Friday, April 30, 2010
Hanson?!?
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Getting ready!
We leave for Italy in 8 days (aaaahhhhh!!!!) and there are still so many things to do:
1. Book Sasha at the kennel - Check. Yes, I included something I've already done, how else will I possibly feel productive when I do it.
2. Call the insurance company about the refill on my prescription - for some reason my pharmacist thinks it won't be covered next time, because it's not the "preferred" generic - thanks health care plan?
3. Get some moolah - preferably of the European kind - thank you, country of Greece for depressing the Euro
4. Figure out how to break it to Mr. D, that I did not, in fact lose my battery charger for my camera, but now have two after the one I got on E-Bay arrived (it was only $15 there)
5. Laundry - of all sorts, since it's cold here, warmer this weekend in Houston, and in-between in Italy
6. Decide which bad cop show to watch (the one with the guy from West Wing or the one with the guy from Hello, My Name is Earl) - not realllly pressing ;)
7. Find some books to download for my iPhone - I just finished Shutter Island, and I need at least one big "fat" one for the trip. Suggestions??
1. Book Sasha at the kennel - Check. Yes, I included something I've already done, how else will I possibly feel productive when I do it.
2. Call the insurance company about the refill on my prescription - for some reason my pharmacist thinks it won't be covered next time, because it's not the "preferred" generic - thanks health care plan?
3. Get some moolah - preferably of the European kind - thank you, country of Greece for depressing the Euro
4. Figure out how to break it to Mr. D, that I did not, in fact lose my battery charger for my camera, but now have two after the one I got on E-Bay arrived (it was only $15 there)
5. Laundry - of all sorts, since it's cold here, warmer this weekend in Houston, and in-between in Italy
6. Decide which bad cop show to watch (the one with the guy from West Wing or the one with the guy from Hello, My Name is Earl) - not realllly pressing ;)
7. Find some books to download for my iPhone - I just finished Shutter Island, and I need at least one big "fat" one for the trip. Suggestions??
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Dumb Hackers
So, someone managed to hack my google account, hence the post earlier that apparently linked to a site with various male enhancement drugs. I did not create said post. A jerkface did. The jerkface also proceeded to send multiple emails to people in my address book.
Who received said emails? Luckily I don't think that they went to my entire address book, but the cross section was embarrassing enough, especially when the link to male enhancement drugs:
1. Friends (though one of their husbands works at Google, so he was nice enough to send a text saying he thought someone had hacked in)
2. Husbands of friends - funny for the content, though one sent a funny response, jokingly
3. My relatives - including one of my aunts - who responded "Thank you" ?????
4. Random customer service emails - so tripit.com (which I love) and the Museum of Modern Art (which I also love, but we let our membership lapse)
5. People I interviewed with over 18 months ago that I sent a thank you note
Yargh
Who received said emails? Luckily I don't think that they went to my entire address book, but the cross section was embarrassing enough, especially when the link to male enhancement drugs:
1. Friends (though one of their husbands works at Google, so he was nice enough to send a text saying he thought someone had hacked in)
2. Husbands of friends - funny for the content, though one sent a funny response, jokingly
3. My relatives - including one of my aunts - who responded "Thank you" ?????
4. Random customer service emails - so tripit.com (which I love) and the Museum of Modern Art (which I also love, but we let our membership lapse)
5. People I interviewed with over 18 months ago that I sent a thank you note
Yargh
Thursday, April 22, 2010
ADD?
I'm pretty sure I have some form of ADD/ADHD, whatever we're calling it these days. I see it everyday when I go to work, and it was the same when I was in school. At any point in time, I have at least 10 windows open on my computer. Even worse, now that internet browsers have tabs, I'll have at least five or six of those open at a time. I've been doing a lot of research at work lately, so I've caught myself with 30 tabs open at a time - which is when the drop-down list of tabs on the right comes in handy. I'll see a window to our document server open, forget why I've had it open, close it, and 5 minutes later realize what I had meant to do.
I blame this partially on my "ADD," but partly on my efficiency - which sounds weird, but isn't - because our computer system is ANCIENT. If I need to open something, I can't wait 5 minutes for it to pop up, so I'll open it and then go back to something else while I'm waiting for it. Clearly we need new computers!!
I blame this partially on my "ADD," but partly on my efficiency - which sounds weird, but isn't - because our computer system is ANCIENT. If I need to open something, I can't wait 5 minutes for it to pop up, so I'll open it and then go back to something else while I'm waiting for it. Clearly we need new computers!!
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Doorman Strike
One of the hot topics here in New York is the "Doorman Strike," which is formally known as the building worker's strike, or something like that. The building worker's union and the realty board are in negotiations for the new contract, but if a deal is not struck by midnight, the strike is scheduled to begin at 7 am tomorrow. The big joke is that people with doormen won't be able to open their own doors. Being lucky enough to live in a building with doormen, I would like to clarify that that is NOT the problem I am most concerned with.
First of all, the doormen rarely actually open the door for me, or anyone in the building, as they only do that when there are two of them on duty and there isn't a crush of people at the desk. Our doormen provide a great deal of security, they are familiar with the delivery people who come to the building and know the residents (all 50 floors of us) by name if not by sight. If you happen to lock yourself out of your apartment, you can check out the spare key from the desk. Since we have lived here, I have never been concerned about the people who are in our halls, because our doormen keep such a close eye on the guests.
Among the people who will strike are the people who take care of the trash. At buildings with as many residents as ours, staff processes the trash that comes down the trash chute, puts it through the compactor, and re-bags it in sturdy garbage bags. Some of the people on my floor cannot manage to use bags that close, much less get them all the way in the chute - what is going to happen when residents are supposed to bag and put their own trash on the curb? Grossness, that's what. Trash that is normally stacked in straight lines is going to form mountains that will break and spew trash, which means rats and roaches will come. Eww. Eww.
Hopefully, the two sides will come to a resolution - despite the fact that the union has threatened to strike 5-6 times since, there has not been a strike since 1991. Let's hope the streak holds. :)
First of all, the doormen rarely actually open the door for me, or anyone in the building, as they only do that when there are two of them on duty and there isn't a crush of people at the desk. Our doormen provide a great deal of security, they are familiar with the delivery people who come to the building and know the residents (all 50 floors of us) by name if not by sight. If you happen to lock yourself out of your apartment, you can check out the spare key from the desk. Since we have lived here, I have never been concerned about the people who are in our halls, because our doormen keep such a close eye on the guests.
Among the people who will strike are the people who take care of the trash. At buildings with as many residents as ours, staff processes the trash that comes down the trash chute, puts it through the compactor, and re-bags it in sturdy garbage bags. Some of the people on my floor cannot manage to use bags that close, much less get them all the way in the chute - what is going to happen when residents are supposed to bag and put their own trash on the curb? Grossness, that's what. Trash that is normally stacked in straight lines is going to form mountains that will break and spew trash, which means rats and roaches will come. Eww. Eww.
Hopefully, the two sides will come to a resolution - despite the fact that the union has threatened to strike 5-6 times since, there has not been a strike since 1991. Let's hope the streak holds. :)
Star Sighting
I just spotted Mickey Rourke and his girlfriend outside our building - looks like he had been scouting out real estate...
Monday, April 19, 2010
Lawyer Prom
We had quite the busy weekend the past few days. Saturday night was Mr. D's law firms "lawyer prom" (no, that's not what they call it, but that's what it is). Once every two years, the lawyers at his firm and their spouses are invited to a black tie "dinner dance." The event was supposed to be last year, at Ellis Island, but the economy tanked, so they called it off. The firm rescheduled the event for this past weekend, at Cipriani's on Wall Street.
My friend J and I decided to pamper ourselves a bit before the party, so we decided to go the our local salon for a mani/pedi, an updo, and we also had them do our eye makeup (just the eye makeup, we decided we could (in J's words): slather on our own foundation. J was a good sport and went with me, even though the outlook looked bleak, as her husband was still at work, and dubious about whether or not he would be able to attend at all.
Even though everyone snuck in the occasional shop talk, for the most part, people steered clear, and a good time was had by all. Despite the "dinner dance" title, we weren't sure that people would actually dance, but the band was fantastic - everyone was dancing. The evening went by much too quickly, and ended at the stroke of midnight, at which point they piled everyone into cars and sent them on their way - which in our case was home sweet home.
My friend J and I decided to pamper ourselves a bit before the party, so we decided to go the our local salon for a mani/pedi, an updo, and we also had them do our eye makeup (just the eye makeup, we decided we could (in J's words): slather on our own foundation. J was a good sport and went with me, even though the outlook looked bleak, as her husband was still at work, and dubious about whether or not he would be able to attend at all.
Even though everyone snuck in the occasional shop talk, for the most part, people steered clear, and a good time was had by all. Despite the "dinner dance" title, we weren't sure that people would actually dance, but the band was fantastic - everyone was dancing. The evening went by much too quickly, and ended at the stroke of midnight, at which point they piled everyone into cars and sent them on their way - which in our case was home sweet home.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Dog Issues
We have been out of town the past two weekends, so Sasha has been at the kennel from Friday morning until Monday afternoon. As a result, she has been a bit clingy - instead of sleeping at the foot of the bed, she'll fall asleep at waist-level. By the time I wake up, she's sleeping between our pillows. Honestly, it's kind of cute - she wants to be close to us. Awww.
This morning I woke up around 6 and had to go to the restroom, so when I got back she had crawled into the spot right below my pillow. I picked her up and moved her to the middle. She paced around for a second, then decided to climb onto Mr. D's pillow, above his head, which was pretty funny. Then she managed to throw up onto his chest. Gross and funny all at the same time. I'm kind of impressed that she didn't throw up on his face, it took talent for the little dog to miss that.
This morning I woke up around 6 and had to go to the restroom, so when I got back she had crawled into the spot right below my pillow. I picked her up and moved her to the middle. She paced around for a second, then decided to climb onto Mr. D's pillow, above his head, which was pretty funny. Then she managed to throw up onto his chest. Gross and funny all at the same time. I'm kind of impressed that she didn't throw up on his face, it took talent for the little dog to miss that.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Plain Food, Plane Food
I have a confession to make: I actually enjoy plane food, which we still enjoy for free (for a short while longer on my favorite carrier, Continental). OK, now I know that plane food is normally gross, but I kind of look forward to the flights where we get a meal. I know that the food is microwaved, but those cheeseburgers, barbecue sandwiches, and mini-sub sandwiches are actually pretty tasty. Not to mention how nice it is to have a snack at breakfast time.
All well and good, until we get on the plane Sunday night to come back from Houston, and our meal is a turkey dog. As open-minded as I am, even this sounded unappealing. Unfortunately, I was starving, and would not be able to wait 3 more hours to eat. I peeled open the plastic wrapper and found, instead of the over-steamed white hot dog bun with a limp hot dog, a plump, near-crispy turkey dog wrapped in a crescent roll - it was actually pretty tasty! Or was I just too hungry?
All well and good, until we get on the plane Sunday night to come back from Houston, and our meal is a turkey dog. As open-minded as I am, even this sounded unappealing. Unfortunately, I was starving, and would not be able to wait 3 more hours to eat. I peeled open the plastic wrapper and found, instead of the over-steamed white hot dog bun with a limp hot dog, a plump, near-crispy turkey dog wrapped in a crescent roll - it was actually pretty tasty! Or was I just too hungry?
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Houston Wedding
This weekend we headed back to Houston for the wedding of two friends
of ours. The bride introduced Mr. D and me five years ago. I've
known the bride for almost 10 years now (how old that sounds!!), and
Mr. D was in her section their first year of law school. Mr. D also
knew the groom in law school, and played poker with him on Friday
nights, until that became the night when I would get to Austin to
visit, or he would be driving to Houston.
of ours. The bride introduced Mr. D and me five years ago. I've
known the bride for almost 10 years now (how old that sounds!!), and
Mr. D was in her section their first year of law school. Mr. D also
knew the groom in law school, and played poker with him on Friday
nights, until that became the night when I would get to Austin to
visit, or he would be driving to Houston.
The wedding was beautiful - the bride wore a gorgeous lace gown, along
with her signature pearls - the bridesmaids wore green (great minds
think alike) and carried cream-colored hydrangeas and roses. The
ceremony was a traditional Greek Orthodox ceremony, and it was fun to
see the real thing and how similar, but different it was from our
Catholic wedding.
The wedding was especially beautiful because this couple had been
through some particularly tough times, but with flying colors.
Everyone there had been waiting for this night, because they deserve
all the happiness in the world.
I hope you two are having a great time in Hawaii!!
Thursday, April 8, 2010
It's Officially Spring
above-90 degree temperatures yesterday sealed the deal - kind of, it
will be 50 again this weekend.
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
The rest of St. Louis
After we finished up with pictures, my grandma changed into her dinner outfit and we headed over to Pietro's, where the "official" party was to take place. The food was so-so, but we all had a good time, unlike the table next to us, which had an amazing time. They walked in so sloshed that it wasn't even funny, plus they kept telling dirty jokes in their southern accents, even though they were also there as a family celebrating their grandfather's birthday. The dinner was nothing special, but it was one of those family functions that you will always remember. I know that I won't forget my grandpa coming around the tables to thank us all for coming to his party. I don't think any of us will forget that all of us were full from dessert, so we passed around Grandpa's birthday tiramisu and wound up splitting it between 23 people and passing it around four tables - though it's actually kind of gross when you think about it.
Before we left for home Sunday night, I made sure we made a stop at Ted Drewes so that I could get a concrete before we left town. Concretes are kind of like blizzards, except they are made with frozen custard (only vanilla), which has a higher fat content (read "deliciousness"), and you can choose from a huge amount of mix-ins. The Shake Shack in NYC has something similar, and they have more flavors of custard, but fewer kinds of mix-ins, so it's just not the same. Concretes are so good that they are the other half of the care package that we sent my Dad for his birthday. We had just enough time to finish our concretes and head to the airport, and finally come home.
