Kristie's New Car

Help the Victims of Hurricane Katrina

. . . there are a bunch of different numbers to call in order to donate money, and in some cases, volunteer to help rescue, and there's going to be a huge need in terms of cleanup volunteers. CNN has compiled a pretty comprehensive list. I'm sure any little bit of help will be extremely appreciated.

I'm in Love With Harry (and Proud of It!)

For those of you who are big Harry Potter dorks like I am, check out the teaser and the trailer for the new movie, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

(By the way, thanks to Mr. Marshall for my "Republicans for Voldemort" sticker. I love it!)

Goin' to the City

Here's Kristie's new tattoo, which she got last Thursday. It's a version of the Celtic Tree of Life. Miss Kristie also bought a brand-new Toyota Matrix yesterday! It's very very cute and fun. Congratulations, doll. You have been promoted to chaffeur. :-)

In other news, I'm outta here!! This weekend Mitch and I are going to the city and to visit our grandmother. We'll go to MoMA (I haven't been there since the renovations), we'll see Fiddler on the Roof (starring Harvey Fierstein, yay!), and we'll eat at my favorite comfort-food spot, the Second Ave. Deli. I can't wait, it'll be great! John, don't forget to feed Sam and Jonah tomorrow! (Thank you.) See y'all next week!

Pain In My Own Ass

It's a familiar situation as of late: a ton of work to do, and absolutely no motivation to get it done. Hence the post (I'm too unmotivated to even write a longer one, though). I'm either overtired or pissy or lazy. I really can't figure it out. I need to get some sleep, I think.

A Pic of the Spanish Steps

Here is the view from the top of the Spanish Steps at dusk. It really is a beautiful spot. The street that starts at the bottom of the Steps is lined with designer shops like Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Armani, Dolce & Gabbana and other uber-expensive namebrands.

The German

I met a boy in Rome. Of course in Rome. But he's not from Rome, he's from Germany. Of course. He's very sweet and very handsome and he lives a hundred million miles away. And because we only spent two evenings together, and because he's such a mystery, I am very attracted to the idea of getting to know him better and (possibly?) visiting him. Or him visiting me. We've been emailing long letters and photos, but I have to wonder if any of it will amount to anything. Yes, it's nice to have him as a contact . . . a friend, even, but where will it go, if anywhere? And it's not like I am trying to take the spontaneity or impetuousness out of anything, I'm just wondering if it's worth all the thought I've already given it, which, for the record, has been too much. I guess we'll see. . .

Online Confessionals

They seem to be all the rage. Protected by the veil of anonymity, one can be fearless. Though a lot of these confessions/secrets are sometimes very disturbing, a lot of them are oddly comforting, and some are downright comical. No one I know (or so they say) has submitted a secret or confession to these sites. I have been tempted, but I will never, for fear of them being able to track my secret to my town, to my office, to my desk, to my computer, to my head. Really, I'm not paranoid. But there are a couple choice secrets that I will never commit to writing. Not in my journal, not on my blog, and not on an anonymous online abyss. They are just too secret. But I do enjoy reading them. It's the sensationalist in me.

Check out postsecret.com, grouphug.us, and notproud.com.

I'm Back! Damnit.

Well, August is already halfway over and autumn will be coming very shortly. I love autumn, so I'm not disappointed about the retreat of summer. I am, however, dreading yet another Northeast winter. I'll whine about that later, though. . . it's still warm and sunny out, thankfully.

Italy was fabulous; I visited Positano, Pompei, Sorrento, Capri and Rome. (The photo above is of Positano, where I spent the majority of my trip.) It was a beautiful vacation; to be on the West Coast of Italy was fantastically beneficial to my mental health. And, of course, Rome. . . quite the difference in security compared to the last time I was there in March of 2001. Instead of a few Swiss Guards here and there at the Vatican, there were many heavily armed police officers. Where you used to be able to walk right into San Pietro, there are now queues and metal detectors. But regardless, Rome is still stunning and wonderful and friendly and ancient. I spent most nighttime hours on the Spanish Steps, where I drank lots of chianti and met all sorts of people and watched fire throwers and guitarists perform for the crowds. It was so disappointing to leave. But, I threw a coin into the Trevi Fountain, which supposedly insures your safe return to Rome someday. So hopefully I'll get back there eventually.