Weirdness

I went to high school with this guy. I was randomly reading adrants and saw this video. Haha. Once we went ice skating together. I could never figure out if it was a date or not but he picked me up in his light blue convertible or something like that. Anyway, I love the 'Neck. Gotta give props to my home town.

Der

Today while depositing a check, I was so unfocused thinking about Wednesday's festivities that first I forgot to write a deposit slip. And then when I finally wrote one and deposited it, forgot to take off the yellow slip and put the whole thing in. Note to self-- don't focus on any other tasks but depositing checks. A few years ago, I tried to talk on the phone while inputting my pin number and completely blanked out, messed up 3 times and had to get a new pin number.

just one of those days right.

Last One, I promise

Facebook just got this new feature where it shows you "people you may know." This is a good idea in theory. But I was just mentioning to a friend how I just know that people will pop up in that window who I don't want to think about, and there's a reason why I'm not friends with them. I mean, seriously, I think I've looked up everyone I want to be friends with. If there's someone I forgot existed or haven't added, there's a reason for that. And just as expected, someone just popped up that I'm trying to forget I know I may have to see again soon. Great.

On a Happier Note

I played ping pong on the Upper West Side today. I'm not going to say where.. because everything in NYC is ruined when the world finds out about it. Actually didn't have to wait for a table. And I had a great opponent- I think we're on the same level. I lost focus towards the end and thus got my ass slightly kicked.

The Upper West is like a whole new world. Almost felt like I was on a mini vacation away from everyone. It's funny how I tend to stay in a 1 mile radius from my apartment given that I work about 6 blocks away. Definitely need to explore more but on the weekends- time for exploration is limited if I decide to hit my favorite intense spinning class. Once the weather gets nicer, that will change. I walked across town through Central Park around the reservoir and feel even more equipped to take on the work week after my mini vacation and "fresh air." So many people think that NYC is the place to be and that's when you know you've really made it. Funny how those who have truly "made it" are most likely to leave the city during the weekends or live along the quiet, serene and posh digs along the park. Picture above isn't the most excited but it was nice pretending I was actually alone, even if just for a moment. I hope to be spending more time in that hood in the future.

And P.S. I called my sister today. Her phone is broken in some strange way that causes her to sound like she's a million miles away. Apparently she was screaming into the phone. But to me, she sounded like a chipmunk. Was pretty funny. We had a good laugh.

Cleaning

I just had the pleasure of cleaning my bathroom that is in no way remotely dirty. In fact, I'm sure the fumes that I just inhaled from the cleaning supplies are more harmful than any potential germs in our bathroom. And I'm also excited to have the smell of rubber gloves on my hands for the next hour before I go to sleep. I guess cleaning to someone else's standards every other week would be considered compromising. Oh wait, no. That's not it.

August Rush

Just saw August Rush. Pretty good movie. Sort of Disney like- weird to see Robin Williams as the bad guy. And everything was very clean as far as the whole serendipity, coincidences thing. But the music made up for it, and I have a girl crush on Keri Russel big time. Jonathan Ryce Myers isn't so bad either. The last line was something like, "the music is all around us. You just have to listen." That kind of thinking is bigger than the movie and something I believe in. Maybe I've seen one too many episodes of Oprah, but I definitely believe there's something to be said about what the universe is telling you, and sort of following signs. I guess you believe what you want to believe. But seriously.

Like for instance, there was one job I had last year that I wouldn't have necessarily taken if I hadn't been working briefly for a crazy person. Ended up being somewhat life changing. Or my apartment. After walking into dozens of apartments and meeting countless potential, future roommates- I walked into this one 2 1/2 years ago and it just felt right. Then other things came together. My apt number happens to be a long time favorite number of mine. It's on the 3rd floor.. and these 2 numbers were my winning numbers for this year's Super Bowl pool. And the list goes on.

Promises in a Pill

Last night, after watching Gone With the Wind, I ejected the DVD and changed it to TV mode on channel 3. Save the Last Dance was on. I got excited for that but then it switched to a commercial. It was seriously a commercial for a pill to enhance your eh hem.. The commercial was so bad and effectiveness of the drug so questionable that one almost thought it was a SNL sketch that somehow made it's way onto channel 3. I can't believe stuff like that is allowed to exist. Fortunately, I didn't have any dreams about growing penises as a result of that.

Gone With the Wind

I finally finished Gone With the Wind. I seriously don't understand why that movie is so famous. It was cool finally knowing where all those lines are from and understanding hundreds of cultural references that I didn't understand before, but dang, that movie was long. I guess the premise is a total classic- people go through great strife and overcome it. And the love story but the constant background music got kind of annoying after a while. And I didn't appreciate the racial stereotypes among other things. Glad I saw it but can't imagine why it would be anyone's favorite movie. And can't imagine who would have the time or attention span to see that movie more than once! Agree? Disagree?

Last Night Was a Winner

I'm turning into a party animal in my old age. I guess it's good to get all this out before I'm 30 right. Didn't get home till 5:15. I'm fairly brain dead and my feet hurt like a mofo. There's a certain enormous amount of physical pain that comes with drinking and dancing that only a girl can relate to. After jumping around, dancing ALL night, then walk a bit here and there all in heels no less, every step in the morning is filled with pain. The pain starts intensely at ones feet then moves up to the back to the point that you can touch the ground without slippers. Fortunately I don't feel hung over. Unless you count the complete brain deadness going through me. Don't think I could hold a conversation. Woke up at noon and literally opened my eyes and vacantly stared at the ceiling for 5 minutes in a limbo state of sleep and awake.

