Help me help me

[trailerparkmedic]

Interesting festivals? Big food events?

Fiesta, in San Antonio, for both. It's in April? I know I mentioned it before, but I have tons of awesome memories from it.

[Red_Dazes]

*hugs* I am recently not up to par on my pep talks, because quite frankly my life has sucked beyond measure recently and all I have wanted to do is curl up in a little ball and die.

^_^ And I am glad to hear you are feeling better now than when you first posted, but I am sure things are still rocky.

I can tell you, with some degree of certainty, that things get better. When I lost my dad I honestly thought my life was over, he was what held our entire family together. Kept us from fighting, kept us sane, balanced us out and was the glue to our stupid mosaic of dysfunctionality. He was also my best friend. And I really wanted to die after we lost him. But i toughed it out... and things did get better. They will never be like they were, and there is probably always going to be some hurt and sadness, but eventually you get to the point where you look back and are able to smile instead of cry. ^_^ I'm glad you have people there for your, and know you always have people here too.

[Eireann]

Thank you... I really don't know what I would have done without the support of everyone here.

My siblings and I live very far apart, so we can't just drop by each others' houses. We have some issues between us, and these have been very serious - the kind of thing that used to stress Mom out, because she wanted One Big Happy Family, and she was convinced that if we didn't get along, it was all her fault. I believe that this contributed to her illness.

I've made several important realizations since I received the news last month - and I can't believe that it's been such a short time since she left us. I've come to see what kind of an attitude I've had for quite a while, and what I've been thinking, and how I've been letting my life go downhill. Now, I have other things that I can do and be.

I just wish she'd been here to see it.

[Eireann]

Favorite places to eat?

[Jester]

Favorite places to eat?

San Francisco: The Stinkin' Rose (a great garlic restaurant) and Chinese in Chinatown. I can't remember the name of the second place, but Chef Jhia's is pretty damn good. Right next to the famous Nan King (I think that's the name of it), which you basically don't want to go to. But so many good Chinese places, you'll be blown away.

Key West: Ambrosia Japanese Restaurant. Best. Sushi. Ever.

Marathon (Florida Keys): Porky's Bayside. Awesome barbecue.

Fort Myers, Florida: The Beached Whale.

Phoenix area: Nello's. Gourmet pizza done better than most.

Fort Lauderdale, Florida (or Pittsburgh, PA): Primanti Brothers. My Pittsburgh friends tell me if you do it there, you have to go to the original one downtown. If you eat at one of the Lauderdale ones, do the one at the beach on AIA that's open 24/7. And definitely get one of the sandwiches, the way they do it, with fries and cole slaw ON the sandwich.

Phoenix area: Dos Gringos. It's a chain in the Valley now, but I remember when they opened their first tiny one in Scottsdale. Great food, great bar, reminiscent of Rocky Point in Mexico.

[fireheart]

On the therapy front, someone in another thread recommended MoodGym. You might want to check it out, especially if you have to wait a bit for an appointment to see someone in person. I did a few of the initial little tests a couple weeks ago, but I haven't had time to get much further into it.

Whoops, I misread that quote and thought that you were referring to MoodGym as a online counselling session. It's not.
For the unfamiliar, that was me who suggested it I think (or Seshat). It's an online CBT program, there's also one called e-couch for people with depression. I would however, stick to MoodGym as everytime I did e-couch I wound up with the suggestion of "walk for 30 minutes three times a week."

Oh, and though this is in Europe, not the States, I want to get involved, sometime, in the tomato-throwing festival in Spain, and the Running of the Nudes in Pamplona.

THere's a running of the nudes?

Hey, yeah! I'd probably be safe - the bar is supposed to be dangerous mostly for women in the fifth month of pregnancy, due to that brutal murder of a pregnant woman all those years ago, but I'm safe, being not at all pregnant.

Nor will I be.

Keep those suggestions coming!

That's scary.....but can anyone elaborate?


Also, Eireann, if you have the facilities to do so, I suggested this for AnaKhouri in another thread, but it'd be relevant here. Download the track from this website and burn it to CD, then play it through your stereo.

www.rainymood.com

It's a 30 minute rain soundtrack. My boyfriend uses it to get to sleep.

[Eireann]

THere's a running of the nudes?

Indeed there is, and I think this is the way to attract tourism in Pamplona - not setting free terrified bulls and having people gored, not to mention the subsequent torture of the bulls in a ring.

That's scary.....but can anyone elaborate?

I can. The site where the bar now stands was once a slaughterhouse, and, according to rumor, also a favorite place for devil worshipers to congregate and, well, do their thing. A young Ohio woman became pregnant by her no-good boyfriend in the late 19th or early 20th century, and the poor thing actually thought he would marry her. She managed, God knows how, to keep it a secret from her family until around the fifth month, and then her boyfriend and a toady of his took her to Kentucky to perform an abortion on her. It didn't work... so they cut off her head. Her body was later identified by her family, but her head was never found; the belief is that it was thrown into the pit in the old slaughterhouse. Much later, after the premises had become a place of entertainment, ANOTHER woman in her fifth month of pregnancy died there.

