So I said I'd be back today and I am! Look at that...
I've had quite a journey since graduating college in 2006. I was fortunate to go to college in West Chester, Pennsylvania which I still LOVE LOVE LOVE and consider to be one of my three homes. I got to experience Philadelphia and all of its surrounding areas before leaving. It's a really wonderful area to live in , and hope to call it home again in the future.
But when I graduated college, I had a really tough time finding a job. Like.... super tough. As in I took a job at a mental health facility and worked from 7:30am until 3:30pm for $27,500 a year. So terrible... I was a Criminal Justice major. This was so not up my alley. After I paid my modest bills each month, I was left with $11 do go NUTS with!
So after 8 months of THAT particular brand of hell, I decided to up and move to DC. I got an amazing job with a law firm paying $40,000 a year (I felt like I was the richest person on the planet), and working normal 9-5 hours!! I was SO SO HAPPY!!
People... I got there, I furnished my all new, all to myself, apartment and paid cash for everything! Of course I was apparently living in the GHETTO at the time, but I was blissfully unaware until I was asked out by a convicted murderer on house arrest, who wanted to cook for me (for obvious reasons... going out was not so much an option... so maybe he asked me in?) if I was willing to get the groceries for him. But that's another story, for another time.
After 4 months at THAT job, I was laid off... They say I was fired. I beg to differ since within a month of my being "fired" my entire team was dissolved and my position was never filled, and they could offer me no reason for my being let go. Anywho... that sucked a LOT. I temped for a while, which wasn't so bad. I got in with a good company that found me lots of good paying work. Then I landed a job at yet another law firm that was actually for real a good job!
I moved to Alexandria, VA. I had a savings. I had excellent credit! I had a car that was paid off, I had a completely filled walk-in closet, bought a new computer, and even bought new Pottery Barn sheets... that weren't even on sale! I put them on my credit card, of course, to help build my credit and so I didn't shell out ALL $800 at once. Because that's reasonable for sheets, no?
Do you have a Macy's Visa card?
Because if you do, you should probably read the fine print.
You will be getting two... count 'em TWO... statements in the mail each month. One is the charges made at Macy's. The other will be purchases you make outside of Macy's on the card. Oh you didn't realize this and thought you were carrying a zero balance?
OH WELL YOU WERE WRONG!
Next thing I know, my $800 sheets have cost me $1500 due to non-payment because of LACK OF KNOWLEDGE OF A BALANCE DUE and a 29% interest rate. And RIGHT as I started paying this down?
I decided to move to the most expensive city in the world.
OK, that's an exaggeration. But it is damn expensive!
I also decided to move with out a job.
Also, also? I opened another credit card to lower the interest being collected on most of what was on the Macy's card, and closed my Macy's account. Indefinitely.
It may shock you to hear that;I was unable to make some of these payments once I moved to New York City with no job, but believe me when I tell you some months it wasn't possible. Between late fees, interest, and having to charge more to the card due to lack of funds, I had maxed out the credit card I had open to relieve some of the interest induced stress. So so terrible.
I have now been in New York City for Two years and three and a half months. I have worked part time for the Public Schools of New York City (Oh my God I will never have children in this city ever.), and for the worst restaurant on the face of the planet. And now, I have almost been at my fantastic Investment Bank job a year. Next month I will make the final payment on my Macy's Visa credit card... those damn sheets aren't even worth it. I just got rid of the duvet cover because it's falling apart, and the sheets are nearly thread bare in spots. So basically that means the sheets were done before they were paid off, like some sort of lemon that you are still making car payments on. Ugh. Stupid Pottery Barn.
I will be making my final payment to pay off the secondary, back-up, then maxed out credit card in April.
I am currently building a savings account.
I live in a beautiful 2 bedroom apartment on the Upper East Side.
I have a really good, steady job.
And I am enjoying every part of New York living.
By next April, I will be able to literally do whatever I want.
I achieved it!
People, this is my dream! My dream realized, even!
I can't get over how happy I am, and how lucky I feel! I can't believe I have been able to do this! It really does make it clear that, although it may take longer than I'd like, and I may appear to be on a different path at times, I really can achieve whatever my next dream may be! I just have to keep my eye on it, even if it's far off in the distance.
Which is good because my next goal is getting my Events company up and running successfully. From there it's all marriage and babies. Which... HA... let's not.
When I was moving into my current apartment with Flo, but before I had met Flo, I was talking to a girl in Ohio. She was interested in moving to NYC, and had just graduated from college. I think I may have scared her, and for that I am sorry. But I was just being fo real, dude!
Moving in New York, as you may have gathered from previous posts, is a huge, GIANT pain in the ass! It's totally horrible. When I said that she would need to expect to have AT LEAST $6000 in the bank when she decided to move, I was not kidding. And really? That's on the lower end.
You basically have to be independently wealthy to move to NYC, or be willing to live in really terrible conditions until you get everything together. You will hate your life sometimes (like last night when I was carrying groceries from Trader Joes on 14th street back to my apartment on 88th street in the cold and rain while being cut off by every single person out at that particular time because they are the cheapest and best groceries you can find anywhere in the city). But you will also love your life (like tomorrow I have plans to go with Ana for a famous burger, a walk in the park, and a movie night with her and Miranda while eating Reese's S'mores... be jealous.)
