Do I Know You?

i swore up and down that this would never happen. i swore it from the first day i logged on. i would never become one of them. but you know what? i have. as much as it pains me to admit it, i have become a constant facebook checker. i do it first thing in the morning. i do it on my phone at the office. i do it as soon as i get home. i do it at least twice more after dinner and again right before i go to bed. why? i've realized that the more information that is out there, the more i want to see it. i don't really care that this person found a lonely cow on the farm and has adopted it, or that that person is going out tonight. it's just something to do. it's like eating when i'm bored.

it kind of hit me the other night when i was signing in for the billionth time. i don't do anything on facebook. i just see what everyone else is doing. i update my status a couple times a week, if that, but not much else. i don't comment on things, or write on people's walls, or send messages, but somehow i can't imagine my life without it. without that constant voyeurism.

i started this week with 241 facebook friends. i was amazed when i saw that number because i didn't think that i knew that many people. Well as it turns out, i don't. i had facebook friends that i haven't talked to since highschool, and most of them were people that i didn't even talk to while i was in highschool. so i decided it was time for some drastic action. after polling several of my friends via text to find out if someone that you un-friend is notified or if it's a secret (i don't know what i was worried about, hurting their feelings? i'm not even friends with these people in real life!) i went on an un-friending frenzy and managed to pare my number down from 241 to what i think is a very modest and respectable 188. i was shocked to find out how hard that was. you might be surprised to hear that it was difficult to sever the connection between myself and 53 virtual strangers, but i was agonizing over who to cut. would i regret losing the news feeds from this person or that person? would i feel bereft not knowing what is going on in their lives every second? finally i just decided to grow a pair and do it. and you know what? it didn't hurt at all. i feel better. lighter. granted, i still have way to many people on there that i don't talk to, but hey, i like to spy. (don't judge me, you do it too.)

so score one for holding beelzebub at the stave's end...i might try to go for round two in another couple of months. we'll see how brave i'm feeling.

No, No, I Mean Jingle Bells. You Know, Deck Them Halls And All That Stuff?

christmas is coming! it's almost here. as i write this, it is snowing like a blizzard outside. this year will be my first christmas eve away from home, as i will be singing up at my church job in westchester and spending the night with a friend. i'm actually kind of excited about it. it's kind of like a challenge to myself. i'm 24 years old and i think i need to grow up a bit.

i feel kind of rushed this year, and i'm not sure why. i just haven't been able to find the time, which is odd because other than work and church i don't do anything. i haven't bought presents for anyone yet, and i am way behind on my christmas movie viewing schedule. i'm talking the 24th is five days away and i haven't watched white christmas yet. i've usually managed to see it at least twice by this time. i need to get crackalackin'. i'm going to put this down now and go be productive. peace.

I Left My Dignity At The Office Halloween Party

it's true. i was trying really hard to win first prize ($100) in the costume contest, so i dressed up like the queen of the renaissance fair. despite what i thought was a totally bitchin' outfit (it was real, from a real renaissance fair,) i only won $25. so i achieved 1/4 of my goal. which is better than zero i guess. it was fun though so that's okay. there was all kinds of yummy food and fun games, and lots of people dressed up. i was disappointed in a few people who did not dress up or bring food, but because i have no idea who reads this thing i will refrain from naming names. you know who you are. like i said before, this is an office halloween party. check your dignity at the door.

i would like to make special mention of liz, who dressed up like a penguin, which i did not see coming. that made me happy.

today is the last day of october, and i plan to spend my afternoon watching nebraska kick baylor university's booty, drinking cider, watching it's the great pumkin charlie brown, and handing out candy to all the kids who come to my door. i could not think of a more perfect afternoon/evening. it gets even better tomorrow because tonight is the end of daylight savings time so i get an extra hour of sleep, and also at church tomorrow alison is singing a solo so i don't have to get there super early, and when i do get there i don't even really have to do anything and i get paid anyway. can life get better? i submit that it cannot.

