The Haul

I had a really great birthday night with the family. We went out for a quiet dinner, just the parents and my sister. My brother and his wife didn’t come out with us. You know, it is very difficult to go out during the week when you are a teacher and have to get up early in the morning. CoughBullshitCough. Anyway, I'm over it.

Now… down to business. My gifts. I NEVER get gifts this extravagant, so imagine my surprise when I opened them.

My parents bought me the Gucci bag that I mentioned in this post. My cousin from Italy brought it with him when he came in for my brother’s wedding. It has been hiding in my parent’s house for a month and I didn’t sniff it out. My game is slippin’, yo.

My sister bought me a portable DVD player, which is awesome; PLUS, she got me FLYING LESSONS!! On Saturday, I will be hitting the skies, so if you live in the NY area, look up at about 1pm to see me.

Birthday weekend continues, going out drinking with my friends tonight to John Street, provided that it doesn’t rain, and my hair works with me, instead of against me.

Today's the Day!

Yup, my birthday. In celebration of my day, I did no work today. (Not really different than any other day, but today I had a good excuse). So before I leave work for the day, I wanted to post my horoscope and celebrities who share my birthday.

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Today’s Horoscope:

Follow a hunch to find that illusive satisfaction you’ve been seeking. Don’t worry about the money, it’ll be easy to get. Focus on the art, and don’t be rigid about the outcome. You have a couple of good ideas, but don’t go bounding off. There’s more planning to be done, if you don’t want to race right off a cliff. And even more if you do.

Mercury, planet of communication and the mind, is extra strong on your birthday this year, so if you know what it is that you want most out of life and if you let friends and colleagues know about it too there is every chance that it will come into your possession over the next 12 months. Put a name to your dream.

With so much cosmic activity in and around your birth sign you are no doubt eager to show what you can do, but there is no need to do everything at once. A strong aspect from Mercury, planet of the mind, to Pluto, planet of transformation, suggests this is a time more for thinking than acting. A good day to make plans.

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Interesting, right? I guess I should find out what I am seeking and start planning to make plans?

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Who shares my birthday:

Actor William Windom is 83. (Born 1923)

Comedian and actor Arnold Stang is 81. (Born 1925)

Actress Brigitte Bardot is 72. (Born 1934)

Singer Koko Taylor is 71. (Born 1935)

Singer Ben E. King is 68. (Born 1938)

Football Hall of Famer Charley Taylor is 65. (Born 1941)

Actor Jeffrey Jones is 60. (Born 1946)-The principal, Mr. Rooney from Ferris Bueller's Day Off!

Director and screenwriter John Sayles is 56. (Born 1950)

Football Hall of Famer Steve Largent is 52. (Born 1954)

Former football wide receiver Irving Fryar is 44. (Born 1962)

Hockey Hall of Famer Grant Fuhr is 44. (Born 1962)

Actress and comedienne Janeane Garofalo is 42. (Born 1964)

Musician Ginger Fish is 40. (Born 1966)

Actress Mira Sorvino is 39. (Born 1967)

Actress Moon Zappa is 39. (Born 1967)

Actress Naomi Watts is 38. (Born 1968)

Actress Gwyneth Paltrow is 34. (Born 1972)

Model and dancer Dita Von Teese is 34. (Born 1972)

Actress and singer Hilary Duff is 19. (Born 1987)

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Impressive list, especially Hilary Duff. I'm honored. ;)

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P.S.: It's funny when you are detached from things, as I usually am in the morning; you have a delayed reaction when things happen around you. This morning, after letting one train pass because it was too crowded, I got on a later train and realized that everyone in the car was freaking out about the time. Late is late. 5 minutes, 15 minutes or 35 minutes doesn't make a difference... why rush? You're only going to work. I still stopped and got breakfast (no bialy, I gave up trying to get it my way; yogurt and orange juice), and strolled into my office at exactly 9am.

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P.P.S.: Thanks for the email and e-card Vic, I love getting stuff like that!

I Finally Committed!

I’ve gotten a few emails about my inability to name my favorite movies of all time because I change my mind very often. So without further ado, here are my Top 10 favorite movies. *

Coincidentally, all of these movies have really great soundtracks, so if the premise of the movie isn't your cup of tea, perhaps the music will persuade you.

10. Forest Gump- This is my go-to movie whenever there is nothing on TV. It makes me cry every time.

9. 16 Candles- This movie was on television a lot when I was younger, on Saturday afternoons before cable. It was after I saw this movie where my habit of quoting movie lines at random times developed.

8. A Life Less Ordinary- This movie is part love story, part action movie, and part comedy. It also has a duet by Cameron Diaz and Ewan McGregor (who needs a haircut/style badly) of one of my all time favorite songs Beyond the Sea by Bobby Darin.

7. Sliding Doors- Every girl’s dream and nightmare rolled into one movie. Decisions would be so much easier to make if you were able to see the consequences beforehand. It doesn’t hurt that I also think that John Hannah is hot.

6. Billy Elliot- Angsty coming-of-age tale. The music in this movie completely fits every scene. This is also the only other movie that I have cried at.

5. Office Space- Life as a corporate office drone. This movie makes me laugh, and makes me happy that I chose a different path for my work life.

4. Swingers- According to my friend J, this movie gave away too many guy secrets, especially the three-day phone call rule, which became a hotly debated topic in my circle of friends. (This is the second Ron Livingston movie on the countdown. Total coincidence.)

3. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off- Need I say more? When I was young I wanted a white leather jacket with fringe, and a guy like Ferris as my boyfriend. I still haven’t gotten either one.

2. Girlfight- I watch this movie all the time. Another angsty coming- of- age tale about a badass girl who learns to channel her rage through boxing. I live vicariously through Diana as she kicks ass.

1. The Outsiders- The best movie adapted from a book. EVER. This movie also began my lifelong crush on Matt Dillon.

There you have it. I would love to know what you all think of my list and what movies you consider in your top 10.


*Although I have committed to this listing, it is subject to change at anytime.

On Work and Other Things

I swore I wasn't going to say it. I didn't want to be one of those bosses. I hate those kind of bosses. Unfortunately, at 1:36 pm on 9/20/06, a mere six days into this new job and I lost it.

"I'm gonna need you to go ahead and ..."

I was horrified. If you've seen the movie Office Space, you know what I am talking about; (if you have not seen the movie, rent it, watch it, then come back to me.) I don't want to be the asshole boss that everyone hates who walks around with her coffee mug and is clueless to what actually happens with the staff and around the office. All I need now is for them to start disassembling their cubicles in fits of rage while singing the song Damn It Feels Good to Be a Gangsta by the Geto Boys.

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After the above mentioned fiasco, I found out that I will be sharing an office with the other supervisor because of construction on her side of the building. I don't mind sharing, there is more than enough room for the two of us in the office. My one issue is that she is a drama queen. How can I tell? I have only been there for 6 days and I already know all of her major life issues. If I am to be witness to her fits of insanity during the work week, and have no quiet safe haven, the least the agency can do is provide me with ear plugs.

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Why is it so difficult for the guy in the bagel store to give me the correct order in the morning? I order the same thing everyday; a plain toasted bialy with an orange juice. That's all. Every morning, when I open that bag, there is butter or cream cheese on my bialy. I don't know what else to do. I've said that the order was wrong, I've told him that I would like the bialy dry, but no. If you must know why, I don't like it when the butter melts and seeps through the bag. It also makes the bialy soggy. Don't even get me started on the warm, melted cream cheese. Gross. I can't go anywhere else because it is convenient in its proximity from the train station to my office.

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Apparently, my strategy of picking cute football players for my fantasy team wasn't so smart since I am in last place. I need to rethink and restructure my whole team. If you help me, I'll send you a cool, crisp one dollar bill in the mail.

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There are only 8 more shopping days until my 30th birthday. Maybe you guys lost my address or are not sure what to buy the girl who has everythi... er, nothing? Please see the revised gift list below, and feel free to purchase something for me. I will also be accepting items from the original list posted here.

1. 2006 Bayliner 265:$53,752
2. Mercedes G-Class: $81,450
3. GV-Gulfstream 5: 3.6 million

Notice a theme here?

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For those of you familiar with NYC, please give me a suggestion on where to go for dinner or drinks that has a fairly decent clientele. (read: cute, single guys) My old standby places are not cutting it anymore.

This is Why I Love Living in NYC

Picture it: Subway car, Thursday morning. Me half asleep, trying to concentrate on my book. Rain outside. Middle aged lady seated reading Us Magazine. Cute guy wearing a navy blue zip-front hoodie carrying an umbrella.

Lady to cute guy: You're making me wet.

Me and surrounding passengers do a double take.

Lady to cute guy again: I said you're making me wet.

Cute guy laughing: Yes, I tend to have that effect on the ladies.

Lady getting pissed: With your umbrella.

Cute guy still laughing: I'm flattered, but it's not that big.

Then the lady paused for a second like she was thinking about what he said; the look on her face was priceless when she finally figured out what he was talking about. I know it was early and maybe she wasn't ready with her A game comeback, but seriously, talk about being slow on the uptake.

Thank you random cute boy in the navy hoodie, you made my rainy Thursday morning.

ETA: I submitted this quote here. Come on, you know it made you laugh too. Or am I the only one with a dirty mind here?

So, That's What Working Feels Like

Maybe I've been out of the game for too long, but I don't recall ever commuting with so much conversation going on around me. At 8am, all I want to hear is my IPod singing sweetly to me, not some ass on his cell phone having a screaming match with someone on the other end. Total crap considering I tried everything to get away from him, but there is only so much room in a subway car. He even got off at the same stop as me. Tomorrow I'll have my eye out for him, and bump into him with my bag to get back at him. Hipster jerkoff.

I did nothing today but fill out paperwork, and watch some orientation videos about the history of the agency and the current programs that it offers. Tomorrow, I will be attending a computer training to learn the programs and systems that they use there. Thursday will be my first actual work day. I get to move into my office, which I got a quick glimpse of today, it was being painted. I don't think I saw a window, but I'll manage.

Thanks for all the comments wishing me luck...

PBW: I didn't really check out the shopping situation in detail yet, but I'm sure its nothing that I can't handle. Email me.

Janie and Minnie: Silly assumption ladies. Of course I had to buy new shoes... I couldn't go into work barefoot! What kind of example would I set?

Signgirl: Thanks!

My first day off is on October 2, for Yom Kippur, which makes my birthday weekend 4 whole days long!

P.S.: How am I supposed to lose the junk in my trunk if I work across the street from a fucking CHOCOLATE FACTORY?!?

Untitled

I really don’t know how to write this post; everything that I have written within the past hour has been deleted and rewritten, so please excuse my jumbled thoughts and bear with me.

Every New Yorker has their own 9/11 story, here is mine.

5 years ago I worked in a hospital, in an outpatient clinic. I was just about to leave for a morning meeting when one of my co-workers started screaming for me, calling me back and into the conference room. She was eating her breakfast in there and was watching television. We both saw the second plane hit the tower, and looked at each other in shock. We just stared at the television thinking it was something out of the movie Independence Day. It was totally surreal. About an half hour later, we were called by the hospital Chief of Staff and told that the hospital was on lockdown and that all management personnel were needed in the Emergency Room to assist with triage. NYC buses were transporting firefighters, police officers and EMS workers from our ER downtown, and bringing back people that had minor injuries. The most vivid memory I have of that day is that all of the people coming into the ER from the site seemed grey and were covered with soot and debris. Towards the end of the day, the National Guard had set up camp on the hospital grounds and were Medevac-ing severely injured (mostly burned) people from the WTC site.

At this point, I was unable to get in touch with my parents or siblings to let them know that I was ok, just unable to leave the hospital. I tried to get in touch with my cousin and my roommate who both worked close to the towers, my cousin at 120 Broadway, my roommate at One Liberty Plaza. I didn’t find out about either of them until 2 days later, both fine, they found each other and walked uptown together.

I was able to leave the hospital at about 11pm, and while traveling home, I couldn’t help but notice how quiet the streets were. Eerily quiet. No cars on the road, hardly any traffic. No hustle and bustle. Just silence.

It was weeks later before I found out definitively of two friends that died, both of whom worked at the WTC. JFQ and PC. You are always missed.

Victims of 9/11

Quit Fooling Around and Get Back To Work!

OK, I will.

I am pleased to announce that I will be returning to the ranks of the employed on September 12th. I was able to find an agency that gave me the best combination of administrative duties, and direct client care for the salary that I wanted. The best part of the whole situation is that the job is in downtown Manhattan, which makes commuting a breeze.

Now, if that is not a good enough excuse to go on a shopping spree, I don't know what is! (not that I need an excuse, but it sounds good.)


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To my fantasy football league: Bring it on, bitches! It's go time!