That Homework

There is not enough time in the day for the previously mentioned "stupidhomework" and it is sad how much more stress the "stupidhomework" causes me than anything I do at work.

 

It will continue to ruin my days until the middle of February.

 

Sigh.

 

Maybe I should print out the "breeds resentment" thing I mentioned in a previous post and mail it in with my evaluation.

 

I have the utmost respect for those people who normally balance school and homework with demanding jobs. I guess I just don't get how it's done while still staying sane.

Packrat

I had a thought this morning in the shower (well, many thoughts, but I'm only choosing to share one).

 

I think it's about time that I went through all of my moisturizers and got rid of any that I owned before moving to Chicago. 

 

Because that would mean that they are over 3.5 years old.

 

And I highly doubt they are good anymore and are just collecting dust.

 

And with that, I will go squish the aqua-capsules in the St. Ives moisturizer on my desk at work. It's so much fun.

McFlurry

This morning on the phone, when I was quite excited because I was an hour earlier than usual (not saying much) and had managed to watch all of last night's Grey's Anatomy while getting ready and eating breakfast, my mom laughed at me when I told her my dream about us being on a cruise and ending up floating near penguins in Chile. She thought I was crazy.

But that wasn't what I was coming on here to write about in the precious time before I head off to dreamland. (I'm trying to implement my resolutions now... I figure, calendar New Year, Chinese New Year, it's just another chance to do what I didn't do last time!) I was coming to write about my lunch experience at McDonalds.

It's not McDonalds itself, really. It was someone who was there.

I was sitting on a pretty crowded floor, and I tend to people-watch over lunch. Not stare, but just observe, sometimes out of the corner of my eye. Today, it was hard for me to figure out how not to stare because the person who was catching everyone's eye was directly in front of me, 3 seats, with not a person or thing blocking my view.

There was a disheveled man sitting at a table by himself. He sounded like he was mumbling to himself, maybe talking to himself. Then I noticed he wasn't even eating any McDonalds food; he was just sitting there drinking a can of Foster's.

In McDonalds?!

I didn't think they sold that there! (I still don't think they do. I mean it's not like they're sharing that aspect of the Corona-selling Chipotles.)

I wasn't sure what was wrong with him, and then, he got up and started stumbling around. In my mind, I kept alternating between whether he was going to fall flat on his face next or throw up on everyone around. After awhile, he just stood in the middle of the floor staring at the wall, and you could see the anxiety all over the faces of the people sitting right where he chose to stop. They couldn't go anywhere, unlike 2 girls at a table next to me, who without any subtlety, picked up their food and moved as far away as possible.

Then he went back to the table.

Then he got up.

Then he stood at the top of the stairway.

(Yes, I know, someone could have gotten someone who worked there to do something. But one of the people working on the floor was standing there watching him! And then tried to talk to him, but then just kept watching. I mean, honestly, I'm not sure what they could do.)

I was nervous that he would fall down the stairs, but then he just kept wobbling around on the landing. I was scared to go past in case he fell on me, and I still thought he looked like he was going to puke. That would be a nightmare to get out of dry cleaning. What a mess.

Luckily, there was a side stairwell that exited on to the street, so I left. I wasn't sure I wanted to see what would happen next, as the man was still lingering near the stairs.

I just keep wondering about it. Who was this guy? Why did they let him stay there when he wasn't even a customer? I couldn't tell if the guy was mentally ill, or sick, or homeless, or drunk. All I knew was that I felt bad. But with no time and not much clue about what one can actually do about something like that, I left. My guess would be that nothing happened, but it was unnerving nonetheless.

So this is what I get when I don't just go to Europa for lunch.

Stories.

Good night!

City

Yesterday truly was glorious. Today, not so much. Clouds and rain.

Dreams

Last night, I took melatonin, which was recommended to me by my doctor to adjust my sleeping schedule because of my absolute inability to get up in the morning for work. It was getting to be really bad, because not only could I not get up, but once I finally woke up, I was always groggy. My mom cautioned me against melatonin though because she said some people got very vivid nightmares. But last night, I tried it for the first time.

I woke up several times over the course of the night, but it actually feels pretty good right now. And there were no vivid nightmares, just very vivid dreams.

In the first part, I had been on a cruise with my parents. It was to a "mystery destination" though. I had thought it would be somewhere in the Caribbean, but when they let us off the boat, we were in Ushuaia, the southernmost part of the world. From the cruise ship, we could see penguins frolicking in the water on top of ice blocks. It was great.

