Monthly Archives: March 2011

Sunday Mornings

Posted on March 20, 2011 | Leave a comment

It has become a Sunday morning ritual for me – I make some coffee, I put on some music and I sit on the couch to read the new Post Secrets. Sliding through people’s intimate secrets on my iPad, there’s usually at least 1 that stops me. Sometimes giving me chills, sometimes making me think, and sometimes just making me smile. This morning – this post secret made me smile and think, ‘me too’.

I am reminded again, how lucky I am, especially in light of all those searching desperately for their lost loved ones in Japan – I am blessed & I am thankful.

51 Years & Going Strong

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Posted in Life

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For Japan with Love

Posted on March 17, 2011 | Leave a comment

While my coworkers and I sat and watched the tragedy unfold in Japan, an eerie silence came over the room. As the numbers of those who’ve passed and those still missing continues to rise, we all continue to be deeply saddened by the devastation and destruction.

With that said there are many ways you can help those affected by this tragedy, I will be taking part in the Bloggers Day of Silence tomorrow in partnership with For Japan with Love. I made my donation and encourage everyone to do the same! Even a little goes a long way. Click to read more about For Japan with Love and see how you can help make a difference.

A big thanks to Ever Ours and Utterly Engaged for organizing a way to extend our hands to those who need it the most right now.

I’ll be back this weekend with more blogging & you can always find me on Twitter!

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Posted in Life

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Thirsty Thursday – Puck Fair

Posted on March 17, 2011 | Leave a comment

In honor of St. Patty’s day, I figured I’d kick off my first Thirsty Thursday post with one of my favorite Irish Pubs in NYC – Puck Fair.

A cozy little spot below Houston, Puck Fair has a long bar with plenty of seating room (and hooks for your bags!), lots of small cozy wooden booths and plenty of tables. With 20+ beers on tap and 50+ beers by the bottle, it is definitely a bar for the beer lover. The most important beer, of course being Guinness, which I have yet to find more perfectly served anywhere else in the city.

Puck Fair also serves up traditional Irish Fare, with Cottage Pie, Bangers & Mash, and my favorite – Guinness battered Fish & Chips.

Serving food until 4am, it is the perfect place to cozy up to the bar and settle in for the night.

Happy St. Patty’s Day!!

Puck Fair
298 Lafayette Street (just below Houston)
P: 212-431-1200
Open:
Mondays – Fridays from 11am – 4am
Saturdays & Sundays from 12pm – 4am

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Posted in Life, Thirsty Thursdays

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Website Wednesday – Wandermelon

Posted on March 16, 2011 | Leave a comment

To kick off Website Wednesdays – Wandermelon.

Wandermelon is a website about travel; enlightening and informing those of us with wanderlust about everything you need to know, before you go.

This site is better than basic travel websites because it is more in touch with what you’ll actually be able to do and see while globe-trotting, because they’ve done it. Whether you’re looking for that 5-star hotel or a mountain backpacking adventure, sleeping under the stars at night, Wandermelon has done it, literally and then wrote about it for us to imagine and plan.

Search through their experiences and guides to find all you ever wanted to know about your destination. Wandermelon partnered with Echeleon Experiences, to help create extraordinary itineraries you can book with them. One of the values I find in Wandermelon is that you don’t have to book through them, they provide links to hotels, guided tour sites, and a plethora of other valuable resources to independently plan your adventure.

If nothing else, their pictures are beautiful and vivid, perfect for a mid-day mental retreat when you have no physical retreat planned.

Go Ahead and Wandermelon

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Posted in Life, Website Wednesdays

Let’s Get Organized!

Posted on March 16, 2011 | Leave a comment

Still being new to blogging, I have thought a lot about what I want my blog to be and the direction I want it to go in. I decided, like most things in life – it needed organization. The conclusion? I’m going to try different themed days! Besides who doesn’t like lists and alliteration!

Music Mondays – I will write about music; new, old, famous, unknown, anything music related
T.V. Tuesdays – I will review the shows I’ve watched the week before (probably by DVR on my lazy Sundays)
Website Wednesdays – I’ll share a website that I find enjoyable, pretty, useful, whatever the mood strikes!
Thirsty Thursdays – I will write about bars and restaurants, any deals they have available, if my friends and I like them, etc etc.
Flip-Flop Fridays – I will write about anything, from pieces of the book I’m working on, to recipes, to random thoughts…you get the idea!

Like most things, I will let Saturdays and Sundays play out as they happen!

Any suggestions for topics, websites…better alliterative words are welcome.

Happy Hump Day!

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Posted in Life

Listen, Tonight

Posted on March 14, 2011 | Leave a comment

Music is an integral part of my life, always searching for new songs or falling back in love with old ones. One of the main reasons I watch t.v. is for the soundtracks. Listening for familiar songs used in new ways, or new bands I instantly love and download on iTunes.

Here’s a list of the songs, some new, some found again, all getting added to the already introduced seasonal mix: Longer Light & Warmer Nights

1. Joss Stone – Free Me
*And if you find it hard to follow me, if I lose you in my creative stream, than you only got to raise your eyes and see me fly*

2. Ryan Adams – Down in a Hole
*Down in a hole and I don’t know if I can be saved, see my heart I decorate it like a grave, you don’t understand who they thought I was supposed to be, look at me now a man, who won’t let himself be*

3. The Weepies – Same Changes
*And everyone says, “This love will change you,” well I ask, “Does anything every stay the same?” No, no, no, just same changes*

4. Daniel Johnson & Brie Stoner – Don’t Fence Me In (Cover)
*I want to ride to the ridge where the west commences, and gaze at the moon till I lose my senses, and I can’t look at hovels and I can’t stand fences, don’t fence me in*

5. Natasha Bedingfield – Strip Me
*I don’t need a microphone, yeah, to say what I been thinking, my heart is like a loudspeaker, that’s always on eleven*

6. Ellie Goulding – Lights
*You show the lights that stop me turn to stone, you shine it when I’m alone, and so I tell myself that I’ll be strong, and dreaming when they’re gone*

7. Britney Spears – Till The World Ends (couldn’t resist, finally a good Britney comeback!)
*See the sunlight, we ain’t stoppin’ keep on dancing ’till the world ends*

8. Scotty McCreery – The River (representing a little American Idol well done cover)
*I will sail my vessel ’til the river runs dry, like a bird upon the wind these waters are my sky, i’ll never reach my destination if I never try, so I will sail my vessel ’til the river runs dry*

9. Agnes Obel – Riverside
*When that old river runs past your eyes, to wash off the dirt on the riverside, go to the water so very near; the river will be your eyes and ears*

10. Lykke Li – Love Out of Lust
*Rather live out a lie than live wondering, how the fire feels while burning, for life is like a flame, and the ashes for wasting, so honey don’t be afraid, to dance while we’re waiting*

    Always trying to share new music and add a little melody to our hectic lives <3

The Weepies – Same Changes

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Posted in Life, Music Mondays

Fall Back – Spring Ahead

Posted on March 14, 2011 | Leave a comment

If you’re like me, someone who thoroughly enjoys sleeping, you felt the hour loss of sleep yesterday. Every year when the time is about to change, whether for or against our sleeping bodies, I hear people having discussions about why we even change our clocks, where did this start, how come certain states don’t observe DST?

It’s amusing to listen to the theories and explanations. I myself always claimed it started as a way to conserve energy, fuel specifically. Although, I wasn’t far off in what I thought were tall tales, I decided this year I wanted to know the real reasons behind my gain and loss of an hour every year.

According to National Geographic, the concept of a standard time and time zones began back in 1883 when the railroad industry was booming and there was a need for standardization to control stations and stops.

There had been acts here and there to implement daylight savings, but most states had the ability to choose for themselves and it wasn’t a concept realized and accepted by the majority of policy makers and enforces. Not until, (and this is where I’m sort of right) World War I. Unfortunately, America can’t claim right to being so forward thinking, rather Germany made the time change official, hoping to reduce the use of artificial lighting and save coal for the war.

However, picky states could still choose to opt out of the time fluctuation, until World War II, when the United States made it mandatory for the entire country – again, to save wartime resources. Then again in the early 70′s with the Arab oil debacle, the United States enforced daylight savings, and did actually decrease the country’s oil use. Last but not least, in 2005 the government passed the The Energy Policy Act. This is when DST got pushed back, and became four weeks longer in hopes that 10,000 barrels of oil could be saved each day.

So there it is – after reading the explanation from National Geographic, I feel somewhat validated in my blabbering about fuel conservation as the reason for DST…even if all of the studies go on to say, they aren’t really sure if much energy is even saved and there has yet to be any proof it works. At least we can all feel educated when throwing around theories next November.

