It Seems To Be the Way That Everyone Else Gets Around

My funny Snapple cap fact:
The speed limit was 8 mph in NYC in 1895. Ha!!!

I ate out WAY too much last week.
Tuesday: Dinner with Ryan at 7A.
Thursday: Dinner with Meghan and Jenn at Haru.
Friday: Dinner with Robyn at Blue Moon.
Saturday: Dinner for Feldstein's birthday at Gasho.
Sunday: Dinner with my dad at Triple Crown.

At least my food was varied...American/Sushi/Mexican/Hibachi/Diner...anyone up for Thai this week?

I heart this blog: Bent Objects. Dude makes cool scenarios out of random things. This one is my favorite:

I Made A Meal of It

Tuesday night was Jack Peñate at Mercury Lounge. I met up with Ryan first for food at 7A (they gave me mustard vinaigrette instead of balsamic, boo!) and then some drinks at Hi-Fi. Jack sold the place out. The crowd was a little annoying, particularly in the girls room. All I kept hearing in there was "I know him! He's my friend's friend!" "I'm from London, I know him, well, a little, but I've seen him 10 times!" and "I know him too, well, I work for his label here, and I'm glad you got that free poster, you deserve it!" Uh, seriously? Apparently I was the only person in there who didn't know him personally.

So, he was really good! I was impressed. Not every song sounded the same which Dave anticipated (only like 4 of them to be honest.) He had great stage presence, and seemed genuinely happy to be there. I recommend.He danced like George Michael (and looked a bit like him too circa 'Careless Whisper'.) He also looked a bit like Dave's friend Bernie (and Dave's mom thinks Bernie looks like George Michael, nice circle we've made there!) So then you know what this leads up to...

George Michael + Bernie = Jack Peñate!

This gave me a craving to listen to 'I'm Your Man' by Wham! which I'm playing right now. (Really love that song and I am totally not embarrassed about it.)

khgig

Oh yeah, and here's Jack Peñate doing 'Have I Been a Fool?' on Tuesday night...

Did you know...

that to get the n to show up like this (ñ), you need to hit alt + 0241?! Crazy shizz.

Current Music: The Wombats - Moving To New York

It’s Morning That I Dread

Usually my Burt's Bees lipstuff costs me $4 a pop, but they had a three pack in Duane Reade which included other shades that I wanted so I figured I'd splurge. I went to the register anticipating a mini-deal like $10 for the three, and it rang up as $2.70! I don't even think it was a mistake, I just think there was some strange discount going on. Anyways woohoo for me and my lips!

Deal of the week

(I totally Photoshopped the appropriate acquisitions myself)

I saw Editors last night at Terminal 5. The venue was so far from civilization! 11th avenue...I mean seriously, who was in charge of planning that? As for the venue itself, a couple of floors added for good spaciousness and more bars which I liked. Other than that it seemed a lot like Webster Hall to me but with a rougher warehouse feel is all. Still, I'd take 11th Street over 11th Avenue any day.

Terminal 5 v. Webster Hall aka Battle of the 11s

Louis XIV was the first band up. We got into the venue during 'Finding Out True Love Is Blind', the only song I like by them. I remember first hearing their EP or whatever it was and some of the lyrics were wayyyy too sexual for my liking (primarily because the singer sounds like the dude from Rocky Horror Picture Show and the thought totally grossed me out.) I promptly threw that EP behind my cd tower and never touched it again. So, all in all, not much to be said about their performance as I planted myself at the bar for the final few songs.

The Real Louis XIV/Singer of Louis XIV/Singer of Louis XIV's Vocal Twin

Hot Hot Heat on the other hand were really good. I was sad to see the lack of enthusiasm during 'Bandages' (how can anyone argue that it's not the best song to dance to on an indie night?) But, this is NY and of course the crowd would rather die than look enthusiastic. Here's a new equation for ya:

Luke Pritchard of The Kooks + Carrot Top

= Singer from Hot Hot Heat

I anticipate serious nightmares after looking at all those photos of Carrot Top on Google Images just now.

Editors were superb last night! I was so impressed. I think both of their albums are great and they've always played well live; even though they're always in top form, I think this may have been the best time I've seen them (prob because I knew all the songs this time.) And I've gotta give props to whoever did the lighting, it was terrific.

