I have a new lover: Beard Papa.

No, this is not some weird Elektra complex thing. Beard Papa is the proprietor of delicious cream puffs. I have always loved cream puffs, and it doesn't take much to delight me -- as long as the cream inside is fresh and the shell isn't completely soggy, I'm happy. But I never realized Cream Puff Heaven until Beard Papa.

Apparently the jolly Japanese bearded cartoon character and his puffs have been around, enjoyed by trendy New Yorkers, for a while, but I was introduced to the delectable puffs at one of my favorite lunch joints, Cafe Zaiya, the sparkling white mecca of Japanese treats. I hadn't gone in there for a couple of months, but last time I did, I saw a new yellow-and-blue kiosk with counters stacked high with huge cream puff shells. Of course I had to order one, and I watched them insert a metal tube into the side of the shell, squeeze fresh vanilla cream filling into it, then dust the puff with sugar and wrap each one in delicate tissue. So tasty!!! You can see the vanilla specks in the cream, which is neither too heavy nor too sweet. MMMMM.

So that's my ode to Beard Papa. Since then, Johnny and I have each added many pounds to our hips. Tonight, for Johnny's birthday party, we're going to serve some cream puffs. There'll also be Kahlua brownies, homemade salsa and guacamole, an ice cream cake from Coldstone, crudites with ranch dressing and white wine sangria, but by far the star of the night will be Beard Papa.

Long live Beard Papa!

All righty, Johnny already beat me to writing about our bachelor/ette parties, but better late than never!

Last weekend, while Johnny, Chris, Dave, Zach and other assorted guys partied it up in Manhattan, I headed to Chicago to get together with my girls. The timing was fortuitous -- I didn't want to get into boys' way, and Michelle, my trusty traveling companion, had this weekend free. Prior to my return to the Windy City, I'd sent an email to everyone Michelle and I knew there, informing them of our visit and suggested itinerary for the weekend. I expected it to be a fun, low-key weekend of shopping, gossipping and drinking. We were going to stay with Becca, Michelle's pledge kid (and my grandkid) in Evanston on Friday night, then mosey on downtown to Monica's Saturday morning. Monica had already told me that she and Shivani, another friend of mine in the city, had to study for a med school test and wouldn't be able to partake in much of the weekend, but we could still stay with her Saturday night after partying so we didn't have to trot back to Evanston.

Well, you know I can't fly to Chicago without a hitch! Friday evening, my 7 p.m. flight didn't leave the ground until closer to 10 p.m. Meanwhile, Michelle's flight from DC was also severely delayed by weather. Finally, we both landed at around the same time. Michelle was waiting for me at the airport. While waiting in the cab line, Michelle said, "Well, we're not going to Becca's tonight."

You know me and how well I handle surprises, especially while traveling.

"WHAT? Where are we going?"

"You'll see," Michelle replied.

"Great! Johnny could barely surprise me for the proposal -- how are you pulling this off?" I asked.

"Easy," she replied. "We didn't tell him!"

"TELL me where we're going!" I begged.

"Not Evanston," Michelle said.

"We'd better be going into the city and not Winnetka or something," I joked.

Keeping up her air of mystery, Michelle actually handed the cab driver a piece of paper with directions on it, instead of telling him where to go.

"Are we going to Monica's?" I asked. The answer was yes. Earlier in the day, Monica had offered me her place Friday night instead, saying that the weather may be yucky when I land, and her place was closer. I had turned her down because I knew Becca wanted to go out to dinner with us. I now thought that maybe people were gathered at Monica's place, but it was already midnight! Both Michelle and I normally would be in bed already ... I couldn't imagine waiting up for someone this late. I also was concerned because by now, at midnight, my makeup and clothes were rather stale!

Anyway, we finally arrived at Monica's, and when she greeted us, her apartment was dark. I made my way inside and there were about 10 to 15 girls there, waiting to surprise me! It was great -- they had, unbeknownst to me, ordered a penis cake (complete with "pubic hair" made of dots of chocolate frosting). Red frosting made up the words "A hard man is good to find." There were also delicious pastries, brownies and an abundance of wine and champagne out. We took many pictures of me posing with the cake and biting into a ball.

While the girls were waiting, they had written questions for me to answer on pieces of paper. I had to answer all of them, drinking champagne between each question. I was very drunk by the end of the night!

So I thought that was it for the surprises. Saturday morning dawned, and I ran five miles along Lake Michigan -- from Monica's at Ohio and Lake Shore Drive to near where I used to live (by Lincoln Park Zoo) and back. It made me miss Chicago a lot. Even though New York is objectively more exciting, I have yet to find a place in the city that rivals the beauty of Chicago by the lake. Central Park is gorgeous, but nothing beats the sparkling water and tall, clean buildings of the Chicago skyline. On a sunny day, that is. As I ran, I reflected on all the good times -- and some of the not-so-good times -- that I had in the city: Meeting and falling in love with Johnny, making new friends in college, not knowing what to do with my major, getting my first car and apartment, settling into my first job, all the drama around me and Johnny's relationship senior year (God, was it only that recently that that happened?), graduating twice ... it was very philosophical ... and the last time I used my brain that day!

After a long day of shopping with Michelle, Becca and Shivani (they helped me pick out some saucy honeymoon lingerie), I prepared to go to dinner at Thai Sookdee, an Evanston favorite. The plan was to start the night near campus and end in the city.

Well, as we were about to leave, Monica emerged with a large plastic bag and extracted a veil.

"You need to wear this all night. It kind of goes with your outfit!" she proclaimed. (I was wearing a strapless black dress with flower cutout shapes at the left top and the lower right hem, with khaki-colored fabric peeking through the cutouts. It was appropriately sexy but classy.

Then she said she had 40 colored plastic leis to give to the entire bachelorette party that night. Well, we made quite a sight at Thai Sookdee -- 20 or so girls, one with a veil, 19 with fake flowers. Toward the end of dinner, I noticed a piece of paper being passed around by the girls, who were all giggling. When I got the paper, I was told that it was my mission to accomplish all 25 of the tasks, which were all to be documented on camera (I don't have pictures yet -- when I do, I will post them in comments!). The list included:

* Get 10 different men's business cards
* Obtain a business card from Orbitz, Johnny's first job out of college (an impossibility given the small size of the company)
* Get the guy who lives in Johnny's old dorm room to write him a good luck letter
* Take a picture in the room in which you and Johnny spent the most "time"
* Get a guy's chest hair
* Get a condom from a random guy
* Get a guy to moon a bunch of people
* Get a guy to talk dirty to you
* Do a blowjob shot
* Have a guy pretend to walk you down the aisle while singing "Here Comes the Bride"
* Find a guy with Johnny's shoe size
... and so on.

Every time I said Johnny's name that night, I had to do something embarrassing. I ended up proposing to a random guy in our old dorm, singing "Goin' to the Chapel" while standing on a table in Nevin's Pub, singing "I'm A Little Teapot," and singing "Here Comes the Bride" at the top of my lungs from the Rock on the Northwestern campus. Yikes.

I ended up accomplishing all but four tasks -- as Monica said, "Bev, even when you're trashed, you're so goal-oriented!" Haha. I did get a chest hair, convince a guy to moon us, find someone with Johnny's shoe size, kiss a tattoo and get guys to serenade and talk dirty to me. There were many other "accomplishments" that night -- but there are just two stories worth repeating here.

I decided to start off easy and get 10 business cards. I walked up to a table of guys. Only one had a business card. When he pulled it out of his wallet, I almost screamed -- he worked at Orbitz!!! How great was that -- no one could believe my luck. It set the tone for the rest of the evening ... and let's just say, it's amazing what wearing a veil gets you! :) I didn't have to pay cover all night.

We eventually ended up at Tequila Roadhouse in the city. There, we were on the dance floor when my friend Amanda suddenly said, "Oh my God, look!" We saw this guy on top of a girl laying back in a metal saddle, strapping his hands into chains and grinding on top of her, then leaning over to do something (we couldn't see -- his back was to us). As we were still all gaping open-mouthed at this, wondering what the hell a random guy was doing to this girl, he turned around. We saw that he was holding a mike and realized he wasn't a random guy -- he worked at the bar!

"Get the bride up here," he said, looking at us.

"Uh ... " I said, backing away. But it was too late -- he strode over, picked me up (no amount of wriggling could set me free -- I must've been trashed) and set me on top of the saddle.

"You gettin' married?" he asked, pushing my head back (the saddle ended in a headrest over a bucket). "I'll go beat up the guy!"

"Uh ... "

Meanwhile, my friends were laughing and pulling out their cameras. The music started and the guy pulled himself up and started "dancing" (no real bodily contact, don't worry, Johnny!). Then, he asked, "Are you ready?"

"I guess," I said, not knowing what I was ready for.

He then proceeded to pour tequila and some sort of mixer into my mouth -- I later learned this was an upside-down margarita. He then took half a lime in his mouth and transferred it to me. This incident greatly amused my friends and random people nearby ... and it greatly scandalized Tracy, who was convinced it was the end of me and Johnny. I'm pleased to report that that was the most scandalous thing that happened all night, and it was by accident, so I remained true to my promise to be a good girl. :)

So that was that ... it was quite a weekend! And now I will resume my usual routine, hoping my body will recover in a few months ...

As most of you know, this past Sunday, I ran my first race. It was the Niketown 4-mile Run For the Parks in what many consider to be the park of parks -- Central Park. I first read about the race on a bus advertisement in February -- at the time, I'd been running three miles on the treadmill four times a week. I turned to Johnny and said, "Hey, do you think I might be able to do that?" Being the good fiance he is, he said, "Sure! And I'd be so proud of you."

Still, I was hesitant ... I knew nothing about races. What if it were only open to professional runners? That would be, as my mom likes to say, "Pretending that an egg is a hard rock. It will get crushed among the real rocks." (She used this phrase when I suggested that I wanted to be a cheerleader or try out for the JV tennis team, and she was right about those things!) Then again, I thought, advertising on New York City buses isn't exactly selective screening.

When I got to work, I looked up the event on the New York Road Runners Club home page. I learned it was open registration, but I also ran across a bunch of weird terms, like scoring with a ChampionChip, bibs and all this other stuff. I looked all of it up and learned that I would be wearing a yellow tag on my shoe to record my time (since not everyone crosses the finish line at the same time).

Well, $20 poorer, I trained for the race. Race day finally dawned. I was nervous -- the weekend before, while visiting Johnny's parents in Philadelphia, I ran outside for the first time and was completely blown away by how different it was from running indoors. I dealt with nervousness the way I best knew how -- by dressing in new clothes. I put on my new cataloupe-colored workout top, my old gray Northwestern shorts (go you NU!) and my Adidas (the red/black theme didn't really match my top, but that's OK for once). Johnny calmed my nerves, pinning on my bib number on the back of my shirt, putting sunscreen on my back and packing me some water and a light jacket. He donned his orange NY Yankees hat, and we walked out the door.

Date:	2004-02-03 13:57
Subject:	They want my money!!
Security:	Public
Mood:	shocked
Music:	She Works Hard For Her Money ...

This is one instance in which I'm grateful that math is my weakness. If I were good at math, I'd know that I'd done my taxes correctly and definitely be depressed. As it is, I am only on the verge of depression.

Last night, I got my W2s -- one from Illinois and one from New York. Last year, when I filed my taxes, I got over $2,500 back from Uncle Sam, and I only had to pay $5 to Illinois. So this year, eager to get extra money, I jumped online to use a free filing service right away.

About 20 minutes later, I let out an elated whoop as I realized that I would receive $93 from the government and $650 from Illinois. Not bad! Don't know why the discrepancy is so large between this year and last year, but oh well -- I only worked half a year in 2002; that might explain it. Money is money, though, and I wasn't about to poo-poo a refund. I moved on to my New York state return.

About 45 minutes and much panic later, I was staring at an immutable number on the screen: $1489. I owe New York almost $1500! How is that possible?! As of December 31, I'd lived in New York almost five months and paid LOTS of taxes -- believe me, since I'm taking home less money now than I did in Chicago.

However, Johnny reminded me that Mom and Dad were tax experts. They were good at math. We were not. I rejoiced in this small victory. This once, I hope that I made a silly mistake entering things into the online service. Because I can think of so many wonderful things to do with $1500 other than paying New York with it. One of these wonderful things is that if I don't have to pay the $1,500, I might be able to afford food. J/K.

So, if anyone has ever moved and had to file two state returns during tax time, PLEASE offer any advice. :)

Date:	2004-01-12 14:01
Subject:	Are you ever horny?
Security:	Public
Mood:	surprised

This past Saturday, I took Cecilia out for ice skating. We couldn't find the rink (it's the one in the Harlem end of Central Park, not the bigger Wollman Rink), and it was freezing cold, so we decided to visit my apartment and go for a spin in the Toys R Us in Times Square instead.

