weekend update

and last but not least here's the week/weekend update. let's take a look back shall we?

good evening i'm chevy chase. and you're not

the office

tuesday was my one year anniversary with my company. how did it get so late so soon? this is the longest i've been at a job in at least two years so it really was a milestone of sorts. but it also was like - there's so much going on, so much to learn and i really don't mind coming to work that it's just flown by. it's exciting to be at a company where i'm thinking that i could be there for awhile. mostly i just feel incredibly lucky to have found this company, team and job in boston. i was so worried that moving from NYC to boston was going to mean a step back in terms of companies and roles and that really hasn't been the case. nor were my dire predictions about having to be a waitress for the rest of my life when i was quitting my last job without another one lined up even close to true. every day that i walk out of the office and in to downtown boston feels like a gift. and we're hiring - i'm just saying. ;-)

auntie lyon

yesterday my sister had her first kid and i am now officially auntie lyon. i have a nephew - his name is nathaniel james and he was 10 lbs! good lord.  poor amy. to be fair, both my sis and her husband are pretty tall/big people. he is genetically destined to have amazing athletic skills. and possibly red hair though that's tbd. 

taylor's world

christine nannied for a family growing up that has a restuarant at gillette stadium. they got tickets for their 13-year old daughter to go to see taylor swift play at gillette on friday night with some friends and asked christine to take them and told her to invite me. i was very pleased to be able to join as we had amazing seats on the floor and taylor is a hot ticket. my favorite part were these electronic light up bracelets that everyone received as they entered the stadium. they then lit up in time with the music throughout the show. pretty nifty! unsurprisingly she put on a great show and walk the moon came out and did 'shut up and dance with me' as well. we were really hoping she'd get some of the patriots to guest star but taylor's probably feuding with giselle on instagram or something so no dice.

i think there was a little too much drinking of the 'taylor swift koolaid' but the overall message was pretty positive for the younger set. there were maybe 10 men in the entirety of the 60,000 person crowd at gillette stadium during the show, but every dad that was there with their daughter gets lots of points in my book. AND i got to see the view that the pats see when they're on the field at gillette. swoon.

taylor doing what she does best

having a lazy sunday around cambridge today. the weather feels more like september than july today with clouds and rain and chris and the kitty are napping away. have plans to make some shrimp scampi and watermelon feta salad later on and perhaps going to see the minions movie.

on a food note, have you heard of these candies from the midwest called 'buckeyes'? not only is the buckeye the the ohio state mascot they are also delicious chocolate peanut butter things. i work with several kids from the midwest (and several from BC too which annoys me to no end but more on that later) and my coworker brings them back for us when he goes home to ohio. they are DELICIOUS and i highly suggest that if you wind up in the midwest you check them out. or make your midwestern mother's club friends schlepp them back when they go home for thanksgiving.

it's all lobster and ice cream

christine and i were sitting at the raw bar last night having some lobster to stave off the sunday scaries and the traffic heading off cape. i commented that it was pretty hot in boston. her response was, 'want to get ice cream'? that kind of sums up my lovely weekend.

friday night chris had a friend's bday party so we went over to brighton to a hibachi grill place that does karaoke in the basement. it was deemed a dressy occasion by the birthday girl, so i was in a party dress and he wore a tie. we figure we don't get to dress up very often so we might as well do it. i sang a spiritual rendition of 'anything for love' (the less annoying and way better meatloaf song if you ask me) and chris actually got up and sang beastie boys as well. he's a v musical person (played the bassoon in the d wind ensemble! i always mix it up with oboe but i think i've got it right this time) and knows the lyrics to many songs but doesn't think he can sing. the scorpion bowls were flowing though so he get up and did some karaoke. believe me when i say it was a big deal.

sat i zipcared on down to the cape to see the fam and have some beach time. i stopped off at the osterville public library that has this great used bookstore in the basement. i adore buying used books. something about the rush of finding something good to read i think. i read so fast (#selfcall) that i never have enough material so stocking up on beach reading is a must. i did recently invest in a kindle for my trip to europe - i'm liking it but it def hasn't replaced the thrill of the used bookstore hunt.

i got the da vinci code and angels and demons to reread - my recent trips to paris and rome had me in the mood to learn a bit more about some of the places we saw when we were there. i also picked up an issue of the now-defunct cape cod compass from 1968. feature stories include 'so you want to buy a house on the cape' and 'nantucket's quiet revolution'. for the record i'd say nantucket won.

sat night we went down to dennis to go to sesuit harbor cafe and christine came to join us. this is a place my parents have become fond of - it's basically a byob fish shack in a marina. in my opinion the best seafood comes from shacks in marinas. we had some amazing oysters on the half shell ('eating an oyster is like french kissing a mermaid') and enjoyed the view while sipping on these alcoholic seltzer adult beverages christine discovered (highly recommend the cranberry flavor) and 6% ABV). then we headed back to yarmouth to a place called bass hole.

sesuit harbor aka 'dinner w a view'

grey's beach aka 'bass hole'

bass hole or grey's beach is on the bay side of the cape and has a long boardwalk out across the marsh. we took a stroll and stayed for some of the sunset before heading back to the foxhole for beer and fooseball. jill came to join us after her shift at wimpy's and we had some 'gansetts and played some fooseball like the old days.

