Category Archive

You think of summer as a time of relaxation. Remembering back to being kids and lazing around pools, staying up until the wee hours giggling with friends and playing basketball late at night in the driveway under the flood lights. Summers were easy, fun and carefree. Sleeping till noon, going days without a shower, the permanent smell of chlorine in your hair and on your skin…that was summer back in the day.

Now a days? Summer isn’t so special. There’s no vacations, just oppressive heat and constricting office wear while trudging from home to the metro to the office to the metro back to home. By the time you get into either office or home you’re sweat laden and sticky and cranky after dealing with tourists who don’t know where they’re going and somehow smell like they’ve forgotten the deodorant. I’m sorry but summers in DC? Not my cup o’ tea.

Even in college, I had the joys of being in classes, enjoying an urban summer unlike the ones of my rural youth. There were no classes on Friday’s so by Thursday afternoon everyone was relaxed, making plans and often times trying to fit a beach day or two in the three day weekend. Back in college the song “Summertime” by Kenny Chesney rang in my ears and always made me smile, especially when getting ready for a summery night out in cute skirts, flip flops, halter tops and the like…“it’s a smile, it’s a kiss, it’s a sip of wine it’s the summer time…” who can’t help but think of summer when they hear that?

I enjoyed summer times up until I became steadily employed in September 2006. I had enjoyed my temporary jobs that summer after graduation, the jobs that allowed to leave around 4, run home, change my clothes and make it back to the city for happy hour in summer clothes - short skirts and polos or cute summer dresses.

Then I got a job. I grew up. I had to, there were bills to pay. Student loans to deal with. None of this was unexpected but still, it was a harsh reality to face.

This summer, I’ve gotten my fair share of three day weekends, no trips to the beach however, no camping out on the non-existent front yard. Just working 9-6, getting out early on Friday’s and looking at the new bathing suit I just recently bought wishing I could give it more use. Summers will never be the same again. Take what you can - the roof deck bars, the cookouts with friends who have yards, and the day trips to beaches. Live for the days when you get off work early and can still make it to happy hour in a decent amount of time, the nights where you sit out on the stoop or enjoy a cold cider outside at the neighborhood bar.

Summers may have changed, after all I don’t think many of us get 3 months off out of the year anymore, but just because they changed, doesn’t mean we old foggies can’t enjoy them anymore. I mean, really? Who says enjoying summer is just for kids? Kids don’t get to enjoy the sweet sangria, or the roofdecks late at night overlooking the city or the joy of a happy hour outside. They can’t drive themselves to the beach, or work the barbecue, their summers are limited to the fun that their parents allot them. Us adults? We get to have all the fun.

Today, since I’m still gloating (yet a little sad) about giving my notice last night at job #2, I’m going to give you freaders a lil wedding planning love. Today? We’re going to talk about registries.

Now, fiancé and i have perused Macy’s, Crate and Barrel, and Hill’s Kitchen - a place on Capitol Hill that recently opened that has a slue of fun stuff most all of it American Made.

I’m more than excited to redo our kitchen; to find new dinnerwear, china (we’re looking at buying a hutch to store said china) a matching silverwear set, and nice wine glasses. Not to mention; table linens, fun cooking utensils, a slow cooker, a kitchen aid mixer, new sheets, and the like.

——————

Also, I found my colors. Future Sister in Law and her pal sent me some dresses that they liked from Alfred Angelo, and so i was perusing the website while i eat my FABULOUS Noodles & company lunch (mmm mac and cheese) and was looking at Bridesmaid dresses because after everyone’s comments? I’m pretty much hellbent on staying as far away from Davids Bridal as possible - this may be narrowminded but I haven’t heard a single good thing about the store. Soo…I think i found my colors (shrimp and clover - see this dress - with the body in clover i think and the tie in shrimp. I’m also thinking of this dress) I’m going to see about making a trip up to boston sometime this fall to go dress shopping with my girls since 3 out of four of them will be there and i’m hoping my MOH aka big sister will drive down so the four of them can all meet.

I also decided to have my cousin be my Jr. Bridesmaid/Flower girl. She’s a little too old to be flower girl (she’ll be i think 12 by the time we get married? Her birthday is 4 days after mine) but just right to be a junior bridesmaid. Since i have no really tiny cousins and all, I think that’s perfect. I want my dad’s family to be involved somehow, and i think since she’s the daughter of one of my favorite aunt’s, this is a nice way to make sure everyone feels…somewhat included. If that makes any sense.

So there ya have it ladiezzz…my weekly wedding update.