I went into some stores and wrote Alvin a postcard, because he couldn't be there. I picked one with two cute penguins on it; they were absolutely adorable. And then I looked for Chilean stamps to send on it. The store was like this little souvenir hut, the type you might find in Disney World. (Although, realizing now, as I am awake, that if I were in Ushuaia, I should be looking for Argentinian stamps. I think in my head, I was thinking Ushuaia during the dream, but the actual imagery of where I thought I was, I think it should have been Tierra del Fuego.)

Sightseeing in Ushuaia was wonderful. All these families with small children were taking these little rowboats into the water filled with ice blocks and these penguins were like jumping and having a great time swimming all around their boats. I wanted to go float in the water with the penguins!! It was such an amazing experience. (And I wasn't even really there!)

Fast forward to another part of another dream...

Professor Snape doesn't like me and keeps trying to get me in trouble. Some other teacher, who likes to help me, gave me this blue circle. If I concentrate hard enough on my destination while in the blue circle, I can transport myself to all sorts of places. Often I seem to be transporting myself to these palaces, and then always imagining my apartment to try to get home.

But you have to be in the blue circle at all times. And Professor Snape keeps trying to catch me. At one point, I wondered if I could just wear the blue circle around my waist, but then I wondered whether my clothes would move with me, since they were outside the circle and decided I didn't want to take that chance.

It was like Apparation, but not. You had to concentrate hard on your destination... but you have to be in the blue circle. Which travels with you. The other teacher, the one who gave me the blue circle, keeps trying to protect me from Professor Snape.

Fast forward to another part of another dream...

I was in this train station in NYC that somehow had all the subway lines on these like 5-6 block long platforms. Only thing was, it was one platform for all the trains (the trains came on both sides). But there were like 12 tracks in the place and you could see all the way across to the other side. You could see all the train lines come through, even if they didn't all stop there at all times.

I think I had been talking to someone, and then ran into 2 people from work. I was going downtown on a train to the WTC area, but I think I was going to get a drink of water. While on the platform, I was realizing that it was a long wait and that I needed to use the bathroom, so I figured that when I got off the train, I would go to McDonalds.

While on the platform, I saw a couple of people that I don't know very well but I think were living in the LA area, and they were going to a party. But for some reason, their clothes had fronts but no backs. And everyone was acting like this was completely normal. I couldn't understand why it looked like no one noticed that people were totally exposed! And they were sitting on these tile seats in the subway station, which under the circumstances, I thought was totally gross. But no one else seemed to notice!

The train came, I went to McDonalds. Home was uptown though, not downtown, so I couldn't figure out why I was going downtown, when I could just go home. But I asked them in McDonalds for a drink of water, and they said I could either buy a bottle, or get a drink of water with a side for 50 cents. I think I decided on the side.

I think I probably had more dreams. But these are the parts I vividly remember. What do you think they mean?

Coffee

Has Juan Valdez always had a Starbucks-looking cafe? I don't drink coffee, so for some reason, this place struck me as odd, but perhaps it's everywhere, and as a non-coffee-drinker, I'm just clueless.

Inspiration

The only word to describe how I feel about today is "glorious."

Sure, I had to wake up at 6:45 (on a Saturday!), but being up and outside early in the morning reminded me of just how renewing it feels to be outside when the sun isn't fully up. Sure, I had an extra-long commute this morning where the PATH train just sat in the station with no explanation for why we weren't moving, but I still made it to class on time. Sure, I had another full day Saturday CLE, but I took 5 naps (honestly, it's not my fault that they keep the auditorium so absurdly cold, forcing me to take shelter under my coat, and of course, I fall asleep) and they ended over an hour early, because I don't think they wanted to be there either.

And, one of the best parts? It's almost 60 degrees outside! In January! And it's sunny! Unlike those other days when it was sort of warm, but kind of cloudy or rainy. It's sunny, and it's warm, and I actually have time when I can enjoy it!

So I took all the time when I would have been sitting in the classroom and I went on a picture walk.

I used to take a lot of picture walks when I was in Chicago. I'd just get in the mood to walk, and I would take a ton of pictures. One time I ended up walking around this park, and ended up taking over 100 pictures. That's not that many, when you consider that on my trip to Hong Kong, I occasionally took about 400 a day, but it still feels like a lot. :)

That hasn't happened as often here in NY. For one, I don't have as much free time as I did when I was a student. I don't really miss school, considering a) I don't miss homework and b) I unfortunately still have classes and homework. (I'm really looking forward to mid-February to get rid of homework!) But the free time was nice. I spend a lot of time at work, which I don't really mind, because I like what I do, except some of those hours are prime picture-taking hours. Also, when I do have free time on the weekends, it's so crowded near where I live that it's not the same as leisurely going on a picture walk with empty sidewalks. And also, I guess the inspiration just didn't hit as often. After all, I still haven't really unpacked, so that takes priority.

But today, it was different. It was a split-second decision to switch trains at Journal Square to take the train up to 33 St and then to walk home, instead of to WTC and then another train up here. (It also saved me $2 and gave me exercise, but the nice weather was a big factor.) But the entire time on the train, from Journal Square to 33 St, all I could think about was how I was going on a picture walk. It made me happy and I think a little bit giddy. :)

It also made me think about last Wednesday's episode of Project Runway.

The theme of the show was inspiration. The designers were given cameras and told to take pictures around the city (although, I think they gave them a really short amount of time, what if you wanted to go to Chinatown or something for your inspiration?). Then they would choose one picture as their inspiration and design from it. I thought it was a great concept.

It also reminded me of the new year's resolution project that I was trying to do on this blog. Randomly pick a picture and let it be my inspiration to write about something. I haven't been very faithful about it, mostly because I avoid logging on to my computer at home because I stare at a screen all day at work. But I really want to do it more. I should do it more.

And in my happy state, I'm going to go clean all the pictures off my memory card. (It's been so long, I've just been adding to my 512 card, and never taking the pics off, but now I have to.) And maybe dance around or something. It's a happy day. :)

Delivery II

Still waiting...

 

They said again that they are very busy but the order already went out.

 

Yeah, except, you said that over 20 minutes ago, so stop lying to me. If I am ordering and relying on your estimate, I am fine if you are off your estimate within reason.  It has been about 90 minutes, and I do not consider an error of 35 minutes within reason!

 

Am I wrong to think that 35 minutes is NOT within reason? Am I wrong to think that if they were going to be so absurdly late, they should have at least CALLED? So friggin' rude. Am never ordering from them again. If this means I have to stick to all the old favorites that I know are reliable, I will do so. If this means that I advise other people here not to order from you, so be it. I don't want them to go through the same sort of frustration over your unreliability.

 

How hard is it to just make the delivery estimate longer if you're busy?

Delivery

Can I tell you something I really, really dislike? When places are too lazy to change their delivery estimates to account for how busy they are, making a 55 minute (on the maximum end) estimated delivery time turn into 67 minutes and counting. I can see if you just took awhile and did not estimate, but you have the ability to change how much time it will take you and don't lie to me and give it to me at a lower number just to get business. That makes me angry and extremely likely to never order from you again. I should have ordered from the nice Quizno's man that sent me a coupon and personally called up to check on how my order was.  I am within walking distance of your restaurant, and yes I am cranky right now because I am waiting for the damn food so I can go home, but I don't think I am ever going to go there, because I am so mad at you right now.  If you knew you were that busy, you didn't even have the courtesy to call to tell me that you were going to be so late, so that I could like, eat a granola bar or something when the clock started.  Yes, it is my own stupid fault for picking a place that had a 40-55 minute delivery time to begin with, but last time you delivered at like 43 minutes. Now?  You're at about 78 minutes, and I am getting really annoyed, because if I wanted to wait 78 minutes, I would have ordered from someplace that was 78 minutes wait time. ARGH. I can feel my stomach burning and I am getting nauseous (what always happens when I am really hungry and about 1/2 hr past the time I should have eaten) and this is ALL YOUR FAULT.

Wind

I hate when the wind tosses me around like a pine cone.

Names

Are they really going to call it "The CW"?

Facial Expressions

What Your Face Says

At first glance, people see you as strong willed and stubborn. Overall, your true self is reserved and logical. With friends, you seem dramatic, lively, and quick to react. In love, you seem mysterious and interesting. In stressful situations, you seem selfish and moody.

What Do People Think Of Your Face?

Samosas

If you're a longtime reader of this blog (I feel like I start many entries this way), you may know that I love samosas. (Cannot look for posts to link to as I refuse to access the blog from my current location).

 

I've been dreaming about dinner for 2 hours and now have finally satisfied my cravings with 2 huge samosas.  Oh yum yum yum yum yum.

 

I feel so much better now. :) Back to work.

Umbrellas

This morning, on my way to work, I was one of those idiots you always see on TV chasing their umbrellas down the street.

 

It was pouring and they said wind gusts this morning might hit 60 mph, and there I was, rain boots, bright blue rain slicker, my pocketbook (for whatever dumb reason) on the outside of my coat instead of the inside. All of a sudden, the umbrella I had been using to battle the wind (and had, for the most part, been succeeding) flew out of my hand and down the sidewalk.

 

I was alarmed! What was I going to do? It's like when a kid's ball ends up in the street and you don't want the kid running after it.  What happened if my umbrella went into the street? Would I go for it?

 

But it has been my favorite umbrella for years! Push button open and close (I really hate closing umbrellas, but will do it if I have to).  We've been through so many storms together.  I couldn't lose my umbrella!

 

So I raced after it, down the sidewalk.

 

It toppled and rolled over and over, the wind carrying it further and further.  I touched the edge of it twice and it eluded my grasp.  And then - finally - I grasped hold of it.

 

And didn't let it go all the way to work.  But on the way I started thinking about how the news always tries to show photos of how bad the conditions are and they show people with blown away umbrellas, and I thought about just how dumb I would look chasing after a bumbling black umbrella.

 

Luckily I was west of 8th Ave, so maybe they didn't catch me.  But if you see someone in a bright blue raincoat chasing down a black umbrella and looking really ridiculous... that was probably me.

Toys

It's less obvious in this photograph of the lake, but from my angle at the time, the little boats on the river looked like toys. You know those little remote control boats that people would have racing around swimming pools? (Or in the law school's case during end-of-term BBQs, the fountain?) That's what it looked like.

I was 34 floors above the ground, but even higher above the boats. It's odd to me now, living on the 3rd floor, thinking about just how high up I used to be. High enough so that my view from my apartment of the road was routinely obscured by clouds. High enough so that I could see all the way to the neighborhood where the law school was, a 15 minute drive. High enough so that on a clear day I could see all the way to another state (Indiana). High enough so that normal sized boats looked like little remote control toys.

I didn't always live high in the sky. Growing up, I lived on the top floor of our house, but that wasn't that far above the ground. In college, I lived on the 4th floor until senior year when I lived on the 2nd floor (finally). The only good thing about living on the 4th floor was that it kept me in shape because I would inevitably forget something and would have to run all the way back up. And in freshman year, there was a lot of running up and down the stairs, especially when visiting friends in other entryways when you needed to run all the way to the top to cross over to some other entryway. Ah, memories. Good times and in much better shape.

When I went off to law school, I was on the 2nd floor (although it was more like 2.5) with a view of a dead end street and a building that was always empty by quitting time. (I don't really remember what was there.) But for 2 years in Chicago, I lived up in the clouds. A beautiful view of the lake and the fireworks shows that I will never forget.

Tedious

The word of the day, in honor of the "stupid homework," is the word I've been looking to use to describe it this whole time: tedious.

 

Yes. Perfect word. Grrrrrrrr.

Auditions

On my way to work this afternoon (to do the "stupid homework" - it's an affectionate name really - *cough*), I passed by Planet Hollywood and noticed there was a whole crowd of people surrounding one of the entrances on the side of the restaurant.

 

"I'm glad I didn't cross to that side to walk to work," I thought, since my office is on the same side of the street as Planet Hollywood.

 

As I kept walking along from 7th to 6th Avenues, I noticed there were packs of people.  One glance at a sign inside that Planet Hollywood entrance told me why.  Apparently, today, at PH, they were holding auditions for the next cycle of The Biggest Loser.

 

The line, with brief breaks for driveways and office building entrances, went almost the entire length of the street between the avenues. I'm not spatially inclined, so I don't know which one was longer - the line I saw today or the one I saw last March with all the Apprentice 4 hopefuls lined up that circled the block with the NBC building in Chicago.

 

I feel bad for the people online as it is not very warm outside. Luckily this block isn't as windy as the ones where the NYT is.

 

I really had better go back to stupid homework and stop procrastinating. Sigh.

Lots of Sighs

I wonder what year this pdf I just found is from!

It's an ad hoc committee evaluating the classes we have to do for this CLE thing, and here was one of their recommendations:

"The Committee has concluded that among the most objected-to components of the existing program is its requirement that there be homework in the form of written practice exercises. The Committee has concluded that this component has bred resentment without providing a counterbalancing benefit. The Committee concludes that the "homework" assignments should be eliminated."

Absolutely, I wholeheartedly agree!

Ah, just found it. I think the committee was formed in 2003.

Well it's 2006! (*shudder*)  And the homework's still there!  Does no one listen??

Not to be cynical, but is the $300/pp really that important?

Sigh. It truly has bred resentment without a counterbalancing benefit. That's really the best way it could be put. Sigh.

Sundays

The great: 24, Grey's Anatomy, going to the performance of Pinafore this afternoon.

The good: Tomorrow is technically a day off.

The BAD: Tomorrow will be spent doing stupid homework. I have noticed that everything relating to this stupid homework stuff, I call stupid. It's become reflex. It's also becomingly annoyingly repetitive, but when you have stupid homework to do when you thought you were really finally done with school, you probably have a right to call it stupid.  Does any other state have a stupid homework requirement to remain in good standing?  I will probably go into the office to work on it also because the computer can handle more than my poor overworked laptop, and because if I'm in the apartment, I will unpack instead of working on the stupid assignment, because anything anything anything is better than this stupid work.  And do you know they pronounce it "ickle" like "pickle"?  It bothers me everytime.  Are we supposed to just pronounce CLE as "cull" then? Argh.  No one's pays attention in class, but if all we had to do was sit through class, it wouldn't be that bad. It would still be a waste of time, but not as much of a time waster as this stuff.  I think my parents are amused when I tell them stories of the class and keep calling my homework "stupid homework," but I am not sure if they understand my agony.

I think this is worse than law school. At least then I expected homework and knew it was over soon.  Here, I didn't expect it to be this bad  (assignment is running over 15 pages right now, I am not amused) and I thought it was done. It's so bad that it's so much more stressful than real work! I would rather spend my whole Saturday at real work than class if I had a choice!  (Can you tell that I'm working on it now?)

Sorry I keep complaining. There are much worse things in the world than homework.  But it literally makes me want to run back and forth down the hallways of my apartment building with my arms flailing and screaming at the top of my lungs, and I think blogging is a much better alternative so that I don't get sent to a crazy house.  Sincerest apologies. :)

Frustration Again

I am still upset with myself for taking the NJ Bar. I wish I could take it back.

 

Just because I don't need the headache of these stupid homework assignments and full day Saturday classes!  Why why why...

 

So yesterday, after getting home and feeling like I had wasted over 2 hours of my life on the homework (which is still only like 55% finished), I proceeded to watch 1.5 hours of Dancing with the Stars, then the half hour of Crumbs, and then (when I should have been sleeping) the OC.

 

It was blissful.

 

And since I am still at work, I may have to miss some TV tonight, but hopefully not too much. I think I'll take that stupid fake person's divorce papers home with me. Again, I wouldn't mind doing it if it were real, but it's a fake person and I don't have the time for fake people's fake papers!

 

Blahhhhhh.

Frustration

If only someone had told me before I signed up for the NJ Bar Exam that this CLE + homework crap would be so agonizing, I would have taken the CT Bar!

 

Let my story be a warning.

 

Sigh.

Homework

I still can't believe that I have to do CLE homework.

 

Part of the reason I was so deliriously happy with law school being over was that I thought I was finally (finally!) free of homework.

 

Yet, here I sit, typing away at family law homework for CLE in order to remain in good standing.

 

I could be home watching Dancing with the Stars, but no, I am here, writing a divorce complaint.

 

I think I might have been really into this type of class in law school, since all the assignments are practical, like my entrepreneurship class.  But I'm not in law school anymore; I'm at work. And I realize it's probably useful, but I don't really have the desire to sit here and draw up papers for fake people in NJ.  Fake people! Not paying clients, not pro bono clients, but fake people!  Five weeks of fake people and fake situations and I am not in law school anymore, goshdarnit!!!!

 

Okay, I think that's enough venting. The exclamation points are probably what did it.

 

I'm going to try to convince myself that I'm really just in a nice computer cluster and back in school... but I think that thought is just going to make me a little bit miserable.  Maybe I'll just pretend I have a little Jerry Rice doing the cha-cha on my desk over by the phone (a la Victor Krum action figures in Goblet of Fire).  And maybe I'll get home in time to check out Crumbs. 

Sandwiches

How is it that, without cheesy bread or spinach or cucumbers, my Blimpie turkey and provolone sandwiches always taste better than the ones I get from Subway?

 

Don't get me wrong, I still like the ones from Subway, but I don't know why the Blimpie ones taste better!

 

Is it the oil and vinegar?

 

Maybe the fact that the turkey isn't cut in a perfect circle?

 

I have no idea. But I'm glad I work near both of them. I can keep testing it out.

 

I used to get kids meals from the Blimpie in the mall all the time when I was younger. It would be a mini meal, I think they called it. A half a regular sized sandwich, chips, drink... and my favorite part, a Twix bar!  Unfortunately, that Blimpie later on got into a little trouble with a thing called the health code or something and got shut down for awhile. And in the meantime, some of the other stalls became Taco Bell and Wendy's, so I was okay with not having Blimpie.

 

Subway sandwiches got me through the bar exam.  Each morning, when I forced myself awake at 6:30 am, I took out from the fridge the Subway turkey and cheese sandwich I had purchased the night before. Breakfast! It was the only thing I could think of that would be filling enough so that I wasn't already hungry by the time I got to the ship terminal (where I took the bar) and that didn't need microwaving.  On the first day of the NY Bar, I also went to Subway for lunch, figuring the tuna would give me brain food. After the bar, I don't think I had a Subway sandwich for quite a bit of time.

 

Yesterday at lunch (don't know where the sandwiches were from, it was at a CLE in the firm), I had a pretty good turkey and American cheese sandwich. The meat was cut just right. And the sandwich was great once I took off all the mayo and added deli mustard.

 

Which brings me to a question: if you like turkey sandwiches, do you prefer them with mustard or mayo? From what I can tell, most people aren't either-or but have a pretty strong feeling about it one way or the other.  I'm curious. :)

Dreams

Last night, I had a dream that my youngest cousin on my dad's side was from another country. I was attempting to mail something and she was showing me all the different types of postage stamps and teaching me which ones went where. Except I ended up putting 2 large stamps on something that ended up going inside an envelope and then had to put more stamps on the outside.

 

I wonder if this dream is trying to remind me that I have yet to go buy the sheet of 2 cent stamps that I need due to the postage increase, and that I really need to get the stamps soon or else I can't send out my student loan repayment. Hmm.

Assistance Needed II

Hmm. Found a comment here (http://customerevangelists.typepad.com/blog/2004/12/amazons_phone_n.html) that there is no iTunes calling mechanism. I guess I'm just going to have to keep emailing....

Assistance Needed

Please help! If anyone knows how to get a real live person on the phone to deal with an iTunes problem, please let me know... This is the second time I've had to email them and each time I've gotten back a form answer that doesn't even respond to the problem whatsoever and is completely useless.  Argh.

Dancing with the Stars 2.1

Oh, that was fun. I have missed dancing reality shows. I'm glad it's back and bringing with it other knockoffs like Skating with Celebrities. :)  I just love watching people dance. Part of the reason why Center Stage is one of my favorite movies.

Anyway, who did I vote for? Jerry Rice because he was so darn good, Drew Lachey because his dance was so much fun and that Stacy wrestler person because she was so elegant and pretty that I had to vote for her. (So I didn't vote the same number of times for each of them.... the fact that I have always been a Jerry Rice fan sort of won out there.)

I've watched the Jerry Rice dance 3x now and am going back to watch the Drew Lachey one again. :) Yippee!  Makes my sick day (ugh) a little better...

My thoughts on all the dances:

George: It was okay, and I do feel bad for him as he is the older one in the bunch, but I would prefer they picked an older person who didn't talk about how his body is falling apart.

Lisa: Pretty good. I was interested the whole time, but I think part of it was that I liked the music.  And her spin in the middle was pretty cool.

Kenny: Not very good, but you could tell he was trying, and he was quite amusing.

Stacy: Had no idea who she was before the show, but she just looked so good at dancing because of her long legs. I was jealous.

Drew: Very fun. Probably the best dance of the night, because they were really dancing. But then again... boy band, Broadway... he should know how to dance. ("This is not boy band, it's ballroom!")

Tia: I was wondering what happened to make her put on that much weight, and then they said she had a baby 3 months ago. Well, that explains everything! She did look really pretty out there though.

(Can you tell that I don't really know that much about ballroom and it turns out into how much fun I found the dance and how pretty I thought people looked on the dance floor?)

Master P: Oh please. I realize he stepped in to do this later than most others because he was filling in for Romeo who got hurt, but you didn't have to say yes if you didn't want to be there! He gave this look at one point like he was so bored, and he didn't even try. Neither he or Kenny was very good, but at least Kenny was trying! Master P... just ... stood there!  Poor Ashly. She was dancing circles around him, and had the really bad luck to get stuck with someone so.. unenthusiastic.

Giselle: *shrug*  Don't remember much about it, I think I got bored actually. It wasn't bad but I wasn't distracted from my cleaning up/unpacking a box.

Jerry: Oh, so much fun. He should move his hips that much every week. ;-)

Tatum: See Giselle. I didn't really have much reaction to it one way or another. I think I was cleaning up then too.

I hope my favorites do well. :)

Project Runway 2.4

I watched this episode again last night, and reminded myself of just how much I loathe Santino and how much I wish I had enough money to hire Daniel Franco to make dresses for me.  He really proved, in one episode if not the past 4, how he is everything Santino's not. Namely, a class act. And I don't want to hear editing excuses about how someone can be badly edited, comments or smirks aren't being shown at the correct time... the cameras can't make up things he says and does. He really does seem to be just that much of a.... I can't think of a word I want to use.

 

Still rooting for Chloe and Nick!

Photos

I have the time, but I've been sorting through all my 2005 pictures tonight, so I'm not going to do a talk-about-the-photo entry. No energy.

But looking at the pictures... I really miss the sunlight. I miss how pictures of dinner come out better with some natural light on people's faces.  Walking around and basking in the sun during the spring. Sitting on the beach and just relaxing someplace warm. I don't need a vacation to get away from work at all - I need a vacation because I am in need of a warm weather + sunshine fix!

Salad

I was craving chicken over rice from one of the street carts for lunch today, but it's cold, windy and raining, which means that I usually just go to the cafe on the ground level of the building.  I thought about getting a sandwich and soup on the elevator ride down, and they even had Manhattan Clam Chowder, which I love. But while at the cafe, I decided to just get a salad; I seemed to want that more, which surprised me seeing as how I love soup and wrap sandwiches.

 

Either I went down to the cafe at an exceptionally busy time or everyone's new year's resolution was to eat healthier, because that salad line was LONG.

 

But it was good. And I didn't have to trek through the rain. (I came to work fully dressed in a rain slicker and rain boots, but didn't feel like putting on the whole get-up before going out to grab lunch!)   Yum yum yum.

2006

I meant to post this earlier, but I didn't copy the pictures onto my computer until today. But on first glance, doesn't this look like it says 2004, not 2006? All of the pictures of the ball that were at the same height look like 2006, but from down below, I still think it looks like 2004. Am I the only one who thinks this?

Celebrities

I did that celebrity face recognition thing and it came up with Mariah Carey at 63%.

Umm....

Then Aretha Franklin (59%), Jennifer Lopez (57%), Greta Garbo (56%), Madonna (54%), Pamela Anderson (53%), Ayumi Hamasaki (52%), Elisha Cuthbert (51%), Charlize Theron (51%) and Condoleezza Rice (50%).

I'm greatly puzzled by the order of those names (and want no connection to the last one!).

After all, this is the same picture that said I was 100% Chinese on the other site, not the picture that said I was European! Very puzzled.

Auto Show

I thought about going on the test track at the auto show last February, but the line was really long. It looked kind of fun though - going up and down dirt hills and through potholes and all. But I don't remember if you got to drive it yourself. I don't think so - I think they had staff driving the cars. Which made the idea a little less fun.

The auto show was nice, but because we went on a weekend, it was way too crowded. It was difficult walking around, seeing any cars or anything, because of all the people. I much prefer these shows on off-peak days, but that's so much harder to coordinate.

I really can't think of anything else to say about the auto show for now. Oh well. My writing ability has truly suffered in law school, I'm sad to admit.

Working Out

Fit TV has the right idea about new years. After midnight, I went to check out what they had on and it was a body sculpting class. Instead of fitness-related programming, they actually put on fitness classes until 2 am!  It was perfect for fulfilling the exercise part of my daily resolution.... and they have continued it all day! They're showing fitness classes straight through to 6 pm. Fabulous. They know what everyone's new year's resolution is, that's for sure.