Monday, March 30, 2009

hello again

i know i know, i've very much been MIA from the blog. sorry, sorry! i have been reading the posts though, and i promise to get back in the posting routine!

anywho, mini-update: i was at home for a week, visiting, skiing etc. (got to see the fam, the pets and some elk in the backyard, always a good time) and then was back here, in time for an auction at work (no major drama apart from getting a $6000+ necklace stuck on me for a stressful 15min) and then this past weekend did the law-school visiting routine, which was sort of like a weird twilight zone version of visiting undergrad schools but instead of "where are you from?" the question du jour was "what have you been doing since school?". i can't tell you how many times in a 5-hr period i heard, "i spent some time working on the obama campaign, good times".
it's getting down to decision time, as of yet no major decision, but i think/hope getting closer to figuring it out everyday. i think i tend to shut down a bit when avoiding big decisions, which is a bit ironic because not-shutting down would be a good way to avoid decision making, BUT anyway i'm trying to be better, and post and keep in touch (everyone get excited for an influx of emails/phone calls) AND......(i can feel the excitement building) keeping up on my broadway news.

first off, rock of ages, which if any "musical" needed air quotes i think this is it. it seems to be the mamma mia! of the 80s-rock loving crowd, which generally as we all know would include myself, but i think there are better things to be seen/to spend your money on in NY right now. or at least lets hope. i think i would have seen it off bway (where it just transferred from), but who needs to pay $85 for an 80s party? life can be your 80s party. (yes that's right)
anyways, sorry for the mini-review, but here's a clip of the show in a rehearsal that was open to the press...i think you'll see what i mean. that said, it does look like a lot of fun...and i can't get the song out if my head.




on a more traditional bway note, here's a number from a cabaret performance of the show "henry and mudge"...i've maybe watched this video 8 times now. it's pretty silly but i love it. and how this actress really does nail the persona of a 7 year old. enjoy!


i know you all were missing a little jazz hands in your life.....

Thursday, March 26, 2009

two things that suck: illness and jury duty

And I had to endure both this week.

For the past week I've been battling something that seems to have lodged itself in my sinuses (or at least that area). Then this Monday I had jury duty, which wasn't that bad in the grand scheme of things, just sitting in the jury room for several hours, but with sickness = not so fun.

in other other news: OH MY GOD IT"S ALMOST APRIL! where does the time go??

and of course some goodies:



this is for D in particular:

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

The master of miscellany



In the kaleidoscope of random people I have an odd zeal for, Ben Schott ranks up there.

And now with a blog!

Tuesday, March 24, 2009


for A:
the museum of kitchy stitches, by stitchy mcyarnpants

and on an unrelated note, a moment from my morning:
me- guys we need to provide headquarters with our top green tips and volunteer work we do.
torrey- what is it, like goodie two-shoes month or something?
me- something like that.
vanessa- tell them we save water by not watering the office plants.
ellen- yeah, and i dont know what company they work for but who the hell has time to "volunteer"??
me- what is that sound? ellen are you... filing your nails?
ellen- dont judge me daisy.

back to work.

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Waiting, eating and traveling

Hey all

Sorry I missed last week.  I was so caught up on thinking I would find out any day about school that many things fell through the cracks, one being the posting.  Sorry.  
So it is now a week later and I still do not know.  I am in bostons south station terminal waiting for my bus so I can get to New York just so I can leave for Venice tomorrow at 5:30.  In less then 24 hours I need to get to NY, eat, (hopefully a few times) sleep, buy jeans b/c I actually only have 1 non broken pair, and move myself from my sisters apartment to my house in queens.  Doesn't seem like a lot, but it surely is.  
It is strange to be going on vacation knowing that at some point this week a letter will arrive in my mail box, but I guess I will just have to deal.  My coping routine will hopefully involve lots of interesting things, people and places I can't even imagine right now. 
Just got on this Bolt Bus that is brand new, black leather interior, wireless, plugs at every seat.  Highly recommend it for anyone- yes that is a serious side note.
Ok so back to what J has learned. Just like D's previous post we need to take happiness into our own hands.  And nothing is actually the end of the world, no matter how bad it might seem.  And give people a real chance.  I met someone pretty special, he is great, interested in me, a nice guy, no flashing signs for me to run in the other direction and today I almost freaked out at him because he was grumpy.  I actually almost wrote him off because for a matter of an hour he wasn't at his best.  He hadn't slept, he had to go to work there were lots of things going on and i internally freaked out. I kinda cut our breakfast short and may or may not have given him the wrong idea.  Mainly because I had the wrong idea.  I forgot that people have off days, and we can't always be happy and chipper and not grumpy and be perfect.  If he and I date more which i hope we do i bet he will be grumpy again, and I can surely bet I will be even more grumpy than he was this morning.  And i will have to deal with it.  I forgot what effort it takes to make a new friend let alone a new special friend.  And thankfully I have friends who tell me when I have smoked too much crack and need to cut other people and myself a break. 

