Yeah, I've got a lot of stuff

as evidenced by these pics of the hinge on the crate I (meaning Michael and Sean) loaded all my crap in
see that?
yep, it's busted
the back of the truck opens up
and there's my crate, stuff spilling out of it
luckily, not too much stuff
because i had master packers working for me in Seattle
(thanks guys)

and please note that i now have the highest bed known to man
unfortunately, my bedroom isn't largest enough to accomodate the running leap i need to get on top of it

but here's a picture of my new bedding
that looks much better on the pottery barn website since apparently they own an iron


so now i should go unpack
but instead i'm going to go out for dinner

Good vs. evil

Good
--reruns of the reality show "The Restaurant." It's embarrassing how much I enjoy this show, watching the famed chef Rocco Dispirito lose his mind as his restaurant flounders. I believe Lizzie Musar and I spent Christmas 2003 watching a marathon of this show, perhaps as a tribute to our Italian roots. And lest we not forget, we spent Christmas 2004 watching "I Love the 80s" But, we also make time for reading the great novels, engaging in spirited debate, and painting abstract masterpieces.
--having a lime green living room wall, pictures of which are forthcoming. SO much better than the pumpkin monstrosity that covered the 3 walls when i moved in
--peanut butter sandwiches on pepperidge farm white bread--i have an addiction
--free ticket to Avenue Q last night! Woo hoo for Ellen my kickass RA who organized the event!

Evil
--the nonexistence of fresh air in my apt. Good bless Lander for its screened balcony door and delightful breeze. I don't even have screens on my windows in NYC. And here's why: apparently a resident installed her own portable screen in her window on the 12th floor. One day a guy is walking by the building and BAM, the screen falls on his head. Hence, no screens in the windows. One question: how the hell did the fly get in my apartment?
--putting a futon cover on a full size futon mattress by one's lonesome.
--people who don't put their stinky food trash down the cute but leave it on the floor of the trashroom. If I see a mouse, I'm picking it up and throwing it in your apartment.
--Ticketmaster. Anyone who has tried to purchase a ticket to any semipopular act on their horrific website will surely agree with me. And then let's think about the fees and that ironically named "convenience charge," and we can truly say a giant "go to hell!" to the company Eddie Vedder tried in vain to bring down.

And on that note, I'm going to pumice my feet. God, I lead an exciting life!

BK is my Savior

due to a justified outcry by BK
(perhaps he's just cranky b/c his car broke down AGAIN)
i hereby need to clarify that
a) he fixed Snappy, the camera i don't know how to work in low light levels
b) he was kind enough to come into the city and then back to jersey (specifically the 'bokie)
so therefore, today is officially BK appreciation day
i'm not sure how i will celebrate yet
perhaps i shall organize a parade

The Sound of Victory in the 'Bokie

Behold, a craptacular picture of the Mike Doughty show, and one of me posing with the setlist I snagged from the stage. The picture quality is in direct contrast to the sheer awesomeness of the show. It was a great show--Mike looked like he was really enjoying himself up there. I've seen him over 20 times, and I don't ever remember seeing him have that much fun on stage. He's got a band (bass, drums, keyboard) and it looks like he's loving it. He actually came from behind the mike and did little dances, freestylin' and then some samplin'. It's a damn shame I couldn't make it to tonight's show. Duty, I shake my fist at you!

I made some show friends. No wonder people don't believe me when I say I'm shy, what with me going up to people and just starting conversations. So far, I'm finding these New Yorkers aren't as aloof as people make them out to be.

And may I just say that my order of 2 boxes of firecracker popsicles was damn fine thinking considering Heat Wave '05?

And one more and. Thanks for the comments--keep up the good work!

So Much to Say

I'm not normally one to quote Dave Matthews, but it seems fitting today.
So here's what's been happening.

--I took my first (and possibly) last Chinatown bus. On this trip, I lost my personal cell phone. So, if I ever
had your phone number, you're gonna wanna e-mail me
--I ate blueberry buckle and peach kuchen (forever now known as cooter) at the mini-Powers reunion at the Matthews homestead.
--I bought a purse. Ok, it's really like a big shoulder bag, but really, who have I become???
--Today I saw a cop in the Union Square subway station with what looked to be an automatic rifle. Good times
--I now own 36 English muffins.
--My feet are the dirtiest they have ever been. My dirty hippie soul is now matched by my outsides.
--I saw my first "famous" person in the city. Remember the aunts from "Sabrina, the Teenaged Witch?" I saw the pudgier one, who is no longer pudgy.
--I have officially become addicted to iced hazelnut coffee. I lived in Seattle for a year and never got hooked on the stuff, but now I need a fix at regular intervals.