It’s crazy to think we’ve been engaged for only a month, and what we’ve gotten done? While may seem a lot? Not so much in my mind…we have the church locked down, we have the reception site ALMOST locked down though I think I want to go look at a couple more places tomorrow after work next week before we go to Vermont.

Also, I’m looking for ways to save bling, Fiancé’s dad sent us this article about Brides on a Budget so since we might be spending up to $15k on the reception alone, I’m looking for ways to save money otherwise - doing the invitations and STD’s myself, maybe making my own centerpieces, that kind of stuff. So if ya’ll have any suggestions? Send them my way I’ve spent a better part of today perusing all the wedding websites looking for ideas.

The happy hour has been moved due to inclement wather (predicted) we will be at rocket bar at gallery place across from the verizon center at 7pm. Look for me showing off my pretty new ring

Hope y’all can make it!!

Hello wonderful people, this is Arielle from Good things come to those who whine, keeping you entertained in Heidi’s absence. I don’t know if anyone else has this problem, but Heidi’s blog is the one and only blog that is blocked at my office. When I tried to go to it once, it said my access is restricted because of “Adult content.” Really? Is there hidden porn here?

I shouldn’t have been surprised at the blog being blocked, since my uber conservative mega-corporation blocks pretty much everything. There are the obvious ones like all webmail, all forms of instant messaging, social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace, and, well, porn. But there are some less obvious ones in there, such as Youtube and all forms of photo sites like webshots, flickr, etc. So if, for example, my coworker wants to share pictures of our other coworker’s wedding, she has to send around a huge email with all the pictures as attachments, instead of just sending us a link to the website. Because shutterfly counts as “personal storage” and apparently that’s one of many evils we aren’t allowed access to. LAME.

During the World Cup a year or 2 ago, some higher up deliberately had IT block websites where you could stream from sports channels, because they didn’t want employees watching the games when they should have been working. This didn’t bother me since I didn’t care, but a lot of people were pretty peeved about it. Some lucky person figured out a work around, and immediately sent it to everyone else on his floor. I work in HR, so I sit in a land of cubicles where it’s pretty quiet. This employee, however, sat down on the trading floor where there are an assload of people really close together. So when I went down there to meet with someone during the World Cup, my meeting would be intermittently interrupted by hundreds of people cheering. I was glad they were able to watch the games, but seriously, way to keep it on the DL guys.

Another example of an employee uprising against blocked websites was when they decided to block evite. SERIOUSLY? The justification was that people would use it to message each other through the RSVP section. A ton of people complained, saying that if they were going to put in 12 hours a day for the company, giving themselves enough time to go home, eat dinner and go to bed (and NOT to check their personal email accounts, which, again, they can’t check at work), they should at least be able to see the invitation to their friend’s birthday party. And after realizing how ridiculous they were being, we were given back our evite. Woohoo!

One final website blocking story. Awhile ago, my friend and I were going to meet for drinks after work on Friday. I waited in my office for her to get out of the subway. She called me and said she forgot the exact address of the bar, and asked if I would look it up on www.drinkdeals.com. I typed it in, and immediately saw the BLOCKED page. Reason: adult content. WHAT? I looked at the address bar and saw that I had been automatically redirected to lesbianpages.com. Panic ensued. I tried again, being very careful to type in D.R.I.N.K.D.E.A.L.S. Again, lesbian pages. I had a momentary freakout, sure that the IT police were going to storm down the hall and fire me for trying to look at gay porn. But thankfully, nothing ever happened because of it and I am still unfortunately employed there today. The end.

While I’ve certainly learned how to entertain myself when bored at work, even without email or IM, I’m definitely counting down the days (54!) until I leave my corporate job to go back to grad school. Gmail all day, every day? Hook me up!

Hello, Heidi’s loyal readers! And other people I dragged over here so I wouldn’t feel lonely!

Last night I got an email from a dear friend, asking me how I was holding up one week after my first book was released. And I told her I have wild mood swings on any given day–from euphoria to depression, depending on the amazon ranking. I was mostly kidding, of course. Seven years ago, I would say to anyone who would listen, “I don’t even care if she can’t sell my book—I just want to get an agent.”

And lo and behold, after some false starts and misfires, I got an agent.

Then I would say to the same people (who were then blinking longer than necessary whenever I brought it up), “I don’t even care if nobody reads it or it only has regional distribution—I just want my book published.”

And then, by jove, I got a book published. By Random. Freaking. House.

So now what am I saying to the patient loved ones in my life? Well, it’s the same thing most other authors wish for their book babies after they are unpacked and shelved at Barnes and Noble, and it involves the following words: ‘movie rights,’ ‘foreign sales,’ ‘bestseller list,’ and ‘Oprah.’

