3 days in a row to not go to work!

flesh eating virus gone!

24 hours, 2 benadryl's, and half a bottle of benadryl anti-itch gel later i am 100% again, i still can't figure out what caused the break out. All I know is i am praying it doesnt ever come back again. Seriously when did i become a walking problem case when it comes to medical attention. whats next chronic nose bleeds?

I am allergic to the gym, no i am serious...literally allergic!

This is officially nuts. I have never really been allergic to anything in my life other than the usual irritants like perfumes and colognes (which just make my nose and skin itch). Then one would figure I have never really experienced an allergic rash or hives, well I haven’t until last night. I came home from spinning class and Eric was cooking some dinner for us. I was hanging out talking to him and all of a sudden my neck started to get really itchy, so I figured that I probably should shower and change from my gym cloths. So suds and clean cloths later I figure I am good to go, until I look in the mirror to the upper half of my body including my neck and forearms covered in red splotches. What the hell is happening to me! So I start to think, I haven’t tried any new shower things or new products like lotions or anything like that. During the day I had eaten fruit and subway for lunch and had a piece of peppermint candy from Jesse…all things I have eaten before (subway on a way to often basis!). At this point I can’t figure what is going on at all, and I still haven’t. I have even gone as far as to think maybe the towel at the gym had been washed in something I was reacting to, but I have never had a reaction to detergent ever in my life and I have gone through the alphabet of Tides, Gains, Alls, etc. I called the gym and even asked if they had switched detergents since I have used the towels there before and never had a reaction. I didn’t shower at the gym so it can’t be some bizarre flesh-eating organism that would live on the walls of gym showers. Still up to today I have no idea what is wrong with me. I woke up this morning covered in the red marks and itching like a crazy person, think Dave Chappelle and the crack skits. I got some benadryl gel that has helped, but I honestly can’t pin point what it was that is causing this! I really wish that I could figure it out so that I can avoid that one thing like the plague for the rest of my life cause this reaction to it sucks, even the palms of my hands itch! (Just thought I’d share)

Bank Balance

How bad is it that I get heart palpitations when I check my bank account. These doctors’ visits are killing me! I think I am going to have to tell the physical therapist I can’t afford to be going there anymore. I just hope that its something I can do on my own now and not permanently mess up my arm.

chocolate chocolate chunk

This weekend was pretty quiet, but I don’t mind one bit

Friday: went to Williamsburg to this place Clem’s that my friend Alicia works at. It was nice to catch up and run in to a few old friends. Headed home and to be early

Saturday: meant to get up and go to spin class but then decided that I needed to sleep in. much better decision on my part. Got up and made some cheesy eggs and hash brown at home then headed to Soho for some errand running (and oops bought a few things that I defiantly didn’t intend to pick up). Came home made some dinner and then we went to The Yard on the canal for Sabbra Cadabra, a Black Sabbath Cover band. Unfortunately we got there just as it ended but from what I hear I am going to keep my eyes open for their next performance. Headed out and met up with Kirsten and Phil, then eventually with Phil’s friend, Lisa and David from Boston, and Melissa and Jay. It was a good time to hang out, again went home and to bed kind of early at 11:30

Sunday- Brunch with the Boston kids, plus Todd and Ayeshia. Then moved my car, well as best as it could move, since he is going to a home high up in the sky this week. I have to donate him to Kars for Kids, I am feeling a little sad about letting go of my buddy. But sadly at this point he is just falling apart. Then we ran some exciting errands (like buying a mop!) and went home to relax, clean a little, and have a fantastic dinner (I took a picture but I came out too blurry) of stuffed Zucchini with mushrooms and couscous, with curried purple carrots (bought at the farmers market that morning on our way to brunch), and cheese corn (its Mexican and the most delicious thing ever). I followed the meal with watching the suspenseful Murder of Princess Diana on Lifetime. I am thinking I should block that channel from ever coming on to the TV cause without a doubt every time I get sucked in to those awful lifetime original movies. It’s a serious addiction. Eric and I then took a stroll to the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory (pictured, sorry its blurry. Even with using Eric’s head as a tripod I still couldn’t get a clear pic while standing in line). We walked back, met up with my brother to drop off the title of my mobile (for donating purposes) and then capped it all of with watching Blue Planet on the Discovery Channel.

Nice and relaxing, which will be needed since it’s Monday and this week is already full with plans!

T.G.I...just shut up.

What happened to the time when Friday was a blow off day to slowly type away (maybe find yourself dabbling in the ebay) and get it all done on a slow pace where most of it can “wait til monday”. It is 9:18 am, my day starts at 9 am and I am already buried in projects. I can’t wait until 5pm.

Tuesday 8.21.07

For the love of god please make it stop raining. All I want to do is stay in bed and sleep all day long, this weather is having awful affects on my ability to conjure up any sort motivation at work. And I am really tired of forgetting I own rain boots and going out in H&M slip-ons which are about as thick as a piece of paper then spending the rest of the day with my under the desk heater on while praying i avoid pneumonia. Seriously its August...not October!

P.s. If one of your fellow co-workers brings in two plates of chocolate pudding pie and leaves them on the counter for anyone to have at 9 am... it is NOT a good idea to eat some at 1 pm. In my defense I was not aware they had been there all morning. To make matter worse, chocolate pudding pie is not very tasty

20 second sprint

People that are lifers when it comes to spinning class are certifiably insane. All I can say is at least I found this little gem or else I would be in a world of pain.

And all this time i thought i was well travelled

create your own visited countries map

really only 7% of the world. if only traveling was cheaper and more accessible i would have covered the world 8 times over. Looks like i have some traveling to do!

atleast I got 49% of the United States under my belt, although my firend sam has been to 49 states in all. I think he's got alot of people beat.



create your own visited states map

Forecast: Cloudy 66 and rain

This is weird weather for August in New York city, but I am not complaining due to the fact that I totally prefer this weather to the hot, humid, and sticky usually associated with this time of year.

There's a little bit to catch up on from last week since i was a little busy to get to updating. Last Sunday (not yesterday the Sunday before); Eric and I took a drive up to the Pocantico Hills for a fancy dinner reservation at Blue Hill at Stone Barnes

It was an amazing experience. The philosophy of the Restaurant is to subsist from the land it is on. Almost everything is directly produced from the farm a mere 100 feet from where you are sitting in the dining room. Granted it was a little strange to pull down into the drive through a bit of the farm to the parking area just outside of the Barnes that have been renovated into these breath taking spaces and see lambs and chickens and realize they are bound for someone’s plate. Should that bother me as a vegetarian? You know I don’t think so on the pure fact that I know they aren’t meant for my plate and for the fact that my original stance on the diet (when I was about 12 mind you) was that I didn’t particularity take to the idea of the waste which occurs in the mass production of meat processing. I was young enough not to really know what a factory farm was so my ideologies when it came to where meat came from were pretty simple, when we went to Blue Hill i just had the understanding that this place was different in that regard. The approach was to really appreciate nature in the medium of food. I will admit to getting a little squeamish when I was driving in and saw the to-be lamb chops, but in the little bit of education I had through Eric on the process of Stone Barnes and Blue Hill I understood that fact that its was not mass production which is very unappetizing to me it was throw back to a gentle time when it was used of sustenance not to make a dollar as fast as possible from an animal.

Anyways, coming back to it from the tangent. The food was delicious! We chose a tasting menu, Eric got the regular things and I had to make the usual veggie amendment to the dishes. The one thing I really enjoy is when dining at the caliber of a restaurant when you order a tasting menu you are asked about dietary restrictions or allergies, and when you make them the staff is kind and accommodating not rude and figuring that I f they steam a plate of veggies that will be enough for you. Granted you end up paying for that service. Everything was impeccable, even though they did accidentally come out with the same amuse twice. But the mini-burgers of fresh tomato and goat cheese on a bed of sesame seeds were amazing so I didn’t mind getting them a second time. After a while the food did get a little tomato heavy (being one of the main ingredients) but that’s expected when they are working with a menu from what the land produces and tomatoes are in season right then. Lets see if I can remember what else we had.

Mini cucumbers with lightly friend green beans
Grilled watermelon salad with blue cheese
Tomato hearts
Goat cheese and tomato burgers (2xs)
Vegetable risotto with grilled endive
Tomato gazpacho
Farm Fresh (gathered that morning) egg with and amazing bean salad

Ok honestly there were about 5 more that I just can’t remember. All of it was better then the last, the only down side that happens with any tasting menu is that a few courses in you start to fill up but everything is so incredible you eat and eat and eat and then absolutely have that too full and going to explode feeling at the end. The end also brought on about 3 amazing desserts with fresh fruits and fresh made ice cream and a cheesecake on berry compote with corn ice cream. I know; corn ice cream? The really weird part is when you taste it all together you start to see similar tastes between the corn and the cheesecake- something i find absolutely amazing about any culinary experience is the fact that these chefs understand food so well and its interaction with you, with one's ability taste, and with other foods... at some point in my life I hope to be able to something that is basically so simple but has the ability to incrediably complex and multidimensional. I think that is something that really impresses me about Eric's intrest in cooking, and I must say I can't complain..It's not too difficult to have a classically trained cook at home.

The building that houses the dining room is absolutely stunning, unfortunately our reservation was at 9 on a Sunday night but I can just picture that this place has to be amazing during the day. If I had an unlimited budget one day when I ever decide to take the big plunge my dream venue would be this place. The food would be stunning and so would the service and it would be all fresh and natural, something that has become very important to me. Growing up I think everything that ended up on the dinner table had originated from a box, being with Eric I have a great appreciation for the food in a pure sense. Making a meal from something that comes from nature rather than being pre-fabricated . Oh and I forgot to mention the table settings were gorgeous! I was very rude and looked at the artist who had done the plates (Laura Zindel) on the table and as soon as I could googled her in an attempt to buy everything! Right when I saw the prices of the plates I think I choked! Maybe I can slowly build my collection (you know my birthday is in Decemebr, eh eh!). I will have to start with this beautiful bread dish that had a drawing of a birds nest. I think Eric got a little embarrassed because it was on the table next to us and I kept looking at it possibly creeping out the couple sitting at that table.

The rest of the week was quiet with a lot of work; I attempted my first spinning class last Tuesday and actually made it through with a little bit of pain. I am hoping to get involved a few more times this week as well as try out the Palates and Yoga classes. I don’t really know that I will ever really be sold on Yoga; I just don’t think I am a Type B personality enough to buy in to it. But you know I should give it another try and see, it can only benefit me. I am impressed and in the same respect a little bummed out; the girls I used to go on my Saturday runs pre-broken arm are up to doing 12 miles now. I though I could jump right in and get down to business and join up with them again but its going to take a while for me to get back the stamina to get anywhere near 12 miles. I’ve been thinking that next year I might really push to try to train and sign up for the marathon (Christine and MA are running it in November this year, hence the insane training), I was just thinking to myself what an amazing accomplishment that would be. We’ll see what happens.

We headed up to Albany for the weekend. Even though we had to endure 2 extra hours of traffic added on to the usual 2 1/2 hour trip it was well worth it. Friday night consisted of home made pizza and laundry followed by watching TV in bed- pretty much a perfect evening (if only we had gotten in before 10 which made eating pizza a little difficult at 11 when I am used to eating dinner at like 7 at the latest). Saturday morning was full of the usual suburban errand running as well as getting Steve all suited up for his new apt in Park slope (you know the drill; sheets, duvet, lamps, pillows, knives, cutting board, and other kitchen odds and ends etc for the new place). It was crazy, I felt like a pseudo-mom trying to get their kid ready for college, but I think we did a good job. I am happy I missed out on the 6 hour trip to Ikea he took once we got back to Brooklyn with his room mates, I did that once when I first moved to the city as well and I am more than convinced I still have the emotional scars running deep in my psyche. Saturday night was great! We went to an Art show for Tommy, a very close friend of mine from Albany who has now relocated for school in California. I was happy to get a chance to see him again before he goes west coast again. I also ran into alto of people who I hadn’t seen in quiet a while. It was a good catch up getting to see all the kids I grew up going to hardcore shows with. We headed home early since we knew we had an early start to get back to BK for my brother to unpack the car and head off to get some stylish yet affordable Swedish digs for the new pad.
Sunday ended in a quick drive back followed by a very stressful day of unpacking the 5 loads of laundry done up state and then an exhausting schedule of ordering in lunch and watching coming to America. Eric made some delicious tomato sauce from scratch and we had a nice dinner for two with spinach fettuccini, home made sauce, fresh motz balls on top and a side of zucchini/garlic bread. I don’t think I needed seconds at all but I went for it anyways, I suppose that’s what the spinning class this afternoon will be for.

It really was a perfect weekend.

Technologic

Buy it, use it, break it, fix it,
Crash it, change it, melt - upgrade it,
Charge it, point it, zoom it, press it,
Snap it, work it, quick - erase it,
Write it, cut it, paste it, save it,
Load it, check it, quick - rewrite it,
Plug it, play it, burn it, rip it,
Drag and drop it, zip - unzip it,
Lock it, fill it, call it, find it,
View it, code it, jam - unlock it,
Surf it, scroll it, pause it, click it,
Cross it, crack it, twitch - update it,
Name it, read it, tune it, print it,
Scan it, send it, fax - rename it,
Touch it, bring it, pay it, watch it,
Turn it, leave it, stop - format it.
Technologic.

You know i wasnt sure what I was in for as we came upon a Coney Island that was full of grey sky and storms descending on us, I also was nervous trying to figure out what to expect from a Daft Punk Concert being that my only formal knowledge of them were their two songs that had a little bit of radio air time (coupled with the fact that I would not say my general taste in music would lean toward the techno/clubby type, but hey I have an open mind). We grabbed a dinner of fried everything (mmm! cheese fries and motz sticks, those are in the 4 basic food groups somewhere I swear) on the board walk, and met up with the group. I was introduced to two friends of Corey’s that are from Rochester and through a couple “do you know’s” we figured out that we had a few friends in common. We walked over to Key Span Park while the sky continued to threaten to open up and hit us with a downpour, even feeling a few drips and drops as we walked. We missed the Rapture since our fine dining had taken longer than originally planned, butas we got in to the show I do have to admit that I probably had the best time at the concert that I have had in a long time. We bounced around and danced for I am sure 2 hours straight, I think I have pulled every muscle in my body. I definitely think it was a time and place sort of thing(as in, I don’t see myself becoming a uberfan anytime soon, but it was a hell of a lot of fun to dance to). I think the only down point to the evening was the 45 minute train ride home (thank god the F showed up after only 15 minutes of waiting, esp. since it was late night and I was ALL the way out on Coney Island) every train car was packed with people, and mine was packed with 17-19 year old kids drunk off of the whiskey the had stolen out of mom and dads liquor cabinet. One kid goes “hey! this train has, like a radio on, like on the train..dude” and proceeded to bellow “around the world” over and over again. Thanks buddy. I am sure they caught my annoyed please bring you volume from a 95 to maybe like 4 decidable level because one kid told me I should have more fun then asked if it was because it was hot on the train and then leaned in forward to blow in my face cause he was a “human fan”. I was beyond relived when thee decided to do a recon mission (their words not mine) to find a train car with better AC. Seriously I sound like a bitter old lady with too many cats, suppose it just my old age getting up there. The nigth all in all was one of the best nights.

Around the World

although i am not a superfan like most people that are going tonight. this should be a good time out in coney isle.

How long would it take me to walk across the United States all alone...

I’m not sure about the entire United States, but walking the 6 miles to work this morning took me 2 hours. I started at 8:15 at home and walked to the train with Eric, said good-bye and walked across the street to the Manhattan side of the F while he went down to The Brooklyn side (since he works in Park slope). Two F trains passed by and they were full beyond capacity… .so I think I have a bright idea and pack it all up and proceed to walk to Borough hall and get the 4/5 train to work. I get there and its pretty much mayhem there as well, no one knows where anything is going or what is going on. Finally a 4 train come up and the announcer says “ to my knowledge the last stop on the train will be wall street”, it’s never a good thing when the conductor doesn’t know where she is going or what is happening. Well, we kind of stop and go and go and stop and fortunately we go all the way to Brooklyn Bridge, this has taken an hour to go 2 stops though. At Brooklyn Bridge my plan is to switch to the 6 and take it uptown to work. No such luck, all northern bound train are going only as far as Brooklyn Bridge and that’s it, all because of flooding and power outages on the tracks. Well we do what we have to do, don’t we. I get out of the train station and proceed to walk and walk, stop by the N&R wait a while, no luck, walk out of the train station and continue walking and walking and walking. I stop here and there and check out the M1 (the bus) that goes north bound on Lafayette (the path I decided to take to work) and each one is topped to the brim with people. Cabs are hot commodities and since most of my bank account is being preserved to pay my physical therapy co-pays; I am not really psyched on the idea of searching out a bank so that I can deplete funds even more to fight everyone on the street to get into a cab. So I walk some more, and at approximately 10:30 am, I get to work.. Now, you have to understand there are certain days that at the end of the day it is a nice idea to take a relaxing stroll over the bridge home and stretch my legs and clear my mind. I usually choose to do this on cooler nights where oppressive humidity isn’t present. This morning it was 90+ degrees with enough humidity that I actually considered whipping the sweat from my brow for the nine hundredth and seventy-fifth time and laying on the road and waiting to die. And that ladies and gentlemen was my morning commute all because of tornados and torrential rain that woke me up at 5 am this morning. I am hoping the trip home will be less of an adventure.

.and here you have it.