Not Missing, Just Hiding

Things I have been busy about since I last wrote:

• Participating in a national taskforce at work that seems like it will be fairly time-consuming
• Cooking dinner at home every night to save money because I am so broke it’s a joke
• Commenting at Jezebel just because those girls make me laugh
• Avoiding phone calls from Friend of Fiance’ (FOF), who apparently thinks he should call me twice a day or more because he is bored and whine to me about his girlfriend
• Dodging the inevitable bullet of letting everyone know that we’re in full-on wedding planning mode for October and the cranky comments about the quality of the fiance’ to follow (I know, I know- you want explanations and answers and whatnot- they are forthcoming)
• Writing more fiction and submitting more for publication
• Watching House, and America’s Next Top Model, and South Park
• Trying to track down BC who is constantly in and out of town now that his boyfriend is in Philadelphia
• Going to happy hour
• Sitting on my stoop in the lovely weather looking at the two foot hole in the sidewalk that I call the front yard, which is filling with green things
• Baking chocolate cake and a batch of chocolate chip cookies from scratch
• Reading Anne Lamott and Joan Didion books and adding others to my goodreads list
• Getting ready for the next business trip (Norfolk, VA)
• Starting my very first class in my new graduate program- yep, I’m going back for a Master of Professional Writing degree.
• Making Sunday dinner for the future in laws
• Reading books sitting on a bench in the park
• Bellydancing

And I’ve neglected you all. I’ve been having a lot of little breakthroughs lately that I can’t wait to share. Just because I’m proud of me. And that feels amazing.  

Teaching DC to the Young Folks

Tonight the fiance’s sister was in DC for a student conference, and I was done with the work responsibilities so after a brief nap, we rendezvoused at the Dupont Circle fountain for 19 year old fun. As a former high school nerd, I don’t have a lot of faith in my ability to be hip at 31. But, I think I pulled it off nicely.

We hit up a benefit for peace at the Black Cat, bought some amazing music, pushed our way to the front of the crowd, snuck outside to smoke, and overall had the best all ages music experience I’ve had in a long while. After that, we snagged a cab to Dupont for empanadas which we snacked on sitting on the nearby church steps, watched a drunken frat boy curse the bartender for not serving him, talked philosophy and college and dating and family into the wee small hours, and poured ourselves into late night cabs.

And all of a sudden, to a 19 year old with a nose ring, I’m the coolest person in the world. Which feels like extra gravy on an amazing night. I’m taking myself to bed before the vibes wear off…..

Today: By the Numbers

Number of job candidates interviewed: 13

Number of applicants who checked their cell phone during the interview: 1

Tacky promotional items snagged from other vendors: innumerable

Shots of espresso: 3 (+ 1 regular coffee)

Chocolate malts: 1

Sappy text messages received from home: 5

Bourbon and diet cokes: 3

Lemon drop shots: 1

Blueberry oatmeal stout beers: 1

Glasses of water consumed in hotel room: 7

Calls from BC: 1

Taxis taken: 2

Actual meals consumed: 1

Number of mints consumed from purse: 20+

Shoe changes: 3

Shoes bought (pairs): 1

Alarms set for morning in hotel room: 3

Number of sleepy, slight inebriated business travelers in my hotel room right now: 1

Spring Break for Grown-Ups

Business trips aren’t always all they’re cracked up to be. The hotels can be cruddy. The food can be hard to come by, greasy and gross, and eaten alone or with bad company. Traffic can be awful. Flights can get delayed. The companions can be mean, or clique-ish, or too old, or too young, or to sparse, or too available, or just plain dullsville. The cities can be hot, or cold, or wet, or in the middle of nowhere.

But once in a blue moon, you get lucky on a business trip. Lucky, like I am right now. Three of the “cute shoes bureaucrats” and I loaded up for a road trip this morning to DC. The weather was beautiful. My usually grumpy boss ok’d not returning to the office until Monday. We didn’t even turn on the radio the whole four hours down. Why? There was office gossip to tell, funny and gross and interesting stories to share. We laughed until we shot soda out our noses, gave eachother nicknames, threatened to only refer to eachother by those nicknames in professional settings, talked about boys and men, and managed to spill fast food until the driver suggested a ShopVac as the only solution. We declared ourselves on Spring Break ‘08- the adult variety.

First stop on arrival? Manicures for everyone. Then group shopping for a cocktail dress for a wedding J has to go to next weekend. Then work, work, work. But let’s skip the dull parts. Off to check in to the hotel, showers and workouts, and a rendezvous on the hotel patio for happy hour cocktails. Silly shopping at the drugstore. Dinner and good seafood. A nice walk in the balmy weather (which left me with an interesting pink sunburn on the splotches on my forehead where I missed with the SPF apparently). And early to bed for the girls.

It’s been a while since I had a fun group of girls to bum around the city with. Tomorrow’s happy hour plans are already made, along with potential dinner options. I need to go shopping for underthings, shoes, and to Chinatown for whatever randomness I can swoop up.

Oh, and to think of how to explain my new nickname to my co-workers when I get back to Pittsburgh.

Already completed items on my Bucket List

There are 87 jillion things I want to do before I kick the bucket. In the interest of looking back, here’s a few I already managed:

• Performed in a Super Bowl halftime show
• Went to the Olympics
• Saw a show on Broadway
• Lobbied a Congressman in person for a cause I believed in
• Toured the White House and the Smithsonians
• Took a big chance on real love
• Had a letter to the editor published in two major newspapers
• Wrote a book (and found a publisher)
• Learned to crochet
• Played a musical instrument
• Wrote a letter to thank my favorite elementary school teacher once I was grown
• Saw my little sister get married (and was a bridesmaid)
• Acted in a few plays
• Swam in the ocean
• Got engaged in a surprise down-on-one knee moment
• Went to a professional baseball and hockey game
• Went to a football game “between the hedges” at the University of Georgia
• Attended a gigantic “march on Washington”
• Moved to a city I had never seen until I pulled up to move in
• Finished college (twice)
• Went to law school
• Learned how to make my grandmother’s chicken and dumplings
• Danced in the moonlight to a shared walkman
• Went to jazz fest in New Orleans
• Visited Disney World and Epcot Center
• Ate dinner at an Embassy
• Ate warm nuts from a street vendor in Times Square
• Took a road trip with nowhere in mind specifically
• Played roulette in Atlantic City

Yesterday, I was having one of those days where I just felt not particularly “accomplished,” like I expected to be somewhere different at 31 than here- still trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up. Thus the list- stuff I have done so far.

And five more that I want to do asap:

• Go on a trip out of the country (anywhere at this point)
• Ride on a float in a parade
• Learn to ride a bicycle
• Have engraved stationery
• Go to a Latin Mass at the old Catholic church downtown

What are your 5 best accomplishments and 5 to-dos? 

Tuesday Happy Hour= Wednesday Sluggish Hours

So, the fiance’ gave me a call yesterday afternoon. Did I want to meet up for a quick happy hour after work? Sure. Why not? I grabbed a bargain sub at Subway to offset the cocktails and swore to stick to beer only. Bourbon is delicious. My one true cocktail love. But it also is not compatible with things like staying employed, waking up before the sun is up, or avoiding tottering home zig-zagging down the sidewalk long after dark. Bourbon is for weekends. Beer is for Tuesdays.

So, after two beers from our favorite friendly dive bar bartender, we decided to meander around the corner for a game of pool at the bar stumbling distance from the house. Which became a game of darts. Or two. Or three. Then BC made an appearance and we couldn’t leave until the “very special episode” of Law and Order SVU wrapped on on the big screen. Which required a few more beers. And all of a sudden, it’s 11:30 pm and I’m home dashing off a quick e-mail to my publisher about this weekend’s book release, microwaving leftover biscuits for a late night snack and crawling into bed precariously close to the alarm clock going off.

Which all goes to say, I am a very sleepy girl today. And though I’d love to go along with the girls from work for today’s happy hour festivities, I think I’ll give my liver and the under-eye bags a night off. After all, tomorrow is belly dancing class and I think right now my shimmy needs a serious nap.

Because Angela Chase knows all the answers

If anyone is as fond of My So-Called Life as I am, you must pop over and check out this montage and quote collection from America’s wise teen, Miss Angela Chase.

“School is a battlefield for your heart. So when Rayanne Graff told me my hair was holding me back, I had to listen. ‘Cause she wasn’t just talking about my hair; she was talking about my life.” - Angela Chase

A poem game for lost artists

The more I work my way through The Artist’s Way, the more I am reminded how writing used to be fun before there were rules and judgments and an internal editor screaming “NO! You’ll never win a Nobel Prize for this silly story! And only Nobel stories are worth your effort!” So, I am especially grateful to The Rational Psychic for posting this fun poetry exercise on his blog. There are rules and points to be had. I think I got the maximum of 20 with this gem. Feel free to play along:

When the Weather Won’t Cooperate

Near the city, snow is a vanilla blemish on our day.
Above your head, I fling a pill of white from my hand,
Which lands next to a cinnamon wooden post,
Sitting squat on the shore of ice.
From this gesture, inside this moment, I pray you will
Know that under my bravado, the wheel of my tame heart
Is spinning around her axis like a gypsy called Althea
Dancing to a wild accordion.
Bill, I cannot quash the pounding.
I aim four times more, and slip my mitten in your hand,
And pray for more snow.

 

Chomping Film Update

For anyone waiting for the Teeth update….

 So, BC and I headed out to see the dentata movie (after some cold beers to prepare the nerves…). I have to say, it was exactly what I expected. Campy. Gory. Extra gory (if bitten off man-bits rattle your nerves, avoid this movie at all costs). It took itself fairly serious as a camp horror film- not as much clever or funny as I expected. Plus, the ending avoided a trite wrap-it-all-up-in-a-bow, sunny happy moment, so I consider that a plus in its favor.

I give it two and three quarter stars. But with a big bucket of popcorn, a giant soda, and a hilarious best friend in tow, it gets 3 1/2. As long as your friend doesn’t cringe at chomping ladyparts.  

Getting Ready to Get Away

With my new job responsibilities comes additional travel, so I will be spending various weeks in Oklahoma City, Norfolk, VA, Orlando, FL and next week in my former hometown of good ol’ Washington, DC. Generally, I don’t mind the occasional work trip- free hotel, expense account for food, cabs when I need them paid for, and the peace and quiet at the end of a long day of dull meetings with hotel t.v., room service, and a good book. This Washington trip will be even better. Three of the “cute shoes bureaucrats” and I are road-tripping it out to DC from Pittsburgh on Tuesday and staying at a cute hotel with $5 martinis at happy hour until Friday. It’s Spring Break for grown ups!

I’m working on figuring out the internet access at the hotel, so if for some odd reason I drop off the face of the earth next week, it’s either from a lack of internet or a wealth of cocktails. Either way, big city here I come. I’m already making a mental list of all the places I have to eat while I’m there… first on the list is Mexican- there is nothing even resembling good Mexican food in Pittsburgh.