two hundred

Celebrating my two hundreth post, a year and a half of stories, travels and emotion. And here is my topic: keys.

I have been doing this dog walking job for a couple of months now and would say it is the best therapy there is. I can talk away to these pooches and they don't judge me, they don't care that I pour my affection out on them (in fact, I think they love it). Walking in the city with a dog is so great that I have often looked at George to see if she would take part in this walking business. Part of the job, of course, is going to pick up the dogs from their apartment and take them out and about. Well considering that every apartment building has a key and every door has at least two locks, I walk around with a gaggle of keys. The extra weight and feeling like a janitor is not what the issue is, my issue is getting the damn door open. I have never seen locks like these before, some you have to push and turn others you have to hold the key a certain way then turn the knob the other way. Sometimes the damn knob has nothing to do with the door opening. It seems that the keys also can sense my frustration because between me feeling like an idiot and the dog crying for me to come in, I experience mini breakdowns. I myself carry three keys to get into my apartment and find ir funny to even lock the door because a burgler would have to be a genius to know how all the different, damn doors in New York worked.

contentment

There is a lot to be said about being content, whether it is in life, an event, or even for a fleeting moment. The bigger thing is taking the time to notice this contentment and appreciating the moment in which it presents itself. I had many such moments during my stay in Portland last week. They came in the following forms, sitting a my favorite lunch at the Manzone, ordering a beer at Kells, having coffee and discussing life, sitting at a friends kitchen table, getting a foot massage, eating my Thanksgiving dinner (better late than never), watching the Ducks play football in person, and having dinner with dear friends. The friends are what highlighted these perfect, wouldn't want to be anywhere else moments But I even had them alone, whiile standing in my beautiful loft or walking through the neighborhood. I appreciate that I was able to take it all in and save it for a rainy day such as today. Back in NY where everything is shallow and lonely, I am grateful that I can close my eyes and be back in those moments.

ice cream is less asinine at 0300

If you were on the receiving end of one of my drunk dials last evening, my formal apologies. I had planned to go and drop off the perfect travel gift to John as he is now managing my bar and then head to the movies, in and out, no drama. Even for a brief appearance with the person you are madly in love with, the proper outfit, make-up, and hair need to be taken into consideration. Luckily I got my hair cut yesterday and the outfit looked as cute on as it did in my head, I felt fantastic. So off I went in the rain, under my Chanel umbrella towards my bar. I said hello to my favorite bartender, Heather and asked for John, he wasn’t working. Damn it! I choose Starbucks next and then went to see Before the Devil Knows Your Dead at the local, independent theatre. The movie was fantastic and let out around 2130. The rain had stopped and been replaced by a warm fog so I set off towards home with ice cream in mind. I got to the door of Baskin and Robins (which does not have 31 flavors out here- rip off) and decided that a glass of wine had fewer calories and my cuteness needed to be appreciated by more than the ice cream guy. I headed off to this place recommended by Lynne. As I walked in, I felt like I was transformed back in time to an old movie. The guy was in the corner playing the piano, Christmas decorations were lit up, the bartender was an older gentleman in a bow tie, and the crowd was very “Rat Pack” era. I ordered a glass of Chianti and sat alone with my thoughts feeling very rejected. I wasn’t there to make friends as I normally do; I just wanted to wallow in my loneliness. As my glass was being emptied, Eddie told the bartender to fill it up and began chatting with me. It must have been the loneliness because I engaged him in conversation and even agreed to grab a bite to eat with him. He took me to this place he claimed famous people go and ironically when we got in the car, the dj was also talking about this place. We walked into another nostalgic bar and had a glass of wine and then he decided he wanted to smoke a cigar so off to another club we went. Another glass of wine and apps and then we headed to the oh so -dead MPD where they were filming a movie at Buddhakon so we went to Buddha Bar. I convinced him to take me to Cafeteria for a real meal and then home. Around three am the loneliness came back and I cried myself to sleep. Should have had the ice cream.

fco minus turkey

The night before was spent partying with beautiful people at a table at Marquee. When the phone rang at 1000 announcing my airport alert assignment, it didn’t surprise me, as it was the holiday week. I was wondering where I would be spending the Thanksgiving holiday as it is my second favorite and I wanted to get myself in the mindset of being away or at home. I took my computer, which I never do, to play on the internet and perhaps watch a movie during my four-hour duty. For two and a half hours I sat there, ate subway, shopped and bought a bed online, and started on a resume for a bartending job I saw. The phone rang and I walked up when I heard my name called. “Okay this is just a maybe that you will go since the person is late coming in. So head to the gate and it won’t be official until the door closes.” “May I ask where I may be going?” “Sure, it a 5 day trip to Rome.” Holy Shit! Please don’t let this lady show up is what I was thinking as I made my way to the gate along side my former roommate, Missy. I get onboard this super senior flight and do what I am supposed to do. The door closed, I called scheduling, and now I am sitting in Roma on Thanksgiving Day. The ironic thing is that the movie I choose to bring with me was Roman Holiday; I think this was meant to be.

