Desiderata

I haven't blogged in awhile but just looked up at my cubicle wall and saw a poem I thought I should share. My friend Marc sent this to me sometime within the last year and I read it frequently.

Go placidly amid the noise and the haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible, without surrender,
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even to the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons;
they are vexatious to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain or bitter,
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.

Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs,
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals,
and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself.
Especially do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love,
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment,
it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.

You are a child of the universe,
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be.
And whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy.

Max Ehrmann, Desiderata, 1927

Upcoming Shows!!!

I have a lot of shows coming up in March and April, all in the same vein of singer/songwriter. I'd like to say that the bulk of them are indie but their appeal is becoming more mainstream and I'm excited for their success.

3/24 - Hotel Cafe Tour: the following artists will be playing at my show, Joshua Radin, Ingrid Michaelson, Cary Brothers, Mieko, Priscilla Ahn. I haven't heard anything from the last two but I'm sure with the company they keep that they'll be fantastic. I was super bummed that Sara Bareilles was part of the tour but that she wasn't coming to the NYC show. Don't be sad for me too long! See 4/23.

4/10 - Tristan Prettyman: I saw Tristan opening for her boyfriend Jason Mraz at the 9:30 Club in DC and immediately fell in love with her sound. If you like Jason Mraz, G.Love or Jack Johnson, she's essentially the female version. I really hope her song "Guest Check" makes it onto her next album. If it doesn't, I'll just continue to listen to it on repeat on YouTube.

4/23 - Sara Bareilles: Yes! Score! My friend Nicole and I saw Sara at the Music Hall in Williamsburg, Brooklyn last Fall, but my friend Ash introduced me. I'm not going to embarrass myself by linking to the blog posting about that show. Yeah, I gushed a little. Just a bit. And Rachael Yamagata is opening for her, and she is featured on the Last Kiss soundtrack and likely to be my next big obsession. If you haven't heard Sara's song, "Love Song" by now, open your ears. Word on the street it's all over the radio now and it's been a fixture on the iTunes Top 10. Woot woot!

All Warm and Fuzzy

Congrats to Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova for their Oscar win tonight! I blogged about them here. Ok, it was more him. If you'd like some MORE information about them (again, mostly him), here is nice article. Dear media - Marketa needs some press!

And a little quote from said article:

"I feel like a plumber at a flower show. The indie rocker in me wants to say it's a load of bollocks, but if you are gonna get an award in this life, why not try and get yourself an Oscar?...If you ask me what success looks like, its a bunch of lads who are happy and comfortable in their skin, touring the world and playing their music to people who want to hear it and feeling like they've got nobody to answer to. And the rest is gravy."

If you haven't done it yet, and you like indie rock...BUY ONCE!

Crafts!

Ok, don't want to turn this into a craft blog but I had to share the link my friend sent me.

This site just drives me insane that I don't have a cheap craft store nearby. I mean, I want to make 90% of the things on that site. Do I have a NEED for any of these things? Certainly not. But I just want to make them!

I finished my french memo boards (pictures to come) but now I want to make fabric covered buttons to hold the ribbons in place. Did you hear that? I'm going to craft the pieces to make a craft project.

If this trend continues its only a matter of time before I'm living on an alpaca farm.

Random Rants

Ok, here they are...sorry if they offend.

• Ladies - do not put on makeup that requires the assistance of a mirror when you're sitting at a table, bar, or on the subway. If brushes are involved, double no no. Lip gloss, yes. If you're like my friend Alicia who can line her lips without use of a mirror. Girl, you've got skills. Powder application at a bar. No. This advice is for your own benefit. It makes you look vain and high-maintenence.
• Also directed at the ladies. Look in the mirror before you go outside. If a random stranger sees you on the street, they should not think, "Oh, she must be going to a prostitute party." This happened. Purple lycra mini dress coupled with a cropped fake-fur coat, fishnets and ankle boots is not typical Monday, early-evening attire.
• Progresso - it is true that an entire can of your soups is only 180 calories. I appreciate this. However, you shouldn't need a strainer to find your vegetables. I am disappointed by the Garden Vegetable Soup but I think I might spice it up by throwing a couple cans in a pan, and adding some noodles, and some more veggies (maybe some zucchini and more tomatoes). That'd be good.
• I have a new arch nemesis...I call him, Mr. Woo (not actual name). My teacher teaches 3 spinning classes per week that I can attend. 2 on Tuesday night in Soho (6:15 and 7:15) and 1 Sunday morning near my apt. He typically attends Tuesday 7:15 and Sunday morning. How am I so hyper aware of his presence in a class of 25 you ask? Because throughout the class he will randomly shout "Woo!" in a high pitched voice. Last night I counted about 15 occurences. When you are pooling sweat under your bike, exhausted, and working hard the last thing you want to hear is "Woo!". It's not like the rest of us are making any noise or capable of it. If she turns off the music all you hear is heavy breathing (no Woos from anyone else). Oh, and he cheats. When we're all sitting down with high resistence I look over at him and he's standing (so much easier). Cheater. In case you want a visual, think 45 year old white guy with kids, wearing biking shorts and his hat on backwards (not down on this head) but perched atop it with his bangs coming out the front.

Random Happy Things

I can't have too many consecutive rant posts or my reputation as a happy, chill person will fly out the window. And since I have arant positing bouncing around in my head I thought I'd provide a random list of things that make me happy:

• Snow in New York - I don't have to shovel it, drive in it or dig my car out of it. It gives the prettiness of snow new meaning.
• The Biggest Loser on TV - my roommate and I watch at least part of it together every week. It's SUCH a feel-good show considering it's reality TV (which I'm not a fan of). This past season it's gotten a little nastier since they introduced some new elements, but all the participants are supportive of each other. It's true, it made me cry yesterday.
• The ridiculous crafting streak I've gotten into lately, In the last month I've finished a blanket, made 3 baby hats, finished two adult hats, designed some stationary that I'll be printing and will be finishing my french memo boards when I get my replacement staplegun staples from Joann.com, which leads me to the next point.
• Joann.com - all your crafting needs delivered directly to your door!
• Soup. Random, but I just really like it.
• Netflix "Watch Instantly" - I've been a member of Netflix for a long time but the "Watch Instantly" feature is relatively new. After I had watched all of "The Wire: Season 1" in one sitting this weekend I watched several movies that I haven't seen in awhile, like "The Usual Suspects" and "Sleepless in Seattle."
• My spinning teacher. She kicks my butt every class.
• Warm woolen mittens - thanks Mom!

XX NYC - Some Advice

Last night several of my girlfriends and I went out with some guys that we'd never met on a group outing. It was a fix-up of my friend's aunt with my friend's cousins' friends. Did you follow that one? Anyway, it was more of an experiment than anything and I actually had a pretty good time. Until I became a 1st grade teacher and took it upon myself to scold several of the guys in the bar regarding comments that they should not make. Interestingly, several guys in the bar (not all in our party) touched on nearly all of my sensitivity points within the span of an hour.

So for all those people out there (NYC guys in particular since these comments have come up before), I have a little advice for you...

#1: When a girl has an original name, like, say, "Roxie", do not say, "Roxie, huh? Is that your real name or a stage name?" because implying that a girl takes off her clothes for money, is never a good way to start a conversation.

#2: When someone has recently informed her roommate about the Corn Palace in the great state of South Dakota, and she asks you to explain it again, when the group is told that it's in South Dakota do not say, "Is that even a state?" Because odds are, if someone is talking about a relatively obscure tourist attraction, odds are, it's in their state. Especially don't say it if you're from another Midwestern state.

#3: Don't criticize other people's neighborhoods.

#4: When you ask a girl advice on a karaoke song to sing, and they say "something by Johnny Cash" and then they direct you to the 'J' for Johnny don't say to them, "you're a really pretty blonde girl who is probably getting a nice New York education, but Cash starts with 'C'." It's not a phonebook. If Britney Spears is listed in the B's, odds are, it's alphabetical by first name.

