It's a Doggie Doo World.....

So.... was the illustration really necessary to get the message across?

My Roomate

Over the past year I've discovered a bunch of things about my roomate. Some good.... some enlightening.

She:

• Sometimes leaves dishes in the sink too long
• Needs to remember to put money in her savings account
• Loves her cats
• Has more than occasional insomnia lately
• Forgot just how much she loves hockey
• Should really call Motorola about her busted phone
• She has a bunch of good friends - who sometimes drive her nuts
• Can cook and bake like it's her job, but it's really just a hobby
• Thinks more people should keep their word
• Makes herself "too available " to people because she loves to spend time with her circle of family and friends
• Has gotten a little more adventurous
• She tends to trusts people too soon - not in the OMG we're gonna be BFF's immediately way - cause that's just creepy - but always sees the good side, until it's way too late.
• Her job isn't nearly as challenging as she really wants
• Has come to terms with the fact that she cannot have children.. unless she adopts (that was not as difficult to deal with as she thought, but still had to deal with it)
• Needs to get out an explore the world more, but is too tired with life lately.......
• Is a good person who has people that love her, even though she doesn't feel that way sometimes

Did I forget to mention that I live alone?

Being a Peeping Tom - Or How I Met Auntie Mame

So on Thursday, after a gut busting dinner of really good Mexican food it was decided that we needed to walk it off by getting... hot chocolate. Logical right? I thought I was going to explode, but passing up peppermint hot chocolate at Chocolate Bar... not going to happen! After leaving the store, we were passing all the lovely dwellings on Hudson Street and came upon one in particular where the inhabitants were having a small cocktail party that we watched for a moment. Thoughts of a life in one of those houses were discussed amongst us. As we were about to pass the livingroom window one friend stopped dead in front and starting waving at them. Thinking he was a little nuts and high on the hot chocolate we laughed, but he still kept waving. Well it turns out that one of the party-goers was a friend of his. Said friend came out to greet us and invited us in to join them.

What a wonderful and eclectic group we were! They were so incredibly warm and inviting. One woman in particular (the aunt of the party goer's partner) stood out and completely enthralled me. She was a fantastically tipsy jewelry designer and former singer. She kept hugging me. After telling her that one of my friends was not my boyfriend as she thought, and that actually *they* were the ones that were together, she made me promise that I would do my best to make sure that my two friends got married and had a nice life together. She also kept singing to me. I wanted her to adopt me.

What a fun and unexpected evening. The best kind.

Corporate Conundrum

Tomorrow, I have 2 very important job interviews. They represent the next "step up" in my professional life - and I am a bit apprehensive. Although I am very confident in my ability to do either job, the prospect of going through the process to obtain them is a little daunting. The substantial increase in salary and responsibilities is very exciting. Tooting my own horn for a moment, I submitted resumes to three places, and got two interviews within days. At least I know that the work I put into developing my credentials is paying off - at least to get a foot in the door ffor an interview.

It has been eons since I've had to dress to impress and basically play the corporate game. Both of these positions are well worth the challenge, as they are in the industry that I love and want to set myself down in. Since it has been a while, I was somewhat taken aback when I saw the employment forms from both these organizations. My first reaction was - this has the potential to be a personal violation of my private life. Credit reports?!? Oy. I'll live though - it's worth it.

If either one of these comes to fruition it means my eventual move back to the City. This prospect is also a little nervewracking, but in a good way!

Savage Chicken Pirates

Meet the MET

On Friday and friend and I wanted to do something different, on yet another day off - so we took the backstage tour of the Metropolitan Opera House. What a magnificent place - not just the performance space, but the intricate operation it takes to make it happen.

Loved the tour - the access you have is remarkable. It made me sad that I couldn't go to Lucia, but........ we heard Natalie Dessay doing some warmups in a room we couldn't go in - and an added bonus... Renata Scotto was singing her heart out from a different room on a different floor - she was teaching someone (said the guide).

Seeing the costumes for Lucia, Romeo and Juliet, Butterfly (EXTRAORDINARY!) MacBeth, Faust, Aida, Boheme etc... priceless. They are all so gorgeous - and you are allowed to touch them. My friend and I wanted to hang back and try on the kimonos!

