This is Sanjana

Best Things Heard This Week

2012-01-14T11:13:00.003-05:00

Taking the elevator with my classmate Pia and she says, "the elevator is the only free ride I am getting."

Henna

2011-12-28T19:55:00.004-05:00

Today my friend Karina and I went to Little India and got our hands henna'd for the New Year. I love the way this looks!

New Blog Feature

2011-12-27T15:21:00.002-05:00

I have now added a new contact me section to this blog. Please feel free to send me an email via the new form rather than posting a comment that the public at large can read.

Thanks!!

Loving Life

2011-12-17T19:33:00.003-05:00

Lot's of things have been happening. I have finally decided to pursue my dream of owning my own spa! This is the best decision I have made this year and I am loving every minute of my new adventure.

Now that I have finally put all the negative things from 2011 behind me, I can't wait for 2012!!!

Best Things Heard This Week

2011-05-20T18:33:00.000-04:00

A friend of one of my customers spent 10 years traveling and would occassionally come home, go on game shows and win money to continue funding his travels. I think I need to brush up on my Game Show Skills!!!!

Long Time No Blog--Lot's of Changes

2011-05-20T11:06:00.002-04:00

Wow, I just realized that it has been almost a year since I posted something to this blog. Lot's of changes going on. I recently quit my job (this past Monday) and I am starting my new job (this upcoming Monday). Ended a personal relationship and even cut BANGS into my hair. I am really looking forward to the new adventure I am about to embark on.

Madison Square Park Art--Antony Gormley's Event Horizon

2010-06-20T08:32:00.006-04:00

Yesterday, Rob (new b/f) and I went to Madison Square Park to check out an art exhibit. My neighbor Noel and his friend Chase had both told us about these statues that an artist had put on the tops of buildings randomly around the Madison Square Park / Flatiron District Area. I wanted to check these sculptures out because apparently they looked like people who were going to jump of buildings and several calls had been placed to 911.

It was like a scavenger hunt, looking up and around to see if we could find the statues. We didn't know how many statues there were in total (we later found out there are 31 statues---I think we saw about 15 of them).

Here is more information on the exhibit:
Antony Gormley's Event Horizon

Here is the list of where all the statues are located:
Event Horizon Guide

blog request

2010-06-18T14:41:00.002-04:00

So apparently Garry has decided that I haven't blogged in a while and requested that I blog about something. Well, here you go Garry..this blog posting is just for you. I really don't have much to blog about.. I mean I am sure that I could think of something but nothing is occurring to me at this particular point in time. So this is pretty much a useless, random blog posting to see if you are even going to actually read it.

Best Things Heard this past Weekend

2010-05-31T15:11:00.004-04:00

At Mike's bbq yesterday and one of the guys showed up and started commenting on my neighbor's flip flops...but instead of calling them flip flops he called them slapflops. Which, after drinking several very strong margaritas and pina coladas, this was the funniest word ever and we all proceeded to decide that he needed to be slapflopped.

So there you have it folks, a brand new word for when you want to smack someone upside the head...just slapflop them!

The other day I im'd my buddy Bill and he typed back:
btw, I love the way the IM says, "Sanjana is busy. You may be interrupting."
Haha. I didn't even know that gtalk had an automatic response message when your status was set to unavailable... :-)

Crespigo Rocks it Again

2010-05-28T17:02:00.004-04:00

So I met up with Alex again for a more creative photo shoot. I have created a new page up at the top of this blog with all of the pics on my new site.

If you can't figure it out..here is the link :-)
Modeling Photos

If you like what you see, please feel free to contact him. Here is his site:
Crespigo

Interesting Vacation Ideas

2010-05-24T17:27:00.014-04:00

I am in dire need of a vacation!! I have stumbled across several places that look really interesting to visit:

Vacation Destination #1 -- Tree Hotel in Harads:
It is basically a tree house in Northern Sweden. To book a vacation or learn more about Tree Hotel <--click link

Vacation Destination #2 ---ICEHOTEL:
Located in Jukkasjärvi, Sweden, the hotel is literally made of snow and ice. I am not a big fan of cold weather destinations but perhaps a single night stay would be worth the experience!! To book a vacation or learn more aboutIce Hotel <--click link

Cribbage--some may have heard of it but not many people know how to play it

2010-05-19T20:48:00.006-04:00

Cribbage is my favorite card game in the world. I find it interesting that only a small group of people have ever heard of it much less played it. Whenever I ask someone who knows how to play it where they learned how to play it, the usual answer is "from their grandparents." Usually said relative was from the northeast or new england area. When I was about 7 or 8 years old, my grandmother and great aunt taught me how to play cribbage. After dinner, we would sit at the dining room table, my great aunt and grandmother drinking their Foldgers or Maxwell House coffee and smoking their Winstons and Marlboro cigarettes and they would teach my how to play cribbage. In fact, they also taught me how to play poker and blackjack and the stakes were always measured in pennies.

For those of you who don't know what cribbage is, you are truly missing out on a fantastic game of strategy. There is a board with holes which is how you keep score. Usually the game is played by two people but you can certainly play it with three or four people. Each player receives 6 cards. Each player keeps 4 cards and throws 2 cards each to the crib. Whoever deals the cards gets the crib and the opportunity to score more points. The first player lays a card face up and says the value of the card. The next person lays his/her card face up and adds up the value of the two cards and says it aloud. This continues until the total of the cards equals 31 or no one can go further. While this is transpiring, there are ways to earn more points. If the total of the cards equals 15 you get two points. If there is a run (3,4,5) or pairs (7,7) you earn points. If your card is the card that totals 31, you get two points. The ultimate goal of the game is to be the first to reach the end of the board and win.

Once all of the cards have been played, each player totals the cards in their hand. Again, combinations of 15, runs, pairs, etc all increase your score. I should also state that before the hand starts, a card is flipped over and can be used in the finally tally of your hand to make pairs, 15s, etc. Once each player has tallied their hand, the dealer now counts the cards in the crib. Each players total score is counted out on the board via pegs.

While what I have described may sound confusing, I can assure you it is very exciting to play. You have to try to anticipate what card could be flipped over. You want to figure out what cards your opponent might have so you know how to lay your cards down. You want to figure out your maximum score if you are the one who gets the crib and know which cards to keep in your hand versus throw in the crib...all of these decisions being based on the card that is turned over and what cards your opponent might have in his/her possession.

Years ago, I started playing cribbage on yahoo games. I would always join the more challenging rooms to increase my skills of strategy and prediction. At one point, a few guys that I was playing with said that I should play in the cribbage tournament held in Vegas. I was really surprised and I asked them why they thought I should play. And they said that I was really good at it and that they thought I should try to win a competition. So I continued probing them for information. How does one even get to join this competition, what did I have to, how much did it cost? All of these questions entered my brain as I contemplated how amazing it would be to enter all of these local competitions, winning and then moving onto higher stakes games. I could be come a professional cribbage player!!! How cool would that be??? The dollar signs were floating in front of my eyes and the cha-ching sound of coins dropping from slot machines were ringing in my ears.

Well I am sorry to disappoint you and say that I haven't even taken the first step in pursuing that career. I still think about it. Often. Perhaps I should take that next step and enter a competition just to see what could happen.....

For those of you who want to learn more about cribbage, here is a link to Wikipedia:
Cribbage <---click link

And, if you are really interested in learning how to play, send me a post/comment and I would be more than happy to play online at yahoo games.

And maybe, just maybe, Garry will read this posting and finally decide to indulge me in playing one game of cribbage. I have been hounding him forever to play with me (especially when he says he's bored!!!) but he keeps refusing me {BOOOOOOO}!

Digital Divas Spring Fling With Armani/Ristorante

2010-05-05T12:22:00.003-04:00

Check out this event that I attended recently:
Digital Divas Spring Fling With Armani/Ristorante <---click link

Too Formal--is there really such a thing?

2010-04-28T22:50:00.004-04:00

Over the past couple of months, I have been told that I am too formal in my professional email correspondence. These are comments that have come from both customers and business partners. I was taken aback the first couple of times I heard it but now I am more saddened by these comments as it means that the English language is deteriorating.

I used to be a "Kelly Girl" from the time I graduated high school until I graduated college. I was expected to know how to properly type a business letter and other business letters or documents.

I view email as a simpler way to formally type a letter to someone. Consider me old fashioned...but I think that written correspondence should follow a proper format. Email should be no different than sending a type written letter to someone.

I received an email the other day that had a customer's name in the subject and the body of the email just said that this person needed to discuss this account in further depth with me. At first the tone of the email led me to believe there was an issue. (but of course we all know how well tone transfers via email). There was no Hello Sanjana, or even a Hi or anything else leading up to the matter at hand. I suppose this approach saved some time? But it just kinda threw me off guard as it seemed abrupt.

