Tuesday Night Trivia

Dear Diary,

Tonight I hosted trivia with Caren. It was fun.

There were many people there. They had fun. They were nice.

Before trivia I was at work and I worked the whole day. I am tired.

After work, I had dinner at Harry's Burritos. I had a burrito. It was good.

Good night.

The Progress Wedding

We just had a meeting with our dee-jay to start planning the music for our wedding. We enjoyed listening to the different music we could use for the different wedding activities we have planned. We chose the song for our first dance; made some preliminary choices for my dance with my father and Jon's dance with his mother; considered some clever selections for cutting the cake, throwing the bouquet, and throwing the garter; started planning the music for the reception, etc.

What a relief. I feel like we got so much done tonight. I have three meetings set up with florist for Sept 3 - meetings that my mother and I will be attending together. Our photographer is already on board and should be giving us our engagement photos any day now. My dress should be coming in soon. The temple is reserved and has been. The caterer is ready to go. Now we just have to work on the small details like hair and makeup, wedding rings, etc.

If anyone tells you that you need a year to plan a wedding, they are wrong. The only thing that might take a year may be getting the place that you absolutely have your heart set on. But if you are pretty easy going about the locale or you're not that fussy about your dress, then you really can do it in a few months.

R.I.P. Peter Jennings

1938 - 2005



He quit smoking 20 years ago and lung cancer still got him in the end. If you haven't quit smoking yet, you should . . . right now.

Day of the Triffids

Harry Potter and Half-Blood Prince was a good book. I finished in about five days and that's no small feat considering I was reading it mostly only during my commutes to and from work.

After a two day wait, following the end of HP, I picked up a memoir I had been reading before HP's arrival - Growing Up by Russell Baker. While charming it wasn't holding my attention. I didn't know what I was going to do.

Until two days ago - when Jon brought me a great book from the library. The book is called Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham and it's an absolutely brilliant piece of 1950's science fiction. When I was kid, every now and then the movie based on the book would play on television and this movie was the kind a kid like me would find utterly fascinating. It was about the Earth being taken over by enormous walking plants after the planet's inhabitants had been mysteriously blinded by a meteor shower. I remember this movie as being fantastic but I think others categorize it as some kind of "B" horror movie. The movie tells the story a little bit differently than the book and I can already see the book is better.

If you are looking to buy the film Day of the Triffids, it's very expensive but it's worth it. If you're looking to read the book, you can get it free at your local library.

Martha, Martha, Martha

Martha Stewart can't keep herself out of the news.

The latest?

Her house arrest has been extended 3 weeks - until the end of August.

Why?

The reports I read don't say why although they allude to a Yoga class she was seen attending and on offroad vehicle she was seen riding.

Whether or not these were violations is not known.

Snuppy is not a play on Snoopy's name

It stands for Seoul National University puppy. Korea cloned a dog and for some bizarre reason they chose an Afghan Hound.

Personally, I would have gone with something smaller and less hairy like a Chihuahua.

Easing into Wednesday Morning

I'm sorry I missed Tuesday Night Trivia last night. Two very good friends of mine hosted but alas between worrying about the wedding, stressing out about getting into shape and just feeling generally blah last night, I couldn't gather myself enough to get there.

Regarding worrying about the wedding. . .I am working on it so I know there is no need to worry but there is always the fear that I'm not working hard enough.

Getting in shape . . .I thought by working out last night, I might alleviate some of that stress hoping that the blah feeling that led to feeling ill would vanish. It worked. I worked out on the elliptical machine for 50 minutes. About 40 minutes into it I started getting that runner's high feeling. It took so long for me to get there and then it only lasted a little less than 10 minutes. I ran into my trainer who has officially adopted me as his older sister now and programmed my new cell phone number into his Blackberry type device.

On the way home from the gym I ran into an old teaching friend who I haven't spoken to in three years. She was well and it was nice to catch up with her. She filled me on who is doing what and how much worse it is at the old school I taught at now that the teachers are using some new mandatory pain in the ass curriculum, probably the same CRAPPY curriculum I was using at the CRAP school I taught at in Long Island City.

So now it's Wednesday morning, I'm at the office and my boss is not. He is taking a well deserved vacation. Nobody works harder at this office than he does. With that said, I hope to get a lot done this week for him. Cleaning files, compiling lists of things to do and then crossing things off the list when I'm done, etcetera.

But I'm easing into it. I felt so much stress yesterday, I'm hoping for a low-impact, stress-free day today.