Day one
Since I was off the clock when it came to sightseeing, a. because I had been here previous on holiday and b. I had three, count them, three days to explore, I spent the afternoon catching up on my rest. The remaining crew met at 1830 to join for dinner and celebrate Thanksgiving with our make shift family. There are no turkeys over here so we settled for an amazing restaurant a cab ride away. Our captain was Italian and ordered tons of appetizers and kept the wine flowing. We ate mussels, calamari (fried and steamed), fried stuffed fish, prosuttio and mozzarella, bread and olives. An hour of eating and then we ordered dinner. I spilt the veal with a coworker and then came the tiramisu and cappuccino. We laughed and chatted away for hours as the Europeans do over dinner. Then we caught a lift back and ended our night with pistachio gelato. In true Turkey Day form, I was stuffed to the gills as I headed to bed. Tomorrow we set off for the south to explore. My favorite person thus far on this trip is Ramona, a senior flight attendant whose seniority is 280 and mine, well mine is 8700. She is fantastic!!

Day two

The plan was to go to Pompeii via train with Jan and see the ruins. Instead we were able to talk two more people into going with us and managed to hitch a ride. We met in the lobby at 0630, however I had been up since 0230. A two and half hour car ride with way too much information in the form of conversation lead us to a train station where we made our way to the base of Mt. Vesuvius. We were guided through the ancient ruins with stories and mostly awe for the way they lived and how advanced their society was. The city existed from 800 BC until 79 AD when the volcano erupted and buried the city. It took two hundred years to excavate. It was absolutely amazing to walk through history. After we jumped on a train and headed north to Naples, as we exited the train a black lab was in the station so of course I petted the dog and it then proceeded to follow us up the escalator and through the city. We ate lunch at the city credited for inventing pizza while my faithful dog, named Metro Napoleon, sat beside me (I insisted on outdoor dinning). Metro shared my pizza and then kept with us as we walked through the city that was actually really dirty. Sadly we lost her in the protest but it was probably better that way since she wouldn’t have fit in the cab on the way back to the train. My long day ended with a small picnic in my room. In true Italian style I ate bread, salami and cheese with some wine.

Day three

I woke up early and grabbed a cappuccino then made my way to the Vatican were the line stretched for easily a half mile. I was just taking photos since I have gratefully already visited. From there I headed to an area suggested by a local flight attendant but after two hours of being next to it but not able to figure out how to get the area, I gave up. During my wrong way, however I did manage to get to the tallest point in Rome and see the city as a whole. I ran into another lost American and we talked for a bit then I decided to turn left and kept seeing all of these priest and bishops. I unsure what was going on but perfectly safe walking down that street. I came upon a crowd and what I first thought was St. Peter’s Basilica but I wasn’t sure. Thousands of people were standing around and more and more church heads were exiting. I went into a shop for water and asked what was going on but the guy said he didn’t know. I stood to watch and the thunder and lighting started. It was kind of a “Godly experience” for lack of a better description. Thankfully I packed my umbrella because the heavens opened and dumped rain. The twenty-minute walk back to the hotel was done in ten and a nap soon followed. Feeling guilty about not seeing the cliché Rome, I took the Metro to the other side of the river and walked around. It was over running with people so I grabbed a slice of pizza and headed back. Watching the news I found out that the crowd was there to watch the Pope create 23 new bishops.

