Unofficial Reunion Weekends

Coming off of a great SD mini reunion weekend in Boston for the Head of the Charles regatta. Skips flew in from Chicago, Mulley flew in from Nantucket where she's helping to alleviate the under served 'ACK Civil War sex play' market and PPocket came down from Hanover for the festivities. Boxa and PPocket actually raced - the rest of us walked literally 10 miles to see D people, Exeter friends and various locales. Skips brought her new gf (not really new but new to us) who we loved and were very happy to meet, and had some boozy dinners in Beacon Hill and Harvard Sq. 

Side note - writing this as I ride home on the T and we just crossed the Charles River (my favorite part of the ride to/from work) and the light in Boston right now is INCREDIBLE. (In the right light, at the right time, everything is extraordinary) :)

We decided to go to Cheers on Sun night to watch the Pats play the Colts since all of us Boston people realized none of us had ever been to the tourist trap. It was actually quite pleasant even though we were not greeted by name when we walked in (jokes). A good blizzard bar since it's on the basement level and the beers were reasonably priced. I'd go back. And was v pleased that the Pats won as well esp since Boxa was irritating all of us by cheering when the Colts did something good b/c Andrew Luck was on her fantasy team. harumph.

Heading out to Wellsley shortly to see Robin and Whit. Robin is doing an exec ed course out there and since it's closer than NYC we have planned to get a drink out that way. Hooray for mini reunions. 

Killington opened for the season yesterday and I did buy a season pass last week in a spurt of cautious optimism. Have my MRI on Thurs and an apt w the orthopedist next week so w any luck this time next week I will know what I'm dealing w with this knee thing. Finger's crossed it's a quick fix!

And a belated happy bday on the blog shout out to Vin who celebrated in New Zealand on sabbatical and possibly with a kola? and one for Allette as well. Wish I could have raised a few glasses with you both. 

welcome to brooklyn

hello from LA - i'm out here for a few days for work (my boss likes to take me on eating tours when we travel - so far we've been to randy's donuts, in-n-out and then drinks at the W hotel with a client) and am staying the weekend to hang out with kevin. still kind of can't believe i'm in LA - i've been all over the place lately - but i'm rolling with it.

so sorry to leave you hanging with that last post - took some time for things to sink in. basically what happened is i promised myself when i took my new job that if i was going to stay in nyc for a couple more years i was going to invest in finding an apt/making an apt that felt like a home. i was keeping an eye on craigslist for sept/oct apt options. i'd been to brooklyn heights to visit rowena and will and liked it and it was on my list of places to explore during my apt hunt. saw a posting for two apts in brownstones in brooklyn heights and emailed about checking them out. i get back to my desk the next day after a meeting and there's an email asking if i can come check them out at 5:30 (aka in 30 minutes). i debated for a second but seven years in nyc (yes seven!) and more moves than i care to remember paid off and i ran into my boss's office, stammered that i had a chance to go look at an apt and she told me to go so i ran out of the office and jumped on the train to brooklyn.

loved loved love the neighborhood - like all the things i like about the upper west side even more so - and got to see two apts and decided to go for the apartment i liked best. i had my letter of employment in hand and i got the cash deposit out then and there (it wasn't amateur hour) and went over to fill out an application form that night. met the management company and loved them (their office was in a vintage motorcycle showroom) and by monday i was signed, sealed, delivered and moving to brooklyn heights. easiest apt leasing process i've had yet.

was planning to pay double rent for september, since my uws lease isn't up until october, but i mentioned this to my roommate and he found someone for sept 1. so just like that i'm moving in 30 days. and i can't wait.

it's going to be a change from living in manhattan but i love the area and i'm excited for something new after all this time in nyc. it's a large studio in a third-floor walk-up in a brownstone right near henry and clark streets. just about every major subway line is there. i'm going to have to get creative on storage and furniture purchasing - it basically has no kitchen - but i have lots of ideas and it's going to be fun to get everything organized and make the place feel like a home. i really can't wait. people keep asking me if i'm going to become a hipster - rowena's response to that was 'tell them you're moving to the yuppie area, not the hipster area'. besides, can you see me as a hipster? :)

in other news, had two great sigma delt weekends - one for ceppos's bachelorette party in nyc and the other for our big sis/little sis reunion weekend on the cape. had a great time boozing and having some laughs with each other for ceppity's bachelorette - really wonderful to reune with cody, brogiin and diana and meet some of ceppos' friends from bschool. had a blast getting all dolled up in 80s gear for rubix kube and calling ceppos out all weekend so everyone knew she was getting married. the wedding is in a few weeks out in greenwich, ct - going to be a blast.

last wknd celeste and little kristen and i drove up to the cape to meet diede. unfortunately the weather didn't really cooperate, but we did a lot of shopping, walked on the beach, got ourselves some lobster, and had girl time. our class years go '05, '07, '09 and '11 (and we're co-opting jill for a '13) so it really is kind of unusual that even though we weren't on campus with diede and little kristen we're still friends, but it was so nice to speak a common sd language, share our experiences and celebrate us.  celeste goes off to three years in chicago for her jd/mba at northwestern and little kristen is starting med school in nj but we're going to try to keep doing big sis/little sis reunions. it's pretty special. :)

i'm bummed i'm not going to make it back to the cape anymore this summer but excited for weddings and the move and the next chapter of my life. keep thinking about the storypeople 'feels like some kind of ride but it's just turning out to be life going absolutely perfectly.' :)

why hello

i know i know - i am such a deliniquent. if it weren't for megh guilt tripping me into posting about his fabulous dinner party on sunday i probably still would be MIA, but in the words of america 'i've been one poor correspondent, i've been too too hard to find but it doesn't mean you ain't been on my mind'

in chronological order:

• '07 reunion - quite simply, it was a blast. highlight was the impromptu dance party that went down in the sd basement on saturday night. we took down the first pong table and turned off the lights and kevin and i were running up and down the stairs dj'ing ('we found love' and 'call me maybe' were the heavy favorites). we also stashed a justin case of keystone in the dryer - also pretty awesome. walked down to the river with laurak to go skinny dipping, played a two table game of social at 4 am and then strip pong (we were winning by so much that eventually we just got naked). capped off the night with a trip to lou's at 7 am. we were all drunk and falling asleep in our maple syrup but it was epic. got in a quick nap between 8:30 and 10:30 am and then caught a ride home with cody. it was so great to be hanging out on campus with 'the pledges' again and campus looked so much warmer and greener then it had even a few weeks earlier. so so so much fun. i'm going to continue crashing reunions in the future. 

