finally here.

The last 9 months of my job have been leading up to this upcoming jam-packed weekend.  Selection Weekend 2009.  

We fly in a bunch of people from around the country, and even the world, to participate in in-person interviews with a panel of “judges” (we’re starting to call them interview committee members).  There’s also a big-ish 200+ guest cocktail party the first night of the weekend where all people, rich and poor, come together to celebrate the good work my organization is doing – and obviously the good work of the fellows and finalists too. 

This had better be grand. 

My team has been extra careful to NOT slack off until the last minute, and I’m pretty sure it has paid off.  We’re able to leave on time and no one is stressed.  Not even me.  Not even my boss.  Excellent.

All I want is for this weekend to run smoothly.  It doesn’t have to be perfect – just devoid of major interruption. 

And after this weekend, I will sleep.  A lot.  Get excited.

another failure

I’ll admit – I’m one of those people who eats lunch at their desk.  

As a matter of fact, I’m writing this post while I eat my lunch… at my desk. 

It’s not a habit I’m fond of, and I know it should change.  A total of 14 people work at my organization and the majority of them eat lunch together on a daily basis.  I think it’s great.  It’s time away from the computer screen – and away from work.  

Why do I have to be one of the odd balls that doesn’t eat with the group?  

It was reasonable when I was working a zillion hours a day; I actually didn’t have time to be away from my desk.  But now, things have calmed down considerably and I should be able to spend 30 minutes away from the computer. 

But I know what keeps me here.  It’s the fact that the sooner I get my work done, the sooner I can leave.  And I love leaving work earlier than 6:30pm.  A lot.  

Regardless – I need to be less anti-social and more like my mildly-extroverted self.

april 18, after 7pm

The “big day” has come and gone.  

I bet you all are wondering what tricks Adam had up his sleeves for my late birthday celebration. 

Well, since he knew that all I really wanted for my birthday was for the main “core” – Adam, Patrick, Peter, Emily and I – to have a mini-reunion, he did his best to make that happen.  Adam invited the 3 non-New Yorkers to NYC for the weekend, to celebrate me.  Peter couldn’t make it, but Patrick and Emily hauled ass/drove up here from the VA/MD area on Saturday afternoon.  It was a really pleasant surprise :)  

We had dinner at this insane Indian restaurant: 

Notice the crazy lights in the windows – They were ALL OVER the restaurant (which was the size of a typical 1 bedroom NYC apartment, by the way): 

Talk about pure ridiculousness…  All in all, the food was tasty and cheap.  And did I mention it was BYOB?  And they give out free mango ice cream for dessert?  

But will I ever go back to this psychedelic restaurant?  Hell to the no.  

After dinner, we bummed around the East Village – mostly because we couldn’t decide on a bar to stop into (the “core” is notorious for its inability to make decisions). 

11pm was karaoke time.  Adam reserved a room at this awesome karaoke place for a couple of hours so we could sing our hearts out.  

And that’s exactly what we did.  All of us (even Ryan).  

And it made me so incredibly happy.  

the life of my accent

First of all, muchas gracias to Spleeness for this blog post idea.  You can read her accent/dialect posts here and here.  It’s a really cool topic if you’re a mild linguistics nerd like us.  Ha :)

Well, I managed to take her informative topic, and make it all about me.  I can’t help it if I like to talk/write about myself in my blog.  I do what I want. 

So… here I go.

I’m not sure if you knew this (you probably did), but my accent is a mixed breed. 

I spent half my life in New York and the other half in Roanoke, Virginia. 

That red dot is Roanoke.  It’s not in Northern Virginia, and apparently, it’s not Southwest Virginia enough (according to some of my really SW Virginian friends) to be Southwest Virginia.  Wherever it is, it’s in Virginia.  Really close to the mountains.  And West Virginia.

ANYWAYS - 

When I moved to Virginia, I was a open-minded 9-year-old with quite the New York accent.  I sorta stood out (to say the least).  I was the only black girl in my 4th grade class.  I was tall.  Everyone thought I talked funny.  

I thought everyone around me talked funny too (except for my Dad).  

I actually ended up in a speech class that year.  Then my Dad switched me out of that school for 5th grade. 

ANYWAYS (Sorry – I’m need to stay on topic) - 

In 8-10th grades I used to always have these “regional slang/dialect” conversations with my friends.  Some of our favorite words to compare were:

- pin vs. pen (they should sound different)

- different pronunciations of syrup, orange, quarter, water

- cart vs. buggy (a buggy is a cute little bug – a cart is what you use for pushing groceries)

- sneakers vs. tennis shoes (yeah, I don’t really know the difference)

- soda vs. coke (seriously people, coke is a TYPE of soda)

- words/names like Teri, terrace, Mary, Erin, merry, etc. (they liked the way I said the R’s)

I also learned new words/phrases:

- scrapple (a really gross-sounding meal)

- barbeque (it’s not just a verb… it’s also a type of food)

- “nook and cranny” (I still remember when I first heard that saying. I was very confused)

- reckon (I probably would’ve learned this word just from reading lots of books, but whatever)

- yonder (why?) 

