First blog post on iPhone!
Posted by mandy | Filed under General, Mobile
Testing!
Sent from my iPhone
Tags: blog, iphone, Mobile, test
Mama Mia!
Posted by mandy | Filed under General
Jeff and I trekked to New York City today to see Mama Mia on Broadway! He had seen it once before when his family traveled to London when he was little, but this was my first time. It was excellent; good music, lots of energy, and we had good seats! About 30 minutes into the show, between “scenes” two of the props crashed into each other resulting in a 10 minute break for them to come out and inspect the problem and fix it. The tech guys came out and everyone laughed– it’s not every day a Broadway show has to be stopped because the props have a mind of their own. They quickly fixed it and the show continued. After the show we made our way back to the subway and went home exhausted (as if we were a part of the performance).
Here are some mobile pictures from todays fun-filled adventure:
Building in NYC on the way to Mama Mia!
View of Times Square on our way to see Mama Mia!
Finally at Mama Mia!!
The Stage at the Winter Garden Theater
Waiting for the train, on our way home
Tags: broadway, mama mia, new york city, nyc, performance, show
A Day at the Park
Posted by mandy | Filed under General
Hover over the images for a description/title, or click them to go to the Flickr photostream :)
iPod Touch Trick
Posted by mandy | Filed under General
I just found a neat little iPod Touch trick, quite by accident. Apparently you can take a screenshot without having to install any 3rd party applications. All you have to do is press and hold the round Menu button, and press the Power button at the top. The screen will flash, and your screenshot will appear in your Pictures folder.
Try it!
Tags: apple, ipod touch, trick
Internets on a Plane
Posted by mandy | Filed under General
Yesterday, Jeff dropped me off at the airport and I checked in, went through security and sat at the gate until my plane arrived. I wasn’t exactly looking forward to the flight home, considering there were 30 or 40 little camp girls on my plane all going home. I wasn’t too happy about that. When we were called to board, I looked out the window and noticed that I was boarding the JetBlue BetaBlue aircraft, one of their planes that offers free email, shopping, and instant messaging services to it’s passengers above 10,000 feet. Maybe this trip won’t be so bad after all. I made my way to my seat and noticed a sticker on the seat in front of me that indicated there was a wireless signal.
We took off and before I knew it we were at cruising altitude. I turned on my iPod and opened Safari, where I was greeted with a page to log in to their network. I typed in my name, seat number, and email, and was directed to a page that said “Welcome to BetaBlue!”
I opened a new page in Safari and tried “mail.google.com/mail/” for Gmail, which kept erroring for about 30 minutes and then finally decided to load. I also tried “mobile.live.com/hm/” for Hotmail which also loaded extremely slow. After another half hour of trying to send a message, I was able to send my mom an email on Hotmail, and one to Jeff on Gmail. Unfortunately, the service came to a screeching halt whenever we ventured over water, and I lost communication altogether.
It was fun to test out but, like anything in the Beta stage, it has a LONG way to go. Click here for more information about BetaBlue.
Tags: betablue, flight, internet, jetblue, plane
Perfectography Business Card
Posted by mandy | Filed under General, Photography
Tags: business, card, mandy wiltse, perfectography, Photography
Top 10 Compliments for Guys
Posted by mandy | Filed under General
My boyfriend Jeff and I were having a discussion lastnight during our “exclusive ev time” about what guys prefer to be called when complimented. Being the sweet boyfriend that he is, he complimented me by telling me I was pretty! I replied, “aww, thanks ev!” and as I proceeded to compliment him in return, I realized I had absolutely no idea what guys liked to be called when complimented, so I asked him. He suggested “handsome,” but I wasn’t satisfied with that. I was looking for something more unique and uncommon and didn’t sound like something my grandmother would say. So I decided I’d get up and ask several of my guy friends for their opinions, and here is what they came up with:
Handsome (5)
Sexy (4)
Hot (3)
Suave (3)
Attractive (2)
Sexy Beast (2)
Beefcake (*shrug*)
Good-looking
Hunk
Stud
My personal favorites include “good-looking” and “attractive” because they seem to have the most class out of them all. What do YOU like to be called? If you’re a guy and you think of something that isn’t already listed, feel free to leave a comment and let me know :) Make sure you let your girlfriend know too, so she doesn’t make the same mistake I did and call her boyfriend pretty, haha.
