Rules for Living: Vol. 2

Everyone needs a sure-fire solution for the days when you're just feeling down. Here's mine:

1. Go home and change into your PJ's.
2. Order takeout from your favorite restaurant.
3. Watch a fun movie.

Options, in case that combo's not going to cut it for you (er, me):
Have a glass of wine, see a Broadway show, go to Tiffany's

Tonight, however, I'm opting for the simple 1-2-3 approach.
#1 is pretty self-explanatory, but I felt it necessary to fill you in that Ashley and I are camped out on the couch with our nearly finished Samalita's delivery food and watching High School Musical. And we just might be watching the "Can I Have This Dance" scene twice.


(Credit to OxymoronAssoc on livejournal)

Apparently, I'm now in love with several things...

I have turned into a terrible blogger. I keep saying that I will do better if I blog in little bursts, just covering one quick topic, but then I get lazy or forget and have too many things to talk about. This happens so frequently that big things don't even get mentioned. I'm going to try to catch everyone up.

So, I'm chilling in a hotel in Newark, watching the Oscars (which I'm really unimpressed by). I am here for a work conference, celebrating the end of the application deadlines, gearing up for spring campaigns and brainstorming for next season. It's always fun to bring the RT together, because boy, do we know how to have fun! Let's just say it's a good thing the conference doesn't officially start until 1 p.m. tomorrow.

The past couple of weeks have been transitional at work, switching from crazy finish-the-season-strong mode to admissions focus (i.e. applications and interviews). And it's time to start seriously thinking about next year. Don't worry, once something worth mentioning is in the works more definitely, you'll be updated.

Look at me, breaking one of my favorite rules: Not talking about work on the weekend.

So instead, let's transition to my favorite topic: Fun in the city. I've been having plenty of that. Yesterday I finally ate at the famous Stage Deli, and though I was skeptical, it definitely lived up to the hype. They had the most amazing potato salad I've ever eaten. Yeah, I just used the word "amazing" to describe potato salad. That means it must have been pretty dang good.

Also, my friend and I attended a makeup workshop at Henri Bendel, hosted by Trish McEvoy reps. I'm in love with Trish makeup now, by the way. If you are looking for something to buy me, that's always a good idea.

Hmm, what else? What about the places to eat and drink? Mostly we've been hitting up our regular haunts - like Silk Road, Rudy's, etc. But I would like to point out the fact that I have found the best cupcake in NYC. No, it's not Magnolia (overrated), or Crumbs (overfrosted), or any other chain. There's only one of these places in the world, and it's down the street from my apartment. If you haven't tried Two Little Red Hens Bakery, you absolutely must. I insist. I even brought my RD a cupcake from there as a gift because I had to share the joy that they bring.

Finally, what recap of my life would be complete without mentioning the Great White Way? There's so much to talk about (as always)! For Valentine's Day, I (along with everyone else in the city) went to see a show. I chose Billy Elliot, and that was a good and bad idea. Good because it was seriously incredible. Bad because I'm in love with it and want to see it a dozen times now. And of course, I need to see all of the actors who play Billy! (Kiril's my favorite, right now.)

Also, my friend and I have been attempting all week to win the Wicked lottery. If you're not familiar, Broadway lotteries are systems that allow people to get great seats for cheap, if you're lucky. Basically, you go to the theater two hours before the performance, put your name in a hat, and if it's drawn you get up to two tickets for about $25. We tried a couple of times this week, but to no luck. However, I was determined to win, so we went again yesterday. (Honestly, it was more about trying my luck and wanting to win than having a great desire to see the show at this point.) As luck would have it, I had luck that day, and I won! We sat on the 2nd row and had a blast. I'm now in love with Aaron Tveit, who played Fiyero. That's awesome because he'll soon be in Next To Normal, opening soon on Broadway.

So that's what's going on right now. Hopefully there are plenty more fun and exciting things to be happening in the near future. I can't believe it's already nearly March, but no wonder time flies when I'm having so much fun.

P.S. I watched several episodes of Gossip Girl on DVD this weekend, and now I really want to run into Ed Westwick in the city more than ever. Someone out there, make this happen please?

Dear Gossip Girl,

I'm not sure what happened between us. For a while there, we had a really good thing going. My Monday nights were cleared indefinitely, blocked off for a little alone time with you. Those nights really meant something to me.

