yes please...

If anyone is looking for a 4th of July present for me, these will do.

Great dinner story!!!

Ok, here it is....
So there is a restaurant in the city called Per Se. It is one of the nicest in the city and evidently you have to make reservations months in advance. Well, I was having dinner with my former boss from MSNBC last night and we were in the Time Warner Center and she asks what restaurants are there and I say well there's Per Se but unless you made reservations in May, we won't get a table. So she wanted to see it anyway, so we go up there and she says "Hi I'm Catherine Captain, I have an 8:30 reservation for two." So they look and look but they can't find it (yeah funny they couldn't find it cause we definitely didn't have a reservation). So they shuffle us over to these couches in the bar and sit us down for a few while they look. We each order a $35 glass of champagne. Then the manager comes over and introduces himself and says he's terribly sorry but he can't find the reservation. Catherine says, well I don't know what could have happened, I know my assistant confirmed, she is usually very thorough, etc. They exchange business cards and he goes back and looks one more time. He comes back and says the same thing but that they don't have a table, unfortunately because their dinners are 3 hours long, etc. He asks if we can come back tomorrow but Catherine is leaving in the morning so can't make it. So he says why don't I make a reservation for you all at one of the other restaurants downstairs, they're all very good. So we say, great. Hopefully we can come back here soon but that will be fine for tonight. It's like 8:45 by this point. He goes to make a call and comes back and says, ok you have a 9:30 reservation downstairs at Gray Cafe...a nd I know that is 45 minutes from now, but we're going to take good care of you here in the meantime. So the first thing he does is bring out the bottle of champagne and fill up both of our glasses again (we ended up having 3 glasses of $35 champagne each). Then he brought out FOUR different appetizers! Some cheese puffs, salmon stuff, gourmet chips and dip and candied almond things. Some of the most delicious food I've ever tasted. So then it's 9:30 and we're getting ready to go to our other dinner and we say, what do we owe you? And they say, Oh, it's all on us tonight, please come back and see us again, we're so sorry for the misunderstanding. So in our estimation, we were able to weasel at least $400 worth of food and drink from them. $35 EACH for 6 glasses of champagne and at least $30 per appetizer they brought out. Plus a tip on top of that. It was pretty awesome. So then we go downstairs and have a great meal at the restaurant where we probably should have just gone anyway after stuffing ourselves with some of the most delicious appetizers I've ever tasted from Per Se.

Ok

Not sure what it is, but it is 2:46 and I'm nowhere near sleeping. And I'm such a good sleeper too. Not today I guess.

One more thing...

I have had a hard time falling asleep til like 3am lately. Think that might have something to do with my 11 am wake up call? possibly. But Tonight I'm going to see if listening to my favorite tunes on my ipod helps me sleep. Doubt it will, but it's worth a shot!

Great dinner story

Ok, I'm kinda drunk and I have a great story about my dinner tonight. But I really don't wanna type it all out. So I will tomorrow. Live in total suspense til then....!!!!

All on!

I had no problem with the power outages yesterday. They were only troublesome for people living on the east side uptown (I live way downtown on the east side) and through the east Bronx. It's just as hot today, but it's supposed to cool down by tomorrow. Thank GOODNESS! I still don't have an air conditioner!

New favorite show

So anyone who has ever watched professional basketball with me knows that I think Shaq is one of the most amusing people on the planet. Well, today I watched his new reality show, 'Shaq's Big Challenge,' a weight loss show on ABC and as usual, he didn't disappoint. It was the typical weight loss show but with kids and Shaq throwing down HILARIOUS one liners. I can't remember them all, but watch it. It's on Tuesdays at 9 on ABC.

QUARTERS!

You know, there is almost no better feeling than when you're getting ready to go do your laundry, open up your purse, and find the MOTHERLOAD of quarters! $6 worth and a watch I thought I had lost. It's a great feeling! Off i go to the laundromat!

