i knew it, im surrounded by assholes

as of the last few weeks, my situation at work went from suck to blow. so, i am currently on a serious mission to find a new job. in particular, i'm thinking about making the switch over to nonprofit. maybe even private. so, my readers, help me find a new job...

Discover Card - a new way to save

joe and pete, best roomies ever.

every time i watch this, it gets better and better

heart/stab

heart
- my new rain boots
- decorating for christmas
- candy cane lane teddy bear tea
- renewed <3 for lily allen (scroll down for her new-ish song 'fear')
- running again! the calf seems to have healed almost completely
- snuggles
- puppy comes january 2

stab
- hotwire, a "provider of internet and cable" aka "a company we pay for no clear reason"
- the mayor
- work
- windy days
- long lines

lily allen is still awesome.

a cover of britney's 'womanizer'

honestly, who throws a shoe?

Shoes hurled at President Bush

"President Bush ducked out of harm's way when a reporter threw his shoes at him during his farewell trip to Iraq.

The man, later identified as Muntadar al-Zeidi, a correspondent for Iraqi-owned Al-Baghdadiya television based in Egypt, shouted "this is the end" as he hurled them at the American leader.

The moment was captured from different camera angles and shows the president's reaction afterwards."

we were runnin'

oh hai

sorry for disappearing. i've returned. here is a recap of things you've missed.

- thanksgiving was enjoyable. quality time with stuart was nice. i also ran many miles. however, somehow momma firmingham dragged me to the rockettes. my version of hell is religiously-themed tap dancing.



- i survived the government layoffs. however, the workplace is now somewhat intolerable.



- i visited pittsburgh and lots of fun was had. however, the flight back to philly gets 2 thumbs down. there was turbulence both up and down AND side to side. stop trying to kill me, pilots! you'll never win!



- when does cold season start? if you said "right now" i would believe you.

stuart, is this you?

Alfred the Human Polygraph Had Yet to Learn to Control His Power
Chick: You know, even though I'm 22, every time I go out, when I'm home my mom still waits up for me.
Random guy: No, she doesn't.

--6 Train
via Overheard in New York, Nov 23, 2008

how do i love craigslist? let me count the ways...

- amazingly wonderful personal ads

- helpful apartment listings

- creative pet sitting

- autographed books

please say hello to murray

at the end of decemeber, this little guy will be coming home with me and arson zarley. he is a cairn terrier and will be about 8 weeks old when we get him. i am ridiculously excited and want to play with him now. in the meantime, i'm going to puppy-proof the apartment.

WHINE WHINE WHINE

my 8K is on sunday morning, and my left calf and shin are a mess. i demoted myself down to the 8K from the half marathon due to my calf issues. but somehow this week, the calf deteriorated. is it psychosomatic? maybe. but it hurts to walk and put pressure on the stupid thing.

i cannot tell you how badly i want to run this. i am toying with the idea of popping an advil and running the race through the pain. is this smart? is this worth it? i do not know. but i'll probably decide on sunday.

PSA from Chad Pennington

impending economic doom playlist (aka songs meant for smiling)

kajagoogoo- too shy



mates of state - fraud in the 80s



girl talk - bounce that



michael jackson - PYT




and because i can, britney - womanizer

heart/stab

heart:
- exciting monday night football
- obama fever
- quickly approaching holiday season
- ridiculous christmas sweaters

stab:
- lots of dishes and very little detergent
- where did all the sunlight go?
- weird coworkers saying and doing weird things
- my jerky left calf muscle
- scary bums

ruh-oh

uhhhh, really?

thank you, gonzo, for posting this video. my day/year/possibly life is now complete.

lee 'scratch' perry - pum pum

how did i miss this one?

m.i.a. is preggo??

can't stop watching this

cutest puppies ever via live feed!

new britney + chuck bass = best ever?

announcement

it was an extremely difficult decision to make, but i switched my philly half marathon to the 8K. i once read in a runner's magazine two important questions regarding injuries: "do you want to run for the next few weeks? or the rest of your life?"

