Spaztastic Adventures of a DC Fashionate

miss me?

2009-04-29T23:22:00.002-04:00

A lot's changed, kids. I'm no longer Kiki DC! I'm just getting started, but you can find me, along with my brand spanking new life, here:

http://wearwhatyoulove.wordpress.com

a wee bit of bipolarness... bipolarity?

2008-09-12T12:17:00.007-04:00

There are some things I'm really loving today (well, this week) and some things, well, not so much. I'll document them in a list for you! Hooray!

Loving:
1. It's payday. That means I could buy some gym sessions to get my ass back in gear. That also means mani/pedi this afternoon! Now to decide what color to choose.....

2. NY fashion week! Glorious. Some faves:

Naeem Khan.

Oooo I love this dress, and I love me a low side ponytail!
But this one is a little *too* reminiscent of my 4th grade school photo.

Zac Posen.
The perfect evening "power suit." Kick. ass.

Marchesa.
I love the lace, love the neckline.
Make it in a lighter color with some thicker lining, and I'd make it my future wedding dress.

3. It's September. That means only one month till October, my most favorite month of the year. It also means the arrival of pumpkin-flavored things: my ultimate favorite. I'll be keeping my eye to the Godiva on M Street to see when they're precious pumpkin truffles arrive! Hey Hello Cupcake, how about a pumpkin seasonal cupcake?

4. This quote, courtesy of mimi, totally made my day yesterday. It was perfection, in my eyes.

"No matter how bad the weather, soiled the past, broken the heart, hellish the war, I believe all that is behind the universe is conspiring to help us-- if we will humbles ourselves enough to let it."-Kevin Kelly

Not so much loving:
1. Hurricane Ike. Headed for Houston, where the sister and bro-in-law recently moved. They'll be fine, I'm sure, but it's all just a little scary. Y"ike"s! (yeah, I just went there.)

2. Hot weather in DC. How am I supposed to get excited about my fall transition clothes when it's supposed to be 96 this weekend?! Argh.

3. Boys. Why are they so freaking non-committal? Thankfully a co-worker and I are living mirrored lives so we can bitch together.

4. Sarah Palin. She's the first politician I've ever vehemently opposed. Eughhh, she just makes me shudder. I'd post a picture, but it would really bring down the integrity of this blog to a place that I'm not comfortable with. You'll just have to use your imagination.

it's payday....

2008-08-15T13:01:00.003-04:00

So I decided to make these mine!! Yay for new fall transition shoes!

friday fabulousness.

2008-08-15T12:42:00.012-04:00

I am really loving Brian Reyes' fall collection. In addition to the trench/cape I posted a while back, here are some other stunners (click on the runway pics if you want the giant, smush-your-nose-to-the-screen-to-appreciate-their-detail versions). Le sigh.

a mother's love...

2008-08-14T18:26:00.004-04:00

I think I'm the only person in this country who isn't glued to the Olympics. I caught my first bit last night: men's synchronized diving. All I can say is who knew Canadians could look so good in speedos?!Yowza.

Ok, moving on....

Prior to catching this event I hadn't seen a single thing and relayed this information on to my mother. She totally freaked out, going on and on about how incredible all of the events had been and highlighted Michael Phelps. Which is when the following conversation took place:

Mom: "Oh my god, Michael Phelps. He's SO amazing. Did you know his feet turn out 15 degrees? Like flippers?! Plus his feet are size 14, and he has 6'7" wingspan. Isn't that incredible?"
Me: "Yeah, whatever Mom. Doesn't anyone remember the fact that he got a DUI a couple years back?! I mean, the guy's a criminal and we're all treating him like America's hero just because he won the genetic lottery."
Mom: "Whatever. You drink a lot. Things happen."
Me: (utter silence)

Thanks, Mom. Love you, too. ;)

In other athletic-related parent-child love news (yeah, you didn't think I could go there, did you?), have you seen this video? I just don't know how anyone could get through it without bawling. My reaction necessitated several Kleenex.

i will always love you, vol 1.

2008-08-13T16:41:00.010-04:00

A new feature here on Spaztastic Adventures, titled "I Will Always Love You," which should ALWAYS be sung/read in your greatest Whitney voice. These are the things/places that I'll never EVER get sick of, so much so that I'm proclaiming it in my blog. I'll dig this page up 3 or 4 years from now and I better still like this stuff. Screw fads, this stuff is here to stay.

First installment: the bar I will always love: Dan's Cafe

Have you ever thought that your local liquor store would be the perfect bar? The essentials are already there; you’d just need to add some stools, a decent countertop, maybe a pool table and a blurry TV if you’re feeling spendy. Apparently this is the thought process that some guy named Dan had when opening Dan’s Café in Adams Morgan.

From the outside the blue and white windowless building looks like it should be condemned, and things don’t improve when you enter. The first thing you’ll notice is the smell: a nauseating mix of stale beer, urine, and chlorine. After an hour or two you won’t notice the smell until you wake up the next morning and it’s still hanging on your clothes. This is one place that didn’t benefit from the smoking ban: smoke smells better. There are a few booths lined up along the back wall: be careful, they’re shoddily put together and you may find yourself sitting on a rusty nail or two. If you’re in the mood for a round of pool, this isn’t your place: the pool table is just there for decoration and the cover never comes off. It’s best used as a coat check. Be sure not to look up: you’ll see hanging “silk” plants covered in inches of dust and Dan’s inability to pick just one kind of wall covering (there’s fake brick, wallpaper, and linoleum, just to name a few).

The bar has built-in cup holders to aid its impaired patrons: at Dan’s you’ll need all the help you can get. They serve beer at decent prices but that’s not what brings the boys to the yard. No, it’s the mixed drinks that keep you liquored up and wanting more. Dan’s isn’t a one drink at a time kind of place. When you ask for a gin and tonic, you’ll receive a carafe of gin, a mini bottle of tonic, a bucket of ice and some limes: a starter kit for 3 highly potent drinks. The price depends on the caliber of liquor you choose, but it’ll usually set you back $12-$16. If that’s not enough, shots are served bulk (6 or 7 at a time) in squeeze bottles and are equally well priced.

Be sure to stop by the ATM on your way to Dan’s as it’s cash only. You’ll be hard-pressed to spend more than $25 here, unless you’re prepared to not remember the night or you really want to hear Sweet Home Alabama on the jukebox just one more time.

happy 4th!

2008-07-03T22:46:00.001-04:00

to me, this is one of the most patriotic ads ever:

I'm off to Rhode Island for the weekend to be with my BFF and my second family! Hope y'all have a happy holiday weekend!

i know it's 90 degrees outside...

2008-06-26T11:07:00.010-04:00

Oscar de la Renta Dip Dye Silk Faille Skirt, $3,250 at Neiman Marcus.

But doesn't this skirt just SCREAM changing leaves and pumpkin pie? Methinks yes. As much as I love being outdoors in the Fall, I love Fall fashion previews even more.

Some other pieces that make me dream of a brisk breeze:Brian Reyes Twill Cape Trenchcoat, $1,995 at Saks Fifth Avenue.

Valentino Ruched Sweater, $1,990 at Bergdorf Goodman.
You really MUST see this one up close!

Alice & Olivia.

Catherine Malandrino.

monday update.

2008-06-23T15:04:00.005-04:00

Man oh man, I heart my wee little Macbook. It just hums along so happily, providing me with a connection to the outside world. Quite superb.

The truly exciting facet of my purchase was that I managed to wrangle a FREE iPod touch out of the deal. Ok ok, by "wrangle" I mean they gave it to me, no questions asked, but whatever. Yay for education discounts!

A couple of things for the day:

1. I don't think I'll ever get sick of David Gray's music. I've been listening to it since some point in high school (maybe 2001?) when my fabulous sister gave me White Ladder for Christmas. Well, it's just been love ever since. I'll take some time away from David but I always end up coming back. It's just so.... good.

2. Baskin Robbins ice cream cakes are and always will be the best cakes ever. The cold cake with the ice cream and the super sweet frosting.... heaven! I just polished off the remnants of the mint chocolate chip beauty that my coworkers got me for my birthday. Pretty spectacular, even a week and a half later.

3. I'm on Mission: Make Cubicle Attractive, and it's much more difficult than originally planned. I don't want anything cutesy but I'm in dire need of color! I purchased some awesome vintage fabric from Etsy to cover one of the walls, but I'm not sure what to do elsewhere. Any ideas?

This, my friends, is by far the best office accessory EVER:
And yes, it's already on it's way to me. How could anyone pass up a mahjong business card holder?! Pure genius.

today is the day!

2008-06-20T11:13:00.001-04:00

it will be mine.

oh yes, it will be mine.

i think i just crossed a threshold.

2008-06-16T10:48:00.004-04:00

I actually had a work letter written FOR me. All I have to do is proof it and sign at the bottom. How weird is that? This is a total departure from my last job, where I was the one painstakingly writing the letters with someone else's name, then getting so ANGRY at the freaking printer. How hard is it to properly MANUAL FEED?!

Ok, so, well, anyway, apparently I'm kind of a big deal.

...and it feels kinda good.

coming soon: updates on birthday, wedding, weekends, pride festival, sunburn, etc.

and remember.... "soon" is a relative term.

happy birthday to me!

2008-06-12T12:01:00.002-04:00

Remember these?
Yes, they are now in my possession. For over $200 less than the original price. My oh my how much I love a Bloomie's sale!!

this made me laugh today.

2008-05-21T19:24:00.002-04:00

Comment at the DCist: I thought DC's motto was, "At Least We're Not Herndon."

teehee.

Ok ok, back to work!

kinda grumpy.

2008-05-20T18:19:00.010-04:00

Sick and tired of work and all that comes with it (stress, lack of sleep, bad eating habits, falling asleep of-the-ass). Only 12 more days till freedom, and freedom means this:

Oh Charleston. This is where my sis' reception will be. So fantastically Chaaaaaahhhhleston.

QT with the sibs (both original and new!).
Annnnd with mi casa. Last time I'll see the house :(

QT with the parentals!

Honestly, who doesn't love a wedding? Nothing is more fantastic.
btw, this photo is from Old Sheldon Church. Where yours truly WILL be getting married. Isn't it just fantastic? I hope my future fiance thinks so! ;)
Birthday!
(this was last year, obvi.)

So yes, all good things.
But to make it through the hard part, would someone like to buy me these?They're on saaaaale!

fridays are better than mondays.

2008-05-16T10:47:00.003-04:00

Hi hi readers!

Ok, this will be a quickie because work beckons, but I just wanted to say that I'm famous! Well, kind of. The lovely DCGF over at The DC Goodwill Fashion blog has profiled me! And I mean, really, who loves Goodwill more than me? Well, the DCGF does. But honestly. My love for Goodwill knows no bounds. I mean, I got a pair of MANOLO BLAHNIKS (yes, worthy of caps) for $5.99. Yeah, that decimal is supposed to be there. And Goodwill does so many great things for the community. Plus, there's no end to my lecture on how much better thrifting is for the environment. And we all love that, right? So yes, yes, go visit her blog, check out what she posts on eBay and go to shopgoodwill.com to find even more goodies.

In other news I decided on my bridesmaid shoes! I scoured endless.com, ordered 3 pairs, and ended up settling with the silver t-straps posted below. I've got to get the final approval from the bride and my mother, but I heart them! Super comfy and they're satin, so plenty dressy. AND Endless had them on sale! Snaps for that.

One last tidbit-- come to Fiesta Asia this weekend! Yeah, I know Fiesta Asia is a silly name, but it's FREE and a STREET FESTIVAL and I WILL BE THERE. So yeah, come. I'll be working the Yelp table in the AM before I head to the boutique for the day.

That's about all I've got planned for the weekend because after the 12hour days I've been pulling, I'm ready for some sleep. I think I'm getting old.

quick update!

2008-05-12T13:25:00.004-04:00

We're a mere 12 working days from Reunion over here and considering that's basically my entire job, things have been kind of crazy. Still, it's been nearly a month since my last post and my blog is feeling all neglected, so get prepared for the most random stream of consciousness convoluted blog post EVER. Yes, I'm serious about that.

1. All I feel like I do lately is work and work out. Notice the common word there? Yeah, work. I do a lot of it. The working out is going well and I'm very much enjoying my time with CJ, although he's expensive in more ways than one. Yes, the actual sessions cost a pretty penny (but are TOTALLY worth it). The real problem I have is the fact that I'm trying to be good on restricting myself on the drinking/eating front. Good, yes? Well, maybe if I actually could show restraint. You see, when I find myself dieting, not going out and drinking 1000000 calories, not eating ice cream, etc., I feel the need to splurge in other ways. Yeah, that's right. Shopping. Namely shoes (shocking, I know). But for real! I don't want to buy new clothes because the whole goal is to lose weight. But shoes, well, they'll fit regardless. Yeah, that whole "no shoes till laptop" rule is out the window. And if it's not shoes it's other random stuff: my trips to Bed Bath & Beyond, Target, Sur la Table (best store EVER), and the Container Store this weekend did not fare my bank account well. And yes, I went to the 'burbs. Obvi. So yes, I need to fix this issue. No more spending on frivolity. We'll see how long that lasts. I did avoid the Bloomingdale's private shoe sale this weekend! Go me.

2. I had a much more budget-conscious weekend a couple of weeks ago, though! And YES, it still involved shopping. Duh. After a service project a friend and I travelled up to Rockville MD to do some thrifting. And thrifting we did! We scoured through tons of consignment and not-so-nice thrift shops and I found a couple sweet things. I scored a faboo white eyelet vintage dress from Goodwill along with a fun comfy weekend top. I also got a porcelain Asian-inspired lamp for my bedroom, and old-school banker's lamp for my office (need to bring that in...), a cool picture frame that I'll re-purpose, and this cool iron buffalo. I have a thing about buffalo. Don't know why or where it came from, but I feel like we're kindred spirits. Plus I like to eat them.

3. I made strawberry cupcakes this weekend-- nearly 3 dozen of them. Yikes. I have proceeded to eat three today. Yes, I REALIZE that this does not work with the whole diet plan but I'm cranky and it's Monday and rainy and goshdarnit I deserve them. Plus I'm going to the gym tonight for about 4 hours. I swear.

4. In all of the shoe shopping I've done in the past weeks, I haven't found the pair that I truly need: those for my bridesmaid dress. I know, I know. Trust me, I've been looking! It's difficult because I want a metallic but nothing too gold or too silver. I want a pretty high heel but still comfortable, which means nothing too strappy. And dear god, nothing bejeweled. You wouldn't think it would be this difficult, but trust me, it is.

I like these but I'm worried the color might be too dark. And they're also a little strappy. I'm especially not too fond of the ankle strap.

Ooooooh I love me a t-strap. Really I do. The material for these looks a little casual and I don't know if they'd make my legs look stumpy, but the price is right!

I think a DSW trip is in order.

weekend recap.

2008-04-21T17:50:00.005-04:00

Good lord this weekend was crazy. Crazy amounts of work, crazy amounts of fun, crazy amounts of... crazy.

Friday was absolutely GORGEOUS so the roomies and I headed over to Sammy J's to celebrate Kate's new job. Hooray! Drinking outside makes life so much better. So so much.

Despite fully knowing that I needed to be at work at 8am on Saturday, I proceeded to join the roomies at a house party that a friend was throwing.... in his recently deceased grandfather's apartment. He's living there now, and it's... umm... creepy. Think about what your grandfather's apartment would look like. Then think about drinking out of red solo cups there. It's an interesting picture to say the least. I ended up having a little *too* much fun at the party and staying out far too late (I got home when most people wake up). That led to a rather difficult Saturday filled with both jobs and my attempt to be cheery. It was rough, to say the least.

I managed to rally and head out to meet some friends again on Saturday night at my most favorite Dan's Cafe. I must say that not drinking at Dan's is an eye-opening experience, as you fully realize the true grossness of the place and the smell of urine is even stronger with your sober senses, but I still love it and will return whenever an invite's on the table. You just can't beat it. Post-Dan's we headed to another favorite of mine, Madam's Organ.

Now 'splain this one to me: as soon as we walked in, a tall, young, rather attractive guy walked up to me and asked me if I knew what song was playing. It was Tom Petty, American Girl, of COURSE I knew it. He asked if I wanted to dance to it. That's right. Dance to Tom Petty. I get that he was trying to make conversation, but Tom Petty just really isn't dance-able unless you're at the concert. And even then it's questionable. But hey, I got a free beer out of his proposal so that works for me!

I must recommend going to Adams Morgan sober. It's a lot more fun to actually listen to how guys try to pick you up and you're much less likely to make a stupid decision, obviously. So hooray for that. It also makes Jumbo Slice a whole lot less appealing.

In theory you would think that I would have woken up on Sunday fully energized after my night of no-drinking, but instead I slept through my alarm, finally waking up at 12:15 when my phone rang. Well, kids, that was a problem, considering I was supposed to be at the boutique at noon. I don't normally sleep late so that's a good sign of how exhausted I was.... and still am. It was also a really super gross day outside, so I had zero motivation to leave my house. I finally made it down to the boutique around 1, hung around for a couple of hours during which I think 5 people came in the store, and left to have a quick meeting with the Craig-ster. That led to a couple of beers (BELL'S OBERON!!) and a buffalo burger at RFD with Craig and Keely, then back home to watch Pretty Woman (since, you know, I've never seen it before or anything). Glorious night indeed.

Ok, now that I've written all of this I realize it's incredibly boring and wordy. For that I apologize.

I'll leave with you with a couple of my latest finds:

I'm not a big fan of the whole gladiator sandal trend, but these are delicate enough for me to love.
How unabashedly pretty is this? It's totally motivated me to head to Goodwill and see if I can find something fabulously vintage.

I've got a Spring Fling to go to next week and I'm just dying to find something that screams spring, like this dress. Perhaps Goodwill will have something perfect for me.

interesting....

2008-04-15T15:49:00.003-04:00

"If one candidate’s trying to scare you and the other one’s trying to get you to think, if one candidate’s appealing to your fears and the other one’s appealing to your hopes, you better vote for the person who wants you to think and hope." - Bill Clinton

I don't think this had the effect he was going for, because this is what I immediately thought:

failure.

2008-04-14T14:37:00.002-04:00

Yeah, you know that whole no new shoes till I get a laptop thing? I failed. Miserably.

But HONESTLY. How FANTASTIC are they???

daily randoms.

2008-04-09T15:23:00.006-04:00

1. Things with my new BFF CJ (aka my personal trainer) are going really well. Except for the fact that I'm in pain pretty much every day. By the time the soreness and inability to walk down stairs wears off, it's time for another session. Still, I much prefer this feeling to the gross lazy mess that I was ~~a couple of weeks ago~~ for the past 7 or 8 years.

2. This weekend is going to be GOOD. For several reasons:

Tommy is coming to visit!! FINALLY. My little brother goes to school just a few hours away and we're going to the BRAVES game (yeah, not Nats game) on Friday night. Can't wait to see the new stadium. It better not rain... and the Braves better stop playing so shitty.
I'm going to Fashion for Paws on Saturday night. I've been kind of stalking this event ever since I heard about it about a year and a half ago and I'm SOOO happy I get to attend this year. I mean, puppies and fashion. What could be better?? Now to decide what to wear....
Sunday is my first and only day off for the entire month of April. This means I will take full advantage. Specifically in the form of watching the Masters finale and getting a mani/pedi. Hoo-ray.

3. Work is getting busier and busier with Reunion approaching in late May. I've got events every Wednesday this month and most Saturday morning, so it's all kind of crazy. Still, I'm loving most of it, especially since we've had some hires and I'm not the new chick anymore.

4. And finally, I really really REALLY want this bag. A woman came in to the boutique with a bright green version and we all flipped out. If someone would like to buy it for me (as it's the same cost as 5 sessions with CJ) then I would be most grateful.

i've got a date.

2008-04-03T16:16:00.003-04:00

Friday, 8am.

With a guy named CJ.

He's as big as a house and promises "to kick my ass so hard [I] won't know what to do with it."

Eeep. I hope I survive.

decisions, decisions.

2008-04-02T14:01:00.008-04:00

I apologize for this blog turning in to the saga that is "Kiki needs a laptop," but I just can't help myself. I keep thinking of all the cool things I could do if I could, you know, download music and upload pictures. What a wonderful world it would be!

Yet things continue to get in the way.

As most of you know, my big sister's wedding is coming up this June and I am lucky enough to be the fabulous maid of honor. I am so so SO super psyched about the wedding: it's going to be the best party EVER. In my head I had always thought that I'd lose a ton of weight this year in preparation: really get on a diet/exercise plan and shed those extra pounds that have always bothered me. Well kids, I forgot that I have zero motivation for this kind of thing. Sure, I like to go out and run every once in a while, but it's far too sporadic to make any kind of real impact. Plus my serious beer drinking habit is not helping helping things along at all. Oops.

Anyway, this new gym opened near my house/on my way to and from work. It's a personal training gym and I've always thought that the only thing that would get my ass in gear would be a personal trainer: someone who's going to kick my ass and keep me accountable. So, I've pretty much decided that I'm going to put a decent chunk of my laptop savings toward a personal trainer, at least for the next two months. A healthy body is more important than some personal technology, right? RIGHT? I keep trying to tell myself this.

Plus, when I reach my goal weight, I can actually wear stuff like this:

apologies.

2008-03-28T16:48:00.008-04:00

I know this whole "post a beautiful something-something and ooh and ahh over it" blogging is boring and repetitive, but I can't help myself. How FAB are these sunglasses?? I want them all, please. So vintage-y and mannish.... just how I like it.

All are by Benjamin and can be found at LeeLeeLunettes, just in case you were looking....

*cough, cough* my birthday is June 12 *ahem*

a pact.

2008-03-28T16:32:00.002-04:00

After coming *thisclose* to buying these beauties,
I made a pact: No. Shoes. Till. Laptop.

(should be sung like the Beastie Boys' "No Sleep Till Brooklyn." Duh.)

This is going to be a long, hard road. Luckily I did not cut out impulse buys like this fantastic sustainable umbrella:
A girl's gotta have SOMETHING new for spring, right?!?

i'm noticing a trend....

2008-03-27T16:09:00.005-04:00

I am busy. I think we've covered that in the last few months worth of posting, and I apologize for my blog being so neglected. My life is quickly turning from the "hooray! I have so many events to go to-- yay for socializing!" too "oh-my-god I just want to stay home and do laundry... just once!" I have full intentions of staying in on Friday night so hopefully that will provide me with some much needed rest and allow me to go back to wearing my pretty top-of-the-drawer underwear again.

A little recap of the last month? My trip to the ATL was fantastic (except for the tornadoes) and it was so crazy wonderful to spend time with the fam (including aunts, grandmothers and cousins!). I really do love Atlanta, especially in the spring. The pear trees were in bloom and everything was green-- fabulous! Plus the stores were much more stocked with spring merchandise. Yay! Annnnd shopping with my mom is always good. She bought me this:

How great is that going to look with something like these??
She also got me the most fabulous yellow wrap dress that you will see me in a bajillion times this spring/summer: to work, out to dinner, at Eastern Market, whatever. I heart it. A lot.

After I got back from the ATL I threw a quick little surprise birthday shindig for my lover, Miriam. Aren't we cute?This picture actually wasn't taken at her party. I didn't make people wear nametags, I promise. I do have some cute pics from the party, but unfortunately they can't be uploaded due to my lack of laptop. Anyone want to contribute to the cause? This blog would be *so* much better.

Anyway, after Miriam's birthday my week was filled with exciting things like meetings and boutique work up until late Wednesday night when I decided it would be a good idea to drive to Fripp Island, SC... my happy place... and 9 hours away from DC. In fact, it took me 10 and half on Thursday night. Awesome. It was still worth it: 75 degree days, eating on the back porch at Panini's, looking out on to the marsh all day, eating shrimp, and spending QT with the fam all over again. Perfection in my book.

Monday I had trivia night where Craig and I made a big announcement: we'll be hosting our own weekly trivia gig! Scary, exciting, crazy. It's a lot of work and we should be starting next Sunday, the 6th: trust me, I'll post details! Tuesday night was a big Yelp event (the pic of me and Miriam is from that fantastic night) which included lots of wine, mingling, laughing, drinking, Guitar Hero-ing, being dressed inappropriately, and a lonnnng sobering walk back home. Good times, as always. Last night was more boutique work and we FINALLY got new tenants for our basement! Hooray! They've signed the lease so it's official: no double rent payment. Thank the Jesus. Tonight I'm headed to Girls Gone Glam, which should be fun: I love a good fashion event, always!

So that's my recap, not very exciting I know, but at least it's an excuse for this blog being so incredibly lame lately. Ok, so it's always been lame, get over it.

busy busy.

2008-03-20T09:47:00.004-04:00

Things have been crazy crazy lately, and they'll continue that way for the next week or so. I don't have much time to write, so I'll give you a picture recap.

Friday, March 14:
Hello, Atlanta! I missed you!
Toooooornados! Scary!
*I know, I know, I should put up a "real" pic of the horrible devastation, but that's just too depressing for el blog-o.

Saturday 3/15:
Happy Birthday, Mom!
Happy Bridal Shower, B!
I heart my house. But why oh why did you sell so quickly? :(

Sunday March 16:
Back to DC!

Monday, March 17:

Happy St. Patrick's Day!
*Surprise!* Happy Birthday Eve, Miriam! Yay Sonoma, yay wine, yay giant cupcake!

Thursday, March 20:
Happy 1st day of Spring!
I think I'll drive 9 hours to the beach today. Sounds like a good plan.
Be back Sunday!

Happy Easter, everyone! Hope you have a fantastic weekend!

more spring fashion finds...

2008-03-12T14:54:00.012-04:00

Just because I can....

Elisa Atheniense Clutch. $490

Leopoldo Giordano Open Vamp Pump. $490 at shopbop.com

Peacock Sword Single Earring. $49 at Stars and Infinite Darkness.

Lee Claire '60's Vintage Dress. $155 at Dorothea's Closet.

Nars Lipstick in Dolce Vita. $24 at Sephora.

Synnove Dress. $310 at leanimal.

Jamilah Ruffle Top. $24.80 at Forever21.com

Free People Ditsy Floral & Stripe Cutaway Back Top. $78 at nordstrom.com

damn you, smart advertisers!

2008-03-12T11:29:00.002-04:00

For those of you who know me, you know that I can't get through a commercial, movie, tv show, or greeting card that involves dogs without crying. There's just something about puppies that make my tearducts well up and I just can't stop. Even typing this I'm getting a little verklempt.

So when Purina launched this commercial for their adoption drive, I had to shield my eyes from the screen pretty often. In fact, I'm sittng here at my desk, tissue in hand, because I just accidentally watched it. Oh, Echo.

Do you see how sad it is? Honestly. If you can get through that without getting emotional, you must have no soul.

So, imagine my surprise when watching TV the other night and THIS comes on!

Happy tears!!! So many happy tears!!

So, if you can, go out and adopt a dog. I mean, honestly. Save an Echo.

it's the little things.

2008-03-07T11:32:00.003-05:00

On this happy and hopeful Friday, here are some things I'm thankful for.

1. Getting a Diet Coke from the machine that has just a wee bit of ice/slush along the top.
2. My new Roomba, Phil. He's so incredibly entertaining.
3. Matchbox mini burgers tonight. There's just nothing better.
4. Nearly all of our office is out at an event in Spain, so that means rolling in to work around 10, leaving at 5, and taking 2 hour lunches. Glorious.
5. Flowers are coming up in my garden... can't wait for the blooms to arrive!

flaaaarida.

2008-03-06T16:41:00.004-05:00

Just thought I'd also add a wee recap about the fantabulousness that was last weekend in the Palm Bizzy.

The highs (in no particular order):
1. Waking up to this every morning. Glorious, glorious.
2. I did not get sunburned. Don't know how it happened, but I left much more this than this, which is shocking.
3. One of the bridesmaids just finished culinary school in Italy. She's a nice person to have around.
4. Seeing Camille.
5. Spotting Drew Barrymore, Justin Long (the Mac commercial guy), and Peyton Manning all within 10 minutes of each other. Consensus: Drew is teeny-tiny and absolutely gorgeous even with no makeup, Justin is all kinds of greasy and also teeny-tiny, and Peyton is.... wow.
6. The pool. Dear sweet lord I loved that pool.
7. Gin and tonics made with Tangueray Rangpur. So tasty.
8. Fabulous girl time with my sister and her posse!

The not-so-highs:
1. The aforementioned Reggie story. Although it did provide for a lot of laughs.
2. Spinning sharks (I shit you not) led to the ocean being closed. Bummer.
3. The Other Boleyn Girl. Worst. movie. ever.
4. Seeing the aforementioned Valentino bags in person. Le sigh. They were SUCH a dissapointment-- all slouchy and not good. The shoes, however....

po po knockin' on the do do!

2008-03-06T13:25:00.007-05:00

In the past week I've had two run-ins with the law. I know, I know, I'm a wild child. Sadly these run-ins were not a result of too much drinking, too much fun, or even anything I did. Just some creepy mo-fo's, that's all.

So, the stories:

1. The setting is Palm Beach, Florida. 12:30am. 7 hot young ladies are sitting around, drinking massive quantities of wine, and regaling in the fabulousness that is a bachelorette weekend away from cold weather and work. The house phone rings and everyone is startled... who would be calling at this hour? Katie answers the phone, it's a young man... he says he's the doorman and he has a package for us. At this point, we're all pretty sure he's either a stripper (thanks, Mom!) or a psycho killer (qu'est-ce que c'est? ba ba ba baa ba ba ba ba baa ba). We decide that it's definitely the latter and proceed to freak out (remember the many bottles of wine). Then the phone rings again... it's the doorman again, look outside your window, he says. Brave Katie decides to open the blinds and look outside the window and there's a guy in a suit standing there. He asks her to open the door and she does- he looks like a doorman, right?

This is when things get super shady. Where's this supposed package? It's in his hand, and he flashes it just long enough for Katie to see something small and white. She asks to see it again, so he holds up the little plastic baggie, "I think it's cocaine," he says. No shit it's cocaine. At this point she tells him that it's not ours and slams the door, totally freaked out. Doorman has a key to condo, doorman is trying to sell drugs, doorman has bad haircut.

After consulting a legal prosecuter and the 2 3L's in the room, we called the police. Man oh man, they were excited about our call, so much so that 3 officers came to check out the situation. Apparently not much happens in Palm Beach. After listening to our story and questioning the doorman, they decided it was necessary for us to "ID the perp." Yes, that's really what they wanted us to do: so much so that they made us turn out all the lights in the condo and bring the doorman (we now know his name is Reggie) to the front door and shine their flashlights on him so we could see him. Man oh man, he looked scared shitless. Probably thought he was going to make an extra buck on some springbreakers. Poor Reg got fired the next morning, but don't worry, we definitely poured one out for him Saturday night.

2. Flash forward to last night at the boutique. It's about 6:30pm and I'm ready to close up shop, basically just dinking around on gchat. A tall poorly dressed (like a bum) man kind of stumbled into the store and pulled out a crumpled up dollar bill and a cigarette. I asked if I could help him with anything, he said no, just stared at me. So then I said, "I'm sorry sir, we only carry women's clothing here. I don't think we have anything for you." I felt a wee bit like the snotty saleswoman in Pretty Woman, but whatever, this guy was freaking me out. He said he was looking for old or new girlfriends... he was always looking for NEW girlfriends, as he began to look me up and down. That's when I got all kinds of defensive and told him to leave. Then he started pandering me, telling me how hot I was, and what exactly he'd like to do to me. I'll try to keep this all PG so I won't quote him, so let's just leave it at that. He came around the desk and tried to grab me, and that's when I flipped. In my quick frenzy to find some kind of weapon, I looked down and saw these on my feet:
In a quick thinking yet probably stupid moment of genius, I said "If you're not out of here in 10 seconds I have no problem shoving this 4 inch heel where it hurts and calling the police." It probably took more like 30 seconds for him to scurry out (after drinking directly from our water pitcher and nabbing all of our cookies) but he made haste for the door. I called the police anyway, just to let them know this creepazoid was out and about, but didn't have them actually come to the store: cops once a week is plenty for me.

LATE EDIT: And on a lighter note, I forgot to add the third experience I had with police (this one was in fact due to my drunkeness). The ladies and I were hanging out in front of the bar in Palm Beach and they were playing Lionel Richie inside. We decided to start dancing and a very unhappy police officer told us to get out of the street. To that I answered, quite belligerently, "Come ON. It's Lionel Richie! Everyone you meet, they're dancing in the street, ALL NIGHT LONG!" and proceeded to continue my dancing. Needless to say, Mr. Crankypants the cop was not amused. I thought I was pretty witty.

greatest things about march.

