Rain and pickles

So this morning starts with me attempting to make it to the subway lugging a suitcase, my purse and my dignity and ends with me dropping a pickle on a pile of recording agreements. This doesn't bode well for someone who is supposed to be airborn in 7 hours.

Had I just not cared about my hair, the suitcase thing would not have been an issue. Many MANY a time I have lugged my suitcase to work with me on Friday night to catch the last flight to O'Hare. But today, it was raining and I had spent over an hour last night straightening my hair. I have very long hair and it's quite a task and I was not letting the rain ruin my work! I managed to get on the subway with dry hair, but a very wet suitcase....and my fellow 7 Train to Times Square riders looked at me like I was crazy. Well the men did, the straight haired women nodded in solidarity. Crisis averted.

Since I'll be on a plane during normal dinner hours, I decided to go out and get lunch. Normally I skip it, or dine on the crackers or pop tarts in my desk, but I had a craving for "real food" and went out to the local deli for a sandwich. I love this place because it also gives you a free pickle with purchase, and well, what woman doesn't love a free pickle. I brought it back to my desk and in the 15 minutes I was gone, someone had dropped the final version of a recording contact to be signed today on my desk (I do legal work for an independent rock/metal record label). I pushed it aside to devour my lunch and somehow my free pickle flew out of my hands and landed on the pile of agreements. Sigh....now I have to explain to the band why there is a pickle imprint on their newly inked record deal. I have a coffee meeting at 3pm. Perhaps I can stain the latest iTunes deal this afternoon. Scented agreements....I just may be onto something here. It will set our label apart from the rest.

Finally

I am proud to announce that I have finally taken the boxes out of my apartment and down to the recycling! Though I thoroughly enjoyed hurdling them daily, I wasn't sure I could get my suitcase past them in the morning, and though the thought of going to Chicago with nothing more than my purse was tempting, I thought my mother might want me in clothes for Mother's Day, so alas, I've taken them out.

I've made this NY-Chicago trip more times than I can count this year....and it's only May. I have the same seat on the same planes and have the same flight attendants. I wonder if that counts me as a "jet setter"? I think the name implies a certain hipness that I do not posess. Also I think jet setters usually go more to more exotic locales than Chicago, so I guess I'm just a girl with a LOT of frequent flyer miles.


The (formerly) amorous hippos in the apartment above me have lost their love and are currently having one hell of an argument. It has been going on for a few hours now, and I can't lay there anymore and attempt sleep. It's bothering me on many levels, the noise, but not just the volume, I can't make out the words, so it's the lovers quarrel version of the teacher in Charlie Brown. My nosy self wants to know what they are yelling about, but no matter how hard I try, I can't make it out. Secondly, the yelling is bringing back ugly memories for me. The years that D and I did exactly what the two of them are doing. Its funny, I have little recollection of what he and I would so vehemently argue about, so when I replay it in my mind it sounds a lot like what I'm listening to, garbled words, hearing only the highs and lows of various emotions. Again, like the Charlie Brown cartoon. I remember the emotion too clearly for it to have been so many years ago now. I remember the yelling being so bad that you would hear his roommate sneak out to his girlfriends house at 4am so he could get some sleep before having to go to work in the morning. I usually wouldn't be too far behind him, either driving aimlessly around for a few hours, or sacking out on a friend's couch, or going to the 24 hour convenience store and wandering the aisles in my pjs waiting until I knew he had gotten up and gone, so I could go back home, shower and get to work.

I hope things end differently for the (formerly) amorous hippos above than they did for me. In the 10 months here I've never heard them fight before, but have spent countless nights listening to their headboard pound against the wall in an all too familiar rhythm, so perhaps there is hope. I give Mr. Amorous Hippo credit...he's kept his cool and barely raised his voice to Ms. Amorous Hippoette, even though she's been screaming at him for hours. Maybe it means he's guilty of something though, I'm not sure. I can only hope she doesn't end up wandering the aisles of our local 24 hour grocery store or riding the subway until dawn. If she wants to knock on my door, with her pillow under her arm and sack out on my couch it's fine with me. I've been her in a past life and I've come out on the other side.

I can’t decide which is worse, insomnia or writers block. I guess writer’s block, you can always take Nyquil or Unisom to cure insomnia, there’s no pharmaceutical for a lack of inspiration. I wonder if there was, if people would take it. I suppose they would. People do botox and its basically the same principle. Injecting yourself with a chemical substance to produce a more desirable result than the status quo. I wish there was a cure for self loathing, If there is, I can tell you for sure, it’s not Nyquil or Unisom. It’s also not mint Oreos, though further research should be done on those, for they (and York peppermint patties) have some healing powers for sure. It’s hard to be in a bad mood when you have mint Oreos in the house.

Birthday Reflections

Haven't posted in a few days and thought I'd ramble for a bit. Nothing much going on in the life of Kai these days really. Heading to Chicago in a few days for a 4 day weekend and to celebrate my turning 27 on Saturday. 27. It's funny how your perception of ages changes as you get older. I remember being young, maybe 10 or 11 and thinking that by 27 I'd be married, have a few kids, a house....the whole picket fence picture. If you would have told me that instead, I'd be living in an NYC apartment, childless and with no male prospects anywhere near the horizon, I would have been shocked. I look at 30 now with more pragmatic eyes. My goals are much less lofty than they were at 10. I see myself in 3 years (!) still without a date for Friday night, still childless and probably still in this apartment. My goals now are to redecorate my bedroom and increase the savings account. I've become much too practical in my old age.

Insomnia

This birthday countdown moment brought to you by insomnia:

8 days until my birthday!!!!!!

Drive Through Dating

It seems that recently my friends (and myself) have been victims of what I call drive-through dating (or in the really bad cases, drive-by dating) . Let me explain: You meet someone through various channels (online, the subway, through a friend of a friend etc.), you go out once, it's great you have a good time, he calls again in a respectable amount of time and you make plans to go out again. You go on said second date, it's fabulous, you're laughing, cracking jokes, holding hands and at the end of the night he gives you a knock you off your feet good night kiss. And then you never hear from him again. What's the deal?? For a few days you think he's busy at work and his email connection at home is down or he lost his cellphone and doesn't have your number. A few more days go by and you think hmm did he get in an accident in the cab on the way home? Did he get shot in my shady NYC neighborhood? And then it comes to you, he's just not that into you. He liked the attention for a couple of days, liked that he had some cute chick on his arm on a Friday night so the bartender at his regular date spot doesn't think he's going through a dry spell, but in the end he realized that a night out with you was no more enjoyable than sitting on his couch with a beer watching Sportscenter. I just can't compare to a big screen TV and a case of Corona....I'm just going to have to accept that.

Yes. I'm sorry to say, the boxes (all neatly cut down and tied up) are still residing in the front hallway of my apartment. I thought moving them there so that I would have to step over them every day to get in and out of the apartment would motivate me to take them down to the recycling, but alas it hasn't and instead I'm using them as a low-tech security system. I will get them out by the weekend....I WILL.

11 days until my birthday!!!!!

Spent a fabulous day in Central Park. My friend and I did walk the entire 6 miles and it felt good to accomplish it. We rewarded ourselves with getting Subway for lunch. After she left I strolled a bit more through the park with my camera and got some photos. Nothing too great, as I was exhausted, but it was good to exercise the photo muscle and acclimate myself with my camera again. I posted a few in the KaiNYC photo link over there to the right. I'm looking for help with one of the photos, so if you have any suggestions please let me know.

Hopefully I won't be too sore tomorrow, I still need to get those bookcase boxes out of the apartment. I put them in the entry way hoping that it would motivate me to get them out, but instead I've spent three days stepping over them. I WILL take them down to the recycling tomorrow...I will.....

Happy Friday!