I have packed up and can actually say that I am ready to go home. It has been a great little holiday, a Roman Holiday.

prg

With a four day weekend on my hands and, may I dare to say, getting tired of exploring NYC, I set off for a city that has nothing but rave reviews. It is Sunday morning here in Prague and the only people wandering the streets are a few old people, the Japanese, and myself. I wandered into a previous internet cafe to find people still drinking beer at 0900. I heard the party doesn't even get going here until 0200. I am offically an old lady on this trip as I was in bed by then. Because time is so precious and there is so much to see in this outstanding city, I refrained from the temptation to go and party.
I arrived yesterday via FRA and wandered the cobblestone streets looking for accomadation. I ended up at this adorable boutique hotel next to the Old Town Sqaure. It is so amazing here, that words don't even begin to describe the beauty of the architecture, the amazment of the history, and the peace that comes from being here. They have an old Czech saying that where beer is brewed, life is good. That couldn't be more true here.
My obstacle of trying to convert the currency according the sign at the airport made for a bit of hillarity at the souviner shop as I was mentally a decimal point off. Well, at least people are getting nice gifts! I have also found the lack of coffee shops here since I am running on seven hours total sleep, I have been seeking them out only to find bars. And it seems perfectly acceptable to have a beer with your breakfast.
I am now off to a tour of all the must see things, off to explore on my own after, lunch, a nap, maybe a ghost tour, and then meeting up with some new friends and pulling an all nighter. My taxi arrives at 0330 to begin my journey back home.

day two

My short time in Prague was exactly what I needed to clear my head and heart whilst momentarily living among centuries of history. I elected to take a walking tour to ensure I saw the highlights of the city plus it is always great to hear the history and some antidotes. I met the group under the horse statue and we were off, immediately a girl befriended me and we hung out the whole journey. Her name was Linda from Australia. That is what I love about traveling is meeting new people and even though I wanted to be alone, it was so nice to have another half for the day. We learned about the communist area, the protest, the conditions, and the overturning. It was strange to think that it was in my lifetime. We learned about the astronomical clock, the beginning of Protestants, the Jewish quarter, we took a river boat cruise and looked at the city whilst drinking a beer, ate goulash for lunch and then we walked across the St Charles Bridge and up to the Prague castle for the changing of the guard. Our tour guy was fantastic and funny. Six hours of walking around in the freezing cold warranted a nap. After Linda and I met up for the ghost tour, which was free with our journey and certainly not worth paying for. A small dinner and then we chit chatted in my room over beers until the wee hours. After pulling an all nighter, and switching planes in FRA, I made it home. Sadly my peace was distributed with the finding of the roommate, a dirty bathroom, and my missing pita chips. Sometimes I think I should just get a boyfriend to have somewhere else to go, today it wouldn’t have mattered who the hell is was as long as they had quite, warmth, and something to eat.

wandering the city

The beginning of November is a wonderful time to be in NYC. The leaves are changing, there is a chill in the air that calls for a jacket, beautiful new boots make their debut, and the tourist sector dies a bit. I have been up early this week and enjoying the fall by taking a long walk with my coffee either to the park, in my neighborhood, or adventuring to another. I am working on a Christmas present for John of photos of things he loves in New York. This journey took me down to Union Square and over to the Village. From there I wandered around and found a delightful place to have lunch on Bleeker and then proceeded to walk uptown with point of winding up at Tiffany. So I walked, and walked up 60 blocks while people watching and popping into a store here and there. I made my purchase and a guy came up to me asking me if I was buying something for myself. I replied it was a gift and we started chatting. He told me to meet him for drinks and I agreed. I walked the rest of the way home and changed. We met at Scalinatella for dinner. He was very nice and I think I accepted the date as thankfulness that someone was aggressively interested in me. Christina rang up and wanted to know if I wanted to join her in the quest to get into the infamous Rose Bar. My date and I met her there after getting into four wrong cars. A few drinks there and my date had to go, so off he went and on our night continued. We went to Tao’ where the Knicks were having dinner and chatted with a few gentlemen before we headed off to Bruno’s. We arrived without a member and they let us right in. It was there fifth anniversary and I think they needed ladies to balance out the crowd. We danced and hung out with filthy rich men until it was time to throw in the towel for the evening and make it home. A nice guy walked me home and with one stop at a dive bar, I was headed to bed around 0500.

Today, still not working, I met a friend from the Late Show for lunch and then walked all over SoHo and Little Italy. I am all about checking out my beautiful city, but this girl is ready to work and check out the other fab cities of the world!

turtles

“Slow and steady wins the race.” This is what was spoken to me yesterday while on the topic of a relationship with my guy. It seems appropriate considering the NYC marathon is happening right outside my window.
My weekend has been outstanding and I am hoping to keep under the radar for the rest of the day work wise and finish it out. Friday was spent alone in my apartment catching up on Grey’s and me time since my hangover finally wore off from Halloween. Saturday was spent cleaning the house, laundry, and preparing for Ducks football. I got a text from John that he was in my shirt and off the wagon and to meet him. I text him that I couldn’t drink because I was on call and where should I meet him. I figured out that he was at a bar called Off the Wagon and when I walked he was proudly wearing the Oregon football I gave him. A few pictures of beer while the Notre Dame game was on and conversation about us and everything else lead us to another bar to watch the Oregon game. Today I ate breakfast with my boy and then got bundled up to watch the marathon. It was such a powerful thing to walk next to and to see the thousands of people who worked so hard for this day was a bit ah inspiring. I have a friend that was running and I was actually able to see him. Now I am relaxing at home on Sunday afternoon the crisp breeze is coming through the window. The cheers are still present as people make there way to the finish line.

one bar marathon

Halloween is my favorite holiday of the year. I am sure my need to dress up each year steams from the lack of dressing up as a child. I planned the whole month around having the day off and much of it was needed to prepare for our entry into the city. Seeing how we live in nanny, rich, old neighborhood our mid-driffs and long legs were met with some looks from the ladies and head turns from the gentlemen. As we road the subway more and more costumes came on until we exited at Union Square. I swear we posed for fifty pictures as we tried to make our way to the parade. Not sure of a true schedule and letting the night take us were it may, we grabbed a drink at Republic and then decided to stop in and see John (read: get free drinks and let him see me in my hot outfit). We had invitations to Plumm and to the playboy party at the Empire State Building. Our one drink turned into God knows how many while we hung in the corner with the firemen. They were eating wings and thought is was funny to put them in my basket with my dog. I don't remember much after that besides sitting on the sidewalk puking and Christina dragging me out of the cab on the way to our door. We awoke the next morning her sox on my pillow, my clothes everywhere, her shoe on my rollerboard, my basket in the hallway with chicken bones on the floor.

start sending mail here...

Once again I am in London. This trip however, has a friendlier crew and our rooms only took an hour to get. None of this matters as I will have two days off when I return to enjoy and recoup from Halloween. My Dorothy costume is awaiting me at the house and I am so excited to go trick or treating. I am hoping this 45 hour jont over to the UK has been enough time for me to get over my irratation with my roommate constantly being home lately. We are usually good about having our schedules balanced but since she personal dropped days, they are now in sink and after a week of coming home and her being there, I am going a little crazy. I love my alone time in my house, alone time here is just that...alone time. Our downstairs neighbors hooked me up with a deal on a flatscreen (thanks Carol). I was super excited to watch the third game of the WS but sick that the stupid Sox won. Now that baseball season is over, I can give 100% of my attention to the ol' Ducks, who have been playing pretty damn well this season if I might say so. I was able to enjoy the USC game this past weekend in an Oregon Alum bar. It was so great to be around fellow Oregonians!! Made me a little more homesick though.

...the damn winter is coming up though

Once again in London, I feel like I don't ever leave the UK. I am very excited however to have Saturday off so I can watch the USC/Oregon game and the world series...got to love October! I am working my favorite position of first class aisle but my galley gal is not someone to be reckoned with. I have successfully stayed out of her way and I think she has spoken thirty words to me the whole trip. The other aisle gal has never worked first before and keeps asking me questions, so I have been babysitting her all trip. I warned her to stay out of the galley although it would be fun to see her get her ass chewed I was not in the mood to deal with the aftermath. I have kept to myself once more on the trip and layover mostly because there is no one that exciting on my crew. It sucks and I miss the summer when this flight and others were chalked full of reserves that wanted to go out and have fun. I haven't gone out with the crew for a month and I miss it. My pilot is trying to get me to pick up a trip with him in two weeks, which, of course I will if I can...he was fun to go out with and super cute.