2008-03-04T11:20:00.002-05:00

1. Consistently improving weather.
2. Bulb-ed flowers. Hyacinth, daffodils (my most favorite flower), tulips. I love when the shoots first start coming out of the ground.
3. Girl Scout Cookies. Oh man oh man, my love for Samoas knows no bounds.
4. St. Patrick's Day.
5. Being able to wear skirts sans tights.
6. March Madness. Go Hoyas!
7. Being able to use my front porch again.
8. Wearing dresses for weekend-nights out. Totally upgrades the Saturday night wardrobe options.
9. The cherry blossoms in DC.
10. Baseball season begins. Can't wait to see the new Nats stadium!

daily randoms.

2008-02-28T11:15:00.003-05:00

1. Saw Wilco last night, and oh. my. god. SUCH a good show. Jeff Tweedy was actually smiling, laughing, and talking to the crowd! Last time I saw them (Summer '07 at Merriweather) I don't think he said one word to the audience. It may have been the more intimate setting of the 9:30 Club that allowed for the interaction, but I absolutely loved it. He's much funnier than I expected and spent a lot of time making fun of some morons in the front who were obviously talking during the show. The set list was fantastic, as they looked over prior set lists from DC shows and played stuff that they normally don't play. Faaaabulous. The only song I didn't hear that I was waiting for was "Heavy Metal Drummer," but I heard that at Merriweather so I'll let it slide.

In fact, if you're a Wilco fan, you can listen to the whole show (trust me, it's good) here.

2. I just made an absolutely ridiculous impulse purchase. Damn you, woot.com! I'm pretty excited about my new gadget though..... a roooooooooooooomba! My first robot. Awwwww. I can't wait to set it in the morning and come home to a dustbunny free house. I think I'm going to just walk around saying "roomba" all day. Roooomba. Roooooooooooomba. Such a fun word!

3. I leave for Florida TOMORROW. Good lord I cannot wait. It's looking like mid-70's all weekend and I better come back with a sunburn. I'm in desperate need of a vacay and this fantastic bachelorette party/girls weekend will be perfecto.

I hope you all have fantastic weekend plans ahead!

this is the best they've got?

2008-02-25T16:14:00.013-05:00

After the loss of the Golden Globes this year I was traumatized, but I assumed that the stars and all of the other powers at be would really pull it out for the Oscars. Alas, I was obviously let down by last night's performance.

Before we get to the fashion (or lack thereof) I just want to say how incredibly freaking happy I am that Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova won. I am so so so obsessed with Once, as I am with the Frames, and this was (in my opinion) the only truly original song up for the award. I had it on repeat for about 2 weeks straight after seeing the movie and never got sick of it. After crying along to their performance, I could hardly stay in my seat when they won. Their acceptance speeches (thanks to Mr. Stewart for letting Marketa say her piece) were genuine and heartfelt. Congrats congrats!

Ok, now to the dresses. I was, in a word, underwhelemed. Apparently the only color choices this year were black, red, and metallics. What, is there a shortage of dyes at the moment? No one could muster a springtime palette, maybe even just a jewel tone? Is it really that hard to step a wee bit out of the box?

Here are my top picks from the evening:

Marion Cotillard in Jean Paul Gaultier.
Although I wasn't wowed by this dress on the red carpet, I thought it was much more stunning when she got on stage with all of the lights on her. It was one of the few truly special dresses I saw all night.

Jennifer Garner in Oscar de la Renta.
The dress didn't do much for me: just a pretty simple black strapless gown. Plus Jen loses major points from me for gushing about Rachel Zoe and her skills as a stylist. Ugh. On the plus side, Jen's hair and makeup is perfection and I am obsessed with the vintage necklace she's wearing.

Nicole Kidman.
Again the dress was nothing special... I even thought it was a good inch too short. Still, this necklace is faaaaantastic and worthy of a mention.

Eva Herzigova at the Elton John afterparty.
I just loved the soft yellow color and the ruffle along the side. Very architectural yet still soft. I'm not a big fan of her hair and makeup, but the dress more than makes up for it.

And now for the worst:

George Clooney and Sarah Larson.
Yes, of course George looks dreamy as always in his classic tux. But that arm candy is just nasty. I'm not sure what she was thinking when she picked out this pastel disaster that smacks of early-80's bedroom drapery, but if she's going to be on his arm, she really needs to step it up.

Cameron Diaz.
You would think that with all of the people that are involved with getting the ladies ready for this night, someone would have thought to press the dress before Cameron hit the red carpet. The wrinkles are just awful and the dress just isn't good enough to be fabulous despite them.

Petra Nemcova at Elton John's afterparty.
Eeeeeeeeeeeeek. Why is she so blonde? And so fake tanned? And so... yellow and shiny. This is all so very very wrong. The dress is gross, the red lips are awful on her, and there's just nothing worse than the slicked back dirty looking hair. Oh Petra, this is wrong. So very very wrong.

Lindsay Lohan and Sharon Stone.
I just don't think anything else needs to be said here, do you?

handbag orgasm.

2008-02-22T15:30:00.011-05:00

Okay, so after constructing the last post and finding the insanely beautiful Valentino bag, I looked over his entire collection and.... oh. my. god.

I've never viewed myself as a huge handbag person. Sure, I like them, but I've never felt the need for the uber expensive ones. I'm picky as far as size and shape and I really really hate logos. Despise them, in fact. Ugh. But that's about all I cared about. Until I saw these.

But if anyone would like to purchase a piece of this collection for me, or even just to let me touch/drool over/be in complete awe of occasionally, I'd love you forever.

And now, for your viewing pleasure:

Python Bow Clutch: $1,295.00

Patent Leather Histoire: $1,795.00

Patent Side Bow Tote: $1,795.00

Straw and Patent Histoire Bag: $1,795.00

Nuage Bow Bag: $1,895.00

And just in case you didn't get enough Valentino:

Bow Peep-Toe Pump: $695.00

Gathered One-Shoulder Dress: $4,780.00 (the definition of a fabulous 80's comeback)

wishlist.

2008-02-22T13:40:00.012-05:00

Just because this time next week I will be out of this gross ice and on my way to Palm Beach! Finally!

Madison Marcus Funnel Neck Sleeveless Blouse. $195 at shopbop.com

Kenneth Jay Lane Cabochon Earrings. $66 at shopbop.com

Piazza Sempione Organza Honeycomb Skirt. $895 at saks.com

Valentino Zebra Histoire. $2,495 at bergdorfgoodman.com
Via Spiga Monica Perforated Flat. $175 at bloomingdales.com

Two Tone Dress. $292 at builtbywendy.com

Abaeta Rita Two Tone Strapless Dress. $485 at bloomingdales.com
(hat tip to Beth and Jenna for finding this beauty!)

Hale Bob Tie Neck Top. $158 at nordstrom.com

holiday! celebrate!

2008-02-21T14:41:00.005-05:00

This post is long overdue, as the holiday weekend is several days past, but I'm not feeling creative and you people keep demanding posts from me. What am I? Your writing slave? Here to keep you mildly entertained? Distract you for 5 minutes from the mind-numbing work you have to do? That's it? That's exactly it, isn't it? Well, I'm glad we're on the same page.

I'll just make this an incredibly long, somewhat boring, rambling post that you'll get sick of 1/3 of the way through. That way you can revisit it, maybe.

I, like most of my DC brethren, had Monday off, so we could all celebrate our 43 42 fabulous presidents. This isn't a popular holiday, one mainly celebrated in DC as it's a federal holiday. Hooray for the lazy government!

The gloriousness of a 3 day weekend really can't be put in to words. Sundays are usually ruined by thoughts of Monday hanging over your head and the killer hangover from Saturday night. But no, my friends, on a 3 day weekend, Monday is there just waiting for you to fill it with fun. Sadly for me I never have full weekends due to the 2nd job, so to have 2 FULL days off was a real treat. And man oh man, I took advantage.

A play-by-play (because you all care about my life so deeply):

Friday:
3:30 PM: Head down to campus for ridiculous meeting.
4:12 PM: Fall asleep in said meeting.
4:35 PM: Leave meeting, go straight to brand new cupcake shop.
5:00 PM: Leave cupcake shop with 3 little bits of goodness in tow.
5:05 PM: Arrive at the boutique, catch up with the fabulous Jayne, and eat said cupcakes.
6:25 PM: Sell $1500 worth of clothes to really cute lady. Thanks, really cute lady!
7:05 PM: Leave boutique, hitch a ride home with Jayne.
7:15 PM: Change in to sweatpants, watch way too many episodes of What Not to Wear, enjoy utter fabulousness of a good night in with Bex.
10:30 PM: Get snuggly in bed, finish reading The Other Boleyn Girl (Elizabethan England smut that I would highly recommend) and fall asleep early!

Saturday:
8:00 AM: Wake up, think about going for a run, hit the snooze button.
9:30 AM: Wake up, for real this time.... eh, hit snooze button.
10:00 AM: Wake up, get in shower, realize I am very very late to work.
11:00 AM: Arrive at the boutique, thanks to Bex's carpooling skillz. Hang out at the boutique, catch up on girl talk, sell nothing.
4:30 PM: Head to H&M in hopes of finding hot outfit, leave utterly dissapointed.
5:30 PM: Take powernap in preparation of shenanigans.
7:00 PM: Apply eyeliner.
7:08 PM: Still applying eyeliner. When in doubt, more never hurts.
8:00 PM: Leave house to hit up open bar happy hour. Take the bus with Bex. Yeah, we're that classy.
8:15 PM: Arrive at open bar. Order gin and tonic.
8:25 PM: Scream over really bad DJ. Order gin and tonic.
8:40 PM: Make fun of the girl at the bar in pearls and a sweater set. Order gin and tonic.
9:12 PM: Wait in ridiculous line for bathroom. Meet absolutely new BFF, Bettina. Talk about how stupid boys are except for their ability to go to the bathroom a lot quicker than us.
9:47 PM: Order gin and tonic.
10:05 PM: Don't even need to order, bartender just hands me a gin and tonic.
10:18 PM: Back in the bathroom line, make new BFFs that say things like "Ohhh, what school do you go to?" Make awkward conversation about how old I am. Vow to never come to this bar again.
10:34 PM: Open bar is almost over! Order gin and tonic.
10:47 PM: Hmm... no, I'd rather not make out with you in front of all of my friends, thank you. Not right now.
10:55 PM: Must. get. one. more. drink.
11:05 PM: On to another bar!!
11:12 PM: Arrive at Mr. Smith's. Guys get meaty and start yelling. Narrowly avoid huge brawl with giant men.
11:16 PM: Arrive at Old Glory. Ohhh, Old Glory. So many... umm.. memories.
11:43 PM: Oh, you're recently divorced? No big deal. Really, not at all.
12:48 AM: Need food. Need food. Need food. JOHNNY ROCKET'S!
1:57 AM: We're home! How did that happen? I love you, Bex. No, really. I LOOOOVE you.

Sunday:
7:07 AM: Must. Get. Water.
9:24 AM: Yep, going to stay in bed a bit longer.
11:17 AM: Not getting out yet.
11:34 AM: Use 273 cotton swabs in an attempt to get eye makeup off. Concede defeat.
11:47 AM: Bex, you want brunch? Thank GOD.
12:13 PM: Arrive at brunch spot, hydrate at local convenience store while we wait.
12:48 PM: CHICKEN AND WAFFLES, CHICKEN AND WAFFLES.
1:54 PM: Oh my god. Never eating again. So full. Let's drive to Rockville.
2:15 PM: Mani/pedi woman I LOVE you!
4:17 PM: This is the biggest, craziest, most suburban Target I've ever seen. Rockville is a weird weird place.
5:35 PM: Oooh, salad I love you. I've never wanted vegetables so badly.
6:15 PM: Whoever made it possible for me to get beer and Swedish Fish at the movie theater, I love you.

Monday:
10:07 AM: Bed just a wee bit longer.
10:51 AM: Whoa, the sun is out! Oh my god, so much fried chicken. Must go running.
11:12 AM: Whoa! It's 75 degrees outside, I think I'll run to the zoo.
11:32 AM: So. out. of. shape. Zoo. is. far.
12:38 PM: So fresh and so clean, clean. So excited to be wearing spring clothes! Open toed shoes, shirt dress.... I love it! Off to meet the boy in AMo!
1:12 PM: Hmm, it's getting a little chilly. I see a raincloud. Ok, we'll walk to Columbia Heights.
1:33 PM: TORRENTIAL DOWNPOUR!
1:48 PM: Let's get on the metro and just go somewhere. I'm cold and wet and not so happy with myself.
2:31 PM: Freaking metro delays. Ugh. At least we're out of the rain.
2:43 PM: Let's check out Colbert at the Portrait Gallery!3:48 PM: Oh my god, it's freeezing. Back to the apartment.
4:36 PM: You really want to leave? I know it's sunny again, but COLD. Wearing SANDALS.
5:12 PM: I heart dollar racks of CDs. I totally needed these old school jams again.
6:32 PM: Oh The Diner, how I love your grilled cheese sandwiches.
7:28 PM: Back to the apartment. Warmth. Why is your On-Demand so much better than ours? Yes, let's watch hours of some new fangled Showtime shows and play addictive computer games, cause we're big nerds like that.
11:35 PM: Ahhh... back home. Perfect, perfect weekend. Le sigh.

i'm irish catholic, heavy on the irish.

2008-02-06T15:39:00.000-05:00

So today is Ash Wednesday. The beginning of Lent. Time to make some sacrifices.

In the past I've attempted to give up chocolate, caffeine, french fries, alcohol (haha), buying clothes (haha again) and a whole host of other can't-live-withouts. I understand that it's supposed to be a sacrifice, but it's always been a problem because my Mom's bday, my brother's bday, spring break, and ST. PATRICK'S DAY all fall within Lent. I'm no saint. I'm Irish. St. Patrick's Day is a day without rules except one: you must be drunk off your ass. Duh.

I thought long and hard about what I would give up this Lent. Eating lunch out? No, I need the fresh air, and walking places is "exercise." I thought about doing something a bit more sensitive, like vowing to stop criticizing myself and others. I did the math and realized I'll be PMSing twice during Lent, so that's definitely a no-go. I thought and thought about what I really needed/wanted, what would de-stress my life yet it still under my control.

Well kids, that's money. I want it, don't have it, spend too much of it. I started out with the vague idea of cutting out "frivolous" spending. We all know how quickly that would be broken. I need defined rules, numbers, deadlines. So, here it is, written down for all to see:

By Easter, I will:

1. Have enough money saved to buy a laptop, or will have already bought it.

2. Have paid my credit card down by $500.

3. Track my spending/saving on http://www.mint.com/ (one of my new favorite websites).

Look at me, being responsible!

Oh, and if you thought this post was kind of twilight zone-y/not Kiki.... I'll leave you with this:

And if you don't think this goes along with my whole "savings" plan.... I'll just inform you that KING KONG beers (they're about the size of your head) are a mere $2.75. Think about the savings!! You better be there!!

ps: thanks so much to Deutlich and Heidi for putting this together. It's gonna be off the chain!

hello!

2008-02-04T16:37:00.000-05:00

I did not fall in a hole.
I did not leave the country with no return ticket.
I did not get a sex change operation.
I did not go to Vegas and elope with a random stranger.
I was not abducted by extra-terrestrials.
I did not join the Peace Corps to "fight the good fight."
I did not have all of my fingers amputated.
I did not get a puppy (boo!).
I was not deported to Uzbekistan.
I did not get a boob job.
I did not wear the black Reeboks and drink the Kool-Aid.

Just wanted to clear that up, because I know that's what y'all were thinking.

Instead:
I started a new job.
I re-started an old job (eek!).
I went on adventures.
I said goodbye to Nanny.
I bought records... actual vinyl records.
I had my first experience with flight cancellations (grrrr...).
I became fully obsessed with Buck Hunter, even though I'm awful at it.
I lost 6 lbs.
I owned Marc Jacobs pumps. For a fleeting 2 weeks (they're being returned tonight- boo).
I finished Felicity, Sophomore Season.
I went into a Target and didn't buy ANYTHING.
I took a prairie fire shot and amazingly didn't vomit.

Mostly good things.

In short, I'm back.

Hi.

last day.

2008-01-18T15:32:00.000-05:00

Saying goodbye is hard and awkward and sad. I don't like it one bit. As much as I bitched and moaned about this job, my coworkers were the only things that kept me going. I can't explain how much I'll miss them.