Are we so short on time that we have forgone all manners and proper business protocol? I even hear that kids are using IM/text talk in their school papers. The world is so used to abbreviating everything nowadays that I wonder if we are actually reverting back to the days where people used to communicate by drawing pictures. Maybe we will evolve so much that we actually stop speaking. That would be interesting. It just makes me think about all of the advances we have made in technology and life and somehow we seem to be going backwards.

I have a set of standards for myself and I refuse to stop writing in the format that was taught to me, much to the dismay of those who would prefer I be more lacks in my communication with them. I think my 11th grade English teach must be cringing at the way people write today. Perhaps it's because I have several close friends who are writers, that I feel so passionately about the written word. Nonetheless...

I really don't believe that you can be too formal in your professional writing.

Best Things Heard This Week

2010-04-05T15:35:00.004-04:00

I was telling my engineer that my pc was crashing all over the place and he asked me why? So I said, "Well....I am not entirely sure but I was eating my favorite buffalo chicken sandwich and a sunflower seed landed on my laptop and when I tried to brush it off it landed in my PC." I then told him how I tried to turn my laptop upside down and shake it so that the seed would fall out but nothing happened :-( To which my engineer replied, "well I guess your laptop was hungry too!"

LAX CONFIDENTIAL - Broowaha

2010-04-05T13:46:00.006-04:00

My buddy Bill writes quite a few interesting articles. I really enjoy his LAX Confidential Articles and wanted to share them with my readers.

Here is the latest one he wrote:
LAX CONFIDENTIAL - Broowaha <---click link

Posted using ShareThis

If you would like to read the rest of the articles in this series...just click below:
LAX Confidential Articles <---click link

Under Construction

2010-03-15T11:03:00.002-04:00

This is Sanjana is currently:

I have a left a few of my favorite posts for you to peruse.

Light Sleepers Beware of Ear Plugs.....

2010-03-04T08:01:00.007-05:00

Ok, much to the chagrin of my buddy (who will remain anonymous), I HAD to post this comment. He recently bought earplugs to drown out the annoying car alarm that had been waking him up super early in the morning. This morning he had an interesting encounter with said earplugs:

The Dream - I'm in a shop looking at something chewing on gum.
The Reality - wake up and realise that the gum I am chewing on is actually a silicone earplug I've been using. Never mind car alarms etc, I'm being awoken by my earplugs!!!!!!

My comment to him:
"HubbaBubba let's you blow amazing bubbles that won't stick to yer face."

Too bad they never said anything about ears!

Best Things Heard This Week

2010-02-08T15:13:00.008-05:00

2/8:
My buddy had gone out Saturday night for dinner/drinks with friends. He woke up on the couch the next morning, looked out the window and saw that the head had fallen off their garden statue...immediately he thought to himself...Oooohh Shit, did I do that last night?????
He finally got up the courage (an hour later!) to ask them and luckily for him, they reassured him saying it had been like that for months!

Ooops I Did it Again......

2010-02-06T09:13:00.009-05:00

From the history of this blog, you know that I have been faced with quite a few technological challenges. I have managed to "do it again" somehow. This past Monday, my laptop at work started closing applications, flashing errors on my screen and in an attempt to stop the chaos, I hit control + alt+ delete with the hopes of rebooting my machine. Well, here is the result of that quick thinking:

Mind you, this all happened about 5 minutes before an important conference call with one of my customers and I needed to access a spreadsheet on my laptop. Luckily my fearless leader walked into the office and asked, "what did you do?" when he saw my screen. I promptly told him what had happened and that I had no idea what I had done to achieve the current status of my laptop. He said, "I know how to fix this, my daughter did the same thing about a week ago." He then immediately took over my laptop and restored it to its normal state.

Good thing he showed me how to fix this issue because the next day the same thing happened again!

Carpe Diem Restaurant--a new gem for the Upper East Side

2010-01-30T06:30:00.010-05:00

Last night I went to the most delicious restaurant that just opened up in my neighborhood.

The restaurant, Carpe Diem, literally just opened this past Monday.

The ambiance is exactly what the UES needed. With it's exposed brick and dark wood, Carpe Diem is warm and inviting. And the food and service is amazing! If you ever try this restaurant, you need to order the calamari! I am not a super huge calamari fan but this was really, really good! I had the Risotto al Mascarpone which was fantastic and someone else had the Osso Bucco which apparently was extremely tender and very savory. The sauce for the Pappardelle Bolognese was extremely tasty and the Ravioli with its spinach and ricotta cheese was delicious. I could go on and on about the food but I think you should experience it for yourself!

I always judge a restaurant by it's desserts and I was not disappointed. The tira misu was simply divine and the creme brulee was the perfect balance between the sweet crispy top and the smooth creamy custard. Needless to say our entire dinner party of 8 was more than fully satisfied after we left. :-)

Oh, and one of the diners in our party was one of the owner's girlfriend and they told us that they will be on menupages and yelp, etc VERY soon. Stay tuned.....

"Atmospheric Weirdness"

2010-01-26T19:06:00.007-05:00

Yesterday the wind and rain conditions resembled hurricane season which is atypical of NYC for this time of year. The heavy rains finally stopped about 2pm but then started up again around 5pm and with the stormy weather came "atmospheric weirdness."

Story 1:
My coworker and I were sitting in our office, when all of a sudden we kept hearing this weird bang sound and at one point our building shook, the lights blinked and our phones rebooted themselves. We threw open the window and looked outside to see black smoke coming out of the ground and fire trucks lined up at the beginning of the block. We opened the office door and heard the words "evacuate". I asked Sonia, our receptionist what was going on as the other tenants on our floor fled to their offices to pack up their things and get the heck out of the building. The Super of the building was in the elevator telling everyone to take the freight stairs down. My coworker and I shut off all of our computer equipment and hastily packed up our belongings and followed the crowd down the dark and dirty back stairs. The smoke from the street had infiltrated the stairs and it caught in the back of my throat with a slightly chemical taste. As we carefully made our way down 8 flights of stairs to safety, everyone was relatively calm.

The minute we reached the street, we heard another loud popping noise and saw plumes of black smoke and white rings rise up from the manhole cover right outside our front door. The fireman didn't seem super concerned about the situation but clearly marked the area with their yellow caution tape.

The popping sounds and smoke continued as my coworker and I debated the next best course of action. We both had conference calls at 3 and it was now 2:55pm. I decided I would hop in a cab, join my conference call and make my way uptown to my home office where I would be 60+ blocks away from danger. When I informed my boss of my plans, he nicely reminded me that there was a mosque just up a block from our office where he had heard there were terrorist activities. When I mentioned this to my other colleague, he said "they aren't going to blow up their shit" thus clearing up any concern as to whether this was the handiwork of terrorists. I spoke with Sonia today and she stated that things pretty much calmed down about an hour or so later.

Story 2:
Later last night as I was on my way to meet someone for dinner, the rains had resumed their falling from the sky. I managed to catch a cab and head over to the west side of Manhattan, which is no easy task when it rains. Just as I was nearing upon my destination, the cab driver suddenly pulled over to the side of the road. I thought he said something about a pick up but then I finally managed to understand that he was saying heat up and as I looked out the front windshield, smoke was coming out from under the hood of the car much thicker than it had from the manhole. I said OH! I guess I should get out? He said yes, yes and promptly turned off the meter and the car and after paying him, sent me on my way to find another cab that would take me the rest of the way to my destination.

I texted this plight to Jamie and told her how the rain was wrecking havoc on the city. She promptly texted back "good lord, atmospheric weirdness is all around today. I saw 2 girls walk into a parked car. It was so bad. One looked like she really hurt herself." Now mind you, all I can envision is those birds who end up flying into glass windows because the glass is really clear and they can't tell the difference. which of course makes me crack up. So I asked Jamie, "how the heck did they walk into a car?" I mean one person I can understand, but both people at the same time???? she said she thinks they were too engrossed in what they were saying to each other and apparently thought the car had moved. Wow!

Best Things Heard, week of 1/11/2010

2010-01-13T16:20:00.007-05:00

1/12/2010--hanging out with Jamie and we were joking around about people in the city and how they stare at us (clearly because we are FOXY.) She turns around and says, "Don't look at me! It costs money to look at me. Where the Fuck is your Ticket Stub????"

1/13/2010--went to Wendy's to grab Jamie and myself some food. Stepped up to the cashier to order a double cheeseburger ketchup only. The cashier repeated my order and then asked me "if I wanted cheese on that?" So I gave her a puzzled look and said, "Ummmmmm. I ordered a double CHEESEburger. Does that not come with cheese????"

