Dancing bears that disturb the singing foxes whose singing piss off the bears.
A bit text heavy, but oh my goodness, so awesome!
I wish I were a comma expert though. That would make life easier.
mangoes and other creative things
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Elf Yourself, Mister
Eva sent the photos we took at the dress shop--and this is what I did with it, plus a fish head.
Tis the season!
Tis the season!
Monday, December 21, 2009
I Work in a Button Factory
Did your music teacher ever make you sing the Joe/Button Factory song? This NYTimes article by Mindy Kaling kind of reminds me of it.
I know what she means though when people think you're grown up--a designer thought I might be old enough to have children. It was odd at first, but I guess I do dress pretty homely/practical compared to my single counterparts in publishing. Sometimes I have cute outfits, but mostly I dress in something comfortable and warm, and that's mostly JCrew instead of H&M. And I wear comfortable ballet flats or flat boots instead of booties and heels.
I get more that people think I'm still in college though and that is fine too. The woman at Trader Joe's commented on my mom's Santa pin, which I bought for her from a junk sale at school in 1st grade. The woman asked if I was grown-up and apologized for not being able to tell. I think it's difficult to tell with Asians especially though. People think my mom is my sister or that my aunt is my sister, and that's fine with me--just as long as they don't think I'm their mom or aunt.
Who really wants to be grown up though?
Jon was saying that he was looking forward to our 10th anniversary of knowing each other--10 years! That's a long time. But then again, I've known friends for even longer--and that's pretty mind-blowing to think how old we all are getting...and how many of us are reproducing...but still how young we are, which is nice too.
I know what she means though when people think you're grown up--a designer thought I might be old enough to have children. It was odd at first, but I guess I do dress pretty homely/practical compared to my single counterparts in publishing. Sometimes I have cute outfits, but mostly I dress in something comfortable and warm, and that's mostly JCrew instead of H&M. And I wear comfortable ballet flats or flat boots instead of booties and heels.
I get more that people think I'm still in college though and that is fine too. The woman at Trader Joe's commented on my mom's Santa pin, which I bought for her from a junk sale at school in 1st grade. The woman asked if I was grown-up and apologized for not being able to tell. I think it's difficult to tell with Asians especially though. People think my mom is my sister or that my aunt is my sister, and that's fine with me--just as long as they don't think I'm their mom or aunt.
Who really wants to be grown up though?
Jon was saying that he was looking forward to our 10th anniversary of knowing each other--10 years! That's a long time. But then again, I've known friends for even longer--and that's pretty mind-blowing to think how old we all are getting...and how many of us are reproducing...but still how young we are, which is nice too.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Heel!
My shoe's heel came off (again). Luckily (after searching my usual paths--I'm like an African mammal that uses tracks to escape ugly reptiles--that guy, pictured above), I found it at my desk.
I need more super glue.
Poo!
A pigeon in Times Square pooped on me as I made my way to work. I spotted a smidgen of white poop on the left shoulder of my coat as I hung it up. I ran to the bathroom to check my hair and get a paper towel to wipe up that poop.
Yesterday, I saw a pigeon whose feathers were ripped pretty roughly out of its lower back. It looked shaved, but its flesh was so pink and spotted with red. I believe this is what happens to pigeons when they're run over by taxis. It made me gag thinking about it on my way to work.
Did you know white pelicans eat other birds' babies? It's vile. And white pelicans are growing in population rapidly. Those ugly seals should eat the pelicans instead of the chin-strapped baby penguins.
I'm really happy I eat meat. Gotta get them, before they get you.
Yesterday, I saw a pigeon whose feathers were ripped pretty roughly out of its lower back. It looked shaved, but its flesh was so pink and spotted with red. I believe this is what happens to pigeons when they're run over by taxis. It made me gag thinking about it on my way to work.
Did you know white pelicans eat other birds' babies? It's vile. And white pelicans are growing in population rapidly. Those ugly seals should eat the pelicans instead of the chin-strapped baby penguins.
I'm really happy I eat meat. Gotta get them, before they get you.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
The Stinky Cheese Man Made My Boss Fart
Jon Scieszka made my boss laugh so hard that she farted.
Today.
I was sitting next to her.
It was awkward because she acknowledged it...and that it was her...by saying, "Excuse me."
So...yeah...anyway:
Jon was a pretty hilarious guy--if not a little surprisingly crude. He said that his mom still feels compelled to give him and his five brothers Christmas gifts--so she makes "shitty" things and sends them out. Potty mouth, eh?
He likes to find the irony in things, like:
"Milking his ambassadorship" by having children bow hello and bye to him. Mind you, in one instance, he was in a Catholic Church. So he's at the altar, Jesus hanging from a cross behind him, kids in uniform (one in a wheelchair), bowing repeatedly toward him. Err...there's video of this, but I think he's the only one who owns it. He went a little too far when he joked about healing the kid in the wheelchair, I think,...though it would have been nice if it were true.
Having the head of the Library of Congress do a robot dance...and other members of the elite literary world...
He had some fun stories about meeting the Bush family as well.
Still, I don't think I can ever forget that today is the day when Rosa Parks was too tired to get up for a white guy (who probably sat on his ass all day at work anyway) and the day my boss farted.
Today.
I was sitting next to her.
It was awkward because she acknowledged it...and that it was her...by saying, "Excuse me."
So...yeah...anyway:
Jon was a pretty hilarious guy--if not a little surprisingly crude. He said that his mom still feels compelled to give him and his five brothers Christmas gifts--so she makes "shitty" things and sends them out. Potty mouth, eh?
He likes to find the irony in things, like:
"Milking his ambassadorship" by having children bow hello and bye to him. Mind you, in one instance, he was in a Catholic Church. So he's at the altar, Jesus hanging from a cross behind him, kids in uniform (one in a wheelchair), bowing repeatedly toward him. Err...there's video of this, but I think he's the only one who owns it. He went a little too far when he joked about healing the kid in the wheelchair, I think,...though it would have been nice if it were true.
Having the head of the Library of Congress do a robot dance...and other members of the elite literary world...
He had some fun stories about meeting the Bush family as well.
Still, I don't think I can ever forget that today is the day when Rosa Parks was too tired to get up for a white guy (who probably sat on his ass all day at work anyway) and the day my boss farted.
F'ing TEASE
The date and time were open goddammit!
I called to see what was up with their system, and Ruth was not helpful at all.
Kleinfeld appt. line, you're at the bottom of my nice list.
Sushi Lunch
So I went back to the sushi place--Taki. It's not the best, but for two rolls, soup, and salad, it's not terrible either. (I'm looking at you Yummy Sushi--aka Yucky Sushi, and expensive too!)
I placed my order online and should have received a discount, but I was overly anxious and got to the place 30 secs after my order was printed. So they charged me the going rate--without the online discount. And that's fine because I didn't tip them. Which turned out to be even better that I didn't because the bag that they gave me had 3 sodas that the woman next to me ordered.
Good thing this place was across the street.
And the sushi wasn't half bad today either...with soy sauce that is.
I placed my order online and should have received a discount, but I was overly anxious and got to the place 30 secs after my order was printed. So they charged me the going rate--without the online discount. And that's fine because I didn't tip them. Which turned out to be even better that I didn't because the bag that they gave me had 3 sodas that the woman next to me ordered.
Good thing this place was across the street.
And the sushi wasn't half bad today either...with soy sauce that is.
BadMusicOnTheRadio
My coworker usually has good music playing from her little sound system--but lately it's been bagpipe music and weird female vocal kind of songs. It sounds like Cindy Lauper singing a mellow pop tune. I think it's a CD.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Runner-up
Main Entry:run£ner*up
Pronunciation:*r*-n*-*r*p, *r*-n*-*
Function:noun
Inflected Form:plural run£ners*up \-n*r-*z*p, -*z*p \ ; also runner*ups
Date:1842
: the competitor that does not win first place in a contest; especially : one that finishes in second place
So today I heard that I wasn't their first choice; however, when they offered the position to the "other girl," she wanted to work on other types of books. Well, why the hell would you apply and go through the interview for all of that?
I felt like crap that I heard, but still very grateful to be the runner-up. I'm really happy doing this work and working on the books I do.
Just another data point on how to live and deal, as Jon pointed out.
Pronunciation:*r*-n*-*r*p, *r*-n*-*
Function:noun
Inflected Form:plural run£ners*up \-n*r-*z*p, -*z*p \ ; also runner*ups
Date:1842
: the competitor that does not win first place in a contest; especially : one that finishes in second place
So today I heard that I wasn't their first choice; however, when they offered the position to the "other girl," she wanted to work on other types of books. Well, why the hell would you apply and go through the interview for all of that?
I felt like crap that I heard, but still very grateful to be the runner-up. I'm really happy doing this work and working on the books I do.
Just another data point on how to live and deal, as Jon pointed out.
Monday, November 16, 2009
Mad Men!
So nice! This was our band for our wedding--we hired the 9-piece little big band. They were truly excellent!
Booking
Events & Wedding Info:
Elan Artists at 888 800 3526
http://www.elanartists.com/lapis_luna/
My only concern about my wedding was that I wish more people danced--it definitely wasn't the fault of the band. To be polite, I guess our crowd of 250 just didn't have their dancing shoes on or "knew how to dance to that kind of music" as my mom would point out. I love those who did dance though.
I remember that for Lisa's engagement party and wedding--my first wedding of a friend's, Tina encouraged us to dance...if not because dancing is fun then because Lisa's family paid for that DJ and wants us to have a good time. Up until then, I never danced at a wedding because I was too self-conscious. Now that I especially know how much DJs and bands cost and the effort it takes to find them, I make sure that I'm on the dance floor--not because I want to dance but because I know it would make the bride and groom feel good about not wasting their money on a) finding a venue with a dance floor b) providing that entertainment.
So now what? We know who danced and who didn't--and so do we dance or not dance at their events on principle that they didn't dance at ours? In any case, dancing is a good way to avoid people you don't want to socialize with if you're stuck at a shitty table. Maybe we did our table arrangements too well.
For Mad Men Fans:
Lapis Luna performed at the wedding celebration of Christina Hendricks (Mad Men) and Geoffrey Arend (Super Troopers, 500 Days of Summer) on Sunday October 11, 2009. The intimate gathering took place at Il Buco Restaurant in Manhattan, with 70 family members and close friends in attendance, including the Mad Men cast and many other celebrities.
Lapis Luna's 5 piece band (Shawn Clark, John Merrill, Tom Abbott, Chris Pistorino, and Brian Floody) played Christina and Geoff's favorites while the newlyweds danced with their guests all night long! The happy couple planned their own vintage style wedding, and handpicked all the music from Lapis Luna's songlist. Some of the songs the band played were Cheek to Cheek, Manhattan, Our Love Is Here to Stay, Embraceable You, S'wonderful, You Make Me Feel So Young, They Can't Take That Away from Me, Dream a Little Dream, and Blue Moon.
Booking
Events & Wedding Info:
Elan Artists at 888 800 3526
http://www.elanartists.com/
My only concern about my wedding was that I wish more people danced--it definitely wasn't the fault of the band. To be polite, I guess our crowd of 250 just didn't have their dancing shoes on or "knew how to dance to that kind of music" as my mom would point out. I love those who did dance though.