Pretty much all my plans for the day that involve any effort are out. I'm anticipating not making my intense chisel/spinning class at 4ish. Or getting to the gym at all because that involves more impact. And have lowered my main goal of the day to laundry only. Given that it's fairly cold out, I won't feel too guilty. I did have a super fun night- going on 3 weekends in a row of dancing! And it was for the pets! Okay, I'm off to start the long process of willing myself out of bed.

Concidences

Whenever I leave something in my apartment and have to go back up, I always end up realizing I forgot something even more important. Like last night I was half way out the door and realized I forgot something. Went back inside and realized I forgot to close my window. Then on my way out, ran into my hot next door neighbor with is girlfriend. He told me that the guys downstairs play Guitar Hero. So that was sort of critical information that I've been wondering forever.

Going Out

As the music rages below me, vibrating the floor- I feel really good about my decision to go out despite not feeling 100%. Better than trying to get to sleep with this noise.

Contrasts

I was supposed to hit a spinning class but then didn't feel so hot and realized I needed to find an outfit for tonight. Unfortunately, for the first time ever, I brought my gym clothes including spinning sneakers and 2 magazines to keep me entertained before class. So I had to lug them around while I shopped in the crowded Flat Iron, and had a vegan apple muffin at the farmer's market.

Before heading into Forever 21 at Union Square, I heard chanting and saw a massive crowd of people. It was a peaceful protest and candle lighting to honor those Tibetans tortured by the Chinese. The images definitely brought tears to my eyes and I found myself mesmerized by both the chants and graceful movements of the men ceremoniously lighting the candles. Then, as most New Yorker's have probably done, without thinking of the connection, purchased two items of very cheap clothing that was probably manufactured by underpaid Chinese workers. In continuing my failed attempt for balance on my walk home, I stopped in at Jamba juice and purchased the most unhealthy, chocolate, banana and peanut butter shake with, of course, protein powder and vitamins to supplement my dinner.

And tonight, I'll probably drink too much and stay out too late, but all in the name of charity. Seriously, I would have stayed in tonight if it wasn't for the charity aspect of tonight's festivities. I'm going to a bar event benefiting an animal rescue organization, hosted by a former college classmate.

Dreaming about Sleeping

Third night in a row that I got home from festivities after 11:30. Was no drinking tonight. Only talking and learning. Or was it living, learning and loving. Also did lots of laughing today. Life is good. Was going to stay in tomorrow night but now looks like I'm going out. It's a hard decision between going out and meeting new people vs. relaxing and having a night in. But man, I need a night in. Soon.

good night and sweet dreams.

Last Night

Last night, after hitting the gym, actually going running, then quickly showering- I met up with a friend who had her MBA program happy hour. I get to the bar, get ready to pay the bartender and realize I somehow managed to forget my wallet. I'm a fairly responsible person. I rarely forget important things such as wallets or keys, but I guess things get lost on the pile in my bed that I try to keep organized before leaving the house. The only other time this happened was when I took the wrong wallet- empty one but that was worse. I was going to karaoke in Mid-town West and didn't realize until I got off the 30 min subway ride. The bill came to around $45 per person plus I needed to take a cab ride home! So I ended up owing a friend $65.

Fortunately, I had my check book on me..random. So I wrote my friend a check while she covered me. We ended up at a second bar and played beer pong. Why have I discovered all these games so late? Hi, I'm approaching my fifth year college reunion and have probably played drinking games about 5 times in college, but maybe 10 times over the last year. Around, I don't even know how late- maybe 1, someone had the brilliant idea to play flip cup. Oh yeah, I said flip cup. You know where this is going. We played a group of random people and made multiple new friends. But then one guy kept getting more pitchers.. and the game went on and on. Finally, at around 2am, this guy convinced me and another girl to come back to his amazing apartment (2 blocks from my apt) to keep him awake for his 5am departure time for a flight he had to get on. We ended up playing Guitar Hero and then I stumbled home- for the first time when the street were fairly empty. Fun times. I guess I only have a few more years left where I can party like this on a weeknight and not be considered a total alchy. I was pretty dead at work and definitely have no intentions to do this on a regular basis but had fun meeting cool people and getting to know people others a bit better.

Um Yeah, I just got home

there's this little thing called peer pressure, beer pong and flip cup that I need to avoid. For the rest of my life. But had super amounts of fun. Thanks KE.

Site Traffic

Help me return my site traffic back to its former glory- pre- old site became a porn site days.. I'll throw in a revealing picture for the cause. Pass my blog link to your friends.

Der

Watching the Today's Show and it's about kids having too many electronics. This woman goes on and on about what her kids have.. ipod touch, computer, wii, etc. and says her kids don't talk cause they're too occupied. Der. Don't buy them these things!! How many of us 80's/ early 90's of us kids had multiple electronics that costs more than $250? That we carried around? Personally, getting a Nintendo was a big deal. Do these kids deserve an iPod??

