Wednesday, March 29, 2006

She loves to move, she loves to groove, she loves the lovin' things! (3-29-06)

I am admitting it to all the world. I quit smoking today, March 29, 2006. Now I know what most of you are thinking -- you started smoking again???? I thought you quit!!! Yes, I did quit in March/April of last year. And I was on the wagon for a while. It was nice being on the wagon. Great view, good breeze. And then I fell off again. But now I am back on the wagon.

My head is REALLLLLLY fuzzy. I had to warn some people at work that my muddleheadedness is due to nicotine withdrawal. My head feels like it is filled with cotton balls and I could probably dig around my ears and pull some out for you. Actually, it feels like being high without the fun parts.

Most people have been very supportive, but with a twinge of disbelief. Even though everyone wants to believe that I have quit, they know they won't bet money on it. Well, I can tell you right now to bet money on it. As my friend Jen B says, that door is CLOSED.

REALLY.

The one good thing about quit day though is I am allowing myself to eat whatever the hell I want. It's been great. I had an onion bagel with cream cheese, a powdered donut (work gave us a donut break this morning; Entenmenn's donuts -- which aren't doughnuts. They are DONUTS http://entenmanns.gwbakeries.com/product.cfm/upc/7203001451), rice balls {http://www.riceball-omsb.com/} [YES, Lisa D, I had rice balls for lunch], a hot dog and some Indian food.

I feel sort of gross.

But I feel good.

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Check out my more frequest musings at http://girlladyfriend.blogspot.com/

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This week's horoscopes go out to:
Chelsea, Lauren McDude's little leaning pile of doggie, goodbye

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Free Will Astrology
Horoscopes for week of March 30, 2006
By Rob Brezsny
(c) 1995-2004, Rob Brezsny. All rights reserved.
Check out your weekly horoscope at http://freewillastrology.com/horoscopes/printer-friendly.html

Tuesday, March 28, 2006

NAMASTE!

I would like to officially record that I went to a 6:45 AM yoga class this morning and I saluted the sun and the moon and the stars with my ass. It was quite amazing that I willed myself out of bed and into that room. It's a good feeling overall but I know it will hit me around 3 today.

Also to note, I am craving Captain Crunch cereal.

Friday, March 24, 2006

Goodbye to Chelsea

Lauren's dog Chelsea passed away. I never met her, but I heard MANY a Chelsea story. My thoughts go out to Lauren and Chelsea, the special (ed) dog.

Ooooh that smell! Can't you smell that smell? (3/23/06)

There is this one area of the subway station in Grand Central. It's near the entrance underneath the Strawberry's, close to the escalator to the 7 train. On good days, it smells like that veiny, funghi-looking bleu cheese. On the bad days, well, it sure doesn't smell like bleu cheese. There have been days where that area near the elevator/escalator doesn't smell like anything, but I can count those days on one hand. And I have all of my fingers.

I strongly urge you to visit this area of the subway and tell me if you agree. I want to share this with you.

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I am tired of being competent. I got assigned to another account. That makes two accounts and a new business pitch. I wish I could be lazy and useless. I miss those days.

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I slept for 12 hours straight yesterday. It was so fantastic. I got into bed at 6, fluffy duvet, flannel pajamas, so happy. I slept pretty much straight through. It was perfect. Even when I woke up, I went back to sleep. At 6, I thought about getting up, but I didn't.

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This week's horoscopes go out to:
My bed

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Check out your horoscopes at Free Will Astrology
Horoscopes for week of March 23, 2006
By Rob Brezsny
(c) 1995-2004, Rob Brezsny. All rights reserved.

Monday, March 20, 2006

MEME -- YOU'RE IT!