This city has brought me more that I could have ever imagined. I spent the first year and a half of my time here with a guy that hated this city. He could find no good in it and couldn't wait to leave. I am so glad I didn't leave with him. As summer comes to a close, I can't help but think back on how much fun I have had! I wouldn't trade a minute of my time here with these people in this city for anything!
So I guess what I'm trying to say is, when all is said and done, it will have taken me about three years to get myself comfortable here. To feel like I'm home. To be confident and solid in my lifestyle. It's the best and worst journey I have ever taken. But I will never ever forget one of these 1 million, 203 thousand, 840 minutes....
OK, before you get your panties all twisted, yes I realized I said I would write earlier this week about my weekend adventures but as I write these at work, my home computer was revolting against sending pictures to my work email. We have had peaceful talks and are currently working through are disagreements constructively. That being said....
WOOHOO WEEKEND TRIPS!
I loved going away the last 2 weekends, but I am very much looking forward to sticking around my beloved city for a while. But here's the recap:
Since Labor Day Weekend was 2 weeks ago, I decided to head down to DC to visit a few friends and family. I have to say, this turned out to be much more low key than my usual trips. It was so nice! I arrived at 2pm on Saturday. Gia and I grabbed a delicious bite to eat outside of Union Station (she had Fish Tacos, I had a chicken sandwich... yummy!) and headed out to Virginia. I agreed to house/dog sit for my brother that evening. Poor Mr. Magoo is so old, but he's a big ol' love bug! So we hung out and watched movies and had some wine with cupcakes. It was fantasticly relaxing!
The next day we got up and went here:
Nationals Stadium, baby!! Unfortunately, my team (the Yankees... stop hating immediately.) was not playing. However, I got to see the Mets play the Nationals... FROM BOX SEATS!! I never really made it out to the seats because it was an awfully hot day.
And we had a box.
Filled with food.
And air conditioning.
So...? I'm not sure how else to explain why I didn't make it to the seats...
But I did watch the game!
Anyway, They had grilled hot dogs with all the fixins including chili, cheese, onions and relish, along with the usual suspects. There were delicious wings, a fridge full of beer and sodas and chips with the most amazing dips you have ever tried!
Then this came along.
That, my friends, is what we call a S'mores cake. It is about 27 layers of chocolate, mouse, chocolate ganache, marshmallow fluff, graham crackers... basically heaven. And this picture doesn't do it justice. That piece of cake was the size of my head.
I did get to visit with a few of my old co-workers (we got the tickets through my old office where Gia currently works.) which was just fantastic!
After the last pitch:
...we hung out for a bit longer before heading back to Virginia to have dinner with my brother Mike, sister-in-law, Jody, and nephew, Quinn!
Jody made a delish dinner! Then we all just hung out and enjoyed each other's company until we realized if we didn't leave, we'd miss the last train back into DC.
Holy. Crazies.
What the crap DC?! I remember the crazies, but these were a rare breed! One guy had a big-gulp cup on the metro. I couldn't figure out what he had in it until he refilled the cup, TO THE TOP, with vodka and Kahlua. I don't know what drink he was going for exactly, but he was going to town on it! Then he decided he just needed to get one last work-out in before the night was over, and started pumping his arms. Then pushing against the seat in front of him as hard as he could. Then pumping his arms again. Then flexing and checking out his reflection in the windows of the metro. I'm not sure what he was seeing, but I was seeing a guy with pigtails, a trucker hat, and an old Orlando Magic jersey. My. God.
Then there was the guy with the tiny Koala bear attached to his shirt. There's not much more to say about that.
Monday we had pho which is just the best thing in the world... if it's done right. And in DC, it's done right! We went to Pho14 and had amazing spring rolls, and two huge bowls of Pho. YUM! Then I headed home.
*boring week at work*
PHILLY HERE I COME!
Natalie and I met at the Bolt Bus "depot" also known as the corner by the Tick Tock diner. Anyway, Natalie needed a weekend away, and we had an extra ticket for Beerfest at the Ballpark! So it worked out perfectly! Of course, for the first time in history, I have like 14 back-up plans for when the bus runs late because the bus ALWAYS runs late! And for the first time in history the bus leaves right on time and arrives right on time and we make the 1st train to Manayunk and we meet Katie at the train station and it went as smoothly as could be! So so nice.
We headed out to Main Street in Manayunk for the evening. Here's the thing. The last time I went to visit my people in the Philly area I got just a LITTLE over excited that a round of drinks cost as much as 1 martini here in Manhattan. I *MAY* have over-done it a bit. So I was determined to take it easier this time. And then we went to Bourbon and they were have $1 drinks. Really?? Manayunk has a vendetta against me, I swear!
Beth and Katie
Me and Natalie
Ooooh, Photobombed!!
So I have this fun new camera with the screen on the front so you
can see when you are taking a self portrait. I don't think this function
made this picture any better at all. But whatevs... right?
This was printed on the back of all the headrests in the Cab.
We took pictures of this right before Katie realized she may
have locked us out of the house... Thank GOD people in
Manayunk are trusting and leave their doors unlocked.
So that was night 1. We got up the next day and got ready for...
BEERFEST AT THE BALLPARK BABY!
Sarah met us at the house, as did Steve and his 2 friends
(not pictured... duh...)
I adore this picture! Steve is to the left, Natalie's face is priceless,
and there's Dan on the right...
SCHMIDT HALL FOR LIFE!
Katie and I were roommates at West Chester University,
and across the hall lived these two lovely ladies, Alyssa
and Michelle Ma Bell!
Here is Alyssa and Pete, Katie having a SHOCKING conversation
with that guy, Ray is in the background on the right who is
Michelle's other half. Behind Katie is a guy whose name I can't
remember, but he was obsessed with asking me if he could have
my nuts. which he found hilarious for some reason... I don't have nuts...
Super sweet group shot! From the left, Steve, Natalie, Dan, Sarah and Katie
Group photo of Me, Katie, Sarah, Dan Natalie and.... Tyson... or DJ...
Or Steve's friend that puked at the bar.
True. Story.
So all in all it was a really good day! We tried lots of delish beers, my favorite (and of course the one that got kicked the fastest) was called Fruli. It's a strawberry flavored beer, that really doesn't taste like beer at all. And that's right up my alley! So if you find it anywhere, let me know! Or ship me some... one or the other. Or both!
That night we went out to The Bayou in Manayunk after I freshened up a bit. We had a great time! Birthday Cake shots, some delectable food, and lots of new friends! DJ totally puked in the bar... AND on one of Sarah's friends. O. M. G. Ew. And he was all "I threw up a little bit. No big deal, I feel fine. Here, hand me that beer." which... really?! Anyway. Good times had by all! We stumbled home early, around 1am to find Sarah had locked a pizza in the oven and was attempting to make popcorn. Katie used her magic and freed the pizza, I was asleep before it was done cooking though.
The next day we had some breakfast and watched some of the 9/11 tribute. It's strange to me that although 9/11 has definitely impacted me, since moving to New York I really feel it harder. It all hits me harder. And I'm not sure why. But the tears just start flowing immediately when I see anything about it.
We watched part of the Eagles game before heading back to New York. Again with Bolt Bus running on time and all that craziness. If they could keep that up, it would be wonderful!!
*yet another boring week at work*
I'll be back tomorrow (no seriously, I will) to chat about how it literally takes 3 years to establish yourself in NYC, and how I am *almost* there! Woohoo!
So it's been a pretty rough month up here in the North East part of the country. Now, I would like to preface this with the fact that, here in NYC? Yeah we haven't had crap happen. Nothing was that big of a deal.
However.
It appears that Mother Nature has it out for my friends and family. And I don't appreciate that. AT. ALL.
First it was the earthquake. Here in New York it was a little rumble, my seat bounced a little bit, and we went on our merry way.
In DC? Major damage to historical buildings and monuments, peoples' homes, and roadways. Lots of power outages... a mess! But everyone that I know is OK.
Then it was Irene. This bitch. Again, here in NYC, nothin. Other than the city shutting down and it being an inconvenience, it wasn't bad. Apparently there were some trees down in central park. The water around the island rose a bit. But really nothing.
My mom told me that last week people were STILL without power! Houses were destroyed, power was lost, people were killed. Still though, my people were OK.
Now Mother Nature has made it personal.
She is dumping so much water on Central Pennsylvania and the greater Philadelphia area and they can't handle it. My hometown of Hershey PA is almost completely underwater.
in the background you can see Hershey Medical Center,
Where I have friends that work and where my sister was
born.
Hersheypark not so happy...
Hersheypark Drive.. .or.. not so much driving actually...
Hersheypark Drive
Pizza Hut... this is by far the most mourned fast food joint I
have ever heard of!
Whoopsies...
that little schoolhouse is a historical building, and elementary
school aged children dress up and go here for a day each year.
It is also just down the road from the Milton Hershey Mansion
and the original Chocolate Factory.
Gah.
So I mean... really? My dad's pool obviously flooded and nearly flooded his house. It is still raining there and I have no idea when it will stop. My mom says that she heard they are going to lose their water. This crazy lady...
Yesterday my mom was told at about 1:30pm that she could leave work to get home before the roads got bad. She decided to hang out and finish some work, and then couldn't get herself home! I started seeing Facebook posts that didn't sound like things were going well so I called her to find her in her car with no way home! She went back to her office and my step dad came and picked her up in their truck. Even with the F250 they had issues finding a way home. But they got there.
They've had to bring in helicopters. Rescue boats. There was some rumor about the National Guard, but I don't know if that's true.
What's awful?
These two bison were living at ZooAmerica near Hersheypark. Apparently, even though precautions were made and all other animals were evacuated to higher ground, these bison weren't so lucky. When the water rose so quickly, they couldn't be moved. Qualified ZooAmerica employees euthenized the bison when it was clear they couldn't be saved and would most likely suffer and drown. All other animals are fine. But I can't help but wonder if there wasn't something else they could do for these animals. Why were they the only ones that didn't make it out? I highly doubt anyone had it out for the bison, or didn't care about them. I'm sure this situation wasn't purposeful. But still? It breaks my heart.
