Ugh.

Just received a random Facebook message from a younger kid I went to high school with. It made me feel so old....

Hi,
How's life at 27?.. I totally forgot you existed.

Veep Veep!

Apparently, no one really votes for a president based on who their running mate is. However, Biden seems like a really good choice for Obama. He has years of experience in office and expertise in the areas Obama is weaker in. Palin seems like a really wacky choice for McCain. McCain only met Palin one time, which is just plain old bizarre. She has little experience in government and is from Alaska-- a place with under a million residents. Just read an AOL poll that said the majority of those polled (approximately 70 percent!) think that the media is making too big of a deal of Palin's unwed 17-year-old daughter being pregnant. I don't know, I kinda think that's a big deal, especially since Palin preaches that abstinence is the best way to go.

Hamptons Soiree

Had my first trip to the Hamptons. Attended some sort of (media?) party at a mansion rented out for the event. Free drinks, free food. Unlimited sushi! Took almost 5 hours to get to the destination though.

XI: Obama + HRC = ?

I have been following HRC for years and awaiting the day she would announce her run for president. Due to a combination of missteps, people hating on her and the undeniable popularity of Obama, she couldn't keep up. In any case, Obama is supposedly ready to announce his running mate. According to the NY Times,
a poll of convention delegates found that 28 percent preferred HRC for vice president — by far the largest bloc supporting a candidate. So will Obama choose HRC as his running mate? Might be weird since they clearly don't like one another... On the other hand, it might be the winning combo since he needs her supporters. However, he will most likely choose a regular old dude rather than go with the saucy, outspoken former first lady. :(

X: Rancid, Norwood House, Beach, Ice Cream

Had a fun-filled and super busy weekend! Saw Rancid perform at the Fillmore (I still call it Irving Plaza, but whatever) on Friday night with bf and two other people. Rancid was so awesome. They played all their old hits and even one Operation Ivy song. Tim Armstrong gained some weight and no longer has a mohawk. Shaved head. Balding, perhaps? I wish he didn't dress like an LA gangster-- what happened to the punk rock look? They're from CA, so I guess he is allowed to look all gang-y. Afterwards, we tried to grab dinner at the beautiful and super classy Norwood House (competitor of the Soho House, but "less Euro trashy" and no photographs or cell phone use allowed), but it was tres late and the dining section was closed. In any case, the place is beautiful and I can't wait to dine there and try out the beer-battered dipped frog legs! I didn't take this photo, but here is the gist:



On Saturday, took the train to Brooklyn and met up with the bf for his magazine party/show extravaganza. Ate free tacos and sweat a lot.

Sunday was perfect weather! Went to the beach with the bf in an old school Lilly Pulitzer bikini and worried about getting a sunburn. Read GQ's piece on James Franco-- skip it. He is a snooze. Read great articles in New York Magazine about race/Obama. Do not skip! After the beach, we hit up Whole Foods and later, met up with longtime best friend and looked through her brand new photos from her vacation to Italy, France and Switzerland and then treated myself to weekly splurge of Cold Stone. (FYI: Cold Stone on 72nd Street posts their calories now!!! Horrific.)

IX: Fin De Semana

Weekend Plans:
1. Attend Rancid show at Irving Plaza. The last time I saw this band I was 19-- should be nostaglic. Tim Armstrong is 41?!?!
2. Attend magazine party/thing.
3. Squeeze in a movie. Either Tropic Thunder, Pineapple Express or Vicky Cristina Barcelona. Or Clone Wars if the bf has any say.

VIII: Snorefest

After reading rave reviews about Man on Wire, we finally went to see it. After twenty minutes, I was fidgeting. While I think wire walking between the Twin Towers is quite an amazing feat, I also think that it could've been covered in a 30-minute PBS special.

Also went to Jazzfest. I am not so into jazz, but the bf's dad had already bought the tickets and invited us months ago, and we had accepted. The musicians were incredibly good of course, but sitting in a theater for over an hour listening to tunes I don't know is very, very hard.

VII: Summer To Do List

I created a Summer To Do List early in June. I've completed half of the items I listed! Quite an accomplishment for me-- and the summer is not yet over.

Metropolitan Museum of Art (Superheroes exhibition and Jeff Koons)
Guggenheim (Louise Bourgeois exhibit)
Botanical Gardens (Henry Moore exhibit)
See Hellboy II
See Wall-E
See new Batman movie
Finish David Sedaris book
Read The Wisdom of Whores: Bureaucrats, Brothels, and the Business of AIDS
Sign up for post-grad certificate class
Eat at dog-friendly restaurant
Finish sewing class and project
Go to the beach more than 1 time
Get rid of all excess clothing (donate or sell)
Buy awesome raincoat and tons of Polaroid film
Book vacation to someplace awesome

I am almost done with the new David Sedaris (When You Are Engulfed in Flames) book, which is so good and so funny-- and I am hyper critical. I literally laugh outloud when reading it (and get weird looks from the bf). I'm a slow reader and tend to read a few books at a time, so it takes me forever to finish a book... I managed to sell a few items of clothing on eBay, but then the traffic seemed to slow down (recession?)... Finished my first sewing class and made a skirt and top. Now I'm a sewing maniac, fixing hems and collars left and right... Going to Central America with the bf and two friends in the fall, which should be amazing... Due to a tight budget (newly put in place by moi), the "awesome raincoat and tons of Polaroid film" has been put on hold... As for enrolling in the post-grad certificate class, that might have to wait until the spring.

VI: New York Times $$$

More crazy hysteria from brides? Ewww. My least favorite type of a person-- a bride that is obsessed with a day that lasts only a few hours and will cost thousands of dollars. In the Style section of the New York Times this week, brides and bridesmaids discuss giving/getting surgery for the wedding day. If I was in someone’s bridal party and they offered to pay for me to get Botox, I would not turn them down. However, if I was in someone’s bridal party and they offered to get me implants, I would probably be disgusted with them. (Mostly because I am well endowed enough.) But really, implants? Really?

V: Day at the Museum

Took advantage of our Guggenheim membership and went to the Louise Bourgeois exhibit. Frankly, it was a real snooze fest, so skip it.

However! The Jeff Koons rooftop exhibit at the Met was magnificent! His traditional Balloon Dog sculpture was there in all its glory. I can’t believe that it’s made of steel. Prior to seeing it, my bf said he had always thought it was actually a balloon. The gift-wrapped heart sculpture was okay, but subpar compared to the dog. And the third sculpture, Coloring Book, was a huge lumpy looking thing. Thanks to reading reviews of the exhibit prior to going, I knew it was based on Piglet from Winnie-the-Pooh. Without that knowledge, I would’ve just thought, “Oh, what a nice piece of giant plastic.” The rooftop is gorgeous and you can see great views of the city. And there is a bar up there too with $7 beers.

IV: Summer Movies Part Deux

I have yet to see The Dark Knight-- mostly because every screening we wanted to go to was sold out! (Seeing it in IMAX seems crucial too.) Settled for another movie and saw Gonzo. Saw this movie with three people-- two of whom do magazine work, so they were especially stoked. The third person is getting a dual degree from Yale (MD and MBA, that is hardcore).

Anyway, this documentary was very good, especially since Johnny Depp narrated. In short, Hunter S. Thompson was a crazy journalist with an insane infatuation with psychedelics. He also had a son that he named Juan, which is bizarre, since neither he or his wife are of Hispanic descent. Thompson chose to off himself in 2005 by shooting himself in the head—he had been speaking of killing himself for years and owed many, many firearms. I am not a proponent of suicide, but this guy really had to go out with a bang (no pun intended).

III: Summer Movies

Thus far, I have seen two official summer movies: Wall-E and Hellboy II.

I think I overhyped Wall-E for myself. While I found it to be a sweet story and conscious of current and future environmental woes, I also found it slightly... disappointing. I know, I am probably the only one who feels this way. I thought Wall-E himself was adorable and looked like a mini Johnny 5 and Eva looked like a cute mini R2-D2 and the computer animation was incredible. However, after seeing more exciting (?) Pixar films such as Ratatouille or Finding Nemo, I was left slightly bored. My bf loved the movie, and I am probably being way too critical (naturally)!

I got all the action and non-boredom one would want seeing Hellboy II. Ron Perlman is awesome as Hellboy. Selma Blair is starting to look old. Guillermro del Torro is insanely creative. His creatures are simply awesome. Saw this movie with 3 boys, and they all loved it too (natually). This guy is going to make a great Hobbit.

Other summer movies on my list to see: The new Batman flick (in IMAX) The Dark Knight (RIP Heath), The Wackness (only because I want to see the portrayal of NYC in 1994 and the Mary-Kate Olsen/Ben Kingsley sex scene), The Pineapple Express (because Seth Rogan rocks), Mamma Mia!, and one of the Hunter S. Thompson movies.

II

After ten years as an unhappy member of New York Sports Club, I dropped them. I began to search for a new gym to join. And I selected a (budget) gym that I thought no one I knew would be at. I've been a member for the last two months, and there had been no sign of anyone I went to high school/college with or anyone I took a music lesson with when I was a pre-teen, and for that, I was grateful. Until today. Finally ran into someone I knew. On the seated bicylcles.

Here is a pooch that clearly spends too much time at the gym!

Numero Uno

Hello virtual world!

Since this is my first posting, I think I should write about something of the utmost importance to many women out there: the Sex and the City movie.

I just saw it. And I loved it. And I cried. A lot. It wasn't as funny as the show, but it was way more emotional.