Champion

I feel like a champion. I managed to accomplish everything I needed to do today including time for chillaxing. After a hectic day at work, ran over to Adorama and purchased a flash for my camera. Got a $40 discount thanks to my smile and charm. Hopefully I'll use it beyond my one assignment. Then ran through the Picture House event- i.e. where all the stock houses convene. Probably one of the most important events of the year in my industry and I should have gotten there earlier but didn't really have time to speak with that many people. Plus they give you about 5 canvas bags filled with image catalogues so within a half hour, you can't feel your arm. And I ran out of business cards.

After attempting to find a cab, I realized the smartest decision was to run back to the office and drop off my swag. Unfortunately, people were still there. Such is the life of advertising. With much pain in my feet and nearly my arm partially numb, I quickly ran to my next event downtown. Didn't find a cab until about a half a mile later. Finally arrived at my last event on Houston and Mercer filled with hot, young, dark haired, Brooklynish, artsy guys. And I mean filled. Sausage fest. But I was with two male former coworkers and in too much feet pain to work it. Plus if I didn't pick up my laundry, I'd end up going through another half-hour- what to wear situation. So sadly, I left. And in keeping with my habit of running into everyone I know, a guy from my college ran onto the elevator right before it closed.

And final accomplishment- Got my laundry! Ready for another day of insanity.

Morning Issues

Had some serious morning issues today. Tried to wear a pair of jeans that I haven't worn in months cause they didn't really fit but couldn't find any fall temperature-appropriate shirts to go with it. Basically cause I've been only buying dressed. So finally, after a half hour and about 10 wardrobe changes, I went with the purple tights/jean skirt combo. Navy blue t-shirt with purple cardigan over and brown boots. Hopefully it matches. Oy vey.

Then I left my apartment, attempted to open my umbrella and somehow in the process, managed to puncture my finger. And since bad things come in threes although obviously none of this is that bad.. every time my eye buds fell out of my ears, I'd accidentally spill my coffee trying to adjust them and hold my umbrella at the same time.

Hopefully the day will shape up better. But I have 4 major things I need to do and have no idea how I'm going to accomplish them. 1- stock photography show in the Flat Iron/ Chelsea. 2-Somehow pick up my laundry which is always conveniently out of the way from everything on 2nd avenue and 6th street. And 3. Attend some event on Houston and Broadway post work. 4. Pick up a flash at Adorama.

Um Really?

You know when you're sick or getting sick and have weirder dreams than you normally would? Well I left work early today cause I was feeling under the weather. Promptly took a long nap.. and dreamed I did it with Lindsay Lohan. Holy crap. Really? I don't know where to begin. I think I'm going straight to the gyno to get tested. And then finally finding that therapist that I've been meaning to look into. Hmmm.

Happy Monday!

Favorite shots from yesterday- The Village- East to West.

My Flickr Link

Crif Dog I LOVE YOU

Today I sampled a little piece of heaven. Juicy, scrumptious, beef dog wrapped perfectly crunchy, delicious bacon, topped off with avocados and sour cream. Experience = possibly better than sex. Between Crif Dog, Two Boots, Mudd Coffee, Abaraca, 16 Handles I'm not sure if I could ever leave the East Village.

Beautiful

Call me crazy, but the most beautiful, amazing thing just happened. I have a cheap hair clip from H&M that's perfect for my hair. Hair doesn't fall out, doesn't pinch head, etc. And it broke 2 days ago. So today, I pull out this purse that I seriously haven't used in 2 years cause it was never quite the right side. I open it up, and find the exact same hair thing, but not broken.

It's going to be a good night.

The Latest Trend

While at the Photo Expo, I saw the guy from last week who was offended by my Gossip Girl comment. What are the chances? Didn't realize he was at all interested in photography. Didn't talk to him though cause he was on his cell phone and didn't see me. Also while I was sitting in a cafe having a very late lunch, I saw one of the girls that I photographed for my assignment last week. i.e. Candidly photographed. I feel like this is going to happen a lot. Need to get comfortable asking people to photograph them. Hmmm.

