august...

i just want it to be over with already. it feels like february/march all over again when things were fiercely hectic and crazy busy.

so the things i must do because i refuse to take any days off of work for it:

1. move by myself (unless i break down and hire movers) from my current place (a 4th floor walkup) to my new place (a 3rd floor walkup).

2. i have a 3 day training to attend.

3. hamptons again.

4. end of one of our many goal cycles for work.

5. i might have a houseguest for a weekend.

6. and because it's the end of a major goal cycle--i will be working like a broken woman to try and get everything in and done (i'm very well aware that was a horrible, horrible thing to write).

--

i am hoping to take an extended weekend trip in september to california to see my 2nd oldest sister, her husband (Herman--yes--horrible name) and 4 of my nieces and nephews (2 of each).

i have decided that i can't possibly justify spending over $1,200 to go home for thanksgiving--when it would amount to only about 4 days. not quality and not worth it. better to pick another time and make an extended trip and spend that amount...although, if flights get cheap enough--i might break down and do it. otherwise--i am thinking of taking a nice little roadtrip heading up north--or down south for my holiday break. we'll see.

i am still planning on taking my 3 week europe trip this winter--so--the bulk of my play money has been saving towards that.

btw, if anyone wants to fly in and help me move? food's on me! :)

worst. day. ever.

i must be cursed.

there are numerous people to testify to this fact.

--one of my older sisters is fond of saying "it's you." she even regales her coworkers and friends with tales of my daily life.
--one of my coworkers, "this can only happen to you! i don't know anyone else with your stories and luck. these things just don't happen to people! it's because your name is saysomphorn!"

i can't even go into all of it. i really can't. it's just been one thing after another--none of which was pleasant to deal with.

worst. day. ever.

well. if this hasn't been the

worst. day. ever.

then it comes pretty darn close to it.

suffice it to say--

all listed below were involved in some way:

1. east hampton police officers (who have nothing better to do i suspect).

2. east hampton police officers asking me where i'm from. (i guess my driver's license wasn't enough information. i suspect they were trying to find out my ethnicity--not middle eastern--and me not willing to cooperate on that line of reasoning unless they asked me correctly. my answer: "uhhh...washington state").

3. east hampton police officers asking me how to pronounce my name. (i know. it sounds awfully close to osama bin laden doesn't it?).

4. east hampton police officers asking me if i've ever been to mexico. (no i haven't and perhaps, in their estimation--if i am not a terrorist, i might possibly be a drug dealer).

5. east hampton police officers not being able to find my license in their computer system to be valid/existent and letting me know that i might have to go to the station for a few hours until this is cleared up (yay! and--they found it after i pointed out that perhaps--because my name is absurdly long--there might have been a mistake when he called it in--like the person hearing the letters incorrectly).

6. and to top it off--getting back to my hotel room--and the hotel i am staying at not having me on file as having booked a room when i checked in--the prior afternoon. then not having my checkout date correct (i suppose i'd be a pretty high class homeless person if i were homeless in the hamptons for a night).

all this--for not breaking fast enough at a crosswalk--that had no lights--because a big ole honkin truck was on the right lane blocking my view of anything well....to the right of it. btw. i was under the speed limit and as i see it. i really didn't commit any wrongdoing--which is--after over an hour of street interrogation--probably why they had to let me off with just a warning.

thanks ehpd! you ruined my day and interrogated me for over an hour--only to tell me i will be let go with a warning! i suppose i should be thankful. which. i am. but.

i am supremely in a disturbed state of mind at the moment. i am not amused.

7. oh. and according to the ehpd, i apparently should avoid driving in new mexico because there's a WARRANT out for my arrest for a SPEEDING TICKET THAT THE JUDGE DISMISSED years ago. apparently, it's still in their system. so now. i have to contact the new mexico courts and figure out why this is still there and where i go from here.

so, though i rarely drink, i did order a glass of shiraz with dinner tonight. i think i earned it.

completely as an aside--i stepped outside this morning and was walking to my car when i happened to look at the guy that stepped outside at the same time. he looked familiar--but i couldn't quite figure it out until i got into my car. then i realized--it was luke perry. and after dinner tonight, i went for a nice walk around southampton to clear my mind and saw one of those teen stars that i know is a star and will never know the name of. oh well.

the hamptons...

i seem to have a love/hate relationship with the hamptons.

the loves:
--i love that it gets me out of the city.
--i love that i get paid to come here because it's actually a great getaway.
--i love that it comes once a month and it comes just when i need it to come (after a month of being in the grind of humidity and congestion of everything imaginable...).
--i love that there are specialty restaurants everywhere.

the hates:
--i hate that i can't just teleport myself over.
--i hate the insane cost of everything during "the season."
--*i hate that it seems to attract certain types.

i guess there really are more positives than negatives--but that last hate with an asterisk? can really be a downer. it just sours the mood.

*so here's the explanation:

so, the last time i was here, while waiting to check into the southampton inn, one of those "certain types" walked in. she proceeded to step in front of me and another couple as if we were not there waiting for help as well. the front desk people smiled apologetically to us and proceeded to help her.

it seems the rooms she was given, were unacceptable. she didn't want anyone stepping on her head so required a top level room. she didn't want to be on the parking lot side, but poolside. she had booked 2 rooms, and wanted them to be right across the hall from eachother as well. she proceeded to float the fact that the last time she was here, they accomodated her every wish and she expected the same this time around. she made sure they knew that she was willing to wait right there until she got her list of demands.

now. i might be more understanding if the broad hadn't cut in line in front of me and an older couple. and i might have been less judgmental had she listed her demands in a less cavalier way. but she was just a bitch. and that just elicits no sympathy from me.

flash forward to today--at dinner. a family of four is sitting next to me but below me a level--so afforded me the ability to hear everything without trying. as i am alone, i have a book with me (the audacity of hope by barack obama) to read inbetween servings. anyhow, i was pretty suitably waited on until the end of my meal. when the father below made a ruckus about how they charged him twice for his coffee. the waitress explained that she had refilled his coffee when he asked for it. makes sense. it's hard to get free refills these days--and honestly, at a restaurant like this, expected. he says he doesn't think he should have to pay for that refill since the coffee already costed $4 and how could they charge $8 for 2 cups of coffee? well, let's see here--you didn't seem to mind that cost when you ordered it. why make a big deal now? he proceeds to say, it's not the cost that matters--he's happy to pay for the entire bill--just not that extra cup of coffee that he drank because it's the principle that matters. seriously, what principle??? so then all of the waitstaff had to disperse to look for the manager to get the ok. which means i had to wait awhile to get my own bill taken care of. thanks man. thanks.

maybe i am being slightly too harsh but it's just annoying to me. just suck it up. your bill was most likely over $100-$200 anyways. what's 4 more bucks if you've already spent that much anyway?

is it just too much to ask...

i don't know. maybe it's because of the culture i grew up in...but there are some things that...i just don't see the big deal about...

for instance...

is it that big a deal to house a friend of a friend? i mean. it's not a stranger really. i've done it before for a friend--never minded. if i could help someone out, why not? in the grand scheme of life...housing someone for 2 days or so isn't that big a deal, is it? they are visiting your area, are tight on the $$$ and you have a perfectly good livingroom or something and your friend asks if that's ok. maybe it's the stranger and your friend at the same time. maybe it's just the friend's friend. either way, is it that big a deal?

i don't know. i mean, i totally understand the comfort level of opening up one's home to a virtual stranger but the person has obviously been vetted. i highly doubt your friend would ask you for this huge favor if they didn't feel that their other friend was harmless.

let's take away all the factors that can create exceptions in this scenario and just say that the person being asked--is single, lives alone, etc. we'll keep it simple.

anyhow, my vote is obviously, if i'm in town and have no outstanding engagements that would prevent me from performing the function of host well enough...who cares? my floor is open to all those that don't mind sleeping on hardwood floors.

i understand that it's a huge imposition and all that stuff. i just think that generosity should supercede discontent--considering it would only be for a few days at most.

btw, there is an open invitation to all those that wish to visit nyc. my floor isn't comfortable, but it's cheaper than a hotel. :)

btw, if you have spare time to kill here's a hilarious game. you're the ceo of mickey d's...and you basically have to manage all stages that go into the business, from the corporate office to the butchering. but the devil is in the details. the cows can have mad cow disease, the restaurant workers hock loogie's, etc.etc.etc. enjoy!

http://zagraj.com.pl/gry/gry-strategiczne/mcdonald-video-game/161

an attempt to concisely capture the past months...

so, i got a job, sort of accidentally in new york, moved to brooklyn, am living 2 blocks from prospect park, the brooklyn museum, and the brooklyn public library. i am working for an awesome company that i adore and exploring ny on the side--when i'm not too lazy.

here's something that i think needs to be said:

most people work in an office--or indoors, or whatever. so come the weekend--they want to be out and about because they've been cooped up all week in a cubicle or whatever.

for me--my job is a bunch of traveling. when i get to the weekend--i just want to marinate sometimes and rest up and make use of the space that i'm paying $900 a month for and stay indoors. i seem to recuperate enough and am ready to hit the streets by sunday--which is why i fully promote 3 day weekends. :)

that said...after the move...i find myself...

preferring brooklyn to manhattan. it's just better. joy likes to call it the dark side, but i love it. it's cozier, cleaner, the buildings are kookier, everything here just seems brighter--perhaps it's because you can see the sky and you can't feel the smog invading your lungs. maybe it's the atmosphere and it just doesn't seem quite so sticky and crowded. i feel like i can breathe here. i like breathing.

i hate garbage day. every apartment building and whatever else's garbage is piled high in front of the street for pickup. so you're wading through smelly crap and during the summer? it can be quite the...errr..experience. not pleasant i tell you. the subways smell like sewage much more strongly this time of the year as well.

fast forward to last friday:

our company had its annual mission day up in maine. i was up there already for some training but the mission day was great. the company split up into 5 groups and i was a part of the group that was cleaning up one of the rivers in sanford. we had to pull japanese knotweed aka bamboo from the area because--well. for those that know...it pretty much chokes the life out of the water and everyother plant living in close proximity to it. myself, i love bamboo--but it is an invasive species and has pretty much been wreaking havoc in maine for a few years now. the bamboo were a variety of ages/sizes. some were twice as large as i was and some were little babies--but ALL were damn hard to pull out. needless to say, it was a very nice workout. i was exhausted by the end of the day. there was about 20 of us in this group and we cleared a whole side of it in just half a day. i felt pretty darn accomplished. it was no easy feat and the bushiness was about the size of that picture you see below. the life of the stream we were clearing was way less than the one in this picture though. the knotweed had really taken root and taken over. but it felt great. so this week:

i shall be in the famed hamptons for 3 days instead of my usual 2. trust me. it isn't as wonderful as the tabloids would have you believe. or maybe i'm just not the type. whatever the reason...ehhhh. i'm not all that impressed. it's more hype than anything else...but i do enjoy the fact that it's a nice getaway from the city.

because i'm just too lazy...

i decided to start a blog so that i wouldn't have to write individual emails...yes...i know. it's not that i don't love all of you or miss all of you in some way--this is just probably the easiest way for everyone to continually know what i'm up to, what i've been up to, and what trouble i might be up to soon...

i will try and spend some part of this weekend to give a general update to those curious and/or caring enough to want to know what i've been up to lately...otherwise--it's forward march!

i did finally go and get my oil changed for my lovely little red Honda Fit Sport. some people love people. some people love animals...i happen to love inanimate objects. it has fast become my little baby. i pamper the little animal and it even purrs back at me. i'm quite besotted.

ok. time to work out a little more now that this has been set up to my current specifications, though i'm sure i will spend all my available time tweaking it like crazy for changes no one will notice but me! ah well...