Spellings and Such

I grew up in a very small town in Northeast Pennsylvania called Susquehanna. A whole lot of people have had a whole lot of trouble spelling the name of the town in my experience (of course, no one who's actually from the town has any problem). However, I learned today, the spelling of the town used to be much more complicated. According to Wikipedia (and they know EVERYthing), the spelling used to be Sasquesahanough (that's how it was spelled on the 1612 John Smith map).

So really, when you think about it, we got it pretty easy.

McEntire Hall Circa 1998-1999

An old college friend of mine, JP, posted this picture on his MySpace page. It was taken in his dorm room in McEntire Hall at Lock Haven University. Hysterical!

Just Call Me Unazukin

On a more fun/positive note, my friend Michael called me his unazukin the other day. I thought that was sweet.

They All Leave

Well. Another of my very closest friends is moving away. It's strange that leaving the area has been such a trend with the people I've become the most attached to.

Each time this happens, it just breaks my heart.

First it was Jan. He moved away to go to grad school in Louisiana, and he's still there, teaching at LSU.

Next it was Travis. He got into grad school at Cornell, which was very convenient, since that's the area where his little girl, Isobel, lives. So he moved, then moved back for a little while when he was working for the Senate, but he recently bought a house out west (in Montour Falls, to be exact) and so he lives there fulltime now.

Next was Kristie. She decided to marry an army guy, and therefore, now lives in Texas of all places.

Among my other friends who have moved away from here: Rebeccah (to Vermont), Brian (to North Carolina), Cecilli (to Seattle).

And, of course, there's Aaron, who moved to Florida this past fall.

Now, another one of my favorite people ever (and I must thank Travis, because not only would I not know her if it hadn't been for him, but we wouldn't be so wonderfully close either--our friendship was cemented when he was away in Afghanistan)--Kate--is leaving.
The story, for those of you who are interested, is that Kate's from Rochester, and she's been looking to move back there over recent months/years to be closer to her family. She got a job offer for a publicity postion from the University of Rochester, and she took it. She starts her new gig in early April.

Now, I know that these people aren't leaving me--I'm much more rational than that. But that doesn't make it suck any less. And no matter what, when so many people leave, you can't help but feel a little left behind--even if this is where you want to be.

Funniest Headline of the Day

Swiss Accidentally Invade Liechtenstein

FYI

Someone in the office is playing some really out-there, new-agey music and it's kind of freaking me out.

Anniversary

14 years.

One-Word Free Association

Stole this from the blog of a boyfriend of a friend.

1. Yourself: Katie
2. Your boyfriend/girlfriend (spouse): city
3. Your hair: long
4. Your mother: worrier
5. Your father: geekery
6. Your favorite item: laptop
7. Your dream last night: none
8. Your favorite drink: tea
9. Your dream car: flies
10. The room you are in: editorial
11. Your ex: Florida
12. Your fear: dying
13. What you want to be in 10 years? accomplished
14. Who did you hang out with last night? Nate
15. What you’re not? bored
16. Muffins: yummy
17. One of your wish list items: elliptical
18. Time: precious
19. The last thing you did: walked
20. What you are wearing: black
21. Your favorite weather: balmy
22. Your favorite book: many
23. The last thing you ate: coffee
24. Your life: fantastic
25. Your mood: calm
26. Your best friend: many
27. What are you thinking about right now? meeting
28. Your car: silver
29. What are you doing at the moment? working
30. Your summer: easy
31. Your relationship status: boyfriend
32. What is on your TV? nothing
33. What is the weather like? chilly
34. When is the last time you laughed? evening

AAN Conference in DC

The weekend before last, I again attended the AAN East conference in DC; I caught up with some old friends, attended all the seminars, learned a whole lot and reviewed what I already knew, and so on and so on. But I also did a couple more notable things--I went and toured the International Spy Museum, which was wonderful and fascinating, and I could have spent all day in there, but we were able to spend the morning there before we needed to get back to the hotel for the afternoon seminars. Also, I had some superb meals while I was there. Really, every night we had fabulous food. But the staff and I went to eat at a restaurant called Tenpenh on Pennsylvania Avenue on our last night there, and it was so delicious--the meal was probably on my Top 10 list of favorite meals ever. I had the five-spice chili tea rubbed beef tenderloin with a kimchee-noodle cake and Korean chili Hollandaise sauce. And that was just the entree! I'm getting hungry just thinking about it. Here, for your viewing enjoyment, is a pic of our pre-dinner cocktails.

