Ergggg, apologies that I have not been a more consistient poster as of late...but I have been officially "unplugged" for the last few days. I've been back in the Midwest for a few days to visit family and friends and eat carbohydrate-heavy foods while sipping beer- in short, all of the things that I equate with the Midwest in summer time.
A few impressions on the Mighty Midwest from the perspective of a now-West-Coast-dweller...
1) Everything is green. Green, green, green. It's like a leafy chlorypyhll-fillled explosion everywhere I look.
2) Everything is close together. Things I thought of as "far away" no longer really are.
3) Everything is inexpensive. So ridiculously inexpensive as to make me wonder what on earth I am doing paying so much to afford the basics of life.
4) Food here is hearty, delicious, and best accompanied by beer.
5) Just about everyone in the heartland has a Midwestern accent whether or not they think they do.
6) People here are just wider than they are on the coasts. Hearty and corn-fed and the like.
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Annoyed with NY (excerpt from NYH blog), by Lauren
2 weeks from today, I go home to Minnesota for the first time since April, which I guess isn't that long, but it has felt long. You can probably tell that I have been much happier in NY since about March or April, and it has begun to feel like home. However, without getting too specific, the events of the last 24 hours have brought back some of my resentful feelings towards NY and the people of NY. I even had someone say that when they think of "nice", they think of "fake". Wow. Thats pretty damn cynical. And sad. People in NY can be nice. And many are. But many also have this shell around them for some sort of protection and it makes them tough and seemingly unfriendly.
Here is a list of some of the things I could do without about the people in NY:
1) I am really sick of girls on the Bronx bus getting upset when I'm standing in front of their seat and my bag brushes them and they proceed to give me attitude about moving it. Get over it. Don't waste your energy getting upset about something I obviously didn't try to do.
2) Along the lines of getting upset for stupid reasons, a woman who works are a receptionist in the Substance Abuse clinic at the VA actually told me I should wear sneakers because my boots "are really loud and you walk really hard". I literally saw that woman twice a week for about 30 minutes at a time. If it really annoys you so much that you need to make a comment about it to me, maybe the issue is w/ you and not with my boots.
3) Im tired of the fact that the almost the only people in NY (I say almost because there have been a few outstanding examples for the contrary) who have customer service skills are people who are either a) getting paid on comission; b) working at a really fancy establishment; or c) a combination of the 2. The people who actually don't fit this category are the fine folks who work at Starbucks. I'm convinced its because they get health benefits for working only part time. But I have rarely met an unfriendly Starbucks employee. Props to them.
4) I'm tired of having to prove my competence to arrogant hotshot doctors (MDs and otherwise.) I mean this within and outside of the work place. For those within, you hired me to help you, now appreciate it! (I am speaking for many a research coordinator/assistant out there when I say this). I don't mean this towards my new boss however as he has been quite gracious towards me for my help. (Also, this may not just be an NY thing...however, as I am ranting, I figured I'd add that in too).
5) Finally, I'm sick of looking at girls, especially in the Bronx who wear clothes that are at least 2 sizes too small for them. Ever heard of a muffin top? Its the chub that hangs over your pants (e.g. love handles and that fun pouch in the front.) Well I've seen some jumbo muffin tops out here and it ain't pretty. And I am not saying this to be derogatory to people wh
o are overweight because God knows I'm not a thin person. However, I wear clothes primarily that fit me and that I can breathe in and that don't give people a sore eye when they look at me. Clothes that fit= a better situation for everyone involved.
o are overweight because God knows I'm not a thin person. However, I wear clothes primarily that fit me and that I can breathe in and that don't give people a sore eye when they look at me. Clothes that fit= a better situation for everyone involved. Ok...I'm done being bitchy. I'm just a bit of a grump today. Maybe its the heat. As the weather man said its "sticky and soupy" in NY today. How attractive sounding is that? (P.S. That was a shout out to Amelia Bowman).
On a more positive note, I look forward to getting back in touch with my friendly Minnesota roots and seeing some of my wonderful Minnesota friends and my family. I will be in town from July 26th through August 6th so if you're around, let me know if you wanna meet up! I promise to be more pleasant. Thanks again everyone for being so wonderful. I miss you all!
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Do you get it now?
Maybe now people will get it: Taking steroids is not worth your paycheck, fame and status, especially if your story ends like this. And yes, I'm talking to you Barry Bonds!
In other news, I was happy to see that Perez's site was looking as good as new last night! (Or...as good as it used to I should say.) We can turn our frowns upside down and turn our sobs into chortles over embarrassing celebrity moments. Oh, how I love my celebrity gossip.
For a New York update, see this excerpt from my personal blog, New York Happenings entitled "That's Hot...":
And no, I don't mean Paris Hilton getting out of jail. (Though I must say she looked the most attractive I've ever seen her with her natural, make-up free skin.) I mean it being 83 degrees at 9:30 in the morning (though weather.com says it feels like 88 due to humidity). Ick. It is hot. And hot in New York is miserable. It is not refreshing, cool breezed filled hot. It is not warm, soak up the sun hot. It is humid, sticky, thick stinkin hot. Keep in mind for those of us who don't make more than, say $50,000, and probably some of those who do, we can't afford to take cabs everywhere. And that means public transportation. And I promise you, if its 83 degrees outside, its at least 10-15 degrees hotter in the underground subway stations. Some may imagine its cooler down there, out of the sun. But just imagine millions of bodies occupying this space daily (which is open to the street above through vents and stairways, etc). It is like a brick oven. I feel like a frickin deep dish pizza sitting down there in the AM.
And it doesn't help that:
#1 I am a natural sweater.
#2 I am on medication that makes me sweat more
#3 I have to walk at least 5 minutes to get to any subway station
#4 I am a natural sweater who is on medication that makes me sweat and I have to walk at least 5 minutes to get to any subway station.
It is seriously embarrassing. My damn eccrine and apocrine sweat glands (that's a little anatomy and physiology talk for you) are on overload and people often stare at me. Some even ask me if I'm ok. And I look up at them with water pouring out of ever pore in my face and say, "Yes, I'm fine thanks." Damn Minnesota nice. Oh well....my co-workers and I are planning a rain dance later this afternoon and we'll pretty sure it'll work. So we're hoping for some great thunder storms tonight and some breezy 70 degree weather tomorrow. Hope all of you are staying cool. Stay away from New York for a few days. We don't need any more bodies heating this place up!!
Happy Wednesday. 2 days to go!
~LB
p.s. Sidekick came from UPS today. Can't wait to get home and play!
In other news, I was happy to see that Perez's site was looking as good as new last night! (Or...as good as it used to I should say.) We can turn our frowns upside down and turn our sobs into chortles over embarrassing celebrity moments. Oh, how I love my celebrity gossip.
For a New York update, see this excerpt from my personal blog, New York Happenings entitled "That's Hot...":
And no, I don't mean Paris Hilton getting out of jail. (Though I must say she looked the most attractive I've ever seen her with her natural, make-up free skin.) I mean it being 83 degrees at 9:30 in the morning (though weather.com says it feels like 88 due to humidity). Ick. It is hot. And hot in New York is miserable. It is not refreshing, cool breezed filled hot. It is not warm, soak up the sun hot. It is humid, sticky, thick stinkin hot. Keep in mind for those of us who don't make more than, say $50,000, and probably some of those who do, we can't afford to take cabs everywhere. And that means public transportation. And I promise you, if its 83 degrees outside, its at least 10-15 degrees hotter in the underground subway stations. Some may imagine its cooler down there, out of the sun. But just imagine millions of bodies occupying this space daily (which is open to the street above through vents and stairways, etc). It is like a brick oven. I feel like a frickin deep dish pizza sitting down there in the AM.
And it doesn't help that:
#1 I am a natural sweater.
#2 I am on medication that makes me sweat more
#3 I have to walk at least 5 minutes to get to any subway station
#4 I am a natural sweater who is on medication that makes me sweat and I have to walk at least 5 minutes to get to any subway station.
It is seriously embarrassing. My damn eccrine and apocrine sweat glands (that's a little anatomy and physiology talk for you) are on overload and people often stare at me. Some even ask me if I'm ok. And I look up at them with water pouring out of ever pore in my face and say, "Yes, I'm fine thanks." Damn Minnesota nice. Oh well....my co-workers and I are planning a rain dance later this afternoon and we'll pretty sure it'll work. So we're hoping for some great thunder storms tonight and some breezy 70 degree weather tomorrow. Hope all of you are staying cool. Stay away from New York for a few days. We don't need any more bodies heating this place up!!
Happy Wednesday. 2 days to go!
~LB
p.s. Sidekick came from UPS today. Can't wait to get home and play!
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
SAVE PEREZ part II
Ohhhh, poor Perez Hilton! Just the other day I drove past "the office," aka The Cofee Bean and Tea Leaf in West Hollywood (pic of an interior of a Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf via flickr) and thought to myself, "Oh oh, Poor Perez!" Sadly his new website is not so much the quality of the one offered by his last web host provider...I've found myself turning to jezebel.com (possibly my new favorite site) and www.tmz.com for my daily dose of gossip...
Friday, June 22, 2007
Paris-Hilton-Wanna-Be
AHhhhhhhh hahahahha! I just found this great Newsweek quiz on Paris Hilton. Click on this link to check it out. Oh Newsweek. You're so clever.
Paris Hilton IQ Quiz
In othernews, I want to be just like Paris Hilton (not really) because our IQs are about the same. So I bought a Sidekick. No no. I will not be using a bedazzler on it. In fact, I'll be happy if its just plain white. And I didn't get the hard core Sidekick III (which comes complete w/ built in phone and MP3 player). I got the Sidekick ID which still gives you internet access, email access, IMing access and unlimited text messages w/ a QWERTY keyboard. Oh, the beauty of it. I can't wait. And for those of you who know I just got a new phone in January, I'm sorry I'm being so excessive. I've just wanted one of these for a while and I finally found the money to switch phone companies (BOO SPRINT!) and buy the frickin phone of my dreams (hopefully). So, look forward to getting a text message from yours truly sometime in the near future.
P.S. My friend AL and I decided that a Sidekick wasn't too juvinile for me because I'm only 23. (Still a baby as she says...she's only 26 but still.) However, when I become a real adult, I have to get the adult version of the side kick: A blackberry. We'll see.
Paris Hilton IQ Quiz
In othernews, I want to be just like Paris Hilton (not really) because our IQs are about the same. So I bought a Sidekick. No no. I will not be using a bedazzler on it. In fact, I'll be happy if its just plain white. And I didn't get the hard core Sidekick III (which comes complete w/ built in phone and MP3 player). I got the Sidekick ID which still gives you internet access, email access, IMing access and unlimited text messages w/ a QWERTY keyboard. Oh, the beauty of it. I can't wait. And for those of you who know I just got a new phone in January, I'm sorry I'm being so excessive. I've just wanted one of these for a while and I finally found the money to switch phone companies (BOO SPRINT!) and buy the frickin phone of my dreams (hopefully). So, look forward to getting a text message from yours truly sometime in the near future.
P.S. My friend AL and I decided that a Sidekick wasn't too juvinile for me because I'm only 23. (Still a baby as she says...she's only 26 but still.) However, when I become a real adult, I have to get the adult version of the side kick: A blackberry. We'll see.
SAVE PEREZ!!!
Before I get to the meat of this email, let me start off by saying: Oh Mer! How I've missed you! It is wonderful to have you back and I am quite relieved that you made it through your health situation. As my dear friend from work, AB, once said: "When it rains, it pours." That is what happened to our lovely Meredith. And I'm happy she's back!
Now to the juicy part. Here on the east coast, I am quite disturbed about the situation re: PerezHilton.com. In fact, I think its a travesty. For those of you who aren't up to speed on this tragic event, Perez was dropped from his web host because he's being sued for using some copyrighted images on his website. I believe he has about 4 suits against him right now. Check out this article my loving boyfriend send me yesterday. It made me sad. So long story short, he can only post a limited number of articles a day, and his archives are gone, not to mention the quality of his site has vastly decreased. Oh Perez. How sad I am for you!
I know, I know. Perez can be nasty. Perez says some mean things about good people (whether they're celebrities or not) that I dont necessarily agree with. But he also calls some people out when they need a reality check. He also sometimes gives celebrities what they deserve by displaying what they really are. He also is one of the most reliable sources for celebrity gossip and definitly the most entertaining. TMZ.com is ok, but just does not compare to the personal feel you get from Perez's comments. (I find TMZ even meaner than Perez sometimes). And I don't usually agree when he calls celebrities ugly. In fact, one of the biggest reasons they are celebrities is because they're physically beautiful (I don't speak for all of them here, but many). Take Cameron Diaz for example. For some strange reason, perhaps because he is gay, Perez finds Cameron unattractive. I remember the first time I ever saw Cameron in a movie (The Mask) I thought she was one of the most beautiful women I had ever seen! And I think she still looks amazing. But I'm getting off track. Despite the fact that I don't always agree with the mean things he says (though I do sometimes), Perez needs to come back! He entertains millions of people everyday! And really, when you get into show business in this day in age, you're kind of asking for the sort of attention he gives. Maybe I just rationalizing my extreme love for the site. But please please please.... SAVE PEREZ!!!!
Now to the juicy part. Here on the east coast, I am quite disturbed about the situation re: PerezHilton.com. In fact, I think its a travesty. For those of you who aren't up to speed on this tragic event, Perez was dropped from his web host because he's being sued for using some copyrighted images on his website. I believe he has about 4 suits against him right now. Check out this article my loving boyfriend send me yesterday. It made me sad. So long story short, he can only post a limited number of articles a day, and his archives are gone, not to mention the quality of his site has vastly decreased. Oh Perez. How sad I am for you!
I know, I know. Perez can be nasty. Perez says some mean things about good people (whether they're celebrities or not) that I dont necessarily agree with. But he also calls some people out when they need a reality check. He also sometimes gives celebrities what they deserve by displaying what they really are. He also is one of the most reliable sources for celebrity gossip and definitly the most entertaining. TMZ.com is ok, but just does not compare to the personal feel you get from Perez's comments. (I find TMZ even meaner than Perez sometimes). And I don't usually agree when he calls celebrities ugly. In fact, one of the biggest reasons they are celebrities is because they're physically beautiful (I don't speak for all of them here, but many). Take Cameron Diaz for example. For some strange reason, perhaps because he is gay, Perez finds Cameron unattractive. I remember the first time I ever saw Cameron in a movie (The Mask) I thought she was one of the most beautiful women I had ever seen! And I think she still looks amazing. But I'm getting off track. Despite the fact that I don't always agree with the mean things he says (though I do sometimes), Perez needs to come back! He entertains millions of people everyday! And really, when you get into show business in this day in age, you're kind of asking for the sort of attention he gives. Maybe I just rationalizing my extreme love for the site. But please please please.... SAVE PEREZ!!!!
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Hello again from sunny California! I know that our (at this point, probably two or three, and those are probably folks we are related to) faithful readers have missed the Left Coast perspective on the insanity of modern life, so here I am back to supply it. I sort of dropped off the map for a couple of weeks due to a nasty and pernicious combination of unexpected health problems, the final rehearsals for the opera I'm in right now, and my desire to simply curl up on my boyfriend's couch and watch "The West Wing" when confronted with the aforementioned situations.
By the by, happy Summer Solstice, everyone...I would post a link to the Wikipedia article on the summer solstice, except that Blogger doesn't reeaaaally support Safari and, well, I'm one of those diehard Mac users...who also happens to be too lazy to download Firefox. Hopefully tomorrow I'll *actually* get around to doing that, and then this post will be all pretty and linked and the writing will be in blue and all of that good stuff...
To comment on Lauren's "Law and Order"esque experience...first of all, YUCK! Second of all, there's no shortage of casual encounters with law enforcement events in the greater Los Angeles area. As one might guess, here in car culture-obsessed LAlaland, many of these events are related to automobiles. Although I've yet to witness one myself, high-speed car chases are fairly common here and even something of a spectator sport. There was a wonderful article in The New Yorker about two years ago about the high-speed car chase phenomenon. If I can find even part of the article online, I'll link to it. If not, well, you know, um, it's good. I promise. Anyhoosies. An integral part of these high-speed chases is a police helicopter. This past weekend my bf and our good friend MB had a chance to examine one of these police helicopters up close at this street fair dealie thing. The helicopter has a $250,000 infared camera and everything. Glad to see my tax dollars at work :P Ahh yes, so high speed chases. They happen. Seeing cars pulled over on the side of the road and being searched is something I see with great frequency, but I suppose that's sort of everywhere...sadly enough, I see a lot of car accidents involving police, fire, paramedics etc. What else? Hmmm. Well, not that long ago the bf saw a car explode on a freeway offramp. Scary scary! Also, my friend NA's girlfriend works part-time for the FBI. Do I get points for that?
One thing I certainly get points for- and am very pleased to share with y'all- is that Meredith's got a new day job! A very adult and exciting day job, at that. I received a verbal offer on Tuesday and am now waiting to get my official offer in the mail. I don't want to share all of the details before I actually sign the papers, but I will share that it is with a very well respected healthcare non-profit and I'll be working in the development division (for those of you who aren't familiar with this term, it's a really nice way to say "fundraising"). As I understand it, some of the primary responsiblities of the job will include writing grants and schmoozing with donors. Yay! I'm really excited to have a 9-5 job that flexes my mental muscle and also makes me feel all warm and fuzzy at the end of the day. Yay for non profits. And yay for improving my grant-writing skills...it's one of those really great skills to have for anyone in an artistic field, and I'm looking forward to have a chance to hone this useful skill. So huzzah, new job!
Mmmk, there's quite a bit more I'd like to babble on about..but tomorrow is my final dress rehearsal for the opera I'm in, and the show is this weekend...my sister Annie will be visiting and much fun and frolicking will be had. So 10-4, I'm out for tonight...signing off for tonight from the West Coast.
By the by, happy Summer Solstice, everyone...I would post a link to the Wikipedia article on the summer solstice, except that Blogger doesn't reeaaaally support Safari and, well, I'm one of those diehard Mac users...who also happens to be too lazy to download Firefox. Hopefully tomorrow I'll *actually* get around to doing that, and then this post will be all pretty and linked and the writing will be in blue and all of that good stuff...
To comment on Lauren's "Law and Order"esque experience...first of all, YUCK! Second of all, there's no shortage of casual encounters with law enforcement events in the greater Los Angeles area. As one might guess, here in car culture-obsessed LAlaland, many of these events are related to automobiles. Although I've yet to witness one myself, high-speed car chases are fairly common here and even something of a spectator sport. There was a wonderful article in The New Yorker about two years ago about the high-speed car chase phenomenon. If I can find even part of the article online, I'll link to it. If not, well, you know, um, it's good. I promise. Anyhoosies. An integral part of these high-speed chases is a police helicopter. This past weekend my bf and our good friend MB had a chance to examine one of these police helicopters up close at this street fair dealie thing. The helicopter has a $250,000 infared camera and everything. Glad to see my tax dollars at work :P Ahh yes, so high speed chases. They happen. Seeing cars pulled over on the side of the road and being searched is something I see with great frequency, but I suppose that's sort of everywhere...sadly enough, I see a lot of car accidents involving police, fire, paramedics etc. What else? Hmmm. Well, not that long ago the bf saw a car explode on a freeway offramp. Scary scary! Also, my friend NA's girlfriend works part-time for the FBI. Do I get points for that?
One thing I certainly get points for- and am very pleased to share with y'all- is that Meredith's got a new day job! A very adult and exciting day job, at that. I received a verbal offer on Tuesday and am now waiting to get my official offer in the mail. I don't want to share all of the details before I actually sign the papers, but I will share that it is with a very well respected healthcare non-profit and I'll be working in the development division (for those of you who aren't familiar with this term, it's a really nice way to say "fundraising"). As I understand it, some of the primary responsiblities of the job will include writing grants and schmoozing with donors. Yay! I'm really excited to have a 9-5 job that flexes my mental muscle and also makes me feel all warm and fuzzy at the end of the day. Yay for non profits. And yay for improving my grant-writing skills...it's one of those really great skills to have for anyone in an artistic field, and I'm looking forward to have a chance to hone this useful skill. So huzzah, new job!
Mmmk, there's quite a bit more I'd like to babble on about..but tomorrow is my final dress rehearsal for the opera I'm in, and the show is this weekend...my sister Annie will be visiting and much fun and frolicking will be had. So 10-4, I'm out for tonight...signing off for tonight from the West Coast.
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Ankle Update/ Law and Order SVU-esque NY Story
As I'm sure you've all been losing sleep over the status of my ankle injury, I wanted to relieve some of your worry with an update. I saw an orthopedist yesterday who was quite nice and attentive, and it turns out there is no gap between my tibia and fibula (which is a good thing!) That means no ligament rupture. Just a regular ankle sprain that was probably exacerbated by walking around so much. Do you think my insurance will cover cab rides? Cause I sure as hell can't and that's really the only way I could minimize my walking right now. But it is good news. It means no surgery and no more boot!! Actually he was ok with the boot but gave me an air cast instead (see pic to the left) so that I wouldn't have to lug that heavy boot around everywhere. Honestly, between that and my heavy rolley backpack w/ my anatomy and physiology books in it (3 of them!) I felt like the ghost of Christmas past...lugging my chains behind me. Ok, I can't take credit for that joke. A doctor friend of mine thought of it. But I thought it was quite clever. So there you have it. I will have 4 weeks of physical therapy starting next Friday (God only knows when I"ll fit in 2 appointments a week), and then I'll be as good as new...hopefully. So thanks for your worries, well-wishes and prayers. I am still in one piece!!
I've also got a great New York story for you. SOOO Law and Order SVU. So the wife of an acquaintance of Scott was on one of those subway cars that was packed like a can of sardines. Let me just say from experience that those cars SUCK. You're around a bunch of dirty, smelly strangers and you have to be like skin to skin with them. So this woman manages to step into the car as one of the last passengers who fits and is close to the door. She is annoyed to see a "dirty looking" man heading towards her from the platform. He makes it onto the train too, the door closes and while she's standing there, she feels this man grinding up against her. SICK AND WRONG! I told Scott that at this point my elbow would have been in his gut and he would be doubled over in pain. However, this lady apparently doesn't have my violent nature, so she just queasily put up with it until she got off the train. When she got off, she sort of glanced back to look at the guy and asked herself if she should do anything about it. She had just chalked it up to one of those crazy New York experiences when she gets tapped on the shoulder from behind. She turns around and this very large black man wearing chains is standing behind her. She's thinking Jesus Christ, what now? The man asked "Was there someone on that train who was bothering you?" And she said there was, surprised that anyone had taken notice. Turns out this guy is an undercover cop and he and his partner have been tracking this sick dirty grinding-strangers guy all day! They first found him suspicious when he would wait at the subway stops and let a bunch of trains go by until a really crowded one pulled up. Then he would get on. Ewwwwww is all I have to say about that. So this wife of my boyfriend's acquaintance (who will remain anonymous) will be testifying at a trial for this guy and they're pushing the trial up because she's moving out of the state in a few weeks. Crazy shit I tell you. Also, we learned that there is approximately 1 undercover cop on every subway train, most likely (in Scott and my opinion) looking for terrorists. But if they catch guys like this, that's an added bonus. Hotcha! Who would have known??
I thought that story was so great, I had to share it with all of you. Happy Thursday!!
~LB
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Reading Material: Sexsomnia and Eating Disorders
Just read this very interesting and equally amusing article on Newsweek.com. Check it out.
Another article on eating disorders also caught my eye as something that is worth reading. Its so true that the skeletal boddies of people with anorexia and bulemia catch our eye and fascinate us. I'm obviously guilty of this as I have blogged about it in the past. But this is a very sincere and different view of the situation. Enjoy!
Another article on eating disorders also caught my eye as something that is worth reading. Its so true that the skeletal boddies of people with anorexia and bulemia catch our eye and fascinate us. I'm obviously guilty of this as I have blogged about it in the past. But this is a very sincere and different view of the situation. Enjoy!
Monday, June 11, 2007
Tony Awards, a New York must/ (A waste of) Thoughts on Paris Hilton
Last night Scott and I hosted a Tony Award Viewing Party (Tony Award Winners). We fit about 15 people (his classmates and 2 of my choir buddies) in our 500 sqft apartment to watch our 20 inch TV. Despite the crowding, it was enjoyable. And Spring Awakening was the big winner which I was quite happy about. Especially John Gallagher Jr.'s win for best featured actor. He's pretty fricking cute. I think I have a thing for punk rockers (e.g. Prom 2002...another story entirely). Other fabulous wins included Christine Ebersole in Grey Gardens. For those of you who haven't seen the documentary, see it! And then see the play. Make sure to watch the director's commentary first though, because it will make it more enjoyable. By the way, best line ever (imagine this in a THICK Long Island accent):
Edith 'Little Edie' Bouvier Beale: But you see in dealing with me, the relatives didn't know that they were dealing with a staunch character and I tell you if there's anything worse than dealing with a staunch woman... S-T-A-U-N-C-H. There's nothing worse, I'm telling you. They don't weaken, no matter what.
Oh classic.
Now some questions and comments re: The Paris Hilton/Jail debacle.
#1: Did the Hilton family pay off Sheriff Baca to allow Paris to leave prison for "medical reasons"?
#2: When the hell do we get to find out what the medical condition was? Thus far, I have heard reports of a rash, panic attacks and clausterphobia. If people are going to make such an ordeal about this situation, why can't they at least give us all the necessary details to make judgements? It's like when that damn lady on the bus the other night wouldn't give me details about the fight bloody-eye-man got into. What are you good for?? Don't tease me with such things.
#3: If Paris was really having psychological difficulty with her situation, which I believe really is the case, I truely sympathize with her. Not that she doesn't deserve what she's getting because the law should not be bent for famous people with money. But knowing from various sources and personal experience the sensations and thought process that goes along with panic attacks/anxiety/phobias, those things are more painful and unbearable than people could imagine. I think people who are lucky enough not to be plagued with those things could really undermine what Paris is feeling. NOT that she should have been let out of prison for those reasons. Thats just plain favoratism/special treatment by the Sheriff's department (I don't like this Baca guy). And really, why didn't they bring her to the medical ward sooner if she was really "deteriorating"? Why wasn't she forced to take her medication which she was supposed to take? That's just plain irresponsible. Sheriff Baca is on my loser list after this incident.
~LB
Edith 'Little Edie' Bouvier Beale: But you see in dealing with me, the relatives didn't know that they were dealing with a staunch character and I tell you if there's anything worse than dealing with a staunch woman... S-T-A-U-N-C-H. There's nothing worse, I'm telling you. They don't weaken, no matter what.
Oh classic.
Now some questions and comments re: The Paris Hilton/Jail debacle.
#1: Did the Hilton family pay off Sheriff Baca to allow Paris to leave prison for "medical reasons"?
#2: When the hell do we get to find out what the medical condition was? Thus far, I have heard reports of a rash, panic attacks and clausterphobia. If people are going to make such an ordeal about this situation, why can't they at least give us all the necessary details to make judgements? It's like when that damn lady on the bus the other night wouldn't give me details about the fight bloody-eye-man got into. What are you good for?? Don't tease me with such things.
#3: If Paris was really having psychological difficulty with her situation, which I believe really is the case, I truely sympathize with her. Not that she doesn't deserve what she's getting because the law should not be bent for famous people with money. But knowing from various sources and personal experience the sensations and thought process that goes along with panic attacks/anxiety/phobias, those things are more painful and unbearable than people could imagine. I think people who are lucky enough not to be plagued with those things could really undermine what Paris is feeling. NOT that she should have been let out of prison for those reasons. Thats just plain favoratism/special treatment by the Sheriff's department (I don't like this Baca guy). And really, why didn't they bring her to the medical ward sooner if she was really "deteriorating"? Why wasn't she forced to take her medication which she was supposed to take? That's just plain irresponsible. Sheriff Baca is on my loser list after this incident.
~LB
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
Oh New York...(by Lauren)
Silly little New York...or should I say the Bronx? Always an experience I tell you.
I was waiting for the bus last night for about 10-15 minutes and was quite annoyed it hadn't come. I hadn't had the best day: I went to see an asshole orthopedist who basically said nothing was wrong with me and as Scott says "made it sound like you were making it up" (see this article for some possible info why); then from E96th street, it took me over 2 hours to get to work (it should only take about 45 minutes) due to multiple train route changes (typical during summer construction) and because I got on the Bx32 going the wrong way, which I didnt realize until I had been on the bus for 15 minutes or so. I got to work with only 3 hours left and had to go directly to my 3.5 hour class. Needless to say, it was time to get home.
I finally saw the Bx9 coming. It didn't make it through the stop light before my stop. I waited...(im)patiently, and finally the light turned green. The bus didn't move. Instead, it opened its doors and let someone off. (Picture multiple cars honking angrily at this point.) Finally, the bus pulled through the intersection and up to my stop. The driver put his hand out as to not let anyone on, and allowed people to get off. Sometimes drivers do this so people don't get too greedy and start to get on before others leave the bus. But this guy didn't put his hand down. Instead, he turned his head to the seat behind and across from him and asked a man sitting there (who's back was against the window I was looking at) if he needed medical attention. Medical attention?? This is where I come in!...I think starting to switch into future-emergency-room-nurse mode. The man must have said yes and the driver made an announcement to the other people on the bus that this was the last stop and they had to get off. Then I hear the guy with his back to the window say onto his cell phone "My eye is bleeding all over!" Sure enough, he turned around and there was blood running down his face from his eye. He had blood on his hand and his shirt. I'm thinking Direct pressure! I should tell him to put direct pressure on it! Not that it was even gushing...but I wanted to be involved! Soon, the guy started yelling at the other passengers who were exiting the bus "Quickly! Quickly!" I thought this was going to cause a fight as the last passenger in line to exit the bus was a buff, short short wearing jock type who just stared the guy down as he yelled directly into his face.
Finally the last guy gets off the bus. All the passengers (and me) are crowded on the curb around the bus. (I was actually standing in the street as the bus was a few feet from the curb). The bleeding man steps up into the door way of the bus, a few feet above everyone, and starts yelling "FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! I am the man! You are nothing!!" This guy is so adament that his spit actually hits me in the face as he's yelling. (Then I got smart enough to step up onto the curb like everyone else, and I dropped my hero fantasy. I wasn't going to get involved with this one!) All this time he is still on his cell phone, still bleeding. At one point he said something to the crowd like "I would die for all of you!" or something psychotic like that.
Another Bx9 FINALLY pulled up behind the first bus and everyone hurried over to get a seat. The poor first bus driver was left alone with a possibly crazy or drugged-up man, though the driver seemed cool and collected as can be. I tried to listen to a lady who was telling the story of what happened but she was only speaking Spanish. Damn Spanish 6 didn't get me anywhere. Where are my Spanish skills when I need details like this?!? So I turned to the lady next to me and asked her what happened and all she said was "He got into a fight on the bus." How helpful and detail-oriented...NOT. But then I put it together. The person who got off the bus at the intersection before my stop must have been the other guy in the fight, and I would assume he was kicked off by driver.
I was shaking my head in wonder when we were about to pull up to my stop where I get off to go to go on the subway into Manhattan. THEN 2 ladies walk directly in front of the bus I was on and when the driver honked, they flicked him off! Apparently it was disgruntled bus driver night because the bus driver yelled out the window at this "THIS IS THE FUCKING BUS!"...as in, why are you walking right in front of this vehicle when you're holding up dozens of people from getting home. Jerks. I told the driver I sympathized with him and all other drivers that night, and he mumbled for me to take care.
Oh sigh, how New York amuses me. In other news, expect a blog from Mer soon. She's taken a brief leave of absence from blogging to deal with some not-so-fun personal stuff, but will return in great form ASAP!
The "Eye"-Witness,
~LB
I was waiting for the bus last night for about 10-15 minutes and was quite annoyed it hadn't come. I hadn't had the best day: I went to see an asshole orthopedist who basically said nothing was wrong with me and as Scott says "made it sound like you were making it up" (see this article for some possible info why); then from E96th street, it took me over 2 hours to get to work (it should only take about 45 minutes) due to multiple train route changes (typical during summer construction) and because I got on the Bx32 going the wrong way, which I didnt realize until I had been on the bus for 15 minutes or so. I got to work with only 3 hours left and had to go directly to my 3.5 hour class. Needless to say, it was time to get home.
I finally saw the Bx9 coming. It didn't make it through the stop light before my stop. I waited...(im)patiently, and finally the light turned green. The bus didn't move. Instead, it opened its doors and let someone off. (Picture multiple cars honking angrily at this point.) Finally, the bus pulled through the intersection and up to my stop. The driver put his hand out as to not let anyone on, and allowed people to get off. Sometimes drivers do this so people don't get too greedy and start to get on before others leave the bus. But this guy didn't put his hand down. Instead, he turned his head to the seat behind and across from him and asked a man sitting there (who's back was against the window I was looking at) if he needed medical attention. Medical attention?? This is where I come in!...I think starting to switch into future-emergency-room-nurse mode. The man must have said yes and the driver made an announcement to the other people on the bus that this was the last stop and they had to get off. Then I hear the guy with his back to the window say onto his cell phone "My eye is bleeding all over!" Sure enough, he turned around and there was blood running down his face from his eye. He had blood on his hand and his shirt. I'm thinking Direct pressure! I should tell him to put direct pressure on it! Not that it was even gushing...but I wanted to be involved! Soon, the guy started yelling at the other passengers who were exiting the bus "Quickly! Quickly!" I thought this was going to cause a fight as the last passenger in line to exit the bus was a buff, short short wearing jock type who just stared the guy down as he yelled directly into his face.
Finally the last guy gets off the bus. All the passengers (and me) are crowded on the curb around the bus. (I was actually standing in the street as the bus was a few feet from the curb). The bleeding man steps up into the door way of the bus, a few feet above everyone, and starts yelling "FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! I am the man! You are nothing!!" This guy is so adament that his spit actually hits me in the face as he's yelling. (Then I got smart enough to step up onto the curb like everyone else, and I dropped my hero fantasy. I wasn't going to get involved with this one!) All this time he is still on his cell phone, still bleeding. At one point he said something to the crowd like "I would die for all of you!" or something psychotic like that.
Another Bx9 FINALLY pulled up behind the first bus and everyone hurried over to get a seat. The poor first bus driver was left alone with a possibly crazy or drugged-up man, though the driver seemed cool and collected as can be. I tried to listen to a lady who was telling the story of what happened but she was only speaking Spanish. Damn Spanish 6 didn't get me anywhere. Where are my Spanish skills when I need details like this?!? So I turned to the lady next to me and asked her what happened and all she said was "He got into a fight on the bus." How helpful and detail-oriented...NOT. But then I put it together. The person who got off the bus at the intersection before my stop must have been the other guy in the fight, and I would assume he was kicked off by driver.
I was shaking my head in wonder when we were about to pull up to my stop where I get off to go to go on the subway into Manhattan. THEN 2 ladies walk directly in front of the bus I was on and when the driver honked, they flicked him off! Apparently it was disgruntled bus driver night because the bus driver yelled out the window at this "THIS IS THE FUCKING BUS!"...as in, why are you walking right in front of this vehicle when you're holding up dozens of people from getting home. Jerks. I told the driver I sympathized with him and all other drivers that night, and he mumbled for me to take care.
Oh sigh, how New York amuses me. In other news, expect a blog from Mer soon. She's taken a brief leave of absence from blogging to deal with some not-so-fun personal stuff, but will return in great form ASAP!
The "Eye"-Witness,
~LB
Sunday, June 3, 2007
Speaking of brilliance... (By Lauren)
So almost 3 weeks ago now, I was walking down 43rd around 9th and 10th and 
all of a sudden my leg buckled under me and I started to fall over. Though I caught myself, I felt a distinct wave of pain in my foot/ankle because the outside of my foot had inverted and I think I actually stepped on it with the top of my foot...if that makes any sense. I turned around to see what had caused my semi-embarassing-quasi-fall, and saw some concrete that had eroded (like if a weed had grown out of it) and was about 2-3 inches above the rest of the sidewalk. I had stepped directly on it and my ankle had "inverted" , etc. Boo, who can I sue? So I was limping around the next few days but just figured it was a strain or a sprain. I tried to get back to working out, which I had been doing 4-5 times a week since January/February. I've lost 10 pounds so you can imagine my dismay when week 1 went by, and then week 2, and my ankle still hurt when I used it too often, despite my efforts to ice, wrap, elevate, and down bottles of ibuprofen (ok...I had a few a day...pills, not bottles.) So I finally went to the doctor on Friday and low and behold there is a gap (called diastasis) between where my tibia and my fibula (the 2 shin bones) are supposed to over lap (A normal ankle is shown in the picture above). From what I understand, my injury is called a high ankle sprain . How do you fix it when diastasis is involved? Oh you know, SURGERY....involving putting a pin or two in to connect the tibia and the fibula until the ligament heals (2-3 months) HAPPY SUMMER! So now I am wearing this hot boot (the tall one) to walk around:
I am scaring small children with this thing. One even gave me a crusty look. How sad.
Anyways, I see an orthopedist tomorrow morning who will probably tell me if I'll need surgery or just a cast or nothing...so wish me luck!!
all of a sudden my leg buckled under me and I started to fall over. Though I caught myself, I felt a distinct wave of pain in my foot/ankle because the outside of my foot had inverted and I think I actually stepped on it with the top of my foot...if that makes any sense. I turned around to see what had caused my semi-embarassing-quasi-fall, and saw some concrete that had eroded (like if a weed had grown out of it) and was about 2-3 inches above the rest of the sidewalk. I had stepped directly on it and my ankle had "inverted" , etc. Boo, who can I sue? So I was limping around the next few days but just figured it was a strain or a sprain. I tried to get back to working out, which I had been doing 4-5 times a week since January/February. I've lost 10 pounds so you can imagine my dismay when week 1 went by, and then week 2, and my ankle still hurt when I used it too often, despite my efforts to ice, wrap, elevate, and down bottles of ibuprofen (ok...I had a few a day...pills, not bottles.) So I finally went to the doctor on Friday and low and behold there is a gap (called diastasis) between where my tibia and my fibula (the 2 shin bones) are supposed to over lap (A normal ankle is shown in the picture above). From what I understand, my injury is called a high ankle sprain . How do you fix it when diastasis is involved? Oh you know, SURGERY....involving putting a pin or two in to connect the tibia and the fibula until the ligament heals (2-3 months) HAPPY SUMMER! So now I am wearing this hot boot (the tall one) to walk around: 
I am scaring small children with this thing. One even gave me a crusty look. How sad.
Anyways, I see an orthopedist tomorrow morning who will probably tell me if I'll need surgery or just a cast or nothing...so wish me luck!!
Friday, June 1, 2007
Hollywood & Vine, Part 1
This is what my friend RP and I feasted our eyes on the other night in Hollywood..yes, ladies and gents, LA's best known Thai Elvis impersonator. He performs nightly at a restaurant called The Palms...and what's better than tasty Thai dishes, a glass of cheapie wine, and showing a friend around the most interesting experience that is Hollywood, California?
Part 2 is coming soon...right now my bf and I are being SUPER AWESOME ADULTS and drinking Two Buck Chuck and watching "Undeclared." Brilliance.
Friday, May 25, 2007
Skeletons and Celebrities (By Lauren)
I saw a skeleton jog past me this morning on West End Avenue. Ok, actually it was a girl in her twenties who only looked like a skeleton because she was so obviously underweight. Should I assume she had an eating disorder? Or is that an unfair assumption?
I am personally fascinated with eating disorders, and I think most of society could say the same thing because they buy the US Weekly and In Touch magazines that claim to know all about the eating disorders of celebs like Nichole Richie and Mary Kate Olsen. A friend of mine who works at an New York PR firm also claims that Hilary Duff has an eating disorder because she saw her at some event they were working and she said her head looked humongous because her body was so small. Maybe its natural? (like in the case of Calista Flockhart or Portia de Rossi...who both happened to become much healthier looking after Ally McBeal finished airing....I guess their naturally skinny frames just became naturally bigger once the camera was off of them...hmmm, lets think about that one....)
Really, if I had that many people looking at and admiring (or judging?) me everyday, maybe I'd have an eating disorder too. Though I think eating disorders may be more of an LA thing than a NY thing. What do you think Mer? Maybe its not chic to have an eating disorder in NY, and maybe I should have told that to the skeleton who ran by me this morning. She must not know.
Happy Memorial Day weekend. I hope you eat your hearts out (and don't regurgitate it on purpose!!) Love from your favorite optimist, ~LB
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Crazy New York Citings (by Lauren)
Now that we have been properly introduced, let me begin by sharing a few of the crazy things I have witnessed/experienced since moving to New York almost 1 year ago (yes, these are cheaply recycled from my other blog):
July 2006:
- An 80+ year old woman budged in front of me in line at the grocery store to buy menora candles. (For all of you non-jewish people out there, the menora is the candleabra you light during Hanukkah...which is in December. However, apparently this lady was so desperate to get a good deal on them she felt the need to budge in front of me.) When I said excuse me she just smiled and patted her box of candles. I let it slide.
- I witnessed a woman changing her 1 and a half year old kid's diaper in the middle of a department store on a bench. I'm not talking about on the side of the department store, like near the ladies rooms or anything. I'm talking right in the middle of the frickin store! I swear.
August 2006
- As Scott and I were walking to the grocery store, I saw a man carryingwhat looked to be a large rodent in rigor mortis. I moved over, runninginto Scott, who didn't see the animal, and he asked me why I ran into him. He totally didn't believe me until we were leavnig the grocery store andthis crazy crazy man was showing his new rodent friend to another man onthe street. The other guy said "Why didn't you leave that on the street?! It's a dead rodent!" Scott knew then that I wasn't making it up and we got our butts out of there.
October 2006
- Scott and I saw an old lady using her walker on its front when walking back from the grocery store one evening. And no, she didn'tlook comfortable. My first inkling was to stop and help her correct thewalker's position, but having been a 5-month experienced New Yorker, I decided to let it slide while noting to Scott that the lady was using her walker incorrectly. A few minutes later we heard someone screaming behind us "Get off! Get off!" Who was it but this crotchety (and crazy?) old lady trying to fend off a nice young gentlement trying to help herresituate her walker. About a week later, I saw the lady again, walkerincorrectly postured and all, and yelling at someone to "MIND THEIR OWNBUSINESS!" Apparently she's quite sensitive. WHat a nut. (May 07 Note: We later found out that this woman lives in the apartment of Scott's classmate Nick. Small world, no?)
- Was mistaken for Anna Paquin in a bar. First time I've EVER been mistaken for a celebrity. I'll take it!
December 2006
- A week or so after Thanksgiving, when the holiday spirit rightly began to rear it's head in NY, I stood in the subway station, attempting to read before the 1 train came for my morning commute. Across the tracks, on the downtown side, were many people, including parents and their children, probably on their way to day care, school and work. Sitting on the bench sat a man, presumably homeless, reading a newspaper. I was drawn away from my reading when the man announced in a loud voice "Huh, well look at that. I can't believe it. SANTA CLAUS DIED! No Christmas this year!" Oy. Naturally, I rolled my eyes. The ranting of the mentally ill are not unusual in New York, and if you ignore them, they often stop. However, apparently this guy was feeling especially crazy this day as he didn't stop here. "Did you hear that everyone?!?!" He screamed. "Santa Clause died! Ah ha ha ha! No Christmas! He'd dead!" This man continued his ranting and raving about the supposed death of Jolly Old St Nick for a couple of minutes until the downtown sub came. The arrival of the train, however, did not prevent many parents from having to comfort their young children, including the man and his daughter who were sitting on the bench next to the raving man. Even after the dad moved off the bench with his daughter (no older than 4), she continued to stare in frightened disbelief at the claims of this guy. A funny thing about this story, is that down the bench from Mr.I'm-going-to-announce-the-death--of-Santa-Claus-in-front-of-young-children-a-month-before-Christmas, sat an older man, homeless, who I'd seen many times. And while homeless, and quite frankly a bit dirty, there sat a rotund man with long white hair and a white beard, snoozing at the end of the bench. My nick-name for him before this incident was Santa Claus...but apparently not many parents want to point out to their children a possible Santa Claus who lives in the subway station. Typical New York craziness.
January 2007
- Our apartment was invested by baby cockroaches which looked like little ants...except they weren't. Horrible horrible experience. Took us weeks to get rid of them all.
March 2007
- New Yorkers seem to think that the world is the garbage can. People often just throw things on the ground instead of making it over to a garbage can. This month, I actually saw a guy eating candies that were individually wrapped on the subway, and each time the subway stopped and the door opened, he would throw his little wrapper straight out of the door onto the platform. You’re kidding me right?
April 2007
- For those of you who have never ridden on or seen a subway train, you’ll need to know that in between cars there is a space, where people can walk from one car to another. They’re not supposed to do this while the train is moving, but like most inconvenient rules in NY, that rule is broken quite often. So I was sitting in a subway car one day (why do so many strange things happen to me on the subway??) and saw a guy walk through my car and set down a few bags on the seat at the end. He proceeded to walk in between the cars and stop, turn to the side and from what I could tell, he urinated off the side of the train. The awkward thing is that the train stopped part-way through his business so he was sitting there peeing while people were staring straight at him from the platform. He didn’t seem to notice. He came back into the car where his bags were and rode the train as if nothing strange had happened. Eww.
Oh New York fun. This is what I meant when I said NY isn't as glamorous as Sex and the City makes it out to be. At least for those of us who can't afford to take cabs everywhere. By the way, did you notice how Mer and I always seem to write these blogs during work....brilliant. We make such good use of our time.
In other news, stay tuned for a feature we'd like to call "Friday's Hunks" (creatively thought up by my cutie.)
More soon....~LB
July 2006:
- An 80+ year old woman budged in front of me in line at the grocery store to buy menora candles. (For all of you non-jewish people out there, the menora is the candleabra you light during Hanukkah...which is in December. However, apparently this lady was so desperate to get a good deal on them she felt the need to budge in front of me.) When I said excuse me she just smiled and patted her box of candles. I let it slide.
- I witnessed a woman changing her 1 and a half year old kid's diaper in the middle of a department store on a bench. I'm not talking about on the side of the department store, like near the ladies rooms or anything. I'm talking right in the middle of the frickin store! I swear.
August 2006
- As Scott and I were walking to the grocery store, I saw a man carryingwhat looked to be a large rodent in rigor mortis. I moved over, runninginto Scott, who didn't see the animal, and he asked me why I ran into him. He totally didn't believe me until we were leavnig the grocery store andthis crazy crazy man was showing his new rodent friend to another man onthe street. The other guy said "Why didn't you leave that on the street?! It's a dead rodent!" Scott knew then that I wasn't making it up and we got our butts out of there.
October 2006
- Scott and I saw an old lady using her walker on its front when walking back from the grocery store one evening. And no, she didn'tlook comfortable. My first inkling was to stop and help her correct thewalker's position, but having been a 5-month experienced New Yorker, I decided to let it slide while noting to Scott that the lady was using her walker incorrectly. A few minutes later we heard someone screaming behind us "Get off! Get off!" Who was it but this crotchety (and crazy?) old lady trying to fend off a nice young gentlement trying to help herresituate her walker. About a week later, I saw the lady again, walkerincorrectly postured and all, and yelling at someone to "MIND THEIR OWNBUSINESS!" Apparently she's quite sensitive. WHat a nut. (May 07 Note: We later found out that this woman lives in the apartment of Scott's classmate Nick. Small world, no?)
- Was mistaken for Anna Paquin in a bar. First time I've EVER been mistaken for a celebrity. I'll take it!
December 2006
- A week or so after Thanksgiving, when the holiday spirit rightly began to rear it's head in NY, I stood in the subway station, attempting to read before the 1 train came for my morning commute. Across the tracks, on the downtown side, were many people, including parents and their children, probably on their way to day care, school and work. Sitting on the bench sat a man, presumably homeless, reading a newspaper. I was drawn away from my reading when the man announced in a loud voice "Huh, well look at that. I can't believe it. SANTA CLAUS DIED! No Christmas this year!" Oy. Naturally, I rolled my eyes. The ranting of the mentally ill are not unusual in New York, and if you ignore them, they often stop. However, apparently this guy was feeling especially crazy this day as he didn't stop here. "Did you hear that everyone?!?!" He screamed. "Santa Clause died! Ah ha ha ha! No Christmas! He'd dead!" This man continued his ranting and raving about the supposed death of Jolly Old St Nick for a couple of minutes until the downtown sub came. The arrival of the train, however, did not prevent many parents from having to comfort their young children, including the man and his daughter who were sitting on the bench next to the raving man. Even after the dad moved off the bench with his daughter (no older than 4), she continued to stare in frightened disbelief at the claims of this guy. A funny thing about this story, is that down the bench from Mr.I'm-going-to-announce-the-death--of-Santa-Claus-in-front-of-young-children-a-month-before-Christmas, sat an older man, homeless, who I'd seen many times. And while homeless, and quite frankly a bit dirty, there sat a rotund man with long white hair and a white beard, snoozing at the end of the bench. My nick-name for him before this incident was Santa Claus...but apparently not many parents want to point out to their children a possible Santa Claus who lives in the subway station. Typical New York craziness.
January 2007
- Our apartment was invested by baby cockroaches which looked like little ants...except they weren't. Horrible horrible experience. Took us weeks to get rid of them all.
March 2007
- New Yorkers seem to think that the world is the garbage can. People often just throw things on the ground instead of making it over to a garbage can. This month, I actually saw a guy eating candies that were individually wrapped on the subway, and each time the subway stopped and the door opened, he would throw his little wrapper straight out of the door onto the platform. You’re kidding me right?
April 2007
- For those of you who have never ridden on or seen a subway train, you’ll need to know that in between cars there is a space, where people can walk from one car to another. They’re not supposed to do this while the train is moving, but like most inconvenient rules in NY, that rule is broken quite often. So I was sitting in a subway car one day (why do so many strange things happen to me on the subway??) and saw a guy walk through my car and set down a few bags on the seat at the end. He proceeded to walk in between the cars and stop, turn to the side and from what I could tell, he urinated off the side of the train. The awkward thing is that the train stopped part-way through his business so he was sitting there peeing while people were staring straight at him from the platform. He didn’t seem to notice. He came back into the car where his bags were and rode the train as if nothing strange had happened. Eww.
Oh New York fun. This is what I meant when I said NY isn't as glamorous as Sex and the City makes it out to be. At least for those of us who can't afford to take cabs everywhere. By the way, did you notice how Mer and I always seem to write these blogs during work....brilliant. We make such good use of our time.
In other news, stay tuned for a feature we'd like to call "Friday's Hunks" (creatively thought up by my cutie.)
More soon....~LB
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Why, oh why, oh why-o, did I ever leave Ohio (that's where I went to college, so you see this title almost works)
In the vein of Lauren's second introductory post...allow me to explain why I ended up in the City of Angels.
First off, let me share that for most of my natural life, I . Was. Never. Moving. to. Los Angeles.
Granted, nearly all of my impressions of LAlaland were gleaned from one of two sources- a family trip at age 12, the most vivid memories of that trip being hooker-watching in Hollywood (this was pre-Disneyfication of H'wood, natch) and crying on my 12th birthday in Disneyland. The other source was the media. As most anyone familiar with American tv, movies, and news can tell you, Los Angeles is home to a race of thin blonde celebrities who wear brightly colored clothing, wear 10-15 designer logo-ed items simultaneously, and spend days lying by the backyard pool while pondering the mysteries of Scientology/Kaballah/organic foods. Oh, and gangs. Violent gangs. LA has those, too.
You can see why I was quoted as saying something to the effect of, "Southern California could float off the map because of an earthquake? This is wonderful news, indeed!"
In my defense, this is a view held by the majority of East Coast and Midwest denziens. Well, at least the ones I'm friends with, anyway. When I first announced my move, I think I would have been faced with less to justify had I been moving to Antartica. At least everyone knows exactly what's there- a lot of ice. And penguins. Who doesn't love penguins?
So now that's I've established my feelings on the greater Los Angeles area prior to moving here...let's get to the "why" of why I'm living in the land of (artifically transplanted) palm trees and other such monstrosities...
(pie graph forthcoming once I figure out how to make an attractive one with Microsoft Office)
40% - glorious weather/ completely ridiculous inability to deal with cold temperatures consider the fact that I'm from Minnesota
20% - career opportunities- LA's actually a pretty great place to start out being an opera singer
15%- boyfriend
15 %- very favoritest roommate EVER moving here and wanted a roommate
8% - lots of extended family in California
2 % - interesting adventure!
(more to come tomorrow...time to head out of work for the day!)
First off, let me share that for most of my natural life, I . Was. Never. Moving. to. Los Angeles.
Granted, nearly all of my impressions of LAlaland were gleaned from one of two sources- a family trip at age 12, the most vivid memories of that trip being hooker-watching in Hollywood (this was pre-Disneyfication of H'wood, natch) and crying on my 12th birthday in Disneyland. The other source was the media. As most anyone familiar with American tv, movies, and news can tell you, Los Angeles is home to a race of thin blonde celebrities who wear brightly colored clothing, wear 10-15 designer logo-ed items simultaneously, and spend days lying by the backyard pool while pondering the mysteries of Scientology/Kaballah/organic foods. Oh, and gangs. Violent gangs. LA has those, too.
You can see why I was quoted as saying something to the effect of, "Southern California could float off the map because of an earthquake? This is wonderful news, indeed!"
In my defense, this is a view held by the majority of East Coast and Midwest denziens. Well, at least the ones I'm friends with, anyway. When I first announced my move, I think I would have been faced with less to justify had I been moving to Antartica. At least everyone knows exactly what's there- a lot of ice. And penguins. Who doesn't love penguins?
So now that's I've established my feelings on the greater Los Angeles area prior to moving here...let's get to the "why" of why I'm living in the land of (artifically transplanted) palm trees and other such monstrosities...
(pie graph forthcoming once I figure out how to make an attractive one with Microsoft Office)
40% - glorious weather/ completely ridiculous inability to deal with cold temperatures consider the fact that I'm from Minnesota
20% - career opportunities- LA's actually a pretty great place to start out being an opera singer
15%- boyfriend
15 %- very favoritest roommate EVER moving here and wanted a roommate
8% - lots of extended family in California
2 % - interesting adventure!
(more to come tomorrow...time to head out of work for the day!)
One of those classic post-college dilemas
While I was sitting at my temp job today, I started thinking about how many friends I have in Los Angeles. Hmmm...of course there's my roomie and also my boyfriend (these are not one and the same person- Lauren is much braver than I and lives with her bf.)
There's EO and her boyfriend, MB, AC and DC (resisting making obvious but horribly lame joke here), NA, and ST...and that's about it. Oh, and RH, but she and I still haven't seen each other in an entire year of living in the same city for the first time ever.
Now, of course this is a decent number of people to know. And don't get me wrong, I adore each and every one of these individuals, even the couple I'm still getting to know. They are all wonderful friends and wonderful human beings.
Here's the catch. I've lived here for nigh on seven months now. And exactly two of these people are really new to me since I moved here- and I worked with one of them.
Yes, of course it is (almost) always difficult to become acquainted with those around you when you are young and new in a city and not part of an educational institution. See, I was looking forward to having a chance to meet people outside of the confines of school. Most of my favorite people in life I've met through some sort of work situation or by very interesting sets of circumstances (once waiting for a bus in Pittsburgh, PA, I kid you not) Hmmmmm.
I'm not looking for *vewwy bestest fwiends* I'm fortunate enough to have more than a couple of those, and I don't require them to be within a 20 mile radius of me. Just knowing they're a phone call away (cliche! but true!) is lovely, at least for now.
What I'm after is widening the circle of people I consort with and frolic with and have a drink with. I want to expand my little world here. Expanding my little world always helps it grow roots and follow gravity.
Well, those are my thoughts for today...
I fully own up to their cliche-dism (yes, it's a word now. Why? Because I say so.) But hey, I'm young and "artsily" inclined- and if I can't spout cliches, well, then who can?
There's EO and her boyfriend, MB, AC and DC (resisting making obvious but horribly lame joke here), NA, and ST...and that's about it. Oh, and RH, but she and I still haven't seen each other in an entire year of living in the same city for the first time ever.
Now, of course this is a decent number of people to know. And don't get me wrong, I adore each and every one of these individuals, even the couple I'm still getting to know. They are all wonderful friends and wonderful human beings.
Here's the catch. I've lived here for nigh on seven months now. And exactly two of these people are really new to me since I moved here- and I worked with one of them.
Yes, of course it is (almost) always difficult to become acquainted with those around you when you are young and new in a city and not part of an educational institution. See, I was looking forward to having a chance to meet people outside of the confines of school. Most of my favorite people in life I've met through some sort of work situation or by very interesting sets of circumstances (once waiting for a bus in Pittsburgh, PA, I kid you not) Hmmmmm.
I'm not looking for *vewwy bestest fwiends* I'm fortunate enough to have more than a couple of those, and I don't require them to be within a 20 mile radius of me. Just knowing they're a phone call away (cliche! but true!) is lovely, at least for now.
What I'm after is widening the circle of people I consort with and frolic with and have a drink with. I want to expand my little world here. Expanding my little world always helps it grow roots and follow gravity.
Well, those are my thoughts for today...
I fully own up to their cliche-dism (yes, it's a word now. Why? Because I say so.) But hey, I'm young and "artsily" inclined- and if I can't spout cliches, well, then who can?
Friday, May 18, 2007
My Story (by Lauren)
This is me one year ago:
This is me last weekend:
Perhaps a little different. And perhaps you may be asking yourself why a happily suburban Minnesota girl like myself would move to the biggest baddest city in the country. The reason? See photo below:
Scott and I began dating long distance in the Fall of 2003 after performing in a play together (Joseph and the Amazing Technicolo Dream Coat at Minnetonka Community Theater to be specific). We knew each other for 3 months before we became involved and what a waste of time! When we started to get to know each other better, Scott had 2 weeks before he went back to Philadelphia where he was attending Temple University of his bachelors in theater. At the time, I was at school at the University of Minnesota, double majoring in psychology and English. I told myself I wouldn't move for a boy until I finished school. So I graduated on May 13th 2006, and on May 30th I hopped on a plane to NYC. I must have been nuts.
I'm mostly kidding when I say that. However, while I greatly enjoy the city now, it wasn't always that way (as you can see if you check out my other blog:http://blog.myspace.com/laurenb8183). There were some definite love-hate moments throughout the last year. Like this winter when in the middle of the night we found ourselves throwing all of our dishes out of our cabinets because of a cockroach infestation. We were convinced we would die of Raid poisoning. But crisis averted....haven't seen one of those suckers (alive) since March (knock on wood!). There have been lots of great times too, like going to Rice-to-Riches (an amazing Rice Pudding place) w/ Scott, or pretending we have a lot of money (which we don't) and eating at nice resturants, enjoying the tastes of New York cooking (though I notoriously order the wrong thing).
After attempting to work at Mount Sinai Medical Center from July through September, I got a job at the Bronx VA Medical Center in October as a research coordinator for the Mental Illness Research Education and Clinical Center (MIRECC, check it out: http://www.visn3.mirecc.va.gov/). I did neurocognitive testing and clinical interviewing with veterens with schizophrenia. 6 months later, I was moving up the ropes to a position as a Research/Staff Assistant in the same department. Now I do anything from drawing blood and processing urine to taking minutes for phone conferences on suicide prevention and treatment plans. But it's diverse and thats something I need. I also have some great friends who work here with me who will be discussed some other time.
So here I am. I left the nest that is Minnesota almost a year ago and I am still in one piece. I am living with my wonderful boyfriend and starting my prereqs for nursing school at Lehman College (a City University of New York school) on June 4th. Anatomy and physiology 1 is my first conquest. I look forward to it (I heart blood and guts. And I think I need a shirt that says that.)
Celebrity Siting: I must also note that the night that the picture was taken of me with the martini in hand (which doesn't happen very often. So its lucky it was caught on film so people believe me) I saw Masi Oka from the show "Heroes" who was with Scott Porter of "Friday Night Lights" (the TV show) and the movie "Music and Lyrics". One of them actually went out to lunch with a stage manager that Scott is friends with from Columbia but thats where the story stops. I can only devulge a little gossip. I feel the need to give celebrities some respect in terms of their private lives (though I do frequent Perezhilton.com almost everyday...But that doesn't mean I need to draw dirty things all over celebrity pictures. Just divulge a little and keep people coming back). Anyways, if you don't know who these people are check them out on IMDB by clicking the following links:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1199811/
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2187603/
Have a lovely weekend everyone and hopefully I will have some fun NY stories to share with you before the weekend is through. Much love. ~LB
P.S. Mer is right, I am nicer than her (sometimes) but she is probably more entertaining with her snarkiness so I look forward to hearing more about her crazy LA life.
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Hello! This is Meredith, the Left Coast half of this blog.
As Lauren has already shared, she and I go back many a moon. We've gone from riding bikes around the block and attending each other's childhood birthday parties to looking forward to cross-country trips so we have a chance to catch up and discussing the possibility of future w-e-d-d-i-n-g-s (don't scary things sound less scary when they're spelled out?) of childhood classmates and (gulp) of our very own.
I think it's quite appropriate that it's taken me, the West Coast representative, a bit longer than Lauren to put up a post. As anyone who has spent time on states bordering the Pacific can tell you, time moves differently out here than it does in other parts of the world. A business meeting at 1:00 actually means "Show up any time between 1:15 and 1:30." Maybe it's the constant traffic problem. Or maybe it's a certain, er, sense of entitlement. Regardless, it is how things work in these parts.
As Lauren mentioned in her post, I am indeed an opera singer. I finished by Bachelor of Music degree about a year ago at a fancy-schmancy music school. At the moment I'm earning my keep by working various office-type jobs. Occasionally I find myself in interesting work enviroments. To paraphrase the author A.M. Homes, Los Angeles tolerates and encourages eccentricity. The Los Angeles workplace is no exception to this statement.
I'm planning on going back to school to pursue a Master of Music (doesn't that sound like some really awful movie title?) degree within the next year and a half. Who knows, though? Not I... Lauren is starting the next chapter of her formal education soon, so I'm looking forward to her testing those waters in the near future.
So here we are, two lifelong midwesterners transplanted to the cultural capitols of the US of A. The glamorous hustle and bustle of The Big Apple and LAlaland we ain't. Unless of course you consider trips to such hot spots as Ikea, the California DMV, my local grocery store, that really great Indian restaurant down the street to be the very height of Angeleno glamour. Look forward to observations, some amusing anecdotes, and maybe the odd snarky comment. Okay, Lauren's a lot nicer than I am...so expect the odd snarky comment to come from me :)
So hello, welcome, and hope we can amuse and possibly even edify a lovely reader of our blog today!
As Lauren has already shared, she and I go back many a moon. We've gone from riding bikes around the block and attending each other's childhood birthday parties to looking forward to cross-country trips so we have a chance to catch up and discussing the possibility of future w-e-d-d-i-n-g-s (don't scary things sound less scary when they're spelled out?) of childhood classmates and (gulp) of our very own.
I think it's quite appropriate that it's taken me, the West Coast representative, a bit longer than Lauren to put up a post. As anyone who has spent time on states bordering the Pacific can tell you, time moves differently out here than it does in other parts of the world. A business meeting at 1:00 actually means "Show up any time between 1:15 and 1:30." Maybe it's the constant traffic problem. Or maybe it's a certain, er, sense of entitlement. Regardless, it is how things work in these parts.
As Lauren mentioned in her post, I am indeed an opera singer. I finished by Bachelor of Music degree about a year ago at a fancy-schmancy music school. At the moment I'm earning my keep by working various office-type jobs. Occasionally I find myself in interesting work enviroments. To paraphrase the author A.M. Homes, Los Angeles tolerates and encourages eccentricity. The Los Angeles workplace is no exception to this statement.
I'm planning on going back to school to pursue a Master of Music (doesn't that sound like some really awful movie title?) degree within the next year and a half. Who knows, though? Not I... Lauren is starting the next chapter of her formal education soon, so I'm looking forward to her testing those waters in the near future.
So here we are, two lifelong midwesterners transplanted to the cultural capitols of the US of A. The glamorous hustle and bustle of The Big Apple and LAlaland we ain't. Unless of course you consider trips to such hot spots as Ikea, the California DMV, my local grocery store, that really great Indian restaurant down the street to be the very height of Angeleno glamour. Look forward to observations, some amusing anecdotes, and maybe the odd snarky comment. Okay, Lauren's a lot nicer than I am...so expect the odd snarky comment to come from me :)
So hello, welcome, and hope we can amuse and possibly even edify a lovely reader of our blog today!
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Our Story (by Lauren)
Welcome to our blog! This is a blog written by Meredith C-N and Lauren B who resided on the same street in Minnetonka, Minnesota for 15 years before going their seperate ways after high school. Now 20 years into their friendship (oy vey! Thats a long time!), they have ended up in the 2 biggest cities in the country, Lauren (myself) in NYC and Meredith in LA. We went from playing pretend on Ann Lane to playing reality (not as much fun) in the craziest metropolises in the US. Not too shabby.
Bicostal Bosom Buddies was created for multiple reasons.
#1 Out of spite toward a former high school classmate who created his own NY blog and is semi-famous because of it. However, he is highly pompous and ridiculous so we thought we'd take matters into our own hands and tell everyone how non-pompous and non-ridiculous Hopkins High School grads see the world
#2 From our first days together, up to our 20-somethings, we have been creative. Mer is a fabulous singer who has a role in her first professional Opera this month. I am a singer in a (semi-)professional choir and a supposedly talented yet half-assed writer who finds it easier to write amusing blogs and emails than stories. We also both did our share of acting back in the day. This blog is a way for us to express out creativity together in an amusing way.
#3 Because the world should know how NY and LA are seen through the eyes of 2 midwestern girls just starting out on their own. The funny, the scary, the sad, it can all be shared here for other people's enjoyment.
Please continue to check back for blogs from both Meredith (who writes in blue) and me (who writes...in...green...obviously). We hope you find a loyalty to this blog and share it with anyone who you think will enjoy it. Much love everyone! MWA MWA (NY kisses). ~LB
Bicostal Bosom Buddies was created for multiple reasons.
#1 Out of spite toward a former high school classmate who created his own NY blog and is semi-famous because of it. However, he is highly pompous and ridiculous so we thought we'd take matters into our own hands and tell everyone how non-pompous and non-ridiculous Hopkins High School grads see the world
#2 From our first days together, up to our 20-somethings, we have been creative. Mer is a fabulous singer who has a role in her first professional Opera this month. I am a singer in a (semi-)professional choir and a supposedly talented yet half-assed writer who finds it easier to write amusing blogs and emails than stories. We also both did our share of acting back in the day. This blog is a way for us to express out creativity together in an amusing way.
#3 Because the world should know how NY and LA are seen through the eyes of 2 midwestern girls just starting out on their own. The funny, the scary, the sad, it can all be shared here for other people's enjoyment.
Please continue to check back for blogs from both Meredith (who writes in blue) and me (who writes...in...green...obviously). We hope you find a loyalty to this blog and share it with anyone who you think will enjoy it. Much love everyone! MWA MWA (NY kisses). ~LB
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