I have decided that I am no longer calling John and with help from my favorite author, Greg I remembered that if a guy is ready, he will let you know. So it up to fate now as I have laid the ground work/baited the trap (just kidding). I don't really know what I want. I think of how great it would be to have a boyfriend but then there are many times that I don't want to be bothered. I might just want to get on Didi's program of partner for the winter, single for the summer. Hmmmmm...

stewart

Monday night and we were in the mood to get dressed up and see what Manhattan had to offer for the evening. Christina and I were feeling a bit on the fancy side and made it a point to aim our adventure for hotel bars and more upscale places. We started off with a warm up drink at our local watering hole and got carded because we were so dolled up. On to Barunda then Tao' where we met Stewart. I watched him circle the bar working up the courage to come and talk to us. Finally he sat down and his North Carolina drawl as our names. He was very sweet and wanted to take us where ever we wanted to go. After exchanging looks with Christina, she said yes and off with Stewart and his driver we went. On our way to Columbus Circle we got sidetracked by the Pierre hotel and stopped in for a drink in which we met Marquaret and her friend who then wanted to take us to Bruno's which is a members only club that Christina had been taken to prior on on of her dates. So off we went. A bottle of wine there and we were ready to dance. Our newest memeber of the party wanted to go to some other exclusive club but we wanted to get our groove on in the MPD. The driver liked us so that is the way he headed until the other dude flipped out and wanted to go home. We got out of the car and headed to the nearest bar, Employees Only where I discussed the leaving of A-Rod from the Yankees (my opinion) and Christina flirted with some guy. More walking and then we were finally dancing. Of course we had to end our evening at Cafeteria with grilled cheese and just as we were paying the bill and about to turn into pumpkins this guy, Jimmy came up and started talking to us. It came up that I was from Oregon so he took me over to meet his friend, Rueben a player for the NY Giants and former Duck alum. Rueben and I talked about Duck football while his girlfriend fell asleep on the table. In bed around 0530 laughing about the strange paths our evenings always seen to take.

pooche patrol

A week later and I am back in England, this time in Manchester. We stay at this great hotel with gothic ceilings and mazes for hallways. A part of me wants to wander and get lost but the stories of the haunts and ghosts that live here, make me hesitate. I spent most of the day sleeping after our flight was delayed by an hour. It is getting to be that time of the year once more when the weather decides our departure and arrival time. Flight was easy and I am becoming more and more confident in the first class galley position. I have sat around all week on call with nothing coming my way flight wise. Instead, I interviewed to become a part time dog walker on Wednesday by spending the day walking miles around the East Village with dogs and my new friend Beth. I will be on call with this job as well and may have some overnights with the pooches. A paid night away from the air mattress...sign me up!
With time on our hands the roomie and I decided to hit the town and see what was shaking. We met a guy at Butter the other night who invited us to his table at Marquee. Hoping to run into some Yankees we headed to Olives and then the Underbar...nada going on. Marquee, Pink Elephant, House, Bunglow 8, a visiti to my boy, and homemade grilled cheese ended our evening at 0530. I was feeling homey and made some lasange Thursday, gotta love fall cooking.
So get this. I am in Manchester and want something warm and quick to take back to the hotel. Sadly, I decided on Pizza Hut for familarity. I walked in and everyone was being waited on and eating there pie with knifes and forks. It was bizzare! I got my personal pan and went back to eat it with my hands.

change of weather

The weather has turned, soup is ordered in place of salads, the lattes have switch from iced to hot, sweaters are coming out of the closet, and thoughts of home fill me. There is not one specific place I long to be but the idea of hot apple cider, the smell of turkey cooking, and a warm fire is what my heart desires even longs for at the moment.
I am in London after failing to make it to my check in yesterday due to weather. I have my first mark on my file, a mistrip and am disappointed to have risked being away from base simply for the idea of family. It was not my family, mind you, but Christina's who welcomed me in, feed me, and made the comforts of home avaliable. I spent three great, lazy days in Kansas City and gained five pounds from the incrediable food and lack of activity. Let me tell you, the bbq is everything that they proclaim it to be!

My absence from writing is not due to want or laziness, I just always want to write when my computer is unavaliable. I don't take it on international trips because of the hassle of transport and security. Therefore it sits at home waiting for me to pick up and pour out my thoughts.

The month of September was filled with new trips to new destinations and was all around a great month. I discovered Glascow (much different from its conterpart, Edinburgh) but still lovely. Great shopping! Manchester was also new and I had a great time there looking for Crayton's jersey in white, going to the best Indian food ever, hanging out at the gay bars and with a cool pilot...enough said. Our hotel is gorgeous there and the rooms boost thirty foot high ceilings and the reports of being haunted. I had the pleasure of playing host to my mom in my city of NYC. We walked through Central Park, let her meet the guy, dinner in Little Italy, went to San Germano festival, shopping on Fifth Ave, taught her how to hail a cab, spent time in a old fashioned soda shop, and then took her to Ediburgh on my flight. We returned and watched Wicked, which was the coolest play ever. I highly recommend. And it gave me the final decision to be Dorthy for Halloween.

