Maybe This Year Will Be Better Then The Last...

I am normally in high spirits around the holidays but New Years always brings me down. First there is the stress of planning something. Everyone always hypes up New Years so if it's not the best night ever, it's basically a disappointment. We always have a controversy of what to do every year & ringing in 2009 was no different. 

I in no way, shape or form wanted to go into the city. I hate the crowds on a normal December day around there & it's at least 100 times worse on that particular day of the year. I also have to work the next day so I didn't want to make the trek to Atlantic City. I wanted to get dressed up & go somewhere, but I didn't know where. I dreamed of one of those perfect When Harry Met Sally type of New Years Eves but there was no such thing available to me. We settled on Arirang, which should be a good time. Delicious food, open bar & a dance floor...all I need to have a good time. Not to mention it's on the Island so it's very easily accessible.

Every year at midnight, I always get a little twinge of sadness. I don't know if it's the fact that I do not have someone to kiss when that ball goes down or what. It could be the fear of another year passing, which means another year older. Perhaps it's even the nostalgia for years past. I don't know but it's the same feeling every year. It is always a happy time though, too. To quote the Cunning Carla, (not Long Limbs Lenore) "Don't you just love New Years? You can start all over." I have an easy resolution this year & that is to get a job. If I don't accomplish that in a year, I should probably just give up & find a dying billionaire to marry, so I'll be set for life. Maybe that should be my resolution instead. Hmm. Well, I won't rule it out. Happy 2009 everybody!

'Tis the Season

Well Merry belated Christmas everybody! I had a wonderful Christmas this year, as I generally do. The holiday is not over though because we're visiting family for the next couple of days, which should be a lot of fun. Saturday, Sam & I were originally supposed to go to the Miami-St. John's game at the Garden but plans changed so I'm going to visit the fam in Jersey instead. I love how everyone has their own little traditions they have to do.

I was originally supposed to work on Christmas Eve, which I was pretty bummed about because I was going to miss everything that went on. Pop Pop comes over every year & so do my brothers & Kelly. Once I got to work, there was absolutely nothing for me to do & the only game was the ND-Hawaii game so I asked if I could go home since it was silly for me to be there. Luckily, I was able to & didn't miss a thing. Christmas Eve is the only holiday that we acknowledge that we have another heritage besides just Italian. On Christmas Eve, we have some Swedish food for my dad. Sill is the thing that we all dread. It's pickled herring & you have to have at least one piece. My piece is usually no bigger then my pinkie finger nail. The other usual food includes homemade mac & cheese, meatballs, shrimp & some other pickings. After dinner/dessert we open the presents from my grandparents & Uncle Den. Then we watch "It's a Wonderful Life" & cry. The last thing we do before bed is read "The Night Before Christmas". We have been doing this for as long as I can remember & it's definitely one of those traditions that's going to continue on when I have kids.

On Christmas morning, you wake up & open your stocking. Then you can go & look to see what Santa brought. My brothers & Kelly come in the morning & we open presents for several hours. When we were little we had a limit to how early we could get up & we had a door closing off the back porch so we couldn't see what was back there until my dad opened it. Pop Pop & Rae come over later in the day & we open presents with them & then eat for the rest of the day. This year we got Wii Fit so we worked off what we ate with that. That's about it as far as traditions go. I hope you had a lovely Christmas!

Recession Sheshmession

I love listening to Red Sox crying right now. Watching SportsCenter is putting such a smile on this little face of mine. In case you haven't heard yet, the Yankees have agreed to a preliminary deal with Mark Teixeira. Not only is he the top free agent position player of this year, but he was also at the top of the Red Sox wish list. I love how Steve Phillips of ESPN (an obvious Boston fan) tries to make it seem like it's not such a big deal & now the Yankees are "at the Red Sox level". We got the best hitter & the top 2 free agent pitchers. Give up. We won this round, Steve.

The Yankees were considered out of the race for Teixeira because of our other high-priced acquisitions of the off-season. Today, however the Yankees pulled a similar feat that they did in 2004 when Alex came to the team...they surprised everyone! Both times we pulled the rug right out from underneath the Red Sox & they were left flat on their asses. Alex was my favorite Valentine's gift the Yankees ever gave me; Teixeira is my favorite Christmas present.

As for these animals who keep complaining about my team making it unfair for them, let's look at the stats. First of all, the Yankees got rid of over $88 million of next season's salary by shedding some dead weight (cough, Carl Pavano). Bobby Abreu, Mike Mussina & Jason Giambi were all making big money too & we no longer have to worry about that. Giambi was making $21M/year, Teixeira will be making $22.5M. Is he worth the additional $1.5M? Um, are you kidding? Of course he is. Our top 3 free agent signings total up to $64M/year. We have a lower payroll this year then we did last year, so why would we not go for him? Really, we're making it a more even playing field if we're lowering our payroll. So quit complaining.

The reason we have the ability to pay all this money is multi-fold. Let's start with our brand new beautiful stadium that is going to generate more revenue in one year then the Pirates can hope to make in 5. When you sell out every game with select seats priced as much as $2500, what do you expect us to do with all this money? We also have the #1 Regional Sports network in the country with YES (can you tell I used to do P.R. for them?) The network brings in big dollars. Also, the Yankee brand is just an automatic money-maker. I mean crazy folks even get such symbols tattooed on their bodies, for goodness sake!

I personally appreciate what the Steinbrenner family does. They want to win & they will spend money in order to ensure this. Whether or not the economy continues to plummet has no baring on the NYY. They give we, the fans reason to be fans because we like cheering for a team that wins. Think what you want about our "evil empire" but they do it for us. The Yankees have always spent money to get big names, so it doesn't matter. Keep crying about it being unfair because I will be looking down at you from atop the American League East smiling, come October.

Fantasy Psychic (Reprise)

I wrote a post a couple of months back declaring myself as a Fantasy Baseball Psychic. I would like to re-instate this title once again. I loved Xavier Nady on my fantasy team, then he was a Yankee. I picked up Pudge & the next day, he was a Yankee (although not a very productive one).  In addition to these players, I also had CC & AJ Burnett as my top 2 pitchers. If not for these 2, I would not have won my league because in the last week of the fantasy season, they had combined over 30 strikeouts. I beat my opponent by a score of 6-4 because I won strikeouts in the last week.

Today the press conference took place announcing the 2 of them as Yankees & I am more excited then ever to have them on my real team. They both seem to have the right mentality to play for the Yankees & I feel like they are going to be a great fit. Even though neither of them have pitched on as big of a stage as NY, they have each stepped up to the plate when it was most important. AJ always pitches phenomenal against both the Yankees & Red Sox because those were the teams to beat in the AL East. Let's hope he keeps up the good work against Boston. CC basically single-handedly took Milwaukee to the play-offs last year. He was a big game pitcher for them when it mattered most. He is also a great presence in the clubhouse & seems like he will be a great teammate. I think Joba can learn a lot from him. AJ is oft injured but had a great season last year. I appreciated his answer when he said that he has learned how to take care of his body now & doesn't foresee injuries as a big problem anymore. Perhaps he should adopt Alex's workout regimen. All-in-all I am very excited about the acquisition of both of these players. I was a little skeptical at first but I really think they will be a good fit & I look forward to the 2009 season!

And in a side note...Manny Ramirez was not on my fantasy team & I do not want him on my regular team. I do not care how good of a hitter he is, he is not a Yankee. You saw what he did to the Red Sox. He's trouble. He will disrupt the team & cause more problems then he's worth. If he is acquired, I will never acknowledge him as a Yankee.

Christmas Light Connoisseur

I love the holiday season. Seeing Christmas trees lit up, lights lining the streets & just decorating to the extreme. It really brightens up the night with the amount of lights everywhere. Some people abuse this privilege though. You know who I mean. Those that try & be Clark Griswald. Those tacky people who put up far too many things & mix everything all together. Call me a Christmas light racist, but the lights need to be segregated: colored & white do not mix!