i'd like to run for the rest of my life! so i'm gonna be nice to my stupid calf and give it a break. (is an 8K a break??) but be warned, calf. i just registered for the pittsburgh half marathon in may. (woohoo!)

hearts and stabs

hearts:
- voting
- peanut butter
- teddy bear sleepytime tea
- running (9.2 miles on sunday!)
- half price halloween candy
- gossip girl

stabs:
- waiting in line
- daylight savings time
- the incessant clanging outside my apt building (aka fighting robots)
- having meetings scheduled and rescheduled, repeatedly. wtf. get it together.
- daylight savings time (again)

charles meets barack

drunk dialing for change

amazing sound clip from brad, volunteer for obama campaign.

brad is effin awesome. 8 million thumbs up.

sports magic

let me preface this by saying i am not a baseball fan. although i like drinking beer and eating soft pretzels in stadium seating, baseball isn't really my thing. (i'm more of an NFL and college basketball kind of girl) anyway, the phillies just won the world series. (obv) there is mass mayhem outside. (screaming, honking, etc.) awesome. world series. cool. i get it. i was pretty stoked when the giants won the superbowl.

but my absolute favorite thing about this win is watching drunken degenerate phillies fans on tv, pushing and smooshing news reporters. it's like watching a poodle being encircled by wolves. drunk happy wolves.

cheers to you phillies. try not to keep me up too late with your screaming mayhem.

cookies

my buddy has started a recipe blog. i'm looking forward to trying the pumpkin cookies!

http://dinnercakes.blogspot.com/

update on cool stuff

went back to brooklyn this weekend and had an awesome time hanging out with the old roomies. the awesome time, however, caused a hangover from hell. fyi: avoid nj transit after a night at the beergarden.



halloween = rad. i'm going to be a venus fly trap. yesterday, i bought plastic leaves, flowers and a few flies to make my costume. i'm pretty excited.



work is stressful and makes me sleepy.



beetlejuice = still awesome

pie?

total awesomeness

Sad Guys on Trading Floors

spank rock is amazing and awesome.

nsfw. nsfw at all.

philly-based spank rock is so badass. i feel a little swell of philly pride every time i hear them.

B.O.O.T.Y.


shake it

It's $10 Extra If You'd Prefer Dragon's Pee
Customer getting tattooed: What's in that spray bottle?
Tattooer, holding bottle that says "soap" on it: Unicorn milk.

--13th Street

Overheard by: res
via Overheard in New York, Oct 3, 2008

the story of kimbo slice

gansta!

Wall St meltdown crushes economy, increases gayness

click on the link below. you gotta read it to believe it

"Gay Virginity" Auction

it's just like a.... what??

Think I Know How This One Ends...
50-something woman: Do you have baked goods?
Girl with empty wicker basket: Excuse me?
50-something woman: Baked goods. Where are you going with them?
Girl with empty wicker basket (slowly looking into basket and then back at woman): To grandmother's house.

--Penn Station

Overheard by: Little Red Riding Ho
via Overheard in New York, Sep 25, 2008

i <3 paula

when i was younger, i wanted to be singer/dancer just like paula abdul, madonna or janet jackson. i made up a lot of choreographed dances in my childhood. i didn't exactly have the *talent* to become a dancer, but the heart was there. so, in honor of my childhood love for paula, i give you her greatest hits.


cold hearted snake


straight up


opposittes attract

my favorite season

i am eating spiced wafer cookies and drinking apple cider. fall = heaven

let's go buffalo

fan reaction at mcfadden's, midtown mahattan, to buffalo's win against oakland. completely awesome and exciting.

26

today, i turned 26 years old. in classic birthday tradition, arson zarley and i had a dessert and alcohol based breakfast. i heart chocolate cake and mimosas.

i plan to spend the rest of the day being lazy and watching football.

sleepyhead

last night i stayed up way too late watching gossip girl season 1 and drinking vodka sodas. my intentions were good, but it definitely backfired. i am bumbling around like an sleepy fool this morning. worth it? yes!

escape boosh

all the rage

i've been cooking a lot of veggie dishes lately. my favorite is a baked eggplant-zucchini-tomato-squash with olive oil, oregano and paprika.i esp love the squash. fall is awesome for veggies. perhaps i will make a cornucopia??

lola returns

- compy is fixed! the horsie appears to be dead. downside: i lost audio in the re-installation of windows. saddies. must find audio driver...