• jimmy buffett '12x - also a blast. christine had borrowed a tent for the occassion, which was incredibly clutch considering it was super hot out. i took a ton of pictures on my phone and managed not to lose it (a jb miracle) and vik got most valuable partier for reasons i will not detail here in case vin reads the blog. great group of people, amazing set list and concert number 12 under my belt. christine and went down to the cape for a few hours on sunday to go out on her boat - we were bummed we had to go back to real life on sunday night but it was such a lovely trip and very necessary for our sanity.

• vacation! - my 10 or so days on the cape were incredible - we def hit the vacation weather jackpot as each day was sunny and hot. i went to the beach just about every day. christine and i did the lobster special at the raw bar and oyster harbor fireworks on her boat ('my neck is cramping from looking up at the fireworks #capecodproblems') and my siblings were home so i got to catch up with them. i did a ton of manual labor for my parents - cleaning and tidying the house and yard for the company - i took the philosophical approach that i pay a lot of money for that kind of exercise in nyc. rowena came up on thursday and we beached and boozed for a few days and sang 'intergalactic' to much applause during saturday night karaoke at the foxhole. laurak is currently in woods hole, so she came down to hang out for saturday night as well and we ended up in osterville after hours at my brother's friend's house boozing and having a few laughs. great way to end a fabulous break from the big city.

lots of friend time lately - as i mentioned megh is now back in nyc and had mulley, kjbb + the boy and me over to his new apartment for a dinner party on sunday night. he made some delicious appetizers and roasted a chicken with lemon - we were all impressed and enjoyed his new digs. glad he's back in the city!

next up is ceppos' bachelorette party in nyc this weekend. i'm getting excited to hang out and be silly with some girlfriends - we're going to see the 80s cover band rubix kube on sat night. i will def post my comments, learnings and suggestions after the weekend is over so that others can learn from my experiences as well.

i also rented '21 jump street' over the weekend and loved it. it was hilarious, quotable and had a great soundtrack. highly highly recommend. one of my favorite quotes was 'what are you wearing?' 'potassium nitrate - thanks for noticing' ;-P

that's the news! stay (cool) and classy friends! :)

fab fall weekends

hi! it's me! been on like a three week bender - so much going on every night and of course it all revolves around drinking and consequently, hangovers and not sleeping.

last week was a bday party for the old coworkers, a trip to a gay bar in hell's kitchen for drag queen open mike night with brogiin and huyett, the ad week closing party at wollman rink in central park with hopper  and hearn, fooseball and my brother's unexpected 10 hour appearance in nyc, another apt party on the UES (tons of time in the old hood) and then patriots viewing and long weekend-like behavior even though i did not have today off. i pretty much have zero voice and my boss was basically like go home but in the back of my head i knew why and always sort of feel like i have to suck it up b/c it's my own damn fault.

the party on thursday night was sponsored by linkedin and in a fantastic marketing move they were offering party-goers that chance to get their linkedin profile pictures taken. you could even get your make-up done by a professional before the picture. had been meaning to do this forever, but when do you ever take normal, sober pictures solo looking professional? right - never. thought it was genius though. 

did two day trips this weekend - first up was to new haven on saturday for the dartmouth-yale football game with stein. we went to a breakfast reception with president kim and the new athletic director, and then to the yale bowl. we were stunned b/c it seems like not only do people in the yale community go to yale football games, they tailgate. this was such a radical departure from dartmouth that we couldn't get over it. it was a blazing hot, sunny, indian summer day so we soaked up the sun (safely with sunscreen) and watched dartmouth play terrible football (they lost 30-zip. no parties at gamma delt on sat night).

we cut out around the 4th quarter to go road tripping through the middle of connecticut to the jones family farms for some wine tasting and pumpkin loving. it was gorgeous out, the wine tasted delicious and it was lovely to catch up!

sat night after the apt party we hit up session 73 on 73 and first. not sure why we never went there when we lived down the street, esp since it was a great party. 80s cover band, red balloons when nina played and hair banging to pour some sugar on me. def want to go back.

sunday rowena and i checked another item off the nyc bucket list by trekking out to the queens county farm museum. while i was under the impression that 'queens' and 'farm' was an oxymoron, it turned out that there really was a working farm on the very edge of queens that had a multi-acre corn maze. we've discussed doing a fall trip to vermont for awhile now, and since the weekends keep getting away from us, we decided it was the next best thing. the corn maze was a blast - took us an hour to get out - but it was another gorgeous sunny day, and the dj (yes, only in nyc do corn mazes have dj's) was playing great music and inspiring us all to persevere, hydrate and make it across that victory bridge.

i've really enjoyed playing the harry potter lego game for the iphone. $5 on itunes, great reviews, and so far a lot of fun. it's very true to the books and you learn spells along the way that you execute by tracing on the touch screen. so far i know reducto, reparo, wingardium levorosa, incedo and how to fly and i just defeated the troll in the girls bathroom. :)

next up is an sd mini reunion trip to philly this coming weekend to hang out with diana, ceppos and glassman, and we're hoping allette joins as well. haven't hung out in philly really ever (i don't count post jb concert number one soph summer when we were there for 10 hours) so excited to check that out and spend some quality time the girlfriends.

definitely needed some downtime tonight to take a break and think about what i've done, but on the whole, it's been a blast and i can't wait to see where my life takes me next. here's to the great adventure. ;-)

footloose and fancy free

last week was super stressful b/c i was taking off early on friday to go to seattle for zana's wedding, and i had a dentist appt to have 3 cavities filled, which meant 2.5 hours out of my thursday to have needles and drills and lockjaw. now that both things are behind me i feel a strange sense of euphoria, which can only be because my calendar is (relatively) wide open and i'm staying in nyc for the next two wknds.