J & D get active. (vs passive)

j came to boston this past weekend. we both have things going on in our lives that involve waiting...being at the mercy of other people. in j's case its actually life changing and important. in mine, its basically petty and stupid but in both cases its frustrating as hell to have to sit back and wait for someone else to dictate your happiness/future and i think this weekend we did a damn good job of taking it back in our own hands. its so important to seek out our own happiness.
and thats what we did. in about 48 hours we walked at least ten miles over four or five neighborhoods across the boston area, found at least ten fabulous thrift stores, inspected at least ten cafes in my ongoing pursuit of the perfect cafe, ate at least ten fabulous meals of various cultural heritage, and found one store that blew us both out of the water.
j bought the "freshest" sneakers (bronze and black quilted sprinters!)and i bought the "nastiest" hat (lined with daisy printed fabric!) and the owner fell in love with j's huge rock ring and told her she should send her stuff his way and we fell a little in love with the owner and decided to follow his instructions and walk all the way to central square to an african dance... experience(?) that happened to be as fresh nasty and fabulous as he'd swore it would be.
i rerererereconfirmed how happy i am not to be in new york and TO be in boston. i tell you in new york youre not going to happen upon a neighborhood versin of j's famous booth. but in boston, you might, and we did. the questions people submitted to be pondered and answered by whoever made the piece were beautiful and touching and silly and i intend to have one in my backyard wherever i settle... check this one out:



im reading on wednesday at cantab lounge in central square. just thinking about it my stomach is dropping into ass. but im gonna do it. damnit.
thats all for now.
xD

Sunday, March 15, 2009

Less than 3 weeks to go!

Alright I know I missed posting last week (I was in Vail taking my first vacation day ever!) but right now I feel like I have absolutely nothing to say. And I'm sleepy! But here are some quick notes and I'll add more in the next couple days (hopefully tomorrow):

1. L's brother asked my sister to prom (maybe jokingly? hard to tell?)

2. I went skiing for the first time in 6 years and it actually went okay! I'm staying on groomed terrain for awhile - but I didn't take any really serious falls

3. I'm slowly finding furniture for my apartment. I forgot to take pictures again but I will hopefully have some by next week. It looks like we won't move in until June 1st - so we have enough time to move slowly!

4. My mentor is getting moved off my team and I'm so upset about it! It's a really good thing for him, but I've come to rely on him for all of my questions and now I feel like I'm going to have to start taking more control of my job

Anyhow those are all the big things I have to share. Maybe I'll think of more by the next time I post!

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Video Killed the Radio Star

Video fun!

Via Cuteoverload

This is disturbingly similar to myself in the morning (and perhaps J when her naps are interrupted?)



some Ani



and of course some sarah haskins action from last month, i add this because there has been some suggestion of making myself an online profile, hmmm





and here is a piece by ms. haskins that i found hilarious because i had a lot of Barbies, i was like obsessed, and, not surprisingly, my Barbies got around (tying back to the Ani, yay)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/06/AR2009030602038.html

Scanwiches!



Was just added to my google reader.

