Movie of the Week & Company Week

Thursday I went to dinner with Carrie at Tomoe. I haven't been there since Shelley and I went during our NYC trip in May 2005. It's exactly the same - no updates, but just as tasty. It's rated as one of the top sushi places in the city. I don't do creatures of the sea, but their veggie options are tasty. Following that, we met up with our new buddy (whom we'll refer to as Frenchy moving forward) to see Slumdog Millionaire. Y'all - so good. Honestly, a great film that lives up to the hype. Most of the scenes are flashbacks, showing the characters at different stages of their lives. It tells a remarkable story of a boy growing up in the slums of India, and all he experiences with his brother and best friend. And he's on Who Wants to be a Millionaire - the Indian version. See this film.

I've seen a lot of movies lately, and as mentioned earlier, there are a few more on my list. I have to say though, Milk and Rachel Getting Married are still my favorites of this awards season.

Had a nice weekend too. Friday was quiet. I went to brunch with Zach Saturday at The Sunburnt Cow. My friends and I gathered for an evening of merriment at a lovely establishment called The Patriot later in the evening. And to wrap up the weekend, I've lounged most the day with my roommate. I need to rest up for the coming week because it's company week. Five days of training sessions, meetings, parties, actual work and socializing with co-workers. Our satellite offices will be in town, and since I work with our San Fran office, I'm looking forward to seeing my team. I probably won't have any updates this week because of the craziness, but I'll have a recap for you at some point...because I know you care.

New Music

Thank goodness! My ipod is starving for new music and my concert calendar is relatively empty. Lucky for me, Zach is preparing for SXSW in March and is spreading his music love.

Zach Mix Vol. 12
Dead + Rural - Handsome Furs
Wishing Well - The Airborne Toxic Event
Things Are What You Make of Them - Bishop Allen
Dying Is Fine - Ra Ra Riot
Never Miss a Beat - Kaiser Chiefs
Mykonos - Fleet Foxes
Click, Click, Click, Click - Bishop Allen
All This Time - Heartless Bastards
The Nature of Things - Act of Congress
Ballad of Springhill - Abrams Brothers
Pink Sabbath - Dananananaykroyd
All Day - Human Highway

Zach Mix Vol. 12.5
Another Bag of Bones - Kevin Devine
Blood Bank - Bon Iver
Roll On Babe - Vetiver
My Girls - Animal Collective
Middle Management - Bishop Allen
Blue Ridge Mountains - Fleet Foxes
Oh No - Andrew Bird
Seems I'm Never Tired Lovin' You - Nina Simone
Rain - Bishop Allen
Each Year - Ra Ra Riot
Your Protector - Fleet Foxes
Fallen Snow - Au Revoir Simone
Knocked Up (Lykke Li vs. Rodeo Remix) - King of Leon
Steal Away - Sam Cooke

In the meantime, we're scheduled to see Clap Your Hands for the final time in February (they're breaking up) and Josh Ritter and Mates of State in April. Hopefully this list will grow. I'm having live music withdrawals. Bad.

SNOW

It snowed all weekend up here. I hate when it snows in the city. It's pretty for about 15 minutes, then it gets dirty and sludgy and becomes a nuisance. However, I do love old pictures of the city, and Gothamist posted several from when it used to really snow. They're pretty cool. Check them out HERE if you get a chance. Thank goodness for technology and public transportation. Can you imagine having to walk in that? I would have to hibernate.

Miracle on the Hudson

Truly amazing. It's been a week since the US Airways plane landed in the Hudson River less than 10 blocks from me. An email with the above picture was waiting for me when I came out of a meeting at 4:30 that day. Click HERE for more photos.

A Celebration

The spread

Saturday was Miranda's 3 year anniversary of living in New York. She threw a party to celebrate this achievement. We had a great turnout and my Guac was a hit. I (the most undomesticated person on the planet) was asked for the recipe by many.

Celebrating

The Final Bow

Sunday I saw the final performance of Spring Awakening. I really hate that so many shows are closing. Not enough butts in seats, I suppose. SA is my all time fave (next to Gypsy which is also closing), and I'm sad to see it go. There is a touring cast so if it comes close to you, see it. They allowed pictures to be taken when it was over and all the thank you's were being made. On stage included the original and current casts along with the director/writers/producers/musicians/etc. Click HERE for a more detailed review and HERE for pictures.

Movie of the Week

The Golden Globes were last week. I've already seen most of the nominated films, and last week I saw Revolutionary Road. Let me start off by saying that Leo is awesome. He can do anything. He is amazing in this movie. I think he gets overlooked a lot. Most of the attention is on Kate Winslet right now, and rightfully so. I'm just putting in my two cents.

Don't expect a Titantic type reunion with this movie. The story and characters are very disturbing at times. I could relate to a few things (like wanting to move to a more bustling city to really "live"). However, there comes a point when you have to realize who makes happy, not what. That was the number one issue with Kate's character. She is deeply out of touch with reality. I don't discourage seeing this movie because it's acting at its finest. Just know that you won't leave the theater in a jolly mood.

Next on the list is Slumdog Millionare. I've been trying to see this one for a while, and haven't gotten around to it...maybe this week. In addition, I need to see The Reader and The Wrestler. Let me know your thoughts if you have. (I have no interest in seeing the Curious Case of Benjamin Button.)

Oh, and don't forget about Notorious. I love Biggie Smalls. God rest his soul.

I'm Back.