that is not to say i didn't have a fantastic time on the west coast this past weekend. it was my first trip to seattle, so i didn't know much about it, and i was excited to get the grand tour. jess was kind enough to act as my hostess and tour guide, so i learned quite a bit about the pacific northwest.

got in around 7 on friday night and was so surprised to see snow-capped mountains on the air train into the city. according to wikipedia seattle gets 71 sunny days on average a year, and friday was one of them, so it's only fair to note i'm biased.

met up with jess and ppocket and headed to dinner with swanny, skips and skip's girlfriend. was fantastic to catch up with them, eat delicious thai food and see an almost full moon over the space needle.

saturday we picked up a zipcar from the local community center (a vintage porsche car fair was going on. we were driving a vw rabbit) and got all gussied up for the night. picked up skips and ppocket and we headed out to the red hook brewing company for lunch and the brewery tour. for $1 we got 5 samples of beer, a rocks glass and learned that one of the co-founders of red hook is the founder of starbucks, there's a red hook brewery in portsmouth, nh, and 30 people work at the brewery. highly recommend it if you're on the east or west coasts.

we cut out of the tour early to get to zana's parents' ranch where the wedding was being held. they live on a gorgeous piece of property north of seattle and zana and linda were married down by the pond in an incredibly beautiful and heart-felt ceremony. afterwards we ran around looking for horses, giving hugs to zana and rosi, and getting drinks in the dressage arena where the reception was held. jess and i gave toasts, zana, linda and the boys did a choreographed dance to get things kicked-off, and we had brick-oven pizza for dinner. we also took a number of pictures that ppocket is converting into a collage at the photo booth, and danced the night away.

sunday jess and i had brunch downtown, and then i explored the waterfront of docks and ferries and pike place market (think real world seattle fish and original starbucks) before heading back to the airport for my red-eye. seattle is the western-most terminus of i-90 (of boston and james taylor fame) and it was so funny to think about being on the other side of the country but on the same road. really liked seattle overall - it's such a cool combo of water and woods and mountains. everywhere you looked there were boats and beautiful scenery and people outside running or playing soccer or sailing. there were also lots of gardens, farmers markets and community centers. was surprised to see tons of red sox fans out and about, but realized it was likely because they were playing the mariners. still, it kind of felt like home. all in all it seems like a very legit place to live and that there is a lot more to explore. will have to get back out there soon.

liking a song lately by emmylou harris (covered by miranda lambert) called 'easy from now on'. the lyrics i like are

It's gonna be easy to fill
The heart of a thirsty woman
Harder to kill the ghost of a no good man
And I'll be ridin' high in a fandangled sky
It's gonna be easy, It's gonna be easy
It's gonna be easy from now on

part of why i like it is that it resonates, part of it is the 'fandangled sky' bit, but worth a listen if you're into bluegrass country.

in the vein of culture and arts, i also read 'the big house' last weekend - a great memoir about summer houses, family and boston W.A.S.P.S. i've touched on the role my grandparents house in craigville has played in my family and i'm sure i'll get around to doing a post on it one of these days, but worth a read. started reading 'last call' about prohibition on sunday night as well. in the middle of that now but enjoying learning about something i don't know too much about. will report back.

girlfriends forever

was in the city this past weekend for the first time in awhile, and spent most of it with girlfriends.

saturday afternoon i spent with taylor doing wedding-related things. we went to 'bella bridesmaids' to try on dresses, as apparently it's getting to be time to order dresses for a december wedding. tay tay is still deciding on colors and styles, but we do know that they will be long, so me thinks i need to start a sit up regimen in preparation.

after dresses we hit up the momofuku milk bar in midtown to treat ourselves to some crack pie and do some cake sampling. sat in the park by the plaza to do our research and thoroughly enjoyed the hustle and bustle of nyc. it was great running around nyc and discussing wedding details with the soon-to-be mrs. bennett and already looking forward to december!

sat afternoon/evening cody, ceppos and i grilled on cody's roof deck. she's got a fantastic little outdoor area on top of her building, so we threw together a picnic of sorts and chatted until the sun went down. was so in the mood for some low key chilling, and this fit the bill!

was super surprised to get a text from vin late night on saturday night asking what was going on. she and her bro had been at a wedding and were ready to rage. we have plans to do dinner and drinks on thursday but didn't realize she was available to hang out over the weekend, so it was a fantastic surprise. she came and met up with us at dorrian's on the ues, and we did some shots and caught up for a bit. 

also grabbed coffee with celeste on sunday afternoon for a quick catch-up. she's been super busy studying for tests and with work-related socializing, but hopes to return to the world in august.

lovely to spend time with the lovely friends, and so excited to have even more gf time this weekend when we head out to california for diana's wedding. expecting to see maynard, karla, allette, laurak, glassman, whit and ceppos in monterey. can't wait to meet back at the local saloon. it's supposed to be beautiful out that way, but it's going to be chilly! weather forecast is low in the 50s, which will be a welcome change from the heat wave in nyc, but i left my fleece on the cape a few weeks ago, thinking i wouldn't need it for awhile and apparently i was wrong. i have packed a few sweaters and a vest and maybe we'll get lucky. at any rate, the outdoor pool is heated.

also this weekend is swanny's wedding, in whitefish montana. i won't be able to attend, but will be thinking of skips, mulley and polly pocket, as well as some of the other crew girls, who are heading out that way. hoping to catch up with that group in august at zana's wedding in seattle.

love the lovely friends!

everything's right with the summer coming

usual suspects update - ceppos is in nyc for the summer (working for my old boss! yay networking!). brogiin will also be moving back to nyc this summer after she graduates from stanford law (smarty pants). diana is moving to dc after the wedding so the boy can go to georgetown law (yay east coast!) and maynard is engaged and getting married in september (weddings! i love weddings!). hooray for the usual suspects!

as for me, it's thursday but it feels like it should be friday. attempting to be productive today as i know i won't be tomorrow. our summer fridays start tomorrow though and i'm really looking forward to a relatively straightforward work summer where i don't have to start a new job or launch a website halfway through. my memorial day weekend plans include ferry friday and hanging out on cody's roof deck. i also have my move on sunday so saturday will be spent packing and prepping.

here's what's on tap for the summer:

• dartmouth graduation
• jimmy buffett in boston
• a week on the cape for the 4th of july
• diana's wedding in monterey, ca
• zana's wedding in seattle, wa
• hiking moosilauke
• a couple trips to the cape to hang out with my cousins, grandparents and puppy!
• assorted visits from vin
  

in other fun news i won tickets to the black eyed peas concert in central park in a couple thursdays. the tickets are free but you have to have tickets to get in so i entered the lottery. was psyched to be picked and fingers crossed it doesn't rain for the event! in the words of 'win a date with tad hamilton' (a movie i voluntarily saw) - "your chances go up when you fill out the application."

will leave you with a great country throw back to psych you up for the summer - 'summer's coming' by clint black

green m+ms

well kiddos - quick rundown on the state of the union:

have weddings on the brain b/c diana's bachelorette was last weekend in newport beach, ca, and i just received swanny's gorgeous invite in the mail. unfortunately swanny and diana are both brilliant and think alike and have scheduled the big day on the same day, so i can't join in swanny's festivities but i will be thinking of her and looking forward to celebrating at zana's wedding in august.

the weekend for diana was fantastic. we were at a house on newport bay that was just right for large gatherings of boozy and giggly girls. (view from the back steps to the left). i had the theme song for the 'oc' stuck in my head all weekend.

i flew out on friday morning after an accidental late night celebrating cinco de mayo, which meant with the time change i effectively stayed up until 5 am EST three nights in a row. i am getting too old for this. but i digress.

flying cross country is a serious business. america is a really big place. i knew this already but you really start to know it when you've been on a plane for 3 hours. however, at rush as undergrads we would use 'how far would you drive them' to describe how much we liked someone. it is safe to say i would fly cross country for any of the usual suspects any time.

was joined by elise, brogiin and karla from the sd side, and we met diana's friends from high school who were fabulous. i have girl crushes on all of them, they're all honorary sd's, and it is abundantly clear that the wedding is going to be a real blast with all the amazingness that will be in attendance.

spent the weekend sunning, boozing, talking about hooking up and laughing over stories/memories from the years we've known each other. it both felt like so much time had passed but also hardly any time at all. i tweeted the gem quotes as they came up, but i think my favorite was 'are we going to slice that salami or is it here for entertainment purposes?' (answer: both).

we got drunk and rowdy during all you can drink at a mexican place on saturday afternoon. put on like a prayer and sang to the bar until we were literally cut off (from the music, not from the booze). i want my dollar back. we also rode a mini ferris wheel that was kind of ripping around (drinking made this more exciting) and did an impromptu photo booth session at the 'fun zone'. saturday night we headed out for dinner and dancing. one thing i will say in la's favor is they let you dance on the banquettes if you take off your shoes. done and done.

all the usual suspects were missed but can't wait until we meet back at the local saloon in july. kept thinking about the quote 'it's funny that pirates were always going around searching for treasure when they never realized the real treasure was the memories they were creating.' that's what it's about folks - memories and stories.

otherwise - have had a crazy busy week social and work wise. lots of dartmouth stuff going on, including a lecture by the chair of the classics department and tour of the discovery times square 'pompeii' exhibition on friday night. really looking forward to continuing my culture kick.

heading down to camden on sunday with stein to row in the alumni 8 at sprints (crew playoffs for you non rowers). looking forward to getting back in the bow and road tripping with her. and then next weekend is green key where i get to see kevin, fresh off of finishing up law school. excited to hang out on campus with him and colin, who will also be putting in an appearance.

in non-dartmouth news, i am getting an award at work which was surprising and unexpected but i'm thrilled that they're happy with the work i'm doing and recognizing that it hasn't been a walk in the park these last few months. am having fun thinking about how to spend the money - mac book perhaps?

i also signed a lease last thursday on an apt on 96th and amsterdam. i'll be living with a gay guy who has a kitty! seemed to be the best combo of the things i was looking for (in particular staying upper west side) and it's good to know what direction i'm headed. did realize that it's been almost a year since i lived with someone, and a good 4 years since i lived with someone i didn't know, but i figure this will work for the time being and we'll see where i net out around this time next year. everything can change and it usually does. i'll miss this apartment but onwards and upwards.

super short on sleep so i'm headed to bed. mwah!

full circle

well friends - reporting back after the 'side walk' - aka our walk circumnavigating the island of manhattan. we had great weather yesterday for the feat - about 65 and sunny for most of the trip. we started at 9:15 from the highline's south entrance and walked until we ended up back at 14th street around 9:30 pm- all in all we walked about 35 miles yesterday. it's no wonder my hips are killing me and i have some brutal blisters on the bottom of my feet!

when we did the 50 miler on memorial day of freshman year, we had wrapped up the crew season the week before, so i was in much better shape than i was yesterday, but the 50 miler is also an additional 15 miles and summits five mountains. still the side walk gave us a run for our money.

the team who completed the walk with me is olverson, vik, ece, hopper and ashley, and mallika and maura joined us for parts. it's mostly just really cool to think about the fact that we walked around the entire island, but we saw some unusual stuff and areas of manhattan that we never would have experienced if we hadn't done the side walk:

• the northern end of the island is actually pretty remote and wooded
• columbia's boathouse and a big painted 'c' on a rock face up by inwood
• the little red lighthouse beneath the george washington bridge
• a gazillion people washing their cars
• a public art installation where 2000 feet of jersey barriers were painted in yellow and black
• people on jet skis
• a park of seal sculptures down on east 20th street
• the financial district helicopter port building is quite nice
• a random portico along the west side highway
• a plethora of flowering trees, which often meant the walk smelled quite nice
• a 5k road race
• signs saying 'back in 90 seconds' parking
  

a great article from the ny times 'circumnavigating manhattan' sums it up pretty well too. money quote 'I imagined it was welcoming me to the circumnavigation club, perhaps one of New York’s more exclusive, if not exactly elite. ' amen.

i have to say i was pretty impressed with nyc parks commission for the many public parks and greenway areas, especially along the lower east side and the west side. someone's doing something right.

i also have to quote mark twain, as i did after the 50, 'i'm glad i did it, partly b/c it was worth it, but mostly b/c i never have to do it again'.

