the place that, when you have to go there, they have to let you in.

This evening I am at my parent's house, the house I grew up in (since I was brought home from the hospital...we have never ever moved, weird huh?)I have an early AM doctor's appointment and my doctor's office is near my parent's house (can you say, hi, I haven't lived at home in 7 years and have yet to switch doctors. Sad). Oh, and check out my old post if you want to see what my doctor looks like. It's bad. Luckily, tomorrow is a quick shot so I'll be in and out and probably won't have too see her. Not like she has time for me anyway.

So, I love going to my parent's because because they cook me nice dinners, dote on me, etc. But little did I know that they would have graduation presents waiting for me. Yay! I honestly didn't even expect anything because, yeah I just got my master's degree, but I have yet to find a job that requires me to change out of my pajamas in the morning. Plus, graduations in December are never as exciting as graduations in May (I also finished undergrad. in Dec...I guess I enjoy being untraditional). But I always accept presents and was super psyched!

Look, kids, no more camera phone pics! It's about time. Sas actually gave me her old digital the other day because she got the pink Sony she had been dying for and was sick of my camera phone photography (though my skills were mad). I am seriously in love with this new camera. Welcome to the 21st century, Susie. You're a big girl now.
Also, I've been super obsessed with Story People for years now (and could literally spend HOURS browsing their website. It's addicting). I love Brian Andreas' prints and the stories are so beautiful. For my parent's anniversary a few years ago I got them a framed print that says, "There are things you do because they feel right & they may make no sense & they may make no money & it may be the real reason we are here: to love each other & to eat each other's cooking & say it was good." This is PERFECT for them. My parents are crazy cooks and we legit sometimes just sit at the dinner table saying "mmmm this is sooo good" over and over. Anyway, they got this one for graduation:

In case you can't read it, it says, "There has never been a day when I have not been proud of you. Though some days I'm louder about other stuff so it's easy to miss that." So beautiful, and probably so true for many parents and children.

Bed now, up much earlier than I'm used to for my appointment!

Oh, and happy birthday to my sis :)

what happens when you and your friends don't have jobs.

Things that happened last night (Tuesday night) in list form:

-Sara and I had an innocent dinner at Ma Soba, eating sushi and sharing a bottle of wine. See? The evening started off classy.

-We then went to The Hill where we promptly ordered 2 more bottles of wine. Because one just wasn't enough.

-Disappointed that the pizza place was closed, we went to a majorly sketchy Chinese restaurant and pigged out on scallion pancakes and chicken fingers (after being so healthy with sushi). Sara also ordered vodka and sodas for us, but thankfully we did not drink them.

-While at the bar in the sketchy Chinese restaurant, we yelled at every person there, demanding to know why they were there and where they came from. I got into a really heated political debate with a 45-year-old man with a moustache (Ron Paul? The Patriot Act? I have no idea). I think I talked to his friend on the phone, ew. I also attempted to take pictures of everyone at the bar. I think they hated us.

-We accidentally left sketchy Chinese restaurant without paying. To be fair, I don't remember getting a bill and we chatted up the owners our whole way out the door. It's not like we were trying to hide anything.

-Somewhere between sketchy Chinese restaurant, running up and down the streets of Beacon Hill, and arriving back at Sara's, my wallet went missing. I didn't notice until this morning. After spending 15 minutes panicking (and wondering how I could call sketchy Chinese restaurant to ask if they had it without getting caught for not paying), I received a call from the police at my alma mater. Allegedly they had a pile of cards that were mine. OK. I was nowhere near my old grad school last night but somehow someone brought the goods from my wallet (minus the cash and the actual very cute wallet) to the police there. They tell me it was a homeless man. He says he found them on the street, but I kind of hope he was the one who took the money and then had a conscience and turned everything else in. That would explain why the culprit chose not to take my Victoria's Secret gift card. Or the AAA card. It does not, however, explain why they took my pink, extremely girly wallet.

-Sara fell in the middle of the road and had trouble getting back up. I tried to help her up but was laughing WAY too hard.

-We ran home. I slept at Sara's. Thank God. If I hadn't, I would have taken a cab home and tried to pay the cabbie with my non-existent money.

I learned that it is a very dangerous thing that Sara is now unemployed like me. Something tells me if we both had normal people jobs, Tuesday night would have never happened. These are going to be some very dangerous times for us. I probably should make sure I get a job ASAP.

Enjoying our sketchy but free Chinese food.

all was warm and happy in the windy city.

And I'm back! I seriously had an amazing weekend in Chicago and am pretty sad that I had to return home after only 3 nights. Between hanging out with my sister and her boyfriend and my fabulous blogging friends, everything we did was just a blast.

Thursday night Beth and Adam picked me up from the airport and we went directly to The Four Shadows. Why? Because TKTC was there. I think my sis and Adam were slightly sketched out at first that I was meeting up with a girl I had never met in "real life," and I mean, I can kind of understand. But after having a couple beers with TKTC and even meeting her personal trainer, they quickly realized she wasn't an Internet freak (or a man, like they warned me she might be). However, I'm pretty sure our blogging talk confused everyone else quite a bit and my sister claimed at one point she felt like she was watching a Best in Show type movie about bloggers (um, amazing idea. Somebody, get on that!).

Friday consisted of my sister and I on Southport eating cupcakes, shopping in tons of cute little boutiques, and getting our nails done at Pinky nails, where my manicurist pretty much beat me up. They try to massage you while they give you manicures, but my woman didn't warn me and was pretty much whacking me (hard!) and yelling at me to relax. (I just looked on their website and they say: "we promise to provide you only the most Tender Loving Care...oh, and we give free back massages too!" FYI, that was NOT tender loving care, it was a beat-down). That night, we cooked dinner at Beth's (look here for our results), and then went to see Wicked. LOVED it (just like everyone said I would). I already want to see it again...or at least re-read the book.