Erin left early today, while we were at lunch. As sad as I was to see that she was gone, she was right: we'd be an absolute sobbing mess if we actually had to say goodbye. I've spent so many hours in her office, sharing ridiculous stories, bitching about my bosses, talking about the most random stuff. I know it's stupid to get all emotional about leaving people that I know I'll keep in touch with, but it's hard to know that it will never be the same. Thank god for gchat.

Saying goodbye, going away

Seems like goodbye's such a hard thing to say

Touching a hand, wondering why

It's time for saying goodbye

Saying goodbye, why is it sad?

Makes us remember the good times we've had

Much more to say, foolish to try

It's time for saying goodbye

Dont want to leave, but we both know

Sometimes it's better to go

Somehow I know we'll meet again

Not sure quite where, and I dont know just when

You're in my heart, so until then

Wanna smile, wanna cry

Saying goodbye

-The Muppets

daily randoms.

2008-01-16T10:15:00.000-05:00

1. How is it already Wednesday?! I only have 2.5 days left here and that's not nearly enough time to get all of this shit done. Maybe I should have been productive the last couple of ~~months~~ weeks instead of leaving it all to the end like this. Oops. Maybe I should stop blogging/yelping/online shopping/staring at the wall? Eh.... Last night I was really productive in re-stacking all of my stacks.

2. I parted my hair to the other side today. It's freaking me out. Big time. I don't know why I did it, but it just seemed like my hair wanted to go this way today, so I let it. Silly hair doesn't know what's good for it.

3. The excitement about the new job is quickly turning into straight-up fear. It's like I'm starting at a new school and I don't think I'll make any friends. Will people like me? Will they be nice? Will I do a good job? Am I in way over my head? What should I wear? I'm flashing back to my first couple of months here when everything was so awkward and I didn't know anyone. Now I'm here with all of my besties in my own little comfortable zone and I can't believe I'm actually leaving. Eeek.

4. The boss-man is taking me out to lunch today to say goodbye and I'm pretty sure it will be the most awkward thing ever. I have no idea what we'll talk about. Actually, wait, I do. We'll talk about Ireland, Hillary Clinton, and Georgetown. Yep. It's gonna be awesome.

ugh. hormones.

2008-01-15T16:36:00.000-05:00

I think that if you polled my close friends about my status as a "girly-girl," things would be pretty split. Sure, I love fashion, chick flicks, high heels, curling my hair, and puppies as much as Elle Woods, but that's all superficial. I feel like my sense of humor, personality, social activities, and affinity for good beer lend myself to being "one of the guys." I've got a pretty even split among male and female friends and feel equally comfortable among both sexes. I have just as much fun at a chic lounge all gussied up as I do in jeans at a basement dive bar. I can't watch the ASPCA commercial without bawling my eyes out, but I can talk about German cars all night long. I'm upbeat but sarcastic, a hyper-planner but also pretty laidback.

My two favorite pairs of shoes (that I actually own):

Ok, so enough of this comparison. What's the point? Well, it's just to reiterate and support how much I absolutely hate "that girl." Y'all know the one. The one who throws a hissy fit when she doesn't get what she wants, drinks too much and then cries about how no one loves her, just wants to be the center of attention at all times. Ugh.

Well friends, you may not believe it (it's hard for me to!), but on Saturday night, I was.... that girl.

I know, I know, it's awful. I can't believe it happened. I'm so ashamed.

So what happened? Well, we were all out, having a great night on the town consisting of Jumbo slice, gin and tonic buckets, and squeeze bottles of SoCo and Lime:

Good times, no? Everything was going quite swimmingly until I decided to tread dangerously closely to "that girl" territory by texting the guy that I've just started dating. Like, just started dating. 3 dates. Luckily he was in good spirits and I didn't come off too drunk, phew. Well then I made my crew go to the bar where he was. And then I went to go find him. And then I saw him flirting with some other girl. And then I grabbed my crew and stormed out of the bar. I was very close to a full-scale hissy fit. It. was. bad.

I snapped out of it within about 20 minutes or so, but even while in my that girl-frenzy, I knew I was being stupid. I knew it. Overreacting, drama queen, bullshit. Ugh. I so hated myself. I apologized profusely to the poor folks that had to follow me around that night and I nearly forgot about the whole episode by the time my guy left all of his friends to come hang out with us but I still feel so crappy for those 20 minutes. What triggered it? How did it happen? What is it that turns us sane, rational beings into absolute freaks?

interns.

2008-01-14T15:16:00.000-05:00

Living on my side of the office (yes, the side opposite all of the "cool kids" but Erin), I see a lot of interns go in and out of this place. Some manage to leave the organization without leaving much of a footprint, while others will be remembered for quite some time....

1. Jon, the most obnoxious intern of all time. He walked in here thinking he owned the place, would listen to awful music sans headphones, and would just sit around and watch YouTube all day. He managed to get all of the other summer interns to think he was the cool kid, and they'd follow him around like puppies. One of my favorite interns saw through his shit and titled him "Pomposity Incarnate." He actually had one of those stupid Staples "Easy" buttons that made obnoxious sounds. There was an unfortunate incident involving Jell-o and that button, but we won't go into detail on that. Let's just say it wasn't pretty... and it's all Erin's fault. We all celebrated when he left. Ugh.

2. The young man that replaced Jon had the same name of a famous rehab-friendly celebrity, which cracked us all up. He spent his days on the phone: chatting with friends, calling for job interviews, and signing up for medical research. I'm not kidding. I think that's how he made his money. You know, the money he spent on his fake Burberry jacket he got off eBay. Among his facebook activities he lists "being perfect," "feeling better," "cleaning up," and "making salad." We learned recently that he did absolutely nothing during his entire tenure here. Well done, friend.

3. Not all of our interns are worthless. In fact, some of them are more productive than the "real" staff. For a couple of months (almost a year, actually) we had no communications department. None. Then someone decided to hire a communications intern (hooray!) who was fabulous. Not only did she get shit done, but she was fantastic and funny. Yay for her! Sadly, they hired a new Communications staffer that "goes to the gym" for 4 hours each day and spends his time cruising gay dating websites and printing out porn on the shared printers, so our lovely little intern went to the Hill. So sad.

4. And that brings us to today (yes, I've skipped over many of our interns, but most of them were pretty quiet and just kind of went with the flow) where the two interns that sit next to me seem to be nice enough guys. They've only been here for a little while and I'm kind of in love with them already. Why? Because every morning I get to come in and say "Hello, Guido" with complete seriousness and then turn to say "Oh, hi Vladimir!" Guido and Vladimir. A match made in heaven.

...also Guido sounds EXACTLY like the butler from Mr. Deeds. It's freaky.

brain fart, writer's block, whatever.

2008-01-14T14:17:00.000-05:00

Sorry I've been so MIA. I am having great blog thoughts... just not when I'm near a computer. By the time I actually get in to worked I am devoid of all creativity. It's a problem. One that should be solved soon: when I get my new MACBOOK. Now I just have to save up for it. No big deal, right? I mean, $1000, chump change. ;)

Oh, and thank you for all of your responses about my vacay! I decided to be nice and get a ticket that flies out early Saturday morning. It's not the best, but I don't have to come back until Tuesday so it should be a nice little respite from DC. Woohoo!

...I promise that a more entertaining post will come soon. I hope.

poll!

2008-01-08T18:52:00.000-05:00

Ok, here's my situation:

I told the boss-man on Thursday that my last day would be Friday the 18th. I gave him 2 weeks and 1 day of notice. Now I'm trying to plan my trip to Palm Beach and tickets are OUTRAGEOUS. So expensive. I can find a decent one that leaves Friday morning.

Do I?
a) Tell the boss-man that my last day is now Thursday the 17th, head to Palm Bizzy on Friday, and have a bitching good time all weekend.
b) Suck it up, work on Friday, run risk of not being able to find a ticket to the beach.
c) Ask the boss-man if it's okay to move my last day to Thursday, proceed with choice A.
d) Spend money on ticket to Italy instead, because that's seriously how much these tickets cost. Ignore the fact that I'd have to sleep on a stranger's couch when I got there.

Thanks for your feedback. Oh, and if you know of any good cheap tickets sites beyond kayak, Expedia, and the actual airlines' websites, I'd appreciate that, too. :)

wheel! of! fortune!

2008-01-04T16:11:00.000-05:00

It's Friday, I couldn't be more unmotivated at work, and I'm bored out of my mind. Ignore the piles of crap I've got on my desk and the fact that I've got to have it cleaned out in 2 weeks, I'm still bored. This leads to the most random internet browsing.... ever. Read on.

See, the thing is this. I love game shows. I really do. My 8 BFFs and I camped out overnight on the streets to see Price is Right TWICE and I would totally do it again.... if Bob was still the host. But anyways, to the point. My love has been re-ignited by my recent trips to the gym. I always go at night, right when Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy are on. I know it doesn't seem like great programming to watch while hoofing it on the treadmill, but trust me, it's awesome. The only problem is my tendency to shout out the answers or get angry at the stupid/slow contestants. I think my love for game shows is a result of my random talent for game shows. My head is full of worthless information and I think fast. Plus, Wheel of Fortune is always SO easy to figure out. Duh.

So anyway, the crew and I were discussing this at lunch, as we all go to the same gym and watch Wheel of Fortune together. They all told me that I just *had* to try out for Jeopardy, so I investigated. Turns out you have to wait for some bus to come to your city until an online application becomes available in late January. Whatever. So I check out Wheel of Fortune, just for shits and giggles, and hurrah! An online application!

My friends, this application was the most ridiculous thing I've ever seen. Some highlights:

Are you a teacher? What grade level?

Do you have a pet? What kind?

Are you a parent with a son/daughter who will be graduating from high school or college in the spring of '08?

Are you an NFL fan? Who is your favorite team? Who is your favorite player? (same question for NBA, WNBA, and MLB)

Are you in the Armed Forces?

Are you a NASCAR fan? Who is your favorite driver?

Are you a country music fan? Who is your favorite country singer? (seriously, are they hunting for rednecks or something??)

Are you a fan of Soap Operas? Who is your favorite actor? What is your favorite soap opera?

Needless to say, I don't think I'm going to get picked, considering I answered "no" to every. single. question.

There go my dreams of meeting Vanna....

2008: best year ever.

2008-01-03T13:37:00.000-05:00

It's my new slogan, and it's true. Even though we're a mere 72 hours into it (and I spent the first 24 with the worst hangover in the history of the world), 2008 is the best year ever.

Shall we count the ways?

1. First and foremost, I GOT A NEW JOB. A brand spanking new, fantastic, pays a normal salary, can walk to work, free tuition for grad school, event planning, work with fabulous young hip people, non soul-sucking JOB. The possibility of waking up and not dreading work is a new ballgame for me. I've hated my current job since the day I started... a year and a half ago. This is incredible.

2. Said new job requires new wardrobe. A trip to Tyson's is in order for this weekend!

3. I'll be moving into a bigger bedroom in a week. Hooray for more living space and a closet connected to my room!

4. My absolutely fantastic roomies are throwing me a new job celebration tomorrow night at Matchbox, one of my most favorite places (although it does force me to choose between Chimay and Delirium, which is just evil) and I'm pretty stoked about it.

5. I am currently shopping for a plane ticket to Palm Beach to see my ultimate BFF and soak up the sun before starting the new job! I'll be back down there in February but I'm thinking that 2 times within late winter works for me. :)

All in all, things are looking up.

facts of life.

2008-01-02T16:24:00.000-05:00

Like gravity and the law of constant composition, here are a couple of things that I have found to remain true. Always and forevermore.

1. You will spend your days surrounded by bobby pins: in your car, your purse, your pocket; until the day that you actually need one. Then they will all disappear. The same goes for rubberbands, pens, chapstick, men, and money.

2. When a prospective employer tells you that she'll call at 5:30, you won't get a single thing done until after 5:30. And time will pretty much stop right around 4:23.

3. The 50% off all calendars sale at Borders and Barnes and Noble right at the 1st of the year is just about the best thing ever. Something on sale when you actually need it. How novel!

4. Being engrossed in a book is fantastic. Leaving it at home and having to wait for said book to be shipped to you is downright painful.

5. Pearl Jam will never go out of style. Well, maybe out of "style," but it'll still be incredible music.

6. I must sprain my ankle at least once a year. At least.

7. Cheap champagne causes the worst hangovers in the history of the world. I STILL hate you, Andre.

our house is a very very very fine house.

2007-12-26T22:25:00.000-05:00

As I sit here in the house I grew up in, at my mother's desk in the kitchen, with my dog at my feet, James Taylor singing in the background, I feel at complete peace. This is what I love about being home. It's a feeling that can't be recreated anywhere else in the world.

I especially love my house at Christmas. My mom is even more of a Christmasophile than I am, it's genetic. Everywhere you look there's a "touch of Christmas." Every shelf, lamp, window, railing, and dresser has something Christmas on it, and I just think that's fabulous. Even though Christmas day has come and gone, Christmas won't really be over for me until I leave this house on Sunday.

What makes this Christmas even more bittersweet is that this is most likely our last Christmas to celebrate in this house. My parents are putting it on the market in a few months, and I am, in short, devastated. I know that it's the right move-- the house is far too large for 2 people and it doesn't make any sense for my parents to continue to live out in the 'burbs, but I'll just continue to view it as a necessary evil.

I love walking around barefoot on the extra-plush carpeting. I love my Backstreet Boys posters, remnants of my teenybopper days, still hanging in my closet. I love the sound of my dog's nails clicking on the hardwood floors. I love falling asleep to the sound of Allison Krauss, James Taylor, Patsy Cline, or Motown playing over the house speakers. I love seeing our childhood playhouse through the trees in the backyard. I love the copper bartop on the basement bar and the way it smells. I even love the "weird room" where no one ever goes. I love the dogwood tree outside my bedroom window. I love eating dinner on the back deck. I love the ridiculous amount of counter space in my bathroom. I love just about everything about this house, and I'm going to freak out when it's not home any more.

home sweet home.

2007-12-22T20:43:00.000-05:00

Still very MIA and for that I apologize. I'm officially back in the ATL and it is divine. Slept till 11:30 today, still in my hoodie, watching Wizard of Oz with the sibs and reading about weasel coffee. Pretty typical night around my house. I'll update again soon but I just wanted to tell all of my readers MERRY CHRISTMAS!

I hope you have a fantastic holiday full of family, fun, and all those other good things.

shoe-gasm.

2007-12-12T13:40:00.001-05:00

Hollywould Lauren Glitter Lace Pumps. $29.99 at target.com (and Kiki's choice for holiday party footwear!)

Seychelles Don't Waste My Time. $83.95 at zappos.com

MaxStudio Zera Pump. $158.95 at nordstrom.com

BCBGirls Sherir Pump. $97.95 at nordstrom.com

i recall, central park in fall...

2007-12-11T17:19:00.000-05:00

Sorry I've been so MIA lately. No, I do not have a new fantastic job that's taking up all of my time, or even a spicy romance to keep me occupied. Nope, I just haven't gotten around to writing lately. I've been semi-filing all of these great blog ideas in my head and then they escape soon after. I need to start keeping a journal. That sounds crazy, though. A journal for my online "journal." Not gonna happen.

Anyway, I guess I can recap my fantabulous trip to NYC this past weekend. I decided to take the train up on Friday afternoon to meet the madre and padre in the city. They were there for a business thang and staying at my dad's BFF's crib in Midtown. Schmancy. This was my first time taking a train outside of Europe or the shuttle to BWI, so I was pretty excited. I just LOVE train stations. Union Station is one of my most favorite places in the city, I could spend hours there. Maybe it's because I went to my first black tie "big girl" party there when my sister graduated from college. It was incredible, they had the ENTIRE thing rented out with circus performers and the like. But I digress. I grabbed an aisle seat next to some chick, said a quick hello, fished a crossword and my iPod out, and settled in. Over the course of the trip, and I'll note this was AFTER I bought her a beer, I realized this chick could not have been older than 15. Oops. I should have known when she pulled out her obviously library-version of The Joy Luck Club, but hey, I re-read Catcher in the Rye last year, so I justified it. Towards the end of the trip, after I had apparently made the wee one a bit tipsy, she busted out a black and white splatter-covered notebook (y'all know the kind I'm talking about) and frantically started writing in it. Disclaimer: I am a snoop. A big one. I can't help it. Anyway, after a bit, I couldn't help myself and I peered over to see what she was writing about. Well folks, she was writing about ME. It was so bizarre. I couldn't read the whole thing without being super obvious, but I did read "older cool girl," "my first beer ever," and "I'm so excited to tell Stef!" So yay, go me. I corrupted a little girl before I even got to NYC. This trip was going to be a good one.

I arrived at Penn Station and immediately received an appropriate NYC welcome: about 9 of NYPD's Finest manhandling some guy who was screaming at them for being racist. I'll note here that all parties involved were white. It was a great night, brisk but not terribly cold, so I decided to walk to the apartment rather than hop in a cab. There's no better way to see the city and I immediately felt the rush of being there. I made it to the apartment around 10:30 and met up with my cousin to head down to the Village. We proceeded to get some tapas and caipirinhas and then went to the Pyramid, and fantasmical gay club that plays 80's music. After the price shock wore off, I had a great time. Also met up with one of my boys from college and partied, quite literally, all night long.

Saturday's hangover made shopping a bit more difficult, but I still had a great time walking along 5th Avenue and SoHo. Bergdorf's really is divine, especially that $800,000 necklace and bracelet set that I saw. No, I'm not kidding, that's not a typo. $800,000 for a blue calcydon bauble. Insanity. I wasn't able to find a single thing worth purchasing and was a bit upset to see so many chains around, but I guess that's just what's happening everywhere. I'm so sick of Banana Republic. Ugh.

best day EVER.

2007-12-05T11:43:00.000-05:00

December 5th is just about the greatest day of the year. Better than Christmas, even. I promise.

Not only is it the Annual Day of the Ninja, but it is also the day that, in 1933, U.S. Congress overturned prohibition!

I suggest you celebrate appropriately.

daily randoms.

2007-12-04T16:06:00.000-05:00

1. The weekend was a fantastic shitshow: exactly what I needed. It included 2 trips to Matchbox, a coworker's holiday party, many many hours of latenight/early morning Wii playing(good lord it is incredible), mid-afternoon naps, Christmas tree buying and decorating, a latenight milkshake run to Potbelly's, seeing an awful movie with the roomies (August Rush-- don't waste your money!), a couple of rounds of losing miserably at Buck Hunter (so against my morals), a trip to the absolute boonies of Maryland, and some crazy pictures to remember it all. Love it.

2. At said coworker's holiday party, I saw, quite possibly, the worst-dressed couple in the history of the world. I'm not kidding. He was dressed in late-90's Levi's (why would anyone wear pants with the size visible to everyone?!) and some shirt that I can't remember because of the following accessory: a fanny pack. I shit you not. Here we are in a classy studio apartment in Dupont Circle and there's a guy sporting a leather fanny pack. I didn't even know those things still existed... it's like a coelacanth for 2007! I was really tempted to walk up to him and ask what was inside. When I didn't think it could get any worse, I saw his girlfriend turn around and had to bite my lip... hard. She was wearing typical mom jeans with Merrells (bad enough as is) but the real kicker was her sweater. Beyond being thin enough to show all of her bulges (although she was relatively toned) and way too short for her hi-rise mom jeans, it had....I shit you not.... a knitted-in margarita emblazoned across the chest. I've been hunting on Google all day in an attempt to find a photo that even neared the grotesque-ness of this top, but alas I cannot find anything to even begin to compare it to. It was just.... awful.

3. Winter has officially set in. We're predicted to get 1-2 inches of snow tomorrow, which is a big deal in these parts. The wind was absolutely out of control yesterday.... I thought my ears were going to fall off. Note to self: find attractive and fashionable earmuffs. I had to wait about 25 minutes for my bus to arrive last night (damn you, Metro!) and of course when it finally arrived it was PACKED. I came to a conclusion as I was nuzzled up against complete strangers. Men should not get out of their seats for women because women are the weaker sex and they just might faint if they have to stand for more than 10 minutes. No, men should give us their seats because we are (on a whole) shorter. Even though I am just shy of 5'6" (and usually am in heels), it is insanely uncomfortable to hold on to the overhead rail. I'm fine when I can find a vertical pole (get your mind out of the gutter) but if I'm stuck in the middle I nearly have to stand on my tippy-toes to reach. To all of the 6-foot tall men who were enjoying your seats last night, I ask you to please consider this next time you see the ladies with their arms straight up above their heads. Oy.

4. If someone would like to get me these for Christmas or just because, I'd love you forever. They're a mere $50, which is unfortunately still far out of my don't-spend-any-money-on-myself-in-December budget. Size 8.5, please. Thanks :)

sometimes, all you need is shoes.

2007-11-30T13:59:00.000-05:00

I've been in a serious funk for the past couple of days over some personal issues (yes, they're even too personal for my blog) and I kind of hit the low point last night. I left work at a reasonable hour because I wasn't able to focus on anything and decided to walk for a bit instead of hopping on the bus. As I walked down the street, listening to incredibly depressing tunes like "We Might as Well Be Strangers" by Keane, dragging my feet, tears welling in my eyes, I told myself that tomorrow would be different. I'd give myself that night to mope, but then that was it. No more.

I went to bed early but couldn't sleep. It's the most frustrating feeling in the world: being exhausted and miserable and not able to completely shut down. I finally drifted off in to a restless sleep around 2am and still woke up feeling surprisingly refreshed.

As I examined my closet, trying to figure out what the hell to wear, I saw them. My boots. My incredible Donald J. Pliner 4-inch heel calf-skin zebra print boots that I hadn't worn since last spring. I always feel amazing in these boots: I take longer strides, hold my head up high, feel incredibly sexy, and they make my legs feel long and lean (no small feat for these chubby stumps). I knew at that moment that today needed these boots.

As I left my house on this gorgeous late fall day, I really did feel better. I flipped my iPod to a much more upbeat version of Keane (Bend and Break), slipped on my sunglasses, and, quite literally, strutted to the bus stop.

So to you, whether it's with that little black dress, red lipstick, or sparkly earrings that make you feel special, my boots and I say "happy weekend!"

my xmas list....

2007-11-29T16:37:00.000-05:00

.... if I was a gazillionaire (although I guess I would already have all of these things).

1. a Macbook. My laptop met it's end over a year ago and I've realized that my new job may not come along with personal computer use.... all day. It might be helpful if I could do my yelping, blogging and chatting at home. Although we all know that wouldn't happen, it'd be good to have it as an option. This is the most realistic of my xmas list, as I really really need a computer. Any contributions to the cause would be most welcome. :)

2. Katie Holmes' Armani Prive shoes. They are just the most fantastic things ever.

3. This isn't so much an item as a service, but if I was a gazillionaire I bet I could get it anyway. Why on earth is H&M not online? It really drives me absolutely crazy. It's 2007 and most of us prefer to shop online! Grrr. Also, Zara, Club Monaco, could y'all pick up the pace as well? Thanks.

4. The Audi S5. Oh my, it's beautiful. What can I say? I am my father's daughter.

5. A little love muffin. Watch out, this post is about to get too cute for words!!

a musical meme.

2007-11-27T13:41:00.000-05:00

Well kids, I'm feeling lazy and non-creative (it is Tuesday, after all) so I'm just going to entertain y'all with another one of these funky things called memes. You finally get to see how truly spaztastic my music collection is.

MEME Rules:
1. Put your iTunes/ music player on Shuffle
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER WHAT

After you’ve answered all of the questions, tag 5 other people and then let them know they’ve been tagged to do the meme themselves!

IF SOMEONE SAYS “IS THIS OKAY” YOU SAY?
Susudio- Phil Collins
He's right, I mean "susudio" is an incredible word. So much fun!

WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY?
I Go to the Barn- Band of Horses
Hmmm... I don't go to barns all that often. Although I do like horses, and miss riding them very much. I do love this song though, it's so pretty.

WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?
Most People are DJ's: The Hold Steady
Hmm... I've never dated a DJ, and I feel like most of them are pretty lame, but I do have an obsession with the Hold Steady's lead singer's voice. It's like the Boss'. Yum.

HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?
Kill The Power: Snowden
Oh lordy, sooooooo true.

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE’S PURPOSE?
The Impossible Dream: Robert Goulet.
Hahahahahhahaa. A little *too* classic.

WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO?
Stronger: Kanye West.
Ooooo, I likey.

WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
Ndyahimbisa: The African Children's Choir.
Well, considering this song is all in some African language and I don't understand a word of it, I'll just assume that my friends think I'm fun to dance to??

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR PARENTS?
Bright Smile: Josh Ritter.
Awwwwwwwwww.

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
Hey Jude: The Beatles.
But I don't know anyone named Jude!!! Dammit.

WHAT IS 2+2?
Green Gloves: The National.
Hmmm..... maybe because it's an alliteration?

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
Spot In My Heart: Josh Ritter.
Awwwwwwwwwww again.

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
Try Again: Keane.
hahahaha. haha.

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
Silver Bells: Bing Crosby.
I do love Christmas!

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
Mr. Brightside: The Killers.
Hmm... how about Mrs. Brightside??

WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
Hate It Here: Wilco.
Honestly, iTunes knows I'm single. Jeez.

WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
Step it Up: The Bamboos feat. Alice Russell.
Oh man, this is perfection.

WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?
This Is Why I'm Hot: MIMS
That would actually be pretty perfect.

WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
Open Your Heart: Madonna.
I fully condone any Madonna music at my funeral.

WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?
Crazy About You: Whiskeytown.
I guess my crushing could be considered a hobby.

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
I'm Moving On: Rascal Flatts.
Hm. I think everyone knows I'm ready to move on.

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
Lost to the Lonesome: Pela.
Well now, that's kind of sad. Although this song is my jam... it talks about crashing parties, which is something I'd totally do with my friends.

WHAT SHOULD YOU POST THIS AS?
Optimistic: Radiohead.

ho ho ho!

2007-11-26T13:37:00.000-05:00

Hello, friends!

No, you haven't come across a new blog, it's the same old Kiki, just in holiday fashion! I love love LOVE Christmas (*some* may say it's leaning toward obsession) and I just felt like my blog should share the love.

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. I spent my 12 hour drive back with a whole lot of Christmas music and even a little Delilah (quite possibly my biggest guilty pleasure) and it definitely got me in the mood. I can't focus at work today because all I want to do is get home and DECORATE. Instead I'm stuck here with my constantly growing Christmas iTunes playlist, waiting for 5:30 to come!

Here's a sample of my all time top 10 Christmas songs (in no particular order):
1. Little Drummer Boy/ Peace on Earth: David Bowie and Bing Crosby
2. All I Want for Christmas is You: Mariah Carey
3. The First Noel: Josh Groban (the one time of the year my love for Josh Groban can be out in the open)
4. What Child is This: Harry Connick Jr.
5. Last Christmas: Wham!
6. So This is Christmas: John Lennon
7. The Lord's Prayer: Barbara Streisand (it's nostalgic, I suppose. Her "amen" at the end is a classic in my house. It's right up there with her version of Jingle Bells. Whoever told this woman to make a Christmas album was insane... or an absolute genius. I'm not quite sure which.)
8. Christmas Canon: TransSiberian Orchestra
9. Winter Wonderland: Perry Como
10. Where Are You Christmas?: Faith Hill

happy turkey day!

2007-11-20T12:01:00.000-05:00

Well friends, I'm off.

Headed down to South Carolina for a highly dysFUNctional family Thanksgiving. Think 19 adults, 3 babies, and a slew of dogs. It'll be fun, as long as we all practice the family Golden Rule, which means that you must be buzzed at all times at family gatherings. It usually works out pretty well.

I'd love to say that I'll come back 10 lbs. heavier and full of food, but unfortunately I'm not a big Thanksgiving food fan. I know, I know. I'm un-American. I also don't high-five.

i don't even know how to pronounce the word "meme."

2007-11-19T13:58:00.000-05:00

So I'm stealing this from VA's blog because it's the Monday before a whole lot of days off and I have absolutely zero creativity. Kate also "tagged" me for a meme but I don't have 7 blogging friends, so I don't feel like I can really pass it on properly. Plus the whole thing seems like chain letters, which my mom told me were very very illegal. To this day I don't know if that's true, but I'm still a little miffed that I could never participate in the panty swap or whatever other chain letters came my way. Still, I won't ever ever send a chain letter. Freaks me out.

Anyhoo, on to the meme!

I give you money and send you into the grocery store to pick up 5 items. You can only pick one thing from the following departments...what is it?
Produce - Vidalia onions. Yes, I eat them like apples, but that doesn't mean you can.
Bakery – Un baguette! Hon hon hon! Foux da fa fa.... (see video below)
Meat - Boeuf! (I can keep going with this...)
Frozen - CPK Pizzas. Yummmm.
Dry goods - 'Nilla wafers.

Let's say we're heading out for a weekend getaway. You're only allowed to bring 3 outfits with you. So, what's in your bag?
Let's say that this is my worst nightmare. 3 outfits for one weekend?! Not likely.

If I was to listen in on one of your conversations throughout the day, what 5 phrases or words would I be most likely to hear?
1. So, last night... (insert insane drunk story here.)
2. I should yelp this.
3. Fabulous.
4. I hate my job.
5. How long till happy hour?

So, what 3 things do you find yourself doing every single day, and if you didn't get to do, you'd probably be in a pretty irritable/bad mood?
1. Going out with friends.
2. Yelping.
3. Eating.

What are 3 things that you have in your bedroom that have been with you for the longest amount of time?
1. My mattress. I stole it from my old bedroom in the ATL.
2. My mom's signet ring that she gave me when I turned 13.
3. My sheets were my mom's when she was a kid. Soooo soft. :)

If you were only allowed to listen to 5 of your CDs for the rest of your life, never adding anything else, which 5 could you listen to & be content with?
Hmmm, I don't really listen to CD's any more, but I'm relatively music-spastic and I don't think I could choose regardless.

You are driving down the road, and suddenly you're hit with this sense of road rage. What 3 factors probably contributed to it?
1. Poorly timed lights are the bane of my existence in DC.
2. When the street that has no traffic and is actually moving relatively quickly becomes a one way in the wrong direction.
3. When I'm running late and I hit traffic or a moron who drives too slow or anything that impedes me from going far beyond the speed limit.

Sweet, you just scored a whole afternoon to yourself. We're talking a 3 hour block with nobody around. What 5 activities might we find you doing?
1. Napping.
2. Watching bad TV (Oprah!)
3. Running.
4. Shopping.
5. Drooling at the gem room at the Smithsonian.

We're going to the zoo. But, it looks like it could start storming, so it'll have to be a quick visit. What 3 exhibits do we have to get to?
Welllll, since the zoo in DC is FREE (thanks, tax dollars!) I can go as often as I wish so I wouldn't be too upset. Still, I miss the giraffe so if I was at a different zoo I'd definitely check them out. I also love elephants and of course, the pandas.

You just scored tickets to the taping of any show of your choice. You can pick between 5, so what are you deciding between?
I'm assuming this means a TV show...
1. Oprah
2. Price is Right (back in the Bob Barker days, and as long as I don't have to sleep on the street the night before).

Eh, I'm really over TV. 3 concert-shows that I'd love to see:
3. Josh Ritter (yes, AGAIN).
4. The Kooks.
5. Ryan Adams, if I could make the set list.

You're hungry for ice cream. I'll give you a triple dipper ice cream cone. What 3 flavors can I pile on for ya?
1. Mint Chocolate Chip.
2. German Chocolate.
3. Peppermint.

Somebody stole your purse/wallet...in order to get it back, you have to name 5 things you know are inside to claim it. So, what's in there?
Well, my purse's nickname is "Mary" as in a Mary Poppins bag so all I can tell you is that if you wish for something, it's in there. I promise. So to keep it a little less "open" I'll do my wallet.
1. Two pictures of my little brother. Awwww.
2. Absolutely zero dollars in cash. Maybe 1 or 2, on a good day.
3. Waaay too many club cards, some to groceries in cities that I don't even live in anymore.
4. A hot Irish waiter from Fogo de Chao's phone number.
5. Some "You've Been Yelped" cards.

You are at a job fair, and asked what areas you are interested in pursuing a career in. Let's pretend you have every talent and ability to be whatever you wanted, so what 5 careers would be fun for you?
1. Fashion designer.
2. Boutique owner.
3. Dog foster mom. (yeah, if only I could make money doing this)
4. Own a ranch for injured/orphaned/homeless wildlife.
5. Greenpeace crazy-ass protester. Right now I'd be in the boat trying to fight the whalers from Japan. Bastards.

If you could go back and talk to the old you, when you were in high school and inform yourself of 5 things that were going to happen, what would it be?
1. Study harder. It doesn't necessarily matter, but you know you're smarter than this.
2. You won't know what real friends are until you're out on your own, but Camille is just about the best thing that's ever happened to you. Although you know that already.
3. This, this is a straightening iron. It will change your life.
4. Not everyone in the world was lucky enough to be raised like you were. Be openminded to those you disagree with and be understanding towards those who just don't know what the hell you're talking about.
5. You're going to live in Ohio for 4 years. No, I'm not joking.

runway rundown.

2007-11-15T15:52:00.000-05:00

Ok, it's officially back. We can all breathe again.

I had forgotten what the show was like with so many contestants all trying to prove themselves. It was difficult to keep up with who was who, especially since it seems like this season they've seriously upped the number of "alternative" folks. I understand that this is an art competition, but does everyone have to be so stereotypical? It kind of makes me miss the (ack!) Wendy Peppers of the world.

Ok, sorry, I didn't really mean that.

Anyhoo, on with the recap. It's hard to play favorites after only seeing one outfit, but I managed to do it last season with Jeffrey. Needless to say I don't see quite so much of a standout this time around, but I've managed to pick 3 folks that I'll definitely root for, due to both their design skills and their personalities.

1. Kit. I'm sure I'll get some flack for liking her as much as I do, but I can't help it. She's cute, kinda crazy, and I just really like what she did with this dress. I'm excited to see what she'll pull out next.

2. Rami. I think everyone in the free world can agree that this dress is gorgeous. And screw Michael Kors for his comment on the rosette-- I think it adds a wee bit of architecture, which is necessary with all this draping. Rami seems pretty laidback and drama free, which is always good.

3. Jack. In my opinion, this dress is pretty boring. Especially for the first episode when you have so many options. Still, I just love Jack's personality and I think this dress is a sign of what he *could* do.

Obviously I agree with most people in that Elisa-the-crazy should have been sent home, but it doesn't surprise me that they sent home who they did. The crazy always stays around longer than the boring. Also, did you notice at the end while the credits were rolling they said something to the effect of that the producers of the show have a say in who gets voted off? That's definitely new this year, but again it doesn't surprise me.

Also, why are the models so freaking fugly this year? Most of their faces look busted and they can't walk to save their lives. Looks like we need to do a little fashion reality show combo and get Tyra up in there!

the sexiest man in the history of the world.

2007-11-14T16:28:00.000-05:00

Because nothing is sexier than good fashion.

Expect a full Project Runway rundown tomorrow!

sexy rexy!

2007-11-14T13:31:00.000-05:00

People Magazine has published their list for the Sexiest Man Alive, 2007. Aside from the problem I have with grasping the idea of this changing a lot from year to year (do that many sexy men die each year?) I have to contest some of their choices.

People's #1: Matt Damon.

My #1: Clive Owen.

Matt Damon is cute and all, but if we're talking about sexy, we're talking about a tall, sleek, strong-jawed, well-dressed man, with an awesome accent to boot.

People's #2: Patrick Dempsey.
My #2: Leonardo diCaprio.
I've even surprised myself that I've put Leo here-- I was never into him during the whole Titanic thing. He was just too pretty for me, like Patrick Dempsey is for me now. Everyone loves a hot environmentalist.

People's #3: Ryan Reynolds.

My #3: Daniel Craig.

Ryan Reynolds?!?! WTF? His PR people shoud get a SERIOUS raise for that one. I love Daniel Craig for his piercing blue eyes, snappy clothes, ears that stick out a little, and that oh-so-wonderful badunkadunk. (I can't believe I just said that either.)

People's #4: Brad Pitt.

My #4: Brad Pitt works for me!

People's #5: James McAvoy.

My #5: Taye Diggs.

I do find James McAvoy cute and charming and I thought he was awesome in The Last King of Scotland (totally deserved an Oscar) but I wouldn't call him sexy. Especially in this picture. Does anyone else think he looks just a wee bit like Claire Danes?

Other insanity on People's part:

Ok, so Javier Bardem looks rather sexy here and I understand he's got these two huge movies out right now that are going to completely change his career. I get it. But for those of us who have just recently seen No Country for Old Men this is terrifying. He is by far the most creepy, scary, genius-pyscho villain that I've seen in a movie in a loooong time. I had nightmares. So I'd rather not see him staring up at me from the glossy pages of my overpriced People magazine. Thanks.

And let's counter that terror with this!

Ok, new crush here with Dave (People's #7). He's precious, his dog is precious, and we have the same favorite pick-up line! (let's not discuss that I have a favorite pick-up line. I know it's weird.) I absolutely love him (and the equally gorgeous Rob Lowe) on Brothers and Sisters as it's the only show that I actually keep up with these days. But Justin, stop doing the drugs! Your family loves and supports you. Save that pretty face of yours. :)

my boys.

2007-11-14T12:32:00.000-05:00

Well, kids, the news is good. Very good. It's sounding like Tom Glavine has finally re-found his soul and is going to get out of that icky Mets uniform and come back to Atlanta. I never understood why Tommy left in the first place: he is loved by Atlantans, actually gets along with Bobbby Cox, and his family still lives there. The final decision will most likely be announced this afternoon, but things are looking good for a reunion from the Glory Days.

It all just takes me back to the '91 and '92 seasons, when I was just a wee girl who loved baseball. But it wasn't just me, EVERYONE loved baseball. The Braves were more important than God. Literally. We prayed for them and did the tomahawk chop in church. We got time out of school to recover from watching the World Series until the wee hours of the morning. The grocery stores were decorated, lightposts turned in to tomahawks, and it's all anyone could talk about. John Smoltz and Tom Glavine were the Golden Boys-- they could do no wrong. People around the country may talk about where they were when we landed on the moon or when they first discovered my blog (it's true, everyone talks about it) but in Atlanta we talk about where we were when Sid slid. It was an incredible time to live in Atlanta and even though both seasons ended in final disappointment, I think all Atlantans still view them as the best seasons in Braves' history. I can't even watch this video without tearing up, and I'd assume that I'm not the only one.

I just love my Atlanta Braves, and no one can tell me otherwise.

Here are some excerpts from a great article I found. You can read in its entirety here.

Cabrera's Lightning Stroke Anoints Braves
By Thomas Boswell

ATLANTA - When a former president of the United States jumps the box seat railing, dodges police horses and breaks the law so he can run onto the field to hug and kiss the players, you know it was a pretty good country ballgame.

Actually, when the hometown Atlanta Braves score three runs in the bottom of the ninth inning of the seventh game of the playoffs for a 3-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates to win the National League pennant, it's not really a ballgame. It's a piece of mythology dropped into our communal life like some ultimate innocent confection. No, it hasn't been done like this -- three runs in the bottom of the ninth to pull out the pennant -- since Bobby Thomson's Shot Heard 'Round the World in 1951. So we can talk about it forever and feel warm and silly every time. We can spend the rest of our lives saying, "Don't leave until the last out. Remember Francisco Cabrera."

Yes, the name is Francisco Cabrera. You never heard of him. Now, everybody who loves the Atlanta Braves, everybody who loves baseball, loves Francisco Cabrera. Whoever he is. From now on, whenever the bases are loaded with two outs and your team is a run down, you'll pay attention, because if Francisco Cabrera can rifle one into left field to win it all, then anybody can.
"It's ironic," said Pirates Manager Jim Leyland, "that the guy they added on the 31st of August is the guy who beat us."

At 11:52 p.m. on Wednesday night, Jimmy Carter -- of the peanut-farming Georgia Carters -- wanted to kiss this Senor Cabrera. However, it's unseemly for an ex-president to crawl to the bottom of a pile of 20 big league players, heaped up along the first-base line, just to say, "Hello, Francisco. Wanted to tell ya that's one helluva way to win the pennant for us, son. They'll probably be talking about you 'round here after they've forgotten me."

Almost nobody had ever heard of Cabrera until last night, unless you follow the Richmond Braves. He came to bat just 10 times for the Braves this season. With the National League season down to its final out, he was all the Braves had left. The bench was empty. It was either Cabrera or activate the batboy. With the Pirates still ahead 2-1 and pulling fresh miracles out of their pockets each inning, Cabrera -- pinch-hitting for tiny Rafael Belliard -- was the last chance.
He was all the Braves needed.

Now, he'll be remembered as long as they play softball in Plains.

Where David Justice, Terry Pendleton, Jeff Blauser and Ron Gant had failed -- sometimes agonizingly, sometimes by a hair's breadth -- Cabrera succeeded. On a 2-1 pitch from Stan Belinda -- poor sidearming Stan Belinda who never hurt nobody but will now live forever next to Ralph Branca and Donnie Moore -- Cabrera hit a clean bullet of a single in the hole to left field.
David Justice trotted home to tie the game. But what about Sid Bream, the slowest Brave, the human moving van, the guy with the knee braces, what about him? You going to send him home from second or hold him at third?

Send him, for the Lord's sake. It's only Barry Bonds in left field. The best left fielder in the league -- the fastest at charging the ball and the man with the strongest arm. But, go on, send Sid Bream. Lend him a dolly.

And here Sid came, running faster than he ever had in his life and slower than you could imagine your Uncle Ralph on Sunday afternoon. Where was Barry? Playing on the warning track? Well, almost. Bonds played a conspicuously deep left field the entire inning. But he came charging, scooping and, finally, unleashing as strong a heave as you'll see to the plate.

If it had been on line, Sid Bream would have been back out at first base with a glove in the 10th inning and they'd be measuring third base coach Jimy Williams for a coffin in a shallow grave in the morning. If the throw had only been a little off line -- a pretty good throw -- you can bet umpire Randy Marsh would have called him out on general principles. If you're Sid Bream, you've got to score clean to get any calls.

But Bonds's throw was at least two paces up the first base line. Spanky LaValliere did all a catcher can do. Which means Bream was safe by six inches.

Nobody ever gets to make any wisecracks about Carter and softball again. The man he sought out in the postgame melee -- and it was a world-class mess -- was third base coach Williams. Carter gave him a long The-Buck-Stops-Here hug.

In baseball, you wait and wait, crushing peanuts, ordering another beer, filling out your scorecard, all in anticipation of the split-second that will decide everything. You wait for the moment of lightning.

Perhaps redemption really is at hand, alive in every moment as the Plains preachers say. His name is Francisco Cabrera of the Dominican Republic. Bats right-handed. Career average, .257. Position, catcher. Last man activated for the playoffs, on Aug. 31.

He is baseball's perverse idea of fate. And he may be remembered down here in Georgia longer than quite a few presidents.

a VERY belated rip.

2007-11-08T16:56:00.000-05:00

I've been meaning to write this post forever, but it just keeps slipping my mind. My blog wouldn't be complete without a post dedicated to the man, the myth, the legend: Mr. Robert Goulet.

Goulet!

seriously, this is how my brain works.

2007-11-07T16:33:00.000-05:00

1. I realized today that you can put any consonant in place of the blank here: skee-ed and it describes the feeling of beingly slightly grossed/weirded out. The same goes for skee-y. I'm serious! Try it out.

skeezed, skeeved, skeeted, skeeped, skeebed, skeeked (ok, that sounds dirty), skeered...

2. I have a little calendar that has a quote for every month. This month's is:

"Once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return."- Leo da Vinci (yeah, I can call him Leo).

The perplexing thing about this quote is that usually the quotes have something to do with the month for which they are displayed: flowers in May, summer in July, etc. It's rather interesting that they have this random-ass quote about flight for November, the month of Thanksgiving, when we all sit around and eat a mostly-flightless bird.

daily randoms.

2007-11-06T15:53:00.000-05:00

1. Only in DC would one walk by a homeless woman who was not asking for food, or money, or even a cigarette. No, the woman was asking for lotion. She was SCREAMING "Oooooo, I'm ashy! You got lotion? I need lotion!" The thing is, if I had some, I totally would have given it to her.

2. Tonight is the Yelp Elite shindig, which means tomorrow is the monthly day of Hangover. Big hangover. Scorching hangover. Oh, and trivia that night. Woot!

3. Had my first Annandale experience on Sunday night. It was... special. Annandale isn't too far away but it's like a whole other world full of Koreans and strip shopping malls. And Korean shopping malls. It's bigger and more "accurate" (for lack of a better word at the moment) than DC's Chinablock and also has a lot better food. Seriously, this place should be called yelpland because I think I recognized the name of nearly every place as a yelp favorite. The soondubu at Lighthouse Tofu was no exception, at least until we got kicked out for being too loud. Ooops. Apparently Annandale can't handle the loudness of we yelpers.

4. I was sitting at a work luncheon today, and just happened to notice that every single man had a wedding band and only one woman did, and the room was a pretty even 50/50 gender split. I'm too tired to really comment/analyze, but I just found it interesting.

word of the day: jorts (jôrts) n. jean shorts. icky.

office-mate banter of the day:
o-m: you know, i don't think that proper working women wear those, um, you know, fishnets to work.
me: well at least my legwear came from the adult section of the department store, unlike those obvious kids-department socks you've got on there.
o-m: yes, you OBVIOUSLY shop in the ADULT section, if you know what i mean.

Oooo, innuendos at work. They don't translate so well into blogdom but it was all pretty hysterical. At least to those of us who are strung out at the end of the day at work.

a bit of light reading.

2007-11-02T15:36:00.001-04:00

Sorry for the copy and paste, but this article just resonates with me. Especially since I applied to 6 jobs today. Oy.

Fulfillment Elusive for Young Altruists In the Crowded Field of Public Interest
By Ian Shapira Washington Post Staff Writer Friday, November 2, 2007; Page A01

Armed with a Georgetown University diploma, Beth Hanley embarked in her 20s on a path hoping to become a professional world-saver. First she worked at nonprofit Bread for the World. Then she taught middle school English in central Africa with the Peace Corps. Finally, to certify her idealism, she graduated last spring with a master's degree in international relations from Johns Hopkins University.

But now the 29-year-old faces a predicament shared by many young strivers in Washington's public interest field. After years of amassing so many achievements, they struggle to find full-time employment with decent pay and realize they might not get exactly what they set out for. Hanley, a think tank temp who dreams of aiding the impoverished and reducing gender discrimination in developing countries, is stuck.

"I knew this would be difficult," said Hanley, an Illinois native who lives in Adams Morgan. "A lot of people say, 'At some point, you're going to have to decide to explore other options,' and I guess I would start applying for jobs in other fields I don't care so much about. But I haven't gotten at all to that point."

Numerous young Washingtonians bemoan the improvisational and protracted career track of the area's public interest profession. They say the high competition for comparatively low-paying jobs saps their sense of adulthood, forcing them to spend their 20s or early 30s moving from college to work to graduate school and back to work that might or might not be temporary.
These wannabe world-changers, ubiquitous in Washington, New York, and San Francisco appear to be part of a larger demographic trend in which this age group is pushing off marriage and kids. The do-gooders' wanderings often clash with the expectations of parents who want them to stay longer in jobs and settle down.

"The public interest sector is a poorly funded one, and its organizations cannot afford to pay highly educated young people anything like what they would command on the open market. That makes it difficult for these young adults in their 20s to contemplate long careers," said William Galston of the Brookings Institution, author of "The Changing 20s," a study published last month. "But that doesn't mean they're willing to forgo the opportunity to work there."

Many globally minded people choose to work for nongovernmental organizations, or NGOs, that advocate certain causes. Others opt for higher pay at the State Department, the World Bank, financial firms or consulting companies that specialize in emerging markets and international development. But getting any of these jobs, especially those based overseas, is tough.
Those who select the NGO route say they have it the hardest.

Valerie Schaeublin, 28, a program officer specializing in international affairs for a Washington nonprofit, was fortunate to begin her career at one organization and stay for five years. Now, she is restless and fears that her NGO has limited upward mobility. But she also worries whether her ambition has atrophied.

"It's a stagnant time. It's confused by the fact that I am happy, but I know I need to move on to something else," said Schaeublin, who coordinates State Department-sponsored trips by foreign leaders to the United States. "Maybe you forgo the next step because you're comfortable. But responsibilities are weighing in on you. You're not 22 anymore."

Even though premium NGO jobs have always been relatively scarce, more people seem to be angling for that world. The number of international affairs grad school applicants to Georgetown, Johns Hopkins and George Washington universities rose 63 percent in the five years after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, compared with the total from the previous five years, data from the schools show. Enrollment in the programs increased more than 30 percent in the five years after the attacks, and the percentage of applicants admitted declined.

Those who graduate from the prestigious schools often start with a salary comparable to the annual tuition. At GWU's Elliott School of International Affairs, where tuition exceeds $40,000 a year, graduates who pursued nonprofit work found a market in which the average salary ranged from $38,000 to $48,000, according to the program's 2005-06 employment report.

Dina Khanat, 26, in her second and final year at the Elliott School, said she is grateful for her job but at the same time feels stalled.
"I feel like I am doing so bad. I think about this all the time. I graduated at 21 a year early with a double major. . . . Now I am going to graduate with a master's when I am 27," said Khanat, who just got a job as a program assistant at an NGO that promotes democracy. "But I really feel like by 27, I expect to be two or three years into work. You're supposed to have a career; you know what you're doing. . . . I don't feel settled."

Of thousands of NGOs in the region, many focus on such issues as children's health or farmer education in developing countries. But the supply of jobs is limited because the organizations have lean budgets built from government funding and private donations, said Barbara Wallace, vice president for membership and standards at InterAction, an NGO umbrella group.

Chief executives for NGOs, Wallace said, have told her: "Well, yeah, if we had the money, we'd be doing more. We can never hire as many as we want to hire." Wallace said her organization drew more than 100 applicants for a policy associate position. "The industry really needs to look at how to provide more avenues for young, educated people," she said.
Grad school officials say that the issue surfaces constantly.

"We spend a lot of time here on goals clarification," said Martin Tillman, associate director of career services at the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins. "Students come into my office and think, 'I am a smart kid; I got into a great graduate school. I had wonderful grades in college. It should be a piece of cake to identify a position for myself.' One has to clarify that -- and one has to be clear about the range of salary."

Young people maneuvering within the NGO landscape say an odd feeling settles in by the time they are ready to start a job: They feel "old," but they don't truly feel like adults because they earn modest salaries and have limited responsibilities. Galston's study reported that about 30 percent of those in their late 20s and early 30s had mixed views on whether they had reached adulthood.

One night last month, Hanley had beers at the Topaz Hotel in Dupont Circle with a friend who had also just earned an international affairs degree and was job hunting.
"I have friends who did investment banking," Hanley said. "They were making more when they were 22. I don't think I'll ever make that. They seem more grown-up. But they seem miserable. Wait -- they seem fine. I would be miserable if I were them."

She continued: "A couple of them made comments to me suggesting I haven't grown up, like, 'I've been working for five years -- isn't that incredible?' "

At least for now, Hanley said, disillusionment has not set in. Indeed, she just turned down an offer from a for-profit consulting firm to manage a government contract. It paid well, but she was not ready to jump off the international aid track.

She's still holding out for the ideal: a job that takes her to Africa for health projects and gender relations issues. As she continues temping, Hanley scours e-mail forums for job possibilities and sets up interviews -- some with real stakes, some informational.

One evening, she stumbled onto an intriguing posting. The Open Society Institute was advertising a "mid-level" position to develop strategies and identify priorities for its mission in Africa. "They want someone with a law degree, but they will consider advanced degrees in a related field," she said, head nodding, hopefully. "I could apply to this."

wtf.

2007-11-01T12:11:00.000-04:00

Today's Horoscope: Gemini: Check your SPAM filter or junk mail this week or you might miss something important that ended up in there by accident.

Honestly, this is the best they can give me? I checked my SPAM folder and unless the heavens are trying to tell me that I need an enlarged penis, this is complete bullshit.

I promise a "real" post will come soon but I'm still a bit frenzied with post-dinner stuff. I made it through, though, with no real problems. Phew!

our one year anniversary.

2007-10-29T16:21:00.000-04:00

It's Halloween 2006. I'm a little down because my party plans fell through, so I head to Goodwill because I'm broke and bored. I'm a little embarrassed to be doing "real" shopping with all of the people looking for costumes, but considering I furnished my apartment through these stores in Atlanta, I know I can always find some goodies. As I'm on my way up to the checkout counter with my vintage hammered Coke glasses, I see them: 3 and a half inch delicate heels, shimmery pewter Italian leather, sexy wrap around slingback strap at the ankle. I look closer and my dreams are confirmed as the simple white and black label runs down the sole. That's right. Manolo Blahniks. I run to them, eyes on the prize, knocking down small children and elderly women on my way. As I slip them on and realize they are exactly my size, I get goosebumps and tears begin to well in my eyes. I turn my new prize over, examine the barely worn leather sole, and shriek with utter joy. $5.99. As I run to the checkout counter in complete bliss, I can't help but hug the cashier. Vowing to return once a week, I flit out of the store and proceed to call everyone I know to tell them about this miraculous day.

go me!

2007-10-26T15:45:00.000-04:00

Well, apparently I've hit the big time and received a shout-out from dcblogs.com. Hooray! It's a big week for me. In addition to the blog love, I got quoted by a pretty decent environmental org. in some of their workshop materials. I'll keep the details to that one to myself in an attempt to somewhat protect my psuedo-anonymity, but it's all pretty exciting. I'm sorry, just give me a minute to toot my own horn.

toot toot..... toot.

Okay, I'm done now.

For those of you just joining us, stick around a stay a while. I'd love to be able to write something fabulous for you all, but it's 4:00 on the Friday before my gargantuan work event and I'm tapped out. Plus the Chimay and Delirium (on TAAAAAP!) at Matchbox are calling my name.

Y'all come back now, ya hear?!

an ode to stupidity.

2007-10-25T14:12:00.000-04:00

So today it's raining. It rained yesterday, too. To be honest I'm cool with it because it's starting to finally feel a bit like fall. The whole point of this little weather report is to validate the point of this point, which is that Crocs remove humans' ability to be classified as intelligent beings. You may think this is an outlandish statement and for that I will tell you that you are WRONG you Croc-lover.

This morning, as I'm waiting for the bus (ps. I HATE you this week, Metro. Come back to me soon.) I see a relatively cute guy who's dressed all outdoorsy: North Face coat, cords, backpack, etc. But his shoes. Oh dear Lord his shoes. Baby blue Crocs with woolen socks underneath. Now I ask you, dear readers, to please explain to me why on EARTH someone would look outside, see that it's raining, and decide that this was the perfect opportunity to don his shoes that have HOLES in them. Aren't his socks going to get all gross and wet? I'm aware he's wearing wool socks that wick moisture, but why would he even put himself in this position? It hurts my head to think about.

After staring (not inconspicuously) at his shoes for a good 10 minutes, I came to the realization that I just don't think I could be friends with someone who wears Crocs. It's not a "I can't be friends with non-fashionable people" thing at all. It's a difference in thinking, in brain function. I can't look at Croc-wearer and respect them as an intelligent human being. I just can't do it. I know we've all made our own fashion mistakes due to trends, but this is one that I'll just never understand. Rubber shoes with holes in them. At least the jellies that I lived in as a young girl were sparkly! The justification of them being comfortable or whatever is just shit. I don't believe it. I don't care if it feels like you're walking on clouds, mister: your shoes still have gaping holes in them.

Stupid quote of the day (courtesy of Bex):
"Many people die from cold-related deaths every winter. And there are studies that say that climate change in certain areas of the world would help those individuals" -- WH press sec. Dana Perino, staying positive ( Examiner).
*she's probably a Croc-wearer. Because creating ugly ass shoes out of fossil fuels is even MORE genius!

mooooooooovie.

2007-10-24T14:41:00.000-04:00

Ok, The Loff sent me this link and well, I'm excited, to say the very very least.

I mean, Johnathan Rhys Meyers is a hottie, Keri Russell is my BFF, Terrence Howard is gorgeous, and it actually looks like Robin Williams will be cute and funny again! Yay! Plus that little kid was Peter in Finding Neverland!!! How precious is he?!

back to life, back to reality.

2007-10-22T15:16:00.000-04:00

I'm on my 5th mug of green tea for the day (yay antioxidants!) and I feel like a new woman. Except when I move. Then pain shoots through my neck and shoulders and makes me want to cry/get a serious massage. I remember driving from ATL to Ohio solo with no problems. Oh, my youth.

The weekend was awesome, except for the whole driving through massive traffic/torrential downpour part. Margo's place is oh-so-awesome, as were her pumpkin muffins. We had to go to a leadership summit for all day on Saturday but it wasn't nearly as bad as I expected. I had great fun catching up with Baderg and Jimbo (former bosses) as well as all of the other Funders. Denison looked as beautiful as always and Granville is just the cutest thing ever. Sitting outside of Whit's after a stroll down Broadway made me seriously consider quitting, packing up, and moving to Granville. It's hard not to love, especially when the leaves are changing. Besides the pumpkin crop being so terrifyingly low, Ohio was in it's full fall force.

After the summit on campus and the Whit's downtown, we met up with Andy and Co. for a quick beer at Brews (CHIMAAAAY!). Quick dinner with all the ladies at The Happy Greek and then more Chimay along with some Catchphrase and re-connecting with The Loff (yes roommate, that's my new nickname for you. Rhymes with The Hoff. Pretty awesome, I know). We imbibed a bit in the Arena District, hit up an awesome gyro cart, set off some security lighting, and finally made our way back to the Loff's house. I've got to say it was nice to be in a "real" house. I know I live in a house, but it's never the same when you're renting.

The Loff's parents provided us with a pretty awesome breakfast, complete with cupcakes, and then we set off on our journey to find the best Halloween costumes of all time. I'm not going to give away what we're going to be, but let's just say: mission accomplished.

So now it's back to the grind. Today was going okay until I got a skeezy phone call about an hour ago. It was a guy that I had met at the Yelp Elite party 2 weeks ago. He's not a Yelper-- I just ended up talking to him at the restaurant for a bit, he was with friends, I was drunk and telling them about Yelp. Well, I apparently mentioned where I worked because HE TRACKED ME DOWN. I did not give him a card, a number, my last name, anything. He called the main number and somehow got transferred to me. I gave him zero signs that I was interested, except maybe in my drunken antics he was mistaken. Well, he wants to take me out to dinner and apparently won't take no for an answer. I think I've bought myself some time (like 2 or 3 days) until he calls back but I don't know his number so I can't screen. Ugh. Why do normal cute guys not track me down? I suppose because tracking a girl down after she mentions where she works makes you so not cute and normal.

rooooooaddddd tripppppp.

2007-10-19T14:51:00.001-04:00

feeling productive.

2007-10-12T16:15:00.000-04:00

Today, I have shown my boss how to:

1. Access the network folders.
2. Save a document.
3. Close Microsoft Word.
4. Count.

Oy.

so true.

2007-10-12T10:54:00.000-04:00

the last thing i should be doing right now.

2007-10-11T14:17:00.001-04:00

Ok, I promise-- I'm really, really busy. My computer freaked out on me this morning and I spent 2 hours with the lovely tech guys trying to fix it. Not fun. I've been working like crazy and being really productive until I decided to take a break, pull up Johanna's blog, and find THIS. Oh my goodness. I can put outfits together online? Just like a little paper doll? Heaven!

So, in honor of the first real day of Fall (as in, the temperature will not surpass 90 degrees), I've made a lovely fall outfit for all of you to enjoy. This is something that I hope to do more often (especially when I don't have, you know, a JOB to focus on) and I promise the outfit will always cost less than $200. I know it'd be a lot more fun to put together couture, but I know that my readers (myself included) appreciate a good buy. My closet consists of Forever 21, H&M, and Target and I still love it. See Mom, I'm a bargain shopper, just like you! :)

daily randoms.

2007-10-10T13:55:00.000-04:00

1. I am terribly hungover. The Yelp Elite event at Mio last night was awesome awesome, but I imbibed a bit too much in caipirinhas, which is apparently not a good idea. I don't think it was so much the amount of alcohol as the amount of sugar that killed me, although the gin and tonic at Stan's may have done me in. Oops. Needless to say, I woke up this morning feeling like absolute death, almost passed out in the shower, and had to get off the bus early in an attempt to keep myself from getting sick. Not a good start to the day.

2. Up until lunch about an hour ago, I hadn't eaten in about 24 hours apart from 3 or 4 little hors d'oeuvres I had at Mio last night. This might explain the way I was feeling this morning. At around 12:30, on the edge of passing out, I decided to make my way down to the Corner Bakery for their Turkey Frisco sandwich. This is not a meal I usually partake in-- it's carby, fatty, oily, but oh-my-god-so-freaking-good. I was pretty excited about the artichoke hearts, sauteed onions, and yummy bread. I walked in and looked at the menu and couldn't find it! It's been replaced by some crap-tastic Turkey Harvest sandwich. Ew. So disappointing.

3. I was just invited to a fashion show at Neiman Marcus that's hosted by Paul Hastings. I'm going.... with my boss. It was really sweet of her to invite me as she knows I love fashion, but I still can't see how this isn't going to be awkward. Just a little too worlds-colliding or something like that. I mean, it's not like she and I ever hang out outside of the office. Ever. She's nutty. And more importantly, what the hell am I going to wear!??!?

4. The girlies begin to arrive on Thursday! Woo! I can't believe its already here and October is nearly half over. It's been so busy that the time is seriously flying. It also doesn't feel like October outside (cough 90 DEGREES cough) but I'm hoping that changes over the weekend. I'm so excited to have all of the girls in town (we'll miss you, Jenni!) but to be honest I have no idea what we're going to do, besides play Kings and make goals, of course.

Quote of the day: My grandmother, while I'm driving down a cobblestone street in Georgetown: "Oh, wouldn't this just be an AWFUL street to ride on if you had hemorrhoids?!"

My family is one of a kind. One. of. a. kind.

monday. ugh.

2007-10-08T11:13:00.001-04:00

It's only 11:15 and today is already not going well. Shall I count the ways?

1. Slept through the alarm. Hair is now a curly frizzy mess.
2. Super-glued my fingers shut. Oops.
3. My pumpkin muffin was frozen in the middle. I ate it anyway.
4. My bus was not running this morning because it was a "holiday." Bastards.
5. Because of bus problems, I arrived to work late and completely forgot about a meeting. Luckily made it just in time.
6. There was lots and lots of fighting at the meeting among my bosses. Eeek.
7. Left my headphones at home and will therefore have no music today. It's gonna be hard to get through!

I'll give an update on the weekend post-lunch (or maybe tomorrow) when I'm in a better mood. I hope I hope I hope I hope!

daily randoms.

2007-10-05T15:54:00.000-04:00

1. 'Splain this one to me. I ordered some stamps from usps.com because we like to use the pretty environmentally-conscious ones that come in a big pretty panel and the ladies at the post office always give me dirty looks when I ask for 20 sheets of them. The website informed me that the stamps would ship within a day, I ordered them on Wednesday early morning. I received a tracking number late yesterday afternoon and get this... it doesn't work. The freaking United States Postal Service can't manage to ship their own package. I still have not received the stamps, which is problematic because I have eleventy billion letters to send before the weekend. Oops. Stupid post office. Argh.

2. I have been working all day. Yes, actually working. And talking to Camille. But still, majority working. What have I been doing that's oh-so important? Addressing envelopes. Yes folks, I have my college degree and I have spent the last 6 hours addressing envelopes. I have to change my handwriting to keep myself entertained. It's painful. I've just completed one set for one luncheon, now on to another! Sick.

3. I am so unbelievably happy that it is Friday. This weekend's going to be a little crazy as the famdamily is in town and let's just say we put the fun in dysfunctional. Eeeesh. It's going to be insane. I'm also working on Sunday-- not sure why I thought that would be a good idea. I could *really* use a day off, especially after this hellish week.

4. The boutique had its grand opening party last night and it was fab.u.lous. Lots of pretty people, pretty clothes, and pretty drinks. Good good times. I do love all the girls that work there, so we have a good time together. While being surrounded by pretty things. Not too rough. :)

5. Do you get Columbus day off? Yes? I hate you. I hate living in DC where people actually get those ridiculous holidays off. No break till Thanksgiving! Wooooooooo.

At this point I'm about to fall asleep at my desk, so I should probably try to keep moving with this addressing envelopes fun. I'm such a lucky girl. So this doesn't become a complete Debbie Downer entry, I'll leave you all with this:

Yaaay SatC movie! I'm a little weirded out that I like Miranda's "look" the best though. Her hair is outstanding.

eeeeeeeeeeeeek.

2007-10-03T15:31:00.000-04:00

It's only day 3 of October, aka the month of insanity, and I'm already exhausted. I was at the office until the double-digit hours last night (yuck) and back again early this morning. I try and I try (and I screw around on the internets) and the work continues to pile up. I'm broker than broke (will be drinking water tonight) and all kinds of cranky: I'm angry at my supervisors, the weather (when will it get cold, please?!), myself, and my toe (how can you hurt and be itchy at the same time?!?! how!?). At times like these, I have to remind myself of the good things:

1. I still have one of Erin's pumpkin chocolate chip cupcakes in the fridge. I've already eaten 3. I love Erin.
2. Trivia tonight. Richard is coming all the way from Baltimore-- glorious!
3. I am so loving my latest manicure: OPI's Siberian Nights. My hands look oh-so-goth with my big black rose ring.
4. Barley the Labrador Retriever.
5. It's pumpkin season. My most favorite season of all. Pumpkins galore!

Quote of the day (actually from yesterday)
Christmas trees were not meant to be on display from Jesus' birthday to his resurrection. That's just not right. *I promise I'll have it down early this year, roomie!!*

helllloooooo.

2007-10-01T15:24:00.000-04:00

Ok, things are crazy busy around here so I don't have a whole lot of time to chat (yes, I feel like I'm chatting with you wonderful readers. At least the ones who post comments. 'Cause chatting is a two-way thing. But whatever.) but I just wanted to let y'all know that I had a splendid time in the Chi-town. Got to catch up with my boy Andy and see my sister, which is always good times. We feasted on deep dish pizza, shopped till we dropped, and watched an awesome Lifetime movie. A pretty sweet weekend in my opinion.

However, I returned to DC realizing that I had absolutely failed in one of my fall goals. I took 2 pictures. The entire trip. And one is a super dark and therefore unrecognizable shot of the Harpo sign. Here:

Perhaps my goal should be to work on my photography skills? Ooops.

But, in better news, I did manage to capture this one from the Safeway parking lot:

Oooooooooohh. Aaaaaaaahhhhhh. The Safeway parking lot is oh-so scenic.

long weekend.

2007-09-27T09:16:00.000-04:00

In Chi-town for the weekend!!

best. joke. ever.

2007-09-26T16:37:00.000-04:00

Q: What's brown and sticky?

A: A stick.

I seriously laughed until I cried from that one. Still giggling. Pure genius.

note to self.

2007-09-26T12:56:00.000-04:00

Don't try to fix your bed (which involves lifting and moving your mattress and box spring) by yourself. It's silly. You end up with box spring indentations along your back and you're in a hell of a lot of pain the next day. I would recommend enlisting the help of roommates or manly neighbors if needed.

obsession.

2007-09-25T16:54:00.000-04:00

I have had tomato basil soup for at least one meal every day of the past 7. I think that makes me officially addicted. Is it possible to get a lycopene overdose? Someone help me. I can't stop!

goals.

2007-09-24T13:52:00.001-04:00

So back in the days of yore (ie. college) my good girlfriends and I would have a meeting (usually around a dinner/brunch table or a game of Kings) to discuss the semester/break's goals for one another. The goals ran the gamut: hooking up with particular guys or in particular places, wearing certain things, or doing other ridiculous things on campus. I'm proud to say that I fulfilled all but one of my goals, as I am just not the kind of girl who would wear sweats to class. Even if my bffs want me to. But I will dance on top of the low-key campus bar (twice), hook up with a particular guy within 24 hours of the goal being set, and meet someone from craigslist (a post-college goal).

So even though I'm not surrounded by my besties, I've still decided on a couple of fall goals for myself, to be completed by the first day of winter. They're not nearly as salacious or interesting as the ones that my mind-constantly-in-gutter friends could come up with, but still, here they are:

1) Perfect the cat-eye:

2) Rock the cuffed jeans with saddle shoes. Make it my "signature."

3) Find a new job to LOVE.

4) Take more pictures. Lots more.

5) Survive October. It's going to be the craziest month of all time.

6) Bake something directly from a pumpkin (I've done it before, but I want to try something other than a pie).

7) Hit the 200 mark for yelp reviews.

I'm sure I'll add more (at least mentally) as time goes on, but this is it for now. It's out there, in the open, and expect all of you to hold me to it.

daily randoms.

2007-09-21T15:06:00.000-04:00

Today has been so incredibly busy I just don't know what to do with myself. The Dinner planning is in full force and all of my procrastination is totally catching up with me. Ooops. Still, I have been neglecting this blog like wo so I figured I'd at least take 10 minutes out and write a bit. You lucky dogs, you!

1) The high stress levels at work may be due to the fact that my headphones broke. About 2 weeks ago I came into the office to find that one of the earbuds had been decapitated! I couldn't even find the little bud anywhere. Poor guy. Now there's just some copper wiring hanging out from one of the extensions, but the other earbud picked up the pace and I was still able to jam out. Then this morning rolled along and the little man just gave up... he couldn't do it anymore without his companion. I know he died of a broken heart, but it was piss poor timing. I really could have used some tunes today. I guess I'll just have to wait until I fly again and can steal another cheap-ass set from the plane. Luckily I still have my earphones for my iPod. Otherwise we'd be in REAL trouble.

2) Last night I baked a cake for Read's bday and I decided on a super scrumptious cookies and cream cake. This necessitated me buying Oreos, which I don't think I've done in about 8 years or so. Well, kids, they've changed!! No, no, not the precious cookies inside... the packaging! It's incredible. The plastic on the top peels back, revealing all 3 rows of cookie goodness at one time. It's genius, really. Changed the way I look at Oreos.

3) Dance party Saturday night at Chief Ike's. You need to be there. I'm not kidding.

Quote of the day: "dude, whatever. you know lebowski may be the greatest movie of all time. that would be like making fun of someone for being a fan of the sistine chapel."

the winds of change.

2007-09-18T10:09:00.000-04:00

I love transitional seasons. Fall is starting to arrive in DC: you can feel it in the air and I it makes me so happy every time I go outside. Even though it's supposed to get back up in the 80's next week (eww) I have officially made the switch to fall. I've packed up my seersuckers and white jeans and pulled out my cotton scarves and "real" shoes. I've got my fall manicure, changed from my aquamarine ring to my favorite garnet, and put away my summer perfume in exchange for my more musky fall scent. Even though I've always lived in a pretty mild climate (forgetting those 4 years in evil, evil, cold Ohio), I relish the four seasons and their distinct qualities. I like to change things from season to season: it's like welcoming back old friends. Despite my love for all of these changes, my most favorite thing about the fall has got to be the pumpkin.

exactly 2 months from today...

2007-09-14T12:17:00.001-04:00

... Project Runway Season 4 begins.

Thank. The. Lord.

funny funny.

2007-09-13T17:45:00.000-04:00

Ok, I know this is totally random but for some reason I thought about this sketch today and just about cracked up. I saw him at the Roost (my college's on-campus bar)(yeah, we were stuck in Ohio so they gave us a bar) and had never heard the sketch before and cried my eyes out the entire time. I remember Kyle and I, sitting in the front row, not being able to catch our breath. Hysterical. One of my favorite college memories. Now he's performing in DC for $42 a ticket. I miss college.

Even more funny is that apparently about two weeks ago my Dad just walked into the living room, uttered "hooottttt pocckkkkkettt" and walked out. Yeah, my family is weird like that.

ps. is it Friday yet?

genius.

2007-09-12T12:27:00.000-04:00

My new business venture: El Pollo Rico, downtown DC. I would make MILLIONS.

More to come later (maybe today, maybe tomorrow) on VA vs. DC. It's been a hot topic among my crew lately. Obviously, DC wins, so why does VA get the Rico??

i fear i'm getting old.

2007-09-10T14:34:00.000-04:00

Dear MTV:

What has happened to you, old friend? I mean, I know that you've been going downhill for the past few years. Even though we've all complained about the lack of actual music on "Music Television," you still haven't changed your programming and have in fact become far worse than we could have ever imagined. The bad reality programming, constant product placement, and lack of knowledge about anything that should/could be actually considered music has become painful to watch. At first I chalked my disgust with you up to the fact that I was getting older and was less and less into mainstream music. Looking back, I wonder if my shift into the more indie scene was a direct result of your shittiness. I believe that you are, at least in part, to blame for pop music's deterioration into such mindless drivel. It was once cool to watch TRL and hang out at MTV Spring Break. Not so much anymore. Pop music used to be good. Even the stuff that wasn't good was at least entertaining and the "singers" could perform the shit out of it. For example, see below:

And that brings me to the main point of this letter: last night's VMA show. It was, in a word, pathetic. While I could spend the remainder of this letter railing solely on Britney's performance, I know that it is not your fault. Sure, you should have known that she would have flopped, but I imagine that you were looking for the ratings and figured that Britney would be the best bet for an opener. Fine. I can deal with you wanting to exploit her.

My main beef with the awards show was the horrible production. It was complete amateur hour: microphones weren't turned on, people didn't know what they were doing, cameramen and stagehands were running around like crazy, and people weren't introduced properly. An absolute shitshow. You've been running this show since 1984 and you'd think y'all would have it together by now. Apparently not.

Furthermore, this wasn't much of an awards show. According to my count, there were only 5 or 6 awards passed out all evening-- pretty worthless. Far too much time was dedicated to stopping in on the random "parties" taking place throughout the hotel. All in all, not a cool idea. Following Kanye around a packed VIP room is not my idea of good television. The absence of many of the awards simply supports your obvious drift from presenting music videos as an art form. You added lame-ass categories like "Quadruple Threat" and "Monster Single" and took away actual art awards like Best Direction, Choreography, Editing, and the Video Vanguard Award. Finally, the graphic/light display that was used on the stage, between commercial breaks, and to present the nominees was absolutely mindboggling. I would not be surprised if people broke into seizures after watching those for a mere 10 seconds.

In essence, this was a deplorable year for your award show and I hope you sincerely "kick it up a notch" for the movie awards and next year's VMAs. I know that you're network is struggling and you've made it obvious to everyone why. Start playing videos again. Invest in some more classic design work. Get the artists back on your side. I'm all for new things, but sometimes it's best to go back to the basics.

We've had some good times together, friend. I want you back. The old you.

xoxo,
Kiki

happy september!

2007-09-05T14:11:00.000-04:00

Now that the summer is "officially" over (although you wouldn't know it by the temperature outside) I can honestly say that it flew by. I'm not sure if that was due to the fact that I didn't ever leave DC or that there were none of the major changes that summer usually brings, but whatever it was, I'm shocked that we're already heading in to fall.

My first and last summer vacay in South Carolina this past weekend was definitely needed, and I must admit that I'm feeling pretty refreshed. Although it rained for three solid days, I still had a good time. It was a nice feeling to be bored and it was great to spend so much "QT" with the 'rents. By Sunday night I was admittedly going a little stir crazy. The island where I vacation is absolutely tiny and doesn't offer much in the way of non-outdoor entertainment. After finishing my book and watching epic movies (Gone with the Wind and Sound of Music in the same day), I was ready for some major beach action. Luckily, I woke up Monday morning and opened my shutters to see this:

Glorious. I quickly threw on a tank top and my running shorts, grabbed the parents and the dog, jumped in the golf cart, and headed to the beach. Even super early, the beach was pretty crowded (for Fripp Island standards) and Tabby was able to meet lots of other dogs... even if they didn't want to meet her. There really is nothing happier to see than a dog running at full tilt down the shoreline. I spent the rest of Monday in the sun: my pale-ass Irish skin is not too happy with me right now... but my mom kept telling me I looked like "the white meat of a chicken" so I was determined to take full advantage of those UV rays.

Despite the rain, the trip to god-awful Hilton Head, and the utterly dissapointing meal at Hominy Grill, it was still a great weekend. It's a little hard for me to not enjoy a weekend at Fripp: it's my home, but at the beach. It doesn't get much better than that.

Plus, the ultra-luxe-extra-soft pillowtop mattress that I made my parents get for my bedroom down there is just about the most incredible thing I've ever experienced.

happy weekend, y'all!

2007-08-30T17:55:00.001-04:00

I'm a town in Carolina, I'm a detour on a ride
For a phone call and a soda, I'm a blur from the driver's side
I'm the last gas for an hour if you're going twenty-five
I am Texaco and tobacco, I am dust you leave behind

I am peaches in September, and corn from a roadside stall
I'm the language of the natives, I'm a cadence and a drawl
I'm the pines behind the graveyard, and the cool beneath their shade, where the boys have left their beer cans
I am weeds between the graves.

My porches sag and lean with old black men and children
Their sleep is filled with dreams, I never can fulfill them
I am a town.

I am a church beside the highway where the ditches never drain
I'm a Baptist like my daddy, and Jesus knows my name
I am memory and stillness, I am lonely in old age; I am not your destination
I am clinging to my ways
I am a town.

I'm a town in Carolina, I am billboards in the fields
I'm an old truck up on cinder blocks, missing all my wheels
I am Pabst Blue Ribbon, American, and "Southern Serves the South"
I am tucked behind the Jaycees sign, on the rural route
I am a town
I am a town
I am a town
Southbound.

ready for vacay.

2007-08-29T11:46:00.003-04:00

How am I supposed to get this massive amount of work done when all I can think of is this?

daily randoms.

2007-08-28T14:05:00.000-04:00

1) Why don't they make dirty birthday cards for grandmothers? I think my grandmother would call me up and yell at me if I sent her one of those sappy ones with flowers and a poem. Instead, I usually have to stick to the classic dirty card with no mention of it being for my grandmother. I guess she really is a special one.

2) I'm so ready for it to be fall that I'm pretty much just skipping September in my head. I'm already making plans to go to the Haunted Forest up in Maryland and I'm prepping myself for weekends full of Billy Martin's pumpkin pancakes. I mean, September's a pretty worthless month anyway. Not really summer, not really fall. Booooring.

3) For those of you not living in this great nation's capital of ours, you may not know about the ridiculocity of our cab system. Instead of being a metered fare like every other city in the world, DC has to be "special" and charge according to zones. This means that even the most attuned DC resident usually has no idea how much their cab ride will cost, and it allows the DC cab drivers to charge whatever they want, and get away with it. Well kids, that ends today. I am going to single-handedly end the practice of cab drivers picking a price. With the help of this handy little calculator, I have figured out how much it will cost me to get from the boutique to the bar this evening. If the cab driver even attempts to overcharge me, he will certainly recieve a stern talking to, complete with maps and printouts. He won't know what hit him.

hi, mom!

2007-08-27T17:21:00.000-04:00

Well, kids, we're in the presence of greatness. Bad Patsy has found my blog!

I guess I'll have to delete all those posts about my habitual drug use and salacious affairs with senators.... dang.

I kid, I kid, Madre! I'm glad you're reading :)

> sliced bread.

2007-08-27T15:13:00.000-04:00

I just love discovering new things. Especially when they actually WORK. I'm one of "those people" who is more likely to try something new, just because it's new. I know, I know, as a communication major I should be able to resist advertising and the "newness" of a product, but I just can't help myself. However, with that said, when I find something that I love, I stick to it and never, ever waver. Like, ever.

For example, I decided back in early 2005 that I was going to start wearing blush. Most of the girls my age didn't wear it for fear of looking like an old lady, but I genuinely thought it would help cut the roundness of my face. On one fateful day in Sephora, I found my NARS Orgasm and have never looked back. I've worn it every single day of my life since. If they were to ever discontinue it (fools!) I honestly don't know what I would do. I know, this is a pretty major ode to some minerals crushed together in a beautiful peachy pink sheen, but I feel strongly about this product and how it makes me look. Yay, NARS!

All of this being said, I love to spread the news and joy of finding a new favorite product. I want to shout it from the rooftops. Not gonna lie: I sometimes hang out in the NARS section of Sephora and accost passers-by into trying on the blush. Those Sephora people should start giving me commission, because I swear I've turned at least 4 or 5 unknowing women into believers.

So, without further ado, I give you the first installment of my newest blog series: "better than sliced bread." These products are Kiki-tested, Kiki-approved.

The almighty Band-Aid Blister Block Stick.

This little deodorant-like stick will save your feet, I swear. You know those fabulous 4 inch stilettos sitting in your closet, that you've worn once but promised your poor feet that it would be the last time? Never again. Through many years of research, I have found that it takes a minimum of two full days of wear for a shoe to no longer give you blisters, but once broken in, those once-painful shoes could become one of your most comfortable pairs. This magic stick will get you through those first two wears, no problem. Just apply the stick liberally along your heels and anywhere else you expect the shoe to rub, and voila! You'll be blister free all day long. Just be sure to apply BEFORE the blisters begin to form. Otherwise, might I recommend these: