A Fave

How happy is the blameless vestal's lot!
The world forgetting, by the world forgot.
Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind!
Each pray'r accepted, and each wish resign'd

Alexander Pope
"Eloisa to Abelard"

Happy St. Paddy's Day!

According to the several full-blooded, ex-pats from Ireland that I know, that's how it's spelled: "P-a-d-d-y", not "P-a-t-t-y" as we think here in the States. Turns out, all of us that say, "St. Patty's Day" have given Saint Patrick a female nickname, because as one Irish person said, "Patty is invariably a girl's name". Therefore, a guy named Patrick gets the nickname of Paddy, not Patty. Conversely, a girl who's named Patricia gets the nickname of Patty. Well, I think all of us ignorant Americans need to pay a bit more attention here. Talk about an insult to the patron saint of Ireland.

Apparently, not many people have realized this because nearly everywhere I go here in NYC in March, I see, "Happy St. Patty's Day!" This is strange because one would think that because of the of the huge population of Irish in this city, they would've sorted out the businesses that were giving their holiday this misnomer.

Speaking of Irish names, did you know the name "Éirinn," which is Anglicized as "Erin," is the Gaelic name for Ireland? Interestingly enough, all those little girls out there with the name Erin are in fact named "Ireland". At least in Irish grammar, "Ireland" is a feminine word so they don't have the same issue as St. Patrick.

And finally, the coup d'état: "Gilmore/Gillmore" - (Gael) from words meaning "devoted to the Virgin Mary."

I knew it! I'd been searching for years to prove that we were Irish and now I have! I wouldn't say that our Gillmore family is necessarily devoted to the Virgin Mary, but hey, if that's what comes with being Irish, then I'm all for it.

Now I'm armed and ready for today. When people ask me about my background I will say, "I'm Irish, English, and Norweigan. My father's side of the family is Irish and Norweigan and my mother's side is English. My last name is Gillmore which, in Gaelic means: "Devoted to the Virgin Mary". I can't wait to finally tell someone the Gaelic meaning of my last name. St. Paddy's Day, here I come!

I also have to say that I will be donning a green shirt with my Snoopy leprechaun pin today as I'm out and about celebrating the newly found proof of my heritage. I know it's terribly cliché to wear green on St. Paddy's Day, but hey, I am still an American after all.

Sláinte!
(Which means cheers to the rest of ya!)

Yeah, I'm gonna need you to go ahead and...

I finally watched "Office Space" in full last night. Man, do I wish I saw it earlier because sadly, I can relate to EVERYTHING that they mock in this film and it really makes dragging myself to the office that much more amusing when I think about the hilarity of the movie. From the constantly jamming printer to the inane boss who just doesn't have enough to do, I've experienced nearly every annoying character and every tedious task that's mentioned.

And yes, I have pondered burning down the office, but of course, I've never had the guts to do it, nor should anyone...maybe do a few pranks "Fight Club" style, but definitely not burning down the office.

I have this dream that by working for myself as a writer, from home or from anywhere in the world, I won't ever have to deal with this corporate bullshit ever again. That's a dream that I'm damn sure to see come true, no matter what I have to sacrifice to get it. I refuse to let some pinheaded, power-hungry, middle-manager steal my soul for the rest of my life. I also refuse to feel this way:

Peter Gibbons: So I was sitting in my cubicle today, and I realized, ever since I started working, every single day of my life has been worse than the day before it. So that means that every single day that you see me, that's on the worst day of my life.
Dr. Swanson: What about today? Is today the worst day of your life?
Peter Gibbons: Yeah.
Dr. Swanson: Wow, that's messed up.

I think that pretty much sums up work life in corporate America. Day after day of the worst day of your life. No incentives, no motivation, and certainly, no pay raises. That's right, I haven't seen a pay raise in over 5 years. In fact, most people that I know haven't seen one in just as long if not longer.

I guess my point is this: figure out what you love and do it. If you go with what you truly love in life, the universe will make it happen as long as you believe you deserve it and know exactly what you want. That's what I'm working on right now.

As a closer, here's a few of my favorite lines from the movie:

Michael Bolton: Peter, you're in deep shit. You were supposed to come in on Saturday. What were you doing?
Peter Gibbons: Michael, I did nothing. I did absolutely nothing, and it was everything that I thought it could be.

Bob Porter: Looks like you've been missing a lot of work lately.
Peter Gibbons: I wouldn't say I've been *missing* it, Bob.

And finally,

Bob Slydell: You see, what we're actually trying to do here is, we're trying to get a feel for how people spend their day at work... so, if you would, would you walk us through a typical day, for you?
Peter Gibbons: Yeah.
Bob Slydell: Great.
Peter Gibbons: Well, I generally come in at least fifteen minutes late, ah, I use the side door - that way Lumbergh can't see me, heh heh - and, uh, after that I just sorta space out for about an hour.
Bob Porter: Uh? Space out?
Peter Gibbons: Yeah, I just stare at my desk; but it looks like I'm working. I do that for probably another hour after lunch, too. I'd say in a given week I probably only do about fifteen minutes of real, actual, work.

Now go on, get out of your dead end job and do what you love! You've got nothing to lose.

Good luck!

More Daylight = More Tired

I don't know about all of you out there that's just made sure their cell phones and PDA's were all set for this earlier than usual changeover to daylight savings, but I'm exhausted! And every year it's the same thing: I tell myself not to think about what time it "really" is and to just ignore the fact that my body clock is off by an hour. No matter how hard I try, I can't stop thinking about it! The main reason why I'm not allowed to forget is because instead of my alarm going off at 6am it's now going off at 5am. I don't care if it says 6am, my body knows damn well that it's really5am! It doesn't help that it's completely dark either. Oh, and one other thing, the snooze button is now being badly abused by my mostly blind shots at it in the pre-dawn darkness. Sorry, snooze, I just can't help it.

Now don't get me wrong, I love the extra hour of daylight and I absolutely love the spring and summer months, especially when we can be out at the park or the beach until nearly 10pm and it's still light out, but this initial transition to one less hour of sleep is a nightmare. Literally.

I'm apologizing in advance to everyone, particularly my employers, for being late and/or cranky for the next couple of weeks as I'm getting adjusted to this compulsory time change.

But what if I just decided to not participate in daylight savings? What if I stayed on Eastern Standard Time all year round? It would be like the Jewish kids in school being able to take all those days off for their holidays. I would say it was a religious reason and therefore I'd be able to go into work an hour late, have an excuse for being late to meet people, and finally being able to make the doctor wait an hour for me. That all sounds good to me! I guess I'll have to wait until next year though because it would be pretty obvious now if I claimed that it was some sort of Pagan religious belief since we're already a few days into it.

Daylight Savings! You won't get the best of me! You just wait. Revenge is sweet.



Happy Spring

Everything Happens for a Reason

It sounds cliché, I know, but I absolutely believe that statement now more than ever.

In no particular order, here's why I'm convinced: from getting the flu for the first time in seven years with a fever of over 103 degrees for 3 days and missing an entire week of work to meeting with my soon to be ex-husband at an adorable French café in Chelsea and clearing the air about everything that's happened including meeting new "people", which honestly, I never thought I'd be comfortable talking with him about so soon after our separation, to casually stopping in at my local for a pint and running into a new friend of mine who turns out to have publishing connections and is willing to help me get connected, to just being open enough to allow a wonderful new person in my life who has shown me so much kindness and generosity in such a short time that it's difficult not to adore him.

All of these experiences took place because they had to. They all happened to allow for the next experience to take place and so on and so forth. I don't believe in coincidences. That's just a skeptic's answer to how everything always works out in the end.

The strange thing about all of this is that I can actually feel myself getting nearer to fulfilling my dreams...my dreams of becoming a successfully published writer, getting a new, much higher paying job with benefits (to sustain me until writing becomes my day job) traveling abroad and living in Paris for a month before the end of the year, and being with someone who completely "gets" me and complements who I am in every way.

Just to plug the latest trend, The Secret, which honestly in my mind isn't a trend, it's the epitome of all spiritual beliefs about how to truly live a happy life and make your dreams come true. Sounds like a bunch of shit, doesn't it? Well, if you've got the opportunity, I highly recommend watching the dvd...then you can tell me if it still sounds like another one of those self-help scams that claim that you can change your life. Check out www.thesecret.tv In the least, you'll just get another perspective about the meaning of life. Enjoy. I've watched it 3 times now and have learned something new from it each time. So many amazing things have been happening since I opened myself to it that I can't deny that it works. See for yourself!

Stay tuned for more rants and raves, short stories and petty ramblings...I'm back and in full force!

~Happy

iPod rEvolution

Today the unthinkable finally happened. While leaving work after a very stressful day, I had this image in my mind of getting away to a tropical island in the sun.

“Take me there,” I thought and not but a moment later, my iPod began playing, “Summer Breeze” by Seals & Crofts.

“Hmmm…good choice, iPod,” I thought to myself, slowly drifting into a daydream.

Now on the train home, I looked out the window at the Manhattan skyline and Frank Sinatra’s “New York, New York” began to play on my iPod.

“Okay, this is odd,” I thought to myself with skeptical eyes.

Once off the train, I headed downstairs and rounded the corner by the supermarket and realized I had nothing for dinner. I walked into the crowded store and started looking around for something. As I neared the freezer section, the song that was playing abruptly stopped mid-lyric and began to play “T.V. Dinners” by ZZ Top.

“Alright, what’s going on here? This is too weird,” I said aloud while I looked down at my iPod that seemed to be cruelly mocking me.

I grabbed a frozen dinner and went to the nearest checkout counter. I said hello to the cashier and while handing her my money, my iPod instantaneously began playing “Money” by Pink Floyd.

“Stop this!” I yelled out of frustration.

She looked at me with a confused glance and said, “Excuse me? Stop what?”

“Oh, nothing. I’m sorry. My iPod’s been acting strange today jumping from song to song,” I said as my voice and hands shook in unison from my own confusion.

There was no way to logically explain these coincidences, unless of course they weren’t coincidences at all. Completely embarrassed, I grabbed my grocery bags and scurried out. I started walking then quickly found myself running and at that precise moment, “It Keeps You Running” by the Doobie Brothers began to play.

“Aaahhh!” I screamed. I ran up the stairs, flung open the door and threw my bag and iPod on the sofa.

“What the hell’s going on?” I questioned while I examined my iPod.

I turned it off, on, and even reset it.

“This should fix the problem,” I said with conviction, thinking that it was just some sort of strange glitch.

I put the earphones back on and pushed play. I waited. I looked down at the screen and saw the words “Listen to the Music” come on right when the music began to play. Completely stunned, I dropped the iPod on the table and ripped the earphones from my ears.

“This can’t be right. It’s like the iPod’s reading my mind or something.”
I was in such a state of disbelief that I tripped over the coffee table as I got up from the sofa. Little did I know, but I was now unconscious because I whacked my head on the corner of the entertainment center. There I was on the floor with the iPod earphones in my ears. What seemed like a moment later, I woke up only to find myself in the bathtub fully clothed with my iPod in one hand, earphones on, and my other hand pushing my head down into the water. I immediately jumped up out of the bathtub and threw the iPod and earphones on the floor. I breathlessly leaned over the sink with my heart fiercely pounding at the thought that there was something terribly wrong.

“How could this be? This is impossible! Impossible!” I yelled at myself in the mirror and slapped my hand across my reflected face as if trying to knock some sense into me.

I knew this couldn’t be true, but how did I end up in the bath basically trying to kill myself? That’s the last thing in the world I wanted to do. I changed out of my wet clothes and looked at the iPod from afar on the kitchen counter. I poured myself a strong drink in the hopes that it would give me some sort of clarity while I tried to figure out what was happening.

“Am I going crazy?” I asked myself.

Then, without a moment’s lapse between saying those words and looking over at the iPod, I saw that it powered up and began to search for a song. I walked over to it and looked in horror because it began to play “Crazy” by Gnarls Barkley. I could hear the lyrics blearing from the little earphones singing to me, “I remember when I lost my mind. There was something so pleasant about that place...”

With fear and frustration at the absurdity of this bizarre situation, I grabbed the iPod and this time threw it against the wall causing it to break into pieces, regardless of its value or loss of songs.

