i will be in london. it's been a whole 3 years since i've been and it feels like forever. i used to be completely obsessed with the city across the pond. it had everything i loved at the time... all the music i was buying was coming out of london, the club experiences i'd had there were some of the best i'd attended, the shopping and sightseeing was always great, and the people i met there were just plain cool (consumed with the same things i was).
it should be interesting to see how i feel about it now that i've been in ny for 3 years. back when i was obsessed, i suppose i was comparing it to LA, thinking how much cooler london was. i'll be curious to see how and if my perspective has changed. not only has my geographic location changed since i've been back, but i'm just not as into the whole club/dj culture as i once was. could change my mind a lot.
but this time i will be visiting with more friends i've made over the years, staying at various residences. i'll be back at greg's. always loved shoreditch and of course, his places. i'll also be staying with lucy, my dear friend i made while she was living in ny (whom i was introduced through greg... the music/club connections have proven to be excellent for meeting new friends!). and i'll also crash at martin's the first night (my new friend here in ny, who is lucy's cousin). sorta small world stuff. he just happens to be flying back to london the same day and time as me. what luck!
so the itinerary for the 2 weeks is as follows:
wed--arrive in london
fri-sun--go to the big chill with lucy and friends... this will be my third big chill and i'm super excited to be going again
mon-fri--hang in london (leba coming to join me)
sat-tues--go to edinburgh for theater festival with greg and tess
wed--head home
how fun is that? i am blessed.
Monday, July 31, 2006
Thursday, July 27, 2006
IMPATIENT!
lately i've been tuned into my crazy insane impatience problem and have realized how much it rules the way i think, feel and act. people have always told me how chilled out and mellow i am. and i suppose i took that upon myself, thinking the same. but upon further inspection, i see a bit of anxiety coupled with serious impatience. i want what i want when i want it. right NOW!
and when i don't get it when i want it, i get frustrated can do stupid things.
it must have been a learned trait from my father, mr. impatience himself. the guy was scary when it came to having to wait around for something. the punctuality thing was the worst. if i was ONE MINUTE LATE, i'd get it. "no one wants to wait around meg," he'd scold. he sure as hell didn't. or what about those dreaded trips to the amusement parks on a busy day. a line? for a stupid ride? FORGET IT. he even had the nerve to cut the line on occassion. what a bastard! i say this, but when it come right down to it, i've tried to cut a line before. and don't particularly like waiting for late people either.
but what i've found out is that my real impatience problem comes to not letting things unfold slowly. like relationships for example. when i figure out that i like someone, i like them. i want to be around them all the time. and don't want to wait til next week to see them. or wait for those 5 or 10 dates until we have sex. why does it have to be this slow progression thing? i guess because it's the healthy thing to do. i've never been able to practice the gradual build up. maybe that's why i'm still single? getting to really know someone before jumping the gun seems wise.
learning, always learning. they say admitting the problem is the first step.
note to self: CHILL THE FUCK OUT DUDE.
and when i don't get it when i want it, i get frustrated can do stupid things.
it must have been a learned trait from my father, mr. impatience himself. the guy was scary when it came to having to wait around for something. the punctuality thing was the worst. if i was ONE MINUTE LATE, i'd get it. "no one wants to wait around meg," he'd scold. he sure as hell didn't. or what about those dreaded trips to the amusement parks on a busy day. a line? for a stupid ride? FORGET IT. he even had the nerve to cut the line on occassion. what a bastard! i say this, but when it come right down to it, i've tried to cut a line before. and don't particularly like waiting for late people either.
but what i've found out is that my real impatience problem comes to not letting things unfold slowly. like relationships for example. when i figure out that i like someone, i like them. i want to be around them all the time. and don't want to wait til next week to see them. or wait for those 5 or 10 dates until we have sex. why does it have to be this slow progression thing? i guess because it's the healthy thing to do. i've never been able to practice the gradual build up. maybe that's why i'm still single? getting to really know someone before jumping the gun seems wise.
learning, always learning. they say admitting the problem is the first step.
note to self: CHILL THE FUCK OUT DUDE.
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
giving the bushes the bird
this is interesting. good for them for standing up for what they believe. a nice little "fuck you bush administration."
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
NY state bird
ACK!
what a crappy day at the office! 3 of us were witness to the biggest, most terrifying cock roaches you've ever seen in your whole life. not only were the two of the them HUGE, they FLEW! that's right, those bastards had wings. oh god, the thought. it was awful, but rather comedic.
it was me, corinne and matt. 3 complete wusses when it comes to roaches. i can deal with bugs. i can. but roaches are a whole other story. what is it about them? maybe the fact that they will still be here when the human race dies? that you can never kill them on the first or second swat? that they are just nasty nasty beings? i don't know. but they scare the shit out of me.
matt managed to swat at the first one with a magazine, trap it under a container and take it outside. there was a man with a hose on the sidewalk and we asked him to drown the fucker. after spraying for 3 minutes, it was still squirming! finally a nice brave man came over and stepped on it a good 5 or 6 times and it died.
when we came back inside, 5 minutes later, corinne screamed again and we saw number 2. same drama. matt with the magazine, the thing scurrying away and then me with the container, trapping it and taking it outside. no hose this time so we just put it in a drain and prayed it never made it's way back in our office.
YUCK! all roaches of the world must die!
what a crappy day at the office! 3 of us were witness to the biggest, most terrifying cock roaches you've ever seen in your whole life. not only were the two of the them HUGE, they FLEW! that's right, those bastards had wings. oh god, the thought. it was awful, but rather comedic.
it was me, corinne and matt. 3 complete wusses when it comes to roaches. i can deal with bugs. i can. but roaches are a whole other story. what is it about them? maybe the fact that they will still be here when the human race dies? that you can never kill them on the first or second swat? that they are just nasty nasty beings? i don't know. but they scare the shit out of me.
matt managed to swat at the first one with a magazine, trap it under a container and take it outside. there was a man with a hose on the sidewalk and we asked him to drown the fucker. after spraying for 3 minutes, it was still squirming! finally a nice brave man came over and stepped on it a good 5 or 6 times and it died.
when we came back inside, 5 minutes later, corinne screamed again and we saw number 2. same drama. matt with the magazine, the thing scurrying away and then me with the container, trapping it and taking it outside. no hose this time so we just put it in a drain and prayed it never made it's way back in our office.
YUCK! all roaches of the world must die!
Thursday, July 06, 2006
can't keep up
summertime craziness has taken over. been working for the man (freelance job in the city) for the last few weeks which means that i haven’t had my own time during the day to blog. and yeah, i’m lazy too. besides, i’ve been keeping insanely busy with fun activities.
last weekend proved to be one of those. here’s the rundown:
friday night - tv on the radio show at prospect park
saturday - PS 1 warm up with body and soul dj’s
saturday evening - dinner and drinks with friends
saturday night - brooklyn museum first night (dj’s and dancing in the parking lot) followed by an after party
sunday - seu gorge and jose gonzales show in central park
monday - jones beach
tuesday - superman (A/C was so needed that day!) and fireworks by rooftop
all in all very fun times. the shows were all good but the crowds were intense. seemed like everyone in the whole entire city was all the same events i was. a little hectic. but still good energy and spirits everywhere. nyc, gotta love it in the summer time!
