Return to flip-cup

Remember how I said that we might be turning into grown-ups? Not so fast. Skippy and Jimbo met up with everyone in Jersey this weekend, and when a spare door from Abbey and Adam's garage was turned into an impromptu flip-cup table, it was apparent that some things have stayed the same. Unlike our MSU days, we were spent by 10 p.m. However, Adam kept true to his younger self when he busted open his lip after faceplanting into the kitchen's marble countertop. Of course, he was trying to leap across the room at Skippy, who had just smashed a browning banana into his face. Oh yes, we're maturing...

I guess we really are adults

In the last six months, my best friend has gotten engaged, bought a house, and "inherited" a dog -- pretty much all of the components of adulthood. I, on the other hand, am looking for another one-bedroom apartment to rent by myself, which probably won't allow pets of any kind. So I guess I'm feeling a bit behind on the life scale... but that's for another post.

Abbey and Adam's new place is so nice. It's a four bedroom, multistory house in Hawthorne, NJ. They moved in last week and I drove over for the weekend to "try" to help them unpack, with limited success. They also picked up their new dog, Frankie, from Abbey's coworker, who gave them the 2-year-old pug with the condition that he still gets to visit from time to time. It was amazing how quickly Frankie, aka Frank the Tank, adjusted to the chaotic house. Sleeping (and snoring) from his new bed, you'd never know he had different owners just 24 hours earlier. He makes all kinds of great pug noises -- best described as a cross between a pig and someone with sleep apnea -- and he's the perfect combo of calm and entertaining. I'm sure I'll get to know him and the house much better this summer. And the lure of the built-in pool and laundry room is bound to make the hour-and-a-half drive much more bearable.

Looking for THE dress

You know, that one she's going to wear down the aisle. Abbey and I started the search at David's Bridal on Sunday and had some pretty good luck. After pulling, zipping, fastening, and buttoning on an afternoon's worth of dresses, we decided on four that look equally amazing yet somehow completely different. It's going to be an extremely difficult final decision. I also got to do some modeling of my own for the bridesmaid apparel, and although the floor model in the right color was a size 26, this is the frontrunner at the moment. Don't worry, it actually looks nothing like a potato sack in the proper size.

Breathing again

Literally. I don't think I've ever been so sick. It started almost two weeks ago with that unmistakable throat tingle that means you're bound to wake up the next morning with a headache and a runny nose. I did. But thankfully, it was a Friday AND a snow day at that, so I did almost nothing but stay in bed. Unfortunately, I only got worse throughout the weekend, and by Monday, I was in the doctor's office with a ridiculously swollen throat, barely able to talk, eat or breathe. Turns out I have both tonsillitis and mono. After two doses of antibiotics, steroids, a trip to the hospital and a three-day visit from nurse mom (who was so worried she flew in from Florida), I'm so happy to finally be feeling better.

More randoms

Sorry, I'm not really thinking in complete strings lately.

Class: Spring semester started last week and I'm already sick of school. In a way, I like the busyness it brings. I don't do well with too much idle time. My statistics class is very small -- just nine students, and only about six who show up on a regular basis. Policy analysis is a little larger, but somehow my name was one of the five he remembered from our round-the-circle introduction session. As a result, I've been called on no less than 10 times. That's probably the only reason I've been able to stay awake.

Obama: I love him and I really want him to win the Democratic nod. I was so excited to vote and watch the results on "Super Tuesday," and then disappointed this morning to find out that yesterday's mass of primaries did nothing in terms of declaring a frontrunner. This is going to be a really exciting race.

Giants: They won the Superbowl! (Of course, you already know this, but I don't care). It was really fun to actually have a team to root for in the big game. I watched with Tiffany -- an avid Pats fan, who's still sore about the loss -- and we vegged out on lots of junky but tasty food.

Randoms

We had our first "real" win in volleyball tonight. Our only other points of the season came when the other team had to forfeit because of a lack of players. This one was the real deal, 25-8. Granted, we lost the other five games. But we were all thrilled anyway. More than a couple squeals came from our side of the court when that last ball dropped.

For Christmas, Abbey's mom made me what is now my favorite blanket. When I was in Michigan, she'd casually asked what color my bedspread is (although I don't know how casually you can actually ask that). I thought it was a little strange but didn't think much of it until Abbey had a roll of a present waiting for me in her apartment last month. Made in the famous Steinhauser "silky" style (named for the smooth satin that lines the edges), the blanket has become my favorite curl-up-and-watch-a-movie buddy.


Two brand-new washers and dryers were put into my apartment complex's basement. Seeming like a major improvement over the old leaky machine, I took a load of clothes down there a couple weeks ago. However, after covering my clothes in detergent, I learned that only one of the washers actually works. And it's the one I didn't give $2 in quarters to.