Now, for those of you who have not heard my description of Cecilia yet, she is 10 years old, very intelligent and observant, and, except for a couple of alarming comments in the past, pretty well-adjusted for a kid who's been through so much -- death of a parent, serious injury of the other parent, counseling and social work, etc. Anyway, despite all that, she's pretty much what I'd expect a "normal" kid (if there is such a thing) to be like: She, along with her entire fifth-grade class, is obsessed with Hillary Duff; she likes Barbies but feels like she's starting to get too old for them; a trip to get pizza and ice cream still enthralls her.

This all provides an interesting contrast to how much Cecilia knows about -- or is beginning to know about -- "adult" matters. I think everyone, by fifth grade, knows the mechanics of sex. Allow me to wear the "wise village elder" hat for a moment (which I know I'm not qualified to wear yet) and say that back in our day, this information seemed to come from a) wisecracking classmates who read "Where Do I Come From?" too early in life, b) kids who'd walked in on their parents or eavesdropped on them, c) playground rumors, and/or d) that horrible sex ed video. These days, though, kids seem to know way more than the basics early on. I'm not necessarily passing this off as a judgment, just an observation. For example ...

So Cecilia and I are on the subway back from Central Park to my apartment. The car is crowded because it's Saturday afternoon. She says that she has seen her 13-year-old (female) cousin recently. "Do you know what my cousin told me?" she asks.

"What?" I reply, thinking that this will be some trivia about a TV show or something.

"She told me what 'horny' means. Do you know how to tell if you are horny? White stuff comes out." Cecilia then looks at me as if it is nothing to say this loudly in a subway car; as if she had just said, "Do you know how to tell if you are hungry? Your stomach growls." Which just goes to show her youth.

This revelation is then followed up with a mischievous smile and Cecilia's next question: "Are you ever horny?"

There are a few seconds of silence in which:
*I look for a hole in the ground to disappear into
*I search my brain for the right answer to give to a 10-year-old on this subject
*I think, "I am never letting my kid near her older cousins OR any TV shows!"
*I laugh at myself: "Hahaha, she asked you if you were ever horny!"
*Fellow subway commuters hide their giggles and look expectantly at me for an answer.

It's hard to deal with kids, I've discovered. I don't want to give her the impression that it's OK to just talk about horniness on the train or to be "loose" later on in life (God, I sound like a wound-up adult, huh? Scary); on the other hand, I don't want to mess her up and have her think that feeling horny isn't natural. Then there's the part of me that's thinking, "I know kids are maturing quickly, but she's 10!"

So, I think I said, "Well, your cousin is right, but that also happens when your body is naturally cleaning itself. And I think everyone feels horny sometimes. It's a natural thing to feel, especially as you get older. What's important is if you're able to make smart decisions about what to do when you feel like that. And we can talk about that anytime, but a subway car is probably not the best place to do it."

I hope to God that that was an OK answer ... oh, those young, malleable minds! Or maybe I was just way sheltered when I was 10. Who knows?

Even though it's only been a couple of weeks since Christmas, you all knew that it wouldn't be long until I had gathered up enough new desires to warrant a Wish List. And why not? It's a brand new year, with Valentine's Day, a wedding, a birthday and Christmas in the works.

(I'm not completely serious, by the way. I'm not that selfish yet.)

In reality, I am bored at work, so here goes:

*A mini iPod. OK, so I'm not really that into music, but I really can't resist getting something that small (only a little bigger than a business card, despite what it looks like on the Web site), cute and colorful. Besides, after many hours of thought, I have decided that it would be nice to clip my mini iPod to my gym shorts for music pleasure while running. And I really don't know more than 100 songs I'd like to carry with me, so 1,000-song capacity is really enough.

*A new bathing suit or two for my honeymoon. This or this would be nice.

*While we're at it, some resort wear would also be lovely.

*A cute notebook to write recipes in.

*The wonderful deep red modern-looking curvy couch, matching armchair, matching loveseat and ottoman set at a fabulous home store in SoHo.

And that's about it for now!

Date:	2004-01-05 15:30
Subject:	Happy New Year!
Security:	Public
Mood:	cheerful

Well, I'm back! It's very weird to be back at work after such a long break.

Hmmm. Yes. It is rather sad that two weeks seems so gigantically long when, not too long ago, I had three months each year at my disposal. Oh, summer, where hath ye gone? But hey! We get President's Day off this year!! Let's see if I can recap the last two weeks.

The Longest Plane Ride Ever
I must give three cheers for JetBlue. Their planes are clean, the DirecTV is nice, and the airports they fly in and out of seem to be pretty hassle-free. I had one of my few non-incidental rides back to LA.

However, my flu aside, that 5-hour ride seemed like 10 hours because of my seatmates. While on the jetbridge to the plane, two annoying boys (I can't even call them guys) were jabbing at one another and laughing dorkily in front of me. Now, I love nerds. I like witnessing the joys of friendship. But seriously, they were like bouncing from one end of the jetbridge to the other end. One guy had overgrown, oily brown hair and was wearing ratty khakis and an orange hoodie that said "Sarah Lawrence University Student Senate" in big brown letters. There was the school mascot, a squirrel, on the back. Yeah. His companion, also with scraggly hair (but better skin) was wearing a big button-down shirt, unbuttoned, also with scruffy pants (and I don't mean cool scruffy. I mean, you have been wearing these pants since sixth grade scruffy). The kicker with him was his green tweed bucket hat.

The seats on the plane are in rows of three. I am in 8A. The guys sit down in what appears to be row 7. Whew, I thought. Man, I would stab myself if I had to sit next to those two, who were already babbling away in the nasal, annoying voices that belong to people who always think they are right.

Lo and behold. They had sat down in 8B and 8C. I smiled feebly and looked for a sharp object. Not finding any, I then listened for the next TWO HOURS to a LIVELY debate about whether or not terrorists could easily bomb a plane, whether it was right to go to war in Iraq and which Middle Eastern country had better terrorism skills. After that, they put on headsets and watched CNN together, providing constant commentary. Occasionally there would be a ridiculous comment from Tweed Hat to Orange Hoodie, such as, "Do you think Katie will let me sleep with her on this vacation?"

If Katie is at all human, the answer, hopefully, will be "no." Run, Katie, run!

Christmas
I had a great time (even though I did miss Johnny a lot before he came out on December 27). Sarah and I walked around Del Amo mall (I was pretty much spaced out due to the last remnants of the flu), and we even squeezed in an intense workout plus yoga. It was great.

Christmas brought a lot of bounty: A cute new black velvet jacket from my parents, a black skirt with great trimmings on it from my grandma, a cute fitted graphic tee and these amazingly cozy monkey slippers from June, the diamond watch I wanted from Johnny (yay!), a cute nail polish in the "Honeymooon Sweet" shade and two lovely bracelets from Sarah (one of which will be used "later"), money from my aunt and a collection of items from Johnny's parents, including a DIGITAL CAMERA! Yay!