Been A While, Much?

holy crap i haven't posted since june. i'm so lazy. here's what i'm up to now: this weekend my cousin tiffany made her national television debut on the animal planet series "i'm alive". my cousin sebastian got married. i spent nine hours on my couch in my pajamas crocheting a doily and watching the america's next top model marathon. you haven't missed much.

Further Bulletins As Events Warrant...

i don't really have a cohesive theme for this post, so i'm just going to say things as they come to me.  first thing-

my family just made the jump from pc to mac, and i'm pretty psyched.  i am currently using the new computer downstairs instead of my lappy.  i don't know if i can give you an accurate description of how incredibly mammoth the monitor is on this thing, except to say that it is bigger than three of the tvs that we have in my house.  that says something.  so does the fact that we have more than three tvs in my house.  yikes.  next-

kirby and i joined a gym together about three weeks ago and i have been going pretty consistently.  it's definitely more than i have ever voluntarily worked out in my entire life.  i say voluntarily because i was forced through 12 painful years of physical education wrought upon me by our wonderful public education system.  i say that when your gym teacher makes you stay after during fifth block to lift weights because you missed class for a college audition, they are taking their job a little to seriously.  thanks ms. pines.  but i digress.  my point is, i actually kind of like going to the gym.  hopefully soon i will have big muscles.  next-

i took my cat to get groomed today and they had to shave her.  she is long-haired and she won't let me brush her, so she was really matted.  i actually have two long-haired cats.  one of them (gracie) loves to be brushed so i don't have any problem keeping her from getting all tangled.  the other one (alice) panics whenever i get near her with a grooming tool so it's a little harder.  the people at the place were really nice though, and they didn't charge me full price because i told them to only shave where the mattes were, not her whole body.  she looks a little silly, but my mom would have killed me if i came home with a totally shaved cat.  next (and last)-

i have just finished reading Watership Down.  it's going on my top twenty list.  i never thought that rabbits could be so interesting or lead such complex lives.  since i've finished it, every time i see a rabbit in my backyard i try to talk to it using some of the (imaginary i'm sure) Lapine language from the book in hopes that it will respond to me.  so far i have only succeeded in convincing my neighbors that i'm insane.  

Summer Lovin'

not really. i had my last service at st. mark's today. we are now officially dismissed for summer. i can't believe i'm not going to see everyone for three months! i'm kind of sad. i got paid though, which is cool. that's all i wanted to say i guess. now i'm going to go read Dune until my eyeballs fall out.

My Dad's Garage = Our Third Attic? Or- Mad Props To My Bro For Getting My Dresser Down Three Flights Of Stairs

i'm back after spending all day in the city with kirby hauling my stuff out of my third floor apartment (no elevator thank you very much), and now it's piled in my dad's garage. kirby hasn't unpacked any of his stuff from school either so it's a little full at the moment. i have to clean my room and get rid of a bunch of stuff before i can move my furniture back upstairs to where it's supposed to be. the question is- how did i acquire more stuff in my bedroom at home while i was living in the city all year? how? and how could i possibly fit as much crap as i did into my 8'x7' bedroom in my apartment? i swear the amount of junk that is now accumulating dust in my garage nearly outstrips the amount of stuff sitting in boxes on my bedroom floor. I think I might have a yard sale.

War And Peace

i read it. just finished it today. long story short (and i mean really really long story), i liked the characters and the plot, but i could have done without the hundreds of pages of military strategy. i now know more about napoleon's brain process than i ever thought possible. i feel kind of guilty saying that i read it because i definitely stopped paying attention for the last 35 pages, but i managed to read every word. also, the only reason that i bought it in the first place was because the cover was really pretty. ok i'm going to stop now before i make myself sound any dumber. my verdict is: read it or don't- either way it's probably not going to change your life.