i’m really excited to get back to my own work space and make my own schedule. it’s been nice to have a steady paycheck sure, but the 9 to 5er kills me. i don’t why but sitting at a desk and acting like you’re busy when you’re really not is very tiring. anyway, i’ve vowed that i am going get my energy back and start swimming in the mornings before work. and i'll be eating healtier too (got a heavy duty juicer for $10 at a yard sale last wknd). and i’ve got a bunch of new projects in the works, not to mention a few other jobs happening. OH and a vacation is coming up as well!
i'll be going to london to visit friends and lucy and i will be going to the big chill! soooo very excited to be going back to my favorite music festival ever! the line-up is sick. and camping in english countryside sounds ideal. after that i will go with my friend greg up to the edinburgh festival. never been to scotland before and this opportunity sounded too good to pass up! i am one lucky chick.
more to come... promise.
last weekend proved to be one of those. here’s the rundown:
friday night - tv on the radio show at prospect park
saturday - PS 1 warm up with body and soul dj’s
saturday evening - dinner and drinks with friends
saturday night - brooklyn museum first night (dj’s and dancing in the parking lot) followed by an after party
sunday - seu gorge and jose gonzales show in central park
monday - jones beach
tuesday - superman (A/C was so needed that day!) and fireworks by rooftop
all in all very fun times. the shows were all good but the crowds were intense. seemed like everyone in the whole entire city was all the same events i was. a little hectic. but still good energy and spirits everywhere. nyc, gotta love it in the summer time!
i’m really excited to get back to my own work space and make my own schedule. it’s been nice to have a steady paycheck sure, but the 9 to 5er kills me. i don’t why but sitting at a desk and acting like you’re busy when you’re really not is very tiring. anyway, i’ve vowed that i am going get my energy back and start swimming in the mornings before work. and i'll be eating healtier too (got a heavy duty juicer for $10 at a yard sale last wknd). and i’ve got a bunch of new projects in the works, not to mention a few other jobs happening. OH and a vacation is coming up as well!
i'll be going to london to visit friends and lucy and i will be going to the big chill! soooo very excited to be going back to my favorite music festival ever! the line-up is sick. and camping in english countryside sounds ideal. after that i will go with my friend greg up to the edinburgh festival. never been to scotland before and this opportunity sounded too good to pass up! i am one lucky chick.
more to come... promise.
Thursday, June 08, 2006
road trip USA
please excuse the lack of posts over the last month or so. i've been absent from a computer most of the time and getting my nature on. for the first 2 weeks in may, i was in fallbrook most of the time dealing with some family business (namely cleaning out my grandma's house and getting ready to put it on the market). not a fun task but it had to be done. all went well in that arena. i knew the job would be tough so i planned a fun escape which was to drive my car from cali to ny.
i had been toying with the idea of having a car in ny for some time. i love the city and all but i thought it would be so nice to have an escape. i've been here for over 2 years now and haven't had much of a chance to explore outside areas of the city. and what a perfect opportunity to have wheels for the summer. camping trips! weekend drives! the beach! so i decided to make a trip out of it.
wanna decided she would come with. i was happy for my favorite travel buddy to come along and show her her new country (she had just qualified for her green card!). my friend karina decided she wanted to join for the first half of the trip as well. she flew out to LA and was with us until denver and flew back. i was on the road for a total of 16 days. sounds like a good amount of time, but as usual, it wasn't quite long enough.
we camped most of the time. mostly in national and state parks. this country is really fantastic. the ever-changing landscapes, the abundance of open space, all the friendly people. maybe we got lucky along the way, meeting the right people and stopping in the right places, but what we did and saw was beyond awesome. couldn't have asked for a better trip.
i could give you the play by play, but instead, you should look at the photos.
as they say, a picture is worth a thousand words.
i had been toying with the idea of having a car in ny for some time. i love the city and all but i thought it would be so nice to have an escape. i've been here for over 2 years now and haven't had much of a chance to explore outside areas of the city. and what a perfect opportunity to have wheels for the summer. camping trips! weekend drives! the beach! so i decided to make a trip out of it.
wanna decided she would come with. i was happy for my favorite travel buddy to come along and show her her new country (she had just qualified for her green card!). my friend karina decided she wanted to join for the first half of the trip as well. she flew out to LA and was with us until denver and flew back. i was on the road for a total of 16 days. sounds like a good amount of time, but as usual, it wasn't quite long enough.
we camped most of the time. mostly in national and state parks. this country is really fantastic. the ever-changing landscapes, the abundance of open space, all the friendly people. maybe we got lucky along the way, meeting the right people and stopping in the right places, but what we did and saw was beyond awesome. couldn't have asked for a better trip.
i could give you the play by play, but instead, you should look at the photos.
as they say, a picture is worth a thousand words.
Thursday, April 27, 2006
TOSCA!
last night i was invited to a very very special treat. my dear friend greg emailed me the night before asking if i wanted to accompany him to see the opera "tosca" which was playing at the Met. now, this is something i've been wanting to do for a long long time. you see, i was named after tosca. my mother give me my middle name because this was her favorite opera. as a child i hated the name because it was "weird." but i grew to love it, as it was a unique name with a cool story behind it. unfortunately, i'd never had the chance to see the opera, let alone really get into the story or even hear much of the music. kinda lame for having the name and not knowing much about it.
it was high time i saw the damn thing. and at the met no less! i already had plans for wednesday night but thought this to be a once in a lifetime treat, so i cancelled. i got dressed up for the big night and met greg in front of the enormous theater. he didn't even recognize me. guess i clean up nice. ha!
this was my second time in the theater. it's overwhelmingly huge and decadent. being there made me feel like a true new york patron of the arts or something. love that feeling. we had incredible seats... orchestra section with a clear view of the stage (didn't even need my binoculars that i brought). greg doesn't screw around when it comes that kind of thing. i felt so honored.
i made friends with the nice man sitting next to me and just had to tell someone my fun story. i took out my wallet, pulled out my california ID and showed him my middle name in official print. his eyes widened and asked how i got such a cool name. i told him my mother gave it to me. "well, she has very good taste" he responded. i was waiting to see.
soon enough, the big gold curtains were pulled open. the stage was giantic with an elaborate set. i already loved it. the music began and the singers took stage. i was mesmerized. those voices! so loud and piercing and just amazing. i couldn't believe that sound was coming out of those people. i asked greg if they were miked and he said no. filling that huge space with those big voices was just plain magic.
i got totally into the story, thanks to the digital subtitles on the backs of the seats (so high tech). i had chills every time they hit those high notes. the whole thing was thrilling. and i was happy to have that fiery character's name. every time they sang "tooooosca" i thought "that's me." ha!
as we left the theater i told my seat partner "yes, my mom does have good taste!" and on my walk home, i called my mom to thank her for naming me after such a cool opera. she said "oh good, glad you liked it. i was so worried that you'd hate it." silly mom.
it was high time i saw the damn thing. and at the met no less! i already had plans for wednesday night but thought this to be a once in a lifetime treat, so i cancelled. i got dressed up for the big night and met greg in front of the enormous theater. he didn't even recognize me. guess i clean up nice. ha!
this was my second time in the theater. it's overwhelmingly huge and decadent. being there made me feel like a true new york patron of the arts or something. love that feeling. we had incredible seats... orchestra section with a clear view of the stage (didn't even need my binoculars that i brought). greg doesn't screw around when it comes that kind of thing. i felt so honored.
i made friends with the nice man sitting next to me and just had to tell someone my fun story. i took out my wallet, pulled out my california ID and showed him my middle name in official print. his eyes widened and asked how i got such a cool name. i told him my mother gave it to me. "well, she has very good taste" he responded. i was waiting to see.
soon enough, the big gold curtains were pulled open. the stage was giantic with an elaborate set. i already loved it. the music began and the singers took stage. i was mesmerized. those voices! so loud and piercing and just amazing. i couldn't believe that sound was coming out of those people. i asked greg if they were miked and he said no. filling that huge space with those big voices was just plain magic.
i got totally into the story, thanks to the digital subtitles on the backs of the seats (so high tech). i had chills every time they hit those high notes. the whole thing was thrilling. and i was happy to have that fiery character's name. every time they sang "tooooosca" i thought "that's me." ha!
as we left the theater i told my seat partner "yes, my mom does have good taste!" and on my walk home, i called my mom to thank her for naming me after such a cool opera. she said "oh good, glad you liked it. i was so worried that you'd hate it." silly mom.