I remember that for Lisa's engagement party and wedding--my first wedding of a friend's, Tina encouraged us to dance...if not because dancing is fun then because Lisa's family paid for that DJ and wants us to have a good time. Up until then, I never danced at a wedding because I was too self-conscious. Now that I especially know how much DJs and bands cost and the effort it takes to find them, I make sure that I'm on the dance floor--not because I want to dance but because I know it would make the bride and groom feel good about not wasting their money on a) finding a venue with a dance floor b) providing that entertainment.
So now what? We know who danced and who didn't--and so do we dance or not dance at their events on principle that they didn't dance at ours? In any case, dancing is a good way to avoid people you don't want to socialize with if you're stuck at a shitty table. Maybe we did our table arrangements too well.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
You Can't Take This Girl Anywhere
Every morning for the last couple of weeks I've bought a fun drink from PRET. That got to be expensive ($4 for a pint), so the husband and I went to TraderJoe's where I bought a mango drink ($4 for 1/2 gal). The drink is quite good. I put it in a thermos that the husband and I got from Beard Papa when it opened by his dorm at the time and we bought a dozen Beard Papas (well, two dozen actually, so that we each got a thermos).
I'm new to using a thermos. In grammar school, I had lunch boxes with thermoses, but I always had a juice box.
So today, I try to use the close/open mechanism on my thermos so that I wouldn't make a mess unscrewing the pieces. I tilted it, and it spilled. Nice. I have a meeting in 15 minutes, and though the spill has dried, there are sugar stains on my skirt. Let's hope no one asks.
I'm new to using a thermos. In grammar school, I had lunch boxes with thermoses, but I always had a juice box.
So today, I try to use the close/open mechanism on my thermos so that I wouldn't make a mess unscrewing the pieces. I tilted it, and it spilled. Nice. I have a meeting in 15 minutes, and though the spill has dried, there are sugar stains on my skirt. Let's hope no one asks.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Suave
I went to get sushi for lunch. I went to grab what I wanted, and I hit the glass instead.
Nice.
Nice.
Friday, August 21, 2009
Friday...a Few Weeks Later
Again, it's Friday night. We've not been back to Kendo since the weekend of the 2- of July. We're moving some things around, then driving up tonight. It's 8:30 now, and by the time we get out and up it will probably be 1. I hate these drives so much.
It's been on and off stormy today--not like, cloudy, drizzle, drizzle, downpour, drizzle, drizzle, cloudy--rinse and repeat. More like crazy kind of stormy--dark clouds out of nowhere, then downpour, then lightning and thunder, and then those dark clouds all pass, and there's light and blue skies again.
Summer storms are awesome!
It's been on and off stormy today--not like, cloudy, drizzle, drizzle, downpour, drizzle, drizzle, cloudy--rinse and repeat. More like crazy kind of stormy--dark clouds out of nowhere, then downpour, then lightning and thunder, and then those dark clouds all pass, and there's light and blue skies again.
Summer storms are awesome!
Friday, August 7, 2009
Married
It's Friday night. I'm married. Typically, Jon and I would be at Kendo, but tonight we're working on our thank you cards. Yes, we sort of let our feet drag on this task, but life has been busy.
Like life-changing (no, not baby-life-changing crazy, but close) crazy.
Like in a few months, life will be back on track.
And that is a good thing!
And thank-you cards will be mailed out!! Woo!
Like life-changing (no, not baby-life-changing crazy, but close) crazy.
Like in a few months, life will be back on track.
And that is a good thing!
And thank-you cards will be mailed out!! Woo!
Sliding Doors
*Sometimes I write comments in forums that end up making no sense. Instead of looking like an ass in the forum and wasting 15 minutes of writing up something that is atypically long for an Internet forum anyway, I will occasionally post those that did not make it elsewhere on the Internet.
The company I work for got sliding doors for a few of their offices. The CEO for the last two months that we've been in the building has been gloating about them to anyone who would listen. Since I was in one of those offices, I heard this same spiel everyday for about the last three months: 1) for sliding doors, he was quoted $15,000 2) he decided to do this himself 3) he spent 2 months calling companies for hardware 4) a company in Germany had the hardware 5) they cut down pieces of wood to door size 6) it cost $50 more than a regular door.
The company I work for got sliding doors for a few of their offices. The CEO for the last two months that we've been in the building has been gloating about them to anyone who would listen. Since I was in one of those offices, I heard this same spiel everyday for about the last three months: 1) for sliding doors, he was quoted $15,000 2) he decided to do this himself 3) he spent 2 months calling companies for hardware 4) a company in Germany had the hardware 5) they cut down pieces of wood to door size 6) it cost $50 more than a regular door.
Friday, June 19, 2009
The Forecast
My heart is controlled by the weather:
Sat
Jun 27
Sunny
79°
66°
Precipitation: 0% <- Better stay that way
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Monday, May 18, 2009
Help! I've fallen, and I can't get up!
I went to kendo with Jon on Friday. Note that this was not our schedule Sunday class, but rather an extra practice session with the sensei of the dojo in the area and all our senpei.
At Friday practice, you need to wear hakama and gi. I was really reluctant to go--even offering to clean up all the laundry piled up all over the bedroom. Jon had ordered our kendo uniforms a week before, but because of my blood diamonds I decided to sit it out. This week, I was thought that easing into it would at least be a start. So I put on the outfit, and it felt kind of cool. At first, I decided against going still, but when Jon came back to ask what floor the car was parked, I decided to go with him.
Everything was fine--good even. Our lady senpei Yasuka was excited for me--there are very few women at the practice. We put our shinais against the wall and warmed up by running around the gym. When I went to retrieve my shinai, the sensei's son grabbed mine instead of his own. It wasn't until after initial stretches that he realized that the pink Japanese character on his shinai probably just didn't appear. (His shinai also had his name written all over it.) In any case, that was a bit distracting.
Now, I hate sports. I was never good at them practically, though conceptually I can watch and appreciate most of them. Unless you prescribe actions to me (like a dance), I will be awkward and dangerous. So when we were told to run sideways, which is something we just never do in our other class, and I was a bit hesitant. But I thought, hell, I can do it. It's just sideways.
So imagine, about 25 people that are basically your teachers or their kids--ranging in age from like 6 to 65. Imagine being in the front of the second line in front of the mirror, and having to run sideways. Imagine running sideways and then losing your balance at the very end. Imagine falling. Imagine saying "Whooooa!" while falling, but not realizing what's happening until you're actually on the floor. Imagine feeling totally embarrassed and all those insecurities from high school gym class welling up. Imagine laughing at yourself because there's no other way to deal with the remaining 45 minutes you have left. Oy vey.
I now have a crazy black and blue on my leg and an abrasion on my hand from Sunday's practice. Nice.
I guess kendo is as dangerous as dancing. Jon broke my toenail.
At Friday practice, you need to wear hakama and gi. I was really reluctant to go--even offering to clean up all the laundry piled up all over the bedroom. Jon had ordered our kendo uniforms a week before, but because of my blood diamonds I decided to sit it out. This week, I was thought that easing into it would at least be a start. So I put on the outfit, and it felt kind of cool. At first, I decided against going still, but when Jon came back to ask what floor the car was parked, I decided to go with him.
Everything was fine--good even. Our lady senpei Yasuka was excited for me--there are very few women at the practice. We put our shinais against the wall and warmed up by running around the gym. When I went to retrieve my shinai, the sensei's son grabbed mine instead of his own. It wasn't until after initial stretches that he realized that the pink Japanese character on his shinai probably just didn't appear. (His shinai also had his name written all over it.) In any case, that was a bit distracting.
Now, I hate sports. I was never good at them practically, though conceptually I can watch and appreciate most of them. Unless you prescribe actions to me (like a dance), I will be awkward and dangerous. So when we were told to run sideways, which is something we just never do in our other class, and I was a bit hesitant. But I thought, hell, I can do it. It's just sideways.
So imagine, about 25 people that are basically your teachers or their kids--ranging in age from like 6 to 65. Imagine being in the front of the second line in front of the mirror, and having to run sideways. Imagine running sideways and then losing your balance at the very end. Imagine falling. Imagine saying "Whooooa!" while falling, but not realizing what's happening until you're actually on the floor. Imagine feeling totally embarrassed and all those insecurities from high school gym class welling up. Imagine laughing at yourself because there's no other way to deal with the remaining 45 minutes you have left. Oy vey.
I now have a crazy black and blue on my leg and an abrasion on my hand from Sunday's practice. Nice.
I guess kendo is as dangerous as dancing. Jon broke my toenail.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
This is Water
This Is Water: Some Thoughts, Delivered on a Significant Occasion, about Living a Compassionate Life by David Foster WallaceMy review
rating: 4 of 5 stars
Yay! I finally finished one of his works. The format is perfect--about a sentence per page. It emphasizes that this was a speech given to a wide range of people, and it leaves more time for you to think than a period. At readings, I used to love to listen to DFW read his works aloud--and this is one work that was written to be read aloud, by him. In any case, the example about being at a supermarket and thinking (or not thinking) that everyone around you is a dick is a great example. His references to days you might just want to kill yourself though, well, it's a bit creepy now...but it drives the point home. I also liked knowing that Mario Batali using crude/swear words at my graduation wasn't so unusual.
View all my reviews.
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
RSVP
We've been getting them in! It's pretty awesome how an SASE almost guarantees mail.
So far we've 44 guests including wedding party and parents: yes and 2: no.
That's swell and all, but what's interesting is the number of people who go the extra mile to write a joke, reminder, comment of some sort. It's more like 4, maybe 5.
Those weddings on blogs that feature extensive questionnaires for their guests that while clever (in an, aww, I wish I knew those people, but they're probably lame way) are deceptive. I guess asking for people to write out the names of all attending members of their party (didn't get that for one; and the other one just had first initials and last name...err...) is difficult, let alone fill if a) whether you're attending and b) how many people are attending is also difficult. I guess I'm asking for the world for a nice thought or something else besides names, a check mark, and number. Something like: "Can't wait!" or "Party on!" Not thought provoking letters on love.
When the most traditional RSVP is a handwritten note provided by the invitee (as well as SASE), what can be said about the art of letter writing and invitations if even the simplest provocation is ignored?
So far we've 44 guests including wedding party and parents: yes and 2: no.
That's swell and all, but what's interesting is the number of people who go the extra mile to write a joke, reminder, comment of some sort. It's more like 4, maybe 5.
Those weddings on blogs that feature extensive questionnaires for their guests that while clever (in an, aww, I wish I knew those people, but they're probably lame way) are deceptive. I guess asking for people to write out the names of all attending members of their party (didn't get that for one; and the other one just had first initials and last name...err...) is difficult, let alone fill if a) whether you're attending and b) how many people are attending is also difficult. I guess I'm asking for the world for a nice thought or something else besides names, a check mark, and number. Something like: "Can't wait!" or "Party on!" Not thought provoking letters on love.
When the most traditional RSVP is a handwritten note provided by the invitee (as well as SASE), what can be said about the art of letter writing and invitations if even the simplest provocation is ignored?
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Fell Off the Face of the Earth...Again
Somewhere between the week of St. Paddy's day in Florida and today, I fell off the face of the Earth.