Atlantic City

My trip to AC started out promising, with a win just a half hour into the two-and-a-half-hour bus ride down the shore. Unfortunately, that was the only thing I won on Saturday. And that thing was a mug printed with the Taleo logo, the HR company used by Adam's company.

Abbey, Adam, Sarah, Matt, Walt and I took part in the BD day trip to Atlantic City, and the morning raffle kept us entertained for most of the ride there. After giving up $5 for what was described as a "cash prize" raffle, Abbey, Sarah and I couldn't stop laughing when the old man sitting ahead of us (one of the many on the bus) snagged the first prize -- a package of Ace Bandage heating pads. I guess it's only fitting for a trip sponsored by BD -- the company that manufactures and sells medical supplies like Ace gear. By the time my ticket was pulled, the ante was raised to mug status. Many drawings later, Abbey got really lucky with a $25 cash prize.

AC isn't Vegas, but it's still pretty cool. Lined along a boardwalk on the shore, I'm sure it's prettier in the summertime (although I've heard also much dirtier in terms of actual garbage and roaming clientele). We gambled for a couple hours and then got lunch at an Irish pub named, take a guess..."Irish Pub," which was Walt's recommendation. We were a bit skeptical on our walk there, but the food was good and drinks were cheap. So cheap, we stuck around for a while, figuring that we'd spend less getting drunk than sitting in front of a slot machine.

2007 Book List

So, again, as in the year before, I didn't quite achieve my goal of reading 50 books in 2007. And since it doesn't seem likely I'll ever read that much (unless I'm fired, I fail out of class, and I ignore calls from all friends and family), I'm not going to give it another go in 2008. But don't worry. I promise I'm going to continue to read -- a lot. Just not up to the almost-a-book-a-week pace I tried to set in the optimistic and early portion of the New Year.

Below is last year's reading list. My favorite by far is "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini. If you haven't read it (and Hosseini's first novel, "The Kite Runner") you must. Also worth noting is "Something Borrowed," which I didn't expect to be much more than entertaining chick lit. But it struck me in some way. Maybe because the characters are so much like me and Abbey - two childhood friends who grow up in the Midwest, go to school together, and move out to the East Coast. It's a little scary. However, since I'm not carrying out a secret affair with Abbey's fiance, the similarities end there. (Or so you think...) Anyway, here's the whole list:

1). A Wedding in December, Anita Shreve
2). Dreams of My Father, Barack Obama
3). The Pleasure of My Company, Steve Martin
4). The True and Outstanding Adventures of the Hunt Sisters, Elisabeth Robinson
5). Darkness Visible, William Styron
6). The Memory-Keeper's Daughter, Kim Edwards
7). Autobiography of a Fat Bride, Laurie Notaro
8). Rant, Chuck Palahniuk
9). The Road, Cormac McCarthy
10). Something Borrowed, Emily Giffin
11). Less Than Zero, Bret Easton Ellis
12). Diary, Chuck Palahniuk
13). A Thousand Splendid Suns, Khaled Hosseini
14). Haunted, Chuck Palahniuk
15). Bright Lights, Big City, Jay McInerney
16). Girlfriend in a Coma, Douglas Coupland
17). Hey Nostradamus!, Douglas Coupland
18). The Lion's Game, Nelson DeMile
19). Something Blue, Emily Giffin
20). JPod, Douglas Coupland
21). Water for Elephants, Sara Guen

NYE in Times Square

My brother and I knew what we were in for beforehand. I heard the horror stories from friends. I read about the cold and the lack of bathrooms online. And I got the classic "Are you crazy?" look from almost every Long Islander I talked to. But still, spending New Year's Eve in Times Square is just one of those things you have to do at least once in your life. So we did. And although you won't see me headed back for seconds, I don't regret any part of that night.

Our day started early, a little after 10 a.m., when we caught a train into the city with my friend, Sean (the only other person I could convince to tag along). Since you're not really allowed to leave your spot once you're there (not even for bathroom breaks or food runs), we had a plan: eat a big lunch but drink as little as possible. So, of course, we filled up at Burritoville and took full advantage of the bathroom there before heading back out into the cold. We got to Times Square around 1 p.m. and stood on the sidewalk in what seemed to be a really good spot. Too good, apparently, because we were moved back by police twice before finally being "penned" in really close to one of the performance stages. Can't complain, though. We still had a nice view of the ball, which, by the way, is really little, and celebrities to watch. We were there so early that we heard most of the performances twice: once for a practice run through, and the second for TV. Side note: Most of the performers on our stage, which included way too many American Idolists, completely faked the whole thing. The "real" bands - Velvet Revolver, Kid Rock, and the Bravery - played from a stage high up on the other end of Times Square.

