Chocolate Chip Cookies and Perrier

Dear UFF Readership,

It's been a while, eh? I was sitting around tonight waiting for delivery of the Poang chair I bought from someone on Craigslist, eating chocolate chip cookies and drinking Perrier, and mentally composing this missive as I've missed you all terribly.

So much is new since we last spoke! On Saturday I had my debut performance at the Upright Citizens Brigade. I think it went well - my class was supremely amazing and I'm kind of in awe of their skills. I'm going to take 201 after my photography class (which starts next week!) is done. (I'm also trying to kick this overcommitting habit I've developed.) Speaking of activities, this morning I had the first of 16 sessions with a personal trainer named Gaby. Gaby is legit, guys. She also makes jokes about Riverdance when I'm doing high-knee kicks.

The new job is going swimmingly. We get lunch EVERY DAY, catered. It's so different from my last job, where you might wander into the kitchen at 11 a.m. on the day of a sales meeting and consider yourself lucky to find a paper-doily-lined tray with a tub of cream cheese and a few loose grapes. I've also gained 5 pounds (ref: chocolate chip cookies; Gaby).

And finally, GBNAA, while no longer Brand New, is still Awesome. We're thisclose to being unpacked (I swear!), and I'm counting down the days to late-Spring and early-Summer evenings in the backyard. The cat is a huge fan of the boyfriend (to an almost ridiculous extent - she will walk across my lap to sit on his), and I think he kind of likes her, too (except when she's waking us up at 6 a.m., which, OK, is pretty much every day).

So yeah, things are good. Sorry I haven't kept in better touch! At least with this photography course starting there will be some pretty pictures for you to look at.

Love,
Gillian

Bake This!

Or, a filler post because I'm mad booked this week.

Friday is Pi(e) Day! Get it? March 14? 3/14? 3.14? π? You with me here?

Celebrate! Bake a pie! Eat a pie! Here are a couple I made last year to celebrate (I think the banana cream will get a revival this year because it was soooo good):




Also, Easter is just around the corner, and it's never too early to start your Bunny Cake preparations. I took the time last year, sweet sweet readers, to post a full set of Bunny Cake instructions. Enjoy!

Spend: USRobotics Internet Phone

In addition to 2008 being the year of the 140s, it's also the year of Monk Mode, wherein Steve and I (especially the I part) are going to try to save lots of money.

However, monks don't need to make phone calls, and I do. And let me tell you, cell phone calls to Canada are EXPENSIVE. Last Fall I purchased a $29.95 Skype plan to Canada but stopped using it after a particularly painful call to Air Canada's customer service line in which the word "Pardon?" was used more than all other words in the conversation combined.

And so I ordered a USRobotics internet phone which arrived today. I had a brief moment of panic when I noticed the box only listed Windows compatibility, but a quick rendez-vous with Google (my other boyfriend) turned up instructions for Mac installation (the Mac USB utility for the phone is available for download from the USRobotics website). I haven't quite figured out the Skype software navigation from the phone (that or it just doesn't work very well) but since I'll be at my computer to make phone calls anyway, that functionality isn't essential. Now I can call my mom without asking her to call back every time. The only problem is I'm tethered (just like the olden days!) so I can't do the dishes while I'm talking to her... but I *can* still take my Scrabulous turns.

It even qualifies for Monk Mode, because the $30 I spent on the phone will save me much more than that even in those one-minute, call-me-back calls to Canada.

2008 Mulligan

I'm declaring a mulligan for 2008.

HBJ was OK and all, but it turned into what my special friend (tee hee) (who we'll call "Steve" before anyone starts to think that special=retarded) now refers to as TOLF: Tub O' Lard February. (I think he might have been calling me fat.) And so, inspired by Kajal's leap day post and GBNAA, I'm making some New Year's resolutions.

1. 2008 is the year of the 140s. FOR REAL, even though I hit up one of the jars as recently as today.
2. Recycle and compost. Did I mention that GBNAA has a backyard?
3. Always be taking a class. Right now it's improv, and starting next month I'm taking a photography class. Learning is fun! Especially when the homework is going to improv shows or taking pictures of Memphis.
4. Add more to the perspective series, just because I like it.
5. Get rid of half my stuff. In particular, the half I don't want, but which my friends thoughtfully loaded into and out of a moving truck on Saturday. Thanks again, guys!

Overheard on Moving Day

While my friends were loading the contents of my wardrobe, including some particularly... bright clothes, into a bag:

Doug: Hey G, I didn't know you toured with Prince!

As I pondered the sheer number of boxes full of things I own:

G: Half of this stuff I don't even want.
Sars [laden with a particularly heavy box]: How about you don't tell us that until after we've moved it?

After I walked forcefully into the trailer hitch on the UHaul:

G [to the UHaul]: Fuck you!

Right after that happened, I also kicked the UHaul in the nuts. That's right, I got in a fight with a truck. It was late. I was tired.

Whew.

With the help of six really amazing friends, we did it.

We're situated in our new apartment. It's possibly more awesome than I'd hoped.

We're also really, really tired. Updates and pictures soon!

Things I Do To Avoid Packing: Redux

Six months ago.

This morning:

7am: Wake up by mistake. Try to go back to sleep.
7:12am: Tell cat to shut up.
7:14am: Sufficiently annoyed by cat, get up to go to the bathroom.
7:19am: Reset 8am alarm for 8:20.
8:20am: Turn off alarm.
9am: Meet friend for coffee.
10:10am: Come home. Feed cat; eat yogurt.
10:33am: Frame picture.
10:45am: Take Scrabulous turns.
10:57am: Start a game of Chain Factor.
11:22am: End Chain factor at a disappointing 149,000 points. Check Scrabulous. Bingo with SEATING. Feel better about self.
11:23am: Think about stuff.
11:40am: Pack a box.

Dear Internet: Please come to my house and pack my stuff. Love, Gillian

P.S. Please also bring supplies. So far today I have eaten: yogurt & granola, a cup-a-soup, and a chocolate letter G.

The Richie Game

Both Lisa and Brianna have recently mentioned "Richie" on their blogs of late (OK, Lisa's last mention was in August, but whatever), so let me give you a little overview of the Richie Game.

The Richie Game can be played with any number of players who are approximately equally fiscally-enabled. The goal of the game is to notice when one of your friends mentions something that cost money, then call him or her "Richie." There are straightforward examples, like:
"I bought a new car yesterday."
"Richie."
The game really gets going, though, when you notice those things for which your friends are casually spending money, and working the Richie into the conversation without explicit justification.

Allow me to illustrate with a few examples.

Example 1
Greg*: The baby's crying.
Gillian: Oh, you could afford to have a baby? Richie.

Analysis: This example is somewhat crass, as the second player calls out the first player's wealth ("you could afford...").

Example 2
Greg: When I was in university...
Gillian: You went to university? Richie.

Analysis: Here we have a slightly subtler example. The wealth of those with higher educations is implied.

Example 3
Gillian: I'll pick up Swiss Chalet for dinner.
Greg: Ooh, takeout. Richie.

Analysis: This one's funny because Swiss Chalet? Cheap.