I took a month long break from blogging. No good reason for this, but I'm ready to get back in it. A lot has happened in these past four weeks, including the 3 year anniversary of this blog. That is perplexing in and of itself. In an effort to give my handful of readers a detailed update of all things me, I'm going to write everything (on this lazy federal holiday for The King) and have it auto-released throughout the week. First things first - my holiday trip to Alabama & Mississippi.

When I left New York in December there was so much snow on the ground that we were delayed two hours. When I landed in Memphis (yes - missed my connection and made my parents drive to Memphis to get me) it was 80 degrees, raining and muggier than New Orleans in August. Home sweet home I guess. The first weekend at home was spent getting last minute stuff tied up for Christmas. I went to my friend's (Ginger) daughter's two year birthday party. I saw my other friend's (Haley) newborn there. This is quite humorous if you know me and my standoffish ways with children. I got my license renewed and ate breakfast one morning with my friend Tiffany. I then met my other friend, Sara for lunch at the always tasty Jasper establishment, Perico's. To wrap up pre-Christmas Jasper festivities, we had DeAngelo Christmas before heading to Mississippi.

Casey and I headed to MS a day before our parents so that we could see a few friends and get our hair cut (the things we do to look good). I got to see Kellye, Mandy, Kim, Cindy and Andrea (with her kid) at Broadstreet for a couple of hours. What's funny is that I ran into Raggio at the beauty shop. Of course I'd run into a fellow New Yorker in Jackson. After catching up with old friends, Casey and I headed to Meridian where we were stationed for the rest of the week with family.

Christmas was great. It was much quieter this year, which I didn't mind at all. I spent a lot of time with my godson, Trey. (This makes kid #4 of the trip if you're keeping count.) Y'all, he is the best kid ever. And hilarious. I love when talks to my dad and refers to him as "Michael". No one calls my dad that, unless its my Mother when she's pissed at him. I guess you have to be there, but he's just the most awesome kid on the planet.

Trey with a large gift.

We headed home at the end of the week. It was nice to be back home where its much quieter. For those familiar with Jasper, the next statement will be funny. I like to go out at least once while I'm home. It's really funny. You see people you haven't thought of in years. And as terrible as this sounds - you realize that you have a pretty good life and don't have much to complain about. I met my friends Brandy and Camden for an evening of catch up at a local watering hole....and boy did I get caught up. I'll leave it at that. The same weekend, an old friend who is married with a daughter (child 5) had a few people over to his house. This was probably my most favorite night while home. I saw guys from high school I haven't seen in a looooooong time, and I laughed until my stomach hurt. Our ten year reunion is coming up this summer and it got me totally excited about it. It was really so much fun seeing everyone. I felt like I was back in high school at a party with a field. The next was spent at the glorious lake with Sara and Tiffany. By this point it was cold. Winter was back in action and we froze our booties off on the porch laughing about old time and current times (none of which I can relate to...but that's another story).

With Tiffany and Sara at the lake.

The rest of my time home was pretty bland. I went shopping in Birmingham one day (where I saw Sandra). I got a manicure one day. I went to Wal-Mart and Sonic. You know, the usual stuff I do. I spent New Year's at a complete strangers house with Sara and her husband, but it turned out to be really fun. NYE is so overrated anyway. It was nice to not make a fuss over it. To wrap everything up, I ate lunch one last time with all my girlfriends (kids 6 & 7 were in attendance), and I enjoyed time with my family. I'm usually ready to come back to NY when I'm gone for a while, however this time I was not ready to leave. I guess it's because I don't know when I'll be back next.

I bounced back rather quickly. It was business as usual in New York. I had the weekend to get my life together before work started back. I was nursing a cold (that turned into the flu) but that didn't stop me from seeing everyone as soon as I returned. It was a new year, and I was ready for it.

Back with the New York clan.

Well, I made it

My week is complete. No work for two whole weeks! I feel like a teacher, and it is awesome. Although my blood pressure was slightly higher today at work. The anxiety of a disaster happening in my absence got to me by 3pm. However, I should be fine by tomorrow. Out of sight, out of mind.

So, I'm packed and ready to go. My flight leaves at 6:30 AM tomorrow...pending any delays caused by the snow storm today. It snowed/iced/sleeted all day in the city. My fingers are crossed that I will be lucky tomorrow and make it home in a timely fashion.

Look forward to updates from the South. I don't have much on my agenda, but I'm hoping to have some good stories. My schedule thus far is:

Sat-Mon: Jasper, including a 2 year old's birthday party and my immediate family Christmas dinner/gift exchange (we do this each year because we spend Christmas away from home).
Tues: Casey and I head to Meridian, making a detour in Jackson to eat lunch with friends and get our hair did.
Tues-Sat: The lovely metropolis of Meridian (gawd) with my Mom's family. Detour to Hattiesburg on Friday to see Shelley.
Sat-Fri: Jasper. No plans for NYE. I'm contemplating a trip to Atlanta, but most likely will end up with the parents.

Safe travels to those who are traveling over the next few days, and Happy Holidays! (Click HERE for a few pictures of the snow today.)

Only 5 More Days...

Seasons Greetings!

The countdown has started. Five more working days. That's it. It can't get here fast enough. I am ready for a VA-CA. I'm sure that this will be the longest week known to man, but it's okay because I have my eye on the two week break. Anyway, we had a great weekend. I covered a lot of ground. My work holiday party was really fun. We rented a bar in Flat Iron. Good food, good drinks, department meshing and cage dancing. That's what was occurring when I left at 9:30 - co-workers dancing in a cage. Awesome. I left rather early, and headed to Brooklyn to see Bon Iver (pronounced Bone Eeevair). As expected, the show was lovely. Very mellow. Great, great music. The album is one you can play from start to finish (the best kind). Ah, so good and THIS is why they are so awesome. After the show, we went all the way to the Upper West Side for Jay's 3rd annual Tacky Sweater Christmas Party. When I arrived, late in the evening, the party was still hopping. However, I did not stay long. I was exhausted.