And you know, it's always good to be with family. My grandma's not feeling too well these days, so any time with her is good.

Johnny's visit
Johnny's visit was delightful! I wouldn't say it was the most relaxing time in the world, since we ran around doing wedding stuff most of the time, but we had fun. We accomplished many things:

*Purchased our wedding bands (a thin platinum band with tiny diamonds across it for me, a very manly brushed and polished platinum band for Johnny)
*Scouted out a nice rehearsal dinner venue
*Met with our photographer and paid a deposit
*Picked out tuxes for Johnny, the groomsmen and the dads
*Identified possible locations for the groomsmen golfing outing the day before the wedding
*Checked out the surprise groomsmen's gifts

Despite all this, we squeezed in some time for fun as well. Highlights include dinner with Zach, Sandi, Sarah and Nads; a New Year's party in Corona del Mar; labeling lobster boxes with an Asian gangster-looking man (complete with bald head, sunglasses at night and long leather jacket) and plenty of quality time with family. My dad treated us to a multi-course seafood feast in Johnny's honor, so that was really sweet.

June and Charles' visit
Yes, June and her bf Charles are here. They returned with us on Friday and will be leaving tomorrow morning. We've taken them sightseeing around the city, and it's been really fun. Highlights include watching Charles service June -- peeling the tails off of her shrimp sushi for her automatically so she doesn't have to dirty her hands, fetching snacks for her of his own accord, asking her for permission before dousing his omelette in ketchup ... and this is without asking from June. And you all thought I was high maintenance! Johnny feels even luckier now that he has witnessed this.

And that's about it. Hope everyone had a great holiday season!! Ooooooh! Six months and 19 days until our wedding!!!

Date:	2003-12-18 10:57
Subject:	Just in time for the holidays ...
Security:	Public
Mood:	sick

Yes, siree, Beverly "doesn't get sick" Cheng has been hit by the flu.

On Sunday, I had a scratchy throat. I thought it came from talking too much on the phone (to my dad, to my mom, to my grandma, to June, to Sarah) and thought nothing of it. Usually, I get a sore throat and within two hours (or a day), I have fully recovered.

Flash to Monday morning. My head feels heavy, my throat has ballooned and my abs are hurting from lovely "hacking cough" exercises. I called in to say that I'd be coming in at noon, still denying that I could really be sick. At 11 a.m., I decided I was "well" enough to go to Chinatown to buy some knockoff designer bags before I head home to LA, taking advantage of my extra time off from work.

An hour later, when I walk into the office, my boss looked at me and said (and this is a direct quote), "You look like shit. Go home." So I did. On the way, I bought groceries for that night's dinner, dropped off film and bought a present for my cousin, Stacy. Denial. It's powerful.

So I go home and find myself intensely bed-ridden. Well, OK, I think, by tomorrow I'll be fine. Johnny brings home a thermometer and runs about being the best caretaker I've ever experienced (except for my mom, but who can replace Mommy when you're sick?). He gets me water, juice, meds, entertains me, strokes my hair. The thermometer says my temperature is 101.5. Great! It will remain there on Tuesday.

Tuesday is the day from hell. I swear, if someone told me that that was what hell would feel like, I would have done anything they asked me to do to avoid that fate. It was the sickest I've ever been. My lips were chapped, my skin was peeling from all the heat of my body, no matter how much water I drank, and I could not find a comfortable position to sleep. And I didn't want to eat! Gasp! All Tuesday I think I had some soup, a couple of popsicles and a couple bites of fruit. I lost two pounds that day to dehydration (forget Dr. Atkins! Go on the Flu Diet!).

Anyway, by yesterday, I'd gone to the doctor and my temperature was down to normal. Today I am back at work, trying to take it easy though, because I know I'm still sick, only feeling better cuz I'm not burning up.

So that was my last three days ... tomorrow, I get on a jet plane and fly back to my family (and Sarah) (and Zach) in LA!

Happy holidays!

Date:	2003-12-09 14:02
Subject:	Learning something new every day ...
Security:	Public
Mood:	grateful

It's amazing what you continually learn about yourself, isn't it? Such as, what you should avoid eating to prevent asphyxiation and death.

Last night, Johnny's mom came into town and brought Christmas presents for me and Johnny. After that delightful event, we went to Chez Josephine, a lovely French restaurant next door, to enjoy a leisurely meal. I shared an appetizer with Johnny, then went on to have a delicious seafood risotto with shrimp and scallops, both foods that I love but have, on rare occasions, given me minor rashes. Still, I hadn't had a food allergy in a while, so I thought nothing of eating the dish.

Flash forward to 1 a.m. I wake myself with violent hacking coughs in an effort to fight for air. Now, these were not phlegmy, "I have a terrible cold" coughs, but "Wake up, you fool, so that you don't die!" coughs. I was so scared, since this was my first real difficulty with breathing. I literally had to suck down deep breaths to even get one little gulp of air. I felt like some sumo wrestler was sitting on my lungs while at the same time gripping my windpipe in his (her?) fist. Coughing helped me get some air too.

Panicking, I woke Johnny up, and after one drowsy moment in which he said, "Yes, I know, poor thing, just drink water and go back to sleep," he realized the amount of wheezing that was going on, and woke up fully to take very good care of me. This included calming me down so I could take deep breaths and walking me around the living room, where the air was cooler. He asked whether I wanted to go to the hospital, but (I'm too good of an employee), silly me, I thought, "No, that would be really expensive for the health plan." Luckily I recovered by morning.

Today I'm all fine, but next time I'm going to the hospital straightaway. As my alarmed mother pointed out, sometimes the respiratory system swells closed so fast you don't even know it, and then you die or do serious damage to your brain.

So what was the cause? Well, we were all pinning it on the shrimp or scallops, until my mom remembered that I got sick last time I was at a French restaurant with Johnny. It was the same kind of symptoms, but MUCH milder, to the point where we thought I was just coming down with something. I mentioned it to Johnny, and he exclaimed, "ESCARGOT!" See, both times, I'd had a bite (or three, in last night's case) of escargot from Johnny's plate. D'oh. I'm going to the doctor tomorrow to confirm, but I'm pretty sure there's no more snail in my future.

Now, I know most normal people think they're gross, but to me, they are the mussels and clams of land ... and you know I LOVE shellfish. However, at least real shellfish don't cause me problems! I'm just glad I can continue to eat shrimp! My grandma always said my love of food would be the death of me ... perhaps I should listen more to her!