Funnies

Yesterday I was standing on a salad line in front of a French woman. Made me want to speak French again and I wanted to help her translate but her English was really good. Funniest part was that she was trying to figure out what salad dressing to get, and finally proclaimed that she should get French!

Part of my mom's email address is MaDraw. She's probably had this for about 10 years. I don't know if it's cause she's a Mom and likes to draw or it's cause of her initials. I suspect that latter. Anyway, last summer, during my sister's graduation party, one of her adorable friends came up to me hysterically laughing. He said, "yo, your mom is so cool. Her email address is MAD RAW!"

hahahahahahahha. so my sister and I haven't really had a full conversation with each other for a while since we're both so busy. Instead, for the past few days, we've just been texting each other back and forth with, "yo, mad raw son." and "yo, yo, mad raw sista.."

Big Brother

So I guess Google has taken on the role of Big Brother. I guess it's those middle states you've got to watch out for..

Drug deal caught on Google

White Bear

Weekend Downs

I guess I should have probably ended with ups.. but this weekend would have been perfect if...

The second DVD of Gone With the Wind from Netflix wasn't completely cracked thanks to, I believe, the mailman who has done this 6 times before.

And if I hadn't gotten in a huge fight with someone whose bitchy response to the situation was to say that someone else "warned her" that I said rude things. Thus making me question my character. Fortunately, I remind myself that if I was truly that consistently rude, I wouldn't have absolutely wonderful, kind, interesting and fun friends- some for over 26 years. Yes, that's 26 years. But yeah, I could still use a hug right now. And perhaps a little reinforcement to my theory that this person is just angry at the world.

Weekend Ups

This weekend was one of my best weekends of 2008. My West Coast sister and I had an awesome time. As usual, we were two peas in a pod -easy to forget we hadn't seen each other for over 2 years and live 3,000 miles away. Now that I think about it, I managed to see nearly all my best friends- from all over the country, no wedding involved. Saw a friend living in Boston, outside Philly, Brooklyn, NYC, NJ, CA.. all over. And was really great to incorporate old friends and new. I'm fortunate that I'm still close to people I've known since birth! When your parents take you to play with the girl down your street as a baby, put you in Brownies at 5... or public school, they have no idea that you'll be discussing their wedding twenty plus years later.

On top of that, I got to see the folks along with Mischief and Lola.

Wandering through Brooklyn Heights, DUMBO and Carrol Gardens

My two friends and I had an absolutely love walk through Brooklyn. We started off in Brooklyn Heights, then got pizza at Grimaldi's, then hot chocolate at Jacque Torres. And promptly each gained 5 pounds. We stumbled on a fantastic furniture store in Brooklyn Heights/ Atlantic Avenue with beautiful, handmade, rosewood pieces. Then walked on to Carrol Gardens where we found the perfect home goods store filled with flatware patterns that we envied. Definitely want to move to Brooklyn if my sweet East Village deal runs out.

On the way home, my friend and I were walking on Lafayette when we heard a loud "Pop!" And looked over to see a sad, lifeless pigeon. My friend says it perfectly "That was def a nice walk but very traumatizing to hear the bird pop like a plastic bag as a cabbie destroyed his life right before our eyes."

Interesting to see people's reactions to that. I guess not all New Yorkers are jaded.

Burn Baby Burn

Only I would get slightly sunburn from walking around outside all day. Nice.

Balls

Wow, I'm actually watching basketball right now. This whole sports gambling thing is actually pretty fun. Glad my money was on Duke. Don't worry.. I'll be watching Lipstick Jungle after this. And just to get in touch with my normal, typical girlie self, I'm also "researching" people online. I may even do some face mask thing just to really get in touch with my girlie side after all this basketball.

Dang, I sort of miss team sports. Sometimes being an adult is lame. Why is it automatically assumed that we should give these things up? Who decided that spending your weekends at a bar having, sometimes, meaningless conversations, consuming mind numbing and caloric substances was a perfect alternative to doing something athletic? I guess with this kind of talk, I may as well not live in NYC because we're definitely known for our nightlife. But seriously, how much fun would it if being on a sports team, taking perhaps a history class, and staying up all night just talking- was the norm. I know I can join a team and take a class- but the adult life- 9 to 5 if you're lucky (haven't actually met anyone who keeps those hours) doesn't necessarily allow for those valuable and fulfilling activities.

...I'm also proud of myself for making dinner.. pasta w/ store bought sauce but added chicken sausage, spinach and cherry tomatoes for a more well rounded meal.

West Coast Sister

I'm excited. My "West Coast Sister" is coming to visit tonight and staying for the weekend. I haven't seen her for a few years and we always have tons of fun together. It's one of those friendships where we may not talk for a few months, or see each other for a few years but that once we're together-things fall exactly in place. She moved away in 4th grade and we've discovered that oddly enough, despite being a year apart, 3,000 miles away and doing completely different stuff- we seem to go through the same stuff at the same time.

Muppet Babies

This goes out to a friend of mine...

Kermit: When your world looks kinda weird and you wish that you weren't there
Piggy: Just close your eyes and make believe and you can be anywhere....

