Just popping in..

I just wanted to throw up a little blurb to say that it will be a little longer than expected until I put up another thorough post, as I really don't have time right now. I stopped off in Atlanta on my way to Florida, and decided that this seems like a good place to put down my roots, so until I find a place here to stay with a good WiFi connection, my web usage is going to be pretty sporadic. But I have some good leads, so hopefully, more blogging on Albany to come soon.

Leaving for a while

I'm afraid I'm going to have to put the blog up on the shelf for a bit as I am driving down to Florida this week to take up residence there. I will, however, continue to blog about Albany when I get down there, as I still have plenty to say and will also be keeping up the current events of Albany through the net and friends.

In the meantime, I have several blogs to suggest people keep up on.

Oh, Smalbany! is an excellent blog about various local places and goings on, from where to eat to bits and pieces of interest about Albany. Oh, Smalbany! is currently on hiatus, but the writer of it will, in the interim, be writing a blog on Shaker High Basketball, which avid sports fans should read.

The Albany Eye is focused on the Albany media, from behind the scenes action to current events of interest. It's well written and provides an amusing insight into what goes on in the news scene in the area.

The Troy Polloi is the place to read up on Troy Politics. The satire is great, and the chronicling of the Troy political scene is exceptional. I would say this site is a staple for Rensselaer County voters.

Capital Region People deals with events going in the Capital region on occasion, but mainly spotlights different bloggers in and around the world. It's a great site for good blogs to keep up on.

Farah's Sowaleef has absolutely nothing to do with Albany, but the author is an extremely thoughtful young woman in Saudi Arabia who is an absolute joy to read and talk to. It's an interesting view into the Muslim world from the eyes of a female Saudi blogger.

Yay! Snow day!

Well, the time of year has come when the white stuff is dumped out upon us. Parents frantically try to find last-minute babysitters while the kids run around and scream in glee, traffic pileups on 787 and I-90 speckle the news, and some call into their jobs citing fear of crashing their cars or inability to find someone to care for our children.

However, this does not have to be the bad situation it may, to many people, seem to be. In honor of this wonderful event , I would encourage people to get out and have some fun. If you have little ones, take them sledding after work (if it's not too dark out), or, if you are fortunate enough to be able to stay home with them, bake cookies. If you don't have children, have some hot cocoa, sit back with a book when you get a few minutes by the window and read, occasionally glancing to watch the way the light gleams off of the snow. It's days like these that the beauty of the Northeast really comes out, and it's days like these that, beyond the driving, I'm happy I live in a place where we get snow.

*I have a charity event this weekend as well as some other obligations, so I will back posting on Monday. If you have to drive today, please be safe, and I hope you all enjoy your weekend!

Fun on the Hudson

*Disclaimer* The activity described below is not recommended, and although it was loads of fun, I'm sure it's probably dangerous. Although I think it beats Duck Boats...

Ahh, the Hudson River. I was taught as a child that it was truly a thing of great beauty... until you read about it or got close enough to the water to see what's floating in it. Nonetheless, I've always appreciated having it so close to the city; I think the planned riverfront developments for the cities of Rensselaer and Troy, as well as the projects already done, such as the Corning Preserve and Riverfront Park, really give the people who live here a great place to go exercise, hear a concert, or just relax.

Which brings me to about a year and a half ago when my ex came up with a great idea for summer boredom; tubing. One would think that with the Adirondacks not too far away, we'd go there for our water adventure. But as a young college couple often is, we were broke, desperate for amusement, and far too lazy to drive an hour or more for good rapids. So we went to get our inner tubes, and set off for the closest river: the Hudson.

When we arrived, we parked in the lot and walked up the path in the Preserve a ways until we found a good place to launch off of. Tying our tubes together, we got into the water and set off, talking and sipping soda as we drifted downwards. A garbage barge went by, and I think it's the first time I really got an appreciation for just how big they are. People walking by on the trail above who noticed us shouted anything from "Having fun?" to "You must be crazy!" (which I think we must have been, a little bit, although frankly as long as I'm not drinking the water I'm not terribly worried). We also saw some ducks, which was pretty cool. I'm a big fan of the duck population.

After about an hour and infinitely more relaxed than we had been in weeks, we were down around the riverfront park, and spotting a dock, we paddled our way over to it. Soaking wet and with me giggling, we got out of the river to disbelieving looks and a few grins, hauled our tubes into the cars, and headed back for "Rent'ler".

That was the day I first decided that maybe the Hudson River wasn't so bad after all, and I still can't look at it or stand by it without remembering and smiling.

Dancin' up a Storm

So for the last week or so, I have desperately been finding someone to go swing-dancing with me. I recently discovered that Albany seems to be a pretty hot spot for this; a search turned up a bunch of places between Albany and Saratoga where people could go, not just swing dancing, but also Salsa dancing, ballroom dancing.. the list goes on and on. And the best thing is, you don't even have to know how. Many places such as the Fuze Box (Central Ave) offer an evening of dancing for $8, if you include the fee for the lesson beforehand. I'll be affirming whether or not this Friday night activity still exists, and if it's any good, as soon as I find someone who also has two left feet to go so that I'm not alone in my bad dancing.

But it just goes to show that if you aren't a big fan of sports, or a big drinker, there are other things to do in Albany.

Tearing down another block... maybe

So, when I was out on a date the other night, I heard a rumor that a section of Albany around Delaware Ave was set to be torn down under imminent domain for a school or state buildings. Does anyone know if a) such a rumor is true and b) if so, what block they are planning to do this to? I'm going to try to contact some friends who know the higher-ups in Albany, but I'm not terribly patient, so if anyone has info, please email me.