And this next part is worth more than a bullet. Tomorrow BK and I are going to see Mike Doughty. I heart Mike Doughty. Of course, it's gonna be 2 degrees cooler than the 7th level of hell tomorrow, so that trip into Hoboken should be tons of fun. I'm bringing Snappy, the digital camera, and will be capturing the event. In the next 2 weeks, we've got Ben Folds and Marc Broussard/Glen Phillips shows. Apparently a good chunk of my paycheck will be going towards rock and/or roll. And speaking of paychecks, thanks UW for that last direct deposit--I wasn't expecting that!

Finally, if you have ever read this blog, wouldn't it be fun to leave me a little note?

Irie!

Last night I participated in the NYC tradition of drunk karaoke. And when I say participate, I mean sat there, laughing my ass off while coworkers I barely knew belted out tunes. That's the reason why I woke up with the song "Secret Lovers" stuck in my head.

So I just purchased my first Chinatown bus ticket to the popular summer destination, Wilmington DE. I look forward to a weekend of famous recipes and possibly a dip in the pool.

If you ever want to see music videos on MTV, may I suggest tuning in during the morning? I just saw this video by this kid Nick Cannon called "Can I Live" all about how his mama went to have an abortion and then changed her mind. Then they show all this little cherubs singing wearing white t-shirts saying "Can I Live," a la Wham's "Wake Me Up Before You Go Go." Can you say "emotionally manipulative?" And since I am such a nice liberal young lady, I'm all for this man's right to sing what he wants to sing. But come on now! When the hell is Kelly Clarkson going to come out with her pro-choice single?? I think we need it now more than ever!

Must go to work. Many, many papers to purge.

Ow, my ears!

So tonight I saw a preview of the movie "The Island." Here are my observations:
--I've never seen that much stuff blow up, crash, explode, etc, in my entire cinematic life
--Ewan McGregor is a super cutie
--Scarlett Johanson has the amazing ability to keep a french manicure looking new whilst running from an underground human cloning lab and across this fair land of ours
All in all, it was an OK movie. And considering it was free, it was pretty damn good. SO much better than the worst movie ever, "War of the Worlds."

Now I'm watching the TV show called 30 days on F/X done by Morgan Spurlock, the man who brought us "Supersize Me" (which actually made me crave McDonalds). I am fascinated by this show. The premise is that people take on living a life fairly opposite of theirs for 30 days. On tonight's show, a freshman girl's mom is spending 30 days binge drinking as a means of trying to get through to her lush of a daughter. Forty three minutes into the show, Mom has made no impact on lil Suzie Drinksalot.

My knees hurt like a bitch. I've got old man knees. Creak creak

And finally, I'm trying to figure out a way to get to Wilmington, DE this weekend. I might have to resort to the Chinatown bus. Oh boy......

The Musars Take Manhattan

Lizzie Musar has left the city. We had lots of fun. It was tons of fun to carry paint down the stairs into the subway station. Who the hell am I kidding? Lizzie lugged everything. She's a great sister, and not just because she always volunteers to carry the heavy stuff.

We went to see "War of the Worlds," which was officially one of the worst movies I've ever seen. But, I did convince the young woman working the concession counter to sell me a Kids Snack Pack. You see, you need to be 12 or younger to get one, but she seemed amused by my story that I could have had a 12-year-old already sitting in the theater. And when you spend more time talking about the concessions than the film, you know it's a bad movie.

I think I am getting much better at this city thing--at least the getting around part of city living. However, I think it's important that I put this in writing, I WILL NEVER LIKE THE YANKEES!

I'm also getting my bearings about my job. I like the fact that RD training is so early. It'll be good to have time between this and RA training.

I have the feeling tomorrow is going to be very looooooong. So, time to sleep on the big city futon.