Wow. Weather was insane. Windy. Rainy. How much do I not want to leave my apartment right now. But have a bachelorette party to attend.

Wandering & Pondering at Full Speed

I have way too much to do today. Going to the PDN Photo Conference at the Javits.. like.. um. Now. Then have to pick something up at Macy's. Sort of have to do my photo assignment during all of this. Would like to get a portable hard drive but I guess should just buy it through B&H. And need to go to the gym cause haven't gone in ages. Then need to call Arbonne people. And finally, get ready for tonight and make my way over to Tribecca.

Seriously?

I'm actually home on a Friday night. It's a beautiful, exciting, relaxing experience. First time in months that I actually committed to staying in. And- craziness. Someone's alarm clock actually goes off every single night at midnight. One of my neighbors. I mean, why in god's name would you set your alarm clock for midnight?? I can only conclude that it's a psychological experiment to drive their neighbors crazy. Perhaps a bet on who's going to violently knock on everyone's apartment door first. Hmmm. Good thing it stops after 10 minutes. Every day I am thankful for my "bad ear." I highly value being able to sleep on my "good ear" to muffle everything even if the trade off is asking everyone to repeat what they're saying and missing all the under the breath insults.

I. Love. My. Life. Thank you.

Best Reaction Ever

So my coworker comes over to my cube and goes "So you're stick to Verizon ---" And right before he could finish his sentence, he sees the iPhone and his eyes completely widen and lighten up. "Oh no, you got the iPhone!! Wow! Man, that means your not in my network."

To which I reply, no worries, you'll be there soon.

Saturday

I've Got the Hook Up

Holy crap. I just got an iPhone. So provided I figure out how to use it within the next few days, ya'll will now have continuous updates. On top of being swamped at work, taking a photo class and selling Arbonne, I will now be constantly connected. No more calling my sister or parents and begging them to look something up. Exciting!

Oy Vey

Sorry for being so MIA. Have been so busy. Tell me what you think... Saturday night I was waiting for my friend to show up at a bar. So this guy comes over, blondish, clean cut, tall, attractive, etc. and we start talking. He's 5 years younger so right away I'm like... oh. okay. Anyway, he's dressed up in a suit and 20 minutes into a great conversation, I ask him why he's so dressed up. He says he just returned from his grandmother's 92nd birthday at the Metropolitan Club or something like that. And we had already discussed how he grew up on the Upper East, went to Boarding school, etc. So I'm at a complete loss as to what to say. I don't know anyone from this "world" etc. etc. And I say, "oh, did you grow up in a Gossip Girl world?" And he's completely annoyed by the question. Says sort of sarcastically, he grew up rich, etc. etc. And then tells me that question made him uncomfortable. So I feel like I jerk and managed to pull myself out of it saying that I just found the differences interesting cause my childhood was completely different..

Was that rude of me? Or should he have lightened up?

Colin Powell Endorses Obama

In this video, Colin Powell eloquently conveys why he's endorsing Barack Obama, citing Obama's intelligence, grasp of the economy and VP choice as reasons he'll make a better president during this particular time. And the choice of VP, far right views of the party that have taken over (anti-Muslin, etc.) as reasons McCain is not the right choice.

Don't Hate the Player, Hate the Game

Man oh man. Did I get myself into a tizzy last night. Was totally intent on just getting 1-2 drinks and catching up with a friend. She suggested Solas, not I! Pretty much ten minutes into our drinks, we got hit on by two very cute, South African guys. One was an actor living in LA and another was a tennis player. Any how, my friend wasn't having it cause one was drunk. So eventually they give up. I did spot the tennis player this afternoon during my photography walk but didn't say anything cause I needed to finish my photo assignment. And he was carrying a tennis racket. Hmm.

