Eddie Izzard alert!!! ATHF too!

I was once asked (on a Bschool admissions essay), if I could have dinner with any person, living or dead, who would I pick. Well, I picked Eddie Izzard. (I didn't get into this school, btw. It would have been better if I picked Jesus or Warren Buffet or something. Oops. Hindsight = 20/20)

My point is - he's a genius. Absolute comic/historical genius. If you've never seen any of his stand up, please rent or download some asap. It will enrich your life.

So imagine my delight when I heard the other day that he is going to be in a new TV series on FX, starting on Monday. It's called the Riches. I'm setting my TiVo now. The only downside is that he'll be playing an American, so he will be without his delightful British accent. Ah, well.

Oh! And if that's not enough exitement, I just heard that there's going to be an Aqua Teen Hunger Force MOVIE coming out in April!! (Thanks Steve.) I am beside myself.

One thing I do not recommend....

...is playing volleyball after you've been drinking. I really had no choice though, as there was a work happy hour last night in the city (which are only once a month and I've missed the last 4 or so) and my volleyball team only plays every Thursday.

I thought I had a good plan though. I showed up at the happy hour early and I wasn't playing for a few hours. It was a bad call to start with red wine, as it was putting me to sleep and probably making my teeth red. So, my second drink I switched to a vodka tonic, which just seemed like a more althletic alcoholic beverage (if there is a such a thing).

Normally, 2 drinks wouldn't make a big difference, but I hadn't eaten much all day and I was still feeling a little buzzed when I arrived at the gym at 9 o'clock to play. I bought a purple vitamin water at a deli on the way, which probably saved me. I ended up playing fine, but it took every ounce of concentration I had to do so. I already feel really nervous playing on this team because the people are good playwers and take it very seriously. Luckily, we won all three games we played.

Alls well that ends well, but no more happy hours and volleyball. Unless I'm in a Coors light commercial or something - which is not likely.

Gotta love Astoria

I'm trying to keep up with my goal of posting more to this blog, so it's just gonna haveta be that I'm gonna end up posting stuff that may be at times sub-par. Just a warning in general, not about this posting.
So, I'm still trying to work on meeting people in my 'hood. Don't get me wrong, I love going to Manhattan and all, but it would be nice to meet some people here in Astoria. Strategy #1 to extend my network here was joining the Astoria myspace group. The group is awesome. They crack me up.

So it turns out there's this online tv show called "We Need Girlfriends", which is all filmed in Astoria. I can't say that I'm 100% in love with the program (and perhaps I'm not the target age group), but it's sorta cute and I'm happy to see all the local shots. You can check it out here: http://weneedgirlfriends.tv/

Oh, and if I had to pick, I'd be on Team Tom.

one zero zero!

I just realized (because Blogger keeps track of these things) that is my 100^th blog posting. Holy crap. I would have guessed the number was closer to 30 or something. You wouldn’t know it by how infrequently I post.

I’m on a plane right now headed to Raleigh, so I guess I’ll be posting this from my hotel room later. This is one of those tiny little planes, which I hear bother some people, but I like ‘em because it means we all get off really quickly once we land. I was this close to missing my flight (probably close to the 100^th time that’s happened). I wonder when I’ll actually miss one. It’s bound to happen sooner or later. Incidentally, they charge for pillows and blankets now (at least on American). For some reason this makes me much angrier than charging for food.

I just finished reading the latest Chuck Klosterman book, and I have two things to say about him: a) I can’t help but think he’s a genius and b) this bothers me, because he’s keenly aware of this fact and is arrogant about it (as far as I can tell at least from reading all of his books). It’s like meeting a really cute guy who knows just how cute he is. That just ruins it for me. It’s fine for a hot guy to suspect how hot he is, but if he knows it…I don’t even want to be bothered, and he somehow becomes less cute. Have a little humility. Self-deprecation is much more attractive. Thankfully, Chuck Klosterman is (self-admittedly) a little funny looking, or there’d be a real problem. The last thing I need is to ever run into a really hot genius – my head would explode.

Happy Happy Birthday Casey and Hillary!

What better way to celebrate the birthdays of my Casey and Hillary than to post celebratory pictures of Hillary's dog Duke in some of his favorite costumes?













Well, I couldn't think of any. So there you are.

I miss you guys. San Francisco and Seattle are way too far away.

It's also Benjamin Franklin's birthday.

Procrastination kills

Well, it doesn't really. But it certainly kills time. Or sucks it away. The more I have to get done, the more I feel the need to check reddit. One word of advice....try not to procrastinate when you are supposed to appear in traffic court. I had a bit of a nasty run-in today.

Which reminds me. Most of my friends know me as someone that hates to break rules. This is still true (although since I've moved to nyc I've gotten over my fear of crossing the street on a red hand when there are no cars in sight). But there are some rules, that I flagrantly disobey. Somestimes really big rules. I have no explanation for this.

