What do I want for Christmas?

I keep forgetting that it's almost Christmas. Perhaps because it's always hotter than hell (OK well maybe not hell) in Florida. I have yet to buy one gift or send out one card. I most likely won't do cards again this year, so if you're my friend and you're reading this, don't be offended that I didn't send you a card. I'm just a little bit out of it this year. If only I could find the two boxes of Christmas cards I bought at Target 2 years ago to prevent this from happening. Someday I'll find them. Probably when I'm packing to move away from here.

Anyway, I can't think of what I would want for Christmas this year. I think I have most of the material things I want for now. Cold weather would be nice. Ok that sounds good. I want a cold front (a real cold front, none of this upper 60 degrees crap that people seem to think is cold) to come through and drop the temperature down to 50 degrees or less so I can wear my Kenneth Cole leather jacket! :) If not, a one-way ticket to NYC. ;)

Blah...

I haven't updated my blog in so long that I feel obligated to do so. I've had several topics in mind since my last posting but I've just been either unmotivated or too busy with work. I don't even think anyone reads this but someone must since my counter keeps going up, even if it is gradual.

Anyway, the most interesting thing that's happened is me making the decision that I don't want to live in Florida much longer. Although I've learned to accept some things, I realize now that I don't want to be here for good. At my age one should figure these things out because this is the time when most people settle in the place of their choice. I feel like I'm lagging behind in this aspect of my life, but whatever, you can't change past mistakes.

There are other changes about to take place in my life that I do not wish to discuss at this time, but stay tuned, fellow readers (whoever you may be)!

INTERPOL RULES!!!

So last night was the night I'd been waiting for, the Interpol concert! Needless to say I had an awesome time! The band was great and they played all my favorite songs. Carlos D and Paul Banks looked hot! ;) Here's a video of my favorite song, "C'mere"!

1 Year later...

Today is my one year anniversary from when I first moved to Miami. I can't believe it's been one year already. Although it's taken a while for me to adjust to a new place I can honestly say that it's finally starting to feel like home. I realized this the other night when I was returning from my road trip to NY/NJ and we drove past the Target in Aventura. I don't think I'd ever been so happy to see that shopping center. At this point I knew I was home and I was glad to be back!

That's one good thing about road trips, they give you the opportunity to see new places and appreciate what you have.

The disadvantages of losing weight

So as I've mentioned before I've taken up running since moving to South Florida. The main goal was to get in better shape and of course to lose a few pounds. Fortunately it's been working. I have no idea how many pounds I've dropped but I know I've lost weight because all my pants are too big for me now. I was a size 6 when I first moved here and am now a size 4. As great as that is that means that I now have nothing to wear. Yesterday I decided I'd attempt to go jean shopping at Loehmanns. They usually have cool designer jeans for pretty cheap so I was sure Id find something but I was wrong. I looked through all the jeans they had and there was not one pair in my size. Apparently everyone else is also a size 4. I guess I'll have to keep rotating the 3 pairs of jeans that do fit me. Maybe I'll find some cool jeans in NYC. Century 21, here I come!

"Is Is" is Awesome!

Yesterday I bought the new Yeah Yeah Yeahs EP, "Is Is" and it's awesome! The sound is a lot more like their "Fever to Tell" album which I didn't expect but I love it! My personal favorite is the opening track, "Rockers to Swallow." I think I'll be blasting that one in my car for a while. Interpol needed a break anyway. ;)

Boredom + google = social life

Earlier today I was bored so I decided to look up random people on google. One of the people I decided to look up was an old co-worker/friend from NYC who I hadn't spoken to in about 4 years. Sure enough I found her profile on her company's website so I decided to send her an e-mail, not expecting to hear back from her anytime soon. Five minutes later she had written me back. We exchanged a couple of e-mails and then ended up talking on the phone and catching up. It was totally unexpected but definitely cool. Now we'll most likely get together next month when I go to NYC. Finally something posiive came out of my boredom.

I love google. ;)

P.S. 59 days before the Interpol concert!

Interpol!!!