Under control

Dress - the salon will call me when the dress comes in. there is still time.

Flowers - started making inquiries

Dee Jay - made appointment to see him on Monday

Hotel - my amazing Maid of Honor is taking charge

All the other details will get done.

Wedding Freak Out Time

Dress: Ordered months ago, still not in

Rings: Not yet

Flowers: Not yet

Hotel: Still trying to add more rooms to the block

Invitations: Not yet

Ushers' Tuxes: Not yet

Invite List: Still not finalized

Dee Jay: Hasn't been returning our calls

Photographer: Okay. That part is fine. Whew!

Surprise

My friends and family surprised me with a bridal shower. Thank goodness I put on some makeup before I left the house this morning. They totally got me. I had suspicions that it was going to be today but they still managed to surprise me. And boy did I cry. I'm not one of those people who hides their emotions. I can't. Everything emotion is right there on the surface. I cried several times over the course of the day.

It was weird, walking into that silent room with everyone waiting to surprise me.

To be the focal point of a room full of people that want nothing but the best for you is overwhelming and I wish you all an experience like the one I had today.

Thirteen

I just watched a movie called Thirteen about a thirteen year old girl who because she wants to be popular lets another thirteen year old girl ruin her life. After becoming friends with the most popular girl in the school, she starts stealing, doing drugs and giving blowjobs. In doing so, she loses her old friends, her status as top student in the class and her innocence. I remember when this movie originally came out, it received a lot of press because the screenplay was written by a young woman, possibly a teenager, based on her own life.

I understand how hard it is to be thirteen and unpopular. I felt so dorky at that age and I looked dorky too. My body was starting to fill out in weird ways. I didn't think anybody liked me and that's not too far from the truth. I did have a few friends but nothing like the more popular kids. I was friends with the only Iranian girl in my first year of junior high which was quite a big deal in 1980. We were very close and enjoyed making tapes of make believe news shows, interviews and comedy sketches and making fun of her older brother (who was considered the hottest boy in town). I was also friends with a boy on my block and we enjoyed making tapes of newshows, interview programs and comedy sketches and making fun of our younger brothers.

I was embarrassed by my family, by my clothing, by my pale skin and weird hair that I couldn't do anything with but I was INNOCENT. I didn't know that there was such a thing as recreational drugs. I basically listened to classical music all the time because I was studying music and that's usually what my mother had on the radio, so I didn't know anything about rock and roll. I only knew the mechanics of sex and it was what people did after they got married. But I didn't think about it. The possibility that I would be having sex at anytime in my future life wasn't even a thought.

As dorky and weird as I felt I was I still would rather have been that innocent thirteen year old than the one portrayed in that movie.

In response

Jon sarcastically writes in response to my previous post:

What really chaps my ass are those unconstitutional searches they force on me whenever I have to board an airliner!This issue must be addressed. And you're not even allowed to joke about carrying a bomb at an airport. What happened to
freedom of speech?

in response to that comment Vidiot writes:

Air travel is a much more restrictive environment than the New York subway. There are also more alternatives to air travel than there are to riding the subway. But one of the biggest problems with the random subway bag searches is that it won't solve anything, and may actually make things less safe. They're "security theater", not security.See, I want people on my train to not be complacent, to think "oh, they searched that one swarthy guy's bag, I'm safe." I want people to keep an eye out for suspicious packages and bags left behind.If we're to have searches, they should be predicated on constellations of suspicious behavior. That was, after all, what caught Ahmed Rassam. Not a random search or simple racial profiling.These searches are idiotic. If a terrorist is asked if his bag may be searched, he'll do one of two things: a.) detonate his bomb at the search station, killing whoever is in line; or b.) leave, go to another station blocks away, and enter the system there. (Or, the terrorists could refrain from putting their bombs in backpacks or bags; they could put them in hollowed-out books, or coats, or belts, or womens' purses (which have been specifically excluded from these searches.))

Why not dedicate police resources to the NYPD's Intelligence Division? (See last week's New Yorker article by William Finnegan...sadly not online.) Murder on the subway is a crime. Let's treat it like a crime. Investigate those who are plotting it, gather evidence, and put them in jail for a long, long time.I have nothing to hide, yet I firmly believe in the Bill of Rights and the Fourth Amendment. Which is why I will courteously and respectfully decline to consent to a search. Particularly a warrantless search absent probable cause, which violates the Fourth Amendment.

Stand Up For Your Rights

I found this sticker defacing a mailbox on my way to work this morning.