I hope to post the Florida pics at some point, but in sum, this is what we did:
1) Rented a car (which I've never done before, but totally recommend because the process isn't that ridiculous)
2) Bought food from Publix (as in Puh not Puy -blix)
3) Ate hot dog salad
4) Went to some weird neighborhood where there was NOT an Old Navy; then went to Old Navy
5) Went to the beach, but we couldn't park, so left the beach and went to the pool instead
6) Went to Sonics
7) This time made it to the beach, and then headed to the pool
8) Wee practiced driving and nearly killed us (well, not really)
9) Made ziti
10) Drove to Miami to eat at this place called Versailles
11) No one thought the two hour ride across state to eat was worthwhile without actually going to the beach as well, so we went (it was raining but let up)
12) Walked around Miami Beach
13) Stopped at a rest area along Alligator Alley, saw an alligator; "Hotstepper" was on the radio, which made the experience even better
14) Worked on assembling wedding invites
15) Ate chicken
16) Went to another beach where there were mangroves and dinosaurs and jaguars and pandas, and then went to the pool
17) Ate at Iguana Mia where we met a fellow Jerseyian
18) Went to the pool
19) Packed up
20) Went to Sonics
21) Flew home
Florida was awesome!
The next week, I went to San Francisco for about a day with Jon where I hung out with Tiffany. Jon had a conference there, so I tagged along. (I have some pics from here too...)
4:30 AM: flight was supposed to depart (but something was screwy with the air conditioner or something)
5:00 AM: flight departs
8:30 AM: connect to flight in Denver (Denver is quite pretty--you fly around flat land and suddenly you're in mountains that just keep building up)
10:30 AM: land in SF
11:00 AM: meet up with Tiffany
Until about 6:00 PM: We went to the Ferry Terminal/Embarcadero area for lunch and got Thai crepes; then we took the BART to check out 826 Valencia's pirate shop and walked around this neighborhood; we stopped around the Civic Center then took the MUNI to check out the De Young museum in Golden Gate park where we also walked through some gardens; then we went back to the Civic Center and took in the view from her apartment; then walked to Jon's conference area, and from there walked through Chinatown toward Fisherman's Wharf.
6:00 PM: Tiffany heads off for dinner and Jon meets up with me. We get turtle-shaped bread from Boudin's. (So freakin good!)
8:00 PM: We have dinner with Jerry and Rosalie at Coi. (Really good!)
10:30 PM: Sleep
4:00 AM: Eat breakfast in bed
5:30 AM: At airport to fly back to Dulles through Vegas and saw some of the Grand Canyon (awesome!)
Yeah...24 hours...but it was worth it!
On April 1, I thought I was going start to do some contracting work for a few courses at my old company, but I became sort of a temp for a few weeks instead. We'll see what happens, but this is mainly why I've let go of writing up my weekly Goals and such. Lame, I know.
In addition to work, Jon and I are still doing kendo. I hit him in the head last week (the guy was standing too close behind me...). We've learned some steps on how to do the cha cha and swing. I'm finding that ballet isn't so hard when you lose like 20 pounds, but pirouettes are still difficult. The class is good though--it makes me think and stretch and work physically harder than I have in awhile. Plus, I think I pretty much rock the rest of the class (mostly old ladies, one old man, two women around my age or older) with my across the floor turns.
On the wedding front: invitations have gone out (just some stragglers to do because we just got their addresses); we're getting in the little RSVP cards, which is exciting!; my dress is due to arrive in North Bergen on Tuesday; the girls' dresses are in and all they have to do is pick it up--the question is, will they?? Just waiting on my mom's dress. Hopefully, once we see the colors we can finalize the flowers. I'm pretty much dead set on Vendela roses, but I ache for ranunculus too, and I want to get orchids for the moms and use the extra stems for the altar arrangements.
So now I have a choice between catching up on correspondence, sending out the straggling invites, or getting ahead of work by working on some archeology of religion outlines right now. (The lecture I'm on is about the Hopewell tradition of mound building.) So I guess, right now, those are my goals.
I hope to post the Florida pics at some point, but in sum, this is what we did:
1) Rented a car (which I've never done before, but totally recommend because the process isn't that ridiculous)
2) Bought food from Publix (as in Puh not Puy -blix)
3) Ate hot dog salad
4) Went to some weird neighborhood where there was NOT an Old Navy; then went to Old Navy
5) Went to the beach, but we couldn't park, so left the beach and went to the pool instead
6) Went to Sonics
7) This time made it to the beach, and then headed to the pool
8) Wee practiced driving and nearly killed us (well, not really)
9) Made ziti
10) Drove to Miami to eat at this place called Versailles
11) No one thought the two hour ride across state to eat was worthwhile without actually going to the beach as well, so we went (it was raining but let up)
12) Walked around Miami Beach
13) Stopped at a rest area along Alligator Alley, saw an alligator; "Hotstepper" was on the radio, which made the experience even better
14) Worked on assembling wedding invites
15) Ate chicken
16) Went to another beach where there were mangroves and dinosaurs and jaguars and pandas, and then went to the pool
17) Ate at Iguana Mia where we met a fellow Jerseyian
18) Went to the pool
19) Packed up
20) Went to Sonics
21) Flew home
Florida was awesome!
The next week, I went to San Francisco for about a day with Jon where I hung out with Tiffany. Jon had a conference there, so I tagged along. (I have some pics from here too...)
4:30 AM: flight was supposed to depart (but something was screwy with the air conditioner or something)
5:00 AM: flight departs
8:30 AM: connect to flight in Denver (Denver is quite pretty--you fly around flat land and suddenly you're in mountains that just keep building up)
10:30 AM: land in SF
11:00 AM: meet up with Tiffany
Until about 6:00 PM: We went to the Ferry Terminal/Embarcadero area for lunch and got Thai crepes; then we took the BART to check out 826 Valencia's pirate shop and walked around this neighborhood; we stopped around the Civic Center then took the MUNI to check out the De Young museum in Golden Gate park where we also walked through some gardens; then we went back to the Civic Center and took in the view from her apartment; then walked to Jon's conference area, and from there walked through Chinatown toward Fisherman's Wharf.
6:00 PM: Tiffany heads off for dinner and Jon meets up with me. We get turtle-shaped bread from Boudin's. (So freakin good!)
8:00 PM: We have dinner with Jerry and Rosalie at Coi. (Really good!)
10:30 PM: Sleep
4:00 AM: Eat breakfast in bed
5:30 AM: At airport to fly back to Dulles through Vegas and saw some of the Grand Canyon (awesome!)
Yeah...24 hours...but it was worth it!
On April 1, I thought I was going start to do some contracting work for a few courses at my old company, but I became sort of a temp for a few weeks instead. We'll see what happens, but this is mainly why I've let go of writing up my weekly Goals and such. Lame, I know.
In addition to work, Jon and I are still doing kendo. I hit him in the head last week (the guy was standing too close behind me...). We've learned some steps on how to do the cha cha and swing. I'm finding that ballet isn't so hard when you lose like 20 pounds, but pirouettes are still difficult. The class is good though--it makes me think and stretch and work physically harder than I have in awhile. Plus, I think I pretty much rock the rest of the class (mostly old ladies, one old man, two women around my age or older) with my across the floor turns.
On the wedding front: invitations have gone out (just some stragglers to do because we just got their addresses); we're getting in the little RSVP cards, which is exciting!; my dress is due to arrive in North Bergen on Tuesday; the girls' dresses are in and all they have to do is pick it up--the question is, will they?? Just waiting on my mom's dress. Hopefully, once we see the colors we can finalize the flowers. I'm pretty much dead set on Vendela roses, but I ache for ranunculus too, and I want to get orchids for the moms and use the extra stems for the altar arrangements.
So now I have a choice between catching up on correspondence, sending out the straggling invites, or getting ahead of work by working on some archeology of religion outlines right now. (The lecture I'm on is about the Hopewell tradition of mound building.) So I guess, right now, those are my goals.
Monday, March 9, 2009
Goals: Week 11
1) Gather tax materials to send to accountant.
2) Get stamps and a flat rate box from the post office.
3) Collect unemployment.
4) Deposit checks.
5) Clean apartment.
6) Make a cake.
7) Rent a car for Florida.
8) Not suck at ballet class.
9) Get all stationery ready for assembly.
10) Finish 7 things on this list.
2) Get stamps and a flat rate box from the post office.
3) Collect unemployment.
4) Deposit checks.
5) Clean apartment.
6) Make a cake.
7) Rent a car for Florida.
8) Not suck at ballet class.
9) Get all stationery ready for assembly.
10) Finish 7 things on this list.
Bizarre
Last Monday it snowed at least a few inches and stuck around for a few days. People stayed home because of the snow.
This Monday morning, I sat on the porch and read in shorts and a t-shirt. I started to even sweat just sitting under the sun directly. It's about 12:45 now, and the sun has moved to the other side of the building. It's pretty cool in the shade.
It's supposed to be a high of 65 today, 45 tomorrow, and 65 again on Wednesday. I feel like this is a trick.
This Monday morning, I sat on the porch and read in shorts and a t-shirt. I started to even sweat just sitting under the sun directly. It's about 12:45 now, and the sun has moved to the other side of the building. It's pretty cool in the shade.
It's supposed to be a high of 65 today, 45 tomorrow, and 65 again on Wednesday. I feel like this is a trick.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Gartering
So in hand with the throwing the bouquet, there's the garter toss. Before voting, please let me share with you a few stories about why I think if we do the flower and garter toss the tossing should be the end of it...everyone goes home a winner.
Exhibit A: At Lisa's wedding, she and her husband were barely out of college as were most of the guests invited. Basically everyone was single, and Lisa had a bouquet toss. Tina reluctantly caught the bouquet. Then there was the garter toss. Some kind of dorky guy adamantly went after and caught the garter. Then there was the awkward moment of him putting the garter on her. You could slice the tension and embarrassment with a knife during that moment.
Exhibit B: Hetal told me about a wedding that she went to where Tanuja caught the bouquet and so to not piss off or embarrass anyone the garter was just handed over to her boyfriend. How lame is that? If the awkwardness of putting the garter on the woman who caught the flowers was eliminated everyone could have participated. Small children too.
Exhibit C: Something like the above happened at Jon's cousin's wedding. The woman who caught the bouquet was engaged to the guy who caught the garter, but at least he had to try to catch it. It was kind of lame, but sweet nonetheless.
I guess the drama (but excitement) comes in the situations of Exhibit A (though I think everyone at that wedding is a little traumatized by it), but you come across trouble with people in relationships as in Exhibits B and C. Perhaps the best option is if we decide to do the garter toss to decide on the spot if both people are currently unattached to ask them if they want to do it. People will be expecting it right? But why?
The tradition was to rip apart a bride's dress because it was lucky to have a piece, which is why the garter was tossed instead--a relic of that tradition. The whole giving the garter to the woman who caught the flowers doesn't make any sense to me in that case then. Why give away your luck?
Still logically, a garter is kind of gross. I can't guarantee I won't sweat on it, and who wants that? Besides what do people even do with garters? Hang them next to their diplomas?
