one more thing

forgot to mention that my parents officially bought the new place in the city and will start showing the sharon house soon. if you know anyone in the market for a fantasic white house in a hill, send them my way:)

thank allie

you have allie to thank for this one - her adorable plea brought me back.

lets see, italy was great. got some solid down time with my sister and we even kept the bickering down to a minimum! on monday i took the train to bologna to see a friend from college whom i hadn't seen in year. it was really great to see an old face. got some gossip, shared some gossip - got to see a very cute italian city. i really liked bologna.

then putzed around rome for a few days, did a lot of walking, some shopping. i had been there twice and had done the tourist thing both times, so no standing in line for the vatican, no museums, not paying 15 euros to see the inside of the colleseum. She had had several visitors recently and was also in no hurry to do it all again, so it worked out fine. I splurged on a pair of sunglasses, and am having a slight case of buyer's remorse, but oops - can't return them now!

Thursday i didn't even leave the flat - and found out the hard way how much work goes into Thanksgiving dinner. We searched the city for cranberries but to no avail, but still managed to have turkey (done by yours truly) and stuffing from scratch (done by yours truly), mashed potatoes, green beans (I made cream of mushroom soup from scratch as well - but with no blender you can imagine how appetizing it was... ugh), home made bread, stewed pumpkin and three types of pie and caramel rolls. it was awesome. i thought i was going to hurl. i also met a lot of divya's friends and approved of them all. one of them was very impressed that a certain frat brother is going to be in my wedding - he is part of the frat and said friend is a bit of a legend there.

friday blew as there was a travel strike and i spent 9 hours in the airport. i got home at 10 and slept for 36 hours. the only times i got up was to make pasta for lunch and let the sushi delivery guy in. no joke.

sunday was more sleep and then i worked off some of the atrophy at the gym and monday was back to the grind.

oh - and i quit my job on monday - no drama, they were expecting it.

oh - for all of those whom i called in a panic, my dad is doing fine. my mom is not so hot, since it was her car that he totaled. poor bmw. they called me yesterday from the toyota place - she is looking at getting a hybrid. i hope the get the same car as before though, i really liked it, and more importantly, she really liked it.

less than 5 weeks people! i still have to find time to alter my blouses... i have no idea when that will get done...

oh well.

ciao!

i take my leave of you all on the eve of my departure to roma. have a great thanksgiving everyone!

green acres

I came to a conclusion - Josh and I are the couple from Green Acres. I can't bear to leave the city and he can't bear to pay city prices when we can live on the commuter rail. THE COMMUTER RAIL! Ugh! (Yeah yeah, I am over reacting slightly)

Needless to say, this has been the topic of discussion as of late. He is getting a free "relocation expert" through his job so right now I am not worrying about it. They will know how much car insurance is and what the parking situation is and the traffic and the commute into the city, etc. I am really pushing for living on the green line (although not the B line, apparently :)) but we shall see. If insurance and parking in the city is more than a commuter rail pass, then I may have some trouble fighting logic.

What's that word? Compromise?

11/17: egg white omelet, toast ,OK, turkey sandwich, salad, pasta, two cookies / no gym

what is wrong with me?

Thanks for listening everyone.

11/16: mashed potatoes, stuffing, corn bread, piece of cake, veg. soup, bowl of pasta, apple, cheddar cheese / weights

same old, same old

11/15: toast with PB, milk, yougurt with granola, bowl of pasta, lean cuisine, most of the best brownie in the whole world / 1.5 hours of cardio, abs

monday monday

work, training session, home, dinner. oh yeah - JOSH GOT THE JOB IN BOSTON!

now my days will be filled with craigslist and planning the move. sigh. so happy.

11/14: yogurt with granola and fruit, salad, soup, pasta with cream sauce and veggies, banana blueberry bread, hot chocolate / 15 minutes cardio, weights

yay weekend!

after my seriously bad friday, i had a great weekend. B and L came in around 10 on Friday (like 5 minutes within each other - so it worked out great). One bottle of champagne and some old fashioned girly talk later we fell asleep and had a proper lie in the next morning.

saturday was a day of walking: down 34th st, into shops, to murray hill (nostalgic tear), to blouses fitting, to union square for some free wine, around B&N (with some serious sitting) and then to Grammercy to a dinner at Tabla! After two and a half years, I finally went, and it was everything I thought it would be! Sigh... I love eating out at fancy places and being full and not stuffed and knowing that although it is a major splurge, I can afford it. I am all grown up!

Sunday when everyone left, the apt was very empty and quiet, so of course I finished reading The Shining and got VERY scared and didn't fall asleep til like 3am. But it's ok. There is no lady in my tub. No lady in my tub. No lady in my tub. And nothing at the window. Gah.

Josh had a rough weekend, and I was sad I couldnt give him the phone time I wanted to give him, but we had a nice chat on Sunday evening when he got back to school and all is good.

