Happy All Hallow's Eve

WooHoo...NYC is definately in a festive mood today. Walking back from the gym this morning (yes, I now go to bed at 10PMish...so I can wake up at 6AM and get to the gym. Only on day two of my new regime but hopefully it sticks!)

As I was saying, the local market guy (Wednesday's and Saturday mornings there's a farmer's market at 57th and 9th. It's the most bizarre thing...right in downtown Manhattan there's these stalls with fruit and veggies set up on the sidewalk. So cute!) Anyway, the guy who sold me my biscotti's (hey, I DID workout after all) was wearing this awesome kid's Spiderman outfit (complete with fake muscles and all). More folks were dressed up along my way to work (and not just the regular peeps, like a "UPS guy" something tells me that's not a costume).

Alas, I'm just dressed up as a "copywriter." Boooo, I suck. BUT I don't really know peeps all that well, so figured I better now show up all psycho. The last thing I need is to be pegged the nutty Canuck who thinks wearing jack o' lantern earings are COOL!

Off to see ZapMama tonight (whoever they are). Pirate NY is throwing a Halloween Bash, so dragging my buddy Jeff along. Might even get to the Village to check out the annual Halloween Parade before. Fun fun fun.

Have a good one, and incase you haven't sorted out your own pumpkin for tonight here's the link to create your own Mac o' Lantern (just like the intro pic). Props to Banana Blog.

Trick or Treat...
Lisa C

A quicky

Sorry ya'll, got a TON of crap to do today...and plus nothing happened last night anyway (seeing as I went to bed at 9PM).

But did score the world's CHEAPEST flight home ($160 return, THEN with my $140 Continental Airlines credit) I'll be flying home this weekend for the princely sum of $20! WooHoo!

Happy Halloween Eve,
Lisa C

The Face of Monday

Yes, was another EARLY start today (the dreaded 4:15AM alarm bell!) My flight back was 6:20AM, so you do the math...I've already been up for what seems like an entire day. WooHoo!

Did have a mini-revelation last night. I've deceided what my BOOK is going to be about (yes, I'm just THAT cliché. I want to write a book. And no, I have no illusions about my (copy)writing abilities...I'm no great novelist, I make bad speling mistaks, but I'm in NY and feel like there's a book just trying to get out of me...dear GOD...this just sounds more and more lame the more I write. Sorry!)

So what's it about...well, you can be my test audience, let me know what you think. (drum roll). It's going to be....A Canucks Guide to Moving and Living in NY. Yeah, figured write about what you know (see I TOLD you it isn't the next great American novel or anything). So I could talk about all the stuff I learned here (the hard way I might add) and all the stuff that one should do BEFORE they make the leap (like looking...that usually helps a LOT!) Don't really know how one goes about writing such a thing, but will find a course (LOVE taking courses) and see how I can get my little pet project off the ground. Man, I must have been a sloth or something in a past life, why must I be constantly be looking for more things to do? Anyway, would love your thoughts. Comments or email or facebook or whatever!

Tonight - sleep. Tomorrow - back to normal life. Weekend - still in limbo, hoping for a cheap mid-week flight to avail itself to me, but will see. Perhaps I'll even try a last minute flight to Buffalo? Haven't done that yet. Indeed shaping up to be yet another dramatic week on the blog (sorry ya'll, hey, I AM seeing Stevie Wonder in mid-November, hopefully that makes up for some dullness in the meantime).

Thanks hope you're feeling better than I am right now!
Cheers,
Lisa C

Are you ready to rock?

Let's get one thing out of the way, I'm a bit of a geek. Not an epic, "read gaming gossip sites and flame people in the comments section, behind the veil of some stupid screen name like CockRocker69." But I am a wee bit of me (o.k. a moderate bit) is pretty nerdy, despite my obviously cool as a cucumber exterior...ok spazzy exterior (even I can buy that one).

