ummm

Looks like I'm not cut out for this whole blogging thing after all. My life's pretty boring these days. Layoffs were pretty rough last week. I was fortunate enough to make the cut but a friend of mine wasn't so lucky. He was really sweet and I'll miss him stopping by my desk to offer me chocolates :P We met up with him for 'farewell' drinks at a local bar on Friday. He's a good guy and though it may be hard given the current state of the economy, I'm sure other job prospects will come his way. And it looks like my London/Paris trip is not happening. My friend said she consulted with her father and decided it wasn't a good idea to spend a lot of money right now and to focus on paying off debt. I could go it alone but I wanted the company and she was the only person that I knew who could afford the time off. But I guess I should focus on saving money too...I'm just really bummed about it, I really want to get away from things for a while. And if not now, when? On a happier note, I have a crush on someone at my office. He's really soft-spoken and really nice. I'd love to hang out with him for a movie of something...I think a while back ago someone told me that he said I was cute lol...hmmm

an odd night.

Last night me and some friends were supposed to check out a comedy show in nyc to celebrate someones birthday. The birthday girl, who lives in Brooklyn, was running extremely late and couldn't make it to the show anymore but me and my best friend were already in the city waiting for her to arrive. We debated on whether or not to see the show without her or to do something else. So we thought we'd hit up the club scene. On the way there I saw two people I knew and then saw someone else I knew standing in line. On a rainy night in a big city I just thought that was kinda weird...guess it's a small world after all. We stood in the line for a few minutes but realised we could put the $20 entrance fee to better use. The weather sucked due to the rain. Plus, I was dressed in a turtle neck sweater and T had on shoes that were killing her feet so we decided to go the Applebee's restaurant in Times Square for a bite to eat instead. As we walked away from the club there was this homeless guy with his pants down masturbating in full view of anyone who passed him by. GROSS I think he was getting his thrills by all the young ladies dressed up headed for the clubs. I don't even wanna mention the perverted things he said when my friend and I passed by. I thought I'd lost my appetite. But it turned out to be the perfect choice for the night. We caught up on some gossip and had an appetizer and some dessert. More gossip on the subway ride home...and finally back to my place where we both crashed for the night. I haven't done laundry in weeks it was on my agenda of things to do today..but I really don't feel up to it so it may have to wait until tomorrow.


ewww. my dirty laundry..TMI???! haha!

fingers crossed.

It turns out that I'm the one who had to postpone putting down the deposit for the trip. Guess that's what I get for talkin bout my friend being flaky and now I'm the one that's holdin shit up. She claims she's trying to budget her money and it's not lookin good. Still, I get the sense that she's droppin hints to cop out. Anyway, there's speculation about there being layoffs at my job. So I need to see if I'm in the clear before I decided to put myself in a couple more thousand worth of debt that I can't get out of. Keep hope alive for me...although I complain a lot, I really do need to keep my job. Damn this economy.

cupcakes!!

So I don't know what's gotten into me these past few days. Honestly, I think PMS is to blame :) I found another recipe to try out today and bought the ingredients after work and get got started on it as soon as I got home. The name of the dessert is Black Bottom Cupcakes. They're chocolate cupcakes made from scratch with a gooey cream cheese/chocolate chip filling in the center. I tried these once before at a bake sale but had no idea what they were or what the center part was made of. And when I saw the picture of it on the recipe site today, I recognized it immediately and knew that I had to try it for myself. I followed this recipe and the results are below. Sorry for all the food posts but nothing interesting or noteworthy is going on lately.

...I'm keeping my fingers crossed that my friend doesn't flake out on me tomorrow. We're supposed to put down our $150 deposit for our London/Paris trip.

Goodnight! But before I log out....

Suki says HELLO to you! With a big hug!!

And BIG wet kiss too! LOL

i like this.

Last night MTV was playing some musician's playlist and this video came on. For some reason, it caught my attention right away...The song is by 22 year old Swedish singer Lykke Li and it's called "Little Bit". Not sure what the concept is all about but all the jerky movement and the weird lookin guy on the piano kinda freak me out :p Enjoy. [Lykke Li myspace]

more cookies and a street fair.