Exhibit A: At Lisa's wedding, she and her husband were barely out of college as were most of the guests invited. Basically everyone was single, and Lisa had a bouquet toss. Tina reluctantly caught the bouquet. Then there was the garter toss. Some kind of dorky guy adamantly went after and caught the garter. Then there was the awkward moment of him putting the garter on her. You could slice the tension and embarrassment with a knife during that moment.
Exhibit B: Hetal told me about a wedding that she went to where Tanuja caught the bouquet and so to not piss off or embarrass anyone the garter was just handed over to her boyfriend. How lame is that? If the awkwardness of putting the garter on the woman who caught the flowers was eliminated everyone could have participated. Small children too.
Exhibit C: Something like the above happened at Jon's cousin's wedding. The woman who caught the bouquet was engaged to the guy who caught the garter, but at least he had to try to catch it. It was kind of lame, but sweet nonetheless.
I guess the drama (but excitement) comes in the situations of Exhibit A (though I think everyone at that wedding is a little traumatized by it), but you come across trouble with people in relationships as in Exhibits B and C. Perhaps the best option is if we decide to do the garter toss to decide on the spot if both people are currently unattached to ask them if they want to do it. People will be expecting it right? But why?
The tradition was to rip apart a bride's dress because it was lucky to have a piece, which is why the garter was tossed instead--a relic of that tradition. The whole giving the garter to the woman who caught the flowers doesn't make any sense to me in that case then. Why give away your luck?
Still logically, a garter is kind of gross. I can't guarantee I won't sweat on it, and who wants that? Besides what do people even do with garters? Hang them next to their diplomas?
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
All the Single Ladies, Put Your Hands Up...
Throwing the bouquet has gotten a pretty bad reputation. However, except for maybe two or four married folks in our group of friends, all you ladies are technically single. So, let's say I wanted to give you the opportunity to figure out who among you will be married next, as the tradition goes, by throwing the bouquet at the bunch of you. (And let's just skip that gross part where some random guy at the wedding puts the garter on you. It'll just be a bunch of flowers with no strings attached afterwards.) What do you think?
Goals: Week 10
1) Distribute resume to people.
2) Edit some more pages of Jon's Grandpa's autobiography.
3) Make some mTurk earnings.
4) Read more pages of Infinite Jest.
5) Get wedding dress delivery thing notarized.
6) Gather tax materials to send to accountant.
7) Get stamps and a flat rate box from the post office.
8) Collect unemployment.
9) Deposit check.
10) Finish two things on this list.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Well Spun!
Some wedding updates. We booked a videographer!
Top five reason why we hired one:
1. Because every single thread I read about wedding regrets was about not having a record of vows, toasts, dances, etc. besides photos. They basically said: "It was nice to get 5 photos of our first dance from the professional photographer that we hired, but I mean we spent half a grand in dance lessons and skipped cocktail hour to practice!" Err...or, "We let my cousin record, but half way through my maid of honor's speech the battery died," or, "I really wish we had some record of when we said our vows at least."
2. This bring ups my morbid reason for wanting one, which is: If I die before Jon, shouldn't he have something more than our wedding photos to cry over and obsess about? And vice versa. I mean hopefully, at that point, we'll be about 120 years old and still have our vision and some method of watching our high definition digital recordings, from 2009, but in books or movies the widow or widower has some wedding video that plays in the background of their melancholy.
3. I'm told that the day will be over like THAT. Yeah, just like THAT. POW. THAT. I've spent the last few months of my life obsessing over details and such and all I get to experience is the actual day that would be over like THAT? Well, might as well have footage to obsess over and edit.
4. Which brings me to the fact that it might be fun to edit and share with folks who can't make it...or make them watch all 9 hours of fun! Whichever works best.
5. And back again, POW! Like that it's over! It kind of scares the crap out of me that I'll probably be too anxious to remember much. Besides it might be cool to show our kids one day too. I know I love looking at my parents' wedding album, but if they had a video I'd be all over that too. (I think that they even might, but it's on super 8 or something and no one has a projector or the time to convert it to data. Hmm...I have time...)
So last week I emailed a few videographers: Wes Jones, Lillie Studios, Avvento, and Well Spun. All of them got back to me pretty quickly, but Well Spun was the only one to offer a package of raw data in HD quality, so we went with them. (I know the super 8 stuff is cool right? Unfortunately, we feel that in 50 years HD will look like that and super 8 will look like what watching a Nickelodeon at a museum will be like--besides with video software you can make HD look like super 8.)
I was in a bit of a tizzy for a couple of hours because when I called Wellspun about my date, Brianna, the woman helping me, said that two of the three videographers they have on staff for the NYC area were booked and the third one might be booked. She called the bride who didn't put down a deposit yet and found that the bride decided to go with someone else. Yay!
Really. Yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This morning I had to write my rejection letters to the other studios. It felt much like writing rejection notices to authors. I also imagined this is what it feels like when people notify me of not getting the position I applied for.
The people I contacted were all very gracious in their replies. In fact, Luke from Lillie Studios offered a discount to anyone I recommended because of my honesty of why we ended up not using them. Score!
In any case, while our video will look closer to this (but more HD and yes that is Mrs. Candy Corn from weddingbee.com) than the videos on the Well Spun website, hopefully I can get my hands on some video software and figure out some cool editing tricks.
Top five reason why we hired one:
1. Because every single thread I read about wedding regrets was about not having a record of vows, toasts, dances, etc. besides photos. They basically said: "It was nice to get 5 photos of our first dance from the professional photographer that we hired, but I mean we spent half a grand in dance lessons and skipped cocktail hour to practice!" Err...or, "We let my cousin record, but half way through my maid of honor's speech the battery died," or, "I really wish we had some record of when we said our vows at least."
2. This bring ups my morbid reason for wanting one, which is: If I die before Jon, shouldn't he have something more than our wedding photos to cry over and obsess about? And vice versa. I mean hopefully, at that point, we'll be about 120 years old and still have our vision and some method of watching our high definition digital recordings, from 2009, but in books or movies the widow or widower has some wedding video that plays in the background of their melancholy.
3. I'm told that the day will be over like THAT. Yeah, just like THAT. POW. THAT. I've spent the last few months of my life obsessing over details and such and all I get to experience is the actual day that would be over like THAT? Well, might as well have footage to obsess over and edit.
4. Which brings me to the fact that it might be fun to edit and share with folks who can't make it...or make them watch all 9 hours of fun! Whichever works best.
5. And back again, POW! Like that it's over! It kind of scares the crap out of me that I'll probably be too anxious to remember much. Besides it might be cool to show our kids one day too. I know I love looking at my parents' wedding album, but if they had a video I'd be all over that too. (I think that they even might, but it's on super 8 or something and no one has a projector or the time to convert it to data. Hmm...I have time...)
So last week I emailed a few videographers: Wes Jones, Lillie Studios, Avvento, and Well Spun. All of them got back to me pretty quickly, but Well Spun was the only one to offer a package of raw data in HD quality, so we went with them. (I know the super 8 stuff is cool right? Unfortunately, we feel that in 50 years HD will look like that and super 8 will look like what watching a Nickelodeon at a museum will be like--besides with video software you can make HD look like super 8.)
I was in a bit of a tizzy for a couple of hours because when I called Wellspun about my date, Brianna, the woman helping me, said that two of the three videographers they have on staff for the NYC area were booked and the third one might be booked. She called the bride who didn't put down a deposit yet and found that the bride decided to go with someone else. Yay!
Really. Yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This morning I had to write my rejection letters to the other studios. It felt much like writing rejection notices to authors. I also imagined this is what it feels like when people notify me of not getting the position I applied for.
The people I contacted were all very gracious in their replies. In fact, Luke from Lillie Studios offered a discount to anyone I recommended because of my honesty of why we ended up not using them. Score!
In any case, while our video will look closer to this (but more HD and yes that is Mrs. Candy Corn from weddingbee.com) than the videos on the Well Spun website, hopefully I can get my hands on some video software and figure out some cool editing tricks.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Goals: Week 9
I really didn't accomplish any of these things last week at all. I just feel so unmotivated to do anything right now. I feel ill and tired. I wish it were summer.
1) Revise resume again and distribute to people.
2) Edit some more pages of Jon's Grandpa's autobiography.
3) Make some mTurk earnings.
4) Read more pages of Infinite Jest.
5) Return books to the library and pick up some more.
6) Get wedding dress delivery thing notarized.
7) Get flat rate box from the post office.
8) Finish scanning companies.
9) Collect unemployment.
10) Deposit check.
11) Figure out insurance.
12) Finish three things on this list.
1) Revise resume again and distribute to people.
2) Edit some more pages of Jon's Grandpa's autobiography.
3) Make some mTurk earnings.
4) Read more pages of Infinite Jest.
5) Return books to the library and pick up some more.
6) Get wedding dress delivery thing notarized.
7) Get flat rate box from the post office.
8) Finish scanning companies.
9) Collect unemployment.
10) Deposit check.
11) Figure out insurance.
12) Finish three things on this list.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Bridesmaid and Mother Dresses
On Friday, I went to RK Bridal, Macy's, and Adrienne's to look for dresses with my mom and bridesmaids (Wee--Lisa--and Spam--Samantha).
RK was kind of a bust since there was only one lady working in the Mothers' Dresses section. It was very confusing and slow going. My mom found a dress, but she wanted to keep her options open. Choosing a color for her was the bigger issue it seemed.
We still had a lot of time before the appointment at Adrienne's so we went to Macy's to see what was available there.
Macy's was a success! On the 8th floor is their bridal salon (in the registry dept.). If you want to try on Demetrios dresses, this is the place to do so. They also had Bill Levkoff bridesmaid dresses, which my mom tried on and liked. (See the taupe colored dress with the front and back below.) The dress fit her petite frame nicely, and we both liked the back. My grandma though thinks it looks like a knotted up bedsheet--and I guess it kind of does, but in a very elegant way. I like it a lot. She wanted to get a light pink color, but in the end she got a color called watermelon. (See the color board on the bottom.) Her dress should come in April.
The great thing about Macy's was that the saleswoman helping us was very helpful in guiding my mom to make a decision. She was by no means pushy, but she wanted us to have conversations about what we thought about each dress and color out loud. It was very effective in narrowing things down.
We hopped on the F train, but it was broken (when is it ever working properly?), and we got to Adrienne's. Connie and Anthony were pretty helpful and not pushy at all. I'm so happy that the Gina person that all the shitty reviews were about was not working there. The store was empty except for us. Pretty sweet!
Spam tried on a bunch of Jim Hjelm dresses based on color and style for us to choose from--we also pulled a Badgley Mischka dress that was the prettiest color ever! In person, it looked like the color purple of an orchid. Unfortunately, it seems that the style was the only color it came in, and the style was kind of dumb. (I have a thing against asymmetrical waists.)
Jim Hjelm - by solaz on Polyvore.com
Spam tried on the dresses above. (Starting from top left.) I thought the blue (ink is what's it's officially called) would look really nice on her, but we tried on a blue dress and the color was extremely dark. No one liked it. We also tried on the style of the blue/brown (truffle, officially) dress because I thought that it would look really nice on her (she looks a bit like the model in the blue dress). It looked like a garbage bag.
Then we tried on the pink (hibiscus, officially) dress, and though I liked the color on her, she really hated it. The dress itself is pretty plain in the front, and the back though kind of pretty in photos is more like excess material. Wee's boyfriend Chris described it as drape-y, which he also used to describe the color, which is really odd for drapes I think. (Pink drapes?)
When Spam tried on the darker pink color (blackberry, officially), both the color and dress were contenders. The thing was that the dress style was not similar to the dress I wanted Wee to wear. Spam really liked the color though, so we held that thought.
Spam tried on the dress I wanted Wee to wear, and it fit very nicely on her. My mom kept saying that the blackberry dress was fancier though. The deep V of the dress though was something I didn't think would look that great on Wee.
Wee finally came in (she and Chris were stuck on the F too), and she took turns with Spam with different combinations and colors. Wee tried on the red dress (the one I wanted her to try on), and then the blackberry and then the hibiscus.
When Spam tucked in the straps of the red dress, it looked so much more elegant. (Plus the red dress had pockets, while the blackberry dress didn't.) So we decided that we'd get the red dress and remove the straps. Spam would wear blackberry, and Wee would wear hibiscus.
Colors and Styles - by solaz on Polyvore.com
This board has the whole shabang including colors and styles of what the ladies will be wearing. (Though note, at this point, Jon's mom Gean hasn't officially found her dress yet, though she was leaning a lot towards the platinum colored dress featured here.)
I really like how all the styles feature something around the waist. It sort of all goes together. And they have interesting folds and gathers and are really pretty colors that works in a June wedding and that they like.
Plus they can totally wear it again if they shorten it!
Styles - by solaz on Polyvore.com
Here's a board with the styles. Wee and Spam will be wearing the same styles, but they will be strapless. Gean will be wearing the platinum dress (I think), and my mom will be wearing the style on the right.
Colors and Flowers - by solaz on Polyvore.com
Here's a board with all the colors and some flower options. Here you'll see the platinum and watermelon together (mom dresses) and hibiscus and blackberry dresses. Flowers featured are roses, ranunculus, orchids, lilies, calla lilies, chrysanthemums, and some other ones that I forget. The flower site I'm thinking of using is http://www.freshroses.com/june.html or http://www.fiftyflowers.com (where I got the centerpieces for the engagement party). I've decided against peonies. They're nice, but way too feathery. I want very structured heavily petaled flowers.
Now that the dresses are on their way (should be in April for the bridesmaid too), I am stressing out about a videographer. Why is it so much money for someone to just shoot a wedding? And why can't they just shoot a wedding and give you the raw footage versus editing it? I don't want an edited wedding. Have any ideas?
RK was kind of a bust since there was only one lady working in the Mothers' Dresses section. It was very confusing and slow going. My mom found a dress, but she wanted to keep her options open. Choosing a color for her was the bigger issue it seemed.
We still had a lot of time before the appointment at Adrienne's so we went to Macy's to see what was available there.
Macy's was a success! On the 8th floor is their bridal salon (in the registry dept.). If you want to try on Demetrios dresses, this is the place to do so. They also had Bill Levkoff bridesmaid dresses, which my mom tried on and liked. (See the taupe colored dress with the front and back below.) The dress fit her petite frame nicely, and we both liked the back. My grandma though thinks it looks like a knotted up bedsheet--and I guess it kind of does, but in a very elegant way. I like it a lot. She wanted to get a light pink color, but in the end she got a color called watermelon. (See the color board on the bottom.) Her dress should come in April.
The great thing about Macy's was that the saleswoman helping us was very helpful in guiding my mom to make a decision. She was by no means pushy, but she wanted us to have conversations about what we thought about each dress and color out loud. It was very effective in narrowing things down.
We hopped on the F train, but it was broken (when is it ever working properly?), and we got to Adrienne's. Connie and Anthony were pretty helpful and not pushy at all. I'm so happy that the Gina person that all the shitty reviews were about was not working there. The store was empty except for us. Pretty sweet!
Spam tried on a bunch of Jim Hjelm dresses based on color and style for us to choose from--we also pulled a Badgley Mischka dress that was the prettiest color ever! In person, it looked like the color purple of an orchid. Unfortunately, it seems that the style was the only color it came in, and the style was kind of dumb. (I have a thing against asymmetrical waists.)
Jim Hjelm - by solaz on Polyvore.com
Spam tried on the dresses above. (Starting from top left.) I thought the blue (ink is what's it's officially called) would look really nice on her, but we tried on a blue dress and the color was extremely dark. No one liked it. We also tried on the style of the blue/brown (truffle, officially) dress because I thought that it would look really nice on her (she looks a bit like the model in the blue dress). It looked like a garbage bag.
Then we tried on the pink (hibiscus, officially) dress, and though I liked the color on her, she really hated it. The dress itself is pretty plain in the front, and the back though kind of pretty in photos is more like excess material. Wee's boyfriend Chris described it as drape-y, which he also used to describe the color, which is really odd for drapes I think. (Pink drapes?)
When Spam tried on the darker pink color (blackberry, officially), both the color and dress were contenders. The thing was that the dress style was not similar to the dress I wanted Wee to wear. Spam really liked the color though, so we held that thought.
Spam tried on the dress I wanted Wee to wear, and it fit very nicely on her. My mom kept saying that the blackberry dress was fancier though. The deep V of the dress though was something I didn't think would look that great on Wee.
Wee finally came in (she and Chris were stuck on the F too), and she took turns with Spam with different combinations and colors. Wee tried on the red dress (the one I wanted her to try on), and then the blackberry and then the hibiscus.
When Spam tucked in the straps of the red dress, it looked so much more elegant. (Plus the red dress had pockets, while the blackberry dress didn't.) So we decided that we'd get the red dress and remove the straps. Spam would wear blackberry, and Wee would wear hibiscus.
Colors and Styles - by solaz on Polyvore.com
This board has the whole shabang including colors and styles of what the ladies will be wearing. (Though note, at this point, Jon's mom Gean hasn't officially found her dress yet, though she was leaning a lot towards the platinum colored dress featured here.)
I really like how all the styles feature something around the waist. It sort of all goes together. And they have interesting folds and gathers and are really pretty colors that works in a June wedding and that they like.
Plus they can totally wear it again if they shorten it!
Styles - by solaz on Polyvore.com
Here's a board with the styles. Wee and Spam will be wearing the same styles, but they will be strapless. Gean will be wearing the platinum dress (I think), and my mom will be wearing the style on the right.
Colors and Flowers - by solaz on Polyvore.com
Here's a board with all the colors and some flower options. Here you'll see the platinum and watermelon together (mom dresses) and hibiscus and blackberry dresses. Flowers featured are roses, ranunculus, orchids, lilies, calla lilies, chrysanthemums, and some other ones that I forget. The flower site I'm thinking of using is http://www.freshroses.com/june.html or http://www.fiftyflowers.com (where I got the centerpieces for the engagement party). I've decided against peonies. They're nice, but way too feathery. I want very structured heavily petaled flowers.
Now that the dresses are on their way (should be in April for the bridesmaid too), I am stressing out about a videographer. Why is it so much money for someone to just shoot a wedding? And why can't they just shoot a wedding and give you the raw footage versus editing it? I don't want an edited wedding. Have any ideas?
Goals: Week 8
1) Revise resume again and distribute to people.
2) Edit some more pages of Jon's Grandpa's autobiography.
3) Make some mTurk earnings.
4) Read more pages of Infinite Jest.
5) Return books to the library and pick up some more.
6) Get wedding dress delivery thing notarized.
7) Get flat rate box from the post office.
8) Finish scanning companies.
9) Collect unemployment.
10) Deposit check.
11) Figure out insurance.
12) Finish three things on this list.
2) Edit some more pages of Jon's Grandpa's autobiography.
3) Make some mTurk earnings.
4) Read more pages of Infinite Jest.
5) Return books to the library and pick up some more.
6) Get wedding dress delivery thing notarized.
7) Get flat rate box from the post office.
8) Finish scanning companies.
9) Collect unemployment.
10) Deposit check.
11) Figure out insurance.
12) Finish three things on this list.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Goals: Week 7
This week is going to be a little hectic...
1) Revise resume again and distribute to people.
2) Edit some more pages of Jon's Grandpa's autobiography.
3) Make some mTurk earnings.
4) Read more pages of Infinite Jest.
5) Finish Deja Dead.
6) Follow up with interview people if I've not heard back from them by Thursday.
7) Get wedding dress delivery thing notarized.
8) Get flat rate box from the post office.
9) Get to the train on time (both ways).
10) Find bridesmaid dresses. (Do not get ripped off.)
11) Make some headway in scanning companies.
12) Get marriage license.
13) Figure out how to collect unemployment.
14) Finish five things on this list.
1) Revise resume again and distribute to people.
2) Edit some more pages of Jon's Grandpa's autobiography.
3) Make some mTurk earnings.
4) Read more pages of Infinite Jest.
5) Finish Deja Dead.
6) Follow up with interview people if I've not heard back from them by Thursday.
7) Get wedding dress delivery thing notarized.
8) Get flat rate box from the post office.
9) Get to the train on time (both ways).
10) Find bridesmaid dresses. (Do not get ripped off.)
11) Make some headway in scanning companies.
12) Get marriage license.
13) Figure out how to collect unemployment.
14) Finish five things on this list.
Friday, February 6, 2009
January 20, 2009, Part 2
Note: Times are still approximate.
12:55 PM: I went to the Air and Space Museum to warm up and got tickets to see the Blackholes and Cosmic Collisions shows in the Albert Einstein Planetarium at 1PM and 1:30 PM. The shows were good though pretty dumbed down, but I expect that it is because they meant it more for kids on field trips. I was so comfortable in that theater.
2:00 PM: I went to use the bathroom at the museum before making my way back to Reston, but the lines were extraordinarily long. The museum itself looked like a bus station. People were sprawled everywhere and kept coming in. I couldn't even tell where I could exit. It didn't seem like anyone was leaving the building.
2:15 PM: I eventually found an exit and tried my luck getting into L'Enfant Plaza, but I got a little lost. Things looked a lot nicer at 4:45 AM, when it was quiet and empty. There were ambulances and fire trucks trying to get through the crowds of tired, cranky, and selfish people.
2:30 PM: I arrived at the end of the line to get into L'Enfant and being that there were two lines leading to the entrance, I estimated that it would take a few frustrating hours before I could get inside. Plus, there was already a report about someone falling onto the train tracks, probably because of the crowds, so I decided to try my luck elsewhere. I called Jon for help.
Between 2:30 PM and 3:30 PM I walked to Federal Center, which looked like a long wait too, then Capitol South, another long wait, then to Eastern Market, which was closed down for some dumb reason, and when I was about to give up all hope and wait on whatever line that was required of me at Potomac Avenue, I saw the line-less entrance of Potomac Avenue.
On the Metro map, it doesn't look that far. (View walking from the center large dot to the right along the Orange line.)
But it was 2.6 miles according to Google Maps, and I was nearing the end of my ability to stand up straight. I couldn't even seem to stop by any restaurants or coffee shops to sit down either because they were packed.
On the way there there were kids selling Inauguration hot chocolate and Inauguration hot dogs ($2 grilled) along with the guys selling T-shirts, tote bags, and the like. I wish my camera had been working.