BUT when I read about the most awesome of AWESOMENESS coming this weekend, well, my fingers began twitching and I am immediately turned up the Kiss playlist on my iTunes! Brace yourself people because Sunday, October 28...is (air drum roll please)YES!!!! What more can I say. Thank GOD I'll be in Toronto this weekend (obviously to visit Rich, Happy and friends) BUT...the XBOX360 is also there, ya know...and perhaps if the weather is a bit crap...just maybe we could play a little? Hey, it's practically winter outside, when a woman's thoughts turn to indoors...and gaming. It's only natural really. Our biological programming in fact.

So if you're free on Sunday, I'm just saying...IF...come drop by the house and we'll rock out or something like that?

Cheers all and Happy Weekend.
LisaC

Ummm it's Thursday

I really don't have much to tell you (or at least news that's PUBLIC to tell you) oh dear...me and my cats getting out of their bags (hehehhehe). Don't worry, nothing earth shattering (although would KICKASS if it comes to pass). To get some speculation out of the way...

- I'm not pregnant
- I'm not moving back to TO (at least not for a little while longer, geez, I just got here).
- Rich isn't move here (well...at least not yet, I'm sure hoping, but we'll cross that bridge later)
- I'm not getting a promotion (although wouldn't that TOTALLY rule...2 months in a job and they move you to ACD. WICKED! Alas, not what I think will be happening in my upcoming review.)

So there...the news? I'll (hopefully) be able to tell you later. In the meantime if you feel like amusing yourself with a few guesses then by all means, please add them to the comment section.

I had my French class this AM (Spanish was last night) good times. The only problem is our teacher speaks "proper" French (from France) whereas I speak dirty Quebecois (you know, the Franglais they teach you in school) so of course, I always sound like some dirty Parisian bum who's just finished off a bottle of Pernod. (sigh) So to cure my homesickness I watched a drew episodes of Têtes à Claques. If you've never had the chance to watch this (and do speak French, or Franglais would really help more) by all means check it out. So wicked. My personal favourite is "Le Willi Waller" (an infomercial spoof for a potato peeler). WICKED!

Friday (funday) just around the corner, which means I'm homeward bound (miss you guys).
Talk soon
Lisa C

P.S. Switched up the font...the other one made it look like I couldn't spell (meanwhile the page just kept getting eaten up by the formatting...whatever) I can spell (most of the times) but this way hopefully you can read my (mis)spellings a little better! Whatcha think - art directors (and others) I need your opinions.

My music at work

WOW...now THAT'S how to see a rock show. Went to see the Tragically Hip at the Manhattan Ballroom last night and there were MAYBE 500 people there, TOPS! Obviously that's the entire populations of Canadians currently living in NY and the surrounding areas. Too funny. It was like being invited to see a show in someone's basement or being in a school gymwatching the the "popular" kids play in an airband competition. Too bizarre.
Also bizarre was who I ended up going with. Out of the blue my "cousin" (o.k. he's my cousin's, husbands, brother...that's geneology math that I can't do, so let's just call him a cousin and be done with it). Norm and his girlfriend Sarah are currently in NYC. SO COOL! Norm called me around 11:00, asked what I was up to that night, by 4:00 I had two more tickets for them and by 9:00 we were rockin' out Hip style! Here are some pics from the show. Alas, I don't have some super slick camera, but I can assure you I was no further than 8 feet from the stage (maybe even 5) so saw everything perfectly. So much fun. If you wanna see a major Canadian band, just follow them on tour through the States!
The crowd. Seriously...that's it. (gotta love the Canucks fan eh?!)_
Great show, such a blast. Joel Plaskett Emergency opened and were also great. So yeah, will be tough to top that night! What adventures lie ahead today? Well, Spanish (ola) class tonight, then French tomorrow morning (yit's my mid week languages fest!) Toronto this weekend, can you believe I haven't been back since I got my visa (for Ogilvy). Start sending out the good vibes now that they don't @#$%^&Y* at the border again!

Talk soon, man, I need another coffee.
LisaC

One Proud Daughter!

In case you didn't know, my Dad is a (self)published author. Yeah, it's the craziest story. (and please correct me if Mom or Dad if I get any of the facts wrong).

So my folks are off on this Bruce (Mom's Maiden name) heritage journey to check out all the places her ancestors lived. (I think it's my great grandmother who lived and ran a lighthouse on Cape Bald in Newfoundland. We're hoping to head out there in the next year or so). And while on the trip Dad got a wee bit restless and started writing this story.



