August 3, 2010
Odds and Ends
A long weekend of pure indulgence and somehow, my suit fits better than it did before I left. Perhaps standing around in 4″ heels for 6+ hours a night is a decent substitute for an hour or so of cardio?
I think I prefer Vegas weather.
I do not prefer Vegas cabdrivers.
Also, hanging out at places where you cannot see outside at all can lead to some disconcerting realizations – like how you somehow managed to leave at 7:30 in the morning, some 5 hours after you really, honestly intended to get back to your hotel.
The gold lamé dress was fantastic.
So were these boots – not at the same time, I assure you.
There are no photos – which might be for the best. I am, apparently, the kind of person who goes to Vegas and forgets her camera. But the beauty of Vegas is that the experience can be everything. When you leave, you have this vague, blurry sense of awesomeness, and the thought that it might be fun to go back… just as soon as you’ve had enough time to recover.
October 16, 2009
Arithmetic
I am working from home, and someone just sent me a link to a recipe for homemade nutella. Which, um. Is just hysterical. And, will not get me fired because I am going to wait until after I have signed off to run to the store for hazelnuts and scharffen berger.
July 1, 2009
No, really.
It’s funny ’cause it’s true. And has probably been applicable to 95% of humanity (myself included) at one time or another (probably several times, in my case).
Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to get to the gym. There’s an imbalance in the universe, and I’m not about to get less crazy anytime soon.
March 19, 2009
Depending on whom you ask…
What I’ve been up to is either incredibly fascinating and vital, or so draining I’ve resorted to causing myself pain in order to stay awake during the 3 pm stretch.
Actually, that’s a lie. Because I could give you both of the above answers, so it does not depend on whom you ask, at least not entirely.
All of this to say that the number of unread in my feedreader has surpassed the absurd, and it would be nice to be able to spend more quality time in this place, in your places, enjoying the warmer weather outside and in my apartment, but that’s not in the cards until 6 pm tomorrow.
Hope everyone is having a lovely week. Mine was considerably enhanced when I got home last night and found a giant box outside my door. It was a belated Christmas present (there’s something so happy about belated Christmas presents that show up in a distinctly non-gifty month).
Freudian Slippers
The best part? My toes go inside the tongue. So it can wiggle.
I needed that.
Sorry for the incoherent blather – hope everyone has a great day!
January 14, 2008
Your name is ___, and you used to date DF
I’d feel sorry for the poor guy, if he weren’t wholly responsible for what’s about to happen to him.
From my vantage point, it’s amusing. They meet her, and are immediately smitten. They always want more, always want to try to have as much of her as they can get.
It’s not in her nature to give them much. She’s mastered the art of detached warmth, the ability to be perfectly nice and considerate and a really fun person to be around, without giving them a millimeter more than she’s ready to.
And gentlemen, those millimeters, worthy as they are, have to be earned.
So when I heard that yet another one had gotten sufficiently frustrated to renounce his candidacy, I shook my head and smiled a bit. I’ve seen this before, many times over.
There really should be a support group for people in his position. He’ll need it in a few weeks, when he realizes the cost of his impatience. By that time, at least a few more will have emerged – some who made the same mistake and are asking for a second chance, some who have just begun to realize who it is they’ve met. She’ll be patiently explaining her terms to someone new, and he’ll be realizing that the reasons he found them difficult have little to do with her, and everything to do with his insecurity.
And then, all he’ll have to hold onto is the receipt for the cordless drill he got this particular apartment-dweller as a Christmas gift. Seriously, dude? At least if you’d gotten her a blender, she could’ve made margaritas.
Your name is ____, and you used to date DF. Registration line forms at the left.
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Addendum
Look – I feel like I have to step in here, because there’s a lot of stuff being pointed in the wrong direction.
I hoped that people would understand that my take on this situation was just that – my take. What my friend might be thinking, and how she views the situation, are not represented here at ALL. As far as I know, she hasn’t read here in some time. She’s not here to defend herself. So kindly back the fuck off of her, please.
If you’re going to tell someone to get over anyone, please direct such comments at me. I’m the one who’s suggesting that he’s making a mistake, that he will likely regret taking this step after he’s had some time to realize everything that she brought to his life, even if it wasn’t exactly what he thought he wanted at first.
That’s all me. Please respond accordingly.
November 15, 2007
Closeted Gnomes
Just in time for a new season filled with weekly doses of Tim Gunn, I’ve discovered another infestation.
They’re in my closet, this time. And frankly, I’m not at all sure how they’re pulling this off.
Because I no longer own a scale, my clothes are generally the way I determine whether I’ve been eating/working out in an appropriate ratio. And the gnomes? Have clearly been messing with them.
My work pants all either fit perfectly well, or are slightly loose. Except for one pair that, when I bought it last year, was loose. Now? They are snug.
But they are the only pair. Every other pair, even those that were tight-ish last year? Loose or just right. And unless I have more concrete evidence, I’m not giving up nutella for a pair of pants that’s trying to defy the laws of physics.
Either my closet, or my drycleaner, has an infestation. I’d buy a wretched scale, but:
(1) What woman in her right mind sets herself up for her first weigh-in in 3 years, at Thanksgiving?
