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Wow!! The ole' hit counter just hit 20,000!!!! That's a lot of hits!
Thanks and love to all my loyal readers out there! I love each and every one of you!

Miss Ginger Goes Flat!

No, she didn't forget her fake boobs again! (That was an embarrasing night!) And thank goodness it wasn't Miss Ginger, it was Boy Ginger. But then again, what's the diff, really?

Anyho, after work yesterday Boy G drove out to the Volvo dealership to get a part for the passenger side mirror that got mysteriously broken. At first she was trying to be kind and not blame it on the valet, but after buying one part, and discovering that the more expensive part behind that is also missing, the auto parts guy speculated that the valet stole the part to sell to someone he knew who needed it, and Miss G had to concur. After ordering the part (not in stock.... GRRRRRR) Boy G hopped backed into Veronique to drive home. Cruising down the freeway, literally a mile or so from the house, Boy G smelled burning rubber. He couldn't determine the source at first, but at the ride started to get bumpier, he realized he was losing a tire. BIG GRRRRRRRRR! Luckily, he made it safely across 4 lanes of traffic to the nice, wide shoulder. So, in his suit and tie, Boy G proceeded to put on the spare like the butchest thing you've ever seen. The original tire is in shreds- practically falling off the wheel. Luckily, Veronique's jack and spare are easy to access and easy to use, so Boy G was back on the road in no time.

Also as luck should have it, Miss G had enough sense when she bought the car to purchase the tire and wheel insurance. Those Italian performance tires are expensive, and Miss G is notoriously hard on wheels! Miss G is also discovering that Italian tires are hard to find, and it looks like she will be having to order one. Leave it to the Italians to create a product that costs a fortune, looks and performs beautifully, and lasts about 15 minutes! Whatcha gonna do?!

At least it didn't happen when Miss G was in heels and hair!

Photos Posted

For those of you who have inquired, I've posted some of my vacation photos on facebook. You can check them out here. I'm still working on videos!

Miss Ginger reenters her "Salad Days!"

No, unfortunately she did not discover some European elixer to restore her exhuberant youth! She did, however, rediscover her love for adult beverages and argentenian beef! (There seemed to be a "grille argentine" on every corner in Amsterdam!) So Miss G's love of booze and beef put back on a few of the pounds she worked so hard to lose!
Hence the salad days. She's made a big bowl of fat free cole slaw, and has refilled the crispers with lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, and all the fruits of summer!
A minor setback, not a total derailment!

Home at Last!

Miss G is finally home from her travels, and glad to be back with the kitties again! She loves to travel, but it always feels good to get home! Especially that first shower, when you can wash the "airplane crud" off of you!
Miss G got up at 5am in Amsterdam. It's now 8pm in Houston. If Miss G is counting her fingers correctly, that means she's been up for 21 hours, with only a couple of minor catnaps on the plane! She's going to bed- but here's a little treat for you.

Miss Ginger Rates the Airports- 2009 Edition!

Everyone in Europe warned Miss G about Schipol Airport in Amsterdam- "leave early", they would all say. "The traffic into the airport is terrible". "You have miles to get to your gates." "The lines are atrocious!"
Uh, no. Schipol is the most convenient, well-designed aiport Miss G has ever seen, and it was quite easy to find her way around. We walked a couple of blocks from our hotel to the central train station, where we discovered that, due to an accident, the express train to Schipol was cancelled. But the "local" train only makes 2 other stops, so we got to Schipol in pretty much the same time anyway. Upon arrival, we were just a few steps from our respective check-in counters, and at my Continental counter there were 4 attedants waiting to greet me- no line at all! After check in, I breezed through passport control and quickly located the KLM Skyteam lounge that the girl at the counter directed me to.
I gotta say, this place makes the Continental lounge at Newark or IAH look like snowcone stand at the state fair! The place is HUGE- 5 times bigger than Continental's biggest lounges, and it's brand new and spotlessely clean! There's a breakfast buffet, self-serve cappuccino machines, and the liqour service is open bar- pour it yourself! As strong as you want! Miss G is has decided not to partake at this early hour, but it's kinda cool to know that she could if she wanted to! Miss G has about 30 minutes until boarding time, so she'd better get herself to the gate! More from Newark- maybe I'll have more pics or some video ready by then!

Miss Ginger Bids Amsterdam a FABULOUS Farewell!

After a bit of travel consternation this morning, Miss G got her issues resolved and is ready to end her lovely vacation in Holland. As she went to check in for her homeward flights, she realized her stupid travel agent, Boy G, had booked WAAAAY too tight of a connection in Dublin for her to get home tomorrow. A 45 minute connection in an international airport is not gonna cut it. Trouble is, the flight to Dublin can't be changed. Aer Lingus is already oversold. And the European offices for Continental are closed on Sunday. Quelle dommage! Luckily, being the clever international traveller that she is, Miss G had brought along her internationally enabled cell phone for just such an emergency! She dialed back to the One Pass operators in the states and rebooked herself directly from Amsterdam, cutting Dublin out of the return altogether. Yes, she had to grab her ankles and pull out her credit card, but at least she won't have to stay in some Dublin Airport Marriott because she missed her transatlantic connection. C'est la vie!
Miss Ginger sadly says goodbye at the end of a FABULOUS few days in Amsterdam! She's actually been here once before, but got to see much more of the city this time and really developed a much better respect and appreciation for it! We started the day with breakfast near the edge of the famed "Red Light District", which really is not as seedy and gross as one might expect. Miss G also learned that the "XXX" that is Amsterdam's claim to fame is just sort of a strange coincidence- the early settlers used "XXX" to mark the harbor for boats and fisherman trying to find their way back, and it was adopted into the city's coat of arms long before the invention of film and the "porn" industry.

After breakfast we headed to the open flower market and oohed and ahhed over the tulips, orchids, and bonsais in all of the shops!

While we were browsing, we heard drums from the next block, and discovered an informal "parade" of latin dancers and drummers in the street. Low and behold, it turned out to be a block with several of the bars we had yet to visit, so we decided to stop in at "Soho" since Miss G was in need for a bloody!

After several. MeeMaw remined us we promised we would have lunch at "Burger Bar" so she could have a Kobe Beef hamburger. Damn, they were good!
After Burger Bar, we stopped back by the hotel for a package drop off, and then stopped by "Prik" for 5 euro cocktails. We sampled several from the menu, and met a cool guy from Boston who now lives in the Netherlands. He wanted all the scoop on American politics- he truly has become totally European! Why are they SO fascinated by our political system?!

After Prik. we wandered back to Soho (it was a long way!) and stopped into another club called "Arc" that was so ultraloungey it was too cool even for Miss G. It's been YEARS since someone charged Miss G to pee, and the music was that cheesy, monotonous, no-lyrics, ultraloungey dance shit that just drives Miss G apeshit, so we downed our overpriced beverages and headed 2 doors down, back to Soho. There was a better crowd there, but the real crowd was another couple of doors down at a place called "April". We couldn't figure out why the crowd was so huge outside of a bar 2 doors down from Soho, yet completey separate and distinct from the people outside of Soho. In New Orleans, our closest frame of reference, the crowd would have just sort of blended together, but not here!

After Soho we realized we have an early day of travel tomorrow, so we headed back to the hotel. Miss G discovered this fascinating store! Unfortunately, it was Sunday night, so the store was closed, but you can bet next time Miss G is in Amsterdam (and there will definitely be a next time) she will visit "Sissy-boy Homeland!"


Time to pack! See ya back in the States! Love to all!