Members of Bon Iver

Yesterday, I brunched with Carrie and Heather at August. We walked around the West Village, and made our way to nice little NYU beer bar, The Half Pint. I don't know how in the world I was able to hang...but I did for a little while. I worked at Anthro today, so it was an early evening.

Tomorrow, Miranda and I are going to dinner for "Roommate Christmas". I'll let you know how it is. I'm really excited about the food (shocking). Have a great Monday. Only 10 more shopping days!

I really wish you could see her snowflake earrings.

The Holidays = Exhausting

Busier than usual over the past week. One of my favorite things about living in New York is that you become friends with friends of friends of friends. Heather's friend Emily came up from Atlanta for the weekend. She coincidentally is friends with one of my close friends from high school. Such a small world. We went to dinner at Stanton Social Friday night. It's such a good spot to take people. The food is good and it has a total New York scene. After that, we met up with everyone for a few drinks at Pravda. Saturday, we trekked all the way to the Upper West Side to watch Florida beat Alabama. That was delightful. I worked at Anthro a few times as well.

This week has been/will be as busy . Last night, Ellen and I took Carrie to dinner for her Half Birthday (we never got around to taking her out for her real birthday.) She wanted hibachi, so we went to Benihana. I forgot how good that is. I haven't had hibachi since I lived in Jackson. I had a birthday dinner tonight, but it was canceled because the birthday girl is sick. Friday is my office holiday party, Bon Iver in Williamsburg, and Jay's Tacky Sweater Christmas party. Whew. I'm tired already. Plus, I work at Anthro over the weekend. So, no new posts until next week.

In other news, State got a new coach today. Go team!

Turkey Recap and Movie of the Week

It looks real!

I know this is a little delayed, apologies. The long holiday weekend was great. I worked at Anthro (which coincidentally is in the background of the Rock Center Tree Lighting on NBC right now), I relaxed with my roomie, I enjoyed a nice non-home cooked meal, saw my old friend Tiffany and her cute family, and spent time with friends who stayed in the city. It was awesome. Quick note on our Thanksgiving meal - I did not like the faux turkey. I had one bite. The texture was too much, but everything else was so delicious. I ate way too much. I'm looking forward to the next few weeks that are going to fly by before Christmas. I only have 12 more work days. I cannot believe this year is over. Gah.

Over the weekend, I saw Milk. It's about the first openly homosexual public official, Harvey Milk, and takes place in the seventies in the San Francisco. He and the Mayor were assassinated, and this recaps the events that occurred several years before. Of course the cast is what drew me to see this film. Sean Penn, James Franco, Emile Hirsch - what more can you ask for? While Sean Penn was amazing (he can really do any role), my favorite character was Emile Hirsch. He usually plays such foul mouthed/(kinda) manly roles (Lords of Dogtown, Alpha Dog, which scarred me for life, and Into the Wild). Seeing him as a flamboyant political activist was a huge change. The story itself was portrayed as real as it could be. I mean, you know what happens, so there aren't any big surprises. I did think there could have been more details in certain parts of the film, but I suppose that's what Wikipedia is for. I think it's worth noting that there is only one female character. And I don't know who Diego Luna is, but he plays Harvey's second partner. The girl who sat next to me must love him, because she almost melted out of her chair in his first scene. Anyway, I liked it. No matter what your belief is on the subject, everyone has rights. To me, that was the main theme.

Upcoming events include spending time at Anthro and watching Florida/Alabama in the SEC Championship. We'll be partaking in our usual Football Saturday activities - day drinking. Go Gators!

Holiday Playlist

It's that time again. New music! I got a little excited about the Holidays over Thanksgiving break. A few obvious versions, a few new versions. Enjoy!

Christmas 2008 Mix:
Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree - Brenda Lee
What Christmas Means to Me - Stevie Wonder
The Christmas Song - Stevie Wonder & India Arie
Merry Christmas, Baby - Otis Redding (BEST SONG OF ALL TIME)
Santa Claus is Coming to Town - The Jackson 5
This Christmas - Donny Hathaway
All I Want for Christmas is You - Mariah Carey
Come On! Let's Boogy to the Elf Dance - Sufjan Stevens
Run Rudolph Run - Chuck Barry
Sleigh Ride - The Ronettes
Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) - Darlene Love
Christmas Song - Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds
Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas - Judy Garland
Carol of the Bells - WHS Encore (Kidding!) Home Alone Soundtrack, John Williams
What Child is This - Vanessa Williams
O Come O Come Emmanuel - Sufjan Stevens
O Holy Night - Home Alone Soundtrack, John Williams
O Holy Night - Tracy Chapman

I also purchased The Nutcracker Suite and A Charlie Brown Christmas (The Vince Guaraldi Trio). 'Tis the Season...

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving 2006 in Central Park.

Happy Turkey Day everyone! From what I can tell, it's a beautiful day in the city. 41 and sunny.