I am so judgmental of people who do this. I tend to drive slower during the holiday season, just to appreciate the holiday spirit around me but then there are those eye sores that just make me wanna drive my car right into the front of their house to put not only myself out of the misery, but their house as well. If you put icicle lights around your ledge, do NOT have them in colors. They are icicles; icicles are white. Also, don't decorate half your house with colors & half with white. Pick one. I personally prefer white, red or green lights but if a house is decorated with all colored lights & nothing but colored lights, I will accept it. Under no circumstances should you ever think that decorating one bush colored, one white, one red, one blue & one green is a good idea. Trust me, it's not. I also have a problem with blue lights. Unless you are Jewish, blue lights should not be used. Christmas colors are red, green & white so stick with the traditional. Also, this is a religious holiday not an American one so please avoid red, white & blue. I also HATE when people have blinking lights that are more like Las Vegas then La Navidad.

One of my biggest decorating pet peeves is those massive, imposing blow-up items. One is acceptable on a very large lawn. People on Staten Island do not have large lawns, do not use them. If you can't pull off one, then you definitely can't pull off multiple. Nor can anyone get away with some of the designs of these hideous creations. Since when does Santa ride in a helicopter? I am so against these for every holiday season. There was a family that lived near me in Coral Gables that had at least one for every holiday. At Christmas time last year, I counted & they had 14. FOURTEEN! I don't care if you live on a golf course (which these people certainly did not) you cannot get away with 14.

My mother tries to go against my advice at times when I am not around to defend myself. I knew Maggie was meant to be my dog when she chose to chew on the blue lights while we were decorating on her first Christmas before Linda could put them up behind my back. Luckily for my sanity, I was around for decorating this year & was able to stop any unnecessary colors. We have a very tasteful white light display on the bushes in front of the house. She did get some sort of twinkle light that I am not so into but even I can compromise. Red, white & green lights also surround the door & the inside window. Traditional, tasteful, terrific.

Don't Hate the Player...

I have recently come to the conclusion that I have no game. Maybe I used to but definitely not anymore. I don't really know what happened to me. I used to have the ability to get any guy I wanted & this is not me bragging, this is simply the truth. Now that I am no longer in a college environment & am in the real world, I do not know proper etiquette. I also have extremely bad taste in men.

There once was a boy at Marist who none of us hooked up with but we all loved him in a brotherly-like way. One day while he was eating lunch with us, he was telling us what would be his perfect girl. He described me to a T, right down to the sweatpants. I recently discovered that this boy has since been arrested several times & is on crack. What does that say about me, that I am a crack head's dream girl?

In college, I never really worried about how often I talked to a guy or when we would see each other, etc. I would usually bump into the guy on campus & would definitely see him out at the bar several times throughout the week. Always drunk & always sloppy drunk make-outs. Walk of shame the next morning. That was my life. We never went out on dates because why would we?

Now in my post-college life, sloppy drunk make-outs are few & far between. In order to see the boy, we now need to be in contact with each other & make plans. This is where I have no game. I don't know how often is too often to talk or not often enough. Nor do I know if it's okay for me to contact him & when. I don't want to ruin anything but I have no experience in this area of life. I do not know how to have game in a post-college world!

Oh, Christmas Tree

I just got back from picking out my first ever live Christmas tree! I've always wanted a live one but we had our artificial that we use every year. I think my parents were sick of hearing me complain about how much I hate colored lights, (& that's what happens to be on our tree) so they gave in & we got a real one. It's so fun to pick out a tree & I think every one I saw I liked, but we finally settled on one that is perfect. It also happened to have a tag with little Texas pictures on it, so I am assuming that's where it's from, so it really couldn't be more perfect.

We're also decorating our tree differently this year. Normally we just use all of the ornaments that we've collected throughout the years & along with the colored lights it just looks like Santa threw up on our tree & left us with this big old Christmas mess. I still love it though because our trees always have character. This year, however we decided to go a new route. Since I've traveled a lot & so have my parents, we decided to get ornaments from all the places we went & this year we are going to have a "travel tree". I contributed a Vegas, Hawaii & Miami. Since obviously there wouldn't be enough to fill a whole tree, we're also putting snowflakes & stuff like that on it & will of course have white lights. I can't wait to listen to Christmas music & decorate it. As if I don't listen to enough Christmas music during the month of December. Speaking of, "Oh Christmas Tree/Oh Tannenbaum" just came on my iTunes! It's like it knew I was blogging about it right now or something. Bizarre.

But speaking of Christmas trees, Samantha & I decided to go to the tree lighting at Rockefeller Center last night. Let me tell you, what a nightmare! All I wanted to do was see Beyonce, I didn't even really care about the tree so much & we didn't even get close to either. Of course she was on a rooftop so I don't think I'd have gotten close anyway. Instead of standing in the cold unable to see anything, we just ended up at a bar watching it on TV. Strange that we would end up at a bar, I know. We ordered some sort of "Christmasy" drink, which was just a big sweet disgusting mess of a martini, but I still drank mine & half of Sam's anyway. When I saw Jaime Foxx come out on TV, I was so sad because I love him so much & I was so close to him yet so far away. I was really hoping him & Beyonce would forgo the Christmas music & just break out into Dreamgirls but I can't always get what I want. Maybe if I told them it was my birthday they would reconsider? We ended up waiting around though & saw the tree after the sea of people dissipated but not even a close up, so I'll have to go again at some point. If I ever decide to go to the lighting again, I know now to get there in the morning if I want a good spot. Probably will never happen but it's good to know.

Birthday Brat!

I love my birthday. It's my favorite holiday out of the year. I still countdown to it, just like I have done my whole life. I will probably still do this forever because it is a day that I can do or say whatever I want & nobody can say anything to me because "It's my birthday!" This year I really did not overly say this phrase like I did last year but I did use it today, even though it's the day after my birth. I had some family come over & somebody needed to pick up Pop Pop & I didn't wanna do it so I used my magic words. I celebrate my birthday for at least a week so hopefully I can continue to say this for another bit & get away with it.

I love my birthday. I love how everyone texts me & calls me & writes on my facebook wall. It makes me feel like I'm super popular. In addition to the popularity, I do feel really blessed that I had so many people who cared enough to wish me a happy birthday, I really appreciate those little things. Birthdays are a big deal to me so I get kind of insulted if somebody I'm close to doesn't wish me a "Happy Birthday", to be honest. Diana, you are pardoned.

I love my birthday. I got to see my best friends & all of us were together for the first time in ages, all in honor of moi. Meghan & Mary Kate both came over, as did Lauren & Jade. It was really great to see them & it was a lovely evening. The real celebration is on Friday & I am beyond excited for that. I think we're going to have a really good turnout. People are coming that I haven't seen in a very long time & all of my worlds are going to come together, again all in honor of yours truly! I have my friends from home, some Marist kids & even some Miami. My brothers & Kelly are also coming, which is exciting because we never get to go out together. It should be so much fun & such a debaucherous event that I cannot wait! My outfit is so L.C. too, which makes me even more excited because I want to wear it every day.

Did I mention I love my birthday?

Celebrity Baby Names

I'm writing this blog in honor of Ashlee Simpson & her new bouncing baby boy, Bronx Mowgli Wentz. What makes celebrities think they can name their children whatever they want? Do you think just because of who their parents are that they won't get made fun of by having a middle name that's reminiscent of a certain Jungle Book character? The kid's initials are BMW. Give me a break. That is the epitome of celebrity materialism.

Apparently the five boroughs also make great baby names. With the addition of little Bronx, we now have 4/5 of them. The Beckhams have taken care of Brooklyn, since that was where he was conceived. What the Beckhams were doing conceiving babies in Brooklyn, I will never know. We also have Queen Latifah, who I know is not a baby but she is a celebrity so she fits right now. We've got Apple Martin, which covers Manhattan (the Big Apple). All we need now is a little baby Staten. That pregnant man is pregnant again, maybe he can jump on the NYC bandwagon. Katy sent me an article on other places celebrity babies are named after.

