Potatoes in the Mist

I seem to be missing a gene that most people have, a gene that confers the ability to calm the $@^ down. D has it in spades. But I don't and fear I never will. And I do yoga, for heaven's sake. How do you guys handle anxiety? Halloween doesn't really help. I make exceptions for cute little kids who dress up as bunnies and pumpkins and ducks. But the adults who cruise the streets of Manhattan on October 31 scare the @^* out of me. I saw a guy with a really scary mask and a flowing black cape. I also saw two trannies, one in a silver minidress and another in a belly shirt with a Goth ponytail. I think I'd like to hibernate for the next month or so. Bears have the right idea, and after all, I'm a bearette...

Lifted from Roxanne . The Name Game 1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet’s name & current car) Pepper Civic (I don't have a car now, but that was my last one.) 2.YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (fave ice cream flavor, favorite cookie), Blood Orange Monster (okay, blood orange is my favorite sorbet flavor. And monster cookies at Whole Foods are my favorite cookie.) 3. YOUR “FLY Guy/Girl” NAME: (first initial of first name, first three letters of your last name), Kbod 4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal), Pink Puppy 5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born), Johanna Danvers (awesome!) 6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first), Bodka (sounds Russian) 7. SUPERHERO NAME: (”The” + 2nd favorite color, favorite drink), The Purple Carrot Juice 8. NASCAR NAME: (the first names of your grandfathers), Francis Ferdinand 9. STRIPPER NAME: ( the name of your favorite perfume/cologne/scent, favorite ca...

Tonight D and I had dinner with a friend who is Republican (a rarity in New York and probably the Northeast in general). D posited that Republicans always get meat or fish and that anything else is "out of their realm of possibility." D was thinking of our other Republican friend, P, who always gets meat, cranberry juice and dessert. Our friend agreed, saying that liberals often get salad and a little bit of everything. (D and I had pasta dishes, and we all shared bruschetta to start.) How do your food choices reflect your politics?

So I turned on the TV tonight before Pushing Daisies came on, just in time to catch the tail end of Wheel of Fortune. Pat Sajak and Vanna White look exactly like they did when I was a kid. Pat asked Vanna, "What are you wearing for Halloween?" Vanna replied, "Easy. Black. Simple. Maybe I'll put a letter on the front." They laugh and Pat leans in: "What letter?" Vanna (nervously): "I dunno. Maybe an N?" Pat: "Well, I wish you would wear an I. So I could dot it." This, um, clever innuendo made me wonder...have Pat and Vanna ever been...together? Ick.

A couple of things happened tonight: 1) I patted a black cat who lives in a shop near my apartment. He's not as outgoing as Rainer, but he rubbed his head against my knee and seemed to enjoy the contact. Another cat was nearby and I patted him, too, but when I started patting the black cat, the other cat hissed angrily and went away. "He gets jealous really easily," the owner explained. 2) We ate in an outdoor garden (at a restaurant). Years ago we saw someone taking a shower in one of the apartments above the restaurant. Tonight there was another visible shower-taker; it was a guy, judging from the arms and shoulders and vigorous soaping movements. The window was fogged up, but it was clear enough to see his shape. You'd think they'd catch on that there's a courtyard of onlookers below!

So D and I saw Lars and the Real Girl last night. It was a sweet movie with an interesting premise. It takes place in an isolated Northern town (I thought Minnesota, D thought somewhere in Canada) and features Ryan Gosling as a lonely young man (Lars) who doesn't want a girlfriend, but does want some companionship. So he orders a life-size, female (anatomically correct) doll from the Internet. I really recommend it. Although the doll never spoke, she somehow had more personality than most sitcom characters (and a fuller schedule). Lars' motivation in getting the doll can be summarized by his attitude toward fake flowers: "They're not real, so they last forever." It also starred Emily Mortimer and no one else was really recognizable, but they all did a good job.

Leah just sent me on a little trip down memory lane. She mentioned Corey Hart in her blog entry. In fourth grade, I thought Corey Hart's "Never Surrender" was the most comforting song on earth. I believe it belonged to my sister, and I'm pretty sure it was a 45!!!!! (For any young 'uns reading my blog, it's a small, round piece of vinyl with a hole in the center.) I got my blood drawn yesterday and it was the most painless blood-taking ever. I have to applaud the nurse's mad skillz. She had me squeeze a ball in my fist and tied a tourniquet tightly around my arm, but these tactics are probably standard. So I don't know what her secret is. But she got my vein on the first try. So I was impressed.