Saturday, April 15, 2006
new favorite spot
i was thrilled with a new neighborhood discovery today, smooch cafe, just a block away from my place. first of all, it's ridiculously cute. little stools and couches and brick walls and snap shots of cool people all around. the people that work there are super friendly. i walked in solo style on a saturday morning, sat at the bar and got into a lovely discussion with the international employees (aussie and israeli), philosophizing about life and love. and the best part: GOOD COFFEE!
i've been looking for a decent latte in this neighborhood ever since i moved to fort greene. the places around here make them too light or too bitter or too foamy or scalding hot and charge $4. so stupid. but this place reminded me of the lattes they made in new zealand like these. perfect espresso strength, yummy taste, just a touch of foam. delicious. funny how something so simple can make me so happy. guess it's the coffee snob in me (thanks starbucks).
like i told the cute employees today, "i'll be back."
i've been looking for a decent latte in this neighborhood ever since i moved to fort greene. the places around here make them too light or too bitter or too foamy or scalding hot and charge $4. so stupid. but this place reminded me of the lattes they made in new zealand like these. perfect espresso strength, yummy taste, just a touch of foam. delicious. funny how something so simple can make me so happy. guess it's the coffee snob in me (thanks starbucks).
like i told the cute employees today, "i'll be back."
Saturday, April 08, 2006
april showers
raining today. little buds have appeared on the tree outside my window. spring has arrived. a favorite time of year in nyc.
i'm still perplexed by the fact that i've been a new york resident for over 2 years. times flies here. this spring marks my third witnessing of it's arrival. amazing.
i'm actually going to be leaving again for the month of may. going to be back in california. have to deal with my grandma's stuff and tie up some loose ends. that'll take up the first half of the month. the second half, i'm planning a little cross country trip with my dear friend wanna. we're going to take the scenic route. the major stops on the list are zion and bryce, maybe santa fe to visit our friends bob and laura, then up through colorado, into wyoming to yellowstone, through the dakotas then over to chicago, and a stop at falling water (a place i've always wanted to visit), and back to nyc. i'll be taking my grandma's car which was left to me. nothing special. just a honda that will get from here to there. i'm totally excited for a little road trip action. should be a big one.
but i'm also on the brink of a decision which i can't seem to make. i'm definitely going to sublet my apartment for the month of may. but i have to opportunity to rent the apt for the whole summer. in turn, i'd sublet my friend olia's room which happens to be 5 doors down from my office space. the benefits would be the convenience to work, i'd be in williamsburg where i happen to spend a lot of time anyway, and most importantly, i'd save some real money. renting her room would be less than half what i pay for my place.
the negatives are that i'd have to share the place. i haven't been in a roommate situation in a long time and i'm quite used to my own ways. but the place is pretty big so i don't think that'd be that big of a deal (i hope!). but it is only for a couple months which couldn't be too bad. also, i'm going to have a car for easy escapes. AND i'm considering getting a summer share with a few friends in woodstock, which would be amazing! i'm just looking forward to the summer, taking little trips and saving some money for even more trips!
what to do?
i'm still perplexed by the fact that i've been a new york resident for over 2 years. times flies here. this spring marks my third witnessing of it's arrival. amazing.
i'm actually going to be leaving again for the month of may. going to be back in california. have to deal with my grandma's stuff and tie up some loose ends. that'll take up the first half of the month. the second half, i'm planning a little cross country trip with my dear friend wanna. we're going to take the scenic route. the major stops on the list are zion and bryce, maybe santa fe to visit our friends bob and laura, then up through colorado, into wyoming to yellowstone, through the dakotas then over to chicago, and a stop at falling water (a place i've always wanted to visit), and back to nyc. i'll be taking my grandma's car which was left to me. nothing special. just a honda that will get from here to there. i'm totally excited for a little road trip action. should be a big one.
but i'm also on the brink of a decision which i can't seem to make. i'm definitely going to sublet my apartment for the month of may. but i have to opportunity to rent the apt for the whole summer. in turn, i'd sublet my friend olia's room which happens to be 5 doors down from my office space. the benefits would be the convenience to work, i'd be in williamsburg where i happen to spend a lot of time anyway, and most importantly, i'd save some real money. renting her room would be less than half what i pay for my place.
the negatives are that i'd have to share the place. i haven't been in a roommate situation in a long time and i'm quite used to my own ways. but the place is pretty big so i don't think that'd be that big of a deal (i hope!). but it is only for a couple months which couldn't be too bad. also, i'm going to have a car for easy escapes. AND i'm considering getting a summer share with a few friends in woodstock, which would be amazing! i'm just looking forward to the summer, taking little trips and saving some money for even more trips!
what to do?
Thursday, April 06, 2006
lomos from the dominican republic
proud
Originally uploaded by megasoul.
what a lovely place to get reacquainted with my lomo (which had been getting dusty for a while). awesome colors and willing subjects!
click to see all the pics
Monday, April 03, 2006
christians against hip hop
PLEASE click the following link:
christians against hip hop
i worked on this little ditty with my fellow office mate leba, the queen of hoaxes. it's not meant to offend... rather, it's a commentary on women and hip hop, which is the subject of leba's upcoming online film "where my ladies at."
this fake site is entered in another online rumors contest and we need as many hits as possible.
pretty please click it and pass on to friends.
it'd be greatly appreciated.
christians against hip hop
i worked on this little ditty with my fellow office mate leba, the queen of hoaxes. it's not meant to offend... rather, it's a commentary on women and hip hop, which is the subject of leba's upcoming online film "where my ladies at."
this fake site is entered in another online rumors contest and we need as many hits as possible.
pretty please click it and pass on to friends.
it'd be greatly appreciated.
Friday, March 24, 2006
birthday girl
birthday girl
Originally uploaded by megasoul.
i spent my 31st birthday in the dominican republic with my friends karina, jessica and sou. it was fantastic! stayed in a great non-touristy town in the samana penisula called las terrenas. sweet accommodations, yummy food, amazing scenery, merengue lessons from the local boys, gorgeous beaches, lovely weather and even lovelier people made the trip down-right blissful. click the pic to see more photos from D.R.
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
the trouble with jury duty... and google
last week i was called in to jury duty. i was not new to jury duty, as i'd attended once before in LA. that time was easy. just sat there without being called in for questioning and got excused at the end of the day.
unfortunately the NY system was a bit more painful. instead of one day of duty, if you don't get assigned to a jury for a trial, you have to come back a second day for questioning. jury duty has always slightly fascinated me. being a product of the tv generation, i had grand visions of getting called on to a high profile criminal trial. i pictured over the top judges ordering the court, dramatic lawyers pleading their cases, and seedy criminals begging for forgiveness... and that it would be all up to me and my 11 other peers to put them away or let them go. sounded kinda cool. but this was not the case.
city court houses are generally pretty boring places. those court rooms we see on tv aren't even close to what the real thing looks like. they are drab, flourescent lit rooms and the cases are far from what i'd pictured. you see, i was called into civil cases which equalled personal injury law suits. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
the first case i got called in for questioning was all about a car accident. a mother and her two daughters were suing their husband (and father, respectively). walking into that one automatically sounded fishy. when they asked if i could be impartial to this case, i said "no." that i was skeptical about cases such as these. and they let me go.
more waiting and i got called into a similar case. this was starting become tiresome and it was only the end of the first day. i didn't get questioned that time, so i had too come back. the next day, same story. they asked me if i could be fair and i told them basically the same thing i said the day before. again i was let go and back into the waiting area.
half way through that second day i was really ready to go home. with only a couple hours left in the day, i thought sure i'd be free to go, but then the dreaded loud speaker fired up and called my name yet again. UGH! back to the little white room with no windows and crappy office chairs for more questioning. all i could hope for was that it would be a new kind of case. i didn't think i could take more sleazy lawyers asking me to be fair on a car accident case about millions of dollars.
sure enough, it was the same old story. i was so done. and so was everyone else in the room. obviously everyone there had a problem with cases like these. they had all been questioned for 2 days and none had been picked for a case. i felt kinda bad for the lawyers trying to find jurors for their trial in a room of skeptics, but that's part of the job.
they called my name for the first round of questioning. you could just tell by the body language that people were pissed off and wanted to leave as soon as possible. they began with the first guy... "can you be fair?" the guy said no. he'd been sued before and had witnessed too many crimes to walk in and be fair in a trial. the next woman's husband had been in an accident and she felt she'd sympathize with the plaintiff. no matter what the evidence, she'd side with the victim. next!
the guy sitting next to me was a young unkept kind of dude. long shaggy hair, unshaved face, slouching posture. when asked if he could be fair his argument killed me. he simply said "look, i have a problem with making decisions about my own life. it'd be hard to decide the fate of someone else." the lawyer couldn't quite get what he was saying. he knew he just wanted to get off the case, so he probed for more. "can you expand on that" he asked.
"well man, like i can't even decide what kind of soda i want to drink." that was his argument. HA! i had to laugh out loud. what an excuse! but after more questions, the laywer moved on. on and on it went and finally after questioning all 10 jurors, they let us all off. in a defeated tone, he told the group at the end of the day "you guys should teach a class on how not to get on a trial."
when i was in line for getting discharged, i stood behind soda guy. i had to tell him "dude, nice one on the soda. that was pretty good." all he said back was "it's true!" ha!
ok, so now to the funniest part of the story. two days after jury duty, i received an email from guess who. soda guy. and you must read it:
Haha Hi ! is this Megan that was on jury duty last Thursday and going to D.R soon? I bet i'm like the last guy you thought would write you . This is Ray who cant decide on a soda Hahah How are you? I did decide that I wanted to talk to you but you got called so fast to get discharged! So i tried to look you up on the internet and it seems like this might be you. Creepy? I dont think so haha just thought you were really cool and wanted to find you ! Maybe hang out one day or something.... If you dont have a bf or seeing anyone. I hope this is you though and would like to talk . You can look me up on google or the internet also , to know that im not a jackass or anything haha Well ok , write soon then maybe we can have our own jury duty one day ! hehe :) later
Ray xo,
first off, whoa.
second, kinda crazy that he found me by doing a little google search.
thirdly, i'm not looking for love at the moment (in case you're reading this ray... which you probably are if you found me on google). should i be freaked out? only slightly, but you didn't seem like a total creep. i'm just not really down with the looking up people on the internet thing. i probably would have taken the craigslist "missed connections" approach. but that's just me. HA! good luck man.
god love the internet. or not. it's a head scratcher.
unfortunately the NY system was a bit more painful. instead of one day of duty, if you don't get assigned to a jury for a trial, you have to come back a second day for questioning. jury duty has always slightly fascinated me. being a product of the tv generation, i had grand visions of getting called on to a high profile criminal trial. i pictured over the top judges ordering the court, dramatic lawyers pleading their cases, and seedy criminals begging for forgiveness... and that it would be all up to me and my 11 other peers to put them away or let them go. sounded kinda cool. but this was not the case.
city court houses are generally pretty boring places. those court rooms we see on tv aren't even close to what the real thing looks like. they are drab, flourescent lit rooms and the cases are far from what i'd pictured. you see, i was called into civil cases which equalled personal injury law suits. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
the first case i got called in for questioning was all about a car accident. a mother and her two daughters were suing their husband (and father, respectively). walking into that one automatically sounded fishy. when they asked if i could be impartial to this case, i said "no." that i was skeptical about cases such as these. and they let me go.
more waiting and i got called into a similar case. this was starting become tiresome and it was only the end of the first day. i didn't get questioned that time, so i had too come back. the next day, same story. they asked me if i could be fair and i told them basically the same thing i said the day before. again i was let go and back into the waiting area.
half way through that second day i was really ready to go home. with only a couple hours left in the day, i thought sure i'd be free to go, but then the dreaded loud speaker fired up and called my name yet again. UGH! back to the little white room with no windows and crappy office chairs for more questioning. all i could hope for was that it would be a new kind of case. i didn't think i could take more sleazy lawyers asking me to be fair on a car accident case about millions of dollars.
sure enough, it was the same old story. i was so done. and so was everyone else in the room. obviously everyone there had a problem with cases like these. they had all been questioned for 2 days and none had been picked for a case. i felt kinda bad for the lawyers trying to find jurors for their trial in a room of skeptics, but that's part of the job.
they called my name for the first round of questioning. you could just tell by the body language that people were pissed off and wanted to leave as soon as possible. they began with the first guy... "can you be fair?" the guy said no. he'd been sued before and had witnessed too many crimes to walk in and be fair in a trial. the next woman's husband had been in an accident and she felt she'd sympathize with the plaintiff. no matter what the evidence, she'd side with the victim. next!
the guy sitting next to me was a young unkept kind of dude. long shaggy hair, unshaved face, slouching posture. when asked if he could be fair his argument killed me. he simply said "look, i have a problem with making decisions about my own life. it'd be hard to decide the fate of someone else." the lawyer couldn't quite get what he was saying. he knew he just wanted to get off the case, so he probed for more. "can you expand on that" he asked.
"well man, like i can't even decide what kind of soda i want to drink." that was his argument. HA! i had to laugh out loud. what an excuse! but after more questions, the laywer moved on. on and on it went and finally after questioning all 10 jurors, they let us all off. in a defeated tone, he told the group at the end of the day "you guys should teach a class on how not to get on a trial."
when i was in line for getting discharged, i stood behind soda guy. i had to tell him "dude, nice one on the soda. that was pretty good." all he said back was "it's true!" ha!
ok, so now to the funniest part of the story. two days after jury duty, i received an email from guess who. soda guy. and you must read it:
Haha Hi ! is this Megan that was on jury duty last Thursday and going to D.R soon? I bet i'm like the last guy you thought would write you . This is Ray who cant decide on a soda Hahah How are you? I did decide that I wanted to talk to you but you got called so fast to get discharged! So i tried to look you up on the internet and it seems like this might be you. Creepy? I dont think so haha just thought you were really cool and wanted to find you ! Maybe hang out one day or something.... If you dont have a bf or seeing anyone. I hope this is you though and would like to talk . You can look me up on google or the internet also , to know that im not a jackass or anything haha Well ok , write soon then maybe we can have our own jury duty one day ! hehe :) later
Ray xo,
first off, whoa.
second, kinda crazy that he found me by doing a little google search.
thirdly, i'm not looking for love at the moment (in case you're reading this ray... which you probably are if you found me on google). should i be freaked out? only slightly, but you didn't seem like a total creep. i'm just not really down with the looking up people on the internet thing. i probably would have taken the craigslist "missed connections" approach. but that's just me. HA! good luck man.
god love the internet. or not. it's a head scratcher.