So far nobody has been really hurt. Some friends have had homes flood. I don't know how long Hershey will take to repair back to this:
Also? When the crap did it turn into fall? On Saturday in DC (I still need to upload pictures and things from last weekend, so I'll probably write that up next week) I was sweating it was so hot! By Tuesday I was in sweaters and leggings... what the crap? I am not emotionally prepared for fall. Wasn't it just the beginning of summer yesterday?! Can't. Take. It.
And seriously? If one more natural disaster drops on my friends and family, I'm gonna lose it!
Mother Nature, consider yourself officially on notice.
OK, so update: Last night I did NOT go to the Eagles Bar on the Upper East Side to watch their last pre-season game. I walked home from work with Terri for the 3rd time this week (YAY!) and got home around 7:30. I was starving and had dinner and did laundry and talked to Papa and WENT TO BED!
Today marks exactly 9 months since my grandmother passed away. Nanny was probably the kindest, sweetest, best grandmother I could have asked for. We all miss her desperately. I think about her all the time. Papa is OK, but pretty sad today.
On a lighter note...
Tonight I am having Happy Hour with Ana because it's NECESSARY and we are falling face first off the wagon... we both feel we need to cut back on the drinking (me because I am not losing any weight at all and I suspect that is the reason, Ana because she feels like the neighborhood lush. Ha..).
Here's hoping we know how to reel it in a little bit because if I don't leave the office soon, I'll have to pack AFTER happy hour. And honestly? I don't see that going well... but maybe I'll just pull an Ana and show up to my destination without a clue as to what is in my bag! WEEEEEEEE!!
Speaking of destinations... My destination for the long weekend is DC! And it appears we have quite the fun line-up!
I leave NYC at 9am. Do you hear that? 9am. On a SATURDAY MORNING. Gah. But well worth it. Pray that I get my own seat because FO REAL. Not trying to share. I will arrive in DC around 2pm (give or take for traffic) where I will be greeted by Gia!!
From there it's lunch, and maybe a walk to see some damage done to the National Cathedral or the Washington Monument. Pray that thing doesn't crash down on me. I'm not much of a runner and if those cracks start making it teeter I'm pretty sure I'd be a goner.
Then I will head to my brother, Mike and my sister-in-law Jody's home (I am aware that is not grammatically correct. 1) It's Friday, 2) it's a holiday weekend. And that's a tough one to figure out. I'm leaving it.) to let there adorable pooch Magoo out and give him some dinner. We will either have a wine night (me and Gia, not me and Magoo... although I hope he is aware he is welcome to join us...) or we might go out in Balston! WOOO! Party over heeeeeeere!
The next day we'll get up and head back into DC for the Nationals game vs. the Mets! Gia scored us some box seats which is awfully stellar of her!
That evening we might meet up with Mike, Jody and QUINN!!! for dinner. No seriously. That's how you spell his name. Q-U-I-N-N and three exclamation points. Fo real.
OK not really.
So then maybe Sunday night we'll go out and celebrate labor day by making the bartenders work really hard!
Monday should be low key. I head back to NYC at 4pm, so... Maybe sleep in and grab a little lunch.
So that's the plan! Rather exciting, no? The DJ is unaware of my visit (at least I think he is) and will remain this way for as long as I can help it... hopefully until the end of time! I've had 2 or 3 dreams about us fighting over the last couple of days. Here's hoping for his sake that doesn't happen.. because let me tell you... I was BRUTAL!
So what are your plans for Labor Day? Anybody expected to have a baby over Labor Day? I love that kind of irony... anyway... ENJOY!
So I took a little month-long break for the summer from blogging. Not so much because I wanted to. I actually have been driving myself crazy staring at Blogger thinking "I want to write. I want to write about EVERYTHING." But some things are not my stories to tell. But those things shouldn't hold me back. And so I'm going to catch you up on the last month because it has been a DOOSY of a summer, let me tell you!
OK, so the break started when I went to Florida. I think I went on vacation and just never really felt like coming back...
So getting out of NYC took 4 hours longer than expected. It was... drizzling. Sporadically. And thus, no flights. Because New York SUCKS like that. So rather than getting in at 10pm or so, I arrived at 2:30am. Yes that's right. Awful. But then I was there YAY!! We decided to stay at the pool where we were staying the first day (Saturday) since the travel day before had been so rough. I will omit the story about my mom getting upset that we weren't doing anything by 10am after she had decided to tell us that we were making no plans for the following day so we could all sleep in and relax. O wait. That's kind of the story... Whoops!
Sunday we went to Typhoon Lagoon.
Holy. Hot. People, there aren't even words. By the end of the day I was literally sitting down in the wave pool just trying to keep cool. SITTING IN WATER WAS NOT HELPING!We did the slides early in the day which were all a lot of fun. But by the time the afternoon rolled around I couldn't stand the idea of being out of the water and in the sun for that long. Just no way. Also? The water was either heated... or it was just SO hot that the water couldn't even keep itself cool. Which is really saying something.
So I kept the first 2 days straight. Now I have to refer to Facebook posts to figure out where the crap I went...
