My new resolution.

So, with New Year's lurking around the corner, most people are probably taking this time to think about resolutions. They are making decisions to change something about themselves in the coming year, beginning on 01/01/09 and last for 365.24 days after that.

Not I.

I am going to use this opportunity to take a snapshot in time of the things that sum up my life right now and see how those change throughout the year and then ultimately at the year's end. Kind of a micro-level time capsule.

I will post the list either on New Year's or the Eve, depending on how lazy I get between now and then and when I am around fast internet access. But I wanted to put it out there now, because I would like your input.

What are some things that make you think of me - in this moment? Not the Emily you remember from high school or something stupid I did at that one party at that one fraternity house or even things you think I have coming for me in the future.

I'm not expecting many responses, since it's the holidays after all. But if there's something that should go in my personal time capsule, let me know. I'll even give you a head start:

• Headbands with bows
• Caffeine-free
• Loves Edward Cullen

XOXO - I need you!

I am going into serious Gossip GIrl withdrawals. I need my weekly dose of Blair, Chuck, man bangs and Dorota. Not to mention my weekly snark from Daily Intel's coverage of "The Greatest Show of Our Time". Luckily, Gossip Girl's return to glory is just over a week away. In the meantime, I've been filling my need for media consumption in various forms, from the high-brow to the basest of interests.

Listening to: my old school Blair Waldorf playlist (told you I was having withdrawals; Lil Wayne, Bare cast album; Girl Talk

Reading: Serena, by Ron Rash; Entertainment Weekly; LJ posts from oxymoronassoc; and no, I swear I didn't finish rereading the Twilight series. okay, I lied.

Watching: Dexter (Season 1); College Football bowl games; The Dark Knight and various other findings from the local video store

What I Like About You

As promised, here's a semi-comprehensive list of "Things That Are Awesome About Texas that I May or May Not Have Even Realized That I Missed".

1. My family. This one's a no-brainer.

2. Playing with our spastic Chihuahua, Fred. Fred, darling, if you will. You know, like Breakfast at Tiffany's. He's so spoiled, he makes me look well-adjusted and non-materialistic. :)

3. Driving on the highway. Hot, nasty, bad-ass speed, as Eleanor Roosevelt would say. It's pretty bad that I had forgotten that you're supposed to buckle your seatbelt when riding in cars.

4. Cheap beer. I'm sorry, NYC, but a $6 draft is NOT a special. It's even better when you go to the one bar in town where everyone under the age of 30 congregates and have a good time without paying a dime.

5. Wal-Mart. Okay, this one's actually a toss-up. I enjoy the huge grocery section and the kitschy High School Musical merch on every aisle. However, I was slightly nervous that I was going to have to stop and talk to a ton of people with whom I had no desire to carry on a conversation. Fortunately, I only saw two people I knew and I actually like them.

6. Movie tickets that are $2-$4. Pardon me if I spend an entire day just watching everything I want to see for the price of one ticket in the city.

7. Mexican food.

8. My favorite hole-in-the-wall local restaurants. A short list (of which I probably won't hit up in its entirety): Sandwich Etc., Burger Land, La Familia, Taco Delite, Magel's, Capizzi's, and then the chains I've been missing - Braum's and Sonic.

9. Speaking of Sonic - Sonic ice should get it's own distinction on this list.

10. Friends from high school. I don't feel the need to make this visit a high school reunion, but there are a few friends that are high on my list of need-to-see while I'm in town.

Texas, my Texas

I arrived in The Greatest State at around 4:00 p.m. Friday afternoon, and it is simply delightful. The main thing I keep thinking of is that there were so many things I didn't even realize that I missed!

This is another disappointing post, but I'll take the time to actually compose a comprehensive list and update with it later. I just wanted to say "Howdy" from Texas, y'all!

Hark, the herald angels SING!

I know I should be talking about the holidays, since it's December 24 and all, but I have something different in mind. If you know me at all, you know that music is a very big deal to me. In fact, it might be my very favorite thing. I'm kind of weird in the way I listen to music, though. Maybe I have an obsessive personality, but I get on these kicks where I have a few favorite songs that I just listen to on repeat - over and over and over again. I don't even notice that I've listened to a song 50 times in one day until someone points out the fact that they might like to hear something else. Oops. So, since it's the gift giving season, I will give you the gift of my current playlist. I know, I'm so generous.

1. Supermassive Black Hole, by Muse
Sometimes a song just makes you feel like a superhero. This is one of those. Seriously, it comes on when I'm walking down the street and I feel like I can conquer anything. Needless to say, I have to put this one on at work a lot.

2. Are You There, from Bare
Any song sung by Matt Doyle is amazing in my book. There's just something so uplifting about this song, in which two very different people connect over sharing similar feelings of confusion and doubt. The song is beautifully composed and wonderfully sung. It also happens to be my current ringtone.

3. Cathedrals, by Jump Little Children
This song is so haunting. The sweet, simple melody and the poignant lyrics make it something I could listen to a million times and more. I've been working on playing it on the guitar and piano this week, and I think I've just about got it right.

4. All My Bells Are Ringing, by Lenka
I love non-traditional Christmas songs. Don't get me wrong, I will always prefer some O Holy Night or Silent Night, but you also need a little bit of upbeat Christmas goodness. Lenka's song has a great retro-vibe and makes me want to dance every single time.

5. Mannequin, by Britney Spears
Britney's back, y'all. I do love her entire Circus album, but for some reason this song sticks out me. I think that I'm noticing a vibe here at the end of this very short playlist. I like dancing songs. While Lenka's is great for Christmas, I feel like I will be doing a lot of champagne-induced moves to Britney on New Year's Eve.

That's it for now. Be prepared for several new posts in the next few days, because I'm only 8 away from hitting my goal of 100 before 2009!

My "Christmasy" Christmas Eve Post

My dear friend Sam asked me to do a guest post over on her blog today, so in lieu of double-posting my Christmas Eve sentiments, I will just link you on over to the post I did at The RubyTurtleHippieTimes.

Oh, and it's T-minus 4 hours until the greatest holiday of the year. Get excited!

When did Christmas get so close?!

I apologize for my sub-par blog posts lately. It's just that there's been a whirlwind of activity leading up to the holidays and just no time to get my thoughts in order.

I do think there are a few important things to point out, though.

1. I am at my mom's in Tennessee for the first stop on my Christmas vacation. Then I'm off to Paris after Christmas.
2. You know that earlier post -- the one about what I wanted for Christmas? Well, I got my #1. Sort of. Mom got me an Edward action figure. Oh heck yes. It's quite possibly the nerdiest thing ever, but too funny at the same time.
3. Speaking of Twilight, I am currently in the game room watching my bootleg DVD of it with my mom and stepdad. I don't think either of them will like it -- Mom, because it's "scary" and Monty because it's a teenage love story. Oh well.
4. I might actually have New Year's plans that involve me being in Norman. Nothing's finalized yet, so I won't get my hopes up too high, but Jordan and I have a plan in the works.
5. There are two things here that get a lot more of a workout when I'm home than otherwise -- my dog, Bridget, and the piano. I have probably spent 5 hours on the keyboard already, and nearly as much playing with the pup. Oh, how I love vacations.