Things with John are great, moving at a slow pace. It is nice however, to have someone to hang out with once a week. He is oh, so handsome and still gives me butterflies to think about. My Yankees have been eliminated, sadly but I was able to go to game three and witness the end of an era. The game was incrediable and just being there....wow! My Ducks are doing well and I plan now to go back to my room and watch the play-by-play on my phone. Lazy days in London, sometimes I just have to smile at what a great life I have.

ben harper encore

You are always supposed to be exactly where you are when you are there. I was not supposed to be out on a date last night as noted by my date who “forgot”. My ego a little bruised I decided to walk it off and just started headed in the direction of home. A gentleman asked me if I knew where the Triumph hotel was and then asked me how my night was going. “I just got stood up”, I replied. The look on his face was priceless but he quickly recovered and asked me if I wanted to go and see Ben Harper with him and some friends as they had an extra ticket. I said yes immediately and within thirty minutes was sitting eighth row in Radio City Music Hall watching an incredible show with five new friends. Drinks on the rooftop of the Peninsula Hotel proceeded bar hopping and grilled cheese at my favorite late night hangout. All in all an evening that took a turn down made a nice 180.

Here’ what sucks about being a girl. I don’t profess to be a girl in most forms of the word, I don’t take eighty years to get ready, I hang with the boys, I like sports, I don’t let my emotions get in the way, and I certainly don’t take things too seriously. I am currently kicking myself for being a girl when it comes to John. Looking back over the past few weeks, I have been building things up in my head instead of taking it slow as we both established the first night. I had a nice wake up call today, sitting here thinking about conversations, how I have been a little too overly aggressive, and acting like a girl, pure and simple. I have decided to go into our date tonight with the mindset of what happens, happens, I can’t believe I let myself slip into the girl mind frame and set myself up for over thinking It is a sophomoric mistake that hopefully I have caught in time.

p.s. my humsaa necklace broke today...i wonder what the hell that means?

liam

Something more to add to my top five best feelings: watching Ducks football when they are playing amazing. Being in the Bighouse for the big win last week was incrediable!!! The whole weekend in Detriot was a success, hanging out with my best bud, her family, seeing old friends, rooting on our team, attending a Ben Harper concert (8th row), and then having my friend come back with me...Good Stuff!

BFS

I picked up a trip to Belfast to round out my turn of Ireland and to also bring along Janene. The crew was great, the hotel located in the heart of the town filled with so much history, and the company was a unique and welcomed change. We got to the room and napped for a bit before heading out to site see. Our first stop was the Crown Saloon, which is modeled after something on the Titanic or something like that. They poured a mean pint of Guinness, that is all I cared about. After making friends with the barkeep, we wandered around some more and came upon the oldest pub in Belfast. At Kelly's we ordered up a pint and took in the old building. It wasn't long before we were joined by a gentleman named Liam. He proceeded to explain the history of not only the pub but the conflict that still plagues Northern Ireland. According to his story we were sitting in the very seats were the IRA was formed. The declaration was upon the wall and the passion behind his story made the hairs on my arms stand up. This is why I love traveling.

dtw

A major thing I miss about my previous life was attending Duck games. It is the perfect fall thing to do, get the Duck gear on, drive down to Eugene with friends, grab pizza at Tracktown, tailgate, and then cheer our team onto victory. I wasn’t able to attend a single game last year but to day I am heading to the Bighouse. Not jail, rather Michigan to watch my team play ball. I have already made friends with the four Oregon fans on the plane.

Today was also my first day with NY public transportation. With my previous history of it in Jersey you can understand why I allowed myself four hours to make my flight. I must say, however, it was a breeze and I was from my door to security in an hour and a half. I think I lucked out with my past month of driving in the city but the last attempt to drive to work and the two hours I sat in traffic was enough. I am now bound and determined to learn my way around the subway and the city without driving or cabs. I was made fun of on more than one occasion for being a “princess” about my getting around. Well princess here is going to enjoy her weekend in Michigan with good friends, football, and plenty of Bud Lites.

jpk

Let me tell you about this guy...
I have had two dates officially with John. Introduced to him at a bar two weeks ago and my walls have already been brought down. He is handsome, smart, funny, and so sweet. Our last date was spent in Central Park walking around, hand in hand while he narrated the surroundings. I never thought I would be the person that was so giddy to see someone, or thought about them daily. I was not a believer until it happened. The cynical side of me keeps some walls up just in case so my heart doesn't get stomped on again. But I get it now; I understand why Christina squeals at movies, why Nichole was so enamored, and how your heart could flutter about the single thought of someone. What does all of this mean? I have no clue, but at the moment I am acting outside of my normal box and letting life take me where it may.

top five

Christina and I pose questions to each other all the time in order to get to know each other better and to challange the others mind. My question to her the other evening was: "What is your top five best feelings?". Here is my list thus far, in no particular order...
¬getting a 100% on a test
¬how I feel the last five minutes of a yoga class
¬how I felt when John kissed me for the first time
¬singing along to a song you know at an Irish/UK pub
The fourth is concreted tonight as I am in Edinburgh and enjoying this beautiful city. Crew scheduling being in charge of my life has wound me up in EDI, after first being assigned LGW then airport alert and then EDI. This city is absoletely beautiful with its coast line, history, castles, the friendly people, kilts, bag pipe players, and adorable dogs. I spent the day walking around and the evening in a Scottish pub listening to music. I can safely say that this town has moved into my top three favorites thus far.

cafeteria ban lifted

The roomie and I have been home for the past week hanging out. She was feeling a bit blue so we made a date prior to our last trip for dinner and some girl time. We didn't get motivated until 2300 so dinner was scratched and replaced with going out. The east village was our destination as we decided to get out of our ues bubble and see what else NYC had for us. We stopped by a previous visited bar and grabbed a drink before wandering for a bit to the suggested place Solas. We walked in and it was dead but we stayed because they had connect four. We were ordering our second round and had graduated up to jenga when the bar filled up and the karaoke began. Christina has an amazing voice so she was right up there but in order to get a mic in my hands, it takes a lot of booze. Long story short, I sang a couple of duets. The bar closed down and not quite ready to go home, we decided to press our luck at Cafeteria. We were banned previously from my puking and passing out. We walked in casually with some random nerd we found on the street and ordered our usual. The next day was spend in bed, hung-over....urgh...am I getting old!
Wednesday was work out day for me as I finally found someone to play tennis with. I walked two miles, biked three, and play tennis for two hours. I came home to find Christina ready to go out, so I showered up and we hit the town. This time we went to Nolita to check out some bars she found. Nothing was poppin' so I made the decision that I wanted to see my boy at midnight. We walked into his bar and I stopped with hesitation in front; then walked in nervous as can be. We stood there patiently as he made drinks and it was while he stopped to take a sip of water that he noticed me. It was the perfect reaction and he took a second to figure out how to get to me. Single most romantic moment in my life: he scaled the bar, picked me up and kissed me. I could hear C squealing in the background. So we hung out for a while, me talking to firemen and gazing at him, Christina talking to the nerdy guys that had followed us from three bars previous. 0200 rolled around and we decided to call it an evening and get some grilled cheese. Back to our place we went, un-detected...that is damn good grilled cheese!!!

one-dollar beers and two johns

08.20.07

My idea of a quick dinner and a beer resulted in me closing the place down. Mind you it is Monday night but here in NY it doesn’t matter what the day is, especially if there is a Yankee game on. I walked up to the bar and sat between two gentlemen clearly grabbing a beer after work. The bubbly bartender came up to me and took my order. I inquired about dollar beers for flight attendants and from that moment on, my glass was never empty. I began chatting with the guy on the left, then the gaggle of drunken Chinese men, then to the man on my right. His name was John and he owned a construction company. We had a very pleasant conversation over our bbq sandwiches while watching the game. After his departure around midnight a tall, good-looking man came up to the bar. Heather, the bartender, kissed him hello and then told him to come and sit with me as she thought I was very nice. Score for me because he was hot! John number two and I spent the next hour and half talking about everything you would on a first date. He is an absolute doll and we have made plans for dinner on Friday. I have a new phone; it is still a bit intimidating to me because of all the bells and whistles. John was interested in trying it so I let him text Christina, who had already called to make sure I was still alive. They had a bit of banter going on then he mentioned that he gave me a toy crocodile from the bar. She responded that she didn’t know what exactly that meant but good. After half running, half skipping home, I came into the apartment and placed the crocodile on her chest. She awoke startled with me falling on the ground laughing.