No! Sleep! Til Brooklyn!

The long awaited viaje de la casa is here! I finally got it together and snapped a few photos before I had to jet from NYC for the week. I'm sitting in the cramped hotel "business center" (i.e. a circa 1987 phone, three plastic chairs, a fax machine with one piece of paper in it and a computer with a giant sticker pointing to the power button. Apparently guests were having a hard time figuring out how to turn it on -- welcome to Horsham). I'm here for several days, so I'll share more Horsham adventures later. For now, the abode...

Here's my street. Brooklynites are VERY patriotic. I think Fran and Vinny live in the third house on the right...


Here's my building...




My very first buzzer...


Our living room. We like to use the word "charm" to describe the unpainted bookshelves, air mattress, and camping chair...




Kitchen. Please excuse the mess...


The loo...


My bedroom. It's a bit bare, but if it wasn't then it would really stick out from the rest of the apartment... :)


So there is the work-in-progress that is my home. Come visit and I'll give you the grand tour in person!

Dad, if you're confused by the title of the post, ask Greg to sing it for you next time he's at the house.

OK, time for bed. I have an 8am meeting tomorrow morning. Barf.

Besos!

12 22 43 47 55

My favorite Slavakian salad purveyor suckered me into buying a lottery ticket today. I heard on the radio that you have a better chance of being struck by lightning everyday for an entire week than to win, but what the heck. I thought maybe by buying a lotto ticket I would help my "Buy 200 salads, Get one free" campaign that I've been trying to sell her on for over a month now. If I win the $270 million, that argument will be a mute one. I'll build my own fantasy make-your-own-salad bar in my swanky UES condo. Take that, Salad Lady!

Or, maybe I'll buy a monster truck -- http://questforthemba.blogspot.com/2008/02/monster-jam.html

Chels, this is almost as embarrassing as the sombrero incident.

P.S. If you comment on this posting, I promise to share my $270 million lotto winnings with you.

And, a Dwight-Schrute-style closing...

This Entry Has Been Completed.
Leslie Ann Norris
Lotto Enthusiast

My Q1 Report

With three addresses, 30 blog posts, four business trips, and one journey to Texas under my belt, I can now say that I've been a New Yorker for three months. I don't think I'll ever feel at home here, but I am finally feeling settled. I'll be honest -- I consider moving home everyday. But, something everyday reminds me how lucky I am to live in one of the greatest cities in the world and how grateful I am that I took a chance three months ago.

In no particular order...

Things I’ve gotten used to since moving NYC:
- Miniscule bathroom stalls
- The constant need for hand lotion/Purell/Carmex
- Absurdly crowded grocery stores (Don’t even think about looking at a nutrition label. You will get cursed at and run over by a cart)
- Spending more time outside than I have since undergrad, but rarely seeing the sun
- Eating dinner at 9pm
- Carrying three pairs of shoes at all times – snow, work, running
- My three-legged roommate
- That my hair will always look like I just rubbed it with a balloon
- Yelling. Passionate, all-out, arm-flailing, in-your-face yelling. It’s surprisingly non-aggressive and people put up with it. I’m not sure I’m “used to it” but it doesn’t surprise me anymore
- That the days of $2.50 beers are over
- Hand washing dishes
- Having zero cabinet space. Seriously, zero. No drawers, no cabinets, a few make-shift shelves and approximately .25 inches of counter space

Things I miss about Texas:
- Which Wich
- Barley House happy hours
- The pod
- Spontaneous trips home
- B’s cooking (even better when precursed by a stiff martini and followed by a game of blanket with Connor the dog)
- Helpful/friendly store employees
- Intuitive highway systems (I have a theory about why this is so. It involves the number of incarcerated Texans. Ask me about it later)
- The ‘rolla (not that I want to go back to having to drive everywhere, but I do love that car)
- The quiet
- Tex Mex

Things I adore about New York:
- I can see the Empire State Building from my office window and the Statue of Liberty from the train going home
- The local news and the national news aren’t all that different
- Every subway car is like a NY Times best seller list -- I add at least one new book to my to-read list every week! (BTW – I just finished this crazy novel called The Russian Debutante’s Handbook. Over-the-top, gritty, funny, and totally weird)
- The best people watching on the planet
- The fruit markets
- The way my ears pop everyday taking the elevator to my office
- How I will hear 10 different languages in one subway car
- How I can watch a movie and see my own neighborhood
- That no matter how crazy/disheveled/gross you look on any particular day, there will always be someone crazier.
- How I’ve always, always dreamed of living here

A Hot Mess

I feel like complaining. Yep, I'm sick, overworked, and a hot mess (see explanations below). Don't say I didn't warn you.