I'm very excited for a daily dose of scanned sandwich goodness.

http://scanwiches.com/

Monday, March 9, 2009

Just refer to me as a mountain woman

hey ho all

I spent the last week up in the mountains, Mammoth mountain to be exact. This appears to be the season for skiing for me and i really do love it. I snowed heavily the first few days we were up there (with my mother, why don't i have friends that ski?) then we had three glorious days of sun and 2 feet of fresh powder, which is much harder to ski in although also much better at the same time. Every day I ski i get better, almost back to where I left off pre-college, but not quite. When my mom and I went down a black diamond by accident in ungroomed powder the foremost thought in my head was "don't die, don't die, just get down the mountain without dying" and i didn't die! yay! so after making it down, i was quite proud of my achievement and had my adventure quota filled. Also while trying to ski amoung the weekend crowds i realize how much i dislike crowds of people, especially young, stupid and inconsiderate crowds. I embrace that i am a curmudgeon. overall it was a very nice time and i hope to get up one more time while the skiing is still good.

a little hello from the mountain top

i feel silly

posting after i posted the last post.
now i just feel silly for having written 'post' 3 times in 7 words.
i understand that i live with one of you and talk to the rest of you regularly on the phone but gee whiz a hidey ho on a post every once in a while wouldnt kill you.
wow. i sound like my family. i'll lay off laying on the jewish guilt.
also sorry for the cryptic posts last week. i temporarily confused this blog with my other one where iget to be all emo and angsty and cryptic and wax philisophical and pretend i have an extensive readership. though i will say my site monitor shows ive gathered a little international crowd thanks to an old post with thelwell pony cartoons that lures in the brits and extensive posting about missy higgins that attracts the aussies... and then there are a bunch of germans though im not sure what in the world got them interested. probably the prevelance of gloom in my writing.
thats not fair to the germans. i had a very cheery german babysitter for a summer. she was 6'1 and liked to lie topless in my yard tanning even though she knew we had neighbors who could see through the privet hedge. im not one to judge her on that.
anyway.
today i spent a good hour trying to figure out the saying, phrase, idiom, axiom, whatever you call it that people say when someone is using a highly inappropriate and oversized tool for a job. Like, a shovel to scoop sugar, or a forklift to raise a casseroule, or a hedge trimmer to clip a toenail... or something. it was/is for a byline im writing for work and i need this phrase as a catchy intro but even posting as my busy message on gchat didnt yield the answer id hoped for. someone suggested killing mosquitoes with a machine gun. someone else mentioned bringing a gun to a knife fight and still others insisted it was smashing a walnut with a sledge hammer but besides being disconcertingly violent, im sure those are not commonly used.. i know theres one out there ive heard before... anyway chew on that my friends. and if you think of it, shoot it to me and save me from the torment.
going back to work. hoping youre all doing well, whatever the weather.
love D

Friday, March 6, 2009

Machel Raddow tears my employer a new one.

im not going to write any words that could possibly get this picked up by the people who work in my agency and monitor for bad press because the video below is BAD BAD PRESS and if posting it didnt get me fired im pretty sure some of the other things ive written in past posts, would. and if theres one thing ive learned working here its that people who monitor for coverage can find A.N.Y.T.H.I.N.G.
and i would rather not get fired. yet. however. im just going to quietly put this up there and ask that you watch it.

while i cant defend anything she says, its true, weve been the devils advocate at times, these accounts occured over a period of thirty years and setting aside my feelings on my day to day job, the people who work at this supposedly hellbound agency are actually some of the best and brightest and most welcoming people ive ever known. we do a TON of non profit representation and grass roots work. which she doesnt mention. but thats journalism.
anyway after everything ive bitched about i thought you guys might get a kick out of this. or something.

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

E meu Fado

Hi everyone.  So today I just came from a great performance of Fado.  It is a type of music that is sorta jazz, sorta gypsy, sorta blues and sorta can make every emotion come out of you.  This woman didn't even look human, although with her ghoulish appearance she was quite beautiful. The most beautiful part was how she transformed while singing her fado.  She quickly talked about the history of Fado.  Fado comes from a Latin root for the word fate or destiny, and many people in Portugal say E meu Fado, to mean it is my fate.  I think that is great,  to use the term for music and fate sorta interchangably. I just thought it was a lovely phrase.  So I wanted to share.