Alright, done ranting about my night. I'm sure it will surprise no one that each of said people got a little bit of a lecture from Ms. Karpen on the spot. Just trying to protect everyone else from making the same mistakes.

Yes We Can

I lied...I wanted to share this.

Super Bowl 42

Do I have to go to work tomorrow?

As Political as I'll Get

I don't want to make this a political blog but wanted to share a new tshirt that I ordered, that I'm sad will not arrive until Super Duper Tuesday.

I've had a candidate crush on Obama since 2004 when he spoke at the Democratic National Convention. I was so excited to hear that speech and when he was done I found myself giving him a solo standing ovation from my living room. Many things about his campaign have inspired me but none so much as the humanity, natural presence and excitement that he has brought to the democratic party. Yes, he has a "rock star" persona, but he comes by it naturally. He inspires people.

A cute story I read from Bill Richardson talking about Barack that endeared him to me futher:

"I had just been asked a question -- I don't remember which one -- and Obama was sitting right next to me. Then the moderator went across the room, I think to Chris Dodd, so I thought I was home free for a while. I wasn't going to listen to the next question. I was about to say something to Obama when the moderator turned to me and said, "So, Gov. Richardson, what do you think of that?" But I wasn't paying any attention! I was about to say, "Could you repeat the question? I wasn't listening." But I wasn't about to say I wasn't listening. I looked at Obama. I was just horrified. And Obama whispered, "Katrina. Katrina." The question was on Katrina! So I said, "On Katrina, my policy ..." Obama could have just thrown me under the bus. So I said, "Obama, that was good of you to do that."

If you live in one of the green states below be sure to vote on February 5; preferrably for my pal Barack.

As a lifelong conflict avoider I've removed comments for this post. I decided I'd prefer to campaign for my candidate without potential public arguments or commentary. Feel free to email me directly if you feel strongly.

Star Spotting #8

Kelly Ripa is so nice! She was coming out of my office building today (Miramax is on the 14th floor) and she held the door open for a guy delivering printer cartridges. When the three of us were just standing there, her holding the door, him not going, I decided to go. Kelly held the door open for me. What a nice person. Additional observation: she is itty bitty.

Odyssey Years

I ran across this article a long time ago and keep going back to it. It's very insightful and explanative of my generation. I hope you enjoy.

The Odyssey Years (David Brooks) - New York Times

Tappy Tap Tap Tappy

So a couple of weeks ago I had one of the worst days I've had in a really long time, nothing seemed to go right.

Three separate people seemed to have issue with where I was standing, or how I was folding my newspaper on the subway and this all happened before work. Then the day pretty much went downhill from there. So I was telling my friend Marc "just watch, I'm going to get hit by a car on the way home." Well, I didn't get hit by a car on the way home that night, if that's what you think this post is about.

I got hit by a car the NEXT night. Ok, "hit" is my way of being dramatic. It was a little tap, tappy, tap tap. I was walking across Spring Street en route to the gym (AT the crosswalk, WITH the walk sign) and I feel something hit the back of my right leg. I turn around and lo and behold, it's a car.

Everyone within a block's distance just stopped moving to see how I'd take it. The man and woman at the crosswalk just asked if I was ok and because it felt like a large dog brushed against my leg said, yes, I was fine. The driver did pull over and the passenger asked if I was ok, and I could only muster "Yes, but watch where you're going!"

I didn't even get dirt on my pants they barely brushed me but I can now say I was hit by a car. And let me tell you, calling Marc to tell him I was hit by a car, just 24 hours later...priceless.

**This post was not as funny as I had intended. I'm really very ok, and the streets of New York are, in fact, very safe. Lighting never strikes the same place twice, right? I think this should go on my New Yorker bingo card. Tapped by car....check**

iPizzle Button Pushing

Out of curiosity, what is the first song that plays when you go directly from powering your iPod on then hitting Play/Pause?

Some background before I admit why this is on my iPod. My friend Erica and I used to regularly have dance parties to the song "Faded" which she got on an album called Now That's What I Call Music Vol. 5.

The song that plays when I hit Play from the iPod Menu..."Aaron's Party (Come Get It)". Yeah, Aaron Carter. A pre-pubescent kid rapping about a party he's going to have while his parents are at a movie.

I am THAT cool.

27 Dresses

I don't think I often discuss movies on my blog so I thought I'd have a go at it.

I was in the mood to see "P.S. I Love You" tonight but since it is now only playing in Times Square; New Yorkers typically don't venture there for any reason other than to catch a show (Broadway not AMC). So, Nicole and decided to go see "27 Dresses" instead. For a bonafide chick flick, I have to admit, it was worth the $11.35 I paid to see it.

The best part (don't worry, no spoilers here) was when a character walks into her sister's spacious, luxurious, easily $3000 a month Manhattan apartment and says "Your apartment! It's so tiny!" and the entire theater (me included) gasped indignantly. Take a moment, and visualize. The line was nothing about yo' mama, no one trash talked you favorite team or neighborhood. Someone criticized the size of an incredibly large Manhattan apartment. The nerve.

IMDB is TOO WISE!

Ok, while trolling my typical pop culture sites I ran across a familiar face. REX MANNING! For those unaware of Rex Manning, he is a very entertaining character from one my favorite movies from high school "Empire Records". Thank you to Fuse for playing it the other day, I needed a refresher for this shocking information.

I wondered, what's Maxwell Caulfield been up to? Um, for one thing being married to Juliet Mills for the past 27 years. Who is Juliet Mills you ask? Um, Tabitha from Passions!!! That's right, Michael Carrington from Grease 2, aka Rex Manning from Empire Records, aka Maxwell Caulfield is married to TABITHA from Passions.

I cannot even show you side by side pictures because it is too upsetting. You'll have to Google them yourself. This serves as a warning...don't go to IMDB for information unless you're ready for the truth.

IMDB...so wise

So I made a shocking discovery today. I'm watching a little "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" (why can't I pass up a HP movie when it's on, regardless of how many times I've seen it?) and Moaning Myrtle comes on. I was thinking, "I hope that she has a good career and isn't just Moaning Myrtle". They never show her at the premieres and I'm assuming she's the same age as the other characters.

Um, or she's 42. Yeah, Moaning Myrtle is played by Shirley Henderson who some of you may remember as Jude from the two Bridget Jones' movies. Oh and she's Scottish. And anyone who is anyone knows "If it's not Scottish, it's crrrrrrahp."

Two New States!!!

This weekend I gained two states on my states to see.

I went to Killington, VT this past weekend with some girlfriends to not ski. Well, they were planning to ski while my friend Rommi and I were going to sit and kick it. The weather did not cooperate however and the girls were unable to ski/snowboard due to poor weather conditions (most of the snow was melted and there were freezing rain conditions). We had a great time nevertheless (as always) and headed out in Killington. Perks of the weekend (in no particular order)...

• An entertaining drive up to Vermont in Gertie (our white minivan)
• Stopping at the biggest liquor store I've EVER been in
• Having some DELICIOUS chili at the lodge
• Hot tub action
• Watching KU basketball game at the Lookout (Rock Chalk Jayhawk!)
• Seeing Captain Morgan at the bar and getting swag + Rommi/Roxie wardrobe switch
• Being driven home from the bar in a MINI BUS! No "short bus" jokes please
• James "Kari Kelley" Taylor tearing up the dance floor "it was like butter"
• Trip to Target near Springfield, MA (Shout out Jenn Rooke!)
• Dinner at Panera
• Crossing TWO states off my "need to see" list. Massachusetts and Vermont: check and check. Twelve to go!

A Whole Bowl!*

Hey guys! We won a WHOLE BOWL OF ORANGES! Though the game/awards pics are not up yet, I thought I'd provide a pictorial representation of what a bowl of oranges looks like**...

