired and went back to sleep in the car while the rest of us strolled the sprawling grounds after touring the castle. We practically got lost and Dad and I schemed about how we'd survive on nuts and berries in case we never found our way out. We were really hungry and had the giggles. Ahh, memories.

I didn't like the fact that I had to skip entire sections of the book, like all of Africa, the Middle East, Asia Pacific, Australia, etc. There are really so many places that I've not been! Here I thought that I was well traveled. I guess I am by my own estimation, just not according to Patricia Schultz.

Jeff's wedding

I was home a little over a week ago for my brother's wedding. It was the first time I'd been to Iowa since Christmas, but it was not your typical lazy Iowa visit. In between wedding preparation, trying to keep up with my half marathon training schedule and eating lots of yummy foods and drinking way too much alcohol, I hardly had time to sit down! Even the extra day and a half I didn't expect to spend there were busy. It was a good visit though, as I got to see lots of people that I haven't talked to or seen in ages, including an old college friend, several cousins and lots of the townsfolk I grew up with.

The funniest thing that happened at the wedding? The bride's family (father, brother and sister) had at some point all decided that I should "hook up" with her older brother Duane. Dwayne? No idea. You get the picture. Anyway, I had noticed that he was watching me at the rehearsal dinner and had already pointed it out to Kris as strange. At the reception the pressure really came on, with very direct comments and questions coming at me from all of them, including Duane/Dwayne! After dancing with this guy a couple of times, I had fully realized there wasn't a snowball's chance in hell for him in my world and I had to flat out say that I wasn't going to hook up with him. Gee, I can't wait to see them all again at some family function. Lord have mercy.

The extended family (L to R): me, Denette, Jeff, Kris and Cary

After the rehearsal dinner on Friday night, Dad, Cary and I went out with Jeff and his friends for a while in hopping downtown Cedar Rapids. It's actually quite a nice downtown, albeit very quiet. It was strange to be there with Jeff's friends, all of whom I remember as kids! I didn't even recognize half of them, although when they told me their names again I was able to pull them out of my memory. I guess I'm getting old if those people are 21.

It was fun to see my nephews, although Evan wasn't around very long. His mom dropped him off before pictures on Saturday morning and picked him up again around 8 PM from the reception. He looked cute in his tux but wasn't very cooperative in the pictures. I got to see more of Caleb, who is walking and running around now! He's very adorable, except when he's crying, but you all know how I feel about kids. He's just like Evan in that he loves his Grandpa Jeri. I got to witness his first haircut, which was desperately needed. The kid had a baby mullet! I can't believe that my sister let it go that long without getting it cut.

Evan gets ready for pictures

Kris entertains Caleb before the ceremony

United Airlines decided I should extend my vacation for a while. My flights to O'Hare were canceled two days in a row due to "weather" in Chicago, so Sunday night I got to see Pirates III with my parents in Oelwein ($5.50 for a movie!) and get my favorite ice cream with crunch sprinkles at the Ice Cream Junction. Monday night I got to stay with the newlyweds for the second time in a week and we ate at Texas Roadhouse, which is SOOOOO good! Man. Those rolls and cinnamon butter are to die for.

I feel like I know Denette (the bride) much better now, after having spent a couple evenings with them by myself. I had only ever seen her a handful of times before this last week, so I guess staying longer in Iowa was a good thing. At least for me...maybe not for them. Would I want to host a family member two nights after my own wedding? Maybe...maybe not. Ha!

The roommate search is on

Searching for a roommate has got to be one of the least fun things ever. It can completely absorb a person if you let it! At least in New York there is a healthly Craig's List community, so responses are numerous and wide ranging. Luckily for me, Irene is posting and screening all the crap ones out and sending me the normal inquiries to follow up on. So far I've only shown the apartment to two people, which hardly seems like enough, although both would be fine roommates. Tonight I believe I'll show it twice more and hopefully I'll catch another person or two tomorrow night. Then I want to make my decision and get this wrapped up, as I leave for Thailand next Friday! If any of you know of someone in NYC who needs a new apartment, let me know.