Prayer to St. Phog of the Allen

I really hope this isn't considered blasphemy. My friend Kari sent me this prayer and I found in hilarious:

Our Father, who art in Lawrence,
Hallowed be thy Game.
Thy tourney come,
Thy championship will be done,
In San Antonio as it is in Allen Field House.
Give us this day our deserved victories.
And forgive us our turnovers,
As we forgive Roy who double-crossed against us.
And lead us not into defeat,
But deliver us from East Coast bias,
For Kansas is the basketball kingdom,
And the tradition,
And the glory,
For ever and ever.
Amen.

Rock Chalk Jayhawk! Beak 'em 'hawks!

Vows

I'm getting this written into my wedding vows someday:

St. Patrick's Day Weekend

So while I probably haven't said it before on the blog, I've said it many, many times in individual conversations: New York is a hedonistic city. We live in small apartments so the upkeep is minimal, we don't have yards to take care of, to-go food is available and affordable, as are places to do your laundry, get your nails done, and there is an insane number of bars and restaurants to keep us occupied. Having fun is our secondary job and I definitely managed it this past weekend.

I had great St. Patty's day celebrations with a lot of great friends in NYC. TECHNICALLY, the St. Patty's festivities were only Saturday-Monday I'm going to include my friend's party Friday night in the festivities, nothing like pre-party.

Friday #1: My friend Rommi had an amazing birthday party at a great Manhattan apartment. The likes of which I have NEVER seen nor probably will again. INSANE New York apt. I have never been in this big of an apartment ever, let alone in NYC. Anyway, this is me striking a pose with some guys I met. The one directly behind me was kinda tall.

Friday #2: This is me listening to said guy explain that, 1) women have no common sense, "well, except for you three" (indicating to me and my friends) and 2) that Title IX had ruined women's sports, and 3) "Not all apartments are 6 feet from another building" (Mine is, from two actually). Um, yeah, I kinda wandered off after that.

Saturday: My friend Katie's boyfriend, Reid, had a pre-St. Patty's day party at his apartment and it was a GREAT time. We had some beverages, watched the conference basketball tournaments and had a great time. Reid got some INSANE bonus points for turning the KU/Texas A&M game on in his room so I could watch the whole thing without having to share the TV with someone watching Clemson/Duke (I think). Mad props, Reid, mad props.

Sunday: I kind of threw a festivity the Sunday afternoon before St. Patty's day at a little bar called "Off the Wagon". This bar specializes in games like beer pong and flip cup which many of the attendees were proficient at, as can be seen in the pictures below. And, no, I'm not getting sick in the first one, just laughing hysterically. It must be said, we had the most fun group of people at the bar and our group continued to grow throughout the night because, as mentioned, we were fun.

Oh, and Kansas won the Big 12 Championship from co-regular series champion Texas. Rock Chalk baby!

Monday: Actual St. Patrick's day was a hit! Nicole and I started the day at our favorite bar "The Gaf", conveniently located 2 and 1/2 blocks from my apartment. Then we were later joined by friends, Pete and James McNamara. We received AWESOME St. Patty's day hats from the Gaf bartenders. Thanks John and Brian! Then Nicole and I went to Stout where our favorite Irish band Scythian was playing and were joined by Meredith and Rommi and the McNamara bros! All-in-all, great holiday weekend. Now if there were a similarly fun Danish holiday I could get friends to play along with, this could be a BLAST!

Shout out to Rommi, Michelle, Carrie and James for supplying pictures. Approximately 3 out of 4 days I was dumb and forgot my camera at home.

Thoughts on Basketball

Just a couple thoughts on Day 1 of the NCAA Tournament:

• Go Jayhawks!
• I'm rethinking the Democratic candidate I'm supporting.
• If there is potential to have gigantic 7'0 twin sons, don't give them androgynous names like Brook and Robin.

It's Coming!

So I had my first sighting of buds on trees while walking to work today and some daffodils are struggling to come up on the patches around the sidewalks.

I've seen some fully grown tulips, daffodils and hyacinths (my personal fave) that have been planted in flower boxes around NYC, a practice that has given me a false expectation of spring and is actually very misleading. The best part about all of these flowers is that they just start popping out of the ground one day and you know, "it's spring!". Planting full-grown spring flowers just seems wrong. Did you hear me boutique hotel whose name I can't remember on 87th St. between Lex and 3rd? Yeah, I'm talking to YOU.

So even though its gray and rainy today, I think I might have survived another winter in NYC. Bring on the sun and warm and flip flops and skirts (without tights) and afternoon margaritas because I'm ready!

Adultery Prereq for NY Governorship?

Come on!

ONE DAY after Governor David Paterson is sworn into office in a very entertaining swearing in, this breaks. Ok, yada yada yada, full disclosure, but couldn't he have given us a little more time to enjoy the honeymoon period? After angry, arrogant Spitzer this guy was a breath of fresh air: making self-deprecating comments, telling jokes, entertaining stories about his kids, etc. I didn't even have time to blog about how much I liked him before this came out.

I'm curious to see what the New York Post will have on their cover tomorrow. For those of you who didn't see their cover last week, for your viewing pleasure:

A friend asked me the other day if I viewed the Spitzer situation any differently than I viewed the Clinton scandal in the late 90s. Now I'm asking myself that again but can look at it with the same perspective, that of a 26 year old, not from the differing viewpoints of a 17 year old and a 26 year old.

Both Spitzer and Paterson cheated on their wives, one was asked to resign, the other we have yet to see the fallout. I'm assuming he will be in office for awhile.

I just feel like what Spitzer did was so awful that I debated all the different ways I could call out "so awful" to fully stress how awful I thought it was: underline, bold, CAPS, all three?

Paterson didn't break the law but that's really not what bothered me about the Spitzer scandal. Spitzer endangered the health of his wife, has three teenage daughters (not that much younger than Kristen), and it was so planned and pre-meditated there is no way that it was not intentional and that he didn't acknowledge the potential consequences. Oh and $80k?!?! Don't get me started.

Does anyone else have these somewhat conflicting opinions?

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.