last night was the last time i was going to see my friend poth before he left for london today, so i took him out for a couple drinks.
we met up at my new favorite little neighborhood bar, shebeen at around midnight and it was dead. basically just us and the cute bartender.
we sat at the bar and ended up chatting with this cool fellow for a bit.
we stayed longer than expected when bartender boy started pouring us shots. btw, new favorite shot: a godfather. a couple beers later and we were still chatting it up with this guy. get this: turned out he went to emerson college too! he was a few years younger, but was there when i was! he also did the castle well program. we gabbed and gabbed about the castle. then i find out he knows some of my good friends from emerson who used to frequent the old bar he worked at.
too too weird. now i've got a friend behind the bar at my fave watering hole 5 blocks away. YES!
Tuesday, April 06, 2004
joints and russian pop
funny little story from the weekend:
i was out with my friend who had just got back to NY from 2 months in hawaii.
needless to say, she was completely zen-ed out. answered her door in her bikini. loved it!
we were celebrating her return and were going out in brooklyn to go dancing.
first went to bar to get a couple warm-up beverages. then new boy met us there and happened to bring along an enomous joint to share with the group.
we went to go get a car service to take us to the next spot. no one wanted to take us, but my friend and her cousin, who both happen to be russian talked this driver into taking us. he was russian too and they worked their russian magic. next thing, we're in the car. boy pulls out the joint, my friend speaks to the driver in russian and next thing i know, the giant spliff is being lit in the car! sweet!! driver then reaches over and pumps up the stereo, blasting the funniest russian speed pop i've ever heard.
it was mayhem.
here's the proof.
i was out with my friend who had just got back to NY from 2 months in hawaii.
needless to say, she was completely zen-ed out. answered her door in her bikini. loved it!
we were celebrating her return and were going out in brooklyn to go dancing.
first went to bar to get a couple warm-up beverages. then new boy met us there and happened to bring along an enomous joint to share with the group.
we went to go get a car service to take us to the next spot. no one wanted to take us, but my friend and her cousin, who both happen to be russian talked this driver into taking us. he was russian too and they worked their russian magic. next thing, we're in the car. boy pulls out the joint, my friend speaks to the driver in russian and next thing i know, the giant spliff is being lit in the car! sweet!! driver then reaches over and pumps up the stereo, blasting the funniest russian speed pop i've ever heard.
it was mayhem.
here's the proof.
Wednesday, March 31, 2004
overheard
just got back from lunch.
while eating by myself at a cafe down the street, i heard a guy behind me say this:
"...weirdest dream last night. i dreamed that i was stuck in this big park all alone. all of a sudden, me legs turned into 2 baguettes and every squirrel in the park wanted to eat my legs! i had to run, but it was so hard to move with baguettes for legs. it was a total nightmare!"
i couldn't help but laugh to myself visualizing the scene.
while eating by myself at a cafe down the street, i heard a guy behind me say this:
"...weirdest dream last night. i dreamed that i was stuck in this big park all alone. all of a sudden, me legs turned into 2 baguettes and every squirrel in the park wanted to eat my legs! i had to run, but it was so hard to move with baguettes for legs. it was a total nightmare!"
i couldn't help but laugh to myself visualizing the scene.
Tuesday, March 30, 2004
what the #$%&
did i really just see bob dylan singing on a victoria's secret commercial?
holy crap, what has this world come to???
holy crap, what has this world come to???
making strides
on my walk to work this morning, i counted how many steps it took to walk 1 average new york city block (north/south). it was exactly 80 steps.
this means, when i walk home from work, i've taken roughly 1920 steps. who needs a friggin' gym? again, confirmation that i love this city.
this means, when i walk home from work, i've taken roughly 1920 steps. who needs a friggin' gym? again, confirmation that i love this city.
little pencil
last night i made my first trip via subway to visit new boy who happens to live in astoria. i've been to his place before but always took a cab and was with him. this time, i was going out on my own and had never taken the subway to queens. i knew it was going to be longer than my normal subway journeys so i made sure the ipod batteries were charged and brought along a new tokion magazine to read.
when i got on the N train, i found my little spot--a two seat bench all to myself. i spread my stuff out and got comfortable for the long ride. not so fast. next stop, a hoard of travelers were standing outside the door, ready to get on and steal away my private nook. but wait! who was that handsome boy standing at the doors looking my way? "if someone has to sit by me, please, oh please let it be him." like the gods answering my prayers, hot boy plopped himself right next to me. the comfort zone was slightly violated as our crossed legs rubbed against each other, but i didn't mind one bit.
i carried on reading my magazine. well, not really reading. this boy was so hot i couldn't really concentrate on the copy. but i did notice him checking out the mag's cool graphics. then he took out his own reading material. a subway requirement is to check out your next door neighbor's reading, so i did. it was some sort of text book material in spanish! oh god, oh god! extra bonus points for the cute boy to my left.
then the strangest thing happened. he took out the smallest pencil i've ever seen (maybe about 1 inch) and began jotting down notes on the pages. i was fascinated. how could this 6ft+ tall boy, with rather large hands write with such a stub of a pencil? i didn't get it, and i couldn't stop staring and wondering what the deal was. i wanted to ask him if he needed a pen or something. instead, in my dorky way, i removed my headphones and asked "so... what's with the tiny pencil?"
he smiled a huge smile and spoke in the cutest spanish accent you've ever heard, "oh," he chuckled, "it is a superstition of mine." "what do you mean?" i asked back. "well, ever since i was 17, i've been using pencils til they are almost gone. i think if i throw them away before that, something bad will happen to me. i also have to keep the stubs and i have about 5 bottles full of them."
whoa! i had no idea that would come out of him when i asked my question. it was a trip and i had to know more. he went on and on about his grandmother who was ultra superstitious and encouraged him with his odd pencil theory. i also learned that he didn't wear a watch or use a cell phone for similar reasons. what an intersting character. not only was he the hottest boy ever, he was weird! the perfect combo. again, being the dork that i am, i got out my digital camera and asked if i could snap a pic of him with his little pencil (since i loved the story so much). he allowed me to do so and instead of being embarrassed about it, he posed with his pencil and flashed a big toothy grin. here is the pic (disclaimer: this photo does not do his cuteness justice).
i was so intrigued by him, i sorta wanted to ask for his number, but i was on my way to meet new boy and thought it would be wrong. as we got off at the same stop i asked his name. "mariano, from argentina" he said. "megan. it was lovely chatting with you. i don't think anything bad is going to happen to you." and he smiled his giant cute smile again and walked off.
god help me, i love this city.
when i got on the N train, i found my little spot--a two seat bench all to myself. i spread my stuff out and got comfortable for the long ride. not so fast. next stop, a hoard of travelers were standing outside the door, ready to get on and steal away my private nook. but wait! who was that handsome boy standing at the doors looking my way? "if someone has to sit by me, please, oh please let it be him." like the gods answering my prayers, hot boy plopped himself right next to me. the comfort zone was slightly violated as our crossed legs rubbed against each other, but i didn't mind one bit.
i carried on reading my magazine. well, not really reading. this boy was so hot i couldn't really concentrate on the copy. but i did notice him checking out the mag's cool graphics. then he took out his own reading material. a subway requirement is to check out your next door neighbor's reading, so i did. it was some sort of text book material in spanish! oh god, oh god! extra bonus points for the cute boy to my left.
then the strangest thing happened. he took out the smallest pencil i've ever seen (maybe about 1 inch) and began jotting down notes on the pages. i was fascinated. how could this 6ft+ tall boy, with rather large hands write with such a stub of a pencil? i didn't get it, and i couldn't stop staring and wondering what the deal was. i wanted to ask him if he needed a pen or something. instead, in my dorky way, i removed my headphones and asked "so... what's with the tiny pencil?"
he smiled a huge smile and spoke in the cutest spanish accent you've ever heard, "oh," he chuckled, "it is a superstition of mine." "what do you mean?" i asked back. "well, ever since i was 17, i've been using pencils til they are almost gone. i think if i throw them away before that, something bad will happen to me. i also have to keep the stubs and i have about 5 bottles full of them."
whoa! i had no idea that would come out of him when i asked my question. it was a trip and i had to know more. he went on and on about his grandmother who was ultra superstitious and encouraged him with his odd pencil theory. i also learned that he didn't wear a watch or use a cell phone for similar reasons. what an intersting character. not only was he the hottest boy ever, he was weird! the perfect combo. again, being the dork that i am, i got out my digital camera and asked if i could snap a pic of him with his little pencil (since i loved the story so much). he allowed me to do so and instead of being embarrassed about it, he posed with his pencil and flashed a big toothy grin. here is the pic (disclaimer: this photo does not do his cuteness justice).
i was so intrigued by him, i sorta wanted to ask for his number, but i was on my way to meet new boy and thought it would be wrong. as we got off at the same stop i asked his name. "mariano, from argentina" he said. "megan. it was lovely chatting with you. i don't think anything bad is going to happen to you." and he smiled his giant cute smile again and walked off.
god help me, i love this city.
Sunday, March 28, 2004
the way to a girl's heart...
is through her stomach. yeah, i know the real saying is "through a man's heart" but i think it's true for us chicks too.
yet again, my new boy cooked for me last night. this time at his house (not the restaurant). and OMIGOD!!!
i felt so pampered, getting cooked for like that. and it wasn't just some cute attempt at cooking like pasta and sauce from a jar with a few extra veggies thrown in.
this was COOKING. tiger prawns with baby bock choy and chinese spinach in some crazy delicious ginger sauce over perfect rice.
the prawns were just crazy intense. and the whole eating experience was rather sensual. prying the meat of the prawn out from the shell and eating with your hands. yum! i could have sworn homeboy sprinkled some ecstacy powder over that meal because the second course was ridiculous (heh heh). talk about an afrodisiac! wonder if he knew this (which i just found on the internet):
Men have been experimenting with food as a route into women's knickers since the dawn of time. Virtually every culture has its own menu of delicacies designed to induce passion and fertility... Another trick is to ensure that at least one course is eaten with fingers - either start with something along the lines of Thai seasoned king prawns, or alternatively finish with chocolate-dipped fruit.
and are you ready for dessert?: bananas sauteed in butter, sugar and rum, wrapped in HOMEMADE crepes, drizzled with HOMEMADE chocolate sauce with vanilla ice cream on the side all sprinkled with choco powder. DYING!!! i may get fat hanging out with this boy, but at this rate, who the fuck cares? i'm in seventh heaven.
yet again, my new boy cooked for me last night. this time at his house (not the restaurant). and OMIGOD!!!
i felt so pampered, getting cooked for like that. and it wasn't just some cute attempt at cooking like pasta and sauce from a jar with a few extra veggies thrown in.
this was COOKING. tiger prawns with baby bock choy and chinese spinach in some crazy delicious ginger sauce over perfect rice.
the prawns were just crazy intense. and the whole eating experience was rather sensual. prying the meat of the prawn out from the shell and eating with your hands. yum! i could have sworn homeboy sprinkled some ecstacy powder over that meal because the second course was ridiculous (heh heh). talk about an afrodisiac! wonder if he knew this (which i just found on the internet):
Men have been experimenting with food as a route into women's knickers since the dawn of time. Virtually every culture has its own menu of delicacies designed to induce passion and fertility... Another trick is to ensure that at least one course is eaten with fingers - either start with something along the lines of Thai seasoned king prawns, or alternatively finish with chocolate-dipped fruit.
and are you ready for dessert?: bananas sauteed in butter, sugar and rum, wrapped in HOMEMADE crepes, drizzled with HOMEMADE chocolate sauce with vanilla ice cream on the side all sprinkled with choco powder. DYING!!! i may get fat hanging out with this boy, but at this rate, who the fuck cares? i'm in seventh heaven.
Friday, March 26, 2004
baaaad movie
so i had the honor of attending the screening of m. night's new movie, the village due out in july. it was one of those pre-released, not quite finished screenings to get the audience reactions and stuff. again, it was one of his signature "surprise twist endings" movies which, in my opinion, is sooooo played out! it's like you expect this from him now and can't just watch the movie because you are constantly wondering "what is the twist?" so i wasn't quick enough to catch the twist even though i was looking for it, but let me just say, the surprise is WACK. it wasn't even a surprise like "whoa..." it was more like "huh? that's stupid." oops.
don't get me wrong. the production value of the film is great. it's slick. it's well-produced and looks real pretty (thanks to roger deakins and disney's deep pockets) but the story is just plain silly. honestly, i think it would have been more powerful had you known the twist at the beginning. granted, they are still working out the kinks, but to me, there are a lot of kinks to be worked out. and the script was not well-written. just too hollywood cliche for me. AND the actors all seemed to be over-acting too. the cast reads like a hollywood's who's who, but jesus, tone it down a bit people. no more yelling when you're trying to announce a climatic plot point. joaquin phoenix was the only solid performance in my book. that guy is great. wonder why he ends up doing these big budget hollywood films?
anyway, for night's sake, i hope it gets better. he was there asking us questions and it seemed like a lot of the audience was on the same page as i was... ouch. the guy is smart, so hopefully he's got more (or less) footage up his sleeve. otherwise, i smell a summer blockbuster bomb.
don't get me wrong. the production value of the film is great. it's slick. it's well-produced and looks real pretty (thanks to roger deakins and disney's deep pockets) but the story is just plain silly. honestly, i think it would have been more powerful had you known the twist at the beginning. granted, they are still working out the kinks, but to me, there are a lot of kinks to be worked out. and the script was not well-written. just too hollywood cliche for me. AND the actors all seemed to be over-acting too. the cast reads like a hollywood's who's who, but jesus, tone it down a bit people. no more yelling when you're trying to announce a climatic plot point. joaquin phoenix was the only solid performance in my book. that guy is great. wonder why he ends up doing these big budget hollywood films?
anyway, for night's sake, i hope it gets better. he was there asking us questions and it seemed like a lot of the audience was on the same page as i was... ouch. the guy is smart, so hopefully he's got more (or less) footage up his sleeve. otherwise, i smell a summer blockbuster bomb.
Tuesday, March 23, 2004
in like
you read it here first. i like a guy. and i'm sorta freaking out about it a little bit (in a good way).
no really, this isn't just some fling this time. it's totally intense and great and i'm into it. we've only hung out a total of 4 times after meeting 2 fridays ago and every session has been fantastic... progressively getting better each time, which seems to be a good sign.
i met him, (surprise, surprise) on a dance floor. we connected immediately. he had really good moves and it was on. whenever you meet someone in a club, you just never know though. but i felt something with this one. something different. we went out the next night and i got to know him a little bit. all stats in check. grew up in a foreign country, speaks 3 languages, well travelled, smart, loves music and dancing, good politics and world view, no weird religion crap but spiritual, gets my humor, really cute style (very new yorky), is a total gentleman, and is a chef!
our second hangout, he cooked for me at his restaurant. OMIGOD!! 4 courses of incredibly beautiful looking and tasting food. to die! i was in heaven.
third hangout i was feeling sick so he came over and brought me take out and just chilled with me at home. sara even got to meet him and gave the seal of approval (and she's a tough critic too!).
and last night... OH LAST NIGHT! just too good. we were both thanking the universe for our good fortune of meeting each other.
ok, enough mush. i'm just happy, that's all.
no really, this isn't just some fling this time. it's totally intense and great and i'm into it. we've only hung out a total of 4 times after meeting 2 fridays ago and every session has been fantastic... progressively getting better each time, which seems to be a good sign.
i met him, (surprise, surprise) on a dance floor. we connected immediately. he had really good moves and it was on. whenever you meet someone in a club, you just never know though. but i felt something with this one. something different. we went out the next night and i got to know him a little bit. all stats in check. grew up in a foreign country, speaks 3 languages, well travelled, smart, loves music and dancing, good politics and world view, no weird religion crap but spiritual, gets my humor, really cute style (very new yorky), is a total gentleman, and is a chef!
our second hangout, he cooked for me at his restaurant. OMIGOD!! 4 courses of incredibly beautiful looking and tasting food. to die! i was in heaven.
third hangout i was feeling sick so he came over and brought me take out and just chilled with me at home. sara even got to meet him and gave the seal of approval (and she's a tough critic too!).
and last night... OH LAST NIGHT! just too good. we were both thanking the universe for our good fortune of meeting each other.
ok, enough mush. i'm just happy, that's all.