That's right! The University of Kansas won the WHOLE BOWL. Now, I know that many of you said, "KU? They're not deserving of a BCS bid!" Well, I want you to think about that next year when an unknown team that HAPPENED to go 6-6 last year shows up

Yeah, we may have had a marshmallow season, but we showed up to WIN tonight. I'm not saying it was pretty, but we pulled it off impressively. Not bad for a team that was not likely many of the players first choices. Coach Mangino - hats off to you.

*Note: Roxie may or may not have been completely sober when writing this post. Read at your own discretion.

**I found a picture of the bowl of oranges. I'm happy.

New Pictures

I've published some new pictures from recent events on my Picasa site. I like Flickr but Picasa is an easier upload, free, and more space. You can link to it just like Flickr - I added the link to the side.

New Obsession - Glen Hansard

I watched "Once" when home for the holidays and it deserves all of the acclaim it has gotten. Check out the soundtrack. Its been a long time since I've gotten misty listening to music. I haven't heard someone with such raw emotion in their voice in a recording in awhile. Definitely worth a listen.

Karpens Take Manhattan

Deb and Doyle came to NYC the weekend of December 14th-16th. After some minor weather difficulties they got here on Friday morning and we started our adventure. I took them to some NYC tourist locations including a carriage ride through (part) of Central Park. Check us out:

It was a really nice trip and I think I convinced them that people are nice and I'm not going to end up dead in the East River or Central Park like on "dun dun". Anyone who hasn't seen the Christmas Spectacular at Radio City Music Hall has to put that on their list of "to do" for next year. It was amazing!

Bad blogger! Very bad blogger

Ok, so I've been MIA for the last month but that's what happens around the holidays I guess. I had a great time at home for Christmas and experienced my first White Christmas in several years. White Christmas tops brown Christmas by approximately...a lot.

I finally put together a present that I have been thinking about for several years. I know, my niece/nephew are only 2 1/2 and 1 1/2 but this plan has been in formation for some time. I put a 24 x 36 map on a magnetic board and then put magnets with family members pictures on it. Then put the magnets with family members faces on them and put them in their respective spots in the country. See picture:

Even though they're still very young I am DETERMINED that they will know geography. Why is Whitney in SoCal you ask? Well, Whitney will be marching in the Rose Bowl parade on New Years Day between 12 and 1pm EST! Watch for her in the Pride of South Dakota marching band. One person that will be really excited to watch is Gabrielle who requested to watch "Aunt Whitty Marching Band" several times when home for Christmas (Whit has a DVD of performances which is a HUGE hit in the 2 year old demographic). Try to check her out!

Star Spotting #7

My first star spotting not in Soho! Coming home from SoDak Saturday evening I was in the cab line at La Guardia and thought, "Why is Ethan Hawke standing in the cab line?" Then the improbability that he'd be taking a cab and not a car service prompted me to stare at him.

I decided that I'd have to do some checking online to see if there were any pictures of him in the hat he was sporting. Here it is...him, in the hat, from 2 weeks prior. I heart New York.

Rock Chalk Jayhawk!

Yay!

The Vomit Tree

There is a large tree about one block from my office that I never noticed before late this past summer. It was on this occasion that I noticed that there was a certain stench coming from the area that I realized that something was not right. Living in New York, I am not immune to noticing certain unpleasant odors from time to time but my first thought was, "Someone had a wild night last night." Assuming that someone had thrown up in a nearby garbage can.

The stench continued day after day until I eliminated the possibility of someone throwing up in the same garbage can every day for a week.

Then I noticed that the tree had been dropping some seed-like balls and the more that were squashed on the ground, the more it smelled. The tree was the culprit.

So yeah, this was a long time ago that I realized that the tree should hence be called the Vomit Tree, but now that it's fall in New York, the leaves are turning a lovely golden (non-vomitlike) color, I have a new appreciation for it.

I'm a weenie

According to my digital thermometer it is 73.2 degrees in my bedroom and it is FREEZING. I don't like it being this cold. I want my heat to turn on. Right now.

I acknowledge that I am always cold. When home in South Dakota during Fall/Winter months I always stake claim to the giant blanket poncho, so frequently my mom knit me one last year for Christmas. I also steal my mom's wool socks and have the BEST space heater ever.

My ideal indoor temperature is 78 degrees. What is your ideal temperature?

Broken Records

Kansas is 8-0 for the first time in 98 YEARS. Wow. Go 'hawks!

Watched the game at the Village Pourhouse with some new Jayhawk friends and had a blast. Well worth the trek to the East Village.

Star Spotting #6

THAT'S RIGHT!!! Who's jealous? I saw Mr. John Cusack at EXACTLY the same spot I saw Kevin Spacey, in front of Balthazar in Soho. I was walking with my friend Stacey to the subway and he walked right in front of us, tapped his driver (standing near the car) on the shoulder and they both got into a black shiny car.

My physical reaction at seeing stars is still super obvious, eyes wide, mouth open, utterly embarrassing.

Helpful Advice to Stay Safe

Since we live in New York City, my boss wanted my coworkers and I to be familiar with the signs for terrorism established by Homeland Security. Here are a few that I found most helpful:




If you spot terrorism, blow your anti-terrorism whistle. If you are Vin Diesel, yell really loud.







Be on the lookout for terrorists with pinkeye and leprosy. Also, they tend to rub their hands together manically.









Try to absorb as much of the radiation as possible with your groin region. The current world record is 5 minutes, 12 seconds.




I'm sure that you'll want to learn more helpful ways to stay safe. Here is where you can find more information.

P.S. If you didn't get it, this is a joke, there is no current threat, NYC is very safe. However, it is true that my boss sent this to me and I spent the next 15 minutes snorting and falling out of my chair.

San Francisco - Part 2

Ok, so enough about the flight.

I had an interesting ride from the airport in a very scary van with a man who could not speak English nor apparently read road signs. Don't worry, I'm alive. I just had to remind myself not to be a scary New Yorker a few times when he put SEVEN passengers in the van and gave us no indication in what order we would getting out. Breathe in...breathe out.

Jenn was very kind and took me to dinner and we got to check out part of her neighborhood before I crashed.

Day 1: Friday

• Woke up at 5am, stared at the ceiling for an hour before going back to sleep
• Saw Alcatraz which I thought was very cool and did an excellent job of deterring me from a future in crime
• I saw some rockin' sea lions
• Reunited with Molly after nearly a year
• Went to a Prohibition bar where you need a password to get in. We went in through the library. Password: books
• Went down a SLIDE to get to a bar, only injured myself slightly. We told the slide story several times over the weekend. Jenn and I showed our battle wounds to prove our dedication to the cause.

Day 2: Saturday

• Delicious breakfast at Polkers with Molly's friends
• Walk to the Golden Gate Bridge
• Laying on a hill in the sunshine
• Oktoberfest
• Oktoberfest beer
• Big cups at Oktoberfest for beer
• KU football winning 58-10 (I think)

Day 3: Sunday

• Matt giving us a ride to brunch
• Seeing Roxie Cinema
• Brunch at Foreign Cinema with the Patch brothers, Dave and Jared
• Gourmet Pop Tarts at brunch
• Dave giving us a ride to the Sports Basement
• Falling asleep on the couch at the Sports Basement
• Reenacting the opening credits of Full House at the Painted Ladies
• Walking/shopping with Jenn, Molly and Amy
• Dinner with the same

Now that you know WAY more about the trip than you ever wanted to know, here are the pictures! As I remember specific stories I'll be sure to fill you in.

Many thanks to Jenn for being an amazing host and helping eat all the candy I brought into the apartment...and my snoring that apparently can be heard through walls.

San Francisco - Part 1

The whole time I was in San Francisco I was thinking about blog topics and I think I'll have to type them in several posts rather than one super long post.