11/11: oatmeal, banana, cookie, yougurt, celery and PB, bowl of pasta, chicken breast, couscous, two glasses champagne / no gym

11/12: a crepe, tuna melt, crab cake with avacado, naan, salmon with indian vegetables, chocolate souffle. three glasses wine / no gym but walked around a LOT

11/13: french toast, coffee, pot pie, some mashed potatos and a little mac and cheese / got lost in The Overlook and missed yoga, so no gym

:(

Oh my god, I just had the worst day EVER at work. People say that blithely - this is the worst cookie ever, this is the worst Christmas ever, this is the worst I have ever felt in my life. But I, my dear friends, am not exaggerating.

I come in this morning to find a scathing, SCATHING email from an author. I sent out an email to solicit reviews for his text, this is what I got back: "This is the tackiest, dumbest, most shameful, and offensive action I have ever seen W. take. I have loads of reasons for this conclusion. Many too many to spend my time on in an e-mail to you." There was more - much more, but it is too harsh to even post.

But I was following procedure. Thank god my boss backed me up and emailed them back. THEN I got a phone call from the other author on this book and she was in TEARS, she was so upset about the fact that many people were asked to review. She said her reputation is ruined, she is going to loose her funding bc now people know she is writing the book, and that we did not treat the book with the respect it deserves. Tears. She was crying because of what I did. I never meant for this to happen - I thought I was doing my job.

I am beside myself. I have never done anything that has prompted such a response. I haven't eaten all day and have been trying not to throw up every time I think about it. My boss is behind me, but I think I caused irreparable damage to our relationship with the authors and my relationship with the coauthor (we had been getting along so well). I don't know what to do. We are going to have a conference call next week to smooth things over, but I don't think I can listen to any more yelling.

I think I am going to cry again. I want my mother. And Josh. And a toilet to throw up in.

bah

skipped the gym to do laundry. skipped laundry bc it was "too windy out". i suck.

11/10: two pieces of toast woth PB, two rolls of sushi and a salad, celery with PB, stuffed chicken breast, two apples, hot cocoa, ice cream / no gym

sharing a cab

after i met my mom at penn station, we ran a few errands and then decided to walk to times square to meet up with her friend for dinner. but then the rain started, so i lobbeyed for a cab. anyone who has ever tried to get a cab in the rain, however, knows that occurence is as probable as finding a size six chanel suit on the discard rack in the changing room of century 21. but then, lo and behold! a cab with its light on letting someone out! i sprinted the half a block only to find two gentlement standing there.

do you have this cab?
yes.
oh. ok. well, where are you going?
46th and 7th.
oh! we are going to 49th and 7th! do you mind if we share.

i think they were so caught off gaurd by the fact that i asked that they said yes. so all four of us piled into the cab and as i was being chatted up by the driver (think archie bunker at 75) my mom was meeting the nice boys from wyoming. i gave them money, humored the driver and then called the shots when it was time to let us out. my mother thought it was cute how adult i have become.

and i thought about it. the me who moved here two and a half years ago would never have asked to share. she would never have known to take 8th ave to beat the traffic and she would never have sat up front to talk to joke with the driver about accidents in new york city. at times my confidence is such that i know that i am a new person. at other times i wonder how stubborn and childish i can be about my own life.

11/9: egg white omelette, toast, OJ, salad, salad, fish, two glasses of wine, a few bites of chocolate cake / 1/2 hour training session, 10 minutes of cardio

nothing to report

josh got an interview at raythoen and gilmore girls did a fantastic job last night. that is all

11/7: oatmeal, milk. turkey burger on wheat, yogurt, cheese and triscuts, ravioli / no gym

why do we only listen to people we pay?

met with the trainer yesterday for the first of my two free sessions. we didn't do that much, she took a bunch of measurements and had me run on the treadmill and found out how inflexible i am (her, ok stretch forward - i stretch forward - her, you can go now - me, i am - her, oh.) she also yelled at me because of my poor eating habits, which everyone has been saying but i just haven't been hearing. eating twice a day is bad. eating little things five times a day is good. so now i am on a routine of food, i have to drink more water (something my mom has been saying for YEARS) and wednesday we have our first session.

she is super nice. at first i was bummed i didn't get a big black guy (bc all the trainers at my gym are huge and gorgeous), but now i am glad since i feel way more comfortable with her. i will probably work with her up to the wedding, so four more weeks. even if i don't see the dream results i have in my head, i think this will be good for me in the long run. i really don't have much structure when i exercise and she can provide that.

