What a Waist!!

After 4 months of working out I'm seeing results. This morning, I found my waist line. It's been a while.

In honor of this great accomplishment, I am going to the gym this morning. My personal sessions with Brandon ended on Wednesday night, but I learned so much from him that I can make it on my own without him, although I'll miss him. I don't know if I'll be able to match the intensity of our workouts on my own. I sure will try though.

Today's Disturbing Icons

Disturbing. Clearly that horrible show with the talking baby resonated deeply with the advertising agency that thought up this campaign for Quiznos. It's not so much that the baby talks. It's more what he says. Babies should not be ironic.



When did the Blue Man Group sell out? Apparently The Blue Man Group is some kind of theatrical franchise that can be seen in New York, Boston, Chicago, Las Vegas, Berlin and Toronto. So why not in a Centrino commercial? Because there is no connection between computer chip technology and alternative theater.



This unfortunate icon is what happens when Mardi Gras meets Madison Avenue. Would you really eat anything this giant head handed over? No. Because only a deranged man would wear something like which means he could have put poison in anything he wanted to feed me.



I couldn't find an image of this most disturbing icon of all but I was able to find an image of a child wearing the Great Adventure weird guy costume. Is there anything more unsettling than watching that old guy dancing? Yes. Yes. I know it's a young man in an old guy get up, but still. I never want to go to Great Adventure again in fear that I might see this guy and he asks me to dance.

Mister Rogers Watches Me

September 13, 1996, my friend Jane gave me a postcard of Mister Rogers wearing his golden sweater. It hangs over my desk and whenever I look up, there he is. In the card she wrote, "It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood. Happy, Happy Birthday Valerie! Love, J." I really liked Jane. We lost touch over the years. She was very interesting. She was the editor for the Occupational Health & Safety line of books for the publisher I was working for at the time. 10 years my senior, I thought everything she did was cool. She believed in recycling everything, so much so that she owned a used clothing, jewelry and furniture store. Cool. When she went to Bali with her boyfriend she came back with a bad case of Malaria. Cool. When she went to her assistant's wedding to an FBI agent, she thought for sure they all knew her because of her various anti-estblishment activities and attitudes. Cool. She was an Italophile and an expert in Italian literature. Cool. I left that job for a better one as a direct mail marketing manager for a conferencing company and when I left she gave me a picture of Mother Jones's tombstone with a private inspiration thought. Cool. Sadly, I lost touch with her. In the last message she left me, she told me she married a police officer and was having a baby which was cool because well everything she did is cool. That child is probably 8 or 9 years old by now.

Jane. If you find this, I would love to hear from you.

Sarah and me

Thank you to Caren for sending this picture of Sarah and me.

A Storm Called Burt

BIG NEWS FOR WEATHER GEEKS. A MONTH OF MAY NOR'EASTER IS HEADING OUR WAY. IT'S GOING TO RAIN ALL WEEK!!! YAHOO!!!
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Spent the evening contributing to the ratings for May Sweeps. I hit all the finales. From 8 - 9, I caught the big showdown on American Idol. From 9 - 10, I watched two men beat the shit out of each other on The Contendor and from 10 - 11, I watched Rob and Amber exchange their wedding vows. Oy Vey!!

Then from 11 to 11:03 pm, on CBS news, I watched footage of Burt Reynolds slapping a producer at a premier for The Longest Yard. He slapped the producer because he admitted to Burt that he never saw the original movie starring Burt Reynolds. After the slap,Burt asked him what kind of man he was that he never saw that movie. He didn't look like he was kidding. But his publicist released a statement that something to that affect - that Reynolds gave the guy a gentle tap as a joke. It sure didn't like a gentle slap. Reynolds seemed genuinely upset.

As soon as I can find the story, I'll link to it.
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More Subway Fun

Here is a picture of me on the train last night. Notice the unhappy look on my face. Got in the train at 6pm. . . the absolute slowest to Astoria. Every five minutes the announcer said "Please be patient. We have a red signal. There is congestion up ahead."

There was congestion. It took me until about 7 to get home from station to front door.

S. Korean Cloning

So. . .the South Koreans have made advances in cloning human cells. Not suprisingly President Bush did not receive the news well.

"I am very concerned about cloning," President Bush said in response to the news. "I worry about a world in which cloning becomes accepted." If Congress manages to pass a bill it is considering that would lift some of the restrictions on stem-cell research in the U.S., the President promised to veto it.

It would easy to pick fun at our President's point of view. Because it seems almost backwards to some people that others might find cloning unethical.You have to admit it is kind of weird, especially when you start to really think about it. Granted, the kind of cloning the South Koreans are advancing is the type that would provide the most benefits - from replacing organs to repairing nerve damage and replacing parts of the brain damaged by Parkinson's or Alzheimers. It's called therapeutic cloning and the South Koreans have started with growing skin.What does it mean to grow human organs in a petry dish? Clearly, this would be something that is living but is this question relevant? If I need a kidney and a doctor can grow a kidney from my own DNA and then puts it in my body where is the ethical dilemma? I think the ethical dilemma comes into play when people start fantasizing that cloning specialists want to grow fetuses in large cylindrical fluid filled containers for the purpose of harvesting organs.

I do not support this sci-fi fantasy. What I do support is the former suggestion, that organs can be created from the DNA of the people that need them. And therefore I support the research that goes into making this idea a reality.

Birthday Fun

Thank you to Sarah for hosting a fun party last night. It was a great opportunity to celebrate with you and to catch up with some people I haven't seen in a while.

Happy Birthday Sarah!!
Happy Birthday Eric!!
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Last night, I was reminded of that lesson I learned in Elementary School about thinking before speaking. Always be mindful of how what you say to others may sound to them. I said something last night, to someone that I should not have said because I didn't think first. I ended up hurting that person's feelings but at least that other person felt comfortable enough to tell me right away and didn't let it fester giving me an opportunity to apologize now. Hopefully, it will be forgotten. I'm sorry.

Washington DC

When Jon and I were in DC, we went to see the White House.

We saw my favorite painting in the National Gallery.

(picture linked to more information)

And we saw grasshoppers humping in the Insect Zoo at the
National Museum of Natural History.

Sad Day for Saddam

That picture of Saddam Hussein in his underwear almost made me feel sorry for him. Almost. Showing those pictures are an invasion of his privacy. It is my understanding that there is going to be an investigation into who leaked those photos to The Sun. But honestly, is there really a need? I'm guessing that this was done under some directive to show a defeated Saddam in order to lower the morale of the continuously rising insurgency - both the taking of the photos and their release to press.

"But wait" you say, "Doesn't that fly in the face of the Geneva Convention rules on the humane treatment of prisoners of war?" Yes. It does. The conventions say countries must protect prisoners of war in their custody from "public curiosity".

It is probably the same directive that allowed those photos released from the Abu Grahib prison and that also made sure those soldiers thoroughly and completely humiliated the prisoners there. Soldiers aren't known for their creative thinking. They are broken down in boot camp and rebuilt to follow orders without question.

Am I suggesting that the US military is somehow behind this? I am actually although I'm not sure how something like this would be done, I think somehow they are doing this. Could I back any of this up? I don't know. . . but I don't necessarily disagree with it.

Something Special

I got to do something special tonight. I helped a friend celebritate a special occasion.

That was really nice. Thank you for letting me celebrate with you.

Wha Happened?

It's Thursday already. Wow.

The week is going by fast, probably because I took Monday off from work.

My maid of honor bridesmaids have ordered their dresses. So, that's one more thing off the checklist. Also, we selected a flower girl and ring bearer.

Right now, we are considering hiring a Long Island dee jay who actually drove from Patchogue to our apartment in Astoria (a considerable schlep) to make his pitch. He showed us a DVD of a party that just looked like so much fun and he is really enthusiastic. He can pipe music into the sanctuary for the ceremony and we're considering a pianist for our cocktail hour.

The scale is continuing to cooperate. With all my setbacks which probably weren't really setbacks, my weight loss is actually on schedule. I'm amazed this is working. I should make my goal weight by the time of the wedding.

Yahoo!!

Thursday

Today is Thursday.
Tomorrow will be Friday.

This post is more boring than Sarah's post.

Dulles Int'l Airport

Jon and I spent two days in DC. We flew in Sunday morning and flew back last night.

On Sunday, we left NY from LaGuardia at 7 in the morning and arrived at Ronald Reagan Airport around 8. That was easy. We checked into the hotel and spent the day, walking around, looking at the White House, visiting the National Archives, and looking through the National Gallery and National Museum of Natural History. We were staying near the White House and walked everywhere. We walked for 6 straight hours and the only time we rode the Metro was to get from the airport to the hotel. It was a great day.