My sister and I after Wicked. It was a COLD weekend in Chicago! And I thought Boston was bad...

Saturday was a continuation of the cupcake crawl we started on Friday. You have no idea how many cupcakes I ate over the weekend. Some of you would probably consider it a bit disgusting, but I don't regret it (though I probably won't want a cupcake for quite a little while). I have many, many pictures of cupcakes and will probably post them up in a cupcake crawl post for all you Chicago cupcake lovers and wannabes. You guys are lucky, you have TONS of awesome cupcake shops. And my sister, Adam, and I were more than happy to taste them all and rate them all for you. You're very welcome.

Me, indulging at Sweet Temptations, one of our favorite spots!

Saturday night we took my sis out for her birthday dinner. First we went to Vintage Wine Bar, where we indulged in a fabulous bottle of Meritage and a delish cheese platter. Then we went to Bob San, for sushi (and more wine, obvi). Dinner was fabulous; if you live in Chicago, definitely check out Bob San.

After dinner, we went to TKTC's apartment and drank champagne and wine and basically talked for two hours. Her cat (Honey) is adorable and her apartment is just lovely. We probably could have sat there all night listening to music and just chatting about everything, but we eventually decided to head out for the rest of the evening.

So, after having more than enough champagne, we went down the street a bit to Pint. People in Chicago are NICE (imagine that, Bostonians??) While we awaited the arrival of d-blogged, we drank beer, took shots, met new people, and generally had fun (do you sense any common themes here??). When d arrived, we sat up in the balcony and chatted and talked and gabbed. I can't even describe how crazy it is to meet people who you already know so much about (and who know so much about you), though you've never met. TKTC said it best when she said, "With both D and Susie, it felt a little cracking open a book I'd been enjoying, only to find a way to interview the characters," (except fill in her name in place of mine). It's seriously like you have instant friends and you're just picking up where you left off in your blog, filling in details and learning the secrets that they can't write on a daily basis (hi, we all have them, especially us not anonymous bloggers). Could I have met two nicer, more awesome people? I honestly don't think so!

My sis and Adam wanted to go home, but I was having too much fun hanging out and trying to get the dj to pay attention to me and play "Piece of Me," so TKTC and d promised to get me home safely. And they did. d even took a cab with me to make sure I was headed in the right direction (and he paid for the cab. What a gentleman!). Also, every taxi driver I had while in Chicago was extremely nice and chatty. I was quite impressed.

I know I'm leaving out TONS of important details, but the bottom line is that I had a blast in Chicago and am pretty excited for TKTC to come to Boston in March. I am more than happy that my sister is moving back to Boston in April (yay!), but am a bit sad I won't have her to visit in Chicago anymore. However, I might just have some new friends to visit!

TKTC, me, and d hanging out in the balcony of Pint.

Yup, pretty much what we did ALL night.

Basically, my weekend was filled with cupcakes, wine, and awesome people. Does it get any better than that? I don't think so.

chi-town bound.

Chicago tomorrow evening! I can't wait. MORE than excited to spend some good quality time with my sister. Oh, and not to mention, to meet up with To Kiss The Cook! Yay!!

Other fun events planned? My sister sent me her own custom-made "cupcake crawl" of all the cupcake places she wants to take me to over the weekend. Um, she knows me oh so well. She also offered to pick up some free passes to her gym. Right.

Friday night we're going to see Wicked and I am super excited. I read the book a couple years ago, but hear the show is absolutely amazing.

Also taking my sister out for her birthday dinner at some point with the cash my mom gave me to treat her. My mom loves sister-time and likes to fund parts of it. Yay for that.

I probably won't want to leave.

I got my haircut tonight but I'm not posting pictures just yet. I'll definitely be taking some this weekend and will post when I return home. Anyway, it's not as short as the picture from the other day, but still really short for me....but I think I'm OK with it. I needed some major chopping done. And I got it.

busy.

This week has been pretty crazy and I've been super busy. My GoogleReader in out of control. And I'm off to Chi-Town on Thurs. night. Lots to do before then.

Do you ever notice that after you clean your room, you feel so much more relaxed and can concentrate so much easier?

Getting a new comforter makes me feel like I got a new bed.

My neighbors gave me a Christmas card with a picture of my parents on it. It was cute but kind of freaked me out that my parents are on the front of their Christmas card. I hung it up on my bulletin board anyway.

Back in the day I was a Backstreet Boys fan, but haven't paid attention to them with their last few albums. I just heard one of their new songs "Love Will Keep You Up All Night" and actually kind of enjoyed it. Who knew. Um, I have better taste than this. Really.

I'm getting my haircut tomorrow. Woot. Even better is the fact that my old co-worker does my hair and is coming to my apartment to do it. Door to door service. She's a licensed hairdresser and does an amazing job and charges me a fraction of what I'd pay in a salon. Love her.

Really sad that Heath Ledger passed away. I feel so bad for his family.

virtual haircuts.

I just found the funniest slash awesomest website ever. I'm getting a haircut on Wednesday and have been trying to figure out what to do. My hair has been feeling so BLAH lately (really, it told me), but I am not one for drastic changes. They scare me. I think I'm mostly bored with my hair because it barely has any style and has a super boring part. So, I'm planning on getting some highlights to brighten my hair up for the long winter and get a cut that's fresh and fun. And not too difficult to handle. I went through the bangs thing last year and while I enjoyed them, it was so annoying to have to cut them all the time. And it was nearly impossible to wear a winter hat or hood with them and still have them look decent.

Anyway, I found this super amazing program on MarieClaire.com where you can upload your own picture and give yourself virtual haircuts. I've been having way too much fun with it, though it's sort of creepy to see yourself with different hair, especially since many of the styles look like wigs.