Monday, March 22, 2004
last year of the twenties
i made it through the birthday weekend and came out a-ok. 29 to some may seem like a milestone... last year of a decade (or an era). but i'm thinking of it as 1 step closer to 30, which i'm actually looking forward to, believe it or not. the twenties have been tough (and yes, completely fun), but from what i've heard from my older peers, is that the thirties are great (when you figure yourself out a bit more, are more comfortable with life, career stuff becomes a little more clear and sex life: watch out!). not that i'm putting place markers on ages, but sometimes, you just can't help it.
my friend sara from LA came out for the bday weekend which was really sweet. made me happy to have a good friend in town for the occassion... since most all of my NY friends happened to be out of town this weekend and it could have been a pretty lonely birthday. i didn't really plan anything big... just meeting at my favorite little bar in brooklyn for drinks and dancing. what more could i want?
the day was lovely... sunny and relatively warm. sara and i started the day with yummy breakfast then did the token walking all over the LES and east village for shopping, then over to the west village for the magnolia's bday cupcake. perfect day if you ask me. back at home for a little snooze, then chinese for dinner and off to the bar.
a handful of people showed up. we got drunk and danced and that was about that. nothing major, but it was nice.
the real party was last night though. lucy had gotten tickets for the body & soul reunion party. i was feeling pretty darn after boozin it up saturday night, but since it was a "tea dance" (late afternoon into early-ish evening) i thought i could muster the energy. we met up at 8 and headed to the sold out club.
it was insanely packed. apparently they were closing the club, arc, where body & soul had held a residency for years. also, the night had been finished for over a year (i believe) so the regulars were out to support, as well as every other music/dance/club enthusiast in NYC. and let me tell you, there was every kind of person imaginable in that room. old, young, short, tall, fat, skinny, black, white, asian, latino, gay, straight, crazy, normal. i mean EVERYONE. as i toked on some insane shirtless funny hatted gay man's joint, lucy told me to check out the 40+ dude wearing a t-shirt tucked into shorts with white socks and tevas! it was too much! but the main theme was everyone was enjoying themselves to the nth degree.
you could just feel that energy swarming through the place. i felt like i had taken the best E of my life as the lights would go down, the smoke machine filled the room, the sirens went off and everyone began to scream and clap when a song got intense. i don't know if old E chemicals stay in your body, and can be released again or if it was just a "contact high" but whatever it was, i felt so damn good (could even FEEL that something coursing through my veins and it gave my goosebumps).
needless to say, my lack of energy replaced in a matter of songs. and i must admit, the music wasn't something i'd necessarily listen to at home (some of it, sure, but most of it not), but i was grooving to some hard house shit regardless. the vibe in the joint was too too good not to lose your shit.
i think the highlight of the evening was when joe claussel played an extended version of "do i do" by my all time favorite stevie wonder. before the song came on, the lights went out, then a HUGE blast of cold air filled the room, the lights faded up to blue, the siren sound came on and then STEVIE! the place went nuts. and joe was just working the EQ's... like a freaking conductor infront of a giant orchestra. oh god, i loved it!
thank you body & soul. thank you for making me love NYC that much better... knowing that there are that many of us in the city that can create that kind of special energy in a room with good old fashioned music and dancing!
my friend sara from LA came out for the bday weekend which was really sweet. made me happy to have a good friend in town for the occassion... since most all of my NY friends happened to be out of town this weekend and it could have been a pretty lonely birthday. i didn't really plan anything big... just meeting at my favorite little bar in brooklyn for drinks and dancing. what more could i want?
the day was lovely... sunny and relatively warm. sara and i started the day with yummy breakfast then did the token walking all over the LES and east village for shopping, then over to the west village for the magnolia's bday cupcake. perfect day if you ask me. back at home for a little snooze, then chinese for dinner and off to the bar.
a handful of people showed up. we got drunk and danced and that was about that. nothing major, but it was nice.
the real party was last night though. lucy had gotten tickets for the body & soul reunion party. i was feeling pretty darn after boozin it up saturday night, but since it was a "tea dance" (late afternoon into early-ish evening) i thought i could muster the energy. we met up at 8 and headed to the sold out club.
it was insanely packed. apparently they were closing the club, arc, where body & soul had held a residency for years. also, the night had been finished for over a year (i believe) so the regulars were out to support, as well as every other music/dance/club enthusiast in NYC. and let me tell you, there was every kind of person imaginable in that room. old, young, short, tall, fat, skinny, black, white, asian, latino, gay, straight, crazy, normal. i mean EVERYONE. as i toked on some insane shirtless funny hatted gay man's joint, lucy told me to check out the 40+ dude wearing a t-shirt tucked into shorts with white socks and tevas! it was too much! but the main theme was everyone was enjoying themselves to the nth degree.
you could just feel that energy swarming through the place. i felt like i had taken the best E of my life as the lights would go down, the smoke machine filled the room, the sirens went off and everyone began to scream and clap when a song got intense. i don't know if old E chemicals stay in your body, and can be released again or if it was just a "contact high" but whatever it was, i felt so damn good (could even FEEL that something coursing through my veins and it gave my goosebumps).
needless to say, my lack of energy replaced in a matter of songs. and i must admit, the music wasn't something i'd necessarily listen to at home (some of it, sure, but most of it not), but i was grooving to some hard house shit regardless. the vibe in the joint was too too good not to lose your shit.
i think the highlight of the evening was when joe claussel played an extended version of "do i do" by my all time favorite stevie wonder. before the song came on, the lights went out, then a HUGE blast of cold air filled the room, the lights faded up to blue, the siren sound came on and then STEVIE! the place went nuts. and joe was just working the EQ's... like a freaking conductor infront of a giant orchestra. oh god, i loved it!
thank you body & soul. thank you for making me love NYC that much better... knowing that there are that many of us in the city that can create that kind of special energy in a room with good old fashioned music and dancing!
Friday, March 12, 2004
been so long
shit, i realize it's been forever since i last wrote and i'm sure no one is even checking this thing anymore, but since i have a few minutes i'll give a couple updates.
first, the good news: i got in on that american airlines deal... where i fly twice from NY before april 15th and i get a free ticket to anywhere in the world! i'm so freaking stoked on that one. so to qualify for the deal i decided to buy a last minute ticket to miami last weekend, where the winter music conference and the m3 summit was happening. m3 happens to be the "cool" version of WMC, where the parties are catered to the jazzier side of music (an alternative to the 4-to-the-floor/techno/trance crowd). my new friend lucy, from london, was going as was my old friend vicki (who was getting a free hotel room).
i wasn't necessarily looking forward to this having preconceived notions of horrible lines outside crowded clubs and bimbos everywhere, but i thought why not (and the whole free ticket was the main incentive). turned out miami was really fun. more good travel karma came my way... met some new NY people who had pull at the door of the big jazzanova/bugz in the attic party. the crowd outside was inside and the cover of $20 was not appealing, but we managed to slip in with these kids. excellent. met up with michael later in the night and ran into a handful of LA club friends. the music was excellent, the crowd pretty cool (minus the lack of crazy dancers) and spirits were high all around. my biggest complaint was the drink prices... fucking $7 for a bud (and that was the only option for beer).
next night same thing happened. lucy just happened to know the guy at the door for the huge BBE/okay player party and we got right in (HA! that line outside the door was absolutely riddick). that party was just plain crazy. so so so many people. but fantastic music and the club was just insane: huge, cool decor, about 5 rooms. again, a good good time.
and during the day it was all chilled out style on the beach. i never think i like tropical settings, but get me in one and i'm happy as a clam.
other than miami, just been plugging away at an on-site freelance design gig for the past couple weeks. not a big thrill. been nice to be out of the house. well, it was at first. i was kind of enjoying being amongst the working stiffs, getting up, getting my coffee, getting on the subway. but the thrill is already gone. i want to be home and emailing and blogging at my own free will. worst part of the job is that art director has direct view of my screen, so i can't get away with much. oh well. the money is good at least.
so i guess that's it. dad stuff is still on the brain, but not taking over. i'm managing to stay pretty balanced and have remained happy, with small bursts of sadness. that part will come next month when i go back to fallbrook to take care of his house. UGH!! gotta do it though. then coachella as my reward. nice.
first, the good news: i got in on that american airlines deal... where i fly twice from NY before april 15th and i get a free ticket to anywhere in the world! i'm so freaking stoked on that one. so to qualify for the deal i decided to buy a last minute ticket to miami last weekend, where the winter music conference and the m3 summit was happening. m3 happens to be the "cool" version of WMC, where the parties are catered to the jazzier side of music (an alternative to the 4-to-the-floor/techno/trance crowd). my new friend lucy, from london, was going as was my old friend vicki (who was getting a free hotel room).
i wasn't necessarily looking forward to this having preconceived notions of horrible lines outside crowded clubs and bimbos everywhere, but i thought why not (and the whole free ticket was the main incentive). turned out miami was really fun. more good travel karma came my way... met some new NY people who had pull at the door of the big jazzanova/bugz in the attic party. the crowd outside was inside and the cover of $20 was not appealing, but we managed to slip in with these kids. excellent. met up with michael later in the night and ran into a handful of LA club friends. the music was excellent, the crowd pretty cool (minus the lack of crazy dancers) and spirits were high all around. my biggest complaint was the drink prices... fucking $7 for a bud (and that was the only option for beer).
next night same thing happened. lucy just happened to know the guy at the door for the huge BBE/okay player party and we got right in (HA! that line outside the door was absolutely riddick). that party was just plain crazy. so so so many people. but fantastic music and the club was just insane: huge, cool decor, about 5 rooms. again, a good good time.
and during the day it was all chilled out style on the beach. i never think i like tropical settings, but get me in one and i'm happy as a clam.
other than miami, just been plugging away at an on-site freelance design gig for the past couple weeks. not a big thrill. been nice to be out of the house. well, it was at first. i was kind of enjoying being amongst the working stiffs, getting up, getting my coffee, getting on the subway. but the thrill is already gone. i want to be home and emailing and blogging at my own free will. worst part of the job is that art director has direct view of my screen, so i can't get away with much. oh well. the money is good at least.
so i guess that's it. dad stuff is still on the brain, but not taking over. i'm managing to stay pretty balanced and have remained happy, with small bursts of sadness. that part will come next month when i go back to fallbrook to take care of his house. UGH!! gotta do it though. then coachella as my reward. nice.
Wednesday, February 18, 2004
newness
in retrospect, last week was a good week.
i think i needed to make some changes and that's just what i did.
first i got a new hair do. got it colored darker and i really dig it. felt like cutting out the california i suppose.
now i feel like a real new yorker. ha! don't you just love my oh so sexy pose? i crack myself up sometimes.
last friday i went on a little shopping spree. my friend greg who works for miss sixty invited me to their sample sale where the prices were ridiculously low. and on top of being so cheap, he also got a 50% discount off those prices. and i scored!! a coat that i had been coveting, that was going for $300+ in the store, i snagged for $40!! their $175 jeans were $25!! snapped up a couple shirts, a blazer and some tights. all that for $120. amazing. i was on such a shopping high that day, it was awesome. why does shopping make you feel so damn good sometimes??
then on saturday jessica and i braved the trip to ikea in jersey. caught the free ikea bus from port authority and went a little crazy there. we wanted everything, but didn't know how the hell we were going to get it home. furniture shopping in this town is really hard if you have no means of bringing back to your place or a shit load of money to get it delivered. we ended up putting a lot back, but still ended up with 3 big bags and 4 ridiculously heavy huge boxes of do-it-yourself furniture. luckily we met a nice lady on the bus back who offered to help watch our shit while we took trips back and forth from the bus stop in port authority to the street corner where we hoped to catch a cab that would hold everything. it worked. and miraculously, we got a minivan cab!! we were amazed. in our rush to get everything out of the cab on mulberry street (tiny one way with tons of traffic that night), we forgot a bag. so pissed. it took us hours to get everything up the 5 flights of stairs. what a pain in the ass. but i have a new desk and a cabinet which will hold the TV and my stereo that my mom is sending out. YAY! a turntable!!! and good speakers!!! all very exciting stuff.
newness feels good.
i think i needed to make some changes and that's just what i did.
first i got a new hair do. got it colored darker and i really dig it. felt like cutting out the california i suppose.
now i feel like a real new yorker. ha! don't you just love my oh so sexy pose? i crack myself up sometimes.
last friday i went on a little shopping spree. my friend greg who works for miss sixty invited me to their sample sale where the prices were ridiculously low. and on top of being so cheap, he also got a 50% discount off those prices. and i scored!! a coat that i had been coveting, that was going for $300+ in the store, i snagged for $40!! their $175 jeans were $25!! snapped up a couple shirts, a blazer and some tights. all that for $120. amazing. i was on such a shopping high that day, it was awesome. why does shopping make you feel so damn good sometimes??
then on saturday jessica and i braved the trip to ikea in jersey. caught the free ikea bus from port authority and went a little crazy there. we wanted everything, but didn't know how the hell we were going to get it home. furniture shopping in this town is really hard if you have no means of bringing back to your place or a shit load of money to get it delivered. we ended up putting a lot back, but still ended up with 3 big bags and 4 ridiculously heavy huge boxes of do-it-yourself furniture. luckily we met a nice lady on the bus back who offered to help watch our shit while we took trips back and forth from the bus stop in port authority to the street corner where we hoped to catch a cab that would hold everything. it worked. and miraculously, we got a minivan cab!! we were amazed. in our rush to get everything out of the cab on mulberry street (tiny one way with tons of traffic that night), we forgot a bag. so pissed. it took us hours to get everything up the 5 flights of stairs. what a pain in the ass. but i have a new desk and a cabinet which will hold the TV and my stereo that my mom is sending out. YAY! a turntable!!! and good speakers!!! all very exciting stuff.
newness feels good.
how i'm feeling
(written Feb. 13)
i'm surprisingly happy being back in new york. i'm taking it all day by day and so far, i'm feeling good. my work load is minimal right now and i'm gonna keep it that way for a bit. i realized i haven't had much time to explore the city and there is so so much to see and do. i look at the time out and there are a million things i want to check out. i don't even really know where to start.
i'm going to start taking a yoga class. maybe find an african dance class i like. get in some culture. that's what i came to NY for right? i'm paying this rent to be in this city, so why not utilize the resources the city has to offer? i refuse to slip into a funk, so i'm going to stay busy with seeing and doing hopefully.
i've seen a few friends here and there, but i've been having a lot of me time, which i needed. just having walks around the neighborhoods and such. went out last tuesday night and had a blast. movie and dinner with danny and then a club with lucy. we closed the bar. good fun. met a nice dude. etc, etc.
i do feel far from home, yes, but i know i have the support of my family to be here and to do my thing, so that's what i'm gonna do. i'll be back there in may to check in on them and to continue the logistical stuff for my dad. the timing of all of this has been very interesting. i realize that if i'd been living in LA still, things would have been completely different for me. i wouldn't have had a life at all. i'd be constantly going to fallbrook, and feeling guilty if i wasn't. this way i don't have to. i can continue my life and check in and i feel ok about it. for now. but that's the way it should be. life goes on and i plan to keep propelling forward.
i'm surprisingly happy being back in new york. i'm taking it all day by day and so far, i'm feeling good. my work load is minimal right now and i'm gonna keep it that way for a bit. i realized i haven't had much time to explore the city and there is so so much to see and do. i look at the time out and there are a million things i want to check out. i don't even really know where to start.
i'm going to start taking a yoga class. maybe find an african dance class i like. get in some culture. that's what i came to NY for right? i'm paying this rent to be in this city, so why not utilize the resources the city has to offer? i refuse to slip into a funk, so i'm going to stay busy with seeing and doing hopefully.
i've seen a few friends here and there, but i've been having a lot of me time, which i needed. just having walks around the neighborhoods and such. went out last tuesday night and had a blast. movie and dinner with danny and then a club with lucy. we closed the bar. good fun. met a nice dude. etc, etc.
i do feel far from home, yes, but i know i have the support of my family to be here and to do my thing, so that's what i'm gonna do. i'll be back there in may to check in on them and to continue the logistical stuff for my dad. the timing of all of this has been very interesting. i realize that if i'd been living in LA still, things would have been completely different for me. i wouldn't have had a life at all. i'd be constantly going to fallbrook, and feeling guilty if i wasn't. this way i don't have to. i can continue my life and check in and i feel ok about it. for now. but that's the way it should be. life goes on and i plan to keep propelling forward.
the wrap party that never was
(actually written last friday...Feb. 13)
seems like the only time i have to write these days (or the times i feel like writing) is when i'm traveling. now, it's by train, on my way back from Philly to NY. yesterday was rather comical. i was invited down to Philly for the wrap party for the Night project I've been working on and i thought why not. free train travel, free booze and food and fun people, sure! while the production office was making my travel arrangements, i got an urgent call asking if i could come down sooner as the director was having a freak-out about the re-shoots of the website stuff (the part i've been sort of consulting). i didn't have anything else that day, so i said i could come, not really knowing what they wanted or needed.
so i got the next train down and arrived around 4pm. the PA whisked me off to editorial where i was asked to watch the dailies of the website stuff. they wanted some changes made. luckily i brought my laptop and make the changes. one of the editors was a big pain in the ass and wanted it just so. ended up taking me a good 3+ hours to get it just how he wanted it to look. ugh!! then it was off to the hotel where they were shooting.
there was a very restless crew hanging out in the hallway, bitching about how late they were staying. then we got word... the wrap party had been canceled. so at that point i was basically down there to WORK and not PARTY. fuck. i have to admit, i wasn't completely upset about it. i was mildly amused at the fact that i knew exactly how the PA's felt, having worked in production so long ago (and doing plenty of that same bitching back then). and i had just seen my architect earlier this week, which i absolutely loved. you see, nathaniel kahn, the director of "my arch" (who also just happened to get an academy award nomination for best documentary) is also the director of this project. so i was kind of excited to be working with him, star-fucker that i am (and hate to admit).
the shooting of the web stuff went off without a hitch (well, nothing seriously bad happened). they seemed to get all that they needed, although i wasn't finished until 2am. jesus. but the story ends well. they felt so bad that they hooked me up with a fatty hotel room. i'm talking fat-tay. it was huge and had an amazing bathroom. it was so late, but i had to take a bath in that big squeeky clean tub. so great. watched a little cable TV in bed and had a fantastic night's sleep.
strangely enough, i woke up crying. i was dreaming about my dad. first time that has happened. it was weird, but i didn't feel bad about it. just missing him i think.
i met callum for breakfast. we ate fancy breakfast in the fancy hotel. eggs, bacon, sausage, potatoes, juices, lattes, the whole bit. had a nice chat, and then it was back to the train station. what could have been a potential disaster, ended on a pretty good note. thank god.
seems like the only time i have to write these days (or the times i feel like writing) is when i'm traveling. now, it's by train, on my way back from Philly to NY. yesterday was rather comical. i was invited down to Philly for the wrap party for the Night project I've been working on and i thought why not. free train travel, free booze and food and fun people, sure! while the production office was making my travel arrangements, i got an urgent call asking if i could come down sooner as the director was having a freak-out about the re-shoots of the website stuff (the part i've been sort of consulting). i didn't have anything else that day, so i said i could come, not really knowing what they wanted or needed.
so i got the next train down and arrived around 4pm. the PA whisked me off to editorial where i was asked to watch the dailies of the website stuff. they wanted some changes made. luckily i brought my laptop and make the changes. one of the editors was a big pain in the ass and wanted it just so. ended up taking me a good 3+ hours to get it just how he wanted it to look. ugh!! then it was off to the hotel where they were shooting.
there was a very restless crew hanging out in the hallway, bitching about how late they were staying. then we got word... the wrap party had been canceled. so at that point i was basically down there to WORK and not PARTY. fuck. i have to admit, i wasn't completely upset about it. i was mildly amused at the fact that i knew exactly how the PA's felt, having worked in production so long ago (and doing plenty of that same bitching back then). and i had just seen my architect earlier this week, which i absolutely loved. you see, nathaniel kahn, the director of "my arch" (who also just happened to get an academy award nomination for best documentary) is also the director of this project. so i was kind of excited to be working with him, star-fucker that i am (and hate to admit).
the shooting of the web stuff went off without a hitch (well, nothing seriously bad happened). they seemed to get all that they needed, although i wasn't finished until 2am. jesus. but the story ends well. they felt so bad that they hooked me up with a fatty hotel room. i'm talking fat-tay. it was huge and had an amazing bathroom. it was so late, but i had to take a bath in that big squeeky clean tub. so great. watched a little cable TV in bed and had a fantastic night's sleep.
strangely enough, i woke up crying. i was dreaming about my dad. first time that has happened. it was weird, but i didn't feel bad about it. just missing him i think.
i met callum for breakfast. we ate fancy breakfast in the fancy hotel. eggs, bacon, sausage, potatoes, juices, lattes, the whole bit. had a nice chat, and then it was back to the train station. what could have been a potential disaster, ended on a pretty good note. thank god.