My dear mother decided to tell her office team about my cookies from last night and they wanted her to bring some in for tomorrow. So I just got done baking dozens of white chocolate cranberry cookies and chocolate chip cookies (see pic above) both made from scratch and I'm pleased with the turnout courtesy of allrecipes.com.

Today was Veteran's Day. A whole lot was going on in the city..per usual. President Bush was in town for memorial services, there was a parade blocking and disrupting traffic along 5th avenue. Around noon someone told me about a street fair going on so we decided to check it out. Here are some random snapshots from the area.





Notice anything in the last pic? It's a crepe vendor!! You know I had to get one! lol

.....Here's the one I got with Nutella and strawberry like I did last time.....

Crepes are next on my list of recipes to try..seems easy enough.

a little pain a little pleasure.

I feel like crap right now so after writing this I'm off to bed. I have cramps that aren't going away even though I took 2 extra strength tylenol pills...so I popped one more a little while ago and I'm hoping for some relief soon. My allergies are also causing me to feel a mess. My mom just tripped and fell over the dog gate we have that blocks the entrance to her room. She hurt her knee and it's swollen in one area and she has a scratch or two on her wrists that I'm sure will be black and blue in the morning. I told her to take tomorrow off and work from home but she refuses. It's really sad how some just let work become the center focus of everything. She just injured herself and can barely walk without a limp and wincing in pain yet she's gonna jump up for work in the morning and go about her day. I don't get it. Just take one lousy day off!

But on a happier note, I was browsing blogs earlier today and saw that one fellow blogger baked some white chocolate cranberry cookies recently. She posted pics of em and they looked absolutely delicious! So I decided to give it try for myself and found a simple recipe online and gathered up all the ingredients; most of which I already had at home except for the chocolate and cranberries. I followed the recipe exactly as it was but used vanilla extract instead of brandy. Here's the website for the recipe. My mom doesn't like baked goods with fruit in them so she wasn't too thrilled but I think they taste great. They're really sweet so some may want to cut back on the sugar but it wasn't an issue for me. I think they're quite lovely just they way they are. Here's a look of my progress and the finished product!

Oh and I'm no Lindsay Lohan fan but I had no idea she was in a same sex relationship..I'm so out the loop these days..well as long as she's happy and lovin life..

goodnight!

planning my getaway.

Went into the city last night and had myself a really nice time. My co-worker gave her husband a surprise party at a lounge and wanted my friends and I to come. She didn't invite many girls so she was really looking forward to our company. She was so worried about everything but the party was great. We had bottle service, appetizers and good music..what more could we want?! The night ended kinda shitty because my friend got really drunk and sick from drinking on an empty stomach. I spent the last half hour of the night holding her hair back in the bathroom stall and listening and watching the poor child hurl into the toilet...it was a pitiful sight but we've all been there at some point of our lives...The last time I got really drunk was October of last year (a crazy but funny long story). Ummm oh..I'm planning a little getaway with one of my friends for next year. We're feenin to go abroad so we might book a trip to London and Paris on Friday. The trip will be in March 2009 for about 8 days. I found a tour group that's offering a decent price and handles all the arrangements so hopefully it all works out. The girl I'm booking with can be really flaky so I wouldn't be the least surprised if all of a sudden she cancels the plans. We were really hoping to do a tour of Japan but it's a bit too expensive for us at the moment. And with rumors of layoffs within the job industry, I really need to see if this will even be possible. I'm so nervous but I'll be so excited if it all works out. I haven't been abroad since 2004 when I studied in Italy for a semester. Since then, all the memories have been haunting me but in a good way. It's just making me want to get out again and explore something new!

janet pics.