It's about a boy named Ricky who grows up on a wheat farm in Saskatchewan (hmm, sound familiar?) He decides to carve a little canoe and load it with his Dad's harvest, to see if it can make it all the way to China, where his Dad's wheat will be used to make noodles. Along the way the canoe is helped by many people (educating the reader about all the steps necessary to ship one of Canada's largest exports across the globe). It's a beautiful story of friendship, cooperation and a great educational tool. It Takes A Friend is a story that both parents and children alike will enjoy and both will gain their own valuable lessons.Have I peeked your interest? Now we move onto the task of trying to get this book picked up by a publishing house (Dad has already self-published it, so if you're keen I can sell you a copy right now!) Drop me an email if you are interested (lisa.charlebois@gmail.com). Hmm, will have to double check with Dad about price (I'll update that in a new sidebar section called...What I'm Pimpin')

More Tuesday action later. Off to see the Tragically Hip tonight. Perhaps they'll play "Wheat Kings?"

Cheers all, and congrats Dad. It's a fantastic book. I hope you can see my beaming smile of pride all the way over here!

xoxoox
Lisa C

P.S. also a big shout out to my cousin Paul Robert who did all the illustrations. You brought the book to life, kudos. Hopefully we'll get this puppy published and allow the world to see how unbelievably talented you are!

Goodbye Summer

HOPEFULLY this is the last day of the INSANE heat we've been having here. I still can't quite grasp what 77'F is but it sure FEELS hot. Crazy, I never thoughts on October 22 I'd be wearing shorts to work? (don't worry Mom they're nice shorts!)

So...the weekend fun? Well, it was my anniversary (paper) so what was Rich's surprise gift? Airplane tickets to San Fran!! Yeah, I didn't actually BUY them yet, but I made some out of paper (all the art directors, you can start laughing now). Will take a pic tonight and update this post. TOO funny!

Friday night - dinner in Little Italy. Good times and still feeling the effects of the serious carb-coma that I fell into.

Saturday - started with quite a bang. Rich walked in fresh cement (no sign...of course) so here are some amusing pics of him washing it off...yes that's gutter water on 53rd Street. Not to worry, he promptly washed any ebola or other diseases from the manky water off his hands at a local bar. Phew, but this scene had me giggling for hours!

Then dinner at Prana II. So wicked. It's this Indian place that Annalise took Nikki and I to when we were down LAST May (wow...seems like a lifetime ago) Anyway, great food, but even better atmosphere. There are Christmas lights and chili pepper lights hanging all over the place.

Sunday - Anniversary Day! Went and saw Andreas Schiff at Carnegie Hall (I'm turning into quite the classical music junkie). Was a fabulous concert, I swear the man has jelly for fingers! Sunday night more food at Rissoteria (yes, all they serve is rissoto - a great option for all my glutten intollerant friends).

Then Monday...which piles up to a whole lot of nothing. Work (not crazy) and life (much busier). Going to see the Tragically Hip tomorrow night. I'm sure it'll be a sea of Canucks. Can't wait!!!

Hey, how was your weekend.
Talk soon,
Lisa C

The way we were

Not that I should be starting this morning's post with laments for yester year, but it occured to me a whole heck of a lot has changed. Perhaps it's the notion of toasting my first wedding anniversary (hey, it still counts, even if we only lived under the same roof for 6 months!) but when you step back and think about it...our little wee world has gone topsy turvey (and by world I mean the one I live and work in...sorry, but by the very nature of this blog I can't help it if my thoughts are a wee bit navel gazing. Observe...

- I got married
- I got a new job
- I moved to NY

While all this mentalness is happening...

- A whole bunch of Big O in TO peeps leave (yes, my new nickname for Ogilvy Toronto)
- Just found out my old friend at BBDO is leaving
- One friend had a baby
- One is GOING to have one...
- One loses her Mom
- Some buy houses
- Some divorce husbands

It's a crazy zanny world...which leads me to my next notion. Since I am here, and I consider my time somewhat of an experiement in living/working in this bizarre metropolis. I think...I'm going to visit an ANALYST!