Looks like the next day was a pool day and then we went to City Walk at Universal. This place is pretty cool, and would probably be a lot of fun with a group of my girls! Tons of cool night life (although it was a little dead mid-week). Being from Hershey and living in NYC, I have a real issue with playing the part of Tourist. Mostly because I know how much they annoy me. My family does not suffer this same affliction. I will leave it at that :) But we had fun, we got to see the last Harry Potter movie which was downright incredible! We caught a glimpse at the Harry Potter theme park at Universal which looks so freaking cool! I had a couple of drinks on this particular night because... well ... they were necessary. But that put me right to sleep!
The next day we went here:
And stayed until this time:
and this time:
And in case you need another visual:
And that's just a drop in the bucket! Buzz took about 4 million! We were comparing cell phone photo capabilities. My blackberry failed miserably.
We did the best rides... Splash Mountain and the Haunted House. Splash Mountain will always be my favorite. The line is HELLA long but it's also a super long ride, with the added bonus of being all about Brer Rabbit, Brer Bear and Brer Fox. My mom used to read me those stories when I was little and she tried to do this terrible southern accent that I'll never forget! Ah... memories... We also did Space Mountain which had me in a laughing fit because of my mom's screams! I couldn't breathe I was laughing so hard at her and she thought I was just having so much fun I couldn't stop laughing! Which probably would have been true if I could concentrate on anything other than her high pitched wailing... awesome! Buzz Lightyear was a favorite... it was basically like being inside a video game where everyone had their own laser pointer attached to their car (you thought I was gonna say head in a Dr. Evil voice didn't you?) and you aimed it at targets which earned points. We all felt we had a faulty laser pointer at one point or another due to low scores. Maybe we just sucked.
That night we saw the fireworks display from just outside the park which was really pretty. I can't believe they do that every night! Geez! Also? I'd like to know what kind of crack those employees are on.
What?
Listen. I have worked at both theme parks and restaurants. There is something that makes them smiley, happy, and approaching annoying and needy guests to offer assistance. Because when it comes to myself in the same situations? I kind of wanted to just kill myself on the spot. So what is it?! You can't tell me they make much above minimum wage, they couldn't afford all those people! The food there isn't that great, so even free food wouldn't buy that kind of attitude. I'm telling you it has to be crack! Or sugar...
OK. So then the next day we went to Melbourne Beach.
Look at that!
This place was beautiful! There weren't many people there. The water was perfectly refreshing. We spent a couple hours there. We had sandywiches (see what I did there?) on our towels and just enjoyed the salty air. The pelicans were out and diving for fish which was pretty incredible to see. Mom was a little nervous about sharks. Jeannine got excited about warm spots until we told her somebody probably peed there. The weather in Florida is a little weird. It was supposed to rain every single day, and it did... just not all over the place. Little pockets got heavy downpours while other places stayed looking like the picture above. So that was nice!
The last day in Florida was spent at Blizzard Beach.
So at least this place had cool water! It should, what with it being BLIZZARD beach. See that tall structure in the middle? Those are slides. I went down the second highest. Pretty fun minus the wedgie. But these slides didn't compare at all to Typhoon Lagoon. But they did have a pretty great lazy river, and the group raft ride was awesome! To get to the top they had a "ski lift" which was handy. Because we took the stairs once and all my confidence in my cardio went right out the window.
After that a series of events occurred. Allow me to summarize some...
Jersey Shore is back in my life... and has brought me Twinning, Mike the Situation knocking his own damn self out, and Ronnie and Sammy beating a dead horse directly into the ground. Ahh... I love this stuff.
Ana and I tried to go to see Friends With Benefits at the theater, and the theater busted all up. So no movie. Instead I introduced her to Blockheads, and namely their frozen margaritas. I got the girl all wasty-face, and then sent her home to pack for Chicago! Entertaining for me, but for her? Let's just say that I got a text the next day saying "OMG Connie, I have no idea what I packed or if it's even appropriate for work!" Awesome.
Football started!!! YAAAAYYY!!! So far the Eagles have 2 wins and a loss (to the Steelers... crap.) in the pre-season. Next game is on Thursday against the Jets. I might have to plan on going to an Eagles bar... I'll keep you posted on that. No seriously. Why do you doubt me! Why do you have to bring up my absence over the last month! Geez! Always bringing up crap from the past! How can we move on if you harbor such resentment?!
I did decide that I want this Jersey.
Bad. The issue is this. So far I have a Trotter and a Westbrook jersey. Guess who are no longer on the team? But if I get a Cunningham throwback jersey, he's no longer on the team! He can't be traded! Also? Cunningham and I go way back. When I was in 3rd grade my dad took me down to West Chester University (my future Alma matre) where the Eagles were practicing. I was the last autograph Cunningham gave that day. Ahh... I'm such a lucky girl. What's that? Where is that autograph? My GOD I wish I knew. Grrrr... Anyway. If any of you see this, PLEASE tell me! NFL shop has sold out and clearly? I need this.
I have a few more arts and craft projects on the horizon. I am thinking of selling my big book shelves and getting a small book shelf. Also planning on covering or painting the wood planks that Alice so kindly removed from my fireplace and making them into shelves. And I am starting on Christmas presents. I WILL ALSO KEEP YOU UPDATED ON THESE.
I bar hopped the crap out of a Saturday. No, you heard me right. SaturDAY. All day. From lunchtime on... and on... and on...
My brother and his girlfriend came to NYC!! Yaaaaay! The first of the Funks to make that trip! I'm so proud :) They spent the day running around the city with her mom and sister, but I got to meet up with them for a few minutes. They were beat! But I think Scott feels comfortable enough to convince everybody else to head up. WOULDN'T THAT BE LOVELY?!
I asked people to help me hook up my Wii via Facebook. 2 people "liked" my status. Nobody hooked up my Wii. What the crap is that about?
I had an EPIC movie day with Ana, which Blake (Josh's friend from out of town) join in on, and then later Miranda and Natalie joined in too. We watched Precious ("Heeeey... my favorite color is fluorescent beige..."), Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, The Town... oh GEEZ! I forget. We definitely watched at least 5. We also had taco dip, and s'mores we made over Ana's gas stove. Mmmm... I could use one or ten of those right now... She was going to send some up last night with Josh (her resident delivery boy), but he went out for beer instead. Terrible delivery boy.
Last week Terri and I got on a for real work out kick! It was fantastic! We either walked home or went to the gym Sunday through Thursday last week. I really felt great. Of course I destroyed it all this weekend, but we'll get to that.
Terri and Ollie-Wollie on one of our walks
So last week we had a little excitement. Here I am, sitting at my desk around 1:30pm (EST) and I started to feel a little light headed. I thought maybe I was just hungry so I ignored it, but then I realized it felt like my chair was bouncing up and down. That's not a hunger pang I am familiar with actually... So then I look up a little bit and notice that my water in my water bottle is sloshing around. Either my stomach is really growling or there's something else going on here... So I look up, and Eric (my co-worker) says "did you feel the earthquake?"
um.
Huh?
No no no this is NYC. We're more likely to have King Kong here than an earthquake. Are you SURE there isn't a giant gorilla clinging to the side of our building?
Nope. Totally an earthquake. Awesome.
So naturally I rushed home (after work and after the gym because helloooo... Terri and I made a pact!) to make sure my little Puka was OK.
Puka was all "What? No big deal. I'm kind of a bad ass. So the ground shook? And? Look at me! Totally good...."
Then, as though that wasn't enough Mother Nature for one week, we start hearing about Hurricane Irene hitting us dead on a few days later. So the city just loses its' EVER LOVING MIND and starts going APE SHIT over this storm which... really? So the city does what it usually does and incites public panic. "We're evacuating you AND shutting down all public transportation HOURS earlier than necessary just to mess with you so YOU figure it out! Muaahahahahahaha... Oh, and also? We're shutting down all roads that lead into or out of NYC and surrounding areas. So yeah, you can't do that either. We are also going to set up evacuation centers for those that need it. Best of luck figuring out where they are, as many are quite close to evacuation zones. But all of this is OK because even though we really think it's for the best if you evacuate, we're only making it a volunteer basis which means that we don't have to be held responsible for you having a way out of the evacuation zone! WEEEEE!!!!"
You know who wasn't phased?
Bad. Ass.
I tried to get up on Saturday and do laundry, which was closed. And then I tried to grab a few extra groceries form the store... which was closed. I would have visited friends, but by the time I finished getting anything done at all (AKA picking up my room) the MTA had already shut down all buses and subways. So I sat in my house, on the couch, and watched TV. I watched a little of the 24/7 Hurricane Irene Watch. Ugh. Boring. I think about 3am on Sunday is when anything of note happened. As Puka and I put ourselves to bed, the wind started up, and the rain got heavier. Something crashed outside (I have no idea what it was to this day so I'm assuming it was nothing and no big deal. Yup.) and Puka (the Bad Ass?) nearly jumped out of her skin. She stayed close for the rest of the night. The next morning I expected to see chunks missing out of buildings and my windows shattered and branches and whole trees laying in the streets.
Um.
There were some leaves? And the rain we got didn't even wash away the dirt from the construction happening across the street.
I turned on the TV to check out what the news was saying. Nothing in NYC was even worth showing. I saw images from North Carolina, Virgina, Maryland, Delaware, Long Island and Rhode Island.
Here's the thing. I'm glad we were prepared just in case. But the panic that the media and city officials caused was absolutely ridiculous. Shutting down ALL public transportation that early in the day is crazy. It was closed 16 hours before the storm even it, and 24 hours before the storm was expected to hit. Shutting down the city like that makes things worse, not better. By the time people have current information, it's too late to evacuate. Crazy town. But whatever, we survived. I found out my office was open today before I knew whether subways would be up and running again. So I thought I was going to have to walk to work... ugh! Thankfully everything was back to normal for the most part. I left a little early since I assumed they would be running slower than normal. But the tracks were dry as the Sahara and everything was just peachy. I got to work about 15 minutes early (20 minutes before I normally do... ha ha... but seriously.) and it is nothing but a beautiful day here! Sunny, 70 degrees, breezy... fantastic.
Last night were the VMAs. I'm going to give you a run down of my comments that I posted to Facebook, as they apparently summed them up well according to my friend Jill. So here we go...
The VMAs are looking a little raw... and not so much in a good way...
I love Katy Perry coming in with Russell Brand... ugh... adorable!
