seven days without a blog post makes one weak

so. went to try to post this morning and my computer would not cooperate which leads me the sad state of affairs of blogging at work. but this week has been dull as dishwater while waiting for the new mobile guy to start so i don't think it hurts.

last week at this time i was on the chinatown bus en route to boston. in fact, i was almost there. last thursday night was my big boss's going away party and it was RIDIC. we were on the roof of the empire hotel on a gorgeous night and the party was in full swing. when the boss who hired you is leaving you just can't say no to tequila shots, so it was no surprise that i blacked out and have no recollection of how i got home. according to hearn, i just grabbed my stuff and left without saying goodbye. let it not be said that i don't know when to leave a party.

by some miracle of god i woke up at 5:30 on friday to finish packing in time to make a 6:30 am bus to boston. there's a good chance i was still drunk, but met up with christine for the drive to the cape. the gods truly were on our side all weekend, b/c we just made the 1:55 fast ferry to nantucket (literally, last people on) after unforeseen delays, traffic and general annoyingness. it was a gorgeous spring day in new england - sunny if a bit chilly. when we arrived on the island we found keena and headed out to madaket so i could take a shower and we could collect our thoughts. then we headed to cisco brewery (nice beer if you can get it) where we proceeded to sit at the bar, play 'shut the box' and drink several rounds of drinks to the sound of the bluegrass band outside.

by the time we left we were fast friends with the bartender, to the point that we paid $11 for seven shots, had told him we had 'magic boobs', gotten him to participate in a disguise montage (i maintain, you never know when you're going to need a disguise) and invited him to join us at cambridge street later on. after some dinner, the night ended with us taking pictures in the triple eight vodka booze bus (pretty sure it's illegal for a drunk person to sit in the driver's seat of a vehicle, even when it's not moving, but we didn't get caught so) and keena driving us home to madaket while blasting lady gaga's 'alejandro'. side note: i adore being a passenger in a car when i'm drunk and the music is blasting. love love love it!

sat morning dawned clear and sunny and we got up and headed in to town for the daffodil parade. main street was filled with antique cars decked out in their daffodil best. everyone was dressed up in daffodils, complete with wide-brimmed hats (memo to self: get one stat). we cheered the cars on as they left for 'sconset, and then headed to 'something natural' for sandwiches for the picnic before driving out to 'sconset to join in the merriment. we also went to check out the daffodil show put on by the nantucket garden club. keena won several awards for her daffodils, and we learned that 'not all daffodils are created equal' from a display about sub-par daffodils not worthy of being in the show (hint: count the petals - there should be six - and keep the stems long).

post daffodil fun we went back to madaket to hang out on the beach with keena's corgi 'maggie' and then got dressed to go to dinner at 'sfoglia'. apparently there's another 'sfoglia' on the upper east side, not far from our apt, but according to ny magazine, it doesn't measure up to the original on nantucket. post-dinner the only option was the 'chicken box', where we danced the night away to the sounds of an amazing cover band. the band is based in nyc so i think i'm going to have to go to one of their shows. the music was awesome - i kept sticking my beer bottle in the back pocket of my jeans so i could air guitar, with the sad result that my jeans were covered in booze, but i think it was worth it. in between sets the (hot) lead singer got a mohawk, which, while it may have decreased the value of his stock, was still pretty cool. all in all, we danced our faces off.

sunday had a delicious brunch of lobster eggs benedict in town, and then a quick stop at brant point for some senior pictures in the rain and then we were the stand-by of stand-bys for the 3 PM ferry, and still managed to get on (the gods love us!). i spent sunday night at home on the cape with my parents, where i discovered my parents are certifiably crazy as they have installed solar panels, a security system, and were increasing their poultry flock by four baby ducks. yes. i held a baby duck on sunday. i can never bring a boy home.

still, it was great to be home, if even for a little bit, and then i headed back to boston with christine and back to nyc. all in all, a fantastic trip, with great company and good memories.