They sang about this...

this...

and this...!

My subway stalker is back. He boldly approached bothered me on the train platform the other morning (he used to wait towards the front end far away from me after I thought he'd gotten the hint.) This time I had my earphones on AND I was reading the paper and he STILL decided to speak to me.

So, the dude tells me about his latest observance - that I was away for two weeks. Was I in London? We could have met blah blah blah until it gets to the part where he says HE WAS GOING TO BRING ME A CHRISTMAS PRESENT but didn't because he saw that I wasn't on the bus and subway those few days. Exsqueeze me what?! Apparently he runs some store and was planning to kill me give me a North Face jacket from there. I was like thanks but no thanks, I can't accept that. Thankfully a seat opened up at that point and I sat and continued to read the paper. He stood over me holding onto the rail though so when I got off the train I had to say a quick 'bye' because I couldn't avoid him Ugh.

I'm going to see 27 Dresses tonight with Kat. Roll on three day weekend!

Current Music: The Clash - Rock the Casbah

She's So Flippin' Hot...She's Like a Curry

I've been slack on blogging. This is what has happened the past few weeks:

I went to England.

Carnaby Street looked all pretty for the holidays

Dave and I pretended to be tourists

We watched Flight of the Conchords non-stop (non-stop meaning I know the words to every song from season 1 by heart now, and probably all of the dialogue too.)
Have some Boom Boom here -

We went to Winter Wonderland. It was not as cool as I thought it would be. We went in the haunted house; I could have made better props with stuff from AC Moore for sure.

Laura hosted us for a pre-drink/pre-pig out at her flat before going out for New Years Eve (and before I got my new gloves covered in freshly chewed gum on the bus)We went to Fifty Five in Camden

Graham got some disgusting looking drink

Dave got a huge-ass beer that was bigger than Graham's head

Kat growled in every photo

Liz apparently got the same disgusting drink as her husband

And the tubes ran all night for free. A miracle!

Other goings-on post-London:

I got a Rock Band for Xmas from work (though I don't have an XBOX360 or a PS3 to play it on.)

I curled my hair and got told I look like Celine Dion. Huh?

I'm back on Weight Watchers. I think about food every 3 seconds, but I did lose 2 lbs. in my first week, woohoo! My mom dislocated her thumb, ouch.

Through the wonders of Facebook, I've found out that a friend of mine from the happy hour era of '01-'02 has written a book. Which is nuts.

I got a quarter share in a Fire Island house solely with my girlfriends for the first time ever. The outside is not so beautiful...

But it has a sweet inside if I do say so myself...

It'll be itty bitty beds for us...

And a deck...check!

That's it for now. Lunch time, yummm.

Current Music: Kate Nash - Pumpkin Soup

Gig Wrap-Up 2007

I was seriously lacking in gigs this year (I actually went to less in 2006, but I also went to the Camden Crawl and Benicassim then which made up for it.) I'd have to say that moving back to Queens was the major factor in skipping a bunch of shows, though I can't deny that prices are not so favorable to me now that a lot of my bands have gotten more popular in the States. Here were my gigs of 2007:

Band/Opening Act - Venue
Album Chart Show - The Feeling/Klaxons/Lady Sovereign/Fall Out Boy
Air Traffic/Arizona - Canal Room
Athlete - Highline Ballroom
Biffy Clyro/Enter Shikari/Blood Red Shoes - Highline Ballroom
Brake Brakes Brakes/Pela/Electric Soft Parade - Mercury Lounge
The Bravery - Bowery Ballroom
British Sea Power - Bowery Ballroom

The Chemical Brothers/Ladytron - McCarren Pool

Cold War Kids - The Social
Elliott Yamin/Josh Hoge - Bowery Ballroom
Eric Hutchinson - The Cutting Room
The Features - Mercury Lounge
Franz Ferdinand - Bowery Ballroom
The Fratellis - Irving Plaza

Gruff Rhys - Hiro Ballroom
Kaiser Chiefs/The Walkmen - Roseland
Klaxons - Bowery Ballroom
The Kooks - Irving Plaza
Los Campesinos! - Mercury Lounge
Maximo Park/!!!/Hot Club De Paris - London Astoria
Muse/Cold War Kids - MSG
The Pipettes - Blender Theater
Rooney/The Hush Sound - Irving Plaza
Stevie Wonder - MSG

