krink

while in NYC this weekend Lindsay showed me a great vintage toy store called Toy Tokyo. They had this rad little Twiggy doll still in the original packaging. It was way too expensive and my cousin told me, honey, you could find it on e-bay.

I've never shopped much on e-bay before. I am obsessed with Twiggy. I just went and did a search for her and here pops up a list with about 20 60's minidresses, with mod patterns, all twiggy sized.

I'm in trouble.

Life goes on and on and on and I can't get it to slow down for a single minute!

Things are well. The pinch of the boss being on maternity leave is felt more strongly this week. Added work and responsibility and realization that there is a lot of stuff around here that has been left undone by previous employees. But work is boring.

This weekend again found me in NYC. By way of a friend calling wanting to get out of the city (Philadelphia) - I'm not sure how we ended up going to another city (NYC) - but I suggested and he accepted so all is well. The trip was a bit chaotic. He insisted on renting a car, a ridiculous thing to do in my opinion when a train ticket can be procured for about $15. So we ended up in a brand new white mustang convertible whizzing along the New Jersey turnpike at high speed. I listened to the Velvet Underground. It was a nice ride, cruising through the east village with the top down is pretty fun. Searching for parking is not. Needless to say we each had our own agendas and soon split off. I walked over to the west side and met up with a Ms. Lindsay Aveilhe, newly found resident of the east coast, formerly famous dancing queen and socialite of Norman, Oklahoma. We had a great time cruising a street fair, eating cupcakes at the famous Magnolia bakery, and wandering through Little Italy.

Another celebrity run-in occured when we passed by a dimly-lit sulty coffee shop. I paused to look in, they had miso soup advertised in the window, and a pretty girl playing the piano. It looked like a cozy spot to have a drink. I lingered for a minute and then continued along to catch up with my posse. Just as I joined them, Alex said, oh my god! Did you see who we just passed looking in the coffee shop!

Sean Lennon.

I completely missed him! I was apparently right by the guy, we were both pondering the cafe, and when I turned to continue on he was on my opposite side and I didn't see him.

But at least now I can say that he and I have similar taste in wayside sulty coffee bars on the lower east side.

It was otherwise a good weekend. Sunday morning brought waffles in Hoboken where Lindsay lives with her sister. We took the ferry back across to the city and spent the afternoon wandering with my cousin. I took the train home from Penn Station about 7pm. Shoot me before I ever again walk along Madison Square Garden when there is a Madonna concert starting in about an hour. I just can't handle crowds like that!

I'm left with a yucky feeling in my mouth regarding the friendship with the guy I rode up with. He basically gets on my nerves, I can't stand half of the things he says or does, but I'm torn between being nice and blowing him off. Based on the level of discomfort experienced lately when spending time with him I think I have to blow him off. If I did the adult thing and told him that I didn't want to see him anymore, I would then back down and change my mind. Age differences, moral differences, social differences. Just a yucky situation all around.

Why can't guys and girls just be friends?

we have achieved a complete grown-up bathroom. toilet-paper holder and all. ready for houseguests, should they ever mystically appear.

my dad called me late last night to tell me that my grandmother is in the hospital. kind of a serious thing, more because her age limits her bounce-back abilites, not because she is suffering from anything critical. problems with the circulation in her legs. it's sad either way. my dad is driving to illinois next week to be with her. so pray for my grandma folks. she's my last living grandparent.

in other family news my cousin is getting divorced. that's always sad to hear about. i don't know him very well, just met at assorted family weddings over the years. at his wedding in '99 i was really sick and ended up in the emergency room. i think he is about 30. a good many of my close friends are about that age. once he told me he liked wilco, and i thought to myself, i bet we have more in common then we realize.. more sadness.

but being that most of this sadness is so far removed from me is isn't having that much of an effect on my life. general undercurrent of pessimism only. i just keep on cleaning my room, going to work every day, and watching television with my cat. nothing too exciting to look forward to this coming weekend. maybe wireless internet, that's about it!

we have almost achieved internet. it's only taken four months! after the whole second cable modem fiasco, to which i was told it costs money to have multiple ip addresses in one house, and then told i couldn't return the brand new $80 cable modem i'd just bought but never used, i have ordered a wireless card for my laptop, and a new router, so that jack can have his desktop online while i maintain a wireless connection with my laptop, simultaneously! huzzah! i spent $1500 on my iBook and it will be grand to get to use it to its full potential.

