bored, lonely cats

at petsmart.
everyone should get a cat!
they encourage napping and independence.   they set their own schedule.  they show love in non-drooly ways. 

CROSSFIT!!!!----u can rest when youre DEAD/ strong people are harder to kill and are more useful generally

"YOUR WORKOUT IS OUR WARMUP"
SETTING:  st. charles, 2010 CrossFit Games sectional qualifiers

OUR HEROES:  ninja kelley♥ and ninja andrew♥

well-informed and super-fun companion:  ♥ BRITT!!! ♥

GO KELLEY! LOVE YOU!!!

GO ANDREW!  (btw ur upper-body is magnificent)

HANDSTAND PUSHUPS!!  C'EST IMPOSSIBLE!!?!?!

CAN'T SEE THE RED DOT CUZ... IT'S THE PERFECT WALLBALL

THE CROSSFIT CULT

hardcore, masochistic, see-no-limits, all-encompassing, oh and witty

did i say all-encompassing?

britt and i took a break from the mania and i stumbled upon Anti-Crossfit. 

britt showed her strength; i showed my weekness....

(haute cakes, in New Town, St. Charles) YUM!

SUNDAY-- after 2 days of intense crossfit atmosphere and staring pure determination and human endurance for pain directly in the face--  i went to work and played my parts all NONdivisi and as perfect as possible, while sitting up absolutely straight in my chair, core engaged.  YES, lisa's version of crossfit.  (i also went to work --it was snowing and cold-- with just a light gymnastics-team-looking jacket ('..and....representing Romania.....')----YES YES CROSSFIT AS LIFESTYLE (even my weeny violinist lifestyle).  i swear it's contagious.  you watch these ninjas and you feel like doing difficult things and doing them showing no exertion as well....  YES YES HUMAN POTENTIAL.  inspiring.  no more slouching and whining for me.  (how long will this last?  i need to watch crossfit competition like monthly, i think)

me doing my own version of crossfit:

i am big hypocrite. who knew?

i am a 공주.  honesty=best policy, esp. dealing with yourself.  i like valentines, it turns out.  i guess i never got that kind of personalized attention before so i decided to just hate the whole thing, flowers, chocolates, barf barf barf.  and of course the swedes sealed the deal for me by hating the fake holiday. and i always try to emulate the swedes.  but... if someone knows you hate the CHEEZE but somehow they also know you really do like someone being genuine and thoughtful (genuinely thoughtful, i guess i mean) even if you yourself don't even know that (brilliant huh) it is then SUPER DUPER cool.  valentine's day can be done subtly, i have just learned.  it's genius, especially here in the midwest where cheeze rulez.  (provel: ewww)

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for this wholly new experience! whoa, sincerity, qu'est-ce que c'est?  we are ALL too cool for that!  wait, why is this sooooo cool?  oh someone with a really cool genius brain behind it... ahh so.  what a diff a brain makes.  seriously. wow.
(ok, i'm still a hypocrite.  i told you, i know.  honesty, good policy.)  but check it!:

ORCHIDS WHEN IT'S SNOWING ??  QUOI?!  with eucalpytus and subtle minimalist greenery? what? no!! oh but 'tis true.  Y E S:

i separated all of the diff elements so the orchids could BREATHE

CHOCOLATES THAT ARE UNPRETENTIOUSLY AMAZINGLY DELICIOUS AND LOCALLY GROWN???  IMPOSSIBLE, you say?  MAIS NON!

made in st louie; believe it.   and they're so good i cannot inhale. believe it!

[i just tried a bit of the above.  it has a really stimulating and fascinating ko-ju-jang (i'm serious.. seriously!) delayed-SPICE that just made me cough. (not cuz i'm a wuss, but because it caught me by surprise)  and i only had a tiny corner.  must be korean cowboy candy.  oh and--

i was going to include pic of the thrilling (incroyable) sea salt caramels but they're GONE!  wha' hap'nd?]

most over-looked/BEST dinner (understated, nonsalty, delicious) in st. louis is at MAYA'S in maplewood.

you MUST go there.  everything is fresh and amazing.  the people there are super nice and smart and funny.  and musically-inclined!  they are starting as a live music venue soon-- a real stage and green room and everything!  since i am starved for responsibility i volunteered to be in charge of the classical music. yes moi.

also, margaritas are "best in st. louis"--says so on their website! but also i tried--very good.

i had never even heard of this place or seen it, nothin.  the decor is also understatedly witty-cool.

we sat by this:

 

this work was done esp. for Maya's by the unofficial official interior decor genius

 at Maya's, who originally was...a sign designer.  neat-o, eh?

(his name is Bill Christman.  here is an excellent blurb i found about him.  he apparently really is a genius.  did the sculptures at the singularly cool --not just st. louis, but really just VERY COOL--City Museum. (it's like a mini late-nite amusement park, with a bar. i'm not kidding.))

the surprise "valentines" dessert was a delicious un-cheeze perfect fresh single jumbo-sized STRAWBERRY which tasted better than anything in the whole world on this snowy cold day. better. than. ANYTHING.  (not hyperbole. in this case.) 

whew: took picture before completely devouring:

this was actually strawberry #2, since my companion is selflessly generous and gave me his. 

(i ate both with several utencils, it seems.)

i am still marveling at it all.  i even got to talk continuously through three episodes of the BEST SHOW ever, my companion completely unfazed.  if that isn't sincere kindness...  (continuously, seriously)

i will officially start my (MY) year of the tiger tomorrow.  no sugar (less headache), better sleep habits, no more hideous flakiness.  it is MY year.  MY YEAR!!  

(OMG that sounds SO george constanza, e.g.-- "it's the SUMMER OF GEORGE!")

very fun day

"top referring location" (for last week):
wheeee......amsterdam!