back in nyc it's been a long week. things are up in the air/in a holding pattern (could i use anymore aviation terminology?) at work; still waiting to find out what the management changes mean for me. in the meantime, embarking on a familiar interview journey with a company i've interviewed with before. this time around i think i really want the gig, which puts added pressure on the gauntlet. best foot forward and we shall see i suppose. always do.

stay classy friends.

things change, people change, spare change

so i spoke too soon about last friday's work event. turns out that my big boss is leaving the company - last day is tomorrow. my immediate boss is also moving to a different group. not sure where that leaves me, so once again i find myself in a position i've been in several times in my career at this company: no idea what's next.

so tonight is the going away party for our big boss. i was originally going to take the bus to boston tonight to meet up with christine for our weekend on the cape and islands, but i figure this going away party is going to be epic and there's no way i can miss it. so the plan is to take a 6:30 bus to boston tomorrow morning. this sounds like it might be pretty brutal, but i know that i'm not going to want to leave the party once it gets started, so in the category of 'responsible binge drinking', i've made alternate arrangements.

then it's off to boston and nantucket tomorrow for a mini-break and quality time with christine, who i haven't seen since christmas believe it or not. really excited to go home, however brief. 'it cleans me out and then i can go on.'

as usual, to be continued . . .

of orchids and pogo sticks

morning kids! in a better mood than most monday mornings - not sure why. cautiously optimistic maybe?

friday's work outing has had no residual effects beyond ridiculous soreness so far - good news. lovely low-key weekend with boxa, mulley, taylor, charlo and assorted other folks. some great meals at 'uva' - a wine bar on the ues, and then two of my favorite brunch places - 'nolita house' and '7a'. lots of sex and the city watching and gabbing. went out to the stumble inn after dinner and several bottles of wine on friday night and i woke up on 83rd street on sat morning. stumble inn is trouble! walked over the brooklyn bridge, went for a jog in central park and got our nails done. i decided to forgo my signature hot pink for a bright shade of purple. liking it so far!

vin was down at duke all weekend for her five-year reunion, and leaves tomorrow for two weeks on safari in africa, so i'll be holding down the apt 7 fort. i registered for my five-year, which is rapidly approaching believe it or not.

and it's a short work week for me b/c i'm taking friday and monday off to go to daffodil weekend on nantucket with christine.

dreamt last night about pogo sticking in the snow and orchids. on the one hand, i knew i was dreaming b/c i was thinking about how i'd have to look up the meaning. the orchid apparently represents 'the wealth and riches around me' which isn't too bad, and i sort of see the pogo sticking as meaning i have enough energy to spring around and move ahead. and i think the snow just meant it was cold in my room.

but so far, so good. :)

gym class heroes

friday again! today we have a strange and unexpected team outing at work. we're going to chelsea piers for 3 hours, where we can play basketball, volleyball, dodgeball or kickball with the coworkers.

this may sound like a nice thing for our management team to do but we're all highly suspicious. for one, there will be no alcohol (this was specifically called out). as big work drinkers, this is unheard of. two, we're in the middle of a big project with tight timelines and we're taking three hours off to frolic? three, not everyone likes gym time, particularly not people in their thirties. it's like elementary school gym class all over again for some people - will i be picked last? can i climb the rope? (i never could). what all of us will be wearing to said event has been a hot topic of conversation all week. what does one wear in these situations? (for the record i'm wearing what i wear to play basketball minus my bball shoes). four, this event was announced out of nowhere last week. just seems suspect, but will report back and will not complain about leaving work at 3!

boxa comes tonight! going out with mulley, charlo, and rachel weiner on the upper east side tonight, and getting brunch with taylor tomorrow. richardson 309 reunites!

and of course, coming off a trip to hanover there is beacoup good music to highlight, though no real thanks to the sd basement, mainly to the top 40 radio stations in connecticut and along 91 and fratmusic.com:

1. 'don't let me fall' - b.o.b - slower but kind of moving
2. 'beamer, benz or bentley' - lloyd banks - that's a catchy line and a good thing to say if you don't know what to say
3. 'alejandro' - lady gaga - lady gaga's batting a thousand in my book (though i do prefer 'telephone' to 'bad romance'). kind of sounds like ace of base with echoes of abba's 'fernando' thrown in
4. 'your love is my drugh' - ke$ha - sounds a lot like 'waking up in vegas'
5. '143' - bobby brackins - cheesy as can be but catchy!
6. 'do what you do' - marz - this is the song from the kia hamster commercial. 'front, back, side to side. front front, back back, side to side'

kiss me lyon

i love the magazine 'real simple' and i have ever since it came out 10 years ago (they will not stop promoting their anniversary party at grand central later this month. considering going). not entirely sure why - it doesn't exactly cater to my lifestyle (ie i'm NOT juggling a job, a husband and two kids in the suburbs) - but i still enjoy its mix of useful tips, decorating ideas and easy dishes that i will never make but could in theory someday. i guess it's just an enjoyable, somewhat voyeuristic pleasure i enjoy on a monthly basis.

my subscription means i get emails from them. A LOT of emails (see above point about promotion of 10th anniversary party). yet another indication of the fact i am not real simple's target audience came when i received an email about 'colanders for your every kitchen need'. yes. you read that right. do you even know what a colander is? it's the thing you use to strain water when cooking pasta or vegetables. am i looking to improve my life to the point that i have the best colander on the market? absolutely not. most days i'm lucky if i use a separate tool to accomplish this instead of the spoon or a plate. but i digress.

one of the emails i got from them the other day invited readers to share the story of their first kiss, and while i did not submit mine for consideration, i did think it was an interesting blog post topic. so, with thanks to real simple for the inspiration, the story of my first kiss.

i was a cross-country runner, a basketball player and a rower in high school. the boys and girls cross-country teams traveled to all our meets together, so we spent a lot of time hanging around waiting for races, riding the bus to and from meets and having pasta dinners. my freshman fall i became friendly with a senior on the guy's cross-country team. we talked a lot, hung out at cross-country events, and it was evident we were liking each other more and more, but nothing had happened between us yet. every year there's a race in NYC called 'footlocker'. it happens after the state championship races are over in november and is the weekend after thanksgiving. every year my team would do a trip with the guys and girls who were running down to the race. we'd rent a van, stay in a hotel, and run the race in van cortland park in the bronx, and then go into the city to be those annoying groups of kids walking up and down fifth avenue looking at the xmas tree at rock plaza. i mean, go see the sights. incidentally, it was also my first trip to nyc.

it was my first school trip where we were staying in a hotel and after we had run the course that day, we were in our hotel rooms goofing around before bed. eventually it ended up that it was me and him in a room - the simpsons were on tv and he leaned in and kissed me.

we ended up dating for a couple months after that, and stayed friends for awhile, but it was hard b/c he was a senior and dealing with colleges and prom and i was on a completely different plane (i didn't ALWAYS used to go for guys who are younger than me!). but it was a great first boyfriend experience and i have fond memories. and i hope this post makes you think about your own first kiss too. :)

'a kiss can be a comma, a question or an exclamation point. that's basic [grammar] that every woman ought to know' - mistinguette (who apparently is a french actress and singer during the 1920s - 40s. thank you wikipedia)

8 hours of driving for 6 hours of pong

we've lived on third avenue for over 2 years now. our bedroom windows face the street, but our terrace faces a roof and a wall directly across from us, and some other apt buildings kitty corner. i'm not so good at shutting the shades in the morning, but the apt building diagonal from us is having some construction done and there are construction workers out there every morning. i think i need to get better at shutting the shades lest they get the wrong idea when i'm getting dressed in the morning. that being said, it's so easy to see into other people's apts that i'm sure someone's seen it already before.

had a fantastic trip up to hanover this weekend. dragged vin out of bed at 6 on sat morning, something that was pretty rough as we'd been at a bar up the street where the hook bartenders were guest bartending at dana's bar on friday night. found celeste at grand central and took the train to stamford where we picked up the car.