I think I might go with something along this style; it allows me to kind of have bangs without being stuck with them. And it gets rid of my boring part. But this is far too short for me and I will need a lot more length:Of course, these pictures assume that everyone has the perfect hair day every day, whereas I have the perfect hair day maybe 3 times a year. And I don't think I could ever make my hair as thick and full-looking as it is in the picture.

I would love to just screw it all and dye my hair brown, but I think that would be way too drastic and shocking (and would give my mom a heart attack). I'm too much of a wuss to dye my hair a color that it isn't even close to in real life. At least my blonde highlights bring out the natural blonde in my hair

Haha this site is seriously entertaining. Try it! Ew, for the first time, I'm actually happy my hair cannot be curled like this.

That is horrendous! I could keep going. Really. But work must get done and time needs to stop being wasted on giving myself hideous hairstyles. Too bad.

winners.

Yessss.

Photo from Boston.com

And the Pats do it again! Very proud of them and excited for the Super Bowl.

Fabulous weekend.

crime scene.

We still don't have any idea what happened since we couldn't find it in the news anywhere, but Friday night, we saw all sorts of commotion, fighting, and yelling outside the Prudential food court. Then a bunch of guys started running down the stairs and down the street with police chasing after them. Tons of ambulances arrived and cops were speeding down Boylston trying to catch the guys. Because Chels and I are the nosiest people in the world, we watched. Some cops eventually came back and had a guy in handcuffs. I wanted to take pictures but I felt rude. Hence why I would be the worst journalist in the world. Chels and I got dangerously close to the scene of the crime and asked a cameraman from channel 4 what happened. He told us it was a stabbing, but we're not really sure since we didn't see them put anyone in an ambulance. They taped the whole terrace off with "crime scene, do not cross" yellow tape, but somehow Chels and I wandered into the area and got stuck in it. We just wanted to get down the stairs, but it was all taped off and we had nowhere to go. We were the only people on the scene except for a detective examining the ground. Finally, the detective saw us sketchily standing there and told us to just go under the tape. So we did. And we thought it was funny so we took a picture.

The best part was when my mom called and I said, "I think there was just a stabbing across the street from us" and she said, "Do you think maybe you should just go home?" "Hmm probably," I said, as we walked across the street to get closer.


I totally want to be a detective. Watching more CSI ASAP.

game on.

While I'm in love with Boston, am psyched for the Patriots game this weekend, and am sure they're going to beat the Chargers, I have to say San Diego fans aren't totally bad. I mean, I'm trying to imagine Pats fans in San Diego. They would no doubt be complete assholes to everyone. I legit love Boston pride, but that doesn't mean I beat up people who cheer for the opposing team. So tonight, when Chels and I started talking to two Chargers fans in town for the game, we were kind of surprised that they were actually nice. Of course there was that "our team is better" banter back and fourth, but nothing got nasty. They didn't trash talk Brady, they actually said he was one of the best quarterbacks ever; but they claimed they would still beat us. OK, fair enough (even though they're not going to beat us). And they bought us drinks AND also paid our tabs off for us. Why do I feel like Boston guys would never do this? Obviously they were 21 and 22, because really? When do I get hit on by guys my own age? I'm going with never. They said if they had to guess my age it would be 19. I'm sure I'll appreciate this someday.

More tomorrow on the huge scene (stabbing?) at the Prudential downtown. We still don't know what happened. But I do know we watched the entire scene, including the police chase where they found the guy and handcuffed him. And Chels and I crossed a crime scene. And legit crawled under the yellow crime scene tape...twice.

communication.

I had a nice day with my mom today doing a bit of shopping (yay Linens n' Things!) and having an awesome dinner (yay Dad!). Anyway, I had to get a bunch of work done after dinner and now I'm dead tired and ready to pass out.

Earlier tonight I was looking at my bookshelf in my childhood bedroom and I saw a book that I had read in college and began flipping through it. It's called "That's Not What I Meant! How Conversational Style Makes or Breaks Relationships," by Deborah Tannen. I read it for Intro. to Interpersonal Communications Sophomore year and I remembered really liking it because it made so much sense and was so relevant (though it was written in the 80s).

I'm really big on communication and understanding how and why things go wrong when it comes to communicating. Like seriously, I think about communication issues a lot. I probably should have been a sociolinguist. But maybe not, because I think I already spend too much time analyzing conversations as it is. Anyway, this book does an awesome job at explaining the differences between men and women and their communication styles. It basically makes you feel a little bit less crazy and like your man's not such a mess.

But in reading through the second chapter, I read an excerpt that I though really made a lot of sense:

"We need to get close to each other to have a sense of community,to feel we're not alone in the world. But we need to keep our distance from each other to preserve our independence, so others don't impose on or engulf us. This duality refelects the human condition. We are individual and social creatures. We need other people to survive, but we want to survive as individuals."

"Another way to look at this duality is that we are all the same--and all different. There is comfort in being understood and pain in the impossibility of being understood completely. But there is also comfort in being different--special and unique--and pain in being the same as everyone else, just another cog on the wheel."

We are constantly trying to balance these two goals that completely violate each other. And thus, it is impossible for communication to ever be perfect. I'm not really sure if that's comforting to me or not.

But I think it's a good reason for why we blog. We all want to be understood. And to know there are others like us. But just the same, we all like being individuals. Keeping our distance and not being smothered. It's kind of a good balance here, I think.

a, b, c, you wanna know me?