For those that don't know, I'm spending the holiday in the city. It's my third Thanksgiving here (wow!), and my second one to celebrate here. I was planning to visit Sandra and the married Turks in DC, but because of my part time/seasonal job I have to stay here. What? You didn't know about my employment at Anthropologie? Oh yeah, that happened last week. It's the best store EVER. I thought it would be fun to pick up a few shifts during the holidays. Lord knows I spend enough money there - may as well get a discount. Yesterday was my first day to work, and I work again tomorrow for a few hours. So far, it's going well. Everyone is so great and nice and cool! I'm really excited about it. (Um, whoa...Why is Rick Astley in the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade? That was weird.) I hope to make a few new friends and a few extra dollars that will go right back to where they came from. One of my co-workers just started a holiday blog. Check it out HERE. It has some good tips...well for being in the city. But you can read and be envious.

Today is going to be quiet and relaxing. Miranda and I are having dinner at Spring Street Natural. They're serving a very traditional prix fixe menu. And don't worry, there is a vegetarian option. I'll make sure to give a full recap of the meal, as this will be my first encounter with tofurkey. My only other plan for the weekend is to catch up with one of my BFFs from high school, Tiffany. She and her family currently live outside DC, and are coming to New York for the holiday. I can't wait to see her. It's been almost a year. Not okay.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving. In that spirit, here is what I'm thankful for:
A supportive family
Wonderful friends that are smart, funny, successful, and most important...attractive
My job(s)
NYC and the experiences it constantly gives me
Live Music
My roommate
Freedom
Mississippi State Bulldogs (Go to Hell Ole Miss!)

One of my new favorite things

I'm a huge fan of Netflix. Get a movie on Monday, watch it by Tuesday, mail it on Wednesday, and have a new one for the weekend. You can get movies you never got around to seeing in the theater, or those you wouldn't ever admit to watching. It's a great thing. Most recently, I've been catching up on TV shows. This is how I got involved with Entourage, Weeds, Californication, My So Called Life and that season of Dawson's Creek I missed when I went to college and Starkville didn't have the WB. Anyway, my most recent set of DVDs has been Freaks and Geeks. Y'all. This show was awesome. I have no idea why it was canceled after one season. It's definitely one of those shows that I would not have thought was funny when it came out (I was a college freshman) because I wasn't smart enough to understand the humor. It takes place in a Detroit suburb in '81 and follows a girl, who decides she doesn't want to be a mathlete anymore, and she starts hanging out with the "freaks" (aka the cool kids who look dirty and do drugs). Her brother and his friends are the geeks, and are a hoot. They are the quintessential nerds from every high school.
Stellar cast. Judd Apatow and his pack of banshee friends. That's really all you need to know. Take a walk down memory lane and watch this series. You'll be glad.

Duncan Sheik

I know what you're thinking...Isn't that the guy who sings that Barely Breathing song? Well, yes it is. However, he has other songs and albums that I am a fan of. He also wrote all the songs for Spring Awakening, and is currently working on a new book of music for a play. Anyway, I saw him last Thursday at Town Hall. He is great live. A couple shots below.

Duncan

Duncan & Lauren Pritchard (she is an original SA cast member).

VERMONT

Our road trip to Vermont was a huge success. A couple of months ago I suggested making a girls trip to the middle of nowhere for complete R&R, and so began our venture. At 5:30pm on Friday, the six of us took the train to Stamford, CT where we picked up our rental car - a white Chrysler Town & Country Minivan. We stopped in Springfield, MA for dinner at Panera, and by 11:30 we had reached our cabin in West Wardsboro, VT. We were in the middle of the woods with no cell service. It was perfect. Our cabin was exactly what we had hoped for. We spent the next two days doing what we wanted - eating and drinking. We played board games, listened to music, cooked, caught up on reading and enjoyed the company. There was a plan to venture around town, but "town" ended up being no more than a couple of blocks of shops and restaurants.

I didn't take a lot of pictures, mainly because we sat around in our pj's and were not looking our best. Plus, we didn't do anything worth capturing. My only regret is that I didn't get a picture of the outside of the cabin or minivan. But its okay, because we're planning to go back with a larger group to ski in February (its right by Mount Snow).

Apparently, 6 girls need 24 bottles of booze to make it 48 hours in the woods.

Playing board games. Heather was horrible. She did not know who Gilligan or Anne Frank were in Celebrity Taboo. She also described Coolio as such: Black, Atlanta & rhymes with Hoolio.

This is how the kitchen looked around 3pm Saturday.

More board games and keeping score of the UGA and State games via iPod.

A Birthday Celebration & Live Theater

A short recap.

Celebrating Ellen's birthday (not pictured). Yes, the bar was already decorated with Christmas decorations.

Pour some sugar on me. Such jokers.

We had a great weekend. The weather was nasty Saturday, but it didn't keep us from celebrating Ellen's birthday by watching football. We started the day with brunch at Punch. Per usual, I was running late, and having my cab driver pulled over by the police did not help my tardiness. Yes - it's true. You can get a traffic violation in the city. Anyway, after brunch we headed to the LSU bar for a day of football. It ended up being a very long day, but we had a great time...even though Alabama won.

Miranda and I were pretty lazy Sunday. We lounged and caught up on sleep. I love days like that - so refreshing. Later that night, I went to see her play on the west side. It was really good. Probably my favorite one thus far. It was two hours long, and she did really well.

Not much else to speak about. Things have been pretty quiet around here this week. I have a concert Thursday, and then we head to Vermont for the weekend. More about those later.

Happy Veterans Day!

