I had been kind of freaked out by this for the last several months. My obsession with staying "timely" and "trendy" was at an all-time high, as I feared becoming out of touch with the newest of the new.
But then I thought about it, and thought about my 20s, and realized, "Thank god that shit's in the past!" No more months on end of fruitless online dating, no more living on such a tight budget that I can't even afford the pad thai at Republic, no more living in a closet-sized space with no natural light... The list goes on and on.
Thirty wasn't all rosy, though. It kept me on my toes.
W was called out of state for a funeral, which took place on the day I had scheduled my big party. I fretted for a few days before deciding to reschedule and instead have a few close friends over to the apartment on Saturday evening.
It ended up being OK. Abbie flew in from Richmond and made sure I was entertained and properly filled up with beer. She, and my coworkers took me out for a 3pm Happy Hour (after a champagne/ice cream cake party in the office). We ate copious amounts of sushi. I shed obligatory tears over missing my mother on my 30th birthday. I had brunch. And I graciously accepted wonderful presents, including this amazing quilt that Abbie made for me:
Other amazing prezzies included a necklace from Marc's favorite store, a high-heel-shaped cake cutter, a "you'll never be alone" necklace from Berna and a spa retreat from Mira and Christina.
W is on his way home now, and on Friday we depart for a surprise 30th bday vacation. YAY.
At the end of May, I received a parking ticket. It was graduation weekend, and I was with my dad. It's a place I've parked many times before and I didn't see any nearby signage. My dad is pretty observant, and he didn't see anything either.
Regardless, when we walked out of the store I heard a grinding noise. I didn't even realize what was going on until I unlocked the car. I was about to be TOWED! You should have seen the look the miserable traffic cop gave me as she skulked back to the tow truck.
I was still in partial shock when I realized there was also a $60 parking ticket stuck under my windshield wiper. Fucking a!!!
Had it been a less expensive ticket, or even if I hadn't have been about to be towed, I might have just paid it. But it was the combination that killed me. I wasn't blocking a driveway or a hydrant, after all. It was a royal pain when I got towed in May, but I was admittedly too close to a hydrant. But this? A ticket AND trying to tow me when my car wasn't creating a potentially dangerous condition? And, where I DIDN'T SEE ANY SIGNS? Hell no! I determined that this was cruel and unusual punishment.
It took two trips to the municipal building. On both occasions I encountered judges with dickish attitudes. Like seriously aggressive and offensive without provocation. (Though I can see how one can develop a prickly manner working there. On my first trip, I witnessed a man insistent on fighting a five-year-old parking ticket, who stood dumbly and unmoving from the service window despite cutting insults from the head judge.) regardless, I'm just not sure what people get out of being assholes straight away.
On my second visit, color photo evidence in-hand and right-hand-raised testimony, my ticket was dismissed. Was it worth all that time? Absolutely, esp given that I was almost towed. (And if you gave ever been to the Brooklyn tow pound, you know what I mean!)
In another victory against the po-po, I did a post on CHB about how the local cops were permanently parked in the bike lane. The story was picked up by Gothamist AND Streetsblog. And you know what? The cops moved the cars.
My blogging technique as of late has been drafting up these mega-long posts on the iPhone while commuting. Right now I am walking down DeKalb Ave!
What else...
Happily, baby Jeffrey is home with mom and dad, and I was able to visit over the weekend. I was able to hold him, and since he was sleeping, I found it very relaxing. I also saw him pee on his own face during changing. I'll being that story out when he's about 16.
I also went a steamed crab and burger BBQ in Jersey City, where I learned how to get a decent amount of meat out of the steaming Old-Bay-seasoned shells.
W and I went to Florida for the wedding of his childhood friend. I don't really consider DisneyWorld to be the kind of place I'd ever go as an adult, without kids (and W and I analyzed while there that the ideal age range for a kid to go is between 4 and 13 - old enough to know what's going on but not old enough to be mortified of one's parents). Regardless, we had a really great time.
We stayed at the Disney resort itself - a sprawling maze of themed resorts, heated pools, attractions ams carefully coordinated shuttle buses. We chose the Port Orleans French Quarter, because it was considered a mid-level resort and because we found the theme to be kind of hysterical.
Overall, it was a fine place to stay. The guestroom was decent and the pool was great (I'm such a landlocked girl, far preferring the calm, heated waters of an inground pool over the unpredictable salty, splashy water of the ocean!). The food court, though, left much to be desired (overpriced greasy fare and coffee tasting like styrofoam).
We spent Saturday at the Magic Kingdom, and I was quite surprised at how nostalgic I felt on many of the rides. It's interesting how much an iconic experience gets woven into one's memories. I love that W is up for going all-out when we travel. As soon as we entered the park, we made a beeline for the mouse-ear-embroidered-hat shoppe.
