SimplyLauren's Vacation

Well----this afternoon I'm driving down with Jake to DC so that we can catch our EARLY EARLY flight to Costa Rica for the next week.

I'm afraid there will be a brief hiatus in postings for the next week or so. More fun adventures when I return.

Happy Easter!
Happy Passover!

Love,
Lauren

Temple and Fun Evening

Last night was really great. I had invited my dad up for the evening b/c Temple's symphony orchestra was playing at Lincoln Center for an alumni event that I wanted to attend. I thought my dad would enjoy the show, so I invited him. Anyway---everything worked like clockwork. I met him at Lincoln Center and we walked over to the NY Ethical Society where our new president was speaking and there was a reception and cocktail hour beforehand. That was really nice. I'd heard great things about the new president, she's the first woman, and I got to meet her. Awesome.

The concert was really the highlight of the night for sure! They had a great program:

Berlioz: Overture to Benevenuto Cellini

Grondahl: Concerto for Trombone and Orchestra

Debussy: Prelude a l'apres-midi d'un faune

Respighi: Pini di Roma***

**that was my favorite. It was incredible.

Then, my dad and I walked home through the park and stopped to get some dinner b/c neither of us had been properly nourished. We split some pasta and caprese salad. My dad had wine too. It was great. We totally caught up and I told him a bunch of stuff that was going on with me and everything. We also talked about grad schools, etc.

Thanks for coming Pop!

Tonight I'm seeing Darren for drinks before I finish my final packing escapade. :)

Love,
Lauren

Productivity and Lists

Last night was REALLY productive to say the least. I'm going to write a list of all the things that I did from the hours of 5:45pm to 8:00pm. Get ready:

• went to the ATM machine
• dropped off two packages, one for Charlie and one for Stephanie and Cem
• dropped off my clothers at the dry cleaners
• had a set of my keys made for Beth so she can come and feed my fish when I'm in CR
• picked up my laundry from the Chinese place
• went back down to the hardware store to have them open this pacman game that Jake gave me that I couldn't open b/c I didn't have the right size screwdriver
• bought Jake's dad his birthday present-- "wrapped it" (read: the man at the store wrapped it)
• went upstairs and played pacman
• went to the Gap to see about their sales and get some summer clothes for CR
• went to Victorias' Secret to buy a push up bra----later realizing I have no clue what size bra I actually wear. Needless to say, I have to return the bra
• Bought two new fish at petco---oh BTW---Ollie died. BC is still alive though and now he has two new brothers, names are TBD.
• Went to the bagel store to get some dinner
• ate dinner while waiting for Jackie to call and watching Harry Potter: The Prisoner of Azkaban
• Jackie and I decided that we'd have our scheduling/staffing call today at 5pm instead

Talk about productive huh?!

I felt really great about my ability to get things done. There are still a few things that I have to make sure I do before the week is up and def. before my trip!

• make sure I have an outfit for church on Easter Sunday
• refill my prescription and pick it up from DR
• pack for the trip (this is a HUGE thing considering I loathe packing)
• clean house b/c my dad is spending the night for this concert/Temple alum thing tomorrow night. I have to make sure everything is spick and span.
• leave beth detailed instructions on how to feed my fishies.

Questions for my readers (if there still are any...):

• Do I need to bring a towel?
• Do I need a beach bag?
• What about changing money? Here or there?
• Do you have any other helpful hints for me?

oh---HAPPY BIRTHDAY SABRINA!!!!! I didn't know it was your birthday until today but I have to give you a real shout out nonetheless!

Sorry this entry was all about lists. I'm scatterbrained right now.

Love,
Lauren

Harry and Lazy Weekend

This weekend was very relaxing. It was wonderful not to have to travel or anything. On Friday night I had arranged a Happy Hour for Bernadette since it was her birthday last Thursday. We headed over to WHiskey Blue at the W Hotel after work for a few drinks. At first is was a small crew, me Berny, Elana and some girl I didn't know very well. Then everyone started piling in---it was a really good time. Timmy came, which was very exciting for me. He apparently is on this diet called "Fit for Life". It must work really well b/c Timmy looks so skinny! He says he lost 20 pounds in three weeks. I'm not kidding people. The last time I saw him he had a gut. He said ti's working awesome for him and that he's going to gym more often, etc. Good for him. I think Tessa's annoyed b/c that is what she wanted him to do while they were together and now that they've broken up---he's totally changed his ways and everything. I'm proud of him but am hoping to have a talk with Tessa soon about what the hell is going on with them.

Anyway---after drinks at WB, I headed over to Lindsay's apt. One major problem was that I was about to piss in my pants. I stupidly didn't go in the bar b/c it was up so many flights of stairs into the hotel. I don't know who thought that would be a good idea, but honestly! So---I am frantically banging on LBs door holding my crotch as not to piss all over the hallway and then I decide to call her. She's at Grand Central. W.T.F?! I run across the street to Kate's pee my bladder out, leave my wallet on the sink. Realize like 10 minutes later when LB and I are about to go back over there to watch the Georgetown game. I get my wallet back from Simon. It was glorious. Drank some more, ate wingies and old bay fries--- :) I headed home shortly afterwards and it was great. Talked to Jake, passed out.

