Happy Birthday to BOTH!

dark_towhead
tchjdaedn

This is clearly a great new knitting project:

http://pictureisunrelated.com/2009/06/20/some-people-take-laptop-privacy-too-far/

Happy Birthday krikketgirl!

Happy Birthday ladyscience!!!

Now get your butt down here. These martinis aren't going to drink themselves...

Hey all,

I have spent the last week with a cold, which sucks, yes, but has allowed me to stay home and accomplish a lot of things around the house. Which leads me to my point. I know many of you love to entertain with dinner parties, get-togethers, etc, and I have enjoyed some of them personally! Many of you also know that I do not really throw parties myself, partly because I'm a mediocre cook at best and partly because I have spent many years now in a series of miniature apartments, so I have contented myself with hosting one or two-person sleep-overs for friends traveling through.

However.

My in-laws buy me gifts geared toward Martha-Stewart-calliber entertaining. I don't know quite why they do this as they have never actually seen me entertain anyone, at least in the dining sense. I have at least five platters, even though I have never cooked for more than four people, and now that I'm in grad school, I'm even less inclined to attempt it. I hold onto those platters on the off-chance that we'll have kids and need to serve up food in larger quantities someday. And so...

My point:

I can confidently say that I will never have any use for a porcelain candy dish. It's a very lovely cream color in the tasteful shape of a heart. Seriously. If we ever were to have candy in the house, Matt would consume it all immediately. I have a nice jewelry box, so I have no alterior use for it. Someone out there must be pining for one! Someone must have guests longing for candy! I will send it to you on my dime!

Yesterday: 3:30pm, corner of 69th street and Park Ave.

Who: Woody Allen and his wife/former daughter Soon-yi

Wearing: Him--fishing hat, Her--khaki shirt dress ala Banana Republic

Visual Age: Him--90? Her--12?

So today I stormed Macy's.....along with a surprising number of Germans. I just wanted to get a nice dress for the two weddings we're going to, a pair of strappy shoes, and make a quick getaway.

Four hours later I came out with THREE dresses and a pair of strappy shoes. In my defense, one of the dresses is actually a new suit dress for my conference. And two of them were 25% off and the third was 40% off. One is black, strappy knee-length satin c/o Calvin Klein, the other is a strapless blue with black gauze over it and sparkles at hem.

So my question is this: can you wear black to a wedding? I figured it might be okay for several reasons:

1. The first wedding, although the ceremony is at 3pm, will have the reception at a yacht club (Matt's co-worker=loaded).
2. The second wedding ceremony is at 5:45pm followed by a 7pm reception--i.e. an evening wedding...
3. ...with the reception at Mass MOCA--upscale museum.
4. The second wedding is going to be huge and half-Indian, which means many of the party-goers will be in traditional saris--the dress code will already be all over the map.

Should I accessorize the black one with a colorful wrap or shrug? Which dress should I wear to which event? I've been in casual student clothes so long, I've forgotten social rules! Never mind the fact that New York parties are way out of my league.

Ladies! It's official. Matt and I are coming up to Worcester for a week to see his parents (his dad just had knee replacement surgery). We're arriving on May 10th and leaving May 15th (Friday) to go up to North Adams for a weekend wedding. I'm comin' to SnB so let me know when/where it will be!

Hey all! Nothing cures frazzled brain cells like a week at a 4 star hotel. Thank you, Matt's AACR conference, thank you.

Although, nothing says "welcome back" like 5 loads of laundry.

I passed!!! More later....

Hope you're up to something fabulous, so what if it's a Monday!

As the queen says, "Keep Calm and Carry On"

Must. Not. Panic. I am perfectly calm. Today, a fellow student will give me a practice test and then I will spend the rest of the day/weekend reading the last four books I need to do, as well as making some study charts/timelines. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday will be the studying of notes, timelines and photos. Ahem.

This reminds me of when I had a piano recital every spring when I was in grade school, junior high, and high school. I absolutely hated it and spent the month before dreading it. One year, I threw up in the car on the way there.

I'm going cross-eyed reading and can't look at another book tonight, so I'm surfing the internet and decided to pose a "hypothetical" situation:

Say a good friend from long ago is getting married this summer. You can't wait to attend because you know a lot of old friends will be there whom you haven't seen in a long time! BUT. You know that the groom is good friends with your ex-boyfriend and that he will also be attending. Even though you're now happily married, and your husband doesn't care that your ex will be there (since it wasn't such a long relationship anyway, a fling really), you'd still (of course) like to look smokin' hot--to subtly rub in your ex's face what he so callously tossed aside. Where would you look for a new dress? (you're thinking less than $200)

Matt and I went out for a nice dinner last night because I have been a shut-in for so long at this point that I had to get out and have NICE FOOD around PEOPLE. I still have 24 more days of studying. I need that time, but I am SO TIRED of doing nothing but studying that I took the mornings off this weekend and read a NEWSPAPER. And did the crossword!