christine and i were talking about it and boy did we have some great summers on the cape while we were in college. skinny dipping, beach days, ice cream, enrique, boozing and having some laughs - 'never forget your summers'. :)

sunday i joined christine and her parents out on their new boat. they literally got it on friday so they were still testing the waters so to speak but we had a delightful time boating and boozing and strolling on samson's island while being v glad to be by the water (you could cut the air w a knife). we ran in to a d alum on the island and it turned out that not only did the first doctor in cotuit live in christine's house (circa late 1880s) but he also was a d alum. we're everywhere.

we waited out the traffic at the raw bar and then zipped back up to boston to be home and in bed by 11:30. it's so trippy to me how easy it is to go to the cape now that i live in boston. after years of multiple hour trips back and forth from NYC to the cape being able to go down for the day or a night is such a treat.

in other news, my sister is pregnant and her due date was yesterday, so we're all waiting eagerly for news from houston on when we will become aunts and uncles (talk about trippy). christine and i will be heading out to gillette stadium on friday to see taylor swift in concert. we're chaperoning four 13-year old girls so it is sure to be amusing. chris is running a marathon on friday outside boston in an attempt to qualify for boston next year - wish him luck.

and it is hazy, hot and humid in new england at the moment but in general it's all lobster and ice cream. :)

thursday tidbits

• i don't know why i bother dressing nicely when it's just going to be freezing cold in the office so i spend the day in a sweatshirt.

• weekend update - sat we went down to the cape with the idea being that we would go to long beach for a few hours before heading down to brewster. sadly saturday was the one day of the weekend that was not sunny and hot so while we, along with many other frat bro types playing all the beach games you can think of while drinking bud heavy, did our best to make the beach happen, it was not really happening. trying to be philosophical about this - already had 4 days of beach and water in italy, plenty more beach days this summer, MV with my work team at the end of aug, etc. a sunny july day at long beach is just my happy place you know? i know you know. chris did get his first wimpy's experience - we sat in the grill room and he had the sesame tuna. fortunately jill did not drive a car through the front door while we were there. 

• the 4th of july party bus turned out like you'd expect. several of my coworkers were there so it was practically sponsored by my company. due to way too many fireball shots and at least one round of 'surfer on acid' shots at a bar in ptown the night is v hazy. i know i saw some fireworks, sang karaoke and ate some pizza. a good time was had by all.

• laurak and i have been tapped to provide the cocktail/dinner and dancing playlist for karla's upcoming wedding in portland in august. i am quite pleased with the collection of songs i've put together so far - obvi need good dance songs but also cross-generational crowd favorites and lower key but upbeat music for cocktail parties. when it goes over super well i'll share. ;-P

• booked flights for a trip to las vegas over labor day for an early bday celebration for vin. after this past (record breakingly awful) winter i decided that i need more beach and pool time in my life (and will be booking a tropical vacation in march/april of next year, possibly to vieques but tbd). the last time i was in vegas was for work a few years ago and while i had a completely ridic time during my free trip (and also took years off my life/caused this knee injury by wearing high heels the whole time) i did not get to spend any time at the pools, so we decided it was a must do. we're staying at mandalay bay (hello lazy river!) and are going to see britney! pretty excited about this. 

• work has been somewhat dull lately - we moved our entire business to a new reporting platform and method of paying our publishers so it's v much of a in flux time while we wait to see what how the changes impact the business. have pretty much rolled up the sleeves for some grinding over these next few weeks. but good to have things to look forward to like seattle/portland and vegas!

• it hasn't been a completely dull week however - j bond and i went to see the red sox play at fenway on tues for old times sake.  we sat in the bleachers, had some beers and caught up on a beautiful july evening. against all odds the sox won and she provided some seasoned perspective on athletic injuries as well. tomorrow we're heading to gillette to watch the US men's soccer team play haiti with ceppos and her boy. looking forward to catching up with them and it turns out several of my coworkers are going as well so it's bound to be a good time. incidentally - NESN made a red sox nation commercial at prof thom's a few months ago and ceppos and the boy are in it! keep an eye out for familiar faces if you happen to be watching in the new england area.

• knee update is that i start PT next week. looking forward to just even knowing what on earth i did to it. i have been so sidelined by this dumb thing that carrying my groceries home after a much needed trip yesterday did a real number on my arms and shoulders. it's really sad - fingers crossed for a speedy recovery. 

i'm just blogging to tell you i tweeted

hi friends - bopping along on the dartmouth coach on my way up to hanover. it's sort of strange to think that when i get off the bus i'll be in hanover - not my normal method of transportation to htown but i have been able to do some work so that's good (bad?) have a report to send before i can take a break for the wknd - the good thing about going to a college town is there's plenty of places to work that will be open late night!