My favorite ride, of course, is still the Haunted Mansion. Small improvements have been made, but overall the experience seemed to be mostly the same.
I also had intangible, find memories of the Enchanted Tiki Room, and was disappointed to find that the annoying parrot from Aladdin (voiced by Gilbert Gofdfry) was added and the show completely changed. It was loud, obnoxious and included music by Miami Sound Machine. When we left the show, I was furiously ranting on about how they shouldn't change a thing and revert back to the 1960s. Despite realizing that I sounded like a cranky old lady, I was still mad. (When I got home, I promptly downloaded the "Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Room" song.)
It's kind of creepy how strongly gender roles are reinforced at Disney. I guess the princesses have become a big "thing," after the new wave of "strong willed but looking for love" Disney cartoons in the early 90s. A new attraction is the "Bibbity Bobbity Boutique" in Downtown Disney, where little girls pick out a princess outfit and have there hair and makeup done in classic Disney princess style. They also get a pink sash to wear, announcing that they've been to the salon (as though the glittery slicked up bun, makeup, tiara and princess costume weren't obvious enough). It made me kind of sad, because I'm sure I would have never been allowed to have the BBB experience, cost wise. Sometimes I wish I had had the experience of having my girlishnss indulged as a child. What would it have been like to have an expensive store-bought official costume and pretty long hair and a tiara?
I was excited to see the Hall of Presidents, where robots of all the old presidents talk and move. I remember it being boring as a child, but I thought it would be better as an adult.
Nope. Boring in 1983, boring in 1988, boring in 2008. The animatronics are pretty amazing though. Maybe if they'd just ditch that colonial times video that takes up half the time, and maybe if they let the more obscure "presidents" speak. (Rutherford Hays, Chester Arthur? Those guys were presidents?? Just saying.)
We had planned on leaving the Magic Kingdom around 2pm, leaving time for a visit to MGM. But before we knew it, it was 5pm!
We jetted over to Epcot with only enough time to ride Spaceship Earth. I had just started bitching about how the ride needed to be updated (the animatronics ended with old computers) when the ride did this awesome interactive thing in each seat. It's hard to explain, but I was impressed.
I wish we had more time at Epcot, since I think I would have really enjoyed it. And man, that globe thing is actually really beautiful! I couldn't stop taking pictures of it.
We watched the fireworks show in a special reserved area for the wedding guests. It was mostly nice, aside from the mother of the bride accusing us of crashing the wedding. No joke, and she didnt even apologize. I'm still fairly pissed off about it.
On Sunday, W and I checked out Celebration. We had heard all kinds of creepy things about it-- new urbanism, Disney ownership, cultish residents, etc -- but I found aspects of it to be quite nice. There are lots of walking trails, a public fountain to play in, rocking chairs by the water, a town square, etc. Don't get me wrong-- it's still not totally cool in my book to create a highly regulated "city" where only upper middle class white families can afford to live, financially and culturally, and is owned by a large corporation and is exempt from county laws and such. I think cities should be inclusive and somewhat chaotic/organic.
One more creepy thing- the town does simulated fall and winter. This means that fake fall leaves are placed on sidewalks during autumn and streetlamps emit small bubbles to mimic snow in winter. I am not joking.
Thankfully, my very first friend from college, Darlene, drive us to both Celebration and Old Town! It was great to see her, and we would never have known about Old Town. Old Town very much reminded me of downtown Vegas-- the old, grittier strip of tourist attractions and faded glamor. It also made me remember a hotel called Wilson World, where we stayed in 1988. I remember it being luxurious, with a gorgeous indoor pool with a huge waterfall I could swim under. I Googled it when I got home, only to find that it's now a Red Roof Inn. (I suspect my perception of "luxury" was not what it is today.) Another surprising and fond memory of Disney!
In my Google search, I found a message board of people sharing memories of the hotel. It was kind of like recently when I realized that several women in my office once owned a cassette tape by a group called The Party that I was once obsessed with. I'm having these experiences a lot recently, where I find someone with the same passionate childhood markers of time that I have. It's thrilling to discuss them.
The wedding was exceptionally classy, though it was difficult to get W to dance. I guess this is one of the drawbacks of not bringing a gay date.
After the wedding, we made our way via shuttle bus to the Boardwalk resort, styled to look like a 1920s boardwalk. W was thoroughly creeped out, but forgot his discomfort inside Jellyroll's Piano Bar (thanks, Darlene!), where two dueling piano players sang and took requests.
As much as I'm not a Disney person, I have to admit that they have their shit together at the resort. A shuttle picks you up from the airport, and they check you in and check your bags going home. The entire resort is connected by a complicated series of highways. Fascinating.
