So There!

While New York may pride itself on doing everything better, it's not quite true. Most things are done better (love that public transportation is $2.00; Denver's at $4.00 and will be raising it again), but in two very important places, New York is lacking:

1. Coffee Shops; they don't exist in New York. You may run into one every 75 blocks or so, but the caramel lattes are seriously sad. I don't count Starbucks...though they do happen every 15 or so blocks. Which brings up the question, what exactly does power New Yorkers and that brings up number

2. New Yorkers are whimps. Yes, they have crime and yes, Central Park at night is reputed to be scary ("because the park is a forest and forests are scary at night"), but you get a wee little bit of misty rain and out come the umbrellas and galoshes.

I didn't even know galoshes existed any more, but there is a whole booming galosh business. While I did only live in Portland for a year or so, there I picked up on the unspoken super-soggy universal rule that only whimps use umbrellas. The only exception is when it's literally pouring buckets and even then, the annoyingness of dealing with an umbrella vs. getting a little wet is still a debate.

One day was spent wandering the misty, slightly damp streets looking for coffee. The whole time other people were smacking their umbrellas into each other, signs, buildings, cabs, sidewalks, and just about everything. It was wierd. Overall, though, New York does just about everything else better. It's unfortunate, really, because I can only be smug about coffee and rain: the two things the west coast does best.

An Erinku:
orange kitty
napping on
green suitcase
holding it at home

Cleaning Frenzy

When I go away for vacation, I have a majorly intensive cleaning session beforehand. This is especially dramatic if I'll be away for more than a week (as I will be this time around) because I'll get rid of food in the fridge...then notice that the little vegetable drawers need cleaning...and then the other shelves...etc. I will often come back to a spotless apartment with absolutely nothing to eat.

Vacation time is a very good time to be my neighbor. Tonight Joe stopped by to get final instructions on how to feed the spoiled Dylan, and tonight Joe left with a plate full of sushi. While I'm absolutely convinced I could live on sushi, I can only eat so much and since Chris makes some mean-good sushi, I get it fairly often. I still have half a block of cheese in my fridge. I should have given that to Joe, too. Sushi and cheese. Hmm.

Moral of today's story: this morning is occurred to me that it's completely awesome to live in a society where we need directions on our shampoo bottles.

An Erinku:
little, green planner
I lost it again
my empty nights
recorded there

Meep Meep!

I do agree it sucks that the local classical radio station changed numbers. I, too, can't get it in the Hobbit Hole any more because it's on something like 42.1 or some ridiculously low number. But. What does suck worse is that I now wake up to vocal jazz. And that seriously sucks.

What's extra bizarre is that I don't know what station it is. At night it seems to play a lot of other types of music. It's only between 6:30-7:15 a.m. every weekday that they play vocal jazz. And that only thing that sucks more than waking up to vocal jazz, is not waking up while it's playing. I'm worried about subliminal doo-bops. That was the case this morning. I've been extra perky today and now I'm feeling suspicious.

Moral of today's story: (brilliant last line!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9dZ2843W64
An Erinku:
sunset
starting
dinner
cooking

Lessons Learned

In the past two weeks, I realized just how crazy busy a school can be before classes start. I've worked many days in a row and have talked to all manner of strangers repeatedly. I slept very little and experienced, for the very first time, a neck cramp from stress. As today was much easier than it has been in a while, I wrote an email that turned into a mini-blog-like event. And as today was much easier than it has been in a while, I'm too lazy to be doubly creative in one day.

My email:
"Well hi there, Scooby!
That time works for me, BUT! I have a rehearsal in Denver beginning at 2:00 p.m. That means I'd need to leave Boulder at 12:45 so I could pick up my stuff and drive all the way out to the rehearsal and be on time. Would an abbreviated brunch work for you?

AW MAN, my Tootise Pop is grape flavor. BLech. I thought I grabbed some fun flavor and now I'm stuck with a grape tootsie pop. What a way to end the week. I'm not fond of grape-flavored products...except actual grapes. And wine. But not raisins. Hmm. I got it yesterday and didn't look til today, so I'm guessing no one will have any to trade. Let this be a lesson to you to ALWAYS LOOK AT YOUR TOOTSIE POP FLAVOR. I'll try and learn that lesson, too.

I think I'll try it because I was terribly excited about getting a tootsie pop. Mmmbleehhh, fake grape flavor. Now I'll have a purple tongue and teeth, too. That's never out of style. I guess it's not so bad. I was hoping for cherry, so I don't understand why exactly I reached for a blue wrapped pop. Let this be a lesson to you: CHERRY TOOTSIE POPS ARE NOT WRAPPED IN PURPLY-BLUE WRAPPERS.

I feel I've strayed off topic. Something about breakfast food and hot cocoa and a cartoon owl asking how many licks I'll take to get the center of my tootsie-filled life. Since I usually just rest them on my tongue and will randomly rotate said pop, I think it's about three.

OW, I have just suffered a tootsie-pop-related tongue injury. I think the random pop rotation will need to be rethought. It's wierd when the tootsie flavor starts to mingle in with the grape. I don't bite the candy itself until the end, but I do seem to gnaw on the stick throughout. I think this is the first time I've written a play-by-play tootsie pop devouring.

SUCCESS, I just bit through! Oh, I missed half, but the other half is very chewy. Munch, munch, munch. Someone just wandered into my office. I told her I was saddened by my ability to choose flavors. She agreed that grape wasn't her favorite, either. She thought they tasted like cough syrup and she apologized for interrupting my lollipop break. I like the idea of taking a lollipop break. It's a like a little kid version of a cigarette break. And now my break is done.

This is what happens when I have a real lunch for lunch and write to you at the end of a LONG work week. I just told my fellow hall-mates about the candy being given out at the front desk. One of my co-workers purposefully chose grape (!!) Right, have I ever mentioned that I think ADD is an STD? And on that note, I'm going to deal with the several emails that arrived while I was chronicalling my break. OK Bye!!"

An Erinku:
lamp
green for day
then
yellow for night

Technological Advances in Underwear

Today, I was on a mission to buy a slip. Slips are fabulous little scraps of material that keep your shocking undies from glowing through your clothes. These things did exist about 12 years ago. At that point, I was working as a fashion gal at the local K-Mart and we sold them.

I searched for many whiles today and, while unable to find a slip, I did find many things that promised to smoothe my ass, trim my thighs, uplift my ass, smoosh my tummy, and onward. I even found an "invisible bra" which was, at that time, visible on the hanger. I assumed it either: 1. had a smart microchip homing device that would have it quickly return to the factory, and when you couldn't find it, you'd console yourself with the fact that it was invisible and what else did you expect? or 2. turn invisible once it reached body temperature.

Invisible bras aside, this has been a sad step back in underwear technology. I just wanted a slip. It could be they've fallen out of fashion in the last dozen years. It could be they didn't sell well; after all, I only need one every decade or so. And while I sit here and ponder this sad state of affairs, I remember that once again I left my beer in the freezer. Argh!!

An Erinku:
in cooler weather
in morning
grumpy
like bear.