I'll be back with a real blog post soon. Promise! And it will be BEFORE Christmas -- which just happens to be four days away. Whoa.

You watch me, just watch me...

Read this:
http://mattdoyleweb.blogspot.com/2008/12/last-night.html


Yeah, I was there. And I did the crazy fan-at-the-stagedoor thing. And I still love his voice more than anyone I've ever heard sing.

FREEDOM!

I'm about 40 minutes away from Christmas vacation. I do have to work from home on Monday/Tuesday, but it's a little different when I'm in the comforts of my mom's house instead of in the office. I don't really have time for a thought-provoking insightful post, so here's more linkage and video!

OU people, if you haven't seen this yet... Well, there are no words really.





And I'm in love with this guy:

Can it just be Christmas yet?

We're obviously working very hard. Clearly, Christmas break needs to get here soon.

In case you were wondering, here's what we're discussing.

Also... this makes me smile:

Gabriella Van der Vyer

Some really fun things have happened in the last 24 hours, y'all.

Let's begin with the scene I caused in the middle of our Christmas party last night. Even though I had it set to be recorded, I really wanted to see the announcement of the Heisman winner live. So we paused our revelries to watch the last 10 minutes, and boy was it worth it. We're all in silence as the envelope is opened, followed by a lot of screams and cheers coming from yours truly after the name Sam Bradford was announced. Everyone kind of stared at me like I had gone crazy, but I wasn't worried.

There aren't a whole lot of details to share about the party otherwise. I mean, it was full of baked goods, wine and champagne, and "put your chin on the table." Yeah, that about sums it up. We might have even watched part of Elf sometime in there.

Today was Christmas shopping day with Justin and Jericho. We met up this afternoon in Chinatown and set off on a knock-off expedition. Sadly, their 9-room purse emporium had been shut down since last weekend (oopsy!), so we had to settle for following enthusiastic salesmen/women into nondescript storefronts. The decision had been made well in advance that we were absolutely not climbing into any vans.

With a little background knowlege on good fakes and a lot of bargaining skills, we ended up hitting the jackpot. I got a very good-looking Chanel 2.55 bag that I will proudly be rocking this holiday. Hmm, I probably shouldn't have announced that it's fake on the internet. Oh well, I'm not concerned. I really wanted to find some black Ray-Ban Wayfarers, but I had no luck there. I even busted out a photo of Rob Pattinson at the MTV Movie Awards on my phone to show the salespeople.

Speaking of RPattz, there was another great purchase I made in Chinatown: High School Musical 3, Australia, oh and TWILIGHT on DVD. Too bad it won't let me fast forward, because if so I'd be watching the baseball scene over and over and over again. And that part where he's rocking the Wayfarers in the parking lot. But I digress...

Our next adventure took us beyond Chinatown down to the Young Designers Showcase in SoHo. This is basically a bunch of trunk shows piled into one gymnasium-style room. The talent in this place was sensational, and they made everything from hand-stitched pillows to crazy "Project Runway" style fashion to the most gorgeous jewelry I've ever seen to really random crap. I picked up a few Christmas gifts, along with a great hat/headband type thing for myself that I simply fell in love with and could not pass up.

Around this point in time is when Justin and Jericho revealed to me that they (along with our friend Christa) had decided yesterday that we needed alter egos. These characters are the much wealthier, highly entitled and somewhat snooty versions of ourselves that can be implemented when shopping at high-end realtors. (Or whenever the mood strikes, really.) Their names are Kennedy Vaughn, Duncan McDougal and Anastasia Beaverhausen - yes, it is a Will & Grace reference. Now, my first name was chosen for me during an earlier discussion from which I was absent. They picked Gabriella because, "It just sounds bad ass. It suits you." After a little research and brainstorming, Gabriella No-Last-Name became Gabriella Van der Vyer. I know, you're jealous of how awesome we are.

So Kennedy, Duncan, Gabriella and our friend who doesn't have an alter ego then went for dinner at Little Italy. And by dinner, I of course mean some random pasta dish and lots of sangria. Gotta go big or go home.

There was one final stop on this holiday express, and that was the Union Square Holiday Market, which is basically tents set up around the square where they sell all kinds of crazy crap. Some of it is quite strange, and some of it is straight up awesome. Since we had already done considerable damage to our pocketbooks at this point, we didn't spend quite as much time here, but it was still a lot of fun to peruse.

Now I'm kicked back, blogging, Facebooking and watching Twilight in the comfort of my apartment that happens to smell like Henri Bendel's "Holiday" and "Winter Spruce" candles, aka the best scents in the world. I'm also fantasizing about the fact that only four days of work stand between me and kicking off my winter holiday.

Let's talk about our feelings.

Or, more specifically, since this is my blog, let's talk about MY feelings.

A) Excited
There are two very good reasons for this feeling. First, I am going to the Apple store today to get my Christmas present - an iPhone! Prepare to hear me speaking in my "iPhone voice" all Christmas break. You love it. The second reason is that in one week I will be at my mom's house for the first half of my holidays.

B) Annoyed
I think it's a good sign that I need a break when everything around here starts to annoy me. I honestly am not feeling annoyed at this particular moment; however, it has cropped up a lot this week. However, if you know me, you know the best way for me to cure a bad mood. Last night I checked another Broadway show off my list, "All My Sons."

C) Nostalgic
This is solely due to the fact that Jordan did his annual "reflection on the last year of my life" post on his blog today and I just finished reading it. But it did make me think about how much things have changed from January 1st until now.

D) Christmas-y
Come on, y'all. It's the most wonderful time of the year. How could I not be in a Christmas spirit?!

Let's also talk about the fact that in order to hit and/or surpass 100 posts, I need 14 more. Totally doable, as long as I don't forget while my brain is shut down over break and I'm not looking for distractions. So maybe I'll do a little double duty this next week as a precaution.

P.S. How awesomely creepy are those pictures?

Stupid narcissist.

I have another rant - completely unrelated to my feminist/politics discussion just a few minutes ago - brewing in my head right now. However, since it is about specific person, it's probably best not broadcast over blogspot.

That's all. I feel a little better now.

It's my inalienable right to post this blog. :)

I've been so full of Christmas cheer lately, but now for something completely different:

I am not, and never will be, a feminist.

I care about equal rights for all people - regardless of race, gender, age, or creed. However, I am not a feminist. I am a woman, but women's rights aren't an issue that gets me riled up. I'm not hot and bothered over abortion law. It's not the most important thing that needs to be upheld/reformed (depending on your view), at least not in my opinion.

Because that's the key to my view on the beauty of America. We have the ability to choose our own beliefs. We can think what we want, whether our beliefs are based in faith, family tradition, "facts", what the media says, being too lazy to care, or whether we like a particular public figure's persona.