The other day I bought the long-awaited new Interpol album, "Our Love to Admire." It took me several days to listen to the whole thing because I like to listen to songs a couple at a time. After having listened to the whole thing I've decided that my top three songs are as follows:

1. Rest My Chemistry - A song about taking a break from drugs/partying.

2. Scale - Not 100% sure what this song is about but I love it anyway. The song just has a great sound even if the lyrics don't mean anything to me. ;)

3. No I in Threesome - This is a song in which Paul Banks asks his lover to try something new, i.e. a threesome. This is the perfect guy song. I wonder how many guys will dedicate this song to their girlfriends.

Naturally I went for the gloomiest songs on the album. (See playlist below) That's one of the things I love about Interpol. A lot of their songs have a gloomy sound to them. As a result, they've quickly become my favorite band. (sorry Strokes. I still love you!) I don't think I would say this is my favorite album by them though. I still like "Turn the Bright Lights" better.

Anyway, today was great because I got my Interpol tickets in the mail! (finally) I'm so excited that they added dates in Florida. Now the countdown to September 19th begins! :)

Miami moment

So last night was one of the weirdest nights I've had since I moved to Miami. My friend Darlene and I decided to meet at a local bar in Hallandale after work to catch up and have a couple of drinks. It was literally supposed to be just a couple of drinks but two drinks turned into three, then four and it all would have ended there had this writer and photographer from In the Biz magazine (a local magazine) hadn't walked in as we were finishing our "last drink." They came up to us and asked us if they could take our picture and ask us a couple of questions for some story they were writing about the bar scene in the area. So of course we said yes, however since our drinks were almost gone we needed to get another drink for the picture. So we take some pictures and finish our drinks and are about to leave when the bartender mentions something about Dennis Rodman being outside. So we look over and there he was having a drink with some girl. So Darlene and I walk up to him and she casually pulls out a cigarette and asks him for a light. So he pulls out his lighter, lights up her cigarette and then asks us to join him and his assistant. So of course we couldn't refuse. We ended up hanging out with Dennis Rodman who of course bought us, you guessed it, more drinks! I was really surprised that he was so nice and that he invited us to join them. I think he liked us because we weren't making a big deal about him being famous. That and we played along when he initially pretended to be someone else. (as if we didn't know)

Overall it was an interesting evening. The last thing I expected was to have my picture taken for a magazine and then meet (and hang out with) someone famous on what was supposed to be a casual outing. This never would have happened in New Jersey. It was definitely, as my friend Jason said, a "Miami moment" even though technically this took place in Hallandale. ;) I can't wait to see what happens next time we go out. I could get used to this.

Blue Martini Groupie

And now for a more positive blog entry. Today I completed my tour of Florida's Blue Martinis. Blue Martini is a local chain of lounge bars which specialize in, surprise...martinis! The first one I went to was the one at the Galleria Mall in Ft. Lauderdale and I loved it. Since that fateful day in March I've visited their other locations in West Palm Beach and Orlando. Tonight I finally went to the 4th and last Blue Martini in Florida; the Tampa location. After visiting all four locations, here is how they rank:

• 1.Blue Martini @ Galleria Mall, Ft. Lauderdale
• 2.Blue Martini @ Millenia Mall, Orlando
• 3.Blue Martini @ International Plaza, Tampa
• 4.Blue Martini @ City Place, West Palm Beach

Blue Martini is definitely one of my favorite things about moving to Florida. Finally something positive. ;)

Lost...

Those who know me are aware of the fact that I am feeling lost careerwise. It's nothing new really, I've been feeling this way for the past year or so if not longer. Lately the feeling's been stronger because I'm not happy at work and the other day I realized that I am six months into the 30th year of my life. It's time to get my act together and figure something out once and for all. If only it were that easy. :/

I am at a scary point in my life. I'm living in a still relatively new place, working somewhere I no longer want to work at and feeling uncertain about what my next move should be, not to mention the fact that I owe a lot more money than I would like. This is definitely not where I expected to be at my age. When I was a teenager I thought I would have my life figured out by the time I was in my 30's. Silly me.

Anyway, a friend of mine suggested some books that might help me find myself which I will read. I always thought it was so stupid when people said "I'm trying to find myself" but now I totally understand what that means. I kind of wish I didn't.

Music makes it all better

I love music. I always have. If it weren't for music I don't know if I'd still be around. When I was in H.S I used to listen to heavy metal because it was the angriest music I could find and it helped me get through some tough times that I'm not sure I would've survived had it not been there to assure me that I'm not the only one feeling down/angry/whatever. Back then I was depressed about life in general. Looking back I'm not sure why I was so upset about things. When you're young there's always hope that things will get better. When you're my age it's different. There's stll hope but there are also so many more concrete reasons to be depressed. At 30 you are more aware of mistakes you've made and reality which is not always so great. Fortunately, there's always music to help you get through tough times. Today is one of those days. I'm not feeling so great but at least I have The Strokes to get me through. My problems will still be there but at least I have music to help me feel better.

This is the song on my itunes right now:

What Ever Happened?
By The Strokes

I want to be forgotten,
and I don't want to be reminded.
You say "please don't make this harder."
No, I won't yet.

I wanna be beside her.
She wanna be admired.
You say "please don't make this harder."
No, I won't yet.

Oh dear, is it really all true?
Did they offend us and they want it to sound new?
Top ten ideas for countdown shows...
Whose culture is this and does anybody know?
I wait and tell myself "life ain't chess,"
But no one comes in and yes, you're alone...

You don't miss me, I know.

Oh Tennessee, what did you write?
I come together in the middle of the night.
Oh that's an ending that I can't write, 'cause
I've got you to let me down.

I want to be forgotten,
and I don't want to be reminded.
You say "please don't make this harder."
No, I won't yet.

I want to be beside her.
She wanna be admired.
You say "please don't make this harder."
No, I won't yet...

I want to get away from here...

I don't think I really belong here. I can't think of one thing I truly love about living here. Shouldn't you love the place you live in? I like it, I just don't love it. Perhaps I moved here for the wrong reasons. I wonder if it'll ever feel like home...

SPF 100?

So I'm on a mission to find the best sunblock out there. The reason being that I tan very easily. I learned this when I lived in Arizona and would tan regardless of how high my sunblock's SPF was. The highest I found back then was SPF 45 and no matter how much I would apply on myself I would still tan. Granted I walked to school so I spent a lot of time outdoors. I always thought that the sun was just stronger in AZ and that was why nothing seemed to work very well. That is until I moved here.

As I've said before I like to go running at night but with my schedule that is not always possible. I sometimes work evenings which means that I have no choice but to go running in the daytime. Unfortunately this usually results in me acquiring more tan lines than I already have despite the fact that I always apply sunblock before heading out.

Originally I was using an SPF 30 spray-on sunblock. It's great because it's a mist so it's easy to apply everywhere without having to get your hands all greasy and you can apply it evenly throghout. I thought SPF 30 would be sufficient especially since I wasn't planning on spending too much time out there. However, it hardly does anything for me, even on cloudy days. Every time I go running in the daytime I end up with new tanlines. I have a couple of different ones on my shoulders and back because I have 2 different style tanks that I'll wear. I'm starting to look freakish so I decided to try to find a better sunblock.

The other day I went to Target and found a Coppertone 50 SPF spray-on sunblock. I was really excited because that's the highest SPF I've ever used. Surely this had to work, at least better than the 30. So I tested it today. I covered myself in sunblock and went for a 6 mile run. I couldn't wait to get home to see the results! But guess what? I still managed to tan! So now not only am I disappointed but I'm tanner than I want to be. :( I guess it's back to the Target sunblock aisle. If I don't find one that works I might have no choice but to start wearing long sleeves and pants.

Happy Ending!

