A Very Belated Saturday To You

* A big sarcastic "Thanks a lot" to my friend Shelly for turning me on to ZooBorns. Handing me a site devoted to baby zoo animals is like giving cake to Jessica Simpson- it's a bad idea! I must have wasted a few hours staring at baby aminals (you have to say/spell it like that when talking about this level of cuteness). I'm not one for babies, I don't have the itch; but if I could get my hands on a baby otter my life may just be complete.

* Hosting trivia at my neighborhood bar went so well I'm doing it again- twice! I've been rushing to prep a game for the 29th, then I have another one the week after. At least I decided to theme my October stints around the greatest holiday ever (Halloween!!!!) so that game is practically done. I'm also hosting karaoke there on the 30th. I'm going to be exhausted. Wish me luck!

* Overheard: "Cuz I like a mouthful of honey". I'm not sure why this was hilarious or why I thought it was dirty, but I did.

* Jennie's word of the day: Falafel. Clearly she was hungry when I spoke to her and it made me hungry because I have falafel at home! Yummy, delicious, falafel.

* My buddy created this hilarious video dedicated to bartenders everywhere. It is the funniest thing I've seen in forever!

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGFsV6fY9U8&feature=player_embedded)

* Life has been pretty hectic, but I'm working on a lot of projects right now. I promise to post more soon!

Fair thee well, Holiday

Day 7

Ugh. Monday. I don't want to go home. Can't I just stay here? I'll be a really good house guest. I'll cook and clean and give back rubs. Can I just live on your futon? No? Oh well.

Today was take Graygrrl to work day. We got up early and commuted with everyone else into the city. My friend works in the financial district and it was really lovely. They have a cafeteria in the building and everything was so cheap! I had 2 eggs over medium, whole wheat toast, and home fries for about $4. Yea New York!!

Her office is a few blocks from "The Pit", i.e. World Trade Center, and I decide I'm finally ready to see it. I've avoided that area like the plague every time I go to NY. It's too depressing; not just because of what happened there but because of how little has been done in the years since. You would think several of the 7 planned buildings would be up by now but there are only halves of 2 buildings. The cranes still stretch into the sky and a tall covered fence surrounding the area reminds me of the Wizard of Oz hiding the reality of what is actually going on.

Across the street is St Paul's Chapel, the cities oldest public place of worship. It's staggering to think how it survived the devastation that took down much larger and supposedly stronger buildings. Out front is a time line of the events that took place that day. Inside there are photos of the dead and monuments to the activities that happened inside the church- a makeshift hospital bed, prayer cards and memorials, a huge banner hangs from the ceiling:
TO NEW YORK CITY
AND ALL THE RESCUERS
KEEP YOUR SPIRITS UP...
OKLAHOMA LOVES YOU!!
It's a quiet place. A somber place. Behind the chapel and facing where the twin towers once stood is a cemetery as old as the church. It's in amazing condition considering the age of many of the tombstones, many still legible. I love cemeteries. For the several years they have been my location of choice to photograph. I love how wherever you go, they're always the same yet different in subtle ways. Some are falling apart, some seem new, some have crypts built into the sides of mountains, others above ground. Even in the middle of the city, in the hustle and bustle, they seem tranquil. As if the wrought iron gates can keep out noise. I find them very relaxing.

Across the street is the 9/11 Progress Museum. Inside is a scale model of what they are planning to build as well as a video playing the background, survivors and rescuers telling their story. In a far back corner is a sound proof room where visitors can record their own memories of that day to be used later as a video instillation at the memorial plaza.

I walk a great deal of this part of the city. From WTC to City Park to the Tweed Courthouse and the French Embassy, to Pace University, past the Woolworth building, and down Broadway. City park had an interesting sculpture instillation and a beautiful fountain.

I headed back to meet up with my friend, her husband, and my sister and her boyfriend, who were also in town for a few days, to eat lunch. We went to Harry's Italian and had an amazing lunch! We all split the "5 leaf" salad (a mix of Romain, arugula, dandelion, etc) and a stuffed artichoke. We ordered a half and half pizza. One side was the Old Fashioned White with roast garlic and olives, the other half a traditional red sauce with sausage and pepperoni. The crust was so thin and crunchy!
I had about half an hour to kill before catching my train to the airport, so we walked my sister down to the WTC and I pointed her in the direction of things to see. I was very grateful that my friends husband offered to come with me to the airport to make sure I got there safe. He became my lifesaver when we got to the airport and the security line was wrapped around the corner and down the hall. Thank god for my place holder so I could squeeze in a smoke before boarding. Thank you thank you thank you! I took the PATH train from WTC/Port Authority to Newark Penn Station, than transferred to another train that took us to the airport. Somehow, my timing was off and I barely made it onto the plane! Once again, I heart you Continental and your free meals (even if I can't eat half of it). This time we had hamburgers (which I gave back), pretzels, real fruit strip, Doritos, and something else I just can't remember. Oh well.

All in all, I had the most amazing time on my holiday and did NOT want to come back. I hope I don't have to wait another year to go again. Anyone wanting to contribute to my vacation fund, please email me :)

Droppin' Some Knowledge

***The following video along with some of the text is NSFW (That's not suitable for work people) and should be viewed with caution. I, the writer of this blog, do not agree, condone, or condemn any of the quoted statements below. So, if you are fragile of heart or mind stop reading here.***

I've got you know huh?

Wednesday is usually filled with nothing more than random trivia questions and answers. [side note: After my two week absence due to illness and such, we (i.e. "Panty Puddin'", and no I did not name our team) are back on top. Now, if only we can hold on.]

This past Wednesday however was the exception. Wednesday was when my little group of ragamuffins met Eddie. Wearing a pair of dirty jeans and red Rangers cap, from behind he would have appeared to fit in with our group perfectly. It wasn't until you came around and saw his lopsided, toothless grin that you knew something was off. Eddie was the kind of guy who was probably 52 but on a bad day looked 65. His life was written on his face and it was punctuated by gulps of a Shiner Bock.

Eddie invited himself to sit down at our table and immediately my Stranger Danger went off. Thankfully, my buddy Smalls doesn't have the same problem. We were talking about something un-PC and Eddie just chimed in. He was ready with some wisdom and a joke on any taboo topic. It got to a point that I don't remember what he said, I was laughing so hard. It didn't even occur to me to start writing some of his gems down until half way through. Luckily, my other buddy Moe kept his head and captured almost every moment with his iPhone. The following video is one take from the evening. Apologies in advance, at one point Eddie was so funny Moe dropped the phone:



A few, un-PC, often racist dropped knowledge from Eddie:

"Put your white train in my chocolate sundae."

"I'm not into cougars, I'm into saber tooths. Hum it and gum it."

"Take out your dentures, I'm ready to go."

[side note: Eddie seemed obsessed with toothless women. Perhaps because he himself had such a grin.]

"I'm conquering my ass some Incas, 'cuz I'm not wearing pants!"

The worst story Eddie knew when prompted. It truly is gross:
"This girl wanted to go to the latest popular movie so she asked her dad for $7. 'Sure,' he said, 'If you suck my dick.' 'Oh, come on dad!' the girl protested. [This went on for a while]. After an hour and a half (that's one hour and 30 minutes to you guys), the girl gave in and her dad pulled down his pants. 'Ew! Why does your dick taste like ass?' 'Cuz your brother was here half an hour earlier wanting to go to the same move.'"
[I really needed a shower after that one.]

Eventually, Eddie began repeating his stories and we wondered off (more like scurried) to greener pastures. It certainly was a sight and a hell of a good, awkward, politically incorrect time.