- today, i used cross-multiplication at work. it was amazing. i heart math.

- gossip girl is freakin awesome.

- having cable again makes me happy. project runway is still entertaining. leanne is definitely my favorite. kenley gets four thumbs down.

- on sunday, i turn 26!

- halloween costume ideas? anyone?

delightful

to make a slushie a la firmigham:

- 1 can aunt rosie's loganberry
- ice

blend. then pour in large plastic cup. enjoy!



note: if making after 7pm, add vodka

r.i.p. compy

my computer has been infected by an unfriendly trojan horsie. due to the repeated blue screens of death and "low virtual memory," i think that compy will die soon.

i do not have enough money to buy a new compy, so it is possible that my blogging will be on hiatus. in the meantime, please pray to the microsoft gods that compy will feel better.

some things, as expressed through pictures

GRIEVANCE: so tired, yet i can't sleep. this may or may not be related to the loganberry slushie i made around 9pm last night.

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YAY: i'm really excited for tomorrow.

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GRIEVANCE: this week at work was super rough. especially thursday and friday. i've found that at the end of the week, people realize that they did not accomplish X,Y,Z. so they try to do X,Y,Z and then it all gets thrown on my desk between the hours of 2 and 4:45pm. it's overwhelming and largely impossible to get anything done when this happens. but here is a baby seal to make it better.

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YAY: cable television is amazing. i haven't had it in a loooong time, but i'm so happy that it is back. i will most likely devote an entire blog post to cable tv very soon.

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hey there semi truck

please stop honking your horn and stalling your engine on my street corner. especially before 8am. it's loud, unnecessary and the stalling makes my windows shake.

i didn't realize my street was a truck route when i was apartment hunting. why would i ever think that it would be? it's not a particularly wide street, and it's not connected to any major roadways. i love my apt, but must re-evaluate location.

i'd like to change my voicemail to this. kthx

some things

heart:
- bran muffins
- pineapple express. go see it! hilarious and amazing.
- running
- my awesome madonna-loving, scandinavian-cruise-attending boss
- bemused expressions
- dead like me. at first i wasn't a fan, but now i'm starting to like it.


stab:
- where are all the independent stores and bakeries in this town?
- fall weather, come now.
- need more hours in the day for more sleep

for all you western new yorkers

YOLANDA VEGA!

i heart ani

for stuart

im sorry about your stolen car. here are some booshy videos to cheer you up!

The Most Original Thing a Former SNLer Has Done in Years
Employee: Bathrooms are to the left!
Tracy Morgan: Right there?
Employee: Yes, to the left.
Tracy Morgan: Can I go poop in there?
Employee: (laughs) Yes.
Tracy Morgan: I'm gonna poop in there...I gotta go poop!

--AMC Empire Movie Theatre
via Overheard in New York, Aug 25, 2008

see more pwn and owned pictures

new brazilian girls

the new album new york city came out aug 5. i just bought it today. perhaps i waited so long to buy it because i miss new york.

standouts:

- internacional: too much fun. let's go dance to this.

- perpetuo mobile: sweet, beautiful and wandering. i hope i can see them on tour, because i think this would be incredible to hear live.

- good time: the first single. i bet the hipsters are going wild for this one. i can see why.

- mano de dios: beautiful, ambient, and downtempo. good for daydreaming.

"That show, The Amazing Race? Is that about white people?" 02:38 AM August 15, 2008 Zach Galifianakis from web

"thank you for purchasing tickets on ticketmaster"

"Chromeo
Trocadero, Philadelphia, PA
Fri, Oct 3, 2008 08:00 PM"

YES YES YES.

this is so new york

not surprised at all. but definitely amused!

even in 1984, madonna was effin brilliant

i like it when she schools john oates. i also heart heart heart it when she talks about her "new release" aka like a virgin. (!!!)

i just ran 5 miles

yeaaaaah! victory!

i think i will be able to handle the half marathon (13 miles) on november 23. i know i can handle the 8k, but i think i'd rather go for the half. we shall see.

omg heart heart forever

happy friday everyone

i got paid already! direct deposit is amazing.

my favorite part is the guy in the cube next door

some thoughts, 9am this morning...

- yes, that alcohol smell is me. i had some svedka before bed last night and now it is eminating from my pores. i think i'm ok with this.

- to the reading terminal market guy who told me "i love you." thanks, you're pretty great too.

- old friends. i miss you guys. expect phone calls from me this week.

- new friends. let's hang out. i'm bored.

- i watched lost boys 2: the tribe last night. in the first two minutes i saw vampires eat intestines. i also saw a ripstik. YES. but the rest of the movie was downhill.

- serious pet peeve: ties with cartoon characters. why do you have tweety bird on your tie? marvin the martian? really? no. inappropriate. i can't take you seriously looking like that.

update

- im sorry for not posting lately. but i get the feeling "ken lee" provided endless hours of fun... at least i know i am still amused.

- also horrifying/amusing, the story of the pooping intern. that can't be true. can it?

- today, i bought a little shoe wallet to hold my house keys when i run. i heart it.



- i'm currently reading american psycho by bret easton ellis. it's amazing and disturbing at the same time. i loved the movie with christian bale; he did a fantastic job with the character. the book is nuts though. the themes are so dark and existential. i think i will definitely have to read some dostoevsky after i'm finished.

- please suggest new books and/or music i might like. kthxbye.

ken lee tilubu dibu douchoo

amy winehouse, though clearly a junkie, is an undeniable talent

evidence...

"back to black"


i know i've posted about amy winehouse before, but i really heart her music. right now winehouse is getting lots of ipod plays. the back to black album is incredible. i wish she would get sober and not die.

some things

- the job: difficult, challenging and completely awesome. thumbs up for the job

- running: it's going well. after my knee injury, i was worried. but i'm averaging 3 miles a day and slowly gaining. i'm not sure if i'll be able to do the half marathon in november. but i'm certainly going to try. if not, i will definitely do the 8k.

- philly: i'm giving it time to grow on me. must be patient. i want to find an enjoyable street for my walk to work. i currently have a daily commute past dollar stores, porn shops, lady blue, dunkin donuts and 3 different starbucks. this is philly! there has to be a street with some historical/colonial shit that i can look at on my way to work.

- madonna is still the greatest. i will never get sick of her.

- i really want to see this...

express yourself

one of my favorites

heart list

- the OC



- sleeping



- white wine



- running

hey brooklyn

i miss you. but i promise to give philly a chance

sad compy

my compy is dying a slow sad death right now. i've decided to start saving for a new laptop. by the time i have enough $$, it will most likely be time for a new compy.

what kind of laptop is best? i refuse to buy another dell.

i've been thinking about investing in a macbook. perhaps a gold-plated macbook...

isftywtd

but you should download this.

misc. roundup

- today i saw my philadelphia doppelganger. she had the same shirt, skirt, shoes, ipod earbuds and haircut as me. i would have said hello, but we were too busy briskly walking past each other.

- montauk has a monster



- smoothies are less awesome when made by me and not the talented workers at the rainforest cafe.



- i formally apologize to my roomies for doubting the existence of the octopus.

we are your friends. you'll never be alone again... come on

philly is a very difficult city to adjust to. i'm trying to find positive things about the place so i can maintain some semblance of stability and sanity.

positives
- i like that it isn't as crowded as new york
- things are affordable
- i am employed with a decent paying job
- boyfriend is here
- it's fun to walk places
- there's a lot more to do than pittsburgh
- i don't feel overstimulated by lights/media/advertising/signs/tourists/ahhhhh!
- rainforest cafe smoothies. gotta love that shit.

however, philly is a very lonely place. i would really like it if justice were here to be my bff.

this entry may make you like me less

radiohead and i had a deep love affair in my adolescence. pablo honey and the bends invoke distinct memories from my middle school years. i listened to ok computer again and again and again in high school, and kid a still blows me away with idioteque. (why is that song so AWESOME?)

but, something happened after amnesiac. it wasn't for any particular reason. i didn't stop liking the band. i just stopped seeking them out. so every time you (most likely stuart) wanted to talk about radiohead, i sort of went through the motions. i'm sorry about that. i am a poser. i never downloaded the free album offline. i feel like a bad bad person about that. but i didn't want to listen to new radiohead. i wasn't finished digesting all the old radiohead.

despite all this, radiohead and i have recently reconciled with the song 'house of cards.' i am now ready to accept their new stuff.

question: does this confession make me more or less of a hipster?

heart/stab for 7/20/08

heart
- limited edition portishead EPs
- hot sweaty dance parties
- drinks and beers
- pancakes with a hint of lemon
- SLEEP
- sunny weather

stab
- poor-ness
- loud hospital noises
- deep deep fried fried greasy food
- journey folowed by bon jovi followed by puff daddy (dj what are you THINKING?)
- smelly hipsters
- drunk people

nevermind puppies, i want one of these

The Denver Zoo has Aye-ayes, a rare animal with "the body of a monkey, the tail of a squirrel and a rodent-like face."

"The unusual primates hail from Madagascar, where they are endangered. There are only about two dozen aye-ayes in North American zoos."

"Their middle fingers are three times longer than their other fingers, but they haven't been known to make rude gestures."

Source

bert and ernie keep it real

thank you c-fly for bringing this to my attention. you rule.

judge me if you will, but i like the new coldplay

still relevant and striking a personal chord with me... i heart coldplay

oh.my.god. satan? is that you?

LINGONBERRY = LOGANBERRY???

lingonberry jam from ikea tastes like


loganberry from buffalo!!

weekend recap

- promenade through independence park, old city and up to northern liberties
- delicious vegan goodies with miss veness in northern liberties
- craft fair strikingly similar to williamsburg's artist and fleas market (for a minute i though i was back home)
- ikea excursion with arson zarley
- driving around in a VERY smelly audi a4 rented from phillycarshare
- salt and pepper tofu from chinatown
- continued proficiency in chopstick use
- moshulu boat party with excellent house music
- sleep?

blooooooooooooooooood

today i donated some blood to the vampires over at the american red cross. i got juice and cookies afterward. that part was nice. blood part, notsomuch.

oddly enough mayor nutter donated his blood at the same time i did. there were many news cameras and newspaper reporters at the donation center. it's entirely possible that i will be on the evening news. unfortunately i dont have cable! so if you see me, lemme know.

nice

Ex-Girlfriend Don't Want To Speak To You No More, New European Boyfriend Reports

god hates me

because i woke up with this song in my head. at least it has cleared the bison stampede song...

e.e. cummings, 73 poems, 44

Now i lay(with everywhere around)
me(the great dim deep sound
of rain;and of always and of nowhere)and
what a gently welcoming darkestness--

now i lay me down(in a most steep
more than music)feeling that sunlight is
(life and day are)only loaned:whereas
night is given(night and death and the rain

are given;and given is how beautifully snow)

now i lay me down to dream of(nothing
i or any somebody or you
can begin to begin to imagine)

something which nobody may keep.
now i lay me down to dream of Spring

love/hate for 7/7/08

love
- lionel richie
- counting via abacus
- strolling center city during lunchbreak
- my oldschool 1985 adding machine at work
- wine
- puddle jumping

hate
- curbside rain cesspools filled with philly gunk
- squishy shoes
- creepsters
- bum with leprosy on chestnut and 13th
- ewwwwahhhhhguuuuuuuuuhhhhhhh leprosy!
- oracle

this one is for my fellow buffalonians

it's been in my head ever since i found the video on youtube. i can't escape it!

i love the onion

special message to 131

hey guys! i miss you!

the job

as you may (or may not) know, i moved to philly to accept a job. the job started this week, and it is quite intense. it is a grown up job with an overwhelming amount of responsibility. i'm in charge of a lot of really cool and important things. i want to be good at this job!! i hope that i get the hang of things and pass my probational period. until then, i will flounder around and try to figure out what the hell i'm actually supposed to do.