The Decemberists

Wednesday I saw The Decemberists at Terminal 5. Horrible venue. It was my first time there and I will not go back. First of all, trekking all the way to 11th avenue is ridiculous, and I basically watched them from a TV screen. It's three levels (way too big), and you can't see from anywhere which was really disappointing. This is another band that likes to interact with the audience. They were in great spirits and played for two hours. They're from Portland, and huge Obama fans. They brought a life size cut out of him and put it on stage. Lots of references about change and blue states were made. The NY audience ate it up. They played almost all of my favorites and I want to see them again, just in a different location. Pictures taken with my new bad ass camera are below. They're pretty impressive considering I took most of them by reaching over those in front of me. You can read more about the show HERE.

Say hello to our new President in the background.

This was the best one...so close.

Entire band.

Cool lighting.

In other news, Carrie and I took Ellen out for her birthday dinner last night (the three of us take each other out on our special day). We went to El Faro, a Spanish Tapas place in the West Village. This place is old and grimy, but so very delicious. I had vegetable paella. This establishment is now added to the list of places to take visitors - very old New York.

Tomorrow is going to be spent celebrating Ellen's birthday with our friends. We're brunching and watching the LSU/Alabama game. Go Tigers! (Did I just say that?!) Sunday I'm going to see Miranda's play. Look forward to recaps for both. TGIF.

Celebrations all over the city

Click HERE for some pretty amazing pictures of people celebrating Obama's win in the 5 boroughs last night. Some of that celebration lead to arrests in Williamsburg. Hipsters. I love 'em! In addition, the NY Times printed extra copies of today's edition to accommodate the demand. This is the best sales day the Gray Lady has seen in a long time.

**Note - I was asleep by 11pm.

UPDATE: More pictures. Click HERE to view. They really capture the excitement of a true Blue State.

1 Hour and 20 Minutes Later...

I had voted - the old school way. Yes, I was in an actual booth with a curtain and a red swinging lever.

I got in line at 8:15 (my manager approved us being late to fulfill our civic duty), and the line was wrapped around the block! See the map below. The good news is that it moved fast and I kept myself busy with work for the hour and twenty minute wait.

Did you vote today?

VOTE TODAY

I'm not one to discuss politics, but I strongly encourage you to get out and exercise your right and privilege as an American. Please VOTE in the election today. It does matter.

Click HERE to listen to an interesting clip from the Howard Stern show. I'm not trying to sway any one's vote or elude to my affiliation, but I think its worth checking/worrying about. Maybe it will encourage you to take a few minutes from your day to mark your ballot.

If Uncle Sam can run the NYC Marathon - you can vote in the Presidential election.

...And, its November

Another month has passed. Holy. It is November!

Coworkers at the Halloween party. Can you guess what everyone is?

To recap my weekend. Friday, one of my coworkers had a Halloween party at his apartment in Brooklyn. It was a good time. The Thriller video was on repeat for at least 3 hours, but it made for a good ambiance. I went dressed as a butterfly. This was pretty effortless. I bought the wings at Wal-Mart when I was home a few weeks ago, and wore black jeans and a black shirt. The fun part was my makeup. My friend Nicole went crazy with eyeshadow, eyeliner and glitter on my face. But it looked super cool, and I got a lot of complements on it. Plus it was really fun! The only problem now is that all my make up has glitter somewhere in it. Oh well...

Saturday was very relaxing. I went to Whole Foods in the morning. (I ran into Amanda from Ugly Betty while out shopping. She is one of my favorite characters on the show - so naively dumb. But she looked like any other girl on the street, just minding her own business.) I decided that I was going to spend the evening cooking. I had a few recipes I wanted to try out from The Food Network. They turned out OK - which is why I don't cook. I'm not good at it.

Marathon runners running up 1st Avenue towards the Bronx.

Amazing.

Nicole spots us and she is excited! I am so upset Heather is blocked by the woman in black.

Onward to finish the remaining 9 miles.

As you already know, yesterday was Marathon Day. I headed to the UES at 11 to ensure we had a good viewing spot. By that time, the streets and bar were packed. But it worked out well because we got to the front line of the curb in time to see Heather and Nicole run by. I felt like they were my children. I am so proud of them. It is really such an amazing thing to accomplish. They have spent the past six months training as well as raising money for their charity. Seeing them come down the hill on 1st avenue was a very proud moment for me. They were so excited to see and hear us cheering for them at mile 17. When she was done, Nicole met us out - wearing her medal. The best thing about Marathon Day is that when the runners are finished, those that can, hit the bar ready to soberly celebrate. And when they enter the bar, everyone starts clapping and congratulating them. When Nicole met us, we all wanted to carry her around like a trophy. Again, truly an amazing accomplishment. I can't believe its over. All that preparation and anticipation, and they're done. Of course, they're already planning for their next one.

As for this week - it's pretty busy. Tomorrow is VOTING DAY - which is chaotic enough. I have a concert Wednesday, Ellen's birthday dinner Thursday and a party Saturday. I hope to check in later in the week with updates on what's going on up here. Should be interesting, stay tuned.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

This is one of my favorite holidays. Not so much Halloween itself, but rather the feeling of fall and pumpkins and colorful leaves and knowing that winter is upon us.

Have a great Halloween! I'm headed to Brooklyn for a partay.

That's Marianne, our office manager, dressed as Sarah Palin. I saw 4 Sarah Palin's on my way to work this morning. Talk about unoriginal.

Weekend Roundup

The weekend began Thursday. Starting at 4pm my office had a party to celebrate our success in September. Literally, my CEO came into my office, beer in hand, and told me to shut down and get to drinking. While the rest of the economy is hurting, we're doing really well. ($4mm well - not bragging, just sayin'.) We worked really hard, and the big guys up top thought we needed to be rewarded. We had enough booze to set the place on fire, an extensive food spread, music on the balcony and our faces on fake money all over the office (that was hilarious). A good time was had by all, and once again the reassurance of working for a great company really took a load off.

The only problem is that Friday was a waste. A few folks were out, half of us were late, and I'm not sure how much work was actually done. Because of this, I went straight home after work and caught up on my DVR from the week. Nothing to share.

The weather was awful yesterday, but that didn't keep me from getting out and about. I ate lunch with Ellen at Westville East. Its one of our new faves and is right around the corner from her apartment. We saw a movie we didn't understand (see previous post), and then I did a little exploring. I walked over to the West Village. I haven't been over there in a while so it was nice a little walk. It's a great hood. I read about a vegan bakery that has pumpkin pie, so I tried it out while I was over there. Delicious.

Last night (Landon you'll be proud) I met up with a few MC/Ole Miss alumni to watch their game. I am not being a traitor. Nobody gathered to watch the State game. Today was pretty mundane. Just got my new camera (see older post). This week is going to be hectic, so I wanted to be low key.

Look forward to a recap of Miranda's play, a Halloween Party and...my favorite day of the year - MARATHON DAY!!

Two Movies of the Week

I saw two movies over the week - The Secret Life of Bees and Synecdoche, NY.

I'll start with TSLOB. I'm going to be honest. Don't see this movie unless you're prepared to cry. Carrie said she hadn't cried like that since My Girl. At one point I thought I was going to have to leave because I couldn't breathe. It's heavy. I've heard great things about the book. It's not on my immediate list of reads, but I hope get around to it. As you all know, this movie is full of singers: Queen La, Alicia Keys and Jennifer Hudson, all of whom I thought did really well. There are also a lot of CW stars in the film (thought that was strange). While this one is sad, and I will probably never see it again (due to the emotional stress), I really enjoyed it and recommend you see it.

Moving on to Synecdoche, NY. Fantastic cast - I didn't follow at all. I had about 84567296876234 questions when it was over. I really can't give you a synopsis. I have no clear idea of what was reality and what were actual events. Ellen and I couldn't even discuss the film afterwards. Maybe the Wiki page will help you. There are also some thoughts here. I'm admitting that I am not smart enough to understand this one. Sorry.

Isn't she pretty?

Say hello to my new camera! I'm excited about my new purchase/early Christmas present. The nice Jewish men at B&H Photo highly recommended this one for my photo taking needs. Starting this week I'll have actual photos for you - which is good because I have a lot of activities coming up.

I LOVE FALL FOLIAGE and Rhode Island

So in addition to marrying a musician, it has been confirmed that the person I end up with will also need to have a connection to Rhode Island. And by connection, I mean has a house in Providence and/or Newport. Let me start at the beginning.

Bright and early Saturday morning, Miranda and I hit the FDR in our rental - a white Chevy Cobalt. Y'all, that thing was cheap and fast. We drove through Connecticut, which is beautiful this time of year. All the leaves are turning, fall foliage is in full force and New England is just gorgeous. Two stops and three hours later, we arrived in Providence. We parked on Thayer St, which is like Main Street in Starkville except much closer to Brown. The first thing we saw upon entering Brown's campus was a group of hippies chanting in a circle at 11AM. I knew it was something we were going to encounter and was so happy that it became a reality. The campus is beautiful, and was surprisingly very lively for a Saturday morning. We saw students everywhere. Pretty much on the same campus is RISD (Rhode Island School of Design). Coincidentally, this is where my sister will be attending grad school. She doesn't know that yet, but will figure it out soon enough. After a short tour, we did a little shopping, and ate lunch at cute little Greek gyro place. Everyone was so nice. I felt like I was home. If you ever get the chance, I really suggest visiting the area (or state...may as well). We didn't see much else, besides the downtown area, due to time. But downtown reminded me a lot of Charlotte because its so clean, and everything looks new. I'm sure there are dodgy areas in Providence, but we did not see any. Therefore, Providence is on my official list of places to reside.


After lunch, we hopped back in the car for a 45 minute drive to Newport. We drove through Massachusetts for about 5 minutes. Newport is bigger and beachier. The first thing we did was hit up the Vanderbilt mansion, The Breakers. Y'all. It is insane. 138k square feet. I can't even verbalize everything I saw. In a nutshell - the house took 3 years to build (most of which was built in Europe and transported to RI), the family only lived in the house for 2 months of the year in July and August, Mr. Vanderbilt died 3 years after it was complete, after 4 of his 7 children had already passed. This literally only left Mrs. Vanderbilt, and three children to enjoy the house for a substantial amount of time (but remember only 2 months of the year - seemed like a bit of waste to me, but whatev). They had a full staff of about 40 people, most of which traveled with them between Newport and Manhattan. The youngest daughter inherited the house, and she is the one who sold it to the preservation society. So the house was always in the family and everything in it today is original. I definitely want to go back, and see the other mansions. This one is the most grand, but the others aren't too shabby either.

After our mansion tour, we drove around the coast and saw a lighthouse, and some beach, then we hit up the park where there was a pumpkin tour. It was so cute. Most of you know I don't do children, but the ones that were at the pumpkin tour were just adorable. They were so amazed by all of the pumpkins. It's a great idea. They have different schools, local businesses and organizations carve a pumpkin (I'm guessing at a cost), and they are set up on the running trail in the park for everyone to view. Its a very fallish activity for families. The fire department was there too teaching fire safety to the kids.