So I had dinner with K tonight at the neighborhood diner -- incidentally, the same one where the guy proposed to his girlfriend. I may have done it a disservice by comparing it to IHOP. Tonight's dinner was divine. I must've had a strawberry craving because I had a strawberry-frozen yogurt drink, an appetizer-size pizza on pita bread, and 2 scoops of strawberry ice cream, yummily presented with hot fudge sauce, whipped cream and a maraschino cherry. I involuntarily said, "Holy shit," when they brought it and K remarked, "They like you here!" In the elevator, back at my building, I saw a woman with her 2 little girls, both very cute. The older one told me she was six, and the younger one (in a stroller) held up 3 fingers to signify her own age. The six-year-old girl's eyes got all big and round and I could tell she was trying to think of something exciting to say. Finally she burst out, "I have a LIBRARY CARD already!" I thought that was pretty ...

So D and I went to a party tonight at Leela Lounge . We didn't know most of the people, but we had a good time anyway. The strangers had good social skills and soon we were all chatting. D got a drink called a hot chocolate, which was cold, but he was not disappointed. It apparently contained vanilla, Bailey's and Godiva liquor. "Do you know what made it really special?" he asked me this morning. "What?" "There was a Hershey kiss at the bottom." Then he forgot about the Hershey kiss, and when he had his second drink, he was surprised again ;)

So D and I tried out Pushing Daisies , the new show about a guy who can bring back people from the dead (usually temporarily) and solve mysteries with their assistance. I liked it. D thought it was "fun and weird," and was surprised it got funding because it was a tad inaccessible. I hope it lasts! In other news, Dave Eggers is coming out with a new book in 2008. It's an adult version of Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are. I'm looking forward to reading it. And...Sophie Kinsella is coming out with another book in 2008 as well! Not in the Shopaholic series, but I'm happy about it anyway.

I take back what I said about The Big Bang Theory . Mostly. Penny is still a really dull character. But most of the other people are funny. An embarrassing thing happened today. My SIL told me she was going to leave some yarn in a bag on my doorknob. I had a feeling it had arrived, so I opened the door to fetch the bag. Unfortunately, an old guy on my hallway was walking toward my door, so he could use the garbage chute. Why was this unfortunate? Because it was about 89 at the time, our building shut off the A/C in September, and well, you get the picture. The good news is, I didn't open the door all the way. I just kind of snaked my arm out. So I don't know how much he saw. Hopefully not a lot. Usually our hall is about as lively as a tomb. I guess I'll just pretend nothing happened when I see him again. Ugh. And I finished a scarf! The pattern was fun to make.

So D and I just ate at a diner we like -- French toast for him, veggie burger for me. This is a seriously cheap diner -- you can get a large, filling meal for $5-$8. Anyway, applause broke out as we were eating. We looked up and saw a guy posed, very theatrically, on bended knee, facing a giggling girl. He held a ring box in his hand. A strategically-placed photographer snapped a picture. D and I both wondered why he proposed there? It's the NYC equivalent of Bickford's or IHOP. We came up with a couple of theories: 1. It's their favorite place. 2. He figured she would really be surprised.

So here's a capelet I made for my cousin (she was taken with mine, and requested one). And my first pompom! They're a pain to make, but the result is cute. The embroidery floss will secure it to the hat.

So I visited Rainer today. His new thing is to tilt his head back and stare at me till I pat him on the head, at which point he closes his eyes and he looks like the very picture of bliss ;) Some woman smiled when she saw him in my lap and said, "He looks just like my cat...minus twenty pounds." Now, Rainer is a sweetheart, but he is not a slender cat. I can't help wondering what Rainer Plus looks like ;) On the other end of the spectrum, we saw a tiny chihuahua on the sidewalk with its owner. A ring of people had gathered around it. It was strangely mesmerizing; you couldn't take your eyes off it. It was three weeks old. And I may have a new cat friend soon. He lives in a shop on my street, but it's unfortunately always closed when I pass by (at night). The door is glass, though, so I can see him. Once he was sitting right there, so I said hello. He got excited and pawed at the door, and also rubbed his face against it. It's funny how some cats love you, and ...

I realized I hadn't blogged in a few days. It kind of slipped to the back of my mind. Well, here's some of the stuff that's been going on with me/us: I'd been remiss about watching my Netflix movies, in particular Step Up (starring Jenna Dewan and Channing Tatum - Who? Right.) Actually, you may remember that Jenna dated Justin Timberlake for a while, and was one of his dancers. I felt like it was time to get some new movies, so we watched this one. It wasn't great but not horrible either. It's a good one to watch with your significant other/friends because you'll have fun accurately predicting most of the movie based on the first 19 minutes. Then, at the 1 hr 30 min mark, you can accurately predict the ending. I've also been working on a number of knitting projects. I'm finishing up a capelet for my cousin, and a scarf with a fun pattern and a hat are also in progress. Hopefully I'll have pictures of everything up within a week. I also think Big ...