Cute Pic

With Mitch in Long Island. What can I say? Good genes run in the family. ;-)

I've Been Busy!

. . . So I haven't posted a couple pics from last week.

From Wednesday's book club meeting at Noche: Here's Melissa, enjoying a glass of sangria while we try to listen to Sarah (the blonde in the background) discuss the book over the din.

Thursday night was rockin' at Valentine's thanks to two of my favorite local bands: the Suggestions and Hector on Stilts. Here's Brodeur, being a rock star:

It is Really Scary. . .

. . . how excited I get knowing that a half-pint of Ben & Jerry's Cookie Dough ice cream and an episode of American Idol are both waiting for me when I get home tonight.

Especially since what I need to be doing is not watching TV, but reading, oh, the second half of my book club book for my book club meeting tomorrow. (!)

Charlie's Wedding

Mitch and I went to Freeport, Long Island, this weekend for my Uncle Charlie's wedding. The weekend also doubled as a mini family reunion on my mom's side. I only was able to see four of my 19 cousins, but hopefully we'll be able to orchestrate a larger family reunion soon, maybe in the fall. I did see four out of seven of my mom's siblings though. Here they are:

Here's Darcy, Lisa, Derek, my mom (Carrie) and Charlie.

Their other sister, Elle, is in Italy for the summer (where she already managed to get hit by a Smart car), and one brother, Bucky (a.k.a. Danny) is in London for a Cream concert, and the other brother, Johnny, has been excommunicated from the family. I still don't really get what's going on there, but no one seems to want to go into detail to explain it to me.

Here are the cousins that were in attendance:

Me, Val, Shawn, Renee, and Mitch. Nicole showed up later.

Here's Renee's baby, Kiera:

She's a cutie, alright!

And here is my Uncle Charlie dancing with his bride, Be:

Her dress was beautiful. I'm so glad Charlie finally got married! Yay! Congratulations Charlie and Be!!

Rain, Rain, Go Away

It's been raining for like seven or eight days straight. C'mon, people, we do not live in Seattle here. Augh.

Off to Long Island this weekend to attend my uncle Charlie's wedding. He's 60-something and this will be his first marriage. Impressive. It looks like I'll be seeing some of my dozens of cousins on my mom's side who I haven't seen in quite a while, so that'll be interesting.

OK, back to work.

Rant

If I ever become rich and famous--or just rich, or just famous--I will first use my power to extinguish one of my all-time biggest pet peeves. I hate (HATE!) that U.S. international airports (well, probably all U.S. airports--but I'm specifically thinking of JFK, Newark and Logan) charge money to use luggage trollies. This concept is so absurd, it infuriates me. Not because I find that I'm usually in need of a trolly--I only ever travel with a backpack and one rolling piece of luggage--but there are so many people who do need to use trollies, especially after their long-ass, cross-Atlantic flights. Mothers with kids swarming around them, elderly folks who need assistance to even lift their luggage off the belt, students who may have a lot of luggage because they're spending a whole semester in the states, etc. Not only do you need to pay to use the trollies, but you need to pay in American dollars (last time I checked it was $3, and you had to insert the money into the trolly holder to obtain one). A lot of foreign travelers don't consider this (one reason for this is probably because most, if not all, foreign airports I have been to do not charge a cent to use the trollies), and therefore are carrying only euros or whatever their native money is. And, of course, the luggage belts often come before exchange booths in the layout of an airport. Therefore, foreign travelers are often screwed out of being able to use a trolly.

I just think that it's such a callous first impression for us to be giving the rest of the world.

Perennial Event Date

Yup, that's Brodeur. He said that he didn't mean to make a face in this pic, so I guess this is what he looks like normally. Hehee! Anyway, here we are enjoying olives and wine at Elissa Halloran's 5-year anniversary party at Noche.

Thanks to Leif for sending us this pic!


*Note to Michael C., my other--but no less important--perennial event date: As soon as I get a pic of us, I'll post that too. :-) Maybe at the art opening this evening? See you then.

I Did It

I finally officially registered to take the GREs (hello $115 for a test!!!). And I think I had a mini heart attack while doing so. Anyone with math skills, please step forward! I am going to need some serious tutelage.

Love That Guy

There is very little that can make me feel more optimistic about life than John Denver.

Morning Report

Met my Little Sister (and her many brothers and sisters) last night for the first time. I must say, she is aDORable. She's 9, and she likes math and drama. I told her I may need her to tutor me in math so that I might be able to pass my GREs. I can't wait to hang with her, I think this is gonna be a ton of fun for both of us.

Lyric of the Day

"Would you want me if I was gangster?"

--"Gangster" by Paranoid Social Club

For Anyone Who Didn't Catch It

Colbert on Bush. Priceless.

Puppy Love

Took Asa hiking on Sunday. We went to Thacher Park and climbed a couple steep hills, sniffing EVERYthing along the way, and then realized that we were inhaling bugs with every breath (tasty), and therefore we resolved to buy some bugspray before we went on another adventure.

Sit tall, sit proud!

He loves me. Really.

Update

OK, last week I made a date with him for tonight.



And this morning I broke it.


The End.

I Don't Get It

This is part of an online conversation between me and an ex-boyfriend of mine, John. Sometimes guys just don't get it. Then again, sometimes girls just don't get it either.

me: I gave my number to this guy monday night
John: did he call?
me: and he called me an hour later. an HOUR!! that SCREAMS desperate. so of course I didn't call back
John: lol
me: he left a message. but then he called me again last night! and left a message!
John: oh boy
me: but I haven't checked it yet. dude. can this guy take a class in tried and true dating rules?
John: well.. here's the problem. not all of you women are the same. it's not learning how to date... it's learning how to read women
me: um, the whole knowing-when-to-call thing is very simple
John: you have to figure out if they are the type that wants you to call right away or not
me: like not an hour after you get the number. no girl wants to be called that quickly
John: but..
me: see, there were no words exchanged between me and this guy
John: no words! damn KT
me: no
John: maybe he's intrigued and wants to find out what your VOICE sounds like!
me: um no
John: that's so funny
me: he sounded nice on the message tho
John: maybe he is
me: he's like, you're beautiful blah blah
John: I say give him a chance
me: typical
John: and after 2 conversations, if you don't like him.. then cut it off
me: well whether or not I give him a chance will highly depend on what this second message says. the thing is if we had had a nice conversation and then he called me to say, nice to meet you or whatever, that would be different
John: well yeah... see... here's the thing. if you meet a guy and you're REALLY into him. if he calls you right away, it's all good. but if you're questioning it, then he'd better call you like 3 days later
me: well yeah
John: and us men are forced to read that
me: there's no way to tell if I like this guy or not, we did not exchange a single word.
John: so then why would you drop him right away?
me: because HE CALLED right away
John: But how do you know that it's desperation and not that he's overly excited about YOU.
me: because. regardless of how excited you are, if you have any dating skills whatsoever, you still know to NOT CALL THAT NIGHT!
John: common misconception
me: haven't you been listening?

thoughts? Am I being ridiculous?

It's a Match!

I have been in the process of becoming a volunteer for Big Brothers/Big Sisters of the Capital Region for a while. On Friday, I was informed that I have been matched with a potential Little Sister. I meet her mother next Wednesday--she must approve of me before I meet the child. I hope she likes me. The girl is 9, and seems like a great kid. I'm excited!

Today Is . . .

1. Free Cone Day at Ben & Jerry's
2. Free Smoothie Day at Dunkin Donuts
3. Holocaust Remembrance Day
4. Tuesday
5. Exactly 30 years since my parents got married

My Brother (Not Mitch)

Took a couple snapshots of Dylan while I was home over the weekend. We did fun things like eating waffles for breakfast, watching movies, going out to eat, and hanging out at the bookstore. This is a rare glimpse of his natural smile. (What can I say? I must bring out the best in him!) :-)

Happy Thought on a Monday

I.

LOVE.

BEING.

SINGLE.

Lyric of the Day

"Come a little closer and sing me a love song."

--"Assholes" by the Damnwells

With Brodeur, Seeing Red

a cool-looking nonflash pic at the wedding

Random Pics of Iceland . . .

. . . because I so love it there and SO want to go back.

Fits of Odd Music Behavior

Yesterday it was country. . . . Today it's showtunes.

My playlist looks something like this:

"America" from West Side Story
"All That Jazz" from Chicago
"One" from A Chorus Line
"In My Life" from Les Miserables
"Getting to Know You" from The King and I
"I Know Things Now" from Into the Woods
"Matchmaker, Matchmaker" from Fiddler on the Roof
"Pinball Wizard" from Tommy
"What I Did For Love" from A Chorus Line
"In My Fashion" from Kiss Me, Kate
"Seasons of Love" from Rent
"Think of Me" from Phantom of the Opera


Hence, today's Lyric of the Day:

"No, I'm no one's wife, but, oh, I love my life!"

--from "All That Jazz" (yeah, sistah!!)

Squinty!

After randomly perusing my Myspace photos, I've discovered something: When I grin for the camera (oh, gosh, and probably always!), my right eye gets squintier than my left. Squintier? More squinty?

