Beam me up, Scotty.

Fresh off of seeing Star Trek Into Darkness (excellent movie, btw), I went to an appointment in this fancy-smancy building. I turned the corner and was instantly on The Enterprise :) A part of me wanted to do something Star Trekkie...but, alas, the time was not right.

That, and the strangers around me didn't look like the joking around type. Oh well. Rest assured that the kid in me played out a running with phasers scene in my head :)

Spend a few fun minutes watching Jeremy Jahns discuss the movie here. The hubby got me started watching him, and I admit, he's pretty spot on.

Saw this quote at work the other day...

Galileo might have changed his tune had he ever met Big Head 2.

Have a wonderful rest of the week everyone.

Today's a day

So, I was promoted at work. Well, they call it a "promotion", and I guess it is technically. It was initially presented to me as a 'we think you are so wonderful, please accept this great honor', and then the situation kind of degraded (at least to me) to a 'you will be doing this work, so you can either accept the new title and extra 2 cent [practically] raise or not...and still do the work' clustercuss. I accepted. Obviously. The problem I have is that Big Head #1 is going out on maternity leave next Friday. She calls it a working maternity leave ('yes, please go ahead and patch me into that important conference call while I'm nursing'), but the fact is she'll be out of the office for two months. Big Head #2 knows nothing. NOTHING. Not only does he not know anything about his job, the paperwork we have to deal with everyday, the system we use...anything, he makes no true attempt to even try. The problem is that all the higher up bosses opted to leave, so who knows who's even overseeing the Big Heads right now. No one's left to watch out for the worker bees in this situation - at least not that I can see.

In addition to that P's counterparts N and O are out of here too. N was on medical leave for like 6 months and then she opted to leave the organization altogether. It's mighty coincidental that while she was on medical leave she managed to not only finish school and her internship and graduate, but also start a new job/business and a life coach. A LIFE COACH! O took a gamble trying to squeeze more money out of the organization and they called her bluff quickly and completely...not only is she leaving, they actually cut that position. So, P will be left alone to handle three people's work until they hire a second person, who she will likely have to train and support during the inevitable learning curve; just like they told me that I would have to assist in the ongoing training process of my counterparts. How do you assist someone who is so far past clueless that I can't, in good faith, use the word clue in any part of any statement related to him? Either way, I am happy to be recognized for my hard work; so the small smile is there :)

Anyway, enough crap. On to non-work topics.

Hubby and I saw Premium Rush the other day. The movie itself was decent, but Joseph Gordon-Levitt? Fantastic and oh-so sexy-adorable (sadorable?), as always. B- movie, A+ JGL. It made me want to watch Inception a few more times. yea, blue ray. I sat through Christian Bale's Batman voice and Tom Hardy's "Of Course!" Bane voice three times - time's 2.5 to 3 were overkill - and cannot wait to see Looper. He's s'wonderful. Hubby understands :)

In food related yummy news, I made the most wonderful Honey Beer and Mozzarella Beer Breads the other day (man, I do a lot on those 'other days'). I'll post pics later. Hubby is my resident taste-tester, and he loved them, as did the people at work. To me, the honey version was tasty, but the mozzarella version was divine. I love cheesy goodness and will definitely be making it again soon. I can already taste the cinnamon and pumpkin ale version I want to make for Turkey Day. Yummy!

Hubby and I are going paintballing (is that a term?) next month. My friend K is freaking me out a bit telling me that the pain outweighs the fun, but it's my first time playing so I'm still excited. Nervous fear, I guess. When I imagine myself playing, I picture Tom Hardy in This Means War. His paintball scene was easily the best scene in the movie. In reality, I'll probably be more like the kids his character is decimating, but I still aim to have fun. I'll just have to stock up on Advil, heating pads and stuff beforehand :) Any experienced paintball people out there? How much pain are Hubby and I in for, really?

Enjoy the rest of the day everyone!

Mr. Rogers would have hated this neighborhood.

Yesterday was a bad day.

I got so angry at work that I actually saw red. I could feel my blood pressure rushing and hear the dull roar of the blood rushing through my body.

I was pissed.