Tuesday, February 10, 2004
back to life, back to reality
sitting on the plane with my laptop. i love my laptop. best purchase i got myself in a long time. anyway, i'm on my way back to NYC. i have mixed feelings about going back. at xmas time i was so excited to get back... back to the work, to new friends, to the potential boy situations, the new still new city. but this time is very different.
the last three weeks have been totally different from anything i've known before. just a constant roller coaster of emotions. i think i remained pretty upbeat and tried to be the rock for deb and my grandma, but it was my loss too! heading back on the plane, i just think about him and tears well up. it hadn't been like that for the last few days and i think it's hitting me again now that i'm gonna be detached from everyone for the first time.
i'm pretty scared actually. of how i'll take being back in ny all by myself. i don't want to fall into a rut. i just can't deal with a serious depression for the rest of the winter. that would kill me. i'm gonna try my best to stay positive. to go out and explore as much as possible. to be with friends. to make new friends. to exercise. i must hold to these tasks or i think i'll just start to go downhill. and no one wants that.
i think the most fascinating aspect to this whole experience is the only child thing. i have no one else to share this with! and everyone is just doting on me. for example, i went to dinner last night with my grandma, debbie, my mom and aunt barb and they all just lingered on every word i uttered. constant hugs and kisses and i love you's. don't get me wrong. it's wonderful to have so much unconditional love from all these family members, but it's also a lot of pressure.
and besides dealing with emotions and feelings and being this rock for the ladies, i'm dealing with the lawyers and the banks and how we're going to care for grandma and the possessions and all if it. death is a real pain in the ass.
i miss my dad so much. i'm getting sad just thinking about it. i thought i was doing my pushing down my feelings thing for the last couple weeks (cuz i wasn't crying as much as i thought i should be), but now that i'm away, i can see i'm gonna have a rough time with it. i'm crying just thinking about it. i must have been shoving it down, because i see it surfacing now.
just gotta stay strong. i know i have it in me. i just wish i knew what it all meant, you know? that might make things easier.
the last three weeks have been totally different from anything i've known before. just a constant roller coaster of emotions. i think i remained pretty upbeat and tried to be the rock for deb and my grandma, but it was my loss too! heading back on the plane, i just think about him and tears well up. it hadn't been like that for the last few days and i think it's hitting me again now that i'm gonna be detached from everyone for the first time.
i'm pretty scared actually. of how i'll take being back in ny all by myself. i don't want to fall into a rut. i just can't deal with a serious depression for the rest of the winter. that would kill me. i'm gonna try my best to stay positive. to go out and explore as much as possible. to be with friends. to make new friends. to exercise. i must hold to these tasks or i think i'll just start to go downhill. and no one wants that.
i think the most fascinating aspect to this whole experience is the only child thing. i have no one else to share this with! and everyone is just doting on me. for example, i went to dinner last night with my grandma, debbie, my mom and aunt barb and they all just lingered on every word i uttered. constant hugs and kisses and i love you's. don't get me wrong. it's wonderful to have so much unconditional love from all these family members, but it's also a lot of pressure.
and besides dealing with emotions and feelings and being this rock for the ladies, i'm dealing with the lawyers and the banks and how we're going to care for grandma and the possessions and all if it. death is a real pain in the ass.
i miss my dad so much. i'm getting sad just thinking about it. i thought i was doing my pushing down my feelings thing for the last couple weeks (cuz i wasn't crying as much as i thought i should be), but now that i'm away, i can see i'm gonna have a rough time with it. i'm crying just thinking about it. i must have been shoving it down, because i see it surfacing now.
just gotta stay strong. i know i have it in me. i just wish i knew what it all meant, you know? that might make things easier.
Tuesday, January 27, 2004
seriously grieving
i've been waiting a while to write here about what's been going on with me for the last week and a half. i wanted to write some profound something about what i've learned and discovered but it's a little too personal to go into it all on the internet i feel. i think i'll save those thoughts for my written journal. i think most of whoever is reading this knows anyway, but in case you don't here's what happened...
my father died friday, january 16th.
it was completely unexpected and thus, very shocking. i found out on a cell phone, while in a movie theater by myself in new york. my apartment had no heat, so i went to the movies to get warm. when i got out i had an urgent message from my mom telling me to call. when she asked where i was, i told her and she said she didn't want to tell me there. i made her tell me anyway, because i had a feeling it was bad and wanted to know. i sat there on a bench to myself on the 7th floor of the theater on 3rd ave, while the sun set over the manhattan skyline behind me as my mother told me that my father had passed away that day. tears instantly poured out of my eyes and i couldn't understand how or why. and i really didn't know what to do. i remember i just kept asking "what should i do, what should i do?" she told me i should call vicki and take a cab to her office. said i needed to be with someone. i did and vic told me to come over right away.
catching a cab seemed to take forever. it was freezing outside, but i was numb to it. no cab would come. i just stood there in the middle of 3rd, arm half raised, tears streaming down and i tried my best to hail someone, anyone. finally got one, and continued to cry. it was the most intense crying i think i may have ever experienced. big painful sobbing, blubbering, bawling all the way through the rush hour traffic up to 29th st. jessica called me on the way and i blurted out what was happening. guess the cabbie figured out why his passenger was freaking out so bad after that.
when i got to vic's office, she was amazing. i walked out of the elevator and she was waiting for me with a glass of water and an anti-anxiety pill. she hugged me and made me tea. she had a list of the plan of attack written down and had already started looking for flights. so so sweet, i couldn't believe it. i made my phone calls. first to my grandma who was so so so upset. i was trying to get answers to what had happened and it was still unsure at that point. i told my grandma that i was coming home the next day to be with her and i could tell she felt good about that. so hard to talk to her then. all i could think was that the poor woman just lost both of her sons. out-living your two children! oh god!!
then i thought of debbie (my dad's partner). she had literally just lost her sister in november! i called her next and talked to her friend that was with her. she couldn't speak to me. i just heard wailing in the background. it was horrible.
vic took me down to my apt to help me pack. then back up to her apt that had heat. jessica was meeting us there with food. when i got to her place, i had to puke. i just felt so ill. hadn't eaten much all day and then this. it was bizarre. ate a little, tried to watch a movie, then called amy who's reaction was mind-blowing. as soon as i told her she began wailing too. "oh MEGAN!" she cried. she took it so much worse than i thought she would. i think because she sensed how upset i was. that girl really is like a sister to me!
i got on the plane the next morning, thanking vic and jess profusely before i left. they were so great and were very comforting. more blubbering on the plane. interestingly enough, none of the flight staff even noticed. i thought sure i'd have to explain myself to someone, but no. seems like the only one who noticed was a the french teenager sitting across from me. i think he thought i was a real loon.
my mother picked me up and more crying. she was holding it together for me i think. but the real sadness started when i got to my dad's house where everyone had gathered. oh god, i don't even want to think about how awful that was. everyone just sobbing uncontrollably. apparently, my dad had a respitory arrest. they found him where he was taking a breathing treatment (he had more health problems than he ever told me apparently). they think he was having trouble breathing, tried the treatment and then possibly had a heart attack in the middle of that. whatever it was, it was quick and that's the only saving grace in this whole situation. that it happened fast. i know my dad would have never put up with a long drawn out death. so in a way, it is a blessing. i was just expecting him to be around a lot longer.
being the only child is another interesting aspect to this whole situation. pretty much everything has come down on me... dealing with losing my father, taking care of calling people, meeting with lawyers, making arrangements, comforting my grandma and deb, the whole thing. luckily i have an amazing support system and debbie and my mom and aunt have been great. but it's just so much logistical stuff to deal with, that you don't even think about. i mean, all you really want to do is grieve, but instead you have to write obituaries and answer his phone messages left on his machine and go to the mortuary to get death certificates and go to banks to close accounts, etc, etc. it's just too much.
over a week has passed since this has been going on and i feel like the days are just dragging. last week literally feels like one of the longest weeks ever. just completely emotionally draining. i'm feeling ok now and i can't quite decide if i'm still in denial that it's happened or if i've just been too busy to think about it. probably a little of both.
without getting too seriously into my feelings about this, it's suffice to say that i have learned something very important... that friendships mean everything and after something like this, i really really know who my true friends are. i mean people came out of nowhere, telling me the nicest things, sending their sympathies, offering to help in any way they could, or just listening. even some of my new friends in NY have been amazingly sweet, simply saying they are thinking about me. i feel honored to have such a fantastic support system and truly great people in my life. simultaneously, you learn who you don't need in your life, when they are so self absorbed, they offer you nothing. people get weird in times of death i suppose. but jesus christ. all you need to do is listen and say "i'm sorry." that's it. it's not that hard.
we had a military memorial service for my dad yesterday. another intense event. i wasn't expecting it to be so military-ish, but it honestly was nice. he finally got the recognition and honor he deserved for serving in the viet nam war. maybe i'll save that for another entry. i'm here for at least another week, so i'm sure i'll share more when i feel the urge to write.
all i know is that i miss my daddy-o terribly and can't believe i will never see him or speak to him again and that just breaks my little heart. love you na.
my father died friday, january 16th.
it was completely unexpected and thus, very shocking. i found out on a cell phone, while in a movie theater by myself in new york. my apartment had no heat, so i went to the movies to get warm. when i got out i had an urgent message from my mom telling me to call. when she asked where i was, i told her and she said she didn't want to tell me there. i made her tell me anyway, because i had a feeling it was bad and wanted to know. i sat there on a bench to myself on the 7th floor of the theater on 3rd ave, while the sun set over the manhattan skyline behind me as my mother told me that my father had passed away that day. tears instantly poured out of my eyes and i couldn't understand how or why. and i really didn't know what to do. i remember i just kept asking "what should i do, what should i do?" she told me i should call vicki and take a cab to her office. said i needed to be with someone. i did and vic told me to come over right away.
catching a cab seemed to take forever. it was freezing outside, but i was numb to it. no cab would come. i just stood there in the middle of 3rd, arm half raised, tears streaming down and i tried my best to hail someone, anyone. finally got one, and continued to cry. it was the most intense crying i think i may have ever experienced. big painful sobbing, blubbering, bawling all the way through the rush hour traffic up to 29th st. jessica called me on the way and i blurted out what was happening. guess the cabbie figured out why his passenger was freaking out so bad after that.
when i got to vic's office, she was amazing. i walked out of the elevator and she was waiting for me with a glass of water and an anti-anxiety pill. she hugged me and made me tea. she had a list of the plan of attack written down and had already started looking for flights. so so sweet, i couldn't believe it. i made my phone calls. first to my grandma who was so so so upset. i was trying to get answers to what had happened and it was still unsure at that point. i told my grandma that i was coming home the next day to be with her and i could tell she felt good about that. so hard to talk to her then. all i could think was that the poor woman just lost both of her sons. out-living your two children! oh god!!
then i thought of debbie (my dad's partner). she had literally just lost her sister in november! i called her next and talked to her friend that was with her. she couldn't speak to me. i just heard wailing in the background. it was horrible.
vic took me down to my apt to help me pack. then back up to her apt that had heat. jessica was meeting us there with food. when i got to her place, i had to puke. i just felt so ill. hadn't eaten much all day and then this. it was bizarre. ate a little, tried to watch a movie, then called amy who's reaction was mind-blowing. as soon as i told her she began wailing too. "oh MEGAN!" she cried. she took it so much worse than i thought she would. i think because she sensed how upset i was. that girl really is like a sister to me!
i got on the plane the next morning, thanking vic and jess profusely before i left. they were so great and were very comforting. more blubbering on the plane. interestingly enough, none of the flight staff even noticed. i thought sure i'd have to explain myself to someone, but no. seems like the only one who noticed was a the french teenager sitting across from me. i think he thought i was a real loon.
my mother picked me up and more crying. she was holding it together for me i think. but the real sadness started when i got to my dad's house where everyone had gathered. oh god, i don't even want to think about how awful that was. everyone just sobbing uncontrollably. apparently, my dad had a respitory arrest. they found him where he was taking a breathing treatment (he had more health problems than he ever told me apparently). they think he was having trouble breathing, tried the treatment and then possibly had a heart attack in the middle of that. whatever it was, it was quick and that's the only saving grace in this whole situation. that it happened fast. i know my dad would have never put up with a long drawn out death. so in a way, it is a blessing. i was just expecting him to be around a lot longer.
being the only child is another interesting aspect to this whole situation. pretty much everything has come down on me... dealing with losing my father, taking care of calling people, meeting with lawyers, making arrangements, comforting my grandma and deb, the whole thing. luckily i have an amazing support system and debbie and my mom and aunt have been great. but it's just so much logistical stuff to deal with, that you don't even think about. i mean, all you really want to do is grieve, but instead you have to write obituaries and answer his phone messages left on his machine and go to the mortuary to get death certificates and go to banks to close accounts, etc, etc. it's just too much.
over a week has passed since this has been going on and i feel like the days are just dragging. last week literally feels like one of the longest weeks ever. just completely emotionally draining. i'm feeling ok now and i can't quite decide if i'm still in denial that it's happened or if i've just been too busy to think about it. probably a little of both.
without getting too seriously into my feelings about this, it's suffice to say that i have learned something very important... that friendships mean everything and after something like this, i really really know who my true friends are. i mean people came out of nowhere, telling me the nicest things, sending their sympathies, offering to help in any way they could, or just listening. even some of my new friends in NY have been amazingly sweet, simply saying they are thinking about me. i feel honored to have such a fantastic support system and truly great people in my life. simultaneously, you learn who you don't need in your life, when they are so self absorbed, they offer you nothing. people get weird in times of death i suppose. but jesus christ. all you need to do is listen and say "i'm sorry." that's it. it's not that hard.
we had a military memorial service for my dad yesterday. another intense event. i wasn't expecting it to be so military-ish, but it honestly was nice. he finally got the recognition and honor he deserved for serving in the viet nam war. maybe i'll save that for another entry. i'm here for at least another week, so i'm sure i'll share more when i feel the urge to write.
all i know is that i miss my daddy-o terribly and can't believe i will never see him or speak to him again and that just breaks my little heart. love you na.
