Friday, February 29, 2008

Lost and Found

I misplaced a few important things over this past year. I couldn't understand where they went and it was really starting to get on my nerves. Last Sunday I tore apart my closet looking for my Vera Bradley bag which I only just got for Hanukkah. I didn't find it, but my cleaning did prompt me to finally throw out about 7 pairs of shoes that I used to wear to Sweet Sixteen parties back in 1995.

The other day I went into my room (I knew something was up immediately since my door was closed and I hadn't left it like that.) You can imagine what I found in a neat pile on the floor...

1 Vera Bradley bag
1 Banana Republic suit jacket (that I usually wear on interviews)
1 pair of INC trousers (that I usually wear on interviews)
1 pair of black leather Nine West heels (which I only wore for a month until they disappeared last March)
1 CD of old photos
1 black Primark bag (not that important and definitely inexpensive but that is so not the point)

They were all under a pile of crap in my brother's room. Can someone please explain to me how he did not spot this bright, girly bag in his junk?
I haven't been to a gig in ages, now I have a ton coming up. Unfortunately a lot of them are on Saturday nights (I thought that was annoying at first, but now thinking it over maybe that's a good thing.) In the upcoming weeks I have Pigeon Detectives, The Stills, Bell X1, Longwave, and Ash (Wombats are playing the same night grrr.) I still want to go to Elbow (anyone?), I plan to get Verve tickets tomorrow (fingers crossed), and I'm going to get Kooks for June. I'm now debating going to All Points West Crap on the Friday as well, but that's not till August. This is because I know that when August 8th rolls around and everyone is going to see Radiohead except for me, I'll think back to this day and wonder how I could have been so stupid as to not buy a ticket.

Meghan and I got free passes to see Semi Pro on Tuesday. That was two hours of my life I'll never get back. Will Ferrell should retire immediately, it was good while it lasted Buddy (ha, like how I punned that?) The only good thing about this movie is that I got a free sweatband - I've never owned one before, and now I can wear it at the gym, yay!

On Wednesday night I went for dinner with Ryan before watching a band play (I knew the singer.) Anyways, we had Thai food and I decided to get Pad Thai (what else) with duck for a change. The duck was totally mushy and gross and I was so mad at myself for ordering it. Well, I forgot what Ryan told me beforehand...that it was vegetarian duck! I think I committed the worst carnivore crime possible, yugh.

You know how I had a good time at Tiswas last week but there was something a bit off (primarily 80s British music rather than up-to-date) and the resident DJs weren't around (just some dude with dreads?) Well, that's because Tiswas was downstairs!!! I thought there was just a regular bar down by the bathrooms, and I assumed that since the band played on the ground floor, that's where it was. I knew something was wrong!

Hoboken St. Patty's Day is tomorrow. I'm not starting till 1:00 pm (rumor has it you're screwed if you don't get to the bars before 11:00 am) but I don't remember that from the last time I went about 5 years ago. I will most definitely be reliving 2002 all over again tomorrow.

Also, I really want chocolate.

Current Music: The Enemy - This Song Is About You

Monday, February 25, 2008

Counting Coins on the Counter of the 7/11 From a Quarter Past Six Til a Quarter to Seven

This is how my last week has gone:Does 7 days of hard core aerobic exercise minus 4 days of alcohol consumption equal any calories actually burned? Hrmph.
And speaking of this, my turn, straddle, turn, side kick, turn, diagonal, over, pivot, over almost turned into turn, straddle, turn, side kick, turn, diagonal, over, pivot, SPEW last night. Don't EVER take a step class after a night of heavy drinking.

