Hey, isn't that guy famous?

So Rocco's opened their doors again on Saturday. Everything looks beautiful and is back to running smoothly. So that's good. 

Yesterday, I saw another famous actor there. Yayyyy! This time, I could not figure out how he was familiar to me. I asked three of my coworkers who were all convinced he was not an actor. But I stuck to my guns, though I had no evidence to back it up. Then it hit me. 

Remember that gem of a movie from back in 2001 with the always entertaining Keanu Reeves as a gambler in trouble who ends up coaching an inner city baseball team for some cash? Still don't remember? How about this: "I love it when you call me Big Papaaaaaaa." Yup. Hard Ball. This man was in Hard Ball. I knew he had been in plenty of other films before too, but Hard Ball is the only one that stuck out. This turned out to be particularly embarrassing because after a bit of IMDBing, I learned his other roles have been in popular television series like Breaking Bad, Law & Order, and Oz. Not to mention his film roles in such movies as Gone Baby Gone, Hannibal, and literally every single Darren Aronofsky feature length film, from Pi to Black Swan.

Anybody know who? 

Okay, I'll tell. 

Mark Margolis is the man of the hour. 

One of these days, I will have built up enough courage to actually approach these actors and ask them personally why I recognize them.

Maybe.

Cat's Out Of The Bag!!

Well, by now I'm allowed to blog about it. Zak's parents, Tone and Iva, are in the UK right now. It was Iva's birthday gift to Tone. Little did they know that Zak, along with his brother and sister, made plans to show up and surprise them while overseas. The surprise went down this afternoon. I can't contact Zak by phone, but he did manage to write to me online. He said it went off without a hitch and Tone was "beside himeself." Happy birthday, Mr. Engel :)

There are few things more rewarding than genuinely surprising someone you love. That being said, I did a little brain storming today for Zak's birthday. Okay, it's not for a month and a half, but I'm not the world's greatest gift giver. I need to start early to be successful. I've already got a decent plan of attack! I'd share more, but Zak reads my blog and there is no way I'd ever give away a surprise. (You hear that Zak? ...EVER.)

I was feeling a bit nostalgic yesterday. I searched back through some old photos. Have you ever had a friendship bracelet? Or maybe it was just a rubber band or a wristband from a concert. Either way, it was something that reminded you without fail about a particular person or event. And you probably wore it until it became discolored and unsightly. And, maybe you even had a job in a restaurant. And you felt a responsibility to be well put together at work. And this "bracelet" sure didn't fit the bill. But you didn't care. Because you were young and your friends were the beginning and the end of the Earth. 

I love those bracelets. 

Check this out.

And when I say "this", I mean this.

My initial reaction was disbelief. That was redirected slightly when I read the part about readily available memorabilia of Bonnie and Clyde, John Dillinger, and Lee Harvey Oswald.

I'm not sure how I feel about our government auctioning Ted Kaczynski's personal items regardless where the money may be going. There would have to be a bit of darkness in the guy (or gal) who wins that auction. To be clear, I'm relatively unbiased on this subject mater. In fact, I enjoy watching scandalous documentaries and television specials chronicling the life and misbehavings of serial killers. Call me crazy. Call me my father's daughter. I enjoy it. But even I would feel a chill in my spine knowing the hooded sweatshirt of a murderer hung in my closet as I slept. Is anyone else on my page? 

One thing I did learn from this article and my curious research that followed is that the Unibomber's brother is the man who tipped off the police. I don't recall having heard that. I can't even imagine the difficulty. He wrote an essay a few years ago about his relationship with his brother. It was published in a book called Brothers: 26 Stories of Love and Rivalry. I plan to find it online and read it. 

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In very recent news: I have failed to be sucked into Great Expectations. Ashamed as I am, I have put it down and started a different book. But... BUT! I'm certain I will not store this one away until it's finished. Zak is also reading it and he has done all but sew his lips together to keep from exploding all his favorite passages onto me. His excitement has sparked a little flame in me. So what's the book, you ask? A little scifi gem who looks a little like this:  

The story of a human baby born of human parents on a spaceship on Mars who is raised by aliens but is later retrieved by a team of human astronauts and brought back to Earth. (Sorry to each one of my english teachers for that slew of prepositions.) I expect, based on the bits Zak has already shared with me, he will be a beautiful, innocent mind experiencing the corruption of humanity for the first time... likely taking a refreshingly raw and optimistic outlook. I can't wait to get further into it.

And this is my cute boyfriend.

Day 8.

Not much to report today. 

I did dishes, I cleaned, I put clothes away.

And I drank tea, wore sweats, and painted my nails. Because I'm still sick.

Then my boyfriend came home to rub my back while I drank my tea. Tea that he made for me.

(I'm the luckiest sick person I know.)

If things in my throat don't start feeling better tomorrow I think I'm going to break down and call the doc. I'm losing my patience with this ever-evolving sickness.

I bid you good health.

A Sunday for Healing.

So far, one of the greatest perks of my PA work has been the way in which I spend my downtime. I have been regularly updating myself on current events for the first time in my life. I don't feel comfortable visiting my usual sites while at work (facebook, various blogs I read, StumbleUpon, etc.) but I have no problem catching up on the news. 

It feels good to better my understanding of the world we live in. But I do fear the negative impacts of reading about and continually being disappointed by people, governments, and businesses all over the world. It's tough to handle the onslaught of badness in the news. But I suppose the media has a responsibility to inform the public of that which is important. And what's important is being able to recognize and understand our shortcomings and doing our best to prevent them in the future. 

But informing ourselves is the first step. And for those of us who feel as much as we analyze, reading the paper everyday can be a daunting task. 

On to lighter news.

Today is a perfect Sunday. It is grey and slightly rainy. Zak and I have barely left our bed. I'm resting and drinking tea-- doing my best to really kick this illness. Zak is playing Kingdom Hearts (which has been on the to do list for four years now). We're trying not to complicate things. We're eating as we get hungry, and peeing as our bladders need relief. I think we have each needed a day like this for a while. 

To wrap things up, I hope your Sunday is as restful as ours has been. Perhaps, if you're in need, this will soothe you. (Headphones recommended.)

A Tourist In My Own City.

My friend Charlie has been here in NYC since Wednesday evening. Sometimes people ask me what the city doesn't have to offer. And I can't think of much, but he sure is a marvelous addition. 

We were walking/subwaying all over the city today to see the sights. He is a virgin to the big bad city so we of course needed to hit the hot spots. We went to Battery Park to see the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. We also saw Ground Zero and Wall St. THEN we headed northward to see Times Square and Rockefeller Center, then finally a bit farther north to Central Park. Whew. 

Of all our little adventures today, the best had to have been running into these guys.

We walked by them as I declared, "man, I wish my camera wasn't acting strangely, I would love to take a photo with them!" Moments later, I remembered that Charlie has an iphone! So we abruptly turned around and he snapped this photo of us (after they coaxed me into giving them something like $2.65 of my spare change). As soon as this blog post is done, I'll be sending along a copy to Zak's sister to show her kids. They'll love it. 

Bringing a newbie through the city I've lived in for a couples months (and am barely starting to know) gives it new life. It forces me to focus on that which I love about it. Because I want to show it off!

Charlie's impromptu visit will come to an end tomorrow and life will go back to normal. Hopefully shortly after that the stove buying will ensue and I'll have all kinds of goodies to eat and photos of them to share!  

Until then, I bid you good evening.

And if you're reading this, it means you are stuck with me here on Earth along with everyone else who didn't get swooped up into God's Kingdom on this supposed Day of Judgement. Well... let's enjoy these five months of life before the Earth burns into a firey ball of hell. Cheers!

The Flippity Floppity.

It's odd. When people surprise me with unthinkably kind acts, it reminds me just how small and insignificant each one of us is. But once I accept that, it feels like all we have are small moments, and why wouldn't we be unthinkably kind? It's often not that difficult. 

I don't think I make any sense. But this article does. Unthinkable kindness, in this instance, is that difficult. But she makes it seem pretty effortless, wouldn't you say?

Anyway. Here is a handful of unedits. Some of these photos turned out compelling. I hope to soon touch up a few. 

The last two shots are from our rooftop.

I'm sick. Have been since Sunday night. It is running one serious course. From headaches to nausea to body aches to a sore throat to the loss of voice. Let this be a warning: if you get a headache, the plague may be headed your way. Take heed. And Airborne. 

Nightlife.

And I once told Zak that I feel no magic when I look at the Empire State Building...

It's all about perspective. 

More to come.

Such Is Life.

I am finding that a defining characteristic of living is resorting to retrospect. I didn't realize how lucky I was to live within 2 blocks of at least 5 of my close friends until I moved. I didn't realize what a luxury it was to go to class instead of go to work everyday until classes were over. I didn't realize the thousands of ways in which my brothers are awesome until we were separated by state lines.

Plainly, retrospect is a bitch.

But it's also what reminds us to attempt (though we're doomed for failure) to breathe in all that is good about here and now. And when all else fails... photos will immortalize. 

Return from Hiatus

Yes, my month-long leave (okay, month-and-a-week-long leave) was intentional. I didn't like how the blog was feeling, so I regrouped, redesigned, refocused, and I'm back with the promise of an every day blog post. I considered  promising that from the get-go, but came up with all kinds of reasons not to. The primary one--which I didn't admit to myself--was fear of commitment and failure. But I think it will be good for me. And so it shall be done.

I had a conversation with one of Zak's family members over the weekend that reminded me how completely miserable middle school is. How can anything be fun with such a lack of self-assurance? I, like most people, grew more self-assured as high school came and went. But I think in recent years some of that has dropped off the map. Not sure where it went. But I'm relearning to recognize when it's hiding, and to call upon it as needed. I've certainly never professed to have the knowledge or skill to do everything. But I am more capable than I typically allow myself to believe.

Now that I've gotten that off my chest... a lot happened during my hiatus.
*Matt visited.
*A bit of apartment redecorating happened.
*More trips to see Zak's family.
*We were given the green light to purchase a new oven (more details to come as the purchasing process begins).
*I turned 23.
*I began some PA work at a video production company.

Lots to be enthused about. Which is exactly what I have been. Perhaps it's also due to the people around me reminding me so abundantly of their love. In fact, I'm sure that has something to do with it. Thanks.