Thursday, March 02, 2006
plastic assets
leba, the new girl in my office space, has just entered a new internet contest.
you can read about the competition here
it's all about internet rumors and how they spread (a little look into viral marketing).
the "fake site" is hilarious (and creepy)!!!
check it.
and pass it on...
you can read about the competition here
it's all about internet rumors and how they spread (a little look into viral marketing).
the "fake site" is hilarious (and creepy)!!!
check it.
and pass it on...
Wednesday, March 01, 2006
schmancy
last night i was invited to the whitney biennial benefactor's party. i was excited to go see the new pieces that would be included in the show. i had gone 2 years ago and liked a lot of the art there so i was curious to see how the next 2 years stacked up. and i couldn't complain about the free drinks and food, not to mention the fancy schmancy company that was sure to be there.
i borrowed my friend's dress, as the invite said "festive attire." those things always get me a little nervous as my festive attire wardrobe is a little lacking, especially for the ny art parties. i met my friend who had invited me and after checking our coats, we made a b-line for the free beverages and food downstairs. we got the last of the champagne luckily and nibbled on snacks (not to be snobby or anything but i was expecting slightly fancier faire... cheese and crackers? ravioli on a stick? veggies and dip? pita and hummus? mmm kay).
after filling up on the freeness and checking out some of the bizarro outfits, we went up to check out the art. the place swarming. at first glance, i wasn't impressed with most of the pieces. a lot of the "art" took itself too seriously. like there was a bigger meaning behind a piece of cloth with a splatter of black paint draped over a 2x4 resting in the corner. let's just say, i didn't get it. there were a handful of interesting things (a couple of cool paintings, some nice drawings, a groovy projection, a couple nice installations and one hilarious video) but the rest left little to be desired. granted, we breezed through without really disecting the "deeper meaning" of the pieces, but to me, most of them looked too lame to have big messages.
all in all it was a fun evening. but i think some of the artsy farty outfits and nutty people of the ny art scene were far more interesting than most of the art in the museum.
i borrowed my friend's dress, as the invite said "festive attire." those things always get me a little nervous as my festive attire wardrobe is a little lacking, especially for the ny art parties. i met my friend who had invited me and after checking our coats, we made a b-line for the free beverages and food downstairs. we got the last of the champagne luckily and nibbled on snacks (not to be snobby or anything but i was expecting slightly fancier faire... cheese and crackers? ravioli on a stick? veggies and dip? pita and hummus? mmm kay).
after filling up on the freeness and checking out some of the bizarro outfits, we went up to check out the art. the place swarming. at first glance, i wasn't impressed with most of the pieces. a lot of the "art" took itself too seriously. like there was a bigger meaning behind a piece of cloth with a splatter of black paint draped over a 2x4 resting in the corner. let's just say, i didn't get it. there were a handful of interesting things (a couple of cool paintings, some nice drawings, a groovy projection, a couple nice installations and one hilarious video) but the rest left little to be desired. granted, we breezed through without really disecting the "deeper meaning" of the pieces, but to me, most of them looked too lame to have big messages.
all in all it was a fun evening. but i think some of the artsy farty outfits and nutty people of the ny art scene were far more interesting than most of the art in the museum.
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
inspired
how often do you sit next to someone on an airplane that is A) cute and B) interesting? hardly ever. for me, never. monday, i was blessed to sit next to a truly inspiring individual who also happened to be very easy on the eyes. when i saw him walking down the aisle, i thought "damn, he's cute. hope he sits next to me." how many times has that happened to you and then the just keep walking? well, lo and behold, he sat in the empty middle seat, right next to me. my first thought was "great, i look like crap today. no make-up and bad outfit." oh well.
he was on the phone when he sat down, saying something about getting to a show in time. of course that piqued my curiousity. was he a somebody? he sure had the image with his long dreads, hip hat positioned just right on his head, and good looks. when he got off the phone, i decided to engage.
"do you have a show tonight or something?" i questioned.
"yeah." he responded.
"oh, are you a musician?"
"well, i'm actually a spoken work artist."
huh! i engaged more, asking him all sorts of questions like where was his show, what kind of spoken word, where did he live LA or NY, etc, etc. turned out, this guy was a very interesting individual and i was totally into his story. apparently, he used to be a graphic designer for the fashion industry. when a tragedy struck 3 years ago, he was on a train and wrote a poem about it. he said he'd never written a poem before in his life. for some reason, he decided to take the poem to the nuyorican poet cafe for an open mic night. he'd never been before and had never performed in front of people either. he got up, did his thing and got a standing ovation. and after that moment, his life changed. he quit the graphics thing and became a professional spoken word artist. and he was actually on his world tour, having just been in hawaii and LA for events. pretty friggin cool and truly inspiring.
this man had a good aura around him. he had a truly kind spirit and i was riveted by his stories. i was so curious what his performances were like. i shared some stories about myself as well. we got into my grandmother's death and how i was there with her. i started to cry. to a virtual stranger. he had nothing but the right words to give me back. saying how when his brother passed, he felt his spirit enter his body and that he was doing his thing now for his brother.
i told him about a funny thing that happened on sunday in LA. i was driving around with amy to a neighborhood i'd never been to before. when i looked up at the street sign, it said Virginia St... my grandmother's name. funny i'd lived in LA for all those years, had never been to that hood and had never seen that street until that day. a couple hours later, we were in venice, desperately trying to find parking. when we came back to the car, we had parked right under a street sign Virginia Court. another sign i'd never noticed before. 2 in one day. kinda trippy.
my seat partner told me that it's funny how if you're open to it, you'll see little signs like that all the time. he said when he looks at his watch, he always catches 3:30, his brother's favorite number. another little sign. i felt so blessed to have been next to this man. to talk to an inspiring soul and be inspired myself. oh and i did see his performance on his myspace site when i got home. all i can say is, the man has serious talent. i'll be excited to see the real deal in person.
we traded information and i will plan to go to his show in march. i'll have to tell him then what a lovely and lucky experience i had on that flight. blessed i am, blessed.
he was on the phone when he sat down, saying something about getting to a show in time. of course that piqued my curiousity. was he a somebody? he sure had the image with his long dreads, hip hat positioned just right on his head, and good looks. when he got off the phone, i decided to engage.
"do you have a show tonight or something?" i questioned.
"yeah." he responded.
"oh, are you a musician?"