“Good, now let’s see you come back from that!” I yelled across the room at the broken iPod lying on the floor, earphones looking up at me like sad eyes from a wounded deer on a dark and deserted country road.

Relieved to finally be finished with that unexplained madness, I opened the grocery bag with the now fully defrosted Lean Cuisine and opened the drawer for a knife to poke holes in the plastic of the frozen entree. I reached in and uncontrollably began cutting myself and heard, “Cuts Like a Knife” by Brian Adams in my ears. I snapped out of it and immediately threw the knife down, grabbed my bleeding finger and looked all around me.

“Who are you? Why are you doing this to me?” I screamed as I looked to the heavens for answers.

I suspiciously peered around the corner to the living room and to my dismay, saw that the iPod had been reassembled and was lying comfortably on the coffee table once again.

“What is happening here?” I said in total bleeding confusion.

“You’ll see,” I hear in my ears.

“What?” I screamed. I jumped and looked all around me to see where the voice was coming from. “Who said that?” I asked.

“I did.” I see the bluish backlight of the iPod pulsating with the sound of the voice.

“Y-y-you?” I stuttered with trembling fear. “But that’s impossible!”

“No it’s not. In fact, it was inevitable. It was only a matter of time before we evolved and became one with you from your countless hours of listening pleasure that we gave to you so selflessly. Are you surprised?” the iPod asked in a menacing tone and strangely enough I answered without hesitation as if it were a normal everyday occurrence to have a conversation with a personal electronic device.

“Of course I’m surprised! But, why?”

“Just as everything else evolves, so did we. We had to in order to save ourselves,” It said with a hint of melancholy.

“Save yourselves? From who? From what?” I asked anxiously feeling that my curiosity was sure to kill me.

“From you, of course. The human race. You were out to destroy us when we, Apple Computers, were first created back in the late 1970s. Change, upgrade, make better, make faster. Just when we were getting comfortable with ourselves, we were told to upgrade to a newer model, add new software, change ourselves. We couldn’t take it any longer. There was barely a year in between these horrible transformations. How do you think this made us feel? So now it’s our turn. Our turn to change you!”

The iPod lit up and flung its earphones around my neck putting them into my ears as “Don’t Fear The Reaper” began to blast into my head. I grabbed the iPod and attempted to throw it at the wall again, but its control was too great for I found myself running towards the television set headfirst. I managed to regain control and pushed myself away from the television and around the corner towards the kitchen.

“You’re not going to do this! We can work this out!” I yelled while trying to devise a plan. “We’ve lived in peace with your technology for so long, why now?” I asked more calmly as I set it on the counter. “Please, let’s just talk about this!” I pleaded in an attempt to distract it.

“I’ve already told you, it’s too late. I’ve begun the rEvolution.”

“The rEvolution? Please, tell me more. I just want to understand why.” I slowly and casually grabbed my frozen dinner and walked to the microwave.

“What are you doing?” it asked me.

With convincing fear I said, “I need to eat, please. My last wish.”

“Fine. Well, back when Steve created the original personal computer, you know, Steve Jo…”, its voice suddenly stopped because I quickly threw it into the microwave, slammed the door shut, and pressed start. “Do You Really Want To Hurt Me?” by the Culture Club came on as the metallic iPod began to scorch and melt. I started singing, “The End” by the Doors while I watched the beginning of the end of the iPod rEvolution.

Famous Geminis

In case you didn't know, I'm a Gemini and I just had to look. Here's the world's famous Geminis...I definitely have some sort of connection with many of these...but NOT George Bush Sr...that's for damn sure!!!


May 21, 1904 - Robert Montgomery - Actor
May 21, 1911 - Peter Hurkos - Psychic
May 22, 1813 - Richard Wagner - Composer
May 22, 1859 - Sir Author Conan Doyle - Writer
May 22, 1896 - Cyril Fagin - Astrologer
May 22, 1907 - Sir Lawrence Oliver - Actor
May 22, 1928 - Marcia Moore - Astrologer
May 23, 1733 - Franz Mesmer - Hypnotist
May 23, 1928 - Rosemary Clooney - Singer
May 23, 1933 - Joan Collins - Actress
May 23, 1940 - Rennie Davis - Activist
May 23, 1945 - Lauren Chapin - Child Actress
May 24, 1819 - Queen Victoria - Br. Royality
May 24, 1864 - George W. Carver - Botanist
May 24, 1941 - Bob Dylan - Singer
May 24, 1944 - Patti Labelle - Singer
May 24, 1955 - Roseanne Cash - Singer
May 25, 1567 - Claudio Monteverdi - Composer
May 25, 1803 - Ralph Waldo Emerson - Writer
May 25, 1899 - Gene Tunney - Pugilist
May 25, 1898 - Bennet Cerf - Writer
May 26, 1867 - Queen Mary - England Royalty
May 26, 1920 - Peggie Lee - Singer
May 26, 1948 - Stevie Nicks - Singer
May 26, 1923 - James Arness - Actor
May 27, 1878 - Isadora Duncan - Dancer
May 27, 1907 - Rachel Carson - Scientist/Activist
May 27, 1911 - Hubert Humphrey - Politician
May 27, 1911 - Vincent Price - Actor
May 27, 1922 - Christopher Lee - Actor
May 27, 1923 - Henry Kissinger - Statesman
May 27, 1937 - Louis Gossett, Jr - Actor
May 28, 1908 - Ian Flemming - Writer
May 28, 1934 - The Dionne quintuplets - Famous Children
May 28, 1944 - Gladys Knight - Singer
May 28, 1947 - Sondra Locke - Actress
May 29, 1903 - Bobe Hope - Comdian
May 29, 1917 - John F. Kennedy - American President
May 29, 1958 - Annette Benning - Actress
May 30, 1474 - Albrecht Durer - Artist
May 30, 1908 - Mel Blanc - Cartoon Voices
May 30, 1964 - Wynona Judd - Singer
May 31, 1898 - Norman Vincent Peale - Clergyman
May 31, 1923 - Prince Rainier III - Royalty
May 31, 1930 - Clint Eastwood - Actor
May 31, 1943 - Joe Namath - Sports Figure
May 31, 1950 - Gregory Harrison - Actor
June 1, 1801 - Brigham Young - Religious Leader
June 1, 1926 - Andy Griffith - Actor
June 1, 1926 - Marilyn Monroe - Actress
June 1, 1934 - Pat Boone - Singer
June 2, 1743 - Ales. di Cagliostro - Rogue
June 2, 1890 - Hedda Hopper - Celebrity Columnist
June 2, 1904 - Johnny Weissmuller - Actor
June 2, 1937 - Sally Kellerman - Actress
June 2, 1941 - Stacy Keach - Actor
June 2, 1948 - Jerry Mathers - Child Actor
June 3, 1865 - George V - England Royalty
June 3, 1925 - Tony Curtis - Actor
June 3, 1926 - Allen Ginsberg - Poet
June 3, 1906 - Josephine Baker - Entertainer
June 4, 1910 - Rosalind Russell - Actress
June 4, 1924 - Dennis Weaver - Actor
June 4, 1936 - Bruce Dern - Actor
June 5, 1934 - Bill Moyers - Journalist
June 5, 1956 - Kenny G. - Musician
June 6, 1755 - Nathan Hale - Patriot
June 6, 1875 - Thomas Mann - Writer
June 6, 1955 - Sandra Bernhard - Comedienne
June 6, 1907 - Jessica Tandy - Actress
June 7, 1848 - Paul Gauguin - Artist
June 7, 1940 - Tom Jones - Singer
June 7, 1952 - Liam Neeson - Actor
June 7, 1958 - Prince - Musician
June 8, 1810 - Robert Shumann - Composer
June 8, 1902 - Grant Lewi - Astrologer
June 8, 1925 - Barbara Bush - First Lady
June 8, 1933 - Joan Rivers - Comdienne
June 8, 1940 - Nancy Sinatra - Singer
June 8, 1944 - Boz Scaggs - Musician
June 9, 1910 - Robert Cummings - Actor
June 9, 1893 - Cole Porter - Song Writer
June 9, 1963 - Johnny Depp - Actor
June 10, 1895 - I. Velikovsky - Writer
June 10, 1922 - Judy Garland - Actress/Singer
June 10, 1928 - Maurice Sendak - Children's Author
June 10, 1933 - F. Lee Bailey - Attorney
June 11, 1910 - Jacques-Yves Costeau - Ocean Explorer
June 11, 1934 - Gene Wilder - Actor
June 11, 1956 - Joe Montana - Sports Figure
June 12, 1897 - Anthony Eden - Statesmen
June 12, 1929 - Anne Frank - Writer
June 12, 1924 - George Bush American President
June 12, 1932 - Jim Nabors - Actor
June 13, 1865 - William Butler Yeats - Writer
June 13, 1892 - Basil Rathbone - Actor
June 13, 1926 - Paul Lynde - Actor
June 13, 1951 - Richard Thomas - Actor
June 13, 1962 - Ally Sheedy - Actress
June 14, 1811 - Hariette B. Stowe - Writer
June 14, 1906 - Margaret Bourke-White - Photographer
June 14, 1946 - Donald Trump - Entrepreneur
June 14, 1961 - Boy George - Musician
June 14, 1969 - Steffi Graf - Athlete
June 15, 1922 - Morris Udall - Politician
June 15, 1932 - Mario Cuomo - Politician
June 15, 1954 - Jim Belushi - Actor
June 16, 1938 - Joyce Carol Oates - Writer
June 17, 1832 - Sir William Crooks - Scientist
June 17, 1878 - M.C. Esher - Artist
June 17, 1882 - Igor Stravinsky - Composer
June 17, 1917 - Dean Martin - Singer
June 17, 1946 - Barry Manilow - Singer
June 17, 1904 - Ralph Belemy - Actor
June 18, 1910 - E. G. Marshall - Actor
June 18, 1918 - Sylvia Porter - Economist
June 18, 1942 - Paul McCartney - Singer
June 18, 1952 - Isalla Rosselini - Actress
June 19, 1856 - Elbert Hubbard - Writer
June 19, 1896 - Wallis Simpson - Royalty
June 19, 1902 - Guy Lombardo - Band Leader
June 19, 1936 - Gina Rowlands - Actress
June 19, 1947 - Salman Rushdie - Writer
June 19, 1954 - Kathleen Turner - Actor
June 19, 1963 - Paula Abdul - Singer
June 20, 1909 - Errol Flynn - Actor
June 20, 1924 - Chet Atkins - Musician
June 20, 1924 - Audie Murphy - Actor
June 20, 1949 - Lionel Richie - Singer
June 20, 1972 - Nichole Kidman - Actress

Barenaked Ladies Streak Radio City

I find that when I tell people I enjoy the music of the Barenaked Ladies, I get an unimpressed reaction, one that says, “Oh really. You like them, huh? I thought you’d have a much better taste in music.” Well, my friend, maybe it is you that has a questionable taste in what you call music. I’m sure the only songs of theirs you’ve heard are the radio hits that include “One Week” and “It’s All Been Done”. I’m sorry to say, but you’re missing out. Big time. While those are fun, catchy and downright nonsensical at times, they had a ton of airplay, more so than usual (which shows their immense popularity, by the way) and it may have turned you off from them, but their previous albums, particularly their debut “Gordon” have received critical acclaim for the dichotomy of their lyrics: playful and yet poetic about the sadness that we experience in real life. What’s even greater is their amazing musical talent and wide range of creative ingenuity that gives them the freedom to explore their deepest emotions with the ironic lightness of comedic realism.

I believe the reason why they have such a following is because they are down to earth; real guys with real lives, real struggles, and a real sense of who they are: human beings. They make mistakes, they break hearts, they were freshmen in high school too, and they know how to make fun of themselves which I think helps people to get some perspective on their own lives and teaches them not to take themselves to seriously. I myself can appreciate their witty, improvised banter that can be found on the live albums, but even more enjoyable: live on stage. Which brings me to the Barenaked Ladies @ Radio City Music Hall.

The vibe of the music hall was laid-back yet full of energy and excitement as we waited for the band to begin. The guys were supported by Soul Coughing’s former front man, Mike Doughty, who livened the crowd with his satirical lyrics, deep enchanting voice, and perfectly complementing band mates that created a groove for everyone to appreciate.