After that, we headed down to the waterfront area and looked through some shops. We went on a boat (it was a schooner if that makes a difference) and saw what it looks like down below. There is so much going on in this part of town. There are many wharfs, and a ton of shops, restaurants and bars. By this time, it was starting to get dark, so we found a little pub to eat dinner and kicked back for a little while. One thing we noticed is there were not a lot of young people in Newport - mostly families and tourists. I'm sure that's different in the summer season. After dinner, we hopped in the Cobalt, and headed back to the city. Three hours later, we were home. What's amazing is during our 3 hour drive, we passed about 6 universities, two of which are Ivy League. I would have liked to stopped in New Haven to see Yale, but we didn't have time. In case you haven't noticed, I like to visit college campuses.

It was such an easy and fun day trip. The car rental place is right by our apartment, and when you leave before sunrise, traffic is not an issue. So one trip down, two more to go. Next up - Vermont in November.

*All photos were captured on a $10 disposable camera. Still don't have a new one and Miranda's battery was dead. But at least you have some sort of visual.

My Travels

Home was good. I relaxed, spent a lot time with the parents, watched the Bulldogs win and caught up on Entourage. On my flights to and fro, I read a book - The F*%& Up. Since moving to New York, I've become obsessed with entertainment that has to do with the area. I enjoyed reading this one for many reasons. One - it gives you a view of New York in the eighties pre-gentrification. Two - I enjoyed the fact that I could picture the exact places in the story. Three - there are some great lines when read in context, such as, "I came to New York for the roaches, the filth, the sense of intimidation, the foul odors, the violence...and oh yeah, the sky rocket rents and the over-population, not to forget the freezing winters, or the insanely hot summers."
So Saturday, my roommate and I are taking a road trip to Rhode Island for the day. We're going to Providence and Newport. Neither of has been so if you have any suggestions of things to do or see, feel free to leave a comment. A pumpkin patch, mansion tour and Brown are the only things on the agenda thus far.

In honor of Halloween and the Presidential election, his week's picture features my Godchild, Trey. I have no idea where this was taken, but I thought it was pretty funny. He's a hoot.

Excuse me...

But has anyone else heard of Juicy Campus? My sister and her friends were explaining this to me yesterday while tailgating. I feel as though I can find humor in about anything, and have a high tolerance for inappropriateness, but this site draws the line. Play around on it and let me know your thoughts. State's page isn't that bad, but Alabama's is just...wow. (Of course, this is not to say that it won't be added to my rotation.)

PS - Go Dawgs. The New Yorkers clearly brought the luck.

New Music Thursday

A couple of things made me smile this week. First, this video of Bon Iver and Lykke Li. Musicians in a LA park, at sunset. Just singing. Having a good time.

Secondly, I stumbled upon this website while playing around on YouTube - BlackCabSessions. It's pretty cool. Bands play one unplugged song, in the back of cab, while being driven around London by a stranger. I'm proud to say that I've seen 6 of the 60 bands who have done this. While that doesn't seem like a lot, I'm sure most of you haven't even heard of any of the bands. I really want to see this band. I think they're in the city soon actually.

Anyway, it's been a while since I posted new tunes. So here you go...

Paige's Mix Vol. 34
Disturbia - Rihanna (I know - weird)
Pot Kettle Black - Tilly and the Wall
Great DJ - The Ting Tings
I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance With You - Black Kids
Dance, Dance, Dance - Lykke Li
I'm Good, I'm Gone - Lykee Li
Backwards With Time - The Avett Brothers
Paranoia in B Major - The Avett Brothers
Die Die Die - the Avett Brothers
This Charming Man - Death Cab for Cutie
Company Calls - Death Cab for Cutie
Pictures in Exhibition - Death Cab for Cutie
Rose Parade - Elliot Smith
Ballad of Big Nothing - Elliot Smith
Give it Up - The Format
Weathered - Jane Weaver
The Luckiest - Ben Folds
Wagon Wheel - Old Crow Medicine Show

Zach Mix Vol. 9
I Love You & Buddha Too - Mason Jennings (So catchy)
Another Day - Jamie Lidell
Mercy - Duffy
That's Not My Name - The Ting Tings
Paper Planes - M.I.A.
88 - The Cool Kids
Sour Cherry - The Kills
15 Steps - Radiohead
Buckers of Rain - Bob Dylan
White Winter Hymnal - Fleet Foxes
Time to Pretend - MGMT
Grip Like a Vice - The Go! Team
Shout - De Novo Dahl
Say It Ain't So - Melanie Joy

Zach Mix Vol. 9.5
Stella - The Postelles
5 Years Time - Noah & the Whale
Everything You're Breathing For - The Parlor Mob
Renegade - Styx
Kids - MGMT
Simple Twist of Fate - Joan Baez
Please - Black Joe Lewis
Challengers - The New Pornographers
Multiply - Jamie Lidell
Lake Michigan - Rogue Wave
Girl on My Mind - The Black Keys
All I Need - Radiohead
Leb Wohl - Neu!

