This story would fall under the "Only in New York" category. Yesterday I was in Times Square flyering for the Gazillion Bubble Show, which I can do to make a little extra money. I had my bike locked to a sign about half a block away from where I was standing. Usually when I lock my bike in Times Square, people use the basket as a trash receptacle (how rude!) Yesterday someone left some very interesting items in my basket. There was a half eaten sandwich, a couple empty water bottles...but there was also an unopened bottle of Dr. Brown's Black Cherry Soda, which I took home. Also, a folded piece of paper which I was curious about, so I read it...
Um...random! Why was this left in my bike basket? Seems like the kind of information you wouldn't want to leave laying around. Also, did I just drink Serena Williams' black cherry soda?
Lately I've been getting pretty domestic. I've been cooking at home for my boyfriend. At the beginning of our courtship, Eduardo and I ate all our meals out. I think that's how most people start out. You know, we had to go on dates! So we went out. Later on, we were more settled into our relationship, but our schedules were such that we didn't spend a lot of "evenings at home" together. But a few months ago, Eduardo's schedule changed, and I got a job with a consistent schedule, so now we have several evenings a week together. And most of those evenings are spent in my apartment. When this routine first began, Eduardo requested eggs for dinner pretty much all the time. But after a while, I got bored with this and started venturing out to make other things. Usually, even now, our conversations about what to eat go something like this:
"I'm hungry. Can you make me some eggs?"
"Well, I have the stuff to make tortilla soup. How about that?"
"No! I want eggs! Huevos!"
"You don't want something different?"
"Um...ok, fine."
And then he always ends up loving whatever I make. He's like a little kid...afraid of change. He just doesn't know what's good for him.
The thing is, since living in New York, I haven't really cooked much. Well, nothing too complicated with too many ingredients. Cooking for one is hard and I didn't often venture beyond spaghetti or grilled cheese. But lately I've been putting three years of constantly watching the food network (one of only a few cable channels I get) to use. Turns out, I'm not too bad at this! Here's a few of my successes from the past few weeks:
Coconut crusted chicken with pina colada rice:
This recipe was inspired by a show I was watching on the food network with a girl saying she was going to make pina colada rice. I thought this sounded delicious. I never actually got to see how she made it, so I came up with my own version. And I figured I needed something to go with the rice. The recipe for the chicken can be found here. For the rice: just follow the instructions for whatever white rice you have, but replace some of the water with a can of coconut milk. Then I added fresh chopped up pineapple to the rice. It's delicious!
Tortilla soup and chicken fajitas:
This is actually two separate meals, but they come from the same source. I was watching The View a few weeks ago and saw Tyler Florence (of the Food Network) cooking a Mexican meal for Elisabeth Hasselbeck. After being with Eduardo for over a year, I have a good idea of what is authentic Mexican and what is "Tex-Mex." (FYI: Most everything you think is Mexican food, Eduardo would call "Tex-Mex" meaning "nothing I ever even heard of during my childhood in Mexico." These meals from Tyler Florence are the real deal...a very authentic way of cooking for Mexicans from the CORN tortillas to the radishes on top. Check out the recipes here.
Graham Cracker French Toast:
I love a big breakfast and french toast is always a winner. I basically impulse bought graham crackers one day and then was craving french toast and thought, "I bet I could find a way to combine these things." I was totally right. Thanks, internet. The recipe can be found here. I didn't use raisin bread because, uh, I didn't have any. But it was delicious anyway. And I also didn't have any syrup, but instead I drizzled Nutella on top.
I love food, and I don't let the fact that I don't actually have a kitchen keep me down! A two burner hot plate, microwave, and a toaster oven is all I really need!
After about 4 months of biking around Manhattan, I can say that my bike is probably one of the best purchases I've ever made. I can't believe the years I lived here and DIDN'T have a bike. I had thought about getting one a few times over the years, but never had that push to make it happen until the MTA threatened fare hikes, potentially raising the price of a monthly Metro Card from $81 to $103! That was just too much for me to handle. The online petitions began and the politicians began negotiating in Albany, but I decided to be proactive and not let politicians decide things for me for once. If the MTA was going to raise fares and cut service, I wasn't going to be needing their services anymore.