this weekend we're going to do the moosiluake ridge run - a thing that chris heard about and thought sounded cool. it's a 12k or 20k run up and down moosilauke (i am very much doing the 12k and not the 20k). i feel like the running part is going to be a misnomer - i'm planning on hiking with a purpose. then we're staying at the lodge on saturday night to have a bit of a DOC trip / fab fall weekend experience. i dug out my sleeping bag from it's storage place (aka behind the microwave - where i keep my champagne glass and wine decanter. i'm classy like that) and have it packed with me. a bit of a departure from the normal packing plan.

very very excited for some fall - supposed to be a gorgeous weekend - and i got my yankee magazine sept/oct issue which of course made me super homesick for new england with it's pictures of foliage and dream job profiles of the vermont foliage forecaster (i would rock at this).

last night cody and ceppos and i had some drinks - started at live bait (which, for the record, is not a bar according to 4sq - f that) and then headed back to cody's office where they were having a book release party with lots of champagne, before heading to dewey's flatiron (also not a bar on 4sq) to watch the end of the sloppy, water-logged event that was the patriots/jets game. was quite drunk by the end of it - been kind of out of it all day as a result.

vin and i had a brooklyn weekend last saturday - she came down and we walked over to alma - mexican place on the border of cobble hill and red hook with a great view of lower manhattan. we had to wait for a reservation so we walked over to a dive bar up the street that randomly had triple 8 blueberry vodka from cisco so we had blueberry vodka and sodas while we waited for our table. post dinner we had another cocktail at clover club on smith street. brooklyn has it's own scene - pretty lively - i wish there were more people in the neighborhood to take advantage of it with me!

sunday we rounded up a gang to go watch the patriots first game to professor thom's. through the miracle of synergy julia bond was randomly in town and was able to come down and watch the 2013 patriots pretend they know how to play football still. during half time the ceiling started to leak water at an alarming rate -particularly since it was drenching the table light and the TV plugged in to the wall but we got it sorted out and it got us free shots and the opportunity to overuse 'love that shitty water' for the rest of the day.

work continues to be a two steps back, one step forward scenario. trying to remember that stress is the stimulus for growth - no stress, no growth. in the meantime i'm implementing mandatory 'no email checks' for a little bit and the lack of cell phone reception at the lodge should help with that too.

this post brought to you by itunes

well friends - per usual, i am a delinquent when it comes to this blog. twitter is a much more reliable method if you want my latest thoughts and scathing social commentary, but even that has sort of taken a backseat lately. work has just been insane - haven't quite been able to put my finger on why it's been so bad but i suspect it has something to do with google, being on the leadership team for the first time in my career and the fact that the CFO and the GM of my company are in SF.

never felt this sort of all-consuming focus and energy on work before - i've worked hard, yes, but this feels different. maybe b/c i'm out of work practice after 3 mths of leisure time? unclear. but if it's not better by december there's going be a problem.

aside from that the last few months have been pretty great. had a blast in michigan at the jimmy buffett and jackson browne concert at comercia park in detroit in july. sooo glad i went to see jackson browne - he played a great set that had me in tears (the pretender, that girl could sing, boulevard, red neck friend, somebody's baby, take it easy). definitely want to go see him again. it was great to catch up with charlo and learn more about the midwest. it's definitely a different mindset than the east coast.

was back out in michigan over labor day - last saturday we went to the michigan game in ann arbor. it was super fun to pretend to be college football fans for a day and the weather couldn't have been better, even if i did have to do a work conference call in the middle of the tailgate. my plan to be very sneaky and professional on the call even if it was mid-tailgate was blown by my boss - a michigan alum- when he called me out at the beginning of the call. so yeah. we left at half time but not before the michigan band did their james bond themed performance of 'from ann arbor with love' which involved 007 flying a jetpack over the wall of the stadium - yes a jetpack. we're ann arbor was a blast - college towns are where it's at.

i also participated in my first hash experience - hashing is kind of like a combo of running, drinking and rugby and/or SD meetings. we were running on trails following the trail left by the 'hares' in this park in ann arbor. it looked/felt a bit like new hampshire so it was a nice way to celebrate labor day and i don't get to run on trails too often. we went to a pool party afterwards with the hashes and ate rice krispie treats - all in all a lot of fun.

a couple of weeks ago we got a gang together for a unique nyc experience - we went out to the honorable william wall - the manhattan sailing club's floating clubhouse. it's anchored out near ellis island and you get a ticket for the tender out to the what is basically a large boat with a liquor license. it was a total blast and another perfect day for drinking on the water with a gang of hooligans including vin, fahey and cody. highly recommend it - it's something we should have been doing all along.

thursday night ceppos and i got last minute tickets to the red sox / yankees game in the bronx. we had wheelchair seats, which actually turned out to be perfect b/c the seats were padded and we didn't have to climb over anyone when we needed beer (often) or the bathroom or an obscenely calorie-filled jumbo bag of popcorn. it was a beautiful night for baseball and a great game - even if the stadium was only 2/3 filled and we took a lot of razzing for being red sox fans. one yankee fan helpfully told me that i could burn in hell but his mother raised him right so i should fix my shirt so my thong wasn't showing. who says yankees fans suck?