Okay, I’m not really saying all of that, but I think you know what I’m getting at. Call it The Law of Escalating Wants, because I don’t know what else to call it that doesn’t involve the phrase “Stop being so douchey.” You are content with what you have and generally don’t peek over the fence at your neighbor’s yard, but then one day you do, and they have a kickass deck and hot tub and plants that aren’t dead and there’s also a party going on around the tiki bar every night. You hear Jon Stewart was there yesterday.

So you are doing GREAT with your little book out in the big world, and people are actually reading it and liking it, or maybe not even that many people are reading it but the ones who do read it tell you they like it—things are humming along happy-happy-joy-joy, up until you get word that your author friend just sold movie rights to her new novel and was shortlisted for a major literary award and discovered a cache of rubies in her colon, all on the same day. And you suddenly become that Beethovenesque Muppet on Sesame Street, bashing his head into the piano keys: “Oh, I’ll NEVER get it! NEVER!!!”

Actually, if you’ll permit me to mix you a metaphor cocktail, it’s more like this: well, first of all, you should feel lucky to be in the pool at all…that was a major achievement in and of itself, because swim trials can be brutal. So you’re swimming, and you’re swimming, and all of a sudden you discover how to do a somersault…and you’re all, “Mom! Look! Did you see that?! Hey mom!” and you’re ecstatic about your little somersault, you keep practicing and enjoying the feel of the water as you spin and splash, and then suddenly a herd of synchronized swimmers blasts by, fancying everything up, and everyone’s throwing roses after them and applauding and you’re kind of pushed back on a wave, and then you realize you peed in the pool, just a little, so you climb out and go home with swimmer’s ear and eat a pan of semi-stale brownies while watching some old Three’s Company reruns. And you think, Wow, I never want to swim again, but then the next morning you put the suit back on, and then you’re back at the pool, determined to learn a swan dive off the high board despite a really bad case of vertigo.

Okay, it’s not really all that bad. It’s human nature to want to succeed at whatever we do, especially professionally. And it’s okay to feel a little envy now and then, as long as you don’t let envy make you her bitch. (Because she’s a kinky one, that envy.) Besides…lean in close now…I have learned something else that’s really, really cool: most writers—even really big name ones—are incredibly generous. And publishing is a small, small industry: what you say about so and so WILL get back to them. And the kindnesses you bestow or do not bestow WILL be remembered. So the real lesson here, is be happy with what you have, because there’s always bigger and better. And there just might be someone looking at YOU, wishing he or she was in your shoes. Even if they’re stinky-stanky flip-flops you picked up at the Dollar Store.

So thanks Heidi, for being gracious enough to let me clutter up your pretty space with some thoughts that fell out of my head…thanks for reading, and have a great weekend, y’all!

(Psst: when I’m not hanging at Heidi’s, I’m Here.)

So the other day when we first found out that Senator Edward M. Kennedy was hospitalized, I was asleep. Boyfriend, knowing it was the only thing on the news, didn’t want to wake me because he knew I’d get upset.

He was right.

Tuesday, he forwarded me an email, an ABC news alert that indicated that Senator Kennedy’s seizures? Were because of a brain tumor. I was paralyzed by sadness as I sat outside the event that we were holding for work - a town hall on cancer.

Someone on twitter the other day wrote something that said “what is it about the Kennedy’s that makes you feel like you know them?”

I don’t know…maybe that their family has ALWAYS for as long I can remember been in the spotlight. Maybe it’s that Joe Kennedy - the sleezy bastard he was, worked hard to get his family to the status they achieved and really, may have accomplished the “American Dream” (before having it all ripped from under him as he created more political enemies than Allies and lost his children one by one…) maybe it’s the way every woman? Wants to be a little bit more like Jackie O. and has a little bit of a crush on the late JFK Jr. (you don’t? Oh…)

But me? I don’t know when the fascination began but it did and I have read many a books on the Kennedy’s, and at one point I thought about contriving a plan so that I could date and marry one. Matt Kennedy? The kid who ran Teddy’s reelection…is kind of a hottie and at one point he had my cell phone number because we were helping with signatures to get Teddy’s name on the ballot. Be still my heart little kennedy…be still my heart. (My fellow CDM eboard members and I had many a conversation about Matt Kennedy…)

*heart*

I digress, given that i spent four long years in MA politics - rallying NU Students to vote for John Kerry for a year and then serving as the Legislative Director for the College Dems of MA, I felt an attachment to Kennedy. He was our Honorary Chairman of CDM, he was a pinacle point of education policy when I was in college and most of us involved in politics in MA? Hold a deep respect for him.

