NYC + M&K = LOVE

I don't know how, but it managed to take me a month to come across this video while conducting one of my crazy marathon searches for all things good on the internet today. Oh well. I love New York (duh) and Matt & Kim, so this video made me happy and I decided it needed its own post. Check it out.

Matt & Kim- "Block After Block"

I Like Books. Maybe I'll Write One Someday...

Hey.

I’m happy to report I haven’t had any stories quite as nuts as two Fridays ago. I hope no one is disappointed in my lack of drinking.

On a more productive note, I have been on a reading frenzy. I always forget how much I like reading until I pick up a good book and think, “I should do this more often.” I am almost done with my second book in a week and a half. That’s like a record for me, because I usually get so sidetracked.

This all began with trying to find “On Writing,” Stephen King’s memoir, the Saturday following the Friday that I locked myself out and peed on my building. I went to a Borders and a Barnes and Noble, but neither had it. Instead, I left B&N with “Writing Down the Bones” by Natalie Goldberg and “Your Voice In My Head” by Emma Forrest. I am still working on the latter. The first book is a nerdy inspirational read about finding the writer within, and the second is this chick’s memoir about being a writer and losing her mind when she moves from NYC from Texas. Just kidding, she moved from England. Both are lighting a fire under my ass to write a book. I have always wanted to write one, and I think for once, I can actually see it happening. It’s still a working thought in my head, but I’m more serious about it now than ever. My friend and fellow Ram Page editor-in-chef (that would be the award winning Hightstown High School newspaper) Liz and I are even looking into writing classes in the city to pursue our goal of actually writing a book.

What is the saying? “Think it, believe it, achieve it?” I’m somewhere between step one and two. When I find myself between two and three, you can find me sipping cappuccinos instead of bournon and cokes on Friday nights for a good year of my life.

Anyways, I recommend “Your Voice In My Head” to anyone and everyone. Emma Forrest is a little crazy and totally adorable and her stories about meeting Bruce Springsteen and dating famous people are pretty rad. And, if you like Regina Spektor, and you’re whacked like me, you’ll like Emma that much more because of her striking resemblance to the “Fidelity’ hottie...

( Regina Spektor is left, Emma Forrest is right)

Am I right? Maybe it’s because they’re both cute Jew girls like me.

Whatever. I love them both.

Also in productive news, I sort of kind of have a real estate agent and am getting serious about finding a place to live for me and Shane. Montclair is looking cuter by the day and I really hope this isn’t too long and painful of a process.

I spent this past weekend in Pennsylvania with my Mom. I made some great discoveries:

-My mom and pinot grigio. Give her three glasses of the stuff and make her listen to “Party Rock Anthem” by LMFAO and she will shout “party in the house tonighhhhht!” until the buzz wears off.

-My 1^st grade journal. This was the first page, from April 29, 1993: “I HAV A BOY FRAN HIS NEAM IS RAE.” That would be Ray Madara, my first friend ever who I am facebook friends with who I hope never reads this.

I am going to Texas this weekend and am excited as always to see Shane and Cully, my two loves. It’s definitely nice to know that there are only another handful of visits and then we can live happily ever after. Yeah I said it. I can believe my life is a fairy tale if I want to. And I’ll write a book if I put my mind to it.

The end.

Last Friday Night

In case you don’t know me, I’m a bit of a spaz. My husband, friends and family can all attest to this. I’m quirky, a little all over the place and just plain nuts sometimes.

Last Friday night was a great example. No, I didn’t mean to reference the latest Katy Perry video, but here it is anyway in case you haven’t seen it. It’s doing well on the Top 20 Countdown, and the pop lover in me has been all over this one. (Well, after Gaga’s and Britney’s latest videos at least)

Back to my last Friday night.

It all started with dinner and drinks in the West Village with my friend Kelly.

(Mom, this is where you should probably stop reading.)

Two margaritas, two shots, a bourbon and coke and a gin and tonic later, I was a little toasted. That may not seem like a whole lot, but these are New York City drinks. They’re the real deal. Kelly and I said goodbye, and she headed for her subway while I hopped onto mine. I took the 1 downtown to South Ferry, where I had to make the transfer to an N. The N was pulling away, but an R was sitting there on the other side of the platform (my drunken head didn’t think clearly about the obvious…other side of the platform = train going the other way) so I get on. Unsure of what I was doing, I asked the blue-eyed white kid sitting across from me in the car if he was headed to Brooklyn, and he said yes.

The subway starts moving, we get to the first stop. I am on a Manhattan, not Brooklyn-bound train. I told this kid, Doug, that he was wrong and led me astray and I was getting off the train. He followed me. He really was harmless, being he was smaller than me, but it still shook me as a bit odd. I had been carrying a knife around in my bag, and told Doug if he didn’t leave me alone I was going to cut him. He called me a bitch, I hailed down a cab, I left that weirdo far behind. I had tried calling Mikey somewhere in that charade of events, because I had been near his hotel and thought I could stop by and say hi. He didn’t answer, so I stopped contacting him after two attempts.

I get to Brooklyn, I pay the $26.50 cab fare (at this rate, I didn’t care to be on the subway for an hour, so I said fuck it) and made my way to my building.

