One Week and Counting...

Joy to the world, my vacation has almost come!!! Yes, next Friday I shall be Las Vegas-bound and I can't wait, I'm so irritable and ickified by the bad moods and bad vibes around me, I need to get clear for awhile and do what I told Veronica I needed: a chakaboogaburningsageeaglefeather cleansing of some sort, anything to start 2009 off to a good start...being with my family will help, they make me smile and feel good, except when Charlie the Dad won't stop talking during TV shows or movies Joyce the Mom and I are trying to watch. Or watching me like a hawk whenever I do something in his kitchen ("I'm just curious what you are up to and I like to watch you work") - you know you do it Chuck just to annoy me!!!

So I'm off in a few to have a pot of mussels, some wine, and CHILL and try to regain the happiness and seasonal glee I enjoyed earlier in the week...because right now I'm all hyped up and annoyed at all the CRAP people around me. You know who you are - your ears are burning red hot right now...

And P.S. - I was just venting to someone (Vron) about how annoying people with Blackberries are. I'm a bit of a Luddite and so I think most of the info/ communcication type gadgets in the world are totally unneccessary. I'd probably still write letters if my handwriting weren't so chickenscratchish. I don't even really like having a cell phone. Then I read this funny haha article on MSNBC and the writer said EXACTLY what I was thinking. And the article is named, appropriately Gadgets That Make You Look Like A Jerk:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28039226/?pg=2#Tech_JerkGadgets

"Most people get a BlackBerry (or "CrackBerry") for work so they no longer have to talk to their loved ones. They're like the work version of the iPhone, and that's what makes them tough to deal with.Look, we don't come to your office and pretend it's the bar. It's awesome that you can take your important work with you everywhere, but the converse is that you're taking us with you to your office against our will. And ya know ... we're not paid for that.If you must check e-mail while you're out with your friends, for the love of God, buy a round, make your apologies and sod off to the corner. Don't make friends feel guilty for putting social lives ahead of an 80-hour work week. Oh and what is it you do anyway? Ruin mortgage lending for the rest of us? Get over yourself."

Also, please stop walking down the street while reading your unimportant emails or while trying to text. I'm really tired of you bumping into me simply because you can't take your eyes off of the screen because THAT'S JUST HOW IMPORTANT YOU ARE!!!

Me and my Mervy Little Buddy

La Luna + Venus + Jupiter = Smiley Face!!!

Got this photo from http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread416108/pg1 - I just thought it was cute!!

"December 1st, 2008 – Venus, Jupiter and Moon form “smiley face” In the last week in November and the first week of December 2008, the two brightest planets, Venus and Jupiter, will be close together in the evening sky, forming a spectacular double. The two are closest together on Monday December 1st, with Venus lying about 2 degrees to the South (left) of Jupiter. On the same night the Crescent Moon will appear just beneath them, forming a “Smiley Face”."

So look up tonight - not down at your feet like usual!

Well, I get to cross something off the list - I've sung at Carnegie Hall! Now, how many of you out there can say that? Granted, I wasn't on the stage, just in my seat but still !!! By now you surely must have figured out that I was actually watching Pete Seeger & Grandson Tao & Arlo Guthrie & Family (three generations on stage - that's pretty cool, no?) but they get everyone to sing along and though I'm still froggy-throated and had a fear of a full-on coughing fit in the middle of the evening, Pete asked everyone to sing Amazing Grace and so how could I not? But one of the sweetest moments came from Arlo's daughter Sarah Lee, who sang an a cappella version of Woody Guthrie's Birds and Ships and so now I'm obsessed with that song - although the only recorded version has Natlaie Merchant and I'm not too fond of her, but it will have to do:

The birds are singing
In your eyes today
Sweet flowers blossom in your smile
The wind and sun
Are in the words you say
Where might your lonesome lover be?
Birds may be singing
In my eyes this day
Sweet flowers blossom when I smile
But my soul is stormy
And my heart blows wild
My sweetheart rides a ship on the sea
Though my soul is stormy
And my heart blows wild
Where might my lonesome lover be?

Another beautiful song she sung was written by her husband - also on stage singing and on guitar - called When the Lilacs are In Bloom - you can listen to that here should your interest be piqued: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqHkX2lutUA

In short: a lovely evening, lovely people singing lovely songs and at the end of it, I felt - lovely :-)

Blah blah blahgpost, have you any joy?

No sir, no sir

Three weeks ill!

One week sick to my tummy,

One week cold and fever,

And one whole week full of coughs and chill

Oh November, to me you are so crummy!

Well, this is my Mother Goosey attempt to describe me and my life lately ... I haven't had the energy or motivation to post here but in all fairness, it's nothing too interesting. I work, I go home and make soup, read some, and crawl to bed. On the weekends, I simply omit the "going to work" piece. WAH WAH! I'm being childish, a big baby, but I NEED A BREAK from this. I want my mommy ... this simply won't do. I mean really, I have been sick since November 1st with a little bit of a turnaround last week and now, I'm right back at the beginning and then some. So November 2008? You suck eggs. I've barely left the house, except to go to work and to get soup. I need some fun but I can't summon the energy to have fun. BLAH. And it's all really good right now, so I am trying my ass off to enjoy things - like for instance, it's nice and cold just the way it should be in the Northeast in November and each day, I swear it may snow and we all know how much that makes me smile. It would help (in fact, as I typed this, I looked out my window with hope - but the skies are just gray, not angel-flakey). But, at the very least, I get to bundle cutely and drink hot things - like spiced cider and tea and coffees - and feel warm and fuzzy and cozy all the time.

So Question: What's a girl to do? Answer: take better care of self and try her little heart out to finish the year with a BANG! not a whimper.

Brave New World?

Eh, no, not that - no soma for us any longer... so then how about Brand New World?... I have to say - at the risk of sounding corny - watching Obama's acceptance speech on Tuesday was very moving and the possibly the first time that I have:

1. Been inpressed by a politician giving a speech

2. Actually believed that he was genuine and heartfelt about what he was saying

3. Actually believed that this person - along with some good help and good cabinet people and such around him - might actually make a change for the BETTER in this world. And it's been so long since I've felt that about this country and our politicians. While watching elections in other years, I so wanted to believe what they were saying and yet...a little twinge inside said "YOU BIG FAT LIARS"!!