Uh-oh

so i brought 3 gigantor bags with me
(thanks song airlines for that generous luggage limit!)
and i've been getting packages in the mail frequently
media mail--take that USPS
ok, except for that one box you opened and searched
shake it off

anyway, here's the point
i feel like i'm running out of space to put stuff
AND MY CRATE ISN'T EVEN HERE YET!!
switlik had a teeny tiny apt and i managed to cram everything in there
but i feel like i was spoiled by lander
ah, the closet with the built in shelves!
the vast expanse of kitchen cabinets!
guest room closet, hello friend!
but i think i'll just need to be smarter here
and also, STOP BUYING CRAP!

christ i'm hungry
but before i sup
i must go find lizzie musar in penn station
i doubt she'll have a cheeseburger in her purse...

It was bound to happen

So I definitely jinxed myself, as I got lost on the subway tonight. The evening didn't start well, as i tried to go into a locked
entrance. But I worked through it. I'm resourceful (i.e., I crossed the street). It was the ride home from Union Square that proved more eventful. So I'm waiting for the R/W and I hear the station agent say something about a slow R train. Ten minutes later I see the N train come by, I check the lil map, and I hop on it, ready to cruise to Fulton St. I knew something was wrong when I realized the train was outside. And then seeing the Brooklyn Bridge sealed my fate. But I got out at the 2nd stop and actually managed to backtrack on the 2. I've successfully made it through my first subway debaucle.

This whole sentence thing feels weird
but i fear that blogs are gonna make this thing huge

i just saw the finale of vh1s stripsearch
reality programming at its finest
note to anyone ever planning anything for me
DO NOT include an all-male revue as part of the festivities
i'm a big fan of boys
but not waving crotches and tearaway pants

i hope the fact that my body feels like it was hit by a truck
is due to tuesday's tub tumble

lizzie musar arrives tomorrow!
i want to go to the peanut butter restaurant
http://www.ilovepeanutbutter.com/
(ok, maybe calling a restaurant is stretching it)

i'm going to go eat cookies
i deserve cookies

WAIT
GO TO THIS LINK
http://www.mikedoughty.com/news/show/45
and you will be able to see Mike Doughty's new video
it's fabulous!
i can't wait to run into him on the streets and tell him so
(or more likely, be shy and just gawk)

Good thing my apartment has paper recyling...

because I just found the best website ever!!!
http://www.discountmagazines.com
i just ordered 8 magazines for less than $60!
half their magazines are only $5.95
this will enable me to live up to my personal motto
"always carry reading material"

so today i made a pilgrimage to a place hallowed to RDs
the 99 cent store
i bought scrubby bath poofs
for my super dirty feet
(didn't pack washclothes, which won't surprise some)

i just realized that i've reverted to my stanza writing style
i wonder i went all traditional sentences at first?

and to end on a super high note
i'm going on day 4 without getting lost in the city
i think i just jinxed myself

Juxtaposition

So the top photo is what I see regularly now, and the bottom photo is what I used to see on the horizon. Honestly, I think I like the mountain better.

Here's something I've figured out about Seattle vs. New York (and the photos sort of apply). In Seattle, people will talk about what sort of exciting outdoory, naturey plans they have. "Hey, let's climb a mountain, hike a trail, wrestle a bear!" In New York, people talk about where they are going to eat dinner. "We should go to Trendy Restaurant A, Pizza Shack B, Hot Dog Stand C!" Considering that I live my life wondering where I'm going to get my next meal, NY seems to make sense for me. And I'd like to just now say that I'm really enjoying the New School policy of taking the staff out for training lunches. Granted, today was Thai food, so it's not a perfect system.

Today's "life is like TV" moment is a humbling one. This morning I did my best imitation of the "I've fallen and can't get up lady" in the shower. Yeah, it was ugly. Luckily I didn't break a tooth or twist a boob.

And finally, I'm sad to say that I've got a TV in my apartment. My stuff isn't scheduled to be delivered until July 31st, and I had this noble plan to go TV-less. But no, my office had a lil TV and there were 2 cables in my kitchen cabinet. So I gave into temptation and hooked it up--I'm so weak.

That is certainly enough from me...

Pass Go...(but I didn't collect $200)

Ok, so I think I'm going to try this whole blogging thing. Talk about coming late to the party. Anyway, I feel like moving to NYC is going to inspire a lot of adventures, wackiness, stories, etc, so why the hell don't I publish them for all to see? But fear not, this isn't going to a reveal of the inner workings of my psyche. No need for anyone to be privy to that! This is all ACTION!