She and I had a blast with the stagehands and propmasters. They were adorable.
It is incredibly fascinating how everything is put together and the time frames involved. My favorite fact... they pick the 27 operas and the singers 5 years in advance!

It was a fantastic experience. I highly recommend it

Wentworth - A Fangirl Moment

Just because... he's perfect.

Whoa Ho Ho It's.... MAGIC

Yes, yes it is. Bruce and the E Street Band's new album, Magic, lives up to its name - and then some. His songs manage to have the classic E Street sound, yet is never a "copy" of himself. It is fresh and relevant. Much of the music has a decidedly Darkness/River feel to it - which thrills you with "from the soul" lyrics and the soaring sounds that reinforce their standing in the music world as the icons they are. Hearing Clarence's horn and Roy's piano wailing out "that" sound... well, it makes me a very happy fan.

Nappus Interruptus

Why is it that everytime I try to take a nap, one or more of the following things happen - no matter what time said nap is scheduled for?:

* Downstairs neighbor's radar for blasting their VERY LOUD Mexican folk music
* Landscapers prolific use of a leaf blower
* I have to pee every 10 minutes
* One of the cats feels the need to bang on the door for attention
* My property manager decides to drag all the garbage can from the parking lot to the front and visa versa
* Above mentioned asswipe who has Ray Romano's voice without volume modulation, engages ANYONE who will listen in a conversation how his rent/utlility free existence is a bitch, as is his pregnant one legged wife. (his thought.. not mine, she is lovely)
* Mom calls
* Medical condition kicks in and I want to die
* Someone decides to test their car alarm over and over and over
* The horn blasting trains come waaaaaaaay more frequently than usual
* Or I just have so many things racing around in my mind that I just can't relax....

Deja Vu

Lately I've been getting some deja vu vibes about a situation I went through a while ago. There are two people I know that have very similar traits, but in varying degrees. There is something unsettling about this. Secrecy, "bending" the truth, omission, and the need to reach out and constantly insinuate themselves into people's lives. This is all under the guise of wanting to be "social". People have even asked me if these two entities were the same person! I noticed this all immediately and was sort of wary, but decided to see how it would pan out. It's actually pretty funny that these two have said some very, very disparaging things about the other to me, but yet choose to have a social relationship. I certainly don't have time for crap like that anymore. Why on Earth would someone want to have people who are like this in their life? It's baffling to me.

Additionally, why is it that no one takes responsibility for the way they make others feel? Safely tucked under a self-helpy blanket... The theory that "only you can decide how you feel" is bullshit. You can feel all you want, the challenge is how you manage it. People do hurtful things to other people, sometimes big - sometimes very small, TAKE responsibility for it. Realize what effect your actions/in-actions have and accept the reaction they get. Don't blow it off as "well that's their problem".

Like people who outright lie (big and small) - they think it's not known, but they are oh so wrong. So never assume that no one knows, just because nothing has been said. And I know a lot... a hell of a lot - I just choose to let it go - but only for so long.

There is a lot more I can say about all of this, but having gotten past it the first time, writing these simple paragraphs was more than enough this time.

Been there... done that - don't want to visit again :-)

Time Traveling

Last night, I went to a very enjoyable reading at CAP21 called "The Time Travelers Convention". The initial premise was that a group of students put flyers in the library books alerting any time travelers from the future that there will be a party for their arrival. The story's theme eventually came to "don't try and go back to the past in order to fix your present". There were some very funny and touching moments, but like I said some of it definitely needs overhauling - such as not starting Act 2 with a depressing daughter/father ballad.

One thing that irked me. The composer, Mike Pettry, is a Jonathan Larson Foundation Award winner and wrote some lovely music. Heidi Heilig wrote the book and lyrics - however, there was one song that repeated the phrase "I should tell you" several times and in a very familiar way. I suspect that perhaps it was their homage to Jonathan, but it was a bit much. One phrase that definitely should be removed is "library kisses (or libraries and kisses)".

The show needs a lot of work, but the potential is definitely there for a fun off-broadway venture that would probably do quite well given the right cast.

SIDE NOTE: While walking back to my car (down the block) I experienced something I hadn't in a VERY long time. Uneasiness. I guess what happened two weeks ago didn't just stay in my dreams but manifested itself in reality. It bothered me that I was bothered.