31
Oct 08

My arm hurts

I think I have Mouse Elbow.

I’ve had it for a while, probably, but only in the past couple of years has it gotten bad. Before the pain would come and go, but now it’s pretty much always there, unless I lay off the computer for several days in a row.

Last night I tried sleeping with an ace bandage. I felt like I needed pressure and support in that area, and while at first it felt better, today it’s sore. In a different way, but still sore. The only thing that helps is taking a break from computers overall. And some Ben Gay, which reminds MB of his grandmother. Romantic.

At work now I almost always use my left hand to mouse, but my right arm still ends up being achy for some reason. My wrist doesn’t hurt at all, just my forearm, around my eblow, and my shoulder.

~ ~ ~

No plans for Halloween tonight, which is okay by me. The only costume I have is last year’s slutty school girl uniform, though I could probably go as a Japanese tourist. I kind of look like one when I wear my floppy hat. Then I’d just need kakhis, a cardigan, and a huge camera, and I’m all set.


02
Jan 08

A lovely New Year’s Eve

Our only plans were to bar hop, witnessing the hilarity and stupdity of hipsters drunk out of their gourds, but instead we ended up at P*ong.

P*ong is the new restaurant from former pastry chef, Pinchet Ong (get it, P. Ong?), so we thought it was going to be all desserts. Turns out the special New Year’s Eve tasting menu was a mixture of savory and sweet, sometimes in the same dish (braised duck pot pie with dark chocolate and cherries, anyone?).

I liked everything except the foie gras. Usually I like goose liver, but I wasn’t in the mood for something so heavy. The first item was actually different than on the website menu. Instead of creme fraiche, the caviar was paired with a miso ice cream. The combination of the salty fish eggs and mild ice cream was really good.

Out of the everything, I loved the warm date and chocolate cakes the best. Again, the last thing was a bit different. Instead of crystalized rose petals, it was crystalized violets.

I wish I had brought my camera. Those dishes totally belonged on film.

Oh, another thing I didn’t like was my drink. I got the blush, which was sake with
navan, blackberry and lychee. Tasted like cough medicine, but maybe I’m just a lightweight.

At first I thought the price a bit steep and was reluctant to stay, but MB convinced me that it was okay to splurge since it’s just a once a year thing. I’m glad he did.

We got there around 10 and were eating till past midnight. I thought we’d miss the New Year, but at 12, one of the staff turned up the lights and shouted, “Happy new year!” and everyone stopped eating for a second to wish each other the same.

Afterwards we did walk around a bit, though we didn’t actually go into any bars. Since when does “dressing up for New Year’s” equate “dressing up like a hooker”? Apparently at least since Monday night. Never have I seen so many too short sparkly dresses paired with too tall rhinestone stilettos.

There were many drunk people but not too many. There was a couple who’d give Amy Winehouse and her husband Blake a run for their money, as well as a girl getting sick on her pizza, another girl telling her friend to “back the fuck away from me!” and some other girls dancing sluttily in the window of a restaurant.

Ah, youth.

As for resolutions, I usually try to stay away from them. I do however need to be more organized with my time, not so much as a resolution but out of necessity what with school starting soon, wanting to finish my memoir by March, and wanting to get back into exercising regularly. I’ve been a total slacker these past few months. I don’t think I’ve gained much weight, but I feel soft and less toned.

Camclark pointed out to me that being a librarian is apparently one of the best careers to have in 2008. Who knew? Most overrated? According to the article, being an ad exec (I coulda told you that), a chiropractor (darn! there goes my second choice), and a real estate agent, among others.

I was really dreading going back to work today, but it wasn’t too bad. It helped that I got some stuff done this morning that I had been putting off. I’m exhuasted. Last night like an idiot I had some coffee after dinner. Duh! I got an hour of sleep, if that. Still managed to get in a short workout this afternoon though.

So glad it’s a short week this week, and that MLK weekend is right around the corner.


31
Dec 07

A quick and final 2007 post

So glad I took the day off today. My entire team is out, including my boss, though knowing him he’ll probably be sending bullshit emails all day and late into the night. Loser.

MB and I saw more movies this weekend. Sweeney Todd, which was pretty good, though Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham-Carter can’t really sing, and The Orphanage, which wasn’t as scary as I thought it was going to be.

Yesterday ES came into the city, and so we, MB, and YP all had dinner at Spoonbread. First time meeting the friends! It was pretty relaxed and fun overall, though I was a bit nervous. It’s the first time I’m introducing anyone to my friends since my ex. Crazy.

ES stayed over, and this morning we hung out with SB. Ellie was at her grandparents’ so we missed seeing her. At the same time though, it was nice to be able to have a peaceful meal and catch up without a three year old demanding attention or throwing food.

This afternoon I’ve been watching the Anthony Bourdain No Reservations marathon. Excellent! Now I’m totally hungry.

Tonight MB and I will be bar hopping in his area. Since neither of us drink – I’ll probably have one or two – it’ll be fun to observe all the drunk idiots. Maybe I’ll bring my camera.


27
Dec 07

Whiny post

Wah, back at work and so don’t want to be.

My boss was especially annoying last week, which makes me even less motivated. Not only is he annoying, he’s a terrible manager. For example, he’ll blame the team for not doing something that he never told us to do. After getting chewed out in a meeting, he’ll turn to us later and say, “You guys should have done that,” when he never stressed the importance before.

I know I have to stick it out till I finish school, but I don’t know how much longer I can take. Today I looked at job postings again. You know the highest level secretary here – what they call a “coordinator” – makes only a little less than I do, and probably the same with overtime? So tempting, though I’d never be allowed to take a demotion.

Yes, that’s how bad it is.

Otherwise I had a lovely few days off. Spent lots of time with MB. We saw Juno, which we both really liked. I also enjoyed the soundtrack quite a bit and might buy it. Last night we saw, get this, Aliens vs Predator: Requiem, a pure MB choice, though I’m a total Alien fan and thought it might have some promise. Not! Some of the fight scenes were cool, but the rest of it was just horrible. I don’t need David Mamet dialogue, but at least I don’t want to be rolling my eyes every two seconds.

We also did quite a bit of work, he cooked a few times, and we went shopping one day.

I went to the ‘rents’ on Monday. It was uneventful. I realized what I had planned to give my mom – a bunch of treats from Jacques Torres and some coffee from the Porto Rico Trading Company – wasn’t enough so I suggested a trip to the mall.

We thought it’d be a madhouse, but it was quite empty. By 4ish everyone had skedaddled to start Christmas Eve dinner. It was just me and my parents and Mongolian hotpot so we weren’t in any rush. Ended up getting a Nordstrom gift card for my mom, and a couple of books for my dad, as well as a few things for myself (new jeans, long sleeved Ts, undies).

One night is definitely enough at the ‘rents. By the next morning, they were bugging me about stuff. 401K, where I’ll work after my degree, buying an apartment in the city. Okay, gotta go! Was back in the city Tuesday afternoon.

MB and I both took yesterday off, and just had a lovely day together.

The main reason I’m crabby today is that I actually have meetings. From 11 to 3. :( Oh wait, the 2 is canceled. Yay! And the 11 may not take the whole hour. I had ANOTHER meeting at 10 but I totally skipped it. I’m sick of this place.


20
Dec 07

Gifts bought

Click, click, wine basket for dad. Click, click, coffee basket for mom. Throw the brother some cash and I’m done.

Of course this isn’t how it used to be. In the past, I’d kill myself looking for the perfect gifts for my in-laws. Comfy pajamas for my ailing MIL, a beautiful pen box for the FIL, whatever for the BIL and his snooty wife. I have to admit I was sort of competitive with them, and relished when one of my parents-in-law received a gift they always but never knew they wanted.

Now I don’t care.

I’ve been working on my memoir a lot, and the other day I was writing about these old family dynamics I dealt with, namely the competition/jealousy with my SIL, who cared very much about her appearance, wasn’t interested in being friends with me, and was somewhat favored by my in-laws.

Anyway, so I was writing about that while hanging out with MB at his place (he was working away at his projects), and I thought, How different my life is. Just a few years ago I was dealing with in-law bullshit, and now here I am hanging out with this beautiful boy, being creative and feeling loved and free.

Crazy.

Rough week at work. Too many meetings, annoying boss. Tomorrow should be relaxed. Then I’m off till Thursday. Woohoo! Five day weekend here I come.


18
Dec 07

Quickie update

So MB and I did end up seeing I Am Legend, though at midnight cuz all the other shows were sold out. While we were waiting in line, a fight broke out. What the – ?

I didn’t see anything, but according to MB, someone messed with this burly Russian guy’s girlfriend, and the burly Russian guy landed the harrasser with one punch. Next thing, the harrasser and three of his friends were on the Russian guy. Security didn’t show up for 10 or 15 minutes, and it was the Russian guy who was asked to leave.

Aside from that, the movie was good, though there were people who just wouldn’t shut up.

Saturday night we saw a revival of Army of Darkness. Very campy and fun to see in a theatre. Apparently that same theatre showed Star Trek: Wrath of Kahn over the summer. Wish I had seen it.

Lots of writing and hanging out with MB on Sunday.

I just realized that I haven’t bought any Christmas gifts, and Christmas is in a week. Crap! Time to get online.


14
Dec 07

More holiday shenanigans

Last night was MB’s company holiday party, to which outside guests were not allowed, but later was a different party for MB’s industry.

No ice breakers here, just many drunk white people attempting to dance. His world is different than the ones I’ve been occupying for the past several years. My work world is very conservative, and the majority of bars and clubs that I’ve gone to recently have been gay.

So to go to a straight bar or club or party throws me. Why are these guys looking at me? I keep wondering. Why are they hitting on me? Why is everyone dressed badly? Why can’t they dance? We didn’t stay long.

Yesterday we had a bit of a snowstorm. It basically all melted anyway, except for apparently on rooftops.

This morning as I walked to work from the train station, pieces of ice and snow started falling all at once for almost entire block. Some were quite large, like the one that smashed against the roof of a car. I had to literally take shelter under an awning, along with dozens of others, waiting for the sky to stop falling.

The MB and I will attempt to see I Am Legend tonight. Hopefully we can get tickets.


26
Nov 07

Too much ‘rent time

Three days and two nights at the parents’ = way too much time

Wednesday night was fun hanging out with MB. He made dinner – tilapia with veggies and potatoes – which is great because 1) he’s a good cook, and 2) I don’t have to do anything! Since he enjoys cooking so much, he doesn’t put any pressure on me to help him, and in fact says, “Just work on your writing.” I’ve taken on the role of cleaning up and doing the dishes afterwards, which is a fair trade I think.

Afterwards we walked all around town. We checked out the movies, but anything we wanted to see was playing too late. Plus it was nice just to walk and talk before my going away for a few days.

One place we stopped in was the Forbidden Planet comic book store in Union Square, which he’d never been to. I wondered aloud, “I wonder if they have all the Buffy comics?” He asked about Buffy, which prompted a very long monologue from me describing all the highlights from the series.

That made me realize how ridiculous some of it sounds out of context. “Well, Angel was a good vampire, then he had sex with Buffy, and then he was a bad vampire. . .And then there was Spike, who was in love with Buffy. He was evil, but then he got his soul back. . .Oh yeah, and there were these evil nerd guys, who made a Buffy bot.” We were cracking up.

The next day I caught an 11:30 AM train to NJ. Had lunch, then slept for like three hours. Got up, ate dinner, Mongolian hot pot as usual. My mother offered to bake a chicken, which she doesn’t do well, and my dad and I were like, “Um, why?”

In between all the eating and sleeping, I did work on my writing, though not the work I had taken home from the office (boo! for bringing work home). In the evening, I also chatted with MB, who was on his own (his family’s spread out all over).

The next morning I wrote more. In the afternoon MB texted me – turns out he was at work :( – and asked me to help with this thing he was developing. Basically he wanted to take it and make it into ridiculous corp speak, which we both hate but which I’m quite fluent in.

I had fun cranking that out, and was making myself laugh with the ridiculousness of it. Like instead of container, “containing device.” Instead of Read the file, “Leverage comprehension of the document containing device.” I scare myself sometimes.

In the evening, I finally started doing the stuff from my job and got through the majority of it, interspersed with working on my writing. A very productive evening. Spoke with MB again before going to bed.

Saturday, more writing. At this point the ‘rents were annoying me. Dad: “You’re all set with your 401K, right?” Yes, Dad, it hasn’t changed from the last time you asked me. Mom: “You save a little bit every month, right?” Yes, Mom, don’t worry.

They may seem like innocent questions, but they reek of, “We’re so worried about you and your security and what will happen to you 30 years from now? We wish you’d settle down and buy a house and never do anything different or live anywhere different, and just have a kid and be done with it.”

I may have been in that stage when I was married, at least beginning down that path, but since my divorce, I basically feel like I’m starting over. I had so many years of being “settled” and worrying about saving money and buying a house that I don’t want to be in that mind set right now. I sort of feel like this is my second youth. MB is in the same place, though he has a better business head than I do. He maxes out his 401K primarily for tax purposes. Smart that boy.

Ack, and of course my mother had to ask more about him! Not in a negative way, just in a curious-about-his-background way, which she may twist negatively later but I’ll worry about that when or if the time comes. She did have good enough sense to notice that I talk about him in a different way than other guys. That I seem calm and happy about him, and not worried.

Saturday afternoon ES called, thank God. I really needed to get out of the house at that point. We walked around Princeton, then had dinner. AY was supposed to meet us at 7, but she slept through our calls and texts, and didn’t get to to the restaurant till 8:30.

I went back into the city after that, ES kind enough to drop me off at the station.

Yesterday MB and I hung out. Walking, shopping, working on our stuff. Talking, laughing. He cooked again, stir fry chicken this time. It was good but the fish was better.

Blah, work. Luckily today is not too heavy in terms of meetings.


01
Nov 07

So I dressed up after all

I had no plans to, but then class was canceled at the last minute, and MB said his friends were having a party.

I haven’t dressed up in YEARS. No: DECADES. The last time was probably when I was 15 when a friend and I put on her father’s jackets and ties and hats, drew on moustaches, and went trick or treating in drag.

I had nothing in my closet, aside from an Elvira-ish dress, but without wig or makeup is just a long black dress. Luckily a lingerie (read: slutty) store was open nearby so I went with the inappropriate schoolgirl outfit, and added my own “accessories” (little back pack, librarian glasses).

Unimaginative but what the hell. I got to show off my abs. ;)

MB went as Satan: black suit, red shirt with bright red tie, glue-on horns, and this skullhead walking stick which he just happens to have (don’t ask). His costume went over really well. Complete strangers kept commenting on it.

“I’ll see you later!” the security guard as Jimi Hendrix (maybe?) said.

“Cool!” a garbage man (a real one) applauded.

“I know you!” some random drunk guy told him.

This pirate woman on the subway snapped his pic. He’ll probably appear in some random Flickr stream.

But like a complete doofus, I totally forgot to take pictures. Derh.

It was very weird to be walking around in public dressed up like that. People stared but it’s like, hey, it’s Halloween. This middle-aged Asian couple totally gave me disapproving glares. Haha.


02
Jan 07

Okay, so I totally can’t find my 2006 goals

I thought I pasted them in a Word document, but I guess not. Oh well.

The ones I remember are:

  • Run the New York marathon. Didn’t do it.
  • Read at least one book a month, or, I’m being flexible here, a total of 12 for the year. Did it!
  • Take a hiphop dance class. Didn’t do it.
  • Do NaNoWriMo. Did it!
  • Visit one foreign country. Did it!
  • Save a certain amount of money every month. Erp, didn’t do it.

I can’t remember anymore.

Quite frankly, I don’t feel like setting goals for 2007. That’s right, my parents’ worst fear: I HAVE NO GOALS. I think I like baby steps better that don’t necessarily have anything to do with the new year. Less pressure. And I’m starting to hate writing about something before I do it. Somehow it feels even worse if I flake out.

I’m not sure setting those 2006 goals worked at all. I mean, NaNoWriMo and visiting a foreign country were no-brainers. I had done both before. And I didn’t start reading a lot till I began dating DK, who read, like, a couple of books a week. (That’s what happens when you don’t watch TV.) One positive influence.

As for my New Year’s Eve, which is a couple of days old now, sheesh, I spent it on my own and rather enjoyed my solitude. That’s the first time I’ve done so, and it felt, somehow, grown-up. I ran around in the afternoon trying to get to Times Square to take pictures of the craziness – they wouldn’t let us in! – then hiked to Koreatown and picked up lots of yummies for dinner. It was quite cozy stuffing my face in front of the TV while the world outside got drunk and stupid.

Monday was totally lazy. NaNoWriMo novel, posts for the city blog, the Monk marathon on USA. I’ve only seen a couple of episodes. It’s quite good. Tony Shalhoub rocks.

Then, as though 9 hours of TV wasn’t enough, I watched an episode and a half of Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations, one of which was highlights from earlier seasons. Again, first time. I can’t decide if I like him. Sometimes he reminds me of Morten Downey, Jr. and sometimes he seems cool, like when he was with the Inuit family eating seal.

He was very respectful and knew that reacting negatively to any seal parts offered him (eyeball, anyone?) would have been the ultimate dis to his gracious hosts. Fucking classy. Plus he said it tasted good.

But, dude, I have to ask: was that seal cooked? Good lord, it was so bloody. Then again, like Bourdain said, what’s the difference really between sitting on the kitchen floor chomping on seal that you caught yourself and sitting around a dining room table carving up a turkey that probably suffered till the end of its life? At least the former is more honest.

Hm, now I’m hungry.