I'd have to say my live favorites were:
#1 Air Traffic @ Canal
#2 Franz @ Bowery
#3 Muse @ MSG
#4 Features @ Mercury
#5 Fratellis @ Irving

As for albums, I did not buy/download many this year. Air Traffic's debut absolutely takes number one, I played it on repeat all summer and fall and I'm still obsessed with it. My tops of the year are:
#1 - Air Traffic - Fractured Life
#2 - The Pipettes - We Are the Pipettes
#3 - Hard-Fi - Once Upon a Time in the West
#4 - Kaiser Chiefs - Yours Truly, Angry Mob
#5 - The Fratellis - Costello Music
Honorable mention to Oasis - Stop the Clocks (had to be done)
Also, everything by Flight of the Conchords is tops!
Biggest disappointment: Ash - Twilight of the Innocents (guys, what happened?!)

*Edit - I forgot to add Klaxons - Myths of the Near Future in my top albums, so I hereby squish that one in as #2.

*Edit #2 - I forgot Chemical Bros. and Mr. Gruff Rhys, so they're up above now too.

Best Songs of 2007

We're five days into 2008 so I'm a little bit behind, but here's my best songs of '06 list - 

60 Babyshambles - Delivery
59 Gossip - Standing in the Way of Control - I liked this song for about 5 minutes and it started giving me a headache after that.  Why was there so much gossip about The Gossip, can someone please fill me in?
58 John Mayer - Waiting on the World to Change - The scariest thing about this song is that I first heard it when Sanjaya sang it and I really liked it.
57 Natasha Bedingfield - Love Like This
56 The View - Same Jeans - Sort of similar to The Gossip, this song was funny for about 5 minutes but got old very quick.
55 Amy Winehouse - You Know I'm No Good
54 Trousersnake - What Goes Around Comes Around
53 Matt Nathanson – Car Crash
52 Kaiser Chiefs - Angry Mob
51 The Feeling - Rose
50 Kelly Rowland - Like This - No Beyonce, but a Kelly Rowland entry, scandalous!
49 Carrie Underwood - Before He Cheats - You will never ever see a country song on one of my lists after this.
48 Cold War Kids – Hang Me Up To Dry
47 Bon Jovi - Lost Highway - This is a good song.  Seriously!
46 Alicia Keys - No One
45 British Sea Power – Atom
44 The Fray - How To Save a Life
43 Los Campesinos - You! Me! Dancing!
42 Sara Bareilles - Love Song
41 Gym Class Heroes - Cupid's Chokehold
40 Diddy - Last Night
39 Jamie T - Sheila
38 Jack’s Mannequin – I’m Ready
37 Kings of Leon – On Call
36 Mat Kearney - Nothing Left To Lose
35 Nelly Furtado – Do It
34 Hard-Fi - Suburban Knights
33 Rihanna - Don't Stop the Music - I can't even begin to express how much I despise Rihanna, but for some reason there is no resisting this song.
32 Jarvis Cocker - Don't Let Him Waste Your Time
31 Kaiser Chiefs - Ruby
30 Hard-Fi - Television
29 Amy Winehouse - Rehab - I thought this was '06, but it's not on last year's list so here it is.
28 T-Pain - Buy U A Drank - I laughed at the title of this song for a month until I actually heard it.  T-Pain, U R so smooth!
27 Snow Patrol - Set Fire to the Third Bar
26 Jack Penate - Second, Minute, or Hour
25 Air Traffic - Time Goes By - Be warned, lots of Air Traffic in this list.
24 Fergie – Glamorous
23 Air Traffic - I Like That
22 Bloc Party - The Prayer
21 Mat Kearney - Undeniable
20 Editors - Smokers Outside the Hospital Doors
19 Eric Hutchinson – Rock n Roll
18 The Bravery - Fistful of Sand
17 Peter, Bjorn, and John - Young Folks - I was pretty late getting on the P, B, & J train.
16 Justin Timberlake - Lovestoned - This entry is high up 98% due to the second half of the song, love it love it love it!
15 Feist - 1234 - I really hate Feist, this was all that stupid iPod commercial's fault.
14 Fall Out Boy - Thnks Fr Th Mmrs
13 OFFICE - Oh My - Oh My God, Oh My God, I really love this song.
12 Los Campesinos! - We Throw Parties, You Throw Knives - Best lyrics ever?
11 Air Traffic - Shooting Star
10 The Pipettes - Why Did You Stay? - I didn't get this album until recently, shockingly really great!
9 The Fratellis - Flathead
8 Incubus - Dig - I've played this one on repeat about 2946 times.
7 Hard-Fi – Can’t Get Along Without You - I need to find a place that has this on their karaoke list.
6 Kate Nash - Foundations - Some lyrics in this song are great, and others are horrendous but it's still slightly irresistable.
5 The Pipettes - Dirty Mind
4 Just Jack – Starz in their Eyes

3 Klaxons - Golden Skans
2 Incubus - Oil & Water - This song makes me wish I had Brandon Boyd's voice.  Or that I actually was Brandon Boyd.
1 Air Traffic - Charlotte - Dear Air Traffic, Looking forward to seeing you again in 2008, I heart you LOTS! Love, Me

I'll Be Back

Alright, I'm off to the UK today for two weeks. If I don't have time to finish my Best of 2007 song list later I'll have to do it on '08. Have a Merry Xmas and a Happy New Year everyone!

Tag, I'm It

Big Daddy tagged me.

1. When you were born, how much did you weigh?
6 pounds, 11 ounces.

2. What's you're sugar poison?
Chocolate fudge cake!!

3. If you had to choose between meat and cheese for the rest of your life, which would you choose?
It's gotta be meat doesn't it? Man do I love cheese but I don't think I could live with myself if I actually picked it.

4. What, in your opinion, is the worst song ever?
Oh so many to choose from! For starters, 'Soulja Boy' - how the fuck did this song get released? Any remake by Girls Aloud. 'What's Up?' by 4 Non Blondes. Most Jennifer Lopez songs. 97% of music from the 80s.

5. Who was your favorite teacher growing up and why?
Mr. Stavola because he was young and cute and taught history. There, I said it!

6. What personal activity, when performed in public, bothers you the most?
I hate when women put make-up on on public transportation, it makes me want to punch them in the face.

7. Ok, there's a $50 bill lying on the ground. You pick it up. Dumbfounded by your incredible luck, what do you selfishly purchase?
Probably a combination of music and clothes (not that $50 would buy me much of either these days.)

8. Do you have a recurring nightmare? If so, explain.
No, I don't think I've ever had a recurring dream.

9. Name one place on Earth you've never been, but vow to visit at least once.
I've said it before and I'll say it again, I want me some Scandinavia!

10. You notice that question #9 wasn't really a question. You feel smart for catching such a small detail. What else can you do really well that reminds you how smart you are?
I play an excellent game of name that iTune, thank you very much.

I Got Drunk, I Was Dying Inside

Oh My Goshness #1: Serena Van Der Woodsen and Teen Witch are real life sisters!

Oh My Goshness #2: This Harry Potter and other fiction books English tour goes to the Wye Valley and Chepstow where Dave and I failed to do attempt #86 of the hot air balloon ride. Random!

Oh My Goshness #3: Laos is named the #1 place to go in the The 53 Places to Go in 2008.

A few Fridays ago I went out after work with Kat and Meghan, drank a bit too much, stayed at Kat's, and headed home the next morning feeling slightly off (I wouldn't go so far as to say full-fledged ill.) My dad was kind enough to pick me up from the subway; turns out that right before we got on the Grand Central I had to make him pull over so I could totally vomm in front of someone's driveway in Kew Gardens....Four times! I definitely feel bad for the people who live there but honestly it couldn't be helped.