made good time up to hanover on a gorgeous sunny day. usually i do that drive up in the dark on a friday night post work, so it was nice to have daylight so we could see the beautiful landscape we were driving through. met up with my parents and my brother and my sister and the puppy (sasha bear!) and went to boloco for lunch, then wandered around the football stadium, gym (which i've been trying to check out for two years now. just generally too drunk), bema/robert frost/lone pine and library. i was thinking about the time boxa and i took tay tay's pink flamingo rosario to various places around campus and took pictures of him to send to taylor while she was on her off term in barcelona. (the only remaining pic is one of us at a lot, but i know we did robert frost too).

found celeste and diede at dirt cowboy, made a trip to the co-op to snag some 'merchandise' and then hung out on the green where puppies and strange performance art of a person dressed up in a clam suit abounded. this clam (if you could call it that, it mainly looked like burlap to me) was just bopping around the green, collapsing in strange places for awhile, and then getting up again. my sister told us this was the current installation at the hop, so we went over to check it out. the installation was a bunch of burlap clams inside a glass case. so odd.

back out to the green to listen to the baker bells play the alma mater at 6, and then to molly's for $2 margs and sustenance. quick stop at stinson's for beer, boones and cups, and it was back to sd for harbour with some sig eps. the basement music, as usual, was subpar, but the harbour was fantastic. the night disintegrated from there; eventually i had to step off a pong game b/c i couldn't see the cups, but it was so nice to play real pong, in a basement, with plenty of space where the ball bounced and people weren't trying to fight you for playing a game they've never seen. we all passed out in the sd tv room/library, where we glad for some sketchy sleeping bags. that's the one issue with cleaning out the library - where will sketchy alums sleep? vin was worried about getting lost on campus, but we told her that 'sigma delt was a destination you could ask for' if she needed to. fortunately that was mitigated simply by never leaving sd. problem solved.

grabbed bagel basement for bfast, dropped the extra 30s of keystone we had bought off to my sister, and headed back early on sunday. quick trip, but so worth it. just need a fix every once in awhile. vin and i hit up target and taco bell in stamford before dropping off the car. could not for the life of us find the taco bell, so vin called and asked for directions, a process that took about 15 minutes. when we finally did arrive the cashier asked if 'we were those girls who wanted directions to the taco bell' and 'we really wanted to taco bell that badly?' it was like a taco bell commercial, which got better (or worse) when we ran down the stairs at the stamford train station and got on a train that turned out to not be the 4:03 to nyc, but the 4:00 to new cannan. so we rode the train to new cannan and then back to stamford, an experience that would have been much much worse had we not had the taco bell in hand.

so happy we went, and super happy that i'll be back again in six weeks. makes leaving easier. :) other things that make the dartmouth withdrawal easier is the fact that boxa is in town this weekend! looking forward to lots of catching up with her and causing mischief.

there are no songs with 'thursday' in the title

it's been pretty nice in the tri-state area as of late, so yesterday afternoon me and the coworkers decided to take a constitutional to mcdonald's for ice coffee. i'm a dunkin donuts fan through and through but their ice coffee can be inconsistent, while mcdonald's ice coffee is always delicious. you'd think it would be easy to find a mcdonalds in midtown manhattan but no. we had to go to three different mcdonalds before we found one that was open. the ice coffee was worth it though. :)

after work me, hearn, dana and ashley meandered through the park on our way to shake shack on the west side (if you follow me on twitter and/or foursquare you already know this b/c i checked in). got ourselves some shackburgers, french fries and purple cows (ice cream float made with grape soda) and sat out on the benches by the museum of natural history to dine al fresco, before heading over to bourbon street for $.50 coors light cans from 9-10. (from 10 -1 the cans were a dollar.) just may be our new favorite place.

sadly the weather will not be holding long enough to carry over into the weekend, and while it's been 74 and sunny and beacoup facetime on the green in hanover these past couple days, it is supposed to be cloudy and cooler on saturday. vin and celeste are roadtripping up with me on saturday morning where i want to walk around occom, play pong until i pass out, have some cheese fries from food court and see my parents and the puppy (though not necessarily in that order). diede's coming up as well, so it will be a replay of recent big weekends the panhellenic family has enjoyed.