So I was going to write a super exciting post about my day. And all about how I went out to lunch with my former co-worker and how we spent an hour gossiping (she is the queen of gossip and still knows EVERYTHING about EVERYONE in our old office, though she hasn't worked there in a year). Then I was going to write about how I walked to Filene's Basement, the Boston Public Library, and then for the hell of it walked all the way home. And how I barely got any work done because I was out gallivanting all day. But then Shelley reminded me that I didn't do the meme Nicole posted the other day, so yeah, I'm doing that instead. You'll have to hear all about my exciting day another time. I know, I know. Sorry to disappoint.

A - Age: 25...Uhh I HATE saying that. So scary.

B - Band listening to right now: I'm listening to Ryan Adams as we speak. If you consider this speaking.

C - Career future: Who on Earth knows? Hopefully editing some fun stuff. And writing for major magazines. And writing relationship advice. More stuff too.

D - Dad’s name: Bert (and Ernie! haha that was in response to Nicole's Alvin and the Chipmunks). If I were a boy, I would be Bert III. Yup. I could have easily been Bertha...but I have a mother who was smart enough to put a stop to that.

E - Easiest person to talk to: Depends on what I'm talking about.

F - Favorite type of shoe: Uggs and heels, totally depending on my mood.

G – Grapes or Grapefruit: Love 'em both.

H – Hometown: Born and raised in A-town...now I'm a Boston girl. Brookline, more specifically. And I spent some college years in New Hampshire. Yay.

I – Instrumental talent: None! I played piano for about 11 years and I seriously sucked. I also played flute for 4 years and was a complete mess. I really want to be good at music stuff.

J – Juice of choice: Cranberry

K – Koala Bear or Panda Bear: Probably panda, but I love all bears. Fo' real.

L - Longest car ride ever: Um, I really don't remember. I guess Buffalo, NY...8.5 hours (like one
million times). Anywhere farther and I'd hop on a plane. But I have a really bad memory so I'm probably forgetting somewhere I've driven to.

M – Middle name: Marie.

N - Number of jobs you’ve had: My first job was an internship in PR at United Way. Then I worked at American Eagle for a couple years (until they made me stay from 8 p.m. on Dec. 23rd until 7 a.m. on Dec. 24th and only let me leave because I begged them. Hi, it's Christmas Eve). In college I worked at a gift shop and UNH apparel store in town. Got to do fun stuff like design clothing and meet with sales reps. Then I moved to Boston and worked for the state gov't until I realized I was the only one who worked. Quit a year ago and have been freelancing ever since. Mostly writing and editing relationship advice. I need a "real" job badly. Anyone? Want me? Please?

O- OCD traits: I do lots of weird ish.

P - Phobia[s]: All bugs. Heights. I have many irrational fears.

Q - Quote: "How many cares one loses when one decides not to be something but to be someone." -Coco Chanel

R - Reason to smile: Hanging out with my mom tomorrow. And getting a home-cooked meal from my dad. See? There are benfits to being unemployed! Also smiling that the weekend is almost here.

S - Song you sang last: Singing Plan B by Mute Math right now. Because it's on my iTunes and I'm singing along.

T - Time you wake up: Uhh totally depends. My life is pretty much a mess right now. The last few days, I've basically been sleeping from 4:00 a.m.- 9:00 a.m. I suck.

U - Unknown fact about me: I rarely get in grumpy moods. I am a naturally happy person and don't like being grouchy.

V - Vegetable you hate: I don't think I hate anything. Hmmm.

W - Worst habit: I probably gossip too much. But I'm a girl, right? In that case, I shop too much too.

X - X-rays you’ve had: My teeth. And my ankle when I sprained it triple jumping in high school. I've never actually broken a bone in my life!

Y - Yummiest food my belly likes: Whatever my parents cook. Chicken pot pie. Orange vegetables. Homemade Mac and Cheese.

Z - Zodiac sign: Libra. And I'm TOTALLY a Libra 100%

Now, you try. kthnksbai.

the city is more fun than the book.

Sometimes I hate being such a grammar fanatic. While trying to do a project for work tonight, I literally spent an hour reading the Chicago Manual. It started out with one little rule I was questioning. It took me forever to find the solution. And then I just kept reading other stuff I had completely forgotten about. I then started questioning every single thing I had been editing on my work website, and made me want to go back and re-edit every single page.

When I took my copyediting class last year, we had to read the entire Chicago Manual of Style. It was Hell. I remember the first week, I had to read 400 pages. I was visiting my sister in Chicago that weekend so I lugged the book with me and all my luggage to work that day. I was sitting at my desk telling a co-worker that I was going to Chi-town. "Ohh, so you're bringing a Chicago guide book?" he asked, pointing toward my huge-ass book. I had a difficult time not bursting out laughing. "Umm no, that is a book on grammar, not a Chicago guide book." But I guess it was kind of cute that I had to read the Chicago Manual my whole way to and back from Chicago. And it made for good plane conversation.

Anyway, I successfully completed my copyediting class, including the weekly quizzes and exams my professor made us take closed book (everyone else was allowed to use their books; um, as editors in the real world, you can open a book any time you want. Right??). I learned SO much; I can honestly say I've never learned so much in one class. But since then, between following other businesses' style guides and being forced to also read the AP Style guide, I didn't retain as much of the information as I wish I did. But I have become super obnoxious and ridiculous about grammar. I wouldn't call myself a perfectionist, but maybe just a bit OCD. When it comes to stuff for work, I get so bothered by inconsistency or tiny little errors, it won't stop nagging me. I could edit the entire site over a million times, and still not be happy with it. I can't wait to go back to Chicago in 1.5 weeks...this time without my 1,000 page manual!

This Lolcat is using proper grammar!

Oh, and talk of OCD grammar craziness does not apply to this blog. Ever. Just so you know.

out of it.

In 4th grade, during parent/teacher conferences, my teacher told my parents the only thing she worried about with me is that I seemed to space out a lot (uhhh, who me?). She'd be giving a lesson and look at me and I'd be completely off in my own little world. But then she'd call on me and I'd know exactly what she was talking about and I'd always answer her questions correctly. Really not much has changed and now I actually think of this as sort of a skill I have. I am able to simultaneously space out and pay attention, fooling everyone around me. That's partly why I'm a super good eavesdropper.

I don't really know why I'm talking about that except that my mom and I were discussing how I'm really good at reading people, even when they have no idea I'm doing it. Basically I do a super good job at playing dumb and pretending I have no idea what's going on when I usually know exactly what's happening. I think it's great when people think they're fooling me and I can totally see right through them. I think in some ways, I play "out of it" because I don't like confrontation so I just act like I don't know what's going on and like everything's fine. This might not be a good thing, but I do think it really gives me time to figure stuff out, not act irrationally, and let other people be the ones who end up looking dumb. Strange I haven't changed much since 4th grade. Or maybe I was just smart at a young age.

And just so you know, there are allegedly quite a few Bo Bice fans out there. I stand corrected. Apparently, my last post was placed on a Bo Bice fan site and Bo Bice fans from everywhere have been visiting my blog! So, welcome Bice fans. Biceys? Bice-0-maniacs? There's gotta be a better word for that. Do tell.

And to everyone who thought maybeee the license plate said "Bob Ice." Go look again and you'll see the driver had the same worry and placed a blue sticker in between the "Bo" and the "Bice," so you wouldn't get confused.

Also, does anyone know why all the images I post here are landing so far down on their posts? I've probably been fiddling with the html a little too much or something and maybe screwed something up. I have no idea what went wrong or how to fix it. I know that it's probably my problem since the images are working fine on my other site (by the way, visit my other site if you haven't already; it's fun!) So yeah, if you have a clue what's going wrong (or what code I accidentally took out maybe, oops), please let me know!

someone thinks bice is nice.

Andrew spotted this license plate the other day and had Nina e-mail it to me. Really? Bo Bice? On a license plate? Are we being serious here? When I first opened the e-mail, it took me a second to register the picture. And then, my first thought was, "Bo Bice?? Oh S*%#! Does Andrew think I like Bo Bice??? Is that why he thought of me when he saw it??" I immediately felt extremely embarrassed. But he reassured me he did not think I was a Bice fan; he just knows I am sort of a bit obsessed with American Idol and knew I would get a kick out of it. True. Because um, it's Bo Bice. On a license plate.

My second thought after seeing the picture was, "Who on God's Earth would get Bo Bice's name on their vanity plate??" I mean, you have to be a pretty big fan of anything to pay extra money to get it on your license plate, so we're talking super-huge Bo Bice fan here. I wasn't aware there were super-huge Bo Bice fans out there. But clearly I was wrong. There's at least one, and she (or he?) hangs out in the Greater Boston area. And you know she/he was majorly sad when Bice lost American Idol to Carrie Underwood, despite the fact that she/he called in their votes 155 times each night (oh, if only he/she had used the house phone and cell phone! Could have made all the difference).

This has kid of inspired me. When I get a car I might just have to get a license plate with "ElliotYamin" on it. But I think that might be too many letters. Sigh.

That said, American Idol is coming back on Tuesday. Am I excited? Well, let me answer that in two parts. First of all, I wasn't very impressed with last season. The show started to lose its charm and gasp, even bored me a bit. And second of all, the season doesn't really start until like March, after all the lame and horrible (and fake!) auditions. I don't get why so many people LOVE this part of the show. It's so made-up, it pisses me off. But I'm sure I'll be watching American Idol anyway. Because, really? What better do I have to do? So sad, but so true.

P.S. I thought about posting an image of Bo Bice here for effect, but honestly, I can't stand to look at him and really don't want him permanently living in my blog. Ew, that's creepy.

patriots again.

The Patriots are officially 17-0. That's right. Still undefeated. I wore my hair in a ponytail tonight. Very unlike me. But I kind of liked it. I came close to wearing my glasses, but couldn't do it. Baby steps. Going out with my hair in a ponytail is a big deal for me. My hair is so ridiculously long at the moment that I don't really like anything I do with it. Need a haircut and highlights badly.

All I have to say. Sleep now. More tomorrow. Yayy!

we have to take our pants off. to have a good time.

Umm has anyone else heard of the 7th Annual No Pants! Subway Ride???

Allegedly, this is taking place tomorrow. People riding the subway without pants. If you're in Boston, it's taking place on the red line starting at Alewife at 3:00 p.m.

"It's worth mentioning that a few pants-less subway riders were cited for disorderly conduct in New York during the 2006 ride, so my advice is to make sure your "packages are wrapped," if you know what I mean.

Eeeek. Here's more info. on that. I think I'll probably pass. And why can I totally see this happening on the red line, but never ever on the green line??

off to kyoto.

Why I want to learn Japanese:



Um, I'm really not joking here. It's the truth. When I was a kid, I was obsessed with this movie and learned my "ichi ni san" like we all learn our "uno dos tres." Of course, I don't hear people speak Japanese very often, so "ichi ni san" never really stuck with me; Japanese was not a language choice in middle school or high school; and Big Bird's trip to Tokyo and Kyoto faded from my memory.

Then, Junior year in college, I started going out for sushi a lot. And my interest in the Japanese culture was sparked again. The ex and I did a bit of reading since we liked to know what we were doing/ordering when we were out for sushi. And I learned things like: it's polite to drink your miso soup right out of the bowl instead of using a spoon (really good Japanese restaurants won't even provide a spoon). If you're taking food from a shared plate, always take it with the reverse ends of your chopsticks (not the end that goes in your mouth). Never pass someone food with your chopsticks. When dipping your sushi into soy sauce, always put the fish side into the soy sauce, not the rice side. The rice will soak up too much soy sauce and ruin the flavor of the sushi. Ginger is meant to be eaten in between different types of food (palette cleanser) and not with the sushi itself.

And with learning the etiquette, came a little bit of the language. I would learn simple words, "konichiwa," "arigato," and "sumimasen." I never had time to get into it much more. But I've always had this desire. I decided that once I finished grad school, I would finally learn. For my birthday, Sas bought me a learn Japanese program for my iPod. And I picked up a couple books. And now I'm off.

But it's even harder than I thought. I mean, think about it. In learning a language, like Spanish, the words all use characters in the American alphabet. So, you see "hola" and can pronounce it. Now you just need to learn what it means. But in Japanese, you see symbols from the Japanese alphabet. So, first you have to learn how to pronounce those symbols. Then you have to learn what they mean. Adding to the complication is that there are 3 Japanese alphabets (that I know about so far!), which all have A LOT of symbols.

Right now I'm memorizing the symbols from the 2 simpler alphabets. Not only is it a matter of memorizing them, but it's also being able to quickly recognize them and the words they form. It's difficult, and it's slow moving. But I'm determined. So I'm going to keep plowing through the alphabets until I get comfortable and eventually enroll in a class. And hopefully by this time next year, I'll be able to write and speak simple Japanese. That's my goal anyway. And someday, when I visit the beautiful country of Japan ,I'll know exactly what I'm doing. All thanks to Big Bird.


Oh, and if you enjoyed "Ichi Ni San" (and um, why wouldn't you have??), watch "Off to Kyoto." It's funny how things from your childhood can all come right back to you! Also, this is the most hilarious review of Big Bird in Japan: "So there's your travel lesson, kids: Run away from your tour group, as fast as your legs can carry you! The tour guide means you ill! Fall in with anonymous locals, and uncover their secret agendas! Spend the night crashing in strangers' beds! That's your key to a satisfying travel experience."

officially done. w00t.

I guess that makes it official! I told my mom I got my degree and she must have said "congratulations" at least 8 times. It's funny how a piece of paper can make things so much more real. I mean, technically I graduated weeks ago. She then asked me what I wanted for a graduation present. I didn't even know I got a present?! I told her I'd have to get back to her. Then I said I might want part of a gym membership (there's a gym coming to Coolidge Corner!! Literally a 2 minute walk from my apartment!! Can you see I'm excited??? Okay, there are already a few gyms here, but they are either g-h-e-t-t-o or obnoxiously expensive personal training gyms. I really do need my jeans to fit again, but not for $600/month). My mom seemed a little ehhh about that present idea. I think she is worried she will end up stuck paying for my gym membership forever like she is with my phone bill. I swear when I get a job I will start paying for my own cell phone bill.

A few minutes after I got off the phone with her, I got an e-mail from my cousin saying "congratulations." Huh? I scrolled down and saw that my mom sent an e-mail to my entire extended family letting them know I graduated. Cute. However, she mistakenly referred to my degree as a Master's in "writing and publication," instead of "writing and publishing." Oof. She then said of my current employment status: "Besides her full time on-line job as assistant editor for an advice columnist, her other job is to find a more lucrative full time job." HAHA. I love that. A more "lucrative full time job." True that, Mama.


P.S. My school's emblem says, "Expression Necessary to Evolution." How cute is that? Seriously love my gradute school.

so so good. but evil.

For how many days do you have to do something before it can be called an addiction? Chels was at Bath and Body Works and noticed some lipgloss on clearance and bought a few. Last night while we were working on our website, she gave me one: C.O. Bigelow Soothing Lip Buffer. At first I was skeptical. The directions said to rub it in to exfoliate and then remove with a tissue. What kind of lipgloss do you have to remove? Clearly why it was on clearance, right? But I tried it because it's lipgloss and I am willing to try anything when it comes to lipgloss. And before I knew it I was using it again. And again. And again. I couldn't put the thing down all night. This stuff is seriously amazing.

Tonight I was out to dinner with the girls and I found myself thinking about the lip buffer. Why didn't I bring it with me?? (Answer? Because it would be weird to rub exfoliator into your lips and then wipe it off while at the dinner table in a restaurant). When could I get home to use it?? What if it was on clearance because they're discontinuing it?? Should I stock up now?? What if I run out????

It's not good. It's making my lips feel and look amazing. But I'm worried about what will happen if I keep using it so obsessively. I'm afraid I'm going to need an intervention. Help.






Oh, C.O. Bigelow, I love you.


P.S. Thank you sooo much to everyone who went to check out www.wearenotmartha.com. You guys are awesome and I hope you continue to enjoy it!

we are not martha launch. yesssss.

Chels and I are finally launching our new website! It's still in the beginning stages and we have a lot of tweaking to do, but we got the site up and are pretty excited about it. It's called We are not Martha and is basically about our adventures in cooking, eating, decorating, and just plain living life.

We've always been completely in love with Martha Stewart, but we know that so many people our age can't stand her. So, we wanted to do a sort-of Martha Stewart like site for people in their 20s; but of course we hope people of any age will find it useful. Maybe it will inspire you to try cooking a little more...or give you some good ideas for throwing a party. At the very least, you might have fun following Chels and I as we we learn that growing up is actually sort of fun.

So, please come visit us at http://www.wearenotmartha.com/ and leave us comments to let us know what you think. And if you have any great ideas for us, let us know! Don't forget to add us to your GoogleReader. Thank you, my blogger friends :)

sunday night bliss.

Things that are making me happy RIGHT now as we speak/write:

1) Sweet mint lifesavers. Seriously amazing. I.need.to.stop.eating.them.

2) Having enough credit card points to get Amazon gift certificates. Loveee my Amazon credit card a little too much. "But if I just buy one more cute pair of shoes, I'll have enough points for another gift card!" Justifiable, yes?

3) Having had lunch today with one of my fave people in the world who I don't see nearly enough. When we met on the very first day of college, I knew we would be friends. And we still are.

4) The fact that Corey was amazing and put the new Seal and One Republic albums on my iTunes, among others. And I'm listening to them right now. Honestly? Seal is God.

5) That I just got a ton of work done and my boss sent me three e-mails in a row that said variations of "Good job, Susie! Thank you SO much!!" Finally, someone who appreciates my work.

6) That I actually finished reading a whole New Yorker before the next one arrived (the benefit of spending almost 2 hours on the T on a Sunday).

7) The fact that I rarely ever go on the red line, but when I did on Friday night, I saw these guys...Basically two men carrying a boom box blaring music. Everyone the T was like ummm wtf. But then they started talking to us, getting everyone pumped up. And when the T started moving, they started break dancing. Legit doing flips and stuff. The crowd was so into it, including a bunch of older women. It was awesome. And I only came kind of close to getting kicked in the face.

8) That Chelsee and I sort of taught ourselves basic html and are making a kick-ass website. And I learned how to make an icon appear in the address bar. All by myself in less than 30 minutes. We are pure talent I tell ya.

9) That I just ordered tons of new coffee for my Tassimo. Ooooh, my life is so exciting it kills me sometimes.

10) That they're opening a gym in Coolidge Corner. Someone heard my wishes and prayers. Though I'm not sure what kind of gym it is since I couldn't read the sign from across the street. And I was too lazy to cross it. Um, see why I need to go to a gym?

11) C.O. Bigelow Vanilla Malt Shake lip gloss. Yummm. Soooo good.

12) That my final GPA in grad school ended up being .1 of a point higher than it was in undergrad. I iz mad smaht.

13) That Sas is finally coming home tomorrow. Miss that girl like crazy.

my kitchen please.

I said I'd post this when I found an online image. My dream kitchen. However, if I don't end up getting married, I might do pink instead of yellow. We'll see.

That's all for tonight. I was in the Martha Stewart mood after working on a Martha Stewart project all day. Chels and I spent about 12 hours teaching ourselves HTML. So, it was just HTML on Blogger, but still. Neither of us have a clue how to do anything techy, so we are both kind of proud of ourselves for figuring some stuff out. You know how good it feels when you have a big problem and have no idea what to do...and then all of the sudden you discover how to fix it? That was us like eighty times today. Plus, I can't remember a time ever when Chelsee and I have gotten together to "work on stuff" and actually ended up doing work. I'm pretty proud of us. And on a Saturday night too. Um, it's after 3 a.m. now.

We'll tell you about our project soon!

funny men.

I hate to say this, but does anyone else think Conan O'Brien has been especially funny the past couple nights? I am in no way implying that his writers shouldn't get what they deserve; I'm just noting that the man truly is ridiculously laugh-out-loud (LOL) funny all on his own. I mean...comedians should be able to make their own jokes, right?

I definitely think Jay seems a bit more confident with his writers than without; and I mean that in the nicest way possible. I will always be a huge Jay Leno fan; we did grow up in the same town and go to the same high school, after all. Legit true. He was obviously there quite a few years before me, but still had some of the same teachers. And I used to take my relatives on tours by his old house...before they tour it down (it was kind of an eyesore). And Jay also did his undergrad where I went to graduate school. We're like school soul mates. Of course, Conan grew up in the city in which I now live. Gosh, I just seem to be naturally attracted to the places where humor is bred. So then, why aren't I funnier?? It seems as though there maybe should be something in the water where I hang out. But if there was, it probably would have taken effect by now.

I think I'd probably be a whole lot funnier if I had a few writers by my side. Any takers?

So happy my late night TV is back. When you're a super night owl like me, it gets pretty lonely once 1:00 a.m. hits. Now I have my friends back. And I hope the writers come back soon. But Conan's writers? They might be able to work their magic better with Carson. Now, he could use some help. And no, I don't have any relation to Carson. None whatsoever.

a beautiful thing is never perfect.

It's easy to get discouraged when you meet that perfect person who seems to have everything going for them. Amazing job, perfect friends, attractive and agreeable significant other, secure financial situation, good-looking, etc. etc. Sometimes these people are bloggers. You read their blog daily and think, "wow, I wish I had your life." But how honest are they really being? I guess "honest" isn't even the right word; what I mean is, how much of their life are they really revealing? Just the good parts? I know I'm personally guilty of focusing mainly on the positive aspects of my life when I blog. Too many people too close to me read this. If I have a problem with a friend, chances are I'm not going to write about it, unless I know they don't read this. And guys, guys are another story. I know I couldn't date someone and keep my blogging a secret, so I try to hold back in that area of my life too. Sometimes I'd love to just let everything out, but I know I'd have to deal with repercussions and awkwardness in my real life. And I'm not strong enough for that.

So, that's one of the reasons why I absolutely love Julia Allison and her Tumblr. If you don't know Julia, she appears to have a charmed life. She's a Georgetown graduate living in New York City who appears quite often as a celebrity correspondent on CNN, Fox News, CBS, etc; attends glamorous parties; is editor-at-large for Star magazine; writes for Time Out New York, Cosmo, and more; and dates her hot and successful boyfriend...well, until they broke up. How do I know they broke up? Because she told us. In fact, her readers got a plethora of details about their breakup and her feelings about it. It wasn't just a "we broke up....moving on" type thing. It was "we broke up and here's how I'm feeling." And then days later she wrote:

PS. In case you were wondering, I am very much not okay, with regard to my breakup with Jakob. Not at all okay. I miss him. I could lie and say everything’s fine, but ultimately that would just hurt me more. So I’ll tell you instead that I’m pushing things down so I can get my work done, but it’s there, and it hurts like hell.