I had an interview last week and I didn't want to come into work afterwards in my suit for obvious reasons. I figured that a local hotel would do for changing as they usually have public bathrooms, so I picked the Sheraton on 7th Ave. because that's close to me and thought if that didn't work I'd go to the Hilton on 6th. So I'm walking through the Sheraton and I see tons of people there for a conference, and I don't see restrooms so I'm starting to get worried. I agonize a bit, then realize that there must be restrooms by the ballrooms which turned out to be true. As I went into the Ladies', I noticed the registration area, thought about how it looked just like my old meetings, and reminisced a bit in my head about my old job. I changed and came out of the bathroom, only to notice the sign for the conference - it was my former company's annual New York meeting! I forgot that it's always at this time of year, but it's usually in the Hilton (thank god I didn't go there to change) but apparently it got so huge that they had to expand to the Sheraton. I darted out of there like nobody's business!!

I saw Enchanted the other day. I think the last time I paid to see a PG movie in the theater was probably for The Lion King (I saw that 3 times in the movies, which in retrospect I absolutely cannot believe), but I digress. Enchanted was so over-the-top unrealistic (but done that way purposely), that I cried from laughing at least 5 times throughout the film, seriously!!! Don't see it if you are interested in Oscar-worthy, serious films, but if you want something entertaining and totally silly I absolutely recommend it to everyone (I'm still laughing thinking about some of the parts and I saw it five days ago.)

I finally got around to listening to the second Hard-Fi album. Most of the tracks are likeable, very Hard-Fi-ish which is a good thing, nothing as great as 'Hard to Beat' or 'Living for the 'Weekend' but although the lyrics are a bit silly, I find 'Can't Get Along (Without You)' to be extremely catchy. Have some video action here:

I bought new earphones today, woohoo! The left ear of my Sony (or Phony? - I bought my last pair in Thailand) earphones died last week which made listening out of just the right ear unbearable. I borrowed my brother's Apple earbuds which were extremely painful (I forgot how much they hurt) and on top of that, the right ear crackled the entire time. I just bought a cheap JVC pair (if they break in a year whatever) which I'm excited about because they are pink and they don't hurt.

Speaking of Apple, my dad bought a mac yesterday! He's been talking about buying one for months but I think he was too chicken to make the switch. I have to say the computer is really beautiful! If anyone wants to have a webchat (not that kind dirty people) then I'm all systems go once we get broadband tomorrow (finally!) This reminds me of the time I came home from Binghamton on a holiday break and I was blown away by the sight of a microwave in our kitchen. I was so excited that I almost forgot that the appliance had became popular on the consumer market a mere 20 years earlier. Ah, the joys of electronics.

Go Elf Yourself

This is SOOOOOO funny!

I even get a shimmy and a solo in the end (thanks Heather!)

This Day In History

December 3, 1776
Washington arrives at the banks of the Delaware

December 3, 1818
Illinois becomes the 21st state

December 3, 1967
First human heart transplant

December 3, 2007
My father finally orders broadband

My Friend Works for the National Health

It's 5:30 pm and I'm just eating lunch now. Does anyone see something wrong with this picture?

New 'SatLav' system tracks toilets. Wow I miss London.

Can someone please explain to me why I was able to get a dentist appointment for next week, but I cannot go for a doctor's check-up until FEBRUARY?! That's not even because I have an HMO, it's because the doctor won't give any check-ups until the last week in February (wtf?)

Since I do have an HMO, I also can't get referred to see any other specialist until after my check-up (since I haven't been to my doctor in over a year.)

Happy Insurance Day to me (tomorrow that is) but what am I paying all this money for if I can't even get an appointment? Not saying that I want to end up in the emergency room or anything but I would like to get my money's worth.

Cosi's chicken soup is gross fyi (but the bread is still ace.) I'm going to get my Thai (Mai Tai, hahaha) on with Kat and Meghan later.

Oh man my guy got voted off Survivor last night! All that Adam and Eve crap bit him in the ass. He should've started paying attention to the game and not biblical stories.

Current Music: Kaiser Chiefs - Love's Not A Competition (But I'm Winning)

Just Enough For the City

Sorry for the lack of postage, I had a busy week. Dave came last Friday so I was happily preoccupied. First order of business was beer pong at Pat O'Brien's. He'd never played before so the Upper East Side bar crawl (still hate bar crawls but it suited the purpose) served as a good host for the event. Not sure what he thought of it but it's always good for keeping oneself occupied in a bar (see more on keeping busy in the bar down below when I discuss Plan B.)