Growing Pains

Why did I have the theme song to "Growing Pains" stuck in my head when I woke up this morning? Wait, it's coming back to me. I think I actually dreamed that I was watching an episode with Leonardo DiCaprio in it. So weird.. no idea where that came from. Him as a youngin. Oy, my internet wasn't working at home this morning. Hopefully it will be working when I come back.

Enjoy the rain!

Pondering

One of the things I've noticed about keeping a blog, or pitfalls, is that everyone knows your business. Der. Isn't that the point? This is obviously a forum for me to express my thoughts, photographs, art, etc. and I enjoy that creative release. It's also sort of an academic endeavor. I don't believe I've written this extensively since college aside for the dozens of cover letters I wrote before getting my current job. And I'd like to think that at least a small fraction of what I write, people find to be relevant, entertaining or insightful. So what I'm doing is also for an audience.

But what I did not anticipate, is going out to dinner with friends I haven't seen in a long while, or rarely see- and who regularly read my blog- having nothing to ask me. No questions about what's going on in my life. Because they think they're read it all on my blog. Or going on dates and wondering if perhaps a little mystery is key to the dating process. I definitely put my thoughts and sometimes feelings out there for people to see. Anyone- friends, coworkers, dates, parents, etc. Thus knocking down barriers from people seeing who I really am. At this point- and maybe it's just come with age- I don't believe there's a "work me," me around certain groups, me around guys, or me around parents. It's just me. There may no longer even be a "drunk me." But what I will say is that my whole life is not on this blog. And never will be. So feel free to ask me what I did yesterday and what I'm thinking today because I bet you won't be able to read the answer.

Time for Bed

Wish I was cuddling with my favorite cat of all times, Pippin.

Paranormal Lady

watching Paranormal State and their "client" is totally losing it. Totally nuts. Nice.

Good Morning!

First morning I've woken up in 2 weeks without a scratchy throat and congested. Woohoo!

Classic

Word of advice- don't be a serial dater unless you have a really good memory and can keep your past and present relationships straight.

So I went out to a movie then dinner with a friend of mine who I briefly dated. It was totally casual and the dinner thing was only an afterthought, no romantic intentions. We get out of the theater and he goes, let's go to that great burger place we went to when you first met my friends. And I said, "what? Don't know what you're talking about- I've never gone to dinner in Park Slope." And he goes on and on about where we sat, who was there, and "how could I not remember".. And I'm thinking- I've totally lost it. So as my ongoing joke, I said it must have been one of his other women and that if he's wrong, he's buying dinner. We finally get to the restaurant and it hits him. It was his ex-girlfriend and said incident happened in Fall of '06. Nice.

So in conclusion- I'm basically going to assume every guy I meet is a player unless proven otherwise. And guys, if you plan on dating tons of women, delving into online dating or dating more than one lady at a time, you might want to work on your ability to remember significant details like what you did with who. Maybe cut out the drinking a bit if it's effecting your memory? And leave the multi tasking up to us ladies. I don't think I'll ever feel guilty about dating multiple guys at once. At this point, I'll just assume they're doing the same.

Last Night

I had sooo much fun. Went to a friend from high school's bday party at La Strata. Around 8ish, the friend who I was supposed to go with wasn't feeling up for going out. I was 10 minutes away from not going and staying in all night when I found out another friend was interested. Got to the place and should have known, given the birthday boy, that it would be a long line, with cover- type club with some seriously scantily clad ladies. But despite this, the club was fine. I think it was one of the first flashy type clubs that actually cared about getting you as a return customer. I've been clubs that are super over priced and you wait online only to get inside and it be too dark and excessively crowded- like once they got their $20 they didn't care. This place wasn't too crowded, had great music and even though the drinks were comically small and slightly overpriced, that was fine since I was dancing anyway. Was nice to be with a girlfriend who actually is a good dancer and likes to dance. And also nice to be surrounded by guys that I grew up with who I could also dance with without them trying to get with me the whole time.

But the funniest thing happened. This guy who I went on a few dates in high school's brother was there whom I've never met. Not knowing who I was, I believe, or my past "relationship" with his brother, he was hitting on me. He practically said some of the same stuff his brother would say. Weird. Genetic? I guess they clearly have the same taste in women. There was also another guy there who looked EXACTLY like a kid from my graduating class. Weird. Anyway, it was fun to be in a club, with bottle service, surrounded by my boyzzzz.. most of whom I've known since I was 6.

What I learned last night

My new favorite word:

ba-donka-donk
An ‘ebonic’ expression for an extremely curvaceous female behind. Women who possess this feature usually have a small waist that violently explodes into round and juicy posterior (e.g., 34c, 24, 38). Other characteristics would be moderately wide hips and a large amount of booty cleavage (i.e, depth of butt-crack).

And despite it's subtle, abstract elegance, the picture above is actually of my badonkadonk.

This is Hilarious

no, really. The cat on the left is Hilarious. My parents got him at a farm, or something, before I was born. As a kitten, the farm called him "Bad Ass" since he used to roll around in the cow shit. Don't know why they got him. But they realized they couldn't possibly call out "Bad Ass" whenever telling him to come inside from the pretty suburban streets of their town.

Good Morning! Sort of.

Oh the wonders of the internet. This. Is. Funny. I woke up this morning to my parents calling me in a panic.

my mom "When you google your site and click on the old one, it goes to a porn site!!!"
me, not really awake, "what?" drifts back to sleep and hangs up.

