Always a Bridesmaid...

So yesterday I was watching Sex & the City & it was that episode when Carrie & Aiden first start dating & she's not sure if she is just his friend or is his girlfriend. This kind of made me think about last week when I was at 519. Alyssa said how I am always our friends' boyfriends' favorite. So why then, if all of these guys love me have I not found a boyfriend? I am in no way saying that I wish I had my friends' boyfriends, that is certainly not it. What I am saying is that I am always the friend & never the girlfriend.

Am I not girlfriend material? Is it because I am too much like a boy in that I love sports & beer? Probably not because Sam is like that too & she always has a boyfriend. Is it because I am too picky & overlook the good ones? Perhaps. Watching Carrie trying to figure out if Aiden was her boyfriend also reminded me of a number of relationships that I have had. In one, we would get along like great friends & make out frequently but when it came to an actual relationship, it never really came about. Another had been my best friend but when it came to us being more then that, it never worked out no matter how many times we tried. I'm having a similar puzzle now. This guy used to be my best friend & then we lost touch & recently reconnected again. Now we talk everyday but it's hard to tell if it's more then just a friendship. Apparently it's a pattern that I have & it's a tough one to break, especially because I don't know how or what I'm doing wrong.

Ladies' Night Out!

So it's been a while but I'm coming back with a bang! You know that “Make a Wish” foundation? Well I’m not dying (knock on wood) but I got my wish granted last night! I attended CC Sabathia’s 30th birthday party at the 40/40 club in NYC & partied with all the NY Yankees. Thanks to Sam Sank’s former company, I get invited to some pretty nice events but they generally fall on weekdays that I’m in CT so can’t go. I happened to be home this weekend & due to some bad luck which turned out to be great luck, I got to go to this exclusive event not opened to the public. Players did not want any photos so I got whatever I could.

I walked in to be greeted by a live crocodile in a tank & girls walking around like Britney when she performed “I’m a Slave for you” with the snakes & all. After getting some liquid courage I even put my life on the line so you could all see me holding a giant snake so watch the video! Some hottie socialite/pseudo-celeb dared me if he did it then I had to, so I being a sucker for good-looking guys agreed. My friend & I sat at the bar & it was like a show going on & every time a new Yankee walked in it was exciting! Most exciting were by far Alex Rodriguez & Reggie Jackson (for me anyway). Cameron Diaz was also in attendance so those rumors could be true but she & A-Rod were not socializing whatsoever. Apparently I also missed out on Beyonce & Jay-Z which I would’ve died to see!

So we go up to the upstairs bar & Marcus Thames & I made eye contact & he must’ve thought I was someone else at first because he pointed at me & smiled & then walked across the room to come over to me & give me a kiss & hug hello. I think he then realized his mistake but was very cool nonetheless & we were like old pals. Once he started talking to Joba Chamberlain we decided to take a shot with them (Red Headed Sluts are Joba’s go-to, we have this in common.) So shots with Joba, old friends with Marcus & the night was only beginning. Got sandwiched between Alex & Joba while walking. Shook the hand of Reggie Jackson. Danced with Curtis Granderson (who is an amazing dancer!) Re-introduced myself to some current Yankees who were once upon a time Staten Island Yankees that I had to drive to & from the stadium when I interned there & they were both super duper nice. Francisco Cervelli was the one I was hoping would remember me & he at least pretended to & then the rest of the night would give me a wink & a smile every time he saw me. I wished CC a Happy Birthday & he gave me a big papa bear hug & said “Thank you & thank you for coming.” Happy to be there, CC. Had a few convos with Phil Hughes. Shoved several girls out of the way to introduce myself to Robinson Cano & I got to see that big beautiful smile in person & it was aiming at me & then I got a kiss on the cheek & could’ve died a happy girl. David Robertson cleared the way to the bar so I could get there. Bumped into (literally) Brandon Jacobs of the NY Giants & feared for my life because he is so big. I also played craps for a while & I won somebody $21,000 which I still am not sure if I was playing with real money or not. It was all-in-all AMAZINGG & I am pretty much the coolest person alive.

3rd Dibs!

So I've been living in Connecticut for about 2 months now & I can count the number of good-looking guys that I have seen (not met, just seen) on 1 hand. In a company that is more than half men, you would think there would be a few but there's really not. Aaron Boone is about the only one, except for this one guy. I see him all the time & we never spoke so I didn't even know his name. One night I noticed him talking to this kid I work with & also my other friend, Stephanie. She & I were not really that good of friends yet so I felt weird asking.
So last night, Erica & I went on our usual Friday night date & were at a bar trying to find at least 1 decent looking guy. In an entire bar, there was not one. Then we got to talking about how there aren't even that many good-looking guys at work & I mentioned this guy that I had noticed. She said she also only noticed 1 guy & she described him & said his name was Russ & my secret boyfriend certainly didn't look like a Russ to me, so I knew it couldn't be the same guy.
So later on, Steph texted me to see what we were up to & we decided we'd all meet up. After a few drinks I asked her who this guy was. I described him & she instantly knew who I was talking about & she had a crush on him too. What is his name? Russ. All 3 of us were talking about the same guy. He was even going to be meeting up with us later that night. We think, unfortunately though, that he has a girlfriend. And none of us were wrong in our assessment, he is a stud. Just goes to show, though that obviously I wasn't kidding about there being anybody that's good-looking if in a company of thousands of people we all liked the same one.