I'm relieved beyond words that this man was elected - and hope more and more ugly things bubble up to the surface about that Chickadoodle Sarah Palin so that she has no choice but to crawl back into the hole that the Republicans found her in. Bye bye you snarky bitch!! Be gone forevermore. We have no need of your kind here.

So that's all...I'm a little down for the count so this is really just a half-hearted post - since my Linda Blair episode last weekend, I've quickly progressed into a full blown chest and head cold so I'm just going to take care of myself this weekend and rest and read and drink ginger tea with lemon and honey all the livelong day.. and maybe...just maybe...go to Ikea? If I can muster the strength to shop...oh but I am my mother's child, surely I can find it in me to GET TO A SALE!!! I must dig deep down, but the Joycean Genes shall prevail, I'm quite certain...they have such cute Christmasy items there, like these little knubby things:

Día de los Muertos!!

Yes, this past Saturday was the Day of the Dead - turned out, I was ONE OF THE DEAD. Or maybe more like undead ... I didn't feel well on Friday night so I went to bed somewhat early, thinking I had to get up by 6am anyway to meet The Cousins at Penn Station for our Philly trip. I was rudely woken up at 3am or so by The DEMON VIRUS!!! I was temporarily possessed by the spirit of Regan in The Exorcist and continued to throw up precisely every 20 minutes, complete with projectile split pea soup, head-swiveling, and crab-walking down a staircase. No priests were harmed in this incident, thank goodness. My neighbors were just a little worried at the sight of me though. The only pain was inflicted upon myself and my esophagus - I couldn't keep a thing down and I was dying of thirst - but even a sip of water would come right back up. I can't remember the last time I was sick like that. So I had to cancel on my scary Philly trip, but it was for the best, I wouldn't have lasted. I didn't feel right again, truly myself, until today and even now I'm shaky at best. But I can eat again. So that's something. I need my strength, because tonight is the night we find out if Frodo has made it, after 8 LONG YEARS through Mordor to the top of Mount Doom and has been able to throw the ring at last into the fire and save Middle Earth.

I suspect the Bush-Cheney regime has met its end - if those darn pundits are to be believed - and the coup d'etat executed in 2000 is finished and we can move on from here and get our dignity back. I hope it has ... but I'll tell you this - I went to bed in 2000 thinking all was right with the world and Al was our president. I woke up to find the votes had been stolen. And then in 04 it came down mysteriously to one state again and it seemed mysteriously tipped in the favor of Sauron.The same thing can surely happen again and if it happens for a third time...I may lose all faith in this process. But the worry is all for naught right now...let's just wait see what tomorrow brings, shall we?

GO FRODO!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happyy BOO!thday to Auntie Judy

Just wanted to say - CHEERS TO YOU!! - my wonderful, superfun, supersweet, superfunny Auntie S.S. Judy - I love you and miss you with my whole heart!!

Hugs and kisses to you - may no ghosts or goblins disturb you and give you a spooktacular birthday, except for Jake the Snake and Allie Gator!!

As the Hair Turns

Well things are better, for those of you who were worried about my hair and life status. Yes, today, the locks returned to a more normal state and with that, so did my state of mind. The rest of me didn't look so shitty, and I generally felt better - as the hair goes, the rest me follows. Oh you know, I'm still sort of HRUMPH-y and snippy but I restrained myself and just went along my merry little way. I didn't hurt anyone physically, that's important. The play last night helped - Farragut North at the Atlantic on West 20th - The Cousins joined me and they make me laugh too so that was additional remedy for my troubles. I read this is actually being made into a movie with George Clooney and it was interesting to see this at this point in time - it's all about the wrangling and games that go on behind the scenes during campaigns, this one being the Democratic primaries. And because The Cousin has connections, we get front row always at this place and you are literally 6 inches away from the actors...so basically we saw Chris Noth spit a lot. But more importantly - we decided to do a day trip to Philadelphia next weekend to go to Eastern State Penitentiary ( http://www.easternstate.org/ ) and see the sights. And tomorrow I do something else spooky...

"Spooks, Scandals, and Scoundrels of Greenwich Village! This light-hearted tour highlights stories of Village hauntings and scandals involving prominent New Yorkers over the past two hundred years. Find out about the surprising ghosts that haunt Greenwich Village, plus dastardly acts associated with the libidinous Stanford White, jaunty Jimmy Walker and infamous Aaron Burr. And what supernaturally-inclined tour could fail to include a nod to the macabre Edgar Allan Poe? Sites include Washington Square Park, St. Luke's in the Field, and the oldest house in Greenwich Village."

Fun, yeah? I think so...the rest of my time shall be spent alternating between resting and doing laundry so this will be the bright spot in the weekend.

And you, out there? How does your hair look lately? Because in the words of the great Vidal Sassoon, "if you don't look good, WE don't look good"!

Do you understand how much my hair has an impact on my day and mood and general all around quality of life? I have funky hair. It does not do what I ask it to - it has a mind of its own and does what it feels like doing, and sometimes - like today - that is quite contrary to what I desire. It's as if God had a sense of humor when bestowing upon me the Hair Gene and said: "Lets do something REALLY different here, lets really let this small thing challenge her on a constant basis ... lets see what she makes of it" - of course I couldn't have normal hair. Of course. I'm me - things are typically left of center and usually that's fine. It's just the way I am ...

but WHY OH WHY must my hair cause me such distress?

There was a book of Allie's when she was little called "Aaron's Hair" that always cracked me up - maybe she can write a book for little girls in a bad mood called "Auntie Nikki's Hair" and she can describe my trials and tribulations in a humorous and educational way so that others may learn from me and my misgivings.

This is all to say that I should have stayed home today, I should have pulled those covers right over my head and taken the day to regroup, organize the self, and perhaps, some sort of deep conditioning follicle treatment. I have been in a horrible mood since I woke up, I feel like my face is frozen in a snarl, I look like crap, I feel like crap, I'm overwhelmed with work and life and as if it's all flailing out of control. I have the same anxious feeling I get when I think about space too much or the environment - like in the movie Sex Lies and Videotape, she's all upset about the garbage and where will we put it. I totally get like that. A sense of something so unwieldly and out of my control that I want to burst into tears at the mere mention of it.

So back to my hair. I've tried all day to fight the good fight and just get on with it, plaster on a fake smile, anything, to no avail. I finally just went out and got some curl/frizz cream and that seems to have soothed it down off of the ledge but the rest of me remains irritable as hell. What shall be the remedy? Well, I have to leave work early to go to the dentist - now I doubt that will help much. Then I'm going to a play starring Mr. Big that is only costing me 10 bucks even though normally the tickets are $65 ... maybe its just the thing. He does have nice hair though, so maybe it will throw me for a loop and I'll get all envious and rush the stage to attack him in a jealous rage.

Say a prayer for me please? I don't want to be this version of me. I want to be the happy cheery HURRAH! Me. Not the uglyontheinside/uglyontheoutside ME.

I just had a nice long talk with someone here and I feel better. Whew! Found my center again. But still....

My wish is for tomorrow to be a prettier day for us all, inside and out. Stay tuned to see what has become of me....

A YAY! Then a WOO HOO! and now...HURRAH?!!

I got a YAY! last night from my boss...wait, that sounds funny...I DID NOT mean it THAT way, get your minds out of the gutter...HRUMPH! Nope, I just mean all my hard work for our upgrade paid off and I do mean PAID OFF. So YAY!! It makes paying my NYC rent so much easier when I'm getting paid nicely and for this I am grateful. Now I can go and spend a little of it this weekend, maybe? Perhaps? And then I had a WOO HOO! moment this morning on the train - so close to being a YAYWOOHOOHURRAH but at this point I'll settle for a nice WOO HOO and wish for more - despite the fact that I felt ugly and not myself... I woke up in the middle of the night with a headache so bad I couldn't get back to sleep, sort of migraine-ish and so as I was rushing about getting ready for work (late as usual) I thought "this day is most likely going to blow but I'll have to do my best to duck my head down and just get through it" but the YAYs and the WOO HOOs are making me warm and fuzzy, just like a Bill Cosby sweater... so then, what's next? These things come in threes (so they say) so who or what will provide me with the final HURRAH moment? Come on, who out there is going to step up to the plate? I am totally due a HURRAH...

Hello....??

Anyone.......????

EVIL EYES!!

FYI, to Anonymous Poster below - evil eyes INDEED!!

We were actually going for a look, something I have hanging on my bedroom wall -Wood Woman by Brian Froud - Vron saw it and thought at first it was me trying to be artistic with a self-portrait!

And she's not evil, she's a good faery! Just like ME....don't you see the resemblance?

Some pics..thats all

I guess I really didn't take very many pics, did I? But here are a few from the Botanical Garden and at St. John the Divine - there are some really cute shots on The Texas Two's camera that I hope they share at some point - but for now, this is all I have to give you ...

Sad sad sad...

Because I'll have to say buhbye to my visiting buddies soon!! They came in like a Texas Tornado last week and when they leave on a jet plane I'm gonna be as sad as rice cakes in a room full of chocolate ...WAH WAH!!!

So obviously, I've had way too much fun, so much so that my cheeks hurt from the laughter and entertainment both ladies have provided ... I'll post a few pics tomorrow I'm sure but I just had to let the universe know... WAH WAH!!!! From wine and cheese and giggles and up late the night they came in to Bronx Botanical Garden to Soho shopping to Korean food and my first taste of bimbimbab and soju (Korean sake) to a West Village breakfast to Midtown street fair to walking around our old collegiate stomping grounds of Barnard & Columbia to Riverside Park and The Amiable Child to St John the Divine to Absolute Bagels to Thai Tilapia and more sake and then to Mama Mexico where we were serenaded while giggling some more over margaritas and nachos - well, it was a whirlwind! So love you both and thanks for every moment!!!

Thanksgiving With Pete!

This year, while the rest of my family will be enjoying their turkey in Idee-ho with Snow White and the Dwarves, I will be spending it with Pete at Carnegie Hall, Row Y, Seat 109 Prime Parquet! Tickets went on sale today and I considered it a birthday present for myself to buy a ticket and so it was.

And I was reading an article about him today. It was describing his house in upstate NY and the writer noted:

"There's a Peruvian flute hanging on the wall alongside his trademark banjo, the same one he's used for forty-five years. Inscribed on its head are the words

This instrument surrounds hate and forces it to surrender."

Beautiful, right?

Une Bonne Anniversaire a Moi!

Oui, it is that time again! The joyous occasion of my birth...YAY!!! Yeah, I know big deal ... everyone has them and I had very little to do with it - blame Joyce and Charlie!!!

So far the good people of this world have been very kind to me - I came in to my office to find a huge bouquet of fleurs and a plate full of homemade empanandas and hugs and many nice nice nice email wishes - to be followed by lunch courtesy of the Boss and then that will pretty much be it for now ... I'm really celebrating on Friday with The Texan Twosome but YAY! again and thanks to all who have been so sweet to me - I'm very grateful!!

I've had enough of the ruff stuff, baby*

*taken from one of my favorite Gomez songs about an "unhealthy" lifestyle - in their case drugs and smokes, in my case PeopleSoft and Oracle, late nights and weird sleep patterns.

In other words, to speak plainly and simply - because like Sarah Palin in last night's debate, I want to "speak straight" to Joe Six Pack and all the Soccer Moms - I'M TIRED.

And who the hell is Joe Six Pack anyway? In my HUMBLE opinion, this lady who tries to place herself as part of the middle class (who's hubby is a biggie in the oil industry and owns a fishing company and they are both classified as millionaires) is actually being pretty snarky and condescending by referring to the Middle Class this way. Does she see all middle class men as a bunch of white trash dudes with potbellies in wifebeaters who hang out in front of their trailers, guzzling beer while they work on their crappy pickups? Is she DARING to assume that all middle class women have no other ambitions than to be Soccer Moms, that some of us might be single and - gasp - have no kids at all? Is she really trying to lump us all in this little middle class stereotype and act as if she "understands", she "has been there"? REALLY? I can't stand this piece of crap excuse for a politician and I find it demeaning that the Republicans think that is the best they can do for a position that would be second in command - you want a lady in there, thinking you'll get all the Pro-Hillary Anti-Obama women swinging on over to McCain and this tarty, unintelligent, cheesy, CHICK is the best you could come up with? Seriously. I love Rachel Maddow's opinion of her debate performance by the way, calling her out on being so folksy she almost seemed to be a cartoon, not a real person - I fully expected her at some point to break out with a "OOH yah, yoo betcha, let me tell you about my Uncle Ole Oleson from Min-EE-sew-tah..." and yes I can make fun of the Minnesota accent because my family is from there - she's from freaking Alaska, where did the accent come from? I'll tell you - FAKE FOLKSINESS!

Uffdah!

My family is middle class - if she classifies us by what we inbibe, I'm going to start calling my dad Chuck Grand Marnier and my mom Joyce Seabreeze. And I'm Nicola Tequila. HA! More like Nicole Maca Supergreens lately...

So you can tell I'm grumpy, right? Eh, I'll be okay, I just need to sleep well over the weekend, get my hair done tomorrow so that I look pretty for Veronica and Larisa (look how pretty I am!) and have a glass of wine tonight. I'm actually feeling very good - HAPPY - just weary. I keep waking up at like 4am and I'll be wide awake and golly gee (another PALINISM!!) I need my sleep in order to function. Basically, I haven't had a day off in 2 weeks and and I've been working almost every night until 8pm so the wear and tear are unravelling me. Can I sing Weezer's Sweater Song now?

HEY! Um, weird...The Sweater Song just came on my radio!! How's that for some synchronicity!!!

BOO HOO!!!!!

I'm sad...because I'M AT FREAKING WORK AGAIN. STILL. DARN IT ALL TO HELL. I was here last night until after midnight because we had "issues" and the IT Dudes were worn out from being up for 48 hours straight and so we called it a day. Or a night. Whatever. They needed to rest. So I came back here at 1pm today and now it's creeping up on 7pm and I STILL HAVE ISSUES.

EEK. YIKES. SHIT. CRAP.

That's all the energy I have for venting. I'm done. I'm tired. The Mets lost but I think considering how soap operaish their year was and all the injuries, I'm just proud of them for sticking through it and fighting hard and almost, just so close, making the post-season. It's okay. Despite what some people say, it's not like last year. There was no collapse. They had to fight and claw their way through the season so now we all have to wait until next April for more baseball and I have to decide what team I will now be rooting for - hmmm NOT THE BREWERS. Maybe the Cubbies...

So I think we are all heading home now, I'm turning on my remote access and I'll finish this stuff from home and wait to hear from the IT Dudes on the 10pm conference call to see if I have any more work to do until tomorrow...sigh...don't you feel sorry for Poor Pitiful Pearl?

LOSER!!

WHO IN THE HELL GOES TO WORK AT 8PM ON A SATURDAY NIGHT??!!

Me, I guess. So I get a call at noon, IT guys are way ahead of schedule, so now it's looking more like I'm coming in at 11pm tonight but it's a possibility that we can just come in early tomorrow morning. Fine. At 2pm, I head out to Brooklyn for my Pete Seeger concert, have a GRAND OLE time with Pete and Grandson Tao - FABULOUSITY!!! But I get a text message from the Boss - come in time is now 9pm. So here I am, armed with a vanilla latte and a turkey sandwich and some supergreen juice - come on people, lets VALIDATE DATA AND RUN SOME QUERIES!!!!

Well it's a bit spooky here since the Boss can't get here until 10:30 and all the IT dudes are on the 11th and 17th floors - I'm all alone...creepy creepy, so I'm blasting my iPod to keep me company..

So that's all for now - just had to report:

*Working late late late

*The Mets are STILL ALIVE!!

* Pete and Tao Seeger are most awesomely awesome...and they sang This Little Light of Mine, which was a surprise and I love that song...and they got an encore and came back out and sang Guantanamera and Pete still has all the energy and enthusiasm he seemed to have in his youth and he made me smile - and he's a such a great storyteller and leader, who else could have gotten a tent full of New Yorkers to sing along to She'll Be Coming Around the Mountain, complete with sounds and gestures, This Land is Your Land, and Turn Turn Turn. I would have loved to have heard Waist Deep in the Big Muddy, but I guess that's a little too "political" for a family event. Oh. Well. Pete ROCKED and I got to be 4 rows of people away from him and that's all that matters.

The Return of The Office

YAY!! The Office returned last night and I got home in time to see it AND watch MY METS win and stay alive in the Hunt for October ... I'm sort of sad that this is the last weekend of regular season baseball - what will I look forward to watching every night? Well, hopefully, General Manuel can keep the boys going and I'll have at least another week of games (and then after that, I'm sort of rooting for the Dodgers to do well so that Joe Torre can flip the bird to the Stankees).

But - favorite moments of The Office last night - and I'm copying this from my email to Snow White, a fellow Office devotee:

When Phyllis was wondering what people liked most about her she said "probably my jugs"

Ryan coming back as the temp!! And then writing down Kevin and Jim as people who have wronged him - seems like something I might do....

Kevin getting mad at the new HR lady for thinking he's retarded: " Math is HARD!"

Michael and new HR lady in the warehouse rapping

Stanley at the end getting on the scale and putting his fist up doing the black power thing because he lost 7 pounds

Phyllis getting to be head of the Party Planning Committee because of what she SAW

Andy Bernard: "every little boy dreams of his fantasy wedding" LOL!! - he's so earnest sometimes, he cracks me up

And of course I thought Jim's proposal was very cute...I'm kind of glad they aren't overplaying their romance and not making it the big focus - I think it would get annoying - plus, they aren't the funniest characters, they are the ones who make you go "awww, aren't they sweet"?

So now it's onto the weekend where I have to stay close to a computer at all times - I didn't get my 3am wakeup call last night thankfully so that means all went "well" and so now we are just doing MAYJUH web testing and I'm still on call all day tomorrow and then Sunday, I'm working the graveyard shift - the time has now shifted to coming in at midnight to hopefully be done by 4am - then home to sleep for a few hours if I can. I might just nap on the floor here if I'm too keyed up and go home early.

CRAZYCRAZYCRAZYCRAZYCRAZEDLADY

that would be me ... this is the final week of our conversion to the new version of our database and software and I'm a mad mad woman but if you can keep your head about you while others are losing theirs ... eh, whatever, I'm just crazed but keeping my head above water and taking a little time out to blog and vent before
I head home to rest my weary bones. So it will all come to a conclusion this Thursday where I have to basically sleep with one eye open - so the Boss says -
all night and keep my remote access up on my laptop so that I can fix any system issues that pop up during the IT Dudes first night shift. Seriously, I have to set my alarm for 3:30 am so that I can wake up and "do something" because that's what it says on our task list. Then, weekend work for sure - I get a small break on Saturday evening when I will be stepping out to see Pete Seeger in Brooklyn, how freaking excited am I??!!! - but topped off by having to come in Sunday night at 1:30 am to work work work to validate and make sure every final thing is in place and working before officially going live on Monday morning. So the plan is, get a car service to get me here at 1am or so, then however long it takes me to do my piece, but hopefully I get to take that car right back home by 5 or 6am and then come back to work around noon. SHIT.

I'm trying to take it easy but still. SHIT.

But I'm still smiling and giggling and that's something - and I mustered enough strength to make cupcakes today for all the guys here (yes, I'm trying to win their love through their stomachs...wouldn't you?) and they were specifically Mets RallyCakes - which just means I frosted them in orange and blue. And yes, I was loved by all because of them. So yay for cupcakes and lets hope they can spur the Mets on to that coveted Wild Card (I think they are out of winning the division) - and before you ask, yes, cupcakes DO have the power to conjure wins in sporting events - just ask Michael Phelps what he ate before each of his races in Beijing. I'll bet Mommy Phelps was cooking with Betty Crocker, don't you? Perhaps even Duncan Hines? Come on, you know I'm on to something...

CUPCAKE POWER!!!!!!!!!!!

Funniest thing I heard on the phone last night:

"Fix me my dinner, wench!"

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA - I'm still giggling about that!!!!

You're a funny man DJ...a funny funny little man....

As seen on a tshirt today

SMILE DAMMIT!!!

Tom's Diner-Seinfeld-Wondering

Question for my fellow Columbia/Barnard graduates from the 90's: I thought of this while watching Seinfeld last night. Whenever they show an exterior shot of Tom's, do you look for yourself walking past or buying cd's from that guy that used to sell them on the corner? I realized I do it without thinking about it every time I watch! I used to buy cd's from that guy all the time, I had a friend that lived down that block so I was down that way quite a bit and as a special treat prior to or after exams/papers, we all might have enjoyed a cheeseburger and fries inside, yes? They must have been filming exteriors at some point while we were there so there's that chance you may see me (or you) circa 1995 enjoying a Broadway shake in the window. I haven't spied me yet, but its an unconscious habit...I also look for Cindy in her Little Red Riding Hood winter coat - complete with hood - because I figure that would stand out...

The Great Pumpkin Moon!

Yes, summer is truly over - how do I know? Well, last night, I spotted this season's first pumpkin moon rising overhead as I got off of the train and headed home - I LOVE ADORE big fat peachy pumpkin harvest moons. The most perfect thing is when they show up on Halloween - I remember one Halloween as a child and we were walking home from Trick or Treating and there was a the biggest, most orange moon I'd ever seen and it seemed so low to the street, I swear I could have walked to the end of San Bernardino Avenue and touched it. But I was slightly scared of it too and so I didn't try. But I get very excited when I spy them at this time of year because I fully expect to see one or more of the following:

1. a witch on a broomstick riding past

2. ET and Elliot on a bike

3. The Man in the Moon face from the French silent film Le Voyage de la Lune (or better known from the Smashing Pumpkins "tonight tonight" video

I have to add that the word "fat" + Smashing Pumpkins keeps making me smile as I type this because it makes me think of my college friend Eve and she and I would listen to SP (and Blur, and Velvet Underground, and and and..I could go on but I won't) a lot and hooking onto particular lines - in this case, our favorite was "fat with promise" and it became a thing we'd say to each other - i.e. she saw me in Hewitt (Spewitt - although why'd we call it that, the food wasn't that bad - how much lentil stew did I eat in my time there?!) dining room and I had a nice big bagel with cream cheese that looked appetizing and she started laughing and said "that bagel is fat with promise" - and it was. So I guess the Fat With Promise Pumpkin moon makes me believe it is a harbinger of things to come, things totally fat with promise.

So look up in the sky tonight, people...tell me, what do you see...?

To quote one my favorite songs by the now defunct Judybats...

I'm gonna la-la-la-la-la-la

My way through life
I'm gonna la-la-la-la-la-la

My way through life

I'm gonna la-la-la-la-la-la

My way through this life

And here are some pics from the CHAM! I attended on Saturday...apparently I picked up karmic merit just by attending - this will help me in my next life - and I'm supposed to pass it on to those I encounter... Cham is a demon subjugation ritual performed by Bhutanese Buddhist monks - they act as deities calling the negative spirits into the center in the first part and then the second part, they display joy as they are finally free from the demons. Lets monitor over the next few days how well it worked on me :-) I say "demons be gone"!! And so it is.

Tropical Storm Alert for NYC??!!

Yes, Hurricane Hanna is on her way, folks, and that means BATTEN DOWN THOSE HATCHES!!! To those of you who have hatches anyhow... meanwhile, this week - shortened as it was - had me looking like Durer's Melancholia - see, she looks like me, right down to the nose!!

Work was CRAZY (and will continue to be until November so I might as well get used to it) as you can tell (because I did not a lick of blogging this week until now) but I earned big kudos from those up on high and promises of "good things" to come, so I hope this generates some more nice buzz my way - and I learned that I'm getting a birthday visit from two of My Favorite Persons this Monday as I cleaned and rearranged and spruced up my living quarters with my IKEA purchases - see I must have known guests were on the way! So something to look forward to yet again. Things seem to work out that way, don't they? It's always something on its way...other items on the gratitude list?

*Mets are playing well and still in 1st place (and the Yankees are NOT).

*I found song files - at long last - from my secret treasure band from the 80's, The Sound. Everything that I wanted was out of print and they aren't releasing them anytime soon but I got Shock of Daylight and Hearts and Heads.

*Still on the yoga bandwagon

*Ate healthily, slept 8 hours or more, and didn't drink any alcohol - yet (!)

*In a generally decent mood for the most part - this will change depending on the outcome of Mets games this weekend though!

* Am having a love affair with Leonard Cohen. I "liked" him before but then I watched the documentary/tribute concert "I'm Your Man" and fell completely in love. I would just like him to live nearby and be available to stop by and chat about things over tea or have him tell me stories or read to me. That's all. Favorite Song? At the moment, Tower of Song or Sisters of Mercy but I did love Rufus Wainwright doing Hallelujah - just lovely.

Oh the sisters of mercy, they are not departed or gone.
They were waiting for me when I thought that I just can't go on.
And they brought me their comfort and later they brought me this song.
Oh I hope you run into them, you who've been travelling so long.
Yes you who must leave everything that you cannot control.
It begins with your family, but soon it comes around to your soul.
Well I've been where you're hanging, I think I can see how you're pinned:
When you're not feeling holy, your loneliness says that you've sinned.
Well they lay down beside me, I made my confession to them.
They touched both my eyes and I touched the dew on their hem.
If your life is a leaf that the seasons tear off and condemn
they will bind you with love that is graceful and green as a stem.
When I left they were sleeping, I hope you run into them soon.
Don't turn on the lights, you can read their address by the moon.
And you won't make me jealous if I hear that they sweetened your night:
We weren't lovers like that and besides it would still be all right,
We weren't lovers like that and besides it would still be all right.

But most importantly, I'm soon to be having good visitors and I can't wait to laugh my ass off!! LITERALLY. And eat pizza. While looking at the Engrish website.

Sore! Stiff! Feeling GOOD!

So...I decided to get back into the yoga game ... I was pretty good about going once a week (sometimes 2x if I was into being really really good girl) and then at some point in April, I fell off the Yoga Bandwagon - errr, Yoga Mat. And each week I would play the game of "this weekend, I shall go". But I did not. Until last night, I went after work to a 7:45pm class and to a Hatha I/II class no less! I was a little worried because having done very little activitywise other than walking, could I manage a little bit tougher class? Turns out I could - and I loved it. The teacher was fantastic and it was a peaceful way to end the day, I felt so good and smiley during and afterwards. I'm a little stiff in the legs and lower back today but that's all - it's a good soreness because it was well earned. So it shall be pencilled into the weekly schedule from now on.

A New York Snapshot for you: every so often, there is a little snippet of life that I witness and it makes me go "this is why people love NYC so much" and this is why there are so many films and novels featuring the characters and oddballs who live here (although they are everywhere not just here but for some reason, people seem to think they are native to NYC).

So sitting on the bench in the West Village park last Saturday, a gigantic-bellied older man sits down on a bench with a box of cupcakes from Magnolia, a cup of coffee and the NY Times crossword puzzle. A few minutes later, another man all in black who looks very much leftover from the 1960's Timothy Leary Acid Tests sits next to him on the bench and nudges Cupcake Man: "So, do you ever think about dying?" Cupcake Man is silent, cocks his head, and then replies, "Well you know...". As I left to meet my friends, they were still deep in conversation.

And thus, a great friendship was probably born.

The End.

I saw this on plaque in a store in Cambria, California and it stuck with me so I thought I'd share it:

"Pray to God, but keep rowing to the shore" - Russian proverb

Whirlwind-Weary

I'm all abuzz and all is a blur - a week ago I was on the other coast and in the blink of an eye, summer was over, I was back to work with a vengeance - everything seems to be coming at me at once, although I think I'm handling that well, for once - and I went from looking forward to having nothing to do but watch the Lord of the Rings trilogy YET again all weekend to being booked solid and feeling .... abuzz and ablur. Whew. Need to find my center, methinks. Had MUCH fun on Saturday, early Italian dinner - chicken parm, yummmmmm - and walking around the West Village and then to Virgin to play with toys and laugh yet again at the "Stuff on My Cat" books http://www.stuffonmycat.com/ before heading into Tropic Thunder.. RUN do not walk to see this movie if you are in dire need of The Laughter Remedy. I think I annoyed people around me because I laughed pretty much non-stop and if Robert Downey Jr. doesn't at least get nominated for an Oscar for his role as Kirk Lazarus, well then I'm boycotting the movies for one full year. But they never nominate comedy roles so looks like I'm not seeing any movies in 2009. OH WELL.

Sunday was brunch in Astoria and much giggling despite bad waitering and then I was off to run some errands, walk around (too much, my feet hurt even now) before finishing my book under a tree in Central Park.

Now its the workweek and I'm back where I started. Lets see how it all goes and how unharried I can prevent myself from getting. I'm hopeful, that's something, isn't it?

Captain Chuckie's Binocular Shots

These pics are brought to you by my dad's binoculars - he was spying on me as I strolled down the beach towards Morro Rock one morning...

She's back - and she's CRAZY!!

But to quote The Cheshire Cat:

"But I don't want to go among mad people," Alice remarked.
"Oh, you can't help that," said the Cat: "We're all mad here. I'm mad. You're mad."
"How do you know I'm mad?" said Alice.
"You must be," said the Cat, "otherwise you wouldn't have come here."

Indeed. So I've come back to the crazy NYC world after 10 glorious beachy days. But it's okay, crazy is fine as long as you can still smile and laugh and not get stressed out. But still..California rocked. From sauteed calamari steaks and great wine while watching the sunset at The Sea Chest to my daily morning hour long walks on the beach to the fun treasures I bought to watching the Olympics and cheering on the athletes while enjoying a Nicole Summer Special (that would be a tequila gimlet to you) and going on a hike with my dad on the bluffs to the farmers markets and fresh berries and veggies and tuberoses...these are a few of my favorite things...when the dog bites, when the bee stings..when I'm feeling sad...oh you know the song!

But you have to come back to reality at some point, so here I am - and as you may have guessed since I didn't post a thing all week, I returned to the crazy workplace and I've been constantly on the go all week - plus The Boss is out, so I've been filling those big shoes of his and doing both his and my job. Today's schedule a typical example:

10am - turn on workstation; check test region for data errors before running 3 test OE schedules
11am - meeting to discuss payroll consolidation file errors
12pm - bento box lunch date!
1pm - PS upgrade meeting
2:30 - back to my desk to begin running test OE's. 1st one fails and I spend an hour fixing the configuration errors.
3:45 - step out for a 15 minute walk to clear my head, eat a banana, and relax. I feel slumped. Blood pressure low.
5pm - database is taken down for the night, so I decide to just a little more work and post here, finally.

So that's all I have to report, I'm busy, but feeling good, head is cleared and I'm feeling ready. Summer is over for me, let's get on with autumn. Ready for what, I have no idea, but whatever's on it's way, I'm feeling up for the challenge now. New things are coming around the bend and you just never know, do you?

And now, some photos!

Charlie making a contribution to Bubble Gum Alley in San Luis Obispo

A mermaid on the beach..oh wait, that's just me!!

Sunset at the Cayucos pier

Mom and Dad enjoying a glass of wine while waiting to get into The Sea Chest

FATHER ON THE BEACH ALERT!!!!!!!

This is funny - so my family is in Cayucos California, just waiting for me to arrive later on this week..and I decided to check out a web site that I knew had a web cam set up so that you can see the beach and the pier and passersby...so I click on the site and who do I see on the webcam? MY DAD, just strolling along!! Somehow, I KNEW he'd be walking the strand, looking for shells for me and Allie...


http://www.cayucosshorelineinn.com/cam.html

The Cracked Pot

It's storytime! Gather 'round boys and girls - my fellow cracked pots too - and listen up now:

A water bearer in India had two large pots, one hung on each end of a pole which he carried across his neck. One of the pots had a crack in it, and while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water at the end of the long walk from the stream to the master's house. The cracked pot arrived only half full.

For a full two years this went on daily, with the bearer delivering only one and a half pots full of water in his master's house. Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments, perfect to the end for which it was made.

But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it was able to accomplish only half of what it had been made to do.

After two years of what it perceived to be a bitter failure, it spoke to the water bearer one day by the stream. "I am ashamed of myself, and I want to apologize to you."

Why?" asked the bearer. "What are you ashamed of?"

"I have been able, for these past two years, to deliver only half my load because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your master's house.

Because of my flaws, you have to do all of this work, and you don't get full value from your efforts," the pot said.

The water bearer felt sorry for the old cracked pot, and in his compassion he said, "As we return to the master's house, I want you to notice the beautiful flowers along the path."

Indeed, as they went up the hill, the old cracked pot took notice of the sun warming the beautiful wild flowers on the side of the path, and this cheered it some.

But at the end of the trail, it still felt bad because it had leaked out half its load, and so again it apologized to the bearer for its failure.

The bearer said to the pot, "Did you notice that there were flowers only on your side of your path, but not on the other pot's side?

That's because I have always known about your flaw, and I took advantage of it. I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back from the stream, you've watered them.

For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate my master's table. Without you being just the way you are, he would not have this beauty to grace his house."

Now, I'm off to see THE DARK KNIGHT with my fantasy husband Christian Bale... sigh...I'll give you a review on Monday!

Maca Maca Maca!!

If you guessed by naming my post this, I just wanted an excuse to Google images of Fozzy, you'd be correct!!

But seriously folks, I'm here to tell you all about maca! Maca powder is actually a ground up root vegetable from Peru - it's related to the radish family - and it's jam-packed with vitamins and minerals and protein as well as being an adaptogen - which means its a trigger to your body to kick into high gear and start raising its defenses and start functioning at a really high level...basically, it makes you feel really good and is also terrific for you..it smells not so nice and tastes just so-so - I've either been adding a teaspoon of the stuff to some miso soup or to some herbal tea - and then I'm off like a rocket! It really does elevate your energy... so anyway, I'm just letting you in on the MACA MAGIC!!!!! One word of caution, DO NOT take it anywhere near your beddybyetime - I made the mistake of thinking it was like the supergreen drink I make and I had it with my dinner two nights in a row around 8pm and then couldn't fall asleep until 3am and couldn't figure out why until I did some research. Now I'll drink it no later than 5pm or so and even that I think is pushing it...

Click here for more info should you find yourself intrigued...
http://www.macaroot.com/benefits/index.html

Quote of the Day

From the great "Jitterbug Perfume":

"The unhappy person resents it when you try to cheer him up, because that means he has to stop dwelling on himself and start paying attention to the universe. Unhappiness is the ultimate form of self-indulgence. When you're unhappy, you get to pay a lot of attention to yourself. You get to take yourself oh so very seriously."
- Tom Robbins

Evil Car Salesman Face

Look at him... I saw this pic in the Daily News this morning with the article about the 490 BILLION $ defecit he's leaving to OBAMA and it just RILED me up - that stupid-evil-beady-eyed-son-of-Alfred E. Newman-monkey face of his ... if he ruled during the French Revolution, he'd be headed to the guillotine for sure...well my countdown calendar says we have 176 days left of this mockery to democracy...

Monday, Monday...

Monday Morning Staff Meeting Notes for Nicole Incorporated:

1. The Mets are STILL in first place...and again I will state emphatically: FOR NOW. It's tight, people ... but that's part of the fun, isn't it?

2. Massive laundry was done - I'm a clean clothes person once more and no need to shun me from society. As Chuckie says, if you are clean, you are happy - and therefore it follows that you can only be happy if you are clean. And so it is.

3. Hair remains grey-streaked, but I'm thinking I like the Gandalf look...ha ha ha...oh come ON, it's not that bad...I could care less...but I'm going to get that remedied this week in any case.

4. Work stuff is hectic but progressing nicely - we have now moved on to our SIT phase (System Integration Testing) and the month of August will translate to chaotic hustle and bustle - but I kind of enjoy all this, so I'm not complaining. Plus, I'll be gone for 10 days and it will be nice to be missed :-)

5. I was very pleased with myself and life in general all weekend for various reasons only I can understand - it started on Thursday and has continued on into today...things are rockin' and rollin' as they should be...all in accordance with the prophecy...

6. And I'm totally focused on California next week and the peace...the ocean, the ocean...

Let us raise a glass, for the work week is TOAST

Shall we toast to it? It was another good week - I wasn't feeling very confident about it earlier but it has ended finely and Santa has delivered yet another metaphorical Red Rider BB Gun under the proverbial Christmas tree and so to quote Ralphie, "all is right with the world".

I have a huge to do list so large, it gives me heart palpitations - most notably:
1. magically turn gray hair to blonde and brown streaks
2. do massive amounts of laundry - I will admit to buying more pairs of underwear over the past week or so in order to avoid doing it but the time is come - carpe diem!!

Now its 5pm and my boss was off today and I thought I'd accomplish some of this terrifying to do list - but alas and alack, I was swamped, overrun with Other People's Issues, all work/conversion related and I feel my teeth grinding down to a fine powder, I'm holding my jaw so tight. RELAX.

And by the by: the Mets are now sole owners of 1st Place. At least for now - that can all change this weekend, so I'm enjoying the moment while I can. Sometimes, one day is all you get, so make the most of it .

I've also forgotten to mention - to those of you keeping track of my culinary adventures - I tried sweetbreads last Saturday. And I LOVED them. The dish was veal sweetbreads - I found out it can be thymus gland or pancreas, but I have no clue which one I ate - mixed with veal liver, chicken bits, and sausage. This in no way puts me on the same level as Sexy Megan (who eats and seduces everyone) - her recent list of conquests include blood sausage, sweetbreads, and kidney - did I miss anything? She's got tastebud and stomach cojones!

And another reason to love Jimmy Kimmel? Apart from the fact that I think he's pretty funny, is from Las Vegas and I grew up with his cousin in Girl Scouts and I know his Aunt Chippy, he is putting Ed McMahon back to work by using him to do on-show commercials (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25852011/) I was wondering when someone, anyone, would help Ed out ...

UPDATE NS_MOOD SET CURRENT_ ATTITUDE = "YUMMY"

Sorry, I've been doing queries and such up the wazoo and am only thinking in SQL WHERE clauses, defining criteria, and aggregrate functions ... back to "real" English and the activation of communication skills! Happy Monday to you, hope you are as feeling fine fine fine and smiley as I am. Yes? Good! Some good - I'm using the word GOOD too much, what a poor Lit major I've become - things are starting to roll down the pike to me - I won't go into details as they haven't happened yet, but you know, wishful thinking is always helpful in bringing things to fruition. So yay for me... And I'm still counting down to my California trip...ah bliss will soon be mine. And I got a fantastic three hours with this week's Best Person in the Universe - you know who you are!!! Thanks to you as always for keeping me SANE in an INSANE world. Hey, you made an excellent move! (See I'd forgotten about that one!!). And the Mets are still tied for 1st place...and lets see what else? Saw Mamma Mia the Movie on Saturday and its totally joyful - go see it if you want something to make you smile and feel happy. I liked it MUCH better than the Broadway version - the acting was excellent (but come on, it's Meryl Streep, she's just amazing anyway) and that's my problem with most Broadway schlock - the crappy acting! It reminds me of the Theater majors in college who tried so hard but...fell so short and yet thought they were...Meryl Streep. Don't get me wrong, the Broadway version was fun too, but the quality is definitly at a higher level - the music, the singing, acting, etc...

Well I'm heading home, I got very little sleep last night - after being up until 4am on Saturday night, seems my REM cycles are a little screwed up. OH well - I aim for 11pm tonight and back on track as I finish up the first hell week here at work.

Did you know....

that there is such a being as a Cake Fairy? Well there is!!! YAY!!! Cake just miraculously appeared on my desk...and at the most perfectly perfect time, I was craving something sweet - and alas, despite what the instructor said at my nutrition class on Saturday, um seaweed wasn't going to cut it...


Also, just had to update you that I've decided my new favorite Met is Mike Pelfrey - sorry David Wright, I still think you are pretty cute - but Mike has won me over with his super trooper performance lately - I always felt bad for him last year when he'd try so hard and get booed and you could tell it was hard for him, he wore his heart on his sleeve a bit so I'm super happy that he's doing so well and getting the accolades lately - like last night getting chanted out for a curtain call ... and he's so tall...isn't that enough reason right there, height? Check him out on the Mets Site if you need to know more... http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/team/player.jsp?player_id=460059


And here's a great Mets fansite by the way for those who may be interested...
Brooklyn Met Fan
http://brooklynmetfan.com/

Just a few Murakami pics for you - no photography was allowed (I got screamed at a few times!) but I snuck a few in...the exhibit was cool, just because his stuff is cool but we felt like there should have been more to it - and more cutesy gift store stuff - like prints or postcards of the works, at least give me cute stickers or a pen with a character on top. But nothing really - although it was the final day of the show so maybe the store was super picked over? Also, we lucked out big time in getting there when we did - we left at about 3:30 and the line to get in circled out the door and was super crazy, so yay for us - we came, we saw, we conquered.

A Mister Softee seemed in order (since the truck was parked RIGHT THERE, why not, yes?) and then a leisurely walk to 7th Ave in Park Slope, a little window shopping and a little real shopping, and then a soothing Italian dinner - relaxing, outside, their patio enclosed by trees so it made us feel like we were removed from the city and the noise and all the hullabaloo a bit - quite a perfect end to the weekend - which was a little crazy and I felt as if I'd been on the go a little too much than I had planned to be. Once again, I seemed to not be home very much - how did that happen? And you know I got home in time to watch the Mets win their 9th in a row...so yes, a pretty good weekend all around