it's a beautiful day in the neighborhood - clear, no humidity and sunny - so i'm going to run some errands and spend some time outside - but i mostly wanted to post b/c there's been so much good music lately - between fahey's long distance running mix and the billboard top 200 - so here's what i'm loving:

• guitar singer - crossin dixon - this was a yankee's player's at bat song. kind of alabama-esque
• tennis court & royals - lorde - her sound is really growing on me
• wait for me - kings of leon - wasn't a big KoL fan before but i'm liking this one
• red hands - walk off the earth - alternative quirk that's caught my fancy
• wildfire - john mayer - wasn't a big fan of JM before but i'm liking this one
• ways to go - group love - alternative quirk that's caught my fancy
• rock n roll - avril lavigne - loving this one and it's finally on itunes
• wobble - VIC - this one was all the rage in michigan - featured prominently at the b school bus tailgate. super catchy
• acapella - karmin - i like the sound and the composition
• all eyes on you - st lucia - alternative quirk that's caught my fancy
• mine would be you - blake shelton - sappy country - 'what's your all time high, your good as it gets, the best damn thing you lucked in to - if you asked me mine would be you'
• stompa - serena ryder - alternative quirk that's caught my fancy
• why'd you only call me when you're high - arctic monkeys. my guess is state dependent learning
• we own the night - the wanted - like it better than their other singles
• burn - ellie golding - not as good as her other singles but more of the same
• roar - katy perry - we saw them setting up for her in brooklyn bridge park before the VMAs
• boys round here - blake shelton - 'well the boys round here - ain't a damn one know how to do the dougie (you don't do the dougie?) no, not in kentucky' 
• sprawl 11 (mountains beyond mountains) - arcade fire - alternative quirk that's caught my fancy
• best song ever - one direction - like it better than their other singles
• better days - edward sharpe - van morrisonesque
• all night - icona pop - like it better than their other singles
• can't believe it - flo rida - he's done it again 

in other news - i finally gave in and bought a mac computer. it's amazing what having a working computer will do for your utility. once i figure out how to use it i mean.

and lastly but certainly not least - i'm in love with a wonderful guy :)

a tale of two coasts

weekend update - was in nyc this wknd for the first time in a long time. the weekends are longer when you aren't coming and going all the time but i still would have rather been somewhere else. fortunately the next three weeks are crazy - so i'll get my wish!

had a great time hanging out in LA with kevin last wknd - went to a local dive bar by the venice pier and had some late night beach hanging out time after i had dinner with a cape friend. kevin initially told me an address to meet him at after my dinner which i assumed was his apt but quickly realized it wasn't when i got to the house and found it dark and some person looking at me like i was crazy when i rang the bell and said i was looking for kevin and standing on the sidewalk with all my worldy possessions in a suitcase. fortunately we sorted it out - kevin had been at a party at the house but they had left to go to the bar but the text hadn't gone through so i didn't get the update. we all had a good laugh and i went to meet them at the bar. i essentially always end up staying up to 5 AM or so EST when i'm out there - the time change causes the most trouble at night in my opinion - and while i'm def good for an all-nighter now and again two nights in a row often does me in.

saturday we went swimming in a friend's backyard pool and then for a bike ride up the coast from the venice pier to the santa monica pier. it's been unbearably hot and muggy in nyc for the last couple weeks but it was gorgeous on the west coast - felt almost like september out here - warm sunny days and cool nights. it was a blessing to have a bit of a break from the humidity. we went for a swim in the pacific and as i was floating along in the beautiful briney sea it was like this is really my life?

saturday night i met a guy at a dartmouth party - turns out he went to high school with my cousin in maryland and now is in LA doing an urban planning degree at USC. i definitely have a type and it's engineers and track guys (he pole vaulted in hs). we had a great time hanging out (he made me breakfast to frank sinatra on sunday morning. i chopped the tomatoes and olives.) and seems like we may stay in touch. if there's one thing i'm good at it's parlaying one night stands into relationships. we'll see but it's made me really happy all week. :)

this past weekend we went to see mulley's play on friday night - several of the nyc usual suspects came out including megh and pollypocket - was fun to see them. sat night was the dartmouth club of nyc event at the mets - we went to hear the GM of the mets (a d '69) speak and then to the baseball game. things went well and it was really gratifying to see folks from different classes interacting and getting to know each other. glad to have it behind me so i can get on with weddings, fun and friends! heading up to providence, ri on friday with katie and karla to meet up with swanny, maynard, whit, skips and laurak for robin's wedding. hooray for usual suspects, weddings and weekends in new england.

lastly it's just about my 7 year anniversary of living in nyc. how did it get so late so soon? i'm moving in 3 weeks and i cannot wait. i'm sick of my roommate, my roommate's cat and my apartment being too hot all the time. ready for what's next.