Before we left for home Sunday night, I made sure we made a stop at Ted Drewes so that I could get a concrete before we left town. Concretes are kind of like blizzards, except they are made with frozen custard (only vanilla), which has a higher fat content (read "deliciousness"), and you can choose from a huge amount of mix-ins. The Shake Shack in NYC has something similar, and they have more flavors of custard, but fewer kinds of mix-ins, so it's just not the same. Concretes are so good that they are the other half of the care package that we sent my Dad for his birthday. We had just enough time to finish our concretes and head to the airport, and finally come home.
Monday, April 5, 2010
Weekend in St. Louis
My Grandpa's (90th) birthday party turned out to be a huge success - all but one of the grandchildren was able to make it to St. Louis for the party. As soon as Mr. D and I landed, we met up with my baby sister, then drove to the hotel to meet up with Mom, Dad, ReeRee, and her husband. We had received a text at the airport that they had lunch waiting for us - delicious Amighetti's specials. This sandwich is just delicious; it's very simple, just meat, cheese, and some condiments - but it's amazing. So amazing, in fact, that all of us kids got together and had them shipped to my dad for his birthday (along with something else, to be named later).
After lunch, I received a few belated birthday presents, from my mom and my brother (don't worry, they're not bad people, one is a med student and the other let me graciously turn down her first present idea). One of my presents didn't fit quite right, so Mom, baby sis, and I went over to Ann Taylor LOFT to make an exchange, which is when I found a completely cute pair of blue linen pants. Then back to the hotel to change into the "party outfit" before we caravaned out.
We met at the "retirement community" where my grandparents live - we had rented out the rec room upstairs for cake and general merriment, as all of us would not have fit inside my grandparent's apartment. My cousin brought some cakes, so we sang "Happy Birthday," ate some cake, had some beverages of choice, and caught up with each other.
ReeRee had also arranged for a photographer to come in, so that we could get a picture made of the entire family. That poor woman certainly had her work cut out for her: there were 23 of us, drab once-white walls, and fluorescent lighting. Not to mention 10 different groups of people (the whole group, grandparents and grandchildren, each separate family unit, etc), all of whom really just want to eat more cake. Plus, we realized halfway through the shots that my grandmother was a) wearing sweatpants and b) turning her head sideways for some of the pictures to see what was going on with the golf tournament.
More tomorrow on the dinner and brunch portions of the weekend...
After lunch, I received a few belated birthday presents, from my mom and my brother (don't worry, they're not bad people, one is a med student and the other let me graciously turn down her first present idea). One of my presents didn't fit quite right, so Mom, baby sis, and I went over to Ann Taylor LOFT to make an exchange, which is when I found a completely cute pair of blue linen pants. Then back to the hotel to change into the "party outfit" before we caravaned out.
We met at the "retirement community" where my grandparents live - we had rented out the rec room upstairs for cake and general merriment, as all of us would not have fit inside my grandparent's apartment. My cousin brought some cakes, so we sang "Happy Birthday," ate some cake, had some beverages of choice, and caught up with each other.
ReeRee had also arranged for a photographer to come in, so that we could get a picture made of the entire family. That poor woman certainly had her work cut out for her: there were 23 of us, drab once-white walls, and fluorescent lighting. Not to mention 10 different groups of people (the whole group, grandparents and grandchildren, each separate family unit, etc), all of whom really just want to eat more cake. Plus, we realized halfway through the shots that my grandmother was a) wearing sweatpants and b) turning her head sideways for some of the pictures to see what was going on with the golf tournament.
More tomorrow on the dinner and brunch portions of the weekend...
Friday, April 2, 2010
Meet me in St. Louis
Meet me in St. Louis was one of my favorite movies to watch when I was growing up, except for the scene about Halloween, that little girl was a little too vicious and creeped me out. We're heading back to the city of my birth for my grandpa's 90th birthday party. It's a quick trip - leave tomorrow morning, get back Sunday night, but I'll get to see my sisters and brother (and get belated birthday presents)!
I had the day off today, so one would think I spent it getting ready to leave, and the house would be spotless. Ha! I did go to the gym and managed to make myself lunch, but still have to finish packing (and the rest of last night's dishes) before I head out to meet Mr. D for my birthday present - we're going to the opera!
I had the day off today, so one would think I spent it getting ready to leave, and the house would be spotless. Ha! I did go to the gym and managed to make myself lunch, but still have to finish packing (and the rest of last night's dishes) before I head out to meet Mr. D for my birthday present - we're going to the opera!
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