Killing mediocrity

The Soup Nazi did not foil our plans! We were able to meet up with rising fashion designer friend John Saldivar at another location (McGee's across the street). It was great catching up with a wonderfully talented, creative friend who had resurfaced thanks to the magic pixies at Facebook. (By the way, if you dig his Web site, it's all thanks to the talent of Studio 721's Leslie Modgling.)

After lunch, we headed over to be part of the Conan O'Brien studio audience! Love Conan, but a bit disappointed in his line-up. For the show, he interviewed Jada Pinkett Smith, Jason Biggs and P!nk, who, for some reason, spells her name with an exclamat!on po!nt.

Conan is a real trouper. All of the guests had some pretty lame projects they were promoting... not to mention that none of them have had cultural relevance to society since Y2K. Still Conan was still able to get us to belt out some laughs.

It's sad to realize that Late Night will soon be replaced with the Dane Cook of Saturday Night Live:



Idiot boyfriend indeed.

THANKFULLY, there IS fresh, up-and-coming comedic talent out there! And they are killing mediocrity!

We went to a free, underground show local comedians produce every Thursday in Brooklyn called Big Terrific. What talent! Local and touring comedians, comedic writers and other entertainers stop by to hone their craft. Definitely one of the highlights of the trip. It's always fun to cheer for and support creative talent.

You know you are in good company when one of the hosts dresses up like John Rzeznik of the Goo Goo Dolls in honor of Halloween Eve.

No soup for you!

We were planning to meet up with a friend for lunch at International Soup Kitchen yesterday (as made famous by Seinfeld's Soup Nazi), but true to his character, soup nazi didn't show up for work yesterday. He opens when he wants to (usually noon to 6 p.m. on whatever day he wants to) doesn't have a phone at his place of business and apparently really DO have lines out the door. Sad day.

Since I'm not able to upload photos from my camera to the site right now, I grabbed this off another site. Here are his rules as posted:

No soup for us indeed.

I'll have what she's having

Jon is in town!

Our friend Jon came down from the commonwealth of Massachusetts and is planning on running along side me for the last 5 miles or so to help get through some injuries.

To celebrate Jon's big arrival, we had dinner at Katz's Deli, home to the famous "I'll have what she's having" scene in When Harry Met Sally...


[Side note: Sodas are no longer 60 cents... up to $2.50.)



We capped off the night by going to catch two late improv shows at the Upright Citizen's Brigade, known for cultivating up-and-coming comedic performers. (They tend to feed talent into Saturday Night Live as does the Second City.) I don't want to give it away, but we had to wear ponchos.

We headed back to our abode via subway. I fell asleep on the line (not my fault! I expire after 9 p.m!) and we ended up somewhere in Queens, a far cry from our Spanish Harlem digs. Luckily Marilyn was able to renavigate us and the Puerto Rican flags welcomed us home.

RICE, RICE baby

I failed to mention that I rolled my ankle last week getting in one last hill run workout... and that sprinting through the terminals in Atlanta only reminded me of the injury.

What's a gal to do? Rest, Ice, Compress and Elevate... and rely on the mystical powers of frozen vegetables. (They make clean-up a cinch!)



Wednesday was a productive day. Here's the scoop:

Went to the Borders on Wall Street becaus Marilyn unfortunately forgot her guidebook. D'oh! Staff members want to know where we are from. Texas? It figures. (Apparently due to the fact we used "y'all" and were nice... NOT because we look like Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders.)

Met some interesting chacters on Wall Street: Nervous traders, silent protesters, contruction workers with flair (lapel pins) and the likes. Got our photo by the stock exchange bull... ran into some folks from Madrid... and our day had just begun!

We took the ferry to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. For me, lady copper is nothing more than a photo op and a restroom break. Save your stamina for Ellis Island. Incredible! Very humbling to think I am the product of a man who left all he ever knew in Germany to pass through those doors and embrace an unknown land. The museum is also a wonderful reminder that America prospered much from immigration, then suffered much from greed and fear.

What kind of fruit are you?

You can learn alot about a person just by traveling with them. There is a concept that a certain Walker Moore introduced to me called "the squeeze test."

If you squeeze an orange, you'll get orange juice, if you squeeze an apple, you'll get apple juice. If you squeeze a person, what do you get? [Figuratively speaking ofcourse, not literally.]

Our flight from San Antonio to New York was delayed due to mecanical maintenance. It was interesting to observe how people reacted to the unintended situation of being six hours late. What fruits fell when the tree was shaken?

