Wanderlust

The problem with vacations, even short ones, is that they get me all ... distracted.

I come home and well, it is the last place I want to be. I would rather be on the beach somewhere, or exploring some fantastic city, with some fantastic person.

But instead, I am here, typing away, wishing I was anywhere but here.

ANYWHERE.

This week, when I returned to work, for the first time in a while, I wished I was retired.

Tangent - why is retirement wasted on the old? I mean, I would have WAY more fun retired right now than any old person. Give me my CPP now, and I will start working again at 35 and slave away for the rest of my days. I don't care.

So, where am I wanderlusting to?

Paris.

There's a side-story you need for some context.

When I was 14, my dad took me to the UK with his family. His family and I have had, let's say a rocky relationship.

While we were there, we took the Chunnel to Calais, France. As he was in the cafe buying lunch, he realized that Paris was only a 45-minute train ride.

He came out of the cafe excited - and he never gets excited.

"Iris! Paris is only 45-minutes away. Let's go. You and me and Paris!"

I had never been more excited for anything - PARIS?! For reals?

Well, this idea was quickly shot down by his sister. Apparently this was a family trip, and a visit to Paris with just he and I did not qualify as a family trip.

Fuck that.

Paris was so close ... like Westlock close, and I didn't get to go.

*sob*

Recently, after many glasses of wine, my dad confessed one of his biggest regrets to me - not saying screw you to his family and taking me to Paris anyways.

This made me want the city even more. This city that was so close ... in my grasp almost, but so far away.

I haven't been back to Europe since and when I go again, it will be very different.

That is why I am thinking about skipping a family Christmas, because, well, they never go well, and heading to Europe.

What could be more lovely than spending a week in gay Paris in solitude? The city, me and who knows what.

sigh.

I think it might just be a pipe-dream though. My mother would kick my ass if I missed a holiday with her.

Although she did just have heart surgery - that might have slowed her down a little. I'm sure she doesn't pack the same punch she used to.

Breathe and Reboot

As I have mentioned before, I really dislike Christmas. All the annoying cheer and lights. What if I had epilepsy? I would be screwed.

The only great thing about Christmas is that I get to hang out with my family and friends. After the break-up, Dad kindly bought me a ticket to come home for the holidays. It was exactly what I needed.

I got to sleep in my own bed. Watch TV till all hours of the night. Sleep in whatever I want to. Fall asleep with the TV on. It was great.

I also got to hang out with the majority of my friends. Even though I think I am over the worst of the post break-up blues, it is amazing how much friends help. Just being around them and having them there is helpful.

I also got to hang with the rents. I love my parents, I really do, but small doses is all I can take. Dad has a habit of needling me until I lose it and mom just fusses too much. I know both are coming from decent places, (mom's quirk is WAY better than dad's) but let me be!

Anyways, got to see a ton of people and reminded me this: If it wasn't for this job that I love, I would remain in Edmonton. I don't care what people say - I love it. And if not New York, then why not Edmonton.

Oh, I am going to see MSTRKRFT and Paul Devro tomorrow. I saw Paul Devro at this show in Edmonton and he was wicked good. So, maybe Saturday I will write talking about how many new friends I have and how great my life is.

Ok, maybe not, but a girl can hope right??

Why Can This Family Not Take ONE Normal Picture

We did a lot of touristy stuff today. Top of the Rock, NBC Studio Tour, both VERY touristy. So you think when you do this stuff, you might get a couple of good photos right?

WRONG! At least not when you are a part of the Dias family. Dad apparently hates to look at the camera, mom seemingly doesn't like to smile when the camera is on here, and then there is me. I look like a toothy retard in almost every pic.

So what does that leave us with?

Here they are:







The last one is my favorite. Dad totally didn't get this whole concept of the self-picture (one of my personal favs). He was sooo confused!

The Top of the Rock was really quite cool. We got to see basically the whole city. NBC Tour was also really great. Saw the SNL Studios, the Dateline studios and a bunch of other NBC stuff. I was hoping to run into Peter Petrelli, but he wasn't around.

