Vagina Couch

I found this on the Best of Craig's List, being sold for $600 in "NoCal" as my roommate says.

My 1st Painting

I used to be quite artistic in high school, but time and NYU bureaucracy have limited my abilities to take an art class. Yesterday, I attended Intro to Painting, a pathetically dumbed down course that doesn't even give us an opportunity to use oils; still, it's better than nothing. So off I went with my acrylics today, all the way to...my window. And I painted the Brooklyn Bridge :-). Here is the fruit of my efforts:On a completely different note, the big weight lift guys at Gold's talked to me today! And they weren't scary at all, they were actually really nice.

My Gym Fear

So I've started going to Gold's and must admit, it's a bit fun. I love that I get my own TV on my cardio machine, and that the locker room looks fancy and has offers up free Q-Tips. The people who work there are also really friendly.

Right now, I'm working on my fear of the weight room. I've signed up for a couple sessions with dear Diana, and she's taught me how to use a bunch of the free weights in ways that make me look slightly less like an idiot. Yup, I'm in there with the big boys (and some girls) lifting huge weights, leaving a trail of machines on the "15 lb" level; it's like my "the pirate was here" mark.

My personal goal is to do 1 hr or 500 calories burned (whichever comes first, or a class) at least 5 times a week. I did it last week, and I'm on my way to doing it again this one.

Also, I love watching Bravo reruns as I sweat; the Real House Wives of Orange County are my work-out gal pals.

Testicle Ripped Off

This is why open relationships don't work, people get jealous - even if they say they don't mind the openness - and then people get hurt! like, RIP OFF A TESTICLE hurt.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/merseyside/4253849.stm

Lock Out(s)!

It all began with a tour of Tessa's apt after a late (11pm) b-fast at Around the Clock.

In case you can't tell, in the above footage the first bed I show you is actually a couch. And what I wanted to compare Tessa's "blinds" to was colored paper Kat placed on her windows to stop light from coming in.

The good news: Kat is in Germany right now and doesn't need her bedroom.



The door ended up being reopened by a couple of drunk girls a few nights later. We don't have any idea how they did it.

If this wasn't bad enough I then realized :
1. I lost my monthly metro card.
2. I locked myself out of my own apt, and must pag $20 to get the managers to get back in between 11pm and 9am.
3. The next morning I realized I lost my gym locker lock & key, I have no idea where I put them.

The good news:
1. I can report it to the MTA and they'll refund me.
2. I got to make a new friend with the night time building manager Sam.
3. I get to buy a new padlock that doesn't involve a key, which is hard to hold onto while working out.

Happiness

"Married, extroverted optimists are happier than single, pessimistic introverts, and Republicans are happier than Democrats... it helps to be religious, sexually active and a college graduate with a short commute to work. The wealthy experience more mirth than the poor..."

It's in Iceland, The Secret to Happiness article in January 19th's Economist. If you exchange "married" with "in a relationship" and stretch the word religious a little bit, this helps explain why I'm such a bundle of joy.

My Deodorant

Secret has made this great deodorant that I use. But as the consumer, I have a huge problem with how they rip me off.

When I open the box, I have to twist the bottom knob thing about 20 times till the white substance puffs out of the top. At which point, I have half the deodorant container with no purpose (my fingers show where the white stuff "starts" once the knob pushes it up to the level where it actually pops out of the container). Why not just give me a smaller container? It'll save plastic, or charge me less since it's not a full container.

162 St: The Adventure

Yesterday, I was looking for photos of Washington Heights for a Promediacorp project when I saw the Morris Jumel House. Built in 1775, it's one of the last remaining REAL houses in Manhattan (a couple are up at 215th St stop near Columbia Uni fields). George Washington stayed here during the fall of 1776 as the Brits ran New York City way down south.

Alicia Keys lives in one of these 4 brownstones, according to the MJ tour guide. They were some of the first homes built here for when the subway was extended to 162nd St.
Then I had to scale a cliff.
These homes on Sylvan Terrace were temporary housing for subway construction workers. Go figure, now they're historic landmarks made of shit wood that are apparently deteriorating quickly, according to our guide. But aren't they cute?

This reminded me of Somerset House's stone work along the arches facing the Thames. Except these ones are wood, and you can see brick to the left was painted over white. Not quite William Chambers quality.
This is Eliza Jumel, the clever gold digger who lived at Jumel Mansion the longest, about 60 yrs.
Hexagon shaped formal room, lets in tons of light. Loved it.
Eliza's bedroom. I wonder if this means it's not her 2 hubby's room as well.
Upstairs window door to balcony.
Tessa and I walked down to 126th St & Broadway, stopping to eat at Jesus Taco. Then west across 125th St and into Central Park, finally getting on the train at 96th St.