It's quite the NY phenomenon, people go to these "professional listeners" and talk about their problems. As much as I know about it (which is quite little) they have no REAL doctor training (so I can't score any crazy hallucinagenics) but I can bitch about everything and anything. CRAZY!

What brought on this completely self-serving idea...well, I get benefits here at Big O NY, so why not use and abuse them to the best of my ability. So...experiment NO. 14...Get an Analyst!

hehehhehe

Weekend Wrap up
It's anniversary fest 07 (well...1st so "technically" 1, but it's in 07...so you understand the confusion). Anyway, Rico shows up tonight (if the weather doesn't completely hose him) and we'll have fun fun fun till my Analyst tells me I'm emotionally dependent (at least I think that's how the song goes?)

Have a great weekend everyone...chat with you on Monday!
Lisa C
-

Ahhhh

All is well in the land of Six Flags. We're presenting our work (just a simple DM package) to the account group at 5:00.

Actually, I've been approached by a few creative peeps (and the creative job giver'outer) about working with some other folks. WooHoo! Sounds good to me. Now I just gotta see how I can do this, without pissing off the guys I'm SUPPOSED to be working for. Hmm, a tight rope indeed.

Tonight, nothing on the go. Gym, dinner, chill. THEN tomorrow is weekend fun, Rico shows up and I'm SOOOOO excited! It's been nearly 2 weeks since we hung out (too long in my humble opinion) so will have to make up for lost time (and anniversary fest, that'll be wicked!) I'll share what I got him on Monday with you all (don't want to spoil the surprise). But we are adhereing to the whole "traditional" gifts things. So apparently the first year is paper. I automatically thought every year was diamonds, who knew?

Right, back to work.
I just can't help but have these ultra "Canadian" moments (where I think to myself...holy crap, this place is REALLY different. What the hell have I gotten myself into!)

Coolness...Cheerio.
Lisa C

It's Wednesday and I'm not dead!

WooHoo!!! Turns out my Carnegie Hall "date" wasn't a psycho at all (unless you consider a psycho for classical music harmful?) TOTALLY cool guy, he used to play for the NY Philharmonic along with a bunch of other orchestras in the the country (and the world actually). Such an interesting dude. It was great getting his perspective on things (did you know that when someone in the orchestra has a solo, watch the player next to him/her. They'll tap their fingers on their leg or shuffle their feet to congratulate them on a solo well done! How cool is that??)


Good times, looking forward to the next concert.
Cheers,
Lisa C

All it takes is practice, practice, practice

And tickets I suppose...for what you ask? To get to Carnegie Hall of course! That's where I'm heading this evening to see the Cleveland Orchestra (Cleveland???) Play a program of classic music top 10's. (or something like that) here's the program below.

MOZART Symphony No. 28 in C Major
JOHN ADAMS Guide to Strange Places
TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 6, "Pathetique"

Good times. The pic above is of Franz Welser-Möst, Music Director and Conductor of the "Cleveland" Orchestra. Man, why do they have to be from Cleveland...makes the whole evening sound so lame. Like the Wisconsin Pops or something. Geez. At least if they were from London, or Paris or even Chicago? I don't know...why is it we scorn the mid-west? Hmmm. Well I'll give you a full report tomorrow.

Now the weirdest part of my little "concert" adventure this evening. The dude I'm going with is some random fella I meet on MeetUp. O.k. it's NOT a date! You see it all started when I joined the NY Philharmonic MeetUp group (hey, I like concerts!) And then this guy saw me, sent me a note and asked if I'd be interested in seeing a show? Well...it's not like I'm Miss Popular here, so what the hell. It's my duty as a NY Newbie to meet new peeps right? Hopefully he's not a complete freak and doesn't stab me in the middle of the show (he wouldn't do that right?) I believe that Carnegie Hall is a "pen knife" free zone?

O.k. other news. Hmm, well...there really isn't any. Started my AM workout routine (I totally wailed on my pecs!) so far so good (after all, it IS only day 1).