That night we saw Stevie Wonder at MSG. I thought I wasn't going to know too many songs, but he's just one of those legends where you keep on recognizing songs you knew he sung but forgot about. His voice has not changed one bit, he was so talented, it was a really fantastic two and a half hour show. The crowd were terrific too, mostly middle aged and going nuts for him. They were cheering like crazy, standing for at least half the set, singing along; it was really nice to be surrounded by an active, excited NYC audience for a change.

Unfortunately, instead of my pictures being THE shit, they were just plain shit.Stevie on the screen (very witty by the way, including doing a country version of 'Signed, Sealed, Delivered' after the regular one)

He split the audience into women and men singing harmonies on "Ribbon in the Sky." Dave and I couldn't stop singing it all week but we replaced "Ribbon" with every street sign we saw which probably does not sound funny unless you are participating.

'My Cherie Amour'

Tony Bennett came out as a surprise guest and sang his original version of "For Once in my Life," I didn't realize how amazing his voice was. Prince also came out and played guitar on "Superstition."

This was the setlist (according to a couple of websites because I couldn't remember):
Loves In Need of Love Today / Too High / Visions / Living for the City / Master Blaster / Higher Ground / Golden Lady / Ribbon In The Sky / Overjoyed / You and I / Lately / If Its Magic / How Will I Know / Don't You Worry Bout a Thing / Signed, Sealed, Delivered / My Cherie Amour / Boogie on Reggae Woman / For Once in My Life (feat. Tony Bennett) / Sir Duke / I Wish / You are The Sunshine of My Life (I kept wanting to sing Minute Maid from the commercial) / Superstition / As

No Part Time Lover, dang!

Dave and I were in the city for the majority of the week. We hit up FAO Schwartz and Toys R Us in Times Square. I did not know about this giant moving dinosaur on the second floor (did you?)I also saw The Met (not to be confused with Mr. Met) for the first time ever. We randomly stumbled upon a cast of my favorite sculpture, I was Psyched! (sorry, couldn't resist)

Cupid and Psyche

We drank lots and lots and lots on Wednesday. After failing to watch England lose to Croatia (Nevada Smith's - you have some nerve charging $20/head) and watching Italy vs. Faroe Islands instead (hahahaha, uh, Faroe Islands are a country? Seriously?) we stayed around the Lower East Side for most of the night.

I love happy hour, la la la la la

Thursday was Turkey Day and due to a hangover, we did not attend the parade as planned (we also did not go ice skating in Central Park either because of the Zamboni schedule.) On Friday we ate on Bell with Gail and Mike and in the evening we had some nasty beers at The Ginger Man with Julie and her ginger man. They should do sampler platters there so you know what you are getting yourself into. Dave and I had a late late dinner at Duke's and made a mad dash for the last express bus in the freezing cold.

He left on Saturday (weep) but rather than moping around the house I decided to go to Plan B with my lovely ladies. I generally like that bar even though it can be hit or miss but this was one of the better times (even though I drove.) Some dude who was a friend of a friend motivated us to play guess/imitate that dance move in the middle of the bar which was really fun!! I need to do things like that more often.

Heather got a birthday hat from someone, I think this is her being a chicken?

Classic NYC art

Tin man hat taken from the rubbish pile (nice one!)

On someone's bicycle

A*B*C*1*2*3*X*Y*Z (But He Don't Know About X*T*C)

My weekend was totally lame and I loved it!

On Friday (that was the least lame bit) Erica, Heather, and I went to Kat's, Florens,' and Pepe the puggle's and drank Trader Joe's wine (this is becoming a Friday night habit of mine) and ordered in dinner. The guy from Cafe Wai? (Wai did we order from there is the main question) did not get the order straight and gave Erica and I two salads each for the price of one. Normally I wouldn't complain but it was G*R*O*S*S. We had a dance party and played guess that iTune which is my fave.

On Saturday I ran errands, took a kickboxing class, baked chewy brownies with walnuts, and rented Grey's Anatomy Season 3.

On Sunday I did some unproductive shopping at Bay Terrace, then stopped by Gail and Mike's new place to check it out and ended up helping Gail build her bookshelf. Aside from the two shelves I put on the wrong way because I was too busy talking rather than paying attention, I am now an accomplished put-togetherer of furniture from Ikea AND Crate and Barrel! Afterwards I went for dinner with my parents to the Triple Crown Diner. Apparently there's a meal called "chopped steak" which I never knew about. It's basically one huge piece of chopped meat on a plate, amazing!

