room for rent.

I cut my own hair. Sometimes in stages. Usually while working my way through a bottle of wine. The mess doesn't get swept away until I've decided that while not perfect, the cut will "do".

At the end of the day, the last thing I feel like doing is straightening up. As a result, there's a trail clothing from the door to the couch. In the morning, the same trail is replicated in reverse. From my bed to the bathroom, pajama bottoms and tanks are tossed. An anthropologist might infer that I'm changing my clothes as I walk. They would be correct.

I go to bed by 11pm during the week and generally prefer inaction to action between the hrs of 8pm-11pm. If you ask me to work out with you, I might. But only after excessive nudging in the direction of the gym. The whole time I will whimper and in the morning, I will probably point to the various areas of my derrière that ache. I'm charming like that.

On occasion, when especially bored, I'll knit something. Whenever said project is complete, think "Watch yo'self Martha! I'm coming for you and your domestic empire!" This is also my response to completing basic household tasks like cleaning, or cooking a meal with more than one ingredient.

Last week I was gearing up for a ski trip. Every night I'd come home with a new purchase. Gloves. A hat. A coat with fleece on the inside. And, every night I'd try on the entire ski outfit just to be sure that A) It was warm enough and B) I didn't look like a total idiot. One key element of the outfit was my new bib snowpants. Pants that were so poofy and outrageous, that each night's dress rehearsal was followed by two minutes of giggling.

Apart from any considerations of the person living within it, the apartment itself has its own personality. Spewing water from the walls and lighting itself on fire whenever it feels it hasn't been given enough attention. But as much as I mock it, it's mine. My first New York apartment. The first place I lived alone. The first neighborhood that I was able to claim as my own. A neighborhood that moves beyond my ability to describe it, except to say, it is lovely. It's home.

Andre, my maybe-future-roommate, knows all this and yet still seems willing to tolerate living together for the sake of lowering our collective expenses. Dude is clearly a saint. Several decisions have to be made before either of us commit definitively. We're laying down the ground rules, thinking about it, and discussing our concerns like real adults are supposed to. This, after all, is the guy with whom I share Saturday morning breakfasts so we can discuss our dating lives (or lack thereof). The guy who knows me well enough to know that Christmas presents in the form of concert tickets, are right up my alley. Therein lies the rub. I refuse to mess up a friendship that I rely heavily on.

Internal debates aside, I am already contemplating what kind of super-power-vacuum I might buy with the spare rent money. A vacuum that could suck the tar off of a street corner, or maybe a new computer with all the programs pre-loaded so I can tinker to my heart's content, and maybe, just maybe, snowpants that don't make my butt look like the Michelin Man's. The options really, are endless.

Aye mateys.

Just in case, dear reader, you were looking for pointers on how to dress like an urban pirate.

do I need this?

I'm gonna go with yes. Definitely.

in a NY minute (woo-oo-oo everything changes)

Life seems to be moving quicker than is comfortable. This morning I overslept and was therefore forced to abandon the usual routine of getting ready. A routine that involves lots of sitting around and mulling over a bowl of cereal before the day begins. It takes about a half hour of this sitting before I feel ready and willing to face the day.

It was 6:45am and already I was late.

The shower ran longer than usual, due to the upper portion of my legs which were in desperate need of some special attention. The night prior I'd glanced down and was a little horrified to realize that a winter's worth of neglect left a swath of hair on the back of my thighs. Hair that really, should only be seen on the legs of a lumberjack. Still, I thought I'd manage to break even. It was not meant to be. The list of things that I'd meant to take care of before leaving the apt. included removing my nail polish, putting on makeup, finding the receipt for a purchase I intended to return. Instead, I flew around grabbing my shoes and keys. Pulling the straightener through my hair. Settling for an outfit that only barely qualifies as such.

It seems like it's been this way since the year began. I need this weekend to slow down. For time to move at half-speed. Just long enough for me to catch my breath.

give me a moment to gloat

NATIONAL DAY OF RENEWAL AND RECONCILIATION, 2009

- - - - - - -

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

A PROCLAMATION

As I take the sacred oath of the highest office in the land, I am humbled by the responsibility placed upon my shoulders, renewed by the courage and decency of the American people, and fortified by my faith in an awesome God.

We are in the midst of a season of trial. Our Nation is being tested, and our people know great uncertainty. Yet the story of America is one of renewal in the face of adversity, reconciliation in a time of discord, and we know that there is a purpose for everything under heaven.

On this Inauguration Day, we are reminded that we are heirs to over two centuries of American democracy, and that this legacy is not simply a birthright -- it is a glorious burden. Now it falls to us to come together as a people to carry it forward once more.

So in the words of President Abraham Lincoln, let us remember that: "The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature."

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim January 20, 2009, a National Day of Renewal and Reconciliation, and call upon all of our citizens to serve one another and the common purpose of remaking this Nation for our new century.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twentieth day of January, in the year of our Lord two thousand nine, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-third.

---------------
Also, further proof that DC's subways are nicer than our own.

The link and photo above were pulled from the 2009 Inauguration Flickr feed. It'll be interesting to see what gets loaded in the next day or two.

It's not a secret that I've had a long standing love affair with my television set. How else am I going to see Michael Phelps half naked in my living room? Short of developing some serious swimming skills and landing myself in the 2012 Olympics, it's just not going to happen. So to all you haters, who don't understand the fascination, I give you this, Taylor Kitsch of Friday Night Lights:

hells. yes.

hypocritical me.

New Yorkers are sort of babies when it comes to the weather. Granted, we spend more time in it than most people since we're not moving from place to place in our SUVs with heated seats. Still, it's a little ridiculous when the weather forecasters act as though temperatures below 35-degrees constitutes an Ice Age of sorts. On days like these their segments are essentially "Today it's going to be cold and windy and ZOMG COOOOLD!"

A few weeks ago, we had a snowstorm that amounted to a few inches of accumulation on the ground. At about 10am, the owner of our company walked from desk to desk telling people that if they needed to leave early, due to the horrible conditions outside, they could do so. The whole place, with the exception of a handful of people, was cleared out by 1PM. I thought this was hilarious. For one thing, I used to drive to and from work in white-out conditions. In Michigan, you can pretty much expect as much between the months of December and April. But in New York, we have subways. Subways that only stop running when there's construction or massive flooding. Weather doesn't really have anything to do with my commute. Therefore, when it comes to inclement conditions, I tend to glance around at all those who are whining about how crappy it is outside and think to myself "friggin' pansies."

It turns out though, I'm one of the biggest babies of them all. Because in spite of mocking the weather forecasters and their fatalistic reports, I still thought on the way in this morning "I need a new coat. A long puffy coat. A long puffy coat with fur around the collar."

Don't judge. It's cold.

It's safe to say that I take after my Dad.

Well, OK.

If you were to ask the question, and I were to answer honestly, then I’d have to admit that yes, I may be slightly obsessed with the new vacuum. After cleaning the carpets umpteen times last week, I realized that I was missing the satisfaction of the clink-cluck-ger’fliunk-sound of stuff being pulled up by the mighty, mighty power of the Kenmore Magic Blue Canister Vacuum.

I would not go unsatisfied.

Why else would I plunk down $100 for my shiny new toy, if not to be entertained by it?

This might explain how everything in one closet, curiously found its way to my bedroom floor this past weekend. The floor in that particular room now looks like a war zone of cotton vs. wool. Several innocent polyester blends appear to be fighting a losing battle by running interference between the two. It's a ridiculous, completely unnecessary mess. But oh, it was so totally worth it. That closet is spotless.

because all the cool kids are doing it...

I suspect that 2008 was God's way of giving me a break from the year that was 2007. In 2007, I spent a few solid months crying into a pillow until finally, I managed to dust myself off and move across the country. In retrospect 2007 was good for me. I was forced to change, grow as a person, etc. etc. but oh, it was just so exhausting. After all that, having a year (a WHOLE year!), where I got to be blissfully happy, was great. I needed that year to recover and to figure out that I wasn't an unhappy person, I was at the time, just a person who was unhappy with the circumstances life had handed them. Beyond that, there's not much I can say about 2008. I got to find my feet again, and for that, I am grateful.

So far 2009 is looking pretty effin' fantastic. It started with massive amounts of sushi and today, I found out that The Powers That Be have decided it should be a half day. Mmm yeah, I'm not about to protest that decision. In fact, in honor of said decision, I'm going to buy myself a new vacuum... it's safe to say that in '09, I plan on living life on the edge.

Xxes and Oh's, friends. I hope your holidays were lovely.

----
EDIT: The photo, in case you were wondering, is of yours truly and the baby sister who is not actually a baby anymore. This small fact still manages to dumbfound us all. Anyway, the story behind the photo is that Mel and I were standing in separate dressing rooms when I started giggling. Without any hesitation a voice crept over the wall, "We look like Power Rangers." Pajamas were, for obvious reasons, purchased.