Countdown to Anniversary Fun has started. Only 3 more sleeps till Rico is in town and we can toast the year (or mostly year) that we've been together. Ahhhh,

More soon,
xoxoxo
Lisa C

Monday Funday

Howdy Ya'll,

Good times...lots of stuff to talk about today. Let's get the news out of the way.

The Bug Man come by on Saturday and yes, I have no bugs...WoooHooo. O.k. I'm a bit of a spazz (no surprise there) but apparently the bites I had on my legs were from mosquitos (oops) but hey, I did buy some peace of mind, so that's cool with me!

Jaime and I had a blast this weekend...SO FUN! I'm kind of bummed out today that's she's not still down, was so awesome running around the big shitty with her. Much love Ms. J! Lookin' forward to the next one.

All week we would hook up for dinners and what not (yes, it's kind of like we were some old married couple, "How was your day dear?" But then Friday night we got together with my friend Jeff (and his friend Tyron...LOVE that name!) Man, I can't even remember where we went for dinner (help me our Jaime) but later we went to Therapy (my local gay bar, which was news to me, apparently just down the road from my place, who knew?)

Saturday night was out big NYC blow out night. Went to the ExPat Canadian Meetup. to watch some Canuck hockey. So fun, they had all 3 Eastern games going (Ottawa vs. NY Rangers, Montreal vs. Buffalo I think and Toronto vs. Pitsburg) Good times!!! I think it'll turn into a weekly sort of thing, nice peeps, great to meet other Canadians in NY! Even got Tom Eymundson out. Trish emailed and said he was watching the game all by his lonesome at a local bar. Well...obviously that wouldn't work, so invited him out and made some new friends. Ahhhh....

Then Jeremy and Melissa were keen to hang, so down the road to some other Tribeca watering hole and nextt thing you knew, it was 2:00 and time for beddy by! Loads and fun, and even the hang over wasn't too bad. Phew.

Sunday Jaime hit t he bricks and headed back for home. Myself, I did some retail therapy (hey, Monday is payday after all?) Good stuff, new coat (yeah...another one ontop of the OTHER one I bought with Jaime, hey, it was a Triple 5 Soul sample sale...how could I say no?) Then I'm slowly stalking a pair of shoes at the Barney's Coop. Hmm, might have to visit them again this week.

So there you have it, the weekend that was. Fun fun fun! Tonight, off to see my trainer (my last session) so I can get my program and just yell at myself (for less money!)

Tuesday off to Carnegie Hall with some random dude I meet online (oh dear that sounds horrible) it was through Meetup so hopefully he's not crazy...if there's no post on Wednesday, be afraid!

Wednesday night - Spanish lesssons at Ogilvy (Ola. Mi nombre es Lisa)

Thursday AM - Advanced French (also through Ogilvy...good times!)

Friday - Rich in town for One Year Anniversary lovin'.

There you have it, the week that will soon be. More news soon. Any comments, suggestions, just leave em' in t down there!

Cheers,
Lisa C

Threat level at Orange

Sorry I missed ya'll yesterday, my computer exploded so I needed the IT boyz to come and resesitate it. Uuggghhh. Now I have a "new to me" crap-top, which so far is working out fine.

Alright, I'm going to make a wee confession, please reserve all judgements for later. BUT...as you may know I'm a wee bit of a bug freak. I'm not to keen on them, actually, I'm petrified. And not the, "jump on the chair cause I see a spider" kind of scared. But more of a...OMG where did that bite come from...I have Bed Bugs, Dear God NUKE THE PLACE!

So...yeah, that's what's happening tomorrow. O.k. it's not exactly CONFIRED that I have Bed Bugs, infact, I haven't even found any evidence of them. Which is is why I've enlisted professional help. Yes, I've hired my friendly local bug man to come down and inspect my place. I know...this is probably money I'm tossing out the window but quite frankly, for the peace of mind, I'm more than happy to do it. Uugghhh just the thought of some creepy crawly things in my nice, clean, pretty apartment sends shivers down my spine. Call me what you will, but paranoid indeed I am!

Onto other news, Jaime and I have been having a grand old time. Last night we had dinner in SoHo then meet up with her friend Amwar. Good times. Another fellow Canuck (we gotta stick together after all). I think we might try and catch the Canucks in NY hockey "club" (and by "club" I mean, getting together at a bar where we all drink). It's the first one, so should be a good time.

Then Trish Kavanagh is also in town (one of my old bosses) so hopefully we'll do it up at some point over the weekend. So fun to see peeps in town. Weeee

Cool...back to being a spazz about my bugs. Uugghh pray to the God of insects that I don't have anything and it's just some paranoid delusion.

Cheers,
Lisa C

Shout it out loud!

It occured to me (actually...it was Ramona's idea) that I should give props to the people who read my blog.

SOOOOOOOO to all the peeps checkin' out my little slice of the interweeb...thanks!

An even BIGGER thanks to all those who comment. Comments mean you care (I'm sensing a t-shirt...any takers?) so don't be shy...type, type, type away.

OR invite others to check out the blog. Just like a pub crawl, I say the more merrier.

More stuff later (waiting for Jaime to come in...she's stuck in Pearson getting loaded at the airport bar. Boooo. All the flights were cancelled this morning so we'll have to see how things go. Pray to the airplane Gods will ya!)

Here's the rollcall of dedicated Blog Readers. You don't see your name there...that's cause I've NEVER gotten a comment from you...how am I supposed to know you heart the "Charle'blog" (props to you Calvin!) In no particular order I give you the Blogger Role.

Drum Roll...

- Ramona (second shout out...much love!)
- KathyM (devoted from the start! Thanks so much)
- Amie (word)
- Calvin (although you just comment on Facebook...but I'll accept that too!)
- Clover (thanks for the grammer/spelling corrections...remember, I'm a copyWRITER, not copyEDITOR!)
- Dondy (xoxo)
- Rach (good to see some family checkin' up on me)
- Costa (the blog to blog love is a beautiful thing)

And all you other lovely, lovely people who silently put up with my spelling mistakes and endless ramblings...thanks!

More soon, Jaime in town so should be some NYC fun comin' up!

Much love,
Lisa C

Charlebois in the 212

WOW...it's been on HELL of a weekend...and I'm lost at where to even start. Hmmm, plus I need to look back and see if I can REMEMBER everything. PLUS, Dad has lots more pics than I do, so will have to get his images as well...so needless to say, this will be a blotchy post...little bit of this and that, but will have you up to speed on the wickedness that was by this Friday. How's that? Sound like a deal? Brilliant!

DAY ONE - FRIDAY NIGHT
WooHoo! Parents (and Amie) arrive. Good times. I run out of work ASAP (plus, was supposed to work weekend but got out of that too! WooHoo!!!) Went to dinner at at Quality Meats. Umm, Ummm good. In fact, I think I STILL have some left over steak in my fridge. Snack for later!

My cappucino from Quality Meats. What do YOU see in the foam? Personally, I thought it was a little cow...but apparently, that's just my overactive imagination. What do YOU think?

That was essentially Friday night. SATURDAY, is (surprise) up next!.

DAY TWO - SATURDAY
I'll give you the letters and you can try and figure out what my Mom a and Amie got up to. P H O S. They tore up 5th Avenue. It was a sea of bags by the end of the day. Dad and I went and made stuff! It was awesome. We got some fancy dowels and did some window "locks." Yes, it's like security made by lumberjacks, but it was LOADS of fun. Rich helped. He's quite the widdler. I think that'll be our new winter hobby. I'll knit (yes, I'm going to take up knitting...hey, I hear it's cool...again. Or maybe just for the first time?!) And Rich will widdle. It'll be like Little House on 9th Avenue!P.S. yes, the entire ocean AND Manhattan is slidding to the East. Take shelter...NOW!