Still need to brush up on:

1. English Gothic: Ely, Westminster, Peterborough, Salisbury, etc.
2. Castles
3. Oceanic

This week I get back to the TA routine after having enjoyed my spring break not catering to their needs.

I just got called for jury duty. ON THE DAY OF MY EXAM.

Luckily, NYC has a postponement option, so I postponed duty until July 1st.

But still, what are the odds?

Birthday: great!

Batting cage: big hit!

Chocolate mousse cake: big hit!

Brewery: Lame. Mediocre food, place empty. View of Hudson awesome though.

Yes indeed. It's tough when you live on a student stipend and they don't withhold any taxes. In fact, I had to claim my summer travel scholarship also. We will be paying in the four digits. I don't know with WHAT, but we will. :(

I got tagged a couple of times so here goes for your Tuesday pleasure:

Much like the 'About me' notes, you also once you've been tagged, send it back to the person who tagged you, and all those you want to do it as well! This is kind of like the 25 things - except they are pre-decided questions and it's about you and your spouse, not just you. Come on, play along - inquiring minds want to know!

♥ What are your middle names? Shawn and Jordan (he told me in a decided tone that it was spelled with a "W" not like "Sean" Connery).

♥ How long have you been together? We've known each other for 5 years--we've been married for 2 years and 7 months of that time.

♥ How long did you know each other before you started dating? 10 days. It took a couple of group hang-out events, several chaperones, and a make-out session at someone else's party before he was comfortable enough to ask me out. (Do I smell chicken?)

♥ Who asked whom out? He asked me to dinner and brought a DVD over to my place.......not knowing I didn't have a DVD player. [Moment of awkward hilarity.] Then he said, "I guess I know what to get you for your birthday!" and that's how I knew he was serious.

♥ How old are each of you? Me: 31, Him: 29. That's right, ladies. I'm a cougar.

♥ Whose siblings do/did you see the most? I have still not met his brother. The feud has been going on as long as our relationship. So, um, that would mean we see MY brother most often. About twice a year or so--he's in Buffalo.

♥ Do you have any children together? Not yet. And why do people keep asking this question?

♥ What about pets? What about them? Well, really we'd love to have a dog, but NYC is not the best place for them. Matt has occasionally mentioned getting a cat, but I was allergic to them in high school and would rather not tempt fate...and the furniture.

♥ Which situation is the hardest on you as a couple? I'm pretty even tempered. He's a bit emotionally up and down. I'm diplomatic. He's blunt and honest. I keep too much to myself until I'm ready to blow. He lets out every emotion and thought at all times. Hijinks ensue. This isn't as huge a deal anymore, but it's probably the issue that pops up the most and refuses to go away. Fortunately, we've gotten used to each other and know when to speak up, when to keep quiet, what to take seriously and what to let blow over, so it all works out. The toughest decision we ever had to make together was deciding where to go to grad school. We ended up going to a place more advantageous to me, and I feel guilty at times about that.

♥ Did you go to the same school? No, thank goodness. At that point in our lives, being two years older, I would have thought he was too imature and he would have thought I was dorky and a know-it-all.

♥ Are you from the same hometown? Not even close. He's a Massachusetts Red Sox Nation boy, and I am the wise-cracking Wyomingite.

♥ Who is the smartest? What kind of question is that? Are you trying to start a fight? We're both pretty lucky in the brain area. I think I'm more quick with the wit and a better writer. He's better at spatial reasoning, self-discipline and scientific thinking.

♥ Who is more sensitive? It depends on who had a hard day. Although I would say he's more expressive. In general though, I don't think either of us is as easily offended as some people.

♥ Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple? Well obviously home plate. Oh wait...right. Okay, um, distance wise, probably France. But we've been to England, Iceland, and all over the West together. Wheee!

♥ Who has the craziest exes? Well let me see, we have my Republican ex who slept with all his clothes on, or the girl who was using Matt to get back at her Czech-ex (Chex!) who was stalking her anyway so........toss up?

♥ Who has the worst temper? It's hard to say. Neither of us are ragers. In terms of frequency, probably Matt because he tends to react more angrily to everyday annoyances, and I'm a bit slower. But if I get angry? There's usually a big reason and I'll usually be angry for a lot longer. I'm the grudge holder.

♥ Who does the cooking? We both dislike doing it, we both see it as a chore, and we both are only marginially good at it. We used to do it together, but now that he doesn't get home until 7pm, I usually start it, and he usually cleans up.

♥ Who is more social? Definitely me. I'll hang out with most anyone. He really has to like you to hang out with you because he's such a home-body and can be shy. He can be really social with people he considers close friends.

♥ Who is the neat-freak? Both of us. We have alphabetized spices, people. Though this neatness ironically never pertains to making the bed or getting rid of old books.

♥ Who is more stubborn? Hard to say. We can both be stubborn, but I think it depends on the topic (him: food, me: time management). I'm more likely to give in on certain things. But when I'm determined, look out.

♥ Who hogs the bed? He does. Except when it's 20 degrees out. Then all of a sudden, I'm a lizard and he's my heat rock.

♥ Who wakes up earlier? He's a morning person. He's up usually at 8am, chipper, read to go. Before I met him, I would not rise on weekends before ten. When I DO get up, don't talk to me, don't ask me questions.

♥ Where was your first date? We had burgers at Finder's Pub in West Boylston, then hung out at my apartment and watched TV. It was nice and low-key. That's our style, man.

♥ Who has the bigger family? Both our mothers came from huge, decidedly prolific families. It's a toss up.

♥ Do you get flowers often? Once a year on Valentine's Day. Birthdays and anniversaries are usually gifts of another type.

♥ How do you spend the holidays? With family--we just have to figure out whose!

♥ Who is more jealous? Honestly, neither of us are the jealous type and neither of us gives the other reason to be. If we think the other person is spending to much time on [insert: studying, cycling, etc. here] then we'll say so, and it's all fixed!

♥ How long did it take to get serious? After less than two months he was cleaning up my vommit from being sick. That's when I knew, ladies! I knew we would get married! [cue violins] We started talking about "someday when we're married" pretty early, though we dated two years before getting engaged, when it felt right.

♥ Who eats more? HIM. The man burns 5,000 calories a day during racing season. He also gets territorial around food and looks like he's ready to bite my hand off if I get near his cookies!

♥ Who does/did the laundry? I do it. He cleans the bathroom and kitchen. Hell, I'll wash sweaty spandex racing shorts if it means I never have to scrub a bathtub on my knees again!

♥ Who’s better with the computer? We're both about equal. Much like cooking, usually we can figure something out between the two of us. I'm better at PCs and stuff like Excel. He's better at Macs and imaging.

♥ Who drives when you are together? ME. He hates driving. His biggest pet peeve is waiting in lines. So getting in traffic makes him come unglued--but weirdly, only if HE'S behind the wheel. I love driving for some strange reason, so it all works out. Also, I drive stick, which is what my parents have and what you get at some rental-car places, so there's that.

I so wish I was going to this instead of stuck here for two months reading my hiney off, but for my Ladies in Wormtown, I just got the note from WAM about the movie that was filmed at the museum a year ago. They're going to have a film screening and, ahem, CHRISTOPHER WALKEN AND WILLIAM H. MACY WILL BE THERE. I think they're going to the VIP reception, which is a little pricey, but I thought I'd let you know in case there are some huge Walken & Macy fans out there--this is your chance to meet them! I can't believe I no longer work there (gah!). I will be really sad if the movie is not good (I don't like the sound of "bumblingly hilarious results"). Here's the premiere info and there's a plot summary at the bottom.

INFO:

Join us for the Benefit World Premiere of

THE MAIDEN HEIST

filmed on location at the Worcester Art Museum

ONE NIGHT ONLY
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Hanover Theatre for the Perfoming Arts
2 Southbridge St., Worcester, MA 01608

Tickets can only be purchased through the Hanover Theatre: www.thehanovertheatre.org

6pm VIP Reception, Hanover Theatre
7:30pm THE MAIDEN HEIST, film screening, Hanover Theatre
9pm After Party, Worcester Art Museum

Prices:
$30 film screening
$75 film screening, after party
$200 VIP reception, film screening, after party

ABOUT THE MOVIE:

THE MAIDEN HEIST gives us the most endearing characters ever to commit grand larceny: three museum security guards who live lives of quiet captivation, each enraptured by a particular work of art. Roger (Christopher Walken), Charles (Morgan Freeman), and George (William H. Macy) are each so lost in fascination with the particular objet d'art of his affection that although they have been coworkers for decades, they only just meet for the first time when crisis strikes: there's a new curator in town, and his plan is to change the museum's collection entirely, threatening to rob each man of his greatest secret passion in life. However, having found their kindred spirits, the men forge a plan to hold onto the works of art they hold most dear. Though hardly criminal masterminds, their inflamed hearts drive them to plan and execute the most daring art heist ever conceived from the inside--with bumblingly hilarious results.