Friday, January 16, 2004
BBBBRRRRRRRRRRR
ok, i just checked NY1 it's 16 degrees outside and almost as cold inside my apartment. i'm FREEZING. fuck you landlord! where is our goddamn HEAT???
i swear, i was just watching the news the other day seeing all these poor people in dumps with no heat, standing around the oven trying to stay warm. i just thought, "jesus, how awful. how are they dealing?" and literally the next day, it happens HERE! apparently the boiler is broken (the so-called new boiler they just fixed last month). but how long does it take to fix a fucking boiler?? we're so cold. i've got a little space heater sitting next to my computer which is doing an ok job. but my fingers are going numb as i type...but i've got to work. i have projects due.
we're now on day 2 of this. yesterday i attempted to take my new laptop to starbucks to work. i was under the impression that if you had an airport card in your computer, you could go to starbucks and get online. would have never gone to starfucks if that weren't the case (there are far more cuter little cafes in the neighborhood i would have rather gone). anyhow, i get there, buy my latte so i feel justified to sit in there, and set up shop. when i click to go online, i'm prompted by some t-mobile hotspot bullshit where i have to PAY to use the internet. i was so pissed. i didn't get it. i though you just go there and get online, no questions asked. so i asked the nice guy next to me with his laptop who was obviously online. "hey dude, what gives with paying for internet here?" "yeah, i know," he replies "i just shelled out $10 bucks to be online here. my heater is busted and i gotta work." HA!! same boat. i had to work and send emails too and i had trekked through the snow to get there and bought my damn latte... so i paid $6 for an hour online session. bastards. is anything in this world FREE??? fuck you starbucks.
i swear, i was just watching the news the other day seeing all these poor people in dumps with no heat, standing around the oven trying to stay warm. i just thought, "jesus, how awful. how are they dealing?" and literally the next day, it happens HERE! apparently the boiler is broken (the so-called new boiler they just fixed last month). but how long does it take to fix a fucking boiler?? we're so cold. i've got a little space heater sitting next to my computer which is doing an ok job. but my fingers are going numb as i type...but i've got to work. i have projects due.
we're now on day 2 of this. yesterday i attempted to take my new laptop to starbucks to work. i was under the impression that if you had an airport card in your computer, you could go to starbucks and get online. would have never gone to starfucks if that weren't the case (there are far more cuter little cafes in the neighborhood i would have rather gone). anyhow, i get there, buy my latte so i feel justified to sit in there, and set up shop. when i click to go online, i'm prompted by some t-mobile hotspot bullshit where i have to PAY to use the internet. i was so pissed. i didn't get it. i though you just go there and get online, no questions asked. so i asked the nice guy next to me with his laptop who was obviously online. "hey dude, what gives with paying for internet here?" "yeah, i know," he replies "i just shelled out $10 bucks to be online here. my heater is busted and i gotta work." HA!! same boat. i had to work and send emails too and i had trekked through the snow to get there and bought my damn latte... so i paid $6 for an hour online session. bastards. is anything in this world FREE??? fuck you starbucks.
NYE slideshow
if you want to see the pics from the NYE adventures in Joshua Tree, click here.
there are two (pretty sizeable) slideshows. one of NYE night and one of the days after. both songs were chosen for obvious reasons.
"hey ya" was our midnight theme song of the year. and if you can't figure out the other song...well...DUH.
ENJOY!
there are two (pretty sizeable) slideshows. one of NYE night and one of the days after. both songs were chosen for obvious reasons.
"hey ya" was our midnight theme song of the year. and if you can't figure out the other song...well...DUH.
ENJOY!
Tuesday, January 13, 2004
re-assessments
thanks to those of you who were so supportive during my little weekend fiasco. it was tough, but i made it though. just give it a couple days to settle, and things just get better. don't you just love that about life? and the more i think about, the more i realize it happened for a reason. i learned a few things about myself and where i am right now... and that's it's probably a good time to change a few things. like getting so wasted. it's really not a trend, but i feel a bit of a self destructive phase upon me (not that my self destructiveness has ever been that craaazy, but still). wanna gave a good bit of insight. she said that she felt herself going into those phases when she felt like she was entering into a bad pattern. one of those life patterns that we try to avoid, but inevitably end up getting into.
with this situation, it was being into a guy that was coming out of a serious relationship...AGAIN. enough already. i knew it was a bad idea...i saw the red flag, but i chose to go for it and started to really like the guy. sure enough, i learned my lesson, after one of the weirdest drama nights of my life, but still. it was hard getting to that conclusion, but i found what i needed to know in the end.
i feel so so much better today. i've learned that instead of stepping back before acting, to look within once i've already acted (again...thanks wanna!). i'm gonna do dumb stuff from time to time. no matter how much we think we're in control, shit still happens. and when it does, it's good to question why. this life is tough, but we always make it through. thank god for the old light at the end of the tunnel and those clouds with silver linings.
with this situation, it was being into a guy that was coming out of a serious relationship...AGAIN. enough already. i knew it was a bad idea...i saw the red flag, but i chose to go for it and started to really like the guy. sure enough, i learned my lesson, after one of the weirdest drama nights of my life, but still. it was hard getting to that conclusion, but i found what i needed to know in the end.
i feel so so much better today. i've learned that instead of stepping back before acting, to look within once i've already acted (again...thanks wanna!). i'm gonna do dumb stuff from time to time. no matter how much we think we're in control, shit still happens. and when it does, it's good to question why. this life is tough, but we always make it through. thank god for the old light at the end of the tunnel and those clouds with silver linings.
sorta back on track...sorta
sorry it's been so long. my travels and coming home to a huge amount of work has stiffled the blogging.
lots to tell, but can't quite get the steam going to write it all out. i'll give a semi-shot though.
had a fantastic trip in LA and fallbrook. xmas was nice, good to see the fam, so good to see the friends. made me really miss everyone but glad to know they are there and they love me. i love them too.
got home to freezing NY. nice to be back to the apartment, but i've hardly left the place, having piles of work to complete. still working on one website (due this week) and had a presentation thingie for the peeps in philly on friday. almost too much to handle, but it's all getting done. pats on the back.
the weekend was filled with the biggest drama of 2004 thus far and i pray that it doesn't get any worse for the rest of the year. i can't really get into the personal sorted details of what went down, but it involved getting way too drunk, making a complete ass of myself and inadvertently, screwing up some relationships. all day yesterday i hated myself. lots of tears were shed and it was time for a little self reflection. i still am not quite sure why i did what i did. i want to blame the booze, but it may have been something deeper. working on it.
all i know, is that i've got to lay off getting that drunk. it gives me poor judgement and makes me do things i wouldn't normally do.
i don't know if it's being in NY and thinking i can handle that much booze or if i'm just having a drunk phase or if i'm being self destructive for some reason.
whatever it is, i know i have to take a step back and think about my actions before i act.
new years resolution #1.
lots to tell, but can't quite get the steam going to write it all out. i'll give a semi-shot though.
had a fantastic trip in LA and fallbrook. xmas was nice, good to see the fam, so good to see the friends. made me really miss everyone but glad to know they are there and they love me. i love them too.
got home to freezing NY. nice to be back to the apartment, but i've hardly left the place, having piles of work to complete. still working on one website (due this week) and had a presentation thingie for the peeps in philly on friday. almost too much to handle, but it's all getting done. pats on the back.
the weekend was filled with the biggest drama of 2004 thus far and i pray that it doesn't get any worse for the rest of the year. i can't really get into the personal sorted details of what went down, but it involved getting way too drunk, making a complete ass of myself and inadvertently, screwing up some relationships. all day yesterday i hated myself. lots of tears were shed and it was time for a little self reflection. i still am not quite sure why i did what i did. i want to blame the booze, but it may have been something deeper. working on it.
all i know, is that i've got to lay off getting that drunk. it gives me poor judgement and makes me do things i wouldn't normally do.
i don't know if it's being in NY and thinking i can handle that much booze or if i'm just having a drunk phase or if i'm being self destructive for some reason.
whatever it is, i know i have to take a step back and think about my actions before i act.
new years resolution #1.
Monday, January 05, 2004
let love rule
upon entry into 29 palms, where 7 of us decided to spend out new year's eve and new year's day, i saw the sign to the harmony motel which read "LET LOVE RULE." it was totally fitting and i was excited to stay there. wanna had been once before and thought it would be perfect for our little new year gathering. a pretty random group was formed for the occassion...me, amy, wanna, sara, mark, gotton (our new japanese friend visiting from tokyo), and dj superstar j-logic (total surprise, but so stoked to have him with us). we rented the cabin which was its own separate place away from the rest of the motel. jeffrey, the motel owner greeted me when i arrived (i got there first, driving up from san diego). i could tell he was a super cool dude. he ran the place himself and there were all these groovy zenned out rock sculptures and subtle rock garden touches, complete with corragated steel and found wood fences around the pool and hot tub. the cabin was very modest, but was perfect for our needs. i was excited.
the rest of the crew showed up with tons of booze and food and we started the party right away. wanna concocted her traditional filipino new years stew and the booze guzzling was on. not sure how, but i got super tipsy early on and apparently everyone else was eager to catch up with me since i was in such high spirits. sara (bless her heart) set up the ipod and her fatty speakers and we partied into the new year in a majoy way. midnight rolled around, we all stepped outside to pull our party poppers and light our sparklers and pour our champagne. jeffrey joined us, along with a couple of wanna friends who showed up as well. outkast's "hey ya" was the midnight theme song and the dance party was on. it was so so so fun bouncing around and being dorks. a few minutes later, wanna pulled out the e and she talked sara and i into taking them. oh shit!
craziness ensued. i vaguely remember freakin with jeffrey the motel owner. sara said i was saying bullshit like "i feel soooo damn good right now." god, i hate those people and i was one of them. HA! and apparently i made out with the motel guy, of which i have absolutely no recollection. oops. i usually remember kissing dudes, but that combo of being very drunk and taking a pill is lethal. the next few hours are a complete blank. next thing i knew, a group of us had made our way to the hot tub. it was perfect outside. very chilly, the the sky could not have been more clear... completely dark with a million stars surrounding us. pretty soon, the rest of the party was in the hot tub. sara stripped down to her undies, and wanna jumped in topless. HAHAHA!! yep, we were all feeling damn good. it was fantastic.
the night ended with a late night ipod session by sara. she freakin rocked it. even dj superstar logic was impressed. so so so good! chet baker, some bleepy shit, i don't quite remember what else, but it was just so good.
morning time was harsh. we all woke up real late, made a big old breakfast in the cute community kitchen. i apologized to jeffrey for my behaviour, which he said "no need. i had a GREAT time with you guys." heh.
before sunset, we made our way into the joshua tree park. holy fuck. why had i never been there before? it was like another planet. we found jumbo rocks and climbed on up to view maybe the most beautiful sunset i've ever seen in my life. we all decided that seeing that sunset only meant we were all guaranteed an excellent 2004.
more chilling that night then another trip to JT the next day for more fun exploring. i loved our group. each and every one of them. so so lovely. we all got along swimmingly. no drama. only good times. love was definitley the ruler those couple days. the place, the setting, the people, the fun. couldn't have asked for a better new year. i think i'm blessed that way. here's to good things for all of us in '04!
the rest of the crew showed up with tons of booze and food and we started the party right away. wanna concocted her traditional filipino new years stew and the booze guzzling was on. not sure how, but i got super tipsy early on and apparently everyone else was eager to catch up with me since i was in such high spirits. sara (bless her heart) set up the ipod and her fatty speakers and we partied into the new year in a majoy way. midnight rolled around, we all stepped outside to pull our party poppers and light our sparklers and pour our champagne. jeffrey joined us, along with a couple of wanna friends who showed up as well. outkast's "hey ya" was the midnight theme song and the dance party was on. it was so so so fun bouncing around and being dorks. a few minutes later, wanna pulled out the e and she talked sara and i into taking them. oh shit!
craziness ensued. i vaguely remember freakin with jeffrey the motel owner. sara said i was saying bullshit like "i feel soooo damn good right now." god, i hate those people and i was one of them. HA! and apparently i made out with the motel guy, of which i have absolutely no recollection. oops. i usually remember kissing dudes, but that combo of being very drunk and taking a pill is lethal. the next few hours are a complete blank. next thing i knew, a group of us had made our way to the hot tub. it was perfect outside. very chilly, the the sky could not have been more clear... completely dark with a million stars surrounding us. pretty soon, the rest of the party was in the hot tub. sara stripped down to her undies, and wanna jumped in topless. HAHAHA!! yep, we were all feeling damn good. it was fantastic.
the night ended with a late night ipod session by sara. she freakin rocked it. even dj superstar logic was impressed. so so so good! chet baker, some bleepy shit, i don't quite remember what else, but it was just so good.
morning time was harsh. we all woke up real late, made a big old breakfast in the cute community kitchen. i apologized to jeffrey for my behaviour, which he said "no need. i had a GREAT time with you guys." heh.
before sunset, we made our way into the joshua tree park. holy fuck. why had i never been there before? it was like another planet. we found jumbo rocks and climbed on up to view maybe the most beautiful sunset i've ever seen in my life. we all decided that seeing that sunset only meant we were all guaranteed an excellent 2004.
more chilling that night then another trip to JT the next day for more fun exploring. i loved our group. each and every one of them. so so lovely. we all got along swimmingly. no drama. only good times. love was definitley the ruler those couple days. the place, the setting, the people, the fun. couldn't have asked for a better new year. i think i'm blessed that way. here's to good things for all of us in '04!
Tuesday, December 30, 2003
best lessons learned: #1
growing up and figuring it all out, we learn some valuable life lessons. one of the best ones i've come to know as a really really good one is "don't burn any bridges." i've never been one to hold grudges. i watched my grandmother get so mad a various people in her life that she'd never speak to them again (usually over something really stupid)...one of which was her daughter. i can't imagine bringing a child into the world and then never speaking to them again! it's absurd really. so i think from seeing her do this to herself, i learned i never wanted to be that person.
don't get me wrong, if someone really gets to me, i have no problem weeding them out of the immediate circle. no need to spend time and stress over someone that is a crappy friend. BUT, let me stress that not burning bridges over the years has proven much more stress-free in the long haul. latest example... my old roommate josh. we lived together for 5 years in LA. 5 years!! that's a long time to spend with one person, knowing each other as intimately as you can without actually ever taking clothes off. the end of our journey together was not great. many fights ensued, complete with arguments over money to washing the dishes to criticisms over how we each choose to live our lives. the eventual "break-up" could have been bad, but we took the friendly path. i wasn't sure if we'd stay in touch, but how could you not after all those years?
today proved to be a good sign of doing the right thing in not burning that bridge. i saw josh in ichat and started a little conversation. we got right into what we always talked about...relationships. he had some great advice (surprisingly enough...guess i should have listened to him more in the past). AND, he's not giving me grief about the money he owes me! thought that would take more prodding. i'm gonna see him and the cat we got together this weekend. and i'm actually looking forward to it. who knew?
other excellent examples have been work situations. every single job that i've hated and left, has always been on a good note. and you know what... most all of those former employers have either given me great recommendations or gotten me my next job.
just goes to show.
don't get me wrong, if someone really gets to me, i have no problem weeding them out of the immediate circle. no need to spend time and stress over someone that is a crappy friend. BUT, let me stress that not burning bridges over the years has proven much more stress-free in the long haul. latest example... my old roommate josh. we lived together for 5 years in LA. 5 years!! that's a long time to spend with one person, knowing each other as intimately as you can without actually ever taking clothes off. the end of our journey together was not great. many fights ensued, complete with arguments over money to washing the dishes to criticisms over how we each choose to live our lives. the eventual "break-up" could have been bad, but we took the friendly path. i wasn't sure if we'd stay in touch, but how could you not after all those years?
today proved to be a good sign of doing the right thing in not burning that bridge. i saw josh in ichat and started a little conversation. we got right into what we always talked about...relationships. he had some great advice (surprisingly enough...guess i should have listened to him more in the past). AND, he's not giving me grief about the money he owes me! thought that would take more prodding. i'm gonna see him and the cat we got together this weekend. and i'm actually looking forward to it. who knew?
other excellent examples have been work situations. every single job that i've hated and left, has always been on a good note. and you know what... most all of those former employers have either given me great recommendations or gotten me my next job.
just goes to show.
i love LA...
but i have no desire to move back any time soon. it was a little trippy going back after 3 months and not having my own home to go to. but it felt like the same old familiar place i've known so intimately for the last 7 or so years. kinda like getting reacquainted with an old boyfriend. you know all his special secrets and feel really comfortable, but you really don't want to get back together. i've decided that for the time being, LA is a great place to visit. it's got all my old favorite spots and restaurants that i'm so fond of, and it's got all my favorite people that know me best. but on this trip, i've discovered that i'm really excited to go back to my new home. i don't have that familiarity there. it's all a bit of a crap shoot. i look forward to getting back to my little apartment with only 10 boxes worth of my stuff. to my new acquaintances, that i look forward to getting to know better. and to new discoveries. familiarity can be good, but newness is what's on my mind for 2004.
highlights of the weekend in LA include...time spent with wanna, dinner at alegria (do miss that mexican food!), soundlessons patio and running into the old club buddies, brunch and walk on the beach with ariel, andreas, wanna and richard, treating myself to a korean spa "goddess massage," dinner at taix, and breakfast this morning at tropical. got all my favorite restaurants in. and a good chunk of my favorite people.
today was dealing with my storage space. met my dad at the place, loaded up the truck, then down to fallbrook where we had to make 7+ trips in a pick-up to deliver the shit from big truck to the garage up the windy hill. pain in ass, but it all went much more smoothly than i had anticipated. i had less stuff than i remembered and most of it was crap. why did i hold on to that shitty furniture? gotta get rid of it. i don't miss any of it. only my records, stereo, books and photos. would love to have that stuff with me in NY, but i don't think it's going to happen. maybe the stereo. we'll see. just glad it's done. now i can focus on fun and NYE which is shaping up to be quite promising. all my favorite people in a nature-y place i've never been. no expectations either. perfect.
highlights of the weekend in LA include...time spent with wanna, dinner at alegria (do miss that mexican food!), soundlessons patio and running into the old club buddies, brunch and walk on the beach with ariel, andreas, wanna and richard, treating myself to a korean spa "goddess massage," dinner at taix, and breakfast this morning at tropical. got all my favorite restaurants in. and a good chunk of my favorite people.
today was dealing with my storage space. met my dad at the place, loaded up the truck, then down to fallbrook where we had to make 7+ trips in a pick-up to deliver the shit from big truck to the garage up the windy hill. pain in ass, but it all went much more smoothly than i had anticipated. i had less stuff than i remembered and most of it was crap. why did i hold on to that shitty furniture? gotta get rid of it. i don't miss any of it. only my records, stereo, books and photos. would love to have that stuff with me in NY, but i don't think it's going to happen. maybe the stereo. we'll see. just glad it's done. now i can focus on fun and NYE which is shaping up to be quite promising. all my favorite people in a nature-y place i've never been. no expectations either. perfect.