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Posted in Flip-Flop Fridays, Life

Observing in NYC

Posted on March 12, 2011 | Leave a comment

Did you ever notice how when people are typing on their blackberries, the majority have the fingers from both hands shallowly woven together? Or how some people only use their two pointers to type on their laptop? For as long as I can remember I’ve tried to observe others’ actions and habits in order to incorporate them into my characters and stories.

Lately I’ve failed at that and have become so wrapped up in life and stressors and the go-go-go, that I haven’t been taking in the details, the quirks, and the individualities overly abundant in a city like New York.

What can you notice on your subway to work, waiting for a friend (sans blackberry) at the bar, sitting in a doctor’s office or just letting your eyes wander from your work desk? How often do you, without being a staring creeper of course, just observe those around you?

Here is my list in progress of people’s habits, eccentricities and simple acts in their daily lives in NYC.

1. Apparently the way to hold a blackberry is fingers woven together behind it.
2. According to a woman on the subway, a metal spoon will curl your eye lashes just fine!
3. To some, clipping their toenails on the subway is acceptable (just plain gross if you ask me!)
4. Personally, I prefer the single sized Dannon yogurts, but for some the 32oz vanilla is much better for eating with a plastic spoon on the bus.
5. I didn’t know you could easily peel mangoes, but 1 man proved you can and bite into them like an apple. Anyone remember the Sex & the City episode with the weird fruits in jury duty?…this was a moment like that.
6. My mom screams at me if I’m close to the yellow line on the subway platforms, she would have had an anxiety attack seeing this woman: facing away from the tracks near the edge of the platform with her arms stretched out, eyes closed, smiling as the subway rushed by.
7. “The mannequins aren’t anatomically correct!” is what I wanted to shout at the man I saw looking up the skirt of a mannequin in Macy’s.
8. Maybe not off to others, but there’s one man who gets on the elevator at work in the morning, never more than 2 or 3 of us in there, and he stands with his back to the doors staring into the elevator. Creeps me out!

There it is! My unfinished observations of the routine and peculiar ways of people in NYC.

What do you notice? Please add anything you’ve witnessed!

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Posted in Life

Built Up A World of Magic – Book Part 5

Posted on March 10, 2011 | Leave a comment

    Drew
    *in her head she hears Paramore*
    Well, you built up a world of magic
    Because your real life is tragic
    Yeah, you built up a world of magic
    Well, if it’s not real, you can’t hold it in your hand
    You can’t feel it with your heart
    And I won’t believe it, but if it’s true
    You can see it with your eyes
    Oh, even in the dark, and that’s where I want to be

“Chloe?” Finn asks, stuffing another slice into his mouth while surfing through the on-demand options.

Staring at her magenta blackberry, “No, June…just seeing what I was doing tonight.” Drew responds with both a hint of annoyance and regret in her voice; an obvious longing to join her girlfriends out for a night of fun laughs and amusing pictures, but a disinterest in leaving the guy at her side.

“What are those girls up to tonight?” Finn asks, without even taking a breath, as if this question has become programmed into his daily responses.

“Same as usual. They’re thinking of going to Pipa for some sangria and tapas, then maybe Brother Jimmy’s on Irving…I don’t know, they always start out one place and change their minds for the second.”

Finn notices tension in the way Drew describes their plans and normal course of action, but pushes a little more, expecting resistance and probably a bit of a fight. He cares about her and her happiness, so he pushes in spite of his better judgments.

“Well, it sounds like fun either way! You haven’t seen Tilson or June in a while! We’re always hanging out here watching movies or out with my friends, why not go meet them, at least at Pipa, you love that place!”

“I just don’t want to! God Finn, why are you pushing me to leave? Are you done hanging out with me for the night? Want some time alone…you’re in my apartment you realize!”

And there is the bickering he anticipated, he contemplates dropping the topic, like he does when not in the mood to deal with her quick defensive attitude change – but God love him, he persists anyway.

“No, Drew, stop being a brat for one second. You know very well neither those things are the case; I just don’t want to see you alienate your friends because of me, or us or whatever this is. Those girls are your life.”

“They aren’t my life anymore…I have you now. Besides, they are all single, and out to meet guys, and honestly, I don’t need to so, it’s really just not that fun for me okay?!” Drew feels the nerves standing on end and doesn’t understand or like it. She still loves partying with her girls, and she knows even though they are all single, the majority of the time they go out, it’s just the four of them. She feels the exaggeration in her veins like poison killing the friendships in her life, but it’s too late for Finn’s anti-venom to be effective.