The flight to San Francisco was outstanding. I took Virgin America which is a relatively new airline flying between NYC, DC, Las Vegas, LA and San Francisco. If you're going between any of these cities, the flights are pretty affordable and the plane has some very cool features.

The in-flight entertainment center in itself makes it worthwhile. Each seat has its own screen where you can watch TV, movies (for $8 - boo), play video games (with the console in the armrest, chat with other seats (using the other side of the console with qwerty keyboard), and create playlists. There were probably 500 artists and you could select the track or the whole album to add to a running playlist.

All this was great but the COOLEST thing is that you could order food on your screen too. All the typically complimentary drinks were free but they brought them to you any time you ordered them. For some reason I thought this was the coolest thing ever.

Flight to NYC: Same plane. Red eye. I slept.

Trip 1 - District of Columbia

For those of you that didn't know, I am going on two trips at the beginning of October. Last weekend was the first!

I went back to DC to visit some friends that live there and some friends that were visiting. My friend from college, John, and his girlfriend Erin came to DC Metro to visit another friend from college and his wife. I didn't get to see them for very long sadly, but it was a good visit.

Gretch was also in town for the night before flying to MI for the long weekend to visit her parents.

We went to Buffalo Billiards for Happy Hour along with the typical PSB crew and in typical Roxie fashion, I forgot to take a single picture. I lived in the moment, that is until I saw a photobooth.

I pushed Sabrina and Gretchen into the booth (seriously pushed) and we got some very cute shots. Awww. I miss us.

Go Jayhawks!

I've always been an avid KU basketball supporter. It's easy to be a fan of something that has been pretty darn successful for so long. However, our football team has often been lacking in the win column. Throughout college we had losing seasons every year and finally made it to the Tostitos bowl or something my senior year.

For these reasons today is momentous! Guess who is in the AP Top 25 Poll?!?! That's right, the Jayhawks for posting an undefeated 5-0 season so far. The first 4 teams were non-conference but this past Saturday we defeated in-state rival Kansas State (ranked #24). We are ranked #20 in the AP Poll, the first ranking since 1996, yes, 11 years.

The only thing that takes away from this great news is that Missouri is ranked #11. November 24th someone will be watching that game, and by someone, I mean this girl.

Best Concert Ever

For my birthday my friend Ashley (frequently mentioned) sent me a ton of burned CDs of her new favorite artists. We have the same taste in music (alterna rock, singer/songwriter, indie, classics) and there were a ton that I really enjoyed. Then I became obsessed with one of the CDs.

The singer's name is Sara Bareilles (Bah-rell-is) and she is AMAZING! I decided to check if she had any shows in NYC and was disappointed to see that she was opening for Jon McLaughlin at the Bowery Ballroom but that they were sold out. Luckily I spotted the little note saying that there were still tickets to see Sara at The Music Hall of Williamsburg (in Brooklyn). I figured my friend Nicole would go with me because she really likes Sara too + apparently Brooklyn is where we go to see music.

She is even more phenomenal in concert than her CD shows. I swear, her label must have tried to tone down her vocals because she was fantastic. Her between the song banter was hilarious. About her song Fairytale, "this song started out as a joke with my friends. The princesses need some attitude. What would it be like if the princesses were drunk."

My favorite tidbit came from Ash, again. I told her that my favorite intro was when she was introducing her song "Love Song". She said, "God I love you guys" then muttered quickly under her breath into the microphone, "but I don't love the people this song is about." I thought she was just talking about an ex. I told Ash the story and she started laughing. She said do you know what she was referencing?

Apparently, her label told her, "we want a love song for your album." She felt kind of pressured to write a love song when she wasn't in love, wasn't feeling it. The chorus for this song:

I'm not gonna write you a love song

'cause you asked for it

'cause you need one, you see

I'm not gonna write you a love song

'cause you tell me it's

Make or breaking this

is that why you wanted a love song

'cause why you asked for it

'cause you need one

And as a refresher, what did she call this song? That's right, Love Song (this links to the song that's on her site). When listening to it, you actually think its a love song and its her biggest hit so far from this album. Seriously, hilarious. We have all decided, we would totally be friends.

This is turning into the longest blog ever. Anyway, what you should take away from this is that you should definitely go see her if she's playing near you and you should buy her CD if you don't have it already. She's opening for Maroon 5 this fall so I have a feeling she's going to be a big deal and the days of $12 tickets to see her will be over.

Pain Infliction

Ok, for those who do not know me well, I have a particular skill for injuring myself regardless of what I'm doing. Most people would call me a "klutz". I prefer the term "proximity challenged". I run into doors or door jams minimum once per week and often fall UP the stairs. If the numerous scars on my hands, knees, elbows, shoulders and legs aren't proof enough you should check out a blog I did last December from when I landed on my shoulder after dancing into my living room with very padded socks. Yes, it's still stiff.

Anyway, I did something I think only I could do to myself. While putting on an elastic headband to wash my face this morning guess what I did? That's right, I accidentally let go of it approximately 2 inches from the side of my face. So, has anyone ever snapped a rubber band on your arm? Yeah, think that, but thicker AND ON YOUR FACE. Yeah, it is safe to say I yelled a few words most people don't hear first thing in the morning. There is no welt or even lasting pain but seriously, do yourself a favor, and be rid of elastic headbands. Ouch.

McCarren Park Pool

The new iPod commercial featuring Feist (you'll know her by the fact you can't get the song out of your head) reminded me that I needed to blog on this topic.

One, Two, Three, Four
Tell me that you love me more
Sleepless, long nights
That was what my youth was for

Ha! See, now it's in your head.

Anyway, I went to a Feist show in Brooklyn with my friend Nicole and the venue was unlike any I've ever been to. I didn't know what to expect going to a place called McCarren Park Pool. I Google'd it and saw that there was, in fact, a pool at McCarren Park but there wasn't a lot of room around the pool.

The GA seating/standing room was IN the pool. The pool of course was empty so it's not like we were treading water, but it was still bizarre. Apparently this pool has been empty for years and just this year they decided to turn it into a concert venue. It's actually perfect if you think about it, the pool gradually gets deeper so there is a nice gradual slope so if someone is standing in front of you, you can still see. We actually were sitting for part of the show. Sitting at the bottom of the pool.

And guess what they yell at the end of the concert. Yep, "Everyone out of the pool!"

Room Shift

I had been getting a little sick of my bedroom setup so while the living room is empty (I'm between roommates ) I rearranged my room tonight.

Note to self: beds are heavy and you shouldn't try moving them yourself. I didn't hurt myself or anything but it was not the most enjoyable experience.

So not sure whether I LOVE the setup yet but basically I consolidated all 4 square feet of walking space into one area rather than spread out. I could do a jumping jack if I so desired!

Ok, I actually wrote most of my intended posts in one sitting so you don't necessarily need to watch this space. I'll try to be better about blogging though. :)

Happy Belated Anniversary to ME!

So, shockingly, I didn't make a big deal about my NY/Harris anniversary on my blog on the actual days so I'll make a big deal about it now.

It's my ANNIVERSARY! I've officially lived in New York a year as of 8/27 and I've officially worked at Harris a year as of 8/28. Some people think that I should consolidate the days and just pick one. Well if anyone knows me they know that I like to celebrate as much as possible.

Since my friend/coworker Viv and I share our anniversary I baked a delicious chocolate cake (recipe courtesy of Gretchen). It was seriously sooo yummy.

Star Spotting 5 1/2: David Bromstad

Some people might be more excited about this Star Spotting than others. I happened to watch his show once last Fall (I think) and honestly the only reason I recognized him was because his enormous tattoo peeking out from his t-shirt.

I saw him in nearly the exact same place I saw Kevin Spacey and about 2 blocks from where I saw Elijah Wood.