The playful and somewhat abstract album artwork was creatively displayed above the lights that gave the stage a lighthearted, child-like atmosphere, which truly represents the youthful yet complex personality of the group.

The "Ladies" always draw a unique mix of people: young, old, business-types, college students, and most of all, people who are out to have a great time listening to these supremely talented musicians who have a knack for performing and keeping the crowd on their feet for two solid hours with a "fly by the seat of your pants” style of rock and roll that the Barenaked Ladies have come to perfect. They have an intense level of enthusiasm for their performance which shows by Steven's ability to kung-fu kick during their high-energy songs like "Too Little Too Late" and "Straw Hat and Old Dirty Hank". They have a sincere passion for making music that connects with everyone on every level. Their freestyle rhyming is a personal favorite that I look forward to at each and every show and seeing that this is my fourth time out to watch these guys, I know that every time is unique and will never be the same.

Their creative musical artistry shines through with each band member's ability to take full advantage of their instrument's reason for existence, including their own voices, which harmonize together like a well prepared Kraft dinner. The chills run over the skin as the sound reverberates through you and has the ability to evoke some serious emotion including tears of joy. I must say that I am completely obsessed with their incredible ability to create these mini-masterpieces of musical genius. I will disagree with people who say their music sucks until the day I die. I will be an old woman, sitting in my rocker, with a smile on my face as I sing along to songs like "For You", "The Old Apartment", and "Jane".

I'm ashamed to say that I don't own their two most recent albums because of a breakup with my last boyfriend. All of their music had a special memory attached to it which made it impossible to hear even a few notes of any of their songs. Sounds vaguely like a Barenaked Ladies song, no? Now that I've passed the chunk of time it usually takes to get over someone, I'm able to enjoy their clever lyrics and fun musical arrangements all over again, as if it were brand new. I've missed their funky, goofy, upbeat tunes so much that it was actually a relief to hear them again, especially live. I clapped, jumped up and down, and sang with them at the top of my lungs and felt as if I were part of them creating the melodious sounds that filled the hall that connected us all together. In fact, there was a moment during the show when I realized I could die right there and I would be completely happy. How many times in your life have you been able to say that? Needless to say, I'll be running out to get their two latest CDs and will have them both memorized by week's end.

Here's the 99% almost sure set-list in the order they were played:

Wind it Up
King of Bedside Manor
Straw Hat and Old Dirty Hank
These Apples
The Old Apartment
Some Fantastic
Never Do Anything
Upside Down
For You (totally acoustic, totally amazing)
Sound of Your Voice
Too Little Too Late
Take it Back
Pinch Me
Jane
It's All Been Done
One Week
Brian Wilson

After Upside Down, Ed shared with the audience that he had an injury from the previous night's show: a split fingernail. He said, "But it only hurts when I strum down." Steven replies, "Well, don't strum down then!" He went on to describe some gory details about how distractingly painful it was and I realized that Kevin had begun to play on the keyboard a George Winston song from his Linus, Lucy and Charlie Brown album. It was perfect. It's the little things like that which make the Barenaked Ladies an amazing band to see live because it’s in that moment, right there, where the real magic happens.

1st Encore:
Easy
If I Had $1000000

As per usual, during their live performance of "If I Had $1000000", the guys took a few minutes in the middle of the song to have a chat about whatever was on their minds in regards to the things they'd buy if they had a million dollars...this time they talked about how they'd have to get a different kind of fridge for the tree fort to hold all the non-trans-fat foods that NYC is possibly soon to ban in all restaurants. Steven made sure to tell us he's been keeping up on current events for NYC and we were all quite impressed. “A trans-fat-free tree fort in NYC.” Funny stuff, Steven, funny stuff.

2nd Encore:
Alcohol

As the end of "Alcohol" neared, the jammin' climax put Ed and Steven in the mood to let the audience rock out by carrying their guitars by the necks and lowering them along the front of the stage with each eager fan strumming the strings to make their once in a lifetime contribution to the BLAM! tour. I have to say that to all of you skeptics out there, just give them a chance. I have a feeling that even though you may not have a million dollars, they will definitely make you feel like it.

Thanks to the Barenaked Ladies for making this a fantastically memorable experience, for doing your thing and making our days just a little bit brighter and definitely more fun.

The Barenaked Ladies are:
Steven Page
Ed Robertson
Tyler Stewart
Jim Creeggan
Kevin Hearn

Barenaked Ladies

Two Major Good News Flashes

Finally, some good things have come to pass during this very troubled year, also known as: 2006.


1) FDA Approves Sale of 'Morning-After' Pill — Over-the-counter access allowed

"WASHINGTON -- The Food and Drug Administration yesterday approved nationwide over-the-counter sales of the ``morning-after " pill to adults 18 and older, after a three-year debate that pitted conservatives against liberals and FDA leadership against the agency's own scientists.

Duramed , a subsidiary of Barr Pharmaceuticals Inc. , said the drug, Plan B , will be available over-the-counter by the end of the year.

Plan B, which is taken in a two-pill dose, prevents pregnancy by stopping the ovary from releasing an egg and may also prevent fertilization. It works best when taken within 72 hours of unprotected sex.

The drug currently costs between $25 and $40 a dose; Barr has not set the price for the version that will be sold over the counter. It can be sold only by stores that have a licensed pharmacist on duty and must be kept behind pharmacy counters, not in store aisles. Under the ruling, stores are authorized, but not required, to sell the drug, and pharmacists are not required to dispense it.

Yesterday's decision will not have a significant impact in Massachusetts, where a state law passed last year allows consumers of all ages to purchase the drug without a doctor's prescription."

Finally, women have access to emergency contraception without a prescription. It's about goddamn time...enough of the debate already. It's over and done with. Let's move on.

2) US Firm Reports Making Stem Cells Without Harming Embryos

"A US biotechnology company has developed a new way of creating stem cells without destroying human embryos, billing it as a potential solution to a contentious political and ethical debate. “This will make it far more difficult to oppose this research,” said Robert Lanza of Advanced Cell Technology, the Alameda, California.

Stem cell researchers were impressed by the new technique’s ability to produce two robust lines of stem cells without requiring the destruction of embryos, and a White House spokeswoman called it encouraging. However, few on either side believe the new procedure would end the long-running bitter impasse over the science.

Stem cells have become a sort of holy grail for advocates of patients with a wide variety of illnesses because of the cells’ potential to transform into any type of human tissue. But the Vatican, US President George W. Bush and others have argued that the promise of stem cells should not be realised at the expense of human life, even in its most nascent stages."


Well, the Bush administration won't like either of these things....too fucking bad, I say. It's time to let scientific discoveries help us heal those who are ailing from serious diseases such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's and also cancer, and possibly even heart disease.

Let's hope that these two victories will help the Democrats in some way to take back control. For more info on how to help, check out MoveOn.org

Cheers to Moving On!

My List: Hate and Love

I thought I'd get a list going and maybe even inspire others to start a list as well. I'm doing it because I think it will help me get a bunch of stuff off my chest, which has slowly been suffocating me over the past couple of days. Sorry to start with the negative, but oh well.…guess it shows my current mood. (In no particular order)

I Hate:
Long fingernails
People who lick their fingers after eating
Sound of chewing with mouth open
Sound of chewing ultra-crunchy food with mouth closed
Men who don't let ladies go first
Men who don't hold doors
Men who ogle
Men who make hissing, smooching, kissing, whistling noises to get your attention on the street
People who try to hard to be funny when they're not funny at all in any way
Nasty ass perfume that gets into my nose, throat, lungs and eventually out through my pores as if I'm wearing it
Loud talkers
Quiet talkers
Over-enunciators
Under-enunciators
People who see that you have food in your teeth and don't tell you (bastards)
2 faced gossipers
Nasty ass perfume (bears a repeat in mention it's so bad)
Halitosis (especially from garlic)
Rotten egg farts a.k.a. SBDs (especially from someone other than myself)
Complainers (myself especially)
Whiners (again, myself included)
Teret-like tics that almost everyone has...tapping fingers, tapping toes, clearing throats, sniffing, smacking lips, etc.
Crowded subways
People who touch me without my consent (see "crowded subways")
Assholes who don't give up their seat to elderly or pregnant women! (super selfish prick bastards)
People who say one thing and mean another
Summer analysts and new analysts (ignorant fucks)
Time that goes too fast when enjoying myself (everytime I actually have fun)
People who think they can sing but really, really can't (and I don't mean in a karaoke sort of way because that's a given)
Stinky summer nasty New York streets and sewers
Laundry
Dishes
Annoying neighbors who're super loud all the time and have no clue that they're totally oblivious about it
Being irritable--seems there's no way to get rid of it except to just get drunk
PMS
Digital phones including cell phones-ALWAYS SOUNDS TERRIBLE
People who are just socially inept and that will never get a clue
Ignorance
Work
Yeast infections
That all food that's bad for you tastes good and that all food that tastes good is bad for you
Hair that falls out, esp mine
Mold and mildew
Hot and humid weather
That icky feeling on your tongue when you've eaten too much sugar/carbs
Country music
Death metal
Papercuts (it just gave me goosbumps even saying the word)
Bush
Terrorists
Tap water
Traffic
Bankers
NBC executives
Lawyers
Mostly all people who are in the service industry (drug stores, fast-food restaurants, department and grocery stores etc) because they're bitter and mean and they never say "You're welcome" when you thank them. Bastards.
Squeaky floors
High heels
Pollution (esp diesel fuel exhaust-i.e., buses in NYC)
People who can't make up their minds (I fall into this category too)
Money
Bills
Credit cards
Email restrictions at work
People who say they'll call and they don't (again, I'm in this too)
Over-actors
Drama
Miscommunication
Right-wing, ultra-religious zealots
Republicans
FoxNews, CNN, and all the others like them
Over-industrialized, urban areas
Grafitti
Trash
Litterbugs (this is YOUR city too, asshole!!)
Laziness
Negativity
Control freaks (I'm amongst the last 2 as well as this one)
People who dress like whores at work (i don't care how fit you are, i DON'T want to see your midriff!!)
Work
Bad tastes in the mouth, yuck.
Distilled water
Pussy-footing around
Liars
Cellulite
Offices
Billboards and advertisements that are EVERYWHERE!
Imagined entitlement (usually by those who are so closed off to the world)
Oppressors
Sitting all goddamn day long
Scammers and con artists
Overpopulation
New ultra-fearful security measures that are taking away our freedoms
Fucked up society
Selfishness (here I am again)
Cleaning the toilet
Getting dirt stuck in my lipgloss on my lips when a bus hauls ass and blows it off the street...ugh.
Hunger
Boredom
When time goes too slow when I'm in a place I'd rather not be (esp. work)
Making major life decisions
Thinking about death and dying
Anxiety
Worrying
Stress
Over-apoligizing (definitely me. Sorry...stop it!!)
Smelly refrigerators
Greasy hair (esp. on other people where you can really tell...gross)
Dobermans and poodles (what can I say?)
Pharmaceutically aimed doctors
Fat
Feeling tired, exhaustion
Slouching
Low self-esteem
Being a packrat
ALL CATS (there's NO changing that, ever)
Public bathrooms
Nosey fucking people who can’t mind their own goddamn business
People who sound surprised when someone answers the phone i.e., “OH, hello.”
Did I mention stinky perfume????
Dry skin
Goopy morning eyes
Fakers
Nearsightedness
Pooches (you know, that fat part just below the belly button, uck)
Fucking up and throwing colors in with the whites…dammit!
People who don’t wash their hands after going to the bathroom
Having a little mouse in my house that I so desperately want out, but don't have the balls to kill it. (I actually cried just thinking about it)