It's growing harder by the second to keep this site up. My job is literally draining away all of my free time.
But, it's important for me to announce the birth of Mira and Dave's son, Jeffrey!
Jeffrey came into this world on Sunday, around 6:30 am, seven weeks early. Thankfully, he's doing great for a baby his "age," and Mira seems to have bounced back quickly from her speedy and epidural free (not by choice) labor. I could hardly believe the voicemail I received Sunday morning, Mira breathless, exhausted and out of it, murmuring, "I had the baaaaaby..."
I was surprised at how emotional I was when I heard the news. I think it was largely because I'm too familiar with emergency unplanned health-related situations that bring with them uncertainty. But I also think it was because I wasn't ready to think of one of my oldest and dearest friends as a mom. Yes, I saw her often, as her stomach grew out in front of her. I saw her waddling around and walking even more slowly than usual on the sidewalk. But it's one thing to see your friend carrying a baby in pregnancy and another to think about how she's crossed this huge, important life barrier -- childbirth -- something that seems so indescribable and intangible to me, even though she explained it as best she could. I feel both ethereal about it (What does it feel like to be a mother?) as well as snickeringly childish (Dude, a human being passed through your how-do-you-do!!! OMG!!).
Mira and Dave haven't been able to take photos of Jeffrey or hold him yet, but he's already off of his respirator and seems to be making leaps and bounds. I hope to visit the new family after I get back from Orlando on Monday. Yes, you heard me right.
I walked home from a work event in Prospect Heights tonight. I knew it was about to storm, but I walked anyway. It started to get windy, and as I approached the area where the Carlton Bridge used to be (it was taken out in anticipation of Atlantic Hellhole Yards), I noticed a scary brown cloud swirling toward me. The street was deserted, and I started to worry that maybe it was a tornado or something. Nope. Just crazy dust and dirt from the site below the bridge. As I walked east towards Vanderbilt, a woman in a cab pulled over to offer me a ride, because bad weather was so obviously coming. I thanked her profusely -- this is what Brooklyn is all about -- but continued on.
Garbage and street dirt swirled around me and clouded my eyes, and I made it almost all the way home before the rain kicked in.
It was a vicious rain. Generally, I enjoy a good walk in the rain. But this rain was cold and hard and made me gasp for breath at the shock. It reminded me of being 18 years old and getting caught in a rainstorm with my first love on our way to the Bursar's office one fall afternoon after class, and even though I was wearing a raincoat with a hood, I pulled the hood down and enjoyed getting soaked. That was not this kind of rain. I had to wring my dress out when I got inside. Still, I'm glad I walked.
My new job isn't turning out to be all I hoped it would be. Every office is riddled with its own problems, but this place is unique.
I desperately need to change the colors on this site. Argh.
Also, I realized, while I was at my work event, that I forgot to move my car. "Fuckity fuck fuck fuck!" I thought. I called Marc, who didn't answer, and then Kath, to ask her to see if I had been towed. She informed me that it was actually some obscure Jewish holiday and that opposite side of the street parking was canceled for today. Que suerte!!! Of course, it was raining too hard when I got home for me to verify that it was still on the street.
One more thing. This is the funniest You Tube video I think I have ever seen. Please watch all the way through for the choreography. And I use that term very loosely.
I had a frustrating day today, and I just went for an evening run. I can't say that I'm becoming a better runner -- I don't have time to do it enough -- but it definitely clears my head to sweat some of my annoyance out.
If you're going to pick up the habit, go get fitted properly for a pair of running shoes. It'll make a huge difference. Seriously.
In more exciting news, I have procured two tickets to see the New Kids on the Block reunion tour, and Beth is coming with me. I'm kind of embarrassed about this, but not enough not to share it with you.
NKOTB was the only famous-person-crush I had as a tween. I'm glad I it out of my system by the time I finished 7th grade. While I technically grew up in the '80s, it was the late '80s and early to mid '90s where I felt like I came of age. Before that, I was fairly oblivious to the world around me. I was aware of cultural phenomenons, but I didn't really live and breathe them like I started to around the age of 11.
Anyway, I have insanely fond memories of listening to my NKOTB tapes while playing Nintendo (the same Nintendo I have in my current apartment -- original NES -- and yes, it still works!). I went to one New Kids concert at the Buffalo Aud on November 9, 1989, with my friends Erin and Dana. Erin's older sister and her friend "chaperoned" us, and we went without adults.
I'm hoping at least one of my old New Kids tees still fits me. They're in a box, in the attic, in Buffalo.
While I'm not embarrassed to admit to going to the show, I was embarrassed today when my iPhone rang at work, playing my new ringtone loudly. ("Cover Girl")