1/15/2010--just got home from hanging out with Vicki, Loryn and Scott. Loryn (her 4 year old) gave me a piece of paper and told me to read what it said from when I was small. So I said "when I was small, I used to ride my bike and climb trees all day long." Loryn replied, "that's good, it gives you energy." I said "when I was small, I used to eat all of my vegetables" and she replied, "that's very healthy." I said "when I was small I used to take baths." Loryn replied "that's very good for your skin." Hilarious!!! She sounded like her mother or like a wise little lady with her responses. I love the fact that I can take advantage of all the funny and interesting things Loryn says or does and then go back to the city and live the NYC lifestyle (kid/pet/husband free) that I enjoy.

Seattle Trip

2010-01-13T16:17:00.016-05:00

So last Thursday, I made the trek out to the west cost to Seattle. I have always wanted to visit Seattle and I finally did! My friend and I went to the following places:

Friday:
Pike's Place Market --which is where the famous fish throwing takes place. The market is an indoor farmer's market type place where you can find all sorts of interesting items.
Pike Place Market <----click link

The Pike Brewing Co for great local beer. Definitely try the flights!
The Pike Brewing Company <----click link

If you are looking for great mac, you have to check out Beecher's Handmade Cheese
Beecher's Handmade Cheese <----click link

The Underground Tour --this is walking tour that takes you under Seattle’s sidewalks and streets and provides a history of how Seattle came about. I totally recommend this tour if you visit Seattle. Here is a link for more information:
The Underground Tour <----click link

Saturday:
Bainbridge Island --we took a ferry over to Bainbridge Island. There are a bunch of quaint shops to wander in and out of and parks to visit.
Bainbridge Island <----click link

Sip Wine Bar & Restaurant--definitely recommend Sip. Get the Vietnamese Caramel Beef!
Sip Restaurant <----click link

Purple Cafe and Wine Bar-- this place had a great vibe and fantastic dessert.
The Purple Cafe <----click link

Sunday:
Experience Music Project--highly recommend the EMP. It is very interactive and you learn alot about music, how to play instruments and they had a great Jimi Hendrix exhibit.

Science Fiction Museum --this wasn't as exciting as the EMP but it's free when you go to the EMP so it's worth checking out.

Sky City @ the Space Needle-- the Sky City restaurant is similar to Windows on the World where the restaurant slowly rotates to provide you with an amazing nighttime view of Seattle. The food was amazing!!!

Seattle Space Needle:

We left Monday. Four days was definitely a decent amount of time to get a great feel for Seattle and there was plenty to do. I am really glad I went to Seattle!!

Best thing (s) heard this week

2010-01-04T18:30:00.009-05:00

January 7th:
I am flying out to Seattle this evening and I asked my friend if I can bring food to the airport. I know I cannot bring bottles of water but I am sure I can pack a sandwhich...so my friend replies, "yeah you can. just no liquids so freeze your soup :-)"

The Common Air

2009-12-31T07:12:00.004-05:00

Yesterday my neighbor Kristin asked me if I wanted to go see a show. So I said, what's the show?? She said The Common Air and sent me the following link:
The Common Air <---click link

So I clicked on the link and read the first line:
" The Common Air links six distinct characters during the mother of all delays at JFK airport. The reason is unknown, and a game of "Telephone" ensues in an effort to find the truth."

After reading that I decided I had to go see this show and I am so glad I said yes! The show was really really good. For anyone who either lives in NYC or plans to visit the city before the end of February, I highly recommend getting tickets and seeing the show!!

The Common Air Trailer

An Article Really and Truly Worth Reading

2009-12-21T18:24:00.001-05:00

My buddy Garry just wrote an article the other day. I recommend reading this article to everyone. It will definitely stop and make you think about what's important in life and hopefully make you more compassionate towards other human beings.

Click on the link below to read it:
A Survivor's Story

NYC Squirrels

2009-12-15T15:19:00.002-05:00

So one of my friends works in a spa in the city. Yesterday, she sent me an email describing a situation that occurred in one of the companies other stores:

A squirrel somehow got trapped in our village store and decided to make an appearance much to the surprise of my coworker and an irate client. A client was yelling about something and was pounding her hand on the counter to emphasize her anger. My coworker saw the squirrel below the counter and kept anxiously glancing beneath the counter and at the woman...not sure what was going to happen since the client kept banging her hand on the counter. All of a sudden, the squirrel jumped up at the client and flew over the woman's head. The woman was sooo startled that her bag went flying and she peed her pants and then went running from the store!!!!!!

{Now mind you, this has all been caught on the security cameras, so my friend has watched the entire debacle over the cameras}

They call the animal rescue people to see how they can have the squirrel removed from the premises and are informed that it will cost $450 to have the squirrel driven upstate and released into the wilderness. My friend begs and pleads and finally convinces her boss to go for this option. Apparently they are already driving a raccoon upstate and have room for one more passenger.

Today, the animal rescue person shows up at the store to remove the squirrel. The squirrel makes a beeline for my friend's boss and then high tails (or bushy tails) it out the open door. Free at last! {again, this was ALL caught on the security camera}

Hysterical!!!!

Best things I have heard this week

2009-12-11T10:05:00.010-05:00

My friend Evie when trying to email me:
I put your name (sanjana) into emails and the spell checker keeps trying to change it to banana..hehe..

My friend Bill (on one of my postings):
"You purge anger with the written word better than just about anyone I've ever read"

My BFF Jamie texted me a dream that she had:
"I found a restaurant that had all different kinds of fries, including sweet potato and criss cross and gracie (cafe on corner of our block) and green kitchen and steak fries and the menu had pics of all the different fries and we went and ate them all with bleu cheese dressing and we were really excited"

and this one STILL cracks me up every time I read it

My buddy who shall remain anonymous to protect his identity:
I was speaking to this woman..she lived like 300 miles away and I typed on a message that she "was too far to date" unfortunately my finger hit the wrong key and I typed "too fat to date" and i only noticed when I was sending it..she went mental

I sent a message immediately saying that it was a typo but she didn't read that one and she blocked me and continued to send me abusive messages along the lines of I was a psycho and a pig who tortured girls now she has been putting on loads of pictures that focus on her waist and stomach...jessusssssssssssssss

To Audie and Evie--Mexico was Amazing!!!

2009-11-21T09:02:00.005-05:00

This post is dedicated to Audie and Evie, my friends who got married in Mexico on November 14, 2009.

The wedding and the entire trip to Mexico was incredible. We had so much fun, we are thinking of making this an annual adventure!!

Pics will be posted as soon as I remember how to create a slide show properly...

Coolest Dentist EVER!

2009-06-11T20:49:00.005-04:00

So today I had my bi-yearly dental checkup. In the reception area and in the cleaning room, I noticed that my dentist's office was promoting a new toothbrush. So I asked my dental hygenist about the toothbrush they seemed to be promoting. She replied, Dr. Fine invented it! I said really, that is pretty cool. She went on to explain that is an Ionic toothbrush and how the plaque on your teeth and your enamel are positively and negatively charged. When you use the Ionic Toothbrush, it lifts the plaque off of the enamel of your teeth. Pretty interesting! Apparently my dentist has been working on this for quite a while and it is fully patented in other countries and patent pending in the U.S. He told me to tell everyone about it. I told him I would post it on my blog!

For additional information about the Ionic ProClean toothbrush click on the link below:
Ionic Pro Clean Toothbrush

The case of the postcard from Italy

2009-04-11T07:17:00.003-04:00

Quite a few people know that I collect postcards. This collection started when I was a little kid and my aunt would send me postcards when she went on vacation. Perhaps this is where my fascination with getting something in the mail started. Over the years, I have amassed a decent collection that is growing everyday. The biggest supporters of my collection are my buddies Mike and Garry. Whenever anyone goes anywhere, whether it is for work or vacation, I always request that they please send me a postcard.

The other day I received a postcard from Bologna, Italy. I was very excited to receive this postcard and when I turned it over to read it, I couldn't quite make out who it was from. The other puzzling thing about this postcard was that there was no stamp on it. Since it kinda looked like Mike's last name and he was the only I could think of that had been to Italy recently (within the last 6 months) I assumed he was the one that had sent it to me. I assumed that the delivery to yours truly had taken 6 months because there had been no stamp on it.

