THAT Sunday

Okay, to start, I'll let you know that I was just talking on the phone to the Custom and Border Protection people here in Winnipeg, (*much* friendlier than that other jerk), and here's what I need on my next trip to the US (and no, I can't sort things out *before* I travel, from what I gather):

• proof of residence (ie a letter from my mom that I live in her basement)
• proof of Canadian bank accounts (I have two plus a credit card, check!)
• how I support myself (look! I have savings! Really! I'm *not* lying!)
• money with me to last my trip (I forgot to ask if it had to be cash, or how much is considered sufficient... will my bank cards and credit card be sufficient, since they work down south?)
• an e-ticket return date (yup, I'll be getting one of those... I forgot to ask if one out of Montreal is good enough.)

Gee... I really need to learn to think on my feet more. Well, I'll call again after I get some of these documents together, in case I think of something else to ask. (I need to get info from my banks, since I currently have e-statements... dang paperless internets!)

And now back to my scheduled blogging: THAT Sunday

This is a photo-heavy post. I'm sorry if you're on dial-up.

Montreal to New York

I wanted to go to the Knit-Out, so we left Montreal bright and early, after what may have been a very late night. (What happens in Montreal stays in Montreal.)

The day started off bright and promising (even though it was way-too-fricking-early):

but, as I mentioned before, the gloom quickly descended.

There isn't really much more to go into there... the guy was a jerk, and didn't believe anything I said. Now I need a pile of documentation for my next trip. Blech. After the border I cried a bunch in the car... leaving your boyfriend for a month is hard enough, but not knowing when you'll see him again? Tragedy! (I miss my J!)

Gee... I thought *Mini* was small!


Knit-Out New York

We arrived in New York later than I had planned (due to the fun at the border), so, instead of going to the apartment to pick up my books for signing, J dropped me off at the Knit-Out. J then went to the apartment to unload the car, and we agreed to meet at Union Square (where the Knit-Out was) in an hour or so to go grocery shopping and then back to the apartment to pack. Since I wasn't sure when I'd be able to come back, my plan to leave some stuff I didn't need in Winnipeg with J was scratched, and I had to fit *everything* in my carry-on and checked luggage. Remember that we drove to NY, and so didn't really have to worry about stuff fitting in suitcases? Yeah. Fun. But, back to the Knit-Out!

I watched a bit of the amature fashion show:

but not much, because I wanted to see as much as possible before J came to meet me.

I documented stuff I wanted to remember with my camera... like this:

Hey, you friends who are constantly looking for purse handles? Leisure Arts has some really nice fake leather ones!

I also saw the book Knitting Loves Crochet... from my quick skim, it looks awesome! It's definitely going on my Christmas wish list. (I make one for my family mainly to help my father, who usually hasn't a clue what to get me.)

Look! Famous people!

That's Cara and Kay. Kay graciously signed a piece of paper for me to stick in my Mason-Dixon Knitting book. Bloggers in action:

Stephanie also graciously signed a piece of paper for me. (I still have a bit of that "they're famous, and *talking* to me!" thing to get over. They're all really nice people, from what I can tell. Hopefully they don't think I'm too much of a star-struck dork.) I also passed Stephanie's Canadian test. Boy, was it ever easy! (For a Canadian.) I was paranoid that it would be hard, and I'd fail. (After all, I aparently don't live in Canada, according to Mr Jerk at the border.)

There were lots of neat demonstrations:

awesomely crafty people:

and cool creations:


This Lily Chin sweater is neat too:

(The book it's in is the one in the photo. What ever did I do before I had my camera to replace my memory?)

Tomkins Square Park

On our way home we saw a circus performing in Tomkins Square Park:

Their schtick was mocking Bush, the US, etc. Very funny, with both subtle and outright jabs. Plus lots of acrobatics and clowning around for the kids. It was somehow very appropriate, given how I was feeling kind of anti-American that day.

The audience also did not appear to be made up of Bush supporters:


Hoboken & Stevens

J wanted to show me Stevens, where he did his undergrad. Since we weren't sure when I'd be back, that night seemed like a good time to go. We decided to drive, figuring it would be faster.

Hmmm... looks like Mini could really do with a bath!


By driving, I also got to see some more of New York along the way. New York does not appear to be pro-Bush.


However, when we got near the tunnel, things slowed to a standstill. "No Standing" sign notwithstanding.

J decided to have Mini compute our average speed starting at that point. At first, Mini was confused and had problems figuring our average speed out:

Then we got to lurch forward a wee bit, and actually *had* a speed to average:

(Yes, that's a whopping zero-point-nine miles per hour... less than a mile per hour. I didn't know they could register speeds that low.) However, our average speed went down...

and down...

and down...

and down...

I decided this called for some spreading of joy, to counteract traffic miserableness. (See Mr Jerky Border Guy? Aren't I a bad person you want to keep out of the US? People might *smile*!)

Luckily Mini comes with some smile-inducing goodies:

I spread an awful lot of smiles with that Mini Messaging Kit. (I mostly used "nice smile" to induce smiles, but I also resorted to "hey sexy" a few times too.) This went over very well with the neighbours:

Oh... sorry about the blurry photos in this post. It was getting dark enough that my camera wanted to flash, but the type of photos I wanted to take weren't ones that a flash would help with (too far away, reflections, etc). Plus, there seemed to be some correlation between me wanting to take a photo and the traffic allowing us to move another foot.

This guy had a great business:

That sign on the front says "we deliver to cars." I was getting hungry, and couldn't resist a $2 pretzel Yum!

It was *soooooo* good! Soft and chewy! I *love* those things!!! Also, we hadn't expected our trip to take so long, and thus hadn't eaten dinner. (Lunch consisted of two doughnuts, so that didn't help either.)

By the time we got to Stevens, it was rather dark:

(That's J in front of some of the dorms... I forgot to turn my flash off.) However, there was still enough light that I could get a decent shot of the NYC skyline with my flash off:

See that tall tower in the foreground on the extreme right hand side? That's "Big John." Heh, heh, heh. It's filled with toilets, to test them under pressure prior to building the World Trade Center.

After seeing Stevens, we took a walk through picturesque Hoboken (it's aparently changed a lot from how it used to be). If I have a kid, I'm definitely making it one of these:

(I saw this in a store window while we were walking.)

Packing Up

Eventually it was time to head home and pack. It took me *forever*! However, I did eventually get nearly everything in my bags:

By then it was the wee hours of the morning, and I only got a few hours of sleep before I had to get up and go to the airport.

Leaving was sad. :( I miss J!