on forgetting people's names

 

 don't do it. i hate it.

right off the bat - rant disclaimer. it's gonna get ugly up in this cyber space. this is a hot button issue. but that's why the internet was invented, right? so i can throw my opinions into the faces of all four of my readers like they're gospel truths? i'm going to say 'yes'.

i absolutely can't stand when people don't remember names. "I'm just so bad with names!" they say, as if being bad with names is some biological disorder, like being allergic to dairy or more susceptible to diabetes.  i'm no science major, but i'm fairly certain that there's not a specific chunk of your brain labeled 'remembering names' that you just happen to be missing.

i get that you meet a lot of people. i get that you might not see some people for years at a time. but if we're coworkers? learn my name. are we working on a class project together? learn my name. are we consistently running in overlapping social circles? learn my name.

and of course, i will absolutely learn your name. and remember it. because it's one simple word that sums up your entire existence. when i want to refer to a complex organism with independent thoughts and memories and life experiences, there is only one word that i need to know. how convenient! i think the very least i can do is remember that one simple little word.

are you still going to pull the 'i'm-not-good-at-remembering-names' card? well here's some advice - get better at it. you're going to keep meeting people, and they're probably going to have names (unless it gets really trendy to reject names, but even so that seems like it's years down the line), and you're probably going to sound like a asshole who is incapable of remembering simple information that is so important to that person because you're too wrapped up in your own thoughts to actively listen to the human being in front of you, and i'm going to punch you in the gut. or at least rant about you on my blog. so take that.

(also: i like toast. avocado and homemade strawberry jam toast.)

sips

 

are you in philly? if you are in philly, and you aren't attending sips every wednesday, you are a dummy.

every wednesday, in center city, a butt ton (offical number) of restaurants offer cheap-o drinks and half price appetizers and people go nuts. and by people, i mean my friends and i went nuts. it's only from 5-7 but we shun all limitations. we laugh at time and order more rounds. or the previous rounds take control of our bodies and order for us. and next thing you know, you're coming home at one thirty in the morning after singing karaoke and setting people up to sleep in your teepee.

sips is the bomb.

lawd the lady can eat: omelettes

 

why does spell check say i spell it 'omelet' when i want to spell it 'omelette?' isn't that how restaurants spell it? do they have a special pass to spell it with two 't's? i like double letters. imma keep using the double letters. suck on that spell check.

this is an omelette. or a flat egg stretched around good stuff. the good stuff in this case is mushrooms and cherry tomatoes and blue cheese (sweet baby cheesus! love dat blue cheese!). it's quick and dirty and perfect for hungry zombies who bike home from work and MUST EAT FOOD NOW.

shake it up

 

finally made it to shake shack. and can i just say? wait. first - put down your rocks. and other heavy objects.

it wasn't living up the hype.

the burger was delicious (though more fast-food-y than i expected) and wonderful and the shake was creamy as all get up (holla caramel!) but the price just wasn't right. food gets an A+, aesthetic gets an A+, price tags get a frowny face and a 'see me after class' note.

do you guys have shake shack? what are your thoughts? did i give it a fair shake or should i head back again?

serious things i've pondered at work recently

 

1. how to draw dinosaurs proportionally
2. if the cardboard car should have cardboard fenders or cardstock fenders.
3. which animated preschool show has the hottest parents.
4. how can i live in the pajanimals house?
5.  foil or sequins?

work is weird.

puzzle

 

do ya'll like puzzles? this lady loves puzzles. it's a recent discovery. some improv friends were talking about puzzles and i found myself itching to do one. i've lucked out recently and found some pretty stellar puzzles at thrift stores. the first was a pretty illustrated 70's cat one. this one was a bunch of polar bears on a picnic. 550 pieces. always start by flipping them all over. then finding the edge pieces. then grouping the others. i like the structure of it. and knowing that all the pieces are going to fit together eventually. it'll all work out fine. even when it seems impossible, you can't get too worked up. it's meant to fit together and it will, despite your missteps or dropping pieces under the couch.

dear lawd, i hope that's a metaphor for life.

oh yeah

 

the other amazing thing about dinner parties? LEFTOVERS. baby love leftovers. lazy man's feast.

dinner party

 

 nothing says grownup quite like having a dinner party. even if it's just for three people. i think the fact that i busted out a tablecloth and napkin rings makes it pretty legit, right?

i whipped up this recipe from joy the baker and dizzaaammm. it was tasty. blue cheese is my jam yo. and i added a ton of pepper. which always reminds me of this snl sketch (seriously the best snl sketch of all time. i watched it like eight times last week and i quote it on the daily.) my friend ellen and her boyfriend came over to enjoy it with me along with some caeser salad and a few bottles of red wine. topped it off with a peach tart and a viewing of the classic film, heavyweights.

totally off the topic side note: mindy's hair on mork and mindy is incredible. i want dat. also - i'm really enjoying having cable.

underdog update

 

 these are hot dogs #2, #3, and #4.

did i explain this to you already? that my friend/coworker fornwald and i are going to this hot dog place (underdogs) every thursday? and if you eat all 23 of the hot dogs on their menu, you get your name on the wall? and that now we've gotten a bunch of other people to start going with each? and each week we seem to gather a new work crowd? did i? did i mention it?

it's important to have goals. and i like the idea of my name on a wall. immortalized in a hot dog shop. DREAM BIG. if you're ever in philly on a thursday around noon, swing on by. be prepared to get sucked into the hype. 

FRUIT

 

CAN I GET AN AMEN FOR FRUIT?! i have been on this planet for over two flipping decades and never before have i been so in love with fruit. it grows out of the ground and tastes like candy. AMAZING. i feel like this is wonka world.

care for some cheese with your whine?

 

total upfront disclaimer: if you don't feel like listening to a whiny baby, turn your internet butt around. 

Goddamn. Why is no one talking about this mother flipping age? More specifically, why is no one talking about how badly this mother flipping age sucks?

Can we all just come out and say it? That 22 is the worst age ever? (Though I’m sure 23 is a close second.)

Whenever people talk about ‘their twenties’ I feel like they’re referring to 25 and beyond. And before that, everyone just mentions college. At the most, the age bracket of 22-24 is referred to in vague terms. “After college I rolled around.” “Post grad I bler de blah’d.” “Fler de der de dah 22.” Is there an international conspiracy to gloss over this dark age of a year? The only people who actually mention 22 are the beautiful morman mommy blogs, god love them. (you know I read like eighty bajillion a day. And every time I fall in love with a new blogger? You bet your sweet candy ass they’re a morman blog.) But when they talk about 22, it’s in relation to their one year wedding anniversary. SWEET BEANS. CAN I GET A NORMAN PERSON IN CYBER SPACE WHO REMEMBERS THESE DARK TIMES TO OFFER SOME WORDS OF SOLACE?!

Even my mom finally fessed up. As I whined on the phone (the new standard for our conversations) about being 22, she finally sighed and said “Yeah. I feel like a lot of people don’t talk about that.” “That” being the feeling of failure when you can’t find a job after graduation. Or the feeling that comes with finding a job and knowing you’re locked into something indefinitely. “That” being the feeling that everyone else is doing something more meaningful than you. “that” being the idea that you’re not good at anything and you’re’ going to get stuck where you are right now, forever. “That” being all your friends moving back home and talking about how much it sucks and still being jealous that they get to hang out with their moms. “That” being the weird guilt you feel for wishing you still got to live at home. “That” being the heartache that comes with not being able to be yourself at work or work within your skill set. “That” being the state of limbo your whole life is in. And the guilt you feel for being such a little turd about something so many people have lived through before.

I need Christmas asap.

oh what a beautiful morning

 

this is my bed in the morning. i love these pillows so much, i've been motivated to make my bed every morning. they're pillows from my grandparents house and it's such a nice reminder of them and all the memories i have with them. i can think about them right before i go to bed and first thing in the morning. fairly ideal way to start and end a day.

update on the baby

 

and by baby, i obviously mean globe bar.

the update: she is full and ready to rumble.

oh lawd the lady can eat: shrimp taco edition

 

and this week i was eating shrimp tacos with avocado and mango and green onions on blue corn tortillas! i even got a little bit crazy and used coconut shrimp in some of them SAY WHHAATTTTTT?!?! it's things like these, ladies and gentlemen, that make my days go by a little bit faster, make everything seem a little bit more worth while.

the teepee

lookie here! i made a tee pee! a giant ass tee pee that's forever chilling in the corner of my living room! i bought the wood and sewing the canvas together and viola! a whole friggin' tee pee! which means now i can a) cross 'make a tee pee' off my new years resolution list and b) have a backup plan for when my roommates decide i'm too crazy and kick me out onto the mean streets of philadelphia! EVERYONE IS WINNING!

famous dad

 
did i mention my dad's picture is in a book? a book called dads are the original hipsters? because it totally is.

i used to follow the blog dads are the original hipsters and when they called for submissions, i totally jumped on it because my dad is AWESOME and we are lucky enough to have a whole slew of pictures to testify to this awesomeness. i submitted the picture in early 2011 and didn't hear anything back, or see it on the blog, so i thought nothing of it.

fast forward to may of 2012 - i'm in universal studios watching some sinbad show and i get a text from beth cozzolino. it's the above picture asking, "is this your dad?" apparently, the book came out and was being sold at urban outfitters and barnes and nobles all over the place. i immediately bought the book and surprised my dad with it as an early father's day gift. now his amazingness if forever immortalized in print. LOOK AT HOW COOL THIS GUY IS! 

tall guy in a little house

 
this is my giant brother in a cardboard house. those are his real glasses. and that is his real face. all pretty hard to believe, i know.