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! :)

recap

well friends - lots going on. it's supposed to monsoon in nyc today and i am so happy to have a day where i can stay inside and be cozy. it's kind of pathetic how excited i am about it. i am sort of craving ihop - a bright cheery diner-type place with bottomless coffee and blueberry syrup is good on a rainy sunday - but sadly the closest one is on union sq and i have no one to go with. :(

i played in a company softball game on friday night in central park and i am sad to say that i have been ridiculously sore as a result for the last two days. i go to the gym, i exercise and stuff and still muscles i didn't even know i had are incredibly painful to move. i should also note that i was playing catcher and took a softball to an unfortunate area of my lower body mid-game. it's okay, i don't need to have kids.

went to nyc's resident boston bar 'professor thom's' on saturday with julia to watch the red sox game (aka blow a 9-0 lead and lose to the yankees) and won first row tickets to a sox game at fenway in a couple weeks in a raffle. the game is at 7:30 on a tuesday night, so we'll be taking a half day to get up to boston for the game. guess i was in the right place at the right time. we also got professor thom's t-shirts which i may be even more excited about than the tickets. but #winning.

i do want to say a bit about my london trip that was a few weeks ago at this point. as you could tell from the pictures a few posts ago, we had a fabulous time. really good mix of tourist and relaxation. some of the key highlights:

• had a mad-hatter themed easter tea at the savoy hotel. the little bottle labeled 'drink me' was delicious
• rode the london eye at dusk so big ben and parliament were all lit up
• checked out the war rooms - the top secret rooms the ministry of defense used as headquarters during world war 2. the map room walls were literally covered in maps with thousands of pin points indicating the positions of convoys all over the world. i'm fascinated by world war 2 and it was so neat to be in the underground rooms where the major decisions that determined the outcome of the war happened (in other news read 'the eye of the needle' by ken follett for a fantastic ww2-era spy novel)
• had two cadbury creme egg flurries at mcdonalds. omg they were so delicious
• walked a bunch - over the tower bridge, through the food markets, over to buckingham palace, portobello road, and through harrod's (though there were no puppies in sight. boo)
• had brunch at vin's coworker's apartment. he was from spain and had imported all this spanish food back to london so it ended up being a brunch of delicious spanish delicacies 
• climbed to the top of st. paul's cathedral. had 'tuppence a bag' from 'mary poppin's stuck in my head'
• cocktails at the 'experimental cocktail club' - a speakeasyesque cocktail joint in chinatown
• rode a double-decker bus

all in all, a total blast. vin was a fantastic hostess and london (and the world really) are just so so cool.  got me thinking about where i want to go next! i'm off to los angeles next weekend to see kevin and hopefully a good friend from high school as well.

sunday night

apparently this is blog post number 976. kind of crazy that i've been blogging that long. maybe i'll see if i can make it 1,000 in synch with the 6 year anniversary of the blog in december. but i digress.

sitting here in my apartment watching the patriots play the jets on sunday night football. never really was a big sports watching fan - always preferred to play myself and i get very nervous for my team when i watch - but have gradually gotten into professional football in the last year and now i really enjoy it. it certainly makes sundays a lot better to have something to look forward to at the end of the weekend and even if the patriots aren't playing that well i can still enjoy some beers and wings and camaraderie while watching at a bar.

had a pretty low key weekend - have not left my apt all day and i'm kind of okay with that. had 'fun people who like hanging out' karaoke on friday night and a pit stop at the joshua tree to close out the night. took care of some errands yesterday, and then headed down to the canal room in tribeca (aka TRIangle Below CAnal) to see the 80s cover band rubix kube for my brother's 24th birthday. always enjoy 80s music but it was wicked hot and wicked crowded - remind me to get a table next time. or just close down the j tree. managed to lose my credit card despite not being all that drunk. #typical.

most of my thoughts lately have revolved around plans for the end of the year and the fact i can hardly believe another year is coming to a close. also realizing that a year really isn't a very long time in the grand scheme of things. a good thing to keep in mind.

the holiday season begins in earnest tomorrow with our work team dinner. in the city next weekend and then heading home to the cape on tuesday night for tday. looking ahead to the d club of nyc holiday party and the culmination of my volunteering project, and then tay tay's wedding in miami the weekend before christmas. attempting to step up my gym workouts to do my bridesmaid's dress justice - we'll see how that goes. ideally will be working remote/on vacation between xmas and new years, so lots to take care of before i leave nyc for 10 days at the end of the year.

all in all, feeling pretty good about things - work, life, where i'm at at this point. 'too much to see waiting in front of me and i know that i just can't go wrong'. :)

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. ;-)

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!

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.

jimmy buffett day

my 'guilty' pleasure has become staying in at least one night a weekend. i save money, and i get a day where i don't feel like death warmed over (or in the words of will - the floor of a taxi cab). there may also be the factor of avoiding bad wine and bad conversation - sometimes it seems there is all too much of that when you're out in nyc.

tonight i'm staying in b/c of the above, but also b/c it's monsooning out. have realized the way to deal with awful weather is to just not go anywhere while it's happening. i completely missed the huge snowstorm we had in december by getting back to the city as it started and going to bed early. when i woke up the world was white and my super was shoveling the sidewalk outside my building. i got dressed and went to work like the snow had always been there.