I don't want to upset anybody by disagreeing with this organization BUT what about my right to travel the subways without fear of being blown to bits? Does ACLU have an alternative suggestion for keeping subway riders safe from the same kind of terrer recently experienced by London commuters? Yeah. That's what I thought.

People. These aren't normal times. There are evil citizens of this world who want to do nothing but upset those of us who are struggling to find our own happiness.

If you've got nothing to hide, you've got nothing to worry about in terms of an impromptu search. Also, it's not like these searches are without warning. It's been on the news, every subway station has a sign posted and the MTA makes regular announcements over the P.A. system every ten minutes in any station that I've been in.

So get your panties out of a bind.

If a cop wants to search your bag, let him.

if a cop asks you to stop for goodness sake, JUST STOP.

Photography Born of Boredom

I felt so lucky when I walked into the 28th St. station and the W train was pulling in.


The train was running slowly but it was still running and then the W train was inexplicably delayed at the 57th Street station. For those of you who don't know, you get out at this station if you want to go to Carnegie Hall and you're on the N, W, or R trains. Having just finished reading The Halfblood Prince, I didn't have a book with me. (I like to wait a day after finishing a book before I start a new one.) But I did have my camera which I used to pass the time. First I shot a picture of myself looking bored out of my mind.


Then I shot a thrilling picture of the tip of my sneaker.


But that was getting boring also. I tried something more exciting, something I don't do under normal circumstances and that was to photograph people unaware that they were being photographed. I think I got some nice shots.
===============================
These two woman were having a respectfully quiet conversation. I say respectfully because a lot of times in a crowded train you are forced to hear very loud and very personal conversations that no one else should hear.



This woman was reading Harry Potter. I think she may have figured out I took her picture 2 minutes later.


This guy had the right idea by taking a short snooze.


This next picture was very exciting to take. He was sitting so close to me and he was reading so intensely that he didn't even notice what I was doing. My heart quickened just I snapped off this shot.


It took about an hour for me to get home.

Willie Aames

did you ever wonder what happened to Willie Aames from Eight is Enough and Charles in Charge? i wasn't exactly wondering. he wasn't even an idea of a memory from my childhood. on the treadmill, at the gym, on the tv monitor in front of me, i saw a picture of fat man wrapped in a towel slamming a door in the lens of the camera. i couldn't believe the voiceover when it said "Willie Aames loses it on Celebrity Fit Club II".The formerly good looking star of my favorite show from childhood and probably no more than a couple of year older than me, looked uncomfortably not-so-fit. He is years away from that picture of the boy on the right.

I guess, It happens to the best of us and even the mediocre of us, which is why I've been working hard at the gym.

I wondered what happened to him that he had to go on a show like this.

If A Tree Falls In The Woods . . .

. . .does it still make a noise if you're not there to hear it falling?

Yes. I think so. Yes. Indeed. Of course. When you are walking into the woods, do the sounds of birds chirping and creeks girgling and leaves rustling just start spontaneously as you walk up to them. No. Of course not. In order for you to hear something it must be making noise whether you are there or not.

Just because you are not there to hear it, does not mean the tree doesn't make a noise when it falls.

What do you think?

Wednesday

Today is Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday
It will be a fun day, fun day
All day long
===================
Good morning campers.
===================
Dear man who had to squeeze in to that tiny space next to the uncomfortably hot and large young woman on the train,

I am very upset with you. There was barely enough room for the five people already sitting on that bench. You certainly didn't look comfortable squeezed in between that poor, heavy girl and that stupid-sittingwithhislegswideopen-JOCK. You only had four stops to go. Why didn't you just stand?

Instead of discomforting just yourself by standing, you ruined the morning commute of three people including yourself.

Why? Why did you do that?

The Road To Hell is Paved w/Good Intentions

A camp in Miami got into some trouble by naming their talent show The Ghetto Talent Show which includes a Watermelon Eating Contest.

Dog Days of Summer

It's July and it's hot out. I'm not surprised. Why are you?

Every summer in New York City is miserable.

This weather is not necessarily a sign of global warming.

Nor is it a sign that Satan is on the final approach.

It's just summer in New York City.

Get over it!

Monday: The Other Beast

Going back to work after a great weekend is better than not being employed at all. As much as I dislike a working Monday, I much prefer it to all of those Mondays where I was unemployed a couple of year ago.

I haven't met anyone enjoys working on Mondays. If you are one of those rare few that likes working on Mondays please write me at genxmisanthrope@aol.com and tell me your story. I'll post your explanation next Monday.