So, last night was a bit of a bust. Had these great intentions of a wild, late night out (just because I had today off, so I felt I needed to take advantage of the chance to sleep in). I started at the benefit for my friend's nephew (which was nice, and there was a HUGE turnout. Including "special guest" Baby Joe Macy, or whatever his name is. The ex did not make an appearance- and I'm not sure if I'm relieved, or disappointed.) Then part two of the evening fell through. So inertia set in. So I took a shower to try to wake up... and ended up falling asleep sideways across my bed, in my towel. Apparently even slept through my doorbell when people came to try to drag me out. Oops.

But then today was nice. My friend is/was dating this guy who keeps losing a lot of money at the casino. So he has banned himself from the casino. And by that I just thought he just told himself he's not allowed to go anymore. But apparently he went to the casino, with a lawyer, and filed all this paperwork, to the effect that if he ever tries to go in to gamble, they are supposed to kick him off the premises. I never knew you could do that.

But here's the rub... as you may imagine, someone that gambles enough that he has to forcibly ban himself from the place- will earn some comp points. For example, this guy had a free night in the hotel for every day of the month of august. We are talking lots of comps. So, what do you do with all these comp points, if you can not use them yourself? Why, you give them to your girlfriend, to try to keep her from leaving you.
(ahh, dysfunction...)

But long story short, she and I were treated to massages (plus pre-massage sauna/steam/whirlpool) and lunch on his comp dollar. Then a stop at the Saks outlet on the way back, where I snapped up an adorable pair of shoes on sale (on my dollar, not his, haha). Then to Transit for The Nightmare before Christmas in 3-D. It was awesome. (but note- it is in 3-D, but NOT in IMAX. We went to the IMAX screen, and were surprised when Transformers started instead. oops. Fortunately we made it to the right screen on time.)

Now I am home, full of popcorn, and with muscles made of jelly. I love it.

And, a little mystery to top it all off--

When I came out of my massage, I had a missed call on my phone. From a blocked number. No message. I was curious, but what could I do. Then as the movie is starting, I go to put my phone on silent, and I have ANOTHER missed call from a blocked number. This time with voicemail! So I listen to the message- it was 3 seconds long. A hangup. But obviously the person heard my outgoing message. And then as we were leaving the movie, "Blocked" called AGAIN! I mean, by now this can't be a matter of a wrong number, can it?? But I didn't answer in time. I'm dying to know who it is!! I mean, to call 3 times, but not leave a message?! So weird! So I am going to sleep with my phone, just in case s/he calls again.
Watch it be a telemarketer...

Happy sunday everyone. :)
-J

Ok, I think this is worth bumping my previous post down a notch.

I just found the best podcast ever!!!
NPR's All songs considered

It's mostly cool indie stuff, including full live sets

here's a sample of recent episodes-

radiohead, neil young and others
Jose Gonzalez
Okkervil River
Iron and Wine
Robert Plant
Rilo Kiley
Bishop Allen
Louis Prima
the apples in stereo
the new pornographers
and of course, The National :)

Why did I not know about this before?? [maybe because I never listen to NPR?]



The website has even more- there's a whole column of live concerts you can just download.

Take that, vista!

and another geek thing-
this is LaCie's new 500gb external HD-

• even if you don't read the whole post, please skip to the bottom for a PSA**

Well, I guess I haven't posted any of my typical overly-revealing overly-long rambling posts in a while, so I'm sure you're all dying for an update on my exciting life.

Unfortunately, my life is like 90% work and 10% "me time"- but my priorities are the exact opposite, which is probably not good. [yes, I'm exaggerating, no need to get scared for my patients.] I love what I do... but I am just sick of the miserable hours. And sometimes I would rather go home after a 12 hour day, than stay an EXTRA six hours for some disaster case. Does that make me a bad person?

But so on Tues I went to The Tralf to see The National- my favorite band du jour. I seriously love them. [Their newest album, Boxer, is fantastic. But I don't have mp3s of it small enough to use as a user sound. So I am back to my old standby, "baby we'll be fine", from the album Alligator. Check it out.]

It was the first "real" show I've been to... god, I dunno, maybe since I lived in New Orleans?? i.e., in years. It was great. They were fantastic, it was fun to see them, nice to get out, etc etc.