Date:	2003-12-08 13:33
Subject:	A snowy weekend
Security:	Public
Mood:	drained
Music:	Construction workers and their tools outside

We have survived our first New York blizzard! On Friday, the snow started around 9:30 a.m. At first, it was really pretty, but around 5 p.m., I realized that it was actually a nuisance. Even in Chicago, I'd never seen it snow for eight hours straight.

Of course I'd chosen that day to wear my new pants from the Gap that make me look so long-legged and skinny but are also dry-clean only. Now normally that wouldn't be a problem, since I could wear them a number of times before sending them to the cleaner, but alas ... I also chose to wear my Franco Sarto ankle-strap heels. I don't know -- I guess I didn't look at the weather while I was on the treadmill that morning. Silly me!

Nonetheless, my outfit didn't stop me from going shopping for some accessories for our party on Saturday night. After work, Johnny and I braved the storm to pick up a couple of platters and a kissing ball from the Crate & Barrel and Pottery Barn in SoHo (I'd checked the local 99 cent store for those items, but had no luck. OK, I did find 50 cent platters, and I am not too classy, but even those were too ... pastel ... for me). Luckily I still have all my toes!

On Saturday, we picked up the remaining items for our party. The blizzard was still going on, but Dave was still coming into town, and we were determined to have a party whether we had three attendees or 300. So, starting at 4 p.m., Johnny and I prepared for the party. Dave and Brad came earlier in the evening to hang out. By 9 p.m., we had set out:

*A full bottle of Ketel One vodka (really secretly filled with cheaper Gordon's vodka, but hey, who's looking?)
*Some lime-and-mint flavored "mojito rum"
*Some tequila
*Triple sec
*White cranberry and orange juices
*Champagne
*Heineken bottles
*Fresca, my favorite soda
*Coke
*Cheese and crackers
*Homemade bruschetta and toasted, buttered baguette slices
*Homemade stuffed mushrooms
*Danish cookies
*Homemade Christmas wreaths and cinnamon stacks courtesy of Mrs. Baker's recipe
*A veggie platter
*Fruit skewers (thanks for the idea, Sarah!)
*A vase filled with holiday-style candy
*Bowls of M&Ms and more candy\
*Hot chocolate (on the stove) with Ashbournes (i.e., cheap Bailey's), candy cane stirrers and whipped cream to finish it off

So, we were all set. Our first guests arrived at 9:30, and from then on, people kept streaming in. We were glad, or else we would've had a lot of food! At the height of the party, we had about 20 people there. It was great to see everyone in one place, and you know, being a hostess meant I didn't have time to eat as much as I normally would! So that was a plus.

Soon we will have pictures and post them!! Overall, nothing too crazy happened at the party. Joe and Lily freak-danced for two minutes on our couch. Otherwise, much talking and gossipping commenced. Whoo-hoo!

Well, Johnny and I had a good weekend despite the horrible blizzard. About 20 people showed up to our party on Saturday, which surprised the heck out of me, given that that's almost double the number at our last party, AND last time it was fair weather! Hmmm. Anyway, I (or Johnny) will write about the party later, but for now, let's have a look at the horrid rip-off prices of the local Food Emporium grocery store, shall we?

Now, luckily we live near a veggie and fruit market and a meat/grocery market that are not part of a big chain. Sure, there are no pretty displays, but it's cheap.

So, for our party on Saturday, we picked up:

From the veggie/fruit market
*12 roma tomatoes
*Five big oranges
*Five Fuji apples
*One pineapple
*One huge package of mushrooms
*One bag of baby carrots
*One big stalk of celery
*Four pears
*Something else that is escaping my mind at the moment
Total = $8.45, or something like that. Not bad!

From the meat/grocery market
*A half gallon of milk
*Enough cheddar and mozzarella cheese to feed 40 people (we only used up half of what we got on Saturday)
*A box of Club crackers
*A box of generic Ritz type crackers
*A canister of whipped cream
*A big box of cornflakes
*A bag of marshmallows
*Three baguettes
*One can of artichoke hearts
*One bottle of balsamic vinegar
*One container of Kraft creamy ranch veggie dip
*A 2-liter bottle of Coke
*A 2-liter bottle of Fresca
*Something else, I'm sure
Total = $28. Again, not bad for the shitload of stuff.

NOW, FROM FOOD EMPORIUM
*One medium-sized bag of red seedless grapes
*One bunch of fresh basil
*One can of unsweetened cocoa mix
Total = $15

WHAT IS UP WITH THAT? Thank God for the little groceries around the corner! Thank God the only thing we couldn't find at those places were the red seedless grapes, fresh basil and that particular kind of cocoa mix! And screw Food Emporium!

So this morning, my Little Sister (from the Big Brothers Big Sisters program, not the lovely June), Cecilia, and I headed to the NBC studios at Rockefeller Center for an appearance on the Today Show.

Now, you know that the whole journalism degrees thing aside, I'm not a big fan of news. But I am the most devoted fan of celebrities in general, and Katie Couric, Matt Lauer and Al Roker definitely count as stars. And I do like the Today Show as my almost-legitimate source of news. So I was very excited -- I didn't expect to be on air, but we were told that the kids would be on camera. Cecilia was excited to go to Rockefeller Center and be on TV; I was excited to see these folks.

Well, it's the week of Thanksgiving, and I'm wondering to myself why I didn't take this whole week off! I am the only one in my cubicle quadrant who is here. I take that back -- the administrative assistant is also here. OK, now I don't feel quite so much like a tool. And I get two weeks at Christmas, so all is not lost.

Indeed, now I have time to update my journal! For once, I have something interesting with which to update.

The Weekend
Stephanie, a friend of mine from the Renew project (you gotta read "Speaking Contractorese"), and I headed to Hallo Berlin Friday night. It's in my neighborhood, and I'd heard that it was really cute. Its specialties are (duh) German beer and German food. I'm not a beer drinker, but I enjoyed the place greatly! The beer I had was surprisingly good, and the brats and potato pancakes were second-to-none.

After dinner, Steph and I met up with Johnny, and we wandered into Rudy's Bar and Grill a few blocks away. Now, sadly, I don't have a picture of this, but there happens to be a giant plastic pig statue (in an upright, not four-legged, position) right outside Rudy's. I make a point of slapping the friendly pig's raised left hoof each time we pass, but I'd never been in there. I mean, the pig is the only distinguishing feature of the place. I thought maybe it served BBQ.

Well, while it didn't have BBQ, it did have a fun, neighborhood atmosphere along with an open beer garden (in November!) out back. We stayed indoors and met a man in his 40s, probably, who hailed from Ireland a few years back. He was obviously drunk, but in a friendly (though not too friendly) way, and bought Stephanie a Corona. At first, he stared at us like a curious puppy dog while we talked, but then he became involved in our conversations.

