Celebrity Sightings

The other night I went out to dinner with the Mexican. It’s our little tradition to go out and have a little date night every so often. We sat outside, which I don’t often do, because the Mexican got there before I did. Outside dining is tricky – people gawk at what you are eating, the possibility of bugs landing in your food is higher, and sometimes I get distracted because I’m people watching so I don’t pay attention to my husband. It’s counterintuitive to the purpose of date night. Oh well, these things happen, right?

As my husband spent most of the night watching the people go by, I made cooing sounds at the dogs and babies that pranced or strolled past me. It was a very productive date night for communication between us!

We shared our entrees and made fun of each other as we are wont to do and we finished up. On our way home, we saw a very famous actor. And he was exactly my height! I squeezed my husband’s hand and he squeezed mine back in an understanding of who we had just passed.

Then when the actor was out of earshot I said to my husband, “Maybe I can start my acting career since I’m the same height!” To which my toweringly tall husband said “Yes, honey!”

A few moments later my husband said “Actors really must love living in New York because people just don’t want to bother them.” He’s right! In my decades of living here, I have only gone up to one person and that person is not someone anyone in their right mind would know. I have seen so many celebrities and the most I will do is smile at them in that knowing way but I don’t bother them. I think most people in New York feel the same way. Deep inside New Yorkers and celebrities have the same modus operandi in coming to the Big Apple. We want to make it here and we want anonymity. Those people who act ridiculously in front of celebrities were obviously dropped on their heads in their youth. That’s why they can’t make these coorelations.

Bone Crunching

Falling asleep is sometimes a difficult thing for me to accomplish. Even though I do all the necessary things to help myself naturally fall asleep (except for the tv in the bedroom!! I can’t control that!), it can take a long time to get me snoring. I usually try to read a book to get me sleepy. But with a elephant footed upstairs neighbor, it’s hard to really concentrate.

What I found lately is that one of the best sounds to create soporific effects in me is the sound of my dogs chewing on their rawhide bones. Now, if any human actually chewed like that I would tell them to go back to their mothers and take a refresher course. They chew open-mouthed and full of glee. It’s really delightfully sleep inducing.

I also find the sound of them lapping at their water dish is quite relaxing as well. All of this proves that having a pet is really a very relaxing thing. :o)

Artichoke Hearts

Summer time is one of my favorite times of year solely for the cornucopia of fruits and vegetables that one finds at markets and stores. I love to eat fresh corn, peaches, nectarines and watermelons. But I especially love artichokes. I try to eat as many of them before the cold weather puts a kabash on that.

Recently, I bought a few to make for dinner and I set a pot of water on the stove to boil when I realized that I had forgotten a couple of things at the grocery store. So I told my husband to keep an eye on the boiling pot for the artichokes while I went to get the missing provisions.

I mustn’t have been gone for more than 15 minutes when I came in and saw whole artichokes bobbing in the boiling water. Yes, my husband had tried to help but ….ah if only cooking artichokes were as easy as popping them in the boiling water. I explained to him that you have to cut them in half and take all the thorny insides out and such. He pouted and walked away saying ‘I didn’t know. I was trying to help.’

If you look at an artichoke, it’s hard to know that you have to do so much preparation. So I giggled at him, not because he was dumb but because he was very cute. The intentions were there and that’s really what makes all the difference.

Getting My Goat

One of my biggest pet peeves is people who contact you only when they need something from you. I really want to tell them to shove it! A former collegue who I checked up on a while ago just to see how they were doing, didn’t reply back. It was a simple note to just say hi. I like to do that kind of thing, darn it. Months went by, no reply. I brushed it off as an ‘oh well’ event.

Then this week out of the human sludge, came an email asking how I was and if I could write them a recommendation. Hello!! No!! Now that you need something from me, you contact me?

Ok, so I am a wuss. I wrote a recommendation but I didn’t bother to answer any of their small talk email chatter. I believe in karma. God knows that I am seriously being punished for some horrendous tragedies that I’ve committed in a past life. I hope people will be a little more conscientious that it’s nice to contact people even if you don’t need something from them.

Little Mismatched

There is this young adult clothing shop called Little MissMatched where all the accessories are colorful and mismatched. It’s quite adorable. However this entry refers to some of my recent clothing faux pas. (Reminder to self to look up how to make a foreign word plural when used in English.)

At my dearly beloved cubicle, I tend to sit with my bare feet swinging from my chair. Whenever I get up to go to the pantry or bathroom, I put on my shoes that are just underneath my desk. Of late, work has been incredibly chaotic so I’ve not been able to place my rotation of work shoes in my closet. So, the other day, I got up to go to the bathroom, put on a pair of shoes and walked down the aisles.

I noticed a couple of people looking me up and down and thought to myself ‘I know this sling (recent elbow fracture) sure is weird. No wonder they are looking at me’. I also thought maybe I just looked cute in my skirt. Oh no, dear reader, that was not why they were looking at me. As I walked into the bathroom stall and squatted to do my business, lo and behold, I had two completely different shoes on. Fantastic stuff! So, I did what nature called me to do and then I pulled off my shoes and walked back to my desk barefoot. (Thank goodness for carpeting!). I preceded to tell my co-worker who said she would cover my back next time by looking at my feet whenever I walked by to ensure that this wouldn’t happen again.

Ah but if it’s not for shoes, then it’s something else. Today, I went to the gym dressed in my sweats and followed my usual morning routine. I could tell it was going to be an interesting day because I had left my book at home. (I usually read a book while I do cardio.) I worked up a sweat listening to my ipod, went to the locker room, undressed, showered and prepared to get dressed in my work clothes when….I realized that I didn’t pack a regular bra in my bag. All I had was my clothes, underwear and that’s it. No bra! Since I couldn’t go braless without falling chest first all day long, I decided I would have to wear my sweaty sports bra under my blouse. And to cover up the black sports bra peeking out of my transparent blouse, I had to wear a sweater in the humidity. Lucky that I usually bring a sweater with me in the heat and humidity. Sometimes Antarctic temperatures at work can work to one’s advantage.

Yes, I know. I’m a mess but if I weren’t would I be sitting here typing my escapades. No, I wouldn’t.