But I was there looking around at all the cute hipster indie kids... and suddenly thinking "I wish I knew more people that like the music I do." But a lot of what I like is obscure indie stuff, and the only reason I even know about it is b/c my bro-in-law hooks me up.

So, when I got home, I turned to trusty craigslist. Emboldened by anonymity, I decided to post a "missed connections" message. Really just for the hell of it. I think I am (unfortunately) still an emotional disaster over the last guy, and am probably not in any position to be a good 'girlfriend' to anyone. Which sucks, b/c there are some good guys out there. [though I did hear rumors (through the grapevine, of course, since he still refuses to acknowledge my existence) that it sounds like he is losing it. Acting weird and unreliable... I don't know if it makes me happy or sad to hear that.] I've never been so head over heels over anyone like I was/am over him- and I've never been hurt as badly. Ok, but I digress...

My point is that I put up this ad really just for the hell of it- not b/c I'm really actively trying to find someone. I doubt I'd write back to anyone, but I was curious to see what other National fans there may be in the area. So I wrote:

If that title means anything to you- please write to me!!

MC to all the cute hipsters at the Tralf tonight... and there were plenty of you...

You made me realize that maybe I've been going about things all wrong. Maybe all I need is a guy who likes the music I like. Someone who won't say "oh really? you're going to a concert tonight? The National? That's nice. Are they a rock and roll band?"

So if you were there tonight, so was I. You may not have seen me. And I may not have seen you. But chances are- I dig you.

(but just to be a little more specific- ideally you are >27, gainfully employed, have some sort of degree, not living in Mom's basement, and for the love of God, do not have a full beard.)

Drop me a line... what's to lose??

[a wee bit about me- not to brag, but I'd make your mother proud. I'm a cute fun chick, with her head on her shoulders. I am quite well-educated, and have a good job. Not into drama or games or designer labels. Am into good times, laughing, with good people.]

For the title, I used a lyric from one of my favorite songs of theirs. (Baby we'll be fine; my user song) And it's one of their 'bigger' songs- one that people who know the band would probably know.

Well, I'm an idiot, and didn't think about the line OUT of the context of the song, and what 'if that title means anything to you, write me' means.

the line I used as a title is:
"Baby come over, I need entertaining. I've had a stilted, pretending day."

DUH.

So I have been inundated with messages like 'oh yeah! Baby I'LL come over!' etc.

Oops.

Only one person has known what I was actually getting at.

But the worst of all-
I got a message from an anonymous gmail address that just said "Oh, Alex dear... :)"

WTF!!!!!
Am I that recognizable???? Which suddenly makes me quite embarrassed, b/c I guess the message is a little braggadocious/obnoxious.
I don't know who it was... I'm guessing my ex-ex. Crazy.

Ok... guess that's enough for now. I miss you peeps. What's new with you??

-J

• PSA**

My friend's adorable little nephew Dominic has Hypertrophic Cardiac Myopathy. He's only about 1, and he needs a heart transplant. :( There is a benefit for him next saturday. I'm trying to help spread the word. Tickets are $25. Here's the website:



(yeah, that's a baby with a playoff beard.)

Ok, my dad just send this to me. Not sure if anyone else will find it funny, but I did. (surgeons and anesthesiologists [or anaesthetists if you're British] are sort of 'friendly rivals'. We call them "gas-passers", and they call the drape, which separates the sterile side (our side) from the non-sterile side (their side) the "blood-brain barrier")



haha- here's another, containing the lyric "So I'm standing here in the pouring rain- where the fuck's my fucking train? london underground, they're all lazy fucking useless cunts. London underground, they're all greedy cunts, I want to shoot the all- with a rifle."

Ok, so my friend's wedding pictures (a few of which I posted a while ago) are online now. All 976 of them. And for the most part they are great. Some... not so much.

Here are a few-

Doing my job...


And this is the bride's cousin- totally on a whim she asked the band if they'd mind letting her sing a song- and she proceeded to belt out a rendition of "Summertime" that gave me goosebumps. This captures it pretty well.


And this one....
hahaha it just makes me laugh. That must have been Some Great Story I was telling!!!

Oh.... how I love David Sedaris.
So so funny! Seriously- if you've never heard of him, go read his books! STAT!
It's really no good to be around me when I'm reading his books because I can't go more than about a paragraph without cracking up and going "wait wait wait you have to hear THIS too!" and reading it out loud.

And, it was quite the peepfest!
myself, jbeatty, chico... I think I saw dragonlady but I wasn't 100% sure- but then a few minutes later I saw Holly- not a peep but a friend of a friend and a rollerderbygirl, thus reinforcing my hunch that it was indeed dragonlady I saw...

I was even a big nerd and took my copy of one of his books to have him sign it, but the line was pretty insane so I didn't wait...

Sadly (but maybe fortunately for you guys) it's not as funny in the re-telling, so I can't just transcribe the whole thing, but I will leave you with one funny quote (or rather, paraphrase)- and then get back to preparing my lecture for the interns tomorrow. [This whole "teaching" thing is hard work! Who knew?! But I have a secret weapon- snickers. I may put them to sleep and not get my point across at all- but they will evaluate me well since I will give them mini-snickers.]

But my quote is something like-

"So, like most couples, Hugh and I divide the work that needs to be done. He, for example, pays the bills and deals with the pile of papers and forms. I name all the creatures that come in and out of our garden. He replasters the attic. I dress dead dried up bees in suits of armor made of tinfoil."

[see other new post below this one]

Ok, so my bro-in-law sent me a mix he made a while ago.
And he warned me that the cover art was a little risque. He seemed a little embarrassed, but explained that he had made it for his friend, and he always teases his friend that all he uses his ipod for is watching porn on the elliptical.

The name of the mix is "Gym Titties"

And I thought, "oh please, it's hard to offend me."
So I clicked play in iTunes, and the first song started playing. With the following cover art-



I almost had a heart attack.

Not b/c of the titties, but because before I saw it more closely, I thought it was MY SISTER. And I just thought 'you sick bastard! you put naked pictures on your wife on a mix for your friend, and then sent it to her sister?!'

Fortunately, it is not my sister.

[Jim's post made me think of this, b/c his pic of James also nearly gave me a heart attack, b/c on quick glance I thought it was my ex for a second.]

Ok, here's my sister, for comparison. Am I crazy, or is there at least a little similarity? (one is from her prom, and one from her wedding)

My college roommate just had her first book published. It's a young adult, Harry Potter-esque, kind of thing, from what I gather. I just bought my copy, but haven't read it yet. But i'm so proud of her! Check it out.

Jack Perdu, a ninth grade classics prodigy, lives with his father on the Yale University campus. Smart and introverted, Jack spends most of his time alone, his nose buried in a book. But one winter evening, a near-fatal accident changes Jack's life forever. His father sends him to see a mysterious doctor in New York City--a place Jack hasn't visited since his mother died there eight years ago. In Grand Central Terminal, he meets Euri, a girl who offers to show him the train station's hidden places--the ones only true urban explorers really know about. Eight flights below the train station, however, Jack discovers more than just hidden tracks and mysterious staircases. He has stumbled upon New York's ghostly underworld. This, Jack believes, is his chance to see his mother again. But as secrets about Euri's past are revealed, so are the true reasons for Jack's visit to the underworld. Masterfully told, The Night Tourist weaves Classical mythology together with New York's secret history and modern-day landscape to create a magical adventure, full of unexpected twists and page-turning action.

Google Launches 'The Google' For Older Adults
SEPTEMBER 26, 2007 | ISSUE 43>39

MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA-The popular search engine Google announced plans Friday to launch a new site, TheGoogle.com, to appeal to older adults not able to navigate the original website's single text field and two clearly marked buttons.

"The Google will have all the same information currently found on regular Google, but with the added features of not stealing your credit-card numbers or giving your computer all kinds of viruses," said Rick Tillich, The Google project director. "All you have to do to turn the website on is put the little blinking line thing in the cyberspace window at the top of the screen, type 'thegoogle.com,' and press 'return'-although it will also recognize http.wwwthegoogle.com, google.aol, and 'THEGOOGLE' typed into a Word document."

Tillich added that he hopes the site will soon replace Yahoo Internet Website.com as the most popular search engine for users over 55.

And another favorite-
Fucking Yankees, Reports Nation