In Case You're Wondering

Lately, I've been questioning why it was a good idea to become a Social Worker.

Or maybe just the smaller question of why it was a good idea to accept my current promotion.

New Links!

To the right... 3 new links, courtesy of JH.

And that's all the news that's fit to print.

AKA Dog

B and I are currently fostering a dog.

This came about *not* with careful planning and reasoned discussion, but with one of us (ahem) responding to an ad on Craigslist about a dog on the euth list with less than 24 hours to live.

How could we say no?

We pikced up Kilo this past Saturday, with the information that he was a 9 year old "Staffie mix" who had recently been abandoned when his owner was called for service in the army. We thought we'd be getting a nice, sedate companion dog.

Kilo is a maniac.

He hurls all 50 pounds of himself toward squirrels, birds, and insects. He circles our couch, never settling down. He doesn't seem to know his own name, or at least, does not respond to it. He's not so familiar with basic commands like "sit", "stay", or "please don't chase after squirrels". And in the past 24 hours, he's developed a wicked case of kennel cough that has him horking all over the apartment at all hours.

He's also a sweet, dopey, gentle dog who never got the right training. And though he is generally uncouth, when left alone in our home, he's very respectful.

B and I would love to adopt him, but neither of us has the time to devote to training, discipline, or structure. So, if you're looking for a dog, or know someone who is, would you consider Kilo?

After all, you could probably rename him anything you'd like.

Mr. Doomsday

While I was out today during this brief non-rainy weather than we're having, I passed a street vendor.

"Ummmmbrellas", he sang.

People kept rushing by. So he changed it up.

"It's nooooot ov-er", he intoned.

I hope he's wrong.

Aw Shizz

One of my clients just called me to cancel her appointment because she thinks that she has the swine flu.

Half Marathon Summary (One Word Answers Only, Please)

Long.
Windy.
Raining.
Long.
Cold.
Painful.
Fun.
Raining.
Cold.
Long.
Long.
Long.
Triumphant.

I've Still Got It

There's this super annoying woman at work (she doesn't work for my company, she works down the hall) who comes into our office and asks for coffee, which my officemates brew each morning.

I gave up caffeine 4 months ago, so any mention of coffee makes me super cranky.

Today, she knocked and entered before anyone else was at work:

"Can I have some coffee?" (cup in hand, anticipating a yes)

"My co-workers aren't in yet, and it's not made. And I don't drink coffee." (uneccessary commentary, not sure why I engaged)

"How do you stay energized?" (attempt to socialize to make it seem as if she actually cares, rather than the alternative, which is that she is a coffee mooch)

[Pause. I'm aggravated that she's even talking to me, and I can't for the world think about how I actually do survive without coffee. The question is too big for 9:10 am. ]

"I eat a lot of fruit." (this is a blatant lie, but she left)

I Wanna Be A Gorilla! Or A Tiger!

Due to the current swine flu panic, I think I could make some serious money by importing these from Japan - only 620 yen! Who DOESN'T want to protect their health and look like a ridiculous animal at the same time?

(Am I back to blogging? Maybe.)

Hello and Goodbye

I haven't written for a while, and I can't really say that I've missed it.

I have, however, been thinking about this blog. Specifically, thinking about the start of the blog in 2005 and the blog now.

I started writing as a way to communicate with people. In some cases, it was my way of expressing myself without having to talk to anyone. Now, the world feels different. I am different. And I'm trying to figure out how to connect with and rebuild relationships in a direct way. There are people that I am missing, and it feels heavy, and a blog post isn't going to be a substitute for that contact.

I'm not sure what this means for this space. I do know that I need to time to figure it out.

Next Time, No Thanks

B. accompanied me to the gym at 5:00 this morning. (Ahem. I mean 6:00 this morning. But despite the clock-changing nonsense, I think we can all agree that it was really 5:00. And pretty dark. GRRR.)

The gloriousness of that decision was quickly negated by his gloomy attitude and noticeable lack of reciprocation of high-fives during our walk home.

He did come in handy when I needed a new towel after my run. 4 miles, yo!

