FRIENDS...I had problems adding the many photos to the blog entry...so I made a separate album entitled "Bachelorette Party." Wish all you girls could have been there. Enjoy.

I went to a wedding last night, and the bride's bachelorette party the Saturday before that. It was great! Since I work weekends, I've had to ask off from my weekend job for a spate of weddings, and, of course, the bachelorette party. So my own birthday, in two days, just does not get its own party this year. But Amy's party was awesome. And it's only for you all...I can't share this much elsewhere on the internet, si?

German heritage is HUGE in Cincinnati--which I appreciate, since my grandma's from Germany. Oktoberfest Zinzinnati takes place in September. So our festivities began with the Oktoberfest street fair.

I kissed the kids goodbye, drove downtown, and ran into a roadblock near the hotel where we were to meet. No worries--a police officer explained how to get around. I drove past the river and the sports stadiums, then back up to the Tower Place parking garage. Parking garages make me nervous, so I hoofed it to the Hilton lobby where we were to meet.

Amy, the bride, was still tied up in a dinner with older relatives. Jamie and Geneva met me and showed me up to the hotel room, where I stashed my suitcase and breast pump (I'm still nursing Roland). The view was spectacular.

We walked down to the street fair, where beer was flowing freely. Fat-laden fair food was plentiful, and laden with phallic symbols. Later in the evening, I was talking about trying a sauerkraut ball. Some random guy in a Ramones shirt handed me one. I also enjoyed the German egg roll, stuffed with bacon and cabbage. Drink-wise, I started the evening with a doubleshot bourbon slush, then a Sam Adams beer. I'm telling you, beer has grown on me. I used to hate the stuff.

Bride Amy showed up, already pretty buzzed and all smiles. In our area, bachelorettes often wear a cheapie veil when they go out on the town. Complete strangers who were also celebrating their bachelorette would come up and high-five her. Amy, who normally does not cuss much, started saying, "F*&^cking A!" at all of them. Amy also dove into a German cream puff, dousing herself with powdered sugar.

People in Cincinnati like to talk to strangers, especially where alcohol is involved. One such guy accosted Geneva, who told him about Jamie, our only single friend. He and his friends came over to flirt. They called me CRAZY PANTS. Jeez, I wonder why.

After a while, we left Oktoberfest for Cadillac Ranch, a nightclub with a MECHANICAL BULL. Yeah, baby. The place was packed...took a while to get a drink at the bar. The dance floor was fun. It was an interesting mix of people--no "cooler than you" types or smily guys hitting on us. Everybody was having a good time.

And the time came to ride the bull! Amy teased me about getting on so much more easily than her. That's not due to me having more athletic ability....just longer legs.

About 2:00, we decided to leave the club. Amy was starving, so we found a classy, late-night Chinese place and ate huge bowls of soup. Several guys at the table next to us struck up a conversation, European-style.

Then it was back to our beautiful hotel room. The Hilton is just beautiful....the nicest chain accomodation I've stayed in. I pumped, dumped my alcohol-laden milk, and showered. I had to get up painfully early to drive home, see my kids, and rush in to Ruby Tuesday's for the Sunday lunch shift.

But it was SO worth it. We had such a great time. My own bachelorette party was kind of lame. So this chance to really let my hair down meant a lot to me.

You might know that actor Sung Kang has a blog. You may not know he actually takes suggestions for blog topics! Check this out...

www.sungkang.com

Did you miss me? I haven’t been online the last couple of days, thanks to an Ohio hurricane. My whole life, Gulf of Mexico hurricanes have snaked up to the Ohio Valley, but left only torrential rains. This time, Hurricane Ike brought little rain, but wind gusts up to 77 miles per hour. Our power went out, and were it not for the lucky Thai joint, we’d have had no hot food.

The blackout started on Sunday afternoon, in the middle of my Facebook session. We kept thinking it would come back on. It didn’t. I left for work at my weekend waitressing job, and heard the radio announcer say, “Don’t go out unless you have to.” My restaurant’s shopping center was a ghost town. My manager met me at the door and told me to go home. The wind was whipping up something awful by then.

I called my husband. He wanted me to bring home some Wendy’s. I passed two—the power was out at both. The power was on at Burger King, but it would be “an hour for food…we’re waiting for the fryers to warm up.” I was on my way home when I saw it—neon lights at the Thai joint. Miracle of miracles, I had gift certificates to this place (earned by writing advertising for them a couple months ago).

The place was packed. I placed a to-go order for two pad thai, chicken satay, and spring rolls. The yoga studio next door had power, so I chatted with a sweaty yogi while I waited. “I just had to go to class tonight, despite the weather—it’s my first time since having a baby.” I love Thai food any time of the day or night, so I couldn’t help but laugh when some guy came in, took one look at the carryout menu, and left. It was the only restaurant open for miles! Come on. I know it’s the Midwest, but branch out a little.

I took my food home; we ate by the dim daylight. The yard was covered in debris. My husband, who’s a complete Flickr addict, kept stopping at the computer, forgetting that he couldn’t get online. I read The Week, my favorite news magazine, cover to cover. Meanwhile, we listened to the radio. Almost everyone in the Cincinnati area was without power, and the estimates for getting back on were up to a week.

The next morning, it took me hours to wake up without coffee. Almost all the traffic lights were out, and most every business was closed. At Starbucks, people were waiting to charge laptops, but all I wanted was my joe. I passed a second closed grocery store before finding a Meijer (similar to Wal-Mart). I dove into a pile of people to get one measly bag of ice, then rushed home to fill the cooler with a few dairy items. Later that day, Jeremy and I agreed we should go to his parents’ house. We were just packing up when the power came back on.

Hallelujah! We lost a lot of perishable food, but sustained no property damage. In comparison to the victims of many other natural disasters this year, we’re very blessed. And thanks to the lucky Thai joint, we didn’t miss a single hot dinner. Hurricane in Ohio—it could have been worse.

OK, so the photo is not new, but the rest of this post is. Most of you know that I blog over at Ningin, the Asian entertainment and media site. Well, me and a lot of other new people now.

Ningin just launched the "7 Days, 7 New Bloggers" event.. There are many new people blogging over there on interesting stuff. Go over....you are sure to find something interesting.

Also, I posted a new one today on the multiracial family. Go check it out!

http://elena.ningin.com

http://ningin.com

Click on BLOG....all the new bloggers are across the top. So much new, weird, fun, and thought-provoking.

In other news, a promising new job lead. I know someone who knows someone at a local paper with a reporter position! Wish me the best. I'll keep you posted.

Hugs to all! Elena