Tags: attractive, compliments, good-looking, guys, handsome, sexy
Happy Birthday Eric!
Posted by mandy | Filed under Birthday, General
That’s right! It’s Eric’s 21st birthday! So don’t forget to head over to iPocalypse and wish him a good one!
Happy Birthday Eric!!!!!!
Tags: Birthday, eric, ipocalypse
Artists Wanted Portfolio!
Posted by mandy | Filed under General, Photography
If you haven’t already please be sure to rate my portfolio at Artists Wanted to increase my chances of winning the photography contest!!
http://www.artistswanted.org/mandy
Send it to everyone you know! AND REMEMBER: YOU CAN VOTE ONCE EVERY 24 HOURS! GET YOUR VOTE ON!
Tags: artists wanted, contest, Photography, portfolio, vote
3 Year Anniversary & Cruisin’ Right Along
Posted by mandy | Filed under Anniversary, General, Travel
May 23, 2008 – Jeff arrives!
Jeff’s plane landed at 4:20 and I went to pick him up. He asked me to help him carry one of his bags, and I didn’t even realize the bag he was handing me was my anniversary present!! We waited for his checked bags and then proceeded to the parking garage where he discovered his first surprise — “Happy Anniversary, Ev!! I love you!” written across two windows on the back and side of my brand new car. We drove to the hotel, checked in and chilled. My parents came back and I gave him his present, a brand new Coach wallet, packed with $100 and two giftcards, each in the amount of $25 to Cheesecake Factory and T.G.I Friday’s! I also gave him two cards, one which plays the song “Love You Out Loud” when opened, and another that says when he sits next to me, he’s near perfect, hehe! :D After opening his presents, my parents left and we ordered Room Service (they forgot our ice cream). Upon finishing dinner we paid for internet and got online to chat with our friends and then went to bed early to prepare for the big day!
May 24, 2008 – Sail away!
We woke up early and began getting ready. We each showered, finished packing and took pictures while we waited for my parents to come pick us up. They showed up around 10:30 and Jeff and I packed our luggage into the back of the Jeep, and went to drop Duncan off at the pet sitter. After dropping my kitty off, we made our way to the Port of Miami, dropped off our luggage, parked and then began the boarding process. We received our Fun Ship Sail & Sign cards and took our pictures then boarded the ship. The moment we stepped foot on the vessel, we were speechless! It was absolutely gorgeous, much nicer than we had all expected. Stunned, we made our way to our rooms, pushed the key in the door and were amazed to find such a beautiful spacious room all ready for us. We ran around for a few minutes, opening every door and drawer we could find until our luggage showed up and we began to settle in. After unpacking a little, we walked around searching for food and we stumbled upon the Lido Deck, where they had burgers, bars, a deli, a restraunt, and several ice cream machines. We purchased drink cards and sat down to eat, and as we were overlooking the view of Miami, we saw a dolphin swimming along the coast; I’ve lived in Florida for 19 years and I’ve never once seen a dolphin just randomly swimming in the ocean like that, but maybe I don’t get out enough, who knows. We proceeded to the Shore Excursions desk where we booked several fun activities: Sea Trek and Atlantis Submarine in Cozumel, Mexico; Kyaking & Snorkeling in Georgetown, Grand Cayman; and finally, ATV Adventures and Cliff Diving in Ocho Rios, Jamaica. Sounds like a jam-packed week to me! Then we were called to report to our “muster stations” for a mandatory Lifeboat Drill where they instruct us on how to use the life vests and lifeboats in case of an emergency; we were dismissed and then headed back to our rooms to store our lifejackets. On our way back to the room, the ships horn sounded and we walked outside to discover that the boat had begun sailing away for our 7 day Fun Ship Cruise! Jeff grabbed his DV camera and ran around the ship shooting video while my mom and I relaxed on our balcony. It was a long day and we were all exhausted and getting increasingly cranky, so we decided to skip dinner and hit the sack early!
May 25, 2008 – Fun Day at Sea!