Like I mentioned the show was great..nuff said. Here are some pics! At age 42..my girl was WORKIN the hell outta that stage on Saturday and she can still dance her ass off! Looked liked she's gained some weight tho but she must be in great shape regardless..I can't even dance to one full song without stopping to catch my breath or taking a puff of my inhaler..lol must be my old age creepin up on me..hmmm and speaking of old age. I had a follow up appointment with my doctor today about my asthma. He said my lungs are like a 40 year old person!! F**K!!!!! Are you kidding me?! I didn't know I was that bad.geez. I'm gonna be on a new prescription now so hopefully it'll slow my lungs' aging..smh anyway...back to the pics...

we did it.

Sooo you can forget all about me uploading some damn Janet Jackson pics tonight. I have something better and more important to share..as if you didn't already know..

We have a new president ya'll!!!!!

Congrats to the 44th president of the United States of America


BARACK OBAMA

i baracked the vote. did u?

I've neglected this little blog for a few days..but I'm back. No particular reason that I didn't write, just laziness I assume because my ass is always on the internet. lol

I VOTED this morning!!! And I can't wait for the results tonight. I am hopeful that Obamba's gonna pull through but you never know. I was on the voting line at 5am with my mom but the center opened at 6am so I sat on the floor half asleep with my head buried in my scarf. When it was my turn to vote I wasn't able to cast my vote from the booth. My name wasn't found in the voting book so I had to fill out a paper ballot instead...it's sabotage I tell ya!! ha!



Ummmm...I'm so bored right now..I should've stayed home. I think I'm gonna try to find a quiet room to read. I'm reading a book called Twilight right now. It's some sort of vampire love story. I'm not into this kind of fantasy literature but I'm trying to keep an open mind and expand my horizons, ya know? It's been a best seller for a little while now so I want to see what the hype was about. It's the first book of the series for teens but from reading the reviews it looks like a lot of adults are into it too. I'm still at the beginning and it's not bad so far, but I'm hoping to finish the whole thing before the actual movie comes out on the 21st. If you've read it, let me know what you think. But no spoilers please :)



And there are absolutely no words to describe how great the Janet Jackson concert was last Saturday night. I have lots of pics and 12 video clips! lol But I'll share more on that later when I get home this evening!

happy halloween.

So it's officially Halloween. This is me dressed up as a Care Bear circa 198_?? lol I can't believe it's that time of year already. After this it seems people forget all about Thanksgiving and the Christmas rush begins. My mom already told me she's gotten my gifts already! lol She gave me her wish list about a month ago and I haven't gotten a damn thing yet. She wants a coffee maker, DVDs, a thermos, and a few other items. She's really hard to shop for if you don't know specifically what she wants so I'm happy to have the list. There are a lot of parties going on tonight and over the weekend but one was enough for me. I'm feeling a little sickish today so I opted to stay home from work. Friday's are usually really light days at the office so I'm confident that I'm not missing much. Plus I have a 'work from home' option so whatever needs to be done I can usually take care of it from my PC which is great for times like these.

Also, I'm excited about the Janet Jackson concert tomorrow night! I need to see at least one Jackson hit the stage before I die lol. And I like I mentioned before, if it can't be Micheal, Janet will do just fine ;) Since the show was rescheduled from October 16th to November 1st, all ticket holders were given the option for a refund if you couldn't make it to the show for the new date. I found out from a friend that really good seats to the show were being released and that the seats were in sections close to the stage. These new released seats were much better than the ones I already had for the SAME price I'd already paid. NO FAIR! So thank God I had the refund option due to the show cancellation! I refunded my old tickets for me and my friend and purchased brand new ones in a much better spot for the same price. If the show hadn't been rescheduled, I would've been stuck with the bad seats because there is a no refund/exchange policy. Just to get an idea of the new seats compared to the old ones, take a look at the seating chart. My old tix were in section 129 and my new seats for tomorrow are in section 58 (click to see the pic larger). Now, isn't that MUCH better?!?!

primetime.

Still didn't make it to work on time this morning and I didn't get my review yet. I did go to the doctor though and got 4 shots!! ugh. my arms are sore :( I have another appointment next week for pulmonary tests to see how I can better treat my asthma and I might start on a new medication...we shall see what happens....anyway

TONIGHT I think Obama did an excellent job tonight in the 30-minute primetime ad. He stayed focused on the issues and let us into the lives of common families and individuals who would benefit from his policies. Not once did he bash McCain or put forth any negative energy directed towards his opponent. I believe that he's running a clean campaign and can't wait until he becomes the new president of the USA ;) Any opinions on the ad from tonight? I welcome all opinions.

always late.

It was a boring, mediocre day today. The weather was cold with strong winds and there was even some snow in some places like New Jersey. I actually left work a little early because I was so bored which makes the career change all the more tempting. A few other friends of mine have extended Halloween invites for this coming Friday but I'm really not up to it. One costume party is enough. I think my office manager is giving reviews starting tomorrow. I feel his only complaint will be my lateness lol. I'm late for work like every morning. It's really bad. He's told me once before to try to be in between 8:30am and 9am. I was good for a few weeks or so but then started coming in at 9:45..and it's been a vicious cycle ever since. I don't want to waltz in late the day he might be giving a review so I'll try to be on time tomorrow :/ I also have a doctor's appointment tomorrow afternoon. I'm overdue for my physical exam and I need a new prescription on my asthma inhalers..plus my allergies have been bad lately and I've been really stuffy..hopefully I can get better.

LOL...

stuck in a rut.

So for about a year now I've been contemplating a career change. My co-worker and I were having a chat today about our future career goals and other aspirations. She is a receptionist and I'm an admin and we don't want to be in this position for too much longer. We're paid a decent salary and have excellent benefits but at the end of the day this work leaves us very unfulfilled and unsatisfied. I have expressed an interest in the medical field for some time but I haven't been active in working towards that goal except for taking a General Biology class this summer to meet one of the prerequisites but that's all I've done so far. I earned an A in the class which really made me feel confident about pushing further but I've still been procrastinating. Today after work we met with an admissions counselor at a med training school in the city. I'm interested in Diagnostic Medical Ultrasound and she's leaning towards a career in Radiology. The Medical Assistant program sounds great too, but I still want to explore other options/schools before making a final decision. I've been to the damn school 3 times now and still haven't decided on what to do. Decision-making has never been one of my strong points and admittedly, this has held me back from a lot of things. I'm sure these 'things' will come up in my writing at some time..just not right now. There's so many things I've set out to do and accomplish but without a good paying job and proper finances it seems really difficult to achieve life goals. And with the economy as unstable as it is, it's more important than ever to try to be financially secure. As I'm getting older, I'm truly realising how fast life can pass you by. It makes me scared and nervous about the future that lies ahead.

And dammit, I'm missing Lady Gaga tonight! She's performing in like a half-hour and I'm here wallowing in my my self pity!!! Grrrrrr. lol.

early halloween.

I had a great time at the Halloween Party last night despite the weather everything turned out fine. It was raining really hard outside and the winds were strong, it was like a mini hurricane out there...at least that's how it seemed to me, maybe I'm being a bit dramatic tho. My co-worker and her husband joined me for the night and gave me a ride into the city with them which was a huge relief! And I'm so glad I traveled with them because my other friends came so late. I got there in time to take advantage of the free vodka mixed drinks up until 11:30pm. I felt a little cheated because the party flyer/invitation said that there would also be free Hors d'œuvres and four different rooms to dance in filled with Halloween decorations. Well, when we asked about the food, no one knew anything about it. And there were only 2 rooms to dance in, one of which had some decor but the other room didn't. I really hate false advertising especially when money is involved and you think you're paying for a service that you didn't receive. I had fun regardless and was excited that I didn't see anyone else in my mouse costume!

On a different note..any Lady Gaga fans out there? I love that song "Just Dance". I have it on my myspace lol. Well, she's doing a performance and autograph signing tomorrow at the Virgin Megastore in Union Square (NYC). I would go but the event starts at 11:30pm. With work in the morning and dealing with transportation to get home so late at night...unfortunately, I think I'm gonna pass on this one.

prayers for Jennifer Hudson.

I was just watching the news and learned that the brother and mother of actress/singer Jennifer Hudson was found shot dead in their home. Details are still pending in the investigation. You can find the story here. Please keep Jennifer's family in your prayers. The pic is Jennifer and her mother.

i'm addicted to you.

I can't seem to break my Coca-Cola addiction. It's my drink of choice at home, at work, and especially when I dine out. I know it's not healthy and I definately need more water in my diet. My skin and my hair get dry very easily and the cooler weather only adds to this. I've tried to quit but then at the grocery store I'll see them on sale or my mom will pick some up for me thinking she's being thoughtful and surprising me with an unexpected treat (bless her heart lol) but I really do need to stop..as the saying goes, it's easier said than done. My last two servings are keeping cool for me in the fridge =)

the show was excellent!

I'm going to make this quick since it's really late and I must get some sleep. I went to Duffy's performance tonight at Webster Hall and it was wonderful! She was so adorable in her red dress and she sang all the songs on the Rockferry album plus a couple of new tracks which I must seek out cuz they were great songs. I could have done without her opening act (Eli "Paperboy" Reed) but he was cool once I got a feel for the music and I could do my two step and dance along lol. I wanted a drink at the bar but didn't want to lose my spot. Anywayz, I took loads of pics and video recording from my camera but the audio quality didn't come out very good on most of em..but here I'll leave you with a few pictures of the night. I'm going to sleep!

Eli "Paperboy" Reed

i got one.

I broke down and got a pricy costume anyway. Total $54. Honestly, I think I could've done better but there were so many choices and I had absolutely no idea what to choose! For the price I paid, the costume doesn't really come with a lot of accessories or anything which sucks but the shipping was FREE but I chose to have it sent 2nd day which was about $9 extra so I'll have it on Friday if there aren't any issues. Hopefully I'll be the only 'Pin Up Mouse' at the party on Saturday :)Which reminds me I need to buy my ticket for the party ($20)...ugh..this too expensive for one night..best believe I won't be doing this again for a while..

**btw I finally got that Teyana video up and running...check the post about the fashion show here to take a look.

i need a costume.

So me and some of the girls are planning to go to a Halloween party in the city this Saturday. And of course I have NO costume to wear. I'm at work during the day and that leaves little time to shop around for something good. I went to a Party City yesterday just to browse and see what they had to offer but they're prices were outragerous and the costumes weren't even all that good. My best bet was to find something online but in order for it to come in time without paying high shipping fees, I should've placed and order for something TODAY! What a mess..I have no clue as to what to do. My friend and I discussed just making up a costume ourselves and dress up with wigs, fun makeup and eyelashes..but we can't decide on what kind of look we're going for..we wanna look cute but not too over the top. The costumes I'm finding online are cute but too expensive to just party in for one night. Here are a couple that I was considering but with these prices I think I need to keep looking:

Jewel of the Nile
$58



Goddess of Love
$61

I was a sexy Indian last year (see costume below), but I wanna go for something a little more feminine and girly this time around!


This Saturday I was also supposed to be going to Fright Fest at Six Flags but the other girls haven't even metioned a word about it since we discussed it last month so for now I assume it's canceled. I texted them just a little while ago but they actin shady and not responding back..so Halloween party it is. But I was really looking forward to Fright Fest too :(

**i'm still having issues uploading that Teyana video..tried to youtube it and the site is under maintenance at the moment..I'll try again tomorrow.

fashion show pics and video.

As promised, here are some pics from the fashion show I went to on Saturday.




Unique gave a good performance with fans strategically placed along the stage so when he stopped his hair could blow in the wind lol (a little too feminine for my taste..but a lot of the teenage girls there loved it)



Teyana Taylor also performed and here's a clip of her performance that I took with my digital camera. I thought she mostly did hip hop and rap but she performed a cute love song and I was pleasantly surprised to hear that she has a very pretty singing voice.

Teyana Taylor performing her song "Google Me"



The show was benefiting an excellent cause so I was surprised at the small audience for this event. There had to have been less than 100 people there. But nonetheless, my cousin and I had a great time and I really enjoyed catching up with her. She's growing up to be such a beautiful young woman and I'm looking forward to spending more time with her to strengthen our relationship.