Finally, the end of the week is here. It's been one of those weeks where you feel like you've been running a marathon, chasing tornados and skydiving, even though all you've really done is sit in an office for 50 hours. I am supposed to go out with a friend tonight for drinks, but I think I'm going to blow him off and just go home and drop into bed. Tomorrow another friend and I have plans to walk the perimeter of Central Park (6 miles) so I probably should rest up for that anyway. I did my weekly cleaning last night, so all that's left on my weekend chore list is to take the recycling out and swiffer the floors. Oh and maybe do a load of sheets if I feel motivated....I was so desperate for clean sheets last week, I put my flannel set on....and it's April.

7 hours, 7 minutes until I can drop into bed.....

However.....

behold the healing powers of the chocolate covered Oreo.

A Life Lesson

The cure for a cold is NOT an Apple Martini.

This Is My Life, Rated
Life:	5
Mind:	4.6
Body:	4.8
Spirit:	5
Friends/Family:	2.4
Love:	0
Finance:	7.4
Take the Rate My Life Quiz

This is depressing! How can someone get a ZERO love score??! Oh well at least it looks like I have money ROFL

No regrets.....

I got a lease renewal form in the mail last night. Check A for 1 year, check B for 2 years....both options scare me, I'm so commitment phobic. I think my rent went up, but I can't really tell. I should be able to decipher this thing, it's a 4 page lease renewal and I work in the legal profession and read contracts all day, but I can not for the life of me figure out what it says. Anyway, I digress.

1 year or 2....how many more years is my NYC stage of life? I refuse to put a time limit on myself. Just as I knew when it was time to come out here, I believe I'll know when the time to return is. I only know that when I move on from this stage, I want to have no regrets. I want to be able to look back on the places I've been and the experiences I've had here and say that I truly lived a life in NYC.

Things left to do:

Spend more time in the park! Central Park, Carl Shurtz Park and Flushing Meadow
Go to Chelsea Piers
Take NYC photos (including night skyline shots)
Get kissed in Central Park during a snowstorm....
Go to Yankee stadium (already been to Shea)
Go to the NY public library
See the Frick collection
Visit the International Center for Photography

I'll add to the list (and check things off) I'm sure, but that's a start....my NYC no regrets list.....1 year or 2...

HURRAH! I finally replaced my camera that got stolen! Found an incredible deal online (and a $100 Canon rebate) and couldn't pass it up. Hurrah Hurrah!!!!!!! The debacle is over!

A TV rant.....

I’m sitting alone in my apartment watching TV and I’m noticing that every commercial shows someone wearing a wedding ring. Now I’ve long noticed them in commercials for baby products and mattresses and I’ve accepted that. I understand the wholesome image they are trying to project, but now even the most commonplace products have that glamour wedding ring shot, and for what purpose? Do I have to be married to take Allergy medicine? Does singledom mean I can’t buy cotton? Own a car? These commercials never show another person, never allude to marriage, so why the wedding ring? I feel excluded and not validated as a whole person, just because I’m not married. Society (and my mother) give me enough pressure as it is to “settle down” and find a husband, now I have to endure it from the latest Tums commercial too?

It's a bit slow today at work with all the execs out at opening day of the Mets. I've now spent hours blog browsing and throwing everyone's secret blog stat counters off. A lot of people have posted about music and what songs bring back certain memories for them. Though also someone who is affected by music, books also spawn certain memories for me. A book is a photograph in my mind. I remember the giver or the place on my travels I bought it long after I've forgotten the story contained within:

The Bonesetter's Daughter by Amy Tan was a birthday gift from Caryn my last year in college. A beautiful story, I'm actually reading again, despite the strain of having to carry a heavy hardcover book on my commute each day.

My Cambridge Guide to Theatre.....a fantastic reference book while in college, later used for pressing leaves during a Martha Stewart moment. I bought new bookshelves last month and in the re-arranging of books dozens of forgotten leaves fluttered out.