As long as we already mentioned the Beckhams, they also have Romeo & Cruz, which I actually think are cute names. I also think Coco is cute, but it reminds me of a dog's name. That's probably because that's Amanda's dog's name. Shiloh is the name of Jade's cat & that is much cuter for a cat then for a baby. The Jolie-Pitts are repeat offenders. I mean come on, Knox? Lucky for them the kid will be stunningly beautiful with those parents. I'm pretty sure the adopted ones already had names when they got them so I won't count that against them. The name Suri has been accepted because she's just so adorable but I don't see it catching on for too many regular babies. Tom Cruise's ex, Nicole Kidman channeled Wednesday Adams from the Adams Family with her little Sunday. She should probably have 6 more & stick with that trend. Gwyneth Paltrow said she chose Apple because apples are sweet, which is the worst reason I've ever heard. Why'd you choose Moses then for your second kid? You've got Harlow Madden, named after Jean Harlow. Also Scout Willis, named after the "To Kill a Mockingbird" character. Who knows why Jessica Alba chose the name Honor? Let's not forget Sylvester Stallone's daughter Sage Moonblood, which I'm not even going to begin to try to explain.

I get they are all trying to be unique with their names but each one really just tries to outdo the next. I would like my children to have unique names but there are limits. I won't go naming them Yankee or Vodka or anything ridiculous like that because I happen to like it. I don't think naming them after a place is so awful but it shouldn't just be a random place like Alabama. I've always loved Texas, so I have Austin as one of my names if I have a boy. I also like Savannah for a girl, even though I have never been to Georgia I just enjoy the name. Whatever your reasoning, just remember your kids have to live with that the rest of their life. I am personally happy that I don't have celebrity parents just for that reason.

Twilight Movie Review

Everyone always says that the book was better then the movie & I think the only movie I might disagree with on that point is The Notebook. I read the book after seeing the movie & it was good, but the movie just added something to it. But I digress, what I came here to talk about today is Twilight. Samantha & I went to see the midnight showing of it last night like the big nerds that we are. I came away pleased with it but I'm realizing that the more I think about it, the more I didn't like it.

This book left quite a bit up to interpretation but there were certain things that were not to be interpreted. The vampires in the book are described as the most beautiful "human beings" she has ever seen. This group that was cast was certainly not that. Edward was attractive but the Edward in my head was so much better then that. Carlisle was also much more Brad Pitt-like then the guy who played him. Esme was also much prettier & taller then the actress who played her. Rosalie was the worst one, though. This character was described as the most beautiful woman to ever walk the earth & this actress was not even mediocre. Even I could've made a better Rosalie.

The special effects in the movie were also far too overdone. I think they tried too hard & just made it look silly. This may sound strange but the actors who played the vampires were far too human for those parts. The acting was poor & made the film far too cheesy. Nothing was really as I pictured it either. If I never read the book & saw the movie first, I would have no desire to read the books because I would think they would be as stupid as the plot of it all sounds.

The fact that I did read the book prior, however made me appreciate the movie. I might sound contradictory but I did like their interpretation of the book. Whereas with Harry Potter, if you didn't read the books there might be a lot of things you would be confused about, this did not do that. They shortened it by combining certain things & taking out the parts that dragged. They stayed very true to the book & they also put in a lot of Bella's thoughts, which I appreciated because I hate when a character's thoughts are such a big part of the book & then they are completely disregarded in the movie version. So all-in-all it certainly did not get 2 thumbs up in my opinion but definitely an A for effort. Get a new casting director for the next one & then we can talk some more.

I Have an Addiction Sir

Okay so I haven't exactly been a Giants fan all my life & I don't claim to have been, but now that I am I don't know how I ever was not. I always liked football but never really felt connected to a specific team like I did with the Yankees. I watched but was not enthralled. I didn't cheer quite as loudly as a real fan might. I was told by a now estranged friend that all Yankees fans are Giants fans so that's what I should be. Although I do not speak to this person anymore, I do owe a large part of my fan-ship to him. 

I did not feel this connection until I went to a Dolphins-Patriots game last year. You might think this is a bizarre time to realize you are a Giants fan but let me explain further. I went with Natalie who happens to be a Patriots fan. As a Yankee fan, I must automatically despise all things Boston so hating the Pats was an obvious choice. So wouldn't this make me a Jets fan? Not necessarily. At the time of this game, the Red Sox were in the playoffs & we somehow found ourselves seated in the Patriots section. When the chants of "Let's Go Red Sox" erupted randomly, I was appalled. Then the Patriots scored another touchdown & the man in front of me wearing a Sox hat turned around & high-fived me. I was not cheering for your team & I will never cheer with you, creep, so never touch me again! I almost threw up in disgust but at this point, I realized where my loyalties were. I had to like a team that Yankee fans like. Hence, I became a Giants fan at that very moment on October 21, 2007.

Coincidentally, the year I become a fan is the year they win the Superbowl. Go figure. I am not a bandwagon fan because I was a fan before a Superbowl run was even in our dreams, so don't go there. I was however a part of that entire run. I needed a favorite player in the beginning so my first choice was Jeremy Shockey, since he was a former Miami Hurricane. (As was Jeff Feagles, but how can your favorite player be the punter?) Once I really became a fan though, it was very difficult to decide my favorite. Osi Umenyiora probably holds the top spot, despite him missing this year. Brandon Jacobs, Justin Tuck & Mathias Kiwanuka all are up there, not to mention little Kenny Phillips, the Giants first round pick this year out of the U.

I have officially been converted & now Sundays without football are like Octobers without baseball...empty. I am now posted in front of the television every week with my #72 jersey on cheering for my team. I also now know every player, their position & number. I scream just as loudly now for the G-men as I do for them Canes & those damn Yankees, if not louder. I look forward to Sundays, simply for my Giants. They are my team now & will be for as long as I live.

The Girl Who Cried Love

I was on the bus today on the way home from the city thinking about my night & how it went & whatnot & started laughing. I came to the conclusion that I throw words around too easily, in particular the words love & boyfriend. Every time I meet a boy who I find remotely attractive, he is automatically referred to as my boyfriend for the rest of the night, if not longer. Whether I know his real name or not doesn't really matter. If I actually like this boy, we are in love without even a first date. The phrase "Oh my God, I love him" is far too over-used in my daily life.

In reality, I have never been able to use the word boyfriend in the literal sense, just the way that I use it. I think I confuse people sometimes because I refer to boys as my boyfriend & they think I actually do have a boyfriend. It made me laugh thinking about that because everyone hears me say this all the time. When the time comes that I do actually have a boyfriend & I refer to him as such, nobody will believe me! Nor will they believe me when I say that we are in love because according to me, I fall in love basically every day. They will just brush it off thinking I'm just saying that again. I am the boy who cried wolf, except I am the girl that cried love!

Just as contacts in my phone have to have a description, so do my boyfriends. Right now, I have an estimated 24,593,948 boyfriends (& my mother worries I'll never find a man HA!). When the time comes that that number dwindles down to 1, I don't know what I will do. Will I still refer to Evan Longoria as my boyfriend or will my real life boyfriend get mad at my free usage of this word? Will me & the attractive man I made eye contact with on the street still be able to be in love when this "boyfriend" comes along? I think I need to add that to the list of qualities in my 1 & only. He must accept me for who I am & what comes out of my mouth, whether it be "boyfriend," "love," or vomit.

Obama Mama

Since history was made last night I thought I would write a little bit about it. Barack Obama was elected the first African American President of the United States! I am so excited about this, I really am. I love Barack (or Barry as his mom referred to him). There are just so many things to be excited about with him winning.

I was talking to Sarah last night & she was just as happy as I, if not more. She said something very interesting, which was "soon no racism...soon." I think in a perfect world that is how it would be but I think there will still be those people out there. For example, going to vote yesterday, a black woman walked out & my mom said, "Oh there's a vote for Obama." I yelled at her because although he did get the majority of the black vote, she should not stereotype people. Stereotyping is just as bad as racism. I think we have come a long way and our generation has come to look beyond the color of people's skin. One of the thoughts in my head last night was that if we have a black president, maybe my parents can accept my black boyfriend (not that I currently have a black boyfriend but there's a good chance I might in the future).

I think that Obama will be a great president. I like the things he has to say & I think that he can achieve these goals. Obviously he can do anything he sets his mind to, so if he wants to change the world, he will. What he says makes me believe in him & what he can do. This country needs a change & I am so happy that we have finally gotten that.

All Hallows Eve

So Halloween has & always will be one of my favorite holidays. I always take it pretty seriously. I was never into being a slutty nurse or a french maid or anything super cliche like that. Nor have I ever been a fan of trying to scare people. I simply go for the best costume of all time every year. I wish there was a costume contest this year because I am pretty sure I would have been the winner. This year I was a troll, a full-on pink haired, jeweled belly buttoned, pointy-eared troll (did you say les troll?).

I really do enjoy Halloween so much though because I love to see everyone else's creativity. The other good ones I saw this year were Lil Jon, Elle Woods & Bernie from "Weekend At Bernie's". Other then that you had your store bought costumes that no real thought was put into, as well as your others who came up with a last minute idea & thought it was great but in reality it was not. Maybe it's a Marist thing but I know I think long & hard about my costumes & so do many of my friends. I've always been that way though so I guess you can't really pin it all on Marist.

I once was a Conehead, which I loved being. Another year my friends & I were the Wizard of Oz & I was the Cowardly Lion, which trust me was not an easy one to put together. College was when the real good ideas came though. Freshman year we were Super Mario Brothers & I was Toadstool. Sophomore year (& possibly my most favorite) was when we were Superheroes. I was Superwoman & it was amazing. Junior year we were the Fanta girls & I was the black one except I was white & had a long blonde clip on ponytail, which was obviously my favorite part. Senior year I doubled as an army girl & then a part of the R4 navy. We all had different costumes but the same hats to unite us & we were so cute. Last year the A-Team was Alvin & the Chipmunks (yours truly being Alvin).

The whole slutty thing really never caught on though with me & that is a part of Halloween that I despise. It was particularly bad in Miami where everyone just ran wild in boobie tassels & thongs (maybe not quite that extreme but pretty damn close.) I'd so much rather be creative & have people tell me that I had a great idea & have a wonderful costume. Call me crazy but I've already started thinking of ideas for next year.

A Hyphen Team

OK so I just got back from the M-I-A & I cannot even begin to talk about how much fun this weekend was.  I saw almost all of my friends & it was just the greatest time ever! The weekend started off at the car rental & we ordered a compact car but what did we get? A convertible at no extra cost! (Of course it was raining all weekend so we were only able to use it twice). But such big shots we were...the coolest kids on campus definitely returned in style.

So Thursday we arrived & stayed at Wittle's. I had very high expectations about Thursday night & although certain hopes were not filled it overall was a super duper night. Sandbar & Moe's, like usual. Friday we went to campus, a little shopping, got a Stop & Shop sandwich...it was great. Friday night we were V.I.P. at Cabana One so we popped bottles for a while with some pretty important people. Saturday was the game, which was such a debaucherous event. It poured but luckily I had my poncho! Not only did we win the game, but we got to march out with the BAND OF THE HOUR! Then after dragging our sorry asses out to South Beach, we had probably the best night of the whole trip. It was Matt's birthday so we went to Dulce & had bottle service there & they played the best music so the dance party was fabulous. Then a Sunday at Sandbar to watch football. All my favorite things jam packed into one fun-filled weekend.

It was so good to see everyone, even people that I really didn't care all that much about seeing. The entire A-Team was also back together again & this includes not only the chipmunks but also the hyphen. Wittle was the best host ever & I don't think he reads my blog but if he does, then thank you again!! He put up with all of our antics & absurdity & never complained. We wuv you Wittle! Having the A-Team back together just made me so happy & I never wanted to leave. Mewr take me back!

Back In Action

Long time, no blog! That's because I have been a spoiled brat lately, traveling around the world. My vacation was absolutely incredible! I would blog about it but it would probably be the world's longest post. What I will say is that I had the most amazing time. L.A. was pretty cool, San Diego was better & Hawaii was definitely the best. We did so many cool things in Hawaii, the weather was awesome & I was with my Sarah Anne so I loved it & want to go back right now. I swam with wild dolphins. Enough said. Thursday I'm going to Miami, so again I have the best month ever.

What I do want to blog about is fat people. It's just ridiculous to me how fat people can actually get. I'm talking obesity. I was waiting for the bus yesterday & I saw this guy that I actually was amazed he could walk. He was a giant. When I was in L.A. there was a guy on a motorcycle that was as wide as a car. I really wished I got a picture of him because the fact that he was weaving through cars was making me nervous because I was sure he wasn't going to fit. His legs were as wide as my body. And those poor kids who are so fat! Keep them away from the fast food, bud! My mom sent me to dancing school because I was a chubster, so I guess exercise is also the solution.

I just don't understand obesity. I get that it's a mental problem too but my mentality is that if you notice you are gaining weight, don't you try to do something about that? I thought I gained a couple of pounds so I began exercising & going to a place to workout. I also cut back on my snacks. I knew I was going to be in a bathing suit so I needed to shape up & not to brag, but I think I looked good. But don't you see the scale tipping because I know you didn't become 500 pounds over night. There is no excuse for that. One of my cousins has a weight problem. She was telling me that she & her husband are trying to lose weight. Okay that's good but don't just be all talk. They stayed at our house recently & they ate all of our food! My mom made several dozen brownies & usually these things will last for a couple of weeks in my house because we all pick at them & have one every so often. Would you like to know how long the brownies lasted when my cousin was here? One night. Not even 24 hours. Please don't tell me you're trying to lose weight & then go & eat 2 dozen brownies in 1 sitting & leave none for anyone else.

It's called self-control. I'm no fitness/diet expert but here's my advice to you if you are obese. Limit yourself to one brownie or one cookie. Do not have thirds, fourths, etc. because trust me, you can survive without it. Go exercise once in a while, it's good for you. You should also probably not have chips because I've seen what you people can do on a bag of chips. This probably sounds really harsh but whatever, I don't have any sympathy. Maybe you should've taken care of this problem before it was such a BIG problem.

Stop Putting Shit On Our Bodies, David Blaine!

David Blaine is quite a puzzle to me. He says he aspires to be like Houdini but I think he just aspires to be insane. His street magic is amazing & I really think he is a fabulous illusionist, but his stunts I just don't get. There's also something strangely sexy about him to me, but that's besides the point.

His latest stunt was hanging upside down for 60 hours while dangling above Central Park. He is a magician, but what exactly is magical about that? He's not doing anything mystifying, he's just proving to everyone how crazy he is. People criticized him for taking breaks to pee & drink water, which I also found hilarious. These people were coming to see him & walking all around him & under him, so why would they want him to pee while upside down? Don't they realize that they would get peed on? Maybe they would enjoy that, since he is David Blaine & all. Give the guy a break...he may be crazy but at least he has manners.

All his stunts are similar to this. He goes someplace where everyone can see him & makes a spectacle of himself. Whether it's frozen in ice, buried alive, holding his breath under water, or simply just standing on a high platform, he's just so bizarre. The A-Team played the game, what would you live in a box for. David Blaine would live in a box for a little publicity & a little weight loss. That's not magic, that's anorexia. There are a lot of other people who do that too, but you don't see them bragging about it to the world. They are actually in rehab getting help for that. Sorry David Blaine, but maybe you should stick with your card tricks & Cheez-its, you demon.

Yankee Stadium Memories

I'm just listening to Mike Francesa & people are calling in with their favorite Yankee Stadium memories. I wanted to call, but I have so many great memories that I would be on there as long as a scheduled guest would be. So I figured I would blog about all of my favorite memories as we head into the final series ever at the Stadium. I think my favorite is my most recent memory (see previous post).

The first game I ever went to was in 1997. Andy Pettitte was pitching but he got hit with a come-backer & was taken out of the game (in favor of Hideki Irabu).  It was the same day that Mother Theresa died, but other then that it wasn't a very memorable game. In 1998, the game was pitched by El Duque & we played the Seattle Mariners. This was the first time I saw Alex Rodriguez & thought he was amazing. He hit a home run in that game. Once I fell in love with him, that was the game I had to go to every year, when the Yankees were playing whatever team he was on. In 2001, I was at the ALCS when Alex hit a home run off Denny Neagle & we lost 2-0.

August 8, 2000 was one of my most favorite games. I was a little bummed going into the game because Chuck Knoblauch was my favorite & he went on the D.L. that very day. We were playing the Oakland A's & were losing 3-2 going into the bottom of the 9th. Jason Isringhausen came in to close it & Bernie Williams hit a home run to tie it. The crowd went crazy. Before Bob Sheppard was even able to announce him, David Justice came up & hit a home run on the first pitch. We won 4-3. I almost fell off the Loge balcony because I was jumping up & down like a crazy woman. It was amazing.

Another favorite memory was when we got to sit 10 rows behind home plate in my Dad's friend's seats in 2004. I like to get to the games early (ever since I missed a Chuck Knoblauch lead-off home run one game we were going to & I never let my Dad forget it.) We happened to be sitting, waiting for the game to start & a woman came up to us & said she needed a girl to do Yankee trivia during the game. Of course, I was more then willing to do so. I got put up on the big screen at Yankee Stadium & had to answer a question. "Who holds the Yankee record for most grand slams in a single season?" I knew the answer immediately was Don Mattingly but the woman tried to help me cheat & I looked at her with disgust & said "I know the answer!" I of course got it right despite everyone around me shouting the wrong answer. I won a $50 gift certificate to Modell's so I bought my A-Rod jersey with that money. After the game I even had a couple of fans who shouted my name, it was great.

One more memory was in 2005 against the then Devil Rays. Randy Johnson started & only lasted like 2 innings. We were losing 10-2 at one point early on & everyone thought it was over as the game headed into the 8th inning. So many people left but I told my Dad that real fans don't leave until the last out because as Yogi said "It ain't over 'til it's over." Well I was certainly rewarded for my loyalty because we scored 13 runs in the 8th inning to win by a final score of 20-11 (topped off by an Alex home run of course.)

There are tons of other games I've been to & they all have certain things about them that I will always remember, some good & some bad. My final visit to Yankee Stadium is certainly fitting, though. I said goodbye to baseball's cathedral in the grandest of ways.

Dream Come True

OK so I don't even know what to say. I just had the single most amazing day of my entire life. The past 24 hours have been the greatest of all time. This is going to be a long post because I never want to forget anything that happened. Here we go...

I was scheduled to work at the Yankee game on Friday night. When we got there, the rain just would not stop. After waiting around in the media cafeteria for 2 hours, they finally called the game. So then I was outside the press/player entrance waiting for the reporter to come out & I turn around & who do I see but Derek Jeter, his face about 2 feet from my face. I smiled of course as our eyes locked & he said "Good night" to ME! Those baby blues are far more beautiful up close & I fell a little bit more in love with Jeter then I ever had before. I would've been happy with that but then I was told if I wasn't busy that I could work at the next day's game. Not only would I get to go the game but I would also be getting paid for it on the regular salary as opposed to my intern salary of $5 per day.

The day started off like any other & when I got to the station, my photographer was all set to go so we wasted no time & were at the Stadium by 3:00. It was a double header so I was told upon arrival to go down to the clubhouse & get the post-game for Game 1. After I caught my breath, we proceeded. As we're waiting outside who comes to stand next to me? The woman who currently holds my future job...Kim Jones! I smiled & said hello & she was very nice & seemed like a stellar human being. As we're waiting Suzyn Waldman comes over & stands next to Kim, & she too seems like a very nice person. So I'm just standing in the hallway (with Kim & Suzyn) & about 10 feet in front of me walks my Alex. Our eyes locked but then it was over. I saw him only briefly for the rest of my time there, but trust me it did not damper my mood.

Unfortunately the real reporter got there just in time so I was not needed to do the interviews but I was of course still allowed to go in everywhere. So into Joe Girardi's office I go & as I stood there I looked at Joe & it was like he was an old friend of mine. Someone so familiar to me yet I had never met him before. It was exactly like I pictured it a thousand times. I felt like I completely belonged in this situation.

Some might think Disney World is the happiest place on earth, but to me I found the place that I am most happiest in & that place is the Yankee Clubhouse. After the interview with Joe, we walked in there & I immediately saw Thurman Munson's locker still vacant with the number 15 hanging above it. I felt the tears building up behind the eyes but they did not fall. They didn't fall because walking around in this magical place were my Yankees. Johnny Damon was the first one I saw as he breezed right past me. With his shorts & sandals on, he looked like a college kid. Mike Mussina was there too. So was Carl Pavano in his towel. Now I'm not a Carl Pavano fan but I am a fan of Carl Pavano in his towel. My goodness was he attractive up close. A bunch of other not-so exciting Yankees were walking around too & I was just standing there dumbfounded. Upon my exit out of my fantasy come true, I turned the corner of the hallway & there was Andy Pettitte, a foot from me & Xavier Nady sitting on a bucket on the phone. They all looked so real, how could this be a dream?

After some interviews were done, we had to wait for the actual game that we were doing. So in the meantime, we went out on the field. Yes, I was on the same first base that Lou Gehrig & Don Mattingly stood. I was on the field that all the greatest players that ever played the game of baseball stood. Can we say chills all over my entire body? Absolutely breathtaking. What the players say about walking into Yankee Stadium for the first time is true because that's the feeling that I got as I stepped onto that field. I snuck a picture...

After that we went to get something to eat (how I was able to hold food down I'll never know). Sitting at the table next to us was Suzyn & Michael Kay. I've met Michael several times from interning at YES so when he saw me he smiled in recognition & we said hello. This was of course before I went upstairs to the press box & Suzyn knocked into me (she said excuse me though, don't worry.) Then comes John Sterling at the table. To hear that voice in person was like something I cannot explain. Like I was in a dream because when would I be hearing John Sterling's voice in person in real life?

Since the Yankees won the second game, as soon as it was over our reporter got to speak with one of the players privately. While we're waiting in the hall, I here a familiar voice singing NY, NY & laughing. I turned around & it was Joba jogging down the hallway & he too was within inches of me. I wanted to tell him then & there that we should be best friends but I refrained because I didn't want to scare off my future best friend. So anyway, this player to interview after the game happened to be my blossoming love, Derek. So over he came & we locked eyes once again & it was just me, him, the reporter & the camera man alone. He did the interview & said goodbye & I said "Thanks, bye". Clearly, our conversations are building & now I am a familiar face to this Yankee shortstop.

Then I had to run to the truck to give them the tape of my boyfriend, the captain & run back so I could do the player interviews.  The reporter interviewed Joe Girardi & ran back those tapes & I returned to my favorite place on earth.  This time there were far more Yankees in towels & some in just boxers/briefs. Now I thought I loved the Yankees before but now I love them in a whole new, completely sexual way. They should probably cut out the uniforms all together & just stick with towels, I would not be opposed. So there I stood in the happiest place on earth surrounded by half-naked Yankees & I was getting paid for this?? Bizarro world. But so anyway, Xavier Nady was my first interviewee (along with the rest of the NY press). He was so pleasant & nice & wonderful & he touched my arm. My heart skipped about 5 beats on that brief encounter. Then we talked to Phil Coke, who was very un-exciting. Then onto the greatest closer of all time, Mariano Rivera. I didn't get a chance to ask any questions because they were stolen out of my mouth before I had a chance to shout them but it was still amazing.

I must have pinched myself & shook my head in disbelief about 268392 times today. This is literally a dream come true. The only thing I could possibly be disappointed about is that I didn't see Jeter, Cano or A-Rod at all in their towels but really nothing can make me upset about today. There are even a few things that I learned about the Yankees that I did not know before. Joba is actually extremely buff. He looks a little pudgy but that's all muscle believe it or not. Derek has surprisingly hairy arms. Mike Mussina has chicken legs. Someone on the Yankees, either Jose Veras or Damaso Marte, has a nice butt. Yes, I saw it out of the corner of my eye when he dropped his towel (I was trying too hard to be professional so I couldn't give it a full on look to see who it actually was since he was turned around). Dan Giese is stunningly beautiful. Xavier Nady smells amazing.

It was also the first time that I really believed that my dream job is 100% attainable. Not only is it attainable but I also know now more then ever that there is absolutely nothing else that I want to do. This is going to be my job. There I stood next to Kim Jones interviewing Yankee players in the locker room. The only thing that was wrong with the picture was that my microphone didn't have a YES Network flag on it. I am now more certain then ever that I can absolutely do this! Mark it down on your calendar that September 13, 2008 was the greatest day of my life. The first of many days like it.

Welcome to the Good Life

So much for life being blase lately! Well I guess present still kind of is but future is beyond exciting. I have so much to look forward to in the coming month & a half, I don't even know where to start.

Okay, so the original reason I chose My9 over FOX is that 9 has Yankee games & I thought this could be a good opportunity.  I have of course come to the realization that my team is done this year but that doesn't mean I still don't love each & every one of those guys. This all being said, I get to go to a Yankee game as a reporter on Friday! That's right! Kimberly Jones all the way! We're talking on the field, in the locker room, the whole nine! Dream come true!

If that wasn't enough to make me happy for the rest of my life, I was also given my graduation present from Ma & Pa Aubrey...the vacation of a life time! Some people have friends in low places, not me. I have them in amazing places. The trip will start out in L.A. so I can see that Stripper Theo I love so much. I'll be there for a few days & then we're driving to San Diego & I will be spending that portion of the trip with Billiam & K.Marsh (separately of course haha). Then after 6 days in Cali, I fly over to Hawaii to see my fiance Sarah Anne! I'll be there for 8 days & also get to visit my family & pseudo-cousin who goes to school there. My uncle has a boat so I'm hoping to get out with him one day & maybe swim with wild dolphins like he says he does all the time. AMAZING!!

After my 2 weeks of bliss, I come home & barely have enough time to get over the jet-lag. I'm off again to Miami a week later! The 3 coolest kids on campus return for a weekend that includes all my favorite things, like a Miami football game & a Thursday night/football Sunday at the Sandbar. Then I come home & it's Halloween, which is in my Top 5 favorite days of the year! Basically I'm living the good life. Now throw your hands up in the sky!

"I don't highlight my hair, I've still got a pair..."

So I know I've been a super slouch with this blog lately but life's just been so blase lately. Well anyway, tonight I heard a conversation that got me thinking & this was the gist of it...

"Well ugly girls get boyfriends easier then pretty girls do."

"That's because pretty girls are picky & don't put up with as much bullshit as ugly girls."

It was said in such a way that made it seem like this was obvious to everyone. Certainly was not obvious to me but it made sense. I have of course experienced this phenomenon first hand. A girl who was both ugly & fat swooped in on a former flame of mine. What did she have that I didn't have (aside from an extra hundred pounds or so)? The answer to this is that she gave him free use of her brand new Acura, all her leftovers, cooked for him, cleaned, bought him everything & even got him an embroidered blanket. Putting up with more bullshit then me is an understatement.

Now this is by no means me saying that my friends who have boyfriends are ugly. Perhaps it's because of my superficiality but if they were ugly, trust me they wouldn't be my friends. These girls are simply very lucky. I'm also not looking for excuses as to why I don't have a boyfriend & saying that I'm the best looking girl in the world. I am certainly confident enough however to feel that I'm what they call a "good catch". I just haven't found the right fisherman yet. Speaking of fisherman!...

Everyone asks me what my type is & as far as I'm concerned I don't really have one. The most common thread I find with guys who I genuinely care about is that they are tall & very good looking (although this is not absolute AS can be seen with a former habitual bad decision of mine.) But then I heard it! The description of my perfect man. Listen to the song "I'm still a Guy" by Brad Paisley & that's what I'm looking for! If you know anyone like this, pass my number along. A man's man. Someone who I am quite sure I will not find on the Isle of Staten. Someone Southern! Someone who might even be on a "Studs & Spurs" calendar. My heart belongs to a cowboy.

Super Fantastic

I've recently come to the conclusion that I like fantasy far more then reality. Yes, this seems obvious to everyone because who wouldn't love their own Superman, but for me I cannot tell you how much I wish this was the world I lived in. From super heroes to vampires to wizards, I want this to be my life.

I just started reading Twilight. I'd seen all those Facebook bumper stickers & always wondered about this Edward Cullen person. Who was he & why was he so wonderful? Well, I'm not that far along in the book & I can already see why he is such a big deal. It's good so far, but it's supposed to get more suspenseful, which I like. Some people have criticized my choice of book because of it's "lame story line" but I could care less. Call me kinky but I enjoy the occasional biting so a vampire sounds good to me!

Now I am also a huge Harry Potter fan so falling in love with Edward Cullen, I feel like I'm cheating on Harry. I basically wish every single day that I were not a muggle & could fly on a broomstick & apparate from place to place & use Polyjuice Potion to become Jessica Alba, but let's face it, I have no magical powers. I am past the age of acceptance into Hogwarts & I am saddened by this consistently.

As for super heroes, clearly Peter Petrelli has my heart. It's always the magical ones who I fall in love with. As Jess on Gilmore Girls, Milo Ventimiglia had no appeal to me, but as Peter, I have never been more in love with a human (or super human in this case). Anytime I see previews for the new season of Heroes I almost can't contain my excitement.

I'm telling you, the reason I have not found any guy worth my time is because I have expectations that are impossible to meet. It started at an early age with Disney princes and it has continued to this day. Get it through your head, Amy...fictional characters cannot be your boyfriends!

So Cute

My brother showed this to me & I am not ashamed to admit that I cried. I know I haven't posted any blogs in a while but I've just been so busy. I thought this one was just too cute to pass up. Enjoy!

Fantasy Psychic

OK so I was just going to write about my love for special dates & times & the upcoming 08/08/08 but that was kind of boring. I'm watching the Yankee game & Xavier Nady just hit a homerun to tie it. I have had Nady on my fantasy team all year & I'm so glad my real team saw what I saw, especially after his 6 RBIs yesterday.

Now I have a bit of a 6th sense when it comes to fantasy baseball & the Yankees. As I just mentioned, I had Nady & then that's who the Yankees traded for. During Spring Training I remember playing a game against the Pirates & I noticed Damaso Marte as he was pitching. Michael Kay had nothing but excellent things to say about him so I put him on my "Watch List". I didn't pick him up because he was only a relief pitcher & not a closer so he wasn't all that valuable in the fantasy world. I did however keep up with everything he was doing throughout the season. Who also came to the Yankees in the same trade that brought over Nady? You guessed it...Damaso Marte.

Now this all doesn't seem so unusual until my next move. I had Jorge on my fantasy team but when he went down I needed another catcher in addition to Joe Mauer. Since catchers don't play every single day it's a good idea to carry 2 of them. Looking through the available players, I stumbled upon Pudge Rodriguez who I couldn't understand why he was a free agent & Jose Molina was not. Molina is a great defensive catcher but as a hitter, why would you have him on your fantasy team? But so anyway, I grabbed Pudge & thought this was an excellent pick up. I guess the Yankees had similar thoughts because literally the next day, he was a Yankee. I'm going into broadcasting but if the Yankees need any help in the front office, I could probably be of some use. It's like I have ESPN or something.

Single & Loving It

I'm so sick & tired of everyone asking about my love life. I just went out to lunch with Meghan today & saw her family & since they are my other family I had every single one of them asking about any new men in my life. This is all well & good, I'm used to it but then they started going on & on about finding a guy for me. I would like to say this for all the world to hear...I DO NOT NEED A MAN TO MAKE ME HAPPY!

I am perfectly happy living my life the way I currently am. I go out often & always meet new people & I can do whatever I want & not need to worry about anyone's feelings. In addition to this, I have no intention of settling down in one place in the near future so it would only be more of a pain in my ass to find a boyfriend because then I'd feel bad about leaving. I hate when people try to set me up with friends too because then I feel an obligation to like them & this just makes me uncomfortable.

Yes, it is very nice to have someone in your life who you like & likes you back but this is not the be all & end all. It is not, nor has it ever been, solely what I base my happiness on. I have enough things to worry about at this point in my life so finding a boyfriend is not at the top of my priorities. I'm not saying this to make myself sound like a martyr. I love guys. I have a ton of male friends & I probably get along better with guys then I do with girls. I flirt, hook up & just have fun. I'm not lonely...I'm just single & loving every minute of it!

Amy's Workout Plan

I'm turning into a whole new woman! Well, maybe not really but I'd say I'm improving my life one day at a time. I'm working out, eating right & joining a book club!

I've been meaning to start working out more & I definitely have been doing so more since I've been home than I ever did in Miami. Perhaps this has to do with the amount of food my mother forces down my throat (this is a lie but she does offer me far too much to eat). I can't turn down food so this has definitely been adding up. I never really had motivation to work out or lose weight until now...Angela is having a big pool party next month. Since I need to be in my bikini in front of a lot of people, I decided it's time.

For those of you that know me, the words "work" & "out" are rarely in the same sentence in my vocabulary, unless of course I'm singing along to Kanye. I work out in my house but this is fine for me: "Ten Minute Pilates" all the way. I've also been doing several ab routines that I got from Cosmo (Jessica Biel does them so it must be good). I hate running but I'm going to do that too. Today, for example I ran an entire 0.5 miles! Impressive, I know. I'm out of shape so I need to build up to more but that's fine for now. As for this eating right, maybe it's still not perfect but it's better than my Marist days.

The book club is a mental workout. I don't really read books & the only ones I've been wanting to read are written by Chelsea Handler (not exactly intellectual). We're going to read big girl books, the ones I've never had any desire to read but hey, why not? I'm expanding my horizons & maybe I can find a nice, smart gentleman in the book store in the meantime.

All-Star Game

One of my most favorite sporting events is here! No, it doesn't compare to the Yankees in the World Series or the Superbowl but the All-Star Game is still up there in my top 3. The All-Star Game in baseball is just so much more enjoyable than the basketball game or the Pro-Bowl, but maybe that's because baseball is my sport.  The fact that this year's is at Yankee Stadium makes it even better than past years.

The thing about the All-Star Game is the fact that it's a time that the players can just play baseball & have fun, rather then worrying about winning or losing. They bring their kids on the field & it's just great to see. I love watching all of them because of how much fun they have. It's not just your team interacting with one another, it's every team. It's such a unifying event, I love it. It must be amazing for young players experiencing this for the first time, especially if they've never been to Yankee Stadium before. They get to play on the same field that every great player before them played on with the greatest players in the game today.

My team is the American League obviously, so it's the only day of the year that I can legitimately cheer for players on other teams who I like but obviously don't want to do good. Ichiro always gets me excited & believe it or not, I even cheer for David Ortiz (but NEVER Manny). It could be the only day that I don't hate Manny though. Before Alex was on the Yankees, it was my happiest day because it was the only day he was on my team. I've always loved him since his Seattle days (& always will despite recent allegations against him).

I would've done anything to go to the game this year but I did not have $600 for one bleacher seat (let alone $10,000 for a good seat) so this dream was crushed. The pre-game ceremonies that are going to go down at the Stadium are going to be so amazing. So many Hall of Famers in baseball's catheral, it's going to be like baseball heaven. I know there's no crying in baseball, but I can guarantee you that sports tears will flow HEAVY from these ducts tomorrow.

The Devil is in the Details

OK so I don't wanna brag or sound conceited but I am far too over-qualified for my internship. I have found this at most of my internships but this one is "like whoa", as Mya would say. During Newsvision we would all complain about our professor, SR. Now I can see why he was so successful in the business for so many years & why he drilled all of that into us, no matter how much we don't think he did. He constantly told us "the devil is in the details" which means that in order to have a good newscast you have to make sure every little thing is correct.

My9 does NOT practice this. First of all, during the show the screen just went black for a good 10 seconds, not a good start. Then, instead of saying Ohio, the fill-in anchor (who is a mega-bitch BTW) said Iowa. This was followed by a CG that said Ohio, so clearly some cognitive dissonance there for those few viewers that we probably have. Next, the mistake that got to me more then any of these is that a lower-third graphic was spelled wrong! This is a professional news station, those things should not happen! And who of all people spotted this? Yea, me. But I guess nobody likes to listen to the new kid because it was not taken down. Somebody said something after & they didn't even seem to care.

The writing was also awful. SR would never approve. Let's not even talk about the sports guy & his New Jersey accent on steroids. I can't listen to him speak, it's so obnoxious. All the things that went wrong were the same things that would occasionally go wrong for us on Newsvision, but we're students so it's understandable. Those things going wrong on an actual network are just unacceptable. I don't think it'll be too hard to make myself stand out & be the greatest intern they have ever seen. YES Network, here I come!

Superstition

Superstition is a funny thing. It is especially present in my favorite game of baseball but also in so many other aspects of life. For example, today I was in the nail salon & when someone itched their nose, a woman said, "Oh, you better not keep scratching it because an itchy nose means you're going to get into a fight." Now I of course have heard of this because of my wives-tale telling mother. But that got me to thinking how silly these things are. An itchy palm means you're going to get money. Dropping your silverware? Company is coming. A pimple on your tongue means you told a lie. This is not even mentioning black cats, umbrellas in the house, broken mirrors or walking under ladders.

Thinking about superstition & baseball, my first thought was of my former favorite Yankee who is more notorious of late for allegations about his steroid use, a Mr. Chuck Knoblauch. Ironic that someone who is so superstitious would use a performance enhancing drug to try to make himself better, why not rely on a lucky rabbit's foot? Before every pitch, he would have to take a step back, stick his bat between his legs, adjust his batting gloves, tap his foot with the bat, touch the helmet & then he was finally good to go. Most other players have some sort of pre-pitch routine but that one has always stuck out to me. Nomar & Barry Zito also come to mind. So many other things in baseball are centered around superstition, such as rally caps & not talking about a no-hitter.

I have some superstitious behavior, but nothing too crazy. I do certain things just because they are "good luck" & always make wishes at 11:11, although I don't know if that's really considered superstition.

I Be Reppin' My City

I just got home from the city & I'm realizing more & more how much I love this town.  It is so diverse in every possible aspect.  If you like to people watch, there is no place better than Manhattan.

There are people who are big, small, young, old, fat, skinny, tall, short, good looking, ugly, & some even very ugly.  You find people from every walk of life, including Asian, Indian, Jewish, black, white, purple, etc.  There are guidos who wear their wife beaters & gold chains & even a cowboy in his underwear.  The people are EVERYWHERE & there's so many of them.

The little stands along every street have all sorts of nick-nacks that you might need.  The bars are on every corner.  So are the Starbucks.  Driving down 5th Avenue you will see every big label that you have ever heard.

The city itself is also gearing up for the greatest event to hit NY since the Giants Superbowl parade (but that will be my next blog).  There are "Statues of Liberty on Parade" placed all over the city & decorated for every team.  They also have one for the Brooklyn Dodgers & the NY Giants baseball team & a few others to commemorate both Yankee Stadium & Shea Stadium & the All-Star Game itself.  I'd personally like to find out where the Red Sox statue is because I want to demolish it.  It's probably inside a police station or somewhere people cant get to it because they figure there are many other fans such as myself.

So the cabs may almost kill you ("watch out for the yellow ones, they don't stop") & the subways are beyond crowded but despite this & the graffiti, the homeless lining the streets & the perpetual smell of garbage in the air, there is no doubt in my mind that New York is indeed the greatest city in the world.

The M-I-Ayo So Hot

I'm on the plane heading home, leaving Miami for good (or at least until alumni weekend). I'm so sad to be leaving because this has been such a fun year. I can't imagine my life without the Grove on Thursday nights. Nor can I imagine it without those little chipmunks. I'm going to miss palm trees and nice weather and all that stuff that goes with it, like a year round tan from the sun as opposed to the tanning salon. Despite all this, I am very excited to go home because I think this is going to actually be a really great summer. I know I say that every year but I really think this time is for real.

AB is living on Staten Island so I'm quite sure she & I will be spending most every waking moment together. We're already making plans for going to SI Yankee games & by this I obviously mean stalking them to find out where they go after the game. I love baseball boys, what can I say? Sam is also in the city so that will be more incentive for me to go there, especially since I won't have to wait around for the 4:30 ferry & not get home until 6 in the morning. That will be lovely. Lauren has a beach house in Belmar so that'll be another fun thing to do on weekends. Katy is in Brooklyn so that'll be just one more of my best friends to hang out with. So many people have been saying they will be in the city too so it should be an endless pit of fun. Timmy Tommy is there this week so it'll already be a little Miami reunion in NYC.

I'll be interning three days a week & at Holly Hill for two, so that'll give me some money in my pocket & a couple days off a week. I think at my internship I might even be able to work at Yankee games. Fingers crossed!

Summer plans for me? Get back in shape. I plan to go running/walking with Maggie at least once a week on the boardwalk. And I will work out more because I actually have incentive now. I'm considering taking a dance class too. Things to look forward to in July? Sarah's & Lizzie's graduation parties, Bill coming home & of course one of my top 10 favorite days of the year...the All-Star Game! Anyone reading this with any pull getting tickets I'd be willing to give you my first born. I'm trying to head out to the West Coast in September so hopefully that'll work out.  A two week vacation sounds fantastic to me: a week in Cali & a week in Hawaii. Then in October is Marist's Alumni Weekend first and then Miami Alumni weekend & since I am an alum of both, I obviously will be attending. That'll be the first A-Team reunion to take place. So let the countdown begin.

Here's to the A-Team

I was just heading to bed when I happened to see Natalie's heartfelt away message & it inspired me to blog. I'll probably be crying while typing this one up but that's okay. Now, I'm not one of those people that expresses their emotions very well but I think in this case it's something so necessary.

I came out to Miami not knowing a single person. I met Katy within the first 10 minutes of moving in at Marist, so I thought there was no way it'd be that easy again. I was proved so incredibly wrong. Walking in late to the first day of orientation, I sat down in a room full of strangers. There weren't many people in my program so I'd be really lucky to find even one person to hang out with. Turns out the girl to my right and the one directly behind me would become two people that I can no longer imagine my life without. The D-1 athlete, the girl from L.A. & the girl from Staten Island very quickly became better known as the A-Team.

How that name came about I still don't quite know but what I do know is that fate was what brought us together. Even though I made an early exit on our first night out, I had no doubt there would be plenty of chances to make more memories with them. That was the first of many, many Sandbar nights & where all of the absurdity began. Football games & tailgates only brought the 3 of us sports junkies closer. No words can describe the insanity that ensued there. We have now evolved into the coolest people on campus & you can ask anybody because everyone knows it's true.

We have leaned on each other throughout all that has happened over this past year. I would never have been able to get through it without them, this I know for sure. Who would have thought the amount of jokes, laughs, tears and memories that could have accumulated in this short time. I find it unbelievable I have only known these girls since August, since clearly they have expanded my bridal party even further. As we each get ready to go our separate ways, I'm not worried. Yes, I'm going to miss them probably every day but friends like these are forever. "Side by side or miles apart, best friends stay close to the heart." I love you, you cunts.

BALLIN'!

I have re-discovered the greatest game in the world...KICKBALL! Several of my friends were on the team in the spring & it sounded so fun so when we were asked to substitute 1 game we did & we couldn't shut up about how much we loved it. Not only do you play a game of kickball, you also go to the bar that sponsors it after & get drink specials & play flip cup. What an amazing idea someone had with this W.A.K.A. league.

Now, we are on the summer league team & I am a co-captain (although because we are leaving in less then 2 weeks, we don't get to enjoy the whole season). Friday was our first game & our team is so good...totally winning the kickball championship. Go Team That's What She Said! Not only did we dominate on the field, we also continued our domination at the bar. We first played against the team we beat in kickball & obviously beat them again. Then we were challenged by the trash talking blue team who thought they were God's gift to flip cup. Well, they were certainly no match for the orange team. I think the sore-loser boy that was across from me was even about to cry after we embarrassed them like that. Did I mention that they put their best 5 players against the only 5 of us that were there?  Oh no? Well yes, that's true too. Now, I don't like to toot my own horn but uh, BEEP BEEP.

I think the best part of this whole league is that you go to the bar in your shorts, t-shirt & sneakers. You wear no makeup & you look disgusting, but so does everyone else so it doesn't matter. It's great! The dance moves that we came up with were unlike any you have ever seen, just because you feel so free in your sneakers. Next week is college night so since it's our last A-Team kickball game, we're going ALL OUT. I wish there was a W.A.K.A. league on Staten Island because I want to play more then just 3 games!

O.C.D.

So some of you may know this but most of you do not & what this is, is that I have Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. After reading this, you may find me weirder than you ever did before & I can't really say that I blame you. These are the things that I need: things to be in order, even, centered & 5 is my number. But let's start at the very beginning (a very good place to start).

When I was little, I'd put things in order just for fun. Now keep in mind my brothers are 6 & 8 years older then me so I was often my only playmate, so that could be where my weirdness comes from. But when I say put things in order, I mean I loved rolling the coins. I also used to take out all the crayons from that huge box just to put them in color order (you know, red, orange, yellow, green, blue purple, pink, red, etc, etc.) Whenever anyone would come over and we would color, I'd not only get mad if they didn't color inside the lines but I would hate if they put the crayon back in the wrong spot. And let's not start with my POGs (remember those). I would take out my 3 tubes worth & put them in size, shape, and color order. I've kind of grown out of that but only to an extent.

I have very particular ways of doing things. When I eat, I have to make sure I chew evenly on both sides. One bite goes to the right side & the next bite goes to the left side. When I eat fruit snacks I have to make sure they are even in color so I start out with the color that has the most. If a color has 3 fruit snacks, I choose the most deformed one of the three first so that way all the perfect ones are saved for the end when I have one of every color. I had to even make sure this blog was equal in both columns (hence why I added pictures to the other column).

Those pictures also have another purpose. Notice there are 10 pictures & 5 azuzephres (I love those BTW). This is probably my oddest trait. I need things done in fives. Let me explain further. I put on 5 swipes of deodorant for each arm. I feed my turtle 5 pellets of each kind of food. The volume on my television must be in an increment of 5. If I'm at someone's house & I notice the volume is not on an increment of 5, I usually wait until they leave the room & change it so it is. This used to drive my housemates crazy because 15 was not loud enough and 20 was too loud (I settled on 17 or 18 sometimes, just as long as it wasn't touching the 5 or the 0.)

I don't know why I am this way. I am apparently not alone though & I won't name names so not to incriminate them. But I have one friend who shares my affinity for colors. Two of my friends might even be weirder then I am with all the things they need to do. One needs everything to be an even number so our volume must always be 20 or 30 because she cannot accept 15 or 25. So think what you like, but I guess I tend to surround myself with those who make me more comfortable with who I am or who are just as bizarre as me. End of paragraph #5.