On Monday, we visited the Renwick Gallery, the Corcoran and the mall. We walked around the WWII memorial and enjoyed it this time. Last year, when we went it was 97 degrees and way too hot to really appreciate the memorial. This year it was a cool and breezy 70 something degrees. Much better time of year to visit. We walked along the Reflecting Pool toward the Lincoln Monument and took a closer look at the Korean War Memorial.

Then we started back. We picked up our bags from the hotel, took the Orange line to West Falls Church and a shuttle to the airport. That was easy. Dulles was difficult. There were people everywhere crowding and pushing. We found a line, checked in but it tooka while to figure out what was going on. Of course, our ticket counter was the furthest away from where we were dropped off. Then we waited on a confusing security line. There were 6 or 7 lines that all wrapped around each other and somehow, airport security employees were able to manage them and direct everyone.

After we went through confusing security we had to take a shuttle bus to our departure gate.

Long story short, I was pooped by the time we boarded our plane, which taxied for half an hour before taking off. Arriving at JFK seemed easy after all that work.

But we made it back and we had a good time and it all that travelling was worth it because DC is a great place to visit.

Dave Chappelle

Dave Chappelle is taking some kind of sabbatical, postponing the third season of his hit show on Comedy Central. What I find hard to believe is that he's 31 years old. I thought for shizzle he was older. I know that he's alive and okay because the article I linked to above and several news stories that I've heard put him in South Africa. He's been working pretty hard for a long time. He's always been funny. The LA Times article said that he's been in 12 pilots that have failed and that finally he's had some success with the Chappelle show on Comedy Central.

My guess is that after struggling for so long, a great success like his probably came with a cost. It was a shock to his system and he needs some time to come to terms with it.

I'm sure after a few months of rest and relaxation . . .

Baby Story a Hoax?

Upon going back to the news story at the below link, I found that it's been pulled.My friend and I have been going back and forth on the possibility that the news story about the 12-year-old Maryland girl that looks like a baby is a hoax.

Here is the result of the search I found on my friend's site, which pulled more results than mine, which is why I'm using it. Her search found 56 links to news websites that printed the same article. All 56 links have been taken down. If you go to any of the above you will find the article is not available.

Jon and I have been searching this morning for any other mention of this girl and her strange syndrome which, according to yesterday's article, only she suffers from.

There is nothing. . .

A Strange Story Indeed

I found this story on Drudge's front cover and found it sad and compelling so I want to share it with you here.

The story is about a 12 year old girl who hasn't aged since she was a baby. She looks like a toddler and seems to be stuck in time and developmentally speaking she hasnt' come very far at all - her skills match those of a toddler.

As far as anyone knows, according to the article, this girl is the only person in the world suffering from this strange ailment.

She is in poor health and professionals attribute the love and support that she receives from her family with her ability to thrive

My Brother

Yes. It is true. My brother is the author of NYC MTA STINKS!! He is as irate about the subways as I am if not more so. I was inconvenienced on the subway this morning, but I'm saving that story for his website as I have been given writing privileges.

Today is Friday the 13th. I hope everybody packed an extra vile of holy water this mornign to fend off the evil demons, bad omens and oncoming wickedness.

I added Andrew Sullivan's blog to my list of media blogs. He's funny.

NYC MTA Stinks

Is the title of this blog God's honest truth or is it a fantastic new website by a very frustrated new blogger?

It is both.

Visit NYC MTA STINKS and comment freely. He makes some very good points.

Happy Mother's Day

. . . to my mother and my adopted mothers. To my mother especially, I would like to thank you for bringing me into the world because without you, I wouldn't be here. Hopefully, it won't be too long before I'm celebrating Mother's Day with you.

What are WE doing today? Well, since we spent Passover with my family, we're spending Mother's Day with Jon's. We'll be going down to Princeton, meeting his cousins and then joining Jon's mom and aunt for dinner a little bit later.I'm looking forward to seeing Princeton again. It's very pretty down there.

Here's Spit In Your Eye

Now that winter is gone, I was looking forward to a season or two of NO SPITTING. December 21st in the city is not only the beginning of winter, it is also the beginning of SPITTING SEASON. But no. This year, the end of spitting season is overlapping with the beginning of Spring.

What is WRONG with people?

It seems as though men and women alike in Astoria and other parts of the city are so full of spit once the mercury dips below a certain temperature that the spit just flies out of them. And you know it's just not spit, right? It's some horrible substance SPITTERS produce that comes deep from within the most secret places of their lungs. You see it everywhere, if you look closely enough - going up the stairs in very cold winter you can see frozen spittle hanging off every step in front of you. But it's not very cold winter anymore, so I'm confused. Perhaps allergy season is taking ever the responsibilty of SPITTING SEASON from winter.

The absolute worst offender of this crime against being a good neighbour is the person 5 feet in front of you who spits and leaves their mark in your path. Because now not only have you had to suffer the indignity of having to accidentally watch somebody SPIT, but now you have to walk around their spit, making walking in the city even less relaxing than it already was.

Spit and dog piss covered sidewalks are a good reason to adopt the practice of removing your shoes at the entrance way to your apartment or home. I know people who do this and I admire them. I'm really trying to get into the practice but even as I speak my sneakers are at my socked feet awaiting my departure for my early Sunday appointment at the gym.

Here is my plea to spitters every where. JUST SWALLOW IT and spit later when you get home OR YOU CAN SPIT INTO A TISSUE OR NAPKIN AND THROW IT AWAY IN THE GARBAGE. DUH!!!!!!!

We have to live here also. So you and your nasty SPITTING friends should just think about this.

The Reviews Are In

The reviews are starting to come in anyway, as Lucas completes the mediocre prequel his exciting Star Wars trilogy.

Variety gives the movie a tepid review but finds it much improved over the first two in movies in the three part prequel.

T.G.I.F.

I'm ready for the weekend. Are you?

I sent my mother an azalea plant for Mother's Day at her office. She received it yesterday. Infinitely more fun than sending someone flowers at home, because everyone loves to receive flowers at work.

I'm worn out and can't think of anything to write.

Oh yeah. My BuffBride workouts on Wed and Frid have been moved to 8pm from 6:30 am , so I'll be going to the gym on Friday nights now. Sorry to all the people out there, who wanted to hang out with on Friday nights but I'll be tied up for a while - actually not too much longer since the program is almost over.

I'm done.

Mitch Hedberg Passed Away. Sad.

I was sad to learn this morning that comedian Mitch Hedberg passed away. He was only 36 years old. You may not have heard of him. I barely knew who he was but I'd seen enough of his comedy on television to appreciate his humor. He was funny, really funny, f-ing hilarious.

He died back in March. The reason I found out is that someone did a search for his obit and it led that person to my page because I posted something about him well OVER a year ago. It is also a little jarring because he is around my age and I probably would have been friends with him in high school had we gone to the same high school.

Rest in peace, Mitch Hedberg. My heart goes out to your family.

Cinco de Mayo

Happy 5th of May.

You can read about it here. Wikipedia is GREAT!!!

The Zonkey (Zeedonk)

Last week, I wrote that Jon had a byline but it was only in the early edition. In the late edition, in the place where Jon's headline had previously appeared was a story about a ZONKEY. A pet zebra in Barbados became friendly with a local donkey because her partner had fallen ill. The above Zonkey is the result of this union. When Jon first told me about the story, I thought of The Island of Dr. Moreau. On this fictional island created by H.G. Wells, a mad scientist interbreeds several species, splices their DNA or something to that effect, in order to create entirely new species. I guess zebras and donkeys aren't really that different and it's not the first time in history that zebras have bred with another equinesque animal. It really isn't too much different than blending breeds of dogs in order to create new breeds, like the Peekapoo and the Labradoodle. Maybe the ZONKEY will catch on and soon we all can own one.

Yet Another Non-News Story

The big non-news story of the day seems to be that Paula Abdul allegedly had an affair with an American Idol contestant several years back. Whether it's true or not doesn't matter since the judges don't pick the winner - millions and millions of interested home viewers pick the winner - making this in an ABSOLUTE NON-NEWS STORY.

IN OTHER NON-NEWS
Now available - 15 pound hamburgers. 10.5 pounds of beef, 25 slices of cheese, a head of lettuce, three tomatoes, two onions, a cup-and-a-half each of mayonnaise, relish, ketchup, mustard and banana peppers - and a bun.

New Blog Template

As if I don't have enough to do in the morning, I started looking for a new template for this blog. I didn't see anything else I liked. Argh. I guess I'll need to play with this one.
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My bath is waiting for me; my nice, hot morning bath awaits. I am still a little bit achy from Sunday morning's workout. My scale has decided to cooperate once again. I hope my scale is right.
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Jon and I are starting to meet with DeeJays. Our first appointment is Wednesday morning. I am looking forward to the Wed. am meeting because this group will bring in other professionals to suit your wants. For example, they would bring in a jazz trio for us if we wanted. Then on Thursday night, one of those guys is coming to our house I am not looking forward to this meeting, because this guy in particular is an extremely high pressure salesman who has followed up with me four times, to make sure I got his package, to see where we are, to check what we are eating for dinner - and Jon won't be here and I'll miss Survivor a second week in a row.
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If you haven't noticed, Sarah is back and is posting picures of her Paris adventures. I am particularly fond of the picture that should be entitled "WOMAN ADMIRING DILDO". Because it is just that. That title tells you exactly what you need to know about the picture and so does the picture by the way.

May Day

May is here. That means that we're one month closer to summer, which means that the weird muggy, uncomfortable weather isn't too far behind. Am I alone? Am I the only one that thinks summer in New York City is overrated?

The weekend flew by so quickly because it was full of ANTI-MISANTRHOPIC activities. Saturday morning I performed a clutterdectomy on our apartment. Inspired by TLC's Clean Sweep, I went threw my collections and got rid of stuff. For example. I had about 100 playbills that I collected from Broadway shows I worked when I had a parttime theater job. I only kept the Playbills whose (notice the proper use of the word whose) covers were in color. Those are traditionally used for the first season a play is out and have some value I think. I had so many including about 20 from Chicago, which I was keeping because of the changing casts. I also threw away flute music I haven't looked at in 10 years. That was tough but it was also music that a friend lent me 20 or so years ago and that I never returned. Heck. . .I was only friend with the person for 2 months. There was no emotional or financial investment in that pile of music and I have no idea at all why I was keeping it.Granted, our house isn't any where near as cluttered as the people they feature on Clean Sweep but it still felt good to get started. Next weekend I'll tackle something else - perhaps get rid of some my old CD's that I don't care for anymore.

The rest of Saturday was devoted to preparing for our dinner party. We had our friends over and it was lovely. Of course, I went overboard with the food, as usual. I realize now that four people can not possibly consume a 14.5 pound turkey in one sitting. Leftovers were abundant and I won't have to cook for a few nights. Our guests brought us a bottle of wine with a really cute name. Goats Do Roam. Aside from being a great pun the name also sums up how this wine maker discovered the grapes for his wine. Turns out, their goats were left to pick a grape and that's the one Charles Black chose. It was yummy. Between the trytophan and the tannens (sp?) we were all feeling pretty relaxed, so much so that we all last track of the time and ended pretty late. I know one of my guests had to be up early for work. I had to wake up early for the gym. It was nice to have people over.

Sunday, I worked out, relaxed most of the day and had dinner at the Fitzpatrick Hotel in Manhattan with Jon and his friend and wife and wife's dad and wife's cousin. Nice people, glad to have met them but by 8:00 I was done. I abandoned them after dinner and went home to get some rest and to finish up some work I was doing for my office. Jon continued on with the group and had a good time.

How was your weekend?

English Genius

It's nice to know that my English skills are still up to snuff.

Take the test and see how you do.

Via Vidiot

English Genius
You scored 100% Beginner, 100% Intermediate, 93% Advanced, and 93% Expert! You did so extremely well, even I can't find a word to describe your excellence! You have the uncommon intelligence necessary to understand things that most people don't. You have an extensive vocabulary, and you're not afraid to use it properly! Way to go!

Thank you so much for taking my test. I hope you enjoyed it!

For the complete Answer Key, visit my blog: http://shortredhead78.blogspot.com/.

Dating Amnesia

The Anonymous Bloggette wrote on April 4th that something happens to some women when they start dating, that they get dating amnesia and start blaming the "single girl" for her state of aloneness. I would like to say to the Bloggette that I HAVE NOT FORGOTTEN. I was single fora very long time. Part of that time I spent single and not dating intentionally. Why? Because the two relationships I was in during the four year span before my 26th birthday had both turned out to be disasters.

I took some time to be on my own and figure out who I was. I recognized after a considerable amount of self analysis that my behavior was to blame for both situations - that I was not smart enough to realize that I didn't have to stay in either of those relationships. There's more to it, but I'm not into confessing my flaws and besides they are not the point of this post.

After about 5 years or so of being on my own and establishing my own strong identity, I started joining group activities.

Here is the point. I joined those group activities in the interest of growing myself and to benefit from the secondary purpose of any institution, socializing. I looked and scoured and tried to find someone new for my new personality. Was I to blame for not being able to find someone? I was actively looking. I did find people I liked but they were poorly chosen because they didn't return my feelings. Finally, I found an activity that I really, really enjoyed and through that activity found the one I'm going to marry.

Finding someone is a long hard process and the way to go about it is different for everyone. The single person is not to blame for being single especially if they are being open minded and giving others a chance by dating, talking, doing, seeing, listening, etcetera. You also have to know yourself better than you ever have before. It is only through knowing yourself that you will know who is and isn't right for you.

If you are NOT TRYING and NOT GIVING OTHERS A CHANCE and NOT WORKING ON YOURSELF then YOU ARE TO BLAME.

Do you think the right person is just going to knock on your door and ask to borrow a cup of sugar or some cleaning solution? No. You have to go somewhere and be seen as well as see others. You have to be noticeable. You have to be out there.

Now, that last bit of advice is NOT Anonymous Bloggette specific. I know the Bloggette is out there and really working hard and building relationships and keeping it real. That last bit is for those who happen upon this page and need to read that and need to hear and believe it as the wake up call it is.

For those who are trying, I don't know what to tell you. There is nothing anyone can say to help especially if you feel you are doing everything you can. Perhaps look at what you're doing and keep switching it up so you don't get stale or too jaded. Make sure you are not sabotaging yourself with unconscious body language and negativity.

Just know that I threw in the dating towel a long time ago. Joining trivia was just to keep me active and social and meeting new people so I wouldn't disappear among people my age. Finding Jon was a pleasant and wonderful surprise. I was lucky. Perhaps you need a bit of luck. I know I sure did. My luck had been bad for several years previous. But now I feel that my luck is better. But I worked hard for that turn of luck. As my mother says . . . "The harder you work, the luckier you get" but that's not always true either. Sometimes you are just working harder.

Today is Friday

Jon has a byline in today's New York Post. See if you can find it. I'm very proud of him.

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Today is Friday, Friday, Friday
It will be a fun day, fun day
All day long.
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That's right boys and girls. It's Friday morning and I'm recovering from my Friday morning workout with Brandon. Actually, he went a little easy on me this morning which I really appreciated. Wednesday morning's workout had me in tears. My body can not do what my mind envisions and that can lead to frustration sometimes. Brandon is a good guy. He talked me into feeling better and we're tweeking some things in my diet. My body plateaued and my weight isn't budging although my body fat is down 1 full per cent.
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I'm drinking POM wonderful 100% pomegranate juice. It 100% tastes like cranberry juice. It's tart so you can't really gulp it down and I don't find it terribly refreshing but it's supposed to be good for you.

Soy Good

I started eating soy yogurt in order to satisfy my morning protein requirement. The first brand I tried, Silk Cultured Soy, didn't taste great but it was good enough to fill the void. Recently, I purchased Stonybrook Farms O Soy Yogurt and it is fantastic. It is creamy and smooth and delicious. I LOVE it. I would eat salad for breakfast if I could but salad isn't really that good until about lunch time.
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Thank you to Vidiot for pointing out that I misspelled Emile Griffith explaining why I had trouble finding a good site to link to.
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For those of you who don't know, this week is Passover - the week when Jewish people commemorate our exodus from Egypt thanks to the postive machinations of Moses, his brother Aaron and of course God. One of my favorite stories is the one which explains why there were so many Jewish people in Egypt in the first place. You know it too. It's the one about Joseph who read the dreams of the Pharaoh and by doing so saved Egypt from starvation and helped to build the nation of Israel. Remember, he brought his family and other Jewish people into Egypt because of a big drought. Well, you know the story or don't you? If you don't. . .it's a good one.

Google Me This Batman

When is a regret at its strongest?
When the stock you wanted to buy but couldn't because you didn't have the money ends up being the more valuable than the best stocks out there. Google's stocks which opened at $85/share are now worth $275 to $290 each. And I knew, just knew like so many others that that stock was going to sky rocket and it did. I don't know anything about the market but I knew about Google. Argh!!
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Wow. There was an unexpected meteor shower last night and I missed it!! Apparently, it resulted in a flurry of phonecalls to local authorities according to that AP news story I linked to. I wish I had seen it. I was indoors watching two hours of The Contender on NBC and then playing Scrabble with my betrothed.
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You can add The Contender to my list of favorite TV shows. The formula is typical of Mark Burnett reality shows which probably explains why I am addictively hooked to this program. I don't know why I was never interested in boxing before. Thanks to this program, my interest is growing and I'm learning more about it. Recently, USA Network ran a documentary on Emil Griffiths, the boxer who killed another boxer in the ring so many years ago. That was compelling. All boxing matches should contain a little back story. The back story is what drives my obsession with the NBC program.

If you don't know the story of Emile Griffiths, you should look it up. I would do it for you but I'm having some trouble finding an effective search term. His name in Google doesn't seem to bring me where I want to be fast enough.

Work It Out

Great workout this morning. It still hurt but I am getting stronger. Before if something hurt, I had to stop, I just could not push myself through the pain. Things are different now. Shoulder workouts in particular are very painful but I managed to do three complete sets of everything the trainer through at me today and I'm getting smaller. You can see it. I look like I'm shrinking. This is good. This is very good.

The diet is going well, as well. I had a handful of cashew nuts as one of my snacks yesterday. It gave me more energy than my morning coffee. I was surprised. When I told my trainer he said that he didn't find that surprising at all because increased energy is a result of better nutrition. Wow. This kid really knows his stuff. He's smart. I'm glad to be working with him and no, he doesn't read this blog.

I'd Buy That For a Dollar

You Will Die at Age 76

76 You're pretty average when it comes to how you live... And how you'll die as well.

What Age Will You Die?

But Of Course

Your Inner European is French!

Smart and sophisticated. You have the best of everything - at least, *you* think so.

Who's Your Inner European?

One Week Ago Tonight

This is a picture from the last sunset we watched in St. Thomas, last Wednesday night.

New Pope

A new Pope was elected.
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Astoria is still as dirty and noisy as ever. MTA is improving our subway line which means inconvenience piled on top of inconvenience. Not only have they closed part of the street where they are working on the elevated train, causing people to walk out of their way to get past the intersection to the other side of the main street, but the noise created from the machines they are using to clean and paint the metal framework is relentessly deafening. They have been moving down the line for some months now so it's no surprise to anyone that the MTA is doing this work. We can take comfort in the fact that they will be moving along shortly although noone knows when. They are making everything that has rusted into an irreversible stage of ugliness, green and pretty.
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I started looking for a DJ for our wedding. This is an interesting research project and one that is going to require a lot of time. I put out some feelers last night. It seems they all need to meet with you to show you their video or DVD. I'm sure it's because they know that in sales, it's harder to reject someone you've met face to face than someone you speak to over the phone. Argh. Why do I have to know so much about how people yet not understand how to use that information?
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Tired. Working out. Results are showing which motivates to work harder. Every day a different part of me hurts but I'm beginning to enjoy it. Let me rephrase that. I'm beginning to really enjoy resistance training but continue to hate cardio. The cardio doesn't get easier or more enjoyable. It just always seems to suck. One trainer told me that the goal is to make it suck less but it will always suck on some level.

Blooming Central Park

So we went to Central Park today. We were trying to meet up with someone and finally caught up with them 3 blocks away from the Park in a restaurant. It was beautiful out today so naturally the crowds were really thick. We walked by the Central Park Zoo and made our way over to Sheep Meadow where thousands of people were congregated in a sun worshipping scrum. We watched the show off roller bladers, walked by Bethesda Fountain, strolled over to the Alice in Wonderland sculpture (kids were crawling all over that one, they were) and then we sat down on a bench and worked on our crossword puzzle until the hour arrived for our appointed meeting with our lunch dates.

I liked when we were sitting and working on the puzzle because we were simultaneously watching people as they passed us by. We saw an English Bulldog in a cage on a Radio Flyer wagon; we saw a little girl in a pretty green flowered dress riding her tricycle; we saw a weird woman pushing her dog in the equivalent of a stroller but for dogs; we saw a beautiful tri-colored Corgy with a smooth coat; we saw a beautiful little girl in a pink dress and pink socks throw the mother of all temper tantrums; we saw lots of stuff and things of interest.

It was a nice day.

Saturday in the Blargh . . . . .

Today I went shopping with the brides maids for dresses. My mother got a recommendation from work for the Bridal Building at 1385 Broadway, specifically a store called H & S on the 11th floor. That place was a nightmare.

If you are getting married and looking for a dress for either yourself or your bridal party do not, I repeat DO NOT go to H & S bridal in the Bridal Building in New York City. We walked in to what was essentially a big closet stuffed with dirty, disgusting white dresses. The dressing room was a big room stuffed with twice as many filthy, discarded, ripped, dezippered dresses.

My friends really were good sports because that experience would have dampened even Polly Anna's uplifted and delusonal spirits and they came out of it with smiles on their faces ready for more. After my friend tried on her second zipperless dress, I had to get out of there. We took a short break to regroup and decided on the Bridal shop at Macy's. That experience was like night and day. Macy's was a miracle.

We decided on a designer, a color, a fabric and a length. Within those parameters the women standing up for me will choose a style that suits them. It is a good solution to the problem of people looking ridiculous in one dress chosen by a power happy bride. Hopefully, it's a good solution. We all agreed on a color that should look good on everyone and is AUTUMN appropriate.

All that's left is the entertainment, the photographer, the flowers, and all of the fun little details that make a wedding fun.

My Life in a Hammock

For two hours of our vacation I rested in a hammock that was suspended between two coconut trees. It was seriously relaxing.

Coo Coo for Coconuts

Making Connections in San Juan

On the way to St. Thomas we had a short layover in San Juan, where we caught our connecting flight to the airport in St. Thomas. We were surprised when we looked at our tickets and saw that our flight was moved back three hours, but we were determined to make the best of it. We had a chance to walk around the airport, pick up a few San Juan specific souvenirs and gather ourselves for the rest of our journey. Finally, we got bored and decided to just wait by the gate for our flight.

I started working on a crossword puzzle. It was while we were sitting there that I noticed a man dressed like a Guardian Angel. I thought it odd that an Angel was patrolling the San Juan airport so I looked closer and realized that this particular Guardian Angel looked remarkably similar to Curtis Sliwa but I couldn't be sure because he looked exactly the same as I remember him looking 20 or so years ago. So I asked Jon and he wasn't entirely convinced either but saw a resemblance. We were both unsure and kept going back and forth in our conviction that it was indeed him. Jon went over to him and started to talking. From the distance I could see that we were correct. They were a having a good discussion. Jon pointed to me and I waved and Curtis Sliwa waved back. Good enough for me.

I went back to my crossword puzzle. Jon hadn't come back yet so I looked up to see what he was doing. He was walking back and following him was Curtis Sliwa who came over to say hello and kindly posed for a picture. I had a chance to fawn over him a little bit and tell him I was a fan and he spoke with us and another couple nearby for a few minutes. It was a great moment.

Turns out, Curtis Sliwa was headed to St. Croix to graduate a class of new Guardian Angels. He told us that there was a growing crime problem on that island and sure enough. Three days later, there was an article in the St. Thomas paper about the ceremony. There really is a bad crime problem there.

It was a great experience and a good way to kill half an hour.

Greetings from St. Thomas

St. Thomas is very pretty. We have been taking pictures. So don't worry. You'll see some fun in the sun when we get back on Thursday.

Friday night, while we were waiting for our connecting flight, we spotted Curtis Sliwa in his Guardian Angels jacket and beret. He was connecting to St. Croix to graduate a group of fledgling Angels. Apparently they have a bad crack problem on the island. He was kind enough to pose for a photo which I will post shortly. He was very easy to spot.

Our first full day, Saturday, was spent entirely at Secret Harbour Beach Resort. If you look closely at the picture, you can see our room. It's all the way to the right, in the last building on the top floor. Our balcony overlooks that turquoise water and much tropical flora and fauna. All those dark spots in that beautiful water are coral reefs which Jon and I have both explored and will explore again tomorrow. WE LOVE SNORKELING.

On Sunday we took a boat to the island of St. John where we went to Cinnamon Bay, the most beautiful beach on Earth. Cinnamon Bay is surrounded by beautiful coral reefs which we again explored through the miracle of snorkeling. It's also completely undeveloped so when you're about 30 feet off the coast and you look back, all you see is beach and a 1,000 acres of green and lush tropical vegetation. You might be thinking to yourself, wow and you'd be right. It's pretty wow inspiring and so is my sunburn. I was wearing SPF 50 and still the Caribbean sun made its way to my skin which is why . . ..

