A Shout Out to the 518!

(Rolling my eyes here.)

One of my coworkers forwarded an email to me today - unlike the ones that everyone can relate to (you know, the ones that start with "You Know You Live in New Jersey When..." or "You Know You're a Child of the 80's If..."), this particular list is pretty much guaranteed not to resonate with any of my readers (hubby excluded, but even he won't understand some of it).

So, without further ado, I bring to you...

You know you're from the Albany NY Area when....

* You've ever been to Larkfest or the Tulip Festival.
* You still call the Pepsi Arena "The Knick".
* You can correctly pronounce the words Kosciuszko, Cohoes, Coeymans, and Kayaderosseras.
* You know what The Egg is.
* You know what and where Nipper is.
* You expect to see nothing but grey between the months of November and May.
* You remember when Crossgates was only half as big as it is now. Bonus points if you know what store was there before Best Buy.
* You've ever rooted for the River Rats.
* You grew up on Channels 6, 10, and 13.
* The word "dredge" immediately conjures up thoughts of GE.
* Spring means potholes.
* You never expect them to pass the budget on time.
* You know the 3 closest Stewart's shops to your house.
* You've ever eaten something from Freihoffer's or Bruegers.
* You've never called I-87 anything other than "The Northway".
* Okay, maybe you've called it "The Thruway", too. Depends which side of Albany you're from.
* You know when there's going to be traffic on the Twin Bridges.
* You know what SPAC stands for.
* You go to or know someone who goes to UAlbany.
* You know what SUNY means.
* You know what a Karner Blue is.
* You've ever gone up in the Corning Tower.
* The name Arbor Hill doesn't bring anything plant-related to mind.
* You know where the Stockade is.
* You know which city is the Collar City and which is the Electric City.
* You think Saratoga is classy.
* If you're from Schenectady then Troy might as well be Mars to you and vice versa.
* Milk = Stewart's, Cookies = Freihofer's. End of story.
* It doesn't bother you that the Northway has no Exit 3.
* It also doesn't bother you that Central Ave. is State Street at the other end.
* You know that somehow Sand Creek Road is the shortcut to everywhere.
* If there's a chance of a snow day then every radio in your house is tuned to WGY.
* You've argued with your parents to take the car out in the middle of a blizzard.
* You refer to the place where I-87 crosses the Mohawk River as "The Twins".
* You have an ingrained taste for concrete architecture.
* You know "The Track" is The August Place To Be.
* You know it's "Awl -buh-nee", not "Al -buh-nee" or, even worse, "All-ben-nee".
* You can think of at least 4 different ways to get to Stuyvesant Plaza from the same starting point.
* You know what "Harvard on the Hudson" is.
* You remember when Hannaford was still Shop 'n' Save.
* You consider walking to the Plaza on the 4th of July because you know it'll be about the same time to drive there and find a spot to park.
* You know what a guy Ken Goewey is.
* You know that AirTite Windows knocked Resnick's sign down (but then put it back up).
* You know who Nina (of Manchester) and her husband are, and how they sell diamonds for less than 33
* Everybody likes Jack Byrne.
* You thought Hoffman's Playland was the bomb as a child.
* "HUGE!"
* You know that "My dad Terry Morris is still number one!"
* You've eaten at Bomber's one too many times.
* You're bummed that the Firebirds left.
* You know that you do nothing but eat and drink at the Pump Station.
* You know the Times Union is your source.
* If there's even a chance of snow Ichabod Crane will be closed.
* You refer to Albany as "the 518".
* You know what "I Love" is.
* You know at least three people whose last names start with "Van".
* You have your choice of cities on First Night.
* You know who Neil Golub is.

And, for those of you with no connection to Albany, but still managed to make your way through the list, I give you this:



(My little pumpkin.)

VMAs

Is anyone watching the Video Music Awards? I will be flipping between the awards and "Bridezillas" - my new guilty pleasure.

The only reason I want to watch them is to see Britney - she is on right now, and she doesn't really loook too good... she seems pretty out of it. And that outfit is horrible. Ick.

I remember how much I loved watching the VMAs in high school and college - they were usually on during the first week of school, and you never knew what to expect. The Michael Jackson/Lisa Maria Presley kiss, Neil Young performing with Pearl Jam, Howard Stern as Fartman, and - of course - the infamous Madonna/Britney/Christina performance.

But I don't watch much MTV anymore - only "My Super Sweet 16" and "Engaged and Underage." I didn't know that they even played videos. Maybe I'm getting older, and maybe MTV has changed - probably a combination of both. But I no longer have that giddy feeling of anticipation leading up to the VMAs anymore.

Did anyone else see the Britney performance? What did you think?

Want to know what I hate?

These.

I can't even begin to describe how much these aggravate me. Let me explain: Hubby and I live in a very nice, family-friendly neighborhood, which is great. However, there are a few people in the neighborhood who obviously don't think that their children need to follow the rules of the road.

Instead of teaching their children not to ride their bikes into the road without looking both ways, or to watch out for cars, they stick these giant "turtles" (as hubby calls them) into the middle of the street, where cars have to practically drive on the grass to clear them.

Now, I am all for cars being mindful of the speed limit in residential areas, and to watch out for children and bikes, but these signs are obnoxious. Want to know what's even more obnoxious? People who leave these signs out when there are NO KIDS PLAYING OUTSIDE. More obnoxious than that? People who use these signs as babysitters - while out for a walk last week, I saw a 4-year-old in one of those motorized little death-trap cars, a good 5-6 houses away from their driveway, with no parents in sight. But the mom was thoughtful enough to put one of those turtle signs outside, so I guess that everything is okay, right?

My parents taught me to watch out for cars, to look both ways when crossing the street, and to ride my bike on the side of the road - not down the center. Guess that's too much for some parents to grasp.

Now I just have to restrain myself from taking these signs out with my car...

Looking ahead

Driving home from the gym last night, I saw a house all decked out in HALLOWEEN decorations!

News flash - summer isn't over yet. And there are still 55 days left until Halloween.