Slept in on Saturday morning, shocking I know...

Did some errands and cleaned a bit. Watched a few movies. Made an anniversary present for Stephanie and Cem. It was quality. It was good Lauren time. Jess and I went out to dinner later at this Thai place---yumtastic! Then we went and saw Zodiac. It was pretty good. It was scary in the first half but then got more and more interesting. I recommend it, but it's a bit lengthy.

Inspired by Jake, I decided to re-read Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. It's like my gazillionth time reading it, but it's amazing how much i forget and have to re-read. I am basically preparing for the movie release in July. I probably will end up reading it again in the summer. I


Sunday, I pretty much did nothing. I read Harry and chilled. I ate some bagels too. It was a wonderful relaxing day. I also ripped out my vocabulary cards for my GRE class. I'm learning new words every day. It's kind of exciting.

Happy Monday!

Love,
Lauren

IRA and Schedule

I think that my fish are going to die soon. Of course, now that I was so happy that they were swimming along just fine, but then last night they started acting strange. Like the way that CT and Dog were acting before THEY died. I can't deal with any more deaths in my apartment. The PetCo guy told me not to get too attached. I just need to get a heater and get some "heartier" fish, as Mike likes to say. I just want to come home to cool swimming cute fish, instead of in the corner, not swimming, dead fish. Ugh.

One thing I'm really annoyed about right now is that at work I'm dealing with this crap right now. I apparently "messed" up something for a client but really the fact is that I didn't. This client wanted to invest in this new offering, but it wasn't like an IPO through my company or anything---it was like a private placement or something. He sent in the paperwork on Tuesday. Mike told me that I had to interoffice this paperwork to get the stock into his IRA---so I sent it to the IRA department b/c IRAs are special, you have to be careful about money in and out b/c it's not taxed and not like a regular brokerage account. Anyway---I got a call from the IRA lady today and she didn't understand the document. Basically, the client lost his 100K investment b/c of MY fault. Actually---it wasn't my fault at all. It's so annoying. Mike BLEW up at me and like totally blamed me for it. He later apologized for getting mad b/c it wasn't really all my fault, but like---still. WTF?! I'm the one that comes in at 7 and leaves at 6 to get everything done and finished----what's UP with the blame! No one else around here does anything, it makes it that much harder to deal with things when you know you are the one working hard and busting your butt all the time. Ok---I'm almost over it.

Last night I saw the Departed. I liked it a lot but it was def not good enough to be the best picture. I thought that Blood Diamond was WAY better. Leo was good in both, but whatever. It also was really long. Jake was right, Goodfellas was better than the Departed. Maybe it's like when Gladiator won best picture that one year.

Tonight is Beth's opening and I'm REALLY excited about it. I am changing into my little black dress and hurrying uptown to go sip on coctails and look at Beth's awesome exhibit. :) It's about fascism and the Spanish Civil War and how it's related to NY. It looks REALLy cool. Tonight is also dodgeball, which is going to be fun. We are playing the top two teams and we are most certainly going to lose. I kind of can't wait until the season is over. :)

OK, I promise I'm going to get better about blogging. My life is just so chaotic right now. lol. That reminds me---I have to email Jackie right now.

Ta Ta.

Love,
Lauren

Happy Birthday Katherine!

My cousins Amos and Liz just had their first baby and I want to be the first blogger to welcome her to the world. She's pretty cute for a newborn I think. :)

Anyway---I have been bad about updating things but I want to write about Whitlows, MLW interviews, etc...I have plenty to write about. Like I said before, I was sick a little last week and really overbooked. This week---not as much.

Some Quick Shout Outs:

Lindsey: It was SOOOOO fun hanging out with you on Sat night and meeting your boy (who I think is really great). Thanks for the comment too! :) I miss you!

Amos & Liz: Nice work on the cute kid. :)

Jaxx: Directing partners for life. Word.

Beth: Good luck plugging away this week for your opening! I can't wait to see it. I'm sure it's going to be amazing and awesome. I also can't wait to meet the judge.... :)

Love to all and more updates soon---promise promise!!!

Love,

Lauren

Sick and Worn Out

This past weekends interviews and shenannigans wore me out for the upcoming week. I'm tired and sick. I'm burning the candle at both ends as my boss Mike likes to remind me.

I'm sorry for the lack of posts. I can't tell you how many incomplete posts are saved as drafts in my files. I will at some point soon get a chance to finish them but who knows when that will actually be.

I have a lot of work to do and I have to take care of a few things.

I'm in a haze. I barely remember taking a shower this morning. I do remember that the water was sort of cold. I felt way better this morning than I do now. Perhaps the NyQuill that I took last night is wearing off.

