Southern Fried Staunton

I’m back to real life after having over a week off from school. Jen’s back to work today after having four days away from the office for our Staunton,VA getaway. We had a good time but it felt way too short, as it always does.

There’s a lot to talk about, given that Granny Joyce’s house is an internet free environment so I had no way off blogging. Friday, our first full day there, was rainy so we spent a lot of time visiting and playing games. Kinects, which I played for the first time at Christmas, is a videogame that I think is actually fun. It requires you to be active because your body is the controller. Pretty cool. Friday night we went bowling. My cousin, who shall remain nameless, and company may have “pre-gamed” at dinner then downed a few pitchers of beer at the alley. It was funny to watch. I was the DD for the night and drove the whole gang around in my Aunt’s Chrysler minivan. It’s a very nice van, but everyone protested when I tried to drop them off right up front like a limo, lol.



One of these things is not like the other.



Saturday afternoon, after a rough start for a few, Jen, Nathan and I went to check out Downtown Staunton. There were too many antique stores and it was a little boring but it was very pretty and had plenty of great places to eat. (pics) I couldn’t pass up taking a pic of this one creepy mannequin head in a window full of them.

Saturday night I went to bed early while Jen, Courtney, and Granny stayed up a little later for their girl’s night (which consisted of watching William & Kate on Lifetime). Sunday morning David and I went with others to a 6:30 am sunrise Easter service at a small, old, country church. And I thought Granny’s ‘hood was country! There were basically cows in the parking lot and not much else around for miles. It was a great service with a big pot-luck breakfast following. Easter was the first day I had sweets in over 40 days and did I ever eat them. Monkey bread… mmm….



Age appropriate?

 The most interesting part of the trip happened Easter Sunday while the cousins and I were taking a walk in the park. After reviving our inner children (pic), we came across an abandoned passport and credit card and had fun playing detective for awhile and looking for the owner before Jen realized an address would be written in the front. We decided to drop it off to the owner, Shane Harrison, who lived less than a mile away. As our walk continued, Courtney noticed a backpack down in a ditch. At this point, we were well into Scooby Doo mode and decided to investigate. The backpack (pic) contained (Jinkies!) a cell phone, iPod, hunting knife, library book, and some kind of lock-picking device, among other things. We called a number on the phone and found out the owner of the bag’s name was Shane too! But Shane Atwood. This was just too weird to have found two lost items, both belonging to Shane’s with different last names. We were convinced he was a runaway with an alias until, again, Jen realized the name on the passport was indeed Shane Atwood, Harrison was his middle name. Good one David! We ended up calling Shane’s dad/grandfather who came to pick up the stuff. I don’t think he realized quite how much we had found because when he saw all the stuff, especially the passport, he got a little worried. Direct quote, “I don’t know where the hell he is. I guess I better go find him now!” The cousins are keeping their eyes on the news for any missing Shane Atwoods.

Sunday afternoon after lunch with the fam we headed home. I correctly predicted a lot of Easter traffic close to the city and our 6 hr trip became an 8hr one by the time we got home. Not fun. It was nice to escape the city, visit with family, and enjoy a laid back lifestyle for a few days.

It was hard for us to merge back into the fast paced world that is NYC this morning. We were up early to return our rental car and head to work and school. Tomorrow should come a little easier.

Good vs. Evil... Carbs

Spring break, woo! Florida was a little out of our price range so we’re considering a somewhat impromptu road trip to VA. It would be nice to spend Easter with family… I should probably call them to make sure they’re in town that weekend, ha.


Midterms went well. School, blah.

Jen made some awesome lasagna and sausage bread for our friend’s birthday dinner. Today people were still raving about Jen’s cooking! I missed the event due to my set Fri/ Sat night schedule. Friday night I let my coworkers talk me into going out for a few drinks and I gave in, only because I’m not in class this week. They took me to their usual spot across the street called House of Brews and kept me out until 4am, but it gets late quickly when you don’t even get off work until after midnight.

