Not your average Joe

Recently, Listmaker complained about his awful landlord. While at least we have heat in our apartment, our landlord is still pretty bad. Therefore, it is my turn to bitch!

My first indication that our landlord Joe was an idiot came shortly after Hurricane Katrina. This was shortly after I had moved into the apartment, and I was very excited that we finally had cable. The whole week following Hurricane Katrina we did not have cable, and I was upset to be missing live coverage of what was happening in New Orleans. When I had first moved in, Joe asked me to fax over a list of what needed to be fixed. He never gave me a time that he would come. On Saturday morning, while I was still in my pajamas, he knocked on the door. After tinkering around to fix the garbage disposal, he heard the CNN coverage of Hurricane Katrina. He said it was awful what was happening down there. Agreed. He blamed the government for their slow response. Agreed. Then he said that the government left all the "colored" people around there, and weren't doing anything. Uhh...ok? "Colored" people. Are we in 1950?

Okay, whatever, I can overlook that if he were not a complete asshole. My biggest problem that I have with him (apart from him not fixing anything that needed fixed when we got there) is the lack of a washer and dryer. When I first moved up here and was living in Worcester, I looked at about a dozen apartments before I found my current one. One of the major selling points was that this apartment had washers and dryers! Sure, they were coin-operated, but who cares? We soon signed the lease on the false information of working washers and dryers.

Upon first moving into the apartment, I soon realized (after wasting about $4 in quarters) that these washers and dryers did not work. I called Joe about it, and he acted surprised, and said he would call Sears about fixing them. After talking to the guy on the first floor, who had lived there for six months, he said that Joe had known about the broken machines for months, and had yet to do anything about it.

After a couple months of calling Joe about the washers and dryers, he stopped by unannounced when I was alone in the apartment, after stepping out of the shower. Answering the door in my towel, I find Joe smugly standing there, licking an ice-cream cone. He informs me that he is not going to bother to call Sears to fix the machines because winter was approaching, and the pipes would freeze. He then promised that he would bring us some quarters to use at local laundromats for the inconvenience. We have yet to see one quarter.

I now try to go as long as I can with out doing laundry, about once every two weeks. Let me tell you, it is a joy to lug the laundry down three flights of stairs, bring it to my car, and waste an hour and a half at the laundromat waiting for it. I would not be so annoyed if we had not taken the apartment partly based on it having a washer and dryer. But knowing that if Joe was not such a jerk, all we would have to do is walk down one flight of stairs, put the laundry in, and go back upstairs until it is done.

After washing my clothes at a local laundromat yesterday, I put them in the dryer. To my surprise, one quarter did not give me 8 minutes anymore, but instead only 6! I asked the lady there why they had raised the prices, and she said it was because gas prices were so high. One more reason to hate Joe.

Allie and I have decided that we probably want to move when our lease runs out in September. Partly because we want to be closer to better public transportation, and partly because of Joe. In the meantime, whenever I walk upstairs, the washer and dryer room is there, teasing me.

It's been a year

Yesterday was a year, and tomorrow it will be a year since the deaths of my high school friend Linda, and my grandfather, respectively. Instead of being sad today, I am trying to be as positive as possible.

Linda:

Instead of continually questioning why Linda was killed, I am going to take a break from that today. At her memorial service at Johns Hopkins, one of her friends said (I am paraphrasing) that instead of questioning why she died, we should question why she lived. The president of Johns Hopkins said that Linda did more in her 21 years than most people do in their lifetimes. Both of the above statements are 100% true. While what happened to Linda will never ever make sense to me, a year after her death, I am able to think of her without being completely sad.

Instead, I remember the difference she made in people's lives. In a fickle high school environment, I never heard one bad word spoken of Linda, but instead people would talk about how great she was. I remember having Ceramics with her senior year when we both needed a fun elective. I would look forward to ceramics, because I would have a chance to talk to Linda, which was always a bright spot to my day. When I was freaking out about getting into colleges, Linda would assure me that everything would be okay, and in a way that I actually believed her. She made it look easy getting straight A's, being on the volleyball and gymnastics teams, and getting a full ride to Johns Hopkins, her first choice. She did all this with her trademark smile and giggle.