Friday, December 26, 2003
smallbrook christmas
sitting here in my mom's living room, getting my fill of mtv. nice! i love cable at my mom's. feels like a real vacation.
arrived in LA xmas eve. mom, aunt barb and uncle bob picked me up and we drove down to fallbrook. had my first xmas ever with the two separated families together (that hadn't happened since i was about 4 years old). i had a bad feeling about it...thought it might be really weird. my family has definitely gone through ups and downs, getting along sometimes and not at all other times. apparently my grandmother (dad's mom) was thrilled that my mother suggested the two families getting together for the holiday. that was a good sign. sometimes, she's just the worst to my mom's family.
my mom was stressed out, trying to make sure everyone was getting along. the crowd consisted of me, mom's side: mom, aunt, uncle and dad's side: dad, grandma and dad's ex-wife/sort of partner (don't ask). surprisingly, everyone was in very good spirits. the dinner was great. got some good prezzies. even got a little tipsy. being the only child of the entire family is always joyous (i'm talking sarcasm here). and now that i'm not around as much, they had to make it an especially big deal that i was home and the light in all of their lives. it's nice, don't get me wrong...but can be a little tiresome.
my grandmother even brought every postcard i've ever written her over the years and made me recite them to everyone. so embarrassing. a sweet gesture, but come on now.
all in all, it was a nice day. i was happy to be with and see everyone and it was especially nice not to have to break up the day...going from one families' house to the other. very thankful for that!
LA tomorrow. YAY!
arrived in LA xmas eve. mom, aunt barb and uncle bob picked me up and we drove down to fallbrook. had my first xmas ever with the two separated families together (that hadn't happened since i was about 4 years old). i had a bad feeling about it...thought it might be really weird. my family has definitely gone through ups and downs, getting along sometimes and not at all other times. apparently my grandmother (dad's mom) was thrilled that my mother suggested the two families getting together for the holiday. that was a good sign. sometimes, she's just the worst to my mom's family.
my mom was stressed out, trying to make sure everyone was getting along. the crowd consisted of me, mom's side: mom, aunt, uncle and dad's side: dad, grandma and dad's ex-wife/sort of partner (don't ask). surprisingly, everyone was in very good spirits. the dinner was great. got some good prezzies. even got a little tipsy. being the only child of the entire family is always joyous (i'm talking sarcasm here). and now that i'm not around as much, they had to make it an especially big deal that i was home and the light in all of their lives. it's nice, don't get me wrong...but can be a little tiresome.
my grandmother even brought every postcard i've ever written her over the years and made me recite them to everyone. so embarrassing. a sweet gesture, but come on now.
all in all, it was a nice day. i was happy to be with and see everyone and it was especially nice not to have to break up the day...going from one families' house to the other. very thankful for that!
LA tomorrow. YAY!
Tuesday, December 16, 2003
screw it
just wrote the longest post ever.
of course i closed the window on accident.
par for the freakin course today. i can't talk about it anymore.
mercury in retrograde has completely taken over!
fuck.
of course i closed the window on accident.
par for the freakin course today. i can't talk about it anymore.
mercury in retrograde has completely taken over!
fuck.
weekend = great, today = not so much
i honestly don't have much to complain about at this point in my life.
things are going remarkably well for me here. my new life change has brought good things. i feel like i'm still learning everyday.
i'm still in exploration mode. of course i don't have it all figured out yet. i'm just feeling it all out, making decisions at will and good karma or something has made most all of it a-ok. i must remind myself of these things.
my weekend couldn't have been better. except for the fact that i was in procrastination mode with my work (which weighed a little on me). but besides that i had a fantastic time. here's the gist:
friday night was the continuation of the LOTR trilogy. my friend matt towers organized the whole thing. got us tickets for the 2 fridays prior to the opening of the return of the kind...they were showing the extended versions of FOTR and TT each consecutive friday. we sat right next to michael moore! i gave him props in a pretty lame way. but i had to say something.
saturday met up with amy's old dear friend (and my new friend) danny. he told me about this play thing...kids ages 9 to 11 wrote short plays that adults acted out. sounded like a cool idea. i rode the elevator up to the 4th floor with martha plimpton who mentioned she had to hurry because she was in the play. i couldn't help but look at her and think "that bitch got to fuck river." just so happened that she was one of the best actors in the plays. super funny. the whole thing was a hoot. loved watching those kids see their plays put on. it got me all choked up.
we had some time to kill and decided to brave the crowds and go to macys. we were on a flask mission. it was total holiday insanity. pretty amusing actually, when you didn't really have to buy anything. made our way up to santa's village, to see "the real santa" as advertised. took some funny pics of each other posing with the elves and santa himself.
next was what danny and i deemed "the boombox parade." read all about it here. it was freezing outside but super fun and christmasy. it was awesome and i liked it.
then it was off to williamsburg to this. it was weird, but kinda hysterical. only in NY man. that show would have never happened in LA. i can guarantee.
sunday was some work and preparations for jessica's friends' holiday party. great food (turkey, ham, stuffing, mashed potatoes, all the fixins), nice new people, a christmas tree in the living room, secret santa prezzies, the whole nine. good times.
monday, got an email from "crush boy." got v. excited. hadn't heard from him for a bit as he was out of town. we made plans for today which got me all a-twitter. i haven't been stoked on a dude in so long. i'm sure i've built some fantasy thing in my head...but i do feel something for this one eventhough i don't know him so well. call it a gut instinct (and that's what worries me...i'm jinxing it). anyway, i had a bit of my nervous stomach thing and a pretty sleepless night thinking about the meeting. and what do you know...
got the call this morning. he's bed-ridden. so so ill. poor guy sounded awful. but of course it made me feel awful. this sounds so fucking stupid, but i feel like i've miraculously contracted his illness as i started to feel a little shitty later on. HA! i'm sure it's a combo of being bummed and over-tired. i'll get over it. just being dramatic i think.
the way i did make the crappy day ok though was i ordered myself my xmas/business write-off prezzie. a new G4 12" powerbook w/superdrive! so stoked!!
there's an upside to everything i suppose.
things are going remarkably well for me here. my new life change has brought good things. i feel like i'm still learning everyday.
i'm still in exploration mode. of course i don't have it all figured out yet. i'm just feeling it all out, making decisions at will and good karma or something has made most all of it a-ok. i must remind myself of these things.
my weekend couldn't have been better. except for the fact that i was in procrastination mode with my work (which weighed a little on me). but besides that i had a fantastic time. here's the gist:
friday night was the continuation of the LOTR trilogy. my friend matt towers organized the whole thing. got us tickets for the 2 fridays prior to the opening of the return of the kind...they were showing the extended versions of FOTR and TT each consecutive friday. we sat right next to michael moore! i gave him props in a pretty lame way. but i had to say something.
saturday met up with amy's old dear friend (and my new friend) danny. he told me about this play thing...kids ages 9 to 11 wrote short plays that adults acted out. sounded like a cool idea. i rode the elevator up to the 4th floor with martha plimpton who mentioned she had to hurry because she was in the play. i couldn't help but look at her and think "that bitch got to fuck river." just so happened that she was one of the best actors in the plays. super funny. the whole thing was a hoot. loved watching those kids see their plays put on. it got me all choked up.
we had some time to kill and decided to brave the crowds and go to macys. we were on a flask mission. it was total holiday insanity. pretty amusing actually, when you didn't really have to buy anything. made our way up to santa's village, to see "the real santa" as advertised. took some funny pics of each other posing with the elves and santa himself.
next was what danny and i deemed "the boombox parade." read all about it here. it was freezing outside but super fun and christmasy. it was awesome and i liked it.
then it was off to williamsburg to this. it was weird, but kinda hysterical. only in NY man. that show would have never happened in LA. i can guarantee.
sunday was some work and preparations for jessica's friends' holiday party. great food (turkey, ham, stuffing, mashed potatoes, all the fixins), nice new people, a christmas tree in the living room, secret santa prezzies, the whole nine. good times.
monday, got an email from "crush boy." got v. excited. hadn't heard from him for a bit as he was out of town. we made plans for today which got me all a-twitter. i haven't been stoked on a dude in so long. i'm sure i've built some fantasy thing in my head...but i do feel something for this one eventhough i don't know him so well. call it a gut instinct (and that's what worries me...i'm jinxing it). anyway, i had a bit of my nervous stomach thing and a pretty sleepless night thinking about the meeting. and what do you know...
got the call this morning. he's bed-ridden. so so ill. poor guy sounded awful. but of course it made me feel awful. this sounds so fucking stupid, but i feel like i've miraculously contracted his illness as i started to feel a little shitty later on. HA! i'm sure it's a combo of being bummed and over-tired. i'll get over it. just being dramatic i think.
the way i did make the crappy day ok though was i ordered myself my xmas/business write-off prezzie. a new G4 12" powerbook w/superdrive! so stoked!!
there's an upside to everything i suppose.
Thursday, December 11, 2003
hangovers suck!
yesterday was a complete waste because of my stupidity the night before.
i honestly don't know how it happened, but i managed to get trolleyed (as my british friend lucy likes to call it).
i met with her to go to rude movements to see dj jazzy jeff play.
it was packed and so much fun! he played all the classics, seamlessly woven together. very nice!
ended up talking to and dancing with some nice guy. had some drinks. more talking. more dancing. more drinks. and so on.
i didn't even realize i was so buzzed until i went outside with mr. nice guy.
he offered to give me a ride home, which i gladly expected. no cab fee sounded good to me at that point.
went outside, only to find his car had been towed. second time i'd seen that in the meat packing district. bastards.
felt sorry for the guy, so i let him crash at my pad. and honestly, not a whole lot happened because i was too out of it to deal (and have had someone else on my mind--let's just call him "crush boy").
i was planning on waking up early the next day to get going on my new project but it didn't happen.
the whole day was shot to shit.
greg poth came over and we had a nice vietnamese dinner. watched some bad tv and called it a night.
fucking booze man.
NY city will do it to you.
i didn't want to believe the hype, but it's looking like the longer you live here, the more you drink.
i honestly don't know how it happened, but i managed to get trolleyed (as my british friend lucy likes to call it).
i met with her to go to rude movements to see dj jazzy jeff play.
it was packed and so much fun! he played all the classics, seamlessly woven together. very nice!
ended up talking to and dancing with some nice guy. had some drinks. more talking. more dancing. more drinks. and so on.
i didn't even realize i was so buzzed until i went outside with mr. nice guy.
he offered to give me a ride home, which i gladly expected. no cab fee sounded good to me at that point.
went outside, only to find his car had been towed. second time i'd seen that in the meat packing district. bastards.
felt sorry for the guy, so i let him crash at my pad. and honestly, not a whole lot happened because i was too out of it to deal (and have had someone else on my mind--let's just call him "crush boy").
i was planning on waking up early the next day to get going on my new project but it didn't happen.
the whole day was shot to shit.
greg poth came over and we had a nice vietnamese dinner. watched some bad tv and called it a night.
fucking booze man.
NY city will do it to you.
i didn't want to believe the hype, but it's looking like the longer you live here, the more you drink.
Tuesday, December 09, 2003
happy day
today was a good day. nope, a great day.
first, i got a call from the director of a new film that is going to the Sundance Film Festival.
i met with him last week to talk about creating a website for his film. i watched the movie and it's actually pretty good. stars joe pantoliano (from "the sapranos" and "memento") and jennifer tilley. anyway, i sent him the proposal yesterday and got the "go ahead" call today! YES!!! he apparently loved my proposal. i think i'm finally getting good at this stuff. it's all about practice, persistence and confidence (oh, and encouragement from your friends when you're not feeling so confident... big thanks goes to amy for her help yesterday!!).
i just got back from a brainstorming lunch session with the m. night movie marketing people in rockafellar center. that was rad. i feel so damn legit, it's weird. approval for a new cool project and a "power lunch" uptown. HA! new york city baby. i'm doing it. and loving it. let's hope i can keep up with this crazy pace.
first, i got a call from the director of a new film that is going to the Sundance Film Festival.
i met with him last week to talk about creating a website for his film. i watched the movie and it's actually pretty good. stars joe pantoliano (from "the sapranos" and "memento") and jennifer tilley. anyway, i sent him the proposal yesterday and got the "go ahead" call today! YES!!! he apparently loved my proposal. i think i'm finally getting good at this stuff. it's all about practice, persistence and confidence (oh, and encouragement from your friends when you're not feeling so confident... big thanks goes to amy for her help yesterday!!).
i just got back from a brainstorming lunch session with the m. night movie marketing people in rockafellar center. that was rad. i feel so damn legit, it's weird. approval for a new cool project and a "power lunch" uptown. HA! new york city baby. i'm doing it. and loving it. let's hope i can keep up with this crazy pace.
Saturday, December 06, 2003
out of curiousity
i'm wondering how many of you are actually reading this here blog?
i'd love to get some sort of head count...as i'm still wondering if i should shell out the dough for a fancy blog situation (i'm starting to detest this ugly ass blog template).
please email me and let me know!
i'd love to get some sort of head count...as i'm still wondering if i should shell out the dough for a fancy blog situation (i'm starting to detest this ugly ass blog template).
please email me and let me know!
new pics
hey friends...
i just uploaded some a fresh batch in the photo section.
i know it's still ghetto (no slide show). i'm still pondering whether or not i should go full out and get some real blogging software (complete with photo slide show screens).
until i decide, you're gonna have to deal with the ghetto version.
be sure to check the "snow" folder (pics i took yesterday and last night of our crazy little snow storm going on here).
there are also a few new ones in "friends," "me," and "home" if you're interested.
enjoy!
new pics
i just uploaded some a fresh batch in the photo section.
i know it's still ghetto (no slide show). i'm still pondering whether or not i should go full out and get some real blogging software (complete with photo slide show screens).
until i decide, you're gonna have to deal with the ghetto version.
be sure to check the "snow" folder (pics i took yesterday and last night of our crazy little snow storm going on here).
there are also a few new ones in "friends," "me," and "home" if you're interested.
enjoy!
new pics
Friday, December 05, 2003
cabbage soup
forgot to mention.
last week, with amy here and all the eating out and the beginnings of the holidays, i ate like a fucking pig. pizza, sweets, all that turkey, not to mention the insane amounts of booze i put in my body. let's just say, i felt like a bloated slob. and put on a couple too.
jessica was feeling the same way and suggested we do the famous cabbage soup diet. if you know me, you know i'm really not one for dieting. let along reading the ingredients that goes into the shit i put in my body. if i want it, i eat it. i did do that cleanse once and actually liked it and thought it'd be a good idea to do this before xmas binging.
i'm on day 5 and have to say i feel pretty good. i've fudged a little. instead of tomatoes today, i had peppers and broccoli. instead of skim milk yesterday, i had soy milk. whatever. good thing is i haven't had any bread. the energy level has been really good and i actually lost about 4 pounds! not that i really needed to lose much, but a few pounds never hurt.
when i told my mom i was doing this thing and she exclaimed "the cabbage soup diet! i used to do that. it's been around forever. but it makes you constipated and gives you bad gas." no constipation for me...but she was right about the gas. heh. good thing i work at home.
last week, with amy here and all the eating out and the beginnings of the holidays, i ate like a fucking pig. pizza, sweets, all that turkey, not to mention the insane amounts of booze i put in my body. let's just say, i felt like a bloated slob. and put on a couple too.
jessica was feeling the same way and suggested we do the famous cabbage soup diet. if you know me, you know i'm really not one for dieting. let along reading the ingredients that goes into the shit i put in my body. if i want it, i eat it. i did do that cleanse once and actually liked it and thought it'd be a good idea to do this before xmas binging.
i'm on day 5 and have to say i feel pretty good. i've fudged a little. instead of tomatoes today, i had peppers and broccoli. instead of skim milk yesterday, i had soy milk. whatever. good thing is i haven't had any bread. the energy level has been really good and i actually lost about 4 pounds! not that i really needed to lose much, but a few pounds never hurt.
when i told my mom i was doing this thing and she exclaimed "the cabbage soup diet! i used to do that. it's been around forever. but it makes you constipated and gives you bad gas." no constipation for me...but she was right about the gas. heh. good thing i work at home.
the amazing, the sensational...lypsinka!
jessica had free equity tickets to see some show last night and asked if i wanted to go. "what kind of show?" i asked. when she sent me the link for lypsinka i knew i had to go. come on now, a crazy guy in drag doing song and dance numbers, all lip synced? how could i not? i mean i was the girl who was dying to get on the shows "puttin on the hits" and mtv's "lip service." i LIVE for lip syncing!
so i met jess at the off-broadway theater in the west village. come to think of it, this was the first theatrical show i'd been to since i moved here, so i was kinda excited. the theater was decent sized, but the seats were ridiculously close to each other. poor jessica was pratically spread eagle to fit her long legs in there. the show started in typical drag form...lypsinka came out and did her couple numbers in some fabulous 40s gown, hair and make-up done to a tee. pretty funny. my favorite bits were when she lipped along to these instructional audio records about how to be the perfect woman...what to wear, how to apply make-up, etc. her expressions were so on point! the other good gimmick was she would splice together little bits of dialogue from campy films and would answer a pretend phone, shouting the dialogue to the imaginary person on the other end. man, how i wished i could have named all those references! i got the few obvious ones, like "whatever happened to baby jane" and "mommy dearest" (the gay classics), but there were so many i didn't know. i would have loved to have had a reference list given out. so many great songs i would have loved to have known as well.
the classic that had me in stitches at the end was a version of "the 12 days of christmas" sung by this ridiculously drunk woman...a la lucille ball. by the end it was "...and a bird on a tree with a leafy thing hanging off..." you HAD to hear it! i was laughing so hard i was crying.
so i met jess at the off-broadway theater in the west village. come to think of it, this was the first theatrical show i'd been to since i moved here, so i was kinda excited. the theater was decent sized, but the seats were ridiculously close to each other. poor jessica was pratically spread eagle to fit her long legs in there. the show started in typical drag form...lypsinka came out and did her couple numbers in some fabulous 40s gown, hair and make-up done to a tee. pretty funny. my favorite bits were when she lipped along to these instructional audio records about how to be the perfect woman...what to wear, how to apply make-up, etc. her expressions were so on point! the other good gimmick was she would splice together little bits of dialogue from campy films and would answer a pretend phone, shouting the dialogue to the imaginary person on the other end. man, how i wished i could have named all those references! i got the few obvious ones, like "whatever happened to baby jane" and "mommy dearest" (the gay classics), but there were so many i didn't know. i would have loved to have had a reference list given out. so many great songs i would have loved to have known as well.
the classic that had me in stitches at the end was a version of "the 12 days of christmas" sung by this ridiculously drunk woman...a la lucille ball. by the end it was "...and a bird on a tree with a leafy thing hanging off..." you HAD to hear it! i was laughing so hard i was crying.