But now you've just disappeared from my life. Without so much as a phone call. A text message even? I mean, I know we took a little break over the holidays, and what happens in different area codes... well, I thought we both agreed to put that in the past.

You made promises to me of things to come - things like a Blair and Nate reunion, things like a return appearance from Jonathan, things like Serena and Dan finally being dunzo. How can you make promises like that and then just run away from something so special?

You tell me you'll be back on March 16. March 16? What could you possibly be doing for over a month that would keep you away from my loving embrace? Please tell me it's not another woman. Or worse, Aaron Rose.

I wish you would spare me this heartache and come back to me soon. I don't know if my heart can handle the distance for nearly another month. Please don't leave me in despair on my Monday nights. Though, you know that through it all, when you do finally return to me, I will be ever faithful and true.

Perhaps absence makes the heart grow fonder, but you already know I love you.

XOXO-
Emily

Rules for Living: Vol. 1

So, I've been wishing I had a regular update topic like some of my favorite bloggers out there, but I had trouble coming up with one that wasn't blatantly stolen. Now I finally have one of my own. Each week, I'm going to share with you my "Rules for Living". These are just little observations that I think would make the world a more pleasant place (at least for me) if more people would, well, observe them. I'm not going to narrow myself down to a particular format. Let's keep this organic and see how it grows.

Rule for Living #1:
Chewing gum should not be done in public, unless you are under the age of 18, or you are at a sporting event. It looks ridiculous and annoys me to watch people chewing, chewing, chewing. Even Willy Wonka agrees.

Rule for Living #2:
Life is better with good music. Case in point: my Pandora playlist. Today, when I logged in and hit play, I was rewarded with a series of songs that could make any stressful, strange day feel awesome. I will share them with you:

It's My Life, Addicted to Love, Here I Go Again, Jesse's Girl, Heaven Is a Place on Earth, Dreams, Take It On the Run, Your Love, Message in a Bottle, Where You Lead, Don't You Forget About Me, It Ain't Over til it's Over, Open Arms, Tempted, Let's Stay Together, Just What I Needed, Cruisin, and Eye of the Tiger

It's still going, but that's all that's played at the current moment.

Looking forward

First of all, I apologize. I've been terrible at updating. Maybe I should update more often with little blips of info, so that the task doesn't seem so daunting when I feel like I have nothing significant to say, which is the current scenario. Nothing terribly exciting is happening right now for me. Mostly, I'm just looking forward. What am I looking forward to, you might ask? (Now you're wondering how I read your mind. I'm psychic.)

First of all, I am so stoked for tomorrow at 6:00 p.m. because that = the end of our final application deadline. Well, at least for me. The deadline is technically midnight, EST. So if you're reading this and are planning to apply to TFA, hit submit! It's going to be nice to have a change of pace around the office. Plus, it's payday, and who doesn't love getting paid?

Then, miracle of miracles, we get a three day weekend. I should have planned ahead and organized myself a little trip to visit loved ones or something, but these 3-dayers always sneak up on me. So I'll spend the weekend here in the city, taking care of business and mostly just relaxing. Any suggestions for a TV show on DVD or book series that I could spend 72 hours diving into are greatly appreciated. Oh! And I just got an email informing me that Bendel's is having a sale. Sweet.

After that, I'm looking forward to the Spring Conference for TFA. It's always nice when everyone comes together from across the country, and I have a feeling this one will be OOC, particularly since deadlines are over. And there's a SundayFunday in the works.

Then comes March, filled with joy and joyness. First, I get to take a 5 day "weekend" to visit mi familia in Tennessee. Then perhaps I can convince some friends from OU that they want to spend their spring break in NYC. That would be awesome. And then on the very last day of March I'm going to the opening night performance of Hair on Broadway!

So, I have plenty to look forward to, but for today things are boring as always. Maybe I'll be back with more interesting things to say over the weekend. But don't hold your breath.

This is my favorite awards show.

Why are the Grammy Awards so fierce right now?

Seriously...
M.I.A. performing when her baby is due TODAY.
Radiohead being made of awesome.
Jo-Bros with Stevie Wonder (no worries, Nick, nobody noticed that you messed up the lyrics to Superstitious)
And Lil Wayne still to come.

Thank you, forces that be who put this show together. I was going to go to bed at like 8:00 tonight, but instead I spent the evening watching this epic win.

And I loved when Adele won and I announced to everyone that, "I totally went to the movies with her last month." :)