Baby, it's cold outside...

...and inside. I had to keep the heater on for two hours last night while I shivered in bed under five blankets. Although it may sound like it, this isn't complaining...it's just stating a fact. I actually love the cold--I don't pine for places south of Maryland or yearn for warmer temperatures. I like the biting cold that makes your whole body tingle and feel alive.

With that in mind, another weekend comes to a close. It was cold, it was gray, but it was fun! I only left my apartment for an hour today--a quick trip to Kings for some grocery and baking essentials (flour, baking powder, butter and milk for biscuits, along with greek yogurt, broccoli and of course, Mallomars), a stop at Starbucks, and a pizza pickup at Larry and Joe's. The morning was spent watching "Rome," cleaning the bathroom and crosswording! The evening, with Rebecca.

Yesterday I continued on my annual award season moving viewing kick--this time, it was "The Reader" (nominated for Best Picture and Best Actress for Kate Winslet). Not nearly as good as "Slumdog Millionaire", but beautiful filming and of course great acting. The story was unsettling though--it left me with a weird feeling that I couldn't describe. Later in the evening at a jazz bar in the West Village, it became clearer that maybe the weird feeling was that I felt bad for Kate Winslet's character, when I didn't want to. In any event, it was a good day full of films, Thai food, and jazz.

To close out the weekend, I'm listening to a classic that seems to be everywhere at Christmas, although I like to think it's more of a winter song:

I really can't stay - Baby it's cold outside
I've got to go away - Baby it's cold outside
This evening has been - Been hoping that you'd drop in
So very nice - I'll hold your hands, they're just like ice
My mother will start to worry - Beautiful, what's your hurry
My father will be pacing the floor - Listen to the fireplace roar
So really I'd better scurry - Beautiful, please don't hurry
Well maybe just a half a drink more - Put some music on while I pour

The neighbors might think - Baby, it's bad out there
Say, what's in this drink - No cabs to be had out there
I wish I knew how - Your eyes are like starlight
To break the spell - I'll take your hat, your hair looks swell
I ought to say no, no, no, sir - Mind if I move closer
At least I'm gonna say that I tried - What's the sense in hurting my pride?
I really can't stay - Baby don't hold out
Ahh, but it's cold outside

C'mon baby

I simply must go - Baby, it's cold outside
The answer is no - Ooh darling, it's cold outside
This welcome has been - I'm lucky that you dropped in
So nice and warm - Look out the window at that storm
My sister will be suspicious - Man, your lips look delicious
My brother will be there at the door - Waves upon a tropical shore
My maiden aunt's mind is vicious - Gosh your lips are delicious
Well maybe just a half a drink more - Never such a blizzard before

I've got to go home - Oh, baby, you'll freeze out there
Say, lend me your coat - It's up to your knees out there
You've really been grand - I thrill when you touch my hand
But don't you see - How can you do this thing to me?
There's bound to be talk tomorrow - Think of my life long sorrow
At least there will be plenty implied - If you caught pneumonia and died
I really can't stay - Get over that hold out
Ahh, but it's cold outside

...Weekend Anna

Bedtime

I never go to bed before midnight. I used to try--I'd slip under my piles of blankets at 10:30 or 11pm, but then I'd end up reading or staring at the ceiling until 12am. I've come to accept my late night tendencies, and tonight I decided to try something new. Around 10:30pm I started to try to calm down and unwind my mind.

Step One: Take a Bath
Using lavender Epsom salts and mint bubble bath (a lovely birthday gift from my dear friend Sarah), I relaxed in hot water, letting my mind wander. The last time I took a bath was about a year ago, in the apartment of another dear friend, Ms. Margaret Adsit (she's currently living her amazing life in Alaska). It was the height of thesis season--I was stressed beyond belief, wasn't sleeping more than 3 hours a night and the cold gray Chicago winter was getting to me. So, Margaret invited me over--we picked up pie, she drew me a bath, and for that night I let go of all of my obligations. Sitting in the water tonight, I started to miss her something terrible.


Step Two: Lotion
For some reason I've been shying away from lotion, except on my face. I changed it up tonight, using a lemongrass scented lotion I swiped from the hotel room my dad was staying in last week (he comes to New York for work once a month or so). The lotion feels refreshing...smooth.


Step Three: Tea
Instead of downing coffee immediately when I got home, I opted for water. And then before bed, tea. And appropriately named tea at that:


And now to bed...


....Sweet Dreams.

15 Across: Use with 30 down

I know, I know--from the start, I promised not to write about work--only my lovely weekends. But this past weekend, while lovely and still technically going on (MLK day=holiday=markets closed=I can stay at home!), was different--work was woven throughout the past two days. It was the kind of work I love though, where I get to interact with others, go somewhere I've never been, and have some time to process and think through how I want to construct something.

It wasn't just work though--there was dancing, remeeting new friends, eating at a diner, going to Brooklyn, eating a clementine or two, returning shoes, watching "Emma," and crossword puzzles! I am slowly getting back into my crossword puzzle groove. My best was five years ago, when I was a freshman at NU. I used to sit in the back of my astronomy class and work on the NYtimes crossword puzzle--I could usually finish the Monday-Wednesday puzzles. But when "Highlights of Astronomy" came to an end, so did my daily crossword puzzle exercises (I must say that I love astronomy--stars, planets, black holes, all of it--i just didn't have the attention span needed to listen to the professor drone on and on about the calculations behind everything. Ah, but the photos...now those were captivating). But now, the crosswording part of my life has been resurrected and I will conquer the whole week.