That's what America is about. Both sides of things call the other "closed-minded", but I really think that the people throwing that term around are the most closed-minded of all. I wish they would stop preaching from their soapboxes and understand that both opinions are valuable and deserve to be taken with a little perspective. Engage in discussion, but don't discount the other side wholly - and don't belittle them as a person just for disagreeing.

Though I suppose that their right to be smug, self-righteous and condescending goes along with all the other freedoms we have as American. So disagree with me, if you would like. Please do; it's your right.

All I want for Christmas...

I feel like since Christmas is just over two weeks away, I should probably fill you guys in on my wish list. I mean, that way you have time to scour the stores to find the best deals. Here are my top three Christmas wishes:

3.




















2.















1.



















Thanks in advance. I mean, I have been so good this year. And just remember:

OMFG.

Y'all, this is serious. OU's going to the 'ship.

Tonight, as usual, I watched the game at the OU Club's designated bar, The Press Box. Lauren and I met up super early to guarantee that we would have a table upstairs for the Big XII Championship.

That game was mind-blowing. OU is officially the first team in NCAA history to score 60+ points in five straight games. Suck on that, Texas.

The energy in the place was great. I think my favorite part was the two guys who were battling it out over which one got to yell "BOOMER" first after we scored.

No, no... wait. The best part was, toward the end when "Boomer Sooner, Boomer Sooner, Boomer Sooner" was followed by "Florida Sucks."

Now for Saturday, let's hope the voters pull through for Sammy B. And then it's off to party in the city where the heat is on. Boomer Sooner, everybody.

A little bit random.

A few things I'm currently loving:

1. Britney's new CD - It's all great, but I especially enjoy "Blur" and "Mannequin."
2. Sour Patch Kids - The yellow ones are my favorite.
3. Robert Pattinson's singing voice - It's definitely not expected. There's something gritty about it that I really love.
4. The weather in NYC - The cold is my friend, when I'm bundled. As long as the rain stays away while I'm outdoors.
5. August: Osage County - I saw it last night and it was seriously the best play I've ever seen.
6. The Christmas spirit - I haven't grimaced at a tourist all week.
7. Festive nail polish - By this, I don't mean snowflakes and trees drawn on. I mean, deep reds and greens.
8. Counting down the days until I get to go home for the holidays! Not counting today, 13 days (only 9 work days)!

I've decided I want to hit 100 posts by the new year. This one is #80, so expect a little less than a post-a-day between now and then. It's Christmas-Blog-a-Palooza! Sure, I might sacrifice content, but it's not like I'm going for a Pulitzer here.

I've regressed to 7th grade.

I think my mind is rebelling against adulthood by making me think like a 14-year-old schoolgirl. That's the only explanation I can come up with for some of my recent interests. I mean, Jonas Brothers... really?

And Twilight. Why do I love it so much? It's embarrassing, really. But, my friends are enablers to my addiction, so at least I'm not in it alone. I really shouldn't have downloaded the soundtrack, though. I had no idea Rob Pattinson could sing, and now I'm even more infatuated. Sick.

At least Zac Efron isn't the background for my work computer anymore.

Christmas is in fashion.

You guys. Ashanti stole my look.
I totally have (and rock) that hat. Though you'd never catch me in boots or a coat that hideous. I wore my awesome beanie to the Rockefeller Center tree lighting tonight. Four hours in the cold to see some sparkly lights... so worth it.

Fabulosity.

My good friend Sam gave me the "Your Blog is Fabulous" award! I must say that this fact should go without saying, without an award, but I'm fully appreciative that someone else acknowledges my fabulosity. Haha, she's known it for years. So now I have to list 5 of my fabulous addictions and then pass it on to five others.


1. Headbands
Not just any headbands will steal my heart. It takes something fabulous, typically from the magical hair accessory department at Henri Bendel's. I love them all, particularly the ones with bows, sparkles, and big accents that sit to the side. I got four new ones this weekend - though all but one is wrapped up for Christmas.

2. "The theatahhh..."
It's an awesome predicament when there are no shows left on TDF that I haven't seen that I'm remotely interested in. I have a huge collection of Playbills stacked up from this season, and I'm not done yet. Next up is Pal Joey, Billy Elliot, Vanities, 9 to 5, West Side Story, Guys and Dolls, Hair, Shrek, and a couple of plays I still haven't seen, like August and All My Sons.

3. Christmas, the whole thing.
The music is blaring from the week before Thanksgiving until New Year's Eve. And I have quite the collection. The decorations go up promptly at Thanksgiving, if not before. Nativity scenes and snowglobes are my favorites, which is the extent of my decorations in the apartment this year, sadly enough. Shopping might have to be cut down a little bit this year, but I'm going to make up for that with sight-seeing! I can't wait for the Rockefeller Tree Lighting, White Christmas the Musical, the Gay Men's Chorus Holiday Spectacular, ice skating, and all the decorations around the city.

4. Amazing perfumes
I have a thing for scents. I mean, it's the strongest sense tied to memory, which is saying something. I have quite the formidable perfume collection, though it's been so long since I've replenished it that it's dwindling rapidly. My current favorites are Bond No. 9 Bryant Park and West Side, Miss Cherie Dior, and the one I'm getting for Christmas, Miss Charming from the Juliette Has a Gun line.

5. Gossip Girl and the New York fan mentality.
Just click here and here, no further explanation required.

Now it's my turn to bestow the award on 5 people. So I'm going to go with... Megan, Leslie, Katie, Cherilyn, and Virginia.

Just a quick update...

I had an amazing Thanksgiving. Here are the highlights/interesting stories:

1. My sister and I walked past the actor who plays Georg in Spring Awakening on Wednesday evening. I couldn't remember where I knew him from at first. I should have befriended him. (Or "boyfriended" him, as a friend suggested via text.)
2. Patti LuPone is craaaazy.
3. We decided against getting up at 4:00, fighting the crowd and standing in the cold to see the parade in favor of watching it on TV while eating breakfast from The Bagel Mill. We would have missed the Rick Roll if we hadn't! Besides, we'd done it in person before.
4. Thanksgiving dinner. No explanation necessary.
5. We saw the Rockettes on Friday afternoon. I will never be too old to love that.
6. Christmas windows! My favorites were at Bergdorf's.
7. I decorated for Christmas. It's not quite the spectacle I usually do, but we have a tiny apartment, so I do what I can.
8. My sister and I got last minute tickets to Equus. Insert Harry Potter/magic wand joke here.
9. We also ran like fugitives from the theater so they wouldn't accost us for taking illegal photographs in the theater. It was just during the BC/EFA auction.
10. Saturday was filled with shopping. I got some great hats, which I will bust out this week, so you just get ready.
11. Mom really wanted to eat in Little Italy, because it's amazing and they have great sangria. However, we still had wine left over when we were leaving, but the waiter insisted that we take it with us rather than letting it go to waste. So they gave us the glass, and we finished it as we walked down the streets of Manhattan. Classy.
12. I loved, loved, loved spending family time, and I was so sad to see them go.