I have no major news to report.  Life is going well and many a countdown has begun.  Countdown to Venice, to going to Boston, to knowing from Stanford and just generally waiting for people.  I hope meu fado is positive, but regardless e meu fado and will go with it.  But not to worry the second anything major happens I will alert the group.

right on cue

door swings
door hits
im flat on my back again

IS THAT ALL YOUVE GOT, LIFE?! BRING IT ON!

Monday, March 2, 2009

goodness

oh people
doors are opening in my life at such a wild rate its only a matter of time before one swings and hits me in the ass and sends me flying.

but in the meantime im relishing it and have met some amazing people seen some amazing music live and learned some amazing things about my coworkers that have changed the way i view my work and the role its playing in my bigger picture.

starting with a small personal adventure ive slowly allowed opened myself up in ways i didnt expect and in response ive found the world more open to me than i ever knew it was.

i guess ill be more specific next week if theres anything ot be specific about but in the mean time, i write to you from an ungracefully splayed position in the middle of my living room. i'm looking around right now thinking about what this room used to look like. the periwinkle walls, lovingly-if lazily-overpainted to its current 'happy almond' hue by L and me with the help of some red wine and early 90's jams... the asymetrical navy sloping mantle draped with cheery christmas lights balancing a row of sweet valentines cards from our various suitors. and by suitors i mean parents and neighbors... the painted plaques that cover live wires where i wrenched hideous art deco light fixtures off the wall ("without an electrician! you'll fry your face off!" - my mother) preferring the gaping hole and fire hazard to the former visual affront... the trunk i stole from my attic thats cracked almost in half but still serving quite well as our coffee table. the papajohnazon chair L brought that likes to eat its inhabitants like a venus fly trap...i just love our place. i love it for all its quirks and curmudgeonly corners...but more so for how much work L and i have put into making it a combination of our selves, our ideas of what a home should be...

im also currently making L a CD thats shes under strict orders to listen to ON REPEAT of all missy higgins songs. why? because WERE GOING TO HEAR HER ON SATURDAY WAHHHHH IM FREAKIN OUT! i have been obsessed with this girl for well over a year. shes so far up my alley shes around my corner. the title of the CD is GET PUMPED TO GET ANGSTY BABY because thats what our L, perky mcperkyperson, is going to have to do... im enclosing a little sample.


so good musics playing. my kittys chasing an orange and fuschia non denominational ornament around the room. theres another foot of snow on the ground somehow. i have hours of work tomorrow that i have no desire to do. but its ok. im deeply content in this moment. lily just flicked a slipper off her foot and hit me in the side of the face.
life is good.

Sunday, March 1, 2009

Updates

More updates!

Tyler leaves on Tuesday. I can't believe I already have to say goodbye! I've had so much fun having him at home and I got so used to be able to call him whenever I wanted. I'm more insecure about my friendship with Tyler than anyone else, and even though this visit home was amazing I worry that everything is going to change when he gets back. I feel like we finally got to a good comfortable place. This week he came to work to have lunch with me and see my cube, we went to see the animated shorts that were nominated for the oscars (random I know, it was actually a mistake), we went out to dinner in the city and drank champagne at my apartment, and last night was his graduation party. Now all I have left is to stop by after work to say goodbye! I've been driving Knoxie absolutely nuts complaining about this stuff, so I had to vent here...anyhow I'll probably just end up running up a huge international phone bill since I'll trying to forget about missing tyler by calling alex more.... oh my life is a little confused...

On a happier note - I think we found an interior designer for my apartment! It's this amazingly cute couple (the man's name is Casper and the woman is a furniture designer for pottery barn). I'm so excited! I hope this place ends up looking amazing. You'll all have to come for a dinner party because I'm planning on having A TON (especially now that I can stop by home to pick up partially made food!). Knoxie and I went out to brunch in the city today and it made me really loook forward to all of our future brunches in the city. We're still trying to figure out our move in date - but it might not be until June. I'll keep you posted on the progress. In like two weeks I'll post some pictures of the apartment pre-furniture.

Finally, on Friday I am heading to Vail to ski for the first time in 6 years! L - let me know if there are any restaurants/shops that I should make sure to go to! And p.s. I am planning on calling you back really really soon!