now that i've got that t-shirt under my belt i can look forward to a short work week, as i'm taking off friday to fly out to newport beach, california for diana's bachelorette weekend. will be a mini sd reunion as elise, brogiin and karla will also be joining some of diana's friends from home. all that's on the agenda is chilling, boozing and sunning with girlfriends. just what i need.

and a 'rabbit rabbit' for may 1st! it's going to be a busy month.

avenging narwhals

stumbled on 'an avenging narwhal play set' last week. those of you who have known me for awhile know that i don't like whales (topic for another post, but what have they done for you lately hmm?), but i found the whole thing hilarious and am still cracking up about it. seemed like the kind of thing laurak would like so i shared it with her and discovered that maynard had purchased the same play set for a secret santa two years ago. brilliant minds think alike.

laurak and i were able to catch up last week as she is back on the mainland after sailing the south seas for the last few months. you can catch up with her exploits on her trip's blog: study abroad with SEA semester. she'll be heading back to hawaii for another round of trips, but will be coming to diana's wedding. i just bought my plane ticket yipee!

i think one of the problems i'm having with apt hunting is that i have a really big bedroom but an extremely small apartment (all in your perspective right?) and it's making all the other rooms i'm looking at seem less than in comparison, even if the apartment has its own bathroom and a bed i can have sex in. the hunt/hemming and hawing continues. in the words of kevin, 'i hem and haw for like every single fucking step i take in life.'

been puttering around my small apt/big bedroom this weekend paying bills, cleaning and grocery shopping. haven't done any traveling in the last couple weeks, and it's been really nice to sleep, take care of business and save money for a change. of course i am still looking forward to the summer travel season. in addition to diana's wedding i'm planning on several trips to the cape this summer, as my grandmother is doing much better health-wise, but still not super great, and i'm feeling that it's very important to spend time with family this summer. my cousin is graduating from dartmouth in june, so i'll be up there again to hang out with the family in woodstock, and then my grandparents will be on the cape (down the street from the raw bar!) for most of the summer. my sister and brother will be coming home for the 4th of july, so i'm planning to take some time to be there when they are, though it's really strange to have plan your vacation around your siblings so you can see them instead of going home and having them there. #welcometoadulthood

it looks like spring outside (you know how the light is just different in spring/summer?) but the air still doesn't really feel like it. i broke out the spring vera bradley bag today for my trip to get my hair done anyway. i'm still in dire shoe straits and it would really be great if i could wear flip flops on my commute to work. also i have a lot of cute spring dresses i'm dying to wear.

speaking of my hair, i am blonde. like really blonde. am about to find out if they have more fun for reals this time.

spent friday at work listening to the entire jimmy buffett hurricane concert in order to help remind me summer is coming and fun to look forward to. he had a great line: 'my job is too keep summer going for as long as possible.' amen.

lastly, enjoyed this quote from friday's ggmm:

Emoticons are like crocs, rhinestones and elliptical machines in the sense that their use is never acceptable, even under the guise of irony.

i use emoticons all the time but that doesn't mean i can't give that an 'ain't that the truth' laugh.

this and that

so. carrie wrote in asking for an update and i know i've been delinquent in posting. so here's a (drunk!) stream of consciousness:

- been fortunate enough to catch up with some old friends as of late. ceppos was in town for the marathon, as was christine a few weekends ago. we had a heigh-ho time doing some touristy things, pop power-houring and shutting down the joshua tree. boxa was in town with her sister this past weekend, so we lunched, walked, ate treats, behaved badly, chortled a lot, almost shut down the 'dead poet', brunched with mulley and ppocket and found ourselves passed out on my kickball teammate's couches on sunday morning after eating pizza and watching the soul-scarring movie 'the human centipede'. i was lucky enough to black out the entire experience, but boxa watched all 2 hours of it (hmm).

regardless, it was wonderful to see her as it had been quite some time - she's doing a surgery residency at mass general, and while glad to be back in boston, see earlier comment about 'bostonian view of the world' when it comes to boxa. she sometimes overwhelmed with the 'life is just so daily' aspect, but aren't we all. i'm just glad to have her a bus ride away after several years of med school in michigan.

capped off last weekend with dinner with celestia on sunday night for a pre-tday catch up, and i also saw lingley last weekend for her bday. lingley and i are scouring the internet to find a house we can rent for new years. tbd. really good to spend time with the old friends though. i feel like they remind me of who i was and who i am at heart, which sometimes gets lost in the day to day and really ought to come out more frequently. we were slightly shocked to realize that we've known each other for 5-10 years at this point (and hopefully many more to come).

- just purchased a bus ticket to dc for the first weekend in december to see a boy i met at a wedding in september. pretty pathetic that i have to travel 4 hours to see boys remotely interested in interacting with me, but beggars can't be choosers. have mixed feelings about this - i def do want to see him but part of me thinks i'm a little crazy for this one. i probably am. but if we weren't all crazy we would go insane.

- headed home tomorrow to the cape for the tday holiday. will be a late night and prob won't get there until 2 am or so on wed morning, but so much to be said for waking up at home and i can't wait to be there, even if two of my siblings won't be in attendance. 'it cleans me out and then i can go on' to be home.

- we got our nails done on saturday. boxa and i got this delightful red tomato color called 'escapades' on our toes and 'trendy' gray on our fingers. both are making me inordinately happy.

- my evil project at work launched last week. i had my flip outs a month or so ago, so the week leading up to launch was pretty calm, on my part at least. i still think the project is crap, and am expecting it to come crashing down any second, but people seemed pleased and wrote nice notes after launch and i feel a huge weight off my shoulders to have it behind me. not out of the woods yet, but onwards and upwards.

- read this quote in the latest oprah magazine and have been pondering it ever since (see below). i like the concept expressed. one of the nicest compliments i have ever received came from my tripee 5 days after i had broken up with my bf from college. he said 'you're so full of life.' that is what this quote reminds me of:

'life. fire. being myself on fire i set others on fire. never death. fire and life. le jeux.'

there you have it. talk soon.

what $150 buys you in the poconos

• room and board in a 20 person house for three days. i heart house parties
  
• epic icing scenarios
• all the alcohol we could drink (and a lot we couldn't) including a bottle of hot damn. YES.
• a hot tub
• three semi-serious injuries including two hot tub wipeouts and a sore butt from falling down the stairs
• several not-serious injuries. but everything hurt on saturday morning.
  
• repair for the broken sheet rock wall in the basement that resulted from the fall down the stairs (side note: it seems no one has a picture of this. how is this possible? i literally felt like i had been blasted in the chest by a spell ala harry potter and flung down to the button of the stairs. this happened on thursday night, about 2 hours after i arrived. i joke about the #1 rule being no death but sometimes it hits a little too close to home)
• impromptu dance parties with fantastic music including multiple replays of 'dynamite' and 'the club can't even handle me right now'
• 4 group viewings of the pirate porn
• several rounds of ugly christmas sweater flip cup (of course i won. hi kickball)
  
• a trip to the poconos brewing company in our ugly sweaters. people thought we were teachers.
• quite a few compliments on my breasts
• two hungover trips to an outlet mall where nothing was purchased. i texted ceppos that i probably shouldn't have been out in public at that point
  
• an opportunity to see a grown man wear a purple fleece onesie (without feet) THAT HE FOUND IN THE HOUSE out in public
• two epic freakouts over rearranged furniture. we're talking 'couches stacked to the ceiling blocking the means of egress' furniture arrangements
• three nights of post-3 am bedtimes
• lots of beruit practice
• the nickname 'mackrel'. apparently i accessorize with fish more than i realized
  
• amazing food all weekend courtesy of lopez and amy (pot roast and beer can chicken. i don't eat that well at home)
  
• a round in the hot seat during a game of kings - 'does the carpet match the drapes?' 'how many people here have you slept with?'
• deer and wildlife sightings
• 11 new friends and one special friend ;-P
• one kick ass weekend to celebrate lingley's 26th birthday #wewerethereanditwasawesome

the music faves from the wknd:

1. ke$ha - 'blow' and 'we r who we r' - both off her new album that comes out 11/22
2. trey songz - 'bottoms up' 'bottoms up bottoms up what you got in your cup got a couple bottles but a couple ain't enough'
3. chris brown - 'yeah x 3'
4. pitbull - 'hey baby (drop it to the floor)
5. rihanna - 's&m' 'b/c i may be bad but i'm perfectly good at it'

i'll drink to that

tomorrow is the dartmouth club of nyc fall kickoff party, and as the new social chair of the d club of nyc (MUCH less glamorous than it sounds), i have been charged with decorations and music. i'm psyched on the decorations - jack b nimble mini pumpkins, fall hanging decorations and glitter leaves - but the soundtrack has been much more difficult.

normally the music for a party is my sweet spot. hearn even acknowledged how fantastic the playlist i put together for the 90s beach party was back in july. but having a lot of trouble putting together a soundtrack for a cocktail party that spans a few generations in the library of the yale club. surprisingly, itunes didn't have a great cocktail 'essentials' playlist or anything, which is their loss b/c i probably would have bought the entire thing. right now the list is a fair amount of low key alternative, some blue grass, some ragtime, and some oldies (think 'in the mood') with the dartmouth songs thrown in. not sure how it's going to go over, but i guess we can just drink ourselves a soundtrack. immediate stress aside, i am enjoying being more involved with the club, and got very drunk after last week's board meeting off of martinis. discovered at kjb's wedding that the dirty martini's weren't 'dirty' enough for me - apparently i like it filthy (#twss) so filthy martinis have become my poison of choice with predictable results.

had a delightful weekend out in cali visiting with diana, laurak and karla. i've been running around like a maniac lately with work, the d club and apt hunting, so the time change hit me really hard, but i did manage to stay up late enough on friday night for laurak's arrival from la so we could do a really quiet rendition of 'escape' for old times sake.

we played a lot of pong (which diana and i won handily to evan's chagrin). we also walked along the beach and saw a bunch of dolphins. it's so weird to me that SF has all these tropical elements like palm trees and pelicans and dolphins when it's foggy and the ocean is so cold! but dolphins are cool wherever you see them.

i also did not get to ride the cable cars like i had hoped; instead, we went out to a vineyard outside the city for the opening of a wine created by a friend of a friend (more here). kind of like going to a gallery opening in chelsea only we were out in this really rural area surrounded by vines that looked like corn shocks and drinking our faces off of delicious wine and eating goat cheese. it was a fun experience to do that.

we also heard a lot about the plans for diana and evan's wedding scheduled for july in monterey, ca. sounds like a number of the usual suspects will be attending and diana's djing, which means the enrique will be out of control. already looking forward to meeting back at the local saloon. unfort i missed most of the merriment of 'talk like a pirate day' on sunday due to the flight back to nyc. or in pirate speak - being held hostage by a bunch of landlubbers.

back in nyc the apt hunt continues. saw an apt tonight that has a shared bathroom and a lofted bed - debating whether i can live with that. i also saw an apt that is right near the apt charlo and i first lived in when we moved to the city. like i swear the air shaft is the one that littlechen booted out of during a party we threw in apt 27. debating if being right back where i started five years after the fact is worth having this apt search over and done with. tbd the room in this apt was available because the girl is moving to boston to live with her dartmouth '05 boyfriend. the world is too small sometimes. well that and dartmouth people are everywhere.

i'm in the city this wknd except for what is likely an ill-advised trip to new haven on fri night to play harbour at lamb's apt. two hours is a lot shorter than 5 hours when it comes to traveling to play pong but it means another night without sleep or downtime. then again, who needs those anyway??

will leave you with this quote i like from my friend at 'wanderlost':

“let us toast to animal pleasures, to escapism, to rain on the roof and instant coffee, to unemployment insurance and library cards, to absinthe and good-hearted landlords, to music and warm bodies and contraceptives… and to the “good life”, whatever it is and wherever it happens to be.”

- hunter s. thompson

from the archives

sigma delta in a nutshell:

6/30/2005 - author unknown

One dark and stormy night in June, a rowdy and ragged cast of characters set up shop at 10 W Wheelock.

That day has since gone down in the annals of history as the day a legend was born...


Now, after
15 hours
9 pong games
1 mike's mixed with orange juice
5 jello shots
1 hour spent wearing a cape
1 excursion into the pool
420 blitzes
70,000 choruses of Diana's song
4 billion 'Stones
5 hours of sleep

I had my first hangover and don't feel at all guilty that I spent all morning on the Collis porch.

They're out of whiskey here, so I'm headed back home.

present company the best that you can find

i've been thinking about how to describe this past weekend for a couple of days now. still not sure i know how to do this best, but i do know that i've been alternatively laughing to myself and blushing in the subway/on the sidewalk/at work for the last few days whenever i remember something from our 'seinfeld vacation' this past weekend.

we've been referring to our trip as a 'seinfeld vacation' (and we hope for it to become an annual tradition) because it was me, megh, dax and kevin out and about for kjb's (now to be referred to as kjbb) wedding in the berkshires of western mass.

kevin, dax and i picked up the car in stamford on saturday morning for our road trip up to lenox, ma. we drove up route 7 all the way - a gorgeous, scenic road through connecticut and southwestern mass. think the road to woodstock, vt - fields, water, goldenrod, black eyed susans, farmers stands and stone walls everywhere. fortunately nyc and this part of new england didn't get any of hurricane earl, which was threatening the rest of the east coast and it was partly cloudy and 70 the entire weekend. perfect early fall weather.

our road trip song ultimately became a song from the new lcd soundsystem album called 'dance yrself clean', primarily because of the incredible explosion at 3:08 and the completely accurate lyrics:

Present company accepted
Present company
Except the worst
It happens every night

Present company
Excluded every time

Present company
The best that you can find

met up with megh in lenox; he flew in from chicago where he's about to start bschool. lenox is an adorable little town - kind of reminiscent of hanover and the part of main street where ramuntos is. i did my best to impress upon dax and kevin that lenox was a very upscale part of the country with lots of culture and arts and they should be glad to be spending the weekend there. i think it ultimately got through to them.

we had some amazing meals during the weekend - a fantastic chicken liver and almond pate sandwich at 'nudel', a delicious dinner at 'the church street cafe' and some baked goods and brunch at 'haven'. lots of organic food and vegetables, though some of us thought the salads left a lot to be desired due to their lack of anything besides lettuce.

all 4 of us were in a room together at the hampton inn. megh suggested that we divide the room into zones to keep track of our belongings, which was a good idea, but then meant that we spent the weekend joking/complaining that someone's stuff was in someone else's zone, with the money quote being 'sorry, sorry i'm spreading my zones all over the room.'

the wedding was sunday evening, so we had sunday morning to explore the berkshires. we drove further up route 7 to mt. greylock - the tallest point in massachusetts at 3,491 feet. on the way we encountered a picture-perfect field with an old fashioned tractor parked by the road. kevin suggested we get out and frolic so we ran around the field and took some fantastic rural tractor pictures. cue 'she thinks my tractor's sexy' and a christmas card with the 4 of us on a tractor.

there's an 8 mile roadway up to the summit of mount greylock so we didn't have to hike to the top to see the incredible views, though we did encounter some kids from williams at the summit on what looked like a doc trip-like event. the appalacian trail goes over mt. greylock and i enjoyed the fact that we were connected to hanover in trail and in spirit. it was our own little doc trip.

the wedding was held at a farm outside lenox so we all got on school buses from the hotel to the farm. this wedding is probably the closest thing we'll get to a wedding at bates (in all senses of the word), as the reception was held in a barn next to a gorgeous field. this was my first jewish wedding so i learned a lot and got to dance the hora for the first time (super fun!).

the wedding was gorgeous - the ceremony was outside by a duck pond (they were very well behaved during the event) and then we moved inside for dinner and dancing. kevin and i never made it to a formal together in college (though we were often at the same formals) so it was nice to be there together. my new friend olivia has done a fantastic job describing the decorations and food at her blog so i suggest you check that out, and you can get a sense of the locale at the farm's website. i particularly enjoyed the tomato bar - such a great idea. kjbb looked gorgeous and we had a blast dancing and celebrating with her and her new husband.

a sub-theme of the weekend was 'look at your life, look at your choices.' not entirely sure where this came from, but it's sort of reminiscent of 'take a break and think about what you've done' from 'wet hot'. suffice to say that there were several occurrences during the wedding that this statement applied to. i won't list them out here but it was epic and there are now many good stories that can be told from kjbb's wedding. inquire directly if you're interested.

got back to nyc monday afternoon and promptly watched the episode of seinfeld where they go to a wedding in india ('the betrayal') to close out a fantastic weekend. so sad the weekend is over after looking forward to it for so long, but we have extensive photodocumention and memories to sustain us. 'memories? i LOVE memories. drinks for everyone'.

much love to the d folks and congrats to kjbb! :)

summertime blues

hi friends - anyone else baking like a toasted cheeser (sandlot quote) in the now late july heat? i've always liked quotes about months and seasons, and one of my favorites pertains to july: 'july was the month when summer, like bread in the oven, might change color but it would rise no higher. it was at its height.' unfort in nyc it still has a fair ways to go.

was fortunate enough to get out of the city to the beach for a couple hours yesterday for kit's birthday celebration in southport, ct. hung out on a raft for most of the afternoon drinking corona. it didn't suck to say the least. and i like this game where i get to go to the beach every weekend - including next weekend, as vin and i are headed down to charleston, sc for her rugby reunion. charleston is also where one set of my grandparents live, so i'm going to do dinner with them and my aunt and uncle and assuage the guilt i feel about never going down to visit. (i love them, but it's not the easiest place to visit without the rest of my family).

speaking of vin, she is definitely headed to london for work. she leaves the first week of august, which as we both well know, is rapidly approaching. last night we threw our last house party - theme of '90s beach party. i made an awesome playlist (think cranberries, harvey danger, no doubt, spice girls) of 90s music, which alone made the party a success. saw a lot of people - mulley, megh (who is headed to chicago for bschool in a few weeks), huyett with her bro in tow fresh from a dave matthew's concert (fitting with the theme!) as well as some kickball kids, some old coworkers and the nyc usual suspects. i discovered a bottle of diet coke under the sink when i went to put the pots and pans away - vaguely remember someone wanting to hide it. unclear.

and on the topic of usual suspects, i had dinner on thursday with maynard, robin, brogiin and huyett. maynard was in town from colorado for a wedding this weekend. brogiin has been in nyc but had not seen her until thursday. she's got one more year of law school, but she's spending the fall in italy and then in south africa (tough life!) and dating a boy from school who calls atlanta home. she thinks it's a matter of time before she ends up in atlanta as well, so perhaps she's trying to get some time in other cities under her belt before that happens.

as for me, doing dinner with ceppos, cody and vin this week, have a party for work, and we're going to see the 80s cover band 'rubix cube' on thursday before heading south on friday. going to try to post more frequently, even if it's just to swing by and say hi. lots of observations and thoughts to share as you all well know.

ob la di ob la da

as far as life going on, a couple usual suspect updates: congratulations are in order to diana, who got engaged over the wknd, and megh, who is off to bschool this fall. celeste's bday was on monday - she's in italy for another week - but there will be celebrating when she gets back, and brogiin has arrived in nyc for the summer as well.

i'm headed back up to hanover on friday for my brother's graduation weekend. staying with the family at a house in woodstock - way way WAY up a hill - no cell phone reception. lots of bumming around and a canoe club dinner is in the works and my sister is bringing her bf from texas to meet the fam and see new england. this should be interesting.

i've agreed to go with vin to her duke rugby reunion in charleston in late july. as charleston is also where my grandparents live, i will have to put in some family time, but looking forward to some chilling on the beach and being indoctrinated into the duke world. plus - who doesn't love a house party? (answer: haters).

and lastly, i'm twiddling my thumbs at work (ergo the barrage of recent postings in different fonts than normal), counting the days til i start my new job. i'm sure soon enough i'll wish to have this much time, but for now i'm bored bored bored, have already read all my favorite blogs and websites, and going out of my mind.

seems folks really liked the 'in memoriam' blog post and the trip down memory lane inspired by my former facebook group membership. there's more where that came from - i'll see what i can do.

party all the time

just got home - monday night has become my gym and grocery shopping night. i go to an abs class at 7, run or erg for half an hour, and then do my favorite gym class (and prob the only reason i'm still an equinox member) - 'definitions'. all we do is lift to tone and, as the name suggests, define. and then i hit up the dagastino's on 76th and lex after i get off the subway. it's pretty expensive, even for nyc, but i generally buy what's on sale with the end result that i save some dough - $23 dollars tonight!

weekend was a blast - thursday night merriment continued on friday night with coworker karaoke into the wee hours, and then we got up very early, and very hungoverly/still drunkenly to prepare for the derby/gk in nyc/cinco de mayo party we were hosting.

kicked things off with screwdrivers and mimosas, so it quickly became pretty hazy and delightful, but some of the highlights (ie signs you know it was a great party) included the dartmouth '73 and dartmouth '12 in attendance, the fact i spent some time in the kitchen eating shredded cheese out of the bag with a spoon, hearn and co taking shots out of easter eggs, the dance party that happened in my bedroom before moving to the living room, and the fact i was able to rip 'can't be tamed' - the new miley cyrus single - off of youtube for everyone's listening pleasure (it hits itunes next tuesday. yeah, i looked it up).

dragged everyone off to the blue room around 9 for one of the hook bartender's going away party. interestingly enough she's in a play this summer at the dennis playhouse on the cape. memo to self: go home one weekend it's open and see it.

this week is busy as well - allette emailed to say she's in town this week - hoping to see her one night, and then it's media league bowling on thursday, which i accidentally replied all to the entire list informing the captain that i 1. wanted to bowl, but only if 2. it was one of the later games, as i wanted to go to the gym first. oops.

friday we are heading north for a party, but sadly it's not green key. instead we'll be going to westport, ct for a house party at stoebe's house. his parents are out of town and he's hosting what is sure to be at least a good distraction from the fact we're not in hanover. he should prob take a page from my life and not throw out any 70's-era exercise equipment, lest he incur the wrath of his parents, but maybe my dad is more psycho than most (this more than probably true).

job hunt continues with no end in sight, onwards and upwards i guess. i'll end with a random thought (not that this blog isn't full of them:

1. one of the main reasons i am interested in seeing sex and the city 2 is to find out what plot line could possibly justify the girls decked out riding on camels in the desert scene they keep showing in the promo. yes, i watched a lot of tv yesterday.

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. :)

sunshine state

quick post b/c i'm late to work, but i also know i'm overdue for a blog post.

got back from my vacation to florida yesterday morning. i don't know if i can fully explain how much i needed to not be at work, esp after the weekend we spent in the office. the words of jb 'i got to fly to st. somewhere, i'm close to bodily harm' sum it up, and 'the new mental toughness training for sports' advises you to 'work hard and recover equally hard' as the consequences of overtraining and undertraining are painfully clear. in my case i was falling into the prior category.

didn't do a whole lot down there; went to bed around 9 most nights, didn't binge drink, ate vegetables and read a couple books. i think the weather was better in nyc than in fl - it was pretty cloudy and chilly most of the time, and i hear it was a spring thaw in these parts - but i was kind of okay with that. in a ridiculously uncoordinated effort very unlike how we normally act, linsalata and i failed to coordinate our trips. turns out his parents have been renting in the same housing complex that my grandparents live in, and he was down visiting the weekend before. next time we'll do better.

speaking of my grandparents, my grandfather turned 81 on st. paddy's day. both my grandparents are in decent health, although they move much more slowly than they used to, but my grandfather still plays tennis on thurs and sats. so while it seems i'll have them around for much longer, am more and more conscious of the fact that i won't forever, and more grateful for the time and memories i do get to share with them. families are funny - they shape us in so many ways, but how much do you really know about your parents and grandparents hopes and dreams and lives before you came into them? it's hard to think of them as people in their own right, but maybe that's part of getting older too, the changing relationship with your family.

in other news boxa got matched at mgh in boston for residency, her first choice, meaning she'll be back on the east coast this summer! hooray! she'll also be in nyc the wknd of the 16th for a heigh-ho time. congrats!

will leave you with a sunshine state thought (i love pelicans):

'a marvelous bird is the pelican
his beak can hold more than his belly can
he holds in his beak
enough food for the week
and i'm damned if i see how the hell he can'

;-P