Do you know what's worse than writer's block?

...Power Point chart creating block. I'm begining to fear that my life has been reduced to drawing carefully crafted rectanges with rounded edges and trying to decide on which font color and size I should use. The humanity!

If it wasn't for football playoffs this weekend (Go Chargers! Go Colts! But Chargers more), I might be in complete depair. That and the new Apple iphone. I'm starting to save my pennies now.

Bye 2006

Merry Christmas everyone!

I hope to catch up with everyone I can while I'm here in SD. (A looong time, btw, I don't get back until Jan. 4) I also hope to write more next year, on the blog, or otherwise.

Here's a little something to keep you entertained - http://www.viceland.com/int/dd.php?id=532&country=us
I forgot how much I miss Viceland's do's and don'ts. Do yourself a favor and check out a bunch of them. Thanks for the reminder Case.

Have a happy and healthly and above all fun 2007! I intend to.

** casey sent me this, btw.

Hey, on another note, I'm going to Boston tomorrow!! To see the Patriots/Colts game (thanks Galina!)

Then, I'm going to San Francisco on Monday for about a week. SO excited! Man, I gotta pack and clean right now though. ugh.

NY Times vs. NY Post

I know what you're thinking. How can I compare a world-renowned newspaper like the New York Times with a smutty, sensationalist rag like the New York Post? I would tend to agree with you, but please direct your attention to the except from an article I cam across in the Post today. (I like to read the Post when I know I'll be on the train for a bit and have no other reading on me.)

This excerpt is from an article about a guy that was holding a woman hostage at knifepoint in Brooklyn who the police ended up shooting, saving the woman's life. Still, in short amount of space, thank heavens they included the bit about that before getting attacked she was "on her way to buy yogurt". I'm sorry....what? How is this salient information?

However, clearly this kind of overly-thorough reporting, rather that answering my questions, has only generated more questions, such as, what kind of yogurt was it? Was she going to eat it with a spoon, or was she looking for the on-the-go drinkable kind?? We may never know. But I do know that these obscure, useless facts will keep me coming back for more.

US Open: Another example of all the cool things that happen in Queens

Here a are few pics from Wed, which I spent at the US Open. I was operating on roughly 4 hrs sleep that day (due to some travel snafus the day before), so much of the day is blurred. I do, however, recall that the players are very fond of Playstations and they were all very polite.

After I'd logged in my 8 hours staffing the players' internet cafe area, I was free to roam around the rest of the night. The blank statium picture (above), I took after I rushed upstairs to the Arthur Ashe Statium once I was free, only to find out that the night matches wouldn't start for another hour. So, then I proceeded to just wander around restricted areas to see where my credidentials would get me.

I ended up watching most of the night matches, which weren't very close that early in the tournament (Sharapova and Roddick both killed). It was fun, but I was fading toward the end - and woulda been more fun if I had a friend or two with me. Maybe next year.

P.S. How cool is that globe statue?

A Word About Automatic Hand Dryers

I went to Japan last year, and although many things impressed me (e.g. the toilets are more advanced than NASA scientists could ever hope for), none so much as their automatic hand dryers. I was used to the US version, where you could hold your hands under them for a full 20 minutes and still not feel dry. But in Japan, they don't mess around. It's like mini hurricane at the press of a button. For this, I would consider swearing off paper towels forever.

So you can imagine my surprise and delight upon encountering not one, but two such hand dryers worthy of Japanese praise. Pictured above is the Xcelerator dryer I found in the bathroom of the White Plains Target store. (Incidentally, the White Plains Target store is by far my biggest vice of late.)

You can also find the Xcelerator in the bathroom of my favorite Mexican Restaurant in NYC, Tortilla Flats. Suffice to say, although I go there for the Margaritas (they sell by the pitcher!), the mole sauce and the pretty twinkling lights in the bar, I stay for the hand dryers.

One of the proudest moments in my life....and i MISSED it!

okay, for those of you that aren't familiar with the sharing site, reddit.com, it's awesome. in a nutshell, people submit links to cool articles, websites, pictures, whatever...and then other people vote on if the like it by giving a positive or negative point. anyway, so many people vote on this site that the end result is that there are consistently good recommendations (updated constantly) to some of the most interesting stuff on the internet.

so, i've been checking reddit regularly since my brother told me about it a few months ago, and i've tried in vain to submit things to get enough votes to merit being placed on the reddit home page. sadly, all of these previous attempts failed miserably. last week i posted this dolphin-training article from the nytimes up, but never followed up on it. low and behold, i saw today that it frickin killed! 447 points!! that's unheard of. i almost cried.

Back in action

Um yeah. I don't even want to start by apologizing all again about sucking at blogging because you've heard it before. I was really just taking a break for awhile. And then you know how it is when you keep putting something off like this, and then you feel like if you start up again, you should really have something fabulous to write about. Well....not really the case, but I'm writing anyway.