So I took my water damaged ipod to the Apple store on Monday to see if there was anything they could do to bring it back to life. I thought all I had do is stop in and have them take a look but apparently you have to set up an appointment to meet with a "Mac Genius" so I did. Fortunately it was worth the wait. Of course I didn't say anything about the fact that my ipod got soaked in the rain. I pretty much just told them that it wouldn't turn on or charge so they tried charging it and needless to say, it didn't work. Then they checked my warranty status and it was still under warranty so they were able to issue me a replacement at no charge because it was still under the first 6 months which made me super happy! :) While I was there I purchased a skin cover for it which I had been meaning to do anyway and would have prevented the whole ordeal. I learned this is the best thing to do because apparently if you have any kind of dents or scratches on your ipod they will not issue you a replacement even if it is still under warranty.

Anyway, getting my ipod back really made my week. Now I can once again enjoy my favorite music when I'm out on the track! :D

Blame it on the rain

So yesterday evening I went out running, as I usually do, and after two miles it started to pour. Of course I had my ipod with me and needless to say it got wet. I tried protecting it from the rain but there really wasn't much I could do. I still had a mile to go and I ran as fast as I could but it was inevitable. I never bought the protective skin for it so it was totally vulnerable. After I got home it kept turning on and off on it's own and then today it won't even turn on at all. :( I'm giving it another day to dry up but I'm starting to think that it's officially dead. :( I read some online posts about wetting your ipod and it seems like the chances are 50/50 that it'll be ok but so far it doesn't look good. This is worse than when I wet and killed my Morotola V600. It's so depressing I could cry. :(

Changes...

Moving to a completely different place can be exciting because it presents you with the opportunity to re-invent yourself if that is what you choose. I didn't really seek to do so but I have definitely changed since I left NJ and not necessarily for the better. I mean, some changes have been good; I've started running pretty consistently and I'm eating better (I want to lose 20 pounds). However, I've also been drinking more than before. I definietely drank quite a bit when I lived in NJ because I would go out with my friends but that was really the only time I ever would so it was maybe once or twice a week at the most. I never really kept much (if any) liquor in my home because drinking alone never really appealed to me. Living here though has provided me with plenty of alone time which I have turned into an opportunity to mix drinks. I must say I can now make some pretty good martinis but I should probably stop drinking so consistently. I generally do it out of boredom, to get over a tough day or to take my mind off things. I guess the problem is that I do it more than once or twice a week. Not that I'm an alcoholic because I don't depend on it and I know I could never get to that point. It's just something I do and I know I really shouldn't.

Most recently I've also been shopping more than I should, again partly out of boredom but also to make myself feel better about things. Buying myself something I can't afford makes me feel good temporarily but ultimately makes me feel worse because I know it's not a wise choice. I guess I justify it because if everything else is going crappy why not make myself feel good even if it's on Visa? To make matters worse, living around here you tend to come across people that are pretty well off and buy nice things like it's no big deal. It kind of increases your desire to have expensive things too. I haven't bought myself anything outrageous or anything but it bothers me that I have charged a couple of things and I know better than that yet did it anyway. I'm afraid one day I'll go all out and spend a ridiculous amount of money I don't have like I did when I was younger.

I think Miami is killing me. ;)

Who are you again?

So like I've said before, one of the things I've started doing since I moved to Florida is run around the 3 mile track around my neighborhood. It's a great way to stay in shape among other things. I generally like to go at night because it's cooler out and there are less people out there. I've never been much of a people person. I mean, I'm friendly once I get to know you but I'm not the kind of person that goes around smiling at people I don't know, so whenever I'm out running or walking I don't really make eye contact with anyone. I think part of the reason I am that way is because I grew up in Brooklyn where people are more standoffish because no one trusts anyone; anyone can be a threat. Not that I feel threatened here but I just don't really want to see anyone when I'm out running. Anyway, this morning I was out on the track (I decided to go early because I was up and felt like I needed to burn off some calories) and I ran into some girl that apparently knew me. She went out of her way to wave at me to get my attention (I was listening to my ipod and again, wasn't making eye contact with anyone) and said hi like she was happy to see me. I had no idea who she was but I just went along with it and said "hi, how are you?" as if I too was happy to see her. It's a good thing we were both running because otherwise that would have made things pretty awkward. I would've had to say something like "who are you again?" and that would not have been a good thing. I'm still wondering who she was. Maybe she got me confused with someone else. I don't know but this just proves to me that I'd much rather go running late at night. This never would have happened in the darkness. ;)

Publix: Perhaps not such bad grocery store after all...