We learned that his name is Hugh, and gradually pulled his profession out of him. At first he claimed that what he did was "not important," but then admitted that he was a producer.

"Oh, for what?" I asked.

"Have you heard of Oasis?" he replied.

Now, being the music idiot that I am, I didn't think of Oasis the band -- instead, I thought a) OASIS, the volunteer organization at Northwestern?, and b) a refreshing place in the desert? So I tapped Johnny and said, "Hey, what's Oasis?" and promptly got rapped on the head with his knuckles. Doh. So now we're friends with Hugh, the Oasis producer with an Irish accent. Who knows, it's New York, it could be true -- he certainly had enough dough to buy us drinks! But Steph didn't want to take advantage of the poor guy.

Hugh continued to amuse us. "You're more Irish than Colin Farrell," he proclaimed to Johnny. Then, when Stephanie asked him why he kept staring at her, he exclaimed, "I love you!!"

Not your typical yuppie bar crawl night, I have to say! Wow, that last line just sounded remarkably like Jean Teasdale.

The Today Show -- A Lost Opportunity
So as some of you may have heard, I was going to be on the Today Show on Dec. 2. My case worker at Big Brothers Big Sisters told me that BBBS was going to be featured next Tuesday, and they wanted to have some Big-Little matches on air. Well, my Little agreed -- but today I was told that they only want to have the kids on the air, with Jesse Martin from Law & Order. Waaah! Now my new haircut has gone to waste. ::sob:: Oh, well, if I can catch a glimpse of famouse people, I'll be happy!

Speaking of my haircut, I got it yesterday in Chinatown, and for the amazing price of $22. Seriously, whenever I go back home to a comparably stylish Asian salon, I'm charged like $45, and that's before the tips! Afterward, Johnny and I had some yummy noodles, curried squid, and barbecue pork steamed buns at this one little restaurant. Mmmmm. We finished by purchasing several sponge cupcakes, egg custard tarts and another pork bun from a bakery. And it was cheap, too. The meal came to $19.60, and all the baked goods came to $4.60. I was so happy.

Random Thoughts on Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
Now, I know that many girlfriends balk at their boyfriends' use of Grand Theft Auto and its sequels as an entertainment medium. They say that it's degrading toward women, excessively violent, chauvinistic and the worst possible video game ever. You go around carjacking people, hailing "working women" and killing people. Now, I'm not one of those girlfriends. Yeah, I think the game is stupid, but, as Johnny says, it knows it's campy, and I think as long as the adult playing it has his priorities straight, then it's OK for the most part. Unless he plays it three hours a day and starts to change in his views -- but I haven't witnessed that too much.

Notice, though, that I said it was OK for an adult, who has already formed his opinions, to play it.

Yesterday, at the Chinese restaurant, there was a table with a little boy (maybe 8 to 10 years old?), his mother, his aunt and his grandmother. The kid was talking about what a cool game GTA: Vice City was. Now, that is the first time I've had a problem with someone playing the game. Call me old-fashioned, but it's just disturbing to have a little kid playing that game, just at the age when they're forming opinions about women and men and their respective roles in society (and about right and wrong as a whole, really). Yeah, you could say that GTA: Vice City isn't that different from other shoot-em-up games featuring busty women, but at least you can't HIRE those women in the other games, and the characters are dressed in ... otherworldly outfits. In GTA, people are dressed pretty realistically, and you're not fighting squid-headed creatures ...

Sigh. My kids are going to get video games, but I think I will put into place the rule that my parents had when June and I were young regarding video games. They hooked up the console to the TV in their bedroom, so they knew when we were going to play. Consequently, we had to ask them if we could play. If we were done with our homework and chores, then they always said yes. If not, then we had to do them before playing. And after some playing time, they could always kick us off the machine by saying that they wanted to watch something else or to take a shower or whatever -- and we couldn't sneak in any playing time or play late at night, since our parents would be sleeping or in their room. They did this for a few years, up until we'd internalized the rules. A good system, I say.

... a Turducken? You'd better get started now, though. Those instructions are very complicated!

It's (supposedly) delicious, compatible with the Atkins diet for all you carb-haters out there, and, as Sarah put it, great for picky eaters -- ya get a little of everything!

If you don't want to make the turducken but would like to go the store-bought route, click here.

Happy eating!

So, for those of you who read Johnny's entry about Halloween and are wondering how he got backslammed by a SWAT officer, wonder no more.

It went like this. On Wednesday night, Johnny and I had tickets to see the 10:30 showing of the Matrix. We were very excited. We got some ice cream and waited outside the movie theater (couldn't go in with "external food"). At 9:55 p.m., give or take five minutes, a couple police cars pulled up, and some cops ran into the building. At this point, people are only mildly curious but figure that someone is trying to rob a cash register. But then, about 10 more police cars show up, and officers are streaming into the building.

All of a sudden, we see a different type of law enforcemen official -- ones with big long guns who were screaming, "Get out of the way!" in a futile attempt to dilute the masses in front of Lowes eWalk in Times Square. I've never seen SWAT officers before, and Johnny said, "Whoa, SWAT guys!" It was very freaky to me, watching all these officers with their long guns, running into our local theater. One of them very unncessarily hit Johnny on the lower back with his gun to shove him out of the way -- never mind that we were already as out of the way as humanly possible. He hit Johnny so hard that I was bruised by the impact Johnny left on my arm. Yikes!

Five minutes later, Manhattan's entire law enforcement force and a couple of bomb-sniffing dogs filed out of the building. Turns out someone was just "threatening" the theater. As Sarah said, "Tax dollars at work." Damn that person!

The funny thing is, when I was describing the incident to my mom, before I got to the reason WHY the police rushed in, she said, "Oh, I get it! It was just a special promotion for the Matrix!" (She only knows that the Matrix is an action film.) Glad to know that my parents are concerned for my safety. :)

Date:	2003-10-30 16:37
Subject:	The boring entry
Security:	Public
Mood:	amused

Boy, with that subject line, how can you resist reading this entry?

Really, I just felt obligated to update ... my journal was pleading that it felt ignored in the midst of other people's writings about hunting and wish lists. So here I am!

Our weekend activities have all been chronicled nicely by Johnny, so I won't go too much further into detail. Last weekend, while Johnny and Dad (not to be confused with my own father, who is "Daddy") went hunting, Mom (not to be confused with my own mother, who has always been addressed as "Mommy" in Chinese) and I went for much more pleasant activities: Shopping in the boutiques on Germantown Avenue in Philadelphia and getting massages. I am very proud of myself for not buying anything (after all, now I have a goal! Puppy ownership! That requires some cashola), but I did marvel at some of the delights in the shops. My first massage was an amazing experience. The massage table was very comfy, and my upper shoulders appreciated the 45 minutes a lot.