As expected, Washington Heights had a lot of Spanish speakers and Harlem had a lot of black people. What I didn't expect was two hair salons on every single block, a free hot chocolate from Dunkin Donuts on B'way and 162 (nice guys), nor so many men standing about on st corners at lunch time. It's nice they all get to go on break at the same time, I wish my friends and I could do that.

Ed, My Palm Tree

Some of you may remember Ed, my palm tree. He first came home from Ikea living in a pot I fashioned out of a black plastic Ikea trash bin in September 07.

I decided he needed more space, so me and my roommate Steeners went up to Kmart at Cooper Union and bought some cheap potting soil and a real (plastic, China made) pot with a dish thing to catch the water. (In the trash bin pot, Ed just dripped from the thin plastic container he came in, into the bottom of the bin, hence a collection of soiled water built up in the bottom).

I don't know what I'm more proud of, his growth, or that I transfered him into his new pot without any help. Ed in Sept 07 on left, Ed today on right.

Jesse of America's Most Smartest Model

I'm watching late night trash TV on MTV; it's a cheesy date show called Next. I recognized this really feminine guy contestant who tells everyone on the bus he's a model, but couldn't place him.

After some thought, I figured it out scorlling down on this page. He's Jesse from America's Most Smartest Model! I'm so perceptive.

MacBook Air

Why has Apple done it again? They just keep on rolling out sexier technology. And this piece I actually really want. It only weights 3lb! That's amazing, especially considering that my 15" PowerBook G4 (that's right, it's pre the MacBook Pro generation), weighs 6lb. It actually hurts to carry mine for long periods of time, lugging it to work, school, NJ, etc. But starting at $1800, it's no bargain. Just so thin, and light, and pretty. What struck me as much, was an engadget post about Axiotron's touch sensitive modbook. Why didn't Apple do that? Oh wait, no one really uses tablets. Anyways, my feelings are a little hurt the MacBook Pro isn't receiving any updates. Very uncool.

Dr. No

NPR just did a long piece on Ron Paul and what it means to be a Libertarian. One of the editors from Reason Magazine, Matt Welch, was the primary source for all things Libertarian. (Total side note: in the picture of Matt on his page, the window reads "Toad Hall", which is a great bar on Grand St I would recommend everyone get to, for Soho the drinks are well priced although I'm not sure if the hops shortage has changed that). He mentioned a popular nick name for Ron Paul, "Dr. No" because as a Rep for Texas he has practically votes "no" to every piece of legislature, unless it's explicitly supported by the constitution.

One thing that upset me a wee bit in the interview was a question about college students simply jumping on the Ron Paul bandwagon because they like his policy to pull out of Iraq. And Matt's response was more or less a yes, there probably are many of those who haven't looked deeper into the issues Paul addresses.

WTF? Am I really that stupid? All I care about is bringing home troops, and nothing else on a candidates agenda matters to me? I agree with his premise to get rid of as much of the federal government as possible since those in Washington clearly aren't doing much to help me except increase my taxes. Restoring my faith in social security would be nice, because with $9 trillion in fed debt it's not like I'm expecting to see any of it when I grow old as of right now. And he doesn't care much for a war on drugs because, as revolutionary as this may sound to other politicians, it seems to be a waste of time and money.

I don't like his policy on closed borders, and this confuses me because I thought part of the point of being a Libertarian is keeping the market open so the best will rise, and everyone wins with competition. Then why not include Mexicans and others from S. America? Or his Pro Life stance, I prefer Rudy's "I don't support it, but it's each person's choice" concept instead.

Gold's Gym

Yesterday I joined the Gold's Gym around the corner from me, coincidentally on Gold St & John St. I was a member last spring, and always scared to death to enter the weight room b/c the guys are huge! huge! It's like being in a movie, and I'm the weakling girl surrounded by Venice Beach wannabees. I know they won't eat me, or break me on purpose, but it's intimidating. At the same time, I'm not going to Curves! Women only gyms? Where's the fun in that? really.

So I have an appointment at 7pm with Diane, who will show me how to "sculpt" (her words, no mine) my fatty arms. Lord help.

Bad Attitudes

Two events have happened recently that have made me think, "I really hope I never do that to someone else, and I really hope my friends don't either."

1. NJ Transit. 9pm Friday train to Summit. This guy chugging cheese doodles and Snapple was reading the NY Times across from me, and with every section he finished, he'd push it on the floor. At Millburn, he got ready to leave by pushing his cheese doodle bag onto the floor. As he got up, I politely said "Excuse me," he looked at me slightly confused, and then I asked "Are you going to clean that up?" He shook his head, and walked off.

What a jerk. He expects that at the end of the train line an illegal immigrant working for $4/hr will clean up after him. My first thought was "I hope none of my friends ever act like that", when it should have been I hope I never do that. Ok ok, my real first thought was "I can't believe what a waste of resources our real newspapers are" but you catch my drift.

2. I was talking to someone, when this woman who in the past has given me a hard time came over and in a very impolite way told me and the guy I was talking to to stop talking. I can't give details, but this chic gets such a power trip out of talking to me the way she did, it drives me crazy. I will never treat people the way she does, not only because her attitude has resulted in an online posse who write hateful blog comments about her, but because she is clearly uncomfortable with her position. If she was at ease, she wouldn't have to do things like that to get a fake "leg up" over a college student. Pathetic.

Stealing Plant: Shocking End

I can't believe it but the flowers I planned on stealing were stolen from me. I walked into the Marriott Marquis 5th floor bathroom to pick up a blessed pot on my way out and poof! They were gone, replaced by these:
Perhaps they got wind of my plan.

Stealing a Plant

I'm here at Inman News's Real Estate Connect NYC conference. And I have a dilemma. In the bathroom are three plants. I don't know what they're called, by my mom sent me one last valentine's day and it's still alive (a testament to it's inner strength & drought capabilities).

Yesterday, they were all droopy, very depressing. I felt the soil and obviously, it was dry. So I watered them, and did a bit of trimming, chopping off dead buds. Today, the flowers are up and they look quite happy.

But I'm worried about their future. Wouldn't at least one lucky plant be better off if I took it home with me today? I mean, it won't get watered here, or pruned, and I make sure my greenery is always happy at home. Such choices. To steal or not to steal?

A bit like those French NGO workers in the Congo (or wherever), who tried to remove 100 or so African "orphans" without documentation. They just got sentenced to like 10 years hard labor or something. And it was found out the kids weren't orphans either! I doubt the Marriot Marque will prosecute me though. After all, I'm just trying to get them a better home.

Job Market

This is my final semester of college, and it's scary to think that I was a wee freshman of NYU, tucked away on 5th Ave in dear Rubin Hall just three years ago. I have begun my job search in earnest, and the outlook is positive.

But what really pisses me off like no other, is when people tell me the economy is looking bad, and my chance are nil. One such person reminded me again recently, and in my head I must confess, I was thinking "no shit sherlock, I've read the newspaper since last summer too!"

But I'm sick of hearing how bad everything is. How my $ is paling in comparison to the £, that the sub prime market needs our government to rescue it, that economic growth is limited.

Really, what type of attitude is this? Call me an unfailing optimist, but I just can't believe that it's soooo bad, that nothing can be done, and that I must simply languish in the winds of an economic downturn. As I write this, the cnnmoney.com headlines read "Bracing for Bad Bank Earnings, MBIA slashes Dividend by More Than Half, and Tech Stocks for Tough Times." My little brother was interviewing at an investment bank a few weeks ago and he was told "this is the worst time to try and get into this industry."

Why don't we all try to look at this as an opportunity? An opportunity to explore a couple less traditional options in the job market. Typically, I think most college grads go to work for a big company (bonus points if they have a recognized marketing campaign). How about trying to start a company? Working for yourself(myself)?

The Economist's holiday edition featured an article about Evan Williams, the accidental innovator. He lead a team in creating this very site/software/server thing I now work off of, blogger. He's also created Twitter. His key to practical, easy to use, products is radical constraints which "can lead to breakthroughs in simplicity and entirely new things." The reporter offers up Google, saying if you'd taken away all the ads on Yahoo's search page ten years ago you'd have the simply search box.

So I'm going to try to be an accidental innovator for the beginning of my own little career path (soon it will be big, no worries). Not quite sure what that means, but I'll keep you all posted.

Fanfaronade

[fan-fer-uh-neyd] - noun: bragging; bravado; bluster

When I don't know a word, i usually write it down and look it up. From now on, I will share my discoveries. dictionary.com