This weekend was just full of excitement..

Friday after work I went up to Stamford to hang out with my friends and their 1yr old son. I had a great time..  we played games, watched Brave, went to Target, visited some Tag Sales and ate delicious home cooked foods.. I love them. Anyhow, on my way back, I saw this guy at the train station. LOL

Then on Saturday night (Sunday morning) around 1.45AM there was a loud bang, car alarms went off and there was a ton of smoke. It turned out, it was an electrical fire right outside my window. It went on for a long long time.. there was a ton of smoke, a firetruck. and then a ConEd emergency trucks.
The explosions were loud bangs, and once the fire was out there was a boat load of drilling.

ALL WEEKEND.  ALLLLLLLL weekend.

Last night I thought I was going to lose my mind. I wanted to watch the Emmys but couldn’t hear the TV. All night there were drilling and banging sounds. It stopped around 8AM this morning (just as I was leaving to go to work). I tried plugging in headphones and listening to some music.. but it didn’t do too omuch.

So I had two very VERY lousy nights of rest. That said though, I did dream about my mom last night which was really nice. It is nice to see her.. even if in my sleep. I’ll take what I can get. The dream was inane.. we were packing luggage (specifically my sister’s bag–matching her tiny socks). Then we were standing in line at the airport and she fainted–yet it wasn’t scary She looked young and pretty and healthy…

On Friday my sister arrives for a week in NYC with me, followed by a week in Jamaica. I am very VERY much looking forward to seeing her again and going on VACATION! In other news, Elton John is performing in NYC in December which is exciting — i’m hoping to get tickets today. And last but not least, if there are any women reading this that don’t read my other blog, let me know

Happy Monday!

 

 

There’s an old story about a guy taking a smoke break with his non-smoking colleague.

“How long have you been smoking for?” the colleague asks.

“Thirty years,” says the smoker.

“Thirty years!” marvels the co-worker. “That costs so much money. At a pack a day, you’re spending $1,900 a year. Had you instead invested that money at an 8% return for the last 30 years, you’d have $250,000 in the bank today. That’s enough to buy a Ferrari.”

The smoker looked puzzled. “Do you smoke?” he asked his co-worker.

“No.”

“So where is your Ferrari?”

teehee.

I hope that xanga being a bit empty these days is just due to summer/Rosh Hashana and not the migration. With this new system i’m not entirely sure how to find new sites to read.. and currently, i’m bored! I have like one new post to read every 2 days.

I’m off to Nashville tonight. Short weekend trip. Should be fun!

But when I’m way up here, it’s crystal clear…That now I’m in a whole new world with you.

Hey guys!

Since I use wordpress for the blog of the theater company i’m producing for, it in a way is good that i’ll be able to learn here on Xanga how to properly work with this.. Is there a way to get both xanga and that site all in one? I’m going to have to do some learning here.

In the mean time though, since so many people have left Xanga in this process, i’m excited to get some new readers. So, if you read this–how about you suggest some of your favorite subs and then I’ll check them out… and maybe this place will feel a bit less empty?

Cause Wine Not? hehe. I went and saw the musical Once this week. I absolutely loved it! Afterward we went to a wine bar and this was delicious..
Por Que No? is yumsville! 

 
This morning on the subway I sat across from this guy. SO CUTE!

The other day I was stepping out for lunch and this picture caught my eye. It is an ad for NYC but was taken in Amsterdam? So strange!

And last but not least, my cousin asked whether he could come crash at my place for a night while he was in town for an interview. I told him of course and he said he’d bring magical treats. I LOL’d and forgot about it. Anyhow, when I came home from work he left a note that there was magic in the fridge, and sure enough.. there was a nice cold sixpack from his favortie brewery called EuroTrash which he joked was appropriate. So fun! My family truly is awesome.

How long has it been since we’ve all done one of these?

(Adopted from @blunt_force_mama who got it from @Tyche, who adopted it from someone else)

What was the last thing you put in your mouth?  My lunch (a mish mosh of the whole foods buffet)

Have you ever kissed anyone named Matthew? Yes, about 5 years ago a drunk Matt sort of half smooched me after a high school reunion.

Where was your profile picture taken?  On a train from NJ to NYC in about 2003 or so.

Can you play guitar hero?   I can, though I prefer Rockband and haven’t played either in quite a while.

Name someone that made you laugh today?   A coworker.. he was being silly.

How late did you stay up last night and why?  12.30AM or so. I watched the Real World Challenge, Masterchef and then Oprah on WWHL.

If you could move somewhere else, would you?  Maybe.. but its not something I long to do currently.

Ever been kissed under fireworks?   Yeah. Have you?

Which of your friends lives closest to you?   My friends S and E live just down the street.

Do you believe ex’s can be friends?   I do.  

How do you feel about Dr Pepper?  I prefer a diet Coke.

When was the last time you cried really hard?  Really hard? February.

Where are you right now?  At work (sssh!)

What bed did you sleep in last night?  My own. You?

What was the last thing someone bought for you for dinner?  A friend treated me to take out recently. If I remember correctly it was thai food.

Who took your profile picture?  An old friend.

Who was the last person you took a picture of?  I think it was a selfie..  I sent it to my sister.

Was yesterday better than today?  Yes, today is Friday.

Can you live a day without TV? Yes, I can. But I don’t very often.

Are you mad about anything? Not currently

Are you upset about anything?  Not at the moment

Do you think relationships are ever really worth it?  Of course!

Are you a bad influence?  Not when it matters I don’t think.

Night out or night in?   Hmm, depends who and where I’m with. I’ll say night out.

What item(s) could you not go without during the day?   My phone.

Who was the last person you visited in the hospital?   I think it was my friend when she had her son nearly a year ago.

What does the last text message in your inbox say?  “No problem. He would like you to call him.”

How do you feel about your life right now? 

Do you hate anyone?  I despise one or two people but I try not to hate.

If we were to look in your xanga inbox, what would we find?  Survey requests

Say you were given a drug test right now, would you pass?   Well, not if they’re testing for things that are rapidly being legalized all over the place. Otherwise, yup!

Has anyone ever called you perfect before?  I don’t think so, but that is ok.

What song is stuck in your head?  Judy Suite Blue Eyes

Someone knocks on your window at 2am, who do you want it to be?  Someone who can fly? Someone in my dreams? This is not a very realistic question.. 

Wanna have grandkids before you’re 50?   That is VERY unlikely.

Name something you have to do tomorrow?   Have to? I’m spending time with my friends.. they’ve asked me to babysit for an hour. Does that count?

Do you think too much or too little?  Too much usually.

Do you smile a lot?  I hope so?

Who was your last missed call on your Mobile phone?  A friend. I called back J

Is there something you always wear?  I have a piercing in the top of my ear.. 

What were you doing 30 minutes ago?  working

Did you have an exciting last weekend?   I had a quiet last weekend. It was very necessary and totally awesome.

Have you ever crawled through a window?  Yes.

Have you ever dyed your hair?  Yeah, once in college. Red.

Are you wearing a necklace?  Not at the moment.

Are you an emotional person?  Yeah, hmm, sometimes? I think I am but I don’t always show it.

What’s something that can always make you feel better?  My sister

Will this weekend be a good one?   It better be!

What do you want right now?  To leave the office and start the weekend already!

Have you ever worn the opposite sex’s clothing?   Yes.

Have you ever worked in a food place?  Yes. Also in college.

What’s on your schedule for tomorrow?  Hanging out with a friend in CT.

Does anyone know your Xanga password?   Nope.

Remember Wifey999 or perhaps mirandawrites? Well she passed through NYC on her way to faaar away and we had fun times!

I’ve recently reconnected with TorontoGirl too. 
Makes me feel old when I think back to how long I’ve actually been blogging here.  But over the years I have met some awesome Xanga folk as a result! AudioSnob, ChaosMoon, Nopstarr, Nieves4, o0_Gina_0o, Gwenstyles, TorontoGirl, LittleBit106, Coffeebee, The Experience and Drew and others. And then to think that there are so many people that would still be so fun to meet!

In other news, my October trip to Jamaica with my sister has been fully booked and I can not wait to go! I’ve been going through a variety of changes/negotiations at work and the end result is looking like a raise and a restructuring of my job.. meaning a promotion. If this works out it could be good… and if not, I got the raise and the world is my oyster and there are a whole lot of things to explore and experience.

Looks like there is xanga drama on FB. First off, why are there 18 different groups for X and why are people getting angry that the deadline of the fund raise is being extended? I suppose that my job makes me a bit biased on that–i mean, in Private Equity closing dates get pushed all the time. No biggie. Anyhow, I finally pledged to the raise today so if 2.0 happens, i’ll be here for it.

Heck maybe it’ll be a Naomi 2.0 too.

Is Xanga really going bye bye?

Such a strange concept. I mean, for the past 10 or 11 years I have blogged here .. not always consistently but surely happily. I have archived both blogs, I am facebook friends with most of you, and so I guess I am ready for it to disappear? …though I sure do hope it sticks around!

I haven’t uploaded the second half of vacation photos. And since that trip i have been in Chicago, the Berkshires and CT.. and this weekend I’ll be up in Maine… I guess there is a lot to write about and yet, since I know it could all go kaplooey on Monday–i’ll leave it at this for now.

It’s been swell.

<3,

N.

 

This vacation was fantastic. The whole trip was a great combination of city and nature… and we really packed a lot in. Let’s see how far I get here with this picture post. I have over 1000 pics.. here are a select few (some were also already posted on FB). First I flew to Los Angeles for the wedding in Santa Monica. On the day before the wedding went to both the Getty Museum as well as the Getty Villa and then had a seafood lunch in Malibu before the rehearsal dinner for the wedding. 

   

The next day we walked around the farmers market by the wedding couple’s house and then went to Venice Beach for a walk. We had a great time watching the skaters, performers, muscle dudes, and just people in general. What a fun-loving place.
  
The wedding was a blast.. we danced and had a great time and it was all just so sweet and pretty. Lots of love! The wedding ended on the beach with the bride and groom and it really was a perfect day. They are so in love and the wedding had only about 50 people there so it was nice and intimate. There was a lot of dancing, and the food was good. They also had a cute Activity Book for everyone made mostly by JJ which was cute as well. I had a great time.

 
It was so much fun to see JJ again:

Then the following day we got up and drove to Disneyland in Anaheim. We spent the day on rides and walking around. I ended up with a great spot to watch the parade. I think either the Pirates of the Caribbean or the Indiana Jones rides were my favorite. Then we saw Downtown Disney at night and caught the fireworks from there too. It was a fun and exhausting day.

    
 
The next day we drove up the PCH to San Francisco. What a beautiful drive that is! We got fresh strawberries along the way and the scenery was so pretty!

  

  
 

 We got to Big Sur around sunset and made it to San Francisco at a decent hour. Upon check in we promptly passed out and got up the next day ready to conquer the city. First we (pseudo accidentally) walked up Nob Hill, ate breakfast at Fisherman’s Wharf and then rented bikes and biked the Embarcadero, Fisherman’s Wharf, to the Golden Gate Bridge, up to the park, through the park back to around Mission and 1st and then eventually back to the rental place. We biked so much the tops of our hands were burned.

 

  

  
I loved watching the wind surfers near the bridge. 
 
The LED display on the other bridge was pretty funny.. the night we were there it didn’t do too much (normally it is apparently colorful?). We had a great time though.

We had dinner at The Slanted Door in the Ferry Building and then slowly made our way back to the hotel for another night of rest because the next morning we had to get up at 6am…  to be continued!

So I had an amazing time in Amsterdam. It seriously is good for my soul to be home for a bit. It was such a short trip! I arrived on Saturday, got big hugs from my sister and dad at the airport, came home for some b’fast and then passed out for 3 hours. This saved me from jet-lag which was kind of awesome. I got up again around 2PM and my sister and I went to the center of town and walked around. We saw the Waterlooplein, the Dam, Kalverstraat… walked all over the place. Then we met up with dad for dinner at the tapas place around the corner form the house. Amsterdam is a wonderful city and it was so nice to stroll through it. I hung out with one of my US college friends that night and saw his amazing new apartment.

The following day I met up with a friend in the park. She has a cute 3-mo old baby girl (more pics on FB-in fact, there are pictures of the whole trip on FB).
  And then that night we took my dad out to a Japanese restaurant for a sushi dinner to celebrate his birthday and retirement. It was delicious and fun.

On Monday I met up with some friends and went to the Noordermarkt which is a flea market on Monday mornings near a church. Afterwards I had lunch with a good friend who told some fun and exciting news (i get to be privy to early info since I live far away I guess ).

After lunch and a walk back through town, my dad, sister and I went to a family friends place (my mom’s best friend in Amsterdam) for dinner. After a fun and yummy meal my sister took me to a Dubstep concert called RFLX. It was at the Heineken Music Hall which is pretty ginormous. Normally I would not have attended such a thing as it is not my kind of music however my sister really wanted me to go and she was very convincing. After being promised that we could leave at any time, I agreed. I went having amazingly low expectations and figuring I’d suffer through it. Insead? I ended up having a really good time. Netski, Zed’s Dead and Datsik performed which supposedly is quite awesome. I’m a n00b when it comes to this stuff…but good times were definitely had.
 

Driving home in a taxi at 6.30AM it was amazing to see that people were already setting up, selling, and even already shopping for Queensday. On Queensday the whole town becomes a flea market. This year was an extra large spectacle since the queen abdicated and her son, the king was crowned. Next year it will be Kingsday..

My sis and I got home from the club and went to bed. We woke up around 1PM and went walking around through the park. We didn’t hit up the main busy parts of town since neither one of us desired that kind of crazy. We stayed in the neighborhood which was still quite crowded but also really nice. We walked around the park and didn’t buy much but saw some cute kids trying to make some extra money. That night, we caught some of the concert that was going on on one of the large squares too. Andre Rieu. Oh joy. LOL.
 

The next morning I woke up and ran some errands (bought cheese and stroopwafels and birth control to bring back) and then it was time to head out to the airport and fly back to NYC. Armin van Buuren was on my flight.. aw yeah!
 

It was such a great trip! I finally managed to unpack this weekend and now I’m stoked to be going to Toronto on Friday. Travel bug, I love you!