2.21.2008

The happiest, cutest, most smile making political messages ever

http://barackobamaisyournewbicycle.com/

Click on the link and keep refreshing your browser window for seemingly never-ending messages. I don't know who make this, or if the Obama campaign even endorses it, but it is brilliant.

Hee hee. Barack Obama rocks.

2.18.2008

Say goodnight gracie

In my mind I am a mere wisp of a girl. A gamine continental hipster. I am Audrey Hepburn without the aging love interest.**

Except I am not.

I will preface this story by saying that the game "Guitar Hero" was installed in the conference room across from my desk two weeks ago. On a Friday. After a long week. My inner rock star, who is a wispy, gamine hipster, but decidedly more NY than EU, was so excited by the prospect of playing along with Poison "Talk Dirty To Me" that she ran into the conference room when it was her turn to play. Only she/I didn't run into the conference room itself, but rather the glass wall next to the conference room doorway.

With my nose.

As my mom said, while laughing, "You have been running into walls your entire life." And it is true. What I like to think of as living exuberantly, perhaps isn't the BEST way to live, especially when dealing with glass walls, potato peelers, hot oven racks and sharp knives. I know scars are supposed to tell one's life story, but my book is getting long and isn't that exciting. The scar from touching a hot pan isn't nearly as cool as a scar from, say, wrestling a bear.

There really isn't any solution to this. I wasn't a gamine girl even at my tiniest, and I would much rather jump-rope in platform Prada's, causing a huge, and still painful scar on the top of my foot, than cheer from the sidelines. That is the way this dual-continent, aging hipster apparently wants to roll. And if there were any doubts that I won't learn anything from the glass wall incident, let me assure you that, after the nose swelling went down and my coworkers stopped laughing, I walked into the conference room and made it through Sonic Youth's "Kool Thing" on the first try. I even worked in a totally rocking kick mid-way through without falling down or hitting myself in the head with the guitar. Nice! I am a guitar hero indeed.

** Even a skinny-man aficionado such as myself is disturbed by the bandanna on a greyhound imagery brought on by Fred Astaire's jaunty red scarf knotted on one side.

2.03.2008

Rabito is great - and we are fine also.

We really didn't plan for the dog to match the carpet.

It has been three weeks since Rabito came home and I have been spending all my free time staring at him and cooing instead of updating the blog. I'd apologize, but if you could see how cute he is, you would understand. Honestly. Tom and I got so lucky with this dog! Here is a list of Rabito attributes:
1. he is perfectly housebroken and would rather sleep for another hour than go out early in the morning for relief.

This ball is crazy-making.

2. he is the calmest dog in the land except he is let off the leash to run free and then he is a craaaazy puppuh who flies back and forth, jumps three feet straight off the ground (all four paws straight up ) and has the most hysterical expression of manic glee on his face for about five minutes. And then he flops down at your feet and asks for a belly scratch.
3. he is beautifully behaved when I bring him to work. At one point last week there were four grownups on the floor vying for his attention.
4. he makes people smile when they see him coming.
5. he pounces on his toys. Which you can see in this video. Maybe I am just a proud parent, but CUTENESS!


I feel like I have a family of my own now and I love coming home to the greetings of both boy and dog. And now that the project that I have been working on is over, I actually get to come home at a decent hour. I even started cooking dinner again, and I am please to report that Tom has started gaining some weight after the skinny days post Christmas illness.

March will be good, with three weeks of vacation coming. I booked a trip to Egypt last week for my friend Allison and I to take when she comes over from Michigan. All sun, beach and relaxation -- all inclusive of food and the requisite cheesiness. Then Tom, Rabito and I are going to Paris to meet mom and dad before they leave on the Orient Express. Can not wait to see them! And the last week is yet to be decided. I'm hoping we can get to Rome - sans dog.