Also, I somehow spent $90 on Saturday night. WTF?!
Dinner at Essex...$30
Drinks at Pianos...$16
Admission to Tiswas...comped
Bar tab...$40
Other drinks paid for...$12?
Compensation for drinks from Jenn and Meghan...-$20
1 Beer from Bartender via Kat...free
1 Shot bought by Aly...free
Taxi...$10
Pizza...$3
Random guy in Normandy elevator stealing the cheese off my pizza and eating it...Priceless
I want my cheese back thanks.
Me, Kat, Meghan, and Aly went out for dinner on Sat night. I was all about the goat cheese last week (I had it at dinner with Rachel and Robyn on Tuesday also.) Then we met up with Ilyssa and Jenn in Pianos for a drink, and then headed to Tiswas. I hadn't been in almost 4 years which is so sad (it's my favorite Britpop night in NYC.) Aly's friend Orion's band played (The Orion Experience) and they were really good, I would def recommend.* I was worried that my friends were not going to like the DJ set (except for Alex, Emily, and Rory who met us after), but it turned out that the DJ was on 80s British band overload (Erasure and such) and my friends knew a lot of the music so it turned out to be really fun. I think most of us were ridiculously drunk (I definitely was) which didn't make for the best feeling on Sunday. I stayed at Meghan's, then went to 7-11 to get a diet coke, which I spilt all over the counter after wasting the cashier's time by meticulously counting out pennies for what felt like 10 minutes. I met up with Vicki, Lauren, Julie, and Sherri for brunch at Atlantic Grill which was like an Upper East Side old posh people explosion. Great omelette, passed on the mimosas.
And a good side salad too.
Friday night was "island night." Post-gym, I started out my eve by watching two Big Brothers (I cannot believe the drama in this house. Every single person has had an argument about something, and each fight is completely unrelated. It's been great, go Chelsia and James!) Then I watched Survivor and Lost. Regarding the former, I don't know the deal with Yauman since I missed his season, but Cirie is getting on my nerves. As for Lost, holy mama the end was great! I had a suspicion in the beginning of the episode that it would end like that, but I had completely changed my mind by the middle. On abc.com they have a Nickname Generator brought to you by Sawyer. Mine is "Rerun"?
Random.
I just found out that Elbow are playing Webster Hall in April. I've never seen them before and have been waiting for them to tour. I definitely think that no one will want to go with me to this unfortunately. At least Ryan is going to Ash despite all of the St. Patrick's Day festivities so phew for that.
I blow you a kiss, it should reach you tomorrow
I went to Little Havana with Erica and Meghan last week (unfortunately I was saving my WW points for alcohol so I only got corn on the cob and a side salad.) This was the same day that Castro resigned, yet eating there was a complete coincidence. Though I do think it is healthy for everyone to have at least one dictator-stepping-down sangria celebration once in their lifetime.
This festival line-up is the pits.
Hey, so did you see the line-up for the All Points West Festival in New Jersey? I honestly could not be more disappointed. Radiohead are the only band I would actually want to see out of the whole entire line-up!!! I would watch Underworld if I had the option but otherwise blagh. I don't even know most of those bands, though it looks like an indie blogger's wet dream. Disappointing too because Ben was thinking of coming here for it, but I honestly don't think I am interested in buying a ticket. Ben - we need to get on MSN to talk about this.
Please don't judge me for having gone to the following bar.
Last week I went to Session 73 with some of my homies. This guy asked me and I think Heather if we knew about politics so I said I had an MA in International Relations (worrying that he was going to ask me something I didn't know and I'd look like an idiot.) The question was what leader does his friend look like. My quick answer of Vladimir Putin made me feel relieved, and reconfirmed that my $14,000 degree was definitely worth the money.
NOT!
The Oscars were pretty enjoyable last night. I was so glad that song by the Irish dude and chick won, it was the only good song of the evening (though I was still cracking up listening to the Enchanted songs because they reminded me of how silly and enjoyable the movie was.) The funniest remark Jon Stewart made all night was when he said that Hal Holbrook was doing the cabbage patch in the aisle, followed by "Helen Mirren you got served!" Hahahaha.
Nice McDreamy inclusion at the Oscars by the way.
*Orion told me his father was an astronomer, which I find to be very funny as he is named after a constellation.
Look how they shine for you.
Current Music: Coldplay - Yellow

Friday, February 15, 2008

Burn Baby Burn

I <3 Fridays!
I really <3 Fridays that result in three day weekends!!
And I really really <3 Fridays that result in three day weekends when I've had a Texas-sized raspberry frozen margarita at an expensed lunch!!!

