January 29, 2006

When we first moved into our neighborhood, my brother was totally psyched that we were around the corner from his "favorite donut shop". I thought it was pretty sick to have a favorite donut shop and could not have been less interested. But you know what? Peter Pan Doughnuts is fucking incredible. For at least a year I have been talking about getting this huge cream puff looking concoction they have in the window. I could never really go through with buying it, so Jim brought one home for me today. I have no idea how much weight eating this one item must have added to my ass, but I know it must be signicant and I don't care. Just look at it:

When I was downloading that shot off my camera, I found these photos I took on a Boston subway car on my way outta there at Christmas. Someone had taken it upon themselves to alter the Boston Globe ads to transmit anti-Bush messages....Humorous? Yes. I appreciate anyones attempt to make the subway less tedious.

Sorry for the quality on those...I was trying not to freak people riding with me out, so I was snapping quickly and trying to avoid other passengers.

Did anyone catch Oprah tearing James Frey a new one? Whew! That was almost painful to watch. And at the same time so, so, so much fun. Here’s a synopsis.

Lazy Monday, a paradoy of Lazy Sunday but y’know, the West coast ain’t got nothin' on the East coast. Represent. Anyway the Colors reference is indeed funny. Liz and I once went to one of those paint-your-already-made-pottery places. I think I’d like to do it again…anyone down, yo?

Jim & I went to check out Paloma this weekend...one of the many places on my to-do list of restaurants. It was, ok? I think I would try it again one more time before writing it off. I did like the interior although the DJ was playing some really awful eighties soft rock and there was this film screen projected behind me that at one point Jim said was giving him vertigo.

We also rented the Wedding Crashers, which was fine. Again, just fine...I'm using the 40 Year Old Virgin as my comparison point for comedies right now. This was no 40 Year Old Virgin.

Oh, and like 5 seperate people sent me a link to Pandora on Friday. Its actually quite cool. The only thing that is frustrating me is that you don't get the same results with the same band/song each time and there was some stuff I heard the first time that I can't get to come up again.

January 24, 2006

Isn't there like, some law that says you cannot start doing construction before or after a certain time of day? I was busy trying to sleep in this morning while workmen in the building next door were busy starting demolition. Demolition is freakin' noisey and completely intolerable at 8 am.

And while I am thrilled to death that the abandoned fire trap next door is being pulled down, I'm not exactly excited about a year long construction project right next door. Our bed sits up against the adjoining wall. Anyone need a condo? Cos that's what their building, natch.

You know what I need? A good tax accountant in New York City. If you have one, can you please email me. I'm looking to save a shitload of money and not get audited. Thanks.

I hate the subway. I suffer from panic attacks on the subway, no exageration. And yes, I ride the subway every day.But I desperately fear getting trapped underground. I'm not scared of being blown up or killed or dying or whatever, just the idea of being trapped.

Jim and I got stuck on a Q train the other morning. First the train stopped underground for a while, then it started moving ever so slowly and then stopped again. Stop, start, stop, start...then the driver makes an announcement that we are making no local stops. This is when I completely freak. I literally had to lay my head down in Jim's lap and just focus on breathing exercises.

Anyway, at least they had a reason for the delay this time...There was a dead guy who had apparently been riding the train for hours unbeknowst to other commuters.

Yesterday they found a guy stabbed to death on the train. Is it any wonder I am filled with fear underground?! It is scarey down there.

But don't worry, I'm on top of this problem... I go to cognitive therapist. Ok, so the whole cognitive therapy model is based on the idea that our thoughts determine our feelings and our behaviour and that if we become aware of negative thought patterns we can unlearn them. (Which I really do believe.) Then there is the whole exposure part of the therapy - to get over these learned phobias you need to expose yourself to the thing you are scared of.

As a result, I ride around on the subway with my therapist. For real. And so I sit there, while she acts like a weirdo (to prove to me that no matter how someone behaves on the subway, there are no bad consequences)...And yeah, it is laughable and ludicruos even to me...so half the time I end up having laughing attacks instead of panic attacks while she jumps around and annoys the other passengers. We're quite a team. Leave the car if you see us coming.

What's really kinda fascinating about the whole thing is that when people are riding on the train they will generally go out of their way to ignore you, no matter what you do. And I get to watch this happen all the time!

What I would like to do next is to develop some meditation skills so that I can refocus all my nervous energy. Jen & I have been incessantly talking about getting to this Saturday morning yoga class at the Y that focuses more on the breathing side of yoga than the exercise side. But so far no luck. Saturday morning at 9am just sucks. That's my sleep until noon day.

Here's a good article on Albert Ellis, the grandfather of cognitive therapy.

Jim & I actually got our asses out of the house on a Sunday and went out to a movie & lunch. Ok, I love a good coming-of-age film and The Squid and the Whale totally fit the bill - funny and painful. The movie takes it's name from a diorama at the Museum of Natural History here in New York. Jim was lamenting that he had never been to the museum and all I could think was that I've been there sooooooo many times and hardly ever paid attention to that particular display. Cos when I was in college, I liked to drop acid and hang out at that museum. I spent a lot of time lurking in corners and laughing at the IMAX movies.

After the movie we stopped by Dojos for soyburgers. Dojos has the cheapest vegetarian food with the worst wait service in the city. Its reminiscent of a hippie-crunchy cafeteria... yet another hold-over from my college years. Usuallly people hate the place but surprisingly my husband seems to like it as much as I do.

We left there and stopped by Tower Records to try to score a discount off of D, my ex-assistant, who supposedly works there now, but couldn't find him. We ended up buying a copy of the Turbonegro documentary ResErection anyway. Best fact from the movie - they were gonna call themselves Nazipenis but were told they couldn't get signed to a major label with that name.

Ricky Gervais podcasts can be downloaded here.

January 11, 2006

I just ganked this off of Don's site 'cos I thought it was hilariously cute:

I also played Balderdash for the first time last night. First round, fun as hell...second round...not so fun. I think there might be a one game a night limit. Boulderdash also gets more difficult the more beer you drink, thus the quality of the answers continues to decline over the evening.

Best answer turned in last night was from Phil - "woman meet her dead husband in heaven" - Still cracking me up. I'm not going to even attempt to explain 1) the game or 2) why that is funny. So there.

January 8, 2006

I am a lazy, lazy girl. Specifically when it comes to computer related activities. Not like web surfing or reading stupid blogs or emailing or watching Lazy Sunday on repeat. (So last week... yet so funny.) It's when it involves installation of any type of software or any general setting-shit-up exercise that I get all cranky.

The other day at work I had our network guys in to reset the VPN router after we moved office space (thats a Virtual Private Network for those still having to go into the office every day to work...it makes life sooooooooooo much easier...) and then I actually asked them to update the software on my computer while they were there. Which is so beneath these geeks but they agreed cos I put them on the spot. My point is, I will literally pay someone else to do that kind of work. (With not my own money, of course.)

Which is why I have not been updating this site o' mine...I didn't want to install the software to do it on the new laptop. Yup, I'm pathetic. But I did it - its done!

Speaking of pathetic, Jim would like to give a big shout out to all those who did not marker up his face on New Year's Eve.

Ok, Leese and I have been saying we were gonna go by the new Buffalo Exchange on Driggs for the past two weeks. Yet somehow we haven't gotten around to it... but its gotta be good right? They have to give you more cash for your clothes than Beacons Closet at least.

That last link was off Gothamist, which I read every day. So is this link - good for lotsa time on your hands.

Ok, there's this big old expose on the Smoking Gun on the book A Million Little Pieces being a total fraud. I gotta say, the guy's whole macho attitude concerning addiction and recovery didn't appeal to me at all. The book was super readable, but I couldn't get over that whole macho, "yeah that's fucking right! I'm a bastard!" tone.

And I have just found it highly hysterical that every friggin' reading group in the country is now endorsing this particular novel. Like my mom. My mother is an older, very proper Irish woman, who doesn't like it when people curse around her. And yet she's openly reading this thing on the city bus. Seriously, there is a seventy year old lady riding around Boston reading about crack smoking just cos Oprah told her to.

Ahhhh, the power of Oprah...its...(turn down your computer volume... Unsettling.

And this book fraud thing - didn't they just out JT Leroy for being a middle-aged musician couple instead of a teenage transexual girl/boy last week? The book world is getting so dicey!!

The New Yorker ran a profile on brownstoner.com, which I guiltily admit to reading...But the article and the heated disussion it prompts on the site as to the symbolism of square framed glasses, make me kinda want to deny the pleasure. Was everyone but me aware that square glasses = yuppie. Cos I thought it meant emo...anyone?

Some more Daily Kitten.

this was 2005