(2) Wouldn’t the gnomes just mess with that, too?
I think I might need to conduct an experiment, which of course would involve the purchase of new pants. In the name of science, and all…
October 11, 2007
Everything I Do Is Wrong
But thankfully, that’s just me.
Alternate Title: How NOT to Get Engaged.
Don’t do it six weeks after you met the person, for starters. Definitely don’t do it less than three months into your freshman year of college. Really don’t do it when you’ve lived most of your life controlled and sheltered by well-meaning, but overprotective parents, so you have no idea of how to be independent before latching onto another human being.
Don’t do it because he’s the first guy who’s interested in all of you – not just your 18-year-old physical self, but your brain and your heart. Don’t do it just because he’s the first male non-relative with whom you’ve had all-night conversations every night for the first week since you met.
Don’t do it when he tries to humiliate you in front of your mutual friends, to make himself seem like an alpha male who’s in control. Don’t do it when he maybe gets a little pushy in arguments, and don’t do it just because he never actually closed his fist.
Don’t do it because he’s obviously beside himself to get to show you off. Don’t do it when you realize that you come from completely different backgrounds/upbringings, because you think it would be boring to have developed the same goals and values. Don’t do it because you’re both so terrified of being alone that you feel safer being miserable, together.
And really, REALLY. Don’t ever, ever do it in a bowling alley. Just take my word for that, please.
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I know a fair amount about how not to do it.
The great thing is that lately, I’ve been getting to see some wonderful examples of how it should be done, ways that are unquestionably the right way. People who have figured out who they are, and then found each other, and developed an understanding of how they’ll work as a team.
Miss Andrist, best wishes for your upcoming nuptuals. And thank you, and your intended, for providing such an excellent example of how to do it the right way. I’m so happy for you I could plotz!
September 7, 2007
Polyandry
It’s a misnomer, but I think it’s a funny one. This guy obviously had things he cared about in his life, things that were really important to him. What was almost too amusing to be insulting, was his complete and utter lack of motivation to actually go on a date with (just) me.
So I met him through friends, during a celebration. It was a great night, and I certainly thought there was some chemistry – at least, more so than with other people I had met recently. After the main event, we had a great conversation at a bar, and went our respective ways at the end of the night. He got my number, and a light peck.
About five or six days later, there was a message in my voicemail. We traded correspondence, and we made plans to meet up for an event he had already planned to attend with his roommate. I was fine with this – having other people around gives you a chance to get to know the person’s friends, and takes some of the pressure off.
The next date was also tandem, largely due to preplanned activities and scheduling conflicts elsewhere. When the third outing proposed was also a group event, I had to back away slowly. It was becoming readily apparent that this was never going to be a one-on-one activity. Not that there’s anything wrong with that – it’s just not my cup of daquiri tea.
Anyway, I’ll see you all tonight, hopefully!
August 31, 2007
Cinema Dagny
No, no. This isn’t me posting that video that I managed to finagle back from the ex-fiancé. Not that any such video exists. But if it did, I wouldn’t be posting it. That’s not what this is about.
Moving on…
I have a fair number movies that I honestly think I could watch over and over again, until the end of time. Some I’d put on just so I could quote the entire script as it was playing – kind of a “movie karaoke”, if you will. Some are movies that I put on for the sole purpose of making myself cry buckets. Some, I watch to laugh myself silly. Some are simply old friends.
My current favorite, and I think it’s going to stay that way for a while, is Shopgirl. It’s not lengthy, or complex. It doesn’t tackle significant socioeconomic issues, but does an amazing job of character development. Steve Martin is surprisingly subdued, and good! as Ray, and Claire Danes (my #1 girl crush) is superb. It draws me in, makes me believe in the places and the people and it’s almost like I’m watching something that happened to myself someone I know.
An extremely close second is Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. I’m fascinated by the interplay between the two main characters, and the subplots are sufficiently developed to add a great deal of depth to an already intense tale.
Stranger Than Fiction did quite a bit to satisfy my Emma Thompson fixation, and may contain the most romantic movie scene ever (even better than the end of WHMS)! Well, at least for a girl who bakes quite a bit herself. And, it introduced me to one of my all-time favorite songs, “Bottles and Bones” by Califone.
Speaking of When Harry Met Sally, I’d be remiss if I didn’t include this one. To me, it’s incredibly well-written, and despite its wit and humor, includes a number of valuable insights into relationships.
And finally, lest you think I’m a complete chick-flick addict, I’ll include Braveheart and Last of The Mohicans, both of which provide excellent plot along with well-executed action and adventure, not to mention some seriously quotable lines. Which, as you may have guessed, is an important factor in my movie ranking system.
One of the great things I love about movies is soundtracks, especially those with original scores. One frustrating thing about the Shopgirl soundtrack, though, was that it’s just the original score. So yesterday, I spent some time hunting down the remaining songs from the film, which led me to this guy. He might be my new favorite, at least for now.
Have a great holiday weekend, everyone! Hope it’s lovely. And, should you happen to find yourself in the path of a videocamera, remember that the red light means it IS, in fact, recording.
Not that I would know anything about that, at all.
Seeking John Galt 