NYE

Happy New Year bloggers and surfers!
I hope father time has been good to you in the year that has past.

I'm still not sure what I'll be doing for this new years eve, but I am sure I'll be with Prashant having fun doing something. PG and I don't have an official anniversary and there is no fan fare but I have adopted the time around new year as our anni.

gelukkig nieuw jaar - Dutch
nouvelle année heureuse - French
glückliches neues Jahr - German
καλή χρονιά - Greek
nuovo anno felice - Italian
明けましておめでとう - Japanese
ano novo feliz - Portuguese
С Новым годом - Russian
feliz año nuevo - Spanish

How ever you say it, its still the same - Happy New Year!!

Strike it up

Yes, the days get shorter and christmas is quickly approaching. And who knew this was the season of striking MTA workers. Nothing like a bunch of tourists being stranded in a foreign city to really make New York stand up to its edgy reputation. Poor things.

Oh well.
I did like this compilation of pics that was posted on clist and then on gawker that really highlights why the workers should get everything they've requested...because they've earned it.
Check it out:

Friday round up

Sudoku
Have you ever played sudoku? I have and let me tell ya that it is quite addictive. I get really engaged and there have been times where I am not proud to admit but I have wasted the entire afternoon working on sudoku puzzles.
Here are a couple of sites that are good for sudoku:
www.miniclip.com/sudoku/sudoku.htm
www.sudoku.com

Christmas shopping
I am done finally, thank goodness. This year there have been a lot of nice things out that have been out but I had a really hard deciding what I should get for everyone. Even though this year the list is definitely shorter I still had a hard time.











Fiji water
I went to their website and they are intense about water man! I bought their water recently and it really is good. And they have these cute bottles! I know the bottling doesn't make the water but they are very sturdy besides quite appealing. I have replaced my work water bottle with this fiji one. I guess I also needed a change, that's why I am loving it so much. Maybe

It doesn't feel like work when there's snow on the ground

Isn't that the truth!

I really like it when it first snows. Once you're into your 20th snow storm the effect has worn down, but currently this is our second snow storm in DC and since it snowed over night into the early morning I woke to a beautiful covering of snow. Actually what woke me was the snow removal truck outside the building, but its much more romantic to say the snow woke me. Anyway, what I did notice when I went out this morning was that it smelt great. Like the added moisture from the snow and with a pinch of winter in the air really made quite an effect.

Work was delayed in opening today, so I went in about an hour late. That was pretty nice, I had time to make coffee and just relax. Hmm, well if you call changing your outfit three times relaxing then yeah it was relaxing. I knew it was going to be slushy out there so I had to carefully choose what pants to wear to not only brave the conditions but have that be suitable for work. Friday's are usually cas (as in casual) at the office but I thought the snow granted some leniency with the wardrobe choices.

It was kind of funny because my one office mate didnt know the government was opening 2 hours late so when he got in he was like where is everybody and I said oh you know there's a 2 hour delay and he made me laugh by saying awesome I'm early to work for once!

Though I want to post a picture today because of the snow I wont because if you have checked out the recent posts there has been a pic in each and every one of them. So I thought I would give my picassa program a break and also maybe not focus on googling throughout the web for the perfect picture and maybe put in a decent amount of work today. Ha! That's the funniest joke if I've ever heard one.

My friends Joan and Andrea started a blog that is supposed to only contain positive things that go on. Like when people are actually nice to one another. And that's significant in NYC because you expect to be stepped on but quite frankly there are a lot of well spirited people in the city it just doesn't get highlighted. So Joan goes on to explain about how her wallet fell out of her purse and someone returned it with everything inside - money, credit cards, the works. And you know what people still do it! My friend Ted dropped his license in Chelsea one time while roller bladding and he promptly received a phone call and the person mailed it back. Andrea, the other girl who started the blog also had her stuff sent back to her. And even one friend of mine, when after her purse was stolen and promptly dropped in a trash can in Herald Square someone picked it out of the bin and called her to return the bag. Not all her stuff was there, hence purse snatching, but still the little odds and ends like work badges and the like were returned in one piece. The point of all this is, I am making a hyperlink to their site so that the reader can enjoy some happy news about the good in all people!

Who knew dogs could smile?!

So I found this picture off of the NYTimes today in an article about wet dogs. I couldn't resist this little one's smiling face. But I am still marveling around how a dog can smile and obviously this one is definitely smiling. I think its because he/she has a nice soap sub right on top of its head, and its always fun when bubbles are involved.

