I met David Blaine a couple of years ago - he seemed like a very nice guy and very tolerant of my dorkiness around him. The first time I met him was at a benefit dinner an artist I worked for was throwing - my job that night was to take peoples invitations and guide them to their tables. The invitations had numbers on the back which corresponded with a table number in the room. So David Blaine walks in and hands me his invitation and I start to guide him to his table - but I can't find the table. The tables are supposed to be lined up in numerical order but his is out of place and I have no idea where he is sitting - so I turn to him and say "hmm...your table must have (jazz hands here) disappeared!". I thought this was totally witty - so I laughed - he did not.
Then a couple of weeks later - David Blaine comes into my office - he wanted to drop off a video of his TV special to an artist I worked for. He walks in (and clearly either does not recognize me or is choosing to pretend he doesn't recognize me) and he tells me that he is dropping this off for so and so and wants to write a quick note to her too. I notice he is wearing a half helmet and is riding around on his motorcycle - I then lecture him on how dangerous it is to not wear a full helmet. He looks at me like I am a crackhead, hands me the video and walks out the door. I then realize that was probably the wrong thing to do.
Hey dude, Sorry I almost pinned you against a Honda Accord but you retardedly decided to dart out in front of my car as I was pulling out.
I can understand your confusion - I mean you were obviously a drunken hiptard that was hanging out at that speakeasy bar on Ave. B - you may have had too many PBR's that night. I had started my car and turned on my lights and started backing out of the space I was in - but that must have been really hard for you see - you were only a foot away from the car. I mean running out between my car to stop that cab (that was all ready stopped on the street mind you) in the pouring rain was more important than your life - I understand that. You also didn't even notice that I nearly pulverized your pelvis between my car and the Honda in front of me - but when I yelled at you to get out of the way so I COULD pull out safely - you gave me the finger.
If ever see you and your stupid Italia track jacket again - I'll be sure run your sorry ass over.
Is it my imagination or are all dealers named "angel"?
So I came across this post today on Gawker and thought about a funny story from my past. I used to work at a music management office - the guy who owned the company was a total legend in the business - which usually means that the guy was a total weirdo. He had a couple of people that were total wack jobs that shouldn't be holding a normal job - but he liked them - so he wouldn't fire them even if it made the entire office miserable.
So there was this one gal who had a SEVERE drug problem. She would call her "boyfriend" Angel and then suddenly decide that she wanted to go for a jog that very minute and bolt out of the office. She would then return a half hour later, completely covered in sweat and with very dilated pupils. She would strip down in the lobby of the building (it was a converted townhouse) and change into some clothes in the closet -which were usually the dried sweaty clothes from yesterday. There was also a time that she wet her pants (I kid you not) and she wisely decided to let her urine soaked panties dry on the radiator in the office - then making the entire building reek of heated urine.
She never got fired - one day she went on one of her infamous runs and decided not to come back.
So I was massaging one of my regular "clients" at the student clinic the other day and she asked if had set a date for my wedding.
I said most likely in May of 2008
She said that I don't need to have a big wedding(true) and I should get married soon because my grandmother is old and she might not live long enough to see us get married if we wait that long! (thanks for making my day so cheery)
If I haven't mentioned it before - if you are a massage junkie like most of my friends - seek out your local massage therapy school. Most schools have to offer a "practical" portion of hands on education to future practioners... this usually means some kind of student massage clinic open to the public that is cheaper than most spas. My school charges $35 for a 45 minute massage and it's $20 if you are a senior. Its a great deal especially for those that have real problems that can be relieved by massage.
I am graduating in a mere THREE week's and I haven't been focused enough to ...well...say anything.
So, here is the current situation. The fiance has entered the world of real estate (was a fantabulous idea because he couldn't last another unemployed day in our house....the dog would have tried to devour his head....or grandma - whomever he made more cranky) though he hasn't sold anything since he started. Now, it has been the "slow season" and all ...but I think it just may be that the ol' boy just isn't a salesman - very difficult to be a licensed real estate salesperson without that killer salesmanship. So, in a nutshell - we are really poor.
Now normally - this wouldn't make too much of a difference - it's not like I have ever been rolling in the dough. But with a future wedding, a house falling apart and various daily needed items such as food and transportation - the stress level is rising higher and higher. Always great for your massage therapist to be freaking out when giving you a calming relaxing massage and all.
Anyway - graduation soon - hopefully that means that sweet massage therapy money will be rolling in.
Seeing that my hotel advice for New York City is currently the most popular topic on my blog - I'll entertain you a bit more.
On The Ave Hotel - Upper West Side This hotel in the past was running a little too high in it's price range for what you were getting...but they have finally gotten a reality check. This is a very nice hotel, modern rooms and decent neighborhood. If you stay here you are not in the thick of the tourist area but you are near to the 1 & 9 trains, near some great eating and getting a good bargain. They are advertising a $159.00 winter special on the website - though the site doesn't go into the specifics of what nights need to be booked and how long the special runs. If you are willing to spend a little more money ...some of the suites are affordable and have a terrace.
Wall Street District Hotel - Financial District Right now this hotel is advertising a special for $179.00 a night (I looked at St Patrick's Day weekend and it was $171.00 a night if you prepaid in advance) - I'm not going to kid you the financial district is not the hottest place to be - its dead at night and there isn't too much going on in the actual area around the hotel....but you are walking distance to South Street Seaport and shopping at Century 21. And then a quick subway trip to any other neighborhood. Its a decent hotel -its clean, polite staff and rooms that are a decent size. But it does cater to business travelers.
So in case anyone is wondering - my missing aunt (well only missing to me really) hasn't been found yet.