I Rock

This morning:

- I ran 2 miles in 19 minutes
- The Metro New York newspaper lady actually greeted me and complimented my sneakers
- I was able to reframe a potentially upsetting piece of communication as a marker of personal growth

Schlump Day

My Wednesdays are CRAZY. CRAZY. I'm going to document it here so I can look back one day and just laugh and laugh and laugh.

5:47am: Awake to the soothing sounds of NPR and B. snoring
6:16am: Leave the house
6:30am: Arrive at gym, rock it out on the treadmill
7:15am: Back home, wake up still sleeping husband
8:30am: Subway, roll eyes at crowding and egregious violations of etiquette
9:00am: Arrive, psychoanalytic institute for advanced trauma training
1:00pm: Subway, roll eyes at crowding and egregious violations of etiquette
1:30pm: "Lunch"
1:45pm: Meeting with supervisor
3:00pm: Subway, roll eyes at crowding and egregious violations of etiquette
3:15pm: Arrive at work, two client appointments
6:15pm: Subway, roll eyes at crowding and egregious violations of etiquette
6:50pm: "Dinner"
7:00pm: Psychoanalytic institute client
8:00pm: Next psychoanalytic institute client
8:45pm: Walk to trivia
9:00pm: Arrive, Conker Hill for trivia
11:00pm: Win trivia
11:10pm: Bus ride home, roll eyes at crowding and egregious violations of etiquette
11:40pm: Pizza, garlic knots
11:45pm: Top Chef
12:30am: Sleep - sweet, sweet sleep

Being An Adult Can Be Fun!

Based upon an early morning visit to the internist, B. and I are developing a new song, tentatively titled "Poop On A Paper Plate (Plastic Spoon Remix)".

Sample lyric: "No I don't wanna go back in, don't wanna go back in, don't wanna go back in that bathroom".

This will be a follow-up to our previous hit, "Downwind At Urine Park".

Trust me, it's going to sweep the nation.

Knuckle Sandwich / Knucklehead

You know it's going to be an interesting day when you manage to bite your own finger, so hard that you cause a buise, while you're eating breakfast.

The Definition of 'Healthy' Is Broad

Yesterday morning, towards the end of an exercise class at New York Sports Club, the instructor told us to "do something good for yourselves today - drink lots of water, take a walk, and eat something healthy!".

My interpretation of that directive was to go to a bar, watch Syracuse basketball, drink beer, and eat chicken wings.

How To Be An Awesome Newlywed, Part 2

1. Register for a half marathon.
2. Realize that the only training time your schedule will allow is mornings before work.
3. Set the alarm clock for 5:47 am.
4. Unintentionally wake your husband up at that time.
5. Go running.
6. Return to your apartment.
7. Intentionally wake your husband up by loudly proclaiming your awesomeness.
8. Ask for (and give) many enthusiastic high-fives.
9. Refuse to believe that he could possibly be tired.
10. Engage in more discussions about your awesomeness.
11. Repeat, repeat, repeat.

How To Be An Awesome Newlywed

1. Keep your husband awake until 1:00 am by forcing him to watch Save The Last Dance, a movie he has no interest in seeing.
2. The next morning, wake him up by poking him in the ribs. Repeatedly.
3. Continue to poke and prod him as he goes through his morning routine.
4. Sit next to him on the couch, be ridiculous, laugh hysterically at your own ridiculousness.
5. Get annoyed when he refuses to participate.

I Thought I Was In Relatively Good Shape...

until this morning, when I stumbled back into my building after a run, only to be asked by the doorman (who, btw., reportedly sounds exactly like B's ex-father-in-law) if I was "feeling ok".

(Sidenote: I've had enough of winter and slush and cold and slogging around the city. Enough. M'kay?)

MHP'ing

Today I was able to diagnose myself with bedbug PTSD following an incident where I spotted a reddish-colored object on my chair, and spent the next half hour freaking out, phantom itching and all.

(It was a stray grain from my 7 grain bread, but still. No such thing as being too vigilant. )

Um, What?

B is writing our wedding thank you cards, and calls out.

"How do you spell 'desecrate'"?

You're It!