Work was so strange today. Had a very long and intense meeting that then made me quite crazed, but I think I'm better now. I had something warm to drink and right now I am not even concerned with doing anything of considerable worth.
I'm a little concerned with how things are going to pan out with the client's reorganization but I know things will end up the way they should!

I was watching the panda cam today and it had a shot of little Tia Shan sleeping in the corner of a room. Like he purposely chose the most difficult spot to get into and decided to sleep there. What a cute little thing. But as my office mate says, he's cute but he can also do some damage with those claws! 

Baby its cold outside

Well today the DC metro area is getting a facelift! Nothing like a nice new blanket of snow to make any ugly city beautiful. DC isn't necessarily ugly but it does lack a lot of style. There's the restrictions on the building heights and then somehow it seems that each decade only one architect is hired and therefore you can view easily which buildings were built during what time and then see how many look the same. Oh DC you try so hard to be a big city but its just not working.
But like I said its snowing. I love when it snows out here because no one knows what to do with themselves. So that's kind of fun seeing the stores sell out of bread and milk. Like is that the only thing that americans eat?! What happens to the person who is lactose intolerant and has a yeast allergy? They are in heaven, everyone else is becoming rabid over getting those goods meanwhile these people are eating and drinking whatever they desire!
This is the one nice thing that happens when you sit by a window. You can look out and see the snow fall. Its not as boring as watching the grass grow but it is nice to see. Especially when its the first snow, like it is today.
I hope the draft in the apartment isnt too strong because that would not be fun. There's nothing better than when its snowing outside and then you are all warm and fuzzy inside.

I wish I knew how to put a background on the text area because it would be fun to have a wintry back drop to this message...it will really get you in the feeling of wintertime!
I found this pic of a white picket fence with snow, that should tide you over until I can figure something out.

Georges Servat is the cutest baby alive! 

Stick a fork in me!

You've guessed it, tomorrow is gobble gobble day! Enough turkey and stuffing to make all your relatives so full they can't speak. Now that's a job well done.
I am cooking thanksgiving dinner for the very first time, and thank goodness its only Prashant and I. That way if something's cold or heaven forbid not too good then its just us and the group doesn't have to grin and bear it just cause I made it. Though I don't think I will do too poorly. I have a number of crowd pleasers on the list to make and I'm mighty good at following a recipe so I think things will go swimmingly.

After thanksgiving if certain recipes are a hit then I will definitely post them on here. Though nothing is stopping anyone from going and buying a cookbook of their own or just getting on the horn and asking the best source - your mom - for an oldy but goody recipe. That's what I'm doing in addition to trying some new things.

However all this talk about cooking for Thursday doesn't not lend itself to cooking tonight. I just can't wait to get home and sit on the couch. I want to get out of the work zone and relax. We hardly get a day off here so I am really looking forward to having 4 consecutive days off! Its like a mini break!

Patty and I at engagement party in NYC - Sin Sin 

Scandelous!

The boyfriend was a flasher for Halloween -
Check it out

Its been a long time

So, its been many weeks and not much has happened.
The days have lost their unique feeling, slowly melding one day into the next to the point where you don't know where one day ends and the next one begins.

Things have been slow in terms of the social life too, but I did make a trip back home last weekend, and this weekend I am going back to another home of sorts, up state new york. Out of staters don't get the reference, but when I talk about going to college and doing my masters in up state, I say oh I spent 5 years up state. And since this site is dedicated to Law & Order you will know that's another way of saying I did time. So I always try to correct myself, and say I lived up state for 5 years or I went to school in up state new york. But to these screw balls in DC they dont get it, so I guess I can just give up the fight. Anyway, I am going to Syracuse this weekend. It should be nice, if nice equals being old! Ha, I'll be around early twenty-somethings hoping for a job. And I'll be that friendly corporate face saying wow that must have been quite a learning experience really thinking, hmmm if that bag is on sale tomorrow I should really go to the store and pick it up. No, in all honesty I do like talking to people and its nice to see some hungry faces. Though you know what you see is not always what you get when you go on these interviews.
I keep thinking if I should go back and check in on some professors that I once had and I am torn. Will they even remember me? I dont think so, I was never the shining star or really gave them any reason to remember me. If I have time I might pop my head in on one or another. We shall see...