So why did she live, and how did she do more in 21 years than many do in a long lifetime?
Simply, anyone that met Linda had to be affected by her. It was hard not to be. She did more than most people by spending part of her summer in college volunteering at a children's AIDS hospice in Vietnam. Her goal after college was med school and to find ways for people in third world countries to have better access to medical care, and I believe that she would have accomplished her goals. I know that she has inspired other people to live their lives more like hers. I was lucky to have known her, and remembering how remarkable she was makes me feel somewhat better about the tragic end to her life.

Grandpa:

Thinking about my grandfather's death after a year does not bring me sadness like Linda's. He was almost 84 when he died, and lived a good life. Like Linda, I feel incredibly lucky to have known him and to have been his granddaughter. I miss him so much, but I still feel like he is here because I know how he would react to things. Nothing made him happier than hearing about his grandchildren. I know that he would have been so happy to have seen me graduate college in May, and to have seen me start my "grown-up" life in Boston. And I know that when I would talk to him on the phone to tell him what was going on in my life, he would say with a twinkle in his eye "That's so great, Amy." I miss his hugs, that twinkle, his enthusiasm over everything; simply everything about him.

At my desk at work, I have a picture of me and Linda from high school, and a picture of my grandfather from when I was a kid. By having those pictures facing me all day, in a way, makes me feel as if they are still here.

Incredible aging

As mentioned before, there are some things in pop culture that I just do not get.

The latest thing that I have tried to understand the mass appeal of is "The OC." While it does not leave me as completely dumbfounded as Harry Potter's popularity does, I still question the show.

When the show first aired in the summer of 2003, it was all the rage with my 19 year old friends as we were the perfect demographic for the show. The air would be abuzz on Thursday with OC talk. In London, it was one of the few options we had on television, but I still was not really into it. Even now, watching it every week out of habit, I can take it or leave it. I am usually entertained by the show, but if I miss a week, I would not care. (This is somewhat ironic considering that in one episode of the OC about 5 dramatic plot lines occur, and the story changes drastically from week to week. If you miss a week, you will have some catch-up to do.)

I have always been a fan of ridiculous shows from "Melrose Place" to "90210." But there is one plot point with the OC that is unusually dumb. In the first season, Marissa had a younger sister who looked to be about 10. After the first couple of episodes, she was virtually erased from the show, sent off to some distant boarding school never to be seen from or heard of. But, in last night's episode "mini Coop" returns, and now she is like 15!
Mini Coop from this:


To this:


Time must move very slow in OC land because it has only been on for 2.5 years, and she has aged 5. This show is so ridiculous but I will probably continue to watch it every week.

A weekend with kickball, Korean BBQ, and HUEY!

This last weekend I went down to visit Listmaker and Youthlarge in New York. On Friday, I got to Listmaker's school in the afternoon, and came just in time to play a game of kickball with his 3rd graders. The kids were really great, and briefly, I considered maybe I could be a teacher. But I quickly brushed that thought aside when I remembered that I have no patience.

After recess, there was a 15 minute Q+A with me and the kids. The kids then presented current events.


The kids are currently learning about strikes throughout history and what they can accomplish. The kids then went outside and demonstrated their own strike in front of waiting parents and passing people on the sidewalk.




Saturday was spent in rainy pursuit of Huey tickets. Read all about the Huey performance at Listmaker. After Huey, I was pleasantly surprised that I enjoyed our Korean BBQ dinner.

All in all, it was a great weekend. But what weekend involving Huey would not be?

Ugh

I have been sick for a week. I knew I would get sick. Half of the people in my department were sick, so I knew I would be next. It started out as a cold, and it is pure evil. Me and a co-worker are still sick. I went to the doctor today, and lo and behold it has become a sinus infection, my first ever. It is awful.

The point of sharing all this is because I want to bitch. I don't have a mommy or an Allie nearby to complain to (although Heather has been taking the brunt of my whining.) I want to bitch because I always seem to get sick at the worst times. I usually get sick when there is something that I was looking forward to. The last major time was at the end of freshman year. To celebrate the end of the first year of college, me, Allie, Melissa, Joy, and Justin planned a trip to Ocean City, MD. The last week of school was very stressful with finals exams and papers stressing me out. Although the stress was huge, the Ocean City trip to look forward to got me by, and I even ended up with good grades. The day we drove to Ocean City I got very sick with a fever. While medicine enabled me to still have a good time, I was still quite upset during the trip. Why did I have to get sick during a time I was looking forward to so much?

Last week I was supposed to go down to NYC to see Youthlarge and Listmaker, and to see Huey Lewis in "Chicago." But of course I got sick. So the play was rescheduled to this weekend. Although I have seen Chicago on Broadway before (in 1999 with Alan Thicke playing the role that Huey will be playing in this go-round), it is tough to not be excited about a chance to see Huey. But being sick is diminishing my excitement. Let's just hope the antibiotics will make me better very soon so I can enjoy Huey in all his glory.

Speaking of Huey....why am I so excited to see him? Hearing and seeing Huey is my ultimate nostalgic trip. My dear brother Listmaker was a huge fan when he was a young teen, and forced his poor sister to listen to him as a toddler. There is a tape of me when I was 2 1/2 where I fill in the blank to Huey lyrics that Listmaker recited. I have loved Huey ever since then. After seeing him in concert twice (once with poor Youthlarge who does not share the love for Huey), seeing him in Chicago will be great.

Sorry for the rambling post. I believe that the sinus infection has spread to the brain.

A reason to look forward to the Oscars

I'm sure this is old news to everyone by now, but it was announced yesterday that this year the host for the Oscars will be my beloved Jon Stewart! While Jon Stewart has become somewhat overexposed in the media recently, I still adore him. He's cute, smart, liberal, funny, self-deprecating. What more could a gal want? All of this is a perfect combination for a Oscar host.

My idolization of Jon started when I was a young teen. I read his book "Naked Pictures of Famous People" and I immediately took to his dry humor. I was thrilled when he started hosting the "Daily Show" when I was 15, and I have watched the show as often as I can since then.

This summer, right after graduation, I got the chance to see him in person! My friends and I made it to the second row with an excellent view of Jon. When I was about 16ish I saw Conan O Brien. While he was funny in person, his jokes and demeanor felt stiff, and there was no audience interaction during the commercial breaks. Such was not the case with Jon. He had a Q+A before the show with the audience. During the commercial breaks he talked with the audience. While a video segment that Rod Corddry did was playing, he seemed genuinely amused by it. When I saw Conan, during a video segment he was too busy and important talking to producers to watch the segment.

Seeing Jon Stewart's show in person proved to me that his fame has not gone to his head. He is still the same laid back, modest person he was over a decade ago on his MTV show. Hence, I am very interested to see what he will do as Oscar host.

Me in bliss before seeing the Daily Show taping in June.

So this is the new year, and I don't feel any different

Apparently I have been a "blog slacker" lately, so here is an update from the last couple of weeks.

*Allie has gone home to Washington until January 21. I miss her. I have had a number of roommates over the years, and have not liked the majority of them (excluding Kristin, Aileen, and Belinda.) So if most of my previous roommates had gone away for a month, I would have been thrilled. But Allie is one of my best friends and has stayed so despite living together. We joke around about it, but she is kind of like my wife. She makes me dinner a lot, I pick her up after class, we discuss our days, we watch TV together. She is a great friend and roommate, and I will be happy to have her back. Until then, my apartment is very quiet and lonely.

*I went home for a week. It was a good trip home with lots of quality time with my parents. Stone Groove, and I (plus special guest Kristin) went to see King Kong. It was long, but still entertaining. We all agreed, at least a half hour could have been taken off of the movie with nothing lost. Damn Peter Jackson and his long movies!

*While home, Kristin came to visit from Pennsylvania. I have not seen her since graduation, and it was a nice reunion. Plus, she brought us delicious chocolate covered pretzels, and home-made cookies (of which Stone Groove consumed most of them.) AND, she stuffed a Hanukkah stocking for me! What a great friend!

*Office jobs are no good if you gain weight easily. In college, I did not go to the gym much, or eat that well, but I walked a lot around campus. Now, I go to the gym, am not eating that well, and sit all day. My body is not liking this. Since starting this job about 6 months ago, I have gained about 10 pounds, to the point where my clothes are getting tight. I have reached this weight twice before this. I refuse to go above this weight. In high school, I was able to take 20 pounds off, and a couple years ago, I was able to take about 10 pounds off. And its time again to take this damn weight off for the new year. So I have joined ediets.com, which so far is actually pretty great. They give you a customized meal plan which covers every meal for the week, a fitness plan, a grocery list, and lots of support. This is exactly the kind of structure that I need to help me lose the weight.

I have given my co-workers permission to not let me snack anymore at work, or partake in ordering lunch out. I also give everyone in blog land permission. (But, I may be going down to NYC this weekend. I give myself permission to stray away from the meal plan this weekend, but not to over do it.)


That is about all that is going on in Turtle Land.