My Sweet Sixteen

Today is my birthday and I'm feeling old. Since everyone who's ever served me a drink at a bar or wheeled me into a hospital thinks that I'm either not of drinking age or even of college age, I'm calling this my Sweet Sixteen.

[photo courtesy of Julie; birthday tiara courtesy of Anjali]

Resurfacing

So, it's been a while, eh? I stayed away about as long as I could stand before I realized that NOT blogging was not improving my lack of happiness.

I'm going to skip the sob story about how this last month has been an introspective one, how getting my last asthma attack made me feel more vulnerable than I've felt in a while, and how I'm so g-d damn tired of LOSING acquisitions because my company can't pay more for good books (or effing promotions, for that matter).

I talked to one of my fantastic cousins tonight who is literally halfway around the world (the Philippines) and she told me that she read my entire blog. Seriously. Like from the first post to the last. That was the most flattering thing I've heard anyone say to me in a while and it made me want to come back and start writing regularly again. Thank you, M.

So, here I am. We have a lot of catching up to do. Since it's 1 am, I'm going to pack it in soon, but I do have new pictures to share from my business trip to San Francisco last week.

Dear reader, missed you I have. I hope you missed me back.

Go, Nikki, go!!!

Awesome news! Nikki--of the highly anticipated and long awaited first novel, Walking on Tiptoes--has been selected for a prestigious and competitive writer's workshop sponsored by the Hurston-Wright Foundation. This summer she will have an opportunity to spend a whole week focusing only on her novel and getting a lot of much needed work done to bring it that much closer to a bound book and a book signing at Union Square.

Please join me in a round of applause for Brooklyn's best kept secret--Nikki.

Happy Mother's Day

Even though it's a holiday created by the greeting card industry, I hope you make your mom feel special today.

Broken Friendships

The first book Moonie acquired at her new company is this fabulous self-help book about broken friendships, which is going to be an amazing book and the first of its kind.

The doctor writing the book is compiling data through an online survey and I hope many, many, many of you will take 10 minutes to fill out the quiz.

P.S. Moonie: I'm sorry it took me ages to post this. I am always the weakest link.

Mea Culpa

Yeah, yeah, I know that I suck at this blogging thing these days. What can I say? I am incapable of properly balancing my life. Back in the day I was like: go to work, come home, eat, Netflix, blog, and sleep. Now I'm more like: go to work, go to gym, come home, eat, (maybe Netflix), and sleep.

Weird. Never thought I'd be the person to replace blogging with going to the gym or that I might consider using phrases like "gym rat" to describe myself. Seriously people, my sleep patterns have never been this good. And the high that you get from spinning on an elliptical for 30 minutes is pretty amazing.

Here's my new, new year's resolution: go to work, go to gym, come home, eat, Netflix, blog, and sleep. Now all I need to do is create the 36 hour day!

Good morning, Foresters!

Ho hum, ho hum. I'm glad my job doesn't make me travel more than I already do because I don't generally enjoy it. Don't get me wrong, I love to travel. I just don't really like traveling for business because it gets terribly lonely.

Ahem: I'm lonely, people. Please come visit and keep me company with stories (hysterical, pathetic, angry, or otherwise) and the like.

How to get fancy meals for FREE

One word: tastings.

Whether you plan on getting married or not, I highly recommend you follow these directions:

1. Pick a friend of the opposite sex (or same sex if you live in Massachusetts) and establish your wedding details: engagement date, wedding date, how many people you plan to invite, and whether you plan to have the ceremony at the reception site or at another location.

2. Do some research and make a list of fancy reception halls you want to visit. Call them up and tell them you're getting married (gush and squeal) and ask to make an appointment to tour the place with your "fiance."

3. Visit each reception hall (gush and squeal) and tell them all about your wedding. They'll ask you all sorts of questions, so stick to your prepared information otherwise they might sniff out a freeloader.

4. At the end of the tour, tell them how much you LOVE the place and that you'd love to set up a tasting soon.

5. Reservation is made, so all you have to do is show up. Nice places will pull out all the stops to impress you and gain your $20,000 business to their fancy wedding establishment. All you need to do is leave a gratuity for the waiter, but a $10 tip is a small price to pay for a few hours of finger-lickin' goodness.

Why HB and I never thought to try this back in college when we were always broke and looking for a free meal, I have no idea.

Sorry!

Dear Foresters,

Sorry I've been away most of the week. HB was in town and between galavanting for a photographer, snuggling, and beating Zelda: Twilight Princess, I haven't had much time to write. We have SO MUCH to catch up on. I'll start tonight.

Hugs and kisses,

Blue

Cat's out of the bag

Geez, Moonie. Did ya have to shoot it from the rooftops? Now we'll never get a table at Verlaine, the land of milk and honey and $4 lychee martinis.