So eventually our other friend showed up who we haven't seen in ages. But for some inconceivable reason, our spot was dead. My coworker showed up. Left soon after.. then just as I was about to leave, I spotted the Georgetown Law grad that I had managed to blow off the last time when I was waiting for pizza boy. We had a long, extensive debate about politics. Then met his super hot friends.. all owned their own companies of course. That's how guys in NYC roll.. So I'm surrounded by 4 attractive, boisterous guys and I look to my left... and spot pizza boy. Oy vey. How do I get myself into this. I sort of feel bad. Anyway, we all piled into a cab and went to the Gansevort hotel. And thus, my night turned into its usual 5amer. This is getting out of hand.

Romantic Friday Nights and New York Financial Crisis

Squirrel porn is not longer the top search that leads to me website. That would be Romantic Friday Nights and New York Financial Crisis. You know how depressing that is? Can't remember the last time I had a romantic Friday night. And thinking about the financial crisis is equally depressing. Actually, I can't even decide which is more depressing. Such a toss up. Boo. It's been a tough week. Hello.. cha cha cha changes. Way too many. Will things ever be the same? Man, can't elaborate but I can't believe how different things were just last week. Completely different and couldn't possibly have seen what was coming.

Happy Friday!

(Tompkin Square Park Sunday)

How is this for a sign....

So I've been reading "Rich Dad, Poor Dad," was just reading it and then decided to take a 10 minute nap before my TV shows. Cause I was too hung over and skipped my spinning class. And I kid you freaking not, the radio ad that woke me up was for "Free Rich Dad workshop... " Talk about a sign. The coincidence was perfectly a scene out of a movie.

Watched the debates at a bar- quite the interesting and different experience than at my sister's college. I've never seen so many eyes intently glued to the TV but I guess it was like a play off game. I definitely tried my best to listen to both candidates' answers without letting my political leanings effect my view of their answer. But.. then McCain would reference "Joe Plummer" and I'd lose that ability to be unbiased. To be fair, Obama tends to take the middle ground to appease voters, consequently saying things that I don't agree with- like more domestic drilling. While from a laymen's perspective, it seems like the logical answer- the actual logistics of on sure drilling is not environmentally friendly and won't make as much of a large, immediate impact as perhaps increasing gas millage standards for American cars, etc.

P.S. I took my first warm shower IN my apartment since Monday. Oh happy day!

A Fun Heckler Moment...

Was walking into Grand Central when two construction guys asked me what I was listening to on my iPod. I sort of ignored them and put up my hands like I didn't know cause I didn't feel like talking to them. Then they continued.. So finally I yelled back, "Daft Punk" and I don't think they understood... so one guy goes, "Come on, you've got to work with us and not against us."

It was funny. I think he thought I was calling him a punk.


And.. I'm not going to cry right now over the fact that we still don't have heat. booooooo. I hear cold water is good for the hair.

Psychic Moment

Earlier today I was reading something online that made me think of someone... wondered what he was up to. Then the thought passed. I went outside to get lunch and who do I see? Yeah, I'm psychic.

More Pictures from Sunday

Booo

Woke up this morning, got in the shower... waited for the hot water... then waited some more and realized we had no hot water. So proceeded to carefully take an ice cold shower minus hair washing. brrr. It's morning's like this that.. errr.. I'm so happy to be living in the crap hole that I live in. So I don't do this normally, but click on my ads! and buy my t-shirts so I can make enough money to move out.

I'll go Down in Company History

Had an awesomely hysterical moment at work today. Was sitting on a workout ball, ya know-- the plastic balls you can do sit-ups on and it was slightly inflated.. And down I went. Fell off, was sprawled on the floor while wearing a skirt, just as our head creative director and another creative director walked by. They laughed hysterically and accused my coworker of pushing me down.

Men = Animals

Favorite quote of last night.

my guy friend: "It's like dangling bacon in front of a bear and expecting not to get mauled. You can't blame the bear."

me: But men are human and not animals. There is a different set of rules and code of society they need to live by."

my guy friend: "No there isn't. Guys are animals and you better be careful not to dangle the bacon."

Favorite Shot of the Day

Favorite Quote of the Day

my friend: "Molly, this is going to end up just being a crush and nothing more."
me: "Why?"
my friend: "Because I think he likes boys."
me: "Dang. That sucks."