[did i just get up or have i been up..? (do u read this blog?)]

breakfast at 1pm with j.d. at kopperman's (now re-opening for food service at midnight, kids!..incidentally), breezy quick trip through mezzanine (thank you j.d.--who knew boys could enjoy mezzanine? yay), great reading of random pages of many books at left bank books (bought Ford Madox Ford, The Fifth Queen, hardbound --dedicated to joseph conrad, 1906--for 9 bucks! hey, i left it in your car, john!) then concert and post-concert hanging out.   and curry-ramen-flavored candy that sako brought back from japan that  i inflicted on my friends.  here is andrew, fearless taster of weirdo candy, 3 secs after popping this uh savory treat--

then here is blurry (indeed, my camera SUX) shots of noisy scene at maryland house--

?????

best quote (these cards are available at the amazing store/restaurant winslows home btw):

look it's like those photo-strips from those photo-booths! just turned out like that! happy about it!!

introducing Dennis DeSantis--[from his card:] Composer, Sound Designer, Percussionist, [and, not on his card:] Redyam. jumble: REDYAM. i am not afraid. to tell you. not. at. all. i just like the JUMBLE--makes me feel smart/smug.

can we get a tv show? he gets A++ in the quick-wit, quick-thinking, entertaining mind. also, i think he might be a good person, like non-trickster and non-mean and caring, open, honest...

if he reads this: this is my collage of bright-shiny memories my brain somehow preserved better than other stuff---- this is for you dennis, a brief tribute:

brought to you by my usu. lousy memory, spicy ramen, and 6 hours of john williams:

DETRITUS/"what up, G"/three's company moment/"Listen to the polyrhythms in this Sting song"--nodding like i knew what he was talking about/the coffee at mamoun's has SILT at the bottom/FINGER-only disapproval-wag, his signature (but was mine first)/very generous with shoe-compliments (even shoes u didn't think ppl would appreciate)/and of course "uh, just SUBDIVIDE [stupid]" humiliation/love-boat section (not)/i remember my mom being impressed by your public speaking--"very articulate, charming"(she was in town for brownian motion, whoa.. how long ago was that?)

wow, where is this beau-tee-ful place?

radiologists are cool

if you are in LA go to darren's in manhattan beach. the food is delicious and their drinks are nutritious (i am holding "The Anti-oxidant"--açai, pomegranate, blueberry..[vodka])!!

also, if you need really fun, stimulating, entertaining conversation, find some radiologists. they're much wittier and cleverer than anesthesiologists, duh:

(also, dermatologists are cool)

conditions are perfect!

yesterday went to rosendal, part of the huge beautiful expanse of djurgården with emi and fam, had the most delicious cookies --made-on-premises from their own grown-there ingredients!--lemon and almond cookies that are so pure lemon-tasting and outta this world.. there's a playground for the kiddies, beautiful flowers everywhere, greenhouse, even a wedding in progress later in the day--magical, magical, beautiful.
the day before i went with emi to pick up her kids and visit her on lidingö, i think that's how you spell...i had an amazing fresh delicious home-cooked meal (my first night! am i lucky or what) prepared by the Incredible Anders, and met emi's photographer friend from childhood in from london with her two adorable (yay, bilingual) kids.
today i must rush now to skansen, the swedish wonderland (fantastic outdoor museum, complete with real "SCANDINAVIAN ANIMALS." i am meeting emi and clan, and i hear the swedish are very punctual!
quick observations from previous 2 days (wait, is that all?) in stockholm:
--the swedes seem to all speak excellent english, very comfortable switching quickly to accomodate silly americans (moi)
--all cafes and even the hotel lobby here seem to have a selection of water, one pitcher with fresh cucumber, one with orange slices..it's like a spa everywhere
--tap water is delicious
more later, im going to be late..there is SO MUCH MORE

yay for friends

look at the rabbit!! yogurt parfait magic only a child could spot~~ neat-o, huh?

Summer-phobic

{i still can't figure out how to write around the images that i post.) i screwed up my trip to japan and now have the whole summer. i need to figure things out so i can catch up developmentally with other 30+ people. what is my favorite color? what do i want to do with my life? can i do leisure, the planned kind?

i learned from last weekend that i LIKE companionship. i am much better with it. s' bittersweet because i'm back in my default state, talking and thinking to myself without input.

i am vulterine

dear hugh laurie, is it wrong to celebrate the end of anothers' relationship? is it bad to "wait out" (seinfeld) relationships? or can i suddenly claim belief in fate?

i never dared to hope, but now i'm a cat (ferocious, see pic) ready to pounce. my scheming brain is suddenly alive with activity. s'terrible. no, it's pro-active, and that's the word of our generation. i'm like kal penn, quitting HOUSE to work in the obama adminstration, except for me it's like quitting being a typist to go eat pizza in brooklyn. for a good cause. what?
no, it's not schadenfreude; it's survival. now's my chance to move from one cliche to another. as my dear neighbor just texted me minutes previous, "Only the strong survive." back burner to front burner, pronto!

Barky Bark

everytime i watch charlie take a dump on my front lawn ("good boy!") i'm reminded of Demetri Martin and his observation about new yorkers who have dogs: "My need for companionship is so huge that it outweighs my distaste for picking up sh*t."

forbidden fruit stays fresh for 2+yrs!

he comes from sheep-herders and my family are cattle people, but our twice-monthly (averaged over two years) relationship has lasted longer than most [of mine]. i'm sorry, hugh, but waiting for you was taking too long, so it's come to this. i have attitude of gratitude because it's really helped me connect with the rest of humanity like nothing else. if you care enough to judge, i'm touched genuinely, but...i beg u--don't! YOU CAN'T DESTROY OUR LOVE!*

*quote from house, i think?, 3rd season