i went out last night with aida who was back visiting her old stomping grounds for the weekend. we went out to brooklyn brewery in williamsburg for an nbc page reunion. i'd never been out to the brewery, but heard good things, and was pleased to discover it was very chicken box or cisco brewery-esque. (maybe it's a brewery thing). it was basically an indoor beer garden, where you bought chips and traded them in for beer, with lots of tables and conversation. the irish stout was my favorite - like alcoholic coffee. worth trying if your favorite local establishment stocks brooklyn beer!

called it an early night last night after being out late on wednesday with the old coworkers - we went to a tiki bar called 'pain killer' on the lower east side where i had a pina colada with 151 rum in a giant pineapple and of course the signature beverage. pain killers always remind me of laurak and our attempt to whip some up in the sd basement with apple pie spice and cream of coconut. then we headed to 'boss tweeds' to play flip cup until the wee hours. good team bonding all around. thursday was kickball so more flip cup and a late night at the pour house.

had to get up at 8 today to volunteer for the 'hands on ny' day with dartmouth. we helped plant a butterfly garden on 138 and riverside drive. it was chilly and an early start, but it really did feel good to give back to the community and we may or may not ever go back up there to see the fruits of our labor.

getting brunch with taylor tomorrow who is visiting the city for the weekend. looking forward to getting her post-bschool plans and wedding details. we're going to try for clinton st. baking co, but who knows how the wait will be at 11 on a sunday.

had a second round of interviews with the company i met with a few weeks ago. i think i can have the position if i want it, not sure if i do though. going to have to wait and see on this one. was kind of looking forward to knowing what i was doing this summer (and summer fridays!) for a change but i guess the goal is to get the offer so we'll see after that.

4/16 is officially jimmy buffett day in florida - the 'welcome to fin land' tour starts tonight in tampa. tried counting the days until it's our turn to see him in june, but it was still too many to go. lots of good stuff on the horizon kids. :)

plinky prompts from this week i found interesting:

3 most historic events that have happened in your lifetime

1. obama's election (2008)
2. fall of the berlin wall (1989)
   
3. twin towers (2001)
   

something historic that did not happen in my lifetime - 2011 is the 150th anniversary of the start of the civil war (aka my favorite part of my favorite subject!)

oldest thing you own
if it's a thing that is actually mine, my baby blanket and stuffed snoopy. have had them since i was a baby so 28 years old.

if it's a thing that was someone elses first, my grandparents gave me a set of china plates with dartmouth images on them for graduation. someone gave them to my grandparents on their wedding day so they're almost 50 years old at this point. :)

should i stay or should i go now

was reflecting that if i were to turn this blog into a book i think the title would be something along the lines of 'should i stay or should i go now: a twenty-something's love/hate affair with manhattan'. apartment hunt/general indecisiveness continues but i've been here before and come out okay. in the words of shakespeare in love, 'strangely enough it all turns out okay. how? i don't know, it's a mystery.'

• finally dry cleaned my trench coat - something i'd been meaning to do for weeks but the weather wasn't cooperating (ie i kept needing to wear it). it's a great feeling when you finally accomplish that stuff. pick one thing each day or in a weekend that you've been putting off and tackle it. it will do wonders for your spirit.

• went to watch my cousin's lacrosse game on saturday at columbia. confession: despite having a grandfather, a father and two cousins who played lacrosse, i have no idea what the rules are. it was wicked cold out there - seems nyc has forgotten march is in like a lion, out like a LAMB - but i managed to get sunburned. people are asking me why i'm so tan. it's b/c we were huddled in the sun desperately seeking warmth for 4 hours. the last time i was that cold i was in a crew shell. the columbia men's baseball team was warming up at the next field over to shania twain's 'man i feel like a woman'.

• i have an interview on wednesday that kind of came out of the blue. got contacted by a recruiter about a role so i took the meeting, thinking that it'd be good to see how my background fit for future bd roles but not expecting anything. turns out the role is actually a pretty good fit, so off i go. some days i feel like life stretches before me with no possibility of change in site, and i forget how quickly things can change so that you're looking at a radically different scenario with little to no notice. but in the words of 30 rock, 'you can't fight synergy - it's bigger than all of us'.

• my grandparents gave me a little sign when i graduated from high school that says 'see the possibilities'. it's been hanging in my room on the cape ever since - i haven't ever given its meaning too much thought, but it really is true. 'life is short but it is wide'. there are a lot of possibilities. and i think i'm going to bring that sign back to nyc.

went on a country music binge:

• 'are you gonna kiss me or not' - thompson square. 'are you gonna kiss me or not/i think you know i like you a lot/but you're about to miss your shot/are you gonna kiss me or not'
• 'incredible machine' and 'every girl' - sugarland. their new album is great!
• 'knee deep', 'colder weather', 'whiskey's gone' - zac brown band. 'knee deep' is with jimmy buffett and 'colder weather' is a great sad ballad.
  