Are you there god? It's me, Molly..

I can't say whether or not there is a god, but if there is, he/she definitely has a sense of humor. I went out with my coworker and her bf prepared for our usual night of debauchery but with a twist- we started out at Vig Bar instead of Solas. And who did we meet at Vig Bar? Why yes, you guess it, a bunch of Irish guys. She was hilariously and delightfully drunk after drinking on an empty stomach- pretty much the life of the party. The boys were game- and I kid you not-- one is a dolphin trainer. Yes, they do exist and some travel across the large, dolphin filled pond to practice their "craft."

As was expected, coworker and bf wanted to get food and cut out early, so I suggested we at least go to my hood so I can visit my homeland. Upon arriving at my safe, overly crowded enclave where everyone knows my name, I found my "bar friend" visiting from DC and "my" bartender adorably clean cut with a new haircut. But alas, no cute boys or at least ones over 25.

Okay this is a long one.. in order to understand the irony of last night, I'll have to first take you back to 2 months ago.... I met a guy at Solas, my bartender introduced us, etc. Wasn't attracted to him at first but eventually found him witty, interesting, etc. In any case, he wanted to go home with me cause the bar was closing. Oh wait, no.. he wanted to go home with me cause he's a GUY. And I was hesitant, but after getting pizza, obliged. So we get to my apt, and he realizes he wants another SLICE of pizza! I'm like, okay, you're weird.. but send him off anyway. And he doesn't come back! It's not until the next morning that I literally hit my hand on my forehead and realized he got locked out. So for the last two months, I've been thinking about him, trying to find him, etc. Hence my Solas frequents. And finally run into his roommate a few weeks ago and get his number. Then of course was away last weekend.

AND back to last night. I texted him trying to find out where he was. I gotz a schedule and knew I didn't want to go out tonight. So I'm waiting for him to text me back, and eventually start talking to some cute guy that went to Georgetown freaking law, was sweet, etc. But pizza boy texted me back and I had to be like.. "I'm meeting someone" to prevent further awkwardness. Actually he was probably just looking for ass cause he asked if I wanted to get out of there before he knew my name. Wait, all guys are looking for ass.

So finally, to the point. After 2 months of searching, pizza boy showed up plastered. Was not attracted to him at all. But was still kind of curious to know what had me so attracted to him in the first place. Was it in his kiss.. haha. All my peeps were like, we have you're back.. But yeah. So irony of all ironies. I suppose I can move on now.

Notable Moments of Today

This morning I walked out of my apartment building and nearly tripped over a gray cat. The poor cat was staking out Mamouns, so I'm guessing the super jerks at Mamouns decided that instead of trapping it outside their backyard, they'd just let it loose on the streets of the East Village during the night. Jerks. It nearly brought tears to my eyes. Why do I feel worse for stray animals than for people? I suppose there's this instinct that the animal has little control but then again, neither do homeless people that are most likely mentally ill.

And during my walk home, I was .5 seconds away from getting run over by a speeding bicycle. Seriously. I wasn't even listening to my iPod and I had the light. Closest in the history of living in the city to getting run over. Jerk.

Okay, despite the last two paragraphs, I really am in a good mood. Like disturbingly good mood and had way too much energy during the day. Of course it's tapered off conveniently when I should be running at the gym. What? I'm having a good hair day. Can't mess with that shit.

Carb Hangover

Yeah, I woke up around 8:20. Kept hitting the snooze button. Had massive amounts of pasta last night (not whole wheat) and too much bread- consequently had a carb hangover. Sort of like a real hangover only thankfully not as bad.

Yesterday after having a super duper hard spinning class, I went to the doctor. Nearly passed out after they tried multiple unsuccessful times to get my blood (I have deep veins.. and I'm used to this) then walked around my new favorite Brooklyn neighborhood, Cobble Hill. If it wasn't for my favorite gym/ instructor and the obvious convenience of living in the East Village, I'd move to Brooklyn Heights, Carrol Gardens, or Cobble Hill in a heartbeat. Perhaps I'll raise babies there.