. . . and here's dessert--spicy peanut and hot fudge sundae with flourless chocolate cake, ice cream and peanut butter cream. Mmmmm.

Valentine's Day Snowstorm

I know it's a little late to be blogging about this, but this is what the Valentine's Day snowstorm did to my poor car:

It's Important to Note. . .

That I have a bat stuck in my window at the moment (yes, the type with wings, not the type used in a baseball game).

The Perfect Bag

As many of my readers (read: friends and family) know, I have been on a continuous, extensive, far-reaching search for what I would consider the Perfect Bag for years and years. I have bought a bag or two here and there, but I have yet to find the Perfect One. Far from it, in fact. As I was pondering this dilemma yesterday, I reasoned that I should probably put together a list of things I want (and don’t want) out of a handbag. So here’s what I’ve come up with so far. . .

The Color
Colors I like in a bag: black, silver, pale pink. Colors I don’t like in a bag: Green, yellow, violet, blue. . . . Yeah, basically, anything else. NO BROWN. I can handle a print as long as it’s not a brandname—those Louis Vuitton and Coach bags are completely and utterly obnoxious.

The Texture/Material
I love leather, but it’s so heavy! Soft, smooth leather is ideal since it’s so light. I’m not anti-fabric, though, and I dig vinyl now and then. So I’m keeping an open mind about the material. But I would prefer to stay away from nylon. I don’t mind some hardware on the bag, but full-on chain straps and whatnot are a no-no.

The Look
The most important thing is that the bag must look classy, sleek, elegant and neat—and it MUST be appropriate for evening as well as day, kind of like this:

The Body
I want a slim bag with a rectangle/square-ish shape. A framed body is ideal—that way there’s shape and structure to the bag. However, I’m not married to the idea of a framed bag. The ugly green bag I’ve been toting around lately is not structured, and it fits everything perfectly. But it’s a bit chaotic in there. Though a framed bag tends to be heavier, I feel like my stuff is safer in it because it doesn’t get so jostled while I walk or toss the bag on my bed, etc.

The Size
Big enough to carry around my essentials: my wallet (luckily I found the perfect wallet a few years ago at Anne Taylor, and I will cry when it finally dies), my small digital camera, my phone, my keys, and basic makeup pieces (mascara, lipgloss, powder), and most of the time, my iPod (which I don’t carry when I’m going out on the town)—but small enough that I feel comfortable carrying it out at a bar, kind of like this:The Strap
The strap might be the most important part of the bag, in my opinion. For the strap, I prefer a single strap as opposed to a double, and it must be the perfect length for me to easily sling it over my shoulder, but also, for it to rest neatly under my arm, like this:

The Closure
I would love for my bag to be able to be zipped close. I don’t like snaps, magnets, buttons, ties, flaps, latches, etc. THERE MUST BE NO FRINGE OF ANY KIND—that means no zipper fringe too.

The Weight
Very simply: lighter = better.

So. Now that my bag requirements are written out for the world to see, if anyone knows where to find this “perfect” bag, please, for Pete’s sake, let me know. I’d be very grateful.

I Told You

. . . Teens are evil.

The Unfortunate Corruption of Language

A terrifying side effect of text messaging:

Teens Use IM-Lingo in Essays

Oh the Fun

I happen to keep a record of some hysterical things that are said in my office. Amusing things are said every day (I happen to work with some funny--if painfully sardonic--people), but every now and then a particularly funny line comes out of someone's mouth. Here are the last few that made my Quotes List.

July 5, 2006
“What is this, White Boy Day?”
--David King (staff writer), in response to Ken Lay kicking the bucket and Rush Limbaugh being cleared of illegal Viagra ownership

July 14, 2006
“If Metroland were a musical, this would be the time of the day where the song comes in, “You’re Never Late With a Boss Like That.” (walking in 20 minutes late for a meeting)
--Shawn Stone (arts editor)

July 26, 2006
“Five-year-olds are so stupid.”
--Chet Hardin (news editor)

Aug. 16, 2006
“I’m the fashion editor. I don’t have a lot to do with fashion, but I’m responsible for bringing the style.”
--David King

Sept. 3, 2006
“I’m glad Howard Glassman exists because he makes me feel like an optimist.”
--Shawn Stone

Nov. 29, 2006
“Who the fuck brought the biscotti?”
--Chet Hardin

Jan. 10, 2007
“Beauty and the Geek is multi-layered.”
--Chet Hardin, in defense of his watching the show.

Jan. 23, 2007
“It’s like Lunchables, only hipper.”
--David King, describing his Norwegian Jake’s LunchBoxers

Jan. 30, 2007
“This is the kind of room where if we had a talking stick, we’d beat each other with it.”
--Shawn Stone

Jan. 30, 2007
“Women that tall, I have no problem hitting.”
--David King, making threats about what he’ll do to the Times Union’s (and my best gal) Kate Perry if she steals his story

Despicable Creatures of Evil and Doom

This past Saturday I was in the city for the day--I had some stuff to take care of in the early afternoon, and then I met up with Joe and we went to have sushi for dinner in the village. After dinner, we had a few drinks at a couple different places on Bleecker Street. It was a lovely day, and at around 11 PM, we went to Penn Station to part ways--Joe back to Long Island; me to Morristown, NJ, to stay with my gram for the rest of the weekend.

I missed my 11:11 train for silly reasons I won't get into, so after Joe caught his train, I sat in Penn for an hour doing a NY Press crossword, waiting for the next train.

About a half-hour into my wait, in what seemed like a blink of an eye, hordes of the most vile, destructive, contemptible creatures flooded what had been a moderately empty Penn Station. I'm talking hundreds (maybe even a thousand or two) of the worst lifeform imaginable: teenagers. They were such wretched, unthinkable beings--puking and spitting and drunk and high and crying and screaming into their cell phones and yelling at each other from across the train station. It took about 30 seconds of this nonsense for my nerves to fry.

Not wanting to be run down when trying to get to my train, I kept a close eye on the board, and when the gate was announced, I was among the first to get to the platform and board, even though those little disciples of Satan did their best to plow people over to get to the train. Seats were being taken at lightning speed, so when I spied a woman my age sitting in a two-seater, I asked, "Do you mind?" And she responded, "Are you kidding? I'd rather have you sit here than one of these hooligans," as she gestured at the teens falling over each other to grab seats. Our seats faced the empty space at the front of the train car that's available for people with wheelchairs and whatnot. That space--and every other available space on the train, including the walkways--was filled to the brim with teenagers. Cussing, shouting, know-it-all, drunk, dehydrated, horny, obnoxious, evil teenagers. And to make matters worse, since there were so many of them, it took about 10 to 15 minutes at each stop to let everyone off who needed to get off. What is usually a 45- to 50-minute train ride ended up being more than 2 hours long!

At one point, the woman sitting next to me said, "This is the longest train ride in history." I agreed, and said that I didn't know why it was taking so long. She looked at me and said, "Because we are in hell."

Update: There had been a sold-out performance of O.A.R. at MSG that night, and apparently every teenager in New Jersey had to go see it. Vile creatures.

Pan's Labyrinth

Go see it. Seriously.

This movie is one of the most magical, imaginative, disturbing, riveting, beautiful and heartbreaking movies I've seen.

Should have been nominated for Best Picture, but nevertheless, I'm hoping it will win Best Foreign Language Film.

Lazy Saturday

Today, I . . .

- slept till 11, then got up, slowly
- did 4 loads of laundry
- watched about 8 or 9 episodes of Grey's Anatomy. In a row.
- had cereal, rice and eggs, 4 cups of tea, and ice cream (at separate times)
- talked to my mom, dad, gram, and Kate. and Joe, twice.


Today, I did not . . .

- shower
- go grocery shopping
- do any work
- put make up on
- paint my toenails
- change out of my pajamas
- see anyone besides my roommate(s)
- study
- go to the gym
- leave my house (except to take the dog out once)
- mop, dust, scrub, wipe or sweep anything
- organize my closet
- pay any bills


As you can imagine, today was pretty great.

New Year's Eve, and New Year's Eve . . . Eve

In the two days leading up to the ushering in of the new year, Nate threw a couple of great parties at his house. And, of course, we were there to help celebrate.

Frank and Joe on Dec. 30--New Year's Eve Eve and the day before Frank's birthday.

Nate and his dad Nick during a game we were playing on New Year's Eve. Of course, I forget which game it was.

This is Joe hitting a wall. Cody was nice enough to keep him company on the couch.

Me and Joe.

Tuesday Afternoon in Photos

Here's our news editor, Chet, editing this week's feature, written by the lovely and talented Nicole Klaas. I'm quite certain this burrowing behavior is indicative of what a well . . . written . . . piece . . . it is. . . . . . . . .

. . . hm.