After games of Eye Spy and 20 Questions got old, boredom struck pretty hard. The hour between 7 and 8 was neverending. Surprisingly, there were no bathroom emergencies (although Sean had a backup plan that involved a series of ziplocks and grocery bags). And thanks to the body heat generated by the 1 million plus attendees, we didn't get cold. Our biggest complaint was the pure pain of standing for 11 hours straight. That last minute was worth it, though, as a sea of red hats and orange balloons waited, counted, screamed and sang in unison. That's definitely an image I'll hold for the rest of my life.

Merry Christmas!

Christmas in Florida is different, but good. I miss some of my family's traditional holiday events: my dad's annual store party, Christmas Eve at our house, even freezing while opening gifts in the drafty family room. But there's something to be said about the Floridian style of celebrating that my parents have adopted. It's relaxing, in the sit-by-the-pool-and-crack-a-beer way. Plus, it's warm. Of course, we've carried on some of our traditions. Mom and I made a big Italian dinner last night and pizzelles a couple days before that. And as always, our stockings were stuffed by Santa when I woke up this morning. But we've also added a couple new twists: a post-dinner bike ride down to the beach last night and sun tanning by the pool. This is a pretty nice change.

Sarge

After Goldie, our last dog, died years ago, it didn't look like my parents would ever get a replacement. So Jesse and I were thrilled when my mom mentioned that she wanted a dog for her Christmas present this year. We went to the St. Petersburg SPCA on Friday and came home with Sarge - a 30-pound, 9-month-old pit bull terrier. We had planned to name our future dog Mubu, but because Sarge was my grandpa's knick name, and because Sarge really looked like a Sarge, we kept it. Outside of a bit of chewing, he's really well behaved and everyone's having a great time getting to know him.

Notes from Iraq

I met almost all of my college friends at The State News. Therefore, it was only a matter of time before one of them ended up covering Iraq from Iraq. Check out Jamie's blog about an experience that I'm sure is going to be exhilarating, scary, and eye-opening all at the same time.

Wicked!

As a kid, I saw Phantom of the Opera no less than seven times with my family, in addition to Les Miserables, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, RENT, Showboat, Ragtime, Miss Saigon, and many others I can't remember. So you'd think I would have seen lots of shows on Broadway in the year and a half I've lived out here. Nope. Until last Wednesday, I hadn't made it to any. For my Christmas gift, Abbey bought us dinner and tickets to Wicked, which was so, so good. She saw it once before, but I'm not surprised that she wanted an encore. The music, the set, and the story (providing a new perspective on one of my childhood favorites) were all amazing. Thanks, Abz!

Thanksgiving

Even though I didn't get to see my parents or brother for Thanksgiving, it was great to see the rest of my family and friends in Michigan. It was strange, however, to be "home" without an actual home. Abbey's mom drove me past our old house, and even though it's only been in a new set of hands for a less than six months, it looks different. Somehow colder and empty, with an unfamiliar dog in the back yard. I don't think I'll ever get used to that. Anyway, I made myself home at three different places during the long weekend: Aunt Arlene's house for Thanksgiving Day, Lindsay and Trep's apartment on Friday and Saturday and Abbey's parent's house on Sunday.

The big dinner itself was great, as expected. Auntie R made TONS of food, including calzones in addition to the normal turkey day fare. In addition to my aunt and uncle, I spent some time with almost all of my cousins and their kids, who are growing so incredibly fast. (I know, I sound like an old woman who should be pinching their cheeks and exclaiming how tall they've gotten. But really, the last time I saw a few of them, walking and talking wasn't an option).


The next two days were spent shopping, catching up with high school and college friends, watching Abbey's "little" sister catapult toward complete drunkenness for the first time, and eating some of my favorite Detroit foods (including dinner in Greektown and second, post-bar dinner at National Coney Island). Lindsay, Trep, and I made a trip to the Detroit Institute of Arts, which recently reopened its doors after an extensive renovation.

On Sunday, I ate an early dinner with Aunt Melo, Uncle Tom and Grandma and then watched DVR'd episodes of Grey's and The Office with Abbey's mom, who dropped me off at the airport for a very long day of travel and delays the next day. The one upside of my almost four-hour delay: I saw Dustin Diamond on the terminal tram in Atlanta. Although I'm kicking myself for being too shy to ask for a picture.

Next up, Christmas in Florida.

The ring's NYC premiere

Sarah, Fink, Mike and I met Abbey and Adam in the city on Saturday to watch the last football game of the year and celebrate their less-than-day-old engagement. After watching MSU beat Penn State (yay!), we walked over to Yogi's for cheap beer and not-so-cheap shots. Some photos:

The ring!

Go State! Believe it or not, Abbey was a little bit quieter than usual, still shocked from the night before.

Posing with the Yogi's bear.