“I can’t be the only thing in your life Drew. And whenever I’ve been out with you and the girls, none of them are exactly ‘on the prowl’! You guys usually chill at the bar chatting it up like the best friends you are and ignore everyone around. Trust me, I’m usually the one ignored!” Finn says with a little elbow nudge and smirk. Trying his best to quell the anxieties bubbling up inside the girl nestled on the couch next to him.

They’ve only been “together” “officially” for four months, but it’s Drew’s first jump into exclusivity and serious dating, so her navigation skills are still novice at best. She feels her friendships slipping and everyone’s patience thinning like pulled cotton candy; there’s almost no more hiding behind pink puffy sugar clouds; the exasperation is becoming painfully evident.

“I know. I just don’t want to tonight…I’ll go next time. I’m too tired. Do you want to watch that fight movie or whatever I’ve been refusing to watch?” Everyone knows the ‘I’m too tired’ line is often a cover for disinterest, discomfort and sometimes plain discontent, but Finn knows Drew’s willpower, and there’ll be no winning this battle tonight.

“She’s not coming; says she’s too tired.” June tells us all, pulling down the jacket we’d draped over an extra chair in hopes that she’d join us.

“Well…cheers ladies, here’s to us and our friendships, I love you guys” Chloe raises her glass of Cava Sangria, and June and I raise ours, silently, reflective and a little lost in thought.

“Cheers.” June whispers.
“Cheers…” I sigh.

Paramore -Brick By Boring Brick

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Posted in Book in Progress

A Visit From The Goon Squad – Book Club Review

Posted on March 10, 2011 | Leave a comment

A couple of my girlfriends and I have started a book club, and although it is a bit of a delinquent book club, where a few of us (myself included) have trouble finishing the books, we do still get together and discuss. Even bringing questions and topics, sometimes. We are very opinionated and different women (which I love), so there has yet to be a book we all loved…or all finished. This past Tuesday we discussed Jennifer Egan’s ‘A Visit From The Goon Squad’. FINALLY! A book I really liked! (Of course it was the only book that out of the 7 of us, 2 didn’t read and 2 didn’t like).

With vivid imagery of New York City especially the East Side, I was pulled in, imagining all the places I go every day and have been in New York City. With writing that’s fluid and not traditional, it is easy to read and want to continue reading. It doesn’t have complicated dialogues or fancy vocabulary that makes you feel like you need to sit with Webster and have him define things for you. Egan creates several different stories and characters so you’re constantly learning about someone new, which for someone like me, (who has a limited attention span), this helped keep me interested.

One criticism the book club came up with; however, did relate to the plethora of characters. Many felt that with so many characters it not only made the book difficult to read in pieces, but you also never really delve real deep into any singular one. Since all the characters are interrelated, but not always directly or immediately, I agree, it was a little confusing if you read one day and picked it up five days later. After all, the book does take place over almost 45 years with 13 chapters, ranging from a wide variety of time frames and locations (we even find ourselves in Africa). I think maybe simple headings, perhaps a date and place, would have helped to refocus every time I picked the book up. The other part of that critique was that with so many characters and stories there was a lot of surface skimming. I’m mostly glad Egan didn’t go further into each character because the book would be too long for me to ever hope to finish, yet one or two of the characters I wished got more depth to them. Particularly, Bennie Salazar, the New York City record label executive who wanted to be a punk musician in 1970s California. There is only 1 chapter where Bennie is telling the story, and he’s pretty much the main character (or as close to a protagonist as Egan ever creates) so I would have liked to hear more about and from him.

The ending did leave something to be desired, which was the general consensus of us judging ladies. Ending in 2020, in a world still at war with terror, I felt like it just ended, and was flat and disappointing. There is also a power-point which was amusing and fit the modernization and pop culture of the majority of her book, but also felt a bit like a gimmick. The only gimmick I would have liked to see in this book was either a CD of music to listen to while reading it, or a playlist in the back with recommended songs to help immerse yourself in the rock and roll euphoria and lust of Egan’s characters.

A story about rock and roll, love and loss, growing pains and growing up, Jennifer Egan’s ‘goon squad’ was the sort of book I personally love to start and am able to finish. I am glad it was suggested and I would recommend it to anyone who likes stories with dark and deep emotions, failures and successes and natural and, at times, unnerving human experiences.

Next book – Room by Emma Donoghue

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Posted in Book Club Reviews, Life