I have lots that I've been wanting to write about in this post. These topics include:
1) The Camden Fire
2) The Kentish Town bus accident
3) The Daily Show
4) iPod mindreading
5) I'm an awesome bowler
6) About seven more things which I can't think of at the moment

So, everyone in England should know about this but most likely everyone elsewhere has not. There was a huge fire in Camden Town last Saturday night. For those who have never been to my first apartment in London, I lived about a 5 minute walk from where this happened. I would turn right out of my flat, and make the first right onto Castlehaven Road, walk for five minutes and there was the Hawley Arms, with the market affected to the left of the Hawley, and the Stables Market directly across the street. I used to go down there several times a week, even if it was just for a walk and to browse the stalls in shops throughout Camden in my time off (or my time procrastinating instead of doing schoolwork.) Although this fire hit the more unpopular side of the market, I still felt awful when I heard about it. In addition to that, I was definitely not a regular at The Hawley Arms but I highly enjoyed their pie and have been there a decent amount of times. I always loved their witty comments on the portable chalkboard outside of the pub and thought that if I were to have a local bar, that would be it (I always went to a variety though so that never happened.) And that was before all of this celebrity business (aka "Amy Winehouse frequented the pub quite often" in every article about the fire) was going on (well as far as I was aware of at the time.) The funny thing is that the last time I went there, Kelly Osbourne and Amy Winehouse actually were there too (and that was before her presence in the tabloids had become an everyday affair.)

Turns out Dave was planning on going there that evening but changed his mind on the way over, opting for The Good Mixer instead. He said he saw the flames when he exited the tube. Some of my other friends went to Camden to check it out in person as well.

I'm so sorry Camden...
(All photos ripped from the BBC website w/some of my captions added in)

Okay so this happened right and I was all upset about it and in shock, then I hear about an accident in Kentish Town (where I used to live in that same apt.) Basically they rerouted the buses for the next few days as Camden High Street was closed off. So the 24 was going down Prince of Wales Road (my old street on which only single decker buses usually go down.) There is an archway right outside of my old place which the Silverlink (overground train - the one I cheated on and never paid for a single ticket the whole time I lived in London) runs on. There are signs blatantly posted on the arches saying that if your vehicle is tall, it needs to drive through the highest part of the arch (the middle.) So what does the driver of this bus do? Well, of course he drives by the side and RIPS THE ENTIRE ROOF OFF OF THE BUS (oh yeah, and there were passengers on it!!)

(Photos ripped again from the BBC)

So, I went to a taping of The Daily Show on Wednesday. I had VIP tickets since I work for MTV (this meant less time spent waiting around in the miserable rain, and front row seats about 10 feet from Jon Stewart.) It was funny, though I feel it could have been more witty given that it was the first day with the writers back. Also it was very short, but he was cool, answering audience questions and stuff beforehand. They had a comedian warm up before the start of the show and I've definitely seen him warm up the audience before either at Conan or Carson Daly. He was really funny, and he even shouted out that The Beach was a great book and the movie ruined it. I'm so glad someone agrees with me!!!

Remember when the iPod doctor put mindreading capabilities into my gadget when he fixed it? Well, it happened again, twice! I went to a bar crawl in Chinatown with Kat and her peeps on Saturday night (her friends made it up for Chinese New Year.) This was the map by the way:

We only lasted for about 30 minutes, went for dessert and then I headed home (I spent a whole hour and a half in the city - only a little more than what I spent on the subway!!) Anyways, at Clandestino, it was a restaurant rather than a bar (but I digress); they were playing good music, including "22 Grand Job" which I hadn't heard in ages, and never in a bar in New York. The next day, what do you think popped up in my 1600 song playlist as it shuffled? None other than "22 Grand Job" (in the city it's alright...)

And then, the next day, out of that same 1600 song playlist, Badly Drawn Boy's "Year of the Rat" randomly came on during Chinese New Year when it was in fact the Year of the Rat! How crazy is that!!!

Participating in this bar crawl forced me to do something that I have never done before - get off the F train at the East Broadway stop. Not really sure what to expect (well, to be honest I did anticipate walking into a block of welfare housing and deserted streets), I got out, became very discombobulated, and realized I was in total Flight of the Conchords territory. So weird that I had never been to this part of Manhattan before. It was so random, I'm still not sure what to think of it, I will have to inspect in the daytime at some point. Anyways, after Kat, her friend Bridget, and I punked out of the crawl and got some Chikalicious, I hopped on the 3rd avenue bus, got on the subway, and when I got out of the station, I received a text from Robyn asking if I had just been on that bus. Turns out she was on it too (in the back - it was a long, bendy one) and she saw me when I got off. Funny!