We woke up really early (too early), wished each other Happy Anniversary and ran out to the balcony to find ourselves completely surrounded by water. We rummaged around for breakfast and couldn’t find anything satisfying, so we went back to bed and woke up around 10:30 and walked around familiarizing ourself with our new 7-day home and all it had to offer. We drank pina coladas and watched Carnival Liberty TV before getting ready for dinner. Dress code: Elegant. We strolled down to the Silver Olympian Dining Room, located our table and then waited for my parents. I ordered a steak which they ended up screwing up and brought me something completely different, so I had to wait for them to prepare a new one while I watched everyone else enjoy their meal without me. Completely full from dinner, we dared to order dessert: Warm Chocolate Melting Cake. As we enjoyed our dessert, the Carnival Dining Room Crew sang a song for our entertainment. We applauded, finished up our meals and then left. We turned back our clocks and rested in our rooms for a while and then Jeff and I decided to go out and party! We couldn’t decide between the Karaoke Party or Rock and Roll Party Music! We waited outside both of the lounges and decided Karaoke would be the most fun! People flooded in by the minute and Jeff decided to participate. He looked through the book and decided on “All the Small Things” by blink-182. When his turn came around, he took the stage with his air guitar and began rocking out! He was putting on a great show until the CD started skipping and ruined it for him. He was disappointed but he selected another song instead, this one being “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” by Green Day. It started off slow and never really picked up so it was challenging for him to sing, however, people cheered him on anyway! Determined to perfect his performance, he picked another song (“Yeah!” by Usher) and then was told that someone else had already selected that song, so he finally picked “Bye bye bye” by N’Sync. While he was waiting for his turn, I was getting increasingly sick by the motion of the ocean and got up and walked outside and missed it, but I’m sure he blew everyone out of the water! Perhaps next time I’ll get up there and rock the mic with him ;) but what would we call ourselves? Surely we need a name to separate us from the others! We left and I stumbled back to the cabin where I collapsed in bed and passed out– at least that’s all I can remember.
May 26, 2008 – Cozumel, Mexico
Viva Mexico! We woke up early and got ready to disembark the ship to meet our Sea Trek Instructor on the pier at 9:30! We waited on the pier and filled out forms before walking to the activity. When we arrived at Jeanie’s Beach Club in Downtown Cozumel, we were instructed on how to breath underwater and equalize so we wouldn’t feel pressure on our ears. The first group went first and we waited on the beach until it was our turn. People started coming up the ladder and we walked over to hear their first impressions. Excited, we volunteered to be the first ones to go in. Jeff climbed down the ladder and the instructor put the helmet on him and he made his way down and waited for me. I stood on the ladder and slowly stepped down as I realized how freezing the water was. The instructor placed the helmet on my shoulders and pushed me down the ladder. I was a little unnerved at first but when I finally stepped on the sea floor, I was amazed by all the beautiful fish and the reef that sat right in front of me. I ‘trekked’ over to ev and waited for my Dad and everyone else to join us before we ‘trekked’ any further. Finally, everyone came down and we each gave the instructors the “OK” sign and continued on our underwater journey! As we trekked, the instructors dispensed food pellets around each one of us and fish came swirling around from all directions to gulp it up, right in front of us! After feeding the fish, we each passed around a sea urchin, starfish, and sea spider. There was also a plane wreck in the distance, behind us during our sea-trekking adventure. While we were down there, Jeff and I tried an underwater kiss with our helmets on but that didn’t turn out too well. Also, not only does Jeff set trends above sea level, but he also sets trends under the sea. He jumped and everyone else followed, and then all three of us (me, Jeff, and my dad) jumped together! Shortly after that, we were hurried up the ladder in order where we took off our helmets and talked about how awesome it was! We changed clothes and caught a taxi to the Atlantis Adventures building where we got our boarding passes and waited outside for Ana (the boat to transport us to the submarine). Ana arrived and everyone boarded the boat and we took a short 15 minute cruise where we all transferred to the submarine. The windows were pretty big and surprisingly clear, and the view was absolutely breathtaking! I would definitely reccommend the Atlantis Adventure Submarine to anyone travelling to Cozumel and looking for a fun activity! The sub took us approximately 105 feet deep, and we saw jellyfish, angel fish, coral, crabs, starfish and much more! The tour took about 45 minutes and as we surfaced, they played uplifting music followed by “Yellow Submarine”. We exited the sub and transferred back to Ana, where we received our Atlantis Submarines Dive Certificate! We cruised back to the shore, bought a photo, and then caught a taxi back to Jeanie’s beach to pick up our Sea-Trek photos. Exhausted and starving, we walked back to the cruise ship (and some silver mime guy scared the hell out of me), had lunch, watched some Carnival Liberty TV and took a nap. That evening we skipped dinner, and took photos of the evening cityscape from the balcony before sailing away towards Grand Cayman!