OK, got the gist of it now? Great, let's move on to defensive moves. In the Richie Game, a defense is successful if you can show that you're not really rich. In our examples, good defensive moves might look like this.

Example 1
Greg: The baby's crying.
Gillian: Oh, you could afford to a baby? Richie.
Greg: Yeah, but now I'm broke because all my money goes to the baby.

Example 2
Greg: When I was in university...
Gillian: You went to university? Richie.
Greg: It was community college. And I got a scholarship.

Example 3
Gillian: I'll pick up Swiss Chalet for dinner.
Greg: Ooh, takeout. Richie.
Gillian: Only once a month, and I have a coupon.

Now that we've established game play, you too can enjoy endless hours of entertainment playing the Richie Game. When you're finished with that, you can play Do You Know What Your Problem Is?, which can be just as fun.

I leave you with the most stellar example of Richie game play I've ever seen.

Gillian: Maury Povich was making a speech in the next room, and John, Dave and Greg offered me $60 to go kiss him.
Kate: Did you take it?
Gillian: No!
Kate: Richie.

*Not his real name.**
**OK, yes it is.

On My Mind

1. The 50mm lens I ordered from eBay this morning so that I can take pictures like this. Eventually.

2. Packing. Going to Puerto Rico this weekend to avoid packing. Packing for Puerto Rico. [Boo.]

3. Ways to start a scene in improv. This one plagues me. I love the improv class, but I have to tell you, whenever it's my turn to start a scene I break into a sweat. I have some ideas this week, including:

- Rifling through clothing racks and saying, "You know, Roberta, sometimes you can find really great deals at Goodwill."
- "Chad, thank you so much for getting us a room at the Holiday Inn Express for our tenth anniversary!"

[Chad: No offense.]
[Mike: You didn't see this, and tomorrow night my ideas are ALL NEW.]

4. Avoiding the jars of deliciousness at work.

$900 Poorer

Last Friday I went to B&H to buy the Nikon D40 kit with extra lens. I followed the DSLR breadcrumbs to the counter upstairs, put on my friendliest smile, and announced to the gentleman lucky enough to serve me that I was in the market for my first DSLR.

Me: I've done some research*, and I've narrowed it down to the Canon XTi...
B&H Guy: Excellent, excellent, that's a great camera.
Me: ...or the Nikon D40.
[insert crickets chirping here]
Me: I take it you're not a big fan of the Nikon?
B&H Guy: The Canon is an excellent camera.

And so it went, until I left 20 minutes later with a quote for the Canon (body only), a $230 lens, and a few other necessities that would total $880. I needed to sleep on it so I went home and read too many reviews (again) of the Canon and the Nikon and played a few (dozen) games of Chain Factor in between. Today after work I went back to B&H and upped my tally to a nice even $900 (they were out of the 2GB CF cards so what the heck! I bought a 4GB one).

I brought it home and let it sit in the bag for an hour while I ate dinner. Then, and I'm slightly embarrassed to admit this, I played another game of Chain Factor (my high score is over 200,000!). Moments ago I unwrapped my lovely new camera, snapped on the lens and took a couple of really crappy photos.

Next step: RTFM, and relearn everything Mr. McDonald taught me in Grade 11 Photography Class.

*The understatement of the year. I have read every article on entry-level DSLRs and most reviews of lenses in my price range. And my eyes are bleeding (probably why I can't take a decent picture tonight).

P.S. I went with the Canon because I really want a 50mm lens, and I want it to auto-focus. The cheapest Nikon body that will support that for existing Nikon lenses is the D80, and it rings up at $800. Big huge thanks, again, to everyone who emailed me and left comments with advice, especially Mike, who proved that you don't need IM or Facebook to waste a lot of time at work.

GOOD NEWS!

OK Internet, I admit it, I've been holding out on you. But holy crap do I have some good news: I am moving into what may be my absolutely perfect and ideal apartment. And so I bring you:

The UFF FAQ to Gillian's Brand New Awesome Apartment

Q: What's so great about this new apartment?
A: I would have a much easier time answering what ISN'T great about it, to which the answer would be NOTHING. But since you asked, here is a partial list of what it has:

1. A beautiful kitchen with very new appliances (including a kickass stainless steel fridge and a gorgeous gas range)
2. A private (!) backyard
3. Two bedrooms, one of which will be used as an office
4. The closet of my dreams (in fact, I didn't even know I had a dream closet until I saw this one!)
5. Laundry in the basement

Also, crazily, the current tenants not only have the same rug I have in my bedroom now, they painted the bedroom to match it. And cats are welcome, which is, as you know, a requirement.

Q: Where are these fabulous new digs, anyway?
A: I'm glad you asked! The apartment is steps away from (for real, not the fake Craigslist ad "steps away from" which is short for "steps away from the subway that will take you to") Prospect Park and Grand Army Plaza (and the Green Market!), not to mention a Crunch gym (hello HBMAMJJASOND!). There's also excellent public transportation nearby (my commute will be a very reasonable 40 minutes).

Q: Why are you leaving BP:LE? I thought it was the cat's meow!
A: It's been a good six months, but despite a few moments of harmony, Memphis and Grapple are decidedly not BFF. But that's not the main reason...

Q: Will you be living in GBNAA alone, Missy?
A: Tee hee. No. I will be sharing the apartment with my special friend. Did I mention tee hee? I'll introduce you to him soon, promise. Let's just say things are very happy, and I definitely have a Valentine this year.

Q: When are you moving?
A: March 1!

I do need to bitch for a moment about the process of applying for an apartment in NY. It SUCKS. For one, you can't really start looking for a place until a few weeks before you're ready to move, because the market moves so quickly. You have to submit a crazily huge application package, including pay stubs and income tax info, references (yes, written references), and a credit check. Your annual income needs to be at least 40x the monthly rent. Then you have to wait for a few days while you anxiously pick at your cuticles until they are all bleeding - oh, wait, that might just be me. When you finally sign the lease (a year, minimum) you usually need to pay first and last months' rent plus a security deposit (usually another month's rent). And all that is if you're lucky enough to find a place without using brokers, who are not only slimy liars (Windsor Terrace might be getting nicer, but that doesn't mean that Park Slope is "growing"), they also charge ridiculously high fees (1-3 months' rent, FOR REAL).

Anyhoo, I can start letting the skin on my fingers grow back now. Too many good times to even count.

P.S. Thanks for all the awesome comments about the cake! Did I mention that they *paid* for it? Did I also mention good times?

Taking the Cake

Side 1
Originally uploaded by Kitty LaRoux.

A few weeks ago, I brought cupcakes to a friend's birthday party. Another girl there liked the cupcakes enough to recommend that I do the baking for an upcoming Indian-themed birthday party, and this cake is the result. The decorations are inspired by mendhi designs. More pics on Flickr.

(Sorry for the crap photos - I'm going to buy my new camera this week!)

Improv and Life

1. don't be nervous
2. "There are no mistakes in improv, only bad follow-throughs" (which is to say, the only way YOU can mess up is if you make somebody else look like they messed up)
3. just pay attention and be focused
4. don't feel awkward - whatever you're doing, just commit to it!
5. have SOOOO MUCCCCHHH FUN

That's the advice LaFarlow gave me when I emailed her about my improv class that starts tonight. Seems applicable.

Ridiculous

It is completely ridiculous when I unsubscribe to some annoying spam service (ZDNet and Classmates.com, I'm looking at you) and I get a message along the lines of: "Please allow up to 10 days for changes to your subscriptions to take effect." Seriously, if there's really a TECHNICAL reason that it takes that long, your service is not one that I want to be using anyway.

Advice for the Unemployed

I quite enjoyed my week of unemployment and would like to impart some words of advice to you, dear UFF reader, that might come in handy should you ever find yourself in the glorious predicament of having some amount of time on the pogey, as they say. If I had it to do again, and believe me, I will, because unemployment is really awesome versus working, I'd take at least 3 weeks off.

Week 1 I would spend vising my family/friends (like I did last week).

Week 2, I'd take an intensive class of some sort. For example, the Culinary Institute of America has these 4- and 5-day Boot Camps at their Hyde Park campus and I'd be really into any of them. Scratch that, all of them. (Prospective sugar daddies, please leave me a note in the comments.)

Week 3 I'd get my life together. I got home late last night from watching the best Super Bowl I've ever seen (go Giants!) and then had to do laundry for my first day at scho^H^H^H^Hwork! Oops. I haven't even unpacked from my trip to Canadia last week, and I have a bunch of administrivia that it would be oh-so-nice to get done, like getting a NY driver's license (yes, it has been 8 years, and yes, I still have the Ontario one).

However, I only took a week, and today I started my Brand New Job, which is going to be really great (even though it does cut into my ability to take Scrabulous turns). Happily though, my improv class starts on Wednesday night! Start collecting those rotten tomatoes; the end-of-class show is on March 29 at 1 p.m., and you're invited.

Canadianisms, Part the Fifth

On my recent voyage to Canadia, a few more Canadianisms occurred to me.

1. Shortening of "afternoon" to "aft," as in, "There's supposed to be a snowstorm this aft." I even heard a radio dude do it!

2. Getting in "heck" as the equivalent of getting in "trouble": "If I don't get the car home before the snowstorm this aft, I'm going go to get in heck." It's very wholesome, which makes me wonder if it might also be a Midwestern US expression. Anyone?

3. The Ceasar, a cocktail similar to a Bloody Mary but made with Clamato which is popular in Canada - in fact, according to Wikipedia, it's "popularly known as the 'official cocktail' of Canada." It's also quite delicious, and I highly recommend that my American readers mix one up. Usage: "If that kid doesn't get the car home before the snowstorm this aft, he is going to be in a lot of heck. Will you mix me a Ceasar?"

I'm back in the US of A, celebrating my final day of unemployment with a hangover. I bid farewell to HBJ with a few (OK, 4) glasses of red wine and I'm now welcoming HBF and, inspired by Deniser, I'm making 2008 the Year of the 140s. I haven't seen the 140s probably since high school, so it's going to be some good times.

Unemployment: The Budget

Yesterday I figured that even someone who's unemployed needs to do her part for the economy, so I went to a mall. [On my way out of the mall I stopped at Orange Julius and had an old-school Strawberry Julius, which I vaguely regretted when I saw that it contains powdered sugar and dairy creamer (Wikipedia).] As I mentioned earlier, I was in the market for a purse, and had some crazy idea in my head that I'd buy a handbag, even though I somehow made it to age 33 without owning much more than a backpack and a tote bag. I went into Roots and wandered over to the bag section, not even sure where to start. One of the salesgirls came over to ask if she could help, and I confessed that I've never owned a purse. She looked me over and said, "Where do you put your stuff?" I pointed to my coat, out of which my wallet and cell phone were practically hanging with a giant arrow covered in sparkly dollar signs and "ROB ME" Bedazzled across the pocket. She suggested that if I wasn't used to carrying a purse (check!) that I might leave a handbag somewhere, and handed me one of the Roots flat bags. I LOVE IT! My wallet fits perfectly in that zipper pocket on the right, and my cell phone and camera in the pocket on the left.

Speaking of cameras, I'm in the market for a DSLR. Thanks to excellent recommendations from Amy and Elizabeth, I've narrowed it down to three choices:

Nikon D40
Canon Digital Rebel XTi
Olympus Evolt E510

The Nikon is highly recommended by everyone I know who has one, and was initially my first choice. However, the price of the Canon has dropped fairly significantly since I first started looking about a year ago, and I do love my current Canon point-and-shoot. The Olympus package is a bit more expensive, but it comes with 2 lenses and was recently rated Wired magazine's top choice for DSLR. Help! I'm pretty sure the next step is to go to a store and try out all three, but that process interferes with my general impatience now that I've decided to spend the money.

Unemployment: Day 3 continues with the happy surprise that Sirrah!'s first appointment of the day was canceled and she's back home, which means we will probably continue our Beverly Hills, 90210 marathon (we've watched about half a dozen episodes since I got here) with more of Kelly's eating disorder from Season 3. Good times, people. Good times.

Unemployment: Day 2

Well, it's after 10:30 a.m. and my accomplishments so far today include consumption of yogurt, granola and coffee, completion of half of the Post's "Canadian Crisscross" crossword puzzle, and petting a big brown dog.

Last night as I was sitting at the kitchen table drinking a glass of wine and reading the paper, Greg whispered loudly: "Uh, Sara, how long is your UNEMPLOYED friend going to be staying with us?" Heh.

I'm off to inject my weak American currency into the Canadian economy - will hopefully return with a new leather purse of some sort.

Unemployment!

For no particular reason I haven't blogged about this yet, but today I am enjoying my first of five days of unemployment before I start a Brand New Job on February 4. (My friend Larry suggested that starting a BNJ the day after the Super Bowl probably isn't a great idea, and he's right, but I didn't think of that at the time.) Right now I'm in Canada visiting the folks and Sirrah's family. We've enjoyed two fabulous brunches, at the Black Forest Inn and Langdon Hall (both recommended if you're in the area), and today has mostly involved playing with babies and dogs and trudging around in the snow. I expect tomorrow and Wednesday to be more of the same, and Wednesday evening I have a Very Important Date with not one but two of my absolute favourite people in the WHOLE WORLD. It's going to be good times.

At one point this morning I was surfing the internets and eating BBQ Fritos (I know, not exactly HBJ-friendly) and I thought, this is how unemployment should be. I highly recommend it.

Familiar

Monday's Daily Candy featured a picture so familiar that I did a double-take. It's from a site called Jacaranda, an online boutique that sells "sustainable, handmade items from Mexico and Central and South America." I meant to post the picture, at left, when I first got the email and Kajal reminded me about it today. The resemblance to my pictures of Memphis (below) is uncanny.

For the record, that fabric is ridiculously expensive - 2m x 2m costs $265! My duvet cover, on the other hand? I originally paid $19.99 at Ikea (with pillow shams!), and recently bought a replacement (after an unfortunate laundry incident involving a red rug and poor judgment) on eBay for $24.99 + shipping.

Comfort Food

Snack
Originally uploaded by Kitty LaRoux.

On Friday I started a loaf of the Almost No-Knead Bread from February's Cook's Illustrated and baked it on Saturday afternoon This recipe adds beer and vinegar as well as a few kneads of the loaf. The crust and texture are both as wonderful as the original, and the flavour is deeper and more complex.

The recipe rightly suggests that the bread is best on the day it's baked, but toasted with Nutella a couple of days later it's still quite delicious.

Bargain Hunting

A few weeks ago my roommate, who moonlights at West Elm, texted me to tell me about a big sale happening at the store. I happened by later that day and was quite enamoured by the big, soft throw-pillows that they were practically giving away for free. I picked up one of the Bamboo Cotton Pillow Covers, in Cinnabar, of course, and found a matching pillow form in the 75% off floor section, so the whole thing cost around $10. I pretty much cannot describe how much I love this pillow. It is big and soft and cuddly, and if I thought they wouldn't look ridiculous I would buy 3 more. (Also, I can't believe these are still available and for SO CHEAP, so if you're in the market for the best pillow ever, I highly recommend clicking on over.)

[Aside: I have to confess that I LOVE extra pillows. I love finding ones that match even though they're not from the same place, and I extra-love finding them when they're on sale. The other two in this picture are from Anthropologie, both purchased on sale. The one at the back was also seen on Six Feet Under in Claire's room, which of course validates my taste.]

The other awesome deal I found recently was at Victoria's Secret. I was in SoHo and wandered in to their store there, then remembered that my absolute favourite lipgloss is from VS. It's their own Beauty Rush brand and the colour I love is called "Oatstanding" - in the tube it looks ridiculously red and sparkly but on lips it gives just a hint of colour. It also tastes like oatmeal cookies. I found a bin with a few tubes of it left, and they were marked $7 each or two for $10 - being the good consumer I am, I decided to pick up a couple (spend more to save more, right?). The salesgirl scanned them and said, "$3.79, please." I said, "What?" She repeated the amount: $3.79.

I AM TOTALLY SERIOUS! Somehow these babies were on sale for $1.75 each. I felt like I won the lottery.

Finally, on my way home from the gym today, I stopped by Barnes & Noble and spent a few minutes browsing their post-holiday sale section. I found the Christmas Tree In-A-Box that was featured on Popgadget back in December for 75% off, and with my Barnes & Noble card (an additional 10% off), I paid a whole $3.37 for it. I also found a few other cool and similiarly-discounted Christmas craft kits, which I'll tuck away for next year's Secret Santas and stockings.

I'm pretty convinced at this point that January is the best shopping month. As Bri says, "it's not a sale until it's at least 50% off" - retailers, take note. (Shoppers, too - the J. Crew online sale is an extra 20% off, but just until tomorrow.)

Sign of the Times

Yesterday when I walked past the local deli, one of the regular pandhandlers, who's in a wheelchair, was out front, holding a cup for money. He seemed to be resting his head in his hand. When I passed, however, I saw what was really going on: He was talking on a cell phone.

Good Problem to Have

Today Mark Morford writes:

Just how the hell did it come to pass and which planets finally aligned and what sort of Kool-Aid has been gulped by the universe that the two white-hot Dem frontrunners, the two brightest lights on the political spectrum for the 2008 presidential election also just so happen to be members of the two most controversial/least represented groups in modern uber-white ultra-patriarchal American snake-oil politics — which is to say, a smart, savvy woman and a smart, savvy black male?

link

Living in the Northeast

Not Photoshopped

Contrast
Originally uploaded by Kitty LaRoux.

Top: Memphis, who you all know and love.
Bottom: Grapple, arguably Memphis' arch-nemesis.

Since we moved into BP:LE, Memphis and Grapple have "tolerated" each other, if by "tolerate" you mean "studiously ignore each other for 22 hours/day and spend the other two, preferably when the humans are sleeping, being generally pissy to each other and erupting in loud hissy (albeit harmless) scraps". (For the record: Memphis is usually the instigator.) Grap's cat-mom (aka my roommate) has been away since the beginning of the month and I've been gradually encouraging the two of them to be in the same vicinity so that they can both have pets and such.

This morning as I was getting ready for work, Memphis was sleeping on my bed and Grap came in the room. He hopped up on the bed and I expected the fur to fly, but Memphy barely opened an eye. I'm just glad my camera was handy, because I really love this picture.

Why I'm Weird

Kajal recently blogged that she likes being touched, for example, being frisked at the airport. While I knew that I like being touched (as many of you know, I'm particularly fond of hugs - the real ones with chest-on-chest action, none of that lean-in nonsense), it hadn't even occurred to me that I like being frisked at the airport, but I totally do!

Anyway, I mentioned this to Bri who asked me if that's the weirdest thing about me (that I could think of at that exact moment). I thought for a second and came up with something that's probably weirder and definitely grosser: I like blowing my nose (or sneezing) in the shower.

Internet? What's the weirdest/grossest thing YOU like?

HBJ Update

We at UFF are 7 days into HBJ and things are going swimmingly. I've been to the gym several times (OK, three times, but twice to cycling classes which are like super-concentrated hotbody). I've studiously avoided alcohol, eaten only the healthiest of foods (except maybe at Bri's birthday dinner, which involved copious amounts of cheese) and not eaten any sweets of any kind (we'll pretend I wrote this BEFORE I was seduced by the sweet sweet siren call of a jar of Nutella).

Anyway, I'm down 2.5 lbs as of this morning. Hooray!

HBJ: Day 1

HBJ is on. Tonight I turned down cream puffs and bourbon.

Remember kids, just say no:

(Although, that extra layer of blubber is kind of handy when the HIGH tomorrow is going to be 24°F/-4°C. It's freakin' freezing here. As Sunny would say, that's cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey.)

December 32nd

Hotbody January (henceforth to be referred to as HBJ) starts tomorrow. I granted myself a grace day because I needed bacon to combat my hangover this morning. You know how it goes.

This afternoon K-Dog and I went to see Juno. It was lovely and funny and sweet, and (as many movies do) it made me cry. When the lights came up at the end of the film, the woman next to Dog was also wiping away tears. She said, "I have a friend who always cries at movies, so when I'm with her we have to get extra napkins from the concession stand." Dog replied, "I have a friend like that too," and glanced over at me and my wet sleeve. The woman nodded knowingly and said, "My friend even cried during 'White Chicks.'"

Trump!

Happy New Year!

Silver and Gold

Waiting at the airport yesterday I browsed the British Esquire magazine's list of things not to do after you're 30, which, in addition to sage advice like avoid doing it on a futon and/or with the receptionist, included the recommendation to not make new friends. It's too much effort, the magazine advised.

Having surpassed that wondrous age by 3 1/2 years I must respectfully disagree with Esquire's assessment. Since I hit 30 I have become good friends with a bunch of new people, and there are a few more friendships in the early stages that I expect to only get better. These friends have accepted me and encouraged me and become my family when my immediate family is hundreds of miles and a well-protected border away. They've let me be me, and loved me for it. That's been especially valuable this year, when the me I've been has often felt so unlike the me I'm used to being (did you follow that?).

So, thanks guys. I think you know who you are. I love you tons and what could have been a crap year turned out pretty well because of y'all.

A UFF Christmas Letter

Dear Family & Friends,

It's time for the first-ever, possibly only-ever, Ultra Fine Flair Christmas Letter!

Let's just say that 2007 had its ups and downs. January included a trip to California and various forms of combat. Quote of the month: "Please! If you must throw up do it in the toilet not in the sink."

February included some deep thoughts and a nephew (born to my stepsister, in case any of you are wondering about Garth's fertility, which is still TBD). In March I baked some pies, then shit fell apart and I left my luggage at the airport and had my rental car towed within a matter of days. I also moved into the BP (but didn't actually blog about it until May).

Charlie was the big news in April. Rereading those posts reminded me that this year was crazily awesome.

According to the archives, May was a tough month. You can read 'em if you'd like to put your life into perspective (trust me). Speaking of perspective, in June I started the Perspective series (which I love and should really do more of), and in July I ran in Central Park and listened to music in Prospect Park. In August I learned to cook in a "kitchen" the size of a postage stamp.

And in September I moved again, this time to Bachelorette Pad: Loft Edition. I flew to SF in October where I set a personal record in a half-marathon (2:12), and ate a delicious burrito.

In November I ran the NYC Marathon and spent 5 of 8 blog posts that month talking about it (SUCKAS!).

And that brings us back to... December! Tomorrow morning I'm off to Toronto for the week, where I will eat too many Timbits and try not to fight with my family - you know, the usual.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Love,
Gillian

Merry Christmas!

Kitty Cadeau
Originally uploaded by Kitty LaRoux.

Photo: Damaso Reyes

Baking: The Other Therapy

I rescheduled therapy tonight in favour of staying home to bake Christmas cookies. My return from Argentina was delayed yesterday by a missed connection in Miami, which turned into a day in Miami spent enjoying a decadent brunch at the Delano in South Beach (at which there was a HARPIST, for real, and quite possibly the nicest waiter I've ever encountered), a mani-pedi, a viewing of The Golden Compass (B-, mostly because I really enjoyed the animals and it made me miss Memphis, and also Dakota Blue Richards *really* reminded me of LaFarlow, and finally because Eva Green is just so nice to look at), and some kickass people-watching at the Lincoln Mall (during which the acronyms BBA: Big Boob Alert and HCA: Hot Chick Alert were used extensively).

Argentina was wonderful. I probably ate the equivalent of an entire cow, and enjoyed much wine and dulce de leche. I rode a horse on an estancia (that's Spanish for "ranch"). One of the highlights of the trip for me was dining at Casa Felix, which will get its own post because it was just that good.

For now though, I'm considering options for the coming year. Sparkly D inspires me as always and makes me think about change change change. While I'm not planning to move away from NY just yet, I'm plotting improvements for 2008. January has already been designated as hotbody month (which will hopefully work in my favour come Valentine's Day!). I'm also planning to run the Berlin Marathon in September.

My brain is also desperately in need of exercise, and as such I'm going to take some kind of course. Options include but are not limited to:

• The Artist's Diary: Digital Photography and Bookmaking (inspired by Ali's recent photos)


• A calligraphy class


• Artisan Breads


• A creative writing class of some sort


• Improv! (LaFar, I know you're going to vote for this one!)

The options are kind of outstanding, eh? In fact, in looking up those links I almost registered for half of them. Right now the improv class is pretty high on my list, as is that (or some other) photography one, and that bread class is happening this Spring, No Matter What.

The last batch of cookies is out of the oven and I have molasses in my hair and I'm tired and happy. Vote for your fave class(es) or make other suggestions in the comments if you're so inclined. I promise not to be offended.

Holiday Cheer

BP:LE is feeling a lot cozier these days. We could still use a good couch - I've been trolling Craig's List in my spare time and found a few promising items, but nothing worth investing in yet. I'm not even sure where we'd put it, but I dream of a couch that is long enough for me to stretch my whole 173cm out, and deep enough for me to do that while sharing with another person (or a cat, as the case may be).

We're 5 days into Advent, aka the countdown to Christmas! And presents! In my family, however, the presents get started good and early with our annual Advent Calendars, which my mom thoughtfully assembles and mails out (usually on or around December 1). Growing up, we had felt calendars with a little pocket for each day from Dec. 1-24. My mom made these calendars, and they hung on the wall by our stairs with a little gift in each pocket. Every morning Dos and I rushed to open that day's gift, which might have been a fancy eraser, or part of a Lego kit. Last year I made one for the G-Man and totally spaced on it this year - hopefully things will settle down a bit in January.

A couple of days ago I got some junk mail from the Oprah Magazine people that offered a life makeover. I rolled my eyes and thought, "I've already had about four this year."

Next week I'll be on hiatus, relaxing in Buenos Aires and enjoying all that city has to offer: Steak, wine, shopping, and siestas. Sweet, sweet siestas.

Hasta la vista, babies!

1978 Wedding Guests

Matching Hotness
Originally uploaded by briannak.

Last night was the Movember Gala Parté. My mom *made* that outfit I'm wearing. More pictures coming soon.

Home Again Home Again

I saw the inside of 8 different airports last week. Some more than once. Remind me not to become a traveling salesperson.

Things I learned in my travels:

1. I know way more Stevie Wonder songs than I thought.
2. Waterloo is a significant technology hub (give me a break, I haven't lived there for over 10 years).
3. The martinis at Pantages Martini Bar & Lounge in Toronto are small and overpriced (and damn that strong Canadian dollar!).
4. The martinis at Vault Martini in Portland are generous and cheap.
5. Portland has the largest number of strip clubs per capita in any American city. It also has a naughty and delicious doughnut shop whose slogan is, "The magic is in the hole."
6. The weirdos on the West coast are way weirder than the weirdos on the East cost. Seriously. West Coast Weirdos (WCW) want to be weird WITH you, or to you. East Coast Weirdos (ECW) are just off being weird to themselves. I much prefer the latter.

Now, onto the holiday season - which, for my Canadian readers, begins here in the US of A this weekend with Turkey Day - yes, people really call it that. In fact, I heard one woman this afternoon say, "Happy gobble gobble" and had I been drinking something I'd have spit it all over my monitor.

I've decided that this will be the Winter of Dance! On Saturday night I went with some friends to a Salsa lesson/dance evening in Seattle, and it was super fun. Tonight I attended my first belly dancing lesson, where I learned that I have mad pelvic skills (a fact that will go on my dating resume) and how to make figure-eights with my breasts (a fact that will NOT go on my dating resume). I'm going to try to find a super, ultra beginner hip hop class, too, and maybe when I go to Argentina next month (oh, did I mention I'm going to Argentina next month, and you're not? SUCKA!) I'll try some Tango.

I've also acquired a set of Pimsleur Spanish CDs - who knows, perhaps UFF will become multilingual.

North American Tour '07

UFF is taking it on the road - today I'm in Toronto, aka T-Dot (if you live here) and T-Not (if you don't and think it's ridiculously expensive). Yesterday was spent in the booming metropolis of Waterloo, and tonight I head to Portland, Oregon for my first visit to that fine city. It's all worky, unfortunately - even my parental visits were limited to brief hugs, but I'll be back just in time for the X.

I'm off to ride the TTC. Later skaters.

NYC Marathon 2007

The morning started out with subway, ferry and bus rides to get me from Brooklyn to the race staging area at Fort Wadsworth, Staten Island. I didn't really know what to expect except a lot of waiting. Over my race clothes I wore sweat pants and 3 long-sleeved shirts, one of which I planned to start running in and dispose of on the course (all the clothing discarded by runners at the race start is donated to various charities). I couldn't get in touch with my fellow TNTers (um, guys?) and so I mostly killed time by observing my fellow runners in various states of race preparation (for example, applying band-aids to their nipples). I was in the Green start (I guess the race organizers didn't hear about my special relationship with orange) and lined up according to my race number - 33488, and right near the back of the pack. After the gun went off at 10:10, it took me approx. 45 minutes to even cross the start line! The first 2 miles were over the Verrazzano Bridge and the views were amazing - many people stopped to take pictures. I was mostly trying not to go out too fast, which is something I often do and knew would be a big challenge with the energy of the crowds in Brooklyn.

A friend who's run NYC twice had told me that for the first 8 miles you don't even notice you're running, and he was totally right. By the time I got to Park Slope (my old 'hood), I just felt like I was at some awesome party that had been thrown in my honour and was attended by 40,000 of my closest friends. I barely glanced at my watch for the first 10 miles.

As I'd practiced in training, I kept scanning my body to see how I was feeling. And to my great surprise, I kept feeling good! I passed my head cheerleaders just before Mile 14 (and about a mile before the Queensborough Bridge, which is also the biggest hill on the course), and while I'd planned to stop and chat with them for a few minutes, I felt so good that I smiled and waved, grabbed my Gu, and kept right on running. (Insert Forrest Gump jokes here.)

The biggest surprise on the course came in crossing the dreaded bridge at Mile 16. I'd run it twice in practice and both times had felt completely whiny about it. On Sunday when I started that climb, I honest-to-god did NOT know that I was even on THE bridge. I even heard other people saying, "Oh, we're on THE bridge" and I remember thinking, "Suckas, this isn't THE bridge - save it." Then - I was in Manhattan! And I was like, hey! That was THE bridge! Good times.

First Avenue was indescribable - imagine 4 usually-busy lanes of a NYC street, closed to only runners, and cheering crowds at least 4 people deep on either side. It was incredible. I kept realizing that I was smiling and happy, and in the few moments I felt bad I remember thinking, "Holy crap! I'm running the NYC Marathon!" and when I was tempted to walk I'd add, "There's no walking in marathons!"

I'm SO grateful to everyone who came out to cheer, especially Bob, Joel, Andrea, Justin, Leslie (& Kerner), Dog, Sparkly D (who extra-rocks for flying from Toronto for the occasion), Bri, and the extra-special straight-from-Waterloo AS A SURPRISE Sweet Sirrah! herself, of whom I am entirely proud not only for an uncharacteristic show of spontaneity but for buying a ticket ON THE INTERNET. Thanks also to everyone who was hitting their browsers' refresh buttons to find out where I was on the course. (Technology rules.)

A few months ago I talked to another runner who'd run a few marathons, and she claimed there's nothing like the feeling you get when you cross your first marathon finish line. I think I'd add to that, there's nothing like the feeling you get when you cross your first NYC Marathon finish line.

More photos to come... I'm sure I've missed stuff that's interesting so post questions in the comments and I'll do my best to answer them (come on, someone ask me about the nipple band-aids!).

Marathon Photos

Just how many blog entries can I milk from running a marathon?

I promise a recap, then onto other fun things, including but not limited to belly-dancing classes and making my own sourdough starter.

Today, though, the photos are up, and they are so great that I'm entirely tempted to spend $95 for the CD of all of them!

A few faves:

To Tide You Over

A full recap of my experience running the NYC Marathon is in the works - for now you'll have to settle for this small victory (image compliments of LaFarlow):


(As I crossed the finish line I heard someone say, "Hey, Tom Cruise is over there!" and I literally thought, "F*ck Tom Cruise.")

26.2 in NYC!

I finished the NYC Marathon yesterday in 4:47:51. Yay! Then I walked backwards down some stairs.

Complete race recap coming soon! Thanks for all your support!

Gone Running

Back in 26.2 miles.

[You can find out where I am with the Marathon's race tracker - you'll have to click around a little on that site to find it. My number is 33488.]

Informal Survey

Do you think eating copious amounts of candy corn counts for pre-marathon carb loading?

Optical Illusion

My legs are just not that ripped.

Email Blogging

Last weekend in SF I couldn't login to Blogger using IE 6 (which, wtf?) so I had to install Firefox to keep you all apprised of my life events. It didn't even occur to me that I could blog by email until someone brought it up at work today, so I thought I'd try it out. If you can read this, it worked!








^ This space intentionally left blank.

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

Hallowe'en is upon us.

I don't know if I can fully express my love for this holiday (which I would argue should actually BE a national holiday, but then I wouldn't get to draw a spiderweb around my eye - see last year, at right - for work. It's kind of like birthdays - I mean, I understand not wanting to work on one's birthday, but what about all the desky birthday happiness? But I digress). This afternoon I purchased orange lights to deck out the bar of BP:LE (yeah it has a bar, sweet eh?) and my costume is SO AWESOME I can't even believe it - AND it's one of those packaged ones from a Hallowe'en Superstore! I cannot reveal the details yet, but I'm going to an '80s party (at which I was Cyndi Lauper last year - that link is for you, Farlow!), and I'm dressing up as someone who has been my nickname since I worked at Corel.

Also, my favourite cousin is visiting this weekend! Many pictures to follow. In the meantime, get carving those pumpkins!

11 Days and Counting

The NYC Marathon is only 11 days away. I'm officially tapering, which means more sleeping, slightly less running, and ideally paying more attention to what I'm eating. Starting tomorrow.

Following a kickass weekend in California, a red-eye home (sans Bliss Shut-Eye kit - so sad) and (most of) a day at the office, I'm unwinding with my pals Ben & Jerry and back-to-back episodes of ANTM (thank you, CW, for putting the full episodes on your Web site).

On the most recent episode, Tyra advised one of the girls: "Never dull your shine for somebody else." I'm sure that some combination of sleep deprivation, consumption of 1,200 delicious calories and PMS are contributing to my sentiment that that's wise cousel. And, of course, fierce.

In other news, earlier today I decided that I would use the word "nonsense" more, and then flummery popped up on my Google home page as a word of the day. Not only is it fun to say (try it: flummery!), it means "empty compliment; unsubstantial talk or writing; mumbo jumbo; nonsense."

UFF: Adding flummery to the internets since 2006.

I Choose Hope

The speaker at last night's Team in Training pasta party was Amy Bartlett, a cancer survivor. She was funny, charming, and inspirational, and she has a blog: I Choose Hope. Check it out. And if you're feeling generous, head on over to my fundraising page.

2:12!

I PR'd this morning! (For all you non-runners, PR == personal record. Hardcore, eh?) That means I won. For me. The course was *hard*, and while I remembered the suck hill at mile 6, I forgot about the one at mile 8. It was tough, but I worked it, and I really wanted that PR. I pushed through and finished one minute faster than my previous best-time for a half.

My final time was 2:12:01, which is 10:04 minute miles. W00t! Afterwards, I spent 2+ hours cheering for TNT marathoners, and this afternoon got drunk from a single glass of white wine. Good times.

Splits:

Mile 1: 10:45 [crowded start - probably good for my pacing]
Mile 2: 10:16
Mile 3: 10:04
Mile 4: 10:36
Mile 5: 9:53
Mile 6: 9:34
Mile 7: 11:20 [GIANT uphill]
Mile 8: 9:04
Mile 9: 10:43 [another big hill]
Mile 10: 10:20
Mile 11: 9:24
Mile 12: 10:19 [gradual uphill in Golden Gate Park]
Mile 13: 9:40

San Francisco Take 2

Aw Yeah
Originally uploaded by Kitty LaRoux.

I'm back in SF for the Nike Women's Marathon (this year just the half, since NYC is only 2 weeks away). I arrived last night, the weather is perfect, and I have the most luxurious of accomodations. A bunch of incredible women with whom I've been training and fundraising for the past 5 months are going to kick 26.2 miles' worth of ass tomorrow, and I couldn't be more proud and inspired.

Go Team!

Physical vs. Mental Health

Running may counter the calories in ice cream, but ice cream offsets the mental anguish* caused by a 20 mile run.

*OK, maybe I'm exaggerating - but only a little.

Abstinence Makes The Heart Grow Fonder

Dear Ben & Jerry,

Perhaps I was hasty in my earlier assessments that we've been spending too much time together. It's true that we saw each other pretty regularly - at least once a week, sometimes twice - but who's to say that's too much? Every relationship is different. We get along so well - why should we put unnecessary or artificial restrictions on time that is obviously beneficial for both of us?

And so, fellas, I'm hoping we can get together real soon. I miss you.

Love,
Gillian

The Good Ol' Days

When I first moved to NY in February 2000, I didn't know a single person except for the guy who would be heading up my company's soon-to-be-opened office here, and I'd only met him once. Let's call him "Hal." Hal was a real-life Michael Scott. I'm totally serious. In fact, go read the Wikipedia Overview, because it describes Hal EXACTLY. He was sweet and insecure and well-intentioned and frequently said painfully awkward things that were meant to be funny.

Hal was also very neurotic. He had a label maker that I swear he'd have had sex with if he could have found a way. The guy labeled EVERYTHING, including, I kid you not, the shelves in our office fridge as to WHICH CANS OF SODA WENT ON WHICH SHELF:Hilare, right? And totally without irony. Of course, my co-workers and I found the label-obsession hilarious, and on occasion, messed with it a little:
Hee. (Our sales people once labeled all of their office supplies, including STAPLER, MONITOR, CPU, etc. Good times.)

One day, my officemate came over to my desk and conspiratorially said, "Gillian. You have to come see this." He signaled me into the kitchen and pointed me to his lunch leftovers:
Office pranks? Don't get any better than that.

While we're reminiscing, I must also share with you a photo of the worst sunburn I've ever had, in the Summer of 2000:
Ouch.

OK, Let's Have An Adventure

Sparkly D is in NY and just forcibly pushed me off the wagon. The conversation went something like this:

D: Gilly, do you like prosecco?
G: Totally. But D, I'm doing this thing where I'm not drinking for a week.
D: OK. I'm only going to ask you this once, but why does it have to be the weekend I'm visiting? Start tomorrow.
G: ...
D: Let's have an adventure.
G: OK. Let's have an adventure.

No Sugar: Day 1

I ran a half-marathon this morning in Central Park and finished in 2:13, exactly the same time I ran the NYC Half in last year. How... consistent. Turns out training notes are useful - last year I had one Gu one hour in, and today I had two (one at 1h, the second at 1:40). I probably could have run it slightly faster, had I not overindulged on Thursday night (see: margaritas, beer, hookah) (see also: this week's resolution).

Speaking of which, I desperately want to snuggle up with my pals Ben & Jerry tonight but I'm so resisting their delicious siren calls. SUCKAS! But boys, save it up for November 4 because that night, you and I are going to party.

Marathon Countdown: 30 Sleeps To Go

After a mere 30 more sleeps I will wake up and run the NYC Marathon. Good times.

Despite my earlier vows, I haven't been so nice to my body this past month. I've kept up with training (ran 20 miles last Saturday!) and have managed to throw in some hiking and yoga, but I've also kept up with the drinking.

In the immortal words of H.I. McDunnough: "That ain't me no more." Starting tomorrow, until after I run the Staten Island Half-Marathon (+ an additional 7 miles) next Sunday, I'm going eliminate alcohol AND refined sugars from my diet.

The latter is going to be a real bitch. I can go without a drink, but I may need a twelve-step program for the chocolate. If I seem crabby, be nice to me. And please don't offer to buy me a drink (or a Ritter Sport), at least until after I finish my second 20-mile run next weekend (at which time you may hand me a martini and a cupcake).

Blogger Play

Mike just posted a link to Blogger Play. According to the FAQ, it's "a real-time slideshow of photos Blogger users have recently uploaded to their blogs." I'm pretty sure I could watch it for hours.

I love the internets.

Charlie at 5 Months

Remember The Amazing Race back in April, and the amazingly cute baby who started the whole thing?

He's now 5 months old:

The Timbits Post

Full disclosure: I have PMS and I was in a suck mood when I wrote that last post, but I thought you, my loyal reader(s), deserved a little somethin'. You know what they say, suck-mood Gillian is better than no Gillian at all!

Anyway, I went for a (sucky) run and followed it up with a nice phone call and a delicious cheddar & avocado sandwich (even though there are about 8 servings of veggie moussaka in the fridge - sometimes a girl needs cheese). I'm now self-medicating with Nutella and the internets.

The Other Gillian's comment on my last post and my gluttonous enjoyment of Timbits last weekend have inspired me to write tonight's post.

I'm not kidding when I say that I ate a lot of Timbits last weekend. In a 3 1/2 hour drive, two of us consumed almost an entire box of 40 Timbits. When we were down to about a dozen, we started a Timbit "drinking" game, wherein we would only eat a Timbit when we passed a Tim Horton's (which, at least in Ontario, is about as frequent as you pass a Starbucks in New York City, that is to say, A LOT).

I am happy, then, to present:

The Official Ultra Fine Flair Guide to Timbits

1. This dude used to be the Timbits, uh, dude. I don't know what happened to him (and I'd forgotten he even existed until I started googling images of Timbits). I'd forgotten about him, actually, but I used to have a stuffed one. I know. Weird.

2. The best Timbit variety: Chocolate. That's one there on the right, behind those two honey dip Timbits. Chocolate Timbits are perfectly chocolatey and cakey, but not too sweet. When I open a restaurant, chocolate Timbits are going to be on the dessert menu. I'll serve up maybe 3, in a little box that looks like a full-sized Timbits box. It'll be awesome. So will the profit margin.

3. Speaking of honey dip - they used to be my second favourite, until I discovered the French Cruller. It has just the right ratio of icing-y outside to creamy, puffy inside, and I'm kind of amazed that Tim Horton's gets the texture exactly right.

4. After chocolate, French Cruller and honey dip, my next favourites are: Sour cream glazed, apple fritter, old-fashioned sugared and old-fashioned plain. I'm kind of medium on the jelly-filled varieties, although I like them better than filled doughnuts (again with the better ratio, kind of like Hallowe'en-size chocolate bars - yum).

5. Down with Dutchies. Raisins don't belong in stuffing, and they certainly don't belong in doughnuts. Nature's candy, my ass.

6. If you want to smugg^H^H^H^H^Hbring Timbits across the border, stop at a Tim Horton's BEFORE you enter Terminal 3 at Pearson International, or you will be very, very sad. There is a Tim's on the Canadian side, which you can see through the glass once you're at your gate. It's heartbreaking.

Long Time No

Did you miss me?

Once again I'm grateful for the magic that is RSS.

Anyway, here's what's up:

Last weekend was spent in The Bruce, hiking and eating lots of delicious meat (and don't even talk to me about the number of Timbits I consumed. Also, any good intentions I had of running remained just that - good intentions. I did hike, though, and took some pictures with Sirrah! & Gregoire's camera, which I won't see again until I upload them somewhere myself at Christmas.

Memphis is the feline queen of BP:LE, and has on multiple occasions put Grapple in his place.

I still have a bunch of unpacked, unstored boxes. I tolerate them for a few days at a time, but today they are seriously adversely affecting my feng shui, and I got on a bent this afternoon to find them a home. According to a nice gentleman at American Self-Storage, a 4x4x4 space should do it and will only run me $31/month. Now I just have to get off my ass and move them.

That's all you get for now. I'm going running.

Happy Birthday :-)!

:-)
Originally uploaded by Kitty LaRoux.

Today be the Smiley's 25th birthday! Arr!* I was lucky enough to visit its birthplace yesterday.

The eternal question: Nose or no nose?

*It's also, apparently, Talk Like a Pirate day, as evidenced by the pirate flag on Flickr's logo. Who thinks of these things?

Best. Quiz. Ever.

You Are Orange

Bright and intense, you embrace the world and all its opportunities. Change does not intimidate you, even if it's a complete life overhaul. You're a very real person. You aren't scared to show the world who you are.

What Color Orange Are You?

(via How About Orange)

Martinis and Marathons

Last Thursday DC Dave was in town and invited me out for dinner with a bunch of Sales people. We were at a relatively swank restaurant in my 'hood and were waiting for a table, so I ordered a martini (Grey Goose, straight up, olives, very cold). I have fond memories of my first martini - it was on my 28th birthday at Daniel, also waiting for a table, and I decided I could be Grown Up and order a martini, and that at a place like Daniel it'd probably be as good as I would get anywhere. For better or worse, it was delicious. Anyway, while I can remember the first time I had a martini, on Thursday I couldn't remember the LAST time I'd had one, so I decided to splurge.

It should be noted here that a martini is not a slippery slope to drunk. As Bob put it, it's a big hole. And I stepped right into it, voluntarily. My martini was followed by a glass of Zinfandel, which was followed by the dessert cocktail (which was SUPPOSED to be shared with the other three people at my table, but by the time it arrived one person had left, another was on her way out, and DC Dave is, apparently, a lightweight). I made the sacrifice and drank 'er down, because I am just that generous.

Those drinks were followed by a shared bottle of wine at BP:LE, which was followed by a late bedtime (1:30 a.m.) and an early morning. By 4 p.m. on Friday I was considering freebasing coffee to get the caffeine into my bloodstream faster, and I was asleep by 9:30 on Friday night.

Despite that tale of woe, Saturday morning I managed to haul myself up to Central Park at 7 a.m. to run - GET READY - 18 miles! The last two of those were particularly tough, and I did think about the martini (and the subsequent fermented beverages) and figure that with 47 (yikes!) days left, I'd better stick to that promise I made back when there were 60 days to go and lay off the tasty beverages.

But I'll tell you right now that November is going to be a fun month.

Hard at Work

Paws
Originally uploaded by Kitty LaRoux.

What she did while I ran 16 miles.

DYKWIL? Volume 3: New Neighbourhood Edition

1. Seeing Cameron Diaz filming a scene for a new movie right outside the door to my new apartment!

2. That my routine training run takes me across the Brooklyn Bridge and back.

3. Seeing the Empire State Building every morning when I step outside.

T-Minus 60 Days and Counting!

Last night I decided to trek to Central Park to join the TNT group there. I am SO GLAD that I did. For one, I didn't have to run the same loop around Prospect Park for the upteenth time. I also found a running partner who was slightly faster than me, and managed to stay with her for the 6 mile loop, which resulted in my fastest 6 miles EVER with a pace of 9:25/mile! (Since the first mile was a warm-up and took me 10 minutes, I averaged 9:19 for the 5 mile tempo run!) I went to practice feeling tired and a bit under the weather and came home feeling like I could have run another 6 miles. Good times indeed.

The NYC Marathon is just 60 days away. This last 2 months is where all the training will really count. In addition to my weekly TNT group runs, my training schedule includes:

The NYC Marathon Long Training Run (18-20 Miles)

The NYC Marathon Tune-Up (18 Miles)

2 Half-Marathons (Grete's Great Gallop and the Nike Women's Half-Marathon) (I love that half-marathons are part of my training schedule for something else!)

+ Some other 20 mile run (hopefully a trail run with TNT)

It's time for me to buckle down with eating properly and drinking less. The acquisition of a new kitchen was well-timed!

Where's The Door?

Where's The Door?
Originally uploaded by Kitty LaRoux.

Just as boxes are irresistible to cats, a cat at the end of a lamp box is irresistible to me. She crawled in, and I set the box upright. I know I'm going straight to hell for this, and the hilarity was totally worth it.

So far BP:LE is working out just fine. I have unpacked many, many boxes. One stack has been designated for storage, and there's still more stuff to cart to Goodwill. (I know, makes a lot of sense to move that stuff in the first place, right? Shut up.) Yesterday I did laundry WITHOUT LEAVING THE APARTMENT and this evening I baked cookies and made dinner ALL AT ONCE with stuff on the counters (did I mention there are counters? More than one, even! Good times). Memphis is quite content (when she is not trapped in a box).

More pictures soon.

New Digs

New Digs
Originally uploaded by Kitty LaRoux.

We moved into BP:LE today. Memphis has already hissed at our new roommate (one of the humans; she hasn't met the other feline yet). She seems content, if a little suspicious.