How often do you see a person in the public eye completely revealing their feelings like that? Generally, people push their sadness down, put on a happy face, and act like everything's fine. And we might think, "wow, what a strong girl; why can't I be like that?" But it's unrealistic; we shouldn't be like that. Julia doesn't pretend to be perfect, though it would be easy for her to make us believe. Yeah, she's on TV and writing for places I would die to be published in, but she's still a normal person who goes through the same disappointments as everyone else.

People gave her a lot of crap when she and her ex, Jakob Lodwick, decided to start their own joint Tumblr (when they were dating). Their blog revealed a lot about their relationship, from what they couldn't stand about each other to what they loved about one another. Readers knew when and why they were fighting and how they made up. Of course, they didn't share every single aspect of their relationship, but enough that the world knew when they were happy and when there was trouble in paradise. It read like a real relationship (though one that inevitably wouldn't work out); one that had highs and lows, ups and downs, happiness and sadness.

So last night when I saw that Julia had written the following on her Tumblr, it made me kind of sad:

You know that horrible feeling you get when you read Vogue? Like everyone else’s life is FUCKING PERFECT and god, you must be SUCH A LOSER because you just don’t have it together, wearing $5,000 dresses while graduating from Columbia and attending fabulous Wintour-attended balls and juggling adoring blue-blood husbands while playing tennis and writing witty best selling novels or spearheading the construction of massive hotels in cities around the world or just having perfect red hair, like (not in order) Plum Sykes and Jessica Joffe and Mariana Rust and Ivanka Trump??

Well, that’s how I feel, at least.

I’m not perfect. I never will be. I don’t have the perfect life. I don’t have the perfect body or the perfect boyfriend or the perfect self-control.

But what I AM really good at is saying “I’m having trouble with this, so I’ve thought about ways to solve the problem … what do you think??”

I really wanted to prove that being open - about our flaws, about the flaws in our relationships, about our problems and the problems in our relationships - was a good thing, that it could lead to positive changes … that it would make us feel less alone.

I was so excited about my website with Jakob, because I thought - if people could just see the real issues that couples deal with, they wouldn’t feel so alone. I know *I* wouldn’t.

It fucking sucks that it backfired so badly.

I don't think her idea backfired at all. I think it was the perfect idea. Albeit, one that not everyone would be willing or able to participate in. One that other people might scoff at and say it's not polite to air dirty laundry. One that might violate a certain level of privacy every relationship is entitled to have. But one that probably made a whole lot of people feel a little bit better about their own problems. And one that made people realize that there is no such thing as perfection and that all we can do is whatever it takes to find our own personal happiness.

I e-mailed her (because I like to pretend we're tight like that) and told her it worked for me. Through reading about her relationship and her feelings, she made me feel a little less lonely. And then I began thinking about why so many people often feel depressed and lonely and wrote to her, "The reason half of the world feels lonely is because the other half is pretending to be perfect."

And it's true. Nobody's perfect, so why do we spend so much time trying to live up to the ideals of perfection and being so frustrated when we don't (and we can't possibly) succeed? Wouldn't you feel a little less lonely if others were more willing to reveal their flaws? Thanks, Julia, for being a real person.


P.S. I know Julia Allison is a controversial person and I realize not everyone likes her. And many people dislike her. I like her. And I like the fact that she screws up sometimes. That's all.

kicking the year off.

I love the beginning of the year because it feels like anything can happen. And I'm sure it will. Obviously anything can happen at any time, whether it's January, December, or August, but there's just a good feeling about starting a new year and not knowing where you'll be by the end of it. As I've witnessed in the past, a lot can change in a year. But one thing that has never changed, and probably will never change, is the fact that I have amazing friends. How do I know this won't change? Because I've had most of them in my life for 17 years (omg, does that sound really scary to anyone else??), so if they're not gone yet, I'm pretty sure they're not going anywhere fast.

So, the New Year's celebration was fun, but may be the last year I spend ridic amounts of money to go out and celebrate. Because, really? I think we had much more fun at my apartment before we even went to the party. But still, it was fun to dress up and go out. I love wearing party dresses and having reasons to get all fancy, so even though it may not have been totally appropriate to wear dresses to the Baseball Tavern, we did. It was a New Year's party after all.

The girls came over early-ish and we hung out drinking wine, eating pizza, listening to "fun mixes," and dancing. A couple of the ex's friends stopped by for a while--long story, but the ex and I met through his friend and my friend (who are still good friends), so we're all still sorta connected. It's always nice seeing them as they add lots of fun to any gathering, and we took tons of incriminating photos, including those of Katie drinking straight out of the vodka bottle at my insistence (those photos will def not be posted on my blog; those belong on Facebook!) We also had a blast using the party crackers my mom got us from Crate and Barrel. You know, the things you pull, they pop, and prizes come out? Very exciting. We got star candy, mood-telling fish, paper crowns, and a huge mess on our living room floor.

We went on to the party at the Baseball Tavern and pretty much just danced the rest of the night away. We chose this location because a friend was "renting" it out, it wasn't obnoxiously expensive, and it was an open bar. We paid a lot more than we drank though. And oh how I had forgotten, well liquor is not my friend. Grey Goose is my friend. And they didn't even have a champagne toast. No champagne on New Year's, the horror! The place wasn't horrible, but the people there were a little random and slightly not my type. One boy followed me around half the night and just stood behind me trying to dance with me. I walked away and started to dance with someone else and he just stood there and stared. It was awkward. It was freaking hot in the bar and I think I lost a few pounds because, though my dress fit at the beginning of the night, I had to keep pulling it up by the end of the night. Some chick stepped on my foot with her huge stiletto boots and I still have a horrible bruise. Plus, my shoes were new and cute, but not the ultimate in comfort. After standing all night, I wan