Thursday, December 04, 2003
over a week
yikes. i just realized it's been over a week since i've written. and in all honesty, it's been due to my busy schedule this week and my visitor last week. both things, good things. amy's visit was fantastic. was really great to have her here. we did it up. dinners, dancing, shopping, and drinking. oh the drinking. i think the highlight of her trip was the night we went out to brooklyn to my new favorite bar. yes, i trekked out to brooklyn to go to a bar. so sue me. i love that place. if i could find a cheap apt. right next door to this place, i think i'd move. it's just got "megan vibe" all over it. started the night at a restaurant with sake and beer. made our way to the bar and got the $5 mojitos. they were so good. the music was so good. our little spot on the couch downstairs was just perfect. a few mojitos later and we were WASTED! the perfect buzz though...just cracking up at ourselves all night. more taking digi pics of each other and laughing uncontrollably at every single one. managed to get off the couch and dance very sloppily on the little dance floor to the latin sounds. so great!
another highlight was thanksgiving of course. a good crew of us made it out to vicki's parents' place in westchester county. so beautiful out there. her family was great and put on the whole spread. after dinner, the musical theater kids did some singing around the piano. i loved that. reminded me of the old days at grandma hill's doing the same thing.
friday night was an antibalas show (and my new friend zak opened for them). that was super fun...love that band. amy and i did our sabada african routine and got a bunch of people in the crowd excited. not to mention the drummer in the band who wanted to put us on the guestlist the next night to come up on stage and perform. that didn't happen, but it was a sweet compliment.
and sunday was board game night with jeffrey, shioban, amy and her old friend danny, who i'd never met. played a little battle of the sexes and cranium. two games which i'd never played and loved both! the boys won battle and the girls won cranium! just proved that we were smarter all around and they were better at the dumb girly questions. haha.
amy left on monday. i got a message to go check out antibalas again for a free show at a book release party right by my house. got talked into going (was thinking i shouldn't because of the 7:30am train to philly i had to be on the next morning). glad i did though. there was free booze a-plenty. started with the red wine. then moved on to the lethal whisky. oh man. the band played. i danced and thoroughly enjoyed myself. once the band finished, craziness ensued. no more details necessary. email me if you want the juicy bits.
basically, getting on that 7:30am train almost killed me. i really wanted to die. the day in philly went OK. now i'm back. so much work to do. a couple little projects on top of the big project and a meeting for another project later today in jersery. i'm a roll.
another highlight was thanksgiving of course. a good crew of us made it out to vicki's parents' place in westchester county. so beautiful out there. her family was great and put on the whole spread. after dinner, the musical theater kids did some singing around the piano. i loved that. reminded me of the old days at grandma hill's doing the same thing.
friday night was an antibalas show (and my new friend zak opened for them). that was super fun...love that band. amy and i did our sabada african routine and got a bunch of people in the crowd excited. not to mention the drummer in the band who wanted to put us on the guestlist the next night to come up on stage and perform. that didn't happen, but it was a sweet compliment.
and sunday was board game night with jeffrey, shioban, amy and her old friend danny, who i'd never met. played a little battle of the sexes and cranium. two games which i'd never played and loved both! the boys won battle and the girls won cranium! just proved that we were smarter all around and they were better at the dumb girly questions. haha.
amy left on monday. i got a message to go check out antibalas again for a free show at a book release party right by my house. got talked into going (was thinking i shouldn't because of the 7:30am train to philly i had to be on the next morning). glad i did though. there was free booze a-plenty. started with the red wine. then moved on to the lethal whisky. oh man. the band played. i danced and thoroughly enjoyed myself. once the band finished, craziness ensued. no more details necessary. email me if you want the juicy bits.
basically, getting on that 7:30am train almost killed me. i really wanted to die. the day in philly went OK. now i'm back. so much work to do. a couple little projects on top of the big project and a meeting for another project later today in jersery. i'm a roll.
Monday, November 24, 2003
sexy ladies
friday night, amy arrived. she and vicki and i went to dinner and got drinks afterwards.
we went to a bar in my hood that was a bit on the yuppie side, but the jukebox and drinks were good.
vicki noticed straight away that one of the dudes in the bar was from this documentary called born rich. she said this guy was a vanderbilt or something and was the heir to the whitney museum among other notable NY landmarks (ah, that's him...josiah hornblower: here). for some reason she wanted to talk to him really bad, i think just to see how messed up he was. he and his croonies looked like complete dorks. i mean all 4 of them were wearing belted pleated pants (a la dockers), button down shirts tucked into the belted pants complete with sockless loafers! all of them! at one point we were standing outside right next to the dorky foursome and vic wouldn't speak up. i didn't give a shit about them, so i interjected:
"HEY, two of you are wearing the exact same loafers. is that on purpose?" that was our "in." they were totally humorless, didn't get my joke at all. do the rich train their offspring to have no sense of humor? jesus. lighten up boys. we attempted to chat and joke with them for a few minutes and decided to go back inside once we realized how far those sticks were up their asses.
the rest of the night consisted of the three of us taking ridiculous digi pics of ourselves. we kept taking bad ones and it became a game...who could take the ugliest pics. so funny!! here is a a little quicktime slide show i made of the best of the pics: sexy ladies. be sure to keep the speakers on, since the song is the best part. enjoy!
we went to a bar in my hood that was a bit on the yuppie side, but the jukebox and drinks were good.
vicki noticed straight away that one of the dudes in the bar was from this documentary called born rich. she said this guy was a vanderbilt or something and was the heir to the whitney museum among other notable NY landmarks (ah, that's him...josiah hornblower: here). for some reason she wanted to talk to him really bad, i think just to see how messed up he was. he and his croonies looked like complete dorks. i mean all 4 of them were wearing belted pleated pants (a la dockers), button down shirts tucked into the belted pants complete with sockless loafers! all of them! at one point we were standing outside right next to the dorky foursome and vic wouldn't speak up. i didn't give a shit about them, so i interjected:
"HEY, two of you are wearing the exact same loafers. is that on purpose?" that was our "in." they were totally humorless, didn't get my joke at all. do the rich train their offspring to have no sense of humor? jesus. lighten up boys. we attempted to chat and joke with them for a few minutes and decided to go back inside once we realized how far those sticks were up their asses.
the rest of the night consisted of the three of us taking ridiculous digi pics of ourselves. we kept taking bad ones and it became a game...who could take the ugliest pics. so funny!! here is a a little quicktime slide show i made of the best of the pics: sexy ladies. be sure to keep the speakers on, since the song is the best part. enjoy!
Friday, November 21, 2003
validation
my hard work has paid off. so far.
mr producer just emailed this: "the site is STUPENDOUS! I am so excited!" sweet!
i didn't think it was THAT good, but i'm happy he's happy.
i actually have a whole day now to slack off. nice.
amy gets here tonight. we're going to dinner with vicki which will be great. then to drinks somewhere. could get crazy. excited for girl time.
my favorite.
i think i'll watch a couple more episodes of the office, which i just got from netflix. i LOVE netflix. such a great investment. and the 3 episodes i've seen of the office have been great. such a sucker for british humor. the main character is soooo good though! his "comedy" and laughing at his own lame jokes kills me!
that is all for now.
mr producer just emailed this: "the site is STUPENDOUS! I am so excited!" sweet!
i didn't think it was THAT good, but i'm happy he's happy.
i actually have a whole day now to slack off. nice.
amy gets here tonight. we're going to dinner with vicki which will be great. then to drinks somewhere. could get crazy. excited for girl time.
my favorite.
i think i'll watch a couple more episodes of the office, which i just got from netflix. i LOVE netflix. such a great investment. and the 3 episodes i've seen of the office have been great. such a sucker for british humor. the main character is soooo good though! his "comedy" and laughing at his own lame jokes kills me!
that is all for now.
Thursday, November 20, 2003
trippy trip
so i suppose i haven't clued you all into what this "cool project" of mine is exactly. i've signed my life away to a confidentiality agreement, so i can't say much. BUT, i can say that the oh-so-secret project is a documentary about m. night shyamalan. i have a small role in designing a portion of it and honestly can't say much more than that at the moment.
yesterday was the big business trip. i got another paid train ride down to Philly to meet with mr. producer of "the documentary" and the big wigs on night's new film called the village. mr. producer is being ultra cool about the whole thing, bringing me in as this "top designer" so i feel all legit with the fancy people and shit (i'm usually totally intimidated in those situations). so it's great! anyway, i got picked up from the station and got wisked away to the oh-so-secret closed set of the village. it was literally in the middle of nowhere in pennsylvania. couldn't even tell you where we were...just some creepy-looking ultra rural woodsy area with a smattering of trees, a couple horses and a big stone house. the security was intense! when driving up to the main entrance, there were about 5 guards asking who we were, then a checklist, then a call on the walkie to the production trailer and finally the OK. insane! made our way to trailer village, which consisted of literally about 50 trailers: the production office, the make-up and wardrobe trailers, the camera, lighting, gaffing, and transpo trucks, wardrobe, huge bathroom trailers, not to mention the stars' fancy motorhomes (i mean just check the cast line-up here--DANG!).
i was taken in to meet night's righthand man and the PR people for the "documentary." we had a great hour long meeting, with ideas flying around. so nice to be amongst people with good, smart ideas! didn't feel hollywoodish at all. i hate to say it, but i think the difference between LA and NY is that people in the production world actually have intellect, not just hot air in their brains. that's been my experience so far. it was refreshing to be in a group of people sharing clever thoughts. i also realized that i LOVE the research process of a project...and these PR people had really done their research and i was on the same page with them. something to think about (always great to discover what you actually like and are good at!).
so the most bizarre part about this whole job is the small world aspect that came up. i knew my old roommate, josh was working on a film in pennsylvania, but i had no idea what it was. i mean, how many big budget films can be shooting in penn. anyway? turns out, he is on the village. how random is that? so night's righthand man loved this and asked if i wanted to see josh. of course i did. so he called him down from set to come into the office. he opens the door and there i am! it was great! we caught up for a bit and he had to run back to set. while i was chatting to josh, i missed my opportunity to meet night himself. oh well. hopefully i'll be back to the set before they wrap. i know, i know, i keep saying i wanted to get away from hollywood bullshit, but this was a really positive experience (besides all the "hush-hush"-ness of it). i guess it's just about knowing the right people and feeling legit about the job you are doing. ah, aging...gotta love it.
yesterday was the big business trip. i got another paid train ride down to Philly to meet with mr. producer of "the documentary" and the big wigs on night's new film called the village. mr. producer is being ultra cool about the whole thing, bringing me in as this "top designer" so i feel all legit with the fancy people and shit (i'm usually totally intimidated in those situations). so it's great! anyway, i got picked up from the station and got wisked away to the oh-so-secret closed set of the village. it was literally in the middle of nowhere in pennsylvania. couldn't even tell you where we were...just some creepy-looking ultra rural woodsy area with a smattering of trees, a couple horses and a big stone house. the security was intense! when driving up to the main entrance, there were about 5 guards asking who we were, then a checklist, then a call on the walkie to the production trailer and finally the OK. insane! made our way to trailer village, which consisted of literally about 50 trailers: the production office, the make-up and wardrobe trailers, the camera, lighting, gaffing, and transpo trucks, wardrobe, huge bathroom trailers, not to mention the stars' fancy motorhomes (i mean just check the cast line-up here--DANG!).
i was taken in to meet night's righthand man and the PR people for the "documentary." we had a great hour long meeting, with ideas flying around. so nice to be amongst people with good, smart ideas! didn't feel hollywoodish at all. i hate to say it, but i think the difference between LA and NY is that people in the production world actually have intellect, not just hot air in their brains. that's been my experience so far. it was refreshing to be in a group of people sharing clever thoughts. i also realized that i LOVE the research process of a project...and these PR people had really done their research and i was on the same page with them. something to think about (always great to discover what you actually like and are good at!).
so the most bizarre part about this whole job is the small world aspect that came up. i knew my old roommate, josh was working on a film in pennsylvania, but i had no idea what it was. i mean, how many big budget films can be shooting in penn. anyway? turns out, he is on the village. how random is that? so night's righthand man loved this and asked if i wanted to see josh. of course i did. so he called him down from set to come into the office. he opens the door and there i am! it was great! we caught up for a bit and he had to run back to set. while i was chatting to josh, i missed my opportunity to meet night himself. oh well. hopefully i'll be back to the set before they wrap. i know, i know, i keep saying i wanted to get away from hollywood bullshit, but this was a really positive experience (besides all the "hush-hush"-ness of it). i guess it's just about knowing the right people and feeling legit about the job you are doing. ah, aging...gotta love it.
Tuesday, November 18, 2003
back to life, back to reality
monday night. reality tv at it's best. i thought my move to NY would "change" me...
i thought that moving here would allow me to expand my creative horizons and get away from the hollywood bullshit i was so tired of.
i thought i'd be less interested in celebrity's lives and about which new film was coming out.
i thought i'd be going to art shows and hob-nobbing with ultra hip arty types, talking about the latest gallery openings.
no, not really, but i sure didn't think i'd go back to my reality tv obsession.
here lies the problem. when i first moved in, i didn't turn on the tv at all. i was too pre-occupied with city happenings and meeting new people and getting all my shit together. now that i've settled into my place, it's come full circle. jessica (the roomie) works all day and lately has been coming home after work. the the tellie gets turned on and it's all downhill from there. actually, it hasn't been that bad, but we've both been sick and don't want to go out, and tv is the next best thing. besides, we were all excited to see the britney spears special on abc. i don't know what it is about that girl. she's just got star quality. i want to hate her so bad. i actually kind of do loathe her (and don't really like her music at all), but i CAN'T STOP WATCHING. she had all these big dance production numbers with amazing dancers backing her up. i wanted to check out the other dancers moves, but i couldn't take my eyes of britney. what is it about her? sure, she's got a great bod and those little sexy outfits, but i don't find her all that pretty. she just has a way of performing her ass off and it's appealing to watch the girl work it.
after that, we got sucked into watching the second half of "joe millionaire." very stupid, but very satisfying to watch. those euro girls are bitchy. i hate cat and hope that poor guy does not pick that twat. oh oh, and then...we switched over to watch "average joe." two reality shows with the name "joe" in them. barf! the way those shows are done just keeps you coming back. i just can't help myself. what will the next twist be? who will the girl pick? what will he/she do in THAT situation? i wish i didn't love them, but i just do. i guess you can take the girl out of LA, but you can't take LA out of the girl.
i thought that moving here would allow me to expand my creative horizons and get away from the hollywood bullshit i was so tired of.
i thought i'd be less interested in celebrity's lives and about which new film was coming out.
i thought i'd be going to art shows and hob-nobbing with ultra hip arty types, talking about the latest gallery openings.
no, not really, but i sure didn't think i'd go back to my reality tv obsession.
here lies the problem. when i first moved in, i didn't turn on the tv at all. i was too pre-occupied with city happenings and meeting new people and getting all my shit together. now that i've settled into my place, it's come full circle. jessica (the roomie) works all day and lately has been coming home after work. the the tellie gets turned on and it's all downhill from there. actually, it hasn't been that bad, but we've both been sick and don't want to go out, and tv is the next best thing. besides, we were all excited to see the britney spears special on abc. i don't know what it is about that girl. she's just got star quality. i want to hate her so bad. i actually kind of do loathe her (and don't really like her music at all), but i CAN'T STOP WATCHING. she had all these big dance production numbers with amazing dancers backing her up. i wanted to check out the other dancers moves, but i couldn't take my eyes of britney. what is it about her? sure, she's got a great bod and those little sexy outfits, but i don't find her all that pretty. she just has a way of performing her ass off and it's appealing to watch the girl work it.
after that, we got sucked into watching the second half of "joe millionaire." very stupid, but very satisfying to watch. those euro girls are bitchy. i hate cat and hope that poor guy does not pick that twat. oh oh, and then...we switched over to watch "average joe." two reality shows with the name "joe" in them. barf! the way those shows are done just keeps you coming back. i just can't help myself. what will the next twist be? who will the girl pick? what will he/she do in THAT situation? i wish i didn't love them, but i just do. i guess you can take the girl out of LA, but you can't take LA out of the girl.
Monday, November 17, 2003
friendster saturday night
friendster is a strange thing sometimes. let's add up the different cool things that have happened to me as a result of friendster...1. i got my apartment in NY, 2. i got some hot summer lovin', 3. i found my web programmer that is helping me on my latest project, 4. i made a record nerd friend here that gave me some vinyl, a list of records stores all over the city and free tickets to the bugz in the attic show tomorrow, 5. got reacquainted with some old friends, and 6. made some new friends (duh). the last one was what happened on saturday night. i finally got to meet lisa who had written me on friendster because she had just moved to NY from LA. we started an email friendship...she had moved here in the summer so she was sharing all of her stories about the move, etc. then when i moved here, we were supposed to meet and it just didn't happen at first, but we finally met on saturday night. her friend mark from LA was in town that night, on tour with his band. she really wanted me to meet him when i was still in LA. so it was a good excuse to meet up...i could kill two birds with one stone.
met up with them at lucy's, a sort of divey bar in the east village. it's always kinda weird to meet people from the internet, not knowing what their personality will be like in real life and if you'll get along. but this was cool...lisa was a nice as nice could be. we chatted away. and her friend mark was a looker. i fucked up on that one, not meeting him earlier in LA. cool dude too...we bonded on a mutual love for oingo boingo. the whole group was super fun and it was nice to be out with a whole new crew. the funniest part of the evening was when one of them (we still don't know who exactly) stunk up the entire bar with a vicious indian food fart. hilarity ensued when the placing blame game began. still don't know who, but guessing was fun. love a group who can laugh at their own stench. my kind of people.
met up with them at lucy's, a sort of divey bar in the east village. it's always kinda weird to meet people from the internet, not knowing what their personality will be like in real life and if you'll get along. but this was cool...lisa was a nice as nice could be. we chatted away. and her friend mark was a looker. i fucked up on that one, not meeting him earlier in LA. cool dude too...we bonded on a mutual love for oingo boingo. the whole group was super fun and it was nice to be out with a whole new crew. the funniest part of the evening was when one of them (we still don't know who exactly) stunk up the entire bar with a vicious indian food fart. hilarity ensued when the placing blame game began. still don't know who, but guessing was fun. love a group who can laugh at their own stench. my kind of people.
Saturday, November 15, 2003
the cough from hell
so last night was vicki's b-day gathering. i was still feeling pretty shitty, but knew i a) wanted to celebrate her birthday and b) had to get out of the house...it was friday night for crying out loud. i met up with greg poth after work and we walked to the LES to have dinner at this place that he claimed was the best mexican food in NY. i hadn't had mexican since i got here, so i thought i'd see if his claims were true. got the enchiladas, which i was sure would be a true test...enchiladas can either be fantastic or really bad and if they were good, he'd be right and i'd be happy to have found a good place for south of the border eats on the east coast. the food was actually pretty good, i must admit. all white meat in the chicken which made me happy. the tomatillo sauce was pretty good too. the beans and rice, not so much. and the salsa needed some help. but all in all, it was tasty. and pretty cheap. $3.50 piña coladas to boot!
next was the b-day party which happened to be at the bar next to the restaurant. the bar was kind of weird. just a bar, nothing to it really. vic was there with a crew of people i didn't really know, but were all very friendly. started drinking beer, as i wasn't prepared to get hammered in my still-sick state. so i'm talking to people and then the cough comes on strong. i apologize for coughing so much, it's kind of embarrassing. more people show up, more beers, more fun is had. i end up talking to this guy who's all up in my business for coming out with this horrible cough. then he tells me it's the "little italy" cough. you've got it now and it's gonna last all winter! fuck that guy. that actually freaked me out, because i've heard of such things. this is just the start of the cold season and if i've got it this bad already, i'm so freakin screwed. the night wore on and i was about ready to get that cough to bed. my roomie was there and i figured we'd walk home together, but she insisted on staying for another drink. fine. one more. the cough was getting out of control. i think other people in the bar must have been looking at me like i was some freak for being out with that thing. i kept getting "aw!"s from others around me. "i'm usually much more fun at parties" i would laugh off to new people. it was really TIME TO GO! jessica kept lingering and finally, i put my foot down. we said our goodbyes, got the next cab and headed back, coughing uncontrollably all the way. it just got worse at home. i downed my robotusin and headed straight for bed. and guess what? it's still HERE this morning. my throat and lungs hurt! if that guy is right about all winter cough i don't know what i'm going to do...
next was the b-day party which happened to be at the bar next to the restaurant. the bar was kind of weird. just a bar, nothing to it really. vic was there with a crew of people i didn't really know, but were all very friendly. started drinking beer, as i wasn't prepared to get hammered in my still-sick state. so i'm talking to people and then the cough comes on strong. i apologize for coughing so much, it's kind of embarrassing. more people show up, more beers, more fun is had. i end up talking to this guy who's all up in my business for coming out with this horrible cough. then he tells me it's the "little italy" cough. you've got it now and it's gonna last all winter! fuck that guy. that actually freaked me out, because i've heard of such things. this is just the start of the cold season and if i've got it this bad already, i'm so freakin screwed. the night wore on and i was about ready to get that cough to bed. my roomie was there and i figured we'd walk home together, but she insisted on staying for another drink. fine. one more. the cough was getting out of control. i think other people in the bar must have been looking at me like i was some freak for being out with that thing. i kept getting "aw!"s from others around me. "i'm usually much more fun at parties" i would laugh off to new people. it was really TIME TO GO! jessica kept lingering and finally, i put my foot down. we said our goodbyes, got the next cab and headed back, coughing uncontrollably all the way. it just got worse at home. i downed my robotusin and headed straight for bed. and guess what? it's still HERE this morning. my throat and lungs hurt! if that guy is right about all winter cough i don't know what i'm going to do...
Friday, November 14, 2003
friends in high places
no, not low places, high places.
not having a fax machine, or a land line has proven to be a bit of a pain in the ass the last couple weeks. with this web project i'm currently working on, i've had to get contracts and deal memos and 1-9's and W-4's and all kinds of paperwork. friggin film productions man. so annoying. so everytime the apc (assistand production coordinator) calls me, he wants my fax number. at first i tried to act professional about it, saying how i'd just moved into this "office" and hadn't set up my fax yet. likely story. then i graduated to, "well, here is the number you can fax me" which was the staples a few blocks over. turns out staples charges an ungodly ammount to fax a stinkin piece of paper...$3 for 1 sheet and $1 for any more sheets of paper. ridiculous! i had to think of something better than this. my friend greg pothier happens to work at miss sixty about 5 blocks up the street from me and when i went to visit him last, i asked if they had a fax machine. sure enough! so that is my new fax. when the apc called today he asked what number he should fax to. forget lying. i told him flat out "i'm accepting faxes from my friend's workplace. please send my faxes attention: greg. thank you." and just like that, i got my free faxes today. no muss, no fuss.
as for the project, it's going quite well. i've got the basic template done and almost all of the "about" section complete. the rest of the stuff needs to be done by mr. programmer. i'm supposed to MAYBE go down to philly next week to meet with the sci-fi channel higher up's, and possibly mr. night himself. we'll see if that happens or not. but that would be cool! work my charms on the fancy people. but wait...didn't i move to NY to get away from hollywood shit? twisted world man. but at the same time, i'm not complaining.
not having a fax machine, or a land line has proven to be a bit of a pain in the ass the last couple weeks. with this web project i'm currently working on, i've had to get contracts and deal memos and 1-9's and W-4's and all kinds of paperwork. friggin film productions man. so annoying. so everytime the apc (assistand production coordinator) calls me, he wants my fax number. at first i tried to act professional about it, saying how i'd just moved into this "office" and hadn't set up my fax yet. likely story. then i graduated to, "well, here is the number you can fax me" which was the staples a few blocks over. turns out staples charges an ungodly ammount to fax a stinkin piece of paper...$3 for 1 sheet and $1 for any more sheets of paper. ridiculous! i had to think of something better than this. my friend greg pothier happens to work at miss sixty about 5 blocks up the street from me and when i went to visit him last, i asked if they had a fax machine. sure enough! so that is my new fax. when the apc called today he asked what number he should fax to. forget lying. i told him flat out "i'm accepting faxes from my friend's workplace. please send my faxes attention: greg. thank you." and just like that, i got my free faxes today. no muss, no fuss.
as for the project, it's going quite well. i've got the basic template done and almost all of the "about" section complete. the rest of the stuff needs to be done by mr. programmer. i'm supposed to MAYBE go down to philly next week to meet with the sci-fi channel higher up's, and possibly mr. night himself. we'll see if that happens or not. but that would be cool! work my charms on the fancy people. but wait...didn't i move to NY to get away from hollywood shit? twisted world man. but at the same time, i'm not complaining.
Wednesday, November 12, 2003
sick again
goddammit! yes, i got sick again. it's not a horrible illness, just that sore throat, stuffy, headachey thing that's just annoying. and i wake up feeling like ass. feeling ok now, but i have a cough. UGH! is it just that i'm not used to the seasons changing? probably. i forgot about the cold. thought it wouldn't be that big of deal, but now i know...i'm a total wuss.
i love the laundry situation here. just drop off my huge bag around the corner. a couple hours later and for $12 i get everything back, clean, smelling fresh and folded better than i could do it! so great!!
as you can tell, i haven't been out much due to my sickness. been working and chilling at home. ariel and i did a little mp3 swap yesterday and i got peaches' "teaches of peaches" which i'm thoroughly enjoying. who knew?
in our exchange, we also became aware of itunes little scam. pulled the wool right over us. we had both imported cd's into itunes, which now converts the music into their own m4a files...which we found out later, will not play in other itunes programs! such a bummer. keeping us little evil music swappers under the radar i suppose. no more trading! thanks mac. damn you.
i love the laundry situation here. just drop off my huge bag around the corner. a couple hours later and for $12 i get everything back, clean, smelling fresh and folded better than i could do it! so great!!
as you can tell, i haven't been out much due to my sickness. been working and chilling at home. ariel and i did a little mp3 swap yesterday and i got peaches' "teaches of peaches" which i'm thoroughly enjoying. who knew?
in our exchange, we also became aware of itunes little scam. pulled the wool right over us. we had both imported cd's into itunes, which now converts the music into their own m4a files...which we found out later, will not play in other itunes programs! such a bummer. keeping us little evil music swappers under the radar i suppose. no more trading! thanks mac. damn you.
Monday, November 10, 2003
the hood
today was MELLOW! i was feeling a bit under the weather. woke up with a sore throat (again). my body is obviously not used to this cold weather. and let me tell you...it's been COLD. got down to the 30s this weekend. i'm so screwed for the winter!
jessica and i decided to do some shopping for the week in the neighborhood...cooking at home all week saves so much money! i hadn't really explored the chinese produce markets on mott street, so i was up for it. it was really sunny and beautiful out but BRRRRR...
the people were out in droves. it was sunday shopping madness. i felt like frogger, dodging cars and people on the sidewalks and in the streets. jessica is fast and on a mission when she walks and a couple times i had to run to catch up (what a weiner!).
the first place we went to was this asian produce place. such nice produce. it reminded me of grand central market in LA...it was so damn cheap! we got 4 bags of awesome fruits and veggies for $12! amazing. next was the fish market. 2 pounds of fresh shrimp...$8! then 2 giant FRESH salmon fillets and a pound of scallops...$16! amazing! those fish markets were a bit much though. i mean the fish were still wobbling around in their buckets, gasping for air. it was actually pretty horrible (especially since jess and i had just watched "finding nemo!"). the worst was there was a huge bucket of live frogs that some women was grabbing at for her frog stew. YUCK. i literally felt like i was in some asian country, with all the weird produce and meats and pushing and shoving and the employees yelling at you in chinese. it was a trip. many bags in hand, we rounded the corner and were back in little italy, where all the restaurant guys shout "bella!" as you walk by. i gotta say, new york is a fascinating place.
jessica and i decided to do some shopping for the week in the neighborhood...cooking at home all week saves so much money! i hadn't really explored the chinese produce markets on mott street, so i was up for it. it was really sunny and beautiful out but BRRRRR...
the people were out in droves. it was sunday shopping madness. i felt like frogger, dodging cars and people on the sidewalks and in the streets. jessica is fast and on a mission when she walks and a couple times i had to run to catch up (what a weiner!).
the first place we went to was this asian produce place. such nice produce. it reminded me of grand central market in LA...it was so damn cheap! we got 4 bags of awesome fruits and veggies for $12! amazing. next was the fish market. 2 pounds of fresh shrimp...$8! then 2 giant FRESH salmon fillets and a pound of scallops...$16! amazing! those fish markets were a bit much though. i mean the fish were still wobbling around in their buckets, gasping for air. it was actually pretty horrible (especially since jess and i had just watched "finding nemo!"). the worst was there was a huge bucket of live frogs that some women was grabbing at for her frog stew. YUCK. i literally felt like i was in some asian country, with all the weird produce and meats and pushing and shoving and the employees yelling at you in chinese. it was a trip. many bags in hand, we rounded the corner and were back in little italy, where all the restaurant guys shout "bella!" as you walk by. i gotta say, new york is a fascinating place.
Saturday, November 08, 2003
new arrangement
the other night, as my rommie and i were watching bad reality tv, i slying asked her, "so, have you ever re-arranged this living room?" "not really," she replied. "well, how about we do some re-arranging...and, er, i move my computer in here!" heh, heh. i didn't think she'd go for it cuz who wants their roommates' office in their living room, but she went for it. she's the cooooolest! i was so stoked. i'm telling you...the office in my bedroom was a bit of a joke. i mean you literally had to climb over the desk chair to get to the bed and "closet." so today we did our re-arranging. and now i'm sitting in my new spot and it's FANTASTIC! my bedroom looks HUGE now and i don't quite know what to do with all the empty space. i could really use a bookshelf, so i think i'll go back to good ol' k-mart and get myself a shitty cheap bookcase. i can deal with ugly shit for the time being. i really wonder when the day will come that i can afford nice furniture. seems like a long way away.
in other news, my venture out last night turned out to be really good, after some rough stuff in the beginning. i wanted to go out to see/hear tyler play records, since he'd invited me and all. i had made plans to meet up with my "music" friend i met a couple weeks ago, lucy--a british girl who just moved here as well, who is into the whole broken beat scene and is a dj herself. when i called her, she sounded really sick and said she couldn't make it. oh well... i actually don't mind going out by myself in NY and see it as an adventure (who knows who you will meet, if anyone). i walked to the club and found myself a seat at the bar. i happened to sit next to the guy who was by himself as well and we struck up a conversation. turned out he was from LA and was just visiting family. a nice older man, but not someone i would be stoked to be talking to (he was older and not cute by any means, but a nice enough guy). then, he offered to buy me a drink. i'm not quite sure what the etiquette is in these situations, since i obviously was not into him, but i am poor and was stoked to have a free drink. i didn't want to be an asshole, but i also didn't want the obligation of having to talk to him the rest of the night (sometimes i feel like accepting a drink from a man is a bit like whoring yourself...he pays for your company). fuck it...i accepted anyway. more chatting...then he dropped the bomb and said he had 8 kids from 3 different women. that was my golden ticket...i acted shocked and then kind of poo-poo'ed any advances he was giving me. it was ok and he knew it. then he offered to smoke a joint with me. again, i should have said no, but i went for it. we smoked some outside and when we came back in, the music was getting good. tyler was up and playing some new shit i hadn't heard before which made me happy. the dancefloor was going on and i just excused myself from old man and joined in on the dancefloor. old man was at the bar and then made his way to the dancefloor and just stood against the wall, staring at me. i tried my hardest to pretend not to notice his creepy-ness. i was dancing with some fun guy who asked "are you with that guy, cuz i don't want to piss him off." "NO!" i exclaimed. "i'm on my own." shit! THEN, old guy got the guts up to join in on the dancefloor. aw...i felt kinda bad for the guy. he really was trying, but i just wasn't going for it. i did my best "i'm not with you" moves to give him the hint without being mean. after a bit, he told me what an amazing dancer i was and that i inspired him to come dance. that was sweet. then he said it was nice to meet me and took off. easy as that.
the night got better from that point. chatted for a while with tyler, who is a super cool guy (he actually admitted to being sick of broken beat--which i agreed with! see, great minds think alike). he introduced me to his pals. one girl i really like, tchiako (she hosts rude movements) . then talked to carl, who writes for flavorpill who said he'd be happy to tell me about good goings-on. next i chatted with a dj/record label guy, chad who was also very cool. guess he plays reggae/dub stuff around town. invited me to go out with him after the club and gave me the digits. the people there were all so nice and chill. i think i found the niche that i like. all in all it turned out to be a great night out alone. free drinks, free joint, not too much hassle from old guy, and met some new great people.
in other news, my venture out last night turned out to be really good, after some rough stuff in the beginning. i wanted to go out to see/hear tyler play records, since he'd invited me and all. i had made plans to meet up with my "music" friend i met a couple weeks ago, lucy--a british girl who just moved here as well, who is into the whole broken beat scene and is a dj herself. when i called her, she sounded really sick and said she couldn't make it. oh well... i actually don't mind going out by myself in NY and see it as an adventure (who knows who you will meet, if anyone). i walked to the club and found myself a seat at the bar. i happened to sit next to the guy who was by himself as well and we struck up a conversation. turned out he was from LA and was just visiting family. a nice older man, but not someone i would be stoked to be talking to (he was older and not cute by any means, but a nice enough guy). then, he offered to buy me a drink. i'm not quite sure what the etiquette is in these situations, since i obviously was not into him, but i am poor and was stoked to have a free drink. i didn't want to be an asshole, but i also didn't want the obligation of having to talk to him the rest of the night (sometimes i feel like accepting a drink from a man is a bit like whoring yourself...he pays for your company). fuck it...i accepted anyway. more chatting...then he dropped the bomb and said he had 8 kids from 3 different women. that was my golden ticket...i acted shocked and then kind of poo-poo'ed any advances he was giving me. it was ok and he knew it. then he offered to smoke a joint with me. again, i should have said no, but i went for it. we smoked some outside and when we came back in, the music was getting good. tyler was up and playing some new shit i hadn't heard before which made me happy. the dancefloor was going on and i just excused myself from old man and joined in on the dancefloor. old man was at the bar and then made his way to the dancefloor and just stood against the wall, staring at me. i tried my hardest to pretend not to notice his creepy-ness. i was dancing with some fun guy who asked "are you with that guy, cuz i don't want to piss him off." "NO!" i exclaimed. "i'm on my own." shit! THEN, old guy got the guts up to join in on the dancefloor. aw...i felt kinda bad for the guy. he really was trying, but i just wasn't going for it. i did my best "i'm not with you" moves to give him the hint without being mean. after a bit, he told me what an amazing dancer i was and that i inspired him to come dance. that was sweet. then he said it was nice to meet me and took off. easy as that.
the night got better from that point. chatted for a while with tyler, who is a super cool guy (he actually admitted to being sick of broken beat--which i agreed with! see, great minds think alike). he introduced me to his pals. one girl i really like, tchiako (she hosts rude movements) . then talked to carl, who writes for flavorpill who said he'd be happy to tell me about good goings-on. next i chatted with a dj/record label guy, chad who was also very cool. guess he plays reggae/dub stuff around town. invited me to go out with him after the club and gave me the digits. the people there were all so nice and chill. i think i found the niche that i like. all in all it turned out to be a great night out alone. free drinks, free joint, not too much hassle from old guy, and met some new great people.