Obviously some were mad, some got into petty shouting matchings, others were demanding... pretty much a slice of the uncomfortable temper tantrums you'd find at any given day care facility mixed in with some anger, rage, malice and slander.

When you are squeezed/ put under pressure... what sort of fruit juice do you produce? The half-day delay was quite a blessing. We [eventually] arrived (better to arrive late than not to arrive at all!), got to meet some interesting characters, some fun internationals, local politicians and even Barney Rubble himself-- Stephen Baldwin! (You know it's a rough economy when a Baldwin brother is sitting with you in coach.)


May we all yearn for the chance to produce the uncommon fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control.

Why I'll root for the Phillies tonight

5) I'm a sore loser.

4) Phillies pitcher Joe Blanton. Not only did Blanton hit a home run (pitchers are traditionally not known for their hitting skills), but he hit his FIRST major league home run AND made World Series history by being the first pitcher to home run in the series since 1974.

3) I support freedom of speech. Tampa Bay self-censored their mascot, removing the "devil" from "devil rays" and renaming them "rays." Rays. As in rays of sunshine?! How dare you rename the animals! Shall we now censor the "Tasmanian devil" and rename it "mischievous beast"?!

Adam named the animals so let them be!

2) Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon wears Tina Fey/ Lisa Loeb glasses.


And the no. 1 reason why I'll have to support the Phillies against the Tampa Bay [sun] Rays tonight:

1) Motown Philly's back again.

Those three little words

Truth be told, I'm not a big fan of the San Antonio Spurs.

However, I am highly entertained by their fans. They've got a lot of heart.

Right around playoffs, they will drag their escobas [straw brooms] to area sports bars just for a moment of glory to be interviewed with their prop ("Break out da brooms! Da Spurs are gonna sweeeeeep!") for the liveshot on the local news.

Spurs fans are not ashamed to tell you they are Spurs fans. To me, they are the Toby Keith of basketball. Think "How do ya like me now?" and "It's a flag, not a rag."

The essence of local support for the franchise can be summed up in three little words:


[Passed by this jewel on a recent run.]

If I can make it there, I'll make it anywhere

On November 2, I get the great privilege of joining 39,000 other runners across the globe to compete in the 39th New York City Marathon. Incredible. It still has not sunken in yet. This has been a defeating season for me plagued with injuries and other mental and spiritual roadblocks.

I was sharing with an acquaintance a few of my burdens this week. Instead of encouraging my pity party, they provided some perspective: I have the monumental privilege of experiencing a global milestone!

Besides, if running a marathon were easy, they'd call it basketball, right?


We will be running all five of New York's boroughs: Staten Island, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Manhattan. The crowd support is supposedly amazing and rivaled only by that of the Boston marathon [every runner's Mecca.]

We are heading up Tuesday, so be sure to check back here for updates!

Only 26.2 miles to go! It's up to you, New York, New York.

Thanks, that was fun

As Soxtober draws to an end, I'd like to applaud the Boston Red Sox for a great season. They made it to game 7 of the American League Champion Series; more than that, they made staying up past 10 p.m. a delight. Now that the gang is back to their natural habitat, reports are coming out that the team was the gimpiest ballclub of 2008.


Kept a secret until post season, the injury report is quite extensive [20 hits]. Some undisclosed injuries include David [Lee Roth] Ortiz- strained tendon, Josh Beck[kkkkk]ett- strained oblique, Jonathan Papelbon- strained shoulder and Jed Lowrie- who played five months with a fractured hand.

To quote one of my favorite bloggers, "It is nothing short of a miracle that the Red Sox were able to fight their way to a Game 7 of the ALCS with a roster held together by scotch tape, much less make the playoffs at all."

Hey Romo, how is that pinky holding up?

Charmed, I'm sure

Let's take inventory of the people you will most likely meet while waiting for the doors to open at a Neil Diamond concert. [Yes-- we were that pumped about the concert that we arrived early.]

Gentleman with argyle sweater around the shoulders? Check!

Perpetual Dancing With the Stars voter? Check!

People who obsessively collect things? Hmm... I'm looking around the line, and...

Bingo! Our neighbor's two James Avery bracelets boast over 200 charms which she claims she never takes off. If you dare test her, she will gesture you to ask her boyfriend who "needs to marry [her] already."

Charming.

More people "habla español" in the US than in Spain

¡Increíble!

The United States of America is second only to Mexico in Spanish speakers. 

¡Qué padre! 

The U.S. even beats out la tierra patria-- España-- in Spanish speakers.