DAY THREE - SUNDAY
The fam was gettin' pretty tuckered out. It was hot as HELL this weekend...80 to 85'F (which is like a MILLION in celcius, at least that's what it felt like for a bunch of Canucks!) So after tourin' around the city a bit (checked out Wall Street, World Trade Centre site and the downtown area) we found ourself at the entrance for the Staten Island Ferry. So...when in Rome right? We hopped on the Ferry and tour a wee trip to the Island. It's actually a really nice place (everyone seems to make fun of it, I'm still not too sure why) but we hung out by the waterfront and enjoyed the ships coming and going and the smell of the salty sea air. A very plesant spot. PLUS, got we got some stellar views of the Statue of Liberty.Pretty slick! There's also a beautiful memorial to the Staten Island residents who died on Sept 11 (and one fella who died during the first attacks in 1993). It's a beautiful statue called "Postcards" created by Masayuki Sono, (see my Sept 11 post for a better view )It features profiles for every person who's died and the artists idea was to create two letters, or postcards, to represent the messages that will not be delivered from those who had died. Plus, the letters frame the view to the World Trade Centre site. Very beautiful and respectful.

We also celebrate our "Thanksgiving Dinner" this night. And what's more TurkeyTime than a trip to Morimoto. Yeah...kind of funny having sushi for Thanksgiving, but was DARN good. Umm, great choice Amie. Kudos!

MONDAY - HAPPY COLUMBUS DAY

Yep, we caught the Columbus Day Parade, which I still don't quite understand. I think it's just an excuse for the Italian community to come out and party. I say...bring on more Columbus Day fun! Was a blast. We got a KICKASS shirt from Casa Concrete in the Bronx! Love the free stuff. Then more shopping, more apartment fixing, more family fun.

TUESDAY - wait...that's today.

Sad day, departure day. It's grey and cold out (yes, that's grey with an E!) kind of like my mood. BUT the day is done (sorry for the late post, lots to talk about) and onto tomorrow...when Jaime is in town! WOoHooo more NYC fun on the horizon. Talk soon, thanks for being patient with the lack of communication over the weekend!

Cheers,
Lisa C

P.S. more pics in the next few days as Dad sends them to me.

Forkless

Hehheehhehee o.k. I think that was quite witty...alas I have forgotten a fork to eat my lunch with today. Booooo. In an effort to save some dough I've incorporated a few cost saving measures into my daily routine.

1. I bought a coffee maker
2. I also bought a traveller's coffee mug to bring said coffee with me on my walk to work.
3. Yes, I walk to work (I would officially become the laziest person on earth if I choose to cab the 5 blocks it takes to get to the big O every morning.
4. I've started (as of today) bringing my lunch to work. I know, not half as much fun as buy it all the time, but it's not like there's a huge lunch crew here anyway (lunch is usually the meal you eat while sitting in a meeting, at your desk or on your WAY to someone else's desk).

So there you have it. If you've got any other cost saving ideas, please give me your tips in the comments section. Why am I tightening the purse-strings you ask? Well...cause it's New York. Even breathing is expensive here!

What else is going on? Well...I started seeing a personal trainer (o.k. just ignore the previous fiscal responsibility comments). So far so good. It's only for 3 sessions just to get me orientated (and to get these maysterious NYC 5lbs off my ass!)

That's life in a nutshell. Alas, not very exciting today or yesterday. Just work, home, work, gym, Top Chef finale (kickass! Although I was going for Dale) and work again.

BUT this weekend is going to be epic! Fam in town...THEN next week my friend Jaime's visiting! WOooHooo let the good times continue.

More later (fear not...it'll pick up! Just need the weekend!)
xoxo
gossip girl

Oops...I mean Lisa C

Visitors and Colonoscopies

Not necessarily in that order...but yes, that's what has happened today. Let's start with the visitor - it was my pal Evan. He took a day trip from his family vacation in New Hampshire (whose state motto is Live Free or Die incidentally). He drop in on NYC and visit me (oh and his brother...cause it was his birthday...or something like that...whatever!)

Great seeing him, even if it WAS for a very quick lunch. Went to this place called S'Mac (which I interpreted as "s" mac not "Smack" as it's actually pronounced. Yes, I am still a tourist!) As you can guess they ONLY served Macaronni and Cheese - a cornucopia of varieties but in the end...it's noodles with cheese. Good and the company made it taste even better. Great to see ya'll, Evan and Gareth.