On Monday night, Ryan and I saw The Pipettes at the Blender Theater (really hate that name by the way) but I totally loved the venue. Bars downstairs, good size gig room (looked like ULU in London but smaller) and it had tiered seats in the back which you could sit in if you wanted (not ticketed.)

I really liked the gig, the songs are all happy bouncy numbers and the girls were really into doing their cutesy routines. It did look a bit silly at times but they aren't serious about it so it's fine. I think the best number of the night was 'Why Did You Stay?" It's one of my favorites anyway but it sounded really good live. I've got to give props to the audience (really old for a gig actually, like 30s and 40s) who were dancing and clapping up by the front, very rare in New York (though I thought someone was going to get whacked by an arm during 'Pull Shapes.') I also have to mention that the whole polka dot thing is cute, but I definitely could have made these outfits myself. Maybe I should do that for a living? I mean I do that on Halloween almost every year anyway.

I took a video of 'Dirty Mind' because I love that song, but that was probably the only flat song and limited dancing of the night. If you don't know them, don't judge them by this:

I stayed at Meghan's and had to be at work early the next day to set up a meeting. I got here quicker than expected (ahem 7:45 am) and wanted to die by the end of the day. Tonight I'm going to meet California-via-London Dave who is working in NY for the week for drinks later (who needs step class when you've got drink specials?) Also Spector's got a show tonight but it starts at 10 pm so I'm iffy on that.

On a side note, I got my current phone in fall 2004 (though I didn't use it for the year and a half I was in London) and I just figured out yesterday how to put the message alert on silent. Seriously people, the ringer would not shut off until you checked the message, I can't believe I just discovered how to fix this!!

Like A Regular Tourist

I'm so uninspired to write but I really have nothing to do today (total opposite compared to yesterday.) I decided to wear a skirt and make-up (my first time looking like a girl since I started this job) so even though I feel blah, at least I don't look it.

Speaking of femininity, I saw the Radio City Christmas Spectacular on Tuesday. Julie's mom won tickets so I went with them and Julie's cousin Rachel. I've got to say, the Rockettes were definitely a sight to see. They did 6 or 7 numbers, and the way they synchronize is unbelievable. From a former tap student's point of view, I do have to note that the actual tap steps were fairly basic, but the kicks were ridiculously high. Although I'm a bit Xmas-ed out from it, it's a very good show for the kiddies.

Last night I saw Athlete at Highline. Seriously - they were really really great! Not that I didn't have high expectations (I'd only seen them once on the main stage at V in 2005 and the thousands of people in the crowd singing 'Wires' is still in my top festival moments), but I was blown away by their performance yesterday. They were really tight and just were wowing everyone, the audience loved them (mostly Brits.) When the singer sang a song by himself, the amp got messed up and he got mad (not sure if he actually kicked it) but he busted right back into the song like nothing had even happened when I'd expected him to give up and go onto the next one. I still can't believe how impressed I was, this definitely ranks in my top shows of the year. They sang about this...

this...

and this!

So, on my way out of work on Wednesday I saw Blair from Road Rules get into the elevator. I was excited because he was one of my favorites back in the day. Then yesterday I was banging away on my keyboard when I spotted him again, apparently he's friends with the girl who sits behind me. I guess he works sometimes on our floor or something? Random!

Yesterday I finally got to see/play Rock Band (the game all of my amazing secretarial skills have been focused on since I started this job.) It was a lot cooler than I'd expected! It's basically Guitar Hero but it also has drum pads and a mic (for the run down of what it is check out the link.) Anyways, I sang 'Celebrity Skin' with two guys I work with on the guitars. Even if you know the lyrics already, it's still hard seeing them fly by so quickly with the arrows pointing at whether your voice should go up or down. After it finished I turned around and there were 6 people watching us, I was mortified! Even though I haven't tried out the drums or guitars, I think I could actually bring myself to say that I would really like to own this game.


Dear 6:00 pm,
aaaaaaaaaaaaa
Hurry up!
bbbbbbbbb
Love,
Meredith