So, Halloween is swiftly approaching and I have been resisting the candy with the force of hurricane Wilma. The internet community should be so proud. The will power that I have enlisted within myself has become quite strong.

Onto another topic, I know the onion is the cool thing to read, but you should really turn yourself onto black table. I have a link to it on the right hand side. Its a great read, and they have this one contributor that does a write up on craigslist, another love of mine. Well anyway this week's write up on craigslist is about white trash. And let me say I was not let down when I saw an entry from the wild and wonderful state, yes, west viriginia! Oh they are scary in WV. I went once, and this man spoke to us and I swear on all that holy that he did not open his mouth. And when I say did not, I mean I was staring at his mouth and I heard words, sentences, the whole nine, but his lips did not move nor did his mouth open. Amazing. And wild and wonderful. That guy had a career in ventriloquism, and he probably didn't even know it.

So we meet again.... 

I fought the Spam and the Spam won!

Damn it!
Double damn it. Here I was so excited to see that I had a comment on my obsession, ahem, I mean devotion, hmmm, um strong affinity toward Law & Order and I get spammed!

Don't they know how I crave for a following? Don't they know it hard to try to write creative and thought-provoking things?

But that didn't happen, I know have the opportunity to work from home and make millions (insert evil laughter here).

Oh spam, why do you hurt me so?

Noth and the gang

Hey there...
I've been reading gawker today and I am kind of upset. I considered gawker a close and personal friend. They were there when I needed them the most, like through the breaking story of Kate Moss snorting some caine, or or or like umm you know, that time when umm it was fun and exciting to do blind items. But today they totally reverted back to their high school ways and put up this commenting thing. I was so excited, my short term goal in life, like when you are on an interview and the person says what will you have done in the next five years - I wanted to say I tipped Gawker, or my blog was quoted on Gawker or something like that. Well, that's not going to happen. Though I think I am fabulous, I dont really know any fabulous and therefore my chances of being passed an invite is never going to happen. I still feels the pains of peer pressure because I definitely experienced not having anyone to sit with during lunch, and now this. Oh cry...

So anyway, I got over it, well not really, but enough to read some of the crap the cool people are putting up, and its crap. But anyway, someone mentioned more pictures of chris noth and his fuzzy slippers. See now, I remember that and then I shed a tear because of how well Gawker covered the story and then I remember I wont be able to post a witty comment and then I cry again.
Back to the point, if there ever was one, hmmmm....Oh yes, I was looking through Google Images and found a great pic (stock photo though) of Chris and the gang from Law and Order. I mean, we can't go on forgetting good ol' Law and Order. Its not only reason for the name of the blog but also the show is like a reliable drink. Think Tangerray and Tonic. T&T, crush that lime and just drink it up. You will never do the drink wrong because you know what can happen, so you just rely on it and it relies on you, just like the show. You think that show is playing 22 of 24 hours a day on TNT for nothing?! No, its for junkies like myself but we contain the addiction in a well respected show. This isn't stupid Friends reruns for christ sake!

Jamming to the Java

Hey Everyone!
Hmm maybe everyone is an overstatement, my own family doesn't read this. But hello none the less.

This weekend we ventured to Jammin Java over in Vienna Virginia to see some live music.
http://www.jamminjava.com/
Its a pretty chill place. They have a very good website, I say this because I wanted to send a link to what we saw on Saturday but today its already updated. Well done little venue in no man's land.
The place is rectangular and the music/seats are in the back. But its kind of a cool spot. What I didn't like was that the noisy-ness of the cafe portion started to intrude on the live music portion of the place. Also noteworthy is the ease of getting in the place. No need to purchase tickets before, and actually they make it worth your while not too- they add a 3 buck charge per ticket if you order them in advance. Umm, ok, I'll buy at the door then!

They serve food and drinks, and of course coffee but we didn't do any of that...but it looked good. We got in and sat down for some live music and that's what they delivered. Good time by all. The two acts started rather early, opening at 7 and headliner at 7:45 - the show was over at 9. Tada!

If you are going there and then want a bite to eat a little down the road is Ama's, an Indian place, all vegetarian food. Its a good joint, family friendly, so watch out for little buggers running about. The foods good, but they are a little short on organization. This is basically one step up from cafeteria style food. But like I said its good. Indians go to this place to eat so you know you are in the right spot.

Changes

Sorry that this site continues to change its format. I get comments about do it this way or what about that way...and the bottom line is I have no idea about HTML code and I am a slave to the templates that blogger has so generously allowed the users to use. Allowed users to use, hello, get a thesaurus!

I must add that putting that DC rant on the blog made me feel much better especially because I feel like the DC craigslist is just not up to snuff on the rants and raves, and when things are good or very true or abso-fucking-lutely hysterical there's always that lingering been there, done that feeling to the post. I know people complain about the commute be it train or car, and that's cool. DC is messed up.
But let me bring you back to the subject at hand, the quality of DC's craigslist! Readers, how do you feel about the posting on the DC CL? Am I going crazy or is it really boring sometimes. There was this one day when someone posted this horrendous pic (but totally funny) of two young (white) boys, they must have been like 10 or 11, and they are all gangsta'd out and one is blowing out smoke and the other is throwing up a gang sign and the caption was - put a caption on this pic. And some of the ideas people came up with were like tony the tiger grrrr-eat! Other than that, there has been no pissing in my pants that's so funny stuff. I usually head over to the San Francisco List or NYC List.

The DC Metro

I know people have been getting fired for what they have been posting on blogs, and though I do consider that while I write this, I am still weighing the need for education, and I know I am someone who can help.

Let's begin-
Riding the metro is daunting not becuase it is a difficult system, and not because a lot of people ride (because you think orange line toward vienna is crowded - try the 7 local train into manhattan any day of the week!), nor is it because of anything else - its because people are just plain ol' vanilla DUMB.
Example, people have a hard time moving into the train. Ok, so you have a mental aversion to it. And maybe you are not tall enough to grab the top bar that goes down the center of the train. But how when your with, your-I'm-going-on-a-365-backpacking-tour backpack, your lap top bag, your bad for your shoes (because you dont know how to walk long distances in heels), and your purse take up space for about 3 grown people and then you strategically place yourself in the middle of EVERYTHING. Now, a sane person would put a bag between their legs, or pull something to the front to make up for the width of 20 sumo wrestlers because of all your crap, but no, you decide to stand in the middle of everything. Great job! You must have been a straight A student.
Next let's talk about how to hold onto a bar. This is another problem that plagues the DC metro system. Like I said before, the trains aren't that crowded, sorry to burst your very important personal bubble, but get a grip. So when you board the train and then you decide where you are going to stand do everybody a favor and don't support your entire being on that poll. What you do by strattling the poll is fuck up everyone else on the train. Four people can comfortably and without touching stand at the same poll. But by you taking up the poll to yourself, not only do you look like a jackass hugging a poll, but you also make life much more difficult for everyone else in any vincinity of your annoying ass. Now, if you are hugging the poll because you cannot read a book/paper/magazine, then you are a complete idiot. You have no right being on the train let alone the face of this earth. It also means that you have no concept of balance and that a newborn child who cannot even support the weight of its head has more balance than you. Listen carefully, hold it in one hand. When you need to turn the page, bring the hand that is holding reading material close the hand that's on the poll and then turn the page, return your hand with the reading material close to your face because only someone with crossed eyes like yourself cannot figure this out on your own.
And this brings me to finally, you the one who is way more important than any other person on the entire public transportation system. I understand because you are so important that when your personal driver doesn't show up for work...ie drive you to your palace, that's right because you're a princess, that can make anyone aggitated. But alas, deal with it. When I am getting on the train I am calculating space, number of people, the amount of stuff I am carrying and therefore decide where I am going to stand or sit. Now if you rush this sensitive calculation you are screwed because that means I am going to then add on a little something just for ya. Yes, that's right, where can I go to make you the most annoyed. So when you huff and puff about me taking too long to get on the train and then you see me staring at you and mouth Attitude Problem? or Go Fuck Yourself? or What the Fuck is your Problem? or What the Fuck? you now know its me. Also watch out you fuckers who wear flip flops because that's like honey to a bee. I will hone in on your unprotected feet with the force of Hurricane Katrina, and then go "heehee whoops" when I crush your pointer toe under my kitten heal. Yes, that's correct, I can wear heals on my commute!

So now I feel a little bit better, bringing knowledge to those who didn't have any. And I encourage you to incorporate these changes into your daily commuting life. Because I know I have. I have been cursed at and all the other things until the light was shown upon me from above and I realized that it was I who was stupid and ignorant and blind to the unspoken code of conduct. And rest assured that I will not cease to point out who is being an idiot and how they can fornicate with themselves until everyone knows how to ride the metro in peace.


Do you like the picture from Australia? It's very pretty -

Recipe 1 - "Prashant's Favorite Soup"

Prashant's Favorite Soup
Ingredients:
1 lb of kale (coarsely chop)
1 large can of crushed tomatoes
3 medium size peeled and diced potatoes
1 large or 2 medium diced onions
1 can of ceci (chickpeas)
1 lb of chorizo or other type of spicy sausage
1 quart of chicken stock
4 heads of cracked garlic
1 bay leaf
Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper

Directions:
In a large pot coat bottom of pan with oil and heat under medium flame.
Add to pot onions and potatoes - and cook until onions are translucent.
Add bay leaf, garlic, salt, pepper, and kale. Cover pot, and wait until kale wilts for next step.
Once kale is wilted, add can of tomatoes, ceci, and chicken stock.
Once liquids have been added scrape bottom of pot for any bits and pieces. Cover, and bring to a boil.
Remove casings from sausage and crumble. If you do not want to remove casings, slice sausage on an angle in 1/2 inch pieces. Add sausage once soup is brought to a boil.
Bring soup down to a simmer and stir occasionally until both potatoes and sausage are cooked.

Nice to have bread or some grated cheese to add to the soup!
Enjoy...

this recipe was adapted from a published recipe by Rachel Ray

Prashant and I at Firefly Restaurant in Washington DC on my birthday, Aug 6 '05. 

Recipes

Over the past year I have been collecting recipes that I have tried and liked, and passed the Prashant taste test.
I will start posting these recipes to share with the greater internet population.

Also since making lists are fun for control freaks like myself, I will also start posting ratings and quick run down of what the restaurant is like. Prashant and I have been on a quest - well more Prashant than I, on getting to a lot of different restaurants. That's great but some times you have to go back to the ones you know and love, know what I mean?!

Anyway, like I said this will be a work in progress, so bear with me...also hardly any of these recipes will be of my own creation so you copywriter just kiss my ass.

Collage from Bachelorette party 

Dancin' the night away

Two weekends ago was my sister's bachelorette party. It was a good time to be back in NYC, and it was great to send her off into marriage knowing she had a kick-ass last girls night out!

Here are some pics from the party:

How I have missed thee

Two of my favorite poems! Enjoy

Sonnet 130 by William Shakespeare
My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun;
Coral is far more red, than her lips red:
If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;
If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.
I have seen roses damasked, red and white,
But no such roses see I in her cheeks;
And in some perfumes is there more delight
Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks.
I love to hear her speak, yet well I know
That music hath a far more pleasing sound:
I grant I never saw a goddess go,
My mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground:

And yet by heaven, I think my love as rare,
As any she belied with false compare.


Te quiero de Mario Benedetti
Tus manos son mi caricia,
mis acordes cotidianos;
te quiero porque tus manos
trabajan por la justicia.
Si te quiero es porque sos
mi amor, mi cómplice, y todo.
Y en la calle codo a codo
somos mucho más que dos.
Tus ojos son mi conjuro
contra la mala jornada;
te quiero por tu mirada
que mira y siembra futuro.
Tu boca que es tuya y mía,
tu boca no se equivoca;
te quiero por que tu boca
sabe gritar rebeldía.
Si te quiero es porque sos
mi amor mi cómplice y todo.
Y en la calle codo a codo
somos mucho mas que dos.
Y por tu rostro sincero.
Y tu paso vagabundo.
Y tu llanto por el mundo.
Porque sos pueblo te quiero.
Y porque amor no es aurora,
ni cándida moraleja;
y porque somos pareja
que sabe que no está sola.
Te quiero en mi paraíso;
es decir, que en mi paísla gente vive feliz
aunque no tenga permiso.
Si te quiero es por que sos
mi amor, mi cómplice y todo.
Y en la calle codo a codo
somos mucho más que dos.