Last week was a work-disaster. Widespread distruction. Catastrophe. My co-workers and I were cooped up in a tiny, windowless office working late nights all week. I discovered on Friday that working a 14-hour work day apparently earns you a free car service voucher. As I was being driven home at midnight on Friday, I was feeling pretty sorry for myself. Until I realized, holy crap, this is the dream. I'm taking car service home from my Madison Ave ad agency! If all-nighters at the office come with that territory, I'll take it.

Unfortunately, Saturday was not so glamorous. I woke up feeling curl-up-in-a-ball-and-die ill. I'll spare you the details, but it wasn't pretty. The entire day was spent alternately sleeping in my bed and on the camping air mattress in our furniture-less living room. I woke up long enough to watch a few bad reality TV show reruns, cancel my date with Rob (there goes that potential relationship), and begin to feel sorry for myself again.

By the next day I was feeling much better. I was finally able to eat and even get out of the house for a little while. Unfortunately... Whitney was now infected. Ugh.

On Tuesday, Whitney and I were both back on our feet. It snowed all day long -- my first big NE snow. And when your traveling options are limited to being a pedestrian and a passenger, you can appreciate the beauty of inclement weather.

But, by this morning the weather had warmed up enough to turn the snow to rain. The roads and sidewalks are covered with muddy, salty slush. The trains were packed full of dirty, wet, stinky commuters. By the time I made it to my office, my hair was an unrepairable mess -- why do I even bother getting ready in the morning!?

Ok, enough complaining. I feel better already :) Here are a few other random goings-on just for fun:

- Kevin invited me to his birthday party this weekend (plus Chinese New Year dinner and happy hour with an old CHS friend). I'm not sure if this is arm twisting or a reconciliation attempt.

- Whitney has agreed to be my valentine. I forgot to mention the Whitney boyfriend-break-up last week. Anyway, ideas for the evening range from a V-Day Sing-Along to Shenanigans (voted best bar in Kensington for 36-years, and, well frankly, it's in our backyard), or, if laziness sets in, maybe just a TJ's wine/Lost night. P.S. If I see another E-Harmony commercial, I may barf.

- Between our Russian neighbors upstairs and our Mexican neighbors downstairs, the apartment has smelled weird all week. Sort of like Russican food. Febreeze is not helping.

- The blog has surpassed 200 visitors! I'm pretty sure 150 came from Graham's hourly visits, but exciting nonetheless.

Ode To The Liberty Deli

O Liberty Deli! How I love thee! You are as packed full of customers as you are sandwich options. But, no matter how many grumpy Midtowners are there to buy overpriced snacks or taxi drivers who’ve double parked just to buy a NY lottery ticket, you always seem happy to see me. If Raul only knew that by remembering my “regular” he made my life just that much more complete. Spinach, broccoli, tomatoes, kidney beans, and chicken (tuna on Fridays). Even when work is unbearable, I know that the lovely lesbian cashier will flirt with my co-worker, the bag guy will always offer me free lemonade, and my salad, despite being the same everyday, will never cost the same amount. Lib, you are my beloved and for you, I have composed a haiku.

Liberty Deli
You are my lunch time rock
Salad perfection

Vote or Die!

I had neither a Super or Fat Tuesday yesterday. In fact, it's been a nightmare of a week. It started on Monday when I was pulled into a meeting that left my co-worker in tears. Followed by being tasked to drive to Conshohocken, Pennsylvania that night to deliver a package needed for a presentation. Then, a night at the lovely extended stay motel in Horsham and two painfully uncomfortable client meetings on Tuesday (they are NOT happy with the agency right now). I'm back in the office today and things are still a bit tense. Let's just hope the agency doesn't get fired because that would mean --> layoffs --> Leslie has to move back to TX --> no more blog!! :)

Ok, this is where Graham would say, "your blog is really disappointing me lately." (He strongly disapproved of my last entry). So, here's a few fun non-work-related stories:

- Spike Lee gave me the "what's up" head nod today in the hallway.



- I went on two dates last week. I wish there was a good story to tell about either one, but (un)fortunately they both went well.

- I survived both the Giant's (an upset) and Hillary's (a given -- especially after the NY Times endorsement last week) win.

- I got to see my TRG peeps' commercial run in one of the most important advertising events of the year:



And, my new agency had one of the top performing commercials of the night:



- Finally, it's time to do my civic duty and cancel out my Dad's (or Graham's or Whitney's or Mom's -- when did I start hanging out with so many Republicans? :)) vote.

I promise, promise that apartment pictures will be uploaded soon.


-Leslie