So the next day, I instant messenged Mike regarding the postcard and here is how our conversation on April 7th went:

me: hey
me: you sent me a postcard from bolgna?
mike: bolgna?
me: bologna?
mike:i sent u one from bologna?
then he had logged off because he was traveling. I didn't speak with him until the next day (April 8th):
me: hey
me: so should we go around again
me: maybe you sent me a postcard from italy? it didnt have a postmark on it so im not sure how it got to me but looked like your handwriting
mike: might be me but i wasnt in bologna
me: crap. well someone sent me a postcard and the front of it says bologna and its a pic of the city
me: and it looked like your signature, i will have to compare
mike: i am pretty sure now it wasnt me
me: hahhaa
mike: i was in milan and venice
mike: bologna was a bit far south
me: maybe you were drunk'
mike: :-). possibly
mike: u have three coming your way
me: im going to scan it and email you
mike: one from NM and one from Kansas and one from Indiana
me: OOOH
mike: all coming from a NM postmark :-)
me: very cool. awesome. thank you!!!
mike: yes I am pretty damn awesome
me: you are the best
mike: i am right
me: yes
me: the postcard didnt even have a stamp
mike: maybe i was drunk lmao
me: hahaha
mike: im about 99% sure
me: i think so
mike: it wasnt me
me: im going to scan the sig or rather the back of the postcard and send to you
mike: ok
me: haha maybe you grabbed a random postcard
mike: lol send it to me
me: i will tonight
mike: ok
me: the case of the random postcard
mike: there ya go. I do work in forensic document analysis
me: im going to compare it to the vail one
mike: :-)
me: im going to do my own forensics
mike: ok
me: too funny

So that night I got home and compared Mike's previous postcards to me and scanned the one from Italy. They didn't look quite the same. I ended up posting something on facebook stating that I was trying to figure out who had sent me the postcard. Mike of course commented that it wasn't him. A few other people commented on my status as well:
Kahnh: Italian postmen, they're all heart.
Tricia: Italian men can sweet talk ANYONE into doing ANYTHING...even free postage.
Mike: Could I have been that drunk in Italy? Scan and send it to me please :) Now it is bothering me
Afredo (my former Italian neighbor):NOT GUILTY
THEN my friend Colum posted a comment stating that "There was a stamp on it when I posted it!"

I had totally forgotten that Colum told me he was going to Italy to see the Ireland/Italy soccer game.

Mystery solved!!! :-)

Jenny Holzer

2009-04-04T18:35:00.005-04:00

Today Evie and I went to the Whitney Museum to see Jenny Holzer's Exhibit Protect Protect. What an amazing exhibit. I recommend that everyone go check it out if they are in the city!
We were even lucky to join a tour that went through each section of her exhibit and explained the works we were seeing. It was extremely profound and I want to go back and see it again.

Here is a link to Jenny Holzer's Exhibit and another link to her Truisms:

Jenny Holzer's Protect Protect at The Whitney (click link)
Truisms (click link)

Art Review NY Times (click link)

Big Umbrellas Should be Banned in the City

2009-04-03T10:43:00.006-04:00

Today it is torrential downpouring so you obviously need an umbrella to avoid becoming a drowned rat. I have a personal size umbrella since I am the only one under it and not a family of 5 that can fit under a golf umbrella. As I made my way to the subway, I nearly had my eye taken out several times by fellow pedestrians that insist on utilizing the largest size umbrella possible.

What is even worse about these people who like to carry super-sized umbrellas is how they carry them on a clear day that has the potential to rain in the afternoon. Clearly the umbrella is much too large to fit in their briefcase or purse, so they have to carry it like a walking stick. This would be fine if the umbrella was held in a vertical angle but these dumb donuts are oblivious to the people around them. But noooooo, they carry the umbrella at an angle so the sharp pointed end of the umbrella ejects out a couple of feet and stabs out at the person behind them. This is especially dangerous when exiting a subway station behind one of these inconsiderate muppets.

If you are going to live in a densely populated city or anywhere for that matter and you are going to carry a dangerous object, you should be a bit more cognizant of the people around you. Or my recommnedation is that the city should ban these objects. If they can ban smoking in bars because of the dangers to other people, then they should ban umbrellas bigger than personal size for the same reason.

Update--on my way back in from lunch some jackass hit me with his WET umbrella and didn't have the courtesy to even apologize. GRRRRRR!!!!!

Updated Tattoo

2009-03-21T19:20:00.007-04:00

So I finally got my tattoo updated with all the words in Sanskrit I wanted inked.

This is the meaning of my tattoo:

Prosperity (top center)
Wisdom (top left) Strength (top right)
KARMA (center)
Love (bottom left) Honor (bottom right)
L
O
Y
A
L
T
Y
Desire(left leaf) Happiness (right leaf)
I
N
N
E
R
B
E
A
U
T
Y
Patience (left leaf) Compassion (right leaf)

New Favorite Photographer

2009-01-19T08:14:00.010-05:00

Yesterday Rob and I went to the MET to get some culture.
There was an exhibit titled
Reality Check: Truth and Illusion in Contemporary Photography <--click link to see some of the works that were exhibited.

The exhibit was pretty amazing. Rob was familiar with one of the photographer's Gregory Crewdson. Gregory Crewdson is "best known for elaborately staged, surreal scenes of American homes and neighborhoods." (wikipedia)

Click links below to see his work
Gregory Crewdson
Gregory Crewdson Images

I highly recommend you check out his work. I think you will be as blown away by his brilliance as I am.

Are NYC Women Jaded?

2009-01-14T18:33:00.009-05:00

Recently two males have informed me that women in NYC are jaded. So I decided to ponder that statement. If NYC women are jaded, I think they have been given enough reasons to feel the way they do.

I have heard too many stories from my girlfriends and have been exposed to some really incredulous behavior from the male species.

Example #1. My friend met a guy at the local gym near our office. He was "unhappily" married at the time so they just became friends but there was definitely flirting going on. This continued for well over a year and during this time, the guy separated from his wife. Guy contacts lawyer and starts the divorce process. A year and some odd months later, guy informs my friend that he is officially divorced and he wants to move in with her. The entire relationship guy tells my friend he wants to marry her. So they end up getting a place and my friend believes (because of what guy has said to her) that she will be getting a ring soon. This is year 2 or 3 of this relationship. Not even 3 weeks into their cohabitation does guy reveal that he is NOT divorced. Hmmmm...if my friend is jaded, then I think she has a right to be when she has been COMPLETELY LED ON for over 2 years.

Example #2. Random guy starts iming my friend. Informs her that he poses for adult magazines and proceeds to send her pictures of he and his photo buddies private parts. He then informs my friend that he is interested in performing certain sexual acts on his buddy but claims he is still heterosexual because it would just be sex and it doesn't mean he is gay or bisexual... Random guy then informs my friend that he would like to meet her and perform sexual acts on her. When she thinks she has blocked him, he emails her. She informs random guy that they will never meet. Random guy then states that she is like every other woman in the city. Uhh, whatever that means? Apparently every other woman in the city doesn't want to be harassed by some guy who wants to experiment with men and is confused about his sexuality? (whatever floats your boat is fine, just don't get mad if someone else declines to participate)

Example #3. A guy from my past contacts me and informs me he had a crush on me when we were younger. I am curious to learn more about this crush. So after a few months of flirtation, guy says he wants to meet in person. So I agree to go visit him(he is out of state) and he cancels last minute, with a multitude of excuses--the top excuse being that it wouldn't be a good idea...huh? A few months go by, and guy states again he wants to get together. So I tell him he can came here to visit. Again come the string of excuses, this time the primary reason being that he has a dog and doesn't want to put him in a kennel. Ummmm hmmmm. So sick of the game, I rarely contact guy. Guy gets girlfriend but yet still tries to play the game. He evn informs me that he is going away with new girlfriend on a cruise. Guess the dog isn't an issue? He proceeds to tell me that I find him intriguing when in reality, I find him mundane and a little boring. He will never put his money where his mouth is because he is too much of a whimp. When push comes to shove, he is like all men that talk a good game but when you really jump on their ideas, they start shitting their pants because they have no idea what to do and never thought you would call them on their bluff.

Example #4. Guy friends who are married that hit on you and think just because you are pretty and single, it's ok. The best part is when you actually know their wife and like her. Marriage is a solemn commitment, you got married for a reason--hopefully because you loved your wife--and you should honor that commitment. And that fact that a girl is single doesn't mean she is pathetic or looking for attention---especially from a married man (unless said woman has low self-esteem but that is not the case with my friends.)

My friend Janet has a theory about guys in NYC. She says guys have too many options in the city. She thinks that if a guy gets a date with you (you being smart, independent, pretty) then guy thinks he can do better than you so he will just stop contacting you in search of something better. When he finally realizes you were a good catch and someone he would want to date..too much time has elapsed and he realizes that he blew it and has no other choice but to move on.

Guys seems to forget that this is the 21st century and that women don't necessarily need them (please refer to my article on Why I don't need a Man) but that we would like to be in a relationship with them, well. when we find someone that interests us. Some jaded women may say that a guy is only good for one thing. In reality that isn't true. All NYC women have to do is take a quick train ride down to the West Village and make a purchase and she will be satisfied every time.