Spring Street is HOPPING!

To the Theatahr

I caught a few Broadway shows in the past month courtesy of some amazing friends and guests.

In early August I attended Grease with the Amos family who was in town from Kansas City. I had no idea but Danny and Sandy were selected on a reality show. Sarah filled me in while we were waiting for the show to start so I wasn't completely unaware. I really enjoyed in and behaved myself and did NOT sing aloud though incredibly tempted.

When Alicia came to town we got tickets at the tkts center at South Street Seaport (had never been there either). Tkts has discounted tickets the day of the show. The seats are usually pretty good though its not guaranteed that you'll get to see the show you want so you have to go in with some options.

We went to The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. I have to say they get the award for best incorporation of the audience into the show. The seats actually look like they're bleachers in a school gymnasium. It was a really cute show and I recommend it to anyone with parents in town. There are some potentially embarrassing parts but nothing like Avenue Q.

Blog Attack!

So I wrote down all the things I have been planning to blog about so I'm going to try to take care of those in the next coming weeks. Watch this space.

I AM A NEW YORKER!

What makes me say this you ask? Is it...

• That I've been living in New York almost a year? No, according to most, you're not a New Yorker unless you've been living in NYC for ~4-7 years (depends on who you ask)
• That I received my New Yorker renewal? Nah, I've been reading the New Yorker for years.
• That I've eaten my 1000th bagel. Sadly, no. I enjoy the NYC bagel but at the rate of nearly 3 a day, I'd be as big as a house.

NOPE!!! I was invited to join a synagogue today. I have never been more flattered. The only way I can think that I got this is that I joined a Jewish community service organization which I greatly admire and they gave this synagogue my address. The invitation is lovely, complete with an envelope for the high holy day reservations.

I don't think I will be taking them up on their offer but I'm so flattered. Sigh. I heart New York.

Pros/Cons of Working Remotely

Yesterday New York City had effectively what could be considered a "snow day". I listened to NPR while getting ready like every morning and they said the 2,3 subway lines weren't running because of the heavy rains and flooding earlier that morning (of course I didn't wake up and knew nothing about it). I thought, "that's fine, west side, whatever". It's not all that uncommon for the subway not to be running.

I get to my subway stop at 86th and Lex (4,5,6 line) and I know as soon as I step off the bus that there are WAY too many people milling around the entrance. Once I walk up, I find out that those trains aren't running either. So I decided to get back on the bus to the west side to catch the C line to get to work but no one seemed to know if it was running.

I get to the west side and the C isn't running and the bus stops are overflowing with people. At this point I realize that I should just work from home and schlepped the x miles back to my apartment.

Several of my friends who couldn't get to work, and couldn't work from home pretty much had a snow day and drank mimosas for lunch. Some others were determined and took 3-4 hours to get to work via several modes of transportation. So, net net. Great that I didn't have to spend half the day commuting, but bummer that I didn't have a mimosa for lunch.

One additional thing to point out, New Yorkers were being sooo chill about the situation. Yes, there was minor grumbling about why the city/MTA/whomever can't get it together to pump the water out of the tunnels but overall everyone was very nice. Several people were offering their bus/subway maps to strangers, and commiserating about the situation.

My Birthday Events

My 26th (ouch) birthday was a COMPLETE success.

Sabrina, Sean, and Sean's brother, Bill came up on Friday night and we headed out for some fun downtown. We hit McSorely's bar (one of the oldest bars in NYC), then a few random bars in the East Village. However, when 1:15 rolled around I determined it was time to head to Barnes & Noble a few blocks away to pick up my copy of Harry Potter when I got some fancy glasses.

Saturday during the day we took in a Yankee game where the "New Yankee" hit his very first homerun. It was great to see how everyone in the stadium gave him a standing O and how excited he was. Awww, New Yankee.

Saturday night we hit Stout to hear my favorite Irish band Scythian play. They were outstanding as usual and I think everyone had a great time. Check out my Flickr Page for pics from the last couple weeks, including my birthday.

From these pictures, I've determined there is a strong correlation between number of drinks I've had and how much I hang on people in pictures. Need to work on my bar posture. I have a goal for my 26th year! Hooray!

4th of July...Finally

Ok, since I'm laid up in bed sick, I figured this might be the optimal time to, 1) catch up on my quest to watch all of the SATC episodes, 2) finally upload my pictures from July 4th-present, 3) update the blog.

Yay! July 4th! My friends Jodi, Nicole and I decided to attend Nathan's Hot Dog eating contest to see the match up between Kobayashi and the U.S. favorite, Joey Chestnut. This seemed like SUCH a New York thing to do so we headed off to Coney Island to check it out.

As I'm sure many of you saw from the ESPN coverage, there were thousands of people there so of course we couldn't see. However, when we could see, we wished we couldn't. Seriously, gross, but we were so glad we went. Even when we waited 45 mins for a Nathan's hot dog. Delicious. Joey Chestnut broke the former record of 59 1/2 hot dogs by 6 1/2 hot dogs! It was impressive. You can see the picture of us at the contest below.


Not surprisingly, guys LOVE that we went to the Hot Dog Eating Contest. Thought I'd throw that out there for all the single girls out there. Competitive eating is a great pick-up line.

Um-buh-rella, ella, ella

Random rant: I hate people with golf umbrellas because if they are of average height, you cannot get around them on the sidewalk. I desperately want a golf umbrella so I can walk without getting wet.

I think I'll just pick up some golashes and deal with my little umbrella rather than self-loathe.

Bypassing the 4th onto J.Crew

Ok, so I really need to blog about my July 4th adventure and since I haven't posted pics yet I'm going to go ahead and skip it then come back to it later.

Ok, J.Crew story. I have a lovely strapless beach embossed dress that I got from J.Crew 2 years ago. After washing it (as the label directed) I noticed that something was poking me. The boning on the dress had come out of it's sleeve and was stabbing me in the waist. Now, this is not all bad as it corrected my bad posture whenever I began to slouch, but not the most enjoyable experience.

My friend Nicole, a former J.Crew employee said I should take it back and see what they could do. So I finally got around to doing this on Friday. They said they could give me the current sales price which of course I thought...$5. I will deal with getting stabbed if all I was going to get was $5. Shockingly, the sales price was $69.99 so I figured, I could get a new one online (they no longer have them in the store).

Today I finally went online to purchase the dress, and due to sales and discounted pricing the dress was only $47. I know it's dumb, but I feel guilty about J.Crew's poor system and taking advantage of it. I've decided the free shipping and extra t-shirt are my birthday present.

This actually worked out because I got the dress in a different color/size so it's like a present.

The Beach

I don't need to go away for the weekend to go to the beach, I can just hop on the LIRR (Long Island RailRoad) which I have decided to start calling by it's phonetic spelling.

Saturday 4 friends and I went to Robert Moses beach which is the first beach on Fire Island. Admittedly, it took awhile to get out there (about 1 1/2 hours) but it was absolutely beautiful. It was probably 80 degrees, white sand, sunny. Gorgeous.

We even had a pretty good time on the train and on the way back we picked up a 6-pack and had Happy Hour. I think will be the first of many trips to the beach this summer. Next time I'll remember to put my memory card back IN my camera after uploading pics. Then I can share the beauty with you all.

Note: I, of Scandinavian descent and pale skin color that makes makeup counter ladies smirk, missed several spots when applying the SPF. Of course the around the ankle area, unreachable back area and around the swimsuit areas were most notably missed. Loose clothing for days...

See you Soon

So, maybe I frequent some places in my neighborhood a bit much. I realized how often today when I show up at Yummy Sushi and the woman asked me how I was doing and when I left, said, "See you soon!" Yeah, you probably will.