Hang on, must refer to handy dictionary. . .

Ah. More squinty. Yes, my right eye appears more squinty than my left. Why is this? I don't smile lopsidedly, do I?

Ah well, just an observation.

In a Country Mood

I'm getting my fill of country music today via Pam Tillis, Johnny Cash and Alison Krause. That'll do me for a good month or so.

Lyric of the Day

"I'd fall in love just as you'd hold me."

--"Tsunami" by Res

Aaron and Me

The Wedding, Cont.

(Kristie's nieces, Maeve and Fiona)

The Wedding, Cont.

The Wedding

3 . . . 2 . . . 1 . . . LIFT-OFF

OK, folks, here we go! In an hour I'll be heading into a huge 30-hour abyss of wedding revelry. I'll post pics of the blessed event on Monday.



Oh, by the way, Happy Easter to those of you who are into that sort of thing, and Happy (?) Passover to those of you who are into that sort of thing.

Counting Down

We are exactly 48 hours away from Kristie and Tony's wedding ceremony. Tomorrow is the wedding rehearsal, dinner, and then the ladies will stay in a suite at a hotel for the night. Then on Saturday, we'll get ready at the hotel and the bride will get hair and makeup done at the salon, and then voila! Wedding! Exciting. All this planning for one day. Crazy!

In Need of a Little R&R

I am very, very tired today. That's what 6 hours of a music video shoot will do to you, I guess. Thanks to Hector on Stilts for my film debut opportunity, but I think that's gonna pretty much be the extent of my acting career.

Amazingly, I was still able to make it to the gym before work today (thanks for the wake-up call, mom, you're awesome!). I'm sore now, but that's probably due to the fact that I have been too busy working (who'd have thunk it?) to be away from my desk but for about 10 minutes all day long. So I've been sitting here. All . . . day . . . long.

I left my phone at home today, and therefore I'm sure a bunch of people are waiting to hear from me, or waiting to yell at me, when I get to my house (which will hopefully be soon!). So, let me take this opportunity to apologize to everyone for all the phone calls I didn't get today. (Especially my potential lunch date--I was chained to my desk all day so I couldn't have made it anyway, but I'm sorry I missed you.)

Really, I can't wait to go home and relax, and watch Lost! I have to go pick up my bridesmaid dress tonight--hopefully that and walking Asa will be the only things requiring me to get off my butt this evening.

Quote of the Day

"Finally, some lyrics with meaning!"

--a middle-aged man at the gym this morning, when "Da Doo Run Run" came on the radio.

Non-Wedding-Related News: We ROCK.

The annual New York Press Association conference was held this past weekend; Metroland won NINE awards, including FOUR in first-place! That's the most we've ever won in the years we have been a NYPA member.

First Place awards:

Writer of the Year (Rick Marshall) (Congratulations RICK!!!)
Coverage of Agriculture
Coverage of Education
Coverage of the Environment

Second Place awards:

Overall Design Excellence
Rookie Reporter of the Year (David King) (Congratulations David!!!)
Coverage of Religion

Third Place awards:

Past Presidents’ Award for General Excellence
Coverage of Business/Financial/Economic News

Also:

Metroland finished fifth in total contest points for single-flag newspapers.


You can read the write-ups of the winners here.

More Party Pics

Kate, Niki and Kiera: Sooooo patriotic!

Kristie completes one of her missions: To dance on the bar. You go, lady!

Rockin' out on her last night out as a single gal.

Me and my girls. Yes, Kate's holding a penis straw in front of me, but I pretend not to see it. Or I was just too loopy at that point to do anything about it.

Kristie with sister-in-law, Kathleen, and sister Michelle (maid of honor).

Some Bachelorette Party Photos

Kristie plays with Kate's Pippi Longstocking hairstyle.

Kristie, adorned with her tiara and hand-sewn army-green veil, reads the directions for BACHELORETTE BOOT CAMP.

Kristie reads one of her TOP SECRET clues.

Sweet pic of Kiera and Kristie at DeJohn's.

Kiera and Kate: Army twins!

Kiera and Niki drop and do 10 pushups for being bad and leaving a gear pack outside.

MISSION: BACHELORETTE BOOT CAMP

I LOVE her.

The bridal party: (l-r) Michelle (the sister and maid of honor), and Kate, Kristie, me, and Kathleen (Kristie's sister-in-law).

Temporary tattoos RULE!

Red Carpet Blitz

When I was in London, I happened to be in Leceister Square the night of the world premiere of Basic Instinct 2. Here's a pic I took of Sharon Stone on the red carpet (she's the blonde under all the spotlights, if you couldn't tell). All of the reporters were on the other side of the carpet, so she had her back turned for the majority of the five minutes I stood there, watching. Man is that movie being slammed! Poor, crazy, nutty Sharon Stone.

Very Busy Day

Today, I . . .

- woke up very early
- let Plumber Al in at 8:30 AM and chatted with him about my apartment's failing water pressure over morning tea
- took Asa (who was a very good boy) to the vet and just about fainted at the cost of it all
- took Asa to the park as a reward for being a man about getting shots
- attended a going-away lunch for Kathleen, who's moving to San Francisco
- met Plumber Al at my apartment yet again so he could install the parts necessary for me to have a working shower, bathroom faucet and kitchen faucet
- upon leaving to go back to work, discovered that the lock on the door to the building spontaneously broke, called Bob the landlord, and then the locksmith to come and fix it
- went to the gym and rushed a 45-minute workout (ouch)
- sat on my kitchen counter and ate a bowl of cereal for dinner
- was picked up by Michael and attended the Spectrum's 25th anniversary party
- went to Noche, where all were wearing pink because of a breast cancer fundraiser that occured there earier in the evening, schmoozed with various people
- went to DeJohn's, where I had a cran-apple cosmopolitan and three bites of Michael's yummy chocolate cake


. . . tired.

Bath

The ruins of the Roman Baths in Bath, England.

I Love This

Your eyes are not playing tricks on you. This is really a crooked house (well, actually, it's a tea room) across the street from Windsor Castle in Windsor, England. How fun! And across the street from that. . . .


. . . was this shorter-than-usual doorway. I had to take a picture because the cautionary sign is so precious!

Lyric of the Day

"You can plan a pretty picnic, but you can't predict the weather."

"Ms. Jackson" by Outkast

Annoying Day

My ass has been glued to my office chair for the majority of the day with the exception of lunch (thanks to the Republican for coming to Albany for lunch and letting me vent about my life) and I can't bring myself to go to the gym today, blah! And I've been procrastinating with my tedious-ass work and I was just blown off yet again by my brother and I'm SO ready to freeeeeak ouuuuuuuut.

!!!!!!!!!!!

Headline of the Day

Tom Cruise Jumping on Furniture Again

(courtesy CNN)

Back From London, Unfortunately

This is one of my favorite views of London. It's the Millenium Bridge, with St. Paul's Cathedral in the background (yes, the "Feed the Birds" church). St. Paul's looks like a water-color painting in real life. It's one of the most beautiful churches on earth, as far as I'm concerned.

On the other end of the Millenium Bridge sits the Tate Modern, the most beautiful museum ever. It's breathtaking inside--for one, it's HUGE. In 1995 the building was converted from a defunct power company into this amazing place. It's seven stories tall and it holds Duchamp's Fountain.

HoS Show in Lenox Last Night!

This is three-quarters of Hector on Stilts, who played at the Firefly in Lenox last night. There was much dancing, and much rocking. Here, the boys (left to right: Jeb, JBro and Roger) are caught between dinner and show. Jeb looks giddy--it must have been his brownie-and-vanilla-ice-cream sundae. Yum!

Lyric of the Day

With your feet in the air and your head on the ground

Try this trick and spin it, yeah

Your head will collapse

But there's nothing in it

And you'll ask yourself,

"Where is my mind?"

"Where is My Mind?" --the Pixies

I See London!

Off to London this weekend. Ah, London. The Parliament, the Queen, tea and crumpets, theater, and so much more. I'll be gone for a week. Don't come looking for me.

I'll be sure to post photos when I get back (the last time I was in London I was still using a camera that took film--gasp!--and I think I have yet to develop some of those pictures).

Lyric of the Day

I've overcome the blow.

--"Operator" by Jim Croce

Metroland Community Arts Project

the upstairs bathroom

March 2, Again

Thirteen years ago.

It's the saddest anniversary to recognize, but it's the

only
one
I
never
have
trouble
remembering.

Lyric of the Day

I thought my love was enough to make you smile for all your life.

-- "I Wonder" by Gomo

It's the Little Things in Life

On the occasions that I drive my car to work, it gives me a jolt of triumph every time I park in the ad director's self-appointed parking spot.

This Sucks

It's so cold here. In my city and in my heart.

Cecelli and Me...

. . . at the Lark Tavern. Seriously, where else?

Tonight...

Thai food and then off to see Paddy play!!

Lyric of the Day

When we were strangers, I watched you from afar; when we were lovers, I loved you with all my heart.

--"Harvest Moon," Neil Young

*Sigh*

Ken turned metro.