here's some anchorman.... which seems fitting

arguably, the worst pop/techno song of all time

darude - sandstorm

is there anything worse? i challenge you to find it.

uhhhh....

is jay-z drunk?

love/hate

love
- fun historical stuff
- running
- no more 9am L train (!!)
- last.fm (even though it is still very confusing)
- madonna youtube videos
- arson zarley's amazing tv purchase
- my ballin' ballin' BALLIN' apartment

hate:
- knee injury (booo!)
- life without a toaster
- living by myself = not awesome
- humidity creating a sleepy malaise
- dollar stores

i love craigslist

especially best-of craigslist

Nemesis required. 6-month project with possibilty to extend

youtube has many wondrous things

this guy is incredible. he's got a bunch of videos doing cover songs on youtube. also some original stuff. the beatles cover is probably my favorite though. enjoy.

beatles - all my loving

run with me

i've started training for the philadelphia half marathon in november. it is 13.1 miles of fun. for the most part, my running has been limited to the williamsburg bridge. it's a nice base to start from, but significantly less than my goal of 13.1 miles.

the philly marathon website has this nice little run planner that helps you create running trails around the city. this morning, i created a nice run of 4.2 miles. unfortunately, i made it about 3.5 miles before my knee called it quits. stupid knee! but i did run past billie holiday's old house and a smelly old graveyard that most likely has colonial settlers in it. i do like the historical stuff here in philly.

movie review

last night i watched you don't mess with the zohan.

the trailers were VERY misleading about the plot of the movie. i was expecting a variety of dumb sandler-esque jokes and a plot largely based on hair styling. but, it was almost all vulgar sex jokes. the jokes that weren't about sex were about hummus or they were the ones showed in the trailer. lame. here's the trailer.



there were some funny parts to the movie, and there are a lot of decent reviews for the film. (a collection of reviews here at metacritic). i'd say, if you can enjoy/tolerate 113 minutes of penis and sex jokes, you should go see this. regardless of your stance on the israeli-palestinian conflict.

today is a bowie day

live performance of heroes



για σας, η αγάπη μου

witness protection idiot outs himself

after entering the witness protection program 13 years ago, former gun store owner, kkk member and militia informant wants his old life back. this idiot got the buffalo news to write a story about it.

uhhhh... if you are in the witness protection program, you probably shouldn't give a newspaper an interview and picture. you also probably shouldn't talk about your dear children. just a thought. also, are we supposed to feel bad for this guy? gee, i'm sorry you can't wear your white robe and sell guns to crazy rednecks anymore. that must suck. :(

news story: Viper Team militia informant risks life to reclaim identity
"Pappy Andrews wants his identity back. He gave it up more than a decade ago after helping federal agents break up a right-wing militia in Phoenix. Because he had put his life on the line and there were fears the militia or its friends might harm him, the federal government gave him a new identity. But now, Andrews, 49, is tired of hiding and wants his old life back."

give it 2 me

today was a rough day. i'm looking forward to it being over. good thing there's a new madonna video to make it all better.

Work with Your Classmates? What the Hell Kind of Exam Is This?
Professor: So as I've said the exam will be open book, and you can work with your classmates.
Student: Is it open book?
Professor: Ahhhh... I'm tired, and I need a martini.

--NYU Classroom
via Overheard in New York, Jun 24, 2008

a one scene play by lola firmingham entitled "kmart on market street"

Scene: kmart. small checkout counter. no conveyor belt. room enough to fit a basket.

lola firmingham enters scene, sets overflowing basket of items on small counter. clerk stands at checkout counter. stares at lola. clerk picks at her nails.

clerk: we don't do that
lola: excuse me?
clerk: we don't take stuff out of baskets. you do it.
lola: uh, really?
clerk: WALKS AWAY

lola laughs, defeated... smooshes basket items onto small counter, dropping things. clerk returns. lola pays and exits

lola:  ahh philadelphia