And I can testify (testify! Testify!) that the pheasant the men brought home were very tasty indeed.

This weekend I am looking forward to Alyssa's Halloween party, using Mom and Dad's generous Halloween gift to me and Johnny, using Michelle's mom's engagement gift (gift certificate at Crate & Barrel!) and starting the wedding registry and, last but not least, going to Dave's award ceremony/masked ball! And perhaps brunch with Joe and Lily.

And I'm not buying anything for myself until after I have reached my financial goals, but in the spirit of creating wish lists, here we go:

* This skirt, which I almost didn't link to, because the picture is about the worst thing I've ever seen. I saw it in person, and believe me, it is not wrinkled (or wrinklable). Instead, it is of a nice, non-flimsy (but still drapey) material, a lovely winter white with the subtle silver embroidery on it. It is perfect with a black or pink top for an office holiday party.
* This holiday dress -- but sadly I have a collection of five holiday dresses. But six (or even seven couldn't hurt, right? ;) Ahh, if only I were wealthier.
* This punky but Asian feminine athletic shoe from Aldo (it's the one with blue stripes and also satin flower pattern).
* This high-heeled shoe (the brown one with the ivory flower), though they would be hard to take care of. Or walk in. But I'd look sexy!

Date:	2003-10-13 13:23
Subject:	Another whirlwind weekend
Security:	Public
Mood:	chipper
Music:	Ludo's "Sarah"

Just when Johnny and I ended one eventful weekend, three guests came our way! These were our long-time friends Ann (and her boyfriend, Jared) and Michelle. We'd been anticipating their visit for a while, and while I had assorted anxieties about entertaining three people, everything worked out "super great" (to quote Bob Saget on Full House).

After a slight annoyance at work on Friday, I went to Penn Station to greet Michelle while Johnny stayed at home to make sure someone could let Ann and Jared in when they arrived from the airport. After everyone got to the apartment and made the requisite "ooh, ahh" and "What on earth is that frog hanging from your ceiling?" comments, we headed to the Supreme Macaroni Co. (also known as Guido's restaurant) for Michelle's birthday dinner. Unbeknownst to Michelle, her mom had again offered to pay for this meal, in a mini-version of last year's celebration. So we ate, drank and were merry. After that, we went to the Mercury Bar to enjoy a couple drinks and watch the Cubs on TV. Well, Ann and Jared watched along with some other devoted fans. Johnny, Michelle and I had a lovely conversation (with Ann and Jared during commercials) and enjoyed the rowdy bar atmosphere.

After the game, we all headed back to the apartment, talked for a while, and I showed the girls my wedding gown and a photocopy of the invitations we'd picked out. After some sleep, we got up and headed to the Brooklyn Bridge. Leave it to Ann and Jared, seasoned tourists, to come up with activities I never thought about. We rode the subway to Brooklyn, joined other walkers on the footpath, and were treated to spectacular views of Manhattan. We then went to the WTC site and Battery Park. Then it was time to head to SoHo and enjoy some delicious coal oven-baked pizza at the first pizzeria in New York. Of course, since these were our guests, we decided that they had to see (and taste) the gelato at Il Laboratorio del Gelato.

At this point, Michelle, Johnny and I headed back uptown, while Ann and Jared left to meet up with her uncle. Michelle and I took a detour and went to Herald Square, where we raided the H&M. I'm not sure what Johnny did during this time. I assume he showered. :) Michelle and I were exhausted by shopping, but we managed to get showered and dressed and out the door by 6:15.

Then it was on to a concert by Ludo, Johnny's high school friend Volpe's band. Though we waited a long time for them to take the stage, they were quite good, if a bit loud at times. Not my type of music, per se, but their song "Sarah" (yes, I thought of you, Sarah -- Johnny and I agreed that Nads should sing it to you. It is by turns rock-y and mellow) was awesome.

We then dined at the proper New York time -- 9 p.m. -- at the trendy Republic with our friends Anna, Jenn and their two roommates. True coolness dictates that we go out afterward, but we were tired, so after a stop for McDonald's ice cream (how am I losing weight despite all this food???), we headed to bed.

Yesterday was spent at Popover Cafe, Central Park, seeing the producers and eating delicious BBQ at Virgil's. Tonight, we are heading to the seen-in-Sex-and-the-City Cafeteria in the West Village.

And then, it's three or four days to clean up for Dave and Shannon's arrival! Whew! Doesn't this make you want to come see us??

1 -- Leave a comment, saying you want to be interviewed.

2 -- I will respond; I'll ask you five questions.

3 -- You'll update your journal with my five questions, and your five answers.

4 -- You'll include this explanation.

5 -- You'll ask other people five questions when they want to be interviewed.

My Interview from Sarah:


1) If you could be someone else from this point in your life forward, who would it be, figuring remaing yourself is excluded?
I'm guessing people want the answer to be someone famous, so it's more fun that way. Let's see, then. I would love to be Kate Hudson, because she is so cute, even though she's very flat-chested! She also seems very nice, intelligent, etc. And, even if she (or "I") were to become not the hot-young-actress anymore, I could probably live off what I'd already earned for the rest of my life. Oh, to be so fabulous. To know what absolutely rock-hard abs feel like (although yes, I'm getting there).

2)Whats your favorite cereal?
A tie between Kellogg's Special K with Red Berries and Corn Pops.

3) What is your best memory?
Well, how can I narrow this to just one? So a list of my top few memories:
* Being in a stroller while my grandma pushed me past a field of wheat-like plant things (my first memory!) and plucked one for me
* Seeing June for the first time when she came home from the hospital, all peely and pink, in a little baby basket
* The night at Pops for Champagne with Sarah and Johnny. So classy! So hilarious in our awe of the place!
* The first drive to Johnny's vacation home in Michigan during spring quarter of freshman year. Ahh, we were so new in our love :)
* The moment after Johnny proposed to me (since while he was proposing, I was in nervous shock), when I took in the significance of the moment -- and when I saw my ring in the light ;)

4) When you talk to yourself, what are the conversations most often about?
What to wear to an event, which receipts I need to keep so I can balance the checkbook, which I need to throw out so as not to confuse myself, whose birthday is coming up and "wouldn't it be cool if ...?" conversations. All of these can, and often do, occur at the same time.