That's it for now! I'm so excited that Christmas season is here, so more to come on that topic soon.

Thankful.

Today's one of those days when I love living in New York City.

I rolled out of bed at 8:00, thankful for not having to do a long commute this morning. Don't get me wrong, I usually enjoy my time to sit and read/listen to my iPod/people watch/just mentally prepare for the day. It's just that it's nice to not have to worry about the process of getting ready and traveling before even starting the bulk of my day.

I threw on some sweats that I had to dig out of a box where they'd been waiting for a chill in the air to prompt their need, thankful to my mom for sending warm clothes my way. Then I plugged in my computer, synched up to the network and got started.

I'm thankful that there's an amazing bagel shop just around the corner, because that's where I went to take a break this morning. Normally my refuel break consists of chatting with the girls in the chute next to mine, or maybe even venturing down to Dunkin Donuts. But today, I got to hang out with my buddies at The Bagel Mill. I am also thankful that the one day I need to purchase a dozen bagels, they are the special for the day!

Now, this might prompt ridicule, but in the spirit of full-disclosure I'm going to go ahead and throw it out there. I am thankful for decaf coffee. I gave up caffeine for all intents and purposes a few months ago, but I was a little saddened by the thought of no Peppermint Mochas all Christmas, especially with a Starbucks such a short walk away from my apartment. However, a friendly barista gave me a friendly reminder that decaf coffee exists. So, problem solved. Now I have that warm minty goodness cheering me up while I work.

Also cheering me up is the amazing Christmas music mix. I'm thankful that God gave the artists such talent so I could enjoy the beautiful sounds of the season. If you haven't gotten your copy of this year's Carols for a Cure, you should. If you don't live in NYC and want one, let me know.

Finally, what I'm most thankful for this morning is the fact that my family will be here soon! We're going to have a great little Thanksgiving in the city - complete with the Macy's Parade, the Rockettes, lots of shopping, Christmas window displays, a Broadway show (Gypsy tonight, with Patty!), and who knows what else.

Happy Thanksgiving, ya'll, in case I don't get to the blog tomorrow.

P.S. On a slightly off-topic note, what is, in your opinion, the best place to get a Christmas-y smelling candle?

Boomer Effin' Sooner

As if the amazing win over Texas Tech wasn't enough, my football watching experience was made complete by the following event:

My friend Lauren and I met up at the Press Box, where the OU Club of NY gathers to watch Sooner football games. This just so happened to be the biggest game of the year, so the fans were out in full force. The game was the sole focus of everyone's attention, except for one guy.

He decided that he would like to further entertain the crowd and took it upon himself to break into song. We discovered this when we hear a drunken refrain of Josh Groban's "You Raise Me Up" being belted from the group down the bar from us.

Unfortunately, the bartender was no fan. (He was also a fun-hater, but that's another story.) He informs our little virtuoso that "You can audition for American Idol down the street," but that he had to stop singing there.

The singer was classy enough to cut it off there rather than causing an altercation, but once the bartender had meandered on, he shared his thoughts with his friends, and everyone else within earshot. His opinion? "He's a ho-mo. He's doing homo things. All I'm saying is that's a great song."

Fantastic. Nearly as fantastic as the final score: 65-21.

Oh, and apparently I'm heartless. Not content to simply beat Tech, we needed to demolish and embarrass them. I think I caught Lauren's friend who met up with us off-guard when I announced that "I want to see a child cry." Oops. I mean, OU fans go big or go home, right?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Also, on an unrelated note:

On the Town

I saw On the Town tonight at the New York City Center Encores. This may not seem like something momentous, because I go to shows all the time. But it is.

On the Town just so happens to be one of my favorite musicals. (Boiled down, it's about three sailors who have 24 hours leave to spend in New York City.) However, I only knew it from the music and the old movie with Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra. Regardless, it has held a dear place in my heart for years now. I'm not even exactly sure how I discovered it, but no matter. I even have a snowglobe that plays the iconic "New York, New York, a helluva town..." refrain.

It was put on as part of the Bernstein festival, honoring the music of Leonard Bernstein, with a limited 6-performance engagement. I'm so glad I got to see it done live, and done well. The music is great, the story is fun, the ballets are lovely, and I would simply adore to sing Hildy's part. (Hear that, Mr. Producer? Cast me now, please.)

That's all, really. I just thought you should know, because this little piece of excitement made me a very happy camper.

Tomorrow I'll do my own version, along with some of the girls from the office. We're going to do a whirlwind touristy day in New York for ourselves, starting with brunch at Sarabeth's. Yum.

(Also yum... singing, dancing sailors. That's all I have to say about that.)

Pictures are worth a thousand girl talks...

There's going to be a massive Facebook picture post going on this week. Hopefully it'll get done later tonight. For now, here's a preview:

"With my by myself..."

Terrific Tuesday

I promise that I will post an update about the amazing weekend I just had as soon as I find adequate time. I'm only posting at all because I need to document for posterity how amazing today is going to be:

1. Wall-E comes out on DVD. It's only the best movie ever. I actually doubt that I will even be near somewhere to buy it, but just knowing it's out there makes me happy.
2. The Gossip Girl Daily Intel comes out. That happens every Tuesday, but I still get excited weekly.
3. Third Eye Blind releases a new EP. Yeah, seriously, it's for real this time. My obsession level will definitely be kicking back up.
4. I have a project at work I'm pumped about getting started.
5. I'm going to a GIRL TALK concert with three of my fabulous ladyfriends.

I think that's enough wonderful for one day. Get excited, y'all.

P.S. Speaking of Gossip Girl, I really wish Vanessa would die in a fire. Seriously?!

Lincoln Park After Dark

**Note: I wrote and thought I posted this on Friday around 10 a.m. However, it apparently didn't work. I thought I'd post it now, so as not to deprive you. ;)

I'm sitting in an apartment in Lincoln Park in Chicago right now, being extremely jealous of the space and the price. I'm also jealous of the fact that there's a Lush and a Benefit about a block away, and a disco ball in the living room, along with a DJ booth. You know, whatever.

Let me tell you a little bit about my totally random weekend:
We're in the windy city for an RT conference. More about that later, maybe. The highlights were getting to interact with my RD in person, see everyone in my cohort, and stay at a swanky hotel of course. Not to mention making a lot of progress in planning for our campaign. And MSCI, which is too classified to go into details about on here.

Then a small group of us hung around for the evening, staying at one of the girls' friends' apartments, and having a grand ole time. We are in the cutest little semi-yuppie neighborhood - Lincoln Park. Great food, cheap wine, card games and great music make for a good time. Not to mention an 8-person slumber party. Best quote from last evening: "I want to terrorize Chicago right now. I mean burn it to the ground."

Now I'm enjoying sitting here, pausing between creating action plans to play FIFA on the Xbox, grab breakfast from the Chicago Bagel Authority, and watch a few SNL skits on YouTube. Our next move will be to catch a bus to Madison, Wisconsin, where mayhem is certain to ensue.