Today we are in Charlotte Amalie, the capital of the Virgin Islands. Everything here is tax and duty free. We don't have to pay any taxes so everything is tax free and cheaper. We are here doing something foreign and unfamiliar to me. . .shopping for fun. It takes some adjustment but I am finding, like snorkeling, if I just relax and remember to breathe, it's actually quite enjoyable. We're sitting in a delightful cafe called Beans, Bytes and Websites, where we are hiding a little bit from the heat. It won't be all shopping. There is a bit of history here that we want to check out. For instance, the St. Thomas Synagogue is the second oldest synagogue in the Western Hemisphere and it is walking distance from where we are sitting. We are also enjoying the beautiful architecture, beautiful weather, beautiful views and beautiful everything.

Tomorrow, our last day here, we plan to spend at the resort. We are considering kayaking but I would like to do a little more snorkeling, maybe going out a little further this time, now that I've built up some confidence.

See you soon.

Honey Luna plus other stuff and things

Honeyluna.com
There is a website where couples can register for their honeymoons called HoneyLuna - their tagline is "the premier online honeymoon registry service since 1995". This is a great site and a great idea. The way it works is people buy shares of different aspects of the honeymoon the way someone would buy a place setting from your registry at Fortunoffs. They break down each aspect of the trip - flight 44 shares; hotel 30 shares; massage 10 shares; dinner at Petrossia 700 shares - and people contribute buy purchase the shares. Do you get it? If you don't, that's okay . . . you can go to their amazingly cool website Honeyluna.com

I have questions about this concept. As amazing as I think it is, is this something we should do? Are we crossing some kind of etiquette line by asking people to pay for our honeymoon? And if we do register here, does that mean we can't register any where else? I mean much stuff can we conceivably register for?

What do you think?
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For Whom the Bell Tolls
March and April have been a good season for death. These two were added to the April death toll as of yesterday's news - Saul Bellow and Prince Rainier. I think I may have read a book by Bellow about Hungary during the HOLOCAUST. It may have been someone else. How embarrassing. I've read so many books, I don't remember who wrote what. However the book about Hungary was riveting either way and very sad. So much fiction and non-fiction have arisen out of people's true WWII stories. I believe no other world event has had more influence on the world.

My condolences go out to the families of Saul Bellow and Prince Rainier. I'm so sorry for your respective losses.
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Getaway Romance
Thursday is my Friday. We will be taking a short vacation in a tropical paradise. If there is a computer with internet access, you can be rest assured that I will be providing updates during our trip. If you don't hear from me again, it means we decided to hideaway from the rest of the world and spend the rest of our lives in a perfect bliss and harmony.

Old Navy

Good ole Old Navy. Last night young Sarah and I went to Old Navy. I bought a couple of pairs of shorts and a T-shirt. Downstairs, at the 18th Street Old Navy, we discovered someone left Magic unattended in the Old Navy truck - or Magic took the truck out while his owner was sleeping. All joking aside, when Sarah went over to pet plastic Magic I just had to take a picture. Isnt' she cute, America? Old Navy works for me when it comes to clothing for below my waist, but they are no help to me when it comes to shirts - no help at all. That's truly a shame because we're going on a tropical get away and I need to find some shirts.

Professor. A Question.

Why are the flags at half mast for the Pope?

A Bit of Ranting

I was suckin' in the Oxygen pretty hard when I got off of the elliptical machine this morning. So imagine how "happy" I was when I got to the locker room and Miss Thing #75 was planted in front of the mirror in bra and panties (yuck)with a curling iron in one hand and lifetime supply of hairspray in the other, which she had evidently sprayed into every corner of the locker room.

I could taste her hair care products while trying to recover and slow down my breathing and get my heart to stop pounding through my chest.

That's not right. I left because that was only a pitstop. I just wanted to put away my CD and headset. I wanted to work on a couple of machines while my heart was still pumping pretty fast and I did. For the next fifteen minutes or so I did a little of this and a little of that and it felt great.

When I went back to the locker room, this chick was still there and she was still in her stupid bra. How long does it take to put on a freakin' shirt?

I complained to the manager. On the way out, I asked if the CLUB could ban the use of haircare products in the locker room particularly hairspray because it is toxic.

He said he would speak to his district manager. Then he said some other understanding, placating, calm-the-customer down type things and wished me a kind day.

I must sound a like a nut job to these people.

I Am Registered!!

Well. Yesterday was quite the fine day for ducks, wasn't it?

The rains and winds were phenomenal. Yet I still went into the city, in spite of the weather to meet two of my bridesmaids at Crate & Barrel. Thank you so much ladies for the braving the weather. Once we were inside it was fine. I'm not going to bore you with the details of our registry. If you really are curious, you can go to the website.

What was more interesting was the surreal feeling of walking around with a scanner and picking items that I think people should give us as gifts for our wedding. Nobody talks about that. How weird it is. You actually have to feel good enough about yourself to go around picking things that you are assuming people want to buy you because you assume they are happy for you and want to help celebrate.

It was strange. I've never been the kind of girl to fantasize about a wedding and everything that goes with it, so to actually be doing it is . . .I don't how to explain it.

I've been thinking about how I can explain the disconnected feeling inside me... not like in a crazy way. It's more like I have two selves. One self is very cynical and thinks weddings are utilitairian in that they are nothing more than an opportunity for the families of the brides and grooms to get together. The other self is actually, genuinely, out of her mind excited that I get to do all this stuff that married women before me have been doing for 100 years. The cynical self doesn't believe for one second that people really give a shit about me and my life or care about my happiness. The other thinks that everyone is great and deserves one opportunity like this where they can be celebrated and told how special they are.

I know there is some weird feminine psychology going on here too but I'm still thinking about to phrase it.

Do you get me?

The Pope Hangs On

The Pope isn't dead yet. It's 9:20 Saturday morning, April 2.

I'm waiting for my friend Sarah's appearance as Ms. Frizzle on the TODAY SHOW but nothing yet.

The plumber was here this morning. He unclogged our drain. It was gross and I'm glad the building had to pay for that because I would have felt stupid after seeing how easy a problem it was to fix - or - perhaps the plumber made it look easy because he's a plumber.

Friday

Terry Schiavo passed away. My condolences to the family. I hope the husband stops being a dick and works out the burial details with her blood relatives. There is nothing likable about that Schiavo husband, nothing at all.

The Pope is dying. I hope for his sake that his death isn't long and drawn out and that his suffering is minimal. I always liked the Pope.
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I'm still alive.Jon and I walked from our building in Astoria, over the Queensboro bridge and then to 57th and 7th yesterday morning. I was half an hour late for work but it was a good was.My workout this morning was rough. Brandon really pushed me hard. Ouch. I was crying at one point.
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Tomorrow, I'm taking two of my bridesmaids along to register at Crate & Barrel.

Johnny Cochran Dead

The man who helped the murderous O.J. Simpson get away with murderous murder died from a brain tumour. I feel bad for the family who loved him and the friends that adored him.

Even though he'll be remembered for his despicable career of getting murderers off, his family was more proud of the work he did for the community. Yes. I agree that the word community is vague but at least he did something somewhat respectable with his time and energy.

It's good to know he was dedicated to something other than collecting money from hardened criminals. I wonder if his was a painful death. He probably died a much slower death than Nicole Simpson and Ron Goldman. Some, including myself, might think that this is a good thing.

I will never forget that ridiculous trial and how it popularized the phrase "race card"; how it demonized the Los Angeles police department; how it widened the chasm between whites and blacks; how it taught the American public that celebrities actually DO get away with murder; and reminded the country how naive we all really are regarding the truths about human nature.
Rest in peace Johnny Cochran.

Tired

I'm so tired this morning.

Up at 6:00. Working out by 6:30. Leaving gym at 7:30. Ate simple carbohydrate post work out meal for breakfast by 7:45. Blowing hair dry by 8:30. On subway car by 9.

I'm achy every where.

I was going to work out last night so I took the R train which lets me out closer to the gym. There were delays on the R line due to a sick passenger at Roosevelt Ave. station and because the MTA was rerouting all trains on to the local track. By the time I got out at Steinway, 45 minutes after getting into the train, I didn't want to work out any more. So I went shopping and then got soaking wet during my walk home. My socks from last night's walk were still wet this morning.

Now I'm here, at work and I look a lot better than I feel. I figured if I dressed up, put on some makeup and looked like a felt great, actually feeling great wouldn't follow too far behind but it hasn't caught up to me yet.

I still feel tired.

Sore arms

I just flew in from Chicago and boy are my arms tired.

Remember that ole chestnut?

Well. I worked out with my trainer Sunday morning. We worked on arms and now I can't lift my arms over my head. I'm very encouraged and motivated by my trainer. I'm also frightened of how my arms looked in some of the pictures we took on Saturday.

Has this happened to anyone else? My shoulders have gotten so pudgy. It's the weirdest place to gain weight in my opinion and it's such a bad place to be puffy. So, I'm not upset Brandon worked my arms. I just wish I could see results immediately, although I expect to see some in a month the way this guy is pushing me. I just wish it were a month away already and I've reached those first visual signs that the gym is paying off.

I know I'm healthier. Blah blah. My already low blood pressure went down which is great. And I'm sure all the other systems are evening out too, considering I'm on a twigs and leaves kind of diet.

Anyhoooooooo. . . . .

Propeller Island City Lodge

Sarah linked to one of the rooms at the website for Propeller Island City Lodge commenting that it is one of the creepiest you could possible sleep in, that it was reminiscent of crime dramas and condemned buildings. I looked at that room. She was absolutely right. It is horrible looking - positively frightening. You would have nightmares sleeping in there. You would imagine rats nibbling your fingertips while you were taking your morning crap.

I was curious to see the other jail cell style rooms in the hotel and I found that every room at the hotel is different and designed to make you feel as if you are sleeping in an artwork of some sort. Some of the rooms are just flat out weird - like this one where you sleep next to lion cages. (for families with hyper children no doubt). This one looks like it could have been Martha Stewart's jail cell. There is this room that shows respect for the solitary traveler by not making them take a bed wtih twobeds or a bed too big for one person. It looks like a nice place to go for a weekend getaway.

But I think this one is the coolest. It's the flying bed room and looks like it really messes with your concept of gravity.

Shopping for the Dress

Here is a picture of me in the back seat of the car kind of dreading the day ahead. I wasn't feeling very well when I started out the day. As you may recall I was feeling kind of down. Sandy picked me up around 10 and we started out. We went to pick up my mom in Long Island and then we headed out to Lillette's in Baldwin. I took this picture to the right, sitting in the backseat, while staring out at the dunes along the Loop Parkway and then the Meadowbrook. I was trying to cheer myself up, wish away my headache, put on ahappy face. I wasn't feeling very optimistic that we would find a dress. Sandy knows one of the consultants and thought we should start there so I could have anice time. I trusted her.

And boy am I glad I did. When we first walked in it looked like a zoo. There were large groups milling around the various brides looking through the racks of dresses. There was a little girl running around waiting totry on a flower girl dress. There was a young woman posing in front of the mirror, trying on her dress for the last time. I don't respond well to crowded busy situations like this, so I let Sandy and my mother walk me through the aisles showing me dresses. When I met Lydia I told her I didn'twant a strapless dress but that's all I've been seeing in the magazines. She talked to me a few minutes and then started pulling dresses. We went into the dressing room and began. The first dress she put me in was strapless. My 43" squared shoulders helped convince her that strapless wasn't the look for me. She agreed and we tried on a few more dresses.


The first dress I fell in love with was this one to the right. I had an emotional response looking at and then seeing myself in it. Wow. I thought this was the one. Two dresses later, this one became a blur. I chose the dress we tried on two dresses later. If you are in my bridal party you've seen it. But the bridal party and my mom and Jon's mom are the only ones.

You'll just have to wait like everyone else. I found a beautiful dress that is perfect for me. In spite of my agonizing headache, the day had a happy outcome. Who thought I would find my dress in less than two hours. None of us did. We didn't even have the cash for a down payment but thankfully the store took $20.00 down.

If you are looking for a dress, you should go to Lillette's Bridal Shop in Baldwin. They will take really good care of you and find a dress that matches you perfectly.

Bumming Out

I signed up for my gym's Buffed Bride program and I had a bit of a shock this morning. My personal trainer (yes. I chose the sadist that tortured by calves) weighed and measured me this morning. My weight hasn't changed in two weeks. My measurements are too embarrassing to mention.

After learning this sad news, I had to work out with Brandon. He's a nice guy, good natured, funny. I worked hard and he made me laugh throughout the workout. He didn't give me a moment to feel upset about the weigh in.

But now, that I'm at my office and it's a little bit quiet, I have to ruminate over what I learned this morning and I feel sad, very sad and disappointed. I've been working out for over a month and I haven't gotten anywhere and on top of that I start shopping for my wedding dress tomorrow. This means I have to get measured again.

I'm very concerned that the bridal shop my maid-of-honor is taking me to isn't going to have any dresses big enough for me to try on and that would make me cry, really cry if that happened. But at least my mom and cousin will be there. My cousin is my maid-of-honor in case you haven't been following the score card.

Back to the work out, Brandon was very supportive and told me he is going to help me. He gave me a diet plan to follow which is ridiculous but should work. I have to eat five times a day now. That means, 3 times at work I have to eat meals. I'm glad my boss is a nice guy. Dieting is soooo stupid. I really hate it. So I'm going to try to look at it as a lifestyle change rather than a diet.

Maybe then it won't seem so gay.

What A Night

Wow. Trivia was packed. There were 18 teams and every seat in the house was filled.

It was great but I'm running late and I hate to bathe and get going to work.

Tuesday Night Trivia

I am taking a break from American Idol tonight to host Tuesday Night Trivia. I will also be showing off my new engagement ring if anyone is interested in seeing it.

Tuesday Night Trivia is played every Tuesday night at the Baggot Inn in New York City at 7:30 pm. I would provide a link but I can't work the BLOG THIS linking tool.

Because we are taping The Amazing Race tonight we can't tape American Idol. If you are feeling generous and would like to do me a favor (no pressure), please tape American Idol for me.

Thank you.

Monday Snuh

I had hard time getting it going this morning.

BANK
I went to my bank to deposit my paycheck. I asked the teller if she was finding this Monday particularly challenging and she said, "Yeah. The weather makes it harder." A woman in line behind me was giggling as she butt in and ejaculated, "Oh. It's all in your head. Hee hee hee." I ignored her even as she was wishing me a good day. For some reason, her niceness was working in direct conflict to my grumpiness. Then I went to the Citibank further up the block to make a deposit for my boss. While it took me 5 minutes to get in and out of my personal bank, I spent 25 minutes at Citibank waiting for the lunkheads in front of me to get the money for their cash drawers or whatever. And to make matters worse, that EXPRESS DEPOSIT machine Citibank has for customers in a rush was completely broken.

ITCH
Work was fine. Unfortunately, I just wasn't feeling it today. Perhaps it was because my night's sleep was interrupted by an itchy foot. I couldn't get my foot to stop itching. From 3 am to 4:30 I was up with an itchy foot. No matter how I tried I could not scratch the itch. Around 4:30 and after 5 applications of moisturizer the itching finally went away. It was the strangest thing. So. . .by 2 this afternoon I was really feeling the burn of lack of sleep which lately has meant a pretty bad headache. I did leave the office at a reasonable hour, made the trains. All went well. Whew.

TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES
I tried to get home early so I could prepare my trivia rounds. I rested my head for 10 minutes before starting my audio round. The round came out great, except for one mistake. I hadn't left enough hang time between two of the songs so I went back to retape the last four songs. My tape machine broke. I have one of those units where the CD, Radio and Tape player are all in one. I've had it since I've moved to Queens. It finally broke down. The machine started eating my tape. I tried another tape just to be sure. It ate that one too but alas that was our last tape!! So, that meant a walk to the 99 cent store to get a new tape. When we got home I redid the round again but I had to use Jon's hand held tape recorder and tape my round holding to the speakers.

It's been a while since I've done that but it still came out okay. It reminded me of pleasant childhood memories when my friends and I would use the tape recorder to create our own radio programming.

After being at the computer all day and every day since I started my job and we've been having SPAM, VIRUS and SPYWARE problems with our computer, I decided to construct my CURRENT EVENTS ROUND the old fashioned way - with a newspaper, pen and paper.

Hopefully Tuesday will be a better day.

The Village

I rented THE VILLAGE from On Demand. I can't say that this is M. Night Shayamalanaolin's best movie. But even a bad movie from M. Night is better than most.

The suspense is agonizing as the viewer is forced to wait and see where M. Night will place his cameo. Oh and then of course there is the suspense created by the story, for the story and through the story.

The unfortunately named Bryce Dallas Howard gave a compelling performance as the girl who sees the world through the blind eyes of hope and love. I found myself crying with her and for her more than once because her acting was so believable. It's hard to play blind but she didn't do too badly. My uncle is blind, really blind, so I grew up knowing how blind people look when they talk to you. I have never seen an actor accurately portray blindness. With that said, she didn't too badly. There were times when you actually believed she was blind and others when she didn't look the slightest bit blind.

Movies and television would have you believe that without the cane and dark sunglasses you can't tell when someone is unsighted. That's not true. Blind people look blind. I've met several and there was never any mistake that they could not see. They just don't use their eyes and that has a very specific look - a glazed over, not using their eyes kind of look.

Still Bryce Dallas Howard did a good job. Her character's name was IVY - a much better name than her given one. Other performances of note came from Joaquin Pheoniz, Michael Pitt and Cherry Jones. Sigourney Weaver was okay - still stunning even without makeup. William Hurt remains to this day one of the most OVERRATED screen actors but he was well cast as the unspoken leader of THE VILLAGE.

I recommend the movie highly. Yes. It does have a silly aspect to it but I would still like you to encourage the able imagine of M. Night by watching his films.

Obituary For A Buffalo

This is an old obituary from a 1905 issue of the NY Times. Jon found it doing some research for an article he's writing.

This is the 100th anniversary of the sad demise of Lady.

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LADY, THE BUFFALO, DEAD

Lady, the pet buffalo of the New York Zoological Garden in the Bronx, is dead. She was a fine seven-year-old animal and well behaved enough to deserve her name. An autopsy was made on her body yesterday, and it was found that a piece of wire which she must have swallowed had reached her heart, pierced it, and caused her death.

Lady was one of the famous herd of buffaloes assembled by the late William C. Whitney. The animal came to the zoo from the vast Whitney forest reservation in the Adirondacks some years ago.

She was seven years old and had quite a romantic history. She was the mate of Black Beauty, the king buffalo of the Bronx Park flock, who two years ago killed his [rival] after a violent domestic quarrel. Then he was mated to Lady. Her sweet disposition had such charms that Black Beauty has been a changed buffalo since Lady became his queen.

Acting Director H.R. Mitchell of the zoo said last night that the piece of wire found in Lady's heart, was of the kind tied about bales of hay and that she probably swallowed it with her dinner on Saturday. She was found dead that evening.

The old attendant at the buffalo reservation who knows best says Lady came to her death in trying to eat up a barbed wire fence that separated her from the inclosure where Black Beauty was browsing.

Clean

This computer is clean. My newly updated virus software found and fixed 8 viruses and quarantined one.

Just one more download. I'm putting spybot back on the computer to protect us against a recent plethora of popups that are no doubt responsible for giving us a virus in the first place.

Cranky and Tired

i feel cranky and tired.

went to bed at 10:30 pm and woke up at 8 am.

perhaps i am cranky because of the technology problems that are plaguing me this week.

perhaps i am tired because i am not eating enough.

still working out regularly. still kind of liking it.

will work out tonight. perhaps that will help with the crankiness or perhaps not.

hmmm.

Random Stuff

On Sunday when we were in Cortland, I bought some hazelnut candles at Pier One imports - on sale 4/$1. They smell outrageous.
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Our computer caught some kind of virus. I spent four hours Wednesday night downloading and updating our virus software, Ad Aware and Spy Sweeper. No virus was found although much spyware was found and discarded.
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I'm trying to install VERIZON DSL at my office - to replace the 3x as expensive RoadRunner. I don't know how to judge the DSL service yet because it's not yet installed. Wednesday, a technician came to change our wiring from fiber to copper. This disabled our fax machine because that is the number where we installing the DSL. The fax machine was supposed to be working again yesterday but alas it was not. Turns out the building wiring does not work with copper and we have to reinstall the fiber connection and get our old service back and start from scratch. I don't know what happened with the second technician last night because I left the office at 5:45. My head was aching with a pounding lack of understanding about how phones operate.
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Today is Friday and on Sunday, Jon and I are officially booking the temple for our wedding. This temple has a full catering facility, so the whole affair will take place there. The gardens are lovely so the photographs can be done there as well. Wahoo?!?! Now all that's left is the DRESS, FLOWERS, PHOTOGRAPHER, MUSIC.
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As I mentioned yesterday, I'm co-hosting trivia on Tuesday night with the Wounded Liberal (see link on right). We are having a meeting tonight to plan our attack on our unsuspecting players.
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If you run into someone you know and they are talking to someone that you don't know, do you go up to them and interrupt and go through motions of introductions, or do you leave them alone because they are having private and intense discussions? No seriously, I'm asking. What do you do? I never know what to do, so I err on the side of caution and leave everyone involved alone.

What do you do? What do YOU do?

Train

Subway travels grow increasingly difficult. People riding the 4,5 and 6 lines yesterday were treated to a day of signalling problems that stopped that line dead in its tracks.

This morning's commute was just weird. There are no problems that I know of on the N/R/W line yet the trains were slow, crowded and irregular. When I transferred for the local at 34th street, I had to let two trains pass. The first was so delayed it ran express. The second was so crowded, I decided to wait for the third.

If the trains had been running well, I could have been at work at 9:15 but instead I walked through the front door at 9:40. I still have bragging rights for the day because in spite of being late I was still the first one here.

Time for coffee.

23rd Street Shuffle

So, I left home early to get to work early to get an early start only to get stopped dead in my tracks at the 23rd St. station at Bway. People were moving at a crawl up the steps that lead you out. I still managed to get to work first. That's always good for one-up-manship.

Things are going well at my new job, so far. I'm actually doing fun and creative stuff and I'm being treated with respect for my intelligence, ability and experience. It almost seems too good to be true. I hope it lasts. Sometimes when something seems too good to be true it often it is.

Did I mention that I am co-hosting trivia next week at the Baggott Inn? More details to follow. Must start my day now.

Bye.

Ponder This

We stopped at a Ponderosa on the way home, in Stroudsberg. At the salad bar, at the Ponderosa, I had an opportunity to ponder many things.

Why is the salad bar so shitty? Why did everyone at the Ponderosa salad bar seem to have an excessive weight problem? How come every time I think about taking some mashed potatoes, a 400 pound person gets in my way? Why was almost every table full with fat families at the Ponderosa? If you could have seen the selection at the salad bar you would understand - fried chicken wings, macaroni and much cheese, pizza, stuffing, gravy, and every fattening thing under the sun that you wouldn't expect in a salad bar. Even the salad and dressings were fattening.

More upsetting were the obese clientele. Just being in there made me want to run to the gym and push people off the treadmill so I could climb on and run for my life. There was a family sitting behind us that couldn't stop laughing, burping and emitting other sounds beyond description.

Surprisingly, my sirloin tips were very yummy. My baked potato was cooked well, very well - a little too well. The skin was completely carbonified. In the middle of my baked potato was a large mound of butter which I removed. I eat butter with complete freedom but that was too much even for me. Jon ordered the seafood platter which was also surprisingly good except for the shrimp which seemed to have completely given its will over to butter. If we needed it, there was melted butter on Jon's plate as well as tartar sauce and a greasy crabcake.
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Leaving the Ponderosa, we got stuck in some traffic on Interstate 80. We still aren't sure what happened. Gradually the traffic slowed down. We noticed police cars on the other side of the divider and then, after about a mile of this, we noticed there were no cars at all moving in the opposite direction. Not one. We crawled for about half an hour, seeing Delaware Water Gap Firemen and NJ State Troopers all along the way and again no oncoming traffic. At the point where our traffic jam opened up, we finally saw where all the cars were stopped like a parking lot. I'm happy we weren't going in that direction because after that it was smooth sailing all the way back to New York.

If anyone knows what happened on Interstate 80 near the Delaware Water Gap, March 13 between 7:45 and 8:30 pm, please let me know. We didn't see anything that looked like an accident or a fire or a shooting or a terrorist attack or a car jacking or etc.

Cortland Weekend

Friday night Jon and I drove up to Cortland to visit with his parents. Getting out of the city took about an hour. Getting through the snow at the end of the trip took about an hour and a half. The hours in the middle were relatively easy.

We visited a friend of Jon's mother. Esther is nearly 100 years old. This is my second time seeing her. She is old but young at heart.

Today we visited with Eva, another friend of Jon's mom. She is younger than Esther but a little bit shier about her age. I'll respect her privacy and keep it to myself. In 1939, her parents moved their immediate family from Austria, to her aunt's house in the Bronx. She talked of being a refugee and told us about a friend of hers who had been involved in the Kindertransport program arranged by the British to get Jewish children out of lower Europe. Most of you probably saw the special on HBO. But I've never met someone who knew about it intimately. I enjoyed meeting Eva. She is a lovely woman and a good raconteusse.

Today, Jon and I hit the Walmart and Super K-Mart in Cortland. We made away with some good bargains. My favorite bargain are the Fruit of the Loom cotton sports bras that I got at 3 for $10.00. But we got all sorts of stuff; a new lamp/magazine rack; a garbage pail with lid for the kitchen and other sundries.

We're heading back home soon and tomorrow we'll be back to our daily grinds. How nice it was to get out of town for the weekend, even up in snowy Cortland.