5) What is the best piece of advice you have ever recieved?
My mom once told two pieces of advice in the same conversation when I was eight, and they have gotten me through life thus far:
* If you are a nice and optimistic person, then things will work out your way in the end, even if "your way" wasn't the way you thought it would be in the beginning, because everyone likes or is jealous of nice and optimistic people, and the world ultimately works in their favor.
* Hard work often makes up for what you lack in natural ability, so work hard now and you will reap the reward later. My "5" score on the Calculus and Physics AP test prove this point.

Date:	2003-09-16 14:39
Subject:	Recent events
Security:	Public
Mood:	flirty
Music:	Andrew WK's "It's Time to Party"

Tuesday is a great time to reminisce about the weekend. It's not the painful "Oh why isn't it the weekend still?" feeling of Monday, and it's still far away enough from Friday to not render talking about the past weekend ridiculous.

Anyway, this past Friday, Johnny and I broke in our apartment with our first jointly-thrown, "grown-up" cocktail party. We were pleased. About 10 people showed up, and I thought it was pretty cool that within a month and a half of my arrival in NY and our setting up house together, we could command an audience of 10. (Sorry, Sarah, when I gave you my estimate of 12, I was counting the people we met at a bar later -- forgetting that they didn't come to the party beforehand.) We were missing Johnny's East Village friends (the linchpin of the group is in LA for a few weeks, and the other people were working/going to grad school) and a couple of my old sorority friends, but it was a good turnout. Ben, Alfred (what a high school contingent! All we needed were Sarah and Nads to form a quorum), an old Northwestern journalism camp friend, Shawn, her friend Zoe, grad school friends Stephanie and Alyssa (and Alyssa's boyfriend Greg), plus their friend Olga (also from NU grad school) were in attendance.

Since this was only practice for our much-hyped big holiday party, we didn't go all-out on the food. Johnny and I made a giant bowl of spinach artichoke dip (but it disappeared, alas), served with toasted baguette slices and Carr's cracked pepper crackers, a crudite platter (I recently learned that word! It's just veggies) in my crystal tray with a space for dip (thanks, Mom!), and a plate of mini-Brussels and mini-Chessmen cookies. A little to my surprise, all the food was gone after a couple of hours. I mean, that was a whole lot of food, even for 10 people!

For drinks, we had a few drink recipes set out. We bought some vodka (to supplement Johnny's Grey Goose vodka), tequila, vermouth and triple sec. We also had on hand cranberry, lime, orange and grapefruit juices -- enough for margaritas, cosmos, martinis ... and also some cocktail olives, which I set out on a little plate with our brand new Crate & Barrel cocktail picks (thanks, Marci and Amber!). That, along with a plate of fresh lime wedges for garnish (and for the Corona bottles) and a cool martini shaker, made the bar look fairly classy. I believe that was the first time the bar served its real purpose!

Johnny compiled a playlist of classy party music on our computer, and we dimmed the lights strategically to show off our view, the greatest asset of the apartment. Throughout the evening, our wooden frog, hanging above the bar, got a lot of attention. Everyone had a good time and talked a lot. What fun! I felt very hostess-y, but I didn't like the cleanup afterward.

Oh, yes, of course. What did I wear? Well, I had on my semi-new H&M black miniskirt with a patch of Asian dragon and floral print just below the right hip (so it's mostly a black miniskirt, with just a bit of print) and a stretchy V-neck coral-colored tank top with a wrap chest and little gathers along the stomach. The color matched the coral in the dragon print on the skirt! I also sported my trendy-for-fall (according to Lucky magazine) Swarovski pave crystal half-moon necklace. Woo-hoo!

So that's about it .... we laid low the rest of the weekend. Yesterday (on Kerri-Simone's birthday! Happy Birthday, KSP!) I received a birthday package from home. I heard my favorite sentence: "Why don't you open the package, honey, because there's also food in there?" Um ... open my presents early???? Oh, I can't! Ok, if you insist. I received from my family members:

* A check from my mom to fund a shopping spree
* A fitted V-neck rust-red Banana Republic long-sleeved shirt with cool embroidered patterns along the neckline and wrists
* A loose-fitting, comfy but stylish off-the-shoulder white cotton top from Planet Funk
* Red beaded flip-flops (just in time -- my Gap ones fell apart recently)
* Awesome twisty earrings with a little sapphire dangle from June
* ... and my fave: A stylish, professional work-appropriate sleeveless black-and-white wool dress from Donna Ricco (thanks, Grandma!). It's knee-length and has an adorable flap-over collar that buttons with one big black button on the right side. It's so Mary Tyler Moore-esque, except more modernized. It looks wonderful with black heels or sleek knee-high boots and neat ponytail. You can wear it alone, under a black blazer, or with a little ribbed white long-sleeve shirt under it for an ultra-preppy look. Rarely have I had such a versatile work outfit! It's a giant leap toward my goal of looking "together" for the streets of Manhattan -- on a budget!

So I'm very happy. I love birthdays!

Date:	2003-09-12 16:09
Subject:	Things I could be doing ...
Security:	Public
Mood:	listless
Music:	Madonna's "Ray of Light"

Have you ever noticed how corporate work sometimes makes you terribly unproductive?

Or maybe it's just me. But every time I accomplish something significant, I start to have this feeling of, "Whew! OK ... now I can use a break!" even if something pressing is due immediately.

For instance, last night I spent six hellish hours fixing the formatting on a document. If you want the whole story, please ask me separately ... I explained it once to Sarah, and that has tired me out for the day. Basically, it was a major feat. There is a PowerPoint presentation, 25 to 30 slides, with speaker notes, due on Monday. However, because I have spent, in the last two days, about 30 hours on the other document, I feel entitled to taking a break. I suppose this is bad -- it'll just catch up to me some other time: Sunday, say, or early Monday morning, thus creating an endless cycle of procrastination.

Even when I earn a legitimate break, though, I find myself doing other things (e.g., updating my blog) versus some other things that would be more productive. For instance, right now, I should be:

* Cleaning out my work email inbox, which is cluttered with many emails, most of them with large attachments
* Organizing my cubicle, which has become cluttered, thus rendering my old organization system involving file folders obsolete
* Organizing my personal email inbox
* Following up with VW to see if my vehicle title is on its way

But instead, here I am, writing in my blog. Does this make me the quintessential corporate drone? One must wonder. I think among my friends, I have one of the most corporate-friendly personalities: That is, I love structure, rules, hierarchy (in my work life). Without them, I'd be lost. I suppose I like that in my personal life, too -- but I don't like being told what to do in my personal life, is the only difference. Still, here I am, rebelling against the fast-approaching deadline.

Something to ponder for the weekend! See y'all on the flip side, yo.