in other kate news, i bought a boatload of shit for our upstairs bathroom today, because target has a line of decorative bathroom stuff on sale. i was tired of my roomates talking about but never making said improvements, so after i get it out tonight, we will have a toilet paper holder, a new toilet seat, two hand towel racks, a medicine cabinet, and a towel rack for my bath towel. how nice to not have to keep my towel in my room anymore.. because it didn't occur to them that three people would requre three towel racks.. sigh. boys. my bathroom will be prettier now. i have also officially absolved myself from dishwasher duty because i am sick of dirty dishes being left in the sink. instead i am now trash girl, which is great, because the trash won't build up! i actually remember to take it out! and i recycle! cheers to me.

my boss officially went on maternity leave today. three months of added responsibility, or perhaps more time to read slashdot, because she isn't able to watch over my shoulder from her office. hope the baby pops out soon, she is currently bed-ridden until he decides to make an appearance. two weeks overdue so far! i am not having children for a very long time.

i'm worried about money. i don't have as much saved as i would like, but i have a little, and there is also $120 going into the 401(K) every month. hopefully i won't be losing my job anytime in the near future. my stupid credit card bill from the monsterous car repairs is only growing, not getting smaller like it is supposed to. i installed quicken. that might help me budget? as will continuing to call on friends to buy me drinks.

10 minutes to kill.

i can't afford to come back to oklahoma until christmas time. lack of funding, and major shortage of vacation time, lead me to this conclusion. :( it's a sad state of affairs, i had vague dreams of attending woody guthrie, but a $350 plane ticket is not in my future. c'est la vie.

just think, by christmas, i will have been here for 9 months, and maybe even looking to move on again.. being even closer to my one year mark at my very first big girl job.

and the thought of thanksgiving away from home is a new and tantalizing thought. there are multiple posibilities. getting drunk with other single far-displaced from home friends. visiting my cuz in NYC, or my aunt and uncle upstate. not having to worry about fighting with my mom, or playing to be productive with relatives in broken arrow, or dealing with family bullshit in general - interesting. drinking without worry of offending anyone. and getting to cook some of the food for once. great!

love to all the good children.

These days my life is pretty amazing. I'm working, making my own money, meeting interesting people, and having lots of fun. I'm so thankful. Cheers to being happy and making your own way in the world!

I have an amazing knack for visiting historical places on significant anniversaries. Two years ago, I was on the square in Berlin where the had the great book burning on anniversary that the burning itself took place. Yesterday I found myself with my feet in the fountain of the new WWII memorial in Washington, D.C. on the 60th anniversary of D-Day. How will be it be, 60 years in the future, when some young person is reflecting on the actions of my present day generation, as I was thinking about those people who experienced world war II while I ran my fingers over the cool stone of that new structure? I pictured them as strong and resilient. Liberators. I wonder how will we be remembered.

Saturday night I found myself in a dark smokey bar in Pat's distinctive neighborhood in D.C. A large part of the population is Hispanic, and I tricked myself into believing I was in another country. It wasn't difficult - the DJ was spinning manu chao, there was a european soccer match on the television, and a majority of the patrons were speaking spanish. It was easy to mentally transport myself to some wayward sidestreet in spain. I danced, like I always do, and I coaxed Pat and his brother Ben to do the same. It was one of those nights that will stick with me for a long time.

Cheers to the experiences that stay with you long after they're over and done.

Juicy weekend home! Slight undertones of frustration related to coordinating family visits, and regret at missing a few cherished friends, but overall it was a successful endeavor. PK even survived her first journey by air, with delayed flights, and me running through the atlanta airport with her carrier swinging from my shoulder.

p.s. an eight pound animal is not fun to carry while running. i was reminded of my army days where we would practice a fireman carry on the lawn just north of owen field. you had to sling your partner over your shoulders and run a length of 100 meters as fast as you could. i usually could't even get the guy over my shoulders. of course everyone loved to have me as a partner, as my slight stature is very amenable to being flung across dewey oklahoma grass at 6am.

I felt guilty for not spending more time with my mom, and I asked her to come to Philadelphia for a weekend later in the summer.

I won't have much time to reflect on my journey, or consider homesickness. Lots of visitors this week, and another trip to DC this weekend.

AND I FOUND MY CELL PHONE!!! Thank god.