Surprisingly, I grew up (pre-Virginia) using both ya’ll and you people.  I also ate a lot of grits in New York. 

So yeah, for a while, I was that kid everyone made fun of (or enjoyed listening to) because I had the “funny” accent.  I tried my hardest to “correct” everyone’s speech (some of their pronunciations were just plain wrong), but I failed in a serious way. 

I failed in a very serious way because I was slowly picking up their accent.  By the time I graduated from high school (actually, probably by 9th grade), my New York accent wasn’t as definitive.  In my 3rd year of college, when I was a “barista” at Barnes and Noble Cafe (NOT Starbucks) someone told me I had an Arizona accent.  

And that was the end of my accent.  

I’m pretty sure folks from Arizona don’t even have accents.  

Now that I’m back in New York, I’m trying to make up for lost time.  I still don’t actually sound like I’m from New York (or anywhere), but I have my moments – usually when I’m yelling at someone or after I’ve had 2 or 3 drinks.

goodbye youth, maybe (a ramble)

What do you think about before your birthday?  On the days leading up to your birthday?  The hours before?

Well, there’s one hour before the anniversary of my birth, and I don’t know what to do or think about.  I want to say tomorrow will just be another normal day, but it won’t.  I want tomorrow to be a normal day.  Except I’m turning 25.   That’s not normal. 

I guess I’m in my last hour of youth.  Or maybe youth ends at 26?  Either way, I’m scared of turning 25.  I don’t feel 25 at all.  I don’t actually feel like I’ve lived for 25 years… until I think about the insanity I’ve been through since birth.  Just thinking about the ridiculousness I’ve been through since 2006 makes me feel old. 

I’m sitting on my couch right now, listening to John Legend and talking to Adam.  This is a pretty typical “school night” for me.  So far, nothing special.  It’s not April 9th yet. 

Now I’m listening to/singing Adele.  I love singing her songs, especially in an empty apartment.  This is a great way to turn 25.  Seriously.  When I turned 22, Linh gave me 5 CDs of Disney songs for my birthday, and Emily, Melissa, Linh and I just sang and danced to Disney music into the early hours of April 9, 2006.  It was fantastic. 

I wonder how many emails from facebook I will get with people writing birthday messages on my wall.  My prediction: 10. 

I’m the worst at planning events for my birthday.  If the weather were nicer, it would be easier to plan something cool. It will be 60 tomorrow, but I’ll be stuck in an office for most of the day.  This weekend, the weather won’t be nice.  It’s not even “April Showers”.  It’s just a mess. 

What is my ideal birthday celebration?  Well, 22 was a good party – I would take the same crowd of people (minus the random folks, and friends of friends) and add Jessica, Laura, Beth and Rob.  Then we would just drink lots of booze, eat great food, and have a grand time.  This would probably take place in a nice park (picnic style) and the weather would be in the high 60s.  At night, there would be a major karaoke jam.  It would be a blast, duh.

And that’s it.  Happy birthday to me… in 3 minutes.

check it.

Check it out: 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And guess which awesome blogger gave it to me?

Libby. 

She’s kinda awesome.  No lie.  

Thanks for the award, Libby!  This is the best blog birthday gift a girl could ever ask for!

PS (to everyone): read Libby’s blog.  She has a very cute puppy – I hear he’s an attention whore :)

turning a new leaf

I’ve finally started going to the gym.  It’s pretty agonizing forcing myself to wake up at 6am (more like 6:15) but I feel like the pay off in the long run will be worth it.  Starting tomorrow, I’ll probably sign up for that personal fitness program at the Y – and in 12 weeks, I’ll be super awesome (looking). 

I’m already super awesome :)

Wish me luck!

i love this movie

Have I ever mentioned how much I love the movie, When Harry Met Sally? 

Well, I love it.  A lot. 

I just spent my Friday night alone watching that movie, and I’m okay with that.  Hell yeah. 

It all started with my boss making a comparison between my Wednesday tap class and the scene in the movie when Sally is in a tap class.  I didn’t remember the scene at the time, so I had to watch the entire movie in order to find it. 

True enough, Sally was in a tap dance class.  That scene lasted approximately 10 seconds.  I have no idea how my boss actually remembered that. 

Anyway, I love that movie (have I already mentioned that?).  In a way it reminds me of my own life – well, maybe just the fact that a) I live in New York City and b) a couple of my closest friends are guys.  

Yes, I’m refering to Adam and Peter.  I talk to them a lot.  They talk to me a lot. 

I guess my relationships with them are kinda similar to Harry and Sally’s relationship (pre-sex), except: 

a) Sally only had Harry.  I have Adam and Peter.

b) Harry and Sally were always conveniently single at the same time.  Only Peter is single (Adam has been in a relationship for 2 years).

c) Harry is straight.  Between Adam and Peter, one is straight and one is gay. 

d) Harry and Sally lived in the same city.  Adam is here in NYC, but Peter is in Atlanta. 

Okay, so maybe I don’t have much in common with the movie.  Whatever.  I still love it. 

And my favorite part: