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Oct. 17th, 2012 06:32 pmJust had to post that I am REALLY looking forward to Thanksgiving. Right now. I can almost taste the stuffing!
That is all :)
That is all :)
This just makes me happy
Jun. 26th, 2012 01:48 pm
How can anyone not love rainbows? And Oreos? And rainbow-colored Oreos celebrating Pride? (Can we buy them? Or was this 'shopped?)
All Hail the Blizzard!
Jun. 26th, 2012 10:37 amDair Queen is comin' to Manhattan!
*cue angel choir* My prayers have been answered. No more once a year trips to NJ for Blizzards!
*cue angel choir* My prayers have been answered. No more once a year trips to NJ for Blizzards!
GOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLL
Mar. 26th, 2012 04:49 pm*I'm drinking a "Wicked" hot chocolate from Jacques Torres right now OMG SO GOOD. It's got chipotle and some other kind of hot spice in it. I like my chocolate with a little bit of sass to it.
*The results of my MRI came in and I talked about it with my (hottt, BTW) orthopedist. Apparently it IS an ACL tear--not a bad one but still. This is a little worrying because apparently ACLs do not heal on their own--if it's bad you have them reconstructed through surgery. I don't know that you do for tears that aren't as bad but I'm seeing the (hottt) doctor next week so we shall see.
At any rate I have been playing more and more since our season ended, with the Meetup pick-up leagues. I've mostly been playing with one in particular, run by a guy named Dale, who does the 6-on-6, 3 30-minute game format. My condition is getting better and better--I'm not nearly so exhausted by the end of the games. Last Wednesday was kick-ass--for the first time since I've started playing soccer again, I SCORED A GOAL. Yes, you heard me right:
And not only did I score one, I assisted on an even better one, a much trickier goal. The ball was passed to me and I did this kind of backwards, sideways chipped pass into the center scrum and another forward was there who sent it in, easy as you like. This makes me VERY VERY HAPPY. I have been worried sick I wouldn't be able to play at a good level again, that I'd lost my skills, with all the injuries. But no! I am coming back! My wind and my speed are improving and my ball-handling skills are also getting better. The best thing was, after the goal and the assist, the guys started passsing it all the time to me, like "okay, she's cool." Saturday was also lots of fun--in another Meetup gathering, I played in my first FULL-field game since college. FULL field, not 3/4 of half-field like most of thes games--full field. And we didn't even have two full contingent of teams--we had only ten players each so no subs. AND we didn't even take a halftime--WE JUST PLAYED FOR 90 MINUTES STRAIGHT. How much fun was this?! You don't even know. I floated home, I was so blissful. It was even better because all the guys were showering praise on me (I was the only female), about how well I played wing and kept pulling the defense out of formation.
Wing. That's who I am. I started at halfback and that's fun, but what I am is a wing--I played left wing for the vast majority of my soccer career and that's where I feel the most comfortable. That tricky little left wing, floating out there on the outside, ready to swoop in and harsh your buzz and flip the ball into the goal.
The one drawback is that it's not easy playing on the artificial turf--every now and then my cleat will catch on the turf, causing me literal AGONY, and then I have to limp off the field for 5 minutes or so. One player on Saturday pointed out that I should get turf shows, that they'll be easier on my knee, so off I go to Modell's!
*The results of my MRI came in and I talked about it with my (hottt, BTW) orthopedist. Apparently it IS an ACL tear--not a bad one but still. This is a little worrying because apparently ACLs do not heal on their own--if it's bad you have them reconstructed through surgery. I don't know that you do for tears that aren't as bad but I'm seeing the (hottt) doctor next week so we shall see.
At any rate I have been playing more and more since our season ended, with the Meetup pick-up leagues. I've mostly been playing with one in particular, run by a guy named Dale, who does the 6-on-6, 3 30-minute game format. My condition is getting better and better--I'm not nearly so exhausted by the end of the games. Last Wednesday was kick-ass--for the first time since I've started playing soccer again, I SCORED A GOAL. Yes, you heard me right:
And not only did I score one, I assisted on an even better one, a much trickier goal. The ball was passed to me and I did this kind of backwards, sideways chipped pass into the center scrum and another forward was there who sent it in, easy as you like. This makes me VERY VERY HAPPY. I have been worried sick I wouldn't be able to play at a good level again, that I'd lost my skills, with all the injuries. But no! I am coming back! My wind and my speed are improving and my ball-handling skills are also getting better. The best thing was, after the goal and the assist, the guys started passsing it all the time to me, like "okay, she's cool." Saturday was also lots of fun--in another Meetup gathering, I played in my first FULL-field game since college. FULL field, not 3/4 of half-field like most of thes games--full field. And we didn't even have two full contingent of teams--we had only ten players each so no subs. AND we didn't even take a halftime--WE JUST PLAYED FOR 90 MINUTES STRAIGHT. How much fun was this?! You don't even know. I floated home, I was so blissful. It was even better because all the guys were showering praise on me (I was the only female), about how well I played wing and kept pulling the defense out of formation.
Wing. That's who I am. I started at halfback and that's fun, but what I am is a wing--I played left wing for the vast majority of my soccer career and that's where I feel the most comfortable. That tricky little left wing, floating out there on the outside, ready to swoop in and harsh your buzz and flip the ball into the goal.
The one drawback is that it's not easy playing on the artificial turf--every now and then my cleat will catch on the turf, causing me literal AGONY, and then I have to limp off the field for 5 minutes or so. One player on Saturday pointed out that I should get turf shows, that they'll be easier on my knee, so off I go to Modell's!
Miscellany
Feb. 9th, 2012 03:57 pmThis makes me ridiculously happy. I don't even LIKE McDonald's (unless I'm in Spain for nine months--I frequently indulged in a McChicken during my cruise ship contract) and I almost never go in there. But Shamrock Shakes! They make me happy because they taste good and they're about St. Patrick's Day!
Bart called me this morning--he has tickets for Merrily We Roll Along for this Saturday afternoon, but sadly I can't go with him. VERY sad, I love that show! What a fantastic, inventive score--I LOVE "Our Time" and the lead-in to the reprise of "The Hills of Tomorrow":
It is the obligation we have been given.
It is to NOT turn out the same.
It is to grow, to accomplish--
To change the world.
Bart told me that 1) his partner Walter knows Lonnie Price (the original Charlie Kringas) and 2) Lonnie Price was the obnoxious hotel heir in Dirty Dancing! "He said 'What does he have that I don't have?' And she said 'Two hotels.'"
I went to the doctor Tuesday and they referred me to a cardiologist. They didn't seem too worried, though--guess I'm not about to have a heart attack! The nurse was taking my information--I filled one of these out when I first started going there but I guess they were updating everyone's info. All the questions about cancer, thyroid, etc. I was like no, no, no. Heart disease? Oh yes. Ohhhhhhh yes--my father's side of the family is riddled with heart disease. My grandfather (heart attack, then later died of a coronary), my uncle (several heart attacks), my father (angioplasty), my brother had some kind of scare, a couple of my aunts. OH yes. So it's--weird to feel my heart beating, a little sobering.
I have put the Meetup soccer games on the back burner for now for a couple of reasons. No. 1), they're hard to get to, 2) the style of play is VERY intense. 3 30 minute games with NO substitutions is a lot for me--I'm just not in that kind of shape. But I want to be and I will--those games are something to work towards. So I researched and found another league, the New York Social Sports Club. The style of play is less intense (2-18 minute halves WITH substitutions) and they emphasize the social aspect quite a bit. The league sets up a relationship with a nearby bar and we're encouraged to hang out there after the game, we get discounts on pitchers, etc. In theory this is a cute idea. But this bar's set up kind of blows. Instead of hanging out on the bottom floor which has cute small bar tables and dim lighting, they open up the 2nd floor which has super-bright flourescent lights and tacky long plastic tables. And the discounted pitchers? For BUD. And BUD LITE. Guh-ross. Not worth the calories! Still though, the other people on the team are cool.
How adorbs are we! This was after our first game which we lost--but we won the next two. The kids on it are a fun group but they are KIDS--I am Grandma next to them! It is frustrating too that my skills haven't come back yet--I seem to have lost the ability to kick left-footed. I'm doing okay but have not scored a goal yet. We have practices on Saturdays but now that rehearsals for The Vagina Monologues have started, it's difficult for me to attend.
Yes, I'm directing The Vagina Monologues for TTC. We're nearly a week into rehearsals; it's going pretty well so far, although there has been DRAMMER. I can't talk about it, obviously. Let's just say doing a show with this many amateurs has its challenges!
Cookies and Stocks
Aug. 19th, 2011 06:54 pmYesterday at work we've been working our way through a bunch of boxes of Girl Scout cookies that a guy left behind when he left the firm. I was eyeing the currently open box on the counter, which were the Do-Si-Dos, and asked if there were any other open boxes of something better, like Tagalongs or Thin Mints. One of the analysts was trying to figure out what I wanted, and I said "I'm looking to upgrade our cookie portfolio. Currently our allocations are about evenly distributed among all the varieties, and most of their positions look strong. However the Do-Si-Dos have been underperforming this quarter and I'd like to reallocate and phase them out." The analyst replied "yes, there's a strong sell on the Do-Si-Dos."
At work they are renovating our floor, so we're relocating to another floor way down for a year (no more amazing view for those of you who've visited me!). But this is nice--we get a gorgeous view of the Cathedral *and* any parades that go up Fifth Avenue. And there are marble counters!
At work they are renovating our floor, so we're relocating to another floor way down for a year (no more amazing view for those of you who've visited me!). But this is nice--we get a gorgeous view of the Cathedral *and* any parades that go up Fifth Avenue. And there are marble counters!
Opening Niiiiight...
Jun. 3rd, 2011 11:49 amWe had our first performance last night which was effectively our tech as well, and was certainly the first performance of any kind of front of an audience. It definitely threw me a bit--I had to wait for a bit of laughter on some of my lines, I had to think more and time things differently which normally I love (I love the technique of comedy) but I was so nervous that I dropped a small chunk toward the end of the opening monologue. Not a huge amount and I covered it well enough but I know the slides beyond me are dependent on what I'm saying. Argh! So frustrating, I know that monologue, I can rattle it off in my sleep. I apologized to Adam backstage (he's running the slides) but he said no sweat, he was able to adjust pretty quickly.
Had another almost-flub during the Oscar nomination speech which, although it's so short, is probably my most difficult monologue, since there's no consequence or narrative to it, it's just names and titles. There was a slightly-long pause between the second and third Best Actor nominees--I almost jumped to the 4th one but then it came to me. SWEATING. I think this flub was triggered because when I walked out for the Oscar nom speech, the light was different and I kept thinking "Am I in the light all the way?" and then "I don't think I am, should I cross and block the slide show?"
I rather love my costumes--well, most of them are my clothes anyway but I quite like one of the suits I wear (not mine), a charcoal-grey wollen double-breasted suit. It's sexy-frumpy.
This is a nice group of people--a small cast, just us four, but we get along well. It's a little odd because I share so little stage time with them.
Jesse Rosbrow was waiting after the show and he said it took him a minute to realize--hey, in real lfe someone speaking this long (my opening, two-page monologue) on camera would have a teleprompter (instead of memorizing the copy). I said YEAH.
Afterward I needed strong drink--we tried to hit up Acme but they were closed (but not closed--I checked their hours, they close at 11:30 on Thursdays) so we went to the place next door, called the Smile. Very cute and I loved the ale I got but their menu is a little frou-frou for post-show nomming. At any rate their kitchen had already closed so I couldn't order food--STARVING. It's a good thing I maued a Magnum Doble* on the way to the theater, because that was pretty much my dinner.
*I discovered Magnum bars when I did my cruise ship contract in Spain, they are CRACKTASTIC. Ice cream is very big in Spain, you see heladerias everywhere on the streets. My favorite Magnum bar is the Doble--sooooo much caramel. It's vanilla ice cream on a stick, covered with chocolate, then lots of caramel, then more chocolate. I always tried to basically just eat the caramel with a little bit of ice cream to accompany it. This is easily accomplished in Southern Spain because it gets very melty and you can just pull off the layers with your teeth. Mmm, caramel...this contract was also where I discovered the incredible deliciousness that is banoffee pie. Also j'adore the cheesy ads with Rachel Bilson.
Had another almost-flub during the Oscar nomination speech which, although it's so short, is probably my most difficult monologue, since there's no consequence or narrative to it, it's just names and titles. There was a slightly-long pause between the second and third Best Actor nominees--I almost jumped to the 4th one but then it came to me. SWEATING. I think this flub was triggered because when I walked out for the Oscar nom speech, the light was different and I kept thinking "Am I in the light all the way?" and then "I don't think I am, should I cross and block the slide show?"
I rather love my costumes--well, most of them are my clothes anyway but I quite like one of the suits I wear (not mine), a charcoal-grey wollen double-breasted suit. It's sexy-frumpy.
This is a nice group of people--a small cast, just us four, but we get along well. It's a little odd because I share so little stage time with them.
Jesse Rosbrow was waiting after the show and he said it took him a minute to realize--hey, in real lfe someone speaking this long (my opening, two-page monologue) on camera would have a teleprompter (instead of memorizing the copy). I said YEAH.
Afterward I needed strong drink--we tried to hit up Acme but they were closed (but not closed--I checked their hours, they close at 11:30 on Thursdays) so we went to the place next door, called the Smile. Very cute and I loved the ale I got but their menu is a little frou-frou for post-show nomming. At any rate their kitchen had already closed so I couldn't order food--STARVING. It's a good thing I maued a Magnum Doble* on the way to the theater, because that was pretty much my dinner.
*I discovered Magnum bars when I did my cruise ship contract in Spain, they are CRACKTASTIC. Ice cream is very big in Spain, you see heladerias everywhere on the streets. My favorite Magnum bar is the Doble--sooooo much caramel. It's vanilla ice cream on a stick, covered with chocolate, then lots of caramel, then more chocolate. I always tried to basically just eat the caramel with a little bit of ice cream to accompany it. This is easily accomplished in Southern Spain because it gets very melty and you can just pull off the layers with your teeth. Mmm, caramel...this contract was also where I discovered the incredible deliciousness that is banoffee pie. Also j'adore the cheesy ads with Rachel Bilson.
The weekend
May. 19th, 2011 11:43 amLast weekend I had my regular 1 pm Saturday game of softball, and then another at 6, way uptown (by 102nd Street). These are two different teams, both part of the alumni league, but there is some overlap. I started playing for the second team, affiliated with the Michigan School of Business, at the behest of someone on the first team, Cecil, who also went to the University of Chicago. (I personally went to neither Chicago NOR Michigan!) I started playing with the Chicago team last year, and they know me pretty well by now, but there is someone new on the team (at least he wasn't there last year) who is getting on my nerves. Despite having seen me in action, he treats me as though I don't know how to play, or am completely unathletic--in other words, he's either a male chauvinist or doing a good imitation of one. I will say, he is part of a cultural/ethnic group that has a reputation for being extremely chauvinistic. Two weeks ago he was playing at shortstop--every time there was a runner on first, he would explain to me how, if the ball was hit to him, he was going to throw it to me. After about the third iteration of this, I snapped at him "yes--I know how to play softball. I get it." Last week he did even worse--he was playing shortfield and came running in to field a looper. He got it and was about 20 feet away from me--instead of just throwing it, he gave me this exaggerated "baby" throw, very arched, as though I couldn't handle a real throw. Not only was this insulting, he arched it so high, it nearly went over my head! I leaped up to catch it, was barely able to do so but did, and made the catch (and the out). This being the third out, as we jogged off the field I said to him, my voice kind of shaking--I was caught between anger that he'd done such a stupid, insulting thing, and gladness that I made the out anyway--"Dude, just THROW it. I can handle it. You arched that way too high, I'm not that tall."
So this has definitely been getting on my nerves. After this game, I took a walk through the park on my way to the new Sprinkles which has just opened on the Upper East Side by Bloomingdale's. I had an adorable encounter on my way there--at the southeast corner of the park, I stopped at a hotdog stand that featured all organic meats. I ordered a turkey hotdog and the guy, who from his accent was from another country, asked me what condiments I'd like. He listed all of them and my eyes lit up when he said raw onions--I said raw onions, brown mustard and mayonnaise. He said "are you from New York City?" I said originally I'm from Virginia. He said "it is unusual for Americans to have mayonnaise on their hotdogs, very unusual." I said well, Southerners love their mayonnaise--we put it on everything. Fries, grilled cheese sandwiches, everything. (Side note--my mother puts it on SALAD. And cottage cheese. Mmm. I grew up eating cottage cheese for lunch with a dab of mayo on top.) I asked him where he was from, he said Egypt, and I said I was dying to visit there sometime. (Gotta see the only still-extant Seven Wonders of the World.) Then I mentioned that I'd spent time in Spain, including the place where mayonnaise was invented--the town of Mahon, on the island of Menorca, in the Balearic Islands. He was fascinated, and asked me exactly where so I sketched out a little map of the Iberian archipelago with my hands for him. He said he'd have to remember, so he could tell his customers. It was just such a charming New York City moment.
After THAT I went to Sprinkles (mmm, dark chocolate cupcakes...), then to church. I am pretty much incapable of getting up for the morning service, not to mention I'd have to dress up a lot more. The weekend early evening services are much better for me, and lower key--no one seems to mind that I'm in softball gear! They have a 5:20 mass on Saturdays, and an Evensong service at 5:00 on Sundays--I prefer the Saturday because Evensong is a longer, bigger deal. Also, I sang in my church choir for like thirty years, starting from the age of seven, and to me the term "Evensong" means "another precious weekend day spent all day at church!" (We had Evensong one Sunday every month, and on those days we had an 11 am service and then one later on at 5, so I spent all day in a dress. I hated this.) This week the service was in the St. Joseph Chapel, which I love--it's one of St. Mary's little side chapels, and it's so pretty and small and personal. St. Mary's really has THE most gorgeous physical facility of any non-cathedral I've ever seen.
After church I went back uptown for Game 2. When I got there, as it turned out there weren't too many Michigan players there--we were playing against Fordham, who had plenty of players, so some of them played for us. My Chicago team also plays against Fordham and they remembered me (I typically do pushups when my team is at bat--mainly to keep my blood moving and my energy up, but also to psych 'em out ;) So we get out there, and the shortstop on my team is very good--and I can just *tell* from the way he's playing, he just assumes I'm not that good. (Example--instead of throwing the ball to me, he's running the ball over to make the play himself.) I don't take this too personally--he doesn't know me, hasn't seen me play--but it gets to me nonetheless. I'm brooding over this a bit when an awesome, once-in-a-season play happens.
We're in the field, and there are runners at first and third. The ball is hit to the third baseman, who checks the runner at third, then throws it to me at second. I make the out, see the runner at third going for home, and NAIL the ball to the catcher. Like, that ball was on a CLOTHESLINE. The catcher makes the tag. Not only is this a double-play but we saved a run! Our team goes bananas--EVERYONE, my team and theirs, was congratulating me, "oh my God, did you see that?!" Hullaballoo ad infinitum. It. Was. Awesome. The reaction went on quite a while, and of course I knew part of the reason people were so impressed was because I'm a girl. No guy who made a double-play would've gotten such a reaction--certainly the catcher and the third-baseman, who were part of it, weren't patted on the back liike this. You know what? That's the flip side of the crap I get most of the time, one small reward. Right now, I'll take the adulation, thanks ;)
*Basking*
The only thing that could've improved it if it had happened in front of the obnoxious guy on the Chicago team.
So this has definitely been getting on my nerves. After this game, I took a walk through the park on my way to the new Sprinkles which has just opened on the Upper East Side by Bloomingdale's. I had an adorable encounter on my way there--at the southeast corner of the park, I stopped at a hotdog stand that featured all organic meats. I ordered a turkey hotdog and the guy, who from his accent was from another country, asked me what condiments I'd like. He listed all of them and my eyes lit up when he said raw onions--I said raw onions, brown mustard and mayonnaise. He said "are you from New York City?" I said originally I'm from Virginia. He said "it is unusual for Americans to have mayonnaise on their hotdogs, very unusual." I said well, Southerners love their mayonnaise--we put it on everything. Fries, grilled cheese sandwiches, everything. (Side note--my mother puts it on SALAD. And cottage cheese. Mmm. I grew up eating cottage cheese for lunch with a dab of mayo on top.) I asked him where he was from, he said Egypt, and I said I was dying to visit there sometime. (Gotta see the only still-extant Seven Wonders of the World.) Then I mentioned that I'd spent time in Spain, including the place where mayonnaise was invented--the town of Mahon, on the island of Menorca, in the Balearic Islands. He was fascinated, and asked me exactly where so I sketched out a little map of the Iberian archipelago with my hands for him. He said he'd have to remember, so he could tell his customers. It was just such a charming New York City moment.
After THAT I went to Sprinkles (mmm, dark chocolate cupcakes...), then to church. I am pretty much incapable of getting up for the morning service, not to mention I'd have to dress up a lot more. The weekend early evening services are much better for me, and lower key--no one seems to mind that I'm in softball gear! They have a 5:20 mass on Saturdays, and an Evensong service at 5:00 on Sundays--I prefer the Saturday because Evensong is a longer, bigger deal. Also, I sang in my church choir for like thirty years, starting from the age of seven, and to me the term "Evensong" means "another precious weekend day spent all day at church!" (We had Evensong one Sunday every month, and on those days we had an 11 am service and then one later on at 5, so I spent all day in a dress. I hated this.) This week the service was in the St. Joseph Chapel, which I love--it's one of St. Mary's little side chapels, and it's so pretty and small and personal. St. Mary's really has THE most gorgeous physical facility of any non-cathedral I've ever seen.
After church I went back uptown for Game 2. When I got there, as it turned out there weren't too many Michigan players there--we were playing against Fordham, who had plenty of players, so some of them played for us. My Chicago team also plays against Fordham and they remembered me (I typically do pushups when my team is at bat--mainly to keep my blood moving and my energy up, but also to psych 'em out ;) So we get out there, and the shortstop on my team is very good--and I can just *tell* from the way he's playing, he just assumes I'm not that good. (Example--instead of throwing the ball to me, he's running the ball over to make the play himself.) I don't take this too personally--he doesn't know me, hasn't seen me play--but it gets to me nonetheless. I'm brooding over this a bit when an awesome, once-in-a-season play happens.
We're in the field, and there are runners at first and third. The ball is hit to the third baseman, who checks the runner at third, then throws it to me at second. I make the out, see the runner at third going for home, and NAIL the ball to the catcher. Like, that ball was on a CLOTHESLINE. The catcher makes the tag. Not only is this a double-play but we saved a run! Our team goes bananas--EVERYONE, my team and theirs, was congratulating me, "oh my God, did you see that?!" Hullaballoo ad infinitum. It. Was. Awesome. The reaction went on quite a while, and of course I knew part of the reason people were so impressed was because I'm a girl. No guy who made a double-play would've gotten such a reaction--certainly the catcher and the third-baseman, who were part of it, weren't patted on the back liike this. You know what? That's the flip side of the crap I get most of the time, one small reward. Right now, I'll take the adulation, thanks ;)
*Basking*
The only thing that could've improved it if it had happened in front of the obnoxious guy on the Chicago team.