It's annoying right now b/c it's about 10:30 and Dolores still isn't here. I mean---I slept in a little bit and still got here before the market opened. Oh wait---she just showed up. Enough venting. I have no energy.

Tonight I'm having dinner with Junette from Rome and also baking cookies with Jess. I know----i'm wearing myself out. But I have to do both those things. Thankfully I baked the carrot-coconut cupcakes for Sarah's birthday yesterday. I even made the white chocolate cream cheese frosting all by myself. I'm such a badass. :) I also made the cookie dough for the sugar cookies that Jess and I are going to bake and frost tonight. I promised Jake I'd bring him a cupcake (or two) and some sugar cookies for this weekend.

Alright, back to the grind, and back to the tissue box that I've come to love.

Happy Hump Day!

Love,
Lauren

Congrats and Kates

Katie---Congratulations on getting a summer internship job. Katie got a job (one that she interviewed for THAT MORNING) yesterday for the Federal District Attorney's office. I'm very boosted for her but also hopes that she gets the Citigroup job too which pays. yay!

Yesterday was supposed to be game night but instead it consisted of me, Katie and LB sitting on the corner of out favorite bar: Kates, drinking Bud Lights, eating wingies and old bay fries. The cute bartender Lauren (coincidence?!) was working and when she found out that Katie had gotten a job. Which wasn't hard b/c Katie was yelling it so that everyone in the bar could hear, she made us a delicious shot, it was an "Apple Kamikaze" or something like that.

Lauren looks like Kristen Bell, Veronica Mars people!!!! I told her that VMars was my hero. Also----we played this trivia game and did horribly. Beth wasn't there. She is the one good at the trivia games. I'm a complete idiot when it comes to those. Also especially when they are timed. Bad under pressure.

I cabbed it home and then called Jakester to chat. I had cleaned my apartment on Sunday night so it was nice to come home to that instead of the usual clothes tornado path that is usually there. There are of course, undone dishes, but that's to be expected.

Today's To-Do List:

• drop off clothes at cleaners
• go to Papyrus to get cards for all the occasions in March
• do dishes (ha!)
• go to gym to run
• get fish from Petco and also rocks for my new St. Patty's day themed votive.
• talk to Annabelle
• pick up prescription from DR

Sorry for the lack of posts. I'm a busy girl.

SHOUT OUTS:

AB: I can't wait to talk to you tonight.

IC (esp. Jose who better come): Can't wait for Whitlows!!!

Balls out for Shizzle...: We are going to win this week!

Happy Tuesday!

Love,

Lauren

Rubber Balls and Getting Hit

Good morning everyone.
I'm so sorry for my lack of posts. I've had a crazy week.

So last night was dodgeball. I need to vent/talk about this for a little bit ok?
I generally like competitive sports and playing hard and winning. I also like sports with balls---no really---playing balls, not the other kind. I was really in a bad mood when I left dodgeball though b/c I got hurt. It seems like I get hurt all the time in the game and getting hit with those stiff ass rubber balls in the face is not exactly my idea of a fun recreational activity. Our team name is "Balls out For Shizzle". FYI....


My Team:
Jackie: I love this girl. She's the captain and she's so cute and fun. She's the one that got me into this. She works on the Rachel Ray show and knows like everyone else in the league for some reason. The team she used to play on is really really good. They crushed us yesterday and it was a disaster. Anyway---she is fun. She can catch and is a good player. We bonded last night on how we both can't really throw that well.

Lindsay: Obviously you all know her from being one of my best friends here in the city. She is scared of the ball like myself but can totally hold her own. She's a good dodger. It's hard to throw well at the boys that like always catch the balls and then chuck them so hard right back at you. I love that she's on the team. She wore really cute spandex pants yesterday to the game and little cute braids. Hi LINDZ!!!

Darren: He is the powerhouse of the team. He's Australian and he gets to fired up when we play badly (read: all the time). He has a cute accent and is REALLY good at the game. He can throw hard, dodge well and catch really well. Basically he's one of the best players EVER. I love him and he always has good strategy.

Bill: Also really good. Likes to play like a team, almost as good as Darren. Really nice, I like him a lot. I basically have no issues with him whatsoever.

Brandon: He's also australian, but he's not nearly as good as Darren. Cute and nice though and tries hard.

Fernando: OK---here's where my real venting starts---He is huge. You would think that would be really great and intimidating in dodgeball, but the problem is that he sucks. He throws the balls as hard as he can like at people's heads. WTF?! Also---then he has the nerve to give me advice on my throwing, which I already know is inferior. Um---also, he's always gross and sweaty. But the main reason I get annoyed is b/c Darren always tries to get us to play as a team instead of the one-off crap that gets us all out. But as soon as he is in the game, stupid Fernando like forgets and just keeps throwing balls at people's heads. What is up with that?!

That's really all the people I wanted to talk about in this entry. I hope we win next week.

Love,
Lauren