So I finally wake up, get a voice message from my dad saying the same thing and check the site. First lesson learned. My parents do, in fact, read my blog. Just about the first thing they do when they wake up.

Second lesson learned. Porn sites will take any URL. I gave up my blogspot domain name last night and purchased wanderingpondering.com. I guess last night this porn site decided my website was so popular that they took the URL. Note to self, should have purchased previous URL as well. Anyway, blogspot said it takes a few days for the internet to direct itself to your site, or something like that- so this should correct itself. In the meantime, you go here for your regular blog dose, or to my old site for some online porn action. Hahahaha. What would my friend say now about blogging? The one who said it took away from his porn watching time. How appropriate.

cheers!

A Photographic Journey

Let Me Eat Cake

I've been eating too much cake and cupcakes lately. They're everywhere! I can't resist. Some things never change.

Legs

You know your dress is too short when some girl from Irving High School yells out, "Miss, aren't you cold." And you reply, smiling, "No." at which point a creepy middle aged man yells, "Keep on smiling honey."

Dang, and I have this in two colors..

Sneeze

I still feel crappy. This has been going on for a week and a half. I don't think this Claritin is working at all. Grrrr. I'm sick of waking up congested.

Awwwww

Perhaps the cutest kitten on the web. Vinny the Destroyer- my coworkers parent's kitten.

The Circle Line

Is this a New York thing? Have I been working in this city for too long.. haha.. all of 4 years. I feel like I'm connected to everything NY. Maybe it's my self diagnosed ADD or ability to make these connections.. but I'm always noticing this stuff. Every time I open a magazine, there's an article or picture of someone that's been a part of my life. Whether it's a picture of a current TV star in New York magazine who attended my high school, or an article on someone who worked with my previous employer- there's constantly something reminding me of my past. I walked down the street and saw a billboard for a new musical that just hit Broadway and remember how I saw it last year at Joe's Pub through my old job. At the after party, I met a cast member and discovered she was from my home town.

Today, I flipped open another magazine today and saw a picture of two former friends. Nice. More specifically, two friends who were never the greatest of friends, but now hang out all the time because I'm no longer her #1. Earlier today, I met a photographer who worked many times with two different ad agencies. At the one ad agency, he worked with a former friend of mine and her creative partner- and confirmed she was just as crazy as I thought. The other agency he happened to work with many times was where the girl's ex-boyfriend works. Nice parallel there. To add more to the circle of ridiculousness, my predecessor at my current job worked at the agency briefly. So as someone has already told me.. advertising is a small world... errr.. don't "screw" anyone. That's probably a good rule of thumb for any industry. Anyway, this is just a taste of how small NYC really is. On any given day, I run into or spot numerous people I know. Happy trails.

Stock full of déjà vu

ya like that one don't ya.. I'd like to thank my mom.. dad.. j/k.

So for my job, I often spend countless hours looking for stock photos. What this really means is that I often feel like I'm having continuous déjà vu. Anyone who has looked for stock images eventually comes to realize that there are only a handful of commercial models. The breakdown is as follows: about 15 African American women between the ages of 45-60. Same for men... maybe 40 or more Caucasian and Hispanic mature adults, and the rest of the stock images contain attractive people under the age of 30. If you're looking for nationalities other than "Asian," forget about it. The other issue is that nearly every other image looks familiar. Most likely because you've seen the same person, but dressed in a different outfit.. or dressed as a doctor, where as they are now the patient.

Sometimes you'll even notice the same setup. Like "wow.. that library looks familiar. I think I'm losing it.. Where did I see it before? But either way, there are so many images that I've seen or used, that it's hard to place exactly where I've used them. And believe me, I have a stellar visual memory. Like for instance, just today, I was walking home and saw this girl for a split second. I recognized her as someone I was acquaintances with 6 1/2years ago while I was studying abroad in Florence... for only a few months. Wow.. that was 6 1/2 years ago.. depressing.

Hmmmm

Congratulations to me. I finally ran into my slightly hot neighbor while singing out loud to my iPod as I entered the building. He was probably leaving to visit his girlfriend. Just assuming. The perils of singing out loud. Oh well. I don't think this tops him leaving his keys in the door while he was clearly smoking up..

Some things never change

Some things never change. My parents stressed me out even back then. I had trouble sleeping last night, finally took Nyquil, and had trouble waking up. Blah, when will my allergies?? go away! I've been sick for over a week. Grrr.

Dentistry and Dates

I had to cancel a first date because I wasn't sure if I'd regain feeling in the left half of my face. Awesome. Got to rethink my scheduling next time. My future date confessed his driver's license picture is messed up because he couldn't smile for the same reason. I have a fairly crooked smile but unfortunately numbing one side does not straighten it out. Oh well. I think reading, watching a movie and NOT going to the gym is the perfect alternative to a date. Maybe I'll do some push ups.

I'm a Star.. er like Mischief the cat.

Wake Up

Um, perhaps this picture explains a lot. About me. Apparently I was more flexible then. So tired and believed to still be suffering from my self diagnosed allergies. The weird tribal screaming music coming from either upstairs, downstairs.. or from the court yard didn't help.