Today we spent some quality time together out and about in the city. We picked up our favorite sandwich at our deli for lunch before doing some shopping in Herald Square (pic). The really fun part (sarcasm) was grocery shopping at our Chelsea Trader Joe’s afterward. Now that we’ve gone almost 6 weeks without sweets and can control most of our cravings we decided to try to rid our diet of some of the more hidden sugars. Refined carbohydrates, sweetened dried fruit and yogurts, and cereal with the second ingredient as sugar are out, for example. Jen is in complete agreement with the idea, noting that her last few pleasures in life are being taken away from her. I’ll keep you posted as to how long it takes her to commit suicide.

MIB 3

If you want to gawk at celebs, come to our neighborhood. As I’ve written before, I hear it’s much easier to get a permit to film in our neighborhood than in Manhattan because of less congestion and rules and regulations. Not to mention that two major studios, LIC’s Silvercup and Astoria Kaufman, are in our borough. Here are some side parking postings (pics) that I saw around LIC today for shoots happening tomorrow. The first flyer is for The Good Wife which must be a Silvercup production because they are always around. The second one, Georgetown, I haven’t heard anything about yet. If I wasn’t going to be stuck in lab all morning I would stroll by to see who’s in it.

Wednesday night at work my coworkers and I were all pumped to see Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith filming Men in Black 3. There were signs posted for a few days that stated they would start shooting a night scene on Restaurant Row that evening. We were fighting over the section upstairs by the windows where we could see all the big star trailers. They were supposed to start filming at 7 but by then everything was gone because it started raining. We were pretty disappointed, though I was more disappointed when someone told me Will Smith is a scientologist trying to keep it on the down low. Apparently people keep spotting him coming out of their NYC headquarters which is just a block away from the restaurant. Crazy.

NYC Health Department

Because the two dancers that were in the unit below us moved, the one bedroom in our building is now available if anyone is looking! It won’t last long. We also have some newcomers to our neighborhood of a different kind and it’s kind of a big deal. The NYC Health Department just moved into their new location in LIC and with the new location comes some very healthy regulations that I’m all for! No more food that is detrimental to your health will be sold or served, including but not limited to: doughnuts, cookies, cakes, drinks with more than 25 calories per serving, and fried food. Muffins will be cut in half and bagels quartered… no mention of cream cheese. Ha. It’s funny, but actually all true. If you want to kill yourself by eating crap then fine, but your employer shouldn’t be helping you do it.

Another way to stay fit is through exercise (duh). Maybe, now that the NYCHD is in our ‘hood, I should let them know that there’s no gym (only the private ones in the high-rises) on our Downtown side of LIC. There is a cycling studio just a few blocks away opening soon (pic), but a full gym close to home would be better.

I have mixed feelings about owning a Vespa, but think they look great. I’m a sucker for any kind of European styling. This one has been hanging out on our corner a lot lately. The owners must love LIC Bar… drunk driving?

Andy Who?

Wow, it’s been a week since I’ve posted here already!? Time flies when… all you do is work and study. Ha.


We had what I would call a D-list celebrity sighting in LIC at breakfast on Saturday. Does anyone remember The Andy Milonakis Show on MTV? I think my brother liked it, I can’t remember if I did or not. Anyway, we saw Andy in the checkout line at Foodcellar. I wonder if he lives in our ‘hood.

Another one the few fun things we did this weekend was go to Bareburger for lunch with some friends (pic). We had been once before, loved it, and have been dying to go back ever since. They were out of ostrich and bison which was sad (I wanted to try ostrich) and our party was a little too big for the place so we had to wait for almost an hour. I regretted not bringing my muscles of the lower extremities flash cards, lol.

It’s supposed to rain and snow tomorrow so this picture of flowers blooming in our park seems out of place. It’s going to be so nice to have sun and grass again. Speaking of, say a prayer that we are able to visit Florida for Spring Break in a few weeks.

Snowy Spring Days

Snow two days after the start of Spring, what the heck? Actually, when I moved here last March (can't believe I've survived a year here already) there was a good amount of snow on the ground. Apparently, it has also snowed once in April every year for the last ten years... or something like that. Anyway, enjoy this pic taken in the park down the street of the little bit of snow we got Wednesday.