Riding my bike has changed several things about my existence here in New York. First of all, the every day rite of passage of the New York resident, taking the subway, is no longer part of my life. This is both good and bad (but mostly good). I miss the (good) subway performers, the time to read or listen to my iPod, the people watching, stopping at the subterrainian news stands to grab a soda or snack. I do NOT miss the bad smells, the late trains, the construction, the over-crowded cars, the people not respecting my personal space, or the rats running down the tracks. I especially do not miss having to wait a half hour or more to get a train if I'm travelling in the wee hours of the morning.
When I started riding my bike, I thought maybe I would be reluctant to do it at times and make excuses to not do it ("It looks like it's going to rain" or "I'm tired"). This is SO not the case. I have been known to ride when it is sprinkling and then been caught in a downpour. One day I arrived at work literally wringing out my pants, looking like I'd been thrown in the river. But it was a small price to pay for me. I take my chances with the weather gladly. The other potential problem of being tired hasn't really been an issue either. I remember saying that I thought maybe I wouldn't want to ride my bike to work on Saturdays because I work such a long day, I might dread having to ride my bike home. On the contrary, I get new energy when I ride. Where as I used to drag myself to the train station and sit like a zombie on the ride home, now when I hop on my bike to leave, the exercise wakes me up again, and I feel refreshed.
The other night, I ventured out of Manhattan on my bike for the first time, and rode to Queens to spend a long night hanging out with Eduardo and some other friends. When I was finally ready to leave, it was after 5am. Eduardo told me I could leave my bike and take the train, but I wanted to ride home. When I started out, it was still dark, but the sun slowly began to rise as I rode towards Manhattan, following the people going to start the early shift at work and the trucks hauling the breakfast carts to set up on the busy corners of the city. Instead of feeling tired and miserable, just longing for my bed (as I know I would have been if I'd been on the train), I enjoyed seeing the city wake up, the lack of cars on the road, and when I got home around 6:30am, I didn't even fall immediately into bed. Once again, the exercise gave me a second wind, and I stayed up a while eating breakfast and watching the morning news.
So, I can't really see a downside to bike riding around the city. It saves time, money, and it's great exercise! I've lost a few pounds and my pants fit a little looser since I started riding. And now when I hear friends complaining about the MTA, I just think to myself, "I beat the system!"
Can I Please Go Back to California?
I'm back from vacation in California! Getting back from vacation just makes me want to go on vacation, you know? It's never enough. I had a great time on our first family vacation in I don't know how long. Laguna Beach is paradise. Seriously. I don't know how anyone could actually live there. If you did, your expectations on life would be unrealistically high. It's just too perfect. But I love it. We spent every day on the beach, in the water, taking walks through town. Adam and I took a couple trips into LA to see Harry Potter and go to Universal Studios. But other than that, it was enough to just sit on the beach.
Vacation highlights:
Our beach hotel
Trip to Universal with Adam
Eating gelato to celebrate my birthdayNow that I'm back in New York, my skin has begun to peel off and I'm back to reality. I worked 12 hours the day after I got back! But that evening was nice because Eduardo took the day off work and we went out for our anniversary! One year! I'm excited we've made it this far, but not surprised. We have a great time together. The next day was my birthday! This year it was pretty low key. I mean, I just had a big vacation and then my anniversary, and also worked 20 hours in 2 days. So, by the time my birthday rolled around, I was just tired. But I did hang out with my co-workers for a couple drinks after work. And then I spent a low-key evening with Eduardo. It was a nice day. Maybe I'll have a party when I turn 30. Labels: Birthday, California, Eduardo, vacation
It has been one heck of a week and it's only Thursday. I'm trying not to get too stressed from all that has come my way already this week. But there have been a few bright spots as well. Here's the run down:
Bad thing: I got hit by another cyclist on the bike path on my way home from work on Sunday. What made matters worse was the fact that the guy just kept going, knowing full well that he had hurt me and knocked me off my bike.
Good thing: I wasn't too hurt. Just a little banged up with a cut on my foot and a sore knee. And my bike is just fine.
