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well. it's not all that exciting to most people. but to me--it is.
i'm moving out on my own!!! i found a great place. just a 2 unit building. the landlords seem ultra-cool and live downstairs. i live in the upstairs unit. and it's super cute! there's even a little office area off of the bedroom (which, of course, is perfect for me). i'm very excited. not so much for the cost of living alone in nyc, but excited nonetheless...so here's to a new budget!
i'll be in my same neighborhood of park slope in brooklyn, which is great because i love my neighbhorhood.
also, i am HOOKED on penta water. i can TASTE AND FEEL the difference when i drink it. i don't usually do the whole bottled water thing (it's not very eco-friendly) but when your reusable water cannister runs out of water while you're driving around in the summer--you have to purchase. anyhow--it tastes INCREDIBLE and i FEEL incredible right after the first sip. plus--the weirdest thing--lately, whenever i drink from my tap? my stomach has started cramping up right away...i'm not sure what that means or why--but it freaks me out a little. and when kristina was here--it was happening to her too...anyhow. i haven't seen penta too many places? but i do know you can get it at fairway and whole foods.
another thing i am hooked on. suki products. i use the balancing day moisturizer and the exfoliate foaming cleanser. having come from the cosmetics industry, i can truly say that my skin has never looked or felt so good. i have that young skin glow again. i mean, i am pretty sure i've been aging pretty well anyhow? but it helps to use good products. the ingredients are incredible, natural and organic, and the price--while steep, is nowhere near as steep as say the terrible products of estee lauder or lancome, etc. you can go to www.sukipure.com for more information. it is also sold at whole foods.
i actually did cry when i heard. i'm not sure if it was a combination of stresses going on in my life or if it was purely for him? but i did.
but i'll take this moment to say the following:
1. i never believed all the allegations. i honestly didn't and still don't. anyone who knows me would say that i'm a pretty jaded person too. naive on some levels, yes--but mostly cynical. i also don't believe kobe raped the britney look-alike. i believe he committed adultery--but not rape. and to use that as an example--the point is...it was nothing but dishonorable people trying to make an easy buck off their kids. people acquitted kobe because he is this great athlete and looks good, acts normal, looks normal, etc. they didn't give the same courtesy to mj because he looked weird, acted weird, etc.
oj was acquitted and, in my eyes, shouldn't have been. phil spector was not. again--an athlete versus a weird looking man. we're such a society based on physical appearances.
it's a shame.
2. he transcended so many levels. from his humanitarian work in life to using his talent with music to speak on social, political, and personal issues. i don't believe there was a malicious bone in his body. and that to me--is something i can't even begin to understand. i'm not the nicest sort. too many barriers and pride and whatever else. like a moth to a flame i suppose...
3. i'm tearing up a little now. it's just wrong. it's been a few days and i feel somewhat bereft and i didn't even know him personally or anything. but i think, you can appreciate greatness when you see it.
i hate when good people....truly good people, with all their flaws, are brought down by greed, malice, and ignorance.
i don't know if there's an afterlife. i never cared so much about it. the only reason why i care? because i don't want people who commit heinous acts to get away with it. i want them to burn. suffer. and receive the worst possible justice. i'm not a forgiving sort i guess. and now...i care for one more added reason. i hope he's at peace and happy wherever he's at.
i hope people can appreciate him the way he ought to be remembered. as a musical genius (even if his music wasn't your cup of tea), as a quiet humanitarian (who didn't flaunt it like angelina jolie), and as an innocent and accepting human being.
rip mj. rip.
i'm getting married!!!
yes. that's right. married. me.
haha. just kidding.
but i do have even better news than that. i was offered a promotion today! yay!
so i will still be doing what i do, but basically have added responsibilities. because of this promotion, i will basically be traveling to washington dc every couple of months. i'm excited for the opportunity--just not so much for the traveling. but i will say, one of the best parts of living in the east coast--is the relatively easy distance between large metro areas.
i am definitely going to have to do some sightseeing! i still have yet to make it to tour dc so yay!
with updating this blog and remembering to write about things i really wanted to write about...but here are some interesting links/sites that i think some of the people i know should read! 2 articles by johann hari (love him!) that merit reading for sure.
how to teach your kids about money:
http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/CollegeAndFamily/RaiseKids/what-kids-need-to-know-about-money.aspx
2012/the mayan grand calendar hype:
http://www.dartmouth.edu/~izapa/M-32.pdf
women bridging gap in science:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/03/science/03discrim.html?_r=1&hpw
male/female salary inequalities:
http://www.johannhari.com/archive/article.php?id=1515
a generation without fish:
http://www.johannhari.com/archive/article.php?id=1516
sucks.