Dolly Sods West Virginia, here are some pictures from the boyfriend's camping trip 

What to do

How do you pass the time when the one person you usually pass the time with is not there? That's been the big question on my mind. My buddy/my friend/my partner in crime/my boyfriend/my love is away for the entire month of February. I know February is a short month, but after the first week it is straining on me.
While the boyfriend and I are not overly sentimental about packaged holidays like valentine's day - take last year's valentine's day. We made no reservations, we made no plans, we hung out in the house the entire day and went around the corner for dinner. But having this hallmark holiday along with him being gone I found myself reorganizing the shoes in my closet. I did intense research on where I could donate the shoes that are still in good condition, and put away the clothes I had folded from doing laundry. These are all things that I dread to do, especially laundry/folding clothes. So yesterday after everything was organized, tv shows were watched, emails were read and replied to, I found myself playing solitaire. When was the last time I played solitaire? Then I started thinking about the different types of solitaire games and if I could remember them.
HELP! This is crazy, I am turning into my grandmother!

Sure I should be able to use this time wisely, I mean I don't spend every waking hour with my boyfriend when he's here. But knowing that someone is a phone call away, a short driving distance, a couple of bus stops away that gives a real sense of security. I obviously lived before he and I got together and I was quite independent. I have traveled alone and taken on certain risks without a second opinion. However, now that I have this second opinion and this build in supporter I realize that I have actually regressed a bit in my strength. I had to make all the decisions on my own before and I was happy to do it. I made good decisions along with poor ones, and that happens even now. It is more like now I don't have to do all the work in the decision making process because I have him. Like I have become lazy in my own life because I am sharing it with someone.
Last night I got a call from a good friend (female) and she has been in a rather intense relationship with this guy and they are planning to get married. My major problem with that relationship is that every time the guy feels like he is backed into the wall he lashes out at my friend. And I am not dogging him, or taking her side - its just a fact. She needs to work on stuff too, don't get me wrong. But how can you seriously consider spending the rest of your life with someone and make a life together. How do you say to someone you love, I love you but I can't stand you? I think that's the issue. If you can't even have a civilized argument with someone then how can you stand that person? No one is perfect, we all know that but there are ways to do things and ways not to do things. And sometimes there are those arguments that begin with one point and end in another. That happens to the best of us. The issue is, can you turn it around, can the two of you talk intensely about something, trust one another even when tensions are high and get to a common ground?!

So today I am wearing my heart socks, not for valentine's day, that was yesterday but more for the thought or ideal of love. Keep it with you and others will be drawn to you because of it.

Jerry Orbach wins at SAG awards

The actor responsible for part of the namesake of this page won for his performance. Jerry Orbach died in late 2004 and won this year at the SAG awards for his role as Detective Brisco in Law & Order. It was actually quite touching when his wife accepted the award on his behalf. She was composed and made some light jokes in Jerry's honor.

Took the boyfriend to the airport this weekend. He won't be back home until the last day of the month. That's kind of long, don't you think?! But I guess the trip around the world does warrant a long time off from work. It's something ridiculous like 3 days lost in the flight to India. That's just crazy. Especially when you are flying 'into time.' I guess when he flies back it will be like time is standing still. That's also very weird. I can just see when I go to Hawaii in the summer being a complete bum when the trip is over because of the number of time zones I will be transcending. But I guess I will cross that bridge when I get to it.

Ever have those days when your eyes can hardly stay open because they are seriously strained? I have caught some sort of cold and I feel like my eyes are also affected by it. I mean my nose running is something that I can usually handle as a normal cold occurrence but when my eyes are dry and irritated I can't handle it. Oh well, I guess I will have to deal, I have been since this morning. And even more strangely I was so awake this morning, no fighting to get out of bed, and look at the state I am currently in! Oye!

I'm going to take a non cigarette cigarette break. Go walk around outside and hope the fresh air gets into me and recharges the soul. Sometimes that's all you need. You know when everyone at work is just coughing into their computer screens and then they all wonder why everyone else is sick. Hmm, could it be poor hygene? I don't know, call me crazy.

Sophisticated Lady

Hardly!

This morning I touched my boyfriend's frost bitten finer. Ew! It is really strange. When you touch the tip it doesn't feel like how a finger tip would. The skin is hard. And it doesn't even prune how you would expect it would during a bath. It's just gross, especially because I didn't include the detail of his nail. Another nail is growing underneath the current nail. Gross! Even writing this I can't even look at the text. I guess you can tell I was made to be a doctor or nurse. Ugh, no, never. My insides are inside for a reason!
Where did he get frost bitten you might be asking...he went with some very experienced hikers/backcountry campers and went to Dolly Sods in West Virginia. He had a great time, but the poor thing was not built for cold weather like this. I used to secretly giggle to myself seeing people totally out of their element. For example, when I went to school in Syracuse there were a bunch of first time in America-ers and they would be from the Caribbean or other places that have very warm climates. So now picture my boyfriend who grew up in southern India camping for three days in the mountains/backcountry of West Virginia! He didn't even have a hat, but thankfully one of his fellow campers had head gear for him. And I bet if you would have asked him 5 years ago if he could imagine himself here getting frost bitten from a camping trip he would probably think you were crazy. But that's what happened. I will look for a link to some pics that the people took on the trip. Beautiful countryside/landscapes!!

And away we go

Day two of my blog and the tension is mounting, what do I write about?!!
Not that this has to be filled everyday, especially since I haven't even told any of my friends about my blog, but I feel like some effort should be put into it.

Today I actually had some work to do, it was nice to be busy for a change. Though if you would have seen me just two weeks ago you would have thought my job was running me into the ground with the deadlines and amount of work needed to be completed. But its all about fits and starts. We have to hurry up to wait. That's not the most fun working environment. I mentioned to the director that I was looking to switch off the current project and he almost had a cow. And now the client is freaking out because the manager has gone on to another job. Hi, you're not even paying us for the work we are doing for you right now, so why does it matter who is doing it if you like what we give you?!! Grr, client is complete moron.
At my last job I felt very sedentary with my work. You know, every first week of the month get x, y, and z completed. By the last week of the month make sure to have certain things taken care of. And that got boring really fast. Now I am somewhere, where I don't know where the wind will take me and I am still bored. Hmm, must be me, and not the work. It is not as though I don't know how to sit in one spot or act in a professional manner. I think it is more about engagement. If I am engaged with what I am doing the hours fly by and I feel a sense of completion. Right now, I just am not feeling that. I really liked the research I did previously, I felt like a detective. I knew the answer was out there, but it was up to me to find it. That was great. You learn about the topic while you research, you become an instant expert in that subject matter and the information stays with you. You pick up new tricks, remember sources, and are seen as the 'go to person.' I like that. Here, everyone is bright, everyone is interested, so it gets boring because we are all the same. I am not saying that I was the smartest one of the group at my old place, hardly! But what niche I had carved out for myself was just that, my niche, no one else did it or had the time to do it, so I was the source. Maybe it is that I need more glory in my job. More 'great job' more something substantive - instead of saying 'whew, good things we got through that.' People continually tell me that what I am experiencing is on the negative spectrum of what my business does, I got the short straw, so to say, when I was placed on the project. But that's the issue, I have known no other, why keep me here when you know that the client is a dead weight tied around our necks while we are trying to tread water within a strong undertow? Dramatic, but it gets the point across.
Just got more to do, so must run!!

from botanical gardens 

First time for everything

So here I am. One would think after my intense addiction to craigslist I would have thought to create something much earlier. But alas, I have not. Until now that is!

I have named my blog after two television characters that I have followed for a long time. Maybe its corny but to me Law&Order is one of the few viewer worthy shows, so the name of the blog is in a sense me raising a glass to the characters. Cheers!

I wonder - is the popularity of blogs and other postings somewhat of a phenomenon or is it in our nature to want to spread our thoughts. What did one do when there was no blog? Oh that's right, we talked to one another. We didn't express our thoughts through an anonymous fashion, we interacted in physical settings. Is this necessarily better, and are we better off having the outlet of the blog? If you think of it, you can get shot down through a relatively harmless medium (the internet) or if we were to go back to the older way of interaction in person. Obviously the in person interaction is much harsher. Inflection of voice, facial expressions, physical gestures, and countless other things go into a statement. When a statement is put to text it is a different story. The reader has full control of something written in two ways, interpretation and response. In a medium similar to craigslist, for example, a person can write/post a rant, other people will read the rant, react according to their personal experiences/attitudes/values/etc and if provoked enough will reply to that post that invoked the reaction. There is no physical interaction, here the bully and the weakling can go head to head. Meaning the veil of the internet can make any person as powerful or thought provoking as they want to be.
The same question should be posed to me - why instead of interacting with people are you posting in this boundariless environment? Umm, just because I bring up the question doesn't mean I have to answer it. But when I think about it, I feel like it is just a large blank diary craving its pages to be filled. Personal thoughts and other items can gently rest in this bed of blog.