"well, i'm actually a spoken work artist."
huh! i engaged more, asking him all sorts of questions like where was his show, what kind of spoken word, where did he live LA or NY, etc, etc. turned out, this guy was a very interesting individual and i was totally into his story. apparently, he used to be a graphic designer for the fashion industry. when a tragedy struck 3 years ago, he was on a train and wrote a poem about it. he said he'd never written a poem before in his life. for some reason, he decided to take the poem to the nuyorican poet cafe for an open mic night. he'd never been before and had never performed in front of people either. he got up, did his thing and got a standing ovation. and after that moment, his life changed. he quit the graphics thing and became a professional spoken word artist. and he was actually on his world tour, having just been in hawaii and LA for events. pretty friggin cool and truly inspiring.
this man had a good aura around him. he had a truly kind spirit and i was riveted by his stories. i was so curious what his performances were like. i shared some stories about myself as well. we got into my grandmother's death and how i was there with her. i started to cry. to a virtual stranger. he had nothing but the right words to give me back. saying how when his brother passed, he felt his spirit enter his body and that he was doing his thing now for his brother.
i told him about a funny thing that happened on sunday in LA. i was driving around with amy to a neighborhood i'd never been to before. when i looked up at the street sign, it said Virginia St... my grandmother's name. funny i'd lived in LA for all those years, had never been to that hood and had never seen that street until that day. a couple hours later, we were in venice, desperately trying to find parking. when we came back to the car, we had parked right under a street sign Virginia Court. another sign i'd never noticed before. 2 in one day. kinda trippy.
my seat partner told me that it's funny how if you're open to it, you'll see little signs like that all the time. he said when he looks at his watch, he always catches 3:30, his brother's favorite number. another little sign. i felt so blessed to have been next to this man. to talk to an inspiring soul and be inspired myself. oh and i did see his performance on his myspace site when i got home. all i can say is, the man has serious talent. i'll be excited to see the real deal in person.
we traded information and i will plan to go to his show in march. i'll have to tell him then what a lovely and lucky experience i had on that flight. blessed i am, blessed.
Wednesday, February 08, 2006
the last of the hills
kinda like the last of the mohicans, but for me, it's the hills (my family name).
more bad news to spill on the blog. my grandmother passed away last thursday, feb. 2nd.
i was in ny starting a new job (had only been there 4 days) when i got the call from the sweet doctor in the ER. you see, i'm the only living relative my grandma had, since my father and my uncle both passed away. so i was deemed my grandma's durable power of attorney and had to consult with her to make her medical decisions.
i had just spent time with her over xmas break three weeks earlier. she seemed to be in good health and i thought she'd be around a lot longer. i heard that she'd been in the hospital a week after i left but not to be alarmed, that everything was fine. but when i got this call, the doctor was perfectly frank and told me that it didn't look good this time. i asked him if he thought i should fly out to california and he said if it was his grandmother and he wanted to say goodbye, he would get on a plane. those words brought tears to my eyes and i thanked him. that instant, i checked with my supervisor at my new job and told her the news. she was very understanding and told me to do what i had to do. the next minute i was researching flights online to come out that night.
the whole thing had a very deja vu quality. hadn't i just done this 2 years ago with my father's death? hadn't i received the phone call to fly out to california a few weeks after i'd been with him over xmas? it was surreal, but i went into "get everything done to get out there" mode and soon enough, i was in my apartment, packing a suitcase. i had no idea how long i would be out there and if she might actually get better, but i packed my black dress, just in case. what an awful feeling to have to think of that.
i made it out after bumpy flight on jetblue. debbie, my step mom, picked me up from the airport late that night and when i heard that my grandma was in stable condition, we decided to sleep that night and go to the hospital in the morning. i was worried that my grandma would be upset if i showed up, that she would know it was the end and that i was coming to say goodbye (what an awkward position). but when i got to the room she was more than pleased to see me and that eased my worry. she was pretty out of it, but we held hands and she said to me "we had some good times together, didn't we?" that brought tears to my eyes, but i told her yes, of course we did. she said some more ramblings while i sat with her. she didn't look good to me and i had a bad feeling that it was her time. i tried to get some answers as to what was going on from the doctors but it was difficult. stupid doctors.
she seemed to be in a lot of pain, and i told the nurses that i just wanted her to be comfortable. so they gave her dilaudid (super strong shit) and she was out. we left for the night. i came back the next morning. just me. she was stil pretty out of it, but in so much pain. it broke my heart to see her that way. she hadn't eaten a thing and tried feeding her but she just didn't want to eat. i was bugging out, thinking to myself that we come into this world helpless as babies and when you live a long life, you leave helpless as well. i hated that thought. but at the same time i was happy to have been there to help her. i never thought i would be good with helping a sick person, that i'd be squeemish and uncomfortable with the situation. but i surprised myself. i actually did well with my other grandma who passed and this was no exception. i just go into that taking care of business to get to it.
that day was her last but i didn't know it was coming. not totally. my grandmother had always had this amazing ability to bounce back from horrible injuries and illnesses. she's had more than nine lives if you ask me. but i think she was ready. as i sat there, she mentioned that she just wanted to die. i hated hearing that, but i knew she would be better off leaving us. she was just so weak and in so much pain and she was 86 years old. she'd lived more than a full life and with her sons gone, she truly was miserable. it was 4pm and i was starving, so decided to run down to the cafeteria to eat. i left my number with the nurses in case anything happened. as i sat down there, i got the call. they told me her heart was slowing down and that i should come up.
i hurried up to the room. her eyes were closed and she was gasping for her last breaths. awful to watch. just awful. i sat next to her and held her freezing cold hand, just waiting. i didn't expect that moment to come so fast but i had a gut feeling she was ready to go. the nurse came in and asked me if i wanted a DNR (do not recessitate) and i said yes. it wasn't something i had to think about. i just knew that's what she would want. coming back to health after this ordeal was just not in the cards and she told me herself she was ready. the nurse left me with her as i watched her last two breaths escape her frail body. i'll never forget that moment.
i still don't quite have the proper words to describe the feeling of watching my grandmother die, of being in the presence of that powerful moment. i can honestly say that i now believe and have witnessed the soul leave the body. it really does. one moment she was there, the next she wasn't. there was pain and then there was peace. it was strangley beautiful. just me and my grandmother. she would have wanted it that way and i was so happy to have been the one holding her hand and she left. the nurse came in and unhooked her from the tubes and machines. she checked her heart and said it had stopped. she told me to spend as much time as i wanted to grieve.
as i sat there with my grandmother's body, i tried to think of something profound to say or do. but i knew she wasn't there and i felt awkward sitting with a dead body and talking to it. it wasn't her anymore. she was already gone. i brushed her hair back and kissed her forehead, told i loved her in her ear, but it felt so forced. like something i'd seen in a movie. i had already said goodbye while she was here and she knew i loved her. so that was it. she was already somewhere else and i had nothing else to say or do with her shell. her soul that was attached to her body was gone.
i feel lucky to have been there when she passed. yes, it was a difficult situation but in all honesty, it happened the best way it could have. she lived out her life totally independent. she never had to live in a nursing home, which was the worst thought in the world to her. i, her only living relative was there for her and part of me thinks she waited to go until i was there. that makes me feel pretty damn good. no regrets.
almost a week later, i'm still in fallbrook dealing with the arrangements and such. it hasn't been fun, it never is. like i said before, total deja vu. it's brought a lot of the emotions i had with my father's death back. and in a weird way, i've been able to deal with that more this time around. his death was such a shock and i had no where to put those feelings. now, doing the same things, i can see it in a clearer perspective, if that makes sense. i've sort of come full circle. and this time, i know what has to be done. we're having a celebration of her life this weekend, so until then i have plenty to do. thank god for the wonderful ladies in my life (mom, barb, deb) who all help. and my dear friends who provide amazing support. i'm a lucky girl. i've dealt with so much crazy shit in the last few months, all i can think is that it can only get better from here.
more bad news to spill on the blog. my grandmother passed away last thursday, feb. 2nd.
i was in ny starting a new job (had only been there 4 days) when i got the call from the sweet doctor in the ER. you see, i'm the only living relative my grandma had, since my father and my uncle both passed away. so i was deemed my grandma's durable power of attorney and had to consult with her to make her medical decisions.
i had just spent time with her over xmas break three weeks earlier. she seemed to be in good health and i thought she'd be around a lot longer. i heard that she'd been in the hospital a week after i left but not to be alarmed, that everything was fine. but when i got this call, the doctor was perfectly frank and told me that it didn't look good this time. i asked him if he thought i should fly out to california and he said if it was his grandmother and he wanted to say goodbye, he would get on a plane. those words brought tears to my eyes and i thanked him. that instant, i checked with my supervisor at my new job and told her the news. she was very understanding and told me to do what i had to do. the next minute i was researching flights online to come out that night.
the whole thing had a very deja vu quality. hadn't i just done this 2 years ago with my father's death? hadn't i received the phone call to fly out to california a few weeks after i'd been with him over xmas? it was surreal, but i went into "get everything done to get out there" mode and soon enough, i was in my apartment, packing a suitcase. i had no idea how long i would be out there and if she might actually get better, but i packed my black dress, just in case. what an awful feeling to have to think of that.
i made it out after bumpy flight on jetblue. debbie, my step mom, picked me up from the airport late that night and when i heard that my grandma was in stable condition, we decided to sleep that night and go to the hospital in the morning. i was worried that my grandma would be upset if i showed up, that she would know it was the end and that i was coming to say goodbye (what an awkward position). but when i got to the room she was more than pleased to see me and that eased my worry. she was pretty out of it, but we held hands and she said to me "we had some good times together, didn't we?" that brought tears to my eyes, but i told her yes, of course we did. she said some more ramblings while i sat with her. she didn't look good to me and i had a bad feeling that it was her time. i tried to get some answers as to what was going on from the doctors but it was difficult. stupid doctors.
she seemed to be in a lot of pain, and i told the nurses that i just wanted her to be comfortable. so they gave her dilaudid (super strong shit) and she was out. we left for the night. i came back the next morning. just me. she was stil pretty out of it, but in so much pain. it broke my heart to see her that way. she hadn't eaten a thing and tried feeding her but she just didn't want to eat. i was bugging out, thinking to myself that we come into this world helpless as babies and when you live a long life, you leave helpless as well. i hated that thought. but at the same time i was happy to have been there to help her. i never thought i would be good with helping a sick person, that i'd be squeemish and uncomfortable with the situation. but i surprised myself. i actually did well with my other grandma who passed and this was no exception. i just go into that taking care of business to get to it.
that day was her last but i didn't know it was coming. not totally. my grandmother had always had this amazing ability to bounce back from horrible injuries and illnesses. she's had more than nine lives if you ask me. but i think she was ready. as i sat there, she mentioned that she just wanted to die. i hated hearing that, but i knew she would be better off leaving us. she was just so weak and in so much pain and she was 86 years old. she'd lived more than a full life and with her sons gone, she truly was miserable. it was 4pm and i was starving, so decided to run down to the cafeteria to eat. i left my number with the nurses in case anything happened. as i sat down there, i got the call. they told me her heart was slowing down and that i should come up.
i hurried up to the room. her eyes were closed and she was gasping for her last breaths. awful to watch. just awful. i sat next to her and held her freezing cold hand, just waiting. i didn't expect that moment to come so fast but i had a gut feeling she was ready to go. the nurse came in and asked me if i wanted a DNR (do not recessitate) and i said yes. it wasn't something i had to think about. i just knew that's what she would want. coming back to health after this ordeal was just not in the cards and she told me herself she was ready. the nurse left me with her as i watched her last two breaths escape her frail body. i'll never forget that moment.
i still don't quite have the proper words to describe the feeling of watching my grandmother die, of being in the presence of that powerful moment. i can honestly say that i now believe and have witnessed the soul leave the body. it really does. one moment she was there, the next she wasn't. there was pain and then there was peace. it was strangley beautiful. just me and my grandmother. she would have wanted it that way and i was so happy to have been the one holding her hand and she left. the nurse came in and unhooked her from the tubes and machines. she checked her heart and said it had stopped. she told me to spend as much time as i wanted to grieve.
as i sat there with my grandmother's body, i tried to think of something profound to say or do. but i knew she wasn't there and i felt awkward sitting with a dead body and talking to it. it wasn't her anymore. she was already gone. i brushed her hair back and kissed her forehead, told i loved her in her ear, but it felt so forced. like something i'd seen in a movie. i had already said goodbye while she was here and she knew i loved her. so that was it. she was already somewhere else and i had nothing else to say or do with her shell. her soul that was attached to her body was gone.
i feel lucky to have been there when she passed. yes, it was a difficult situation but in all honesty, it happened the best way it could have. she lived out her life totally independent. she never had to live in a nursing home, which was the worst thought in the world to her. i, her only living relative was there for her and part of me thinks she waited to go until i was there. that makes me feel pretty damn good. no regrets.
almost a week later, i'm still in fallbrook dealing with the arrangements and such. it hasn't been fun, it never is. like i said before, total deja vu. it's brought a lot of the emotions i had with my father's death back. and in a weird way, i've been able to deal with that more this time around. his death was such a shock and i had no where to put those feelings. now, doing the same things, i can see it in a clearer perspective, if that makes sense. i've sort of come full circle. and this time, i know what has to be done. we're having a celebration of her life this weekend, so until then i have plenty to do. thank god for the wonderful ladies in my life (mom, barb, deb) who all help. and my dear friends who provide amazing support. i'm a lucky girl. i've dealt with so much crazy shit in the last few months, all i can think is that it can only get better from here.
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
taken advantage of
like every city, there are bastards with cars that like to take advantage of poor innocent girls. but in new york city when you rely on cars to get you from point a to point b when you can't take public tranportation, you meet these bastards more often. today i met one.
my friend karina and i had decided to go to target early this morning to beat the usual rush. since she was with me and we agreed to share a car home, i bought a tv stand that came in a box that was way to heavy to carry all the 8 blocks or so back to my house. i've taken cars home from target before and it's only cost me $6 to do so.
when we walked out in the pouring rain, with huge heavy box on my head, a nice looking man offered to come take it off my hands and take us back home. he wasn't driving the usual black lincoln town car, but i just assumed he worked for some sort of service. we drove the 8 or so blocks and i got out my wallet.
"6 dollars, right?" i asked him.
"NO! it's $20." he demanded.
20 fucking dollars for a 3 minute drive? no way in hell.
i argued this with him.
with that, he locked the doors to the back seat that karina and i were sitting in.
scary! karina started to get serious with him and really huffy.
"how dare you lock the doors on us. we are NOT paying $20 for that ride. that is outrageous."
"it's $20 to pick up a box" he repeated over and over.
fucking asshole.
i said that he didn't tell us it was going to be that much when we got in the car and that it wasn't fair. but he wouldn't back down, telling us this was the "rule." his rule!
karina showed her true colors right then and there. she raised her voice, very seriously and demanded that he open the door and that she was calling the cops. for some reason that got to him and he opened the door for us. karina jumped out and went to the back to take down his license number, phone in hand. i was sort of in shock and was ready to hand him a $20 to get him off our backs. but she was determined to do what was right. he opened the trunk, got out my stuff and asked for the 20 again, all up in my face.