I also regularly go to Eastside Grocery around the corner from my apartment. It's actually a bodega, where you can pick up whetever you need if you're in a hurry. Friday night I stopped in there to get a big water for the beach on Saturday and finally asked the name of the guy who is ALWAYS behind the counter, Mohsen. Tonight I was craving some ice cream so went around the corner and he remembered my name, and I his. Then when I left, "See you soon!"

I really like my neighborhood.

Lemonade 10¢

Sunday was a GORGEOUS day, absolutely amazing, so I went to sit in Central Park with the rest of New York City. Besides meeting some interesting gentlemen that I absolutely cannot begin to describe, I walked by a lemonade stand that was run by two little girls. They had quite a nice setup, table, lemonade, cookies, nice little sign.

I was actually going to buy some lemonade, thought it was pretty cute, then I realized where I was walking. Yeah, I was on 86th St between Madison Ave and 5th Ave. For those of you not familiar with the city, these little girls live in a VERY nice neighborhood. I could not bring myself to provide them with any more money. Their combined allowance is probably the same as my salary so the lemonade stand just wasn't as cute.

Am I mean?

Cutest kids ever

YAY! Abby uploaded new pictures of the kids! A lot are from Colin's birthday, but these are by far my favorite.

Thank God for Netflix

Ok, if I've already blogged about this, feel free to send hate mail. I never remember what I've actually blogged and what I just thought was a good blog topic and never actually blogged about.

I have a new plan to watch all of the TV Shows I can think of on Netflix and get the New York references. It never occurred to me the first time around of watching Seinfeld, Will & Grace and others that I wasn't getting the joke. Lately while watching these shows in syndication I realize that they're New York references to Broadway, the subway, parking, that I'm just not getting.

Along with not getting adult innuendo in movies when you're younger I think getting NY references in movies will make me happy.

How Do You Get There from Here?

A favorite pasttime of New Yorkers is discussing their routes to...well, everywhere. It never really occurred to me until I heard someone discussing it on This American Life. This guy from Chicago was talking about life in New York City after his recent move. He said that New Yorkers seem completely preoccupied by discussing their routes to and from work. And I completely agree.

Whenever I meet someone new, you get through the what you do, where you live, where you work, the next logical question is, "Well how do you get to work?". EVERYONE has an opinion on your route, and this is in no way a bad thing. If someone informed me of some magical connection that would make my commute shorter I'd probably kiss them but it's so entertaining to listen to.

Also, when someone asks me directions on or near the Subway (happens a lot - tourists probably don't think that a nice Midwestern-looking girl will rob them) another New Yorker occasionally joins the convo to provide their faster route.

So maybe New York's sub-slogan to I (heart) New York should be, "We'll get you where you want to go". That might be the slogan to some car company already, but I say we steal it.

Early Riser?

Ok, so I've decided I either only need approximately 6 hours of sleep a night or I've become super sensitive to the sun rising.

For the last couple of weeks I have been waking up (different than getting up) in the 5s! I wake up, think "what is the sun doing up", squint at my wall clock, look at my cell phone AND my alarm clock to verify the time, then go back to sleep.

This morning was particularly crazy since I woke up about 5 times before my alarms started going off at 7:05. What's up with that? The bummer is that when I wake up at 5:30 I am completely refreshed. Then after waking up and snoozing for the next 2 hours (yes, I hit snooze approximately 3-4 times every morning) I wake up tired. I would like to experiment one day and actually get out of bed at 5:45 and see what happens. I think you just get lots of stuff done, and maybe go to the gym. I have no idea, I've never had this problem before.

Side note though, I am loving this sun in the morning thing. Since I do not have an air conditioner in my room, I sleep with my window open and my fan blowing on me. It is SO NICE to wake up in the morning with the sun and a light breeze.

My Boring Life

I worried I'm getting used to New York and I don't find anything that exciting anymore. To prove that is not true, here are some fun things I'll be doing soon:

#1 JP Morgan Chase Corporate Challenge - this is a 5k race tomorrow sponsored by the obvious. 10,000 runners ran yesterday and there will be 10,000 more tomorrow. While I had great ambitions to actually RUN the whole thing, odds are I will be walking briskly most of the way. The best part about it is the Harris Interactive tshirts we got. The back has a big beer mug and says, "Survey says: 99% of people would rather drink beer than run." I concur tshirt, I concur.

#2 Ladies Night at Mo's Caribbean tonight - can anyone say $2 margaritas, 50 flavors? Yeah, I can.

#3 Park laying - this weekend I have a hot date with my book club book to go lay in Central Park and read. The weather better cooperate or we're going to have words.

#4 Room Rearrangement - I am not the more organized person out there as anyone who personally knows me can testify, but I'm trying to make the most of my limited space. Since I purchased a laptop, I am no longer in need of my desk, so I have posted it on Craigslist and I have someone coming to look at it on Sunday. Yay! Saturday I'm carting several bags of clothes and books to the Goodwill. As soon as I'm done with my reorg I'll post new pictures!

Bad blogger

Ok, I haven't blogged for a month. I'm a VERY BAD blogger.

You just get all these ideas and you want to blog about them all, but then it's just too many and you can't deal with the thought of doing them all at once.

Anyway, this first blog is to let everyone know that I upload pictures to my Flickr site of Doug and Stacey (Scott) Langley's wedding and my most recent trip to DC. I had so much fun at both events!

More blogs to come...

Star Spotting: Political Edition

Ok, so while I didn't see this gentlemen in NYC I'm going to do a special "Star Spotting" with the politicians I've seen recently.

#1: Senator John Thune (R-SD)

Last Monday, while waiting for my flight to DC, I saw Senator Thune running for a plane to Washington, DC. When he realized I recognized him he smiled and said hello. Now this isn't CRAZY exciting because I've met him before and shared a little small talk with him. As student body VP, it was my duty to introduce him in the absence of our student body president when he came to speak at my high school.

Regardless, I thought it was cool to see him.

South Dakota Guilt

Ok, everyone at home, if you want to feel guilty, watch, "Bury my Heart at Wounded Knee" on HBO. Yeah, it talks about how the Pine Ridge Indian reservation was created. Yeah, depressing.

New Phone Part II

My emotions have been ALL OVER the place today with this phone. First, I couldn't turn on my phone yesterday after it fell on the sidewalk. I assumed it was broken and spent the better part of last night looking for new phones on eBay.

Then, this afternoon, I went to Verizon to have them pronounce it dead before buying a new phone, they plugged it in and suddenly it worked. I knew that the battery wasn't dead but they made me sit there for 5 minutes while they charged it and lo and behold, as soon as they unplugged it, nada, dead. They told me I could get a new phone (Razr...grrr) to replace my old one for $50. I decided not to do it then and there because I would have lost my phonebook and wanted to document my phone numbers before getting a new phone.

And then, tonight, I went to the Verizon by my house and the guy looked at it for one second, bent back this metal piece and turned it on. Yay for a second opinion. Still hate my phone though. :)

East Coast = Bad Luck for Roxie phones

Well, I've been on the East Coast for a little over 2 years. In that time, I've gone through 3 phones. This is not good. Now, mind you, I have been a cell phone owner since 2002, and I was on a good clip of getting a new phone every 2 years until November of 2005. Since then I have:

• Lost a phone
• A phone purchased online croaked (prob bad quality to begin with)
• My Razr died after dropping it

Mind you, I HATE my Razr. I have hated it since shortly after I got it when I realized that the operating system is ridiculously slow and that you can talk for about 60 minutes before it needs to be recharged.

So, since Verizon charges and arm and a leg when your contract is not up, I will probably be buying another phone online through eBay. Sigh.

So, odds are I won't be able to transfer my phone numbers, so if you would kindly email me your phone number, I would greatly appreciate it.

Jeopardy - thee are so wise

I was a little behind on my Jeopardy One-a-Day calendar when I ran across this clue tonight:

A. "It took thirty years for the appliance to be in over 50 percent of U.S. homes; the need to bake a potato in three minutes wasn't pressing."