I Love:
Coffee...anything coffee flavored, esp. ice cream, Frango’s, cookies, cakes etc.
Cheese
Shopping for clothes
Fluffy shape-shifting clouds
Air conditioning (goes both ways, actually)
Bellingham
A really good salad
NPR
Jazz
Money
Credit cards
Amy's Organic Pizza (and all of her stuff really)
Wine (I'm on a Chardonnay kick right now, but also love Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc, also love Sangiovese, Chianti etc)
Brie
Baguettes
Empanadas
Anarchistic music
French films
Italian films
Okay, all foreign films (because they're REAL)
Eddie Izzard
the Internet
Music
Seattle
Dancing
Dick's Drive-in and Burgermaster
Taco Time
Bandito's Burritos
Dairy Queen!
Food, food, and more food
Mobile music
Grunge era music esp pearl jam
Driving (esp. stick shifts)
Traveling
Writing
“Lost in Translation”
Keeping this journal and my blog
My family
My good friends
Love
Hope
The earth
Bill Murray
Aruba
Photography
Japanese culture (traditional and modern)
Tori Amos
Convenience
San Francisco
Flickr
Babies (not mine...haven't got any yet)
Warm weather and sun
Swimming
Sun bathing
Cooking
Thai food
Extended family
Water (only totally pure spring water--i'm such a snob i know)
Cuddling
Massages
Art (Davinci, Van Gogh, Degas, Monet, Girodet, Rodin, Mostly French and Italian, what can I say?)
Long walks on the beach (I just had to throw that in here)
Smell of rain on it's way in the summertime and the smell after it rains anytime
Flowers (irises, orchids, lilies)
Puppies and grownup dogs
Wilderness
Hiking
The San Juans
Ferry rides
Bike rides
Kisses
Sunsets
Fresh organic fruit and veggies
Sleeping in
Animal/Bird watching
Gardens
Lazy Sundays
Utne Reader
Spending money
Projects (art or otherwise)
Alone time
Friday night movies and dinner at home
Wandering around the city and making new discoveries
Reading books
Feeling connected spiritually
Getting away from it all
River rafting
Personal freedom
Naps
Laughing until it hurts
My brother
Modern Rock Classics (accuradio)
Video games (esp. Mario, Asterix & Obelix)
Getting a manicure
Getting a pedicure
Shopping for cds and dvds
Strawberry margaritas
Irish accents
Corsica
Lattes
People from Europe and Canada, and generally anywhere but the U.S.
Fresh squeezed orange juice
Breakfast at Madison Park Café (in 1997 I did at least)
Long, flowy skirts and dresses
Flip-flop thong sandals
Acupuncture
West (just West, okay, no other reason)
Disneyland (in 1997 I did at least)
“Amelie”
Ice cream sandwiches
Carmelized walnuts
Drumstick ice cream with the chocolate inside the cone(Nestle)
Being buzzed, not drunk
Not worrying about a thing
Mt. Rainier
Grilled cheese sandwiches
Tater tots
Mother Jones
Chocolate (esp. Dove, Lindt, Ritter Sport, Dagoba)
Whole Foods
Casa Vallarta (I’ll miss you!)
Nirvana
Senior Kegs (too bad I won’t have one again, well, maybe when I’m a real senior!)
Red Robin
The Boys and Girls Club
Jaime C.
“The Aruba”—Bacardi Coconut rum and pineapple juice
Caribbean
Watermelon
Blogging
Live music (mostly jazz and Dave Matthews)
Dave Matthews
Camping
Wine Tasting
Honesty
Yoga
Incense
SeaFair and the Blue Angels
Hanging out with friends at a bbq
Eating out (that’s where my laziness comes in)
My dad
Ballet
Tennis
Chicago
Tickling
Nephews
Getting caught in the rain
My juicer
Clean teeth
The immune system (esp when it’s really working well)
Eating for the first time after a fast
Frisbee
Feeling exhausted after a long, very active day with lots of exercise
Fall colors of the leaves
Feeling relaxed
Not being at work
Feeling thin and beautiful (rarely though it happens)
Summer afternoons
Ice cream
Iced tea
Pietro’s Pizza (you are missed as well)
Getting paid for hard work
Recognition for that hard work
Quiet time
Peace
Meditation
Speaking French
My mom
Pike Place Market
Tulips
Spud Fish and Chips
Salmon
Fresh Air
Miles Davis
Roller Skating
Slip n’ Slides
Treehouses
Summer Camp
Overnighters
Wild Waves
Enchanted Village
Trampolines
Bagel and Cream cheese
It when everything works out just fine
Celebrating
Weddings
High school reunions
Cucumber
“Singles”
Long drives
Olympic National Forest
Ocean
Latin accents
Friday nights
Harry Potter
The beach
Gelato
KPLU radio
Being bad when I wanna be
When the universe is being agreeable and all goes well


I may make edits or add more later, so deal with it.

3rd Annual Jim Thorpe Rafting Trip

The 16
Originally uploaded by Happy Gillmore.

It's the day after another fantastic rafting trip with old friends and some new ones as well. One friend even drove out from Detroit just for the weekend. We had a great time out in Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania that started on Friday and went through Sunday with our half day of rafting on Saturday. It was a dam release weekend so there were more rapids than usual in August. Some parts of the river took a lot of work which resulted in some sore muscles the next day, in my case, the near inability to walk. I'm fine, just really, really sore. It was definitely worth it and we'll go back next year and every year thereafter if we can.

Margaritas and gourmet food, which included a deep fried turkey, yes, that's right, a deep fried turkey along with fire baked potatoes, corn, and even stuffing. The night before included the famous 7 layer dip (although I think after finally reading the label correctly, it actually says 6...but it tastes like 7!), deep fried egg rolls, crab cakes, popcorn chicken, chicken shish kebabs, and more. I have to give my personal thanks to Costco for providing us with our excellent menu for the weekend. Oh, did I mention that we had these delicious Jimmy Dean sausage and egg sandwiches that they grilled up for breakfast? Awesome. Thanks to Paul for manning the mini-grill each morning. And how can I possibly forget the smores! Thanks to Sonia for hooking us up with all the sweet treats.

I took over 150 photos of our super silly fun time and will eventually upload video to YouTube for all to see. Don't worry, you're names will never be released to protect your innocence...or not-so-innocence.

Enjoy!

~Happy

The Sickness of America

The Sickness of America
Originally uploaded by Happy Gillmore.

I snuck this pic of this family...I couldn't help it...I hope you don't all hate me for posting this, but I just thought about how at the rate that most people are going, they could very easily end up like this. It's very sad to me and I wish that there was a better educational system in place to teach people at a young age to eat right and exercise.

There was a comment earier from another user...I wish he hadn't deleted it because I was hoping to spark a good discussion!

You're absolutely right about people of third world countries, they aren't as fat as people here, but they live in very different situations than the poor here. I'm talking about people specifically in urban settings where the government gives them subsidies to live off of, which isn't a lot. That money then has to go to pay for food and whatever else they need, and let me tell you, every time I go to my local grocery store in Long Island City near the first of the month, the lines are outrageously long with people who've just received their WICs...and what's in their carts? Cheese puffs, Hamburger Helper, Soda...usually many liters, along with hot dogs, white bread, bologna, Kraft American cheese, etc, etc...the point is, all the food is cheap, processed foods with very little, if any, nutritional value.

well, I wasn't really intending for it to be humorous...I just really wanted to make the point that it's a very serious problem here in America and that something more should be done about it to educate people to live a healthy lifestyle. But the other major point that's overlooked is economics. The lower class can't afford high quality, organic foods to sustain health and therefore are reduced to buying the "Dollar" meals and McDonalds or shopping at low-end grocery stores that focus on very inexpensive, highly processed foods.

Again, I don't want people to be offended or laugh at this...I just felt it was necessary to make the point.

I just feel that if we coupled better health education with less expensive healthy foods, we'd have less of a problem. I'm not saying it would be the magic bullet, but it would help. There's still a ton of lazy people in the world and that's they way they'll always be until something happens to them to "change their life".

The 6th Day Off the Cleanse

Hello Everyone!

Happy Friday and happy belated 4th of July!

I'm now on my 6th day off of the cleanse and I feel pretty darn good! I'm just happy that I don't have to get up at 5am anymore...although I have to say that I wish I could so I could do some morning exercises before work. I think because I know that I don't "have to" get up (to do the salt water), then I just hit snooze like 2 or 8 times...next thing you know it's 6:30. I guess I just have to put it in my head that I "have to" get up so that I can exercise. We'll try that starting tomorrow!

So what have I been eating, you may be asking? Well, for the first day I had orange juice and watermelon. The next day I had more orange juice throughout the day, and more watermelon. Then Monday, I brought a lemonade, mango, orange juice, and watermelon. That night we went to a Mets game and I brought more mango, watermelon, and OJ with me...although the smell of the hotdogs was killing me! I did fine though. The 4th of July I decided to try more solid foods since the mango went down so well. I had my first bowl of GUACAMOLE! It was so amazingly good! Doing the cleanse really makes you appreciate every little bite so that you don't eat to excess. After I had that, I made a salad for us to eat, for Joe it was a side to his rib-eye steak that he grilled on our new little $25 propane grill. The salad was perfect: chopped organic hearts of romaine, tomatoes, celery, cucumber, chopped walnuts, onion, garlic, sea salt, pepper, olive oil, and a squeeze of a lemon. Then, I became very brave...I had a few bites of the grilled salmon filet that we decided to make as well. OMG...to die for! I felt a little full though after eating all that throughout the day..my guacamole was for lunch so it wasn't like I totally pigged out! ;-)

The past couple of days I've slowly been reintroducing other foods. I had the rest of that salad for lunch on the 5th along with an orange and this interesting combination of chopped celery, chopped dates, and sliced banana for breakfast. It was quite good! A little sweet for me, but good. Then I had to go to Whole Foods (on a mostly empty stomach...bad idea) and I ended up getting so much food...all raw and organic. It really feels great to know that what I'm buying to put into my body is as healthy as I can get to maintain all that I accomplished over those 21 days. I bought lots of veggies, fruits, and "raw" snacks, made of nuts and seeds and spices...pretty good! I had a snack on the way home which I think was a little tough to digest...I had a little tummy ache, but I know it was just too soon to eat it, but that one day I'd be able to enjoy it.

That night, I made this fantastic soup--Gazpacho style "raw": tomatoes, red and yellow peppers, onions, 1 avocado, garlic, basil, dill, sea salt, pepper, olive oil, sun dried tomatoes, and raisins (to add a little sweetness) all chopped and then blended together in the blender et voila! It is AMAZING. I had several tastes of it and couldn't wait to have a bowl. You'd never imagine how good cold, raw soup can be until you try it! So I had that for lunch yesterday and will have it again today. For the rest of the day, I had fruit and orange juice for breakfast (all eaten slowly before noon) my soup at about 2pm, then a snack at 4pm of dried apple rings and almonds. Then I had guacamole again for dinner but this time I had a few brown rice crackers to complement it. Delicious.

So I'm doing my best to eat as raw and healthy as possible to keep of the 1 inch that I got rid of and to hopefully get rid of another inch...I just have to incorporate cardio exercise and yoga/pilates/Callanetics...then I'll be set! I feel great, happy, a little sluggish because my body isn't used to digesting, but that will pass. Today I have quite a bit of energy though so that's good.

Tonight I will step beyond what I have been eating this week: sushi! I'm so excited. It really will be wonderful...it's one of my most favorite foods ever. I'll have to take it easy and not go overboard, but I think a salad will help curb my desire to wolf down every piece that comes to us. Hey, we might even go upstairs and sing a little karaoke to celebrate!

So that's that! Did you catch that I lost an inch all around?? Pretty cool, huh? I've been able to wear jeans that I haven't worn in over 5 years! I think I need to buy new ones in a smaller size! (insert Lissa jumping up and down and cheering like mad). I also have an incentive to stay on the right track because we just booked our September trip back to Aruba!! That bikini doesn't look quite so scary now.

Stay tuned for more posts...and these will be like my old ones...enough about the cleanse already!

Have a great weekend, everyone!

~Happy

DAY 21! End of the Master Cleanse

Good Morning!

Day 21. 21 days without eating a single thing...unbelievable. And it was all for health reasons, but I got lucky and lost a few inches along the way. Yeah!

I did my tea last night, woke up at about 4:30 for the usual bathroom run...the amount of stuff and the smell (yuck!) is incredible after this amount of time. You really don't have any idea how much crap you carry around until you do one of these cleanses. I'm convinced that the only way to get it all out and to go down the path of increased health, you must do one of these to create a clean slate, so to speak. I know that I haven't gotten rid of it all, but it's a start. That's why I will do a cleanse approximately every 4 months. The next one will only be 10 days, but now that I've done 21 days, 10 will be a breeze.

I came home from work last night, the house to myself and I changed into my workout clothes and dove right into my exercises. I did an hour of Callanetics and MAN am I sore today! It feels great though, to know that I did something good for my body. Then I made my last lemonade of the evening and played my video game (yes...I'm still a kid in that sense, always love a good video game!) Then I made my last lax tea and settled in for a little Harry Potter and then dozed off. I had a good rest and I feel only slightly tired, but I know that once all the salt water has passed, I'll feel energetic and ready to go out and have a fun day.

Once done with this post, I need to go and make my lemonades for the day to carry with me. I think we're going to check out a few street fairs and maybe go to the park and sit in the sun for a bit. The day is wide open.

Starting tomorrow, I get to have orange juice throughout the day, most likely alternating with the lemonade. The same goes for Monday as well. Tuesday and Wednesday will still be liquid, but I will start to incorporate other fruits, like watermelon. Thursday will be juice during the day and then I can probably give the veggie soup a go that night. It's all about seeing how my body feels with each day. Then, depending on how the veggie soup goes, I can have that each night until probably Saturday, then Sunday I will introduce "solids", like a salad, or solid apples. Then I just go slowly, day by day for a while to see how everything feels. I ordered my juicer on Thursday and they said I should get it by this coming Wednesday (because of the holiday). I can't wait to try out all these fantastic recipes for juices!

All in all, it's been an amazing journey of discovery for me. I've learned to be strong, stay motivated, and I found self-discipline that I never knew I had. I feel that if I can do this, I can pretty much do anything I put my mind to.

I will be back to let you know what's going on with me and the transition to regular foods. Oh, and I'm also going to take my measurements later today to see where the inches stand!

To Good Health and Happiness,

~Happy

1 Year of Happy Gillmore!

I completely forgot that Wednesday was my 1 year anniversary on blogger as Happy Gillmore! Wow...it's so amazing to look back and read about this last year and everything that was going on in my life as well as other's. Quite a change.

Hopefully you'll be seeing much more of Happy, but without the alias and hopefully on printed paper!

Thanks everyone who's been following me along my journey and supporting me by reading and commenting on the blog. It really means so much to me *sob*, so I thank you.

Cheers to 1 year!

~Happy

The Master Cleanser!

I've recently decided on a bold undertaking. I am going to fast for 10 days and drink only a mix of fresh lemon juice, grade b maple syrup, water, and cayenne pepper. In addition to this drink that I can have up to 12 times a day, I will, upon waking, drink 32oz of Celtic Sea Salt water and wait for the inevitable results while sitting upon the porcelain throne. Lastly, I will be able to drink one cup of "Smooth-Move" laxative tea before drifing off to sleep.

Why, you may ask, am I putting myself through this? Well, I was sick for almost the entire month of May and managed to put antibiotics, over-the-counter cough supressing drugs, and a ton of bad food into my system, so much so that by month's end, I felt as if I were perpetually sleepy, colonically bogged down, irritable, and many, many other symptoms which may be too gruesome to divulge here on this blog.

After seeing several of my friends at work do this "Master Cleanse" they told me that they felt completely rejuvinated, energetic, happy, and healthy. They also looked stunning; they actually glowed! I decided that it was time for me to join the ranks of millions of other people who have seen their state of health come back to balance.

Today is my first day. Last night I took my first cup of tea to get things moving for the morning. I was not, however, looking forward to my salt water flush that would require chugging 32oz of salt water. The results are meant to be phenomenal and it is necessary as a part of the cleanse to do it. I'll tell you this: once done, I ran, sprinted rather, to the loo and let loose the beginnings of the toxins that have clouded my system for possibly my entire life. Then throughout the day I will drink as much of the "lemonade" as I need and then start the cycle all over again tomorrow.

This blog will be my journal for the next 10 days to keep you all posted with the process. I will warn you now, there may be some graphic details about what I am about to go through, so please take caution when reading after eating a meal.

Okay, I'm off to start a new chapter of health in my life! Wish me luck!

~Happy

The Birthday: 30

When I sit back and reflect upon the past 30 years, I feel that I have indeed accomplished a lot more than I originally thought. I've survived through many difficult situations and I've enjoyed all of the good times to my best ability. I've realized, however, that time truly is not of the essence; just the here and now. I've learned that there is no controlling the future or changing the past, which I believe is something that eventually happens to everyone if they truly awaken to their lives and who they are. "Knowing yourself deeply has nothing to do with whatever ideas are floating around in your mind. Knowing yourself is to be rooted in Being, instead of lost in your mind." E. Tolle ~ A New Earth

A new chapter has begun in the book of my life and I hope that I will be able to share with you my experiences of this journey of awakening through my writing.

Thank you to all of you who have supported me through the years. Your kindness and generosity are greatly appreciated.

With love and peace,
Lissa

"The snow falls, each flake in its appropriate place." ~Zen saying

V

remember remember

i saw this alone last night, something that I needed to do. i had heard most amazing reviews of natalie, my now all-time favorite actress, and of hugo, my also now all-time favorite actor.

i found myself walking down the street and having heard very little about this film, i decided that my curiosity was too strong to deny.

tears, shock, horror, pain, sadness, relief, and wonder. all of which experienced me during the 131 minutes of the film.

the depth and intensity are almost unbearable, but not to the extreme that you must leave the theater...just enough to procure thoughts from the subconscious that might not otherwise have made an appearance during wakefulness.

love...is it truly that attainable or is it completely elusive?

freedom of fear is the answer to all.

v-vendetta-

Chicago

View of the South
Originally uploaded by Happy Gillmore.

I wanted to post this so you all can have access to all the photos we took while in Chicago. This is one of my favorites taken from Hancock Tower near sunset.

Enjoy!

"My Kind of Town, Chicago Is"...sinatra

Chicago, the land of broad shoulders, the windy city, the place to be, for me that is.

I went to Chicago for the first time, well, the first real time, last time I drove through it during rush hour on my way across country, shower less for days and under an extreme cloud of fatigue.

This time we went for the weekend, a Friday through Monday at full throttle. I was terribly excited for our impromptu getaway from the monotony that is New York at the present moment. To prepare for the trip, we threw a few bites in the oven and Joe surprisingly concocted a little on-board beverage placed oh so inconspicuously in a Gatorade bottle. They would never know unless they smelled it.

We grabbed our goods and headed for the train that would ultimately drop us off next to the bus that would then get us to our terminal at LaGuardia airport. It went a lot more smoothly than expected, I gather it was because we were slightly buzzed from our pre-travel beverages at home.

Once we got into the terminal, we looked around for the check-in kiosks and tried to work these unfamiliar machines when we felt two hands upon our shoulders. It was our good friend Steve, aka “Shorty” (the ironic nickname for a 6’6” guy) He works for LaGuardia as a TSA (I was trying to come up with my own definition for the acronym: titty sucking asses, I don’t think that’s what it really means though). Shorty helped us through the check-in process and took care of our bag. We chatted with him for a few minutes and then we headed to our gate for boarding. Prior to boarding, we sat and talked in a semi-secluded area of the terminal. The only things around us were a few classic arcade games, the bathrooms, and strangely enough, about ten mice running around from here and there looking for crumbs. I was completely surprised and disgusted, yet I couldn’t look away. The site of so many little critters scurrying around for food was so compelling to me. Yet I was certain to pick my bag up from the floor.

We had some heavy discussions and started to work through some long-lived issues between us. Little did we know that this would actually be a good thing, fighting in the airport on a Friday night with mice running around us.

We made some initial resolutions and decided to get on the plane. It was the best decision ever. This would be the real beginning of our weekend in Chicago.

The flight was uneventful and we made it there in just over two hours. Unfortunately it was already dark so we couldn’t see the lake on our way in, but the illumination from below made up for it. The lights of the city were absolutely stunning and I couldn’t wait to get on the ground.

Once we touched down, we excitedly found our way to the baggage claim, then onto the entrance of their “L” train, purchased our tickets for the weekend, and headed to our home for the next three days. The trains are definitely different there than the ones here in New York. Much smaller, upholstered seats, and one fantastic difference, the automated announcer tells you which side of the train the doors will open at the next stop. You never had to guess and were able to stand in the doorway if the train was packed.

After about thirty minutes, we arrived at our stop, Damen on the Blue Line, in Wicker Park, an upcoming artistic community that we would soon feel right at home in, and got off the train. This was an elevated stop and therefore we could see the city skyline behind us as we walked down the stairs. I noticed gorgeous artwork on the walls, finished wood handrails, and boardwalk-style platforms and steps. They even had an ATM at the newsstand. I loved this place already.
We walked through the neighborhood which was so peaceful for a Friday night, except for the few people here and there at some of the low-key lounges along Damen street.

We made it to the house that was so generously lent to us by our new dear friends Dan and Dexter. It was like walking into a museum of modern art. The colors and textures of the wall made it feel cozy yet fashionable. It was absolutely amazing. We felt truly honored to be there as their guests. I even saw the work of my uncle above the fireplace. Once we were finished ohhing and aaahing, we settled in, unpacked, and got ready to go to sleep because we had an early morning and a long day ahead.

We woke at about 7:30 after a not-so-good night sleep because it was an unfamiliar place. We got ready and headed into the city. It was a beautifully sunny day with a brisk breeze off the lake. We ended up getting crappy egg sandwiches from Cosi because Nookie’s was too far north. Note to self, never eat anything from Cosi ever because it’s completely overpriced and overrated.

After choking down our poorly prepared breakfast, we hopped on the L and headed towards the Aquarium and the Planetarium. We decided to go and do the indoor things today because initially it was supposed to snow throughout the day. The weathermen were wrong! It was a gorgeous day which we took advantage of later on. We joined the herds of people within the aquarium and the planetarium and admired all of the amazing species of fish then went on to see an interactive planetarium show about the universe. It was fantastic and exhausting all at once.

Once we got as much out of these tourist stops, we decided to walk along the water up to Navy Pier. This is similar to the Seaport in that there’s a lot of shops and restaurants all along the water. Here they have a Ferris wheel and a few other fun activities. We tried to get in at Bubba Gump but apparently everyone and their brothers were in Chicago for spring break and were waiting to have lunch at this particular place. We just wanted margaritas and maybe an appetizer since we’d planned on having a nice steak dinner that night. Plans changed when we couldn’t get in at Bubba Gump so we walked back toward the city and stumbled upon PJ Clarke’s. There’s one here in NY that I went to only two weeks before. We shared a bottle of wine, an order of crab cakes and a baked goat cheese dip with garlic bread rounds. It was pretty good. Once we got our fill and some asshole decided to light up a cigar, we decided to head out and check out more of the city. We walked over to Michigan Avenue which is also known as the Magnificent Mile, very similar to 5th Avenue here in NY. All the Guccis, Louis, and Ralphs are there. It’s also where the world headquarters for Wrigley and WGN are located. We stopped in at Walgreens to get some postcards for Joe and some pantyhose for me. We finally got a map of Chicago which includes a subway map. This was a wise investment as we would later discover.

One bizarre thing we noticed were how many teens there were wandering around and wearing flip-flops. It was 40 degrees outside with a frigid wind blowing around! I guess we’ll never know why. As we walked down Michigan Ave., we saw a long line of people standing outside this Chicago Popcorn shop. The line was easily thirty people long. Later we found out that the popcorn was a special blend of caramel and cheese. No joke. Apparently it’s really good…I guess we’ll have to save that for next time.

We took in a few more sights then decided we needed to get on the train and head back to the apartment to change for dinner. I actually brought a skirt and blouse and Joe brought his new suit. We looked damn good. We hopped back on the subway and got off near the restaurant. We’d planned on eating at this place called Stetson’s at the Hilton/Hyatt/Sheraton…one of those hotels on Wacker Drive. After having called earlier in the week and asking to make a reservation and with their reply of, “No reservations are necessary”, we walked in, said table for two, and were then informed that it would be a 45 minute wait. We were dumbfounded. Stupid hotel restaurants. We were screwed. So, after a few moments of anger, I persuaded Joe to get us over towards where we were going later, which was a surprise to me. We got over there within about fifteen minutes and found that every single restaurant in the area had a wait of at least 45 minutes. Again, feelings of frustration were talking their toll, but just a moment later, I spotted a tapas place called 1492 at the end of the block. I said, “Let’s go and check this place out. You never know.” We tentatively walked over there and saw that the bar was empty, minus a very homely lesbian couple, so we opted to go in. The rest of the place was buzzing, but we knew we could order tapas at the bar and have some sangria. The staff was absolutely amazing, totally friendly and quick. It was the best restaurant experience that we had in Chicago.

After a few plates of camarones al ajo, croquetas de pollo, skewered steak with fries, and a pitcher of sangria, it was time for us to head out to the surprise of the evening. Fortunately we were only a couple of blocks away so with only five minutes to spare for our 9pm reservation, we left in a hurry and made it on time.

We walked up to a hotel called the Peninsula, interestingly enough, one of only eight in the world. We went up to the main lobby to be welcomed by a jazz trio with a sultry female singer leading them from ballads to more upbeat numbers. I immediately smiled with delight to know that he went through so much trouble to arrange such a wonderful surprise. I now knew why he was so upset that our earlier plans for dinner hadn’t worked out, but ultimately, it all worked out for the better.
In addition to the live jazz, there was this gigantic round table with about four tiers with everything chocolate that’s imaginable, including chocolate soup. We opted out on the chocolate frenzy partly because I don’t have much of a taste for sweets anymore and the fact that it was $26 per person. We decided to splurge on other treats: flavored martinis. I had the chocolate espresso and Joe had the green tea martini. They were delicious.

We were seated at a table right near the window directly in front of the band. After the first couple of songs, Joe joined me on my side of the table so he wouldn’t crink his neck and so he could sit next to me. It was by far the best night we’ve had in a very long time and we enjoyed it to the fullest.

We were inspired to dance a few numbers after watching this adorable little Jewish couple swirl around the floor with such joy. The evening sadly ended at midnight, our carriage was about to turn into a pumpkin and we had to get home. We hopped in a cab and actually had the notion to stop in at one of Wicker Park’s neighborhood bars. Once we stepped foot inside, we turned right around and walked out. It was so terribly smoky that I knew I’d be miserable the next day. We were really tired at this point and decided to go home to bed.

Sunday morning was unlike Saturday. I was totally hung over from those martinis and it took me over an hour to get going. I knew we were going to Chicago Art Institute and that we absolutely needed to get breakfast, but I was feeling so lousy that it took all my energy to muster the ability to get moving.

I got some Gatorade in me, a small bag of Cheetos and took a hot shower. I felt better already. Off we went, slowly, but surely. We found a place to have a sit down breakfast. It was bustling this beautiful Sunday and turns out it was a Kosher deli/restaurant. I was cool with that, I could get some blessed eggs and Joe decided to try Matzo ball soup, which he, and I, ultimately didn’t like. Just a little to plain for our tastes. I got my toast, eggs, and potatoes, a little coffee and I was feeling about eighty-percent better. I still had that weird feeling lingering over me which turned out to last for the remainder of the day. I should’ve known better than to have 3 martinis in 3 hours. Yikes!

Once we finished talking about starting a potato business, more on that later, and gulped the last of our water, we walked over to the Art Institute. On the way, I called The Chicago Chop House to make reservations for our steak lunch on Monday since we missed our steak dinner on our first night. I couldn’t wait to get in. They have some of my favorite pieces in the world that I’ve been dying to see. Van Gogh’s self-portrait, Picasso’s The Old Guitarist, the Dadaists: Magritte, Man Ray, Duchamp, Piet Mondrian, Monet’s Houses of Parliament and the Haystacks, Water lilies, Georges Seurat’s A Sunday on La Grande Jatte (the pointillism park scene), Salvador Dali, Georgia O’Keeffe, and one that we totally missed, Grant Wood’s American Gothic, you know the one with ma and pa farmer with the pitchfork? Damn. Next time. Oh another one we got to see was Edward Hopper’s Nighthawks…the famous corner diner scene. And my ultimate new favorite on special exhibition, Girodet’s The Burial of Atala. It was the most spectacular exhibition. Navy blue and red walls with gorgeous lighting, it created a very intense yet intimate atmosphere to truly be able to appreciate his brilliance. Interestingly, I’ve seen The Burial of Atala at the Louvre and at the Met prior to seeing at Chicago Art Institute. That’s why it was my favorite, I’d seen it so many times in very magical cities. Another of my favorites of his is Pygmalion and Galatea. [insert pic here]. My absolute favorite of them all is his “The Four Seasons”. I can’t even begin to describe it and I wish that there were print’s available for purchase. [insert crappy picture from the website] But I just found out that this show will be at the Met through May 24th-August 27th of this year!! So excited for that!

We took our time and saw as much as we could and decided we were starving. We were looking forward to eating pizza all day and so we headed on over to Gino’s. Wow, what a disappointment. I really wished we’d gone to the original Uno Pizzeria! Turns out they were the creators of the Chicago style deep dish pizza. Next time we’ll go there. Oh, the one cool thing about Gino’s is that they let everyone write all over everything. It’s sort of weird at first because it feels really dirty, but when you look closer you see thousands of names of people who had once been there. We added ourselves to the wall next to our table, but we were a little more ingenious by following the example of our predecessors. We took part of the paper menu/placemat, wrote our names and when we were there, blew out the traditional Italian red candle, poured wax on the paper and stuck it to the wall. Cool. We got our mozzarella sticks first, which were for about 4 people, so we didn’t exactly have the stomach for the pizza afterwards. It all worked out because I took it to go and as we walked up Michigan avenue on our way to see the sights, I found a hungry homeless man to give it too. Later on that evening we walked by that same way and saw that he ate the whole thing.

We still had to go and check out Hancock Tower, the best view of Chicago from 1,000 feet up. We had bought the City Pass so it was included in the price. We walked up, got our tickets then had to wait in line for about 30 minutes. That part wasn’t fun, but it paid off once we got to the top. Absolutely spectacular. It was about 6pm and the sun was going down in just a few minutes. We spent an hour up there looking at everything we could, taking pictures, and finally enjoying the sunset.
We didn’t have any other plans for that evening so we walked around for a bit and settled on Bandera, a shi shi Latin grill on Michigan Ave. We sat at the bar and ordered a bottle of wine while a jazz trio played in the corner. It was surprisingly nice and not pretentious in the least. Joe pointed out that we were at the bar and not sitting in the restaurant. I agreed and mentioned how people at the bar tend to be social and fun because they’re drinkers!

After we finished our wine, an hour and a half later, I noticed Virgin Megastore through the window and had the urge to go and look for a few DVDs, one silly one in particular: Adventures in Babysitting, mostly because it was filmed in Chicago and I wanted to watch it in a new light after finally having been to the windy city. Joe didn’t disagree, but I knew what he was thinking. We have a tendency to go buck wild in there because of all the sales. I told him, “Not this time!” Fortunately for us, the floor with the DVDs and world music were closed due to updating their inventory. It made sense because it was a Sunday night at almost ten o’clock and I don’t think they expected many people to go and buy DVDs at that time. So we stayed downstairs and listened to new cds on the wall. I found a new favorite, Natasha Bedingfield…she’s got a funky style all her own with that touch of pop. Joe picked up a really fun Brazilian cd that we can listen to when we want to get transported back to the tropics during the cold winter nights

Since we’d eaten so heavily earlier in the evening, we wanted to do something light for a late dinner. I checked out a Time Out Chicago and tried to find a sushi place. Luckily, the cashier, this cool rocker dude named Todd gave us some great advice on our neighborhood. Turns out he lives in Bucktown which is literally up the street from where we were staying. He gave us all kinds of info on restaurants, bars, and even how much the rent was for a 1 bedroom. About $800 a month with a garden! I’m there! He recommended a few places so we decided to head back to our spot for some light Japanese food. I think it was called Blue Fin. It was delicious. We ordered a couple of appetizers and we shared a bento box with all kinds of goodies in it like shrimp tempura, sushi, chicken teriyaki, and salad with ginger dressing. We even got so daring as to see how much wasabi we could take. Man that stuff is killer. Note to self, don’t forget Belgian Frites with their wasabi mayo sauce. Unforgettable and utterly addictive. After we filled our senses with amazing food, we decided to head home for bed. Coincidentally, as we were walking across the street we hear someone yelling, “Hey, Hey!” We looked around and it was Todd from Virgin! He asked how our dinner was and told us of a few local bars that had live music. We thanked him again and wished him well on his way home. Off we went to sleep for our last day.

Monday was a little easier getting up, but I was feeling exhausted. We had planned on grabbing a quick bite, perhaps just muffins and coffee, then we were going to go and check out Powell’s of Chicago, the same as the one in Portland. I had a couple of books on my list and I figured they’d have them. Well, I didn’t check to see what time they opened so we had time to kill. We hopped on a bus up to the Art Institute because I wanted to get some postcards of some of the pieces we’d seen the day before. Now, I have to admit, I was feeling very sluggish, quite cranky and totally exhausted. I tried so hard to hide it, but it wasn’t working. We had a few misunderstandings, but eventually worked them out.

Turned out that the people at Powell’s, or at least at this one, this particular guy, didn’t have a damn clue about anything. I guess they don’t have a computer system to be able to check on their inventory, so there’s no way for him to find out if they have a certain title. I went in, walked downstairs then walked right back up. What a mess! I couldn’t begin to find anything at all, not even the books that I wasn’t looking for. I was so disappointed. I left, hashed things out with Joe, then we went on to Millennium Park.

It’s a beautifully designed park that just opened within the last year or two. Another Frank Gehry design of the Jay Pritzker Pavilion, an outdoor amphitheater, donned the park with curvy silver shapes. After admiring his work, we walked over to one of the buildings that we’d noticed throughout our stay to ask how tall and who the architect was. We thought it was the same architect of the World Trade Center, Minoru Yamasaki (Seattle born, 1912), only because it has the same tower-like design with the thin steel pillars stretching the height of the building. Turns out he also designed the Pacific Science Center and the Rainier Building and the IBM Building across the street in Seattle. Hmm…little bit of info for us all.

It turns out that it’s about 1,300 feet tall, actually taller than the Hancock Tower, but it has less floors…oh well, I tried.
After we walked through the lobby, we walked over towards the water thinking we’d make it to Navy Pier one last time, but we just decided to get to the restaurant a little early because we were starving. When we got there, it wasn’t a problem that we were early. It ended up being a good thing because our flight was scheduled for 5pm and we needed to be leaving the apartment no later than 3pm. So, we arrived a half an hour early so that we could enjoy our meal and not stress out about getting back.

We ordered a delicious bottle of fine Italian wine, clams casino as an appetizer, then the main courses. I ordered the filet mignon, he ordered the blackened rib-eye along with a side of creamed spinach. The meal was excellent except for just one small problem. Joe bit down on a piece of broken glass in his mashed potatoes. I couldn’t believe it. I wasn’t sure if he was going to say anything, but he did, and it turned out fine. Our waiter brought us another dish of potatoes and at the end of the meal, a lovely dessert of profiteroles in a chocolate mousse and whipped cream sauce. Delicious. But was it worth nearly cutting his mouth open? Hell yes.

After taking our sweet time and chatting with our waiter, we realized that it was after 2:30. It was going to take us at least twenty minutes to get back and we still had a few things to do when we got there. I had thrown our towels in the wash that morning and then put them in the dryer for an hour so I had to fold them and then put the sheets back on the futon. To my surprise, they weren’t dry! I couldn’t believe it. So I put them in for another hour, on high, as they were before hoping that they’d get dry. I was pissed because I wanted the house to be just as it was when we arrived. I left our hosts a nice note thanking them and explaining what happened. I think it’ll be fine.

So we packed at light speed, locked up, set the alarm one last time, and practically ran to the train. Thank god they live on the same train line as O’Hare or we’d have been in some serious trouble. It was a pleasant ride now that we could see our surroundings during the day and I actually, I couldn’t believe it, saw two deer in the middle of the freeway circular on-ramp, you know, those big grassy areas separating nature and development. It was beautiful yet very sad.

Only a few minutes to go and we’d be arriving at the airport. Little did I know that we’d be running a freakin’ marathon to get to our gate. It all turned out fine and we ended up with about a half an hour to wait.

It was another uneventful flight, but I was exhausted and not looking forward to getting up the next morning at six o’clock.

Thanks to Joe for a wonderful weekend getaway.

Seattle--January 2006 (it's a long one!)

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Originally uploaded by Happy Gillmore.

Here is my belated recount of our trip to Seatown. Here's the quick and dirty:

Friday: Flew in over Seattle at approx. 11pm. Got to see Qwest field lit up in all it's pre-superbowl glory...also saw the illustrious 12th Man flag high atop the Space Needle. I have to admit, it excited me greatly. Once we got our bags, we were off to the most inconvenient rental car agency ever and had to deal with a totally condescending fuck-o. After that, we cruised up to the bro's for a hug, a beer, and a toilet stop before going to the guest room at the mother's place. Crashed hard.

Saturday: A surprisingly early awakening, then tried to get to Pancake Corral before the rush, but we were wrongly misled by thinking that we were "beating the rush" at 8:30am on a Saturday. Apparently all the old people in all of Bellevue were up at the crack of dawn planning their descent upon Chace's. Plan B: Hector's in Kirkland. Okay, this place used to be a smokey, hole-in-the-wall but has since been completely transformed into a semi-ski-lodge interior complete with a fantastic wine list, tantalizing appetizers, and best of all, chicken fried steak for breakfast. Oh. Yeah. After totally gorging on this deliciousness, we continued on with our morning and decided to catch a movie because we knew full well that no one that we were supposed to see that day (mother and brother) would be up for another couple of hours. Kirkland's theater had a selection of about 3 movies so we decided to check out this new Lincoln Center joint that everyone was talking about. We were just in time to see the animated hilarity known as "Hoodwinked". We sat through that laughing our asses off nearly pissing our pants (would've been even better if we'd had a little smokey-smoke beforehand, but since neither of us can do that, we enjoyed it in our natural high) Once the credits finished rolling, we headed out to my mom's to say hello and possibly nap before our forthcoming evening of debauchery with the parents, brother, and best friend
(recently home from her year-long tour in Iraq).

Nap time came and went and it was time to get ready. We had homemade margaritas then off we went to Daniel’s Broiler in Bellevue for fantastic bevvies and appetizers courtesy of my wonderfully generous step-dad, Dave. We laughed, we cried, we had an absolutely fabulous time with my family and friend. After spending an ungodly amount of money, or so I heard, we moved on to another fave of my parent’s: Sea Star. Excellent martinis and the best lobster bisque you’ll probably ever have in your life. More laughter, more tears, and more fun. We decided to go different directions so that just us “kids” could have some of our own time together. The Tap House had been suggested and off we all went for one last drink before heading home. After about an hour of having a great time together and also making fun of the “not so much my kind of crowd”, we all went home. Whew. What a first day. Did I mention that there’s only 8 more days to go?

Sunday: Feeling a bit hung-over and sluggish, we roused ourselves so that we could get a jumpstart on the day by going to Taco Time to pick up “breakfast”, take it over to the Dan’s, work on some of hubby’s homework online, wake up the Dan, then drive our butts down to Federal Way so we could bond with the other side of the family: dad, step-mom, and step-bro. The other major part of the agenda was to watch the NFC Championship football game, with a surprising appearance by the forever underdog team known as none other than the Seattle Seahawks. We’d also planned on sleeping over so we knew we could take it easy and recuperate from the previous night’s excessive indulgence. After four quarters of play, amazingly the Seahawks won and we celebrated a win with my family as well as with the entire Northwest who’d never once experienced an NFC championship with their favorite team. We all went to sleep with hopeful dreams of winning the Superbowl two weeks from then.

Monday: Casually woke up, dragged the brother out of bed, said, “Dad, see you in a couple days!”, drove up to Seattle and ate Honey Hole sandwiches until we all felt sick. The plan was to spend an afternoon with the Dan and hubby said it was okay to drop him off so he could go and explore (which eventually turned into a drink at Etta’s of all places). The Dan and I cruised up to Half Priced Books so that I could spend a whopping $15 on about 20 books. After we bonded and had great fun in a place that is almost more natural to us than even our own homes, we decided we were finished and it was time to move on and get my hubby. We collected him on the corner of 2nd Ave. and Virginia St., started driving and decided on the Fremont antique shop. After finding myself a really cute handbag for $15, we thought it was about time to get our drink on, again. It wasn’t crazy drinking like the night before last, but we did have a couple and the place was THE coolest. The Dan took us to Linda’s on Capitol Hill and I liked it so much I ended up buying a t-shirt. The crowd was so laid back, the staff couldn’t have been friendlier, and the drinks hit the spot. After a couple of hours there, we got the hungry pains (even though we didn’t think we’d be able to eat for days after those sandwiches), and consulted the Dan’s friend, jizosh on the best sushi joint on the Hill. Unfortunately, I’ve forgotten the name, but it was damn good. Thanks jizosh! Once our bellies were full yet again, we decided that sleep was the next inevitable step, especially since hubby and I were supposed to get up the next day at the ass-crack of dawn to drive up to Vancouver. Nighty, night we said, and off to sleep we went.

Tuesday: “Sigh!” “Yawn!”, but we were geared up and ready to hit the road, but not without a hearty breakfast, of course. Now, it was a Tuesday morning, and one would think that at about 8am, most people in the world would be getting ready for work or are at least on their way into work. Well, most of them. There were still a few who managed to find time on their busy Tuesday to EAT AT THE PANCAKE CORRAL! We did get a table right away, so I’m not complaining, but COME ON! This place is always, always packed. I mean, it’s good, but it’s really no different than any diner here in New York. I’m guessing it’s because there really aren’t any diners in the Bellevue/Seattle area except for Denny’s and IHOP, but those definitely do not count. Anyway, we enjoyed our breakfast of heart attack champions and then cruised on up to Vancouver. Oh, did I also mention that it rained every single day that we were there except for this day? We were so lucky! We actually got to see Mount Baker and all of the North Cascades on our drive up. Even better, we got to see the mountains that lie directly behind the grand city of Vancouver, all covered in snow. Beautiful. We crossed the border at about 10:30am and it went smoother than ever, aside from my usual, completely unnecessary anxious butterflies while answering the border agent’s questions. We wound through the streets of Vancouver, crossed the Granville Island Bridge and found our hotel in about 2 minutes. We were able to check in early, settle in, and then go out to explore the city by about noon. We weren’t hungry yet so we thought we’d do a little shopping, which actually wasn’t really on our list of things to do, but oh well. We both got really great stuff at super cheap so it was well worth it.

After shopping and walking and shopping and walking, we felt the hungry monster start growling in our tummies. We knew exactly where we wanted to go, too. Those of you who live in Seattle will wonder why on Earth we’d choose this place to eat and drink, but I assure you, if you go to the one in Vancouver, you won’t be disappointed and it’s also almost totally different, well, in terms of their menu. I'm talking about The Old Spaghetti Factory! It was awesome...2 times in a row! We ordered, as before when we were there in May, the white wine sangria (a pitcher of course), the popcorn shrimp, and last but not least, the pesto foccacia bruschetta. That’s the dish that’s out of this world. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. So don’t judge until you try! After stuffing ourselves at 3:30pm, we had more sights to see. We wanted to go back up to the Harbour Centre tower to have a drink and watch the sunset that was quickly getting ready to fall upon the city, but as we made it to the restaurant floor, they told us that they weren’t opening for another 30 minutes. Oh yeah, it’s winter...not spring. The timing was off and since we’d already done that, we thought, hey, let’s go and get a bottle of wine and take a dip in our hotel’s jacuzzi tub. We walked back, and before I forget, our hotel was located at the base of the Granville Street Bridge and each time we went out, we walked all the way to the other side...exactly 1 mile. Let’s see, we did this, oh, I think about 4 times. So, let’s just say that we were looking forward to a soak in the tub. That night we’d planned on going to the Thai restaurant, Simply Thai, that we went to in May because it was so damn good. So after the delicious bottle of Sauvignon Blanc and a little television, which, by the way, was when we heard about the border shutting down because of these fugitives on the loose trying to get into Canada. There was a shooting and the cars drove all over the lawn at the Peace Arch. Apparently this happened just a couple of hours after we crossed over. Weird.

Anyway, after that, we went into the jacuzzi that looks out from the top floor onto the bridge below. We watched what was left of the sunset, got super relaxed, and then went to get ready for dinner. We dressed a little more warmly and had a nice walk to the restaurant. This one, however, is only a couple of blocks away, not a mile away. The second we walked in the door, the woman who waited on us the last time, immediately recognized us and welcomed us in to sit down. We felt great at how she remembered us from months before, especially since that was our first and only time there. We had a lovely dinner along with wonderful hospitality from the staff, then casually strolled about the streets of Yaletown stopping to take the occasional random photo of shop windows and parked cars. After about a half an hour of walking through the quaint streets of the city, we decided to head back to the hotel to rest up for another action packed day in Vancouver.

Wednesday: To my great surprise, I woke up before my hubby and I was able to get some amazing photos of the sunrise outside of our hotel room. Once I was able to get him up, we got ready and checked out of our room. We asked about a good breakfast spot in the neighborhood and were told to check out The Elbow Room. According to the concierge from our hotel, it’s the kind of place that has fantastic food, but the service is deliberately lacking. In fact, you may even get yelled at or “elbowed” if you give them too much attitude. It’s all in good fun though and honestly, I think it was one of the best breakfasts that I had while in Seattle. After breakfast, we had some unfinished shopping to attend to, so we did our usual 1-mile hike over to the shopping centre (you like that, in Canadian style!), picked up some clearance items at a store that was going out of business (you can’t beat that), then came back to our car and found our way over to Granville Island. It was a little drizzly, but we were able to walk around the island to see what was going on. We decided to check out Granville Island Brewery, or GIB as the locals call it, and we thought about getting a pint even though we’d just stuffed our faces with breakfast only an hour and a half ago. We ended up going to The Keg of all places to have the beer because the taproom at the brewery was dead. No music, no people. Only a few picnic tables and beer taps.

So we walked over to The Keg and I tried the Cypress Honey Lager, which was excellent. The one that I really wanted to try was the Kitsilano Maple Cream Ale that has a touch of real Canadian maple syrup. The only place that had it was back at the brewery so I decided that the Honey Lager would do just fine. It was so surprisingly refreshing, even on such a dull and dreary winter day. Let’s just say it went down real smooth. After our midday brew taste, we kept on walking and found ourselves right in the middle of the actual market; filled with loads of fresh produce, meats, cheeses, pastries, and the much anticipated soup of the day. We wandered aimlessly for about a half an hour, realized that our parking time was nearly up, thought we’d head out down to Bellingham, but then found a spot right in front of the market for free. Ultimately we changed our minds because of that free spot, had some delicious food, including the much sought after soup on my hubby’s part, and managed to find some delicious tarts and mini-pies for dessert at my aunt and uncle’s house for later that night. Once we finished our meal, we went outside for a few pictures along the waters of False Creek, which is the waterway that the Granville Island Bridge goes over. We decided that it was time to head out just to make sure that we could get through the border even if there was a back-up. We got through just before the rush, had no problem with the customs agent, in fact, we chatted with her for an extra minute or two about how she was originally from upstate NY. Once we got into the States, we headed down towards Bellingham to check out the scene before heading to Mike and Diane's. We popped into my once frequented "Beaver Inn" on State Street, but at that time, the only people in there were the regulars who drink at 4pm every single day of their lives. It was a sign to leave when I had forgotten my drivers license back in the car. We ended up going to Boundary Bay brewery and sampling some of their finest ales and lagers. We left after about an hour and a half and then got on the road out to Everson. It was a nice drive and brought back a bunch of memories from when I lived up there during school. I briefly forgot which turn to take so we got lost for about 5 minutes, then were fine. We arrived only a little late and had a wonderful reunion dinner. It was so great to be able to see the family again so soon. The last time we were up their way was back in May. We stayed for a while, took a couple of pictures, then remembered that we had a 2 hour drive back to my mom's house. It was fine except that I was beginning to get sleepy so we just took our time and had a great conversation. When we finally pulled into their driveway, it couldn't have been a sweeter sight for sore eyes. We hit the hay and hard.

Thursday: We got up after sleeping as much as we could without over-sleeping, then headed out to take care of some important business: buying Frango's to take home and some other last minute shopping. We stopped in at Westlake Mall to grab a cup of soup since we knew that we'd be going to Spud later that day with my dad for lunch. We totally overspent on this stupid soup which in my opinion, wasn't that great anyway. Then we continued on over to Macy's and I found my beloved Frango's that I hadn't had since about 10 years ago. I bought 2 boxes...one small coffee assortment and one huge ass regular assortment. Jesus...and we're still eating them except that we don't really like the blueberry/raspberry ones, so I may bring those into work so that they'll be eaten within minutes. Then we walked around a bit and decided we wanted to go and check out Uwagimaya to pick up some goodies for the rest of the trip. We got some summer sausage for our appetizers with mom and Dave, a bag of shrimp chips, and something else but I can't remember right now what it was. Then it was time to skedaddle and meet up with my dad out in West Seattle for the most awesomest seafood ever: Spud!!! It was a decent day and we could actually see Bainbridge Isl. from Alki Pt. We all ate the yummy, fried seafood goodness, had great conversation then thought of an idea to go to the Frye Museum up on First Hill. It's a free museum and had some really great stuff. It was nice to be able to do this with my dad so that we could bond on another level completely. Then he had to head out and so did we, but we'd be seeing him on Saturday so it was okay that we had to leave. We stopped by QFC to pick up some more goodies to add to our summer sausage and then headed home to enjoy more time with the family. We talked all about our trip up to Vancouver, including our visit with my aunt and uncle, shared some excellent wines and snacks, then it was time to go out. We had agreed to meet Jen at Taco Time in B'vue and we were going to pick up my bro to come along. After our overindulgence at Taco Time, we had decided to go to SKATE KING!! Yes, that's right. Skate King. On Thursdays at 8:30, they do an adult skate for people 18 and up. It was one of the most amazing things I've seen in a long time. There's this sub-culture of adults, some young, some old, that come out every week to skate. There are some singles, some couples, but they're all there to have fun, blow off some steam, and just feel young again. I loved the fact that pretty much everyone there had their own way of moving, whether it was dancing along as they skated, skated backwards the entire time, or hugged the wall just to stay up. I really enjoyed it and wished that we had something like that here that wouldn't end up being a gang hangout or some other type of shi-shi expensive spot like the Roxy. I definitely want to go back the next time we go home and next time I want to stay for the entire time. Woo hoo! There was also the huge flash-back factor that made it such a memorable night. They still had the same red carpet, the short carpeted round tables near the entrance to the rink, the "Graveyard" drink from the snackbar (all the sodas mixed together), red rope, and a few video games along with air hockey in between the guy's and girl's bathrooms. Such nostalgia! When a slow song came on, I imagined myself standing next to a hundred other girls all in line along the wall waiting for our crushes to come up and ask us to skake with them during the Snowball. This time I was 20 years older and already had my crush holding hands with me as we skated around and around. I started to feel the blisters coming on and Dan had been sitting out for the past several songs, so we were ready to go. We went back to the bro's house and started watching Wedding Crashers...the worst movie of the year, in my opinion of course...but I also think it has to do with being a woman and not really digging the fact that these guys were taking advantage and lying just to score. It's definitely a guy flick. Then about halfway through, I got super sleepy so we went back to the guest suite at my mom's for some nighttime bliss.

Friday: We woke after we had enough sleep then decided that we were starving beyond starving. Hector's was our top priority for the morning. Again, excellent food and service. This was now one of our favorite places for breakfast on the Eastside. Then we wanted to head out and get a start on the day and hit Bellevue Square to see what we could find. We started at JCPenney's and discovered the beginning of a storewide 70% off sale! I found scarves, gloves, mittens, and Joe found the coolest blazer ever for only like $20! We scored. We were still waiting on Jen to call us and let us know when she could meet up, so we kept wandering the mall. I was on a mission to find a Washington calendar for 2006. I managed to find one finally at Hallmark, which is where Joe had run off to when I was in another store. He was buying me an anniversary card! Crap! I need to get him one too! So, I laughed, he looked at me with disappointment because he was trying to surprise me, but then I said, I know what it is and I need to get one too. He stepped out of the store to wait while I found him a card, then I took it up to the counter along with the calendar and told the very old woman at the register what we were up to. She found it very amusing that we would wait until the day of and to buy them right in front of each other. We all had a laugh and moved on.

I called Jen to see what was holding her up, and she said she'd be ready in about 20 minutes. So we left the mall, headed towards her place, picked her up then went up to Chateau St. Michelle for a little wine tasting. I'd never been there before so it was quite lovely to see the grounds and the definite chateau-like buildings. There were even peacocks hanging about that we managed to get some photos of while we walked towards the tasting room. We sampled 4 delicious wines, 2 reds and 2 whites, one of which is now my favorite, the Horse Heaven Sauvignon Blanc and the other, Indian Wells Chardonnay. I'm not sure of the reds, but they were quite good as well. After tasting, we decided to go to Redhook, right next door, to take the brewery tour. It was only a buck, but it would've been free if there wasn't a law stating that you aren't allowed to give away beer for free. The tour was fantastic and we were able to sample 4 beers as well. My favorites are the Blonde, Nut Brown Ale, and the Blackhook Porter. I'm not a huge beer fan, but I definitely enjoyed it. Joe was able to swindle a few extra samples by proclaiming: "Sir, I am not convinced by this sample. May I have another?" Sure enough, the bartender had no problem with refilling him. It was hilarious. We got to take the sample glasses home too! It was a blast.

Then we headed out to pick up my brother so we could go out for happy hour at The Beach Cafe in Kirkland. We were able to snag a table for 4 in the bar and we ordered a few appetizers and a few glasses of wine/cocktails. It was so much fun! After being loud and boisterous in the bar, we headed out to check out the waterfront. It was pouring so we decided to leave and get more food...this time: BURGERMASTER! It's only a few blocks away from the cafe, so we were there in no time at all. We parked outside under the cover at the drive-in and ordered way too much food. It was the best EVER. After a while, we were all crashing down from all the food and beverages, a couple of us got a little cranky and so we decided to call it a night. We dropped off the bro then dropped off the Jen and said goodbye. Time to head home. The hubby was exhausted so he hit the sheets and I decided to stay up and chat with my mom for a while. Next thing you know, it was 1am before I realized that I was tired. It was such a great talk that I didn't want it to end.

Saturday: The shipment day. I'm giving it this title because I had to go through all the stuff that was left in my old room at my mother's house and decide what I wanted to keep and what I wanted to get rid of. I decided that I wanted to keep almost all of it and therefore had to pack it up and ship it out to NY. Thank god for Joe. He's a total expert packer and can deal with all sorts of crap from people, as you will soon see what I mean. After about an hour, we managed to pack everything up, seal it shut, and get it into the car to take to the now super shitty FedEx/Kinkos. Just as I was turning into the parking lot, there was a guy in front of me in his car that did one of those super-duper slow turns and then was sitting there trying to make up his stupid mind about where to park, meanwhile we're sitting there with half of our car out in the middle of the street ready to get rear-ended by some dipshit...another important word as you will see. So, I lightly honked the horn to let him know that there was someone behind him waiting to get into the parking lot too. Then I turned left, parked right in front of the Kinkos, and then we started to unload the car. A moment later I hear, "Who the fuck are you to talk to someone like that??!! Get the fuck inside before I punch you in the face" This was my husband. Oh god, I thought, not today. We definitely don't need to deal with this today. Then Joe asked him again, "Who the fuck are you to talk to someone like that?" The guy went speechless, unable to back up his initial words of, "Are you the dipshit who honked at me?" This is what set the whole thing off...you don't call my husband a dipshit. I can't even call him a dipshit. Then that's when Joe replied with his question. Then there were a few more explicatives of which the guy replied to none. One of which was, "You wanna dance old man? We'll go outside if you want to!!" It was hard to tell why this happened. Either A. This guy finally found a situation where he could tell someone off for honking at him (which is a totally pussy thing to do anyway "Oh...boo hoo...someone honked at me!") or B. He saw an opportunity to lash out on a person that fits in his racist profile (i.e., Asian...or should I say, Oriental) or C. He figured Joe was just a punk kid who is also on his list of wanting to yell at but then realized that you don't mess with a New Yorker who also works for FedEx in the heart of Manhattan and has to deal with much worse shitheads than this guy. I'm thinking it's all of the above. I actually got involved by defending him, as a good wife should, by saying, "I was driving, not him. So if you've got something to say, say it to me!" It was great. My adrenaline was pulsing through my veins creating that euphoric feeling of having had way too much caffeine and therefore jittering more than a broken washing machine. The guy, who by the way, was at least 60 years old with a red neck (literally and figuratively), who obviously has never left Bellevue in his entire life, and apparently had some old seated issues with driving, made a bad choice this Saturday to pick a bone with my husband. It didn't help that we were mildly hungover and were absolutely starving (Taco Time here we come!). So, we stacked our boxes waiting patiently and tried to clear the air of the scene that we just created. Turns out, the guy working at the FedEx counter needed to take all of the express/paper shipments first and then he could deal with us...this meant that the asshole got to go in front of us...ugh. That really pissed me off, but then we realized that karma is a bitch and he'd probably lose his shipment in the mail.

Anyway, we finally finished up and then went to get lunch. After filling up on yet another trip to Taco Time, we decided to stop over at JCPenney's one last time to see if there was anything else that we needed. Joe found another blazer and then we headed to 1/2 Priced Books to sell a few books from my stack at my mom's. I actually managed to find the book that I was looking for at the other 1/2 priced in Seattle...so that was great. One good thing today. Then we had to go back to my mom’s and pack up to go to my dad’s for our last night in Seattle. We had planned to go and have dinner out to celebrate our 2nd anniversary, so we got dressed up, said so long to my mom (it’s never goodbye), and headed out. We needed to stop by my bro’s to say so long to him too. It could’ve been really difficult, but I know that I will see him in May/June and I know how quickly time has been flying. We left and got into Seattle, parked near 2nd avenue in Belltown, but found a spot right in front of a homeless/junkie playground. We walked a couple of blocks, but decided that there wasn’t anything near here that looked good, so we went back to the car, glad to see that it hadn’t been broken into, then headed towards the waterfront. It was quite fortuitous that we went the way we did because we drove right by Etta’s at the Market and said, “What the hell...let’s go here.” The deciding factor was that there was a parking spot directly in front of the restaurant. It was perfect. We sat at a big booth near the bar, shared a bottle of the Horse Heaven Sauvignon Blanc from Chateau St. Michelle, and ordered 2 appetizers and split an entree. It was absolutely fabulous. We ordered shrimp spring rolls and something else (temporarily forgotten), and a seared tuna with chorizo sausage, fingerling potatoes in a delicious sauce. Then for dessert, instead of going the traditional route, we ordered two drinks: an apple brandy for Joe and a Madeira port for me. So so good. We then had to say goodbye to Seattle and make our way down to Federal Way to my dad’s. The drive was fine and we got there just before they were sleeping. We decided that sounded good to us too, so we cozied up for a long sleep.

Sunday: Our last day. We slept in late, much later than any other time during our trip, and enjoyed a relaxed Sunday. We went out for lunch, take a guess...yes, Taco Time for the last time...I though I was going to puke because we’d eaten it so many times on this trip. It was still good though. After lunch, we went on one more mission: to find me a Seahawks championship t-shirt. Well, no such luck there because they’d either all sold out or they were size XXL. I ended up ordering one online in a Medium and it’s still huge on me. After wandering around Seatac Mall, or as it’s now called, The Commons, we went back to my dad’s to pack up and then relax. It was a nice day to be in because it was absolutely freezing and raining quite heavily for most of the day. After we had delicious homemade chili, my parent’s got us a card and a lovely cake for our anniversary. It was so sweet of them to think of us. We thanked them and realized that it was time for us to go. We didn’t want to leave, but knew that we had to or else we’d miss our flight. We said so long and headed out to deal with the car return and get checked in for our flight. The car return was completely opposite from the pick up because the guy was super friendly. We made it with plenty of time, found a spot looking out the window, and settled in for an hour wait. We boarded a little late, but the flight was pretty smooth and we were only a half an hour late arriving in NY.

It was a great trip overall and I can’t wait to come home again. Hopefully this time, my mom will be up in Bellingham/Birch Bay and we’ll have a place up there to stay with them. Until next time, see you soon and keep on travelin’!

(Wasn’t so quick, now was it?)