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Thanks to a wonderful thing called conditioning, Obi gets a treat every time she comes inside from using the lawn as her giant toilet. But she now thinks she should get a treat every time she performs the action of going out the back door then coming in. Even if it means walking out on to the patio and turning right back around. Then she’ll bark incessantly until she gets a treat. Once she gets a treat, she’s quiet. That is, until she realizes we are no longer paying attention to her. Then she’ll bark. She knows that if she barks enough, we’ll get fed up and give her peanut butter.

Ugh. My friend Melissa’s right. She’s completely in control of this house.

Well, a lot happened to me last year. Plenty of blogging fodder, but I was tired. Too tired to write, too tired to think, too tired to really do anything besides work and lose my sanity over it.

I mostly blame it on one situation in my life that basically sucked out any creativity I had left out of my bone. I have a half-finished book, three half-finished websites, two blogs, and a partially renovated bedroom. All were somewhat abandoned for the year (hence, my extreme lack of posting). I couldn’t even bring myself to do any freelancing work to earn some extra money. A writer without any creativity is like a potter without clay. Just doesn’t work.

Anyways, it took me almost a year to get out of it (on top of a bout of mono), but I’m now back to somewhat of a normal existence, I’m looking forward to an exciting year. For the most part, I don’t know what it will bring. I have no plans and it feels absolutely grand. This is actually the first year in a long time that I have a blank slate ahead of me. 

2008 wasn’t a total dump, however. Some highlights:

• A new job. Different commercial real estate publication, but a lot more flexibility that I needed.
• Traveled a lot, as usual. Went to Atlanta, Washington D.C., Boston, Las Vegas and Chicago. Missed my annual trip to Miami, thanks to the mono. Las Vegas and Chicago were new to me. I went to go see Journey with its new lead singer, Arnel Pineda, last March. The concert was good, but not exceptional, and I didn’t particuarly care for Las Vegas overall. However, I did get to meet a lot of my friends and did win $150 on just $5. Chicago was a fabulous trip, although it rained the whole time. Attended the Journey To The Cure Sparkle Tie Summer Ball and got to see Steve Augeri perform again, which was amazing - especially since he sang an acoustic “Kiss Me Softly.” And of course, it was lovely hanging out with the East Coast Entourage.
• Had a great party in July to raise money for the Light The Night walk for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Just got the total in and I raised over $1,200.
• Speaking of lymphoma, 2008 marked my third year of having no existing disease. Well, I actually don’t know if that’s true - due to an insurance snafu, I actually missed my last appointment with the oncologist and can’t reschedule until this month. But he would have called me had my scans been questionable.
• Lots of urban trips around New York City, from Knickerbocker Avenue to Fordham Road to Red Hook’s Ikea. Oh, and at least five trips on the Staten Island Ferry, just because I like free boat rides.
• The discovery of Freecycle, Bananagrams, meat on a stick, and Sophie Kinsella novels.
• My grandmother turning 90 in December, and getting to see a lot of family members I haven’t seen in years as a result.
• A splendid 26th birthday that included staying home in my pajamas all day, watching the new Muppet Christmas movie and eating breakfast for dinner.

There’s certainly more, I’m sure, but it’s 18 minutes past my bedtime. So, onwards to 2009 - some goals and things to look forward to:

• September is going to mark my fourth anniversary of remission - which means I am officially cured.
• Resolutions this year include spending more time with family, friends and myself; really chiseling away at my debt; and becoming more healthy in general.
• I’d like to travel some more, but domestically and mostly close to home. In doing so, I would like to save money for a trip to Europe in 2010. I’ve never been there and it’s always been a dream of mine.
• Actually working on my book, my family tree, and freelancing. I have so many ideas in my head just waiting to break free.

Phew. I forgot how mentally tiring long blog entries can be.

Wow, I only wrote four posts in 2008’s entirety. That will change this year. Resolution number one. Happy New Year!

There are two things I hate about post-Memorial Day.

The first is the beachgoers that travel to Fire Island, the Hamptons and Montauk every Friday afternoon and Monday morning. They all travel on my LIRR line. Why are most of them annoying?

• They pack three full-sized suitcases for a two-day weekend. I was able to go on a six-day Alaskan cruise with one carry-on.
• There’s an abundance of grating Long Island accents. You’ll, like, hear, like, the word “like,” like, interjected every three seconds.
• They’re glued to their cell phones, usually involved in some drama than invokes the grating Long Island accent. Peace and quiet doesn’t exist on Friday afternoon trains anymore. Pre-Memorial and post-Labor Days, you can hear a pin drop on the 5:09.
• They are often accompanied by yapping pocketbook dogs.
• They have no respect for daily commuters. They think their pooches and Vera Bradley duffel bags deserve a seat, when neither carry a ticket. They also block the aisle. The daily commuters loathe them. We talk about them before the summer starts and how much we hate summer Fridays.

Well, they’re back with a vengance. More »

Well, even though my creative energy has been zapped, I was able to muster a slight recharge this past weekend so Lex and I could construct a five-foot replica of an R-36 Redbird for the Coney Island Mermaid Parade. Yes, us crazy cats are going to march in the parade carrying the replica, which has been decorated in marine life, to commemorate all the reefed subway cars. They are now now part of the underwater ecosystem!

Took us about two days to go about doing so, and involved a lot of cardboad, paint and posterboard. But it looks great, even though we took some creative liberties with it. We’re sure to get yelled at by some foamers. We’re not going to publish photos until after the parade, so come see us or even march with us.

Other than that, life’s been good. Not much has been going on, except for work.  Haven’t traveled since Atlanta, but tried to relive the experience by ordering grits at the deli near my office. New York grits ? Atlanta grits. I highly suggest you stay away. Even McDonald’s has been trying to bring Southern cooking up here, but their attempts to copy Chick-Fil-A = ultimate fail (in fact, a Tulsa Chick-Fil-A was letting people trade half-eaten McDonald’s chicken sandwiches for the real thing). They were giving away their chicken sandwiches for free a few weeks ago. I had one for lunch, but it was bland and slimy. Ugh. But I did discover that a Chick-Fil-A does exist in New York City, at NYU’s student center. I have to see if I can sneak in one day - my co-workers and I are on a mission. Yes, I work with a bunch of Chick-Fil-A addicts. If you’ve never been to one, go - your life will never be the same.

Did go to my annual work Mets game the other day. Boxed seats, sushi, Cracker Jacks - who could ask for more? Had to leave before I saw my name on the Jumbotron, but we always get pictures later. Weird that it’s probably the last time I’ll ever be in Shea Stadium. Chicago is also in less than two months, so that should be exciting. I’ve never been to the Midwest before, unless the boondocks of Western Pennsylvania count.

Nothing much else to report, but I suppose a recent scorecord is in order. Presenting Amanda vs. The World, Part IV: More »