Bad thing: My landlord began harassing me regarding many things including, but not limited to, my boyfriend visiting, a leak in my bathroom floor (which I do not cause and was here before I moved in), increasing my rent, going on the roof, and calling me a horrible disrespectful person.
Good thing: I was able to prove to him that I have tenant rights and he was violating them. And I've gotten all the materials together and mailed to make a formal harassment complaint. If all goes well, he will get a minimum $1,000 fine and, more importantly, learn a lesson.
Bad thing: A guy at work treats me like a complete idiot, and I blew up at him yesterday because I had had enough of it!
Good thing: The people who matter are on my side in the situation, and the guy has been spoken to, so maybe he'll finally start treating me with a little more respect. And when I told Eduardo about the incident he wanted to give the guy a talking to. I, of course, discouraged this, but it still makes me feel good.
Bad thing: I was working on making a new window frame so I can install an AC, and I sliced my finger on some plexiglass and had to go to the emergency room where it took 4 and a half hours to be treated. No stitches, but I had a couple small pieces of glass removed from my finger.
My badge of honorGood thing: I finished installing my AC tonight and it's working beautifully!
It's a little ghetto, but it works! And I didn't pay $750 for it! (That was the first quote I got)Hopefully I won't get any more to bear this week. Enough, God! I'm at my breaking point! Prayers for protection from any more incidents, and for my stress and short fuse, would be appreciated. But, hey, at least I found the silver lining.
Labels: AC, Bike, Eduardo, Gazillion Bubble Show
This is not cool:
This is hilarious:
It has always been my philosophy that everyone is entitled to their opinions. But you are not entitled to tell other people how to live their lives. Don't support gay marriage? That is okay with me. Trying to force others into living by your beliefs? That is not okay with me.
Labels: gay marriage
It's The End of Blogs As We Know It (Maybe)
Over the last year or so I've noticed a down-swing in the number of my friends who keep up their blogs. Now, I do still have some friends who are great bloggers and update about once a week or more (such as Kate, Amanda, Cheryl, and Stacie), but others have completely stopped writing! What happened? I think I know. Facebook happened. Twitter happened. The updates about life that used to exist in paragraph form on blogs now exist in quick updates throughout the day on Twitter and Facebook. Quizzes? Surveys? Photos? Videos you think are funny? Websites you want to share? This can all be posted and shared with your friends instantly on Facebook. Is this the death of blogs as we know it?
Don't get me wrong. I LOVE Facebook. I love being connected with long lost friends. If it weren't for Facebook, I never would have met up with my old youth pastor and his wife from Las Vegas when they visited New York in December. I could never have weekly chats with my cousin in Decatur, IL about Lost. I wouldn't know how many of my old friends are now married or having babies.
However, I think there is still value in writing in a longer form. Telling stories. I understand that writing isn't for everyone, but I've always enjoyed it and I hope people still enjoy reading what I have to say. Facebook is great, but this is just a different way to connect with people. To my friends who are thinking of abandoning their blogs in favor of Twitter or Facebook, I hope you'll reconsider! Keep blogs alive!
Adam helped me perform some minor maintenance on the new blog yesterday, and now it looks just lovely. It's nice to have 2 web designers in the family. He told me he'd just charge me $20 for our consultation. I told him he'd get it...never. Ah, family.
In case you were wondering, still no AC installed. I contacted one guy who never showed up when he was supposed to, but that's ok because I was beginning to think he couldn't really do it anyway. I've since contacted a second person who responded quickly and enthusiastically initially, but I haven't heard much from him since. I don't really think I should be chasing HIM down if he really wants the job, you know? So I might be moving on to contestant #3 soon. Why do people have to be so flaky? At least it's not really hot yet.
Eduardo and I are momentarily heading to the Boat Basin for the first time this season. I LOVE that place. If you ever come visit me, I will probably take you there.
I thought after several years of the same look on my blog, it was time for a redesign. It's a bit of a work in progress, so forgive things for being a little messy at the moment. I'm going to keep working on it, and hopefully everything will be looking pretty soon!
