If Grey's Anatomy was on Twitter, I'd Un-follow it!

I think Grey's has officially lost me as a viewer. Fornication with a ghost?? Come on ABC, you gotta do better than that...

Lately TV shows have been really going downhill in my opinion. Between the ridiculous overabundance of *reality* shows to the un-funny comedies and un-dramatic dramas you gotta wonder what happened to the really great shows of our youth (dating myself) like Full House, Step by Step, 90210, My-So Called Life and then later Friends, Seinfeld, Sex and The City, etc.

What shows are truly worth watching these days? My list for the moment...

Brothers and Sisters
Gossip Girl (XOXO)
The NEW 90210 (although so not as good)
Entourage
The Office
The Rachel Maddow Show (MSNBC)
SNL (it definitely made a come back during the elections!)

Shows that got cut short that I miss:

American Dreams (anyone?)
Friday Night Lights (I think this is still on somewhere on some channel...?)

And yes, this is my second post in like 5 minutes...it's Friday night, I'm bored...and sipping some wine...sue me...

Just one of those days...

Actually one of those weeks...

Things that *stunk* about this week:

Traffic
Train Derailments
Trade shows
Cold weather
No heat
Ripped jackets
Broken heels
Lost purses (temporarily, thank gosh!)
and...possibly no home-cooked turkey dinner for thanksgiving due to a family emergency :(

What do you think folks, eat out or *attempt* to cook it myself?

Monday is the new Sunday...

So Sunday night used to be my night of "Allie time." I enjoyed spending hours on the computer reading gossip blogs, friend's blogs, newspapers from around the country, updating my status on facebook and twitter and linkedin and...I'm a dork! Anyway, I am the type of gal that likes some alone time every now and then to be all deep with my thoughts, to make mental to-do lists, plan my week's outfits, balance my checkbook etc. But lately, my weekend's have been extended through Sunday and I have been spending this sacred night with someone else. A big step for me!

This weekend found me at a dinner with all my co-workers (well almost all of them...our token male and our favorite upstater were greatly missed!) to honor my boss as potential Blogger of the Year at the Stevie Awards for Women in Business at the Marriott Marquis. We were all pretty psyched for an evening of wining and dining at a fancy hotel and the chance to cheer on our boss. We arrived at the event and were handed stick-on name tags and a Sharpee...ummm can you say tacky? IF you are going to ruin our pretty outfits with a name badge it had better be magnetic so it doesn't leave a hole or even worse, A STICKY RESIDUE on our fabulous clothes! And no fancy calligraphied (is that a word?) pre-made badges...wow, strike 1, Stevies, strike 1...

I headed straight for the bar (what I assumed was an open bar) because hey, it was Friday and I needed some vino bad!

Bartender: Sorry you need a drink ticket miss
Me: Oh where are they giving those away (note I said giving, not selling)
Bartender: You can PURCHASE them right there (pointing)
Me: ohhhh....

11 dollars later I had my glass of wine and the Stevie's had 2 strikes against them!

The rest of the evening was pretty cool...a few highlights...

a) not only did the boss not win, they didn't even give her a shoutout because she wasn't "international." Apparently the journey through the midtown tunnel during a rainy rush hour doesn't qualify for a mention. Shoutout here: Read this!

b) food was average, dessert was pretty good, I discovered I like Flan! And the wine was flowing a lot more freely during the dinner and awards presentation...

c) We ended the night at Johnny Utah's, which scores points for a really cool general manager, a cute bartender at the "secret" back bar and a really good atmosphere for making a fool out of yourself on a mechanical bull = very funny!

Rest of the weekend I vegged out, made brownies, ate brownies, saw Role Models (FUNNY!) and vowed to be cooler next weekend...oh yeah and write more...you know, maybe start the winning novel or something...

Fear and Loathing in NY

Everyone is freaking out about the economy! I can't take it anymore! And PS, how come the really rich never seem affected?? No fair! At our firm, we are trying to stay positive. We are getting a lot of new business leads, but closing NOTHING. Everyone is scared. One guy today told us that he didn't have the "cajones" to sign a contract with us before the new year. And yeah, he said cajones, however you spell it!

I just flipped on the TV, Jay Leno is spewing economy jokes left and right. Literally, he just told like 15 in a row, what the hell??

My mom told me last night that they got rid of the cleaning service at her job to save money and they are all taking turns with the chores. What?? Is this what the Great Depression felt like?

Luckily two of my favorite things, sleep and laughter, will always be free! Until they figure out how to make money grow on trees, I guess I'll be thankful for the simple things...sigh...

History!

While I wasn't cool enough to be invited anywhere important to "live blog," I figured I would at least do my own thing as I watch the fate of the nation unfold. In my Nyquil induced haze (go away winter cold!) I am dizzily fixated to the news like I'm sure most Americans are.

A few observations this Election Day:

Scared by awaking to the images of block-long lines at the polls in NYC, I was hesitant to head to the polls in my current town of Long Beach, until I came to the sad but true realization that far too many Long Beach locals don't vote. I know from first-hand experience that many educated young people in this laid back beach town don't care at all about things as trivial as who runs our country...did someone say ignorant? I thought the polls were closed when I showed up at my polling place to find no line at 7pm...literally NO line, as in, there were like 2 other people there! Haha, watching the guy in front of me try to pull his curtain closed until a "booth monitor" told him to "use the lever" was an amusing highlight to my voting experience. Clearly a first timer :)

This brings me to my next observation, which is really more of a statement in general on the archaic nature of our voting procedure. These days, when you can pay bills online, transfer money online etc., you would think they would come up with a way to transition the voting process online. Maybe 2012??

Finally, I am just excited and anxious to see what the future holds with a new leader and a new start. I would like to think that my vote counted, and that by pulling that lever, I was honoring all those woman who fought so hard for this right. When I wake up tomorrow, will our nation have changed history forever with the nation's first black president? This is the stuff history books are made of people...happy election day!

I'm over it...

So I think I may have grown out of Halloween...at least until I have some kiddies to dress up in cute, fuzzy, non-slutty, non-scary costumes.

I clearly remember Halloween being my favorite holiday as a child. The costumes, the silly string, the fun with friends, oh yeah and the enormous pile of candy that lasted for weeks! My brother and I used to pour all our loot out on the kitchen floor and then engage in intense trading and deal making until we both had the perfect stash of treats. Other fond Halloween related memories include the annual Charlie Brown Pumpkin special, carving jack-o-lanterns and cooking the seeds (oh yeah, and crying when the neighborhood hoodlums would smash my favorite pumpkin right off on our porch!) and drinking apple cider and homemade cookies.

Somehow over the years, Halloween has moved down on my list to maybe a notch above, say, Secretary's Day (no offense to celebrators of this holiday). Once I outgrew the trick or treating, I still enjoyed wearing grunge clothes out on Halloween night armed with as many bottles of shaving cream as my mom would allow and spending the night with friends. College brought about new meaning to the holiday, where elaborate parties and costumes that began with the word "naughty" or "sexy" became the only acceptable ones. I remember trying my best not to conform, borrowing a friends karate outfit one year, and going as a hippie another.

This year, as I braved the streets of NYC as a "librarian," I found myself wishing more than once that I was curled up by a fireplace sipping spiced cider and handing out mini snickers to ballerinas and pirates. Am I getting jaded, or just old?

I had a fun night, first going to a costume party, and then a local pub in Soho (after getting turned away from the bar we had planned on going to for arriving too late). I saw some funny costumes, shared some beers and laughs with my friends and took silly photos, but between the lack of cabs, my painful shoes and the crowded streets and bar counters, I think I may sit next year out--have I become a Halloween scrooge? You decide!

Edits and Updates

Papa Zog pointed out a few grammatical errors to me in my previous post so rest assured they will fixed and I will be proofing more carefully from now on! Although i still stand by my belief that it's ok to be a little unedited in these things, I don't want any future client, colleague or otherwise thinking that I am not on point... so from now, I will do a once over before hitting "publish post"...happy dad? :)


As I'm sure the world has heard since my last post about the missing school teacher, she tragically was found dead, her husband facing murder charges. The story is chilling to me. I just can't see how a person is capable of murder, especially to someone they claimed to once love. It's scary that some people can snap without warning. From what I have read and heard both on the news, and first hand from people at her place of work, she was an amazing teacher and person. My thoughts are with her family...