¿alguien habla español

2009-01-11T10:32:00.002-05:00

Last week I went to Barnes and Noble to pursue one of my 2009 New Year's Resolutions--the one about brushing up on my Spanish. I decided that I should read a book that is written in Spanish as a way to become more fluent. I took 4 years of Spanish in high school and have a pretty decent grasp of the language..but fluent I am not.

As I perused the aisle of Spanish books, I originally decided I should purchase a children's book as that is probably the speed I am at currently but then decided I should challenge myself a little. Years ago I had bought an Isabella Allende book so I decided to start looking at her books. But then I cam across Paulo Coelho. Since I love The Alchemist so much, I decided he would be a good choice. Now, the next thing to determine was whether I should get The Alchemist in Spanish, since I pretty much know the story or try something new and exciting! I decided on the latter. I found El Zahir. The only sentence I could fully comprehend was Se embarcan un viaje que los leeva dels suntuoso glamour de Paris... a few sentences later I read about obsesion por recuperar un amor perdido, y una busqueda por comprendar como se rellaciona con la libertad, la realizacion personal y la necesidad que cada cual tiene de alcanzar sus metas.

It sounded like a novel about romance, excitement and enlighentment...

Little did I realize how daunting this task will be.. I started the book a week ago exactly and have only progressed to page 7 (mind you the story starts on page 4). I had to buy a Spanish-English dictionary since my language knowledge isn't up to par as I confidently assumed.

But I will not be dissuaded. Even if it takes me this entire year to read this book, I will finish it!

History Has Been Made!!

2008-11-05T12:56:00.012-05:00

Well it is official. America has finally elected its first Black President, Barack Obama!!

Jen and I met up with Mark, Garret, Ace, Tony, Ruowen and Chris at Dalton's Bar and Grill to watch an amazing night in history.

Watch Obama's Victory Speech:

Articles on the 2008 Presidential Election:
NY Times
NY Post

Election Day 2008

2008-11-03T22:20:00.005-05:00

Well ladies and gentlemen, tomorrow is Election Day. What an interesting day tomorrow will be. It is literally going to be an historic day. Will we elect our first black President?? Will Sarah Palin be the first woman VP (no comment) and will John McCain be the oldest first term President?

I guess we will all find out tomrrow..unless some state screws up the voting again....

Winner of Social Experiment

2008-11-03T22:10:00.003-05:00

As promised, I would like to announce the winner of the Social Experiment that was conducted last week (see previous blog).

Jeannette W. (friend from highschool) is the official winner of the experiment. Jeannette was able to figure out what I was changing on my Facebook profile in an amazing 6 minutes!!!!!

Congratulations Jeannette!!! Job well done!!!

Do Guys Make Passes at Girls Who Wear Glasses?

2008-10-31T14:20:00.006-04:00

There is the age old question about whether guys make passes at girls who wear glasses. Well apparently there is an entire group devoted to this question on Flikr.

My photographer (from the model stint photos) emailed me today with an interesting request:
"Apparently some of your photos were requested to be in a group on Flickr called "Guys DO make passes at GIRLS THAT WEAR GLASSES." Very sexy group with hot librarian looking chicks."
and he wanted to know if he could post them. Uhh helloo, who am I to turn down free publicity????

Check out the pics:
Guys DO make passes at GIRLS that wear Glasses
(last check I was on page 10)

Conducting an Experiment

2008-10-28T23:56:00.003-04:00

So this week I have decided to conduct a little observation experiment. I have made a change to my facebook page every two days to see if anyone would notice. So far, none of my 200+ friends have even noticed the change. The change I made reminded me of something I used to do in High School. I wonder if any of my friends on FB will read my blog and start to ponder what change did I make to my page. Perhaps I should offer a reward to the person who figures out what the change is.

I will put the following rule in place for this challenge:

I will make the change in the same page on my FB page each time.

This experiment will end on November 3, 2008.

I wonder if anyone is up for the challenge?????

Blog Review

2008-10-24T16:49:00.002-04:00

Here is the latest review on my blog :-)
I enjoyed reading your blog - I like the fact that you have opinions: conviction and passion are so important (even when applied to simple things like music.... and wine). CL, NYC

Beautiful Weekend

2008-09-21T09:32:00.004-04:00

So far this weekend has been beautiful. Yesterday I met up with the photographer for another photoshoot. From quickly scanning the pics that we took, I can't wait to see the final results!!

** Update** New pics have been added...
Model Stint <--Click Link

More Culture

2008-09-18T21:01:00.004-04:00

Tonight my friend Yoko invited me to the gallery opening of Van Gogh at MoMA. The exhibit was pretty good! I am definitely getting culture this year :-)
Nothing else new to report.

Here is the link to the exhibit:

Van Gogh Exhibit at MoMA

Art Galleries

2008-09-13T14:35:00.004-04:00

Last night Matt and I went to check out my favorite photographer in the whole world--David Lachapelle (see the link to his site in my Art Gallery section). It was his opening for his Auguries of Innocence collection. I love David Lachapelle and when I went to his opening back in 2002 I was completely blown away. Last night was slightly disappointing. Most of his work was roped off and it's probably because it was just the reception last night but still :-( Matt and I are just going to have to go back to the gallery another time to see the rest of his collection. After leaving that opening, we stumbled upon another opening that was occurring for Alessandra Sanguinetti (I have just added a link to her site in the Art Gallery section as well) and her The Life that Came exhibit. Her photography was pretty good. Matt put himself on the list so we will be informed of her upcoming openings.

After that we grabbed a bottle of wine at Bottino which according to Matt is a very trendy bar in Chelsea. The wine and food were both good and while the guys weren't interested in me, they were still very cute to look at :-) Then it was homeward bound.

This morning I met up with my trainer. He basically kicked my butt from the UES back down to Chelsea... According to my buddy Numan..no pain no gain and if I don't push myself I won't see any changes.. Maybe I should start taking kickboxing! I must say that I do like my new trainer because he does push me and I am seeing a difference but working out after a night of drinking is really really hard :-(

Delta=Doesn't Ever Leave The Airport!!!

2008-08-18T20:44:00.005-04:00

So this past weekend I went to visit my buddy Mike down in Cary, NC.

My trip started out a little rough. I got picked up by the Super Shuttle 1/2 hour earlier than anticipated which actually worked in my favor. I was scheduled to be on the 7:45pm flight to Raleigh Durham but luckily I was able to get on standby on the 5:11pm flight. The 5:11 flight was pushed back to 5:30pn. By the time I got on the plane it was close to 6pm. From there, we proceeded to sit on the tarmac for the next 2 hours. The flight attendants of Delta was very generous to us..they actually allowed us to have more than 1 snack since it was dinner time. I was able to have both a small bag of peanuts (20 peanuts in total) and then a package of peanut butter crackers (6 in total) WOO HOO what a great dinner! We finally took off at 8:08pm. I txtd Mike to inform him I would see him soon. He started to track my flight. The Delta website indicated that I would be arriving to RDU at 6:45pm Saturday. Mind you, the flight is only an hour. So he called Delta and he was then informed that I would be arriving at 7:30pm. He promptly asked the operator at Delta how this was possible..considering I was leaving later than I was estimated to arrive. Apparently Delta has the unique capability to travel through time and space and arrive earlier than you leave. Pretty cool and I didn't even have to pay an extra fee for that feature!

All kidding aside, by the time I landed in NC it was 9:20pm and that's when my weekend in NC started. We went out to dinner and then went back to his house to chill out. The next morning we went to Carolina Cafe for breakfast and then went on an hour expedition for hair elastics for me. For some reason NC just doesn't carry the correct hair bands. We literally went to 2 Walgreens, 2 Ride Aids (or was it three??) and then to the Food Lion all on this mission critical search for a hair elastic. We finally managed to find them at the last Rite Aid and I scored 100 of the suckers for $4.99! Mike is now fully versed in the differences of all the hair elastics made for women. A new skill I am sure his next girlfriend will appreciate.

After that, we went back to Mike's humble abode to get the closets organized since that was one of the main purposes of my visit. We had lunch at Sweet Tomatos and then dinner at Bonefish Grill. He then took me to Chappel Hill to see the college town, over to Duke University to see that campus and then we met my SE Danny and his wife at George's Garage for a few drinks and great conversation.

Sunday was basically chilling out until my exciting flight back to NYC, where I proceeded to sit on the tarmac at JFK for almost an hour listening to 3 screaming babies.. Seriously, have these mother's never heard of Benedryl???

All in All it was a great trip to NC and I am looking forward to visting there again!

New England Summers

2008-07-22T22:33:00.004-04:00

So I am talking over yahoo to Jim who I went to highschool with. Somehow we got on the topic of seafood. We started discussing fried clams, lobsta (lobster for you non New Englanders) and then corn on the cob. Summer just isn't summer without having any of the previously mentioned items. Every summer, my mother and I would go to Martha's Vineyard for a week to visit my grandmother. Every summer we would have lobster, fried clams, corn on the cob, potato salad and strawberries for dessert. The last time I was on MV was last year Memorial Day to visit my aunt who now lives on the island. I prefaced my visit by saying that I absolutely had to have fried clams. You simply cannot get fried clams in NYC like you can on Martha's Vineyard.

The best thing my ex-boyfriend did about 3 years ago was to have a whole clambake overnighted from Gloucester because he knew how much I loved seafood in the summer. We had lobster, stuff to make fried clams, clam chowder, steamers, corn on the cob, you name it. It took a few hours to make and probably the same amount of time to eat it, savoring each delicious bite...

Now that I completely have a craving for fried seafood, I think I better get myself up to Boston for some proper seafood.

The other thing I remember about summers is going to Plum Island. My mother would get me up at like 630 or 7am and we would pack a cooler and head to Plum Island. The beach would be completely deserted and we would eat our breakfast on the beach. Every time I eat a pecan roll, I am transported to the Saturday mornings on the beach. We would stay at the beach until 4pm. I have always decided that if I ever have a child, that is one tradition that I would like to pass on because Saturdays on the beach in the summer are some of my favorite memories.

Why I don't Need a Man...

2008-07-07T19:52:00.005-04:00

So today I came home from work and heard my toilet running...clearly not a good sign.

I lift off the lid of the tank to see what exactly is going on in my toilet..because clearly I have graduated from Plumber's School... try flushing the handle a couple of times..nothing happens. Lift up the black round thing because that's usually what stops the water, right? nothing happens. Flush the handle again and notice that this other black rubber thing moves when I push down on the handle. Further investigate the black rubber thingie..it looks very corroded (if thats possible with rubber??) probably not good... I start playing around with it a little bit and I seem to get the water to stop, but figure I should call my landlord anyways...just in case..uhh some water leaks... considering he lives RIGHT BELOW ME...

Call my landlord and it turns out he is away in Serbia. His wife comes up to inspect the toilet situation. She's not too sure how to fix it either..but she goes back downstairs to call my landlord. She tells me all of his friends are away as well and that my landlord won't be home until Saturday. Uhhh...not quite sure how THAT's going to work..NO toilet for a whole week...yeah not a good plan..
Anyways, she comes back up a few minutes later with a few tools.. tests things out a bit, tighten a screw here, loosen a screw there..nothing! She sees the same black thingie and thinks this might be the cause of the problem. She goes back downstairs to call said landlord. A few minutes later, she arrives with a new black thingie..back to the bathroom we go. She measures the old black thingie with the new black thingie, makes a few cuts to the rubber, sticks it on and VOILA--TOILET is working again. I am totally IMPRESSED!!!
Hey, if my landlord's wife can fix a toilet, you better believe I will be able fix a toilet the next time!

hence this post claiming I don't NEED a man, but WANTING a man is a COMPLETELY different story :-)

Great Minds Think Alike

2008-06-26T16:42:00.004-04:00

Clearly Jen and I have brilliant minds.

Here is the conversation I had with Jen yesterday:

Jen: maybe you should come up here and have lunch w/ me
ME: esp when i look Super cute
ME: i should have worn this outfit tomorrow
ME: i have a cute turqoise short sleeved button down with ruffles tucked into a black skirt
ME: i never tuck my shirts in and im quite liking the concept
Jen: excuse me...
Jen: can you SEE what I am wearing at the moment????
Jen: because you basically JUST described my outfit
ME: hahaha
ME: clearly great minds think alike
Jen: where is your shirt from??
ME: ann taylor loft
ME: and skirt is from express like 6 years ago
Jen: hmm
Jen: banana and banana
Jen: it looks like this, but in tourquise (sends link to BR site)
ME: hahha i was just doing the same on atl
ME: mine is very similar to that except the ruffles go all the way down the front and its thicker
ME: i cant find it

Jen and I ended up meeting after work in the West Village and decided to take a pic of ourselves since we were wearing the same outfit..

Recipes for the Day --involves apples and pineapples

2008-06-25T14:28:00.007-04:00

My buddy Frost just sent me a recipe that he found online.

I may have to start a new section for recipes on this blog..although anyone who knows me knows that while I do know how to cook --I just choose not to. This philosophy is perptuated by the lack of food in my fridge and it goes along with the Lady of Leisure Lifestyle that I soooo would like to be accustomed to :-)

Anyways...

Just to prove that I actually have some culinary talent, here is a testimonial from my buddy Matt for dinner that I made for him about a week ago:
muchas gracias for the home-cooked dinner - by far the best meal i've had in over a month.....you could prob charge a pretty hefty fee for that dish and it would be well worth it!

And now, back to the recipe from my buddy Frost:
(apparently he was craving something sweet and this is what he found)
Cakes/Cupcakes/Bundts:

Frosty: A German chocolate cake with a whip cream cheese frosting topped with pineapples and apples.

**Update from Frost:
real drink recipe: The Threesome

Fill a martini shaker with ice and add the vodka. The next steps are really important to do in order. Add 1 part apple juice, then 1 part pineapple juice and add the rest of the apple juice. Shake and strain into a martini glass. I discovered this drink at Extra Virgin in Chicago.

Random Poll Time

2008-06-23T21:02:00.005-04:00

Ok, as many of you know, I am famous for sending out random poll questions. I have decided to send out a random poll for my next vacation. I am looking to take a vacation and I have no idea where I should go. So today's random poll is:

Where should I go on vacation?

I have a few criteria for this upcoming vacation:
1. Cannot be in the US
2. Cannot be to the following places as I have already been:
Argentina, Ghana, England, Dominica, Martinique(although I would love to go back), Barbados, Bermuda, St. Thomas, St. Maarten, or St. John.
3. Would prefer warmer climates to colder(snowy) climates
4. Not super interested in going to New Zealand, Austrailia, or Hawaii(this US so its part of criteria #1 anyways.)

I want to go somewhere that I can get cool stamps on my passport :-)

I welcome all suggestions. If you decide to post a comment, please don't do an anonymous post in case I want to contact you with questions.

Thanks!

Looking for Parking in the City or Elsewhere???

2008-06-12T13:55:00.008-04:00

We all know how hard it is to find a parking spot in NYC..now you don't have to fret looking for a space----

Check out this cool site:
Spotasaurus.com---The Easy Way to Find a Parking Spot
Parking Information. You want it and we've got it. We have a dino-size database of parking information. Parking garages, parking lots, parking spaces, parking rates. If has to do with city parking in the United States, chances are, we've got it.

Click below to go to:
Spotasaurus Website

Could it get any HOTTER?????

2008-06-10T16:00:00.011-04:00

As of 3 p.m. Tuesday, the high in Central Park was 96 degrees. The previous record high in Central Park was set in 1984, with a high of 95.

Although city residents and commuters have felt the wrath of the unusually warm beginning to the summer season, CBS 2's Lonnie Quinn forecasts the possibility of some highly volatile thunderstorms that should be the next cause for concern. <----great (stretching out the syllabules) so not only do we have to worry about this heat, now we have to worry about VOLATILE thunderstorms...never knew there were any other kind of weather storms????????

Here are some headlines for the extremely hot and humid weather that has been plaguing NYC (click on titles):

City Sizzler Continues For Fourth Day

Scorching heat in NYC for 3rd straight day

East Coast Heat Wave Bakes Wide Area

Let's hope that the severe thunderstorms they are predicting actually cool Gotham City down!!

Magic Orange <---click link for pics

2008-06-07T11:16:00.009-04:00

Last night, Jayne and I went and checked out Jesse's band Magic Orange.
It was pretty cool. Check out the pics by clicking on the link above.

Animal Bars

2008-06-07T11:10:00.004-04:00

On Thursday, Jen and I went to the:

Yes, that is right, the Blue Donkey!

And last night I went to the:

Clearly there is a theme here. Jen and I are going to organize a pub crawl for all animal bars. So far on the list we have the following bars:

Black Duck
Blind Monkey
Blue Donkey
Red Lion
Slaughtered Lamb
Spotted Pig

If anyone else knows of any other bars that should be added to the crawl...post a comment!

NATIONAL DONUT DAY!!!!

2008-06-06T16:32:00.010-04:00

Ok, so as many of you know, I have learned a great word from my buddy in Scotland.

That word being Donut.