Opposable thumbs

Today my thumb is feeling better. I can actually move it around a teeny bit and I can tell it's on the road to full recovery. An observation about 4 days without a functional left thumb: there are MANY things that we do every day that are incredibly difficult to do without the use of both thumbs. A few of the most frustrating
-Washing your hair and even more difficult, putting it in a ponytail!
-Tying your sneakers
-Using a can opener
-Texting (ok, not really a crucial thing to be able to do, but I do it a lot!)
-Ripping tape
-Opening child-proof pill bottles
-Opening a bag of chips
-Clipping your nails
And the list goes on and on, basically, take care of your thumbs people, it's a serious pain to try and function without them!
This weekend I had fun. I went on a boat cruise with my friends on Friday to see a band that my friend Drew loves (and Kate loves them too). It went up and down the Hudson River with awesome views of the city and the Statue of Liberty. It's neat. Then last night I got together with some of my few fun friends from dodgeball. I've really made some great connections in dodgeball. This week I have a few more interviews. One I'm very excited about on Tuesday. Keep your fingers crossed!

dislocated thumb

dislocated thumb
Originally uploaded by akeegangu

dodgeball: the last stand

ok, if anyone thought the last 2 weeks stories were ridiculous, get ready for this one! So this week was the most important week of dodgeball yet, the playoffs. Our team finished 5th in the league and were top contenders for a great playoff run. We get out there for our first match and we're kicking butt. We easily win the first game. They put up a better fight in the second game and won that. So the third was for the victory!! We're cruising along winning that game when all of a sudden one of the guys throws one hard at me and it his me at a weird angle in the hand bending my thumb all the way back and completely dislocating it. So I'm obviously out but the hit itself didn't hurt so much so I didn't realize what happened right away. So as I'm walking off I look down at it and realize it's bent all the way back. I grab it with my other hand and pop it back in and then realize that it REALLY hurts. My team went on to win that game and move on to round 2. Well done Ball Busters. So I go out of the gym and my good friend Laura Meredith, RN (always good to have a medical professional on the team) takes charge. She sends one guy out for ice, another out for a first aid kit, positions me in front of the fan (people told me I was green at this point and I really thought i was about to pass out it hurt so much) and tries to calm me down. We get some ice on it, get a big dose of Advil in me and then she rigs up a splint with a tongue depressor all before the next game. Unfortunately, all the chaos was too much for the Ball Busters and, with me on the bench doing my best to cheer them on, lost to the eventual winners of the whole league in the next round. A wild and crazy ending to a fabulous season of dodgeball. The shots at the bar helped the pain in my finger tremendously but today is another story. it does NOT feel good. Good thing I'm close to having a job, dodgeball has become hazardous to my health!!!

Saturday is Sunday

Ok, so I went down to DC for the Keegan family shindig on Saturday. My friend Hools picked me up at the bus downtown and up we went. It was so great to see her!!! So up to the party we went. My cousins Kim and Casey hosted at their new house in Germantown. It's great! My cousins Jimmy and Sean were there, Jimmy's girlfriend Maggie, our cousin Trish's boyfriend Chris, my Auntie Margo and Uncle Mike and a bunch of Sean's and Kim and Casey's friends were all there. In true Keegan fashion, we polished off a keg plus many cans of beer, and rocked the house til the sun came up. I didn't get much sleep, so once I got back to NY I totally crashed and slept for a long, long time. I pretty much compressed the weekend into 2 nights instead of 3. hehe Thanks for a great time Kim and Casey!!!

google calendar

i just recently started using the Google calendar and I really like it! It gives you a pop up reminder just like Outlook, and it's Google, so it's just cooler. :)

WHY!?!

Why is Everybody Loves Raymond on EVERY SINGLE non-cable channel on my tv?? I really don't enjoy that show, I'd like to watch something else.

When it rains, it pours!

Ok, I swear I am now getting an interview with nearly every single place I send a resume to. So like I said, stay tuned, cause I know I'm going to have something to report soon. Meanwhile, did I mention that my jaw REALLY hurts!! I am eating some chips and dip right now and I can barely open my mouth enough to get a chip in. Ah the price of dodgeball glory.