Now part TWO of my day (which actually was the first part, but it sounds funnier to call it number two...get it...how about now...NOW?!) Anyway, Pops was in for a colonoscopy today. I know...why am I talking about this? Well, first off...it's important that EVERYONE get screened for colon cancer. Secondly, I believe that the more you mention something, the less scary it gets.

My Dad is such a champ. Normally you get sedated for such a procedure, but not my Padre. He took it, sans drugs. Very manly! And it's quite a taking...a whole five-feet to be exact. All the way into your small intestine. (remember...the more you talk about it, the less freaky it is!)

I'm happy to report my Dad has the "colon of a 19 year old" according to his Doc and won't need another one for another 10 years. Indeed cause for celebration!!!


Wondering if it's your turn to go, well...you know.


Then check out these great websites for more info.

A colo-whatchamacalit?
A jargon-free explanation of what a colonoscopy is and what to expect when you're gonna get one.

Colorectal Cancer Association of Canada
A great resource for information about colon cancer and steps you can take to prevent it.

Joe's Colonoscopy Blog
This is a great blog detailing someone's personal experience. It offers wonderful insight into what the procedure and the prep are like.

Colonoscopy Video
Curious what it looks like "in there?" Well, you can check out this YouTube video of a very healthy colon (hey, I just offer up the info, you're the one that wants to watch it!)

More chats tomorrow...and I promise none of them will be about poop.
3 more sleeps till Family Fest NYC! Can't wait.
Lisa C

Moto'licious

Bonjour,

I know a little late in the day for my Monday morning post, but I was thrown into the fire first thing this am. Working on a pitch for Motorolla. Very fun and with my fearless Californian art director, Robert. So far so good...presented some ideas to the CD a couple minutes ago (yes, 7:30pm) which isn't insanely late for MOST ad agencies, but seems like midnight here in the halls of the Big O. ZANNY! Maybe Canada should be on the sweatshop watchlist?

Anyway...all is well in the land of work (and Six Flags being presented tomorrow). But enough about work. Let's talk about the weekend that was.

I was swingin' it single but still had fun. Usually on the weekends where I'm on my own and Rich doesn't come down my thoughts turn to a horrible mix of lethargy and depression, but not this time. F.U.N. in a nutshell.
It was my friend Rachel's birthday so as part of the celebration we went and saw the Kaiser Chiefs. Good times! WOW, what a great show, kind of rekindled my love of live music. I'm usually not cool enough to know when a show is happening (or by the time I hear about it, all the tickets are sold out). Was loads of fun (man, I didn't even know a ton of their songs) but it Rock'soared!

What else was up for the birthday fun? Well, there was a wee brunchy-do at the Cornelia Cafe (nice spot by the way, highly recommend it) More pals of the B-Day Girl were there (nice to meet you all by the way) even another fellow Canuck. Afterall, we gotta stick together.

Then I visited EcoFest (rather briefly on my trip to Bed, Bath and Beyond - hey...I never said the weekend was MENTAL, just enjoyable...so reserve your judgements!)

You see the whole fam'damily are on their way down next weekend (or rather, this FRIDAY! Crap...I gotta throw this clean-up into high gear). Now you understand the speedy trip. So as you can imagine Sunday evening was spent putting together the shelves, microwave cart and other assorted "homey" items, in an attempt to make my place look more "liveable" and less like it's inhabited by a serial killer (as Rich so lovingly described it). OH man..I haven't taken pics yet. O.k. will do that. How's Thursday?

Cool. So there you have it. Two days of metro madness (or something like that). Tonight, just headin' home...chillin' and trying to figure out how to make my new coffee maker work (another BB&B purchase) I'm trying to save some dough, and since no one wants to do coffee with me in the AM (mostly because they all stroll in at 10AM and need to start doin' something billable). So what the hell, might as well be my at home barista!

Cool...how you're all well. House pics Thursday (or sooner if I get my act in gear!)
xoxox
Lisa C

P.S. Thanks to Costa for the blog -to-blog love! Appreciate the shout out...an extra x and o are for you! So if you're lookin' for some more bloggy'fun, check out Steve's take on life and programming in the T-snot (but don't give him any more shit for not updating, he already heard enough of that fr