May 27, 2008 – Fun Day at Sea!
Yet another relaxing “Fun Day at Sea” onboard the Carnival Liberty, we pretty much just walked around exploring the ship, perusing all the decks and restraunts and bars looking for something new to do. We watched more Carnival Liberty TV including all of the activities that had thus far taken place onboard.. from the comfort of our cabin! Jeff ordered internet and I edited some pictures as we waited for time to pass! We went to bed early so we could rest up for another busy day!
May 28, 2009 – Georgetown, Grand Cayman
The next morning we woke up and had arrived in Georgetown, Grand Cayman. Todays plans: Kayaking & Snorkeling. We got ready (Jeff insisted that I use his spray-on SPF 30 sunscreen) and had breakfast then got off the ship and waited for my parents who never showed up. We met up with our Kayaking Instructor who led us to a bus where we took a mini-tour of Grand Cayman to our beach destination. The driver dropped us off and we were instructed how to get in the kayak and use the paddles. We picked out a kayak and were the first ones in the water, but we had a little bit of trouble getting away from the shore. We, and a group of others, tiredly paddled to some nearby mangroves that were destroyed in a recent hurricane. Our arms enjoyed the five-minute break and then we were off again! We paddled for another twenty minutes or so and then stopped at more some mangroves that weren’t destroyed by the hurricanes, and the instructor passed around an “upside-down jellyfish” a certain specie which is pretty harmless, and it’s sting is about as mild as hot sauce. We put the jellyfish back, pushed away from the mangroves and headed to a sandbar where we would park our kayaks and snorkel for an hour. It seemed like it took forever to get there and we were having some trouble getting a rhythm going; we were completely out of sync and getting frustrated with each other, but in the end, we made it (even though we were the last ones)! Upon being given snorkeling gear, we jumped in the water, put on our masks and snorkels, and explored the beautiful blue shallow water. We snorkeled over a piece of a reef where a lobster was hiding, some seagrass, and all kinds of pretty shells and fish! After snorkeling we hopped up on the floating dock, and one of the instructor’s was holding a conch which contained some kind of slimey living mollusk. He passed it around and then tossed it back in the ocean, and then we hopped back in our kayaks and paddled our way back (this time with the current) to the shore. Even though the wind and current were helping us out, it didn’t make paddling any easier! Finally, we made it back to the shore and we pulled our kayak out of the water and got back on the mini-bus and drove back to the boat. Later on my parents returned from Hell, Grand Cayman with tshirts and photos to share. We didn’t realize how sunburn we were until we got back to our cabin. We showered, got in bed, and went to sleep. My parents came over later to check on us and we looked like little pathetic kids that had been temporarily crippled by sunburn. My mom couldn’t help but laugh hysterically at our dismay as we whined in pain and agony. We ordered room service and didn’t leave the room for the rest of the day and night.
May 29, 2008 – Ocho Rios, Jamaica
We woke up late and carefully got out of bed and got ready for our next shore excursion: ATV Adventures & Cliffdiving! This time we each piled on a few pounds of sunscreen even though we both wore long sleeves and long pants! We met up with my parents and we all got off the ship and met up with others at the Shore Excursion building. We were greeted and picked up by a very bubbly taxi driver who gave us a quick lesson in Jamaica lingo on our way: “Irie,” means everything is alright. “Ya,” means yes. “Mon,” represents every person in Jamaica, man, woman, and child. “Naa,” means no. “Nuff,” means a lot. Those are just some of the things we learned; if you want to learn more Jamaica slang, feel free to visit this website. We finally arrived Chukka Cove Caribbean Tours where we waited for the first group to return from their adventure. After they had returned we walked to the track where we were told how to operate the ATVs and some signals that we would need to know. We each picked an ATV, put on our helmets, and started them! We all drove around the track for a few minutes to make sure everyone was comfortable with them. We drove off the track and onto a narrow trail where we drove up an increasingly steep mountain clad with loose rocks and mud puddles. After the bumpy ride we stopped at a gazebo for some quick facts and a cool refreshing drink! We were about to leave and it started raining, which made the trails even more muddy and slippery. We walked back to our ATVs and started back down the mountain. On the way down, we passed a group of people on a Dune Buggy tour, and the Instructor stopped so he could wipe the sheild of my helmet clean. Thank God! I couldn’t see to save my life! He got back in his Dune Buggy and drove past. Speeding along, my helmet fell down, covering my eyes and my ATV hit a bump, and I almost flew over the front! That was scary, but I kept goin’! A few minutes later, one guys ATV stalled on the way back and he abruptly stopped on the trail, causing 4 other people (including me) to crash into the back of him. “Silly,” one of the instructors, got off his ATV to help the guy restart it while another instructor came back to see if we were okay. They got his ATV “situation” (they have no “problems” in Jamaica, only “situations”) sorted and we were on our way again. Finally we made it to the coast where some people decided to swim and go cliffdiving. Due to my sunburn and legs being in such extreme pain, I opted out, however, Jeff and my dad jumped in! After swimming and chilling under the trees, we drove back to Chukka Cove to drop off the ATVs. On the way there, my sunglasses fell off my shirt and onto the ground, and my dad ran them over. Silly picked them up and brought them back to me, but unfortunaltely they were destroyed. We washed up, had a snack and then got back on the bus and headed back to the pier where my dad bought coffee and tshirts for everyone. We waited in line to get back on the boat and then proceeded to stumble back to our rooms. We showered, which was extremely painful for our burned legs, and then took a nap.