Wednesdays at good ol' Bourbon St. is Cajun Foodie Day which means we serve two different cajun classics each week for $5. This week's specials were interesting: sauteed beef tongue and three onion soup. I will try everything once (if we're talking food) and I can tell you I found something I won't be trying a second time. Beef tongue's texture was just like you'd expect a thick cube of barely cooked tongue to be like, gross. Our GM (who's from New Orleans) gagged it up, but I somehow chewed and got it down. It was kind of like winning my own version of Fear Factor.

Today Jen was finally able to make it to the doctor after months without her meds. It was a major stressor in her life so thanks to Aunt Mary for all her help today. She made a trip out to White Plains and was devestated to be out of the office for a day.

Tonight we had our neighbor over to catch up over dinner. We're going through an extremely busy season in our lives right now and it's easy to loose touch with people, even the ones that live right above us. Her hubby was unfortunately stuck at work and couldn't make it... I understand how that goes. We had Rachel Ray's chicken and dumpling (gnocchi) stoup (soup + stew). Delicious.

Here's "My" Title

Like I’ve been saying, there’s just not enough time to do exciting things in the city regularly right not because of our crazy schedules. They say it’s the little things in life that make it interesting though, right? With this in mind I’m introducing a couple new photo segments to my blog (neither of which are my original ideas, ha).

The first is in response to the hilarious “Put a Bird on It” skit from the show Portlandia and will be aptly named Put a Bird On It. Portland, Oregon is not the only place that loves to embellish with birds. Enjoy the coming photos, starting with this one tonight (pic)… Put a Bird On It.

The second idea comes from a book that Jen and I enjoyed one day in a bookstore or Urban Outfitters, I can’t remember. I believe it was called Unnecessary Quotation Marks and featured pictures of phrases with just that, and a caption mocking the misused quotations. It seems like something Leno would do on his show. I found this perfect little example at school (pic)

All the pictures featured in the posts will be taken by me and will show up randomly when I notice them while out and about.

With clinicals pretty much owning me for the next year I have alot less time to do fun things in NYC. Wednesday afternoon the honors society (which i could be in if I didn't work when they hold meetings) sponsored a free live jazz show in the building where we have our lab practicals. It sounded great as it echoed up through the atrium and melted some of our stress away. I passed up all the coffee and cookies because we gave up sweets for Lent... again... bla. We're reading the Bible everyday too.

Walking to work Wednesday I spotted my Linus bicycle on this billboard for Clarks. Cool right? I'm always so ahead of the trends lol... and Clarks isn't too bad either.

Planned Work

No matter what we were doing this weekend there was one consistent factor, subway system construction. For instance, to get home from work Friday night I had to take two trains and a shuttle bus because the two trains I can take straight home without a transfer weren’t running. Saturday night was the same story coupled with the loss of one hour of sleep. Because I got home so late and was so frustrated with train issues, I put my eye pillow to good use and slept until about 2pm Sunday and missed church (I’m such a heathen). I know I could have just taken a cab home but I already pay so much for an unlimited metro card that it seems silly. New Yorkers are always complaining about transportation (and it could be much better) but it still beats having to drive everywhere in our opinion. Don’t even get me started on the cost of auto insurance and our nation’s dependence on oil.

Sunday night Jen and I needed some quality time together and decided to go out and about. Always keeping our Pup in mind, we went to Pet Smart in Soho to pick up some new bones and poo bags before walking just northwest to Greenwich Village to find a place to eat. We decided on a romantic little Italian restaurant where we had Ahi Tuna, Artichoke Ravioli, and found a reisling that we actually both like which rarely happens.

As a final update on the coworker/ sheep decapitation situation (previous posts), Taylor had to leave Bourbon St. to “take time to take care of some things” and won’t be coming back to work. I would not want to be in her shoes right now! Hide your sheep, hide your lamb!

School is going… well its going. It’s a lot of information early in the week, practice in labs after that, and then clinical application by the end of the week. This week is Hip ROM and MMT… you know what that means right?

Happy Fat Tuesday!

I didn't want to work Mardi Gras at the restaurant tonight as last year was said to be a madhouse and not much more lucrative than any other night. I didn't even have to request it off, though, because it's outside of my new availability now that my two week break from school is over. Just in time! Today was a really nice day which usually adds to the size of the crowd. I plan on checking in to see how it is at work later tonight.

I'm now quite glad I took the time to tell you about the Times Square sheep art installation in my previous post, as I just so happen to have a crazy follow up story. Read the article below from The Gothamist, keeping in mind that Taylor is (was?) a bartender at my restaurant, Bourbon St Bar and Grill.

Times Square Sheep Decapitated Via Roundhouse Kick!
Yesterday a woman roundhouse kicked one of the 24 paper sheep currently set up in Times Square as part of a week-long installation. According to the NY Post, the woman—Taylor Galary—decapitated the sheep with her foot at around 7 a.m., then tried to flee in a cab. The 22-year-old was charged with criminal mischief. But to be fair, she was dared to do it. At press time it's unclear whether this was an escalated double-dog dare, or just a standard dare.
The remaining 23 sheep will be in Times Square until March 7th, as long as there are no copycat incidents.

Other online articles state she was charged with a felony and also facing charges for something else in another state, one she wasn't supposed to leave. Oh, the professionals of the food and beverage industry.

Here's a little more comic relief for the day (pic). Jen and I were in line at Duane Reade over the weekend when the fashionable clothing of the ladies in front of us caught our attention. This picture doesn't even do it justice. I mean what were they thinking? I don't know if a power outage in a windowless apartment would be a sufficient excuse. I'll let you guess what nationality they were. :)

Min-Pin

Wednesday night our pretty mild weather turned cold and windy which meant few people were on the streets and it was slow at work. The whole floor upstairs was cut and closed by 9:30 and we left with very little. The good side was that I got to come home early for once and spend time with Jen. We watched The Social Network, the Netflix movie we had been looking forward to getting for a while. It made me want to start my own business, something Jen and I have considered many times but always talk ourselves out of because of the intimidating start up costs. Maybe next year. Anyway, we recommend the movie!

I've been more interested in modern art lately and I literally stumbled upon some more on the way to work yesterday in Times Square. It's a really interesting handmade exhibit called "Counting Sheep" by an Asian artist. (pic) As you can imagine, farm animals really stick out in the middle of Manhattan.

This morning I volunteered at AC&C and did lots of dog walking. The big pit bull mixes in adoptions are generally friendly and dopey but, like Pup, it's the little ones you have to watch. There was one lone min-pin mix in the small dog room and I soon learned why this cute dog hadn't been adopted. The dog was very aggressive in the crate and showed it's teeth when I went for the latch. With the help of an employee and some treats, though, I coaxed it out and got it leashed up. It was actually sweet once out of the crate and walking around outside. I always forget to take pics, although we're not supposed to have our phones on us while with an animal.

Put a Bird on It

As I mentioned in a previous post, our friends upstairs asked me to do some wall art in their bedroom. We had a few meetings to decide what they wanted... or what Nicole wanted rather. Ricky suggested painting a nest full of eggs being invaded by a squirrel or hawk, ha, so he lost his input privileges. :)

The "penthouse" units above us have high ceilings, sky-lights, and lofts in the bedrooms making it an awesome space to work in. Once the piece was all done it really enhanced the room and looked good with all their current decorations. Hope you like it as much as we do!

Here's, as a reminder, the wall art in our bedroom...

Oh! After watching the "Put a Bird on It" video that a friend sent me from "Portlandia" (also in previous post) I watched a few other youtube clips from the show. Hilarious! It's my sense of humor if you ever wondered if I even had one, ha. I recommend any of the feminist bookstore clips... just youtube it.

As we were decorating our NYC apartment together, Jen and I realized that we have very few pictures of each other, apart or together, that we like. It was beautiful out today and we had the whole day off together so we took a walk around LIC snapping pics. We think they came out ok, I hope you like them. 

 

Zydeco

The weather Friday wasn’t great for anything outdoors so I stayed in and got most of my wall art done in our neighbor’s apartment. I’m going to make you wait to see the finished product in a day or two. Here’s a pic of my sidekick who was lying on her back in front of me while I was on the floor making a rough draft.

The streets surrounding our apartment were packed with semis and trucks for the 30 Rock filming. It was oddly all filmed inside of a party rental warehouse just a few buildings down from us so I have no idea what it looked like in there. After repeatedly strolling past the film site while taking Pup out, I caught a glimpse of Tina Fey in a blue hoodie sweatshirt. What gave her away was the guy in her face carefully adjusting her hood and hair. I was just across the street and the only person around that wasn’t part of the crew so I didn’t want to be annoying and whip my phone out to take a picture. Here’s a pic from farther away though. As if that wasn’t enough celebrity gawking for one day, while leaving work late Friday night I passed Sex and the City’s Mr. Big jogging down the street. He had a friend with him and ran right up into a brownstone on restaurant row next to Joe Allen. The key to spotting celebrities is that you can’t go looking for them, you just have to let them come to you. :)

I worked my first brunch in a few months today. They shift was short and sweet (12-5) and most importantly, fun! Around 4, a Creole style Zydeco band started playing to provide music for the night (pic). I love the wash board and spoons, ha. It actually sounded really good and fit our Mardi Gras theme... which is quickly approaching. Note to self: request that day off.

Taking it back to the subject of my wall art, here’s a video that a friend Jenny Li sent me when she heard about my project. It’s so appropriate and hilarious I think…
http://www.hulu.com/watch/210887/portlandia-put-a-bird-on-it#x-4,vclip,1,0

Brisket

After a nice long walk with Pup this morning, I headed to an interview in Grand Central for a school grant. I actually applied to this organization last year and never got a response but luckily met a very organized representative on campus who is helping me re-submit my application. Basically, NY is in great need of LPN's and PTA's and the government has given this org. money to give to us so that we'll have less touble in school and start working as soon as possible. I don't really have to do anything but fill out an occasional school related online survey if approved so that they know how I'm doing and get me help if I need it. Hopefully I get a refund check for at least one full semester in the mail next year!

Lunch was on Bob (our interviewer) today after our meeting which was a nice surprise. We had Brother Jimmy's BBQ which is pretty big up here and I hadn't tried it yet. It was very tasty but very heavy and my braised brisket sandwich gave me a mctummy-ache. Later we parted ways and I headed to the restroom where I found this smorgasbord of paraphernalia resting on the toilet seat cover dispenser.(pic) Those things are never stocked anyway so at least the previous occupant was putting it to good use. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that there was something illegal going on in this stall, ha! Classy NY, classy.

In other news, my upstairs neighbors and all around fine folks want me to add some wall art to their bedroom after liking what I did in our apartment. They were debating between love birds or a rebel flag wielding eagle so I had no choice but to intervene. While putting together some options for them Jen brought to my attention that I'm drawn to birds much like my mother to which I replied, "This Google search for 'birds on branches' just became much less enjoyable." She had quite the laugh at me. I drew up a draft today and start painting tomorrow. Should be fun... I'll keep you posted.

Oh, filming for 30 Rock pretty much outside our window tomorrow! Look for pics later.

Snow Fall... 5?

Monday morning we woke up to a few more inches of snow falling and here are a couple of pics from the day. One is of our patio at work which is going to soon become a glass enclosed, climate controlled room to be used year round. This bike almost looks like it's made of snow. No, it's not mine which is hanging on the wall inside safe and sound.

Good news, finals are over! I got final grades of an A and B in the classes. I now have two weeks off to read ahead, rest up, and try* to save lots of money in preparation for an intense twelve week session. As I’m lying in bed right now writing this I can’t remember if I get a clinical assignment in two weeks or not… I think so…
Friday was the most beautiful day we’ve had in months. It was wind-breaker warm and sunny, a good day to own a bike. I decided to ride over the Polaski Bridge, through Greenpoint, and into Williamsburg (both in Brooklyn) to do some exploring and hipster gawking. What are hipsters you may ask? I don't really know but by the look of em, in my opinion, they’re girls who look like they need a shower and bearded guys that dress like lumberjacks. Later I ran into a few friends at the park in the ‘hood before heading into work. In NYC, when there’s warm weather in February people will do anything for a table on a balcony or patio. Our upstairs and outdoor areas where I work were packed and I made some much needed green.

Saturday was pretty chill. Although it dropped about 30 degrees compared to Friday, Jen and I spent some time shopping in Soho for a bit before I had to head back to work.

While walking Pup the other day I noticed there’s a new high-rise going up down the street that’s now blocking our view, not of the skyline, but of the Pepsi-Cola sign. :(  Below the construction in the pic is one of Pup’s favorite places to go... to the bathroom… I thought you might want to know that.


New York City Time Lapse from Blueglaze LLC on Vimeo.

Here’s a cool Manhattan/Brooklyn time lapse that I’m borrowing from another NYC blog. The music is a remix of Hometown Glory by Adele who we are both fans of. It’s only a couple of minutes long if you have some time to watch.

ValentiMe's Day

Because Sunday is the only whole day Jen and I have off together, we (I) tend to over-book it. One of our regular Sunday things-to-do is grocery shopping which is a completely different animal compared to what it was when we were living in FL. Driving across the street to Publix and Target and loading an SUV is a cake-walk compared to our shoulder numbing journey across boroughs by subway. Sounds fun right? The Chelsea Trader Joes is our go-to grocer, but we were in Union Square to do an exchange and decided to try the one in this area instead. As we approached we saw a line (just for entrance, not for checkout) out of the building and down the sidewalk. No joke. We ended up walking to Whole Foods (lots of natural/ organic options but more $$) which was just as packed but at least let you in the door. By the time we got home we were pooped and Jen had a headache. The good news is we now have some great, fresh food for meals… until next week.

Valentine’s Day was a good one for us foodies. After class in the morning I took my bike out to run some errands and enjoy the beautiful weather. I stopped by our neighborhood Food Cellar to pick up the things needed to make chocolate covered strawberries. They sold out of the dipping chocolate kit which was a blessing in disguise. I was sent to ask the baker for an alternative who then explained to me how they make their own chocolate strawberries ($4 apiece) and sold me chunks of white and dark chocolate for much less than what I would have spent using the kits. Doing it at home was much more fun and cost less than $10 to do about 15 strawberries.

For dinner we made Rachael Ray inspired tilapia filet sammies with citrus honey coleslaw, Yummo! Later we went just right next door to LIC Bar where they were having a Valentine’s Day concert. It had about twenty performers playing two songs a piece, one of love and one of heartbreak. Most of them were really entertaining and talented, but a few that were so bad (and they knew it) that it was really funny. We aren’t big pub/bar people but it’s nice to have a cool spot so close to home.

Anyway, enjoy these pics from our Valentine’s Day dinner, dessert, and night out!

Up to 60 degrees on Friday! Where are my board shorts…?

Wednesday and Thursday I had class and work so they were both pretty bla days. Again, NYC is in it's off season for tourism right now so at work we do a lot of goofing off and little money making. Thank you savings account! We did, though, have a party at our upstairs bar Thursday night which helped bring in some much needed dough. While I was working Thursday night, Jen had some girlfriends over for...  secret girly things. :) 

Because I didn't get home until very late, I didn't have much time to be productive on Friday, my day off. I did get to volunteer for a couple of hours at AC&C! It's fun to walk big dogs, which are the majority at the shelter since most people in NYC want apartment sized pups. Friday night Jen made some yummy veggie chili and we watched Requiem for a Dream. It's on many must-see movie lists, but we found it really disturbing. Watch at your own risk.

Note to self: February feels colder than January.

Million Dollar Quartet

Let’s see, what’s been happening…? I can only remember as far back as Saturday. Besides the weather making it a rough morning, I was exhausted from the night before and slept in while Jen had to get up early and go to a funeral. Later we went to brunch, hoping that some caffeine and mimosas would bring cheer to our day. Saturday night I worked the slowest weekend night shift I have ever seen at BSB&G.


Sunday we, like most of America, went to a Superbowl party in the one of the high-rise community rooms. There were lots of people there making it pretty loud so I didn’t get to hear many of the good commercials. From what I did hear, my favorite was the Volkswagen commercial where the little Darth Vader started the car with his “force.” That morning friends were asking Jen what she was bringing so she felt obligated to make something and didn’t want to disappoint. With about an hour to spare before the game after going to the gym and doing laundry, we made sausage bread and layered chocolate/ graham/ coconut bars. Jen’s stuff is always a big hit… fried onions and peppers… mmm.

Today was a rather jam-packed day. As I’m literally running from place to place feeling stressed and being aggravated by slow people and trains (like a true Manhattanite), I wonder why I do this to myself. I did feel quite accomplished though after going to the gym, swinging by my old Sunnyside apartment to pick up some old mail and say hello, then going to class before heading straight to AC&C to do some volunteering with the dogs at the shelter.

Tonight, other than the fact that it is freezing and very windy, was the perfect ending to this crazy day. Jen, I, and a few friends got to see Million Dollar Quartet on Broadway. It’s a show about the night in 1954 when four legends –Johnny Cash, Jerry lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Elvis Presley— gathered for an impromptu jam session at sun records where they launched their careers. It was very good, although it’s definitely for an older population that was hip when they were. My grandparents would have loved it and will have to add this show after Live with Regis and Kelly to their list of things to see…if they ever make it to NYC.

Cycloc

I had to take a quick blog break to get through a pretty intense week. As I mentioned, I had two presentations to give to two classes, two days in a row as well as a few other assignments due. They went well for the most part. Getting one of my three group members for the first presentation to do any work was like pulling teeth. I have no idea how he made it this far. For my individual lecture in my Intro class, I ditched my note cards last minute and just spoke which I think was better. The worst moment was when my professor, who’s a Doctor of Physical Therapy, called me out in front of the class on what she thought was a misspelling in my first PowerPoint slide. I politely told her that you do, in fact, spell plantar fasciitis with two i’s. She then said, “Well that’s not how I’ve always spelled it,” which is when I thoughtlessly replied, “Well then you’ve always been wrong.” It was somewhat of an awkward moment for her but self-inflicted. She told me I did a great job but we’ll see what kind of grade I get, ha. Jen helped me with my bibliography and by “helped” I mean she did the whole thing herself. She said, “Geez! When anyone in my family is in school, I’m in school too.” Anyway, the hardest part of this semester is over with only finals remaining.

Some sad news is that Jen’s friend/coworker’s husband, who was forty-eight, died of a sudden, unexpected heart-attack. It’s been sad around the office and Jen has been picking up a lot of extra work, of course. She finally got her raise (if you can call it that)… and is job hunting again. The funeral is this Saturday morning which is predicted to be icy and rainy.

This post is taking a turn for the worst, lol. I’ll end it on a fun note. Enjoy the pics above from last Wednesday, our first snow day ever! Notice our awesome snow man.

Also, here’s my new Cycloc bike hanger that I found on craigslist. Retail is $135 but I got it for close to nothing from a guy in the West Village. It looks like art, love it.

Presentation Madness

Eek! I have two in class presentations two days in a row (Mon and Tues), one of which is with a group. I hate group presentations, as there's always someone who does nothing. I see lots of studying and coffee in my future...

There's about a foot of snow on the ground that's turning into slush and a little more snow coming today and tomorrow. Oh, yesterday my classes were cancelled and Jen stayed home from work! we finally made a snowman! Pictures of him coming as soon I have time to get them off Jen's camera.

Picnik

Not too long ago I discovered an iphone app called hipstamatic that applies various vintage effects to regular photos. I don't even have an iphone but liked it so much I convinced my brother to buy it and he thinks it's awesome. I've been looking for something similar for my computer and finally found a program that's similar and free. It's through Google's Picasa and it's called Picnik. I had some fun taking snow pics this morning after my second midterm. Tonight I added some Picnik affects to them. They include pup in the snow, the courtyard at school, and my morning commute.