I'm tagging 6 bloggers to receive the friendship award that I was tagged with. I read all of these blogs daily (yes, all 6 of them) and really, really appreciate the window into their worlds, along with the amazing writing. Bonus, I know most of these bloggers in real life!

chichimama writes about her kids, her husband, her knitting, and (my favorite) things overheard.
nyczoo is a dear friend who writes about life during pregnancy and as a new mom.
megan crane is a kick-ass writer and a close friend from high school.
carolyn. I can't put it any better than this: "Three kids, one husband, one parent, two dogs and freezer full of pork."
the caitlinator. Caitlin inspired me to run my first half marathon, and inspired my husband to his first public karaoke performance.
andebobandy's profile pic is of her wearing a Mexican wrestling mask. Awesome. 'Nuff said.


These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers. Deliver this award to six bloggers who must choose six more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award.

*The rules of The Six Random Things About Yourself:

1) Link to the person who tagged you. 2) Post the rules on your blog. 3) Write six random things about yourself. 4) Tag six people at the end of your post and link to them. 5) Let each person know they’ve been tagged and leave a comment on their blog. 6) Let the tagger know when your entry is up.

I'm It!

So... I was recently tagged by Nubia @ The Disconnection: Encounters with Strangers Blog, which is pretty exciting because I've never been tagged before. It's a whole new Internets world for me!

I'd like to urge all 10 million of my readers to check out Nubia's blog. I think she just flat out rocks, and her posts always provide a new (and often hilarious) take on life in NYC.

6 Random Things About Me:

1. I have a serious aversion to mixing sweet and savory foods. Like, if I'm having pancakes and bacon, not only will I need seperate plates for both, but I can't eat the pancakes until I'm done with the bacon *and* I've had some sort of palate cleanser. (Sidenote: why don't they serve sorbet at brunch?)

2. I was a competitive swimmer from ages 7-18. Swimming is all I did, really, throughout my childhood. I went to the Junior Olympics at age 13 (?) but didn't qualify for advancement, and then gave up swimming my freshman year of college in favor of drinking, smoking, and eating pizza at 2am.

3. My current favorite day of the week in Thursday, because that is when Us Weekly arrives in the mail. Yes, I subscribe to Us Weekly.

4. I'm currently wearing these shoes which make me about 2 inches taller *and* are supposedly firming my buttocks. The phrase "firming my buttocks" cracks me up.

5. I keep a list of Words I Hate: trousers, moist, chunky, supple, slacks, panties, and kitty-corner. I used to have to Words I Love list, but can't recall the contents as easily as the words I hate.

6. I've named my winter hat Egbert, and have a whole accompanying personality that goes with the hat. B and I also had an Egbert table at our wedding.

Good, Bad, A Little Ugly

After an alcohol/cheese/cookie filled weekend in Boston, and a reasonable (compared to Friday night) bus trip home, B and I went to the gym.

And I ran two miles.

While I watched the Syracuse Orange suck it against Pittsburgh.

Motivating? Good. Two miles? Very Good. Syracuse? Bad and ugly.

It Starts Here

Officially offical! See countdown clock to the right. Now, as always, I am recruiting a partner in crime.

B and I have been motivating each other to go to the gym. (Read: B has been dragging my ass off the couch. I haven't physically resisted.)

Last night, I ran 1.5 miles (consecutively, yo!), follow by a series of sprints *and* was able to resist the mac n' cheese at Whole Foods in favor or something healthier.

I got paid today, so I was able to buy new running shoes and sign up for the half.

Life is pretty good.

Here We Go Again

So, I think it's gonna be a return to the New Jersey Marathon. May 3, 2009. 13.1 miles.

Which means that I need to start formal training February 15. Which gives me about a month from today to get my ass into gear. Which is becoming more and more difficult with my work and class and social schedule.

In 2007, it felt like all I had to do was go to the gym. The picture is a little different this time around.

Sidenote: the new gym positively BLOWS. I don't know if it's full of people like me, eagerly starting their 2009 resolutions, but there is a wait to get on equipment at almost every time of the day.

A Third Contender

this

It's Go Time

this

or

this?