Best of the Best of the Best

Alright, people--we can't make this any easier for you. Go to the website and fill out this year's Readers' Poll! Here's your chance to give props to your favorite waitress, band, website, restaurant, reporter, and anything else you want. And, if you're not related to me or anyone else who works at the paper, you may win a prize (you can read about the prizes on the website). Don't forget to vote LOCAL! Thank you and goodnight.

It's All About Perspective

Over the past week or so I have spent time individually with three different people (with whom I am extremely close) who have moved out of Albany over the past couple years (two to western New York--Ithaca and Syracuse--and one to Baton Rouge). Each one of these three precious people says that he misses Albany, a lot. This is the regret I do not want to have. I am staying (for now). I will take a sabatical from my life at some point and scoot off to Barcelona for a year or two, but I'm almost positive I'll end up back here. Jan (Baton Rouge) asked if I've become bored (bored here, bored with my job, bored with my life). After a minute of contemplation, I answered no. The thing is, I told him, I have a great appreciation for the little things in my life (cliche or not, it's the truth). I love being by myself in my tiny apartment that I share with my cats. I love that I have no one to answer to, and I have all the freedom in the world to do whatever I want, whenever I want. I treasure that I get to be close to my brother and that I can be there for him whenever he needs me. I appreciate that I enjoy my job, because a lot of people aren't that lucky. I love that I have good food in my fridge, a car that's fun to drive and still in good shape (and almost paid off!), three parks within walking distance from my house, and an excellent theater in the Spectrum. I love that the Egg's super close, the river is close by too, and I can walk down the street and know at least half of my neighbors. I love that I came here with no family, no connections, and I have made a very comfortable place for myself to live. I love that I have found girlfriends that have become like sisters to me, and I love that I still feel optimistic about my job and my future (at my paper and elsewhere). I don't take these things lightly. I make sure every day to remind myself how lucky I am to have the life I have, the friends and family I love, and to live in the environment in which I feel the most fulfilled. So Jan--that was the long answer. :-)

Party in Tijuana

So I was in San Diego from last Wednesday until Sunday for the AAN conference. (Here, I'm hanging out with my editor and Jamie from the sales department of the Baltimore City Paper waiting for a bus in Tijuana where we partied Saturday night.) The conference was great--I learned a lot and met a ton of people from the industry. I went to the zoo on Thursday morning and took a ton of photos of all the animals--I'll blog one or two soon.

Row Row Row Your Boat

Hey local peeps!
Tomorrow morning at 10 AM, be at the Corning Preserve to cheer on the Metroland row team as we battle other media outlets on the Hudson River. The competition is part of tomorrow's sports expo--the Albany Rowing Center is holding it. I am one of four rowers (the other three are Rick, JRo and Kristie). I think the only one of us who has any rowing experience is JRo--and the experience he has involves being a member of the M'Land team in years past. Alright, team, don't forget to do some pushups these evening! We have to kick some Times Union butt!

I Love the Killers Guy

What can I say? He's gorgeous. He's the one in the red.

Mini Diva

Travis and Isobel are coming to hang out tomorrow. This is very exciting for me since I haven't seen Is since Christmas time. She's such a cutie, and she knows it. Such a smart kid, too. I miss her. Now to figure out something kid-friendly to do.

Ok, About the House. . .

Is it really true? A mortgage should be three times what your yearly salary is? Because if that's true, I really doubt that I can afford any house, much less one in a nice neighborhood. Yes, the restaurant gives me supplemental income, but it's not that much. Hm. And of course, I talked to a voice of "reason" last night who asked me all these questions about why I was married to the idea of staying in Albany. Which I really don't think I am. Who knows, maybe I am. I hate how he makes me second-guess myself. Is it so wrong to like it here?



The season finale of Lost is on tonight. I have to say, this show is brilliant. I love it. So the finale better not suck, because that would be most disappointing.

I Want a House

My parents and stepmother have convinced me it's time to invest. So, I have been house-hunting and procrastinating on my mortgage pre-approval application. It's not like I'm leaving Albany any time soon. So, the process has commenced. I met with a broker yesterday who I really like. I think I shall hire her. I will keep the blog updated with my progress. Wish me luck!

Sad Day

I feel very, very sad today. If you have to deal with me today (and probably tomorrow), I apologize in advance for my mood.

Marvelous Martha

Wainwright, that is. I popped her CD in when it came into the office and found that I really, really like it. It's not exactly the type of music I would typically go for, but it's interesting and unusual but still melodic and beautiful. It's weaker lyrically than I would prefer, but I can deal with that. For you local peeps: She's going to be at Valentine's on Friday, May 20.

If This Morning is Any Indication. . .

It's going to be a tough week.

Damn it.

Tomorrow Better Be Sunny

I was late to work today and I think that threw me all off-kilter. I worked late last night at the restaurant and overslept, right through my alarm, so I didn't make it to the gym, which sucks. My morning workouts have done wonders for my mood going into the day. And of course today has been gray and rainy. Of course.

I saw a great film the other day that I forgot to write about. For anyone needing a reality check, go see Millions. Not that it's realistic. It's just such a sweet story, and it helps keep things in perspective.

Lyric of the Day

When I wake up early in the morning,
Lift my head, I’m still yawning.
When I’m in the middle of a dream,
Stay in bed, float upstream.
Please don't wake me, no, don't shake me.
Leave me where I am, I'm only sleeping.

--The Beatles, "I'm Only Sleeping"

Can't . . . Make it . . . Without . . . Coffee . . .

I tried. I did. I came to work this morning completely bypassing the Dunkin' Donuts on the corner and drank black tea all morning. Then, at about 3 o'clock (which is usually when I get an intense chocolate craving), my eyelids became heavy and I could feel myself slowly drifting away from consciousness . . . and then I snapped to attention and realized that my experiment didn't work. I need coffee. So I went and grabbed a cup. Now I'm sipping it and I am hoping to come out of this fog before I have to go to work at the restaurant in an hour. YAWN!


My brother just started working in the kitchen at the Lark Tavern. It's good money and it's much better for him than working with a bunch of juvenile delinquents at a fast-food joint. And the kitchen manager just gave him a car. A car for goodness sake! What can I say? Sometimes the kid gets lucky.

Update on Asa

OK, so for those of you who don't already know, I'll give you an update on Asa, our sweet little pitbull. He had surgery last Thursday and he now has a pin through his hip bone and three wires wrapped around the outside of the bone to hold it in place. A quarter of his coat was shaved and he had about 30 staples in his leg. We've been back to the vet twice since the surgery, once because Asa's ankle swelled, but Dr. Dries, our vet, said that was normal. We went back yesterday too (I swear Dr. Dries must think we're moving in!) because Asa had bitten some of his staples out. So Dr. Dries put some more staples in. Luckily, we didn't get charged for either of those visits, which is great. We decided that while Asa was under that we should just get him fixed at the same time, so that is taken care of as well, thank goodness. Now, he's going to have the staples in for at least one more week, and he will have the pin in for at least two months. So that's that. Asa, however, thinks he's back at 100 percent--he's been running around with the other dogs at the park like nothing ever happened. I love that dog.

My Fashion Directorial Debut!

So for the last three weeks or so, I have been concentrating on putting together spring fashion for the paper. My models were three people I work with at the restaurant and my brother Mitchell (pictured here in one of the fashion shots with my friend Corinne). It was a whole lotta work, but fun too. And the models had a really good time. I am just really glad it's over. For those of you who have access to real papers, I highly recommend getting one instead of looking at the pics online--they are really not that high-quality on the Web site.

Representin'

This is Brodeur, me and Rick as we arrive at the New York Press Association gala a couple weeks ago. We (M'Land) won three awards at the conference. The gala was fun, lots of food, lots of booze. Lots of watching a roomful of journalists dancing and looking ridiculous.

Asa and Mitch

Asa and Mitch
Originally uploaded by kathrynjo.

Augh! My brother's dog Asa shattered his hip bone by falling down the treacherous back staircase of my brother's apartment building. So this (production day) morning was spent at the vet and calling various members of my family to try to gather the couple thousand dollars it's going to cost for Asa's surgery (which is tomorrow at 8 AM). The poor dog needs a pin through his bone to secure it in place--the bone is broken diagonally in two spots. What a terrible morning. Then I have to deal with my family who (with the exception of my mom, who's broke) are less than willing to help Mitch out financially. And I have to deal with all the "this why I don't have pets" comments. SO NOT THE POINT, PEOPLE! It's enough to drive a girl absolutely crazy. Regardless, Asa will have his surgery and he'll be just fine, and Mitch will be in debt for the rest of his 20s because of it. Oh well.

Conversation Going On In My Office Right Now

Why I find discussion between these two people so amusing, I don't know. Maybe it's just that they're the two who are usually talking.

Rick: "So, do you think Bono will be the next Pope?"
John R.: "Ha, that would be a demotion."

Thank Goodness It's Friday!

Sad news: My favorite comedian, Mitch Hedberg, died a couple days ago from what looks like an OD. I liked him a lot because he was hysterical without being very crass--which takes more creativity. For example: "Swiss cheese is such a rip-off. It's the only cheese that you can bite into and miss." He was only 37.


P.S. John R. is currently trying to prove that Fight Club was really a coming-out story. I say it's a stretch.