Last week

Sorry I didn't post the whole week. I'm a slacker. So I'm a bit worn out, last week I went to Chicago and Milwaukee to celebrate my cousin Steve's 21st birthday with him. It was a HOOT. We did a 21 run, went to a baseball game and just had some good fun times together. He survived, I've never been prouder. Between that and dodgeball both wednesday and thursday, i didn't take a night off from going out between Monday and Friday, and by Saturday I was a bit worn out. I can't hang with those 21 year olds for more than 1 day anymore. It was fun though.
On Monday I went to watch my friend tape his TV show. It's called the Hugh Thompson show and it plays on the AT&T broadband channel. It's a total nerd show, but it's really fun. Check it out!
Yesterday's dodgeball performance was not quite as legendary as last week's. Unfortunately, I was feeling a little sick when I got there and then on the very first throw I got NAILED in the face. Nothing says fun like a rubber ball to the jaw. It hurt quite a bit and I felt a bit dizzy and woozy for the rest of the night, but I forged ahead and the Ball Busters won both of our matches, securing our place in the Party Dodgeball NYC playoffs next week. I can't wait!! Today, I can barely open my mouth because of the big hit, but it was worth it.
This weekend, I'm going down to Washington. My cousins Kim and Casey are having a party at their house and I never miss a good party! My friend Julia is going to come with me I think. Looking forward to it.
I've had a bunch of luck finding job leads recently. Seems everyone is all of a sudden hiring. Should have some news to report there shortly so stay tuned.

DODGEBALL!!

So last night was really one of the awesomest dodgeball nights we've had so far. My awesome team the ball busters won 1 of our 2 matches and played well in the other. We think we've secured a position in the playoffs! WOOHOO!! So then, between our 2 matches, one of the 2 best teams, the Headhunters asked me if I could sub for them because they were short on girls and the week before I had caught one of their balls. I said sure, and played the first game with them. We killed the other team. Then after our 2nd game, they were playing the best team in the league, the Yorkvillans. #1 vs #2. They asked me to play again and they were really intense, saying things like this is a really serious game. I said bring it on! We won the first game, and then in the 2nd game, all the guys and the other girl on my team get out. I'm the last dodgeballer standing. It's just me out there versus 4 of the Yorkvillans 2 girls, 2 guys. So they make the mistake of underestimating my ability to catch the ball and have the girls start throwing at me. Meanwhile, my whole Ball Busters team has stuck around to watch. Rich from my team goes over to all the guys on the Headhunters who had already gotten out and says "Don't worry you guys, you'll be back in in just a minute. She'll catch one." I love the vote of confidence from my team!! So I dodge a couple throws from the girls and then I catch one. One of the guys on my team comes back in. Then the guys wise up and start throwing at me (they throw a LOT harder than the girls) and I catch one of those too!! I got nailed right after I caught it so I was out, but not before I singlehandedly brought 2 of the guys who had been knocked out back into the game. The Headhunters went on to win that game and the match. So the 2 top teams swapped spots in the standings.
Then we got to the bar and of course I was the big hero so everyone bought me shots. I'm paying for it today, but it was wicked fun. They want me to play with them next week too. No chance I'm joining another team though if it interferes with my Ball Busters! It's Ball Busters or bust for me!

my ipod

Sometimes I think my ipod really has a brain. I'm definitely a shuffle-aholic, which means I always just put it on random shuffle and it chooses whatever of the 2000 songs i have on there to play next. And sometimes I think it decides to make me happy and other days I think it decides to annoy me. Today for example, EVERY single song it picked was exactly what I wanted to hear. It gave me upbeat songs at the gym and then fun walking songs on the way home. Now other days, I think it purposefully picks songs I'm not in the mood for just to taunt me. Sometimes I'll walk down the street and skip 20 songs in a row before it picks one I want to hear.
Anyway, it's raining today, so it doesn't really matter today, I won't be out and about walking around anymore. But sometimes I wonder about that Annepod (that's its name). :)