Donut is used to describe someone you would call an idiot, a knucklehead, or some other affectionate term for a person who clearly annoys you with their ignorance. I love using the word Donut to describe people. In fact, we have expanded on the word Donut to include "Dumb Donuts" and "King of Donuts"
So you can imagine my sheer giddyness when Jen informed me that today is National Donut Day....Brilliant!! I can't wait til Scotland reads this post :-)

Donut

VS

Donut

June 5, 2008
Celebrate National Doughnut Day
You sure can't poke any holes into National Doughnut Day. It's a bona fide holiday that’s been observed since 1938 on the first Friday of every June. Originally established by the Chicago Salvation Army as a way to raise money during the depression, it’s been going strong since. The doughnut-Salvation Army connection goes back even further. In 1917, Salvation Army volunteers (called lassies) made thousands of dougnuts for homesick soldiers serving in World War I in France.

Chances are those doughnuts tasted little like the huge, mega-calorie confections we have today. Ours are anything but healthy: the chocolate sandcastle doughnuts at Starbucks have 480 calories. Still, for an occasional sugar rush, it’s nice to break out of the cupcake mold and eat a doughnut. Here’s where you can find them right now.

****Update
Apparently NY Donuts have their own blog--check it out :-)
NYC Donut Report

I need to get this T-Shirt!!

Shoot Em Up--Clive Owen style!! <---click link

2008-06-02T22:41:00.003-04:00

Pics from the 20 West 20th Rifle Range

***UPDATE*** (6/18/08)
Remember in my previous post for this outing, I stated that there were ambulances etc outside the rifle range about an hour after we left? Well, we finally have the story of what happened. The article states June 3rd but the timeline coincides with when we were there on June 2nd.
Click below to go to:
Rifle Range Story---What happened

Tattoos<---click here

2008-05-31T12:38:00.002-04:00

My very own Restaurant

2008-05-18T13:34:00.003-04:00

My friend Jen just sent me an MMS showing me a new restaurant in her hood named after yours truly--well almost, the spelling is slightly different...but still pretty cool huh??

Playing Tourist

2008-05-18T13:29:00.004-04:00

Yesterday was a beautiful day to play tourist. The weather was in the 60s and sunny!
I ended up meeting the Pitts at Isabella's for brunch and then we walked around the UWS at a sidewalk fair. Then we went down to Christopher St and landed in the middle of a Flea Market! The flea market took up about 10? streets and was really cool. From there we went to Centro Vinoteca for tapas and the proceeded to walk to SoHo. We walked around SoHo for a bit and then ate dinner at Blue Ribbon Sushi. Hopped back on the train to Time Sq to hit Toys 'R Us. Rode the Ferris Wheel inside Toys 'R Us and then did a little browsing. Next stop was the M&M store and then homeward bound. We got Mr. Softie ice cream cones and headed back to the hotel. Said goodnight and hopped in a cab back to the UES. What an action pack filled day!!

Mary Poppins <---click here

2008-05-17T08:52:00.002-04:00

Last night went and saw Mary Poppins on Broadway. What a great show!! The cast was really, really good. The set was very cool as well. I can't say enough good things about this show! I highly recommend going to see it.

Hmmm... now I have to find my next Broadway/Off Broadway show to go see....stay tuned!

1300 Calendars, 3 different stamps

2008-05-11T19:50:00.016-04:00

So, the other day, my boy Matt was telling how he is going to volunteer and stuff envelopes for CAE (center for anti-violence education) and it reminded me of when I used to be a temp during school breaks and I took this temp job which involved putting stamps on envelopes.

I had to go to this company, WM, where their postage machine had broken down and they were sending out their annual calendar and needed to put $1.61 on 1300 hundred calendars to be mailed. So yours truly shows up and learns that she needs to put the stamps on the envelopes. Now, it wasn't just 1 stamp for $1.61. Oh No, it was 3 individual stamps. On 1300 envelopes. I think I had a little cup of water and sponge to put each stamp on, I don't remember having to lick them...Thank God!!!! The job was for 2 days. Yes,2 days, that is how long it was estimated that it would take me and I think I was only making like $10/hr for this job. So the first day, I spent the entire day putting 3 different stamps on envelopes. The next day I returned for another funfilled day of putting stamps on envelopes and saw that I had a helper. Apparently, one of the guys from WM had brought his daughter in to help me (I think he felt bad for poor little me.)

So clearly after putting 3 individual stamps on these damn envelopes the day before, my motivation was to do it has fast as I could so I could get the hell out of there. I managed to finish like 2 or 3 hours early so I went to tell the Supervisor-- thrilled to be leaving early--I didn't even care at the point that I was losing a little bit of money. I was just happy to be leaving, never to return again! ...... And then the supervisor asked me to stay to file. :-(

So to get out of filing, I told them I would have to check with the Agency to "see if it would be ok for me to do filing". But of course the agency said to stay and file. Once again, my motivation was to file as quick as possible to get the hell out of there. But sadly this was not going to happen.

I went back to the supervisor to inform her that I was done with the filing and the next thing I hear from her (to my Horror!!)is this loud voice telling everyone who could hear her that there was a Temp here and did anyone need anything done????? Now, I am praying to god that no one needs anything done so I can finally leave. So I am standing there, sorta looking around, still praying to myself "please let no one need anything filing, please let no one need any typing". One woman came over and was going to have me do something but then changed her mind. Luckliy, no one else ended up needing me to do anything either. I sighed relief as the supervisor signed my time card and I walked out of there as fast as I could before anyone could change their minds!!!

This was definitely the worst job I have ever had in my entire life. It definitely beats working as a cashier at Dragon House where I used to come home and mother would complain that I reeked like Chinese food!

Jana Water<---click to go to actual website

2008-05-06T18:26:00.004-04:00

So yesterday I went to the deli to get my usual salad and lo and behold I was given a free Jana water! Check it out! I knew I should have Trademarked my nickname way back when. sigh...

Travelogue

2008-04-26T09:31:00.001-04:00

So I am trying something new with this blog. I have added the Travelogue section on the left so it's easier to find the picture of my trips. Let me know what you think!

Nicknames

2008-04-15T21:45:00.015-04:00

So on my way home from the gym today, I started thinking about all the nicknames I have had in my life.

My first nickname was Matilda Ann. My Aunt used to call me Matilda Ann for who knows what reason and when she would call me that, I would say no I'm Sanjana and she would say no, your name is Matilda Ann. Then I would go ask my mother what my name was... now that I think about this, that wasn't very nice of my Aunt to confuse me like that hahahahah.

Growing up, my friends either called me Sanjana (pronounced Sinjana) or Jana.

After I graduated college, the nicknames became more interesting:

PW I was known as Ginsana

ATT my nickname was Sam (because I was a Sales Assurance Manager) or as my protege Ralph used to call me Sammy. Once I had a client send me a fax and instead of Sanjana Kumar the fax was addressed to Santana Lumar...close but no cigar Mr. Customer..

At G I was called SKumar (skoomar) which Zontini still calls me to this day.

One of my clients, one of my coworkers, and one of my business partners all call me Sunshine (must be because of my sparkling personality heheh)

I can't remember any nicknames from Savvis...Frost calls me Sweetheart but he's my ex-work husband so he's allowed to call me that :-)

At RM, one of my clients addressed me as Namosa, which was hysterical since my name was in 21 point font in my email to him!!!! Also, we couldn't figure out how he could have mixed up my name that bad.. I mean Santana Lumar..I can see but Namosa??? Which turned into an even funnier joke as the email thread went on and on. Hmmmm....I should find that email and post it hahahah.

At AT, they have been the most creative. When I first went to LA, they asked me if anyone called me Sanjaya (of American Idol fame), to which I responded not until I came here heehhe. They have since started calling me Sanj (YUCK! Its like fingernails on a chalkboard everytime I hear that one) And Julia has dubbed me Sanjipants--which I really don't like but I have given up the fight on that one :-( . So now basically everyone in the company, even my VP (including his wife AND daughter!!) calls me Sanjipants, Sanji or just Pants lol. Although sometimes I am called SK which I don't mind. And one of my customers calls me Sanjani which I think is cute.

**Update. I have received a few more nicknames in the recent weeks. My boy Matt has cleverly nick named me Sanny J, Sanna, and Sunny Sanjana. Jen still prefers Sanjipants..... another friend started calling me Sunny because she liked Sunny Sanjana.

Now if you are wondering what my middle name is, I don't have one..although my mother used to tell me growing up that my middle name was Trouble...with a capital T!!!! I said I don't go looking for trouble, trouble just happens to find me (innocent look--yeah right! i definitely instigated alot, come to think of it I still do)...Oh she also told me I would be infamous...not famous...INFAMOUS. Still waiting for that to happen..