One of the few (very few) things I miss about New Jersey is my local grocery store, Wegman's. Generally I despise grocery shopping (which you would think I would enjoy being that it's one of the few forms of shopping I can engage in as a recovering shopaholic) but Wegman's was such a great grocery store that I almost enjoyed it. Wegman's managed to turn the once dreaded necessary task into something I looked forward to. It was just a great atmosphere with great food and great prices. I never realized how much I would miss it when I moved to Florida. That's when Publix came into my life.

My first experience with Publix was during one of my vacations in Miami proir to moving here. David and I had to get something (don't remember what) so we went to the Publix on South Beach. It was a small chaotic grocery store with terrible merchandising. Nothing made sense and everything was so crammed together that you could barely walk by the aisles. It reminded me of C-Town (aka a crappy little local supermarket chain you find in NYC). At first I didn't think much of it, I mean surely Miami had several other supermarket options. Little did I know that South Florida has only 2 choices when it comes to supermarket chains; Publix or the more expensive Winn-Dixie (I know, Whole Foods is an option too but I refuse to give into the organic food craze). I found this strange because in NJ there were a lot of supermarket chains so if you didn't love Wegman's you could always go to Shop Rite or Pathmark or Genuardis or...you get the picture. Anyway, I went to two Pubix supermarkets on Biscayne and a one in Aventura but didn't really like any of them. The atmosphere just wasn't as nice as Wegman's and they didn't have a nice cafeteria or coffee bar. The task that I had grown to enjoy had once again become something I dreaded and this upset me. I even e-mailed Wegman's to see if they were looking to expand to the area but they said no. This meant that every other week I had to drag myself to Publix against my will. After visiting 4 locations I figured all Publix supermarkets were the same.

Tonight, however, I was in the Hollywood area so I decided to go to the Publix there. At first when I walked in it seemed the same but once I started walking through the aisles I realized that this Publix was actually pretty nice. It was clean and wel stocked. While shopping, an associate who I think was the manager asked me if I needed help finding anything which totally caught me off guard. I don't expect good customer service when I'm at the supermarket. Then when I was at the checkout counter the cashier was super friendly as well as the guy bagging my groceries. Everyone was just really nice and welcoming despite the fact that it was 10:30 pm and they were closing in less than an hour. On my way out I realized that maybe Publix isn't such a bad place after all. I think I'll go back to this one. Who knows, maybe I'll even start enjoying grocery shopping once again.

Thanks, Zicam

So I was feeling under the weather the past couple of days. I felt like I was coming down with a cold and all I wanted to do was sleep. Unfortunately in my line of work you can't necessarily call out that easily so I decided to take Zicam to try and prevent my cold from progressing any further. At first it seemed like it wasn't working but then this afternoon (while I was at work, of course) I suddenly realized that I was almost back to my normal self. It was great! Now I should be well enough to enjoy my weekend off which makes me happy because I rarely get an entire weekend off. Now I just have to figure out what to do to keep myself occupied. I'm thinking beach!

Bored in Florida...

So six months after moving to Florida I am still bored. As a result I am here creating this blog. Not sure why I even bother being that no one will be likely to read it but whatever, it's something to do.

Why am I bored you ask? Well because when you're 30 and decide to head to a brand new city where you know no one, chances are it will take time to make new friends, especially when you work full-time. At my age, if you don't meet people you want to hang out with at work that you like, it can be difficult to just randomly make new friends. You're probably thinking that I should go out more so that I can meet people but how fun would it be to go to dinner or go to a club alone? Not very fun at all and kinda pathetic. So I'm trying to think of a solution before I die of boredom. If anyone actually reads this and has any suggestions, please let me know.

Anyway, I'm off to one of the few activities I can enjoy on my own...jogging. Later!