Happy uh New Year to Me

Wow.. our heat came on last night before legally required. I don't know what to say. I'm stunned.. happy and soo warm. Oh yeah, forgot about the angry pipes though. Small price to pay. Can't be worse than my mom's snoring.

Etc.

And by the way, you know when you oversleep.. and in your head, while you're dreaming, you sort of realize it. Well, once again this morning, my laziness over road that thought process. I woke up at 8:30. Oh, but it gets better. As you may recall, Monday morning I slept till 9:30 because I didn't set my alarm correctly after my roommate had buried it (rightfully so) under my pillow. Last night, I had the common sense to set my cell phone just in case. But you wouldn't believe my stupidity. I set it to 9:30am. Why yes, that was my Id completely burying the "ego" thought process there.

My mother, possessing some serious motherly ESP that needs to be studied, called my cell phone at 7:30 to wake me up. But.. unfortunately, I briefly picked up the phone, incoherently grunted I was awake, and promptly hung up and rolled back to sleep. Fortunately the light from the kitchen streamed into my room, waking me up. I literally woke up, looked at the clock, and angrily blurted out "Not again!!?"

All in all, I have concluded that 1. I really like my sleep. 2. My mom is psychic. 3. My roommate actually decreased the VOLUME of my alarm in addition to "un-setting it." and 4. There is clearly no guarantee that I will wake up on time tomorrow morning.

Your Long Awaited Updates

I'm so hungry I'm eating dry oatmeal. Don't try and act like you haven't done it before. mmm.. freeze dried apples...

I err. debated whether or not to watch the debates, but then turned it on.. and heard McCain say "you don't understand," to Obama and Obama somehow manage to work in the erroneous decision to go into Iraq as a response to every question.. and realized there was no need to watch them. The more I learn about national politics, the issues and who the big players are, the more I feel confident with my initial sentiments that it's all BS and rhetoric. There are some obvious differences between Democrats and Republicans, but often times, it seems like someone will take an opposing view just to disagree. In today's political climate, it's hard to get a sense that either candidate just wants what's best for their country. Instead, it's about pushing the parties agenda and never really studying what really works. In the past, has less government really been beneficial to our society? Does raising taxes actually benefit the economy more than cutting them? Why is the belief in the global warming a democratic and liberal viewpoint? Can't someone believe in a smaller government but also recognize the impact of man on the environment? There are so many issues that should be partisan.. and so many variations on what it means to be Republican vs. a Democrat.

The Day After

Nature

A Taste of My Minnesota Adventures

I'm Alive and Well

My apologies for being MIA. Was enjoying some quality mom and sister time in the Minnesota. I'll post more photos, etc.

But anyway, you know that part of the brain that tells you in your dreams that you're probably over sleeping. Like when in your dreams you think.. wow.. this dream is going on for a while. I feel so well rested and yet it's a Monday morning. My alarm must have gone off. Well.. I have that part.. but then the other part that says, you're probably okay. It will go off. And thus, I woke up at 9:20 today.

I Want to Marry Joe Six Pack When I Grow Up

My friend wanted me to comment on the debates. I don't really even know where to begin and don't claim to be an expert in politics. I definitely enjoyed watching it with a bunch of college students, my mom and sister instead of angrily yelling at the T.V. by myself. Palin did better than I thought. Aside from her annoying maverick reference and embarrassing attempts to connect with the average joe, I felt she sounded more coherent than expected. BUT it was obvious that she had memorized this script on a handful of issues and couldn't debate or defend her point of view on those areas outside these issues. The Republican ticket is in a tough position. They want to assure the public that they will not perpetuate the problems of the Bush administration, but at the same time, not alienate their party. However, as Biden pointed out, despite claiming to be a maverick, McCain's voting records and policies strongly coincide with those of Bush.