megh has asked me and mulley to write an amusing article about the upcoming reunion for the '05 class newsletter, which has had us pondering exactly what we think is going to go down at this reunion and how we feel about it. so far, no conclusions, but i'll post whatever we end up writing here. i counted up the number of times i've been back to hanover since we graduated; number came to 20. before i graduated and moved to nyc i used to hate the drive to school from the cape; i know every inch of i-93 and 89 down to the minute. now, i know 95 and 91 almost as well from my trips back and forth after graduation. (but i still can't remember which exit has the christmas tree shop off 91). but i'm still really excited to road trip and be in hanover in spring.

in other non-dartmouth news, is anyone else excited for toy story 3 to come out in june? i think they're a really well done and clever franchise, (also ridic quotable which is clearly my priority) and it looks like they've added some new toys for the third film. looking forward to an enjoyable show in june.

say it with flowers

i have to say, in my humble opinion (imho) that flowers are the best. even if they don't last very long, they're fantastic to have around while they do. i picked up some bunches of daffodils on sunday for our urban family easter dinner, and it's still making me happy to have some signs of spring around the apt.

sunday was the 4th annual urban family easter, a tradition we began in 2006 b/c there are a lot of holidays where everyone goes home and some of us didn't grow up in the tri-state area so home is a lot further away. i think it's possible to mark the passage towards adulthood by what gets served at urban family -then again, the event dissolved into a shitshow so maybe not - but we really outdid ourselves this year and proved it is possible to get all cleaned up and presentable when we have to.

charlo did pork chops with a fruit compote, megh made a spinach and goat cheese salad, olverson made 'texas lollipops', which are like scallops wrapped in bacon, only instead of scallops, sausage, vin made a spinach and artichoke dip, i made a cheesy potato casserole, we had mallika's ice cream cake and cookies for dessert, along with assorted easter candies (me: is there a proper way to serve peeps?) and we all had beacoup beer and champagne, courtesy of hearn. another amusing quote occurred when i asked vin if i could throw out a suspicious looking package in the fridge to make room for the massive amounts of food we needed to put in there (it was strange to have food instead of alcohol in the fridge) and she said no - it was her typhoid vaccine. (she's going on safari at the end of april). glad i asked!

it was a beautiful day in nyc, so dinner turned into pong and then flip cup on the terrace and a full on party which ended up with me passing out wasted at 10:30. on a sunday. on EASTER. spose that's why it was an urban family, not a real family, event, though in certain circles it would be a real family event.

the 10k on saturday went better than expected - it was a perfect day for running - and i finished with only 100 thoughts of 'i want to die' instead of the millions i was expecting. i now have more scotland swag than i ever hoped to in my life (literally: a pin, a flag, a bag, a poncho, a pen, tattoos!) and i'm glad i did it, though the thought of having to run the same thing times two for the 1/2 is making me a little nervous. in the words of alice in wonderland - begin at the beginning and go on til the end. then stop. sounds like a plan.

the good, the bad and the drunken

expect this blog to get a lot more nostalgic as the class of 2005's five year reunion approaches. it seems the pending reunion has dredged up a lot of memories, as maynard said, some good, some bad and some drunken. spose that's the point of a reunion though. remembered yesterday that we went to the harry potter book party at the d bookstore our soph summer. it was '03, so i guess that was the 'order of the phoenix' party? i don't remember who was with me - though i feel like allette was - and i know there were wands and children were frightened. good times.

i've often wondered what this blog would be like if i'd had it at school. prob would have had to delete it for corporate recruiting or something but i imagine it would have served the purpose of my sunday afternoon radio show on wdcr, with the weekend recap and shout outs/self calls to the folks who'd participated. 'come undone' by duran duran (which is, btw, one of the hottest songs i know) will forever remind me of zana b/c she heard it on the show and asked me what it was. song associations are weird. but radio was a less permanent form of expression than a blog, so i suppose it's good our collegiate exploits are only chronicled here as 'remember when's'.

my team at work is in a media bowling league; tonight is our first game. our marketing agency of record designed our shirts (shirts are really the only point of work 'sporting' events) which is both kind of cool and kind of dubious, as i don't always agree with their marketing strategy. at any rate, we're taking on 'popular science' at 9. let the games begin.