Labels: social

I was disappointed in the DNC last night, though mostly because of the CBS coverage. Everything is becoming so "Olympics-esque," with commentators/news folks narrating every damn second of an event. Heaven forbid there be any silent moments where we're just watching what happens (a la the Olympics), or allowed to watch a full night of speeches without being told about it through an overly-chatty lens (a la Katie Courick's too-much-mascara persona). Maybe I wanted to hear what Michelle's brother had to say, or watch the Kennedy video, or watch the Michelle video!

As W and I sat and watched, I became increasingly frustrated. I wasn't thrilled with the beginning of Michelle's speech, and found it too full of blue-collar jargon. Hey, I grew up in a lower-middle class family, with parents who only had Associates degrees. But there's never any mention of what the candidate is going to do for those of who are already on our way up but can't quite break through. How are you going to help me educate my children? Or pay off my graduate school loan? Or develop the cultural capital necessary to continue on to get a PhD, so I can live up to my full potential?

I'm sure that paragraph will come across as being snobby. But is it wrong to want to hear something real from these people? W pointed out that they don't need to talk to me, because they already know they have my vote. True, I suppose. But doesn't everyone want a candidate who recognizes and thus legitimizes their place in the nation's narrative?

I'm also not sure why anyone would call Obama an elitist. Working hard and achieving all that one can, and becoming an intellectual and fighting for the public good and breaking down racial barriers is elitist?

I'm not sure where I'm going with this. Just wanted to vent some thoughts about the impending election.

The bright spot of last night's convention came in the last few minutes of Michelle's speech as her children joined her on stage. Suddenly, she was saying something I related to -- the importance of being able to say someday that I was part of the decision to vote for a change, for hope instead of fear. And then the adorable girls were asking their daddy what city he was in, and he was relaxed and chatting with them on the big screen, and they just seemed like one big, loving, real family (who also happen to be very smart and self-challenging). Suddenly, they spoke to me.

And then I got excited, because there is no way in hell that Mummified McCain and Waxen Cindy will be able to pull off anything like that.

Also, I heard a rumor that Gore would be the VP pick. I knew it was unlikely, but how rad would that have been! Not that he'd want to go back to Veep after winning the 2000 election.

(I'm not even going to comment on the recent foulness of John Edwards).

Labels: deep thoughts, election

I am in BUffalo for a wedding and have W here with me.

A lot of fun stuff has happened so far. It really has. But here are some other things that happened:

• On Thursday, NYC experienced tornado warnings and severe thunderstorms. As a result, we sat on the plane, on the runway, for EIGHT HOURS. Why eight hours? Well, after three hours, anyone who wants to deplane has the right to do so (after that PR nightmare JetBlue had last year). A handful of people wanted off, which means we had to drive back to the gate. Problem is, we were blocked in, so that took forever.
• Because we left the line of planes where we had been sitting for four hours, we lost our place in line and had to get back at the end of the line with 75 planes ahead of us. That was after we were able to get to and leave the gate, which was closed because of lighning and other planes blocking ours.
• Departed apartment: 2:15 pm. Arrived in Buffalo: 12:30 am. Total in-flight time: 45 minutes.
• Since Monday is my 1-year anniversary with W, I had planned a surprise overnight trip to Niagara Falls, Canada. I had rented a room with a heart-shaped tub. Because it was so late when we left, I cancelled the room. They probably still charged it to my credit card because it was less than 24 hours. This I will fight if it shows up on my bill.
  
• When we arrived, the Budget counter was closed, even though the reservation said they were open 24 hours. It took us several tries to locate the Budget van.
• Went for drinks with Leanne and Bob this evening and had a lovely time. Returned to car to find passenger window smashed out and my GPS (purchase price $600) stolen. Should I have left it on the windshield? No. But we were parked on Elmwood and Allen, in a busy area.
• Budget office would not answer and national office could not help. Called 911 and filed police report. Brushed glass off of passenger seat and drove straight to Budget location (on the way back to my dad's). Little troll working behind counter was unhelpful and didn't have another car for us. Didn't offer to call other rental car agencies to see what they had. Two other employees buzzed around behind counter not helping us while troll assisted clueless old people. ("Sorry we can't accommodate you! Let me try to help you find something else!" Um, no.)
• Had to call dad to pick us up. He was surprisingly accommodating. Not sure if it's because W is here, but enjoying lack of martyr syndrome.
  

Fuck whoever stole my GPS. RIP, Mrs. Garrett. Hoping karma will come back to him. Learn to respect other people, you piece of shit.

Labels: bflo, cranky, gadgets, globetrotting

Yeah, I know it looks a little weird with the turquoise bits left behind, but I couldn't take it anymore. I'm working on something new -- be patient! I'm determined to get make it happen by myself. It's about time I get a real handle on all this wacky interweb stuff.

An elderly dog in my building passed away recently. I feel bad for a variety of reasons. First, the dog was obese and probably not well taken care of. It was almost as wide as it was long, and its owner pulled it along with annoyance as it wheezed and panted. I'm also sad because, well, it's a well-known dog that's no longer with us. And speaking of dogs, a small terrier was mauled to death last week by a pit bull outside of my building. Thankfully for me, I had drank hot bourbon with honey in an attempt to cure my lingering bronchitis and was sleeping more soundly than I have in ages. That small dog has been on my mind constantly. And, the bronchitis still isn't gone.

Work has been, well, inconsistent. Some days I am just absolutely thrilled there, while I'm ready to do something wildly inappropriate (like throw something, have a tantrum and storm out -- which happens in our office) and never come back.

I received my diploma recently. Kind of exciting, but what do I do with it? At least Syracuse provided it in a nice hard-cover-thing. NSSR provided a flimsy cardboard folder. Bah.

Caught a glimpse of this gorgeous, subtle memorial a few weekends ago, in the northern end of my neighborhood near the Brooklyn Navy Yard:



Simple, moving, lovely. It kind of took my breath away to come across something so unexpected.

Labels: nyc, pets

I know, I know. It's been ages. I have debated saying "adios" to this format many times in the last several weeks, but I'm not sure what to do with it.

In the meantime, I just got home from a Yankees game. It was a close game. The Yanks came from behind and were very close to tying the game, taking it to the 11th inning. That didn't happen, but it's OK. The running commentary from the middle-aged men behind us was plenty of entertainment.

While trying to get a friggen sausage (don't get me started on the food service and options), I befriended two British men who had just flown into NYC that day for a bachelor party. I then offended them by describing greasy fish and chips wrapped in newspaper as "gross," even though I tried explaining that I meant "good gross." I won them back over by promising to set the cute, single one up with Berna.

Anyhow, I got off of the G train more than an hour later to find an average-looking white man passed out on a bench, his shoes off and cash sticking out of his pocket. A random man and I stopped dead in our tracks, wondering what to do. We were both worried. The guy shook the wasted man several times, telling him he could "get real fucked up" if he kept sleeping where he was. I stood watch for support. At first, the guy refused to even open his eyes. But as we walked away, he sat up, picked up his shoes and boarded the next G train (which amazingly pulled in right after the one we had just got off, which explains why we waited 30 minutes at Metropolitan for an effing G). It was a nice "Good Samaritan" moment. The guy will probably spend the night riding between god-knows-where-Queens and Smith / 9th, but at least he's off the deserted subway station bench.

Labels: nyc, observe

So.

As of Friday at 5:07 pm, I'm 30 years old.

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.

Labels: newme, nyc, social