So Here's The Thing

i made a pretty significant step in my life last weekend by spending my first holiday ever away from my family. i thought i was going to hate it but it actually turned out to be really fun. i had a choice between spending easter at home with my family and my church, or spending easter at st. mark's and getting paid a lot of money. i chose the money. is that bad? i sang at services on holy thursday, the easter vigil on saturday night, and two services on easter sunday. alison heather (a woman i sing with at st. mark's) was nice enough to put me up for the night on saturday and i had a really good time with her family. she is married and has two boys ages 5 and 8. they were in bed when i got there but they were still awake because they were so excited that i was coming over to their house. after i said goodnight to them alison and i put together their easter baskets and filled plastic eggs with candy. it was so fun! i'm glad to know that i can handle spending holidays away from my family. maybe this year i will be brave enough to do christmas eve at st. mark's too. we'll see. i've got a while to think about it.

in other news, it's going to be 72 degrees on saturday so katie and i are probably going to go to the zoo. i'm so excited!

Book Of The Month

i've decided that my book of the month is The Caine Mutiny, but Herman Wouk. it might be cheating to choose this one because i haven't finished it yet, but it's so good that i just can't help myself. It won the pulitzer prize for fiction in 1952, but don't let that scare you away. it is by no means a dull, boring or dry read. it's set during world war two and follows the crew of the u.s.s. caine, who is under the command of a completely incompetent captain. i haven't gotten up to the actual mutiny part yet, but it's coming soon and i'm getting so excited! maybe it's just because i love reading about this time period, but this book is fascinating to me, and i'm having a hard time putting it down. i could barely tear myself away from it long enough to post this message! thanks to my little bro for turning me onto it. check it out at your local library. if you like it, i would also suggest that you read From Here To Eternity. it's probably one of the greatest war novels of all time, and was actually published in the same year as The Caine Mutiny. once again, run, don't walk, to your local library and get this book. you will not regret it. i promise.

Stand Clear Of The Closing Doors Please

i'm back in the city after almost a month at home. it's taking some getting used to. nothing makes me miss my car more than waiting 30 minutes for the subway. it's impossible to be on time for anything unless you factor in at least an extra hour for unexpected travel hang-ups. and for me, who developed an anxiety disorder about being late while i was in college, it's extremely frustrating. any rate, here's a breakdown of what i did while i was in f-town (i know you're dying of curiosity):

Feb.15-March 4- i house-sat (well, condo-sat) for jen while she was showing her horse in florida. it was pretty sweet, i'm not gonna lie. i had my own place where i could do whatever i wanted (which pretty much boils down to reading books and crocheting doilies. i officially have no life). i had a harrowing couple of days when the hot water heater broke and i thought i lost the cat, but all's well that ends well, and i ended up having a really good time. i also met her neighbors, who turned out to be very nice people. they helped me look for the cat outside for a while, and i felt bad when i discovered that she was actually under the couch the whole time.

March 5-March 7- put off going back to the city, hung out with kirbs, took some grief for bailing on hot fuzz after the first 20 minutes. i'm sure it's a hilarious movie, but we started it at 12:30am and i am not a night person.

march 8- drove up to my church job in mt. kisco, drove home, got on the bus to manhattan, got to my apartment, stayed for about three hours then remembered how much i hated it and got back on the bus to new jersey.

march 9-march 11- bitched about not wanting to go back to the city, then grew a pair and did it anyway.

march 12-march 15- worked, rehearsed, church job, back to flemington

march 16-march 17- got my irish on and tasted sweet victory in the office talent show. nearly every single one of my co-workers told me i should go on american idol after hearing me sing a mozart aria. i had to explain that i doubt american idol is looking for opera singers.

march 18- headed back to the city and here i am!

wasn't that fascinating? i know i haven't updated in a while so i thought i would give you the short and sweet version. i have a bad feeling that what i just wrote was neither short, nor sweet. sorry.

Playing House

i'm home in flemington for two weeks house sitting for a friend. she has a one bedroom condo and two cats. i'm having a really good time because although i lived away from home for four years in college, and currently live away from home in the city, i've always had roommates. i've never really lived by myself. i'm still not really living by myself because i go home every day after work and have dinner at my family's house. my mom said that i should really do this completely alone and by my own food and everything, to which i replied why would i want to spend money on two weeks of groceries when i could eat at home for free? it's kind of weird to leave my house after dinner and sleep somewhere else. i don't mind it, and i'm not scared (i thought i would be), it's just bizarre. hopefully when i get my own place that's really mine i will feel different. i'm really excited to have my own place that i can do whatever i want with. i won't have to incorporate anyone else's decorations, or make room for other people's food in the kitchen, or ask someone if they need the bathroom before i get in the shower. i can just do my own thing. i shouldn't get too excited though, because i still have over 3 months left on the lease of my nyc apartment, and after that's over and i move back home i have to save money to buy my own place. i'm not even close right now.

in other news, on the drive home from work today i was behind my archenemy The Link the whole time. i swear i saw some red paint on the back bumper.

A Poem For My Car, Ruby, Whom I Have Had Since 2004, And Until An Unfortunate Encounter With A Bus This Morning, Had Mantained A Perfect Red Paint Job

in all our years together, never did i think
that your front end would end up under the bumper of The Link.

Get Ready To Get LOST

i had gotten myself all in a tizzy about the season premier of LOST two weeks ago, and then i quite forgot to write about it. (okay i just finished reading "the age of innocence" and apparently the language and syntax rubbed off on me a little more than i realized. i'm going to go for 21st century english now.) so where was i? oh. right. LOST. long story short, it was awesome. i had incredibley high expectations, and the show did not disappoint. some very interesting things have gone down, and some new questions have been asked. i'm already uncomfortable with the fact that sun is working with charles widmore. i'm also nervous that something bad is going to happen, causing penny and desmond to get separated again. they are my favorite tv couple of all time. i'm still wary of ben, although clearly the show wants you to start trusting him a little bit now. i have to say though, if it was me, i would do what hurley did and turn myself over to the cops for crimes that i didn't commit in order to escape his psycho-stare. last week, the world of us faithful viewers was undeniabley rocked when it was revealed that the ultimate bad guy, charles widmore himself, was on the island in 1950-something. big happenings are in the works for tomorrow night. can you feel it? i can.

Baby It's Cold Outside

so the temperature inside my apartment is pretty close to the temperature outside. the radiator in our living room is disconnected from the boiler in the building, which is a big problem. my roommates and i have contacted our landlord, our super, and the city ordinance, and are supposed to hear back from them in 72 hours. in the meantime, i have been wearing my heaviest pair of sweatpants, socks, slippers, long-sleeved shirt, sweatshirt, and bathrobe every day. the good news is that last night i shrink-wrapped my window with that plastic insulation stuff, and it made it about 15 degrees warmer in my bedroom so i might just stay in bed all day. i actually had to get up in the middle of the night and take my sweatpants off because i was hot. it was like a miracle. hopefully i will soon be able to go into my living room in less layers. if you don't hear from me by next saturday, assume that i froze to death on my couch. please wear bright colors to my funeral.

Merry Christmas, You Filthy Animal...And A Happy New Year

it's 2009! i'm pretty sure this year is going to be better than 2008, but i don't know how that's possible because last year was pretty freaking great. at least for me. there were some crappy things that happened, but some awesome things happened, too. other important events that occured:
1. i turned 23
2. i moved to the city
3. my brother decided to spend next year in italy
4. i finally got some decent hot pads so i don't have to be afraid of burning my hands off in the oven anymore
5. i had a fish for about 18 hours (r.i.p. asanti)

so far we are only four days into the new year, but i already have a good feeling. this is going to be a good one. i can tell.