May 30, 2008 – Fun Day at Sea!
Finally, the last “Fun Day at Sea!” We had an excellent time on the cruise but we were all exhausted and homesick! Once again, we slept in and spent the day walking around looking for things to do, eating ice cream and all kinds of chocolate things, afterall it was Chocolate Day! We chilled in the cabin for most of the day, going online and watching TV and just resting. Around 3:30, we headed over to the Venetian Palance to watch a Game Show! It was funny and I wish we had gotten there earlier to see more of it. After the show, we returned to our room to get ready for dinner. The dress code was Smart Casual and we didn’t have to do much to get ready, so we walked down and seated ourselves. I ordered a cheeseburger that was absolutely disgusting. I had enough cheeseburgers for one week. During dinner, they danced and sang one last song for us; it was really pretty and made me sad to leave, but I missed my home, and Jeff missed his. After dinner, we went back to the room and perused the Carnival Guide for all activities for that day. Jeff wanted to go to a Karaoke Party at 9:30PM, and I wanted to go to “Shout About Music!” at 9:00PM. We couldn’t agree on one so we left the room around 8:30 to walk around. We were both cranky and couldn’t decide what we wanted to do so we ended up going back to the room and I determined that we were both exhausted and homesick and we’ll have many more oppurtunies in the future to do all those activities, and ev agreed. We put our luggage outside our room and went to bed early so we could wake up and be ready to get off the ship.
May 31, 2008 – Miami, Florida
We woke up, ordered Room Service and then waited to be called to get off the ship. We were Zone 10 and unfortunately they started with zone’s 1-3, so we had a long time to wait. In the meantime, my dad got off the ship because he could carry his own luggage, but Jeff, my mom, and I sat in the cabin while Jeff entertained us. Finally, they called our zone and we rushed down to Deck 3 to get off the boat. After debarking the ship, we picked up our luggage and went through US Customs, which, surprisingly, only took about 10 minutes. Yay! We made in back into the country! My dad was waiting for us outside, and we took a bus to our parking garage and loaded up our luggage (and I dropped my brand new Boda Bag in a puddle of mud) and headed to pay. Much to my dad’s surprise, parking was $140. He thought it was $20, but the toll lady corrected him that it was $20…. A DAY! He shelled out the cash and we manuevered our way through streets until we finally made it back on the highway! On our way to the hotel and pick up Duncan, we stopped at Steak n’ Shake for lunch. I ordered chicken tenders and cheese fries, as usual! I said, “doesn’t our waitress look like Loie (my aunt)?” and my dad, being the funny guy he is replied, “if you want her to” and Jeff burst out laughing. We finished lunch and checked in to the hotel where we spent the entire afternoon online before going to bed.
June 1, 2008 – Jeff leaves
The next morning we drove to Publix and I almost ran a stop sign. Jeff ran inside and picked up two subs, and then we drove back, finished packing, and waited for my parents to pick us up. They arrived, we packed up the luggage and were off the the airport! He checked in and I watched him go through security until he disappeared into the crowd!
Tags: Anniversary, carnival, cozumel, cruise, georgetown, grand cayman, jamaica, liberty, mexico, ocho rios