On a side note:

Breakfast was perfect today! Normally I'm not too excited by morning food--other than of course the drink of the gods known to us mortals as coffee--but today's breakfast seemed especially wonderful. Maybe because I had time to make it, eat it in my room, and not on the go. Whole grain English muffin, greek yogurt with honey, coffee, and a cinnamon sugar spice "cookie". The rest of today will be work, attempting to organize some of my books, laundry and catching up on cards/letter writing.

Simply wonderful...

...Monday (just this once) Anna

La Bella Luna!

I'm still recovering from last weekend...and the only things I drank were water, coffee and orange seltzer water. Oh, a bit of chilled Saki, but just a bit! No, the recovery is mainly due to lack of sleep, which I will get at least eight hours of tonight. I hope.

Weekend highlights: spending time with Stephanie, eating half of a very yummy sandwich at a very yummy diner, meeting new people, seeing old friends, eating yummy avocado sushi at a yummy Japanese restaurant, "Slumdog Millionaire", shoe shopping, "Bride Wars," grocery shopping and "Rome!"

One highlight that stands out: "Slumdog Millionaire." It was a delightful movie, easily one of the best (if not the best) of last year. Actually, no, I'll say the best of what I've seen (runners up being "The Dark Knight", "Rachel Getting Married," "Frost/Nixon" and "Ironman"--I'm sure I'm forgetting a few, plus I haven't seen "Milk", "Revolutionary Road," or "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"). What I loved about "Slumdog Millionaire"--besides the soundtrack, cinematography and unique storyline/storytelling--was it's setting in the slums and streets of Mumbai, India (formally Bombay). The setting is so integral to the story, and it evokes all of the emotions that make it such a wonderful film.

Now, off to sleep. Hopefully I won't feel so out of step tomorrow. The full (or nearly full) moon is messing with my balance...

...Weekend Anna

Weekend NYC

It truly was a New York City weekend. After living in the New York City metropolitan area for almost four months, I finally did something more than just dine, drink coffee or walk around. The weekend started out waiting in line at the discount ticket booth in Times Square for tickets to a Broadway play. I had my heart set on (and fingers crossed) for "Speed-the-Plow" and after waiting in line outside in the cold for an hour (I'm getting used to standing in Times Square in single digit temperatures) my fingers were rewarded.

The rest of the afternoon was spent walking around the Upper West side and stopping in at Cafe Lalo for a sandwich (eggplant and goat cheese!), a cappuccino, and a slice of apple pear raspberry pie. Then off to Broadway. The last time I went to a Broadway show was five years ago--and it was "42nd Street." While the musical was lovely and fun, "Speed-the-Plow" was perfect--hilarious, thought-provoking and thoroughly entertaining. Jeremy Piven had already left the cast due to "mercury poisoning" but his replacement, Norbert Leo Butz, was fantastic. The fast paced dialogue and short scenes made the 90 minutes fly by, and Mamet's moral ambiguity gave me things to think about all night (and the next day).

Sunday morning meant mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral with Cardinal Eagen and then the Museum of Modern Art. The goal was to see the Van Gogh exhibit but tickets were sold out. No matter though, the next two and half hours were filled with wandering through the floors of MOMA enjoying some of the pieces and trying to make sense of others. Some aspects of modern art really appeal to me--especially if a piece is clever, brightly colored, or functional. Other aspects, do not--the eerie flickering films, the muted paintings of disfigured babies, or layers of Vaseline formed into a "box". I also found some of the pieces annoying--a canvas painted red doesn't seem to require that much artistic talent. However, as a friend and partner-in-weekend NYC-crime pointed out, the thing that made that red canvas "art"--or at the very least, worthy of its space in the museum--is that the artist even conceived to do it. Yes, I am perfectly capable of painting a canvas red, but that thought of expression would never have crossed my mind without my having seen it hanging in a museum.

The weekend ended back in the Jersey with the lovely lady of Papermoon, whose back in Chicago. And who I miss much.

...Weekend Anna.

Happy New Year!

The holidays have come and gone--they were busy--full of friends, family and food. Lots of traveling: Florida for my birthday, Youngstown for Christmas, back home with visits from my brother and sister for New Years.

This year, I fulfilled one of my childhood "dreams"--I was in Times Square on New Years Eve. After shipping my brother off to a friend's party, my little sister met me at work yesterday at 4pm and Operation Ball Drop was under way. The plan was simple: take the E train uptown to 50/8th ave, walk five blocks to 45th street and then cut over to Broadway. Alas, the night got off to a shaky start when our train broke down at the 23rd street station. We were stuck on the train for 20 mins. before breaking free, running up the stairs and making our way uptown on foot. Twenty-two blocks later we were at 45th, but police had already closed off the street. So, we headed north to 52nd street and pushed our way into the crowd. Police and barricades funneled us down the street until everything opened up on Broadway. We spotted the glass ball and ran towards it, making it to 48th and Broadway. There we set up camp and waited. And waited. And waited. Six and a half hours. Average temp: 13 degrees. It was cold. It was crowded. It was windy. But it was worth it for this:

I can finally check watching the ball drop in Times Square off my list. And now, for the rest of the obligatory resolutions:
-drink less coffee
-drink more water
-read more fiction instead of just news
-yoga
-learn to cook
-cook more
-learn another language, preferably french
-organize
-create a budget and stick to it
-exercise more
-declutter
-laugh more
-take a trip on my own
-write every day
-start investing
-write more letters
-watch less TV
-eat more whole grains and veggies


Goodbye 2008--you were a crappy year for finances, but a wonderful year for me. I completed a thesis and college, graduating with honors, had an amazing summer internship which led to my current amazing job, and I live right outside of the city that I've dreamed about living in my whole life. I've made some amazing new friends, grown closer to old ones, and I have a wonderful family. So many people were ready to say "good riddance" to you 2008, but I just want to say "thank you".

....Weekend Anna