Don't worry, you'll get a full report.

xoxo--

P.S. 10 points for you if you know the reference for my blog post title.

Not ready for my close-up

Yesterday, at work, they were shooting a documentary on the organization. Specifically, it was focused on an interview with our founder.

However, I guess they wanted some footage of other people within the organization, because they came by my chute and asked Julie (my neighbor) and I if we minded them shooting video of us. We said it would be fine and went about our business.

I didn't sign up to be interviewed; however, that's what happened. So my little speal on what the Recruitment Team does is potentially going to be on some documentary somewhere. Awesome. I think I managed to sound intelligent, hopefully. Then they got around to shooting the B-roll, just footage of us at our computers working. This was super awkward. Luckily, I had enough windows open on my monitors to conceal the desktop picture of Zac Efron's Rolling Stone cover. :)

Now, you should know that I spend most of my time at work with headphones on. I'll listen to iTunes, AccuRadio, Pandora, Z100, even KJ103, depending on my mood. It helps me tune out other things going on and concentrate while also not going crazy when things get mind-numbing. Anyway, on occasion I will also listen to the OU radio station, the Wire, especially when people I know have shows.

So that's what I was doing when this awkward video shoot took place. "Friday Talkternoons" was on, and I was typing away listening to them interview a band and talk about random things, as usual. It was quite unfortunate timing, however, that they switched topics right as the camera was in my face. I barely managed to keep a straight face when Kolt started telling a story about body waxing. In order to keep my composure, I hit the mute button on my computer.

All in a day's work.

The election's not even officially decided...

and I'm already sick of everyone's reactions to the election posted on Facebook.

Vote today.

"Today we begin in earnest the work of making sure that the world we leave our children is just a little bit better than the one we inhabit today." - Barack Obama






























If nothing else, do it for the free Ben & Jerry's, Starbucks, and Krispy Kremes. But you should do it because the future of our country depends on it.

And if that doesn't convince you, then maybe Zac Efron can.














"We need men who can dream of things that never were." - JFK

what a week (or two)

It has been quite exciting and eventful around here for the past couple of weeks, which hasn't left a lot of time for keeping in touch, or blogging. Here's what's kept me busy.

Tuesday, 10/21:
I saw 13 for a second time, for two reasons. I wanted to see what changes they had made since previews, and the real reason -- Jason Robert Brown was having a talk-back with the audience afterward. I got to see/hear one of my idols sing and play the piano! Fabulous. Also, my friend Jessica came in from Norman.

Wednesday, 10/22:
Jessica and I got to spend some time together, when I wasn't working. We walked my favorite route through Central Park and did some typical touristy stops. I also got some beautiful shoes from Bloomingdales.

Thursday, 10/23:
Besides the fact that it was my half-birthday, I went with some friends to the midnight premiere of High School Musical 3. But I've already blogged about all that.

Friday, 10/24:
On a whim, I got a student rush ticket to Tale of Two Cities. Twenty five bucks for front-row center? Yes, please. It was fun sitting right behind the conductor, and I love being right up close for the curtain call. I honestly didn't expect much from this show, but I happened to love it. Sure, there are plenty of things wrong with it, but I really enjoyed it. And now I'm re-reading the Dicken's book it's based on.

Saturday, 10/25:
Jes and I did a lot more running around on Saturday. We started with brunch at my favorite spot, Sarabeth's (on the Upper West Side, though the one on Central Park South is equally adorable). That afternoon, we saw Altar Boyz. The best part was when they busted out Lambchop. We ended the day with more shopping in the magical corner of 5th Avenue - Bendel's, Tiffany's, Bergdorf's, etc. And we made friends with Whitney, a doorman at Tiffany's. Finally, we headed to Junior's for some amazing cheesecake.

Sunday, 10/26:
I got to sleep in, which is a rare occurance, even on my days off. Then, I spent the afternoon browsing piano music at The Colony, where I found the CAMP piano book. And then I got yet another great seat at a cheap price to Chicago. I was sad I didn't get to see the OU production, so I figured the Broadway show was a worthy substitute.

Monday, 10/27:
As I posted about below, I went to the Wicked 5th anniversary special, The Yellow Brick Road Not Taken. Might I mention that Rufus from Gossip Girl, Justin from Ugly Betty, and the one and only Mario Cantone were there? I had a blast and really enjoyed the performance, which was an early draft of the first act. I must say, it is a good thing they made the changes they did, however. And, it kind of rekindled my love for the music, because I was kind of way over Wicked prior to Monday night.

Tuesday, 10/28:
Sarah, Rena and I went to see The Phantom of the Opera after work. It was Sarah's 5th time seeing it, my first time seeing it live (surprising, I know), and Rena's first Broadway show ever! And of course, it's Phantom, so it was beautiful. Also worth mentioning is that I ate Thai food and actually liked it. That's a big deal. Ha!

Wednesday, 10/29:
Wednesday was jam-packed, in preparation for next week's deadline and this weekend's trip. I did have time, however, to see the amazing Chanel Mobile Art exhibit with Flavia and Kayleigh. It was the single most incredible exhibition I've participated in. I loved the way you were immersed in the experience, rather than being a passive observer. I could go on and on about it, but this post is already getting long, so I'll leave it at that for now.

Thursday, 10/30:
I got on the Super Shuttle to the airport at 3:00 a.m., because this weekend I got to take a trip to Tennessee to visit my family! Though traveling on 2 hours of sleep and working for hours after landing was not particularly fun or exciting, the evening was great. Mom and I baked cookies, I got to play the piano for a couple of hours, I watched Grey's Anatomy for the first time all season, and I went to bed with Bridget, our Scottie, curled up at my feet. Life is good.

That brings us up to today. I have lots to do, so I'm going to end this post now, but I'm sure I'll have plenty to say about my visit to my mom's house. I hope you have a very happy Halloween, and don't let the crazies get you!

Samantha will be proud.

I'm going to this tonight. It benefits Bette Midler's NY Restoration Project, so I hope she's there. That would be ah-mazing. I think it's going to be pretty great anyway. Now, I've railed and ranted about how I refuse to go to Wicked on Broadway. That's because the tickets are way too expensive and are never available on my discount site or at tkts, I've been listening to the music for 5 years and I think I wore it out, and I saw the touring company and was slightly disappointed (not with their performances so much as the show itself). I still feel this way, and I will not pay my own money to go sit through a regular performance alongside every crazy 14-year-old fangirl who thinks she can sing "Defying Gravity" well enough to get her big Broadway break and will argue about which Elphaba is better, and who is rude to fans at the stage door. (Those crazies do exist, sadly.) However, I am so excited about this event, because it's all about the music. And let's face it, that's what I love the most anyway. I am very excited to hear the popular songs in their early incarnations, and to be privy to music that got cut from the show. I'll report back on it (as well as the rest of my recent Broadway outings) soon.