Also, Eireann, if you have the facilities to do so, I suggested this for AnaKhouri in another thread, but it'd be relevant here. Download the track from this website and burn it to CD, then play it through your stereo.

www.rainymood.com

It's a 30 minute rain soundtrack. My boyfriend uses it to get to sleep.

Thanks!

Even with the plans and the excitement of hearing from everyone, the reality of this whole situation is sinking in. I keep thinking of all the things my mom and I planned to do, and how we won't be doing any of them, now. One of the things Mom often talked about, was taking a trip to New England in the autumn to see the leaves turning. So that's on my itinerary. If at all possible, I'd like to take a year to do this trip. And, as I said before, take along a camcorder and shoot as much footage as possible, everywhere I go. She would have loved seeing it, I know.

And just - oh, everything. So many regrets, so many missed opportunities, so little time.

[AdminAssistant]

Well, I can tell you plenty of places NOT to go in Eureka Springs, and don't go during the summer. It was too hot for us to do much of anything, besides stay in the cabin.

[Whiskey]

I can. The site where the bar now stands was once a slaughterhouse, and, according to rumor, also a favorite place for devil worshipers to congregate and, well, do their thing. A young Ohio woman became pregnant by her no-good boyfriend in the late 19th or early 20th century, and the poor thing actually thought he would marry her. She managed, God knows how, to keep it a secret from her family until around the fifth month, and then her boyfriend and a toady of his took her to Kentucky to perform an abortion on her. It didn't work... so they cut off her head. Her body was later identified by her family, but her head was never found; the belief is that it was thrown into the pit in the old slaughterhouse. Much later, after the premises had become a place of entertainment, ANOTHER woman in her fifth month of pregnancy died there.

What in the blue hell.

[Kheldarson]

Just saw the thread Eireann, and, since I'm not a big fan of haunted places, I can say that Franklin County, NC has a lot of old gem mines that allow tourists. I still have a box of semi-precious gems from a school trip somewhere around here.

If you like strawberries, my current hometown has a strawberry fest every year, it's getting bigger every year too (hence why it's now the strawberry festival and not just the town's festival anymore). We're also a hop away from Carowinds.

If you go through SW Virginia, you should stop by the Hotel Roanoke for lunch. It's an amazing building with amazing cooks. Also, drive along the Blue Ridge parkway. Don't know what time of year you're planning this trip for and how long you plan to stay, but if you end up around there in the fall, that would be best. The colors are amazing.

[Eireann]

Ooooh, yes... I do love strawberries.

Gem mines, good. What kind of gems?

What's Carowinds?

I may have heard of the Blue Ridge parkway. I'm not sure. It sounds like a great place to go!

[Kheldarson]

I think the gem mine I went to was one of the Ruby and Sapphire mines. I think I scored a couple of rubies actually. Small, but still. And then a lot of other semi-precious gems (quartz, jade maybe?).

And Carowinds is an amusement park. Not as big as others (spacing issues due to being in two states) but it's still fairly fun.

[Whiskey]

From the way you post in this thread, you sound like you're doing a lot better.

[Eireann]

From the way you post in this thread, you sound like you're doing a lot better.

It's up and down. Stereo Boy was away for some time, which enabled me to get some much-needed peace and quiet, but now he's back and indulging in extra-heavy bass. Today, he cranked up the stereo so loudly that the elderly couple downstairs couldn't figure out what was happening. They realized, when I went raging past them, that I wasn't the one doing it. Can you believe it? Someone turning up the volume so loudly that the people downstairs, IN THE HOUSE NEXT DOOR (granted, it's a row house) can hear it with obnoxious clarity?

I went next door and laid on the doorbell, ready to tear him a new one again, but shithead didn't answer it. Coward.

I am now seeking out ways to approach the local and/or federal government here about a law covering stereo noise during the day. Shithead won't listen to his father, or me, but if he has to cough up a hefty fine for invading my privacy, that might kick him in his tiny little deformed and underdeveloped nads, and show him that the universe doesn't revolve around him and his stereo.

[Jester]

Ooooh, yes... I do love strawberries.

Other recommended food items to try:

Peaches in Georgia. NOT over-rated. Yummy.

Tomatoes in New Jersey. Not as well known as Georgia peaches, New Jersey beefsteak tomatoes are simply the best ever. I don't like New Jersey, having lived there for five years, but two things I will never speak badly of is the Jersey Shore and New Jersey tomatoes.

San Francisco sourdough bread. I never understood why they called it sourdough until I tried real sourdough in Frisco. Unfreakinbelievable. I believe I already mentioned Chinese food in SF.

Seafood in Florida and Seattle. And New England. (Different seafoods, but all top notch.)

I may have heard of the Blue Ridge parkway. I'm not sure. It sounds like a great place to go!

If you like driving up cool roads, the PCH (Pacific Coast Highway) from LA up through Malibu and beyond is one of the greatest drives ever.

I went next door and laid on the doorbell, ready to tear him a new one again, but shithead didn't answer it. Coward.

Sure he's a coward, but there's a very good chance he just couldn't hear the bloody thing over his stereo.

I am now seeking out ways to approach the local and/or federal government here about a law covering stereo noise during the day.

Working through the government takes time. I recommend high explosives.