Public Transportation

2008-04-14T15:30:00.006-04:00

Ok, I have been holding back all of my negative comments about public transportation but I cannot hold back any longer...
This past Saturday, I took a little adventure to Jersey. I had to take a cab from my apt to the NY Waterways (www.nywaterways.com) so I could catch the ferry to Weehawken Port Imperial. I got the address to the Pier it was just listed as W39th Street. When I looked at it quickly, I thought it had said Pier 11. Well APPARENTLY that wasn't correct, so that earned me one bad strike against me from the cab driver. I IMMEdiately pulled out my phone and looked up the website again and said I need to go to W39th and 12th. Sorry for the confusion. So we take the FDR to E38th and make our way over to the West Side. Of course W39th was closed b/c Hell's Kitchen was having a street fair.. so the driver takes W37th and then starts heading to W44th, so I am like where is the dude going... so I said Where are you going? He started YELLING at me...saying that I don't know where I am going and He lives in the city and I live in Jersey. So I said, first of all, I live in NYC..and I have never been to this pier before so he can just relax and not for nothing but doesn't it say on the back of the Cab that the rider has the right to question the driver??? So not only did I give him a 50 Cent tip, I took down his name and driver number and I am going to complain to NY Taxi for the RUDE Driver I had to Endure (ok a little melodrama but that makes for a better story hehehe)
Maybe all cab drivers should be women (see previous post) because they are a HELLUVA lot NICER!!!!

Women Cab Drivers

2008-03-20T20:32:00.004-04:00

Tonight I took a cab and had my first female cab driver. She was very cool and told me all about being a female driver. She has never had an issue with any drama while driving and she said she likes the fact that every day is an adventure!
I have always wondered what it would be like to be a female cab driver and now I know.
Pretty cool!

Ghana Travelogue March 2-11, 2008

2008-03-15T11:22:00.030-04:00

I went to go visit my friend Anita in Ghana, Africa. Here is some information about Ghana from Wikipedia:
The Republic of Ghana is a country in West Africa. It borders Côte d'Ivoire (also known as Ivory Coast) to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south. The word "Ghana" means "Warrior King",[4] and was the source of the name "Guinea" (via French Guinoye) used to refer to the West African coast (as in Gulf of Guinea).

Ghana was inhabited in pre-colonial times by a number of ancient kingdoms, including the Ga Adangbes on the eastern coast, inland Empire of Ashanti and various Fante states along the coast and inland. Trade with European states flourished after contact with the Portuguese in the 15th century, and the British established a crown colony, Gold Coast, in 1874.[5]

Upon achieving independence from the United Kingdom in 1957,[6] the name Ghana was chosen for the new nation to reflect the ancient Empire of Ghana that once extended throughout much of western Africa. In the Ashanti language it is spelled Gaana.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghana

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Sunday, March 2, 2008.
Today I flew from NYC to Accra, Ghana which was a lovely 10 hour flight. The flight was mostly uneventful--only a little bit of turbulence. It seemed like everyone on my flight knew each other. Landed at 7:30am local time on Monday, March 3, 2008. Temperature was 85 degrees and humid!

When I landed, I was met by Nana Yaw (one of Anita's coworkers.) Nana Yaw escorted me through customs and took me to Anita's office. Basically, hung out and slept at Anita's office while she was at client meetings. I found out that Asantewa and another GMA employee were actually the ones who took Anthony Bourdain around when he filmed his No Reservations show in Ghana. Very Cool!! Everyone at GMA was very friendly and welcomed me!

After work, we hit the Accra Mall for dinner, did some grocery shopping at Shoprite and then headed home to find out it was lights out. Met Ben (houseboy) and Mohammed (security guard) and we took my luggage inside in the dark. Since there were no lights on, we decided to open up a bottle of wine ( I know..big surprise) and chillout on her balcony to catch up. I have forgotten to mention that it is really hot and humid in Ghana!!!

Tuesday, March 4, 2008.
Was woken up at 5am by the roosters. Apparently everyone starts their day at 5am because I could hear people sweeping, Ben is outside washing Anita's car and I can hear the kids in the neighborhood. Got ready for the day and we headed over to Anita's office. She and her coworkers dropped me off at the African Regent Hotel so I could hang out by the pool while they had another client meeting. There are tons of Geccos running around and they are so funny because they start doing these pushups which totally cracked me up. For lunch, Anita took me to her Auntie's restaurant where we had Goat kebabs and I had chicken with Jollof rice and plantains. Tried anita's Fufu, which was chicken light soup with a starch made from cassova and plantain which turns into a liquidy starch. It was tasty. Went back to her office to finish out the day and her coworkers taught me Twi (pronounced Chwi) which is one of the dialects spoken here.

Thank you = Medase
How are you = etesan
fine/good = eye (eh ya)
Im going = meko
Go = ko
come = bra
come here = bra ha
wait = twen (tran)
Please = mepa kyew (mepachow)
how much = eh sen
home = efie
I'm going home = meko efie
Goodbye = bye bye
See you = mehowo
drama = wahala (Nigerian)

Went home after work and it was Lights Out again. Got ready in the dark to go out to Twist to watch football (Manchester United vs I forget) and eat pizza. Just as we were leaving, the lights came back on. Hung out with Cozi, Ato, Asantewa and her friend Frances (another American from chicago who is working in Ghana for 2 years doing Economic Development.) Went home after the game and hung out on balcony drinking wine.

Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Woken up again at 5am by the lovely Roosters. Ben, Mohammed and I attempted to take a picture of the damn rooster but it ran away. Today Ben took me to the Cultural Centre, Kwame Nakrumah Memorial Park and Makola Market for some shopping/sight seeing. Anita dropped us off at Oxford Street where we went to Woodin so I could buy material to have a dress made. From there, we took a cab from Oxford Street (which is a whole streets worth of shacks that have businesses, beauty palors, little shops, etc on it) to the National cultural Centre.

Learned more Twi:
kaba = top
slit = skirt
TIA = This is Africa
TIG = This is Ghana

Saw Black Star Square aka Freedom Square

Ate Lunch at the Royal Fiesta Hotel. Had a club sandwich which consisted of Tuna, Hard boiled egg, chicken and bacon with mayo on bread. Not the usual American club sandwich but pretty good.

We went to the Golden Tulip Hotel for dinner. Had a burger.

Thursday, March 6, 2008. Independence Day!!
Woke up at 5am of course and hung out on balcony having tea. Finally took a pic of my favorite rooster. There are a bunch of children climbing the wall across the street and they must have seen me because they started waving. Very cute. They are carrying yellow containers which are used to go get water from behind the school.

Good Morning = Marchi

Today there was a lot of Wahala!!! We ran out of water! There are 3 500 gallon tanks on the roof which were filled 3 days before I arrived. typically, 1500 gallons of water should last 3 1/2 weeks. So we had to call the water guy to deliver water. We are trying to figure out how all of that water could have disappeared...could someone be selling it to the locals? or did the water guy not fill it all the way the last time he was there?? Hmmmmm it's a mystery!

Next thing to go missing were her 4 cats! Apparently some people eat cat stew so its possible the cats and the water were stolen to make cat stew....poor little cats :-(
Later in the day, the littlest kitten showed up so we figure he didn't have enough meat on him to make a good stew, so no one took him but he did look a little traumatized...

Once the water was delivered, we went to Tanta Maria's for lunch. Had plantain fries, chicken and rice, and tried a specialty drink called Bissap which is made from boiling Hibscus flowers, water,and sugar, . It was sweet and sorta tasted like our grape juice.

Went to Eunice's, the seamstress down the road, to have another dress made.

Next we went to Allure Beauty Salon to have our hair done for the Polo Match we were going to see. The Polo Match was interesting to watch. Ghana was playing the Gold Coast. We lost :-(
Drove by the US Embassy to see the fortress.
We were going to go out later but when we got home, we both ended up falling asleep and waking up at Midnight and were still too tired to go out.

I will finish the rest of the trip soon....stay tuned.
ok so I have really been slacking but I promise to update the rest of this travelogue soon.

4/24 Learned a new slang word today:
Filla = filling in of details

My BLOG

2007-12-02T12:25:00.000-05:00

Well, I finally have decided on a theme for my Blog:

Things That Make You Go Hmmmm....

For those of you who are actually reading my blog, this blog will contain random thoughts and observations and maybe an occassional story from yours truly. Hopefully what you read will make you laugh or evoke some other emotion and make you stop and think and say Hmmmm.

Happy Reading :)

My First Post

2007-11-25T22:20:00.002-05:00

I am still working on a theme for my blog but in the meantime, I have set up my blog with some of my favorite items (authors, wines, gossip, etc) that I wanted to share.