Then? I got to intern in his office. Now, I’ll admit, I was an outgoing senior so I didn’t take my internship nearly as seriously as I should have. I missed a few days here and there because well…I just…didn’t care. But being there? Seeing the history on the walls? Working with people who had worked with him for much longer than I? Was pretty awesome and despite my half assed attendance in the office? I learned a lot about what he does for his constituents. And that man? Does a lot.

So last night, as i got home from job #2 and was watching the news with boyfriend, I saw the clip of Robert Byrd (D-WV) talking about Kennedy on the floor of the senate. Oh. My. God.

I never thought I’d cry over someone that I don’t have much of an attachment too…but then I realized that the Kennedy’s? Are kind of why I’m a Democrat. Teddy especially has worked hard for the American people - regardless of whether they agree with him or even like him. He’s unashamed of his pro-government, pro-choice and pro-labor ways which to me? When you can be that influential and be proud of your values? I could only hope that some day I too will have that kind of influence.

By the way? If any one needs any suggested Kennedy bios? I’m a huge fan and have a few suggestions Just cause I’m kind of a nerd like that…no really. I am.

Finally finished my “links page” now to update the blog roll…you can check it out here: Links of Interest…sorted by category.

It’s no wonder I rarely get work done since i’m too busy reading on the internets.

I swear, I want to stab myself in the face.

Day one of Operation: Cold Turkey.

My head is all akgjalkfja;dsa and I’m lagging on the afternoon energy level. And I have an alumni event to make an appearance at. I feel twitchy.

Seriously, my motivation is just…effed up man. I want to fit into my boots more than anything. So I’m hoping that weight loss from an increased gym presence (working on it shut up) and a cold turkey drop off Dr.P should help me out.

Of course knowing my luck, I’ll lose weight in my boobs and not in my damned calves as I’m hoping.

A friend of mine IM’ed me and told me she dropped 6 lbs the first week she quit the coca cola. (i realized how sketchy it was just saying “yeah my friend lost weight when she quit coke!…quit = stop drinking) And 20 lbs overall. HOW FLIPPIN’ AWESOME WOULD THAT BE?!?!?!

I mean y’all see on my side bar “lose 20 lbs?” I was hoping by April. Still hoping. Crossing fingers.

This might be my trick.

Woot!!! Go me!

day 1….almost complete. I need more water. And maybe some chocolate. Or something…what is it with this oral fixation? gah!
I’m going to go bang my head against a wall now…*sigh*

So this week, because I have such a humorous tale of Valentine’s Day gone wrong…I will recount my hefty tales of heartbreak that I can now laugh about because of my then immaturity. We all suffer the “i need a dude to make me happy” attitude once in our life maybe…or is that just me and my dysfunctional family? Yeah? Oh well anyhow!

So I’ll go back and then end the week with the two greatest valentines days ever - last year…and this year.

Valentines Day 2001…and 2002.

2001

I was a senior in high school in 2001 and was in a long-term, long-distance relationship. He was my first love….but not in the sense of what I now know love to be. We met a year earlier almost to the day, and began dating on March 1, 2000. He was a year older than me and getting into college and recovering from a cough that ruined his track career in his senior year of high school. I account my “love” (more like love/hate) of running to him, by September 2000 after he moved off to Rochester, NY to attend RIT, got me to join Cross Country running, to push myself just a little bit harder. From that, i joined nordic skiing and then track and field. But by January we were drifting apart. Fighting more than not, I was jealous.

He had gotten moved from his initial dorm into another one (renovations or something) and hated his roommate. He wanted to live on the CS floor, and temporarily moved in with a couple of girls by crashing on their futon. Each time he mentioned them I wanted to scream. I was insecure, paranoid and insanely jealous. i was…that girl.

Regardless, we went on a break the night before Valentines Day. To make myself feel better i sent myself a flower (i did this in 9th grade to try to get the eye of a boy in my social studies class but my social studies teacher saw through it and called me out. He was kidding but man….)

So it was about that night, that I found D’s livejournal. With comments from a broad from Cornell in it “miss you xoxox” and him saying “happy valentines babe” and I realized I was a schmuck and I had been played for some crazy slutbag from an ivy league. Okay that may be an exaggeration. This all fell on the heels of me getting into NU which was my first choice school - talk about having something to be excited about? A boyfriend who said to me when I told him my great news “so I guess we’re breaking up then aren’t we?”

We did. March 1. Our one year anniversary. It took me a long time to move on, to trust others. We slowly started talking again, incorporating the other into our lives. I still visit him when we’re both in Bennington (he’s from there, my dad lives there now), and we still chat occasionally. It’s nice to have that one ex who’s really seen you through a lot, that after all the hurt feelings, all the mean words tossed around, that you can still honestly call him a friend.

2002

I was a freshman in college at this point in time, swooning over a different boy left and right convinced that this one or that one was the right one. Enter…JB.

JB was a middler (in NU terms 3rd year) and was a clean cut, nerdy looking fellow who my friends claimed had hair that resembled a ducks ass.  Somehow, in a cabin in New Hampshire/Maine, I got him to kiss me. I had been crushing on him for a while, my little 18 year old pepband geek self that is. And finally finally we kissed. Then we hung out. Then we somehow started dating…even though he didn’t want to.

I didn’t know he didn’t want to at the time…that was later.

But so for Valentine’s Day, because I eternally love to piss away money on douchebags, I got us tickets to a Bruins game. I gave him the tickets on Valentines Day but the game was for a week or two after.  He was kind of standoffish all night, walking ahead of me, not really talking. All dick moves. All of them.

So the next night, or a couple nights later or something…he breaks up with me. Out of nowhere.  Well not really but to my 18 year old self, it was out of nowhere. (I’m trying hard to recall the details but because it’s rather…unimportant now I forget…)

Anyhow, so earlier in the year he had dated a friend of mine, H, and she had broken his heart, mostly because she was kind of a player and back then me, her and our friend J kind of tossed around the band boys amongst ourselves (don’t worry we weren’t doing EVERYTHING with them…that would be gross) but  you know…kissing them at parties, flirting…the whole shebang.

So H took my side and laid into JB big time. Eventually, after two weeks of harassment, he finally laid it out to me, and this was the first (and only) time a boy ever told me…

“i don’t think you’re good enough for me”

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Needless to say, it didn’t take long to get over him after that but man did that sting like a bee and hurt my heart big time. I blew $70 on hockey tickets when all along, he didn’t even want to date me but really…kind of felt sorry for me. And didn’t think I was good enough.

Ouch man, ouch.

You know, now I can laugh at this all. I can laugh at my poor decisions, and the horrid taste in dudes I used to have. But at the time, it stung man. It stung a lot. But I was young, and desperate which, looking back on is comical. Because now? Not so much.

Tomorrow, you’ll hear about heidi’s Valentine’s Day rejection. And a not so memorable Valentine’s Day (seriously…I’m struggling to remember 2004..).

What’s your worst valentine’s day story??

Go Indians. Red Sox suck.

Always N 4-ever.

So I know it’s only the 6th. But it’s 7-1. And the Indians are already up 2-1 in the series. Go. Indians. Just cause i will be damned if i see the red socks in the world series again. In my lifetime. Suck it you fat piece of lard Ortiz.

So it’s 10am and I should be running. I should have been running for the past hour and a half….i would have been halfway done with my run by now. But no…i slept in with my sleepy boyfriend and adorable pup and it’s now 10am and I’m finally eating something to hold me over on my run.

So last night we went to Cafe Asia in Rosslyn for a birthday dinner of a friend of adam’s. They were headed up to Dremo’s but we decided to head home which was good cause i wasn’t feeling hot - too much sushi.

But from our table we could see the big screen of my loves…my New York Yankees getting pwned in the first five innings by the BoSox. So we left, they were down by the time we got home i wasn’t feeling well, the pup had destroyed another set of blinds, and it was late for a girl who had to wake up to run.

So this morning as i ate my leftover rice, i check the score.

Yankees 8 Boston 7

whosa whaaaaaaaaaaaaaattt????!!!!!!!!!!!!  Apparently, going into the 8th they were down by 5. 6 Runs before an out. It ain’t over till the fat lady sings Boston.

Now don’t get me wrong…I love boston. But god damned do i hate 3 out of every 4 red socks fans. I hate the fans that wear red socks crap to games that they’re not playing at (or for any team for that matter) , i hate red socks fans who only like the red socks because they “hate the yankees” (and vice versa. i believe you’re a fan because you love the team you cheer for not because you hate their rivals.)   most red socks fans…i really just don’t like them because they annoy the shit out of me. I do love the city though. Boston itself holds my heart. Very much.

 The Yanks though…they are now 4.5 games back and still in the running for the AL East pennant.  They started the season 15 games back. Whoa. Seriously?! No one thought they had a chance in hell. Whoda thunk. I never gave up I knew they’d get it all along. Go Yankees!