Biking and Boobies

My spinning class was damn hard especially since I skipped last week cause I was sick. I couldn't concentrate cause the girl across from me had super cleavage. Aside from turning me temporarily gay, I couldn't stop looking and trying to figure out if they were real or fake. I managed to crack up the class once again with my back and forth banter between me and my spinning teacher.

Spitzer

Dude. Are you kidding me? Couldn't you have waited to go home to your wife.

So I knew this person, and we got in a fight because I said something that could have been taken the wrong way by other people who may have overheard-making me seem not so classy. Anyway, it turned out her boyfriend's friend regularly hired prostitutes through his job. All I could think of was that she judged me for what I said accidentally???

Wandering- Back in NYC!

I'm back in NYC! Always feels good. I walked home from the Port Authority which is not the most exciting walk. I mean walking through Herald Square makes you feel like you might as well be at the Garden State Mall, but I can't argue with this weather.

Once home, I decided to indulge a bit and get hot chocolate and a whole wheat croissant from Tarallucci e Vino. Ha! As if getting whole wheat made a difference but it was sooo good. On my way home, I walked into a serious magic shop, Enchantments Inc. on East 9th Street. This was no hippie, new age, commercialized book and incense shop. This seemed like the real deal. I had a long talk with the store clerk trying to understand what magic is and how it relates to Wicca, yoga, nature, "The Secret," and religion. Basically magic, in the pagan sense, is the Western equivalent of many Eastern traditions like yoga and meditation. It's interesting to see how everything relates. I'd love to study the bible, Torah, or other religious texts. I bet they all say essentially the same thing with perhaps differences such as referencing God vs. nature vs. the spirit. The problem is when people try to guard this information and skew it so instead of serving God or nature, they want to you to believe that they are the conduit between the two. Hence, back to Catholicism. I don't know why I'm talking about this again. I'm certainly not any sort of authority. I've never taken a religion class or even philosophy although I've studied both a little through other classes. I'd have to ask my sis.

Anyway, my roommate put together a kitchen cart for our microwave and other stuff. So our living room/kitchen area is a bit more organized. And I've gained another piece of furniture in my room. I can't tell you how exciting it is to organize my room a little more. It so gratifying but I feel like I've accumulated so much stuff! I went through some magazines and decided which to recycle. I barely even read the ones I get and then instinctively want to save them "just in case." As if the women's magazines I get really will offer me information I don't already know. Or as if I'm really going to hit the museums or cultural events in Time Out or New York... just stressful looking at the pile. There's something to be said about living a less cluttered, humble lifestyle.

Some Things Never Change

Oy Vey and Mothers

Before coming home.. I got into a little tiff with my mom. I was running around my apartment like a mad woman trying to get my act together since I thought I was meeting a friend before hopping on the bus. I asked her if she'd kindly look online for a few minutes to find this bridesmaid dress that my friend and I need to try on. I specifically said it's no big deal and that I can look, but if she had a few minutes.. So she said she'd call L- her friend and mother of a girl I grew up with who got married a few years ago. I said, okay, but don't go crazy.

An hour later I get a call from her. "I looked everywhere and couldn't find it so I called B's father, whose number I got from L and he said...."

ME: "You called who??? B's father??? Why would you do that?? B is my grade school nemesis. She is practically the reason I spent a brief time in therapy around 5th grade! And I doubt I'm over all that!!! Grrrr"

MY MOM: "But, but.." She yells and we both hang up.

I can only imagine the conversation between B and her father...
FATHER: So you wouldn't believe who called me this morning.
B: Who?
FATHER: M's mom asking about a bridesmaids dress. You'd think she could have looked it up herself.
B: Hmm, that's funny. [evil laugh] Who's getting married? What's she doing, where does she live....

and B calls S who calls R who calls M who calls K..

After another few angry phone calls, my mother and I both apologized and I'm left pondering, (yes of course, I'm always pondering) where this whole debacle will lead.

Schmersey

As is typical with coming home to Schmersey and taking the NJ transit... I missed the bus by a whole 2 minutes and had to wait a half hour for the next bus. Five minutes into the ride, I suspected the couple behind me was doing more than just kissing. Okay, I didn't get a good look, but that was definitely the first time I saw a girl practically on top of a guy.. On The Bus.

Anyway, I'm finally home. Was supposed to go to Ikea and run some other errands but the weather is so crappy that I can't see any reason to leave the warmth of my parents house.

Um, Yeah.

Um, yeah- I'm sooo staying in tonight to watch a movie. Got back from my new "dance class." Was okay. Lots of work trying to figure out the moves. Okay, I'm running out of material. I need to go wander some more. Maybe I'll do some pondering tonight.

G Money, give me some of dat poetry of yours. Now what? On no you didn't. Yes you did.

Word. To. Your. Mother.

I would dig up some old stories of mine, that's right. I gotz stories.. Like about Throw-Up Boy. But now that some of my coworkers are reading this.. I've got to sensor at least until they forget about it and lose the url. Although all they have to do is look up squirrel mating habits to find it again.

College Reunion

For some odd reason I decided to volunteer with my college's reunion committee despite still being on the fence as to whether or not I enjoyed my college experience. I take comfort in knowing that if I really had a good time, I wouldn't have spent a year abroad. I like the school.. but the people.. and my particular situation..

Anyway, it happens to be a fairly expensive school. My parents did a great job of saving for college and didn't have to worry about sending my sister to college for another 8 years. Little did I know what it would be like to attend a college where the majority went to prep school, and their parents were not only able to afford the expensive tuition but also a nice car for their kids, etc. Not that there's anything wrong with being rich.

So for our 5th year reunion someone came up with the brilliant activity of Beer Pong. I'm all for beer pong, sort of, not really. But at a reunion. Come on. Of course a few months later, campus security nixed the idea so the alumni coordinators emailed us for our thoughts on what to do. This was my favorite response...

firstly, campus safety does know that we are all 26-28 years old now right? i mean, holy crap i feel like they are expecting the kids to run out of [redacted] hall daycare and chug all the beers at [redacted]. i honestly feel a bit deflated by the fact that they are treating us like we are still students, and not alumni who pay their salaries.

Yes folks. We are alumni that pay their salaries. Just in case you didn't realize this, it is the alumni who pay the salaries and therefore, they are at our bidding. Glad we got that cleared up. Oy vey.

Tooth Ache

So I went to the dentist today for the first time in a while. Okay, not too long but first time I got the works. Thanks to my lamo previous company that had bare bones health benefits, I didn't have dental insurance. Dude. There's something to be said about preventative medicine. Hello!? Look Ma, I have a few cavities. This whole cavity thing is all new to me. The nice dentist showed me detailed, yet horrifying illustrations of how cavities form and what they can lead to. Talk about propaganda. It's like the dentists equivalent of non branded advertisement. Teach the patient about the condition so they freak out and seek the cure.

Anywho, my coworkers and I came up with a formula for how many cavities one has based on the questions the dentist asks you:

Do you have dental insurance? +1
When was the last time you went to the dentist? 1 or more years ago +1
2 or more years +2
What do you do? Finance + 3

If anyone has a better formula for figuring out number of cavities, feel free to add your two cents, really-- dig your teeth into this one.

Yoga Tastic

I know some of you will be disappointed, but I don't have any good stories about my yoga class... if you know what I mean. But I'm going to be a bridesmaid in a wedding in August and I met one of the bridesmaids for the first time a few weeks ago. It turns out she lives near me and goes to my yoga class occasionally. Don't you love how you can go to a class with someone at the gym many times over and never notice them or know them.. then find out you're sort of intimately connected to them. So New York. World a small place. Blah blah blah.

Project Runaway.

Dude.. why doesn't my Bravo TV channel work. This blows. Project Runway is the only reason why I have cable in my room. Some much digital TV. I hope the cable gods figure this shizzizzle out before it all goes digital. Grrr.

Bloggersation

REDACTED: sup woman

ME: do you read my blog?

REDACTED: Ive read it before. I mean its funny. Im not a real blog fan tho. Just seems the stuff I would REALLY want to know about people, wouldnt be on a blog

ME: hmm, like what? i'm pretty honest on my blog

REDACTED: I dunno. I can't explain it really. I just feel like in general they are just...meh not that you/other lie

ME: but not necessarily too personal, more about my political opinions, religious views. etc. i think it's a pretty accurate depiction of who i am, and goes deeper than if you were to know me casually

REDACTED: are you pitchin' me to read your blog?!?!

ME: i guess it depends on who it is, if someone i had a crush on or wanted to get to know had one, i'd read it, but i really do it for myself. some of it's funny.. and relevant to anyone. like the squirrels having sex, and blog of superbowl party

REDACTED: yeah, those pictures were funny, I'm not accusing your blog of being ass im just saying blogs in general suck, so I dont read blogs

ME: i guess i'm more inclined to read people's now that i write one

REDACTED: If I had a blog... "law school sucks" "got wasted" "law school sucks" "fucking red sox"

ME: you sound so well rounded

REDACTED: I might talk about like...really loud burps, but other than that, meh

ME: I guess you don't have much to say

REDACTED: Im empty. I can make an emo blog

ME: emo blog?

REDACTED: "life sucks" "no one likes me" "look at my died black hair and pierced nose"
like emo kids, u know

ME: I try to have a more positive view on life and perhaps be inspiring

REDACTED: thats so BORING though. no one like happy. SAD sells

ME: boo

REDACTED: like...actually I would prob be less likely to read some emo blog than a happy blog
but whatever. porn trumps all every minute I spend reading a blog is a minute undevoted to porn

ME: Truer words have never been spoken

REDACTED: I can of course have two windows open, blog on one
porn on the other, but, I could have porn on both there is no escaping it.

ME: nice

Rub a dub dub.

I might have to make a few changes on my blog. I took the leap and showed a few coworkers the URL.. which means I'm going to have to clean up my act. No more talk of drinking, kitty and squirrel porn, evidence that I occasionally participate in some Bedford Avenue performance art, images displaying my immature and dirty sense of humor. For now on, I'm going to play it safe. Work, Work Work.

Sexy Butts Part Deux

just checked my sitemeter and apparently someone was drawn to my site after searching "sexy butts." It's like they just knew..

oh wait. My bad
http://wanderingpondering-m.blogspot.com/2008/01/sexy-butts.html

Some Shizzizzle

A poem/rap by my friend itz. I said i to t to z.
(set to a beatbox):

Yo I like to wander and I'm here to say
I may be Napoleon's cousin in a major way
I keep it real and that's how it goes
Obama's is a lefty
So he gets the bitches and ho's...... BLOG OUT

Perhaps I should give him a regular forum to express his skillz.