11/7: turkey sandwich, chicken soup, sausage and pasta, apple and organic peanut butter (which is awesome, btw) / a bit of running, 45 minutes on the bike

Relaxing/hectic weekend

yay to being home for a weekend for the first time in forever! it felt good to wake up in my own bed. and even though i got NONE of the nitty gritty things done - i did a lot of new york socializing, which was LONG overdue.

friday night went out with a friend from work and her friends, which was a lot of fun. a good group of people. we prepartied at someone's house and i learned that as you walk farther away from the path station, the apartments get bigger and bigger. the one these two boys lived in was so so nice - sky lights, two free parking spaces, huge bathroom, etc. it makes me think that living in the area won't be so bad, if it comes to that.

saturday i got up and saw STEVE! it had been way too long and it was good to catch up. he gave me gossip, i gave him gossip, we walked around and dragged each other into stores. it was just good to catch up. after leaving steve i met up with my work wife for a sample sale in soho and then some shopping. bought a few things and realized it had been a while since i got new clothes, especially non work clothes. it was also like 75 degrees out, so the city was warm and full of people showing off their summer clothes one last time. after an amazing dinner, i headed back home for some old fashioned LAO time.

plan in head for sunday:
7am: gym
830am: laundry
10am: leave to meet B
3pm: book club
7pm: home to clean apt

actual sunday:
6:30am: alarm goes off and then is silenced
8:45: wake up and turn on back to the future II
9:40: leave to meet B
3:book club
8: get home and watch TV for two hours

11/4: egg white omelette with veggies, turkey burger, coke, pot pie, corn, mashed potatoes, vodka tonic, half a beer / one hour of cardio

11/5: bagel with avocado and swiss, latte, cookie, rissotto with mushrooms, two bowls of pasta / no gym but walked around the city for 5 hours

11/6: quiche, salad, potatoes, 1.5 glasses of mimosa, coffee, finger foods at book club (cheese and crackers, fruit, crudite, etc) slice of pizza and salad / no gym

ok, i just reread this post. i am sorry it sucks so much. i will do better next time.

a break in my old lady routine

so yesterday i did NOT go straight home to cook, watch tv, talk to josh and fall asleep! i am NOT a monotonous machine! after work, went to the gym (finally), went to the mall with co workers and then to another co workers house for thurday night tv. it seems as though i have a new thursday night group. and although nothing will ever compare to the 6 of us cramming into one tiny apartment watching friends, hating the apprentice, loving the apprentice and eating fajitas, this group is very nice.

i miss those first few months in new york city. i was really happy. the sense of adventure is gone, and all that is left is responsibilty and grownupity.

11/3: coffee, grilled cheese and potato chips (bad), small salad, three cookies / one hour of cardio

i've been tagged!

as per my loverly S/W's request, i am to list things that make me happy. here it goes:

1. waking up next to the boy
2. cooking for others and have the food come out like the picture
3. spending time with my mother - we have become so close lately
4. chinese take away after a long day
5. my grandmother's cooking
6. the feeling in my stomach during a take off
7. finishing a book at 4am after two days of sleep deprivation because it was too good to put down
8. sincere compliments from friends
9. clean sheets
10. sitting around with friends doing absolutely nothing and knowing there is nothing we could do that would make us happier

should i stay or should i go?

more of the same with the job talk. josh got a nice lead in cooperstown, pa! gah. which puts us in the "we may stay here" category. i know i know this is getting old. but hey, if you are tired of hearing about it, think about how tiring it is to actually be living it.

i HATE uncertainty. the wedding is 60 days away and i do not know where we will be living after. i can't plan, i can't anticipate anything, i can't set anything up for later. boo to this.

11/2: egg white omelette, toast, OJ, soup, salad, french bread pizza, coke / no gym (i am finding it hard to go back after such a long break)

back in the saddle

after a nice four day weekend, back to work, back to work. although my vacation really didn't feel like one (i guess it technically wasn't), i still did not want to sit down and check all the emails and deal with all the phone calls and whiny authors. and it looks like we will have to do a office shower, which i am not upset about, but since a lot of uppity ups have been asking about it, it means that we cannot do it offsite and it will be the conference room/cake/awkward moments type party. but it is nice that a lot of people have been wondering if anything is going to be done and it makes me feel better about the people here.

yesterday was long, woke up at 5:30 to catch the 7am train and then came straight to work. it wasn't a particularly unique day. still had all my luggage, so instead of grocery shopping on the way home (i have cheese and rolls and eggs in my fridge) i just ordered chinese food. talked to my mom for a bit and then talked to josh for a longer bit about job stuff and where we should live. my heart really wants to move back to boston for one of the jobs. it would be a great oppurtinity for me, and most of the jobs josh is looking for are in boston. but my head knows it is wiser to stay here until he finds something, just in case we have to move twice. i also feel that moving here and living in my tiny apt while josh sits around all day with no friends and looks for a job will just be depressing. at least in boston we both know people and our families are there. it just wouldn't be his waiting for me to come home from work, which i am afraid will happen.

oh well - i guess we will know more in a month or so. i want to give work and my landlord a date by the time we get back from rome, in case we do decide to move.

11/1: two rolls of sushi, miso soup, coke, general's chicken, brown rice, some egg drop soup / no gym