Last Friday night I went out with work peeps. Well, actually we played Rock Band in the office for about 2 hours, then went out. I'd never hung out with them before and it was fun (though I went back to being anti-social at work first thing on Monday, don't know what my problem is.) Did you know that there is a nice, new bowling alley in Manhattan? And did you know that it is located............




in the Port Authority?!




The biggest dump in Manhattan is the home of a nice new bowling alley, who knew?! They played music, served huge cylindars of beer, and even had a coat check. I bowled so well too (my scores were very unusual for me) - I bowled a 144 on the first game, and a 144 again on the second! And I had a 56 at the 4th frame of the third game but then our time ran out. I think I subconsciously felt like I had to impress my co-workers since I'm a big case of blah at work. I was very proud of myself!!!

Also, I decided to take the LIRR home, and for the first time in my life I passed out on the train and woke up in Plandome (three stops past mine.) I was the only person who got off the train, I didn't know where the hell Plandome was, and there was not a soul, nor even a sign of civilization in sight. Luckily my dad came to my rescue so I only had to wait about ten minutes but it was a slightly scary. I also just happened to be reading The Tender Bar, which is a memoir about a guy who actually grew up in Plandome and the book revolves around a bar there. That comforted me a bit while I cowered behind the ticket machine.


Oh man, 5:53 pm! Goodbye blog, hello three day weekend!

Saturday, February 09, 2008

I Must Admit That I Was a Bit Confused

Oh man I am dumb. Do you know this lyric from 'Foundations'? (Kate Nash for those not in-the-know.)

Yes, it was childish and you got aggressive,
and I must admit that I was a bit scared,
but it gives me thrills to wind you up.

Well, I always thought they were:

Yes, it was childish and you got aggressive,
and almost stabbed me but I was a bit scared,
but it gives me thrills to wind you up.

DUH!!!  I always thought that was an odd lyric...I mean, why would you find it exciting to be with a boyfriend who almost stabbed you?

Also, this video is a nightmare of cute stuff and I love it -

Los Campesinos! - 'Death To Los Campesinos'

Friday, February 08, 2008

Big Yellow Taxi

Last night I went to Professor Thoms to watch the Red Sox game Lost. They showed it on all of the screens and everyone was so serious about it. Like, the whole bar kept quiet when it was on (and I was very impressed.) Each week they pick a phrase or something similar used on the show (ex: "The Others", when Sawyer calls someone a nickname), and every time this happens the whole bar gets free "tropical" shots. Bad luck last night though - "Oceanic 6" was only said in next week's coming attractions. We had all thought we were gonna get wasted!

Also, who the freak is their DJ? He/she was playing some random British stuff during the commercials that I never hear in the U.S. (such as 'Into the Fire' by Thirteen Senses.) I was pleasantly surprised by that.

Before last night's events I saw a crazy accident. Well, I didn't see it but I heard it, and then what I saw after was unabashedly funny. The first thing I noticed a was big security truck - the type that looks super-secure as it's probably made to transport really dangerous criminals. So, its front bumper was pushed forward on the side which didn't look too serious. Then I saw the other party involved - a yellow taxi which had it's passenger side back door torn halfway off. When I say halfway, I mean the door was still closed and the window was in place, but the yellow part was skimmed off (yet was still attached to it's other half) which was now parallel to the trunk. It's hard to explain if you didn't see it but it looked like something out of a Seinfeld episode. People on the corner of 14th and 2nd were actually laughing out loud and tons were taking photos on their camera phones. I felt bad but it didn't look like anyone got hurt. On top of that, I am pretty sure it must have been the cabbie's fault by the way the damage was done. That is unless the truck backed up too quickly rather than the cab accelerating too fast past the truck. This is why I always buckle my seatbelt in cabs people!

My weigh-in at Weight Watchers was fabulous on Saturday. By some way of a miracle I lost 5 lbs in one week! Back in the day when I used to weigh more than I did now and was following the program I never lost that much poundage in one week. To conclude this paragraph, I would simply like to say, "YESSSSSH!"

Although this is obviously old news, the Giants won the Super Bowl. I only usually watch a few football American football games per year (always including the Super Bowl of course.) I did watch the playoff game in which the Giants got through and it was such an exciting game that it made me really pumped to watch the final (eew, that sentence sounded so "sportsy.") Although I am from NY and I am all for the Giants (despite not being a hardcore fan), I fully admit that I went into this thinking that the Giants fans seriously had to be kidding themselves if they expected their team to win. I thought that they would definitely make it a close game, but in no way did I expect to witness what went down. It was so exciting! And, on top of that, I won the half time and third quarter in the pool. Boxes were $2 each and I put in $14 total. We had about 10 empty boxes (not enough people to participate) so we said that if one of those were to win, we'd roll the money from that quarter to the next two. So, what do you think happened...money from Q1 rolled over into Q2 and Q3, and I won them both with the Pats beating the Giants 7-3 at those times. I was rooting for the Giants, but at the same time I was also rooting for my wallet so all in all I came out a great winner, with $80 and a Giants win. This will make my 3rd Super Bowl party in a row in which I've won the pool!!

I heard 'Screaming Infidelities' by Dashboard Confessional yesterday. I'd totally forgotten about that song, and about how I used to love these lyrics:

Well as for now I'm gonna hear the saddest songs
And sit alone and wonder
How you're making out.
But as for me, I wish that I was anywhere
With anyone
Making out.

and also these:

Your hair, it's everywhere
Screaming infidelities
and taking its wear.

EMO-tastic!

Glastonbury headliners have been announced: Kings of Leon, Jay-Z, The Verve. What the fug?! Kings of Leon are HEADLINING?! Pfffft whatever.

Yesterday was a slow day at work so I got to finally play Rock Band. I'd never done the guitar or drums before. I anxiously decided to start with 'Don't Look Back in Anger' as my colleague downloaded the Oasis pack but boy was that a disaster - I failed after about 6 seconds. So I switched to some of the easier songs and I think I've pretty much got the hang of it (scoring in the 90s for the easy level.) I did go back to 'Live Forever' on drums which was alright after I got the hang of using the kick pedal. I ended up playing for like an hour yesterday. I wish I got paid to do that everyday!!

I just realized that 'Gravity's Rainbow' was deleted off my iPod when my computer crashed. That's the song that started it all! I am annoyed.

Has everyone started practicing saying "President McCain" yet? Not that I have, I just figured I would ask though.

Current Music: Belle & Sebastian - Step Into My Office, Baby

Tuesday, February 05, 2008

Lost in the Plot

Umm...okay!

Which Lost Character Are You?


Speaking of, was I the only person disappointed by the season premiere? Maybe I just feel confused with these flash forwards.

Friday, February 01, 2008

I Want You To Be Mine

Holy fucking shit they played Air Traffic on One Tree Hill! And not only was it an Air Traffic song, it was Charlotte!!!

You all know my serious passion for this band, leading me to inevitably feel like they are mine, I am their biggest fan, and no one else can have them or share in my obsession (well, in the U.S. at least.) I know I'm being one of those brats who is all "I knew them before you were born" but now every teenage girl is going to like them and that cannot be happening yet!

In other news, this was the week of poking and prodding. Now that I've got health insurance, I went to four doctors to get all caught up with this and that. My insurance company (Blue Cross) is sooo dumb. The website spun me into a flurry of confusion, and after calling them have found out that not only did they leave out key information online regarding prescription costs vs. quantites, but they also produced completely different prices for drugs on the phone. It's times like these that I wish I still had Guardian - they used to reimburse me for every single thing in full (I never even had co-pays) and they screwed up at least three times and paid me too much money and never caught on. (If anyone from Guardian is reading this, you know I'm just kidding...)

On Wednesday night, me, Meghan, Kat, Alex, and Heather did trivia at Dempseys. I'm not sure what place we came in (I think at the bottom of the top third) but we did win best dressed! (That was all due to Heather's shirt.) I would like to give myself a pat on the back for knowing that Joe Francis was the creator of Girls Gone Wild, I thank you very much.

It poured all day long today, and really hard too. I took the day off for all these appointments and got drenched like 7 times (I ran errands and went shopping later on too.) I can't be arsed to go out in this weather now, though I don't think much is going on anyway.

Does anyone reading this have a blog that I don't know about? I want to read more updates from my friends. Shout out of you've got one please!