• 'country girl', 'it probably always will' - ozark mountain daredevils. they sing one of my favorite songs 'if you wanna get to heaven' and i'm enjoying their deep cuts too.
  

growing older but not up

greetings friends from the other side of 28. the big 2-8 was yesterday - thanks to everyone who called, facebooked and emailed to send bday wishes. spent the weekend down in dc with lingley and got to dance and eat ice cream cake - so i was pretty happy overall. they're a little closer to spring down there - actually saw some daffodils and crocuses - which was a nice change from the blustery and cold weather in nyc.

am a little reflective as i always am when a milestone occurs - so far 28 sounds older than 27 - and when i think about where i was last year and all that's occurred it's a little crazy. i frequently feel that, in the words of mary engelbreit, life is just so daily and that things will never change from what they currently are, but whenever i look back on the year or even the last three months i can see that's both not true and that sometimes things can happen very very quickly. 'everything can change and it usually does'.

my big birthday event was high tea at the plaza a week or so ago. tea at the plaza was on my new york bucket list (as is the statue of liberty - taking care of that with christine this wknd) so i rounded up rowena, mulley and ece and off we went. we went on a sunday afternoon so all of us were pretty hungover but it was held in the palm court and we ordered the new york tea with black and white cookies and cannolis (complete menu here) and just enjoyed being a little dressed up and treating ourselves to an enjoyable afternoon and delicious food and drinks.

had a nyc bday event at rudy's on thursday night as well. rudy's is one of my favorite bars - super divey, cheap and free hot dogs. lots of folks came out to help me celebrate, did beacoup birthday cake shots and blew out candles stuck in a hot dog. friday morning my mouth tasted like the shots and hot dogs. oh my. sunday we went to brunch in dc which turned into a very boozy brunch when the bartender gave us captain morgan and apple juice (money quote: it's like drinking christmas) and the nice couple next to us at the bar sent me a double patron shot at 1 pm. yes i threw it back like a champ. tonight we're doing the lobster dinner special at 'ulysses' that vin and i like to do with rowena as a final celebration. while the sunday bday is a little weird in terms of day of the week it does provide a really good reason to spread the celebration out over a couple of days!

in other news - was exceedingly hungover for tea due to the fact that the ivy league track championship was in nyc a couple weekends ago (aka 'heps') so we'd been out with the track alums at the hairy monk that saturday night. when i walked into the room someone goes 'this bar is full of speed and athleticism'. and it was. it was also like shooting fish in a barrel. was running game with at least 3 different guys at any one time. amazing. ended up hosting ahallification and an undergrad on the track team in my apt on sat night due to the fact they claimed they had nowhere to stay when the bar closed. for the record, it is possible to share my lofted bed with another person, i just wouldn't recommend it if you don't want to break the number one rule.

so! am back in nyc for a couple of weeks at least. need a break from traveling for a bit before the summer travel season heats up in may. am moderating a book discussion on wednesday night for the d club and then christine and boxa are in town this weekend. never a dull moment.

mwah!

check that off the bucket list

i know i've been a delinquent on the posting front. had a bit of a crazy week and a very crazy weekend down in dc with lingley, so forgive me?

last year over mlk the party went to linsalata. this year the party went to lingley. sat afternoon lingley and i went shopping in an area of virgina where we were afraid for our lives. we decided to have lunch at the olive garden and discovered there was a woman passed out drunk at the table next to us. this was at 1 pm in the afternoon. #youcan'tmakethisstuffup.

sunday afternoon i went to the museum of american history in dc. i love this museum - looking and reading and learning about our country's history give me chills (yes i am a dork). i saw a really cool exhibit on the wars the US has been in and then the first ladies exhibit. i also love that they refer to the museum as 'your museum.' good work government - i guess even a broken clock is right twice a day.

even though i was devastated by the patriots' loss on sunday, i have to say that someecards has had some hilarious cards lately including: 'i bet mlk would have approved of the patriots' non-violent resistance this weekend.'

spent some time on sunday contemplating what would go in a 'money shot' shot, as surprisingly, it doesn't already exist. it's got to be white obvi, and frothy if possible. i was thinking maybe bailey's shaken in a shaker over ice with a splash of goldschlager? any other ideas? may have to ask dana to concoct something.

speaking of money - some money quotes from the weekend: 'he lost his one-legged virginity to you?', 'you decided to bring out the puppies tonight huh?' and 'those sound like all the ingredients for a one-night-stand.' i'll let you decide who said them and what they meant and when i read this again in a year i hope i remember as well.

i'm playing on a flag football team this winter with some of the kickball kids and we had our kickoff party on thursday. ended up running a beruit table with my new columbia '03 friend until the wee hours. can only make one of the games, as they're on saturday, and i'm out of town a lot, but it's fun to make new friends and i'm looking forward to participating in a more sport-like activity than kickball.

was laughing about this website - seacaptaindate.com - last week. can't really tell if it's real or a joke, but if it's a joke it's very well done, especially the promo video. was discussing this with several people last week when i had an epiphany - LAURAK IS A SEA CAPTAIN! so shot her off an email asking her to investigate when she gets back from sailing in the south pacific. heard back from her - she's exploring the islands and eating crepes at food trucks before heading out on a few trips. she'll be back stateside in march

headed up to hopper's farm in vermont this weekend for #rw: vermont 2011. we've got more people and less dignity - this should be interesting. other trips on the table include new haven for harbour/dartmouth-yale hockey, hanover for winter carnival and charleston to see my grandparents.