"sorry dude. i'll give you 10 and that's it. end of story."
all i had was a 20 and of course he said he didn't have change. he knew he was in the wrong but still wanted his damn money. i ran over to karina asking for $10. she yelled at him that she had the cops on the phone and he got in his car. we should have just let him go with nothing, teaching him a lesson, but for some stupid reason and went over to him and gave him the $10 she handed me. i think i was just scared and didn't want any trouble.
karina wasn't even really calling the cops. she was just using street smarts. we talked about it later and wondered what was in a human's make-up that would make one person give in to avoid trouble and one person to fight for what was right. what would you have done?
my friend karina and i had decided to go to target early this morning to beat the usual rush. since she was with me and we agreed to share a car home, i bought a tv stand that came in a box that was way to heavy to carry all the 8 blocks or so back to my house. i've taken cars home from target before and it's only cost me $6 to do so.
when we walked out in the pouring rain, with huge heavy box on my head, a nice looking man offered to come take it off my hands and take us back home. he wasn't driving the usual black lincoln town car, but i just assumed he worked for some sort of service. we drove the 8 or so blocks and i got out my wallet.
"6 dollars, right?" i asked him.
"NO! it's $20." he demanded.
20 fucking dollars for a 3 minute drive? no way in hell.
i argued this with him.
with that, he locked the doors to the back seat that karina and i were sitting in.
scary! karina started to get serious with him and really huffy.
"how dare you lock the doors on us. we are NOT paying $20 for that ride. that is outrageous."
"it's $20 to pick up a box" he repeated over and over.
fucking asshole.
i said that he didn't tell us it was going to be that much when we got in the car and that it wasn't fair. but he wouldn't back down, telling us this was the "rule." his rule!
karina showed her true colors right then and there. she raised her voice, very seriously and demanded that he open the door and that she was calling the cops. for some reason that got to him and he opened the door for us. karina jumped out and went to the back to take down his license number, phone in hand. i was sort of in shock and was ready to hand him a $20 to get him off our backs. but she was determined to do what was right. he opened the trunk, got out my stuff and asked for the 20 again, all up in my face.
"sorry dude. i'll give you 10 and that's it. end of story."
all i had was a 20 and of course he said he didn't have change. he knew he was in the wrong but still wanted his damn money. i ran over to karina asking for $10. she yelled at him that she had the cops on the phone and he got in his car. we should have just let him go with nothing, teaching him a lesson, but for some stupid reason and went over to him and gave him the $10 she handed me. i think i was just scared and didn't want any trouble.
karina wasn't even really calling the cops. she was just using street smarts. we talked about it later and wondered what was in a human's make-up that would make one person give in to avoid trouble and one person to fight for what was right. what would you have done?
Monday, January 09, 2006
back to life, back to reality
sing it!
yep, got back to a chilly nyc after spending all day in a tshirt reading a book on the lawn in sunny cali. man was that nice. i really wasn't stoked to come back. i just wasn't ready to deal with real life. my vacaction was so lovely and who would want to go back to working and getting your shit together when you'd been lazing around being well-fed and better yet, well-loved? not me.
but nonetheless, my ticket told me i had to come home and deal. and the weekend proved to be good--starting the new year on the right foot anyway. on the plane ride home i took the liberty to write down all my 2006 goals and as soon as i got off that plane i started putting a few of those items into play. i spent the weekend getting my place back together, organizing, purging, cleaning, shopping. it felt good. spent the evenings with friends playing games, watching great movies, eating. back to normal.
today i'm back in my work space. i had high anxiety on my walk to work just fearing seeing the certain someone. and after all the stress over it, it was actually just fine. as fine as it could be. just kept busy, kept to myself. i did not engage, but was cordial. moving ON i say!
here's my list of 2006 goals (a tall order but why not go big as they say?):
for the MIND--
• start and stick with therapy
• read 1 book per month
• get serious about finances (stick to a budget, get quickbooks and actually do it!)
• take a self interest class (spanish and/or a design type of class)
for the BODY--
• stick to an exercize routine: african dance (once a week), yoga (once a week), gym (3 times a week)
• eat at home more (make soups!)
• drink 8 glasses of water a day
for the SOUL--
• travel adventures (visit at least 2 new countries this year)
• volunteer work (continue with ICO and check out NY cares--volunteer one to two times a month)
• work on communication skills (not avoiding confrontation, saying NO more often and not feeling guilty about it, work on self expression)
• keep a journal
• continue bringing people together with craft nights
yep, got back to a chilly nyc after spending all day in a tshirt reading a book on the lawn in sunny cali. man was that nice. i really wasn't stoked to come back. i just wasn't ready to deal with real life. my vacaction was so lovely and who would want to go back to working and getting your shit together when you'd been lazing around being well-fed and better yet, well-loved? not me.
but nonetheless, my ticket told me i had to come home and deal. and the weekend proved to be good--starting the new year on the right foot anyway. on the plane ride home i took the liberty to write down all my 2006 goals and as soon as i got off that plane i started putting a few of those items into play. i spent the weekend getting my place back together, organizing, purging, cleaning, shopping. it felt good. spent the evenings with friends playing games, watching great movies, eating. back to normal.
today i'm back in my work space. i had high anxiety on my walk to work just fearing seeing the certain someone. and after all the stress over it, it was actually just fine. as fine as it could be. just kept busy, kept to myself. i did not engage, but was cordial. moving ON i say!
here's my list of 2006 goals (a tall order but why not go big as they say?):
for the MIND--
• start and stick with therapy
• read 1 book per month
• get serious about finances (stick to a budget, get quickbooks and actually do it!)
• take a self interest class (spanish and/or a design type of class)
for the BODY--
• stick to an exercize routine: african dance (once a week), yoga (once a week), gym (3 times a week)
• eat at home more (make soups!)
• drink 8 glasses of water a day
for the SOUL--
• travel adventures (visit at least 2 new countries this year)
• volunteer work (continue with ICO and check out NY cares--volunteer one to two times a month)
• work on communication skills (not avoiding confrontation, saying NO more often and not feeling guilty about it, work on self expression)
• keep a journal
• continue bringing people together with craft nights
Monday, December 26, 2005
just what the doctor ordered
6 days of rest and relaxation in sunny california have proven to be just the right medicine for getting my old self back on track. this xmas has been really nice. i didn't stress out about buying gifts or making gifts. i spent about one day on each task which isn't bad compared to what normally happens. the family situation has been relatively stress-free too. i mean there's the usual guilt that comes up but i've been actively trying not to let it get to me.
xmas day was nice as well. opening presents (loaded up on the goods... including some essential items for my apartment and the coveted travel backpack for my upcoming trips), dinner with family and family friends, a visit by more local friends for dessert, and yummy holiday martinis that got me well-toasted (made the day go rather smoothly). no drama or arguments ensued. and it turned into a lovely 75 degree day. not too shabby.
all in all i'm feeling pretty darn good. no bad thoughts clouding my mind. and i'm excited for my little excursion to LA to visit some of my favorite people. i'm expecting some rowdy times ahead. i'm thinking this trip may be the perfect combo of vegging out and partying. woo-hoo.
xmas day was nice as well. opening presents (loaded up on the goods... including some essential items for my apartment and the coveted travel backpack for my upcoming trips), dinner with family and family friends, a visit by more local friends for dessert, and yummy holiday martinis that got me well-toasted (made the day go rather smoothly). no drama or arguments ensued. and it turned into a lovely 75 degree day. not too shabby.
all in all i'm feeling pretty darn good. no bad thoughts clouding my mind. and i'm excited for my little excursion to LA to visit some of my favorite people. i'm expecting some rowdy times ahead. i'm thinking this trip may be the perfect combo of vegging out and partying. woo-hoo.
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