It all started with the compressed workweek schedule. We are allowed to work longer hours 4 days a week, in order to have the 5th day off. We can do this 2 times a month, but I only do it once. Once.

Sooooo, C came around saying that Management (let's call them the 'Big Heads' for this post) told co-worker M that they decided that only one person can be out on any given day because we are so short staffed. M in turn told C who took it upon herself to relay the message in a childish game of telephone. I stated that I have no problem changing my days as needed, but I wanted to first hear the reasoning directly from Big Head #2 (who is two offices away) instead of from M to C to XYZ, blah, blah, blah. Not an unreasonable request, I think.

This sparked M, T and C coming down to my office about 30 seconds later. Their posse rolled up to my door, sneers and all, like that bs was supposed to intimidate me, and looked a bit surprised/flustered/scared? when I proceeded to very loudly state that I did not have time for this sh*t as I (gesturing to my paperwork avalanche of a desk) have too much sh*t to deal with that is actually part of my job. M again asked questions (can you believe this?!), and I started to get pissed. When I get so angry that I start to tear up, it's not going to end well, so I took the high road and not so politely told them to get the hell out of leave my office and not let the door hit 'em where the good Lord split 'em close the door behind them. They then proceeded to go to my colleague, K, next door and, while I only heard muffled words, she became upset and left for the day immediately after.

Taking deep breaths wasn't working for me so I called my husband, who talked me down - because I was ready to go off about all the bull that I've had to deal with over the past 5 years - and when I was finally able to form coherent sentences again without rampant profanity I went down to talk to the Big Heads (because they had, of course, email summoned me down to chat about the incident even though it was seconds away from the day's quitting time.

50 minutes later, I left Big Head 1's office having accomplished nothing because some people hear only what they want to hear. Sad. So, so, sad. Thank God my husband recognized the tone of my voice and plea to come cheer me up, and was waiting for me in my office. Just seeing him brought a smile to my face even after all that.

The drama continues today with HR, phone calls, meetings, and other crap; but we all know that some things will never change. Hopefully though, something will be done about my work load, because if not...well, something has to give.

Oh, that was a downer of a post :(

Anywho, my husband is meeting me after work again today so we can go home together :) so I'm just ignoring all the work bs and focusing on that :) I'm trying to anyway.

Let's end this with something happy :) The Magic Mike trailers and TV spots brings a smile to my face :D

Like this one!

Yep. I am seeing that. Anyone else?

Have an excellent day everyone!

And so it begins...

The exodus has begun.

I always wondered who would be the first to leave 'Project X'.

For a while I thought it would be J. J has had a few issues in the past (not sure what they are, and it's really 1) not my business and 2) not relevant) that have caused him to be out of the office more than he's been in for the past year and a half. He had, in fact, only been in the office for about 1 - 1.5 months (non-consecutively) between January and March. The question of if he would actually be let go was becoming more 'will they won't they' than an episode of "Moonlighting"/"Friends"/"Law & Order: SVU" - when Stabler and Benson were still on it.

They finally did it though - they let him go. The spin they told us was that he'd decided not to return, but it seems the decision was less in his power, and more ball-in-their-court. Either way, he's not coming back. Not a surprise, but still sad.

The real surprise though, came a couple of days before they advised us that he would not be returning, when other J packed her bags and moseyed on too. A lot of us where blindsided by that one. But, I have to say it doesn't surprise me either. Workers can only be pushed so far and under appreciated so much before they decide to pursue other opportunities.

J and J, you will be missed. Especially you other J, as now I and 1 of my other co-workers have acquired your work load. What's 120 or so new projects to work on, right? That's 120 or so new projects EACH. I'm literally drowning in paperwork, emails and phone calls.

The stress is getting to me. The right side of my neck has hurt for a few days. In fact, it hurts so much that I can barely turn my head, and my husband actually had to help me sit up out of bed this morning as I couldn't lift my head at all.

And I'm not the only one. Lately at work, I've heard more slammed doors and phones, seen more people burst into tears, and witnessed more people taking sick days than ever before. Stress is a cruel b*tch.

But moving on to another topic, today is Thursday...so tomorrow is Friday. I just have to keep repeating that to myself :) Not only is tomorrow Friday, but it's The Hunger Games Friday. Everyone is raving about this movie already. I haven't read the books, but my sisters gave me a thorough rundown, and I must say, I'm excited to see how Hollywood pulls off some of the subject matter in a PG-13 film. No midnight showing for me, but opening night? Yes, please :)

Anyone else plan on seeing The Hunger Games tonight or this weekend?

Well, have a great Thursday everyone! Stay as stress-free as possible :)

Is it 5:30 yet?

My job is killing me. That's what it feels like.

The paperwork.

The in-fighting.

The high school style cliques and drama.

The fake smiles disguised as friendliness.

The nosiness disguised as concern.

The constant fear that the other shoe is going to drop.

It's. Too. Much. I'm not averse to hard work, but work should not be this hard - not in this sense.

I feel like I'm drowning sometimes. Too often I wake up in the morning, before my alarm goes off, (hubby leaves extra early in the am so he's already enjoying his work day by then :) and just stare at the clock silently enjoying my me time until I have to get up, get ready, make my two hour commute, work in the shark jaws of Hell's high school's sweatiest gym locker and make my two hour trek back home (and yes I had the whole 'Gotta get up. Gotta get going. Gonna see a friend of mine' Winnie the Pooh theme in my head as I wrote that). As much as my feet drag as I walk to work (shoulders hunched over, scowl firmly in place), they rush me home with the apparent speed of light at the end of the day. I am so consistently elated to leave the pit - to leave the City - at the end of the day I can hardly stand it.

Some ridiculous bullsh*t-label worthy nonsense was initiated at my job yesterday. When I say BS worthy, I almost want to have a solid gold trophy made up and handed to this person during the first annual BS parade. With the stuff that goes on here, we'd have a parade every other day. It was insanity that began late in the workday. Thinking that it would be a dead issue today, I actually came to work in a somewhat pleasant mood. I'd decorated P's office for her birthday (office luau) before I left, gone out for Chinese-Indian cuisine last night, had an insane amount of laughs, headed home to my sweetie, and even gotten a good night's sleep - and today is Friday! All was well...until I get here.

I was told to do something yesterday that I did not feel comfortable doing until I had facts in place for myself (instead of relying on information from others), and apparently that turned into a huge 'with me or against me' campaign. Just because I choose to handle things a different way, does not mean that I am 'with' or 'against' anyone. I'm sick of this workplace faction crap. When did it not become enough to just come to work to work? To be respectful and personable to people, regardless of whether you like them or not, because you're supposed to be a grownup in a professional environment. This is a job. It's not called happy, fun playtime because it's not recess, it's f'ing work.

I'm just so frustrated. It's silly and more than a little distressing that some people can't seem to grow up and not simply just grow older.

Seriously, is it 5:30, yet? I need a movie marathon weekend. I really want to see "Haywire", "The Grey", "Underworld: Awakening", and "The Artist", but I also want to see "Contraband", "Man on a Ledge", and "One for the Money" (even though the casting for that is 100% wrong. Katherine Heigl? Seriously?). I may have to construct a make-shift dart board and toss a few darts. Three back to back movies with my hubby should be enough to get me out of the funk of this week. Maybe. We'll see. Next week has to be better. Maybe I'll be the lucky Powerball winner tomorrow (oh how I wish upon wishes). That would be exactly what I need :)

Hope you all had a better week than I did. Feel free to vent or rave in a comment :) Either way, have a great weekend everyone.

Oh, and tomorrow's "Thank a Mailman (or woman) Day", so be sure you do that :)

What's with the shoes?

If anyone was looking to play an impromptu game of detective - Whose shoe is this? Edition - you could have had a field day at the corner of 46th and Madison yesterday afternoon. These two pairs of mens shoes were lined up in such a way that it looked like the previous owners stepped out of them and kept going, or disappeared altogether. For all I know, the mystery shoes are still there, patiently waiting. I commented to P that perhaps Marty McFly simply didn't right the wrongs in those two people's pasts quick enough, but she just gave me a quirky look and didn't respond.

How she could have held a response back, I have no clue. BTTF humor is too good to be ignored :) That movie series is so great. My husband and I even had a Back to the Future table at our wedding. (So you don't think it was some random DeLorean-esque table on the dance floor, each of our guest tables was actually named after and tailored toward one of our favorite movies. I'll include the full movie list at the end, if anyone's interested.) What with the DeLorean time machine (yes, I know it's no 'bigger on the inside, multi-room, yes, it even has a swimming pool' Tardis - and yes, I do love Doctor Who too), great story, and Michael J. Fox, this movie is a classic. And it even has a crazy old Doctor who, while not as adorable as any of Dr. Who's recent regenerations, definitely marches to the beat of his own drummer.

I got off topic a bit, I think. Shoes. Yes. What is with all the abandoned shoes I'm seeing in the city? I understand seeing one sad and broken or lost shoe, but when it's one, two or three pairs placed together, neatly on the edge of the sidewalk - is that some art thing?

Anyway, back to work. This paperwork pile isn't going to stare at itself.

Have an excellent Hump Day everyone; and it's February 1st - Happy National Freedom Day!

Oh, the list :) The tables at our wedding were Jerry MaGuire, Clue, With Honors, Stardust, Jurassic Park, The 10th Kingdom (yes, I know it's a mini-series and not a movie, but it is the BEST!), Top Gun, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, Bad Boys, and Back to the Future. It was amazing, and everyone got it and loved it. Simply amazing :)

And yes...I did name almost all of the fish :)

I was up from 10 am this morning - entirely too early for someone who got home from work only slighty more than 12 before. Up and out this morning running errands with my family. First stop - doctor's office where I managed to find both Nemo and Dori in their posh fishtank. Guess those Disney residuals checks kicked in :)

The fish were all gorgeous and friendly. They all kept gathering close to us in the corner of the tank. I'm so tired though, I just want to get some sleep. How are all of you doing? Anyone have a particularly good St. Patty's? This was the first year since I've been working in Midtown that I've missed the parade (I was at a wedding makeup trial and my street was cleared by the time I got back) - so no pics. On my way out though, I did pass a marching band playing the song "Shots" so that was a strange kind of fun.

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Man, this keyboard's dusty = I missed you guys :)

I hadn't even realized how long it's been since I posted - too long. Well, it's summer so work has been going crazy. I can't wait for the holiday season at the end of the year when things go on hiatus and I can relax a bit again.

Not much besides work and school has been going on in my life lately, though my man and I have been trying to make significant headway with our wedding planning. We aren't getting married until late next year, but why run the risk of succumbing to we-started-planning-too-late-and-are-now-freaking-out stress. Some things, like picking the venue were easy (well easier), while others, like the guest list(s), not so much. Seriously, how is it possible 1) that a person can know so many people and have so much family, and 2) that those people feel they can readily invite themselves to a wedding even if they are like a 5th cousin twice removed? People just love a party; especially when free food's involved :)

Anyway, my co-worker P and I are trying to start a small event planning business. It's still in the early stages and so, when we say that My Fair Wedding's David Tutera was having a seminar about getting started in the event planning business, we were excited to attend (using incredibly discounted tickets a la Goldstar, of course).


The even was a few blocks away from my office so we got there a bit early. It was a good thing though since the space filled up quickly.

I had my notebook and pen ready to jot down any helpful hints and anecdotes. I think the only event planning business related message that I took away from the night was 'Never undersell your confidence or expertise!' (good life lesson in cliché form) before the night turned into one big dish/gab session. It wasn't what I paid for, but it was still fun.

David told us about how he got started and what it's like working on his new show, but most of the night was taken up with Q & A. He answered everything that was asked, no matter how broad the topic, and even told us the truth about what really went down between him and Joan Rivers on The Apprentice. I would try to repeat it here, but honestly that portion of the night went in one ear and out the other as I lost complete interest in that show after the Omarosa days. It was an interesting enough event and David was very nice and (definitely) patient. Now if only he could do my wedding for me :)

So, how have you all been doing? I hope this Hump Day is treating you well - have a good one!

P.S. Has anyone seen The Expendables? If so, what did you think of it? I've heard that it is a completely over the top throwback to 80's action movies, and my man and I are excited to check it out (eventually). With promotion like this, how could anyone not be :)

I wonder if (5:30pm) Friday knows how much I love it.

5:30pm on Friday likes to play hard to get with me. It takes forever to get here (and this week has been especially long), but it is one of the absolute best feelings when it finally shows up. I just have to get through about 3.5 more hours (thank you lunch hour) and then I can finally breathe and relax a bit.

Has it just been me this week, or have any of you also had the workweek from hell?

The weather was so lovely earlier this week, and now it's all overcast again. But even though it's going to rain, it's Friday so the smile's still on my face.

A few pics from earlier this week...

Adorable :)

 

Spring is in the air

With Spring comes lovely Spring flowers... and movies! So, is anyone else planning on seeing Kick-Ass this weekend? :)

Happy Friday everyone!

The three-hundred-and-eighth to three-hundred-and eleventh days combined...

This weekend went by entirely took quickly. My man and I saw Book of Eli on Friday. It was okay, but either it really dragged at times or I was ridiculously tired (I think it was a combo of both) because it seemed like it went on forever. They jammed about 4.5 hours worth of movie into those 2 hours.

My parents and I took my sisters back to college yesterday, so Saturday flew by. It was freezing in Scranton yesterday.


I was wearing so many layers - including double layered gloves - and my teeth were still chattering every time I stepped outside.


We, of course, went to Quaker Steak and Lube for lunch. Yea, wings :)

Today was all about school work. I feel just as tired now as I did on Friday. I really hope the week goes by quickly and uneventfully - I'm already looking forward to next weekend :)

Have a great night everyone!

The two-hundred-thirty-eighth day...

Nothing against Thursday, but thank goodness it's over. Just knowing that i am that must closer to the weekend is such an uplifting feeling right now. Hello weekend - I see your lovely visage on the horizon.

This was how I started my day...


My man was lovely enough to drive me in to work this morning (he's so awesome :) This HazMat vehicle followed us almost the whole way.


It's not the most comforting sight to see early in the morning - especially when it's headed the same way you are.

Anyway, anyone else super ready for the weekend? One of my sister's (Sis 1) is currently about to watch a midnight showing of New Moon. She and her friends camped out a bit, and have been on line since 8pm. I can't see myself camping out like that for any film. I love movies, but that's a bit too above and beyond for me :) I hope they have fun though. I will likely be seeing the film tomorrow - at a more reasonable time :)

So, how did Thursday treat all of you? Have a great night everyone!

The two-hundred-and-thirty-first through two-hundred-and-thirty-fourth days...

How's everyone doing? I have been so busy these last few days. School, work, dealing with my new customer service friends. Seriously, I've spoken with so many people that I know some of the reps entirely too well.

I am so tired of dealing with people, that I am simply not ready to deal with work tomorrow. I can't believe that the weekend flew by so quickly. My man and I did get to see 2012 though, so that was great. It was completely implausible and over-the-top, but the special effects were wonderful and I really enjoyed it. Since it was so effects driven, it's definitely a movie theater/big screen film.

I'm trying to think of birthday gifts for my man - his b-day is at the end of the month. I was initially thinking of doing something touristy in the city like a harbor cruise, a tour, a show, or going somewhere like Top of the Rock...

...but I'm thinking of taking him out for something a little closer to home. I don't know. I've spent so much time thinking about what to get him for Christmas that I'm a bit at a loss for his birthday.

Oh, before I forget: The poll has closed. So, what was your favorite TV show from the old ABC TGIF lineups? The majority of the votes went to Boy Meets World, with Step by Step, Family Matters, and Full House in a triple tie for second place :)

Anyway, again, how have all of you been? Anything interesting happen this weekend?

Have a wonderful rest of the night!

The two-hundred-and-twenty-sixth and two-hundred-and-twenty-seventh days combined...

I woke up this morning feeling lighter than air - well, feeling pretty good :)

I had a great dream and woke up enjoying the weekend. I had completely forgotten that it was Sunday - today just felt like a Saturday to me. That is, of course, until I remembered that I had a paper due.

I was so bogged down with work this week that I hardly got to my school work. I hadn't written a single word. Luckily I finished it and e-mailed it off to my professor (with 5 minutes to spare), but I have to get more organized.

Speaking of organized :) I'm organizing the list of November movies that I want to see. So far I have A Christmas Carol, 2012, The Twilight Saga: New Moon, Old Dogs, and Ninja Assassin. I want to see The Men Who Stare at Goats and The Private Lives of Pippa Lee, but they are both wait-for-Netflix choices for me.

What about all of you? Did the weekend get away from any of you? And what November movies are you looking forward to?

Have a great night everyone!

The two-hundred-and-fourth day...

Well, my workweek was craptastic, but tonight was great. T.G.I.F. indeed. P and I met up with my wonderful friend K after work to hang out and get some belated B-day drinks. It was great. We went to Tequilaville for happy hour and enjoyed some cheap beer, nachos and potato skins - and a lot of hilarious conversation. We were there for a few hours and just enjoyed the opportunity to unwind :)

The night got even better after that. My man and I went to see Law Abiding Citizen and were able to sneak into the last show of Couples Retreat afterwards. Law Abiding Citizen was really good overall, but I thought that Couples Retreat should have been funnier given the cast. It had many funny moments, but kind of fell flat for me as a whole.

The best part of the night though, were these...


My man, bought me a dozen roses just because. He knew I had a rough week and wanted to give me something to raise my spirits :) I love that man!

How did Friday treat all of you?

Enjoy the rest of the night everyone!

The hundred-and-forty-second day...(a little belated)

Today was absolutely beautiful. Hazy, hot and way too humid - but absolutely beautiful! My family and I ran a few errands, so most of my day was spent in Kohl's and JcPenney, but it was pretty great. I bought a few shirts, had an amazing mango smoothie, and took some pictures of people enjoying a wonderful day.

My man and I saw G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra last night. I didn't remember much of the Joe back story, but my man filled me in a bit along the way, and I have to say, I really enjoyed the movie. I think all of the actors did a good job, and the action was great. Oh and Ray Park, you are awesome! If only we got to see your face a bit more in your movies :)

I love laid back weekends.

Have a great night everyone!

The hundred-and-thirty-ninth day...It's hot outside, but it's lovely in here - oh, and questions are getting answered too :)

The questions have been asked :) So what did inquiring minds want to know?

From Fidgeting Gidget…

1. Since your blog is all about pictures, what is your favorite picture that you've ever taken?
My favorite pictures tend to change with my mood, but there are two that I'm very partial to.

First, a view of the city streets that was taken from the Empire State Building Observation Deck. I just love how the streets look like a maze. This is pretty much how I think of NYC - a maze of streets, people, buildings, and yellow cabs.


Second, is a picture that I took of Jeff Goldblum the first time I was lucky enough to meet him. My legs were shaking so bad that I'm surprised the picture came out so clear :)



Both of the above pictures were taken on the day when my man took me to see Mr. Goldblum in The Pillowman. The play and city exploration day were my graduation gifts from him, and I loved 'em!

2. Are you or have you ever posted a pic of yourself on here? If so, I think I missed it.
To date, I’ve never posted a picture of myself – at least not one where my face is seen. I may post one in the future, but that time has not yet come :)

3. Tell us more about your man. How'd you meet? What's he like?

Well...My man and I met in high school :) We actually said hi to each other a couple of times during our freshman year, but didn’t really talk to each other until sophomore year – he was the cute, sweet guy who always took the time to talk to the girl with her head in a book. We lost touch junior year, and met up again at the senior year Halloween dance he came as Puff Daddy (which meant that he was dressed to kill in an amazing suit), and I was dressed completely out of character as a black widow queen (fishnets, high heels, dramatic makeup, and a slinky black dress, etc). I saw his from across the room, he singled me out and asked me if I’d like something to drink…it was all very cute and I loved it! Through the long distance thing during college and law school, we’ve been in love and together ever since.

What’s he like? Well, he’s a cute, funny, sexy, video game fanatic who gets my jokes (he even waits patiently for me to finish laughing at my own hilarity – as I often do). He gets my friends (we are a crazy bunch) and my movie addiction (seriously, he counted it out and, all told, we saw like 120 movies last year – or something). He is fiercely loving, loyal, respectful and protective, and he always makes me feel sexy, loved, safe, and happy. He’s a family man, and I know that he’ll be a wonderful hubby and father some day. He’s my soul mate – nothing plain and simple about it, but lots of things that are awesome and wonderful about it. I knew it back in our senior year of high school. I knew it when my family drove over to his house at like 3 in the morning on the day when I had to move to Boston for college and our moms watched and gushed about how cute we were as we just stood there hugging and saying how much we were going to miss each other in the month before I’d be home again; and I feel it and know it more each and every day. Well, that was a bit mushy gushy :)

From Lee…

1. Do you have a Mac?

No, I use a PC. My poor Toshiba is a little sick, so I’ve been mainly using the family HP.

2. How many songs are on your mp3 player? If you have one.

I have about 200 songs. I don't really download much music, and am currently too lazy to transfer the rest of my cd's to my computer.

3. What kind of camera do you use?

I mainly use a Fujifilm FinePix J10; but I also have a Fujifilm Finepix S1000fd that I use every so often. On the odd days that I forget my camera at home (gasp!), or the battery dies, etc. I usually use the camera on my phone (a Samsung Gravity).

4. What do you do for a living?

I work for an entertainment union. I work with producers, etc to obtain and review all of their paperwork and chain-of-title to make sure that everything is in order, and get them to the point where they are able to use performers from our membership in their films.

From Badass…

I feel like I've seen this done somewhere before... =)

I don’t know what you mean :)

1. Are you left or right-handed?

I am a righty, though I used to (still do actually) wish that I was ambidextrous.

From Moonjava…

1. I've always been a little curious about the dayjobs of my blogger buddies. What do you do currently (career, etc)? And do you love what you do?
Well, as I said above I work for an entertainment union. It can be challenging, and it often is, and while I don’t love what I do right now - due to a mix of work stress and job environment stress – I do really like it. I’ve been working there for a little over two years now, and hope to be there for many more.

Now, what would I really love to do as a career? I would want to be a psychologist (specializing in international psychology). I’m actually going back to school, p/t, to get my M.A. degree in this so we’ll see :)

From Optimistic Pessimist...

1. Wine or beer? Why?
Beer. I've never been a fan of wine - maybe I just haven't found the one for me - but I do enjoy a nice cold one every now and then.

2. What's one of your favorite things about NYC? Least favorite?

One of my favorite things has to be the diversity. The city houses so many different kinds of people, food, cultures, clothes, etc.; it's great. It's exciting to know that I have a seemingly unlimited set of possibilities and experiences so close by.

One of my least favorite is the grime. The city can be a dirty, smelly, disgusting place - especially on hot and humid summer days.

3. Are you going to come watch me run the NYC marathon?

I would love to see some of the marathon live. I've only ever caught it in bits and pieces on TV. I just may come and join the ranks of people cheering you on :)

4. You are in NYC right, if not...why do i think you are?

I live in Queens, but I do work in NYC :)

Thus ends today's question and answer period. That was fun - feel free to ask me more questions anytime :)

In other news...

The wonderful ____j over @ this is me, consequently just awarded me with this lovely award. ____j's blog is lovely, and she just reached her 100th post so congrats to her :) Thanks for the award ____j!

Rules:

1. Add the logo to your blog; 2. Link to the person from whom you received this award; 3. Nominate 7 or more blogs; and 4. Leave a message on their blog, letting them know they are One Lovely Blog!

I’ve seen this award floating around quite a bit so I’m not going to tag anyone, but everyone should feel free to take it and post it on their blog - I mean seriously, all of your blogs are too lovely and cool for you not to!

I'm off to sit in front of an air conditioner - it's HOT! Enjoy the rest of the night everyone!

The hundred-and-thirty-fourth day...I've got a case of Thursdayitis

Today was such a Thursday.

My Hoops and YoYo day of the week push button says that Thursday is like Friday eve. That is so true. All day I just kept wishing that the work day would end so that Friday's workday could come - and end - and then it would be the wonderful weekend. I'm planning on seeing G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra and A Perfect Getaway this weekend, so I'm really looking forward to that. I just have to get through one more workday :)

Pictures for today? Just a couple of buildings that I like. One is older and one is newer, but they are both beautiful :)

A beautiful building that gives you a glimpse of how Parsons Blvd. looked back in the day

The siding on the building in front is just so interesting

Now, I'm off to watch the end of the So You Think You Can Dance finale!

Have a great night everyone!

The hundred-and-thirty-first day...

During my lunchtime walk today, I decided to look up and took in a few wonderfully lovely buildings, and one city pigeon that was obviously waiting for his or her hotel room :)

How was everyone else's day?

As there's nothing else on, and I'm exhausted, I think I'll relax a bit and half-watch a Lifetime movie (the one on is called Don't Cry Now). As with all Lifetime movies, I know that I can expect to see any 1 of 4 possible things - the crying woman, the crazy woman, the crying crazy woman, or the deranged man :)

What are you all up to tonight?

Night all!

The hundred-and-fourteenth day...

So, I saw Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince today! It was amazingly great - it just had so many great parts in it :) I really liked that Luna had some more screen time - she's delightful. That Gryffindor headdress was too much.

Anyway, after the movie, my man, Sis 1, Sis 2 and I went to catch a quick bite at BK, then headed back to the theater (of course :) to catch Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (the Sisters hadn't seen it yet). On the way up the escalator, it made a slight screeching sound and then came to a rather hard and seriously unexpected stop. We were just about at the top of this picture:

My sisters were standing in front of me, and my man was standing behind me. Sis 2 stumbled a bit, Sis 1 had to grab onto Sis 2 to keep from falling forward, and I would have fallen all the way down to the bottom of the escalator if my man hadn't been there. There were also three other kids on the escalator at the time. It was ridiculous. The people walking down the down escalator (that wasn't working) all gasped and stared. Did I mention that it was ridiculous?

We had already had a customer service issue at BK, so needless to say, I was already in a fighting mood. I stomped up the stairs and immediately demanded to speak with a manager. The conversation started civilly enough, but it quickly turned into something filled with evil eyes, raised voices, anger, and tears when the Manager tossed me a look of fake concern and said "I've never heard of such a thing happening. Which escalator was it? This one?" Huh? Which escalator? What? How about the one leading up to the theater!

Anyway, after a while, I was drawing quite a bit of attention, and several patrons began to look back and forth between the Manager and the escalator so she finally answered one of my numerous questions (I was firing questions at her like a freaking machine gun, one of which was what she intended to do about the steel deathtrap) and she informed me that she would inform both the general manager and the maintenance company, and the escalator would be shut down. I didn't drop my gaze until she swore to call them and shut it down immediately. She then asked me if we had come to see a movie. I answered that yes, we had, as we were in a theater. She comped us the tickets for the Transformers 2, but I left her my name and number and told her to call me with the contact information for the General Manager - who I followed up with when I got home.

It's sad, but truth be told, this isn't the first time that the escalator has been shut down. One of the questions that I asked the Manager was what she would have done if someone had been seriously hurt, but (no surprise) she had no answer. I think I'll follow up with them again next week.

When did common sense become such a rarity?

Have an excellent night everyone!

The hundred-and-tenth day...(a little belated)

Two of the toys that keep me (and visitors to my office) entertained at work - and yes, that is a stack of "The Office" sticky notes :)

Sorry for the belated post everyone. I am once again flexing at work this week so I, of course, fell asleep almost as soon as I got home last night. I often wonder if these compressed workweek hours are worth it to have a day off when most of what I do on my day off is sleep. It is worth it though because (1) a day off is a day off, and (2) I love sleeping. In addition to all that, I'm very excited this week because on this day off my man, my sisters and I will be going to see Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Yea! I just have to actually wake up on time to catch that matinee show :)

Have a great day everyone!