Because You Didn't Get Enough...

Anthony
Originally uploaded by Pookah.

And neither can I, apparently.

On Being a Fairy Godmother

Sarol
Originally uploaded by Pookah.

When Sarol was born, my mom gave me a magic wand and named me a fairy godmother. Several years later and this is what we have.

We spent all afternoon looking for just the right toys for the "girls" - and by the "girls" I mean Tess and Chloe, my mom's dogs. We picked up a Finding Nemo pool, three squirt guns, a gate, and a bottle of soap bubbles for me.

We tried to get the dogs into the pool so they could enjoy the humidity in the relative coolness of Dory and Nemo's presence, but instead we had Sarol running around squirting us and then jumping in the pool in all her clothes. This was the last 30 seconds of pool time before she stepped out, Christy said they had to go, and Sarol began to scream that unearthly scream that only young children can get away with without anyone beating them to a bloody pulp for the commotion.

To Celebrate, Remember, and Honor

North Carolina
Originally uploaded by Pookah.

In celebration of one year of dating bliss, here is the post that those of you from college have been begging for: a picture of Anthony. Granted, you can't see much of him with my big old schnoz blocking the view, but you can at least tell that he's taller than me (6'4") and is blond.

Oh, and that's the Blue Mountains of North Carolina behind us. (The picture is from my first trip to NC last July.)

Long Time A Comin'

Okay, so I haven't written in a while, and Vince recently asked me, "Now that you've moved, are you going to start posting to your Blog again?" Gosh, I didn't realize how much you guys cared! OF COURSE I will!

I really don't know where I left off though. Somewhere around Wendy's, but long after I canceled DSL in my Philadelphia apartment.

Since then, I moved to lovely Massachusetts, where I will remain jobless, shriftless, and thriftless for as long as humanly possible.

Actually, that's not true. My mom claims that I owe her $3,000 a month for rent and I spent all day yesterday trying to up the ante on Monster.com. Would you believe that there are more available Editorial Assistant jobs in the state of Massachusetts than I could ever find when I was looking in NYC???! Well, THERE IS. Although nearly all of them are in healthcare. So if I really take a liking to the the mitochondria and nucleus of cells, I could really have something going here.

What I've discovered however is that I can never again try for a job whereby I have to lift heavy, semi-heavy, or even light-as-a-feather objects, as I have now spent the last month with chronic back pain. Sometimes the pain even rushes down the sciatic nerve in my leg at the most inconvenient times - like when I'm trying to sleep at night. It's been a real pleasure knowing that this was coming - both my mom and uncle have had surgery for herniated disks in their lower lumbar region- and it is ever more so now that it is here.

This morning, for instance, I woke up, brushed my teeth, and started to wash my face. When I tried to bend over the sink to wash the soap off my face so that suds and baking powder (don't ask) wouldn't run all down the front of my pajamas and on the floor, I realized that I couldn't move forward. Honest.

So now I'm without health insurance and about to make an appointment with the doctor. There's nothing more fun than being 26 (well, almost) and having your body give out on you. Dr. Claves (she's my Philadelphia doctor) is always mentioning that someone my age shouldn't have a file as large as mine. I was thinking that it's been nearly a year since I last added something good to it, so here we go to the doctor's again!

I have also realized that if this back bullshit continues that I'm going to have to sink $2,000 into a mattress. My mom has a Temperpedic mattress and it is HEAVEN to lay in. In fact, we spent about an hour today just lying on it. It's like floating on a marshmallow cloud.

What that really means is that my back likes the Temperpedic so I like the Temperpedic. Enough said.

Wendy's Showdown

Yesterday I stopped at the local Wendy's to pick up a quick lunch and my twenty minute wait in line ended with an order of crispy chicken nuggets and an HBO-worthy girlfight. Yes, my friends, within minutes of me walking into this fine establishment, a Wendy's employee and another girl started pulling at each other's weaves. There was fake hair flying everywhere, lonely little braids littered the floor, they tackled each other onto a table full of children eating their mid-day meal, a stanchion was in the air at one point, and I just stood by the register the whole time, saying, "Um, excuse me, can I get an order of crispy chicken nuggets from your value menu?"

It made my day.

Depression

I can't help but post this. Both Anthony and a listserv I'm on brought this to my attention:

Which towns stand in the face of depression
By: Sara Vigneri

Maybe it was all those years of futility for the Phillies. Or the shadows cast by New York City to the north and Washington, D.C., to the south. Whatever the reasons, Philadelphia has earned the melancholy distinction of being America's most depressed city, followed closely by Detroit and St. Petersburg, Florida. Men's Health compiled this list based on antidepressant sales, courtesy of NDC Health; suicide rates, from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC); and the number of days inhabitants reported being depressed, based on the CDC's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, accessed through bestplaces.net.

Where can you find happiness? Texas, that's where. Three of its cities placed in the top four: number one, Laredo; number two, El Paso; and number four, Corpus Christi.

The 20 Happiest Cities
1. Laredo, TX: A+
2. El Paso, TX: A+
3. Jersey City, NJ: A+
4. Corpus Christi, TX: A+
5. Baton Rouge, LA: A
6. Honolulu, HI: A-
7. Fresno, CA: A-
8. San Jose, CA: A-
9. Lincoln, NE: B+
10. Bakersfield, CA: B+
11. Buffalo, NY: B+
12. Anchorage, AK: B+
13. Stockton, CA: B+
14. Shreveport, LA: B+
15. (3-way tie) Madison, WI: B, Montgomery, AL: B, and Des Moines, IA: B
18. Wichita, KS: B
19. (tie) Sacramento, CA: B and Omaha, NE: B

The 20 Most Depressed Cities
1. Philadelphia, PA: F
2. Detroit, MI: F
3. St. Petersburg, FL: F
4. St. Louis, MO: F
5. Tampa, FL: F
6. Indianapolis, IN: F
7. (3-way tie) Mesa, AZ: F, Phoenix, AZ: F, and Scottsdale, AZ: F
10. Cleveland, OH: F
11. New York, NY: D-
12. Salt Lake City, UT: D-
13. Atlanta, GA: D
14. (3-way tie) Yonkers, NY: D, Pittsburgh, PA: D, and Kansas City, MO: D
17. (3-way tie) Long Beach, CA: D, Los Angeles, CA: D, Nashville, TN" D
20. Portland, OR: D

America's Next Top Model

So, I've been watching this show on UPN religiously, and I am now prepared to make my selections known (not that many of you care, but really, it's the only television show I watch - other than the Simpson's while I cook dinner to catch up on years of quality programming that I missed thoughout my childhood):

1. Kahlen
2. Brittany
3. Naima

Naima has been getting the audience favorite vote week after week, since this season began, but it's all a trick of editing. In the last few seasons the same thing happened - the girl that was least on camera, and had the least personality invested in the show (or absolutely NO bad moments), was the audience favorite. Again it is so with Naima. I don't feel like she brings much to the program other than a pretty face. I just reviewed all the portfolios up to this point and her pictures aren't even that strong.

As for Kahlen and Brittany, I think it's almost a toss-up, but I'm rooting for Kahlen. Brittany certainly has the more bubbly personality but sometimes her presence can feel like an assault and her pictures aren't always consistent. Kahlen, on the other hand, constantly takes beautiful pictures and is a master of disguise, but has a much quieter personality.

We'll see. I'll be tuning in every Wednesday at 8...