The T.S. Eliot book I bought on my first trip to Boston with CDC...a book I've yet to read....

In the Lake of the Woods...one of the few books I've ever read in one sitting. I sat in the armchair of Cornie's house in Urbana with my legs slung over the side engrossed in the story, unaware of time passing. Still one of my favorite books, I try to read it at least once a year.

O...ff to browse Amazon for some new memories...

Are you kidding me?

So everyone else was doing the findyourspot.com thing, so I thought I'd give it a try. Now as you are reading this list of the places it says I'm best suited to live, keep in mind that I currently live in New York City. I'm thinking the transition from NY-Toledo would be a bit rough....

Top 10 places I should apparently live:
1. Norfolk, VA
2. Charlotte, NC
3. St. Louis, MO
4. Indianaoplis, IN (coincidentally where I was born)
5. Des Moines, IA
6. Cincinnati, OH
7. Toledo, OH
8. Omaha, NE
9. Columbus, OH
10. Carslisle, PA

I truly do not think I would live in ANY of the above-mentioned cities....I can't believe that website things I'm the Nebraska kind of gal. Guess it's time to break out the ruby slippers and follow the yellow brick road.

Oh How Things Change..

As a child I used to love the sound of the local ice cream truck. As soon as you heard the cheerful tune, you begged your mom for 50 cents (or stole it from her wallet if she wasn't around) and ran outside. Now I'm older and the incessant 15 note melody incites a completely different reaction. I have thoughts of widening hips, lactose intolerance and jingle induced migranes. Oh how things change.

I’ve been stuck lately on this notion of “fun”. I go to work and hear people talk about their weekends, what bars they went to, where they went golfing, what dinner party they attended and I find myself wondering what it is like to have a “life”. The answer to “what did you do this weekend” for me is always exactly the same “nothing”. People think I’m exaggerating when I tell them I go home on Friday night and literally do not leave my apartment again until Monday morning. I sleep a lot, browse the net and flip aimlessly through the TV channels, or watch old episodes of the West Wing on DVD. Every weekend. Was I born the social equivalent of an 80 year old shut-in? I remember being slightly more social in high school, but I guess it’s easier to be social when you have friends and people asking you to hang out. I accept that the romantic relationship thing is not something I am capable of handling, I’m not in any way looking for a boyfriend, I’m looking for a friend. For some reason, I’ve not been able to really click with anyone at work. The other people on the assistant level have taken to a complete hatred of me for some reason, so they are out of the question. One of the interns who is actually from Iowa and I chat a bit, but she’s in school and working two jobs and doesn’t really have time to hang out. The other person I talk to with any regularity is married and it’s always a very awkward situation for a single woman to ask a married man to hang out. I feel it’s inappropriate, even though I have no ulterior intentions. I had always heard that NY was hands down the worst place to meet people and it’s completely true. In a city of millions, it’s hard to believe, but everyone is so insular it’s nearly impossible to break in. It’s proof that you can be lonely in even the largest of cities.

I think I feel like I missed out on my “wild days”. I’m afraid of looking back in several years and finding out that my chance to be free and fun is gone. I know it sounds ridiculous, but I honestly do not know how to have fun. Was it a class in college I skipped? One of the gen-ed courses I forgot to take? When do we learn to have fun?

DST

I absolutely loathe daylight saving time. My internal body clock is already completely wacky and add in changing the time on me every 6 months and it totally throws me off. I don't know anyone else who is as affected by this as I am. I'm also quite anal about the clocks in my house...I absolutely can not stand clocks in the same room that don't say the exact same time. Setting clocks in my house is a very tedious job and I am not looking forward to having to do it today.

Also, fun fact: It is NOT daylight savingS time as most people think. The correct grammar is actually dalight saving time. Even though daylight savingS time is commonly known (and appears in the dictionary), it's technically incorrect. The word saving is modifying time (ex. dog walking timee), it is a saving daylight kind of time, hence the singlular form of the word.

Rargh....of to play with clocks. bleah.