I'm on a quest to get an AC unit installed in my window. I have lived in this tiny apartment for three years now. Each summer this room reaches unbearable temperatures. I turn on the fans, take multiple cold showers every day, and walk around with little to no clothing on. The reason I have put up with this and not installed an AC, is because this is my window:
As you can see, there is no easy way to do this. The window doesn't slide up. I need to hire someone to build a new frame for the window that will fit around the AC unit. I got an estimate a while back from an AC installation company and they said it would be $750! No way. I've hired someone through craigslist that I think will do just fine. The other night I got a Zipcar and Eduardo and I drove to his place to pick up his old AC unit that is a bit too small to cool his room, but will be perfect for mine.
Hopefully by the end of the week I will have a nice "after" photo of the AC in my window. And it will be a more pleasant summer for me...and Tangent.
Some of my blog readers may be interested to know that Ana Yang, star of Gazillion Bubble Show (where I work!) will be on the Today Show tomorrow morning during the 10am hour hosted by Kathie Lee and Hoda. If you've been curious about the show, this would be a good opportunity to see what it's all about!
I stepped out of the theatre on Saturday to get some air and make a phone call, when I noticed crowds of people sauntering down 9th Ave. That could only mean one thing: Street Fair! 
Ah, this warm weather New York tradition is one of my favorites. And it was perfect weather for it on Saturday. The fair featured the usual impossible carnival games, raffles, and large inflatable slides, but as with most fairs, it's mostly about the food. Local restaurants extended their seating out to the street with umbrella covered tables and drink specials. Food stands popped up everywhere offering everything from fresh fruit to fried oreos. One of my favorite New York street fair foods are MozzArepas.
These are like grilled cheese sandwiches with a twist; mozzarella cheese between two sweet corn cakes. Mmmmm. Delicious. Now I want one again! Well, it's only a matter of time before the next street fair!
I love New York, and I love sports...particularly baseball. And I love this commercial:
It has been raining for DAYS here in New York. I mean, I think it's been over a week. Seriously. It's a sad time to have a new bike. I just want to ride it, but I don't want to ride in the rain! Oh well.
I've gotten into the habit lately of watching documentary films instantly on Netflix. There's a big selection, and I've found hearing the real stories interesting. When I was younger, I usually heard "documentary" and thought "boring". But lately, I've enjoyed these stories more than fictional ones. Here are my top 5 that I've watched recently, and highly recommend.
#5: My Kid Could Paint That
I really enjoyed this one because it made me question what I was seeing and come to a conclusion for myself.
#4: Who The #$&% is Jackson Pollock
#3: Dear Zachary
This might be the most poignant, beautiful, gut wrenching, heart breaking movie I've ever seen. Watch it with a box of kleenex.
#2: The Education of Shelby Knox
The trailer really just scratches the surface of a much bigger storyline which is that of a young high school girl from a conservative town in the Bible belt trying to figure out what she believes. I personally related with Shelby, although I have to say she was a lot smarter and more well spoken in high school than I ever was. She's planning to run for president someday, and I think she would have my vote.
#1: King of Kong/A Fistful of Quarters
This is not only a great documentary, but a great MOVIE. The characters are so great, no one could have made them up. The drama is over a video game, yet it seems somehow greater than that. It's an underdog story. A hero's tale. If you see one movie on this list, this should be it. Labels: Bike, documentaries, movies, netflix
I have discovered a definite perk of working at Gazillion Bubble Show. It is common practice in New York to rent out theatres on dark days for events and so forth. At New World Stages (the theatre complex where the Bubble Show resides), when they rent out the theatre, they hire the crew from the resident show to work whatever event takes over the space. So, on Monday I was hired to come work on my day off for a benefit event for Rosie's Broadway Kids, a charity and outreach program run by Rosie O'Donnell. Not only was it fun to hang around backstage with Rosie and a bunch of Broadway stars, but I got paid $30 an hour! I can tell you right now that is WAY more than I get paid for Gazillion Bubble Show. And the job was WAY easier. I'll come in on my day off for that kind of easy money anytime!
Today I made an exciting purchase. I bought a bicycle on craigslist. Last night I surfed on the site and started looking at the bikes for sale. I've been thinking for a while about getting a bike, and now that the weather is good, it seemed like a good time to buy one. The very first listing was for a cheap women's bike, not too fancy, but it did have a basket. I sent an email to the seller and he called me right away, so I arranged to go look at it today after work. I took it for a test drive, and it seemed ok to me, so I took it home!
My plan is to stop buying monthly Metrocards, which are currently $81 but may soon jump in price to $103. Instead, I want to ride my bike to and from work every day. Not only will I save money on train fare, but I'll get a workout too!
Here is my planned bike route:
There is a bike path running through Riverside Park that continues all the way down to the southern tip of Manhattan. I figure I'll stick with that path for now since I'm not a kamikaze delivery driver (those guys are crazy) and am afraid of getting hit by a taxi or something. But at least it should be a pretty ride along the water.
As promised, I'm going to fill everyone in on my new job at Gazillion Bubble Show. I've been at the show for about a week and a half now and I'm enjoying it. It's hard work, but it's also fun. My position right now is backstage crew, which I like. I have a lot of cleaning to do after the show, but it's fun to run around in the dark on stage setting up for the various bubble tricks. I also have fun things to do like bringing out prizes to the on-stage volunteers and hitting around giant "snow balls" AKA inflatable white balls.
Here's a video of the show, to give you an idea:
I think this is one of the best ideas ever, by the way. I watch so many people toil away trying to produce a show that gets critical acclaim, gets audiences in the door, and is long running. But why write a script when you can just make bubbles? I mean, what child doesn't LOVE bubbles? And this little bubble show that was created by one man and his family (his wife Ana currently performs the New York show) is now a global company, toy line, and all around money making machine. Frequently members of the "Bubble Crew", as we're called, are flown off to places like California, Las Vegas, Hong Kong, Japan, and Korea to work on productions in those locations. The lobby of the theatre has been transformed into a bubble-toy shop that exclusively sells the Gazillion Bubble brand. And probably the most lucrative operation outside the show itself is the "Me in a Bubble" photo op in the lobby, where you can get your photo taken inside a giant bubble for a mere $20. And they always line up for it!
So, although this job is not quite as cushy as Westside Theatre was, it is fun. I like the job security...and the possibility that I might get to travel to fun places at some point in the future on the company dime.
I have had a VERY eventful week. I'm not even sure where to start. I guess I'll just go in chronological order.
I have been job hunting for the past few months since I got laid off from Westside Theatre Box Office due to one of the shows there closing. I'm supposed to be offered my job back when they get a new show in, but that hasn't happened yet and I can't wait any more! The money has run out! So anyway, I applied for a job at Gazillion Bubble Show, an Off-Broadway show here in New York, and got an email that they wanted to interview me on Thursday morning at 10am. I had a trip to Ohio planned that weekend and had to catch a 1:30pm flight, but I was really happy I could get to the interview in the morning! So, I made it there and everything went well and then I went straight to Newark Airport.
The next morning I woke up in Ohio to my cell phone ringing. They let me know I got the job and I would start on Wednesday, the day after I returned from Ohio! Couldn't have planned the timing better. Of course, I was thrilled to have a job, and even more thrilled that my job has the word "bubbles" in it. I spent the morning in high spirits.
Later that day I got a call from Eduardo, my boyfriend who was looking after my cat at his apartment while I was away. I told him about the job and we chatted a bit. I asked him how Tangent was and he said he hadn't seen him that morning, but was sure he was around. Then at around 3pm Eduardo called me again to say he actually never found Tangent and had been out looking for him for a few hours. He thought he must have jumped out a window where the screen was broken on the corner. I think that, short of someone dying, that was about the worst news I could have gotten. My good mood came crashing down around my ears. I dreaded going to sleep that night thinking that my cat was out there in New York City alone...or worse.
For the next several days I went through varying moods and mind sets over the whole thing. At times I would put the worry aside to have fun with my friends and family. Other times I would be determined to find him and spend hours on the phone and in front of the computer alerting as many people and places I could that my cat was missing. Other times I felt completely hopeless and miserable, and thought maybe there was nothing to do about it but give up and start the grieving process. With every day that passed I felt like the chances of ever finding my cat were getting more and more slim.
On Tuesday morning, five days after Tangent went missing and the last day of my trip, I called a couple animal shelters in New York. I felt a little like I could never call every animal shelter and rescue operation in that giant city, but I had to try and I started with what came up first on google. I gave lost reports to shelters over the phone and was told each time that no one had turned in my cat, but they would keep the report on file and let me know if someone did. Later that day I passed through airport security with the knowledge that the benchmark I had unconsciously set was about to pass. I was going back to New York and my cat would not be there when I got home.
I sat down at the gate, took out my phone, and saw that I had missed a call from an unknown number while getting through security. Over the past several days while I'd been looking for Tangent, I had been answering every call from unknown numbers with a tiny hope that it would be good news about my cat. But although a few people called about some of the adds and flyers that were up, no one actually had found him. I wasn't expecting anything different when the voice on my voicemail identified herself as being from the Animal Center of Queens, one of the shelters I had called that morning. I saved the message because, well, it's just one of those phone calls you want to remember getting.
powered by ODEO
It was the most promising thing I'd heard by a mile. I called back right away, but was still thinking it was too good to be true. It must be another white cat. But as I quizzed her about some finer details, it seemed that everything checked out. The cat was found on Friday, the day Tangent had gone missing. He was declawed in the front. He was found on Roosevelt Avenue, a busy street that Eduardo lives off of. Lori at the shelter filled me in that the woman who found him on Friday took him home, but couldn't keep him because he was crying so much her land lord complained. That's when she decided to take him to the shelter. And it was very lucky that I had called that morning to make the report. Lori said the shelter was full and they wouldn't have taken him, but then she had noticed the lost report I had made, so they decided to take him in. There are so many chance occurrences and near misses that lead to me getting him back that I can only conclude that God heard my prayers! I count this experience as a miracle. As I had sat in church that Easter weekend and heard about Jesus being raised out of the grave, I told God that I knew if he could raise the dead he could bring home my cat!
I wasn't able to pick him up until the next evening, since my flight got in late and then I had to start my new job the next morning. I picked him up around 6 and was told he'd just stopped crying about an hour earlier. Poor cat! I've never seen him more happy to be home than the last few days. I think we have a new found appreciation for each other.
This entry is super long, so I'll tell more about my new job some other time. For now, if you'd like, please check out the Animal Center of Queens website and, if you're so inclined, make a donation. I've already made one on behalf of Tangent, but I'm sure they could use more help, as they are a no-kill rescue shelter. Hopefully they can help many more pets and owners have happy endings!
I discovered a new song recently that I find really intriguing. It's the song "You Found Me" by The Fray. I've been a fan of the band since their last album (How to Save a Life), and this is the first single off their new self-titled album, I believe. I actually had heard it a few times in the background, but never really took notice until a contestant sang it on American Idol last week. Since I realized it was a Fray song, I downloaded the album and started listening on my iPod. I don't know about you guys, but I listen to songs really carefully when I listen on my iPod, much more than when I listen to music out loud. I think it has something to do with the ear buds.
Anyway, as I've been listening to this song, I've been really, really disecting the lyrics. It would be easy to listen at first and just think it is the story of one human being helping and encouraging another, but then when I listened to the verses, I discovered that the song is actually a conversation with God. Now, this is when I got really interested. Because The Fray is not a Christian band and this is not a typical, feel-good Christian song. Actually, one of the reasons I've kind of gotten away from listening to much Christian music the last few years is because all the music started sounding sort of the same to me. But this song is about a very real part of not only the Christian experience, but the human experience. Here's a few lines from the song:
I found God on the corner of 1st and Amistad
I said, "Where've you been?" He said, "Ask anything."
How many of us have been at a difficult time in our lives, been crying out prayers that we feel like aren't being heard, and wished to find God just hanging out on a street corner? And would you run into his arms and cry? Or would you yell at him for seemingly ignoring your problems? Or both? Well, here's the song-writer's answer to that "ask anything" from God:
Where were you, when everything was falling apart
All my days were spent by the telephone that never rang
And all I needed was a call that never came
To the corner of 1st and Amistad
I know the "Christian" answer is that God has a plan and we just have to be patient, and the most over quoted verse ever, all things work together for good. But sometimes don't you just want to yell at God and say, "You could have done something! This could have gone differently! Where have you been?"
Lost and insecure, you found me, you found me
Lying on the floor, surrounded, surrounded
And this is the line that gets me the most. I think everyone has prayed, "Where are you, God?" at some point:
Why'd you have to wait? Where were you? Where were you?
Just a little late, you found me, you found me.
Yeah, definitely not your typical Christian rock, but I can relate, and I'm pretty sure most other people can too. It's a powerful song and it makes me think. If you haven't heard it yet, take a listen below. It's a good song for the music as well as the lyrics.
I'll be in Ohio in just a few days! I'm pretty excited about seeing my family and friends. I really missed being able to go home for Christmas...more than I even realized at the time I think. So, since I found a cheap fare and have copious time on my hands, Easter weekend seemed like a good time to go. As always, I'll be splitting time between family and friends. On Friday I'm going to go to Dayton to see my friends and have dinner. If you'd like to come, leave a comment and I'll give you the full details, but I think I invited most people on Facebook.
Since I was bored today and I've discovered that my new digital camera takes decent video, I decided to make a little video invite to put on the Facebook evite page. I'll share it here to, for your amusement:
Well, I'm off to bed because I have to serve at church tomorrow. I'm excited because it's the first Sunday at our new location, which is right down the street from my apartment! Now I just have to walk a couple blocks! Observe on this map:
A is my house and B is the church! I can so walk there in, like, less than 5 minutes! I'm stoked.
You may or may not be aware that I am a night owl. This is pretty much the norm in the theatre community, as we tend to work at night and have nothing much to do during the day. I have always liked staying up late, but now I stay up even later than before because of Eduardo's schedule. He works at a bar and gets off work anywhere between 1am and 4am. When I don't have anything to do before noon, which is often, we like to hang out after he gets off work...playing pool, watching movies, playing video games, etc. Because of this late schedule, I now seldom find myself getting to sleep before 4am.
But don't think these overnight hours are not put to good use. Last night I rearranged my room which included getting rid of a piece of furniture and then doing extensive cleaning where said piece of furniture used to be. Tonight I defrosted my freezer and now my shower is full of giant chunks of ice. And now I'm blogging! An excellent use of time!
I also know what is on TV overnight. I remember when I used to go to sleepovers as a kid and stay up until the wee hours watching TV in my friends' basements. We did this mostly just because we could, because there was hardly ever anything on that anyone was actually interested in watching. This is no longer the case as I now find the selection of television from midnight to 5am much more enjoyable than what can be found from noon to 5pm. Mostly because there are no soaps or judge shows overnight (Those judge shows are multiplying at an alarming rate! I guess as long as there are women who loan their jobless boyfriends money to pay their cell phone bills...) I usually start out with watching the late night talk shows. I'm a fan of Letterman and Conan. But now they are on opposite each other rather than back to back, which, I'm not going to lie, has really shaken up my whole life. But I now sometimes watch Jimmy Fallon or Jimmy Kimmel (the fact that there are two Jimmys on late night television is also a bit on an inconvenience for me). After that I usually watch Oprah, which gets re-aired around 1am. After Oprah are syndicated episodes of MTV's Cribs. I enjoy this because I don't get cable, but when this show comes on I can PRETEND like I do. After Cribs is the re-airing of the local ABC 11 o'clock news. Then I usually switch it over to the CW where they show South Park until 4am. Again, I can pretend I have cable, since I don't actually get Comedy Central. If I'm still up at 4am, the VERY early news comes on ABC. I often find myself wondering who watches the news at 4am. Well, I do...but surely not that many other people. Then I start to feel sorry for the people who have to wake up and get ready for work at 4am. And I also usually feel sorry for the poor news anchors who must have no lives since they have to be on TV at 4am every day.
And then I go to sleep! Probably just as you're waking up!
What kind of chicken lays these eggs??