Also they shut down this huge highway (I think it was 395), and all these pedestrians were walking on it including me. It seemed like one of those apocalypse movies. It felt a lot like the 2003 Blackout where you're not sure what to do, but you know you want to get home safely.
The good thing about walking all the way out there was that I was able to get a seat because it was in the opposite direction of where I needed to be. About two stations in, it became standing room only again.
3:30 to 5:00 PM: So it took me about an hour and a half to get back to West Falls Church or about 17 stops. I took notes on how congested the station looked from the inside versus my impression of when I passed it on the outside and how many people got on the train. People were a lot less aggressive to get on the train going home.
Another half hour or so later the bus arrived in Reston Town Center. For whatever reason, it was FREE! I was never happier to be back in Reston--well maybe that time we were stuck in Deleware for 3 hours, but still.
Here's my collection of Inauguration memorabilia: red hat, badge, knitted hat, hand warmer, flag, and Metro map.
The badge is pretty cool, and apparently it helped some people get into places they normally wouldn't have been able to be in.
After all that, I could just say how happy I was that the Inauguration was two Tuesdays ago and not last week's Tuesday. Reston finally got hit with a snowstorm this winter.
It's more or less melted now, but if the Inauguration occurred on a snow day, I have no clue what I would have done.
Overall, I'm happy I participated as a volunteer, if only to not have to experience watching this momentous occasion alone. (Sad but true.) Josh was a good person to watch it with--as well as the other millions of people around me.
12:55 PM: I went to the Air and Space Museum to warm up and got tickets to see the Blackholes and Cosmic Collisions shows in the Albert Einstein Planetarium at 1PM and 1:30 PM. The shows were good though pretty dumbed down, but I expect that it is because they meant it more for kids on field trips. I was so comfortable in that theater.
2:00 PM: I went to use the bathroom at the museum before making my way back to Reston, but the lines were extraordinarily long. The museum itself looked like a bus station. People were sprawled everywhere and kept coming in. I couldn't even tell where I could exit. It didn't seem like anyone was leaving the building.
2:15 PM: I eventually found an exit and tried my luck getting into L'Enfant Plaza, but I got a little lost. Things looked a lot nicer at 4:45 AM, when it was quiet and empty. There were ambulances and fire trucks trying to get through the crowds of tired, cranky, and selfish people.
2:30 PM: I arrived at the end of the line to get into L'Enfant and being that there were two lines leading to the entrance, I estimated that it would take a few frustrating hours before I could get inside. Plus, there was already a report about someone falling onto the train tracks, probably because of the crowds, so I decided to try my luck elsewhere. I called Jon for help.
Between 2:30 PM and 3:30 PM I walked to Federal Center, which looked like a long wait too, then Capitol South, another long wait, then to Eastern Market, which was closed down for some dumb reason, and when I was about to give up all hope and wait on whatever line that was required of me at Potomac Avenue, I saw the line-less entrance of Potomac Avenue.
On the Metro map, it doesn't look that far. (View walking from the center large dot to the right along the Orange line.)
But it was 2.6 miles according to Google Maps, and I was nearing the end of my ability to stand up straight. I couldn't even seem to stop by any restaurants or coffee shops to sit down either because they were packed.
On the way there there were kids selling Inauguration hot chocolate and Inauguration hot dogs ($2 grilled) along with the guys selling T-shirts, tote bags, and the like. I wish my camera had been working.
Also they shut down this huge highway (I think it was 395), and all these pedestrians were walking on it including me. It seemed like one of those apocalypse movies. It felt a lot like the 2003 Blackout where you're not sure what to do, but you know you want to get home safely.
The good thing about walking all the way out there was that I was able to get a seat because it was in the opposite direction of where I needed to be. About two stations in, it became standing room only again.
3:30 to 5:00 PM: So it took me about an hour and a half to get back to West Falls Church or about 17 stops. I took notes on how congested the station looked from the inside versus my impression of when I passed it on the outside and how many people got on the train. People were a lot less aggressive to get on the train going home.
Another half hour or so later the bus arrived in Reston Town Center. For whatever reason, it was FREE! I was never happier to be back in Reston--well maybe that time we were stuck in Deleware for 3 hours, but still.
Here's my collection of Inauguration memorabilia: red hat, badge, knitted hat, hand warmer, flag, and Metro map.
The badge is pretty cool, and apparently it helped some people get into places they normally wouldn't have been able to be in.
After all that, I could just say how happy I was that the Inauguration was two Tuesdays ago and not last week's Tuesday. Reston finally got hit with a snowstorm this winter.
It's more or less melted now, but if the Inauguration occurred on a snow day, I have no clue what I would have done.
Overall, I'm happy I participated as a volunteer, if only to not have to experience watching this momentous occasion alone. (Sad but true.) Josh was a good person to watch it with--as well as the other millions of people around me.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Interview
I think the interview went okay. It was a bit strange though. Nothing that I'm used to really--they asked about my hobbies; we talked about Snuggies. Not sure I'll get the position, nor am I sure that I really want it. The commute there was crowded (even at 8:30 to 9:30) and there was a delay on the Metro. We shall see.
I also had lunch with Jennifer at National Geographic. Man, she is awesome! I am totally kicking myself for not taking the ed production job at Simon & Schuster. My ass is black and blue. Things might be going south as far as freelance oppt. there though, which is a pretty big bummer.
Meanwhile, I am reading a book I got out from the library. (Yes, I went!) I forgot how scary/sketchy library books can be though. I think it gave me pink eye. Maybe it's the book or my mascara that's really bugging me right now.
I feel totally blah right now. (The book/pink eye/freezing my ass/probably not being employed at any capacity anytime soon is kind of a depressant.)
By the way, it was like 20 degrees today--and I was walking around in my suit and flats and a wool coat when I should have been wearing my Inauguration Day outfit.
I also had lunch with Jennifer at National Geographic. Man, she is awesome! I am totally kicking myself for not taking the ed production job at Simon & Schuster. My ass is black and blue. Things might be going south as far as freelance oppt. there though, which is a pretty big bummer.
Meanwhile, I am reading a book I got out from the library. (Yes, I went!) I forgot how scary/sketchy library books can be though. I think it gave me pink eye. Maybe it's the book or my mascara that's really bugging me right now.
I feel totally blah right now. (The book/pink eye/freezing my ass/probably not being employed at any capacity anytime soon is kind of a depressant.)
By the way, it was like 20 degrees today--and I was walking around in my suit and flats and a wool coat when I should have been wearing my Inauguration Day outfit.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
January 20, 2009, Part I
Note: Times may be off, but in order to access my phone to check the time, I would have had to expose my hand to the freezing air a little bit more than I wanted to, so most times are approximate.
3:20 AM: I woke up and got dressed: underwear, bra, heavy knit tights, thick knee socks, undershirt, thermal shirt, turtleneck, cashmere turtleneck, cords, scarf, Uggs, long down coat, gloves, and hat.
3:30 AM: Jon drove me to West Falls Church station to take the train in.
4:15 AM: I got onto the first train, but I was immediately pressed up against strangers and the doors.
Newport News had a camera guy in the train by me--people were eating the attention up.
I also made sort of friends/allies with some couple that must have thought I was fifteen because they were so concerned about me, which in my situation of being squished and overheated was nice.
For 13 stops (from West Falls Church to L'Enfant Plaza), people were trying to get onto the train. (The stop I got on was the third from the first stop.)
4:45 AM: I arrived at the Mall, but I couldn't gain access, along with a lot of other volunteers, to the north side of Air and Space Museum where volunteers were to meet up.
The Capitol building looked decked out and ready.
5:00 AM: Volunteers (and other folks too) found a way to get past cops. We went to our meet up spot.
6:00 AM: Our team went over to our area to cover (the second jumbotron on the left side of the Mall facing the Capitol; red arrow points to second Jumbotron on map below) where we were to help by giving information to people if they needed it.
A nice guy named Josh was my partner for the day. (He works at the patent office and is going to Catholic University for law school.) We waited for the sun to rise, griped about the hand warmers we were told we'd have, and learned to deal with freezing. Boy scouts and girl scouts were distributing the flags you saw on TV.
7:00 AM: Jumbotrons showed information about where to get warm, etc.
8:30 AM: The refreshment stand opened, and Josh went to get us some hot chocolate with the $10 stipend for food that we got. I held down the fort.
9:00 AM: A volunteer distributed hand warmers. I got one for Josh too. On the Jumbotron, they started showing the concert from Sunday, which was interesting to me because I hadn't seen it.
9:30 AM: Josh returned with hot chocolate, and it was the best hot chocolate EVER!
9:45 AM: I went to get more hot chocolate. On my way there, while trying to take photos of the Capitol during the daytime, I found that my camera battery was dead. I was bummed, but more cold than bummed.
10:15 AM: I returned with coffee for us (they ran out of hot chocolate, and the coffee was disgusting) and stuffed the hot dog in my purse for later. I got the hot dog to use up my stipend money: that is I spent $2 each for hot chocolate/coffee and $6 for a hot dog.
Inauguration day hot dog! (Taken later that day.) It was good.
10:30 AM: Josh told me that my camera battery was just playing dead because it was so cold. So I put the battery in my glove near my hand warmer. In the meantime, he took a photo of us for me.
11:30 AM: Things started to get good. Important people were showing up! My camera sort of worked sometimes!
Then people showed up that people actually recognized like Bill and Hillary!
And Obama! and that guy with the four-letter name:
At least Obama came out without that punk so people didn't have to cheer/boo them. When people first saw Bush on the scene, he was booed and that was followed by a round of the chorus: Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Hey Hey Good Bye.
12:04 PM: Obama took his oath:
Crowd shot:
Unfortunately, for the poet, but I guess fortunately for me, the area started clearing out around this time. Here's a better shot I took while cleaning up people's trash.
12:45 PM: The Inauguration itself seemed to be over. I was so freakin cold and exhausted from being cold. I headed to the Air and Space Museum to seek refuge, warmth, and a seat. (The last time I sat was in the car with Jon that morning. And my hips and legs ached from walking down the stairs from the fire alarm incident the previous Friday night or maybe even from Kendo that previous Sunday morning.)
It turned out to be a very pretty day though still chilly.
3:20 AM: I woke up and got dressed: underwear, bra, heavy knit tights, thick knee socks, undershirt, thermal shirt, turtleneck, cashmere turtleneck, cords, scarf, Uggs, long down coat, gloves, and hat.
3:30 AM: Jon drove me to West Falls Church station to take the train in.
4:15 AM: I got onto the first train, but I was immediately pressed up against strangers and the doors.
Newport News had a camera guy in the train by me--people were eating the attention up.
I also made sort of friends/allies with some couple that must have thought I was fifteen because they were so concerned about me, which in my situation of being squished and overheated was nice.
For 13 stops (from West Falls Church to L'Enfant Plaza), people were trying to get onto the train. (The stop I got on was the third from the first stop.)
4:45 AM: I arrived at the Mall, but I couldn't gain access, along with a lot of other volunteers, to the north side of Air and Space Museum where volunteers were to meet up.
The Capitol building looked decked out and ready.
5:00 AM: Volunteers (and other folks too) found a way to get past cops. We went to our meet up spot.
6:00 AM: Our team went over to our area to cover (the second jumbotron on the left side of the Mall facing the Capitol; red arrow points to second Jumbotron on map below) where we were to help by giving information to people if they needed it.
A nice guy named Josh was my partner for the day. (He works at the patent office and is going to Catholic University for law school.) We waited for the sun to rise, griped about the hand warmers we were told we'd have, and learned to deal with freezing. Boy scouts and girl scouts were distributing the flags you saw on TV.
7:00 AM: Jumbotrons showed information about where to get warm, etc.
8:30 AM: The refreshment stand opened, and Josh went to get us some hot chocolate with the $10 stipend for food that we got. I held down the fort.
9:00 AM: A volunteer distributed hand warmers. I got one for Josh too. On the Jumbotron, they started showing the concert from Sunday, which was interesting to me because I hadn't seen it.
9:30 AM: Josh returned with hot chocolate, and it was the best hot chocolate EVER!
9:45 AM: I went to get more hot chocolate. On my way there, while trying to take photos of the Capitol during the daytime, I found that my camera battery was dead. I was bummed, but more cold than bummed.
10:15 AM: I returned with coffee for us (they ran out of hot chocolate, and the coffee was disgusting) and stuffed the hot dog in my purse for later. I got the hot dog to use up my stipend money: that is I spent $2 each for hot chocolate/coffee and $6 for a hot dog.
Inauguration day hot dog! (Taken later that day.) It was good.
10:30 AM: Josh told me that my camera battery was just playing dead because it was so cold. So I put the battery in my glove near my hand warmer. In the meantime, he took a photo of us for me.
11:30 AM: Things started to get good. Important people were showing up! My camera sort of worked sometimes!
Then people showed up that people actually recognized like Bill and Hillary!
And Obama! and that guy with the four-letter name:
At least Obama came out without that punk so people didn't have to cheer/boo them. When people first saw Bush on the scene, he was booed and that was followed by a round of the chorus: Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Hey Hey Good Bye.
12:04 PM: Obama took his oath:
Crowd shot:
Unfortunately, for the poet, but I guess fortunately for me, the area started clearing out around this time. Here's a better shot I took while cleaning up people's trash.
12:45 PM: The Inauguration itself seemed to be over. I was so freakin cold and exhausted from being cold. I headed to the Air and Space Museum to seek refuge, warmth, and a seat. (The last time I sat was in the car with Jon that morning. And my hips and legs ached from walking down the stairs from the fire alarm incident the previous Friday night or maybe even from Kendo that previous Sunday morning.)
It turned out to be a very pretty day though still chilly.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Stuck in Snow
Jon went to Boston this morning for a meeting, but his return flight was delayed.
What's this?
Just a little snow.
What's this?
Just a little snow.
Goals: Week 6
Nearly forgot about my goals for this week. (By the way, if you like setting goals and seeing how well you keep up with them you might want to check out Joe's Goals. Jon uses it, but I don't really care for it since something like that sort of makes me not want to accomplish my goals if it's just going to yell at me about it.)
1) Email people to expand network.
2) Edit some more pages of Jon's Grandpa's autobiography. I said I'd get it done by the end of this month...
3) Beat last week's mTurk earnings.
4) Read more pages of Infinite Jest.
5) Go to the library.
6) Excel in interview on Thursday. Yup, I've an interview, but I don't know how I really feel about working full time again.
7) Get wedding dress delivery thing notarized.
8) Get flat rate box from the post office.
9) Fix up resume.
10) Finish four things on this list.
*Invitation design is done! Stefanie proofed it and everything. Now I just gotta mass produce and emboss it and tie it together and learn calligraphy/trace addresses and figure out Jon's parents' guests. Woo!
1) Email people to expand network.
2) Edit some more pages of Jon's Grandpa's autobiography. I said I'd get it done by the end of this month...
3) Beat last week's mTurk earnings.
4) Read more pages of Infinite Jest.
5) Go to the library.
6) Excel in interview on Thursday. Yup, I've an interview, but I don't know how I really feel about working full time again.
7) Get wedding dress delivery thing notarized.
8) Get flat rate box from the post office.
9) Fix up resume.
10) Finish four things on this list.
*Invitation design is done! Stefanie proofed it and everything. Now I just gotta mass produce and emboss it and tie it together and learn calligraphy/trace addresses and figure out Jon's parents' guests. Woo!
Baby Shower!
Mital and Gajan's baby shower was pretty awesome--with food from Roma's (the tortellini was divine), a chocolate fountain with fresh fruit, cake from Carlo's, and homemade delicious Indian food, oh and Mital being pregnant and all, how could it not be? Unfortunately, I don't have any photos of the day to share, but I've included a few relics.
This is a photo of the card with the booties I made. I found the rustic ribbon somewhere in our apartment and wrote on it: "Made Especially For Baby S...[full last name, but in case Mital and Gajan mind their names being on the Internet] With Much Love" twice to tie the booties together. I put some cash in the card, put the booties in the glassine envelope that the card came in, used the remaining rustic ribbon to tie it together, and hoped that it wouldn't get lost in the shuffle.
We were a bit late to the baby shower because Jon and I had our last meeting with P.Diddy where he basically told us that we could get married. Now we just need to provide a certificate of Jon's baptism for P.Diddy, so that P.Diddy could send out the forms for the church to approve of him marrying us.
The directions to get there worked beautifully, and we saw a few signs pointing to the baby shower. Apparently, Hetal went out in her PJs to post them around the neighborhood that morning before setting up the rest of it all. All the cars parked on that one street also helped us find the place.
The party was down in the basement, but before we could proceed, we had a bit of paperwork to fill out: writing out name tags, guessing the number of Skittles, and signing the stuffed dog.
About half an hour later (kidding), we worked our way down and were greeted warmly by everyone. They had just finished playing a game based on fill-in-the-blanks on a napkin regarding the baby.
It was great seeing everyone, especially because I hadn't seen many of them for so long. We got to catch up a bit.
Mital even gave in to opening presents because at first she was really against it since she hates opening presents in front of people. Mital and Gajan got a lot of really cool things for the baby. Unfortunately, BabysRUs screwed up the registry somehow so she got a few double items.
Besides the napkin game that we missed and losing the Skittle guessing game, another game was for the men at the party. They were to eat baby food and guess the flavors. Jon, after much insisting, was going to participate, but once he realized how it was going to operate backed out.
Basically, each guy got one spoon and dipped it into the unlabeled baby food jar, tasted it, and then passed it to the next person. Even if double dipping into the same jar didn't occur (but it did) this would have been fine for at least the first round, however, there were 7 rounds with everyone using the same spoon as the first round. Also Jon would have been the final contestant at the end of each of those rounds, which grossed him out a bit. He bowed out.
What we learned from the game was that Gajan hates the pea-flavored food. I guess it's a good thing he tried it out before giving it to his kid.
I, however, won a game! It was the best game too because I was very good at it. I scratched my best with my nail, and it revealed:
And while I did not win a baby nor a million dollars, I did win some rather tasty chocolate:
Sweet!
This is a photo of the card with the booties I made. I found the rustic ribbon somewhere in our apartment and wrote on it: "Made Especially For Baby S...[full last name, but in case Mital and Gajan mind their names being on the Internet] With Much Love" twice to tie the booties together. I put some cash in the card, put the booties in the glassine envelope that the card came in, used the remaining rustic ribbon to tie it together, and hoped that it wouldn't get lost in the shuffle.
We were a bit late to the baby shower because Jon and I had our last meeting with P.Diddy where he basically told us that we could get married. Now we just need to provide a certificate of Jon's baptism for P.Diddy, so that P.Diddy could send out the forms for the church to approve of him marrying us.
The directions to get there worked beautifully, and we saw a few signs pointing to the baby shower. Apparently, Hetal went out in her PJs to post them around the neighborhood that morning before setting up the rest of it all. All the cars parked on that one street also helped us find the place.
The party was down in the basement, but before we could proceed, we had a bit of paperwork to fill out: writing out name tags, guessing the number of Skittles, and signing the stuffed dog.
About half an hour later (kidding), we worked our way down and were greeted warmly by everyone. They had just finished playing a game based on fill-in-the-blanks on a napkin regarding the baby.
It was great seeing everyone, especially because I hadn't seen many of them for so long. We got to catch up a bit.
Mital even gave in to opening presents because at first she was really against it since she hates opening presents in front of people. Mital and Gajan got a lot of really cool things for the baby. Unfortunately, BabysRUs screwed up the registry somehow so she got a few double items.
Besides the napkin game that we missed and losing the Skittle guessing game, another game was for the men at the party. They were to eat baby food and guess the flavors. Jon, after much insisting, was going to participate, but once he realized how it was going to operate backed out.
Basically, each guy got one spoon and dipped it into the unlabeled baby food jar, tasted it, and then passed it to the next person. Even if double dipping into the same jar didn't occur (but it did) this would have been fine for at least the first round, however, there were 7 rounds with everyone using the same spoon as the first round. Also Jon would have been the final contestant at the end of each of those rounds, which grossed him out a bit. He bowed out.
What we learned from the game was that Gajan hates the pea-flavored food. I guess it's a good thing he tried it out before giving it to his kid.
I, however, won a game! It was the best game too because I was very good at it. I scratched my best with my nail, and it revealed:
And while I did not win a baby nor a million dollars, I did win some rather tasty chocolate:
Sweet!
Monday, February 2, 2009
Birthday Pudding and a False (Fire) Alarm
On Friday, January 16, I was very productive if I do say so myself.
I got out of the apartment to deposit some checks and get gas for the ride up that night, then I went to H. Titty to get pudding ingredients (milk), and since it was FREEZING, I left my groceries in the parking lot to go to the GAP to return a sweater that Jon hated because it was too itchy and browse whatever leftover holiday sales there were. So I returned the sweater, bought a blouse and dress from the GAP, visited JCrew and Anthropology, and then went to PaperSource to get a shower card for Mital.
When I got upstairs, I needed to warm up, so I checked my reader and email before unpacking everything. Then while I was putting away the dishes, I also put away some groceries...you know to mix things up a bit.
About halfway between doing all of this, I heard an alarm of some sort. It was either two or three "beeps" and then it would stop, and then it would start again. It sounded faint, so I didn't think much of it. About five minutes later, it was still going, so I checked out the window looking for the building on fire making all that racket. It looked calm and cold out, so I thought that maybe I should check my hallway to see if anyone else hears it.
When I went stuck my head out the door, I heard the alarm a lot more clearly. The silent parts? It was saying to evacuate the building immediately. The woman down the hall by the elevators was also in the hallway, but I didn't ask her what she was going to do--I mean the voice said to evacuate, so that was what I was going to do.
So I grabbed my coat, boots, and purse, and made my way down the steps. My cellphone was dead, so I couldn't reach Jon immediately to tell him that our apartment might burn down. Jon and I really don't have a plan for emergency situations, which is dumb because the survival book I worked on said to have a plan.
At around the eleventh floor, I got tired of running down and around and around and down. I was also a little more wary--I mean what if I was running straight into the fire? Jon and I live on the twenty-first floor, which is the top (besides the roof), so if there wasn't a fire on my floor, it had to be below us, if not the roof. And maybe tired isn't the right word, I was more dizzy than tired really. Anyway, it wasn't until about the sixth floor that I saw anyone else evacuating. And by the time I got to the lobby, a lot of people and their pets and kids were there. I guess it was a false alarm?
I was a bit traumatized, and I didn't want to stand around waiting for something to happen, so I went to Jon's building to try to talk to Jon about this situation. As I was exiting, a firetruck pulled up. I don't know what happened after that regarding the alarm.
I went to Jon's building, and I tried going up, but after 6 PM you need a key card to go upstairs, and it was about 6:15. Of course, I didn't realize this until I realized that I wasn't moving. So I gave my cellphone one last shot and called Jon down. We decided to eat some Thai food until it blew over and the elevators weren't inundated with people returning to their apartments.
By the time we got up, it was getting late, and we still had to drive up to NJ that night. I also still had to finish unpacking the groceries (they were still thawing out, which was a good thing since I hadn't put away all the perishables), make the pudding for my dad, and wrap the booties/write out the card.
The pudding didn't take too long. The recipe was very easy. Note: These photos suck, but we really had to leave soon or risk falling asleep on the road.
Pudding in the Pot:
Fancy star tins for the birthday boy (I love these tins!):
Cupcake tins (removed parchment liner) for single-serve pudding cups. NOTE: Pudding is hot so it is a good idea to use a muffin tin to support the sides while you are spooning it in as well as using it to maneuver so that you do not directly hold the muffin molds you have finished or are working on. I figured this out and left two of the molds empty for my hands to grasp--plus you can use the tin for transportation.:
While waiting for it to cool a little more, I wrote out the card and wrapped up the booties. Then it was time to go!
I got out of the apartment to deposit some checks and get gas for the ride up that night, then I went to H. Titty to get pudding ingredients (milk), and since it was FREEZING, I left my groceries in the parking lot to go to the GAP to return a sweater that Jon hated because it was too itchy and browse whatever leftover holiday sales there were. So I returned the sweater, bought a blouse and dress from the GAP, visited JCrew and Anthropology, and then went to PaperSource to get a shower card for Mital.
When I got upstairs, I needed to warm up, so I checked my reader and email before unpacking everything. Then while I was putting away the dishes, I also put away some groceries...you know to mix things up a bit.
About halfway between doing all of this, I heard an alarm of some sort. It was either two or three "beeps" and then it would stop, and then it would start again. It sounded faint, so I didn't think much of it. About five minutes later, it was still going, so I checked out the window looking for the building on fire making all that racket. It looked calm and cold out, so I thought that maybe I should check my hallway to see if anyone else hears it.
When I went stuck my head out the door, I heard the alarm a lot more clearly. The silent parts? It was saying to evacuate the building immediately. The woman down the hall by the elevators was also in the hallway, but I didn't ask her what she was going to do--I mean the voice said to evacuate, so that was what I was going to do.
So I grabbed my coat, boots, and purse, and made my way down the steps. My cellphone was dead, so I couldn't reach Jon immediately to tell him that our apartment might burn down. Jon and I really don't have a plan for emergency situations, which is dumb because the survival book I worked on said to have a plan.
At around the eleventh floor, I got tired of running down and around and around and down. I was also a little more wary--I mean what if I was running straight into the fire? Jon and I live on the twenty-first floor, which is the top (besides the roof), so if there wasn't a fire on my floor, it had to be below us, if not the roof. And maybe tired isn't the right word, I was more dizzy than tired really. Anyway, it wasn't until about the sixth floor that I saw anyone else evacuating. And by the time I got to the lobby, a lot of people and their pets and kids were there. I guess it was a false alarm?
I was a bit traumatized, and I didn't want to stand around waiting for something to happen, so I went to Jon's building to try to talk to Jon about this situation. As I was exiting, a firetruck pulled up. I don't know what happened after that regarding the alarm.
I went to Jon's building, and I tried going up, but after 6 PM you need a key card to go upstairs, and it was about 6:15. Of course, I didn't realize this until I realized that I wasn't moving. So I gave my cellphone one last shot and called Jon down. We decided to eat some Thai food until it blew over and the elevators weren't inundated with people returning to their apartments.
By the time we got up, it was getting late, and we still had to drive up to NJ that night. I also still had to finish unpacking the groceries (they were still thawing out, which was a good thing since I hadn't put away all the perishables), make the pudding for my dad, and wrap the booties/write out the card.
The pudding didn't take too long. The recipe was very easy. Note: These photos suck, but we really had to leave soon or risk falling asleep on the road.
Pudding in the Pot:
Fancy star tins for the birthday boy (I love these tins!):
Cupcake tins (removed parchment liner) for single-serve pudding cups. NOTE: Pudding is hot so it is a good idea to use a muffin tin to support the sides while you are spooning it in as well as using it to maneuver so that you do not directly hold the muffin molds you have finished or are working on. I figured this out and left two of the molds empty for my hands to grasp--plus you can use the tin for transportation.:
While waiting for it to cool a little more, I wrote out the card and wrapped up the booties. Then it was time to go!
Friday, January 30, 2009
Florida in January Part 2
On the day that it rained, we went to Sarasota to visit the Ringling Estate, which was actually not what I was expecting.
You would think (or at least I would think this): Ringling and then think circus and then think circus people and clowns and then get scared. The Ringling Estate was pretty classy and sort of reminiscent of the Rockefeller Estate, but the Ringling Estate was more whimsical. Take this snail statue for instance.
Another statue, one of an angel, was buried between some banyan trees, but the tram we were on moved too quickly to take a photo. Here are some banyan trees though:
Yes, we had to take a tram around because it was initially way too cold to walk around the estate's grounds. However, after warming up and eating delicious hot dogs and chili, we summoned ourselves to walk to the art museum. (The brochure claims the museum to be one of the nation's best collections, and while it definitely wasn't a New York art museum, it was impressive. I enjoyed it a lot more than my tour of the "masters" at the Tate anyway.)
While walking (uncle and aunt are above), I found a beautiful statue that reminded me of poop.
The Ringling home was very much like the Rockefellar home--big, ornate, interesting, and ancient as far as American architecture. I was too cold to take photos (which is ridiculously funny now having been at the inauguration), but here's one of the house. On the other side of the house is a beautiful porch with steps that lead to a dock on the bay.
The most notable thing about Sarasota is that while the Ringling Estate might seem like the freakiest thing there, it isn't. This is the freakiest thing:
You know that famous image of the V-J Day kiss of the sailor and nurse? Someone thought it was a good idea to make a humongous statue of them in full color and put them in the middle of Sarasota. It was bizarre. Also, I believe I saw a statue-viewer look up her skirt. Pervert.
You would think (or at least I would think this): Ringling and then think circus and then think circus people and clowns and then get scared. The Ringling Estate was pretty classy and sort of reminiscent of the Rockefeller Estate, but the Ringling Estate was more whimsical. Take this snail statue for instance.
Another statue, one of an angel, was buried between some banyan trees, but the tram we were on moved too quickly to take a photo. Here are some banyan trees though:
Yes, we had to take a tram around because it was initially way too cold to walk around the estate's grounds. However, after warming up and eating delicious hot dogs and chili, we summoned ourselves to walk to the art museum. (The brochure claims the museum to be one of the nation's best collections, and while it definitely wasn't a New York art museum, it was impressive. I enjoyed it a lot more than my tour of the "masters" at the Tate anyway.)
While walking (uncle and aunt are above), I found a beautiful statue that reminded me of poop.
The Ringling home was very much like the Rockefellar home--big, ornate, interesting, and ancient as far as American architecture. I was too cold to take photos (which is ridiculously funny now having been at the inauguration), but here's one of the house. On the other side of the house is a beautiful porch with steps that lead to a dock on the bay.
The most notable thing about Sarasota is that while the Ringling Estate might seem like the freakiest thing there, it isn't. This is the freakiest thing:
You know that famous image of the V-J Day kiss of the sailor and nurse? Someone thought it was a good idea to make a humongous statue of them in full color and put them in the middle of Sarasota. It was bizarre. Also, I believe I saw a statue-viewer look up her skirt. Pervert.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Goals: Week 5
The Internet is acting way wacky, but I thought I'd write this up quickly.
1) Email people back...
2) Edit some more pages of Jon's Grandpa's autobiography. It's kind of difficult to think with the construction going on around here...it seems like they're building a whole new apartment across the way...sounds like it anyway.
3) Work on designing the graphics for the invitations. The thing that Jon was supposed to do didn't work out. I think I'm going to try a few versions of some other things so that we can decide on the best one.
4) Read more pages of Infinite Jest. Crap. I didn't even touch the book last week. It's a perfect day for reading. I could turn on the fake fire place and all, but with the construction, I'd much rather do something more mindless so I can forget about the banging and scraping.
5) Go to the library. I'm resolved to go this week...most likely towards the end of this week though because of the snow.
6) Write up blogs regarding the inauguration and other blogs with the photos I have.
7) Make $5 this week.
8) Finish three things on this list.
1) Email people back...
2) Edit some more pages of Jon's Grandpa's autobiography. It's kind of difficult to think with the construction going on around here...it seems like they're building a whole new apartment across the way...sounds like it anyway.
3) Work on designing the graphics for the invitations. The thing that Jon was supposed to do didn't work out. I think I'm going to try a few versions of some other things so that we can decide on the best one.
4) Read more pages of Infinite Jest. Crap. I didn't even touch the book last week. It's a perfect day for reading. I could turn on the fake fire place and all, but with the construction, I'd much rather do something more mindless so I can forget about the banging and scraping.
5) Go to the library. I'm resolved to go this week...most likely towards the end of this week though because of the snow.
6) Write up blogs regarding the inauguration and other blogs with the photos I have.
7) Make $5 this week.
8) Finish three things on this list.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Inauguration!
It's official. Barack Obama is the president!
I saw it. I was there and everything. More on that tomorrow or the day after--with videos and photos. I need to sleep.
I saw it. I was there and everything. More on that tomorrow or the day after--with videos and photos. I need to sleep.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Goals: Week 4
1) Put away all the laundry. I'm just a tiny bit closer with the cleaner closet.
2) Get to the Mall for the inauguration by 5AM. Volunteer. Do a good job.
3) Email people...and try to get a freelance project soon.
4) Edit some pages of Grandpa's book.
5) Work on designing the graphics for the reception card/directions. Need a phat line drawing of a city and a farm. And while I have a city, I'd be essentially plagiarizing it from some lady's website, which I'd rather not do.
6) Read more pages of Infinite Jest. Maybe just touch the book this week.
7) Go to the library. If I go to the books, the books might come to me.
8) Finish two things on this list. I'm giving myself a break this week because of the whole waking up and freezing thing. I think I may get sick, though I'm going to hold off putting up as a goal.
2) Get to the Mall for the inauguration by 5AM. Volunteer. Do a good job.
3) Email people...and try to get a freelance project soon.
4) Edit some pages of Grandpa's book.
5) Work on designing the graphics for the reception card/directions. Need a phat line drawing of a city and a farm. And while I have a city, I'd be essentially plagiarizing it from some lady's website, which I'd rather not do.
6) Read more pages of Infinite Jest. Maybe just touch the book this week.
7) Go to the library. If I go to the books, the books might come to me.
8) Finish two things on this list. I'm giving myself a break this week because of the whole waking up and freezing thing. I think I may get sick, though I'm going to hold off putting up as a goal.
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