It's nice to visit family so do it when you can.

Reality TV

The Contender
The Apprentice
Survivor
The Amazing Race

The Amazing Race is not produced by Mark Burnett but somehow it is still good.

Mark Burnett could make anything into a reality show and I would watch it.

He should do a show for geeks.

I Can Walk

After three days of agonizing pain, I can finally walk like a normal person. Wahoo.

This morning, on the train, for the first time, I started envisioning myself as a bride. Ever since Jon proposed, I envisioned the wedding but from my POV or what I would be seeing; Jon waiting for me at the end of the aisle; our guests as I passed them on the way to the chupah (sp?); my parents on either side of me each holding an arm. But I never thought about how I would look to everyone else. This morning, I saw myself with my hair and makeup done, in my dress with a big smile on my face and it made me happy.

It's strange making the transition from someone with very low self-esteem to someone with normal self-esteem. Someone should write a book about the things you can expect when the improvements you've been making on yourself and the changes you strive to make in how you think about the world, actually start to work.

It's nice when you can actually start worrying about things that matter instead of things that don't.

You know what I mean if you know what I mean.

Blogger Roll Call

akaChris saw the musical Lion King on Friday night and recommended that we all see it.

The Anonymous Bloggette wrote about The Anonymous Blogger.

The Anonymous Blogger received 125 comments.

Baby Quentin has a new hat and remains cute.

CandyBlueKite has stopped communicating in words altogether.

Caren bought a new ipod. (use it in good health. Ptoi. Ptoi.)

Human Oddities shrank her cat so it could fit in the palm of her hand.

New Jersey White Trash had trouble controlling his car some time in the last couple of days.

Phil at Phil's Spin Zone is still apartment hunting.

Sarah is getting paranoid at Sarah's Entertainment.

Wendy Fournier's old webblog disappeared and I can't link to her new site without it. (hint, hint)

What a Pain in the Calf

This morning walking around is more difficult than it was yesteray. I can't put my heels to the ground. You should see me walking around. I look ridiculous. All in the name of beauty. If working out hurts this much every time I do it, I'm never going to lose weight.

Okay. So I sound upset and negative. It's discouraging to learn what your body can't do anymore. I know I'm not that old but there is a reason why most athletes are past their prime by their early thirties. The body just wears down. Again, I'm not saying my body is falling part or anything, I feel the effects of getting older.

Walking around this last hour, I'm already exhausted. My mother has friend with Rheumatoid Arthritis. This woman lost a whole lot of weight just from being in pain. Pain is tiring. I'm thankful that my pains are self inflicted and will heal. My mom's friend will always have R.A.

But knowing that other people are sicker doesn't change the fact that my calves hurt more than I remember them ever hurting. You can walk a mile in another man's shoes to get idea of what his life is like before you judge him, but it doesn't do anything to change your life. . .just your mind.

Sunday Morning Classics

Saturday, I worked out with Brandon. I'm considering joining my gyms BUFF BRIDE program, so I auditioned a trainer. Brandon worked me pretty hard. I'm having some trouble moving around today. My calves are suffering the brunt of it. Every time I sit down and get back up, they feel like they did when I woke up this morning. Tight and weird. Straightening out my legs is the hardest part.

I'm starting to hate the women at the gym that treat the locker room like their personal bathrooms. I particularly dislike it when women lotion up in the gym - their feet, their legs, their bellies. Yuck. The truth is I don't like to be around naked strangers. I go to the gym in my gym clothes so I don't have to change. I shower at home so I don't have to walk around the gym naked subjecting strangers to my pale, naked flesh.

The other women I hate at the gym are the ones who work out with their hair down and full of hair spray. They often wear velour sweatsuits and garish makeup and don't hesitate to show as much of their bodies as humanly possibly - to the point where they are almost indecently exposed. Some of those sweatpants ride pretty low beneath the belly. These women are often in my way as I'm trying to get to my locker to retrieve my coat or to put my headset away. They can often be overheard having ridiculous conversations about the stupid things their boyfriends did or said.

With that said, I like my gym. The equipment is great, the locker room is clean (but I'm still fearful of Athlete's Foot), and the instructors know what they are talking about. There are so many trainers walking around, you can always get help with anything you need or advice/instructions on any of the machines.

Brandon is a good instructor. He even called me this morning to see how I was doing. Naturally I told him I was having trouble walking and that I was generally stiffening up all over.

The Apprentice

Yes. I watched the Apprentice last night. It was the entree to am appetizer of Survivor. And it was yummy.

The show focused on the downfall of young Audrey. That team just didn't like her. I don't know what she did but I bet a lot of it had to do with her being younger and prettier than everyone else. People just resent the hell out of young, beautiful people. I liked her. I admire people who don't rely on getting by on their looks and she wasn't on that show merely because of her looks. If that were the case, Angie would never have made it on or some of those sycophants from the other team either.

There is this pompous asshole, (John from Apprentice 3 - I put this here so everyone who searches for his name can come here and see I think he is a pompous asshole) on the street smarts team. He does not like Audrey, so whatever she did there was no way he was going to support her. If anything, he undermined her authority the entire show. What can you do? Audrey was the team leader, see. And she put John in charge of promotions and I think as soon as she assigned him the task, he decided he wasn't going to do shit for her.

Meanwhile, on the other team, the woman in charge of promotions without any direction from her team leader, decided all on her own, to go around and acquire exclusive rights on promoting the same kind of event.

So of course, Audrey's task failed and it looked like her fault because it looked like she didn't delegate authority. John brought her down and I've worked with people like him - people who will only work hard to promote their own self interest. The only mistake Audrey made last night, was stepping up to be team leader. Chris should have stepped up and Chris should have been fired. That guy is just weird. He's a dipper and a spitter and he was chewing tobacco during the task while dressed up as a clown and scaring the shit out of children.

She was out of there because that team didn't support her. Last week's candidate got fired because she showed really poor judgement in choosing the idea for her task and then pushing it forward. John was a dick last week too by the way. Audrey got fired because she became team leader.

Blah blah blah

Blah blah,

Blah blah blah blah blahing blah. Blah blahed blah blah. Blahblah blahblah blah. Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blahing blah. Blahgity blahminator. Blah blah blah blah blah. Blah blah. Blah blah blah blah.

Blah blah blah blah &$*%&(# blah blah blah blah blah.

Blahrly,

Blah

Matthew Modine

Matthew Modine is the guest star of Law & Order: SVU. Could he be looking for an Emmy? Or did the Law & Order people decide that their show needed more muscle than Ice T and Chris Meloni? Whatever the reason, it's working. The show is a standoff between Detective Stabler played by Meloni and a serial child rapist/murderer played by Modine. Both men are excellent actors - what a treat for the viewers of the Law & Order shows. To me, the Law & Order shows continue to be the best police dramas on television. I am never disappoined and love the shows so much, I find myself watching reruns on TNT often.
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I worked out and watched the beginning of American Idol. The show was a little disappointing tonight. The women, (Seacrest keeps referring to them as "the girls"), were lackluster as a group. Not that I can sing anywhere near as well as most of those young women but each one of them seemed to pick a song that wasn't quite right for her. But at least they kept me company while I was using the Elliptical machine.

American Idol rocked last night. That weird, sleezy Frank Sinatra wannabe from Long Island is definitely going to be voted off. . .I'm sure of it. His performance was so average. Actually there were only three or four good performances that really stood out last night. The rest ... there really isn't an IDOL in the lot of them.
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Well the snow fell. I looked out the window and I don't see 7 - 10 inches which is fantastic. I love it when the weathermen are wrong with their dystopic predictions.
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My new job is still going well. I'm having a good year.
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The most important thing I've learned in the last two years is the powerful effect a positive attitude can have on those around you. People like to be around happy people. It makes them feel good. I remember a time when I would open my mouth at a party and the negativity would chase everyone away. It took a long time for me to connect the dots. When I act happy, I can't get people to leave me alone. And people tell me things and confide in me. If you act like you want to be where you are and believe it, people will come to you. I'm sorry I had to learn that lesson so late. But I guess some people are just late bloomers socially.

I'm not saying be fake. I'm just saying don't be negative. If you have nothing positive to say, don't say anything. If you disagree with someone at a dinner party, you don't have to do it outloud. You don't always have to express your opinion. Sometimes it's okay to be one of the crowd. And whatever you do, don't act desperate. People will smell it on you before you enter the room.

Nor Easter

Well. The weathermen have predicted what is essentially a perfect storm. What are we going to do? What are we going to do?

Went to an Oscar party last night. . .party was good, Oscar's were boring. Chris Rock won't be coming back. It should always be Billy Crystal - not extremely funny but safe and predictable.