2.27.2006

Technical Difficulties

As with most of the relationships I have with electronics go, my digital camera is now on the fritz. I'm expecting it will soon be laid to rest in the gadget graveyard alongside other cameras, portable cd players, Mark's original mp3 player, cell phones, running watches, and more. I seem to have the anti-Midas touch with anything requiring batteries (or a charger)--if I use with it, it will inevitably be dropped down a sewer, scattered into pieces on the street, or it will just inexplicably fail to power on.

And because my camera stopped working at Sissy's wedding reception last week, I have no pictures of the evening. I was hoping to snag some from others, but so far, only Bec has passed hers along. I've posted some of them below...and you can just visit Bec's blog to see more. As you can see from these pictures, it was a beautiful reception and a very memorable night.

2.21.2006

Sightings

The telltale white trailers and 18-wheelers have once descended upon our neighborhood for the filming of August Rush in the streets between our apartment and Bec’s. Here’s IMDB’s plot outline:

A drama with fairy tale elements, where an orphaned musical prodigy uses his gift as a clue to finding his birth parents. Starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Keri Russell, Robin Williams, and Terrance Howard.

Two trailers are parked right outside our window—one of which I think belongs to Keri Russell (of Felicity fame). How do I know this? On my way back in from lunch a few hours ago, I nearly ran into her rounding the corner of West 10th and Washington. A production guy was telling her where something was and she responded with “okay, cool.” A typical Felicity response! She looked beautiful, of course, with her ubiquitous rosy cheeks and wavy hair (the curls have yet to return since the 4th season…). I think she was on her way to the set, because I saw them filming on Charles Street a little bit later. (And noooo, I’m not stalking the set…it’s hard to avoid when it’s in your backyard!)

Earlier in the day, Bec caught a glance of Jonathan Rhys Meyers running down the street with a guitar in hand (we’re guessing he’s the orphaned musical prodigy, hence the guitar). Now all we need is a Robin Williams or Terrence Howard sighting for the trifecta!


We'll miss you, Granddad.

My world: A Dickensian Approach

It was the best of times.
Weddings, family, babies, enough love to melt the ice flowing down the Potomac...
It was the worst of times.
Too many goodbyes, too many tears, too much, too fast...
It was an age of wisdom.
What does not kill me only makes me stronger. Our world has been stunted, stalled. But the earth keeps spinning. The sun still rises, the moon has yet to cease lighting up the night sky...
It was an age of foolishness.
Spin me around that dancefloor again. There are more tabletops to dance upon, more evenings to be filled with fits of laughter, more days that we'll melt away with reckless abandonment...
It is the winter of despair.
It will be the spring of hope.






Happy Days in DC


The O'Connell family share a laugh at the Kenny's "reception eve" dinner at Sequoia in Georgetown. The extremely decadent dinner was made even better by great company in a beautiful setting. More photos from the evening are below. Wedding reception pictures coming soon!

Corinne and Mark

The bride with her maid and matron of honors

2.16.2006

There's nothing like the company of good friends to lift your spirits on any day--and it's even better to have them around on your birthday! On Tuesday night, Keren, Nandita, Patty, and Karl joined me at Village. We munched on burgers, butternut squash ravioli, and even a brownie sundae for the birthday girl (but shared by all). A perfect way to celebrate the big 2-7. Some photos are below.

NG Girls in New York

wishing...

sisters

Village 2-14-06

2.15.2006

Sightings...

...Seth Meyers dining with a few friends (none of which appeared to be a significant other) at Village on Valentine's Day Super casual in a gray sweater and jeans (but not as casual as when I saw him in sweats a few weeks back).

...James Gandolfini towing his son in a souped-up tobaggan through Central Park on Sunday during the blizzard. Guess a plain ol' Radio Flyer isn't good enough for Tony Soprano!

A Look at the Blizzard of 2006

The pristine white snow that blanketed the city on Sunday has melted into gray, slushy soup; soaking through my boots and splattering my coat as it's flung from the street by speeding cars. But before being soiled by the plows, the salt, the cars, and the cabs, the snow was beautiful. A few glimpses of the Blizzard of 2006 are below.

Mark bundled up

Skiing down the street

View from above: Neighbors helping out a stuck cabbie

Christopher Street

2.14.2006

Thought for a New Day

"Yesterday's gone, tomorrow is not promised to any of us. Use Your time wisely," said the preacher on the C train last night.

2.13.2006

Thought of the Day

"A lot of things will change and keep changing, but a lot of things are going to just stay the same and keep on chugging along....I guess that is life now, we just have to enjoy all the time we have, with all the people we have to share it with."

(How did i get so lucky as to be married to the person who provides such comforting words?)

Dear Philip, You're in the arms of an Angel; may you find some comfort there...

2.09.2006

Stolen Sighting

I've stolen someone else's sighting (from Gawker.com) because, despite all the hubbub surrounding the movie being filmed next door, I haven't seen anyone famous in my 'hood this week. But at least someone did:

"Bruce Willis last night at Gaetana’s on Christopher & Greenwich. He’s filming a movie around the corner. Bruce gave a pretty enthusiastic high-five to the bartender Frankie. Guess he’s just one of the guys."

2.07.2006


To keep up with my running list of celeb sightings, I thought I'd post this pic of me, Nandita, and supermodel/tsunami survivor Petra Nemcova (taken over the weekend). She counts, right?

Maybe it's not the moon at all...

...I hear James Foley's shooting down the street...*

My walk home from the gym was a little more exciting than usual tonight. Mostly I spend this mile-long trek discussing dinner with Mark, chatting on my phone, or just keeping my chin tucked into my neck to avoid the icy wind off the Hudson. But tonight I walked right onto a big bucks Hollywood movie set. I know I should be over the excitement of seeing a movie set since it is New York after all, but I had done a little research and found out that this was the set for "Perfect Stranger," a James Foley movie starring Halle Berry, Bruce Willis, and Giovanni Ribisi. And, they happen to be filming down the street as I write this...if i open the window and crane my nexct some, I can actually see all the action live. Unfortunately, no sightings tonight. Just some extras and a guy dressed in black (it's a thriller..I assume many of the characters will be wearing black) running up the stairs in front of a brownstone.

So yeah, that's my big thrill for the night. I'm nursing a very sore tailbone (long story) and a few other ailments, so my track workout was pretty subpar. My training partner (and life partner...hah hah) is away at a client for the week, so I'm having a hard time mustering up motivation without him. I may even take the day off tomorrow and try to regroup on Thursday with a swim workout. Good thing there are still about 5 mos to go before the big race! Yikes.

I need to finish up some research for my next freelance piece (Want to know what your favorite snack says about you? I can tell you!) and give my life partner a call. (Sorry for using that rediculous label twice, but Bec had me laughing about the hippy "life partner" couples in New Paltz...so it's stuck in my head).

*(for those of you who don't have the Rent playlist on repeat on your iPod, that's a line borrowed--and slightly altered from the musical).

2.05.2006

February is FUN

February is bringing to fun! My all-time favorite month is not letting me down so far--and we're only five days in. Friday night marked Keren's 27th birthday, which we celebrated with a delicious dinner at Otto, then slurped down some cotton candy cosmos at Absolutely 4th (yes...that would be real, carnival-style spun sugar). On Saturday, