Friday, January 29, 2010

Just Another Week In Paradise

Last Saturday night, I got a voicemail from my "friend" who I spent New Year's Eve with - you know, the one who brought a stranger back to my place at 5AM. Her message was: "Hi Jess... listen, I'm sorry that, um, you're mad at me."

Of course she's sorry that I'm mad at her - I bet it really fucking sucks that I'm mad at her! She can't get away from her parents, get drunk and crash at my place anymore.

That was not an apology.

Sunday, I went out to dinner with my parents. There was an issue with my mother's meal; a manager came to talk with her and ended up speaking to my mom as if she were a whiny brat, rather than a respectable, regular customer whose ahi tuna had been undercooked.

Let me say here that I have absolutely no tolerance for anyone who mistreats my family. I've written before that I'm a good friend to the point of being a doormat; by contrast, I am fiercely defensive and extremely protective of my parents and sister.  So, I was furious.  I could barely contain myself during their "conversation".

To make a long story short, I went and talked to that manager after our meal. I ended up tearing her a new one, telling her how "inappropriate, rude and utterly unprofessional" she had behaved. I told her she should be ashamed of herself for treating her customers with such disrespect. I watched her staff gather off to the side during this exchange. I don't know if they were watching in pity or awe. But I think may have made her cry.

.... I think I've had some tension and frustration building up in me for a while.

I also joined a gym on Sunday (FINALLY!), so on Monday, I went to exercise after work. For someone who hasn't exercised in months, spending 30 minutes on a combination of the treadmill and elliptical felt exhilarating.... Until I got home. My shins were on fire. My shoulders hurt (how did I hurt my shoulder? I wasn't even using the arm exercisers on the elliptical!) I told a friend that I felt like I'd crippled myself. It's Friday and I still feel sore. I think I'm going to take it easier next time.

Overall, this week has been ridiculously busy -- and, as I've said before, I've loved it. I'm starting to think I might be a workaholic (along with a shopaholic and chocoholic). But I'm glad it's Friday.

I'm also going to share with you my OOTD (that's Outfit Of The Day, kids) because I successfully used a new technique: Putting my camera on the bookshelf and using the timer! And I like the lighting. However, I was caught mid-smirk, so I look a little.... well, you can see for yourself:

Thursday, January 28, 2010

No Smoking!

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Quote Of The Day

"Waste your money and you're only out of money, but waste your time and you've lost a part of your life."

~Michael Leboeuf

Monday, January 25, 2010

Quote Of The Day

"Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening."

~ Coco Chanel

Thursday, January 21, 2010

DVF Volante

One of the many wonderful things about Fashionism.org is that the members of the community are exceedingly generous. This includes the fact that we sell each other gently-used clothing - including DVF's - for generous prices.

Okay, enough dithering - here's my new beauty, with many thanks to the fabulous Marina, a woman who I admire and respect enormously:




(Please excuse the messy hair)

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Back to the Grind

~ Family trip to Boston was, overall, wonderful.  My sister now has her MFA, and I cried like the proud big sister that I am at the ceremony. I saw her perform (she plays a mean uke) and heard her read some poems from her thesis. We had some quality time together, as well. She had wonderful thoughts and advice to share, and I still get a thrill to see how she lives the life she has created - I mean, it's like we're really grownups, or something. I also spent an afternoon with my friend D and her beautiful children.

~ The MLK holiday gave me a day to reconnoiter myself before going back to work. And to make sure the cat (who was, of course, perfectly and attentively cared for by my friends) wasn't going to exact some revenge on me. And, hooray, my new boots arrived!


~ The extra day also resulted in my getting food poisoning, which required a(nother) day off from work. I'll spare the details; I'm fine now. Stormy seemed delighted to have me around for another full day, even if I spent most of it asleep. (Or maybe because I spent it asleep?)

~ Back at work today, I've been sifting through a week's worth of email, and scanning notes from meetings that I missed. A week? Really? It wasn't until this morning that I realized: I don't remember when I last went on a vacation that was more than a long weekend.

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Quote of The Day

“Happiness often sneaks in through a door you didn’t know you left open.”

~ John Barrymore

Monday, January 11, 2010

Attempting to Focus

... but since I seem unable to do so at the moment, lets take a look at what's distracting me today:

~ I need to join a gym. I'm going to be running/walking/dragging in a marathon  a ten-miler in April and I'm in awful shape, so I need to get moving. I can't even handle the thought of running outside right now, in this sub-zero weather, so a gym membership it is.

~ My sister's graduation is looming (something that I know must be much more distracting to her than me), and my family will be spending four days in Boston for celebrations, performances, ceremonies, and the like. I'm excited to see her and for this tremendous occasion. I just need to get myself packed for the trip - which I always tend to make more difficult than it should be.

~ I need to stop worrying about how my cat will do for a few days without me. I currently have the following internal dialog on repeat: Stormy will be fine; M. will check on him daily; he will be okay; the apartment might be destroyed when I get back, but he'll be fine. I've already admitted to being a crazy cat lady on this blog, as well as tending towards anxious and obsessive .....so you see what happens when it all comes together.

~ I ordered two new pairs of boots last night, and they'd be perfect for this trip, but they probably won't arrive in time. (sniffle) I'll just have to do my best to look cute and stay warm with what I currently own.

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Out With The Old

I'd originally started this post as a recap of my New Year's Eve adventures. But, unfortunately, much of the 'adventure' was the result of someone taking advantage of my generous nature. Okay, my generously-close-to-pushover nature.

That's not to say I didn't have a good time at all -- I was determined to enjoy sending 2009 on its way, and I certainly did! But thinking over everything that happened brought me to a simple conclusion, one more important for me to record than the events that lead to it: I deserve the best.

This is a horribly cheesy line. It's used in commercials. This is something that I've said to justify an expensive purchase (I look fabulous in this dress and really, I do deserve the best... ). But this is also something my mother has told me over and over, as is often the wont of Jewish mothers, and mothers in general.

And it's the truth, and I now feel it strongly. I deserve friends who won't take advantage of me.

Quote Of The Day

"One resolution I have made, and try always to keep, is this: to rise above the little things."

~ John Burroughs