Air Bull$hit

Awesome. So word on the street is that Airborne doesn't work. Good thing I wasted some of my hard earned dough on it and used it last night.

http://biz.yahoo.com/cnnm/080304/030408_airborne_settlement.html?.v=2

TED Stuff

I love how there's always something going on in the media, or wherever that reminds me of one of my former jobs. Nice.

http://valleywag.com/362415/why-the-ted-list-is-troubling

I'm pretty pissed off at valleywag.com for posting Chris Anderson's email. I mean jesus, I think Nick Denton and his company should study a little something I'd like to call Karma. How many media outlets directly profit off of someone else's pain or embarrassment. Is that also part of human nature. So I posted a reply but I don't know if it will get published. Incidentally, they approve your comments. So they can say anything they'd like, but us common folks have to get our comments approved. So much for free speech. Almost makes you want to start a blog.

This posting is another example of how the blog world has been more about putting people down than anything else. I can say with first hand experience that the people at TED work around the clock. Yes, some of the attendees are celebrities (less than 10-15), but the majority are people who are not only successful but have implemented world saving endeavors. In fact, contrary to what pepelicious believes, TED is often criticized for being less about tech under the leadership of Chris Anderson, and more about social and environmental change. How can anyone put down an organization that has facilitated one.org, eol.org, TED Africa, and countless other initiatives. Why not embrace change and support their goals.

The Catholic Church

What I am about to say may be very controversial, and I should probably have waited to calm down a bit. But I've got to say, I can't stand the Catholic Church. More specifically, its role throughout history. I have no qualms with Catholics or the good things the church has done as a whole. But dear God- and when I say dear God, I mean from myself, not THROUGH a group of MEN- what the Church did during the Inquisition, and through various times throughout history is appalling. Watching Goya's Ghost and I'm guessing it's fairly accurate. Torturing innocent people. Only so a group of MEN could stay in power. Brilliant. The birth of communism? Horrendous. Or even before that, charging people to rid themselves of sin. Please. Even now, the Vatican is extremely wealthy and is the keeper of a variety of secrets, parts of history, and worldly goods but whether or not they were obtained in a godly manner is of question.

Through researching my family, I have learned, incidentally, that I'm a Protestant through and through- and as far back as the late 1700's. As far as I know, not a Catholic bone in my body. I have respect for the teachings of the religion itself, but NOT for those who have abused its power. I come from a line of Norwegian Lutherans, Swiss/French Huguenots and Russian/Polish/Hungarian Jews.

Okay, I think I got most of that out. It's tough looking back at history. As much as we think that our world is a violent place, it doesn't compare to times when making the slightest wrong move could send you to the guillotine by your own people. Of course, unfortunately the most terrible violence occurring today is by groups of people hurting other groups- whether its genocide in Africa or war in Iraq. Wow.. Hopefully we'll eventually evolve and learn right? But seriously. There lies the question. Will we? Ever? Is it human nature? What if women ruled the world? Would we have as much violence? Is violence a necessary part of life?

Kitty Porn

Err.. this is the last of this "trend," I swear. I guess going to my strip cardio class had a stranger effect than I thought it would. Lola's at that stage in her kittyhood where she thinks sticking out her tongue at the camera is funny. Mischief agrees.

Squirrel Porn, NSFW?

The other day I was walking through Union Square and could have sworn I saw two squirrels getting it on. I LOVE NEW YORK. They were moving pretty fast so it was hard to get good shots. But enjoy. . I did some research on their mating habits and found that the males duel for the female then whomever wins, mates with the female. But no graphic detail on how this happens. It did, however, say that mating season is late February/March. Nice. The funniest part of their tango was that the, what I'm assuming, male squirrel would come at her from behind and she'd be standing on her hind legs, holding a small branch for support. Couldn't tell whether or not she liked it.

I Learn Something New Everyday.

That would be chocolate whip cream and blackberries over my waffle.

So at my favorite grocery store, my favorite punkish, cute, deli guy told me they don't carry Splenda because the company does cruel animal testing. Dang. Well I guess that's off my list. I started researching the validity of this claim and had a hard time finding reputable sources but did find some info on sweeteners. I think it's probably obvious that artificial sweeteners aren't the best chemicals for us, but the info I learned has persuaded me to stick to regular sugar- maybe even give up my diet Snapple.

Pancakes and Waffles

I have a big craving for either pancakes or waffles. I never eat those things. I'm debating how much effort it would be to temporarily put myself together and run across the street to the grocery store.. hmmmm.

Update

I guess it was sort of a mix up according to him. We never really exchanged numbers- I didn't give him mine until around 5:30 yesterday. He said he didn't have access to a computer or something. Maybe I'll give him another chance.

On the bright side, I enjoyed my hot chocolate and reading at Mudd coffee. I'll definitely have to go there again and perhaps go for the coffee/hot chocolate route the next time I go out versus drinking. I feel like I'll have to put in some serious effort finding late night alternatives to drinking.. but every morning I wake up during the weekend, not having an ounce of booze in me, I feel so great!