>How well do you know me? For instance, did you know...
>
>Four jobs I've had in my life:
>1.Sales assistant at TALBOT's (I had a crew cut at the time)
>2.medical secretary
>3.financial administration at an international non profit
>4.teacher assistant at 1199 (health care workers' union)
>
>
>Four movies I would watch over and over:
>1. The Incredibles
>2. Secretary
>3. Men In Black
>4. Men in Black II
>
>Four places I have lived:
>1. Jacksonville, FL
>2. Wellesley, MA
>3. Greenpoint, Brooklyn, NY
>4. Midtown West, Manhattan, NY
>
>Four TV shows I love to watch:
>1. Oprah
>2. Medium
>3. CSI
>4. Gilmore Girls
>
>
>Four places I have been on vacation:
>1. Paris
>2. St. Maarten
>3. Vermont
>4. St. Petersburg, FL
>
>Four websites I visit daily:
>1. Cuteoverload.com
>2. NY Times
>3. GoFugYourself.com
>4. NOAA weather
>
>Four of my favorite foods:
>1. Thai
>2. spaghetti and meatballs
>3. Korean
>4. Indian
>
>Four places I would rather be right now:
>1. The lottery office picking up my mega millions winnings!
>2. A secluded beach in the carribean
>3. Sleeping
>4. In my "La-Z-Girl" chair watching TV
>
>Four friends who I have tagged that I think will respond:
>1. Only my real friends will answer

Sunday, March 19, 2006

Saturday, March 18, 2006

One Jewish, One Asian and Two Black Women walk into Peter Luger's... (3-18-06)

I went to Peter Luger's [http://www.peterluger.com/] today with my friends Johnna, Yvette and Linda, and MAN, they serve some damn good meat. Tender, flavorful, just so good. It was a meat orgy: steaks, burger, shrimp AND Canadian bacon. It was so much food that six hours later and, to me, the idea of food is quite sickening. I think I even have a meat
hangover. Although, I might just have a bourbon hangover. Or a shrimp cocktail hangover. Or a cheesecake hangover.

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The REAL Truth About Women

Women have many hidden secrets. We are an illusive group. But I am opening the secrets to our world to you men now so that you can understand what we as a group go through to assimilate in today's society. Following are a few facts that you, as men, just never knew:

Fact #241: Bras have always given women shape -- from bulleted to inflated. The real truth however is that women's breasts are like flat, unfilled balloons that generally are 4 to 5 feet in length. We roll them up like a pair of socks to fit into the bra. We also use our breasts to carry our change and fly.

Fact #32: Women's leg hair is retractable. Similar to a cat's claw, we can lengthen and shorten our leg hair depending on any situation. If we like you, we will fully retract our leg hair. If we don't like you, we will fully extend our leg hair. For some women, this is vice versa. Our underarm hair is also retractable.

Fact #665: Women buy four to five times as many body/hair/skin products as men because we eat these products for nutritional purposes. The aloe and chamomile extracts provide us with the necessary vitamins to teeter in high heels for 16 miles straight, calculate the volume of a revolving rhombus in a tank of sea water, and travel through L-space.

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My friend Matt and his friend Dave have their own podcast called "The Matt & Dave Show." You can either subscribe to it in iTunes (podcast search keyword: dave & matt show) or go to www.daveandmattshow.com. You can subscribe to the podcast right from the show page.

As Matt says:
"The show is the same type of humor you'd hear when we were all in college, but now we're actually online with it. It's been really fun. Let us know what you think at feedback@daveandmattshow.com. If you really like it -- or even if you don't -- please vote for our show on www.podcastalley.com. Do a search on our show ("Dave & Matt Show"), and then vote for it. It'll make a difference."

So, check them out!

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This week's horoscopes go out to:
Yvette, Johnna and Linda, Two words: MEAT ORGY
Carey, Steven and Alex
Bob and Russell
Michelle E.

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Check out your weekly horoscope at: http://freewillastrology.com/horoscopes/printer-friendly.html
Free Will Astrology
Horoscopes for week of March 16, 2006
By Rob Brezsny
(c) 1995-2004, Rob Brezsny. All rights reserved.

Monday, March 6, 2006

Frynn!



This is my friend Frynn* and her pal Frio* - they are on a helicopter flying over some place with palm trees and lots of sand. Lots of sand. I mean a lot of sand.

*Names have been changed to protect their identities.

VACCINES ARE SAFE, DAMMIT

I feel really strongly about vaccines. This is not just because I work in the industry, but because vaccines have prevented millions of deaths in the world. We think that polio, measles, mumps, etc., are no longer a threat in the U.S., but it's because so many people around us are vaccinated that we are protecting others from getting these diseases. If we do not immunize, then the threat of these diseases returning will grow many-fold.

There are so many people I know who are on the fence about vaccines, but let me tell you: there is nothing to be on the fence about (yes, ending in preposition, but I can't help it). Vaccines prevent disease. Yes, there used to be thimerosal (a preservative used to keep vaccines bacteria and fungus free, which contains some ethylmercury) in vaccines, but today, almost all vaccines are thimerosal free -- only certain flu vaccines have thimerosal and you can ask for a thimerosal free version when getting vaccinated.

So what is this debate about vaccine safety? There is no debate. Vaccines are safe!

Here's an op-ed from a small town paper in Kearney, NE, which explains this a little more clearly:


03/04/2006
Vaccines can be both fresh, safe
Kearney Hub

A letter to the Letterbox on Feb. 25 prompted me to write concerning the safety of childhood vaccines. The issue raised in the Feb. 25 letter is the use of the preservative Thimerosal in vaccines. Preservatives keep vaccines pure from bacterial and fungal growth.

Thimerosal, which contains ethylmercury, was used at one time in some childhood vaccines. Concerns were raised in the late-1990s that ethylmercury could have some of the neurotoxic properties of its cousin, methylmercury. However, studies done by the Immunization Safety Review Committee of the Institute of Medicine in the United States, Denmark, Sweden and the United Kingdom failed to show any connection between Thimerosal exposure and the neurodevelopmental disorders of autism, ADHD and speech or language delay.

The committee did recommend reducing the Thimerosal in vaccines to trace amounts because of theoretical risk, and to keep public trust in vaccines. Since 2001, all vaccines for children are either entirely free of Thimerosal (most) or contain only trace amounts (two).

Vaccines are strong protectors of our children. In the early years of my practice, it was common to see five to 10 cases of meningitis per month, due to Haemophilus Influenza Type B or Pneumococcus. These infections would often result in death or brain injury for the patient, and devastation for the families.

Since the advent of routine immunization with the HIB vaccine (1983) and Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (2000), these horrible diseases are almost wiped out.

As responsible parents and medical caregivers, it is important to know the facts. Physicians’ offices that care for children have excellent handouts on all vaccines. Also, there are two reliable Web sites, which give very good information, including the exact content of all vaccines. These Web sites are www.cdc.gov and www.immunize.org.

Be smart. Know the facts. Immunize your children.

Katherine A. Keifer, M.D.Kearney Clinic P.C.

http://www.kearneyhub.com/site/printerFriendly.cfm?brd=268&dept_id=551080&newsid=16240235

Dead Skin Dress



What was Naomi Watts thinking? She looks like she is wearing a dress of dead skin! My friend Annie said she needed a good sloughing. I agree.

Wednesday, March 1, 2006

Some will win, some will lose, some were born to sing the bluuuuuuuuueeeeeeeeessssss.... (3/1/06)

The day of reckoning has cometh. Leggings are back. http://nymag.com/fashion/features/16015/index.html

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I am not girly. I know that most of you know that, but I have these moments of clarity and they are usually ridiculously obvious. At 7:45 AM, I was in a carload of co-workers, all of whom were women (I work in PR -- it's a female dominated sphere. This is because women communicate.) and everyone was dressed up to go to our client meeting, which was 2 hours away. The one thing I noticed during the car ride was that everyone was poised and feminine -- legs crossed, making small talk. What was Michelle doing? Slumped in her chair, sleeping with her mouth open. And no, I wasn't drooling.

But you know what? I am okay with this. I got a really good nap and they didn't.

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This week's horoscopes go out to:
WELCOME TO THE WORLD, CATRIONA! (And congratulations to proud parents Mija and Kevin, much love)
CONGRATULATIONS TO DR. CYNTHA; Jacksonville welcomes you with open arms!
CONGRATULATIONS TO MARTHA L; You're working 9 to 5, what a way to make a living!

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Free Will Astrology
Horoscopes for week of March 2, 2006
By Rob Brezsny
© 1995-2004, Rob Brezsny. All rights reserved.
Printed from http://www.freewillastrology.com/horoscopes/printer-friendly.html