What the crap is happening right now? GaGa... you've lost me. She's so far gone, Britney Spears doesn't even get it. I think she created that alter ego because she out-weirded what even GaGa could handle and had to become a second person.
Oh Hov, I do love you, why are you letting that skeez share the stage with you?
Adele makes me want to do something between smile and cry...
Can somebody tell the Beib that his glasses are too big?
Chris Brown's performances are so fun!
The Britney Spears Tribute was the best performance of the night... AMAZING!
OK Beyonce... way to class it up... finally!
WOOOOOOW!!! BEST BABY ON THE WAY REVEAL EVER!!!!!!!
Tyler the Creator's mama is losin her MIND! But can he please stop cursing in front of his mom? Have a little respect.
Russel Brand has quickly become one of my favorite people...
Ugh... Katy and Russel... you kids break my little heart...
Drake, it's summer... what the crap are you wearing that cheesy cardigan for?
if Lil Wayne wasn't so freakin ugly he'd be hot... know what I mean?
*Edited to add: Viacom SUCKS for taking away all of my videos I had posted! I will never understand why people don't want these things shared! So stupid!*
And last, and definitely the least important... the DJ has been a big ole pain in the ass this last month. His birthday was on the 14th. He had personally sent me an OPEN TO THE PUBLIC FACEBOOK INVITE TO HIS BIRTHDAY, and then got all upset that I wasn't coming down for the occasion because "CLEARLY" he wanted me there. So he got angry, and then he started tagging me in facebook posts, sending me IMs for no reason... yada yada yada. Finally his birthday weekend came and I still did not go down to DC for the festivities. Obvi. I posted a question to the general population of facebook on Saturday morning which he responded to, and then immediately called me to walk me through it. I did send him a birthday card just to be nice. He was clearly upset (for whatever reason) that I wasn't at his birthday, so I figured the least I could do would be to send him a card. So he called me for a second time that same day to thank me for the card. And then I was badgered all day Sunday via BBM about how I should go to visit, and how much he looooved me, and how he needed to see a little effort on my part. Clearly I find this to be a stupid, stupid idea. But after talking to Flo, she made a good point. So what if I go down? One of two things are going to happen. I might get set back, and start to miss him and want him back. Or, I'm going to go down and see what I already know is happening and realize that I want no part of it. This way I would get closure and not even have a reason to keep talking to him and I could move on.
Well.
It didn't even need to go that far. I did agree to visit him. The very next day he told me he was so drunk he didn't remember asking me to visit, but that I still 'could' . COULD?! That makes it sound like I was requesting to see him! Not at all the case! And then he tags me in the album from his birthday on facebook. I'm tagged to the face of the UGLIEST girl that he's taken up hanging out with, and my facebook wall is plastered with him hanging all over his ex-girlfriend with his tongue down her throat. Yeah... I'm good. I really didn't need closure to begin with, but I don't need to be disrespected continuously by a guy I have nothing to do with. I told him I would not be coming and that he needed to un-tag me from the album. Then I set to deleting him. I deleted him from BBM, phone contacts, email contacts, AIM, and both facebook pages.
Then he emailed me. And I told him to feel free to lose my number and my email address. The response I got was "Really?! OK... good luck then..." and that's been it. I think my cutting him off for the first time since I kicked him out of bed almost 8 months ago was enough of a blow to his ego for him to contact me again. We'll see. But it is nice not having him around at all, even in the social networking world.
On a positive boy note... Mike is just doing fabulous things again and is a producer for Fox's new show called "Dish Nation"! So cool right?? I'm really excited for him and impressed as usual. Why is this country so freaking big?! Anyway, check your local listings or go to http://www.dishnation.com/... so proud!
OK, so there it is. It's in no way concise or really all that pretty. But it's my life over the last month. And now that I feel a bit more on track and refreshed after a lack of expressing myself, I think I'll probably keep it up :)
No today is not weight loss Wednesday because I was unable to make it to the gym. Here's hoping I make it either tonight or tomorrow... but if we're being honest that isn't looking like a strong possibility.
But I think I might have good news!
When I started this blog 7 months ago, I was going through a rough time. I was going through my break-up with the DJ. I posted flow charts of grieving to track where I was, and talked about my feeeeeelings a LOT. Finally I got to the point where I was OK. I was having a ton of fun and had great friends and was really appreciating the life that I had. But if I'm honest, I was still really missing the DJ. Even after all the crap, and how terribly he treated me for the last year of our relationship, I loved him more than I've ever loved anyone and I didn't want to let go of hope. Hope for what? I have no idea. Hope that maybe he would change into the man I needed him to be? The man I still know is possible for him to be? Hope that he would figure out that we had the makings of something great that is worth holding on to? All of the above? I don't know.
In an attempt to stop feeling sad about him I took him off my news feed on Facebook. For some reason when we broke up he was suddenly the top post every time I logged in to Facebook every single day. It was like somebody was smacking me across the face multiple times a day. But taking him off the news feed didn't help. I was still sad.
The crying at night did stop. The constantly thinking about him stopped. But missing him and thinking about the future we should have had really never stopped. Maybe it subsided a little bit, but... never totally gone.