my verbage is cynical and realistic and yet i can't seem to reconcile my feelings to be the same. it insists upon being the wide-eyed, eternally optimistic child.
i'm apparently hellbent on destroying myself and my sanity.
but if i let people destroy that side of me then i lose.
and i hate losing. so i guess i live with my personal frustration.
but the one thing i've always hated are trashy people. this post is not about that however, so....
that aside--one of the things i've always hated are people with no loyalty. i can never quite trust people that are close friends with everyone. even when they know if person a has done something terrible to person b and they are still great friends with person a. i respect it and their decision. but i can't really trust them.
i'm not a very forgiving person perhaps. whatever my faults may be--i am a loyal person. when i've accepted you into my life--you were given my full loyalty. that means i don't hurt you on purpose, i don't talk shit about you to someone else, i don't make you look bad in front of others and i certainly don't go around blabbing about my issues with you to anyone who would listen. least of all, someone you don't like/might be jealous of/whatever the case may be. i just don't do it.
and if i don't treat you so disrespectfully--i expect the same. and maybe that's where i mess up. i expect people to have the same respect and integrity. and it sucks when i'm slapped in the face with the opposite.
there are rules. loyalties. priorities. what choice do you make?
family or friends?
friends or strangers?
strangers or enemies?
significant other or acquaintances?
acquaintances or friends?
oh well.
live and learn.
one lao person bombarded with 8 luxembourgish people? what are the odds???
none of which are actual native luxembourgish (1 german, 1 estonian, 2 parisians, 2 marseillians (?), and 2 slovakians.
but it was loads of fun and I'M SO DAMN TIRED.
maybe i'll give a more detailed version of the past few weeks...but suffice to say--there was a lot of walking, drinking, eating, talking, watching, touring, shopping, and other things!
loved every minute of it--but so glad to sleep tonight.
my turn next!
so my plan is to visit france/germany/estonia/2 days in luxembourg. i'll have to plan it abit better/more indepth about where to land/leave from, etc. but it should be great!
i reapplied for a new passport a few weeks ago--my 2 houseguests left today--and my new book arrives tomorrow!
pretty incredible timing. i think it's a sign that i really need to go.
september--europe--here i come!!
it works well monetarily too. whenever you play host to visitors for any extended period of time--your money takes a vacation too--as in--you spend like you're on vacation! so i have definitely been spending!
so i'm going to take the next few weeks to be a little more careful with my money.
anyhow. i'm tired and have to do some extensive cleaning/laundry/etc. today and tomorrow. i'll find the time to post some pictures!
worn out. i'm just...worn out.
it's probably a combination of zyrtec, emotional frazzlement, work kicking into high gear, travel, and heat. but whatever combination it's from--it exists.
i need to rest, but work has gotten busier and friends are coming to visit this friday--which, don't get me wrong--i'm completely excited for--but it also means less rest--and all i want is maybe 3 solid days of sleep, recovery, and recuperation. i had the apartment all to myself this past weekend--which was GREAT. but weekends never last long enough. no surprise. it didn't this time either.
sometimes you make these tough life decisions--you know? the ones that tell you, "welcome to adulthood." and for better or for worse...what's done is done. and what's been done cannot be undone...cause you can't go back in the past. you can only move forward. and i'm not the type of person that has liked to dwell on the past much--i like forward. i like movement. i like hope. and i'm fascinated by faith. all these words tell me future. i guess i'm a bit of a stargazer. and that's the side of me that's romantic. that's why i love those sci-fi/futuristic/fantasy movies/epic compositions type stuff. it harkons of things..events...that...
could be. maybe should be. . . hopefully will be.
here's hoping.
~~~
question: what do you do if you've fucked up.
answer: do the following steps IN ORDER IMMEDIATELY.
1. admit, sincerely, that you fucked up, to yourself and to the other person/thing.
2. acknowledge specifically what it is you did wrong.
3. apologize profusely until they accept it.
4. repeat as necessary.
unless you killed someone i can't see how this fails. here's to future happinesses and all that jazz...
i've just been SO TIRED. like...unbearably. i hate allergy season. the homeopathic sublingual pills i found that were working in the pacific northwest don't work quite as well here in ny. that could possibly be due to the fact that i'm supposed to pop the suckers under my tongue 3 times a day. i'm sorry, but i just can't remember to do that. i remember once a day and that's pretty much it. it has to be easier than that. like the zyrtec. but the zyrtec is really messing with me. i just feel like a terrible walking zombie. it's an awful feeling. terrible really.
go adam lambert! (watching the results show right now).
the musician in me loves the versatility and all-around talent of kris allen.
the disctinctive voice of danny gokey is great to hear (you'd know that voice anywhere, much like hearing peter cetera or sth).
but it's the incredible range, power, purity, and evocative quality of adam lambert's voice that steals my vote...well. if i voted.
was absolutely awesome. overall a great movie for what it was supposed to be/do. i loved it. i loved the shoutouts to all the catchphrases from the original series and i loved zachary quinto (sylar from heroes) as spock. chris pine was perfect as capt. james t. kirk as well. overall very well casted and jj abrams did a pretty good job.
my only complaint is--during some of the hand-to-hand combat scenes...well. they lacked any originality--really--anything at all. they stunk. what's the point in having a combat scene with no combat? they could have been and should have been much better choreographed. hell, it may as well have been 2 babies fighting over a toy--and the eventual winner won only because the other baby's mama came to take him home.
that's not good. but other than that--GREAT.
in the end--i'd still go and see it--again. there were a lot of times i was sitting up in my seat (and considering i was in one of those awful front seat rows, that's saying a lot).
next stop:
--terminator: salvation
--up
--transformers:revenge of the fallen
--harry potter and the half blood prince
--there was a preview that i liked as well but i can't remember what it was for besides that it's got jack black and michael cera in it
--and maybe gi joe. maybe. i'm a sucker for action flicks with cheesy humor to break up the violence even though i never liked the cartoon as a kid.
i am blogging from the hamptons--and will be back home tomorrow evening. when i left a few days ago--the swine flu news was "new" and now it's become my mainstay from every channel i watch. i'm not scared of going home to good ole brooklyn. but people here don't even talk about it.
i ordered 60 n-95 respirator masks online and they should arrive mid-next week. i will probably hit the cvs here in southampton before i head home tomorrow as well. i don't care how dorky i look--i will be wearing one while riding the subways! besides, my roommate was coughing and hacking the night before i left--i might want to wear one around the house too!
i've always carried around hand sanitizer so that was nothing new, but i have stocked up as well. i use this one:
i also take the new chapter organics "every woman's one daily" and the new chapter organics "immunity take care." i think i've done pretty much all i can do to prevent--so now, whatever happens, happens!
although i really should get on that living will thing. perhaps i'm getting paranoid, but i'm coughing slightly and i have a slight headache. we'll see!
THANK GOD FOR AMERICAN IDOL AND ADAM LAMBERT! way to keep my spirits up. where others have failed you have come through.
i feel like i should do a lot of things towards securing a more stable future for myself. as if the economy isn't enough of a worry there's now swine flu. i was so busy glaring at the pigeons flying around me that i overlooked george clooney's former pet.
damn it.
i am going out and buying myself one of those hospital masks in the next couple of days. my roommate tripped in coughing something fierce yesterday night and i left this morning for my 3 day trek to the hamptons. so hopefully when i get back she isn't a mess all over the place and at least quarantines herself in her room a little. so i think sometime in the next few weeks i'm going to create a living will sort of thing. i actually now have assets to protect--imagine that!
anyhow, looking forward to a few movies. as intelligent as i am, i'm not so pretentious as to claim to only watch foreign flicks or whatever. i LOVE summer blockbusters. lovem--the more action, the better. hey, i was raised on foreign kung fu flicks!
--star trek
--terminator salvation
--wolverine
--harry potter and the half blood prince
--up
--angels and demons
--transformers revenge of the fallen
so i am basically going to be spending my entire summer at the theatre--or at least--the VERY HOT days. there's usually 3 times where there are 3 day stretches of interminably hot i-want-to-shoot-myself-and-everyone-else weather here in nyc.
well. in the doing everything i wanted to do sort of way!
friday: went to watch monsters vs aliens in 3d. the movie had stephen colbert AND hugh laurie in it--and still stunk...BUT the 3d aspect was INCREDIBLE. so i recommend going to watch it just for that! they just don't make quality flicks like finding nemo and stuff anymore.
saturday: rearranged my room for "summer"--meaning i moved my bed from the window/fire escape so that i can get better access to it and didn't do much else!
sunday: i've been walking around EVERYWHERE...or at least what seems like it. went from union square to midtown to chelsea to lower east side to greenwich. had spanish tapas at a place called "pia tol" (the waiters were cute but the food stunk for the average/high price of tapas. euzkadi was better and euzkadi wasn't INCREDIBLE. best places were still the 2 places in boston. had some gelato...wasn't great either actually. oh well.
but i'm feeling good and maybe i'm acclimating a little to the weather here--it was in the 90s and i wasn't feeling too badly so yay!
~~~
advice section:
question: how do you stay mad at someone who deserves you to be mad at them even when you no longer feel it and just want to be on the happy side again?
answer: remember the pain and hope they either mess up again--or if you like them--hope they are smart enough to make it up to you sooner rather than later!
and yet something out there is pissing me off to no end.
but here are the things i get to look forward to!
1. going home tomorrow after a week away!
2. dinner and a movie or a free concert tomorrow night
3. picking up my GLASSES!!!! :))))) tomorrow night
4. the end of a goal cycle this month which means a good chunk of money by mid-may...which comes just in time for...
5. angelika coming to visit from the 22nd of may to the 31st!!!!!!
not looking forward to:
1. hamptons on monday
2. short feeling weekends
3. nyc summers
4. diets that need to happen
5. being more aggressive with my savings and really trying the suze orman "live on half your income" diet. but i'm determined to really do this. and that's hard to do living here in nyc!
so hungover.
we definitely overcooked for our lao new year's dinner party though.
a TON of larb gai
a TON of beeng gai
a TON of mieng
a TON of tum maak hoong
a TON of gang naw mai
a TON of beer lao
i wish i had 5 stomachs so that i could eat as much as i want and not gain weight in just 1 body.
week in jersey tomorrow and i got half of my glasses. i went in for my checkup last friday and the prescription sunglasses were ready--but the regular prescription glasses were not. sad.
i am testing out new contacts as well because the other ones were not very comfortable against my eyes.
~~~
question:
what should i do if i think my boyfriend is cheating on me?
answer:
hire a private eye and gas him out. if he is, use the key you have to his apartment, let yourself in while he's asleep one night, and tie him up as quick as possible. then grab that 2 liter bottle of water and use it to spit at his face. inbetween spitting tell him off or do anything verbal to make yourself feel better. after you leave, leave the key under the floormat and call one of his friends to let them know he needs to be untied. move on and don't tell the next guy you date this story until you're married.
it's going to sound totally stupid, but i'm SO EXCITED because i finally stepped up to the plate...and MADE AN EYE APPOINTMENT. it's been LONG overdue. i broke my glasses and then lost them about 8 months ago and have been wearing my LAST pair of monthly contact lenses for A YEAR NOW. it's stupid i know. because honestly it's not like i didn't have the money or whatnot...i just couldn't be bothered until now. so my own fault. but i'm stoked. totally stoked. i'm so freakin excited. so tomorrow i am headed to pearle vision and there is a bogo going on for glasses! so if i lose or break one--i will have an extra pair (of equal or lesser value) as backup. TOTALLY STOKED.
i'm also happy for other reasons. i do wish i could have gone to san francisco though.
i am hoping to catch some movies this weekend as well...
still haven't seen:
--monsters vs aliens
--i love you man
--duplicity
--dragonball evolution (comes out tomorrow)
--knowing
~~
i have also decided to start a little blurb that poses as advice giving--but really is more for my own amusement--though the advice given will really be what i believe! they will hopefully be short answers to perhaps complicated issues. the issues might range from the obscure to mundane--afterall, even obscure problems deserve answers.
for example:
question: i'm a guy and i just found out that the person i fell in love with is actually a dude. does that mean i'm gay?
answer: maybe dude. have sex to find out and let me know.
there were a few times i thought they might launch a comeback of near epic proportions...but they didn't. and i never wanted to be that person that combines something serious with entertainment (i've always been that person that hated "moral of the story" in a freakin comedy)...but i really was hoping michigan state would pull that upset over unc in yesterday's national title game. all because that region has had economic trouble even before the rest of the world. it's like one long, neverending misery story. and it's not like unc isn't a freakin institution when it comes to basketball already! i mean--between them, duke and uconn, hell. even uconn is undoubtedly 3rd in that game (with regards to the hallowed traditions). anyhow.
i hope this economy rights itself abit faster than reality tells me.
i think i had another oblivious blonde moment today. i feel bad for all the other retards--i bring the bracket down.
i am lovin this season of american idol...i have my favorites--but i swear to god that adam lambert is just freakin incredible. gay as hell--but the talent...i mean...people will kill me for this--but the range on that dude? flippin insane. i can't think of a guy with more range. it's insane. just insane. i like anoop and gokey too. paula is flippin mad as a rocking chair. she seems like an incredibly nice lady--but she's a freakin nutter. if i was sitting next to her i think i'd be laughing the entire freakin show. kudos to the other judges for being able to tune that out. i mean wow.
was really good! i think i'm prone to laughter anyways but it was pretty good--3 white guys doing their thing--a tad raunchy but otherwise good. i am ashamed to say i didn't bother listening to their names...brian something, forgot the middle guy's name, and pj something. i think. i could be way off and just making shit up--entirely possible. first guy was pretty hot looking too--come to think of it--they all weren't so bad.
an overnight trip tomorrow that i am unexpectedly making--and still a 10% chance that i'm headed to san fran this weekend. but i'm just not sure yet. i know i shouldn't. i'm not entirely well yet and i'm sure that if i went--i'll go back to being sick. plus it's about time that i really do go for an eye exam--which i am hoping to do this weekend!
is it silly to be this excited about being a platinum member for a hotel chain? cause i gotta tell you, i got the new card today and i'm pretty darn stoked!
the good news:
1. i am now a PLATINUM hyatt member. that's right. PLATINUM. haha. next and last will be diamond--which should happen in a few months actually...
2. i am home for 2 weeks before starting my monthly treks again!
3. i am starting to get better--now i sound like i've been crying all the time--but at least not like a crotchety old man...
4. comedy show on sunday!
5. 1st annual lao new year's dinner party on the 18th!
the bad news:
1. still sick regardless.
2. am not going to san fran because of said sickness.
3. i'm really tired lately--probably because of the sickness.
4. some people i know just...don't appreciate the life they have, the life they've created, and whatever else. and it's a bit of a shame, really. the grass is always greener on the other side. i'm very happy with my life right now--definitely more than not--and after the life i've lead in the past--this has been such an incredible boon. but i just feel like people should wise up, stop acting stupid and start acting their age and situation in life.
just some news:
i love ellen degeneres. love her show--when i get the rare opportunity to catch it. but she does this segment--where she gives like...i think it's 2k to people that write in that are in need. and while i find that commendable...it KILLS me that the past few times i've seen this happen--they were to people i DO NOT think deserve/need this money more than others.
the first one was this woman who lived in a huge spanish style house and i thought to myself...ehhhhh. at least you have a roof over your head--a rather nice looking one at that. and she got a car as well. well, if she can't afford her house--why give her a car? how is that going to help?
the second was some mortuary worker who...get this...PAWNED the title to her car to THROW HER DAUGHTER A BIRTHDAY PARTY. seriously. can we get some perspective? some common sense? is your daughter a fuckin deity? i'm sorry but if you're that stupid you SHOULDN'T BE REWARDED. societal values really need to be evaluated. oh. and she had a 25k student loan to pay off. BOOHOO. anyone who has been to school and didn't come from a trust fund family has one of those!!! and that's a freakin MINIMUM amount.
argh.
just argh.
so i know i've gotten better--but "better" doesn't mean that i feel anything close to good. i just feel like shit.
but the best news is--I GOT MY PATAGONIA PURCHASES on friday afternoon! yay! it was expected to be delivered monday--so it coming on friday was great. the jacket is awesome. lovvvvvvvve it. the color is awesome. it will be my summer jacket. the pants and skirt are a pretty unique and interesting take on capris/skirts. i like it.
on my way home from jersey last friday...i stopped by the carwash place a block from home and got my car officially washed. i had so much crap inside my actual car that i just told them to bypass the vacuuming. i know my car was filthy--after such a messy winter--but i wasn't too impressed with the wash/hand wipe job. i mean, my baby LOOKS great even from close up--all bright and shiny and clean looking--but when you go over it with a fine tooth comb--there was some black grease spots here and there that they didn't wipe off which i later did, and they just didn't do such a thorough job--but as i only payed $5.25 i guess i shouldn't complain overly much. but i swear they did a rather thorough job on all the cars before me! i was watching. they were probably told i only wanted a wash/wax and to not bother expending a ton of energy on a car that isn't making them much money. such foresight. i ended up cleaning up the entire inside afterwards (wiping the dash, vacuuming, etc.) so my baby has been happily pampered.