off to dinner with mulley in the hood!

hazy shade of winter

'i look around, leaves are brown now
and the sky is a hazy shade of winter
look around, leaves are brown
there's a patch of snow on the ground...
- simon & garfunkel

'hazy shade of winter' is a simon & garfunkel song about the depression of winter. not entirely depressed, but it seems to apply to these clear cold days. on nights like this i like to take a moment to appreciate the fact i have a warm, safe place to sleep, esp when you live in a city and the less fortunate people are easy to spot.

just went to a gym class with rowena called 'urban rebound'. it involved jumping on individual trampolines to music (aka dancing). was surprisingly fun, while also making me think of foot-fire and suicides from my basketball days. 90% sure i won't be able to walk tomorrow.

following the forecasts for this next winter storm that's supposed to hit nyc tomorrow night into wednesday morning. i know snow causes all kinds of problems and travel issues, but there's something fun and magical about it. if only nyc had snowball fights in central park. sigh.

heading down to dc for the long mlk weekend to hang out with lingley. nothing in particular planned beyond the jets-patriots game on sunday - it'll be good to be with massholes and down easters for the occasion.

played pong with ceppos at hearn's apt on friday night. i am pleased to say that we beat hearn and olverson three games in a row. and this was superior pong and come-from-behind half-cup wins. good to know we've still got it.

saturday night was the third kick ball - aka the kickball formal. watched the football games, played flip cup, experimented with a shake weight, watched 'zombie strippers' (not my cup of tea), made out with a ref and went to bed at 4:30. good times.

jimmy buffett plays paris in september 2011. still holding out for tahiti, but may have to give serious consideration to a paris trip. after all, 'paris is always a good idea' (sabrina).

current favorite song is 'top of the world' by the cataracts (aka the 'like a g6' 'getting slizard' group). the song has the line 'your daddy must have been a drug dealer. why? b/c you dope'. also liking 'patron tequila' by paradiso girls, also for its line 'by the end of the night imma have you drunk and throwing up, by the end of the night imma have you SO FUCKED UP.' getting a kick out of both.

that's the word from these parts. stay classy.

sunshine state

greetings from the not-so-sunny sunshine state! seriously it's raining and like 45 out. december is pretty hit or miss. hopefully it'll warm up for the weekend - i want just one beach day please!

continuing my whirl-wind tour of the east coast, i am down visiting my grandparents for a couple days. it's a rough time to be out of the office as the end of the year is fast approaching and it seems people at my company are really not going to be around much through the end of the year, but sod it. i hate being out of the office when other people are working - just feels like i'm doing something i shouldn't. but answering emails from my grandmother's couch is vastly preferable to my desk, so i'll deal.

alert readers will already know that i'm super close with my grandparents. oldest grandchild means we've always had a special bond, and i lived with them down here when i was in college junior winter. they're getting older (not surprising) and it's tough to see them moving much more slowly than they used to, especially my grandmother. she's still very with it and wants to be active, but has had a leg issue for awhile now that's kept her from driving/walking very much, and i know it's hard for her. they live by themselves, though frequently have company, but i'm realizing how difficult things that used to be easy for them are now. i guess this is part of me getting older too, but i'm very aware of this these days, and it's only one of the reasons i'm really glad i can spend time with them this trip.

in other, happier, less serious news, i had a great trip to dc last weekend for the inquiring minds. was wonderful to catch up with aida - in arlington, va you can live in the penthouse of a complex, with a pool, parking space AND a bar within walking distance where you can get 5 drinks for $20 bucks. (said bar is the 'tortoise and the hare', motto: hop in, crawl out). something to be said for virginia!

aida and i did brunch with lingley and then bummed around dupont circle/lingley's apt sat morning, including three separate trips to ann taylor loft, when the girls decided the jeans i had packed were not the right kind for the top i had bought for dinner saturday night. met up with the boy saturday afternoon, and i am happy to say that it was really fun. surprisingly wasn't all that awkward - we had lots to talk about - went for a constitutional in the park near his apartment, out for a great dinner at 'birch and barley' and then a couple drinks at 'cafe st. ex' (named after the author of the 'little prince') where we did a bunch of whiskey shots with the bartender (oh my). really glad we decided to do it and it's always nice to talk to someone who doesn't already know your life story. not sure what's next, but good stuff all around.

monday night was the dartmouth club holiday party. mulley came to help out, and we had planned to watch the patriots/jets game at a bar afterwards. 9:30 rolled around, and the party was still going pretty strong, so we joined slaine, dax and some of the other merry-makers down in the bar room of the yale club to watch the game. ended up drinking several dirty martinis (trouble!) and sleeping in the grammercy apartment of a yale '98. there is something to be said for boys over 30, and that thing is amazing apartments. seriously - gorgeous. this kid's name pretty much sums up the entire experience, but i can't post it here in the interest of protecting the guilty. his last name is related to the 'little house' books and his name for short is a color. that ought to give you an indication. we're supposedly having dinner next week - i'll report back.

that's the word from florida. have christmas trees to set up, and doorbells to fix for my grandparents. such is the price of admission. :)

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'