Friday, November 07, 2003
crap...how long have I been an independent?
i feel young and stupid right now. like i just graduated college and can't figure out how to pay my own bills. and it's pissing me off!
first of all, i finally decided to check my t-mobile cell phone minutes...a luxury i did not have when i was with AT&T (so i am i not used to checking them).
when i called the number, the nice automated lady said i owed $267!!!!!!!!! what the...
i couldn't believe it. knowing that this phone would be my only mode of vocal communication, i thought i was making the right move with getting the 1000 weekday minutes. here's where i feel stupid. when they say "weekday" minutes, i assumed that weekday meant you get a 1000 minutes per week, not per month! SHIT! so i went and checked my account online, thinking there was NO WAY i could have gone over that many minutes. sure enough. mutha fucka. more money down the drain. piece of shit! now i have to learn to manage my friggin minutes too. gggrrrr
next on the stupid scale...i got an email from my roomie today, saying that my rent check had bounced! how the hell could that have happened? i'm REALLY good at not bouncing checks and was being especially careful not to do anything dumb like that with a new roommate situation. who wants to be the new irresponsible roommate? not me! i actually pride myself on TCB (taking care of bizniz). so when i heard this, i flipped. so there i was AGAIN, checking my account balance online. when i moved here, i had to switch from bank of america since they don't have branches in NY (how stupid that the bank of AMERICA, is not in NY!). anyway, i went with citibank after washington mutual gave me the runaround. a very nice chinese man helped me set up my account, but i must admit, i couldn't really understand everything he said and i suppose a lot of it went over my head. i unknowingly signed up for this overdraft protection account (kind of like a loan situation, where if you don't have enough money in your checking account, you have $1400 to play with that you can pay back later). apparently you get checks for this "loan" account...which happen to look exactly like the regular checking account checks. these loan checks came to me in the mail first, and i've been writing those checks this whole time! so it made sense that my rent check bounced from this "loan" account. so LAME!!! the nice lady on the phone cleared it all up for me and said this happens a lot. well, they should explain a little better and make it much more clear on the "fake" checks! makes me mad!
moving across the country and switching all the stuff over that you've been so used to using can get quite confusing. guess i should start reading the fine print in my old age!
currently listening to: nik and nigel on milk audio which has some great shows!
first of all, i finally decided to check my t-mobile cell phone minutes...a luxury i did not have when i was with AT&T (so i am i not used to checking them).
when i called the number, the nice automated lady said i owed $267!!!!!!!!! what the...
i couldn't believe it. knowing that this phone would be my only mode of vocal communication, i thought i was making the right move with getting the 1000 weekday minutes. here's where i feel stupid. when they say "weekday" minutes, i assumed that weekday meant you get a 1000 minutes per week, not per month! SHIT! so i went and checked my account online, thinking there was NO WAY i could have gone over that many minutes. sure enough. mutha fucka. more money down the drain. piece of shit! now i have to learn to manage my friggin minutes too. gggrrrr
next on the stupid scale...i got an email from my roomie today, saying that my rent check had bounced! how the hell could that have happened? i'm REALLY good at not bouncing checks and was being especially careful not to do anything dumb like that with a new roommate situation. who wants to be the new irresponsible roommate? not me! i actually pride myself on TCB (taking care of bizniz). so when i heard this, i flipped. so there i was AGAIN, checking my account balance online. when i moved here, i had to switch from bank of america since they don't have branches in NY (how stupid that the bank of AMERICA, is not in NY!). anyway, i went with citibank after washington mutual gave me the runaround. a very nice chinese man helped me set up my account, but i must admit, i couldn't really understand everything he said and i suppose a lot of it went over my head. i unknowingly signed up for this overdraft protection account (kind of like a loan situation, where if you don't have enough money in your checking account, you have $1400 to play with that you can pay back later). apparently you get checks for this "loan" account...which happen to look exactly like the regular checking account checks. these loan checks came to me in the mail first, and i've been writing those checks this whole time! so it made sense that my rent check bounced from this "loan" account. so LAME!!! the nice lady on the phone cleared it all up for me and said this happens a lot. well, they should explain a little better and make it much more clear on the "fake" checks! makes me mad!
moving across the country and switching all the stuff over that you've been so used to using can get quite confusing. guess i should start reading the fine print in my old age!
currently listening to: nik and nigel on milk audio which has some great shows!
Thursday, November 06, 2003
pics
just added a link a few photos on the side bar.
now you can see my room, my roomie, the view from my bedroom window and my street at night.
oh, and my new hair do.
that's all for now.
now you can see my room, my roomie, the view from my bedroom window and my street at night.
oh, and my new hair do.
that's all for now.
africans and jews in nyc
tonight i tried a new african dance class at this place called djoniba. amy had told me about it and some people from omowale and francis' class in LA mentioned this place as well. so i gave it a shot. it was no talking drum ensemble class, but it was good. i already feel the soreness coming on. i haven't taken a dance class since i left LA and i was feeling like i needed a little kick in the butt. my energy level has been really LOW. tired a lot...don't know if it's due the the time change, my weird work hours last week, all the drinking/partying last week or all of the above, but i've been SLEEPY. the class was lead by this guy from ghana i believe. the moves were cool...just was not used to them, so i felt a bit awkward. i actually picked up most of the routine, but the across the floor stuff at the end had me baffled. i must have looked like a fool...kinda how i felt in my first class with omowale. just takes practice. i did really like the vibe of the place though...very earthy mellow types. and the drumming was fantastic! i'll go back for sure.
in other news...i got one of those epson printer/scanner combo thingies today. it was cheap and hopefully will do what i need, which isn't much. just need the basics for now. went to this place called B & H photo which is this intense electronics store. it's huge and has everything and it's always packed with dorky gadget dudes asking too many questions about plug-ins and peripherals and dumb stuff. funny thing is that it's run by a bunch of hasidic jews wearing yarmulkes and beards and curls (my sales helper was named schlomo--i shit you not). it's a trip. then when you ask for what you want, these conveyor belts bring you your item, then you go pay and then your item is waiting for you at the front desk. some crazy jewish system. but it works! second time i've been there and it's quite impressive.
currently listening to the new Adventure Time cd that mark sent me in the mail. it's GOOD. i'm so happy for all my talented friends. they are so gifted.
in other news...i got one of those epson printer/scanner combo thingies today. it was cheap and hopefully will do what i need, which isn't much. just need the basics for now. went to this place called B & H photo which is this intense electronics store. it's huge and has everything and it's always packed with dorky gadget dudes asking too many questions about plug-ins and peripherals and dumb stuff. funny thing is that it's run by a bunch of hasidic jews wearing yarmulkes and beards and curls (my sales helper was named schlomo--i shit you not). it's a trip. then when you ask for what you want, these conveyor belts bring you your item, then you go pay and then your item is waiting for you at the front desk. some crazy jewish system. but it works! second time i've been there and it's quite impressive.
currently listening to the new Adventure Time cd that mark sent me in the mail. it's GOOD. i'm so happy for all my talented friends. they are so gifted.
project progress
some of you were wondering how the progress was going on the "cool job."
well, i turned in the presentation on monday and was just waiting to hear back from the superiors.
i worked really hard on the presentation (a lot of stuff in a very short amount of time)...i wished i had had longer to make it better.
and i honestly didn't think it was that good. good ideas, but not the best executions (typical self doubt).
but i got the email that made me happy today...the big wigs like the ideas and particularly like my favorite of the concepts (which will also be the easiest to create!).
now the studio people have to get their hands on it. UGH! i just want to start it...especially since the due date is fast approaching. i foresee no life in the next couple of weeks. that's ok. i did it up pretty good this past week.
might go out tonight...charlie dark in town. new friend tyler playing at some club tomorrow night. i need my music fix. then i'll get my work on.
ps--screw capitalization...i'm getting lazy already. :)
well, i turned in the presentation on monday and was just waiting to hear back from the superiors.
i worked really hard on the presentation (a lot of stuff in a very short amount of time)...i wished i had had longer to make it better.
and i honestly didn't think it was that good. good ideas, but not the best executions (typical self doubt).
but i got the email that made me happy today...the big wigs like the ideas and particularly like my favorite of the concepts (which will also be the easiest to create!).
now the studio people have to get their hands on it. UGH! i just want to start it...especially since the due date is fast approaching. i foresee no life in the next couple of weeks. that's ok. i did it up pretty good this past week.
might go out tonight...charlie dark in town. new friend tyler playing at some club tomorrow night. i need my music fix. then i'll get my work on.
ps--screw capitalization...i'm getting lazy already. :)
Wednesday, November 05, 2003
iParty Do You?
Last nights events were pretty great all around. First went to check out my friend Vicki's band, Moto Star at the rock club Don Hill's. They were excellent. Vic rocked it...she's really come out of her shell man. I remember back in college she would say that she wrote a song and I'd ask if I'd get to hear it and she'd always say she was too shy to perform. Times have changed. So cool to see your friends do their thing and be really good at. I'm proud!
After the show, I met up with Sara and Tilley and a couple of her friends who picked me up and drove us to APT to go the iParty which is my new favorite tuesday night spot. It's this groovy bar in the meat packing district that's designed like an apartment (tré hip). Anyway, on Tuesdays, these two guys, Andrew Andrew host the iParty and it's just hilarious and fun (and sorta satisfies the urge to play music for people--especially when you don't have your records with you in NY!). You'll have to click the link to find out how it works. I had gone there a couple weeks before with Greg and some friends and I played my 7 minutes on the ipod. Andrew Andrew gave me a frequent player card where they punched a hole through a picture of an ipod...5 punches and you get a free drink. I loved the gimmick, so I brought my card for this time...hoping to get closer to that free drink. After I played my set, I asked one of the Andrews if he'd punch my card. Turns out no one had ever brought their card back. I was the first one. So they loved me for it. And with that, they gave me a free drink card. Sweet!! I love Andrew Andrew (and kinda have a crush on one of them)...my favorite...gadget-loving nerdy music dorks in lab coats. HA!!
After the show, I met up with Sara and Tilley and a couple of her friends who picked me up and drove us to APT to go the iParty which is my new favorite tuesday night spot. It's this groovy bar in the meat packing district that's designed like an apartment (tré hip). Anyway, on Tuesdays, these two guys, Andrew Andrew host the iParty and it's just hilarious and fun (and sorta satisfies the urge to play music for people--especially when you don't have your records with you in NY!). You'll have to click the link to find out how it works. I had gone there a couple weeks before with Greg and some friends and I played my 7 minutes on the ipod. Andrew Andrew gave me a frequent player card where they punched a hole through a picture of an ipod...5 punches and you get a free drink. I loved the gimmick, so I brought my card for this time...hoping to get closer to that free drink. After I played my set, I asked one of the Andrews if he'd punch my card. Turns out no one had ever brought their card back. I was the first one. So they loved me for it. And with that, they gave me a free drink card. Sweet!! I love Andrew Andrew (and kinda have a crush on one of them)...my favorite...gadget-loving nerdy music dorks in lab coats. HA!!
Tuesday, November 04, 2003
Girlhood
Last night, Sara and I opted to have a chill evening after the weekend's craziness. I was going through the moviefone listing and happened upon a film called Girlhood, which I'd never heard of. Read the reviews and it sounded like an interesting story. It was going to be either this documentary or "Scary Movie 3." Thank god we decided on Girlhood. It was a fantastic film! Sara and I were both blown away with the footage that the director caught on tape. She got really intimate stories out of both of the girls featured, as well as some shocking interviews from the families. Very interesting how a young person trapped in the system will come out of it...and how their family histories play such a huge role in their respective outcomes. I don't want to say too much...it's just a great film and definitely worth seeking out.
Monday, November 03, 2003
a crazy fun/work-filled weekend
I think I know how New Yorkers do it now...they've just got to be tired all the time!
This past weekend was my official "act like a New Yorker"--work really hard while playing really hard.
And today, I'm exhausted.
Sara arrived at my place around 6am on Friday, after I had stayed up until 4am, trying to get most of my work done before her arrival. Friday day consisted of me completing my Halloween outfit. In the process I discovered the coolest store ever in my hood--an all plastics store. I mean they had everything. I found my plastic ball and my plastic chain, got some silver spray paint and I was good to go. The death ball prop turned out remarkably well after a lot of hassle. But I was happy with it. And surprisingly, my whole costume came out rather fantastically. I was shocked...for a last minute costume, I looked pretty great. It was all about the fake blood. I never do scary halloween costumes, but I was into it!
I convinced Sara to come check out the Halloween parade in the village and I'm so glad we did. So many rad costumes. I was well impressed. I think my favorite costume at the parade was a man dressed up like a whole oven/stove, with his head popping out of a pot on the stove. So good!! We actually walked in the parade because it was easier to get to where we were going and that was the best seat in the house. We saw so many good outfits. LOVED IT!
Then it was off to brooklyn where we met up with Sara's friends who were dressed up like a pack of cheerleaders. They were a fun group and knew about some good parties around town. I think we went to a good 5 parties that night. All were pretty great too. The best was where the band !!! played. Got wasted and had a blast.
Saw a few of my KILL BILL enemies where we had some fake fight showdowns. Saw a couple other GO GO's too, but mine was by far the best! I was getting mad props all night. So satisfying. Sara's elf costume rocked too. She ran into some guy at a bar that just happened to be a producer for the movie elf and was freaking out on her costume, saying he was going to call will farrell the next day. That made her night!
Ended the night at a pizza joint for a late night drunken stuper slice and headed home. Worked all the next day in a haze. More work on Sunday, then went out last night...again in Brooklyn. Went to fantastic live dub night. So fun. That place made me wish I lived in Brooklyn man. Will definitely go back.
Sent in my presentation today, and now just playing the waiting game again. Fingers crossed that they like it!! I foresee lots more work in my future. But this is a good thing.
This past weekend was my official "act like a New Yorker"--work really hard while playing really hard.
And today, I'm exhausted.
Sara arrived at my place around 6am on Friday, after I had stayed up until 4am, trying to get most of my work done before her arrival. Friday day consisted of me completing my Halloween outfit. In the process I discovered the coolest store ever in my hood--an all plastics store. I mean they had everything. I found my plastic ball and my plastic chain, got some silver spray paint and I was good to go. The death ball prop turned out remarkably well after a lot of hassle. But I was happy with it. And surprisingly, my whole costume came out rather fantastically. I was shocked...for a last minute costume, I looked pretty great. It was all about the fake blood. I never do scary halloween costumes, but I was into it!
I convinced Sara to come check out the Halloween parade in the village and I'm so glad we did. So many rad costumes. I was well impressed. I think my favorite costume at the parade was a man dressed up like a whole oven/stove, with his head popping out of a pot on the stove. So good!! We actually walked in the parade because it was easier to get to where we were going and that was the best seat in the house. We saw so many good outfits. LOVED IT!
Then it was off to brooklyn where we met up with Sara's friends who were dressed up like a pack of cheerleaders. They were a fun group and knew about some good parties around town. I think we went to a good 5 parties that night. All were pretty great too. The best was where the band !!! played. Got wasted and had a blast.
Saw a few of my KILL BILL enemies where we had some fake fight showdowns. Saw a couple other GO GO's too, but mine was by far the best! I was getting mad props all night. So satisfying. Sara's elf costume rocked too. She ran into some guy at a bar that just happened to be a producer for the movie elf and was freaking out on her costume, saying he was going to call will farrell the next day. That made her night!
Ended the night at a pizza joint for a late night drunken stuper slice and headed home. Worked all the next day in a haze. More work on Sunday, then went out last night...again in Brooklyn. Went to fantastic live dub night. So fun. That place made me wish I lived in Brooklyn man. Will definitely go back.
Sent in my presentation today, and now just playing the waiting game again. Fingers crossed that they like it!! I foresee lots more work in my future. But this is a good thing.
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