I have intelligent friends who are Republicans and obviously don't paint all of them as middle American, religious extremists, but as people who have conservative view points. After learning more about the Republican polities, and what conservativism means, I feel more strongly about my Democratic views. Where has this idea come that we need to cut back on government spending? In the debates, the politicians kept talking about wasteful spending, but I'm wondering what they meant. Spending billions of dollars on a war that we shouldn't have gone into in the first place? I think the Bush administration and current financial crisis has proven that the market doesn't regulate itself. The trickle down theory just doesn't work. It's been proven that deregulation and lower corporate taxes have sent the economy into a tailspin.

In fact, in this book I'm reading, Taking on the System: Rules for Radical Change in a Digital Era by Markos Moulitsas Zuniga, he points out that "A December 2007 survey of Wall Street investment professionals showed that 22 percent listed "Democrats in the White House" as their top worry for 2008, more so than global unrest (15 percent), US economic growth (15 percent), and even a terror attack (13 percent). Yet in reality, since 1948, Democratic administrations have delivered 15.25 percent gains in the market compared to 9.53 percent for Republican ones, according to Jeremy Siegel, a finance professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and a Kiplinger columnist." (p. 18-19)

Now moving on to their environmental policies which I obviously feel very strongly about- Palin touts that we have domestic oil, tricking those less educated on the subject into thinking that the Democratic party is denying us from this oil. As if we actually wish for $4 gallons. But as Biden pointed out and has been revealed in countless articles, that oil wouldn't be available for TEN YEARS! And I can't remember the amount of oil it is thought to produce but I've read in countless sources that it wouldn't make a dent in our oil needs. Aight, peace out. That's all I'z gotz to say for tonight.

Apparently I look Young

And my favorite quote today so far from my sister's teacher.
Julia, "this is my sister Molly."
teacher, "Hi, nice to meet you. Are you in college or going into college."
Julia, "She's 27."

Molly Learns About Judaism at a Lutheran College

Experience = full of paradoxes. My sister is going to a Lutheran college in Minnesota that my father went to. I'm a "Jutheran" i.e. Jewish and Lutheran. My mom is Jewish, but as she revealed at the class today, never celebrated any Jewish holidays except for the food part. However, she's always considered herself Jewish despite attending church with us, and not attending temple growing up. And my sister and I were essentially raised Lutheran even though most religions follow the mother's faith.

So here we are, my mom and I learning about our Jewish faith surrounded by college kids- that we will learn, have barely ever met Jews. And in the end, I learned a bit about my background, and they will continue to learn with open, and accepting ears- about the Jewish faith. Oh yeah, did you know that there are only about 10 Million Jews in the world? Coming from Northern, NJ/NYC- this was quite the shock.

This just in- just learned from some Pennsylvania kid that more celebrities have come from NJ than any other state.. will have to look into that. Also mimicked our supposed accent and apparently we come from big families. Mafia reference.. hmm.

Mid-Western Passive Aggression

My friend was at least amused by this story. Yesterday, we flew on a very small plane and were in the front seat, making bag storage nearly impossible. So I went to the seat behind me and tried to stuff my bag under my own seat. A nice "looking" man says to me loudly as he approaches the seat, "That isn't your seat is it?" I meekly reply, "No." And he snaps, "I didn't think so."

I simple, "Lady, get the hell out of my seat," would have sufficed.

A Photographic Journey through my Travels

Mischief and his unusual obsession with water slightly delayed the bathing process.

Flight wasn't too bad except we were delayed by about 45 minutes. And yes, you've seen it here first.. there is an iPod VENDING MACHINE at the Minneapolis airport. Can you believe it? Hi, I'll have my vending machine peanuts with a side of Nano. What's another $200 when you've spent $400 on a plane ticket right?

I begged and pleaded my mom to get some shots while I drove. The sky and road had sort of an empty, lonely quality to it. Seeing as how I generally split my time between the East Village and congested New Jersey suburbs, it's eerie to be some place with so little people.

More pictures to come. Yeah, lots of beautiful women at St. Olaf. It's weird.. I guess it's a Midwestern thing but they all look the same. Kind of boring I suppose and super sucky if you happen to be average or below average.