I have lacked any interest in dating, or even going on a date. And any time I see someone I am attracted to, I come up with a reason for why I shouldn't even take a second look. My favorite is "He probably has hairy toes, and really? I don't want to deal with that."
My girls have tried to make me feel better about that by declaring that they have hairy toes too. This does not help, and also sort of makes me look at them like they're weirdos. I will turn them on to Nair if it kills me.
Then I went to that wedding and had 3 dreams in 3 nights about the DJ. Nothing in particular, just that we were together. Doing normal every day things together. I woke up and didn't feel sad or angry. Mostly surprised that I was dreaming about him. Which just made me think about him a lot.
Then on Monday night I received an invite from him on Facebook to his Birthday Bonanza (but he forgot an "n" so it came out Birthday Bonaza. This is not the first time he's done this. It drives me crazy.) I wasn't sure how to deal with the invite at first. I knew that he didn't really expect or really want me to go. But he extended an olive branch, so I had a choice.
I could just click "not attending" on the invite and call it a day. I would come off as a frigid bitch, but it would be over, I guess.
Or, I could just thank him for the invite and politely decline.
Or, I could just leave it unanswered in my inbox. (Crap. I didn't think of THIS option until right now.)
So I sent the DJ an IM. I simply said "Thanks for the invite. I'm taking it as an olive branch rather than a serious invite, but I really appreciate it. If you do end up getting arrested (which he has a propensity to do. Let's just leave that alone, eh?) and somebody doesn't know the protocol, they can feel free to call me and I'll walk them through it. I'm sure you'll have a good weekend though."
Simple enough, right? A little joke, well wishes and a thank you.
HA.
You would have thought I just slapped his mother and kicked his dog.
It turned into this huge ordeal. When the DJ gets upset, he stops making sense. Basically whatever is jumping around in his head comes out all disorganized and is not discernible to anyone but himself. But basically, he said that he was trying to be cool about everything, and if he didn't want me there he wouldn't have invited me. But I have the invite, so if I don't come then he'll take the hint and I wouldn't hear from him again.
Um.
What?
I told him that if I didn't come to his birthday it was a me thing, not him. That I thought it was a time he should spend with his friends and not be worrying about me. And that if I didn't come, it wasn't me saying I never wanted to talk to him again.
He said that we don't talk now, so what would be the difference? (Which only confused me because what? If it won't make a difference then why is it a good idea for me to come to the birthday at all?) I was a friend and he would treat me like anybody else. He said he was trying to be cordial with me but it was clear I didn't want to be cordial.
I said that we have known each other for too long to try to be something we're not. So if he doesn't want to be cordial to me, then just don't. That I don't know where I stand in the whole break up/ healing/ over it phases, and he was clearly over me. So it might just be painful to be there.
He said that he's just trying to get by at the moment, and it is what it is.
I told him that was a very political response, and that DC was rubbing off on him.
He said he had nothing to hide.
I said "ok, but it hides everything".
So he said he has nothing to hide... again....
After about 10 minutes or more of silence I said, "OK aaaaaaaaand break! Oh, we already did that." ya know, just to lighten the conversation? That didn't work.
So I went to bed and cried.
I told Terri about the conversation. She said not to stress because she felt like he over reacted. When I told Miranda I had been invited to his birthday she asked if I was going to take a date. THAT would have been awesome.
So I went home last night and started getting weepy again. And I was just thinking about things and why I was so sad when I knew I didn't want to be with him anymore.
And then it clicked.
There I am, having a conversation with myself and the DJ in my head, and it just clicked.
The DJ had taken all the things he had done to his ex girlfriends, cheating on Stephanie, being an asshat with Lorelei, and rejecting Lindsay and making her feel like she was a last choice, and he did them ALL to me. But just to compound it, to make sure he had really damaged me, he added lying and sneaking around, the two things he knew would destroy me. And then for the icing on the cake, he abandoned me. He left me to deal with all the things he had committed to handling with me. He left me in New York by myself. He left me like so many people had in the past, and the weight of all of this crushed me.
And somehow, for the last 7 months, the DJ has had some power over me. And last night, in my head, alone in my apartment, watching Trucker, I told him he couldn't do that to me anymore.
The crying stopped.
I sat up and felt powerful.
I felt together.
I felt like myself again. The me that I really liked that was independent and strong. The me that didn't rely on the DJ for anything anymore.
The reason the DJ keeps drinking too much, and getting arrested, and treating his girlfriends and friends badly, and womanizing.... it's because people always make it OK for him to. They always show up to his birthday. They always tell him how fantastic he is, when just a few years ago he treated you like an asshat, or last choice, or he cheated on you. And if people want to encourage this, then fine! That's fine. They can deal with finding him face down in his own urine. Or pay the bills he can't or won't. Or find him a job because he can't do it himself. Or bail him out of jail. Or walk Maggie when she's crying to go out (which she only does if it's an emergency) because he feels that she can wait until he's good and ready simply because she is his property.
But I won't be.
I don't accept that DJ. None of that is OK. And I certainly won't let somebody like that keep me down.
And today I feel lighter. Like physically, emotionally, spiritually healthier. Even when I try to recall him, it's like my mind pushes even the image of him away.
