6 Girls. Atlantic City, Tropicana.

Jess, Marsha, Anne, Me, Holly, Maggie

The Girlz decided that we needed a road trip to Atlantic City to spice up December. So, off to AC we went. Mags' family has a shore house there, and Marsha has a really cool friend who works at the Trop (maggies slang). Free lodging, free drinks, free food, 4 night clubs and a diner. What more could a girl ask for. We danced in the club, danced on the bar, sang Karoke, and had a nice Italian dinner - not in that order.

Hello December

Who says Holiday Parties aren't fun??? Here we are on the way home... I am not allowed to speak of the car ride home and the unfortunate incident that unfolded. But I can tell you that none of us should have a phone after drinking. A little shout out to neighbors Ken, Dan and Ryan.... Sorry for the several Midnight Phone calls asking for food. Specifically, eggs.


Hungover after a work Holiday Party, Marsha, Maggie and Rebecca head out to work. We are beautiful.

Tao

The end of November marked my neighbor and friend Ken's birthday. A group of us went out to Tao for dinner to celebrate his big day. Happy Bday Ken.

Thanksgiving Y'all

After many hours in the car with my dogs and two stops to see old friends, I finally made it home. I knew I was in North Carolina at the first stop. I had a serious craving for fried chicked at Bojangles. I stopped in and a man pulled up next to me in his duley (is that how you spell it?) pick up truck. He had a cowboy hat on and a thick southern accent. He immediately started talking to me in the line to order food. Then he spoke to a few other people in line - asking them about how their horses were doing. They all knew each other. I felt like I was on another planet. I forgot what it was like to be in a city without 8 million people. The pace was slow -- very slow. At the register, they asked me if I wanted sweet tea to go with my meal. I forgot about that too!

My mom and I had a complete agenda for our time together. I wanted to make pillows for my couches and bed, as well as a new cover for a bench that I have. She has a sewing machine so we played Martha Stewart the whole time I was there. My New York friends were amazed by the fact that I can sew.


I cooked Thanksgiving dinner for my brother, sister in-law, nephew and mom. Three desserts and 4 other dishes (funny how there were almost as many desserts!!). I enjoyed making everything and I think it turned out yummy. But I am biased.

I also got to see my other nephew Robbie. I took him to the Fun Depot and we played Laser Tag, Bumper Cars, and way too many car racing/gun shooting video games. Lotsa fun.

Still suffering in these pictures from my attempt at cutting my own hair. Yuk.

Charlotte, North Carolina

Along my merry way home to visit my Mom, I made another pit stop in Charlotte to visit my other close friend from my school days. Kara (who I have known for 18 years), her husband David and their 4 kids let me visit. We cooked, ate, shopped, got interviewed for the Charlotte newspaper, and just caught up on everything. A very nice relaxing few days overall.

Our Nation's Capital

For Thanksgiving this year I finally got to go home to North Carolina. I rented a car which was very scary for me since I haven't really driven in YEARS. Plus, driving with my two doggies is always a fun experience. After I got out of the commotion of the metro area things were pretty smooth.

To break up my trip and have an excuse to visit my old friends from highschool, I stopped in DC each way. I got to see Ali & Tim (my friends from highschool who - highschool sweethearts who married) and their kids. They showed my around DC. All I could keep thinking about was Forest Gump. I know, I'm strange.

My favorite part of the trip was when their 3 year old busted out singing "Tainted Love" in the back seat of their SUV on the way to catch the train into the city. Her older gal started singing along and next thing I knew the whole car was singing the tune acapella. It had to be one of the funniest things I have ever seen a kid do.

And, in case you are wondering, I got the great notion to cut my own hair about a week before the trip. Hence the reason I look like I am 12 (pointed out to me in those exact words at work the next day - ha).

Home Improvement

So, this weekend I got to do something that I have been wanting to do since day 2 in my apartment - rip out the carpet. The carpet was old and icky when I moved in and I have detested it for a long time now.

My friend Bea was going to home depot so I hitched a ride and picked up the supplies I needed. And, she invited me over for breakfast (french toast) pre-shopping. It was very nice!

I now have a fake parquet floor in my closet and bedroom. Hey, it may be cheap and slightly tacky, but it sure beats the carpet that was there! It pretty much took up my entire weekend and my entire body hurts from moving furniture, pulling out old carpet, and laying down the new stuff.


Before with Icky Carpet (Wally is trying to steal the show)



Almost done with the closet - gotta love self-timers!

Happy Halloween

I am actually suprised I even made it to this Halloween Party. I went out on Thursday and stayed up almost all night then went to work. I was exhausted. Then, my coworker coerced me into going to a "drinks" thing with a ton of people from my job right after work on Friday and I stayed out until after midnight. I was so tired. I got up on Sat morning, fed & walked the dogs, then went right back to sleep. I woke up at 830PM!!! And, the only reason I woke up is because my neighbor was calling my phone to see if I was going to a Halloween Party in our neighborhood. So, I got out of bed and decided to go. I hadn't planned on the party so I had no costume really.. hence the reason that I am wearing the same Cowgirl costume I wore last year. Oh well!!!



Ken and Dan as Apes, only this time they are in costume.


I loved Sophie's Military Outfit. She told me that people thought she was an Elf, which I found pretty funny.

Below, Len & Bea

Fair Farewells

Over the past few weeks we have had one of our coworkers from the Bangalore, India branch working with us in the New York office. We wanted to have a nice time out with him before he left. We went out... then his stay got extended a week. We went out again the next week... and his stay was extended again. Here is a picture of one of our Farewell outings.

Shyamol we will miss you!


Maggie, Me, Jessica, Shyamol

Morristown, New Jersey

Randomly today I got a phone call from my neighbors Ken and Dan. They were planning to go for a hike in Morristown to see the leaves changing. I had no plans for the day and was happy to have something different to do for a change. Ken ended up having to go to work, but another neighbor, Beatrice (Bea) came along. It was a nice walk and the leaves were beautiful. I never really get to go and see the state that I live in because I don't have a car. Morristown was a quaint little town and it had a "hometown" feel to it that was really nice. And of course, I got to intake my favorite Fall Leaf smell that I love. (mentioned twice already on this blog I think!). OH, we went shopping too!

Bea's Dog Winston

Here are some pictures. My favorite picture is the one I am naming the "I LOVE YOU TREE". Throughout the walk I kept seeing trees that had several etchings in them of who loves who - Joe loves Cindy... Sasha loves Jake... Paul *hearts* Anna. I wondered how long ago these were written on the trees and how long it would be legible. The love seemed to be immortalized in this tree. I thought about how the tree would live on probably longer than the life of the two people and it would carry that mark forever. It was pretty romantic to think about it and it was a sappy moment for me.



The I Love You Tree

100 Blog posts!

This is my 100th blog post. I can't believe I have submitted this many. I really need to get out more!

The Seaport

Me, Alex, Maggie, Jessica

One of my coworkers is moving on to another job so we all went out to wish her well. We went to the Seaport and had drinks. I'm not feeling very literary today so I guess that's all I'm going to write. Here are a few pics...


Domingo, Leon, Shyamol, Sunny

Raindrops Keep Fallin On My Head

So, my friend Maggie is an Umbrella Genius. We left work today and it was pouring. Our coworker Shyamol had an umbrella, and so did Maggie. But I didnt. She ran across the entrance of our building chasing a stray umbrella that was blowing in the wind and she got it for me. It was actually a pretty decent umbrella and it made my trip to the train station very nice!

We thought it was funny that the wind was SOOO bad and the trash can was overflowing with broken umbrellas (and they were strewn all over the street too). Here is a pic of Mags with her umbrella flipping backwards in the wind and standing next to the overflowing trash can. And, yes, we leave work when it is this dark.

Fall Cooking

Being as it was the beginning of fall not too long ago, I all of the sudden have had cravings for Fall type foods and decided to cook. I made a giant feast for myself... baked ginger apples, sweet potatoes, maple butternut squash, roasted thyme tomatoes, and something very "un" fall, Chicken Satay with snow peas in coconut peanut sauce. I ate like a queen for a week and a half thanks to the generous amount of available space in my freezer.

Fat Black Pussycat

Tonight I went out with my friend Marsha from work. It was actually quite an interesting night due to psychotic cab incidents and hopping bars. First, I took a cab to meet her at Gonzalez Y Gonzales (a mexican restaurant in the village). While riding in the cab, we hit a stoplight in chelsea. All of the sudden this very drunk man gets into the cab while I am already in it. He basically doesn't want to get out of the cab and the driver has to put the car in park, mid traffic, get out of the car, open the back door, and take the guy out. I wasn't really scared because the guy seemed harmless, but it was probably the most interesting cab ride I have had in NYC. I think it must have been a cabbie full moon that night though.

I met Marsha at Gonzalez et all and we decided to go to the Fat Black Pussycat bar and hang out. There were several of us that went and it was the typical bar scene. Marsh and I then decided to go to another bar (can't remember the name). It was cold and we were having problems getting a cab, so we flagged down car service. The guy tells us 20$ for the shortest trip ever - which would have cost under 5$ in a regular cab, but we were desparate. Then, we go to pay him at the end and he demands a tip. Marsha says to him, you want a tip?? You just charged us 20$ for this ride? And then he is a complete jerk and says "That is why I am Pakistani and you are Indian" to Marsha. I could not believe he said that. Marsha couldn't believe it either. After he just completely ripped us off.

Then, we hung out at this bar, went and got pizza, went back to the bar and decided we had enough of that place. We then tried to get another cab, unsuccesfully. We found this couple who would share a car with us and we hired a car. Then, half a block later, the car got a flat tire. What LUCK!!! So, we got out of the car right in front of a Karoke bar, so we went in. Marsh and I hung out there for a while then got tired of it. We went out and flagged a cab to go meet another friend of hers at a diner in Union Square.

This cab driver decided to take us from 2nd avenue to 12th avenue - when we were really only going to 4th avenue. When I realized what was going on I started to get in an argument with him because he refused to turn off his meter. I told him I was not paying for his mistake - and I was nice about it. But then he started acting like a jerk so I got mad. In the end, I only paid him what I thought was fair. It was a very crazy night for cabs.

PS. I love NY.

Friday the 13th

Today was my "late" day at work... meaning I got to go in at 9am instead of 8am. It was my first "late" day and I was amazed at how much difference one hour can make. I still got up at the same time but I relaxed in the morning... had a cup of coffee, took the dogs on a longer walk, and did some cleaning. I felt like I won the lottery or something. It made my day.

On the way to work, the train station was unusually empty and the light was shining through on the platform at the World Trade Center. So, I took a picture.

Shots of Corona

A nice long day at work and Rebecca needed to go and relax. My friend Maggie (Mags) and I went out after work to get a bite to eat. We snuggled up to the bar and I thought we should have a shot, after all, it had been a pretty tough day. So, I told the bartender that we wanted shots of tequila. He asked what kind, and I said "Corona" like a complete idiot. Mags couldn't stop laughing. You probably had to be there, but it was pretty funny.

C-Side

Me, Preethi, Maggie

After a long day at work we had a networking event in Jersey City. It was nice to get out and have some time away from work with coworkers. They had free appetizers and drinks... the appetizers weren't very good but we were hungry so we ate them anyway. The best part about the event was that it was only a few blocks from my house. Not really anything exciting to write today but I had pictures so I thought I would post.

Me, Thejas, Maggie

My Favorite Commutes

I love days like this. You know, it's hard to wake up early and go to work. Most people in the world have to hit their snooze a few times before they get out of bed. But, days like today just make getting out of bed so nice. I opened my eyes after Gizmo repeatedly smacked me on the head with his paw (an every day occurence) and right there in front of me was a great sunrise. I used to love it when I lived in Salt Lake City and I got up every morning and saw the sun coming over the Wasatch Mountains. The sun over the city is still beautiful, just in a different way. I snapped this on my way to the train.

Under the Bridge

This weekend was pretty interesting for me personally. Friday I was worn out from work and then came home and went to bed. It has pretty much turned into my usual Friday. Most people look to Friday night to go out, I look to Friday to relax. (Although I do like going out sometimes too!) Saturday was typical - all the stuff caught from the week that needed to be done. I went back to my laundry routine which is this: go to the Laundromat, put the stuff in the washer, then go out to breakfast at a sidewalk cafe near by and read. I forgot how much I enjoy that.

I met a kind of crazy lady at the dog park. Really nice lady but definitely bonkers. She's a "narrator". Everything her dog does, she narrates.

"Oh, he's sniffing your dog. Oh Oliver, do you like the other doggies fluffy tail. Oliver says this one is fluffy, and this one is not fluffy. Oh, how different. "

Then she talks to her dog like a person which is really funny.

"Should we take the water taxi to Battery Park? I know you like the doggies there. Should we go see John over there? You know, John is mad at you for eating his couch last time we were there. Or should we go see Donna? She is probably off work by now. You know, we could do both.. We have plenty of time. Oliver... Stop It!! Stop IT!!! If you don't stop trying to hump that dog mommy is going to be very very upset and I will not talk to you the rest of the day. And, NO you cannot go into the river. Mommy cannot give you another bath".

I tried not to laugh at her. But she was just funny.

Saturday night I went to bed early like a complete loser. I think it was 9:30, but I haven't been feeling well the last few days and I think I needed it. This was after I replayed "Under the Bridge" By the Chili Peppers about 10 times. I just felt like the song was my life at that moment: "Sometimes I feel like I dont have a partner. Sometimes I feel like my only friend is the city I live in, the city of angels, lonley as I am, together we cry."



Sunday was great. Despite still not feeling well, I got up and met two of my friends (Julia & George) in Hoboken. We had decided to go to the Arts & Music Festival. Pre-Festival we went to Rue De Jardin - my friend's Turkish Coffee shop and had Crepes & Coffee. I LOVE his crepes!!! My favorite is Cem's Nutella, Chocolate and banana crepe. I splurged and it was good.

Then wandered around the festival. It was nice - even rained but I didn't mind. I love going to those festivals with all the art. It inspires me to want to do something creative. Lots of great paintings (one that I adore but it was $3200!!!!) So, I just had to look at it for a long time. I have been wanting to redo my bedroom into my fave color orange and this painting would have been perfect. But, I have it all in my head and can remember it forever.

Came home and read some of the book I am reading recommended a few months ago by my friend Glenn. It is called Turning the Mind into an Ally. It is a book along the Buddhist line of thinking about clearing your mind and self realization. Its funny, these are things that I believe in and have read about before, but it seems that sometimes when not refreshed you can lose sight of everything. I think it is good to have reminders of what your purpose is here and how you fit into the world around you. You know, to focus on gratitude and trying to be a good person.

The most ironic thing was that I decided to check my horoscope for the day on a whim and it said that today "has strong spiritual overtones for you". I guess they hit the nail on the head! Probably kind of silly but still I thought it was cool.

Also, my dog got his head stuck in an empty dog food bag today. Hilarious.

Not sure why I decided to blog a friggin book today..maybe it was all the inspiration (the art, the book, yada yada yada).