Two Thursdays ago, Ian and I once again had the "opportunity" to attend a Phillies game. Okay, it actually wasn't that bad because we were less emotionally invested. We aren't big Reds fans, so other than the passing hope we would get to see Ken Griffey Jr.'s 600th home run, and the passing hope the Phillies would lose, we didn't care so much. Both were unfulfilled hopes, by the way. The bonus was that it was paid time for Ian, so he got to enjoy an afternoon of baseball, hang out with office people, hang out with me, and get paid for doing it! The down side is we were sitting in the nosebleeds, which is where the weirder people sit, and also the school groups, and others who want the cheap tickets. This is bad combination, because we had a young middle school group in front of us, some crass high school/early college kids behind us, and a group of older, intoxicated adults behind us to our left. A drunk older lady flashed people, the high school kids hooted even more rude things because of it, and a mom yelled at them for doing it in front of young kids. The experience just reinforced our resolve to never be Phillies fans.
On to more positive events! On my walk to the subway to meet Ian for the game, I saw people filming at Logan Square. I asked one of the people who was diverting foot traffic around the set what it all was for, and he informed me they were filming for the show It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. And the crew also let passers-by take photos, as long as it wasn't flash. In this scene the two actors (I don't watch the show, so I don't know who they are) were standing in the fountain yelling at each other.
Friday, when Ian and I were walking home, Ian interrupted our conversation with, "Hey, I think that's Danny DeVito right there!" Sure enough, it was. He's in Always Sunny and they were doing yet more filming on Chestnut Street. We figured they are doing all of the outside shots for this season. So, I think this is our first known star sighting since arriving in Philly!
Saturday the heat wave peaked (then remained there through Monday), reaching 100 for 3 consecutive days (probably around 11 a.m. each time). It was painful. We watched the Belmont Stakes and once again, the triple crown was unclaimed, dashing my hope to see Big Brown win and tell our kids how we witness a triple crown victory. After that, we hit the pool, which was incredibly refreshing. We also ate lots of fudgesicles and ice cream to help keep ourselves from overheating. And we finally got the specifics of our budget hammered out. That's a big relief, and another concrete aspiration to cross off the list!
Wednesday, Sylvia and her friend Ashley were in the Philadelphia airport on an extended layover from Greece/Italy for a study abroad program (so jealous!). I was able to go out to the airport to see them, and it was lovely! Sylvia was a dear and treated me to dinner. It was great to hear about their amazing trip, and of course, see my darling Sylvia!
Thursday was Gary Vaynerchuck Day. If you're around Ian for an extended period of time, especially in studio, you'll know he's a big fan of Gary Vay-ner-chuck and Wine Library TV, a.k.a. the Thunder Show. This was our model our Jones Soda tastings back in January (to read, go to January 2008 in the archives). So when Ian discovered Gary would be in town just blocks away from our complex on his book-signing tour, he was thrilled. However, this was 4:30-5:30 p.m. — Ian would be at work. So I, as a loving and supportive wife, traveled to the Philadelphia Wine School to have Gary sign our pre-purchased 101 Wines Guaranteed to Inspire, Delight, and Bring Thunder to Your World. Gary was really nice, and not as ADD as he perhaps comes across on the show — he's just passionate about what he does: opening the door for everyone to appreciate the wine world. And I got a photo. He was taller than I expected, for some reason. (And if I realized at the time of the photo that my grocery bag would be showing, I would have completely dropped it. *sigh*)
Also, as I walked out, I was stopped by ClassicWines.com for an interview. I laughed! One of the questions was what is the weirdest taste I had ever experienced. I said frosting that tasted like freezer-burnt marshmallows. But as I walked home, I thought I should have mentioned durian, a tropical fruit my dad loves, which has been described as five-star custard dragged through a sewer. At any rate, they said it (and I'm assuming other interviews, all edited together) would be on the web site, but I haven't yet figured out where to find it there.
UPDATE! The video is online! Watch it here.
I think this basically gets me up-to-date. Ian left Friday morning for home, since he's a groomsman in Mike & Trista's wedding as I mentioned before (congrats again!). So I spent the weekend catching up on things, calling people, cleaning, watching The Bachelorette... Megans — I think I like Jason the best so far... but I could only watch episode 3 online, so I don't know the ones she kicked off already... and Extreme Makeover: Home Edition — I always almost cry when I watch them. Oh, and I did survive a scary thunderstorm without Ian. It started suddenly with a huge downpour and I could barely see our sparkly building out our window.
And I also made birthday preparations for Ian. He's 22 today, so we'll be the same age for 2 weeks, yay!