over lunch

and in a one block radius, i managed to get my shoes fixed and shined, buy lunch, pick up a birthday card for my aunt, buy face wash and get cash. can't beat that.

on the flip side of extolling the conveniences of new york, this weekend s and i purchased a new television. and by television i mean monster sized flat screen LCD that is larger than the stand it sits on. oh and we live in a one bedroom apartment. but i digress. anyway, we braved the cold on Saturday and made our way to p.c. richards in union square. if you have never gone to union square on a saturday, don't. it's crowded, people are angry and often lost. the fact that the l train was out of service forcing people above ground to ride the bus didn't help matters much either. you know it was cold when i convinced s to take the bus because i couldn't feel my toes.

so we find our way to p.c. richards where a lovely man helps us (i.e. tries to sell us a wire for our television for $50 that we found online for $1.46) and we purchase our (s's) tv of choice - the 46 inch samsung lcd, blah blah blah. s is beaming with joy like a proud parent. we will take this tv home and watch the sweat on a basketball player's head gleam like we are right next to him. our friendly p.c. richard's salesman informs us that it will be an extra $120 for delivery. hm. i could rent a car for an hour in this city for $10 and he wants to charge me $120? the answer - a resounding no. so, we take it with us. into the freezing cold. on saturday. in union sqaure. at 5:30.

one might ask - how could you think that was a good idea? why would you think that a taxi (a van or SVU no less because this tv of the g-ds will not fit in the back of a mere mortal taxi) would just be magically waiting there for you to exit the store and easily load this ginormous tv into the back?

the answer - naivety. there really is no other possible answer. it took us a half hour to find a taxi to fit the tv and it was only because i practically accosted a poor young couple exiting a taxi across the street. i have never run so fast in my life. funny enough, the tv only fit when we put the seats down. so s had to ride home separately and i sat in the front seat of the cab while the driver grilled me about the details of this tv. that made me chuckle a little as we both agreed on a mutual disdain for best buy.

but the tv is home now. and it is large. and s is happy. and the steelers are in the super bowl so i GUESS it's ok.

so what's the point?

when i started writing i wasn't sure what direction i was going in. i was just kind of putting pen to paper, or fingers to keyboard as it may, based on whatever was going on that day. slowly though, i found myself only writing when i was down or something crap had happened to me. i have recently decided i don't like that approach. while there are certain times when it is important to acknowledge a bad day, i am making an effort to write about happy things. there is so much to appreciate every single day that is often ignored or forgotten. if i focus more on the good things that are going on, i believe more good things will follow.

good things in the last 24 hours:

(1) someone saved me a seat at lunch today.
(2) the E train wasn't that crowded this morning.
(3) my ipod battery has not died yet and it really should have by now.
(4) i had the opportunity to go to court yesterday.
(5) lunch was free today and it was breakfast for lunch, my favorite.

as a side note, at free lunch we had a rousing discussion about how i can't keep kiefer sutherland and kevin costner separate. i believe they are the same person. frankly, no one has convinced me otherwise.

2009

is gonna be a big year! the wedding plus exciting career prospects equals lots of changes and things to look forward to. i am excited. and a little scared. but mostly excited.

I am proud

(1) that I followed my dream to move to New York and have had a great partner in crime in the journey;
(2) that I go to the gym three times a week;
(3) and when I can't make it, I don't beat myself up about it;
(4) that I can run a mile (no matter how long it takes me);
(5) that I read as much as I watch television;
(6) that I don't take myself too seriously;
(7) that I am reliable, honest and dependable;
(8) that I am changing things up at work;
(9) that I learn from past mistakes so I can avoid repeats;
(10) that I finally learned to save money.

sweet music

my favorite accordion player who plays in the tunnel leading to the 7 train in port authority played hava nagila yesterday and christmas carols today. i love that he is an equal opportunity musician. others apparently do too because his accordion case was overflowing with dollars. that made me smile even more when i added to the pile. tis the season!

present

is probably one of my favorite words in the english language. and i am not exaggerating when i say i get the same level of joy in getting a present as i do when i find the perfect present for someone i love. i have often thought wistfully about having a personal shopping business where all i would do all day is buy presents. with other people's money. make chocolate calorie free and you'd be pretty much describing my version of heaven.

this year present buying is tough. s and i are saving every last penny for the wedding (well except the pennies i spent on that purse this weekend but that's not really relevant) and we didn't want to go overboard. we generally go a little nutty on each other's presents but this year we agreed to exchange small and meaningful gifts (i.e. i am not allowed to go to saks and buy very expensive cuff links for s). so i found a bunch of silly stuff which i am still equally excited to give him.

one wrinkle in my quest for affordable yet awesome presents - in my search of silly things i found a great present on a website, bought it, was charged for it and have heard nothing. so i went back to said website to look for the inevitable "contact us" page only to find there isn't one. i have never read the fine print on a website so closely as i have with this one and there is literally nothing.

i am not one to give up easily. i logged in to my handy credit card company website and found a phone number for this vendor. a few rings and the voice mail indicated that i was calling rob and i should leave a message. notwithstanding how bizarre this is, i did. so far, rob has not returned my calls. why am i not surprised?

now, i know i can just call my credit card company, dispute the charges and be on my way. but the point is, i so desperately want to buy this stupid $20 present for s that i am being unbelievably stubborn. i am determined to find a way to get this merchandise. even if i walk to chicago and shake it out of rob. which i might.

the moral of this story - s is damn picky so when i find a good present i really can't let go. i think s should stop being so picky so i can relax a little. it is definitely his fault.

patience

is not one of my strong suits. i should clarify. i am probably one of the most impatient people alive. i try not to show it but i am generally not successful. in fairness, i've gotten slightly better about controlling it, i.e. hiding it, in my old age, but only slightly.

so, sitting at work this week, waiting to find out what i will work on next is, to put it mildly, difficult. couple my impatience with an intense dislike of uncertainty and you have a very antsy person who is probably not fun to be around.

in reality, what i really want to do is sit at my desk and read twilight. which makes me an impatient 13 year old girl trapped in a 32 year old lawyer's body. thank goodness it is friday.