it's been a rough couple of weeks, maybe you've noticed by my posting history. This week will be on par with the last, think sand paper, rough. but... it will all be worth it in less then 7 days. Because in under a week, when i walk out my temporary front door, this is what I will see.
and seriously, ads, boy troubles, retouching and a couple of extra pounds can't hold a candle to this view.
amen.
today's weather was amazing. dress, bare legs and boots amazing. i love it. i ended up meeting Rachel (fellow producer) and Diane for drinks at naples 45 across from the office for a prime patio spot, cheap wine and free food. In new york? who knew? well, these places actually do exist, you just have to be patient and look.
this weekend was fun. i headed Rockville Centre, Long Island for their St. Patty's Day parade and let me tell you, it was fun. It was down home new york, local fireman and policeman, you really saw the brotherhood. It was a blast, and lots of beer at that. and men in kilts! I really have a thing for bag pipers, ive come to accept it. Here are a few photos from the day.
lots of beer, lots of strangers, lots of fun.
My accessory for the day, even though it bothers the hell out of me that Miller insists on spelling "lite" wrong.
JWT girls on the town.
I highly recommend the Onion/Garlic Salt & Pepper and Ranch flavors. 70 calories 1.5 grams of fat and 1.5 g of fiber per serving, and high in soy protein. so damn good. and for the fat campers the small bag is about 2.5 -3 points. not that i'm counting again, though i should. example A- see my cheeks in pic above. hahaholy hell it's warm outside, and that's not the 5 beers talking. walked out of a work happy hour and it's like a southern balmy night. 60 degrees in March? amazing. makes me think i soon have to buy an air conditioner, global warming and all. (these pre war buildings do not come equipped with such amenities).
working out production time lines today has made me realize that not only are my projects super behind schedule due to late photo shoots, but that costa rica is less then 3 weeks away. in 4 weeks i'll be the tannest girl on the 5th floor JWT. --one who is happy to use an SPF 30, followed by an SPF 15 4-5 days into the trip. i'm italian, i tan easy. sue me.
i'm starting to get the pre-trip jitters. had a small anxiety attack at work today because i was unsure of the location of my passport. found it nonetheless. i'm excited. I have not been on this long of trip since 1996 when i toured France for 10 days, with a my high school french club. fun, yes, but when you're 16 all you want to do is get hammered and not enjoy the historical meaning of such cities as Paris and Nice.
Don't get me wrong, I intend to have a good amount of boozing time in Costa Rica, but I also am planning on taking in some of the country's history. It's a prime week for that as well, being we'll be there over Easter. I hope to take in a morning mass. Who knows, maybe they'll have it on the beach.
anyway. have to finish out the work week strong. I'll be sure to post pictures from saturday's post st. patty's day rockville center, long island festivities.
top 3 reasons why i think i need a boyfriend right now.
1. i need someone to pinch me awake so I can haul ass out of bed to the shower before 7 am
2. i'm a damn good cuddler
3. i have a lot to give.
now. the note.
Dear Sir on 45th St this morning around 9:30 am,
Listen f'er. due the the fact that i do not have a boyfriend to pinch me awake so I can haul ass out of bed to the shower before 7 am, I was running late this morning -very late. You see, I have an alarm clock. I tend to smack the snooze button often. A bit too often. Even though I'd sure give a BF a good punch to the arm for waking me up, the alarm gets the worse of the two. But, I'm away from my point.
All of your looking up to admire the tall buildings and dawdling around on the street while i'm trying to power walk/run past you, did not help me get to work any sooner. the fact that i had to jump over a rolling suite case and nearly shoulder an elderly woman to get away from your slow ass did not make me happy. In the future stay away from lexington ave between the hours of 8:45 and 9:45, save your building admiring for Times Square.
I will stipulate this note with the fact that if you do happen to have a lovely sun around the age of 30 who just is college educated preferably with a masters degree and over 6 ft tall, with crazy work hours like mine, I'd be happy to accept a date from him instead of an apology from you.
Just a thought.
Sincerely,
Lauren, suitcase jumping extraordinaire.
6 months is a long time, but it's like years in children's growth. 6 months is inches, words and expressions. Shortstack and little miss, more formally Bryce and Callie, my cousin's children.
they remind me of how hard it is to move. I'm sure to miss the big things, Callie's first steps or Bryce's first day of school, but the little things seem to count for more. The little expressions or hand pats, a funny face or a new word.
it's that way with everyone i've left behind south of the mason dixon or those who have left me. in hopes of catching up on friend's daily events i spent time with my old coworkers Friday afternoon into the evening. it was both wonderful and bittersweet, delightful if you will. my face was sore the next morning from smiling.
i strolled around bbdo and felt at ease, like part of me still belonged. old friends did double takes to see me standing in their cubes, it's an ego boost to know that you are missed. I miss them as well.
i miss their passing stories of what their husband bought them for christmas, new eating habits, trips ready to be taken, and career decisions soon to be made -the smalltalk over beers, i miss it all. it's the small windows into everyone's lives that we share on a daily basis but tend to be left out when we talk to those who aren't around. maybe that is why i have this blog, to keep you all informed of the nonsensical, non-life changing moments of my day to day.
my trip was short, but i packed in a lot of time with the family, which was wonderful. one amazing turkey dinner, a southern cookout with hot dogs, bbdo happy hour, a wedding reception and drinks with a friend completed the weekend. It all hit me as I was leaving the reception driving to va hi. i was rounding the bend in the connector near freedom parkway, my old exit, when things just started to blur. for a moment it felt like new york was just a dream, and i was returning home to my ponce apartment. i wouldn't call it an out of body experience, because who knows what that really feels like anyway. but i did get a brief glimpse and feeling of excitement that i could tie up loose ends, that i still had some time in atlanta. we all have 20/20 vision in hindsight, i saw this 'dream of nyc' as a chance to go back and do a couple of things differently, reveal a bit more. it left just as quickly as it came on, this little vision.
that's alright though, i got my dream of nyc, but i still don't have the fairy tale. i have lots of time to work on that.
and i haven't lost hope yet.
packing is tough. especially since Atlanta will be 80-37 while i'm there. that sounds more like a sports score then the highs and lows.
off to pack.
see y'all soon. that's right. i said it. first time ever. a little present for the southerners. can't wait to throw a few back with youse guys.
hehe
so, remember what I gave up for Lent? sleeping in... I don't know. this is harder then I thought. it means i may need to take up napping in the afternoon, and i'm not a napper. I don't sleep very well during the day, and haven't since 1996 when i had mono and had to stay home from school for 3 months. --not as fun as it seems, i was bored out of my mind and resorted to soap operas and Lambchop's Play along. that show still cracks me up. haven't seen it on in ages.
so. let's discuss daylight savings time and how much it screws me up. spring ahead fall back, i know the saying but some how still can never figure out which one i lose the hour of sleep for. my father advised, i lose the hour tomorrow night. now, back in college, the "gain an hour" day was always a big drinking night, since you were able to squeeze one more hour of hearty drinking out of the NJ ABC (alcoholic beverage commission). good times. of course that had a direct effect on the extra hour of hungover-ness the next day. ah, memories
Atlanta next week, and in a month I'll be in Costa Rica! i bought a linen skirt at H&M today out of pure excitement for trip, and it's brown and i really just haven't been able to resist brown clothing this year.
anyway, so atlanta next week. I'm excited. i'm even more excited about the 75 degree weather. who knew! Every year i forget what certain temperatures feel like, or what is appropriate attire for those temperatures. so, i'll over pack. but let me tell you, I am one of the best packers out there. i roll the shit out of my tshirts and clothes and it all fits neatly into a tiny carry on wheelie suitcase. yep flight attendant, it fits. trust me.
well. in hopes of staying with my Lenten sacrifice, i'm going to bed. i want to be up and functioning by 9 am. hehe we'll see.
a man named John restored my faith in humanity today. I lost my little blue wallet that holds my work IDs, free coffee voucher and unlimited monthly metro card. ---all a pain in the ass to replace. I tore my apt apart this morning, nothing. i went to the bodega where i last had it. they handed me the winning numbers instead of answering my question. English wasn't the shop keepers first language. so I shook it off.
3 hours later i get a call from a man name John. he found my wallet, googled JWT and had the receptionist transfer his call. amazing.
there are good people in this world.
he left my wallet with his doorman, and its back in my possession. I'm going to leave him a $5 starbucks card and a thank you note.
score one for humanity.
that's about all i have to say about that.
Good thing is? I'll be in sunny warm (let's hope) hot-lanta come weds evening next week. can't wait to see all of my favorite southerns, the little ones too. I hear my #1 toddler, Shortstack has his first soccer game of the season this week. I'll be the aunt on the sideline yelling at the ref recovering from a welcome-back-to-atlanta-thanks-for-visiting-bbdo-happy-hour whilst cheering on the pre-k'rs playing bumble bee soccer.
for those of you like myself who started playing soccer before you could spell the sport's name, bumble bee soccer is what i call it when the young'uns all rush to the ball and run around like bees around a hive. hovering, no positions utter chaos. i can't wait.
it's been a while since my last post, too long in fact. this week was hectic, drawn out an exhausting. i'd have to say this work week was the worst yet. but i did learn one thing that i'm quite proud of. Do you know how when someone attacks you it's within your nature to defend? Well, I had an art director try to "put me in my place" this week. She's been in "the business for 30 years," "before [I] was born." oh go f.... nevermind.
so. a nasty voice mail and a matching email to boot, i let her cool off for about two hours or so before retaliating. I phoned her and she picked up with attitude. She started her diatribe in an unrelenting and unacceptable fashion-- and here's when the highlight of my week comes in. I did not mirror her tone, or stoop to her level. I kept the cool voice and tried to lead her through the conversation. She finally came around and apologized, etc. Looks like 30 years in the business won't make you any more of an adult.
speaking of adult. as soon as i hung up the phone, i proceeded to unleash obscenities under my breath at the direction of the phone in true terits fashion... oh come on. i had to get it out somehow.
anyway, Friday night was fun, i met an old high school friend for dinner drinks and debauchery on the lower east side. then saturday morning i headed back into NJ to meet Diane for the Hoboken St. Patrick's day parade, completely forgetting my camera. lucky samsung to the rescue.
I friggen love bagpipes.
they were great. i think we should have bagpipers everyday. and check out this fire truck. cool right?
old school. today was brunch in hoboken and errands when back in the city. West Elm has this bench that I really want. see below. I want to use it as a coffee table. I could really use the storage. I'm not sure if the wood grain would work. wow how boring is this post?
anyway. i'm starting to bore myself. I think this week is going to be as brutal as last, so I'm going to get an early start and get to bed now.
Carnegie hall was goose-bump amazing. Eva and I spent the whole day together and it was exhausting, but lovely. I met her at 9:45 at her apartment, where we chatted before having bagels and a ton of "schmears." she said i had to learn how to be Jewish, so she introduced me to herring and 8 million other bagel toppings. so far my favorites are: 1. cream cheese (plain or flavored) 2. Egg salad 3. Tuna fish salad. Not making the list is pickle Herring. which she made my try and i did not like. closely above Herring is Lox. i'm just not a fan of salmon, wish i was.
we left her place at 12:3o for a 2 pm show at Carnegie. She knows it takes just about an hour to get there by bus, but we were lucky and caught the transfers well, hardly a minute between buses. We waited in the lobby and she'd be standing for a while and i was getting a tad nervous for her. A lovely usher walked over and said we'd be allowed to sit. He opened up the doors to the hall, we sat on the ground or "Parcquet" floor. it was amazing, truly took my breath away. I was happy he sat us, for Eva's sake and mine to see the auditorium empty.
the show started and i immediately got goose bumps. The acoustics are mind boggling and the Symphony to that degree. I may have the drive for advertising, but music i think i just prefer to listen to.
after 2 hours we hopped the bus back downtown to our neighborhood , I walked her back to her building then headed home, exhausted.
that was yesterday. Today was equally tiring, but crazily enough i was able to leave work at 5:10 and meet Diane for a couple glasses of wine. I have about 6 pts today, so all of you fat campers know that isn't much to sustain 3/4 of a bottle of wine. so, mind the buzz. but, mainly, it feels so weird to be out of the office so early, feels like I'm cheating. but regardless, my work is done and it's the calm before the storm so I shouldn't bother.
on the other hand, earlier last week I booked my trip back to Atlanta. I'm very excited. for those of you reading this in the southern region, there should be a bbdo/welcome back happy hour on march 16. hope to see you all there. i want to visit the old office, so i'd assume the HH will be somewhere close to buckhead/bbdo. i'm open to suggestion. since it's not my going away, i wont' drive you to my favorite atl dive bars. hehe
well. i think i'm going to turn in for the night. read a book in bed and enjoy being home and in bed before 9 pm for the first time in a very long time.
g'night.
I am not quite a grown up yet, because grown ups don't sleep this much. i am having the hardest time waking up on weekend mornings. there is so much to do in this city. take this morning, i woke up at 9:00, 11:00 and then 12:30. like a high-schooler. i even had a plan to go to Central Park Zoo today. i have a friend who volunteers there on weekends. well. kind of blew that one.
So I've figured out what i'm giving up for Lent: over indulgent sleep.
i think that will make me a more adjusted person, open to more opportunity. just think of all of the things i can do with an extra 5 hours in the morning on Saturdays. so. i'm going to clean the apartment, get ready and take to the street.
Happy Ash Wednesday. i did my due Catholic diligence and ran out to a local church around the corner from work with a co worker.
the bags under my eyes are a combination of laughing quite hard and the after effects of a very early meeting at work. the smearing? I'm not really sure. hehe
I'm still not sure what I'm giving up for Lent or what discipline I'm taking on. it's still up in the air. maybe i could work on the discipline of making decisions quicker.
I've decided to have a hot dog and cheesy broccoli for dinner. now.
what are you giving up for Lent?
but I'm going for the show.
Remember my friend Eva from this post? She's invited me to accompany her to Carnegie Hall this Sunday. I've never been, so I am very excited. I'll pick her up around 11:00 and we'll go for a light brunch, head over to the theater by 2:00 and cap off the day with an early dinner, possibly the bird special. Without a doubt she will not let me pay, so I'm planning on bringing some of her favorite scratch off tickets as compensation and thanks. Maybe she'll hit the jackpot.
I lost all of my grandparents by the age of 16, so I miss the older wiser figure in my life. I am hereby adopting Eva as my surrogate Nana. No one could ever replace Nana Jenny (Genvieve) or Nana Herbert (Filomena/Mae), but I'd love some down home, plain and straight grandmotherly advice once in a while.
Anyway, my laundry is probably just about dry at the laundromat around the corner. Off to fold clothes and indulge in my guilty pleasure that is American Idol.
I'm taking a break from city life this long weekend by spending some well overdue time with my family. and get this, i got to drive today. the past couple of days have been a lot going out, late nights, early mornings -so i was looking forward to the down time of the old house and home cooked-mom meals. this evening did not disappoint. thanksgiving in february. cranberry sauce and everything. since we all have off tomorrow the week classic italian dinner was moved until tomorrow night. yum. i swear i pack on the poundage every time i visit.
speaking of home, i walked outside earlier to lock my mom's car and noticed just how starry the sky is. i'm not sure if i am just normally distracted by the pace of the city, or the lights of the buildings but i don't seem to notice the stars when i'm home. it could be the massive amount of ground light or buildings blocking my way, but i do have a clear view of the sky line so one would think i could see stars. i'm on a mission tomorrow to check it out.
so ladies night in rockville center, long island was fun. it was really cute out there. the town reminded me of red bank. downtown area, real towny feel where everyone seems to know someone, somewhere. it was cool. very close to the water too which is also a perk. i was a trooper though, i seriously did not want to leave the comfort of my apartment complete with a dirty tissue tower cascading over the garbage can. crappy head cold. but i sucked it up (literally) and made the trek off my island and on to another. had a great time.
now it's 9:45 pm, and i'm honestly thinking about turning in for the night. I think i am in need of sleep, maybe even a tad sleep deprived. over the last two nights i've clocked in a total of 10 hours?
so. i'm calling it a night. my mom's taking me to target tomorrow and i'm psyched. the closest one to me is in brooklyn. it's just not the same as hopping in my car in atlanta and arriving in the target parking lot before i can down 4 oz of a diet coke. it's a 20 oz trip out to brooklyn complete with 2 subway changes.
i digress, goodnight.
I'm taking a break from city life this long weekend by spending some well overdue time with my family. and get this, i got to drive today. the past couple of days have been a lot going out, late nights, early mornings -so i was looking forward to the down time of the old house and home cooked-mom meals. this evening did not disappoint. thanksgiving in february. cranberry sauce and everything. since we all have off tomorrow the week classic italian dinner was moved until tomorrow night. yum. i swear i pack on the poundage every time i visit.
speaking of home, i walked outside earlier to lock my mom's car and noticed just how starry the sky is. i'm not sure if i am just normally distracted by the pace of the city, or the lights of the buildings but i don't seem to notice the stars when i'm home. it could be the massive amount of ground light or buildings blocking my way, but i do have a clear view of the sky line so one would think i could see stars. i'm on a mission tomorrow to check it out.
so ladies night in rockville center, long island was fun. it was really cute out there. the town reminded me of red bank. downtown area, real towny feel where everyone seems to know someone, somewhere. it was cool. very close to the water too which is also a perk. i was a trooper though, i seriously did not want to leave the comfort of my apartment complete with a dirty tissue tower cascading over the garbage can. crappy head cold. but i sucked it up (literally) and made the trek off my island and on to another. had a great time.
now it's 9:45 pm, and i'm honestly thinking about turning in for the night. I think i am in need of sleep, maybe even a tad sleep deprived. over the last two nights i've clocked in a total of 10 hours?
so. i'm calling it a night. my mom's taking me to target tomorrow and i'm psyched. the closest one to me is in brooklyn. it's just not the same as hopping in my car in atlanta and arriving in the target parking lot before i can down 4 oz of a diet coke. it's a 20 oz trip out to brooklyn complete with 2 subway changes.
i digress, goodnight.
I was on press yesterday out in Long Island, first time i've ever been out there. I thought it was the powder from the presses causing me to sneeze, (powder is laid down after the inks as a drying agent) but now I'm thinking I'm just sick. Just like this morning, i woke up and thought i just may have drank too much last night, but looks like i'm just sick. boooo.
I've sneezed about three times writing this already. jeez.
I'm going out in long island tonight, bit of a ladies night with the girls at work. should be a good time. and sneezed again. i love sneezing though, but the drippy nose is what is most annoying. so back to strong island. presses are always in a part of town that is industrial and generally not somewhere you'd like to be after dark. i was in freeport, and it wasn't too bad, just not a place i'd go for a leisurely trip.
i'm excited for tonight though. i hope i feel better soon. this sucks.
ooh the windows vista commercial just was on again, the "wow" one. i'm a fan of it. makes me want to see the great wall.
ok. i really need to clean the apt or something. i'm heading home tomorrow to see the 'rents and wont' have time to pick up before then.
I'm going home to visit my parents on sunday. i thought i'd share the email i just sent them with you. because i think it's funny.
the national sauce and meatball shortage has reached an all time low.hehehe.
local officers have scraped the barrel only to find scraps at the Ocean twp location. The sister location in new york, ny noted that the last frozen ration was consumed 2 weeks ago.
This is a dire situation and reserves must be called in.
Lieutenant Chef Ron is requested to save the day equipped with imported san marzano tomatoes, parmesano reggiano and lean beef.
His service has been requested.
Both locations, a well as the country as a whole wait for his response.
I just walked down the block to pick up some coffee and a medium cup of chocolate and peanut butter tast-i-delight with rainbow sprinkles. and what does the ice cream slayer comment when i'm handing over my $4.75. "no date tonight, huh?"
thanks for that.
what she failed to see was my restraint in coming back at her with an equally obvious comment. "hmm, dipping a bit too much into the company vanilla cones lately?" instead, i became the bigger person (not literally in this case) with a "nope, not tonight"
say hello to ms. cynical, me.
on the other hand, to burden all the young love's evening, weather channel named nor'easter 2007 dropped a butt load of snow, ice and freezing rain over this wondrous city. Hmm.. looks you your over priced dress with your manolos, i must say the plastic rain boots don't do the von furstenberg it's due justice. i'm just sayin.
on a lighter note, sadly my camera batteries are dead so i can't take pictures for you fine people of the grey tinged snow that lines the streets. i'll be sure to pick up a couple at duane reade tomorrow.
hope your valentines was less obvious.
there are 8 million passwords for computer use at jwt. email, intranet, and even more to log on from home. i friggen forgot mine again, all 8 million of them, we have to change them so often. i don't understand why we just cant have this master word or something. "open sesame" would work just fine.
locked out.
letters, numbers in some crazy order. what has come to us that our own computers aren't safe. stupid question in this day an age i guess. i dunno, i still amazes me. as if someone really wanted to know the comp size of my new ad or the pubs its going in. hell i'm so damn proud i'll just tell you.
c'mon. friggen won't work. looks like my email will have to wait until tomorrow morning. this is driving me crazy. it's like when the power goes out and all of a sudden you are super thirsty but your mom tells you not to open fridge or the food will spoil. you really want what you can't have. jeeeezzzzzzzzzz. one more try