I then went to the airport to pick up Jarod and Steve. A seperate post is necessary to fully describe the Jarod, Steve and Iris portion of this trip.

I need sleep.


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Merry Effing Christmas

Have I ever mentioned that I hate Christmas? I hate most celebrated holidays, you know Easter, Valentines' Halloween. Hate'em!

This year was no different. Sure we were spending it in NYC, but this doesn't make this time of year any more exciting to me. Bah Hum Bug is my general disposition, and I am ok with this.

The one thing I was actually excited for was the Giants game yesterday. It was VERY cool to see how Americans celebrate this sport. Tailgating galore. There were at least 8,000 ppl in the parking lot drinking and pre-gaming for the game. Can you imagine?

The game itself sucked. The Giants were blown out, but let me tellya, Reggie Bush is one bad ass mother. He was pure football entertainment. Eli was a joke, and Shockey embarrassed himself. Meh, I didn't really care what happened, b/c no matter what, the Raiders weren't making it into the playoffs. (But #1 draft pick here we come!! YEAH BABY!!!)

That was the end of yesterday, ordered some cheap Chinese food in and just hung out.

Today was relaxing. Mom and Dad went to church, and understanding the fact that I neither believer in the Catholicism or religion in general, they didn't push. They came back, we hung out for a while and then went for dinner.

Because of poor planning skills, we didn't really have any idea where we were going. We had made resos at the Boathouse in Central Park, but we weren't really feeling it. So we went to the Meatpacking District. Initially, I thought we would walk around the West Village and find a cool restaurant, but it was raining and we ended up at Markt, AGAIN.

The food was great, as per usual, and dad liked it, which is rare, and he didn't complain about prices, which is UNHEARD OF!

All in all it was a good Christmas. I am thinking of converting to Constanzaism so, next year will be Festivus for me. Or at the very least Kwanza. I need a random holiday to validate my already random existence.


Now for the airing of grievances ... how is that different than any other day of the year??



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National Dias' New York Vacation

The majority of this trip is going to be spent with my family. Don't get me wrong, I adore my parents. They are good people with many quirks - which is probably where I get it from. Today was day one of the vacation. My father hasn't been to NYC since the 70's and doesn't really understand why I want to be here so badly. My mother gets it, as she was here earlier this summer.

Today began fairly normally. My family taking far too long to get ready and me being VERY hungover. We FINALLY go on our ways. We take the subway to the Brooklyn Bridge to see the WTC site, the NY Stock Exchange and Lower Manhattan. This is them in front of the Brooklyn Bridge. It is just so them. Mom trying to tell dad how to stand and to smile. Hahaha, they are ACTUALLY crazy.

We then made it down to Wall Street etc. Our trek to Battery Park we see the most random thing in the world, a turkey. A TURKEY! Wandering around Battery Park just hanging out.

After running into the turkey, we make our way up to Times Square. I HATE Times Square. It is crowded with tourists who move WAY too slow and don't realize they are in NY and that walking that slow is pissing people (me) off. But dad wanted to see it, so I sucked it up. We saw where we wanted to be for New Years and all of that. We then went to 5th Ave and Rockefeller Center. The tree is even prettier at night. Still a gross amount of consumerism, but what the hell right, it's all for Jesus' birthday.

I also got to see the displays at Bergdorf Goodman's. These displays are legendary, and they totally lived up to the expectations. Interesting displays that are intricate and perfect. The details are incredible.

Other than that, we had a nice day. I needed a break, and thank god for Brandy Chorney because she called at the perfect moment for me to take a break from my family.

I am pooped now and need to sleep. I got dad the best Christmas gift ever! We are going to the Giants-Saints game tomorrow. He is the one that introduced me to football and neither of us have ever been to an NFL game. His response to the tickets "Iris, there are serious playoff ramifications associated with this game" I love it. I really do think I might be the coolest daughter in the HISTORY of daughters. Haha, ok, probably not, but this is going to be killer fun. Tailgating, drinking in the middle day and watching some killer football.

I will post again tomorrow. Amazing how life becomes more interesting when on vacation.


Red 45, Red 45.


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