I won't bother waiting for a response because the question is obviously, "What is the microwave (oven)". See, I'm not so odd. However, the microwave oven was invented in the 50's SO yeah, maybe not having one is a little odd.

Graduation Advice

While scouring the University of Kansas student newspaper I ran across some advice for new graduates joining the real world. I found this point particularly interesting:

Always pick Kansas to win it all in your office pool. It’s the right thing to do. Be really annoying and vocal during March Madness in your office if the ‘Hawks are still alive, especially if you have Mizzou and K-State grads as co-workers.

Um, yeah, so admittedly, I do this every year. I know it's not a "smart" strategy but some day it will pay off. SOME DAY. As for Mizzou/K-State grads, I've only run across a few in NYC so far, and I would gloat if I ran into them. Especially if they came to a KU bar to watch the basketball game. Rude, rude Tiger fans.

Looooove her

I am a huge fan of an artist that opened for Joshua Radin (blogged earlier) whose CD I have been listening to nearly non-stop for the last month or so. Thanks Nicole for burning it for me!

What caused me to blog about it now is that I watched last week's Grey's Anatomy episode last night on abc.com (they should pay me for all my plugs) and one of her songs was featured.

Check out Ingrid Michaelson if you get a chance.

HIMYM - Part 2

Tonight was the airing of Tim's proposal to Jana on "How I Met Your Mother" - I'm sorry I couldn't remind you all, but blogger and I were fighting today. The news cameras were there to capture the engagement party (I was totally there) and Tim and Jana watching the proposal for the first time.

You can catch the news segment here.

Congratulations again Tim and Jana (pictured above with the cast)!

Parker Wedding Extravaganza 2007

The Parker wedding was as much fun as we all expected. Erica was an absolutely gorgeous and glowing bride and you couldn't get the smile off Russell's face. Me being the sappy person that I am started crying about 15 times.

Since they met at the University of Maryland, each of the tables was named after buildings on campus. They went to the campus and took pictures in front of each building and left a large 8x10 picture on each table. It was such a cute idea.

Here is a picture of the happy couple! The rest of the pictures from the weekend, including several from Friday night's activities are posted on My Flickr site - see the link to the left.

Some random comments

1) I love bananas - and the one I just ate was PARTICULARLY good.

2) I'm going to Ocean/Atlantic City for my friend Erica's wedding this weekend! Yes, this makes my 3rd trip there in a year. Woot woot.

3) My mom is hilarious - check this out.

You're the next contestant on the Price is Right

I saw a quote on OverheardinNewYork.com that made me contemplate the price of things in New York. I'm completely desensitized by it after 8 months but this quote made me laugh (edited somewhat for younger readers):

"Dude: I don't think I'll do too well on The Price Is Right. I'm too used to Manhattan. I'd say 35 dollars for a box of Bounce. Then I'd be like, 'Holy crap, five bucks? Damn, Bob, where the %#$@ do you shop?!"

So you all know, Bounce is not $35 but prices are pretty high. My friend Molly in Austin told me that where she shops she can get 2 gallons of milk for $5. Um, I can get one for about $3.58. I did call my dad a few nights ago to let him know that I was it the fancy frou frou grocery store behind my house and they had brown eggs that were delivered fresh every day. You don't buy them in packages, but separately. For $.60 an egg. This is by no means the rule for eggs in NYC, but something I found hilarious.

Group Bonding

I've found that one of my favorite things is to have a really unusual person on the subway car and watching other people's reactions to them.

Scenario #1: Well dressed middle aged woman sitting on a bench on the subway. She begins yelling "I can't believe you! Don't touch me! An old woman sitting here and you sit on her! Don't sit on me!" Everyone starts making eye contact, rolling their eyes and smiling. Then when this other passenger gets up at the stop after be yelled from 86th St. to 59th St. another person sits down next crazy woman and she begins yelling at her. While it sounds uncomfortable, it was really funny and bonded all of the people on the car. Not as much as scenario #2.

Scenario #2: A couple of weeks ago on the first nice day of Spring I was riding the subway and I look behind me and there is an ~275 lb, incredibly muscular man listening to his headphones. Now that is not that uncommon, neither was the fact that he was wearing a wife beater, what was odd was that he was making his pecs dance to the music. Oh, and his music was loud enough that EVERYONE on the car could hear the bass line of his song. Sometimes one would go up, sometimes the other, sometimes both, sometimes they'd just shake. And he was VERY into this and had his eyes closed the whole time. The second I realized what was happening I start laughing hysterically into my arm (on the bar above), trying not to be too obvious, I kept sneaking glances and on the second glance I notice the guy sitting next to him. He is half the size of this guy, dressed business casual, and RIDICULOUSLY uncomfortable. That made me laugh even harder. There were very few people on the train not smiling that afternoon.

Not you too Grey's!

Thank you Grey's Anatomy for trying to freak out all the young single women out there. Addison is 37 years old and finally decided to have a baby after putting her career first for so many years to find out she can't have a baby. She's infertile. Hey...we get it. Alllllll of us single twenty-somethings out there understand. You can stop reminding us now.

Ok, rant is over. Thank you for listening.

However, since the episode is not yet over, there is still hope that the tests were wrong or she'll use some homeopathic remedies. I can't believe that Shonda Rhymes would tee off her base.

Successful Craigslist Experience

I had my very first Craigslist experience today! I've been meaning to get a wireless router forever and checked out the Craigslist postings the other day. I got an (almost) new wireless router for $35! Not sure if that's good but about $15 cheaper than the same one at Best Buy. Sweet deal. The woman I bought it from was super nice and said she'd take it back if I had any problems which makes me pretty satisfied with my purchase.

I'm also LOVING my new wireless network. It rocks!

Downright Refreshing

Today is the best morning I've had in a really long time and it started because I got out of bed when I naturally woke up. For the last two weeks or so, I have been waking up between 6:15 am and 6:45 am without the aid of an alarm. Usually I just think, "WHY AM I AWAKE?!?!" then go back to sleep, no problem.

Well, I'm actually pretty busy at work this week so when I woke up at 6:45 this morning I decided to just go into work early. So I left my house ~17 minutes early, got to the subway station in Soho 25 minutes early (I love empty, early-morning trains), got a coffee at Starbucks, then walked on the sunny side of the street to work. I was actually singing. Now here I sit, 10 mins early for work, my lunch is put away, my flip flops are in a drawer and my heels are on. I might have to do this more regularly.

Oh, something else I love - my new security token that allows me to work from home. I got a jump start on this morning while watching "What About Brian?" on ABC last night. I promise not to get crazy with it, it's just really nice to be able to leave work at 6 if I want to, go to the gym and pick up where I left off if I'm having an exceptional busy week. Flexible work...I LOVE IT.

Star Spotting #5

#5 - and up close and personal! I got in the elevator today to go to the gym and I think, huh, that guy looks like Don Cheadle. I then took off my sunglasses and casually glanced over my shoulder and it was him!

Let me tell you, I'm getting REALLY good at not gasping and dropping my jaw. I played it real cool, to the elevator wall. There were about 5 others in the elevator so I wasn't completely obvious. I realized that there could probably be more star sightings since Miramax is in my building. I thought I saw someone else a month or two ago, but not sure if it was him or not. But of course, now I can't remember who that was.

Anyway - Don Cheadle, Oscar-nominated actor, Kansas City native (thank you IMDb), star spotting #5.

Confessions

Ok, I just realized that there is something that a lot of you don't know about my current apartment. It's something that I thought was completely weird at first, and its now something I've just adapted to.

I don't have a microwave.

I know...big confession. But several people have thought this was really weird when they come to visit. I remember when my friend Molly was nannying in Petaluma, CA and she didn't have a microwave. I recall a good 10 minute conversation about the way she heats things. I just couldn't fathom how someone could exist without one. Now, I heat water in the kettle on the stove, heat up leftovers in the oven or on the stove, everything just takes a bit longer. The gas stove does get hot a lot faster than electic stoves but still. No microwave.

