CAN SOMEONE PLEASE EXPLAIN THIS TO ME?

i get the whole "orange dress for halloween thing" (sort of) - but why does katie insist on this foolish nonsense? the poor kid even looks like she's over it. (CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE)

Confession

For the past few weeks I've been spending a couple of my weekdays sleeping in EXTRAORDINARILY late. I (almost) feel bad about it. But yesterday my guilt was exonerated after I accepted the job offer, knowing that my days of snoozing well into the afternoon were numbered. No more PJ's 'til 3pm, lounging around in my robe watching daytime tv and wasting countless hours on the computer.

To my credit, i've spent a lot of time going out and getting a job, as well as adjusting to the city and doing both of our life and house chores.

But I'm not gonna lie, I sure am glad I'll have a place to go every day come November 10th. So you heard it here first: HOORAY FOR WORK!

(ps-Please don't judge me by what is on my television.)

what I don't know could kick the crap out of me

Crissy and I were getting coffee together this morning, and she made a crack about my stupid, huge headphones that I had hanging around my neck. Sure, maybe they look a little ridiculous, but the sound! It’s so much better than those crappy little iPod buds.

But it’s not only about the sound. They also protect my innocent ears from the slings and arrows of angry New Yorkers. For example:

It was eight-something in the morning, about a week ago. I was minding my own business, waiting on the subway platform for the 4 or 5 express. As the train rolled in, I joined the usual rugby-scrum for positioning outside the doors as the cars groaned to a stop. Suddenly, I felt someone’s hand on my lower back.

Push.

No way that just happened, I thought to myself.

Push.

Suddenly, fire truck sirens and fireworks and nuclear explosions are going off in my brain. Few things are more maddening than someone shoving you from behind. One of those things is someone shoving you from behind into the flow of passengers exiting a train. Naturally (because the dude was smaller than me), I leaned back hard and dropped an elbow into him.

Unfortunately, as I did this, my balance shifted into the path of an angry (and much larger than me) take-no-shit-from-nobody black woman exiting the train, who thought I was jockeying for position in her personal space. Without hesitating for ONE SECOND, she lowered her shoulder like a salivating linebacker and put a hit on me that made my teeth clack. I could swear I saw her pupils dilate just before the hit.

Thankfully, I bounced off the little bastard behind me, who was supported by the rest of the scrum, and scurried onto the train. This sent the woman into a rage, screaming obscenities from the platform. Which is where the headphones come in…

I’m sure what she was saying was bad. I’m sure it was aimed at me. By the slack looks on people’s faces around me, I’m sure it was emasculating. But I didn’t hear any of it. Or, I should say, I didn’t hear much of it.

Let’s say, for the sake of discussion, that I was listening to The Beatles “Let it Be.” Here’s what I would have heard:

When I find myself in times of motherf*#ker you better run trouble
Mother Mary will beat your sorry motherfu*%in come to me
Seeking words of in my motherfu#*in sight wisdom
Let better not look this way bitch it be…heeeeeee!

Though under any other circumstances this 6-second crisis would surely have destroyed the rest of my day, thanks to my trusty headphones, I could not have cared less.

And it only took about a half-hour for my back sweat to dry.

november 10th, 2008

is the first day of my new job. hooray!

i took a position as a broadcast producer at a medium-sized ad agency. nothing super sexy, but it's a job in this dreadful economy AND i get lots of vacation time (now i will just have to see if they actually let me take it).

a blast from the two months ago

Well, this past weekend was a smashing success, I gotta say. We got some fantastic hang time with a few friends we haven’t seen in awhile. And let me tell you, it’s so nice hanging out with people you like. It makes hanging out with people that much more enjoyable.

Friday night we were paid a visit by Rob and Katie, two old work buddies from Element79 who were in town for a producer’s summit. We were gonna go out on Thursday, but we decided to hold off one more night so we could do dinner and really whoop it up afterward.

I suggested either Thunder Jackson's Urban Roadhouse, or Señor Swanky's Mexican Cafe and Celebrity Hangout. We ended up going with the Tribeca Grill, a fancy restaurant in our neighborhood rumored to be owned by Robert DeNiro who, to our shock, was not in attendance. What a gyp.

Regardless, the food was excellent, and we washed it down with large amount of delicious, delicious alcohol, including a bottle of pink bubbly ordered by Rob. Halfway through dinner, I was already “tellin’ it like it is!” and the night was just getting started.

After that we stopped by a neighborhood bar for a couple beers, before deciding that we should bring our friends back to check out our place and touch our stuff. Now, I have to admit, things got a little hazy around this point in the evening, but the flashes of memory I do have include the following:

1. Watching a Steve Martin magic act on YouTube.

2. Cursing the locked door to the rooftop deck, staggering down to ask the doorman what the rooftop hours are, only to have him (Howie, not recognizing me) respond, “the rooftop is closed at two thirty in the morning.”

3. Having a loud, passionate sing along at around 3 in the morning to Puff the Magic Dragon.

We woke up the next morning with angry brains, a foul taste in our mouths, and some confusion over what happened the night before. And you know you’re getting old when, instead of cigarette butts in beer bottles to remind you how the night went, it’s the iTunes purchase email for Puff the Magic Dragon that makes you mildly queasy.

The following night we met up with my old college buddy Kurt, who was in town from Newburgh, NY, which is about an hour north of the city. We headed out to a bar, had a few drinks, and pretty much called it a night. When Kurt, who’s about 6’6”, decided to generously pick up the bill, he had our friend Ken sign it for him. Why? Who knows? But Ken dutifully capitalized on the opportunity to make Kurt look like a prick by signing, “Kurt Najork, #44, “ his high school basketball number.

The following morning, Kurt stopped by to check out our place, before we all piled into his car and headed up to The Stumble Inn for beer and football. Our buddy Tyler’s younger brother Keith tends bar there, so we yukked it up, made fun of some hillbilly Dolphins fans, and decided to head home.

Highlights from the day were Crissy’s onion rings, and my burger stuffed with Swiss cheese. Which, not surprisingly, were lowlights several hours later.

P.S. This is a picture Katie and Rob. I think they're trying to figure out who's singing lead and who's singing harmony on "PTMD; the Extended Jam."

shake it baby

today was my first experience with the "world famous" shake shack. it is indeed a shack and it's located in a corner of madison square park. in my quest for a great burger and fry, i did extensive research on the joint and even google imaged photos of the food. they have a live webcam on their website so you can see how long the line is before you venture over there. and the stories i've heard of the long lines at this place are true (see my last photo if you want proof).

being a chicagoan where the favored local cuisine is anything-fried-goes, i consider myself somewhat of an aficionado on the subject. my verdict on the shake shack: what is all the fuss about?

the shack burger was great (shack sauce, lettuce, tomato, american cheese - and be sure to ask for pickles), but the cheese fries left much to be desired. the fries were good enough on their own (and fried in trans-fat free oil) but the cheese was a mix of slightly chunky/creamy and tasted like actual melted cheese. i guess i'm just used to portillo's where the cheese is so creamy and delicious you could drink it straight from a cup.

but i will probably try this place again. i'd like to see if the "shack-cago" hot dog really stands up to what we get at home.

check out the webcam around lunchtime on a weekday and look at the line yourself! you won't believe the madness.
www.shakeshacknyc.com

work sweet work

I really hate to make all my posts about lame-ass work, but I've had several people ask me what my workspace looks like. Lucky for me (so I don’t have to go around taking pictures like a total nerd) there’s an article about this place in the latest issue of Interior Design Magazine, complete with pics.

I guess they gutted these offices a couple years ago, brought some fancy-pants designer in here, and really put the scrub to everything.

And I won’t lie. When I interviewed here, I was damn impressed. Ok, I’ll admit it…I was intimidated. Coming from an agency that looked like a series of low-rent law offices, it’s kind of refreshing to work in a place where they at least TRY to make it feel creative.

So, for those of you that care (both of you, anyway), I present to you…the place where I spend 80 hours a week! (tadaa)

the day to day

Well, like the missus mentioned, it's been one month since we moved to New York, and man it's easy to slip into routine and forget to pay attention to things while they’re happening. So it’s time to give some of those things their due. Like my route to work, for example.

Every morning, I come down the B staircase and say hello to whichever doorman is sitting bleary-eyed behind the desk.

It’s usually Christopher, a friendly 30-something Hispanic dude.

But it could be Pierre, the gap-toothed, bright-eyed islander type who smiles like the Prince of Zamunda.

Or it could be Zef, an intense, 50ish Eastern European dude who I imagine was a fireman back in Slovakia, for example, before he became the Alpha doorman at 53 Park Place. Zef stands with a wide-legged stance, and keeps several buttons undone on his shirt in case he needs to rip it off to wrestle a boar.

Or it could be Howie, the heavy-set, wall-eyed guy in his mid-fifties, who speaks in stage-whispers like he's just come out of a coma. I have a sneaking suspicion Howie is actually legally blind, but doesn't want anyone to know so he doesn't lose his job. Usually, Howie doesn't recognize either of us. When I remind him that we live in 2G, he gets all flustered and says that I'm hard to recognize without my "knapsack." Which, of course, I'll be wearing at the time.

To be perfectly honest, Zef and Christopher are the only ones who actually seem qualified for the job. I’m sure Zef has doled out some beat-downs in his day, and Chris has at least checked ID’s at a seedy nightclub somewhere.

I think Pierre would get his ass kicked by a cough, and Howie would surrender his wallet to a coat rack. It's a triple bolt night when either of them are on duty.

Next I walk east on Park Place to Broadway, passing an outdoor fruit stand, and a steaming bagel and coffee kiosk on my right. Then I cut through City Hall Park, where I run the gauntlet of surly, cigarette smoking squirrels who are pushy and fearless in their panhandling. “What’s this crap? Bread crust?" they hiss. "Cut him, Manny.”

If I make it to my subway station, there are three trains I can take. The 4, the 5, or the 6. The 6 gets me there in about 12-15 minutes. The 4 and 5 get me there in 6-8 minutes. On the train, I wear huge, air-traffic controller looking headphones, try not to make eye-contact, and sweat through the few short stops to Grand Central station.

When I get to the escalator at Grand Central, I’m always blown away by the respect people have for escalator etiquette here in New York: stand on the right, walk on the left.

But I’m equally blown away that people will actually line up to stand on the right side of the escalator, rather than walk up the left side, which moves like the autobahn. I mean, there will be a line of easily 30 people waiting to stand on the escalator. I find it so interesting that, in a city where time is money, people would rather pay than walk up a flight of stairs.

When I get out of Grand Central, I hang a left on Lexington, where I just have to fall into the flow of people pouring down the street. Trying to weave through people during rush hour is like riding a bicycle in a stampede. Just keeping up is fast enough.

By the time I get to my building I’m sweaty, red-faced, and half out of breath. I'll unzip my jacket, take off my ridiculous headphones, and fall in line for the right side of the escalator.

one month

it's been 30 whole days that we've been residents of new york city.
just thought i'd make note of the (non-momentous) occasion.

mmm. cupcakes. i haven't had a good red velvet in awhile.
that might have to jump to the top of tomorrow's to do list...

Saturday's Jackpot

Since being in New York I have spent many, many consecutive days not seeing a single person that I know. (No, Kev doesn't count) But yesterday I was incredibly lucky to come in close personal contact with six people (and one dog) who I didn't have to introduce myself to. What a relief.

The morning started off huge with a short visit from the Cirel's. Bek, Adam and Macy were (unfortunately) in town for Adam's grandfather's funeral, but I was happy to get a little time with them before they had to get back to Boston. Little Miss Macy has gotten so big since I last saw her. She used to be a snuggly little bug, but now she is a full-blown teenager who just wants to be out joyriding in mom and dad's car, blowing off her algebra homework and kissing older boys. (She is pictured above in her upcoming halloween costume - look at that sass in her face) And she sure took a liking to our place because in the short time she was here she managed to pee in the kitchen and take a large dookie on the living room rug. We had to open the windows and the front door to get a cross-breeze going to get rid of her stinky butt.

Next up was Ali Dolan, a good friend from the element79 days. Again, she only had time to stop by for a short visit while her Nani napped back at the hotel, but every minute was delightful. She'll be here again in two weeks and I really hope we get to have lunch or dinner together. Thanks for coming by, Ali.

Rounding out the lineup were Danny Thomases and his brother and sister-in-law, Greg and Jess Thomases. We met all of them for the first time at Tyler and Vanessa's week-long wedding extravaganza in St. Thomas a year and a half or so ago. We hit it off with them from the start have have been friendly ever since. Our meet-up happened in a loud and crowded bar so we didn't have the patience to stick it out past a couple of drinks. But we plan on seeing them again very soon.

And please don't let Kevin's prior post deter you from coming to visit. We need to have a couple more familiar faces streaming in the front door because that was one of the best day's we've had here yet!

so often that you won't even notice it

In the interest of full disclosure, I have to admit something: our apartment is loud. It’s not horrible, and we’ve gotten used to it, but I just have to get that out there for the scores of you who will be visiting us and sleeping on our huge, comfy new couch.

Whew. I feel better already.

Now, look. This better not be a deterrent from any of you visiting us here in the big apple. Sure, maybe our living room vibrates a little from the rumble of the subway system below our building. So does my office in midtown.

And sure, maybe sometimes the couch feels like a vibrating massage couch at The Sharper Image. It’s really only like that during rush hour.

And OK fine, maybe sometimes we notice the pictures on the wall are a bit askew. It makes them look more exciting. Like an episode of Batman. Zammo!

The truth is, we really don’t even notice it anymore. Plus, for some inexplicable reason, you can barely hear it in the bedroom. It sounds sort of like distant thunder, which I kinda like. Come to think of it, I wonder if we could record it and sell it as a sleeping aid for millions! We could accompany it with soothing music! Like Enya! We could be rich! I gotta look into that.

In conclusion, if you come visit, we promise to provide so much ear-clogging fun that you won’t notice it, either. Or if you do, it will act as a built in alarm clock to get your ass off the couch, and go walk around New York City.

p.s. please enjoy this picture of my t-shirts in the closet, which Crissy color-coded for my wearing pleasure.

blastin'

I probably could've gotten shivved on the subway for taking this picture (just kidding, Mom), but this was too good to pass up.

This guy's facial hair was so delicate it looked penciled in, and he was so high his eyes looked like incisions. His girlfriend didn't know where she was. The best part was that his paranoia was forcing him to listen to this beast at a sensible volume, so it really wasn't bothering anyone. It was just his personal theme music.

Please note the the purring "Lasonic" components, which include the flashing 'bass-o-meter' in the upper left corner, and the blue light on the front of the stereo, which reads, "iPod mode."

wholesome foods

There’s a little Amish market underneath our building. I guess it’s not really that little, actually, considering it’s got two eating areas, one upstairs and one downstairs. I love that about all the grocery stores out here. You can eat in at so many of them. The lazy guy in me loves the food. The cheap guy in me loves not tipping for it.


But you can’t buy beer at the Amish place. When I asked, the guy looked at me like I was a complete asshole for not remembering that we were at an Amish grocery store. Then he rang me up for day-old sushi.

Anyway, I like that they sell pumpkins. They look cool.

back just in time

Whoah, this blog got girly while I was gone. I gotta dude it up, quick…

Spit, punch, honk.

There we go. Now, where was I? Oh yes, Kingsport, Tennesse, my little work trip last week. Man…

You may or may not remember an earlier (apparently, hotbutton) post about an elephant and a rope. If not, go back a few.

So it turns out everybody knows about Mary the elephant but me. Weird.

As soon as I got to Kingsport, I started asking people about the incident. The first person I asked was he chief PR woman we were dealing with, who said, “oh please don’t include that in the video. You’d be surprised at how many people bring it up.” It made me feel bad for her. We’re talking about something that happened over 90 years ago. The fact that nothing significant enough has happened since then to get people to forget hanging the elephant is exactly the type of town it is.

It’s one of those towns that has one reason for existing, and that reason is a gargantuan chemical plant. Where the air smells like forgetfulness, and cameras are unwelcome. In Kingsport, you work at the chemical plant, or you don’t. And God help you if you don’t.

But I will say that the people we dealt with were mostly very, very friendly. Certainly on our side of the camera. Our little video crew was full of local guys from all parts of Tennesee, and every one of them had awesome, hilarious stories.

And man, is Tennesse is the SOUTH. It’s so south their forebears decided to make 2 syllables out of one, whether you like it or not. So, people in Tennesee don’t say him. They say hee-yim. They don’t say four. They say foh-wer. They don’t say oops. They say shee-yit.

We tried to woo our client by bringing her to the fanciest restaurant in town. The concierge (an old man with an incomprehensible accent and a bruised lip) told us we should go to “Cootie Brown’s.” This is a picture of Cootie himself, a “fictitious figure” who travels all around the world serving “delicious home cooked meals.” Which, incidentally, was also fictitious.

check annnnnd check

today i did some very "new york" activites that i've been wanting to check off the old list. here's the rundown:

1. i ran across the brooklyn bridge and back. it was a relatively short run, but it was awesome. there were LOTS of tourists. and i almost got steamrolled by some dick on a bike. but boy, that sure helped get my heart rate up! plus i can now officially say i've been to brooklyn!

2. i walked to meg's hood and we took the subway up to central park. we grabbed lunch and spread out a blanket for a picnic of turkey sandwiches, trashy magazines and weirdo watching. we sat there for hours and lapped up the sun - there was not one single cloud in the sky. but there were a lot of nasty couples publicly making out. we also saw one too many crusty men in their underpants. PUT YOUR PANTS ON MY FRIENDS! YOU ARE NOT DAVID BECKHAM OR EVEN MARKY MARK CIRCA 1992! oh and p.s. - you are not in the privacy of your own home.

3. since we were already uptown we decided to go to henri bendel's (editor's note: if you want to sound like a native, drop the henri and only say bendel's). meg and i confessed to each that we are too intimidated to go in those stupidly overpriced stores by ourselves for fear that the shop girl scene from pretty woman would be re-enacted on us.
it wasn't. but i did leave wishing that i ran into blair waldorf.

on another note, i made the orange and scallion beef stir-fry tonight. it was AWESOME. and healthy. i had to stop myself from eating the whole batch so that i could save some for kev. i have to prove to him that i can cook something other than meatballs.

and my final comment for the evening: i watched the premiere episode of real housewives of atlanta tonight. holy crap, i just found my new favorite show. those ladies are pure genius. especially kim and nene.

goodnight!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AVERY SHEA FORST

more where that came from

go look up that song title on itunes - it's by the miss dolly parton. i saw it on a target commercial. if you don't tap your feet and smile while you listen, you are a cold hearted bastard. really.
and i don't even like country music.

another recent favorite is the new tv on the radio album (dear science).
it is a goosebump inducing journey through all 16 or so songs...every one of them special in their own way.
buy (don't steal!) it now if you know what's good for you. (interesting fact: the lead singer is in the new movie "rachel getting married" - and you know that the role he plays is EXACTLY who he is in real life - and that makes me love the band even more!)

in other news, i spent some money today (around $50), but it was on food. meg came by for dinner for fiesta night (and SNL thursday weekend update watching). tomorrow i am trying my hand at asian. i SUCK at cooking that genre of food, but i'm determined to get better. tomorrow's menu: orange beef and scallion stir-fry with brown rice. i got the recipe from a great cookbook rebecca anne gave me for my birthday last year - i'll let you know how it goes!

and i've been thinking a lot about cheese fries lately. pasquale says east coasters don't get the "cheese fry phenomenon". that information disturbed me so greatly that i actually looked at ticket prices to go back to chicago so i can have portillo's, and then quickly realized what an a-hole i was. i can wait until christmas, damnit! i think.

(ps - KEV, COME HOME!)
(pps - gina is in labor - everybody think good thoughts for her and greg and the baby!!!!)

i might could win a world record

today i only spent $6.00 (and it was on coffee for me and meg).
that brings me to a grand total of $8.50 OVER THREE DAYS! i can't even believe i am sticking to it. ANNNNND i even went in a bunch of stores and walked out empty handed each time.

meghan asked me if i wanted to grab something and sit in a park today for lunch. i stuck to my word and finished off the deli meat we had at home and brought my lunch to our date.

what in god's name has happened to me?
maybe aliens have invaded my body?

tonight's dinner menu: tomato soup and grilled cheese (all made with stuff i already have at home).

believe it or not this is actually kind of fun!

*please enjoy the photo - i saw this awesome juxtaposition on 6th ave today.

day 2 of getting closer to the dollar

success! i only spent $2.50 on coffee.
i kind of can't believe it myself.
we need toothpaste and i am going to ask kevin to pick it up on his way home so i don't have to break my streak!
yeehaw!

the advertising jet-set

Tomorrow I’m leaving New York for an important business trip to sophisticated Kingsport, Tennessee, where local lore has it that way back in 1916, a circus elephant named Mary was brought to town to entertain kids.

While Mary was drinking from a nearby pond, an assistant elephant trainer thought it would be a good idea to jab Mary behind the ear with a hook. Not surprisingly, Mary slammed him to the ground and smashed his head in.

Naturally, the town felt the only way for Mary, the 5-ton elephant, to learn her lesson was to be euthanized.

Publicly.

By way of hanging.

The event drew 2,500 people, most of them children. Presumably so they could learn the moral of the story:

If you think somethin cain't be done, riot. That always gets ’er done.

I can’t wait for my trip.

i am learning to be close to the dollar

i didn't spend a single cent today.
not one. zip. zilch. zero with a capital Z.

i wish i could say it was because i witnessed the horror of the dow dipping to a sickening 800 point drop today. you see, it's fun being unemployed and being able to watch the daytime pundit shows on CNBC and CNN. nope, not gag-inducing at all.
but in all seriousness, i am just sick of spending money when i have none of my own coming in.

and as you can imagine, not spending is frickin' hard to do in this city.
hmm. i wonder how many days in a row i can do this.
i am going to try and eat only the food in my house and only allow myself to buy espressos over ice (the cheapest coffee at the bux). this will be fun!
uh, ummm, maybe.

(ps-thanks to the judge for introducing me to the term used in the title of this post. it's one of my favorites!)

tony

This is Tony Viola, my art-director cube mate. In addition to having the world’s greatest name, Tony is the nicest person I think I’ve ever met. He dresses in a tie and sport coat every day (I took this picture on a casual Friday), smiles non-stop, and when he’s not smiling or laughing, seems cheerfully confused.

When he shakes your hand, he winds up and fires his hand at you like a women’s softball pitcher, then shakes vigorously. It’s both hilarious and endearing, especially because that’s exactly how my Grandad used to shake hands.

The thing is, in the super annoyingly hip world of advertising, a pair of boot cut jeans means you must’ve been born during the Eisenhower administration. A little gray hair and you should be writing your will. A year over 40? You’re a topic to be discussed in geology class.

Which is why it’s so nice to see that guys like Tony Viola have found a home here. As far as seating assignments go, there’s a clear line in the sand between the young, impossibly cool future advertising superstars, and the older, graying, future advertising superstars of yesteryear. The older guys work on pharmaceutical commercials and cream cheese print ads, while those born after 1985 write thinly veiled dick jokes for candy advertising. In the end, it’s all the same thing.

And let me tell you something. When it comes to seating assignments, I’ll take sitting next to Tony over those young punks any day. Why?

Because just before I took this picture, Tony asked me for some help on a project. I found what he needed on the web and emailed him a link to the page. When he got the email, he said, “Now if I click on this, will it take me to the internet?”

First I cried. Then I hugged him and thanked him for making me feel so hip.

a little something for the saps

Well, it’s been another stupid weekend of work for me, and I think the missus should win a Nobel Peace prize for not wanting to kill me yet. Not only does she not want to kill me (yet), she wants nothing more than to take care of things. Have I mentioned that I’m married to the greatest woman on earth?

Let’s just start with the way this apartment looks. I mean, it’s as organized as the dewey decimal system, and we’ve been here two weeks. Who does this? And do you have any idea how awesome it is to come home to a squeaky clean, warm, comfy, kick ass apartment after an 80-hour week? The answer is: very awesome.

Last week she wanted to make sure I was eating well during these stupid hours I’ve been putting in. So she went to Whole Foods, bought lunchmeat, fruit, and snacks, and made me a brown sack lunch every day of the week. Just to make sure my new partner didn’t feel left out, she made one for him too. He can’t stop talking about it.

Tonight I left work at 10:30 (for which I received many a stinkeye from a group of hipsters pulling their third straight all-nighter), only to return home to a closet full of freshly laundered clothes. I’m not sure what I did to deserve this woman, but I hope she doesn’t come to her senses any time soon.

P.S. Just in case I haven’t built a strong enough case for having the greatest wife on earth, please note the newest addition to our wallspace. The fact that this idea got green-lighted by the missus still has me in shock. Look at them. Ooooooh. Just look at them.

hell's kitchen flea market

today was the first day since we've been here that kevin has been able to see more of new york than just the walk to the subway to get to and from work. we slept in suuuuuper late - 12:30pm. then we grabbed a quick lunch before heading uptown to the hell's kitchen flea market. we were looking for a small side table for our living room, and found these instead. the "artists" were a husband and wife team of really loud and super fast talking, country-fied scheisty mcschiesters. but we got it for a much better price than we ever could have at a place like crate and barrel. it's 4 old crates that were primed and re-painted. we stacked them on top of each other and there you have it - a nifty end table!

one. singular. closet.

kitchen

snore pie with yawn sauce update

i'm sad! christine was here for a few days and just left. we had a fantastic time (as we always do). we walked for miles, ate lots of great food, drank a ton of wine and talked non-stop. i don't think i'll see her again until possibly november, and that feels waaaaay too far away for me to even comprehend. BOO HOO!

job news: i have a meeting tomorrow morning with a woman who owns a successful editorial company. she's well-connected in the industry, so i'm excited to be able to start meeting folks and making contacts. i am also going to meet with someone at an agency a week from next monday. i'm cautiously optimistic about it all, but will keep everyone up to date.

i haven't seen much of kev this week with christine being in town combined with his work schedule. i can't wait for him to get home so we can watch the vp debate together. it's going to be such a joke.

fall is officially here. i needed a jacket on top of my cardigan today. i'm not ready for it yet, but people say the winters here aren't as harsh as chicago. i'm skeptical, but hopeful that they're right.

more later - i'm off to start laundry (across the hall from my unit!!!) and get dinner.


*please enjoy this photo of a small portion of my varsity team

bathroom

home sweet home