However, I will add this...reason #117 why I love Astoria: If you need a gastroenterologist, you can find one within 3 blocks.

Although I've had so much fun traveling to a plethora of weddings lately (Congrats Kelsi&Vince, Hillary&Jason, Jess&Troy and Can&Paul!!), I am severely looking forward to hanging out at home for the forseeable future. Especially now that I have a couch (pictured here). And it folds out for you friends that want to visit NYC. :)

Okay, and I know that Amy sent this story out to some of you via e-mail, but I swear I was already planning on posting this gem of an story about Mickey Rouke's pinky. I hope now that he realizes how important it is to have 2 full length pinkys. I should know. Crazy bastard!

Settled? Yeah, sorta.

Well, I've been in NY over a week now. Honestly, it feels like ages ago that I was in Btown. Everything's going well, although I miss everyone from school lots. It's a damn shame I didn't get to go to Mexico.

Work's going just fine. Not much to do yet, but I'm sure that will change soon. My apt is great although it only contains an air mattress and a spattering of clothes. The movers are coming tomorrow with the rest of my stuff and I am def looking forward to sleeping in a real bed, having chairs to sit on and a tv to watch.

I've decided to drive to work instead of taking the train (hence the pictures of the Triborough Bridge). For those of you not from here, the boroughs it connects are Manhattan, Queens (my hood!) and the Bronx. It's a really long drive (min of 1 hour each way), but I'll usually only go up there 3X per week. Still, I would certainly die w/o my trusty ipod to keep me company on the drive. I've managed to find parking on my street every night, and I've only gotten one ticket so far (forgot to check the signs on the street when I was gone this weekend).

That's all I have for now. I'm exhausted...I plan to start getting some more sleep soon. Luckily, I'm headed to Hawaii on Thurs for Hillary's wedding. Let's hope I remember to take some pictures to post. I'm always forgetting things like that!

Don't give up on me yet.......

......it's just that i have to finish this week o' school, graduate, move, and all that crap, and then i will start having things to write about again. i promise. i know i'm lame right now.

I laugh in the face of boredom! ha!

I recently found out that I will be starting work quite a bit later than I thought (May 15th!) This is good news, I guess, except that I've been scrambling for the past few weeks to finish all of my GA hours and classwork early. The net result is that I have a bunch of time on my hands until I graduate.

This would be fine for most people I think, but I can honestly say that one of my biggest fears in life is boredom, so this could have been cause for panic. I dread boredom, which probably explains some of the poor decisions i have made in my life in order to avoid it (a lot of bad dates come to mind). But here I am, nearing the end of Day #2 w/o much to do, and things are going swimmingly. Here is what I have done so far:

- read a lot
- started writing a book
- worked out twice (not even counting softball)
- watched more than my share of crap tv
- done some stuff for school
- scored many high scores on that fun game on my cell phone
- emptied the dishwasher (which is my least fav chore)
- looked online at apts in NYC
- prob lots more i can't think of right now

Phew! Let's hope I can keep up this pace.

Here's some links from the week that I think are interesting:

- I think I've seen these before, but they are still funny
- Some girls aren't very smart
- Batman Onomatopoeia

Newsworthy?

I have an idea. Instead of always writing about things that happen to me (for example i will spare you the details about the comings and goings here at the front desk of the MBA office from today), I am going to post links from time to time of interesting stuff. Kind of along the lines of my fav news source, Pinkisthenewblog.

Nothing wrong with following in the footsteps of the I.R.A. in this case. (nytimes)

Grammar = first casualty of war (reddit.com)

I'm not sure why people are obsessed with this version of crusty mac'n'cheese. I would have probably fallen for it too, if not for this warning. (slate.com)


oh, the pic is of Hillary's new dog, Duke. He's so frickin adorable. I still don't want a dog, but I'd sure like to babysit.

Just Like Barbie's Dream House. Except with a job.

Alright, the blog hiatus is over. I know, that was really quick. To be honest, I didn't want to write much b/c I was really freaking out about the job situation (or lack thereof), but I have fully recovered since receiving an offer last night. It's really the perfect job for me too.

I'll be starting sooner than I expected (like in a matter of weeks), which is a little insane, but I'm really excited anyway. I'm sad to leave B-town, but at least I'll be back for graduation.

You prob won't hear a lot about the job in the future (as I have a no blogging rule about two subjects - work and boys), but i will certainly blog about everything else that happens to me in NYC.

Last posting before Hiatus

hey all. i think this blog will be taking a hiatus in the near future. i just need to take a break, and trust me, nuthin' exciting is happening to me lately.

however, in honor of tonight's flip cup tourney, i thought i would post this video of a flip cup match from last year. for those of you that are not familar, this is a game of intense competive skill, and of course, drinking. (who says you don't learn anything in B school?) unfortunately, in this match my team (blue cohort) lost to the green cohort. this had better not happen tonight!


View this clip on Vimeo