As I write this there is something else you might be shocked by, no toaster either. Not even a toaster oven. You can ACTUALLY toast things in the oven. Who knew?

Stranger than Fiction

If you have not seen this movie, you must go out and rent it. I thought it was very funny, a little weird, but overall fantastic. It contained my favorite quote in a really long time.

Will Ferrell's character Harold (who is an IRS agent) is asked about his love life and says, "I was engaged to an auditor once, but she left me for an actuary." I may be the only person in the world to find this hilarious, but I kept rewinding it and re-watching it. So funny!

How I Met Your Mother - The Proposal

I was going to save this story for another month but I'll just have to send a reminder email when the show actually airs.

My friends Jana and Tim recently got engaged on the set of "How I Met Your Mother". It's one of their favorite shows and since Tim knows everyone, he had an "in" at the show that helped him arrange everything.

Since I happen to be the worst storyteller in the world (too many details to keep track of) I thought I'd leave it to the experts. Here is an exerpt from one of the star's blogs.

Something amazingly cool happened. We had an actual marriage proposal on the set of How I Met Your Mother. I just e-mailed Matt Kuhn to get the details 'cause he's the one who set the whole thing up. Matt is a writer's assistant and one of the masterminds behind Barney's Blog. He also wrote the episode "Columns" this year. Rather than condense, I'm just gonna reprint part of Matt's e-mail. (I'm sure he won't mind. And direct quotes seem to be the theme of this blog.):

"The couple was Tim [Russo] and Jana [Rugan]. They live in Brooklyn. I'm friends with Tim's brother. He called me up and said his brother and his girlfriend were huge fans of the show and wanted to know if they could visit the set, etc. I said, 'Sure.' Then he asked if Tim could propose to Jana on the set. I went to [cocreators] Carter [Bays] and Craig [Thomas] to see if they were cool with it, and then we all realized we could actually work them into the finale. (They're such romantics.... And by 'they,' I mean Carter.)"

Here's the gist (and this is me, Josh, by the way, not Matt): In a rare romantic gesture (I kid), Ted takes Robin out to dinner for their one-year anniversary at the same restaurant where they had their first date, the place where Ted stole the blue French horn for Robin in the pilot. Two glasses of champagne are delivered to the table and at the bottom of Robin's glass is an engagement ring. Well, it turns out the champagne (and ring) were supposed to go to another table where a guy really was intending to propose to his girlfriend. (Was that a terrible sentence? I'm having trouble writing.) Anyway, so we shot a bunch of takes of this scene. Tim and Jana were extras in the restaurant, and everyone on set knew there was this couple who were about to really get engaged. (Everyone except Jana, of course, who's just trying not to make any noise as an extra.) So Pam Fryman, our unbelievably great director, calls "second pass," which was the code, but I was totally confused about what we were supposed to do and actually got scared I was going to ruin the whole thing. Anyway, our prop guys stealthily switched out the prop ring with the actual engagement ring, and we started the scene. At the moment when the other guy was supposed to stand up and announce the ring was his (as he'd done the previous eight or nine takes) Tim stood up and said, "It's mine." He came over to us, retrieved the ring, walked back to the table, got down on bended knee, and said, "Jana, will you marry me?" (Spoiler alert) She said, "Yes." She was sobbing. Actually, pretty much everyone started to cry. Not me, though. I'm tough. Well, maybe I got a little misty. But Stage 22 is pretty dusty, and as I'd mentioned in Blog #1, I have allergies. Damn dust.

It's SUCH a cute story and may even air in the season finale airing May 14th. Regardless, they'll be in the background.

Congratulations to the happy couple!

I'm in love...

Who wouldn't be? I LOVE these shoes and I pass by them every day. I was walking by yesterday morning and decided I had to take a picture. This is the trouble with working in Soho. Beautiful shoes that are not priced so that they make logical sense. They're not just printed in zebra stripe, they're made with some type of synthetic hair. Sigh.



I'm actually in love with all things zebra right now which is very fortunate that it's everywhere! Last night I purchased this weekender bag for 50% off (go me) from Laila Rowe. Not a bad deal for $20. I realized pretty early after my move that trying to navigate a suitcase with subway stairs is not a very good idea.

Unbearably Cute

I think this bear...



Might be replacing this bear...



...in my heart.

I will always love Tai Shan. I remember back when Sabrina and I would stream video of Tai Shan all day and IM each other whenever he did something particularly cute. While I don't yet know of a similar website for Knut, the adorable polar bear, I may have a new obsession.

South Dakota Easter Weekend Extravaganza

My weekend home was really nice and I got to spend lots of quality time with the family. In the house. It was a lovely 20-some degrees on Friday with a windchill in the single digits. Let's just say, I tried to spend as little time outside is possible.

I did manage to stop by the Karpen Grain Auction for a bit on Saturday to say hi to my fam helping out with the auction. It always amazes me the number of people that attend the annual event. The first hint is always the number of trucks lining the perimeter of the shop, the second hint is all the people following the auctionner in their work clothes. As my bro-in-law Matt said, "Carhart as far as the eye can see."

Some exciting developments, 1) I got a new computer, which I blogged about earlier, and 2) for the first time in YEARS I didn't eat my whole easter bunny. And while the reason may be that I put it in my suitcase, and could not access it until 11:15 when I started unpacking, it still counts.

On a sad note, our dog Lucy passed away a week ago. She was nearly 15 years old and probably the best dog I'll ever know.

New Template - Pretty

You're at the right page, I just thought I'd jazz up my blog a little with some circles. Jazz hands!

New Computer!

We went to the "toy store" (what my mom calls the computer/gadget store) yesterday and I came home with a new toy. A NEW LAPTOP! YAY!

The total came to ~$13 less than my refund from New York State so I'm pretty psyched about that. It's a Gateway of course and my 3rd laptop, (2nd functioning).

Today is My Friday

Back in the day when I was selling pancakes at the wonderful establishment that is Perkins, every day someone else had their "Friday". Since Perkins is a 24/7 establishment, full timers would get two consecutive days off in the week. So frequently women would come in on Tuesday and say, "It's my Friday!". Well you know what folks, today is my Friday. Woot woot.

I leave tomorrow morning (pre-dawn) for the great state of South Dakota by way of Nebraska and Iowa. This weekend is not just the Easter holiday, but also the Annual Karpen Grain auction. People around the Jefferson/Elk Point area bring their stuff to my dad's shop to be auctioned off. Most of the stuff is farm machinery, but dad has gotten some pretty cool non-farm stuff in the past. Like our pet dog, Toby, that we got when we were little. So, it's a ceramic dog, we still loved him.

Passover

Please add Passover to the list of Transit holidays that I love. There was no one on the train this morning. The list so far this year is:

1) Week between Christmas and New Years
2) Martin Luther King, Jr Day
3) President's Day
4) Passover

I have a feeling that there is going to be a holiday that I don't get off in May that I can look forward to an empty public transportation system. Woo!

Star Spotting #4

DO YOU SEE WHO THIS IS?!?! DO YOU SEE WHO I SAW GETTING OUT OF A BLACK ESCALADE THIS MORNING?!?! None other than Mr. Kevin Spacey who (I am assuming)was going to Balthazar for breakfast.

Not that exciting of a story sadly, I was walking down Spring St. and the back door of the Escalade opened up and this man in a suit got out. I thought, "Hmmm. Well that is an attractive, well-dressed man this early in the morning is Soho" (black suit). Then when I realized who it was, I did my trademark, tourist, open-mouth complete with gasp. Classic.

Update: Apparently Mr. Spacey was on the Today show this morning promoting his new Broadway play, which explains the suit and the early morning in Soho.