Zach Mix Vol. 10
Out At The Pictures (Live from Berlin) - Hot Chip
Dancing Choose - TV On the Radio
Heaven for the Weather - The Streets
Goodbye Stranger - Supertramp
Something is Not Right With Me - Cold War Kids
The '59 Sound - The Gaslight Anthem
Furr - Blitzen Trapper
Death Will Never Conquer - Coldplay
Let the Distance Keep Us Together - Bright Eyes, Britt Daniel & Spoon
You Ain't Goin' Nowhere - Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova
California Stars - Billy Bragg & Wilco
You Don't Know Me - Ben Folds feat. Regina Spektor
Use Somebody - Kings of Leon
Mississippi - Bob Dylan
Oliver James - Fleet Foxes
I Shall Be Released - Wilco w/ Fleet Foxes

In other news, my beautiful, stark white iPod has passed. She woke up one day, and started clicking. And the clicking never stopped, and now she's gone. Thankfully, my sweet roommate has loaned her bright blue one to me since she has an iPhone (in exchange for music) until I get a new one. And I will have to get a new one because I have way more than 1,000 songs, and choosing what makes the pod and what doesn't is just too hard.

Alright, I hope this holds you over until next week. I'm out of town until Monday night. Have a great weekend and GO DAWGS! (That's for you Landon.)

Movie of the Week

Over the weekend I saw Rachel Getting Married - Anne Hathaway's new film. She plays a recovering drug addict who comes home for the first time in nine months for her sister's wedding. I enjoyed this one for many reasons.

1. Something different for Anne. More mature.
2. Takes place in Connecticut, which I like by default.
3. The sister marries a musician, which is obviously the only way to go. There is so much music and culture in this film...I just loved it.
4. During the entire movie, all the fiancees friends are laying around, eating and playing music. Coincidentally, this is how I want to spend the remainder of my life.
5. Finally, it made me think that no one is perfect, and that's okay.

UPDATE: I forgot to mention that one of the main characters, Sydney (the fiancee) is a member of a band I fancy - TV on the Radio. Yet another reason to see the movie.

"I literally just urinated next to him."

Spotted: Lonely Boy relieving himself at Webster Hall's facilities during the Fleet Foxes concert.

Okay, yes I'm a bit obsessed with Gossip Girl, but its just so good. All my friends and half of my coworkers watch the show religiously and every Tuesday morning we rush to NYMag for the weekly recap. Lucky Zach - he ran into Dan while taking a bathroom break during the concert. But this is not the point of my story. The show - it was great. Very mellow, but with lots of funny moments. I love when a band actually interacts with the audience. This group was so humble and gracious, yet really funny in between songs. It was really nice to see a band who appreciates you coming out to see them. I absolutely love them, and recommend you add them to your rotation. Click HERE for pictures and to read a full recap written by people who can use bigger words than me.

Looks like I've slipped into my old ways...

Back to blogging once a week? I don't know how it happened. In my defense last week was super busy. I had my birthday dinner Monday, my birthday celebration Tuesday, my roommate took me out Friday, and I had a house warming party Saturday. It was crazy, and I've been recovering this week. Many thanks to everyone that called, emailed, texted, Facebooked, MySpaced, sent cards, etc. So sweet and much appreciated. I love birthdays and feeling special. And surprisingly enough, the celebration is not yet over. A couple of friends who couldn't attend any of the festivities are taking me to brunch Saturday.

In addition to that, I have a concert Sunday (Fleet Foxes). Thank goodness. I haven't been to a show since summer. I'm having withdrawals. Even more exciting, the next two weeks are short as I am heading south since I have Columbus Day off. I will be in Starkville Saturday for the game, so let me know if you're going to be there.

Once I get back, my schedule is pretty packed through the holidays. Gosh, I can't believe October is here. It's just wild! Only three months left in the year. I suppose I better take advantage of what's remaining. Good thing I've been making plans. So stay tuned. Hopefully I will have more exciting stories to report.

Picture of the Week (I'll continue to do this until I get a new camera) - Whoopi Goldberg. I was in Whole Foods yesterday wasting time before my roommate's play and I ran into Whoopi Goldberg in the cracker isle. She looks just like she does on TV. Of course, I was super cool and acted like I didn't notice her. My mother was really excited when I told her this, and announced it to everyone at her lunch table. I thought you'd enjoy this too.

Back from my hiatus

Apologies for the lack of updates in the past couple of weeks. The good news is, I don't have a lot to report. Despite the Wall Street mess this week, its been business as usual at my office. In fact, things have already started gearing up for Q4. Not surprising, I've stayed busy in that aspect.

I have seen two movies during my hiatus - The Women and Burn After Reading. I didn't not like The Women, I just don't have much to say about it. I literally have no comment (other than I love Debi Mazar). However, I thought Burn After Reading was worth seeing. It has received mixed reviews, but I thought it was funny. To me it really exaggerates the Washington DC stereotype that I have always had in my head (unlawful & scandalous). Obviously, the cast is stellar, and the directors have once again merged humor with drama. I recommend. Nicole, myself and the two people next to us were bent over laughing for most of the film.

I had the pleasure of going to Long Island today, Mattituck to be exact. On the side, my manager and his wife teach wine classes at their North Fork home. They have also started growing their own grapes (nine rows of vines) to make wine. He invited our department out for the day (just because), and we experienced one of their tastings. In addition, he showed us around the town, took us to a farmer's market, and then we ended the day with a BBQ. For those that don't know, the biggest economy of the North Fork of Long Island is farming (including numerous wineries). We couldn't have asked for a more gorgeous day. Fall is in full force up here. It was a really nice day, and I got to experience both the Long Island Railroad and Hampton Jitney - two news forms of transportation for me. Sorry I don't have any pictures, still haven't gotten a new camera.

So things coming up - a dinner in my honor (insert winking emoticon), more football embarrassment as we approach our meeting with LSU, concerts and then my travels home for Columbus Day. I'm also in the planning stages of several trips, including camping, Boston, Vermont and Rhode Island. I'm not sure which are going to come to fruition, but I'm hoping they all do.