Tuesdays With Travis

Had dinner in Washington Park with Trav last night. We tried the new vegetarian place on Lark Street, called Peas & Beans, and it was yummy (for you local folk who haven't been there yet, it's right by where Shades of Green used to be). Trav had the veggie falafel and I had organic rice and beans, of which they gave me enough--for $3.50-- for two meals. So we recommend it, if you were curious. Then we went to the M'Land office so I could be a guinea pig for his presentation for the Princeton Review, for whom he'll be instructing an SAT prep course. Good luck Trav, you'll do great!

Pool at the Palais

Admittedly off my game! But still fun.

I Fear . . .

I may have gotten myself into something of a pickle.

Uhh, Yeah!

I'm debating whether or not to tell you men how on point this article really is.

Once in a while, Maxim manages to impress me.

*Note to all you peeps who thought I was crazy for making a big deal out of the guy calling me an hour later: See No. 88.

FUNNY Rotten Scoundrels!

Oh my god, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels could very likely be the funniest thing I've ever seen. And I've seen some funny things in my time. In addition to making the audience hoot and howl, Jonathan Pryce and Norbert Leo Butz (who just won a Tony for his role) kept cracking each other up, which made watching them even funnier. It was absolutely, perfectly hysterical.

And the Darwin exhibit at the Museum of Natural History was great--if you go, allow yourself a LOT of time to make your way through the exhibit. An hour minimum, I'd say. There's a lot of information to absorb and lots to see. Including some giant turtles and iguananas. Which, I now know, are both pretty yummy as dinner.

I added to my book collection this weekend. *Cringe!* I'm so bad. I keep promising myself the madness will stop! I think I'm really going to have to break down and buy another bookcase. This weekend I acquired two T.C. Boyle books and The Ghost of Hannah Mendes by Naomi Ragen (thanks, Gram!!); while in the city we also bought The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie, Newjack by Ted Conover, and The Jewish Kitchen by Clarissa Hymen (this one in particular is super, because this book will actually teach me how to make hazelnut rugelach! I can't even tell you how exciting this is).

We had a nice, respectable kosher lunch at Fine & Shapiro in the Upper West Side, and dinner at Ollie's. Yum. Till next time. . .

My New Desktop Background

This is the tube stop at Gloucester Road, where I stayed when I was in London a couple months ago. (Well, not in the tube stop, exactly, you know what I mean. . . ) My friend John (who I met in the Millennium Gloucester with his whole Midwest contingent) sent me this pic just the other day, and I love it. I neglected to take a picture of this artwork myself, so I'm glad to have it. Thanks, John!

Cutie

Jonah, my 20-pound monster of a cat, dreaming of pirouhettes.

It's Thursday. . .

. . . and I've been daydreaming . . . all day long . . .

This weekend I'll be in the city to see a matinee of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (starring Jonathan Pryce!) and to visit one of my favorite places on earth, Zabar's. And to see the Darwin exhibit at the Museum of Natural History. (And the butterflies if I have time--I love the butterflies!)

I'd love to stop by the New York Press office to visit my new friends, but I doubt anyone will be there on a Saturday. I'm just going to have to play hooky from work one day and go down during the week.

First Day of Summer

I am celebrating by sitting glued to my seat on this sunny production day. Thursday would be so much more appropriate, in my world, for the first day of summer.

Back From AAN 2006

I'm back from Little Rock and in the process of recovering from the late nights (and early mornings), parties, heavy food and general Little Rockdom. Good lord that was a good time.

Mel and I hang at the hotel bar Saturday night. (This is right before Melli had a big fat cigar hanging out of her mouth.)

Our new friend Steve from Exit Weekly. Such a great pic, I had to post it.

These peeps are Steve, Nick and Terry, the boys from the New York Press. They rocked the house.

Bill Clinton was our keynote speaker. He loved us, and we loved him. He's so amazingly smart. Fab!

Who You Callin' Little?

In two days I leave for Little Rock, Arkansas. That is where this year's AAN conference is being held, hosted by the Arkansas Times. The keynote speaker for the conference is Bill Clinton. That's pretty cool, I hafta admit. We won three awards, though our placement (1st, 2nd etc.) hasn't been determined yet--we'll learn that at the conference. Melli (M'Land marketing coordinator and old friend of mine) and I will be roommates at the Peabody Hotel. This spells t-r-o-u-b-l-e! We are going to have waaaaay too much fun.

Hm, what else is new? Aaron kicked my ass last night at Scrabble. That was embarrassing. But I went about four rounds with no vowels! How fair is that? Not very, methinks. Anyway, I'll have to show him who the Scrabble champ is next go-round.

Taking my Little Sister to see Cars tonight, I can't wait!
Pixar+popcorn+sweet little girl=Happy Kate

Bye Bye Book Shop

So sad.

GRE: Done

Wow, I am not in a hurry to do that again. Four hours of testing, blah.

GRE: The Horror!

After a desperate--and unsuccessful--attempt at rescheduling my GREs, I have now accepted my loathsome fate and have embarked on a three-day cramming session. I am pretty confident in my capability concerning the verbal side of the test (it's how I make my living, after all)--it's the math portion that has me shaking in my black patent-leather heels.

To all of my supportive, truly wonderful friends: Though I love you all dearly, you sadly have absolutely no idea what you're talking about when you say "Oh, you'll do just fine!" Obviously none of you have seen any sort of attempt on my part to calculate. It's embarrassing. It took me (and a colleague of mine, David, who is also pretty math-challenged) at least 10 minutes not too long ago to split a lunch bill. To be fair to us, though, I think there had to have been something in the food that was clouding our heads.

Thank goodness Trav has agreed to work with me tomorrow night on my math skills. I'd have no chance otherwise. However, I must say, Mitch (uh, how come he got the math gene and I didn't? huh? mom? dad?) picked up my prep book today and pointed out an equation and said "Look, you can do this one, easy," and I looked, and I did it. In my head. It was a pretty simple equation though. But it did have an 'x' in it.

Heaven help me.

Fashion and Fun at Noche

Saturday night, and a sweet VIP magazine launch party/fashion show downtown. Lights, drama, clothes, paparazzi, wine. . . . What more could a girl want?

Yet Another Photo Shoot

Mitch was a last-minute fill-in as a model for our '50s-themed Summer Guide. He's posing with Billie Jean, a model who looks amazingly like Betty Boop. Check out our Summer Guide when it hits the streets next week (June 8).

Really, It's a Guy Movie

Saw The Break-Up last night. It was funny in spots, but infuriating mostly. Gary (Vince Vaughn, who I really like, by the way) basically embodied most every trait that men possess that I hate. It was a very exaggerated role, obviously. But it really pissed me off. What pissed me off more than his attitude was that Brooke (Jen Aniston) wanted to get back with the vulgar, bad-mannered, inconsiderate dipshit.

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.