Yellow Brick Road Not Taken Will Celebrate Wicked's Fifth Anniversary

By Andrew Gans
August 21, 2008

The Yellow Brick Road Not Taken, a selection of scenes and songs cut from early drafts of the hit musical Wicked, will be presented Oct. 27 at the Gershwin Theatre, the home of the Stephen Schwartz-Winnie Holzman musical.

A portion of the proceeds from the 7:30 PM concert, which celebrates the fifth Broadway anniversary of Wicked, will benefit the New York Restoration Project. An all-star cast will be announced shortly; Matt Lenz will direct.

In the upcoming concert, press notes state, "Wicked composer/lyricist Stephen Schwartz and book writer Winnie Holzman will share some of the scenes and songs from early drafts of the musical blockbuster. . . .Featuring never-before-seen material performed publicly for the first time, as well as songs cut during the show's development and pre-Broadway engagement, this one-night-only event will tell the story of Wicked the way it's never been told before and will illuminate the various paths the writers took in creating what has become one of the most popular Broadway musicals."

Buy this Limited Collector's Edition

Tickets will go on sale to the general public Sept. 5 by calling (212) 307-4100 or by visiting www.ticketmaster.com.

Based on Gregory Maguire's novel, which turned every Oz myth inside out, Wicked explores the early life of the witches of Oz: Glinda and Elphaba. The two main characters meet at Shiz, a school where both hope to take up sorcery. Glinda is madly popular and Elphaba is, well, green. By a misunderstanding, they wind up roommates and, after an initial period of mutual loathing, begin to learn something about each other. Their life paths continue to intersect through a shared love, entry into the Emerald City and interaction with the Wizard himself. Eventually, their choices and convictions take them on widely different paths.

Wicked features a score by Stephen Schwartz, a book by Winnie Holzman, direction by Joe Mantello and musical staging by Wayne Cilento. The creative team also includes scenic design by Eugene Lee, costume design by Susan Hilferty, lighting design by Kenneth Posner, sound design by Tony Meola, projections by Elaine J. McCarthy, wig and hair design by Tom Watson, music supervision and arrangements by Stephen Oremus, orchestrations by William David Brohn and dance arrangements by James Lynn Abbott.

For more information visit www.wickedthemusical.com.

Why I love living in New York

This is amazing:
http://www.playbill.com/news/article/122709.html.

On the Town is one of my favorite musicals ever. I have watched the DVD dozens of times. And I'm going to see it performed live as part of the Bernstein festival.

I've gone a little post crazy, with two in one day. But this is big news, y'all!

Edited to add:
In other news, we got cable/high-speed internet today. I'm utterly overwhelmed by the number of channels. Also, I scored front row center seats to Tale of Two Cities tonight for cheap! Yay!

The Boys Are Back

I realize that it's nearly 4 a.m. and I have to be up before 8 tomorrow and I should be sleeping. But I had to write this post while I'm still excited about it. Tonight, as I mentioned, some friends and I saw the midnight premiere of High School Musical 3: Senior Year.

Well, to be honest, it turned into a 1 a.m. screening, because they had problems with the film. We were sitting there for an hour and a half (at least) with a ton of impatient AMDA youngsters and Jonas-Brothers-psycho high schoolers who were more than ready to get their fill of Zac Efron. And the complaints let loose. We were afraid that it wasn't going to happen, which would've been highly disappointing. Rooms nearly left when we were informed that the new showtime was 1:00 a.m.

However, we were convinced to stay by an enticing offer. (Okay, being real, Kieley and Ashley were convinced to stay; Rena and I weren't going anywhere without seeing HSM3 first. I mean, we were already there way past my normal hour to be out and about during the week, so we might as well hang around and see the movie we'd made plans to see.) We got free movie passes, that can be used at any time for any movie, because of the inconvenience of waiting. And they gave us all a free drink and a free bag of popcorn. Not too shabby. Plus, we got to enjoy the amazing movie. I think I liked it more than the first one, even!

So, it looks like I'll be viewing Twilight from the cushy seats at the AMC on 84th. For free. And it seems to me that I'll be using some iTunes gift cards I've gotten in the mail to purchase a certain movie soundtrack tomorrow.

P.S. I predict that at least a couple of the songs and a ton of the choreography that I saw tonight (er, this morning) will show up in a Scandals show or two at OU this spring. Right?

P.P.S. The song title that is the title of this post was my favorite scene from the movie. So cute.

Ooooh, we're halfway there!

In case you didn't know, I enjoy birthdays probably more than anyone I know. I think they are a huge deal, whether they are mine or someone else's, and I enjoy celebrating them.

In fact, I love them so much that once a year is just not enough. I also celebrate my half-birthday, which just so happens to be today. Honestly, I don't expect anyone else to celebrate (or even be aware of) my half-birthday, but I make a point to celebrate it myself.

This one is especially exciting, because it marks the 6-month countdown to my GOLDEN BIRTHDAY! So what am I doing to celebrate today?

First, I gave myself an extra 30 minutes of sleep this morning. Who wouldn't love that? This afternoon, I'm going to let myself drink a Dr. Pepper. I very rarely drink caffeine anymore, and I haven't had a DP since May! I'm going to take a cab home from work, especially since I need to carry home the box full of winter clothes my mom shipped me. Later tonight, some friends and I are going to the midnight premier of High School Musical 3. Technically, that happens the day after my birthday (showtime is 12:01), but if we were being serious and technical, I wouldn't be making a fuss over a half-birthday in the first place. Maybe I should incorporate a trip to Crumbs in there somehow, too. I mean, since it is my half-birthday and all.

Goodness, now there's only six months to plan my Golden Birthday events. AND to make my wish list, which all know is ever important. Right now, I'm leaning toward this. Just like Blair's. ;)

On that same note...

You can easily tell what interests a person. Just look at how she spends her money, and how she fills her free time.

So, if a particular person's disposable income for the past few weeks went toward:

• Tickets to Legally Blonde on closing weekend
• Tickets to Wicked: The Yellow Brick Road Not Taken
  
• Multiple Theater Development Fund purchases
• Music from The Colony
• Drinks at Don't Tell Mama
• Shoes from Steve Madden
• Computer repairs/accessories at the Apple store

And if, in a span of 16 days, she'll have seen at least 8 theatrical performances...

What would that say about her?
-----------------

On a related note, I have decided that I'm going to get up the nerve (and the songs) to sing at open-mic at a certain piano bar I love. Suggestions?

The Great White Way

Shows I've Seen In the Past 3 Months:
Spring Awakening (x2)
[title of show] (x2)
Hairspray
13
College: The Musical
Aliens With Extraordinary Skills
The 39 Steps
Avenue Q
Boeing-Boeing

Shows I Want to See in the Next 3 Months:
Altar Boyz (going next week)
Gypsy (going over Thanksgiving)
Legally Blonde (which closes on Sunday. UPDATE: I'm going on Saturday)
Tale of Two Cities
August: Osage County
Spamalot
All My Sons
Pal Joey
Billy Elliot
Equus
Phantom of the Opera (Sarah and I are going in a couple of weeks. Would you believe I've never actually seen a production of this one?)

Totally do-able.

P.S. Worth mentioning, because I think it's funny, and well, it's my blog. I'm going to have to teach my friend Flava-flav how to spot a 'mo. Seriously, she debated with me from 45th and Broadway all the way to 57th and Fifth about the lead actor in Avenue Q being straight. I crossed my heart and hoped to die if that one wasn't gay.

Case in point: A photo from his official website. Also, this article. Fruit fly for the win! Also worth mentioning (even moreso than his sexuality) was his fantastic performance. Color me impressed.

Joyeux anniversaire, mon ami!

"You say it's your birthday It's my birthday too, yeah They say it's your birthday We're gonna have a good time I'm glad it's your birthday Happy birthday to you." -- Beatles, "Birthday"

Today marks the birthday of one of my most favorite people in the whole entire world. Just a couple of years ago, we became friends because we liked the sound of each other's voice (no kidding, we met in choir). And then we discovered more things we like about each other (and a few weird things too). It's a good thing we take cute pictures together too, because there certainly are a lot of them.

From date parties dressed as kids on Christmas to decked out in our semi-formal finest, rooting for the Sooners in Norman or in the West End, being in Scandals or just being scandalous, and all the random times in between, Kely is one of my most beloved friends. And today, I'm celebrating him!

Happy birthday, little K. Love ya!

I'm fading in and out...

"Red", by Sara Bareilles, from the album "Careful Confessions"

I’ve been down, I’ve been out. I did it all on my own.
Seems growing up didn’t take long.
Feel strange, I feel good. I feel better with you.
You’ve changed, you should. Cause I think I did too.

Made my mistakes, and did a few things right
But it will take what it will take, baby that’s life
You cannot change what you do not own, everybody knows.
But if you live deep and love strong you get pretty damn close.

It moves fast and it scares me. I close my eyes, oh but I still see…

I’m fading in and out. What are you supposed to do save me now
From all of this danger? You don’t know how and I’ll find my way out.
When I’m in the red listening to strangers inside my head
The darkening angels beneath the bed, I still see everything you said,
Painted in red.

I shake and I smile, cause you said
Baby girl it may take a while, but take the good from the bad
And never minds are never sure so never leave them wanting more
What are you waiting for?
How you love is who you are.

I dive in and I sink in. And I find new colors to think in…

I’m fading in and out. What are you supposed to do save me now
From all of this danger? You don’t know how and I’ll find my way out.
When I’m in the red listening to strangers inside my head
The darkening angels beneath the bed, I still see everything you said,
Painted in red.

In the distance is a line defining where I’ve been the state I’m in
And ever since it began to slip from my two hands I’ve been
Taunting fires, touching wires, been believing liars, everything they said
Painted in red

I’m fading in and out. What are you supposed to do save me now
From all of this danger? You don’t know how and I’ll find my way out.
When I’m in the red listening to strangers inside my head
The darkening angels beneath the bed, I still see everything you said,
Painted in red.

What are you gonna do? No way for you to save me.
What are you gonna do? Everything that you gave me is painted in red.

BEAT SAXET.

You know what time it is, right? It's time for OU students to make the Southbound 35 trip to Dallas to see the Sooners "beat the hell outta" texas. Unfortunately, it's not that easy to get there from NYC, so I'll be rooting from here. I'm just a little sad to miss out on the the shopping, the West End craziness, a first-hand view of the game, and all of the "What happens at OU/tx..." moments, but I'll survive.

However, I do need to throw my 2 cents into the trash-talking, so here are some jokes for you Sooner fans:

A guy in a bar leans over to the guy next to him and says, "Wanna hear a good Texas joke?"

The guy next to him replies, "Well before you tell that joke, you should know something. I'm 6' tall, 200 lbs., and I am a Texas grad. The guy sitting next to me is 6' 2" tall, weighs 225, and he's a Texas grad. And the fella next to him is 6' 5" tall, weighs 250, and he's a Texas grad. Now, you still wanna tell that joke?"

The first guy says, "No, not if I'm gonna have to explain it three times."

Q: What do you call a good looking girl on the University of Texas campus?

A: A visitor.

Q: How many Texas fans does it take to screw in a light bulb?

A: One, but he gets 3 credits.

It was reported that Texas head football coach Mack Brown will only be dressing twenty players for the Oklahoma game. The rest of the players will have to get dressed by themselves.

Four college alumni were climbing a mountain one day: a Texas, an Oklahoma grad, a Florida grad, and a Notre Dame grad. Each proclaimed to be the most loyal of all fans at their alma mater.

As they climbed higher, they argued as to which one of them was the most loyal of all. They argued all the way up the mountain, and when they reached the top, the Notre Dame grad hurled himself off the mountain, shouting "This is for the Fighting Irish!" as he fell to his doom.

Not wanting to be out done, the Florida grad threw himself off the mountain proclaiming, "This is for the Gators!"

Seeing this, the Oklahoma grad walked over and shouted "This is for the Sooners!" and pushed the Longhorns fan off the side of the mountain.

Q: What's the only sign of intelligent life in Austin?

A: Norman: 370 Miles

One day in an elementary school in Austin, TX, a teacher asks her class if the Texas Longhorns are their favorite football team. The whole class says yes, except for Little Jimmy.

The teacher asks, "What's your favorite football team, Jimmy?" Little Jimmy says, "The Oklahoma Sooners."

The teacher asks, "Well, why is that?" Little Jimmy says, "Well, my dad is a Sooner fan, my mom is a Sooner fan, I guess that makes me a Sooner fan."

The teacher angered by his reply says, "If your dad was a moron and your mom was an idiot what would that make you?" Little Jimmy says, "Well, I guess that would make me a Texas fan."

All the city streets a wondrous chorus singing...

The green autumnal parks conducting
All the city streets a wondrous chorus singing
All these poses oh how can you blame me
Life is a game and true love is a trophy
-- Rufus Wainwright, Poses

Yesterday, as I was walking home, a beautifully brown leaf drifted its way down from the branch of a small tree lining 86th street and onto the fringe of my jauntily-draped tartan scarf. For me, that means Autumn is officially here in NYC. As if the quickly declining temperatures, mannequins decked in layer upon layer, and Pumpkin Spice lattes at Starbucks didn't give you the clue already.

"Don't you love New York in the fall? It makes me wanna buy school supplies. I would send you a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils if I knew your name and address. On the other hand, this not knowing has its charms."
-- Joe Fox, You've Got Mail

However, unlike Mr. Fox in You've Got Mail, school supplies are the last thing I want to think of in conjunction with this fabulous season. It makes me itch to leave the office, which is probably a good thing for my productivity. Pauses for blogging aside, I'm being ultra-efficient so I can get out of here as quickly as possible each day and go experience my favorite city in one of my favorite months. (There's a tie between October and April, if you must know.)