Sidenote: Because I couldn’t comprehend text messages properly, I was under the impression that a text I had received earlier in the night from Mikey meant that he was staying over the hotel where he worked that night.

Sidenote 2: There are 3 keys needed for my apartment. One for the building itself, and then two for the door. I have only been carrying around the key to the top lock when I go running, because I’m ridiculous and thought that third key was just such an extra burden.

So, I get to my door. The bottom lock is locked, I forgot to bring that third key, and I am fucked. What is a girl to do when she is locked out and the guy with the key is in Manhattan? Go back to Manhattan and get the key, right?

Wrong. If you’re me, and you’re intoxicated, you decide you’re going to break into your own apartment.

So I walk to the street behind my building, I cut through someone’s backyard, I take 10 minutes to find a break in the chain link fence that I can slip through, and I succeed. I get into the dark alley behind my building and realize it’s impossible to figure out which window is mine. It’s too dark. I call Shane, who at this point is aware of my drunken mess, and I tell him I am going to just sleep on the street until there’s daylight. Even through the phone, Shane is wonderful at talking me down and making me get a grip. We hang up with a plan for me to just suck it up, hail down a cab and go to Mikey’s hotel to get the key. But breaking back through the fence wasn’t as easy as breaking in.

It was so dark back there I could not find the break in the fence. After awhile of looking, I have to pee. I pop a squat on the building (classy, I know) and resume my search. Some time later, I really can’t recall how long it took, I find the break, I start sneaking through this backyard and then there were headlights. Headlights of a car that was pulling right into the driveway of the home I was trespassing through.

Now I’m used to the Texas mentality of if you are trespassing on someone’s yard, they have the right to shoot you. I decided my best option was to remain calm, come out from the shadows behind the shed, and introduce myself. When the big white dude came out of his car, I think it went something like this:

Me: “Oh heyyyyy, that’s my building right there. I sort of locked myself out and I’m so sorry, but I went through your backyard. Please don’t shoot me.”

The guy: “I don’t shoot ladies.”

I booked it out of there, hailed down a cab, and went to Mikey’s hotel.

When I got there, after another near-$30 cab fare, I explained my situation to the dude at the front desk, and how I needed him to wake Mikey up so I could get the key I needed. The guy tells me Mike isn’t there, that he wouldn’t be until the morning. Cool!

Mikey called me right around then. It was 1:30am at this point. He tells me he is at the apartment in Brooklyn. Lol, right?

Being the sweet, loving, caring, older brother-like cousin that he is, he put me up in a room at his hotel for the night. What a guy.

The next day, I had plans to meet my friend Rachel and we hung out in the city all day. That evening, when I made it back to Brooklyn, I emptied out my bag. And you know what I found?

The fucking key to the bottom lock. Everything comes full circle, doesn’t it?

That’s my latest (and hopefully last for awhile) adventure in being a spastic hot mess. Hope you enjoyed that one.

Summer in the City

Hey everyone, I have a few updates I guess. I realized I never uploaded this amazing picture after meeting Mark Hoppus, which by the way, was terribly awkward (even if I do look as cool as a cucumber in this shot.)
I kept my cool for the professional part of the whole experience where I got to ask him a few questions on the set and have him read a few camera reads that I wrote for him to promote the upcoming Blink 182 tour on Fuse. That was fine. It was after my job part was done that I geeked out with the chance to speak to him as a fan. "Hi Mark. I'm the new writer for Top 20. I wrote what you just read." Seriously. We spoke for a few minutes but overall, I was awkward and he knew it. I even told him he made me nervous like a superdork. Oh well. It was a cool moment.

So, Shane was here from June 24-July 5 which would explain my lack of posts the past couple of weeks. We spent some time in the city and Jersey, and even made it to the shore for the first time in two years. It was a wonderful time as always and I already plan on going down to Texas in a couple of weeks to see him. Only a few more months of this distance!

From June 28-30 I went to Las Cruces, New Mexico for the Warped Tour edition of our show. It aired on Wednesday and will continue for another six weeks this summer on Warped Wednesdays. Check your local listings for times people. Warped was crazy, because we had a single day to bang out 7 interviews (Against Me!, Simple Plan, 3OH!3, A Day To Remember, Every Avenue, Attack Attack and The Ready Set) and it was hot as hell. We did everything we needed to though and put together a great show!

I'm currently working on a show that will feature two actors we are talking to next week. I am pretty pumped! More on that soon. :-X

I am finally spending a weekend in the city. I've been so busy running around all over the place, I haven't had a weekend in the city since I've been here. I plan on reconnecting with friends I haven't seen yet and just enjoying some downtime. I just need to start exploring more of the city I call home for now. And summer in the city seems like the best time to get to know my way around.

Oh and I am getting deep into house-hunting. My new life project. Shane and I started to narrow regions down and I have a few towns in mind. For now, Montclair and Hoboken are my favorites, it's just a matter of wanting more of a suburban or urban life. We’re pretty okay with whatever. I’m just excited to find some place to call home, and for Shane to get his ass out of the Army and live in that home with me. That day can’t come soon enough!

Have a good weekend everyone!