Bonus Day

Sunday nights usually come with just a little bit of gloom. Monday is coming, and so is the work week and early mornings and waiting, waiting, waiting for Friday afternoon. But tonight is special. It's a long weekend Sunday. Monday is still coming, but the work week has been postponed by one more day. I have a special bonus day to do whatever I want, which, judging by the crazy afternoon I had today, will probably involve binge-watching television and doing chores.

I met up with A for brunch today, which was wonderful. We've been living in the same city for about 6 months now, and it was about time we got together. "Do you want to do this weird thing with me?" I asked as we were finishing our eggs, "If you ride the 6 train all the way to the end, you loop through the abandoned City Hall Station and come out on the uptown side of the tracks" [sidenote: I have been really into this lately- as in, I am so into it that I want to become a member of the MTA museum so that I can have a tour]. He said sure, and we gave it a shot, but I think the combination of being really involved in a conversation and perhaps sitting on the wrong side of the subway car hampered us from seeing much of anything. So that was kind of a bust.

Luckily, A had further plans for the afternoon. A friend of his had a booth at the Vogue Knitting LIVE 2014 expo, which was going on at the Marriott Marquis in (the dreaded) Times Square. So off we went. And it was a blast.



Here's me with my pass. My name, for the afternoon, was Susan Smith.



I didn't realize that knitting and fiber arts sort of have their own subculture-universe. There are well-known knitters, more buttons than I have ever seen, and really imaginative pieces. My favorite was this woman, Kelly Fleek, who herself described her work as art that just happened to be wearable. It was so quirky and fun. And A's friend plays a part in making these bags, which hold all of the knitting supplies you'd need AND zip up in any way imaginable. SO COOL!

But that was not the highlight of our visit to the Marquis. The highlight was meeting THIS GUY. His name is Steven Berg and he is wonderful. "Did you make this scarf?" he asked as he shook my hand. "No," I replied. It actually had come from Forever 21, but I didn't think he needed that detail. "Well, you certainly could have," he said, "But, you know what I always say, everything looks better with a pom pom!" and with that, he adjusted his feathered scarf and was gone. Amazing.

I know that knitting expos certainly don't sound like everybody's cup of tea, but this was a really good time. I felt so inspired to go home and dig a project out from under my desk!

What a wonderful Sunday. I hope you all enjoyed yours as well!

Pre- Nuptial Big Brother

Maybe it is just one of the rules of the trade, but let me tell you, when you're shopping for your wedding, suddenly EVERYBODY wants a piece of you. F and I popped into a bridal boutique near Boston while Ben and I were visiting, and we had barely stepped in the door before being accosted by an odd, nervous man inquiring about when and where the wedding was, and offering his services as a DJ/videographer/MC/photographer. It was unclear whether or not he intended to do all of those things by himself at the same time, but I had a sneaking suspicion that perhaps he did. I told him, as I tell most of the people who approach me about those things, that I would have to talk to Ben first and think about it. He understood and walked away. Then he was back a few minutes later, as he had forgotten to give me the free coffee cup I had apparently earned for doing nothing whatsoever. I had my coffee in it this morning, though- pretty good mug.

It seems that a lot more people than I realize know I'm getting married. I barely had time to change the old Facebook status to 'engaged' before there were wedding ads popping up on the side of my computer screen. And once I started looking at gowns, random wedding vendors began blowing up my phone and voicemail about free gifts they had for my fiance and I- and congrats on my engagement! But I think the point was really driven home when I noticed a thick envelope in my pile of mail today, with a message full of desire to be a part of my special day- complete with a free gift card.

This mail was from Target. As in, the giant department store chain with the big bullseye. Target knows that I will be getting married soon, and wants to make sure that I'll sign up for their registry (which, hey, I probably will...).

HOW does Target know this about me? And how does Target know where I live? I'm sure there are very simple, very creepy answers to this question, since nothing on the internet is private, but eeesh.

The wedding's getting closer, though. Perhaps it's time to dust off the binder that my mother sent me for my birthday last year and have a look at the things I still have left to do. You never know, it might be time for me to give one of those vendors a call back.

Resolve.

I have a book that I've cherished since I was in about 5th grade called 101 Ways To Improve Your Life. Basically, it calls for you to relax and enjoy your life, but it also suggests that, in order to improve your attitude, you should never, EVER make New Year's Resolutions. So, for the past ten years, I have not made any resolutions. And it's been great.

But I feel like maybe I will make some this year. It will sort of be like having a to-do list for the next 12 months, and I DO love to cross things off of lists.

I decided on four resolutions for the year, with the obvious 'no more eating crap' and 'get the apartment organized' as mere implications...

1) FINISH A STORY-- something I have been talking about for years. I really think that a year will be enough time, if I have enough nagging [so get going, blogosphere, NAG AWAY!!].

2) GET MARRIED-- will certainly accomplish this one. August 29th, mark your calendars!

3) SEE A CELEBRITY-- preferably Patrick Stewart, who lives somewhere in Brooklyn.

4) LEARN TO PLAY THE GUITAR-- Ben gave me a lesson while we were visiting his parents, and it is actually very tricky- and hurts your fingers!! But I think it might be fun to at least know the basics, so that maybe I could play and sing with the kids in my class.


So there you have it. My plans for the New Year. Anybody else have some good ones? Or are you opting for none this year?

WOOO!! 2014!!!




And yes, I know that I shared this meme last January as well, but it's Captain Picard and it never gets old.