I know I'm about a week behind, but here's a few tidbits and anecdotes regarding the way my October has blown in:

• It seems that Christmas comes earlier and earlier each year. Of course, I'm never one to be left behind the times, so I've made my early yuletide contribution by starting my Christmas wish list. But more about that later.
• I will divulge one thing on that list - something I'm taunted with by the likes of Bloomie's and Bendel's. I love scarves. And hats. But mostly scarves. There are so many lovely ones my shopaholic heart is lusting after. (Mother, you'll be proud to know I gave in only in the form of a $5 scarf from a street fair, even though the $170 DVF ones were calling my name.) So, there's one item on my wish list: a fancy scarf (admittedly, I don't need one quite that expensive).
• The reason I'm even in the neighborhood to be tempted and teased so regularly by my favorite retail sandtraps is that I've basically been living at the Apple Store on 5th. Poor LaMaque (my MacBook) is feeling slightly under-the-weather - it is fall, after all - and I've had to make multiple trips to get him back on the up-and-up. He'll be good as new soon, though!
  
• Speaking of LaMaque, there's a funny story about how his name came to be. Let me know if you're interested. It reveals too much of my nerdiness to warrant posting here.
• The crazies come out in October, apparently. The other day, as I was walking down the block, a pack of teenage boys ran past me dressed in frog costumes and afro wigs. What?
• It's OU/tx week, y'all. Though I am a native Texan, I absolutely abhor the burnt orange travesty of a university that is home to the longhorns. Though I'm sad to miss out on the West End/Fair Park festivities this year, the rivalry is alive at the office. I decorated the desk of a UT-grad coworker today, and sent her a lovely little ditty.
• My friend Flavia and I went to Forbidden Broadway this weekend. I'm so glad I got to see the last reincarnation of this silly Off-Broadway show. I particularly loved the jab at In the Heights that reminded me of "Camp" and this diminutive diva's spoof of Kristen Chenoweth's "Glitter and Be Gay." Genius. And I got all the jokes - am I part of the theater cognoscenti now? Does that mean I should start spelling it "theatre"?
• I had a conversation on the Subway today with one of those wacky protester types. You know, the ones who stand around selling political buttons and toss out words like "jingoistic"?
• Why is it that everyone at work thinks I'm blonde? And I don't mean because of the way I act/talk. No blonde jokes in there at all. My hair is red, people. On the blonde spectrum, it's strawberry at the most. At least my handsome stranger complimented my RED hair the other day.
  
• Finally, in the everyday and mundane category, I'm a big-time media consumer lately.
  

Books: I'm rereading Velvet Elvis, by Rob Bell, which I recommend highly. This is the 4th time I've read it. I'm also very into the Tales of the City series, by Armistead Maupin. I also read at least a chapter of the Book of Job each night. It's my favorite.

Music: It's old, but you have to listen to Corrine Bailey Rae. Especially "Choux Pastry Heart" and "Three Little Birds". Another song I can't get out of my head is "I'd Rather Be Sailing/Set Those Sails," a beautiful duet from "Make Me A Song." And of course, I'm still on my MGMT kick.

TV: As much as I didn't want to do it, I've once again joined the ranks of people who schedule their evenings based on what's on TV. I think it's part of being a "grown up" in the "real world". Ha. Anyway, I'm a regular viewer of Gossip Girl, Pushing Daisies, Ugly Betty and Private Practice. Sorry to say, but Grey's jumped the shark. I'm over it.

Movies: Like I can afford $12 for a ticket? Well, maybe I can, but I'd rather spend that money on live theatre. (See what I mean about the spelling. So much classier.)


Ok folks, that's all I have for now. Vast improvement over my last few posts, no? I'm balancing this whole city love/no love for my job thing. More updates to come.

Untitled

Sorry that I'm terrible about blogging lately. Work is sucking the life out of me. And kind of sucking in general.

I don't like to write about downer things, so I suppose that's why I haven't been writing. I kind of hate Mondays. (And I'm not the biggest fan of Tuesday through Friday either, right now.)

I couldn't adequately express it in my current state of mind.

After a great weekend...
I'm back on an island far-far away.

Why didn't someone nail my feet to the ground?

Just the facts, people.

Today, I'm not a fan of:

1. Running late (okay, later than usual) for work. Not that I have a set time to be in the office anyway.
2. Having 525,600 things on my to-do list. That have to be finished today.
3. My massive headache.
   
4. Being at the office until God-knows-when.
   
5. The fact that I have nearly finished the book I checked out on Saturday, and I don't have time to go to the library tonight.
6. Being freezing when I'm in the shade, but hot in the sun. Pick a temperature, NYC!
7. My chipped nail polish.
   

However, I do like:

1. Being less than 24 hours from Norman.
2. MGMT and Rufus Wainwright on my iPod.
3. My sassy shoes.
4. Cupcakes from "Burgers and Cupcakes"
5. Being engrossed in the world of Michael Tolliver and company (of course the gay man is my favorite character).
6. Having everything packed and ready to go to Home Sweet 'Homa.
7. The potential of getting a manicure tonight. If I get back to my 'hood before midnight.

Weekend Wars

"Twisted diamond heart, I'm the weekend warrior.
My predictions are the only things I have.
I can amplify the sound and light and love."
-- MGMT, Weekend Wars

It feels like every weekend around here is absolute non-stop craziness. There's always something going on. It's a nice change from the routine of the week: get up, go to work, stay at work until God-knows-when, come home, prepare for the next day at work, go to bed, repeat. The time frame from 6:00 p.m. Friday until bedtime on Sunday is brimming with opportunity to take in what the city has to offer, revitalize myself and to spend time with my friends, so I try my hardest to take advantage of it. I mean, really, who doesn't love the weekend?

Highlights from this one:

• My first Rudy's experience with the TFA crowd. $7 pitchers, free hotdogs, a jukebox, and a crowd of suits unwinding. Seems pretty good to me.
• College: The Musical. It is part of the New York Musical Theater Festival, and was pretty entertaining, if lacking much of a plot besides a party. I guess that's pretty accurate, though. Right?
• The New York Public Library. Justin and I wandered around the extremely gorgeous, famous campus, and then checked out books from the Mid-Manhattan branch.
• A little foray down Fifth Avenue is always welcome. And I even impressed myself with my restraint at Bendel's.
  
• [Title of Show] from the second row. Amazing, of course.
• Hanging out with the [tos] cast afterwards, and hearing about a great idea Jeff has coming up. (Check out their blog for more updates.)
• Meeting the incredibly talented and extremely sweet Beth Leavel.
• Junior's cheesecake. I know, it's lame that cheesecake is a highlight, but it's so good.
• Spending a lazy, quiet day at home today, preparing for the week and packing for my trip to Norman.
  

(P.S. This picture is of the crowd on 44th St, waiting outside the theater where Equus is playing. They are gathered up here waiting to catch a glimpse of Daniel Radcliffe coming out of the stage door. Out of control.)