Here is a picture of her from 1987 - I'm sure she hasn't changed all that much. Though I really hope she doesn't have that sweater anymore.
When I was in Taiwan in April, my relatives said that she is in Taiwan and that she is currently married and has children. Of course, no one is in touch with her and no one knows how to get in touch with her.
So with that said, I am hoping to somehow find her this year. Though I have no idea what to say to her at this point - she might even know that my mother passed away and want's nothing to do with my grandmother and myself.
So the boyfriend and I finally took "the big next step" and got engaged. Please refrain from asking me the following questions:
When is the wedding? Have you picked a date? When is the big day?
If you ask me any of the questions above - I will hunt you down and throttle you. Seriously.
Here is the situation. Being a former music industry slave turned travel agent to the stars turned massage therapy student kinda means that currently I have absolutely no money. On top of that I am helping the "future partner for life" out while he begins his new career.
BY THE WAY: If anyone out there needs an apartment in Manhattan to rent or buy or has an apartment to sell or rent - please contact Eric - he would be pleased to help you and I can guarantee that he is not the usual "hard sell pushy real estate guy"
So , we have no money for the wedding and I am telling everyone we are getting married in 2008. People have had mixed reactions - so in turn - I am now miserable and do not want to think about anything wedding until I have some money in the bank.
Lucky enjoyed the snow - even though she needed us to clear a path for her
Here is my future husband in the snow with Lucky - note the dog's terrified look Once the path was established - she ran back and forth until she tired herself out
I knew my mother was going to die the day she told me she was sick. I was coming in from a night out in the city and she stopped me on the way to my room. “I went to the hospital today” she whispered. She didn’t want my grandmother to hear, which I found odd because my grandmother is hard of hearing and knows very little English. “They told me I have Cancer. Don’t worry, the doctor said I have to get this surgery and I’ll be okay.” I stood there looking at her and wondered when she suddenly became an optimistic person. I stood there in my black furry coat clutching a Gucci bag I had just received as a Christmas present and I wanted to scream at her. It all rushed through my head and I knew if I opened my mouth it would all fall right out. Why didn’t you go earlier Why did you wait so long when something was obviously wrong Why didn’t you take care of yourself What am I going to do?
I must have cried a little because my mom stayed up for a little while with me and we talked about random things. We talked about the bakery she worked at. How much she thought she made it better and how they wouldn’t do well without her. This thinking is most likely the reason she felt it necessary to work there every day for 12 to 14 hours. We talked about her current relationship. She told me that he had asked her to marry him – but she refused. She said he was strange, that he smoked too much and he didn’t know how to run his business. I asked her if she loved him. And then she got up to go to bed.
In January – she want in for a hysterectomy. But she thought that she still may want some children with Steve, the current relationship, so she didn’t get everything fully removed. She wanted to still bear children. About two days after she was recovering – my grandmother called me in a panic. My mother went on deliveries for the bakery. The new driver didn’t know where he was going so they picked up my mother to help them out. She felt some strange obligation to that bakery – she was in so much pain but she still got in that truck. I stopped by there later that day to confront the owner, a former lover of my mother, and tell him off. He brushed me off and said she was going to be fine. He also leered at my cleavage and made some kind of sexist remark.
I really hope that little shit felt some kind of pang of regret when he heard that my mother died.
Of course neither one of her lovers, past or present, made an effort to show up at her funeral.
Four years ago, I lost my mother to cancer…sometimes I realize it's changed my life in ways that I couldn't have imagined. I may have not have had the strength or courage to accomplish what I've done so far - it may have been the best thing that has ever happened to me.
My mother was an extremely strong woman. She had married an American man and moved to the United States away from her country and family to start a new life. She did not love the man she married; she simply thought it was time for her to be married. She had been struck by the beautiful children that had come from mixed couples she had seen in Taiwan and thought that she would like a child just as beautiful. She married my father, who was in the Air Force, even though my grandparents didn't really approve. When she first arrived in California from Taiwan, my mother and father settled in at the Air Force base. Soon my mother got pregnant and started looking for a job, my father didn’t make enough money to really support them both (at least in the eyes of my mother). Her first job in the United States was working at Dunkin’ Donuts.
Soon I was born, the only child from their marriage, and my grandmother immediately flew over from Taiwan to help raise me. Things were not great between my mother and father, she had a dislike for the way he handled about everything and he had an abusive streak. My father finished his service in the Air Force and decided to move to Florida. My mother was finished with my father after four years of marriage and decided not to join him. My mother filed for divorce and decided to start a business in New York. She agreed to let me stay with my father while she set herself up in New York. For a while my aunt, grandmother and grandfather stayed with my father and myself while we lived in Daytona Beach, Florida. But at some point my father’s temper flared and after an incident that I don’t remember that clearly except for my grandfather’s bloody head and the police being called – my aunt and grandfather left Florida. My grandmother remained behind to protect me.
At some point my mother established a life in New York and came to get me, but my father asked me if I’d rather go with him to Pittsburgh and see my grandma or go to “scary” New York….it was an unfair choice for a 5-year-old. Especially because of the fact that I was terrified to say no to my father and his infamous temper. So, I left my heartbroken mother behind and went with my father to Pittsburgh – where he discovered he couldn’t afford to take care of me on his own and he shipped me off to my mother in New York.
I have been drowning in a lot of responsibility lately - I finish school in April , I have been dealing with some grandma issues (she's fine) and the boyfriend (now the fiance!) has a new job as a real estate agent and until he sells something - I'm helping him out.
I've also thought about taking a new direction lately.......