Texas Willie

I have been told by a number of people that I should write a book. I have a few ideas & I am definitely going to get serious about it at some point, but I'm pretty sure this past weekend has stepped up my game a bit. I have 2 very separate ideas & one is a children's book. The title? "The Adventures of Texas Willie: Big Excitement Based on the True Stories of a Little Turtle". It's a working title, but you get the idea.

This past weekend, the turtle wrote his own story: "Texas Willie's Great Escape". On Saturday morning I woke up & my turtle was not in his tank. Since he had been living in this tank for quite some time, I thought it was physically impossible for him to get out. So I looked around the apartment & couldn't find him but I knew he had to be somewhere around so I didn't really worry too much. I put food around & figured he would be sitting by one of them when I woke up. He was not.

Day 2 was a bit of a different story. This is when I turned crazy. I came up with several theories about what happened to him. Since I hadn't found him after searching every crook & crevice of my apartment, my theories made more & more sense to me. My main theory was this: I lock my door out of habit when I come home. Friday I was cooking & the smoke alarm went off so I shut it off. I got in the shower & after I got out, a little while later I noticed the door was unlocked. I didn't think much of it. That was until my turtle went missing for 2 days. The theory developed into somebody coming into my apartment while I was in the shower & stealing my turtle out of his tank. They took nothing else, only Texas Willie. I knew it sounded ridiculous at the time, but I rationalized it enough in my head that it was a credible idea to me. My mother was no better because she agreed with me that this could be true instead of telling me I was a reTard. I searched some more, flipped the couch a few times, flipped the chair, shook out every one of my shoes & then I did it all again. I went to bed crying & slightly overdramatic.

If you thought Day 2 sounded bad, you ain't seen nothing yet. I awoke Day 3 & before even brushing my teeth, I searched. Then I watched 90210 & called my landlord. I proceeded to tell her my theory that someone broke in & stole my turtle & she appeased my insanity by telling me she would have someone change my locks. I took out the paper to start making "Missing Turtle" posters but decided I would give 1 more good look around for the 10 zillionth time first. I flipped over my couch again & decided I should slice open the bottom to see if he was somehow inside the couch. As I was about to do this, I heard a bumping kind of noise. So I checked out the kitchen again but to no avail & figured it was something across the hall. As I was slicing & dicing open my couch, I heard it again. It sounded as if it was coming from inside my refrigerator so I opened it up & looked in the bottom drawer. It was at that point that I saw a space underneath the fridge that I hadn't noticed before. So I got out my flashlight & shined it underneath & TADA!!!! There was his little turtle shell lodged underneath the fridge all the way towards the back. How he got himself back there, I will never know. I didn't know if he would still be alive so I poked him with a curtain rod & I saw his leg move! I cried I was so happy. Then I had to introduce myself to my neighbor by asking him if he could help me, because my turtle was stuck under the refrigerator. So he & his wife came & helped pick up the fridge & we got him out. So Texas Willie is now back in his tank safe & sound & I have returned to being a sane human being (or as much as is possible for me.) I also have Chapter 4 of my children's book all ready to go.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

Here's what I love most about being an ESPN employee: I am finally taken seriously as a real sports fan. This may sound odd because anyone who knows me knows that's what I am all about. I'm a diehard but yet before, there were still those non-believers who were ALWAYS men.

Why is it that when a guy says he loves sports, other guys simply believe him? I have met plenty a man who just says that so he sounds like a man, but when you really get down to it he has no idea what's going on. When I would tell people that I am a huge sports fan, they would have to test me. In general, I'd pass their tests but they wouldn't pass mine. This boy I was recently with never said it, but I knew he didn't give my sports knowledge enough respect. That was until we were at a bar & the show on SNY "Beer Money" came on. For those out of the NY area, it's a NY sports trivia show & the only show I will watch on that Mets channel. Aside from the astoundingly annoying host, it's a great show. It was a Yankees trivia time when we were watching & it was the hardest question that you either get all the money or lose it & the contestant had not a clue what the answer was. I happened to know the answer & what did this boy say? "Did you see this episode already?" No jackass, I am just a Yankee fan. This coming from the same guy who wears an Eli Manning jersey to Giants games. We're not speaking anymore, btw.

There was also a time that I was with another gal friend of mine who is also a very big sports fan. There was a guy that actually said the phrase, "I love it when girls pretend like they know about sports". He was lucky we just got up & left, rather then throwing drinks in his face or much worse. Are people really that archaic? And is anyone watching this Xavier/K.State game right now?? Madness!

I'm not saying that every guy is like that. I have plenty of gentlemen friends who totally get how much I love sports & they absolutely respect it. Loving sports is part of who I am, which is why my new job is perfect. I'm no Buster Olney "Baseball Analyst" but just the title of working at ESPN has certainly brought me several levels up in the minds of those non-believers. Speaking of good old Buster, I was on the scene today watching them taping BBTN (& by them, I mean him, Aaron Boone & Nomar...or Nomahh depending upon where you're from.) So I'll say it again, I love my job. :)

Move Over Erin Andrews

So you may recall this post from a couple months back, stating my New Year's Resolutions: 2010 Here I Am! Well, good new loyal followers! I have already accomplished 2 of my resolutions! I have found a job in my field & I will be moving out of my house in about 10 days! If you don't know me, I'll fill you in. I got my Master's in Broadcast Journalism & have been searching for a job ever since then. Not just any job, I want to work in sports.

So basically every week or two I would go along my list of websites to check to see what positions were available. Disney, Comcast, YES, Time Warner, NBC, CBS, FOX, MLBN, NFLN, etc. (you get the idea.) In total I have sent out well over 100 resumes & gotten a grand total of zero interviews. About 2 months ago, I came across a listing for ESPN International for a Production Assistant. Knowing I was more than qualified for this entry level position, I sent in my resume yet again to Walt Disney. Then something happened that had never happened on any previous resumes: I got a phone call back! An Australian man telephoned me & told me he wanted me to come in for an interview to Bristol, CT. Now I don't want to brag but I have never gone for an interview and not been offered the job (I'm pretty sure it's the dimples.)

The interviews were to be conducted the week that I was in Punta Cana so I would be the last to interview when I returned. After getting postponed several times because of a few minor sporting events, ie the Superbowl & the Olympics, I had a date to go in. The problem? There was a blizzard occurring that day. That didn't stop me from making the 2+ hour trip but it did almost stop my interviewer from making his 1/2 hour trip to come to work. Upon my snowy arrival, I was stopped at the gate because my name was not on the entry list. I waited for close to 45 minutes outside in my car before my interviewer even arrived. Points for that. The interview went really well & I stayed for the taping of the show. Two days later, I was offered the job!

So not only did I find a job at some company having something to do with sports, I found a job at the worldwide leader in sports! Keep focusing on your "Dancing With the Stars" gig, Erin, because this girl is moving in for the takeover.

Icy Hot

I have been totally into the Olympics this year. Normally, I'm not such a Winter Olympics fan but for some reason, I'm totally digging it this time around. Yes there are still those wack games, like curling & biathlon but overall, I'm feeling it. USA hockey beating Canada last night was awesome & I'm feeling another "Miracle" movie, aren't you? Granted, I'm not interested in winning a trip to every Winter Olympics for the rest of my life like Visa is giving away, but I have been enjoying it.

I've always watched the figure skating & I feel the same way about that sport as I do about gymnastics. What boggles my mind is how they do all those jumps & when they throw the girl up & she spins & then lands on her feet. Maybe I'm a bit of a klutz but if anyone were to throw me up in the air (especially with ice skates on) I would not spin, I would not defy gravity, I would go straight down on my bum. I want to know if they can do moves like that while just on their feet or do they need the momentum from the ice skates? Either way, they get tons of credit from a person who cannot ice skate without the safety of the wall next to her. Same goes for the speed skaters.

I think I'd compare speed skating & downhill skiing to how I feel about swimming in the summer games. I was recently thinking about my last ski trip that I went on, in which I was tricked & sent down a Black Diamond. I too, raced down that hill just as Lindsey Vonn & Bode Miller have been doing but there was no gold medal in it for me. The difference between myself & the pros? I thought I was going to die & screamed the entire ride down with absolutely no control of my body, let alone my skis. My medal came in the form of Jagermeister in the lodge.

I also finally found a redhead that I can really grow to love. Shaun White. The kid boggled my mind. Since snowboarding is a relatively new sport, he is totally going to be the founding father of it & everyone will be compared to him for years to come. Shaun White, the Babe Ruth of snow.

One last mention that is an interesting tidbit here. I have insomnia & I have totally found a cure for it in these Olympics: cross-country skiing. It's a terrible sport.

Baby Love

The long-awaited arrival of the newest Aubrey has finally come! Kayla Alexandra Aubrey entered the world on January 14 & she is the most beautiful baby ever seen by human eyes. I'm not even just saying that because she's my niece, I'm really serious. I am totally obsessed with her & also amazed. Whenever I see her, all I can do is just stare at her & watch her like a big old creep. All she does right now is basically sleep, poop & eat. Sounds kinda like what my life consists of. We babysat for her the other day & she slept the entire time. Most people would find this boring but I did not.

It is so interesting to watch her sleeping. She is obviously dreaming but I'm so curious to know what about. They say babies cant really see when they're first born & she obviously doesn't know how to speak so she can't have thoughts like we do. Yet without being able to see clearly or knowing anything about the world, she can have thoughts in these dreams. What could possibly make her smile or frown while dreaming? It must be just shapes & colors & what we would imagine to be a trippy kind of world.

This little girl will never know our country before we had a black president. She will never know a universe when Pluto was a planet. She will never know Beyonce as the leading lady of Destiny's Child, only as the successful solo artist that's married to Jay-Z. She will never have been alive when the Mets won a World Series (& probably never will be.) A world without reality television? Not in her lifetime. She will never have known her Auntie Amy as a teenager. The end of bananas might come in her lifetime (I'm not sure if that's just a rumor.) But the end of polar bears certainly might be true. It's just so interesting to think about this baby & what will come in her future. Oh you wanted to see a picture? Well okay! If you insist.

Step Off, Girl

As I sit here, Kelly is in the hospital & we are awaiting the arrival of my new baby niece. I'm trying not to go crazy waiting, though so I figured I'd make a new post & vent a little. I've been seeing this guy for a bit now & we went out again last night. He came to Staten Island & we went out to this little restaurant/bar around me for a few drinks. We decided to just sit at the bar & the bartender came over to take our drink order & I noticed immediately that she was giving him "the eyes". I am aware he's a good looking guy so that's fine, I can deal with that. Then the real annoyances began.

So we are sitting there drinking & I had less left than he did but she acted as if I was invisible & got only him another drink. I had to wait around until she finally looked to his right & saw I was empty. Then she proceeds to interrupt our conversation & ask where we are from & I say "we" loosely because she obviously wasn't talking to me. She too hailed from the state of NJ so she continues talking for about a half hour & would not shut up despite his & my best efforts to ignore her. I finally had to pull a Brandy & Monica & just show this girl the boy was mine & resorted to a bit more PDA then I am generally comfortable with. After a few dirty looks thrown my way she eventually gave up. He, of course found this all hilarious but appreciated my taking control of the situation.

I get that a bartender has to be courteous to the patrons & I have no problem having full conversations while enjoying my beverage but we're on a date so get the hint & step off, ho. Obviously if a guy is out with a girl, he wants to be talking to her & not you. Find your own man, girl, this one is occupied. And are you really trying to hit on him while I'm right there? If you're going to try to be a date-stealing slut, at least wait until I go to the bathroom or something. In the words of Stephanie Tanner, "How rude!" The good news is, I must really like this boy if I'm willing to get the claws out. I'll let you know how it goes.

2010: HERE I AM!

YAYYY! Ever since the clock struck midnight to become 2006, I have been waiting for 2010! If you haven't been a follower of "Completely Random" for long, you may not know about my OCD with numbers divisible by 5. Well I'm very excited about this year because not only does it end in a 10 but both 20 & 10 are divisible by 5. It sounds stupid but to each her own. If I think this is going to be a good year, then gosh darn it I'm going to make it a good year.

It's a little hard for it not to be a good year because there will be a brand new baby in my life within the next 10 days or so!! My sister-in-law is having a little girl who I am going to spoil until the cows come home! Therein is my first New Year's Resolution: to be the best aunt that ever walked the earth! I've never been an aunt before but I think I can live up to the task. I've never even been a babysitter before, so it may be a bit of a challenge. I'm pretty confident, though, especially after my cousin's little girl was recently over who doesn't really warm up to anybody. I stepped up to the plate & entertained her & by the end of the night, she was begging to sleep over because she liked me so much. Great confidence booster that was!

Second & Third New Year's Resolutions are physical things that I'd like to accomplish. First is moving out of my house. It's easy to stay comfy here with having dinner made for me every night & not buying groceries & not paying rent & all, but as a 24-year-old, dear old Mom & Dad are really cramping my style. The other is (as it has been since I left Miami) to find a job in my field. A real job, not just a freelancing gig somewhere that they're going to replace me with an intern. These 2 goals basically go hand-in-hand because when I find a job, I will (hopefully) be banking enough dough to be able to afford rent at a nice place. Right now, I can't afford a whole lot so I'm gonna need to work on that.

Whatever comes in 2010, I'm sure it will be more then I am bargaining for. There are always twists & turns along the way but it all works out in the end. There's no way to prepare for it all but here's to hoping for a good year! Here I am, 2010, are you ready for me?