The happy couple waiting outside of Blondies.

She's engaged!!

Abbey and I don't keep much, if anything, from each other. We usually talk AT LEAST once a day, in addition to daily gchat and email. At any point in the day, I have an idea of what she's doing (whether it's working at her desk, reading in bed, or going to the bathroom...true story) and vice versa. So keeping something this huge from her - the fact that after almost five years with Adam, he really was going to pop the question - was so, so difficult.

Adam started plotting a few months ago, asking me for some advice on the ring and the proposal itself, which, from what I hear, turned out to be perfect. To ensure that Abbey wouldn't book a babysitting gig for the special night, I asked her a while ago to come out to Long Island for a friend's party. Then, last Tuesday, Adam told her that his boss had reservations at the Rainbow Room Grill for Friday night that he couldn't keep, and wanted them to take his place. Abbey cancelled our "fake" plans for the weekend, but not without mentioning her suspicion about the real intention of the fancy dinner. Adam and I panicked a bit, thinking that she'd figured the whole thing out, but through a variety of tactics, she was back to doubting that she'd have a ring to show off at Thanksgiving. So on top of the Rockefeller Center, with a view of the Empire State Building and the city below, Abbey was shocked when a desert with the chocolate-drizzled words "Abbey, will you marry me?" was placed on her table. Of course, she said "yes."

I'm so happy for them that I don't really know what to say. My best friend, and really, the sister I never had, is getting married - getting married to a wonderful guy. I've always loved Adam. Kind, smart, fun, and so very entertaining, I know he's going to make her happy for the rest of her life. I think I'm almost as, if not equally, excited for this wedding as they are.



Congrats you two!

Random happenings

Our volleyball team hasn't won a single game. I believe we're something like 0-18 now. It's getting a little frustrating. OK, a lot frustrating. I'm not asking for much: just one win. Sure, there are some perks to being losers. For one, we never have to put the net away. The rulebook reserves that task for the winning team. And there are no expectations. We never have to worry about being too cocky and losing to the underdogs. The season goes through February, so the way I see it, we're bound to win at least once, if only by sheer chance.

I only have about a month left of classes. This is kind of scary as I still have two papers and two tests to complete, neither of which I've started or studied for.

A couple weeks ago, my American democracy professor told a female student in my class "You don't really think that women have the same mental capacity as men, do you?" As you can imagine, about half of the class went crazy. Um, apparently the decline of ex-Harvard President Lawrence Summers has escaped his mind?

We want to start podcasting at the lab and I've been given the responsibility of researching and editing the pieces. I have no idea what I'm doing yet, but I'm kind of excited about it.

I can't believe Thanksgiving is almost here. And I can't wait to see everyone in Michigan.

ILMBFFAMS

I spent the weekend with Abbey while she housesat for a family in north Jersey. In 8th-grade slumber party style, we watched lots of classy movies (Transformers, John Tucker Must Die, Elf, and Closer), ordered Chinese food, and played Guitar Hero III (actually, she played and I watched, because I'm pretty much a failure at that game). In non-8th-grade style, because we were good kids back then, we ate at a Mexican and Irish cocina and pub called Jose O'Reilly's and washed down our dinner with no less than five glasses of sangria and two beers. JOR, as we now call it, is one of the only places I can think of where you can order shepard's pie AND quesadillas. It's also about a block away from the house Abbey was watching. Therefore, we didn't put up much of a fight when the waitress persuaded us to order a pitcher of sangria, or when the owner bought us another glass each and ushered us to the bar. It was about at this point that John Tucker Must Die began to sound like a good movie to watch.

We also bought matching PJs at the mall, which we had to wear at the same time so Justin could take our picture in the Palisades scenic overlook. Yeah, we're dorks like that.

Happy Halloween!

In what is becoming an annual tradition (or at least a pick-up from where my parents left off) I had a pumpkin-carving/Halloween party at my apartment on Saturday. Just a few people showed up to the event last year, but attendance this year was considerably larger. Although, we've got to do a better job of actually carving our pumpkins. Mine and Abbey's remained untouched on my balcony, most likely because playing with sharp knives doesn't seem like such a good idea after a few drinks. This was probably a good move on our part. The night was great, though, and so were the costumes. Here are some pictures:

The Last Domino...

aka John Orr, aka, Amy's new boyfriend, has been staying with me this week. John is on a two-week tour as a one-man band and is here for three NY shows. The strange part is that I've never met him before this trip, although through phone calls and conversations with Amy, I was pretty sure he was a good guy. And I was right. Abbey, Mason and I went to his Manhattan show on Wednesday night and were really impressed.

He leaves Sunday morning for North Carolina, followed by Tennessee and then back home to Indy. Getting to know him without Amy around seemed a bit unorthodox at first, but it's been kind of nice as well.