Here's our awesomely cheap night:

• Martinis: $4 ('course, I only had one) @ Verlaine
• Pistachio Cupcake: $1.50 @ Sugar Sweet Sunshine, a place which I previously wrote off because I picked the wrong flavor cupcake, but now have been reborn
• Sesame pancakes & dumplings: $2 @ Fried Dumpling
• A night of cheap goodness and a full tummy: priceless

Daylight Saving Time Begins

Did you know that the correct term is "Daylight Saving Time" and NOT "Daylight Savings Time"? I didn't, but I was just recently corrected.

In fact, the whole time change business has always baffled me. What gives us the right to take an hour and give it back later? Can you even do that?

I missed you so much!!

Work. Wedding. Illness. All of these things have kept me away from The Forest, but I'm so happy to be back! Missed ya.

So, so much to tell. Don't know where to start, but I will...

It must be my birthday...

'cause the hugguhbear has come to see me a full 10 hours early! That's the best surprise I've had since I don't know when! We have a handful of appointments to see potential wedding reception sites tomorrow, so obviously today's agenda is all about Zelda: Twilight Princess.

I guess this is kind of a hiatus note, since wii will be a bit busy today and tomorrow.

Today is Not Valentine's Day

Today is the day:

1. a guy elbowed me in the face while I was waiting for a bus and dented my glasses. (To the asshole guy in the puffy Giants Starter jacket: Fuck you. Hard.)
2. a 300-lb man sat on my knee, while I was napping on the train. (Napping because of #4.) . I winced in pain and he looked at me like I inconvenienced him.
3. a sweet and mild mannered, but stupid unagented author didn't read his contract and created a legal quagmire that I have to deal with because my boss is on leave.
4. I was sick and had to go to work to deal with #3, and a dozen other fires that are burning.
5. that I became a hypocrite and didn't buy a single card, gift, or anything for anyone I care about for V-day because 1) payday is tomorrow, 2) I've been sick since Sunday and have only had the strength to go to work and come home, and 3) I suck.
6. that should have been a snow day.
7. that should have been Friday.

Today is anything but Valentine's Day. So, for anyone else who either screwed up or felt screwed by this holiday, I'm rescheduling it for President's Day. So it is written, so it shall be done. Now we all have a second chance.

P.S. Now I'm going to go buy these shoes because my feet were ice blocks today.

Casting Call

Nikki and I will be holding an open casting call all this week in order to fill the open position to complete our triad. As I previously mentioned, Moonie has moved on to greener pastures and is an editorial ass no more. No matter, she was always too good to be an editorial ass and there's only room for one ass around here anyway.

Qualified applicants will be a female, smart ass type, and a book lover with an undying love for cupcakes, chocolate, and all things sweet. Plus for applicants with a comprehensive knowledge of pop culture and fashion, although unnecessary. In fact, a lack of said knowledge may be completely endearing.

To apply, please click here.

A Valentine's Day Plea

Before I met hugguhbear (a time we like to call either Never, NeverTime, or BH [Before Hugguh]), I was very lonely and bitter about love. Leading up to Valentine's Day during my freshman year in college, I told all my friends that I would wear black in protest of a stupid Hallmark holiday. Of course, all this bitterness was just a facade, a tough girl act, to cover my sadness for being alone, yet again, on V-day.

A guy friend of mine (a lot of my friends freshman year were boys, but I think I'll save that for another post) gave me a simple V-day card that changed my mind about the holiday forever. In his card, G. told me that the holiday isn't about having a boyfriend and getting presents, but about celebrating love and the act of loving. I had a lot people in my life, new and old, who loved me just the way I was and that was cause for celebration.

I'm sure G. never realized how much that one, very thoughtful card influenced me. It opened my heart to possibilities, and later that summer hugguhbear became an intrinsic part of my life.

(I have a point, I promise.)

Now, G. and I were genuinely just friends. In fact, he was my roommate's boyfriend, but he was also just the kind of guy who would celebrate the holiday with all the people he cared for, not just his girlfriend. That little card meant so much to me and so many people could benefit from his V-day practice.

My Valentine's Day Plea is mostly for any guy readers out there (but, it can also apply to the ladies): make a big deal out of February 14th and tell people in your life how much they mean to you. It only takes a card, or a thoughtful conversation, to tell someone that they're special, because it means a lot. I think men don't really understand how much angst women get over this single day, so please don't pick this one day to be the day that you'll rebel against society and ignore the holiday because it'll only upset someone, no matter what you think.

Michigan: get your shit together and tell Nikki you love her and want to be with her. Please!

C.: enough of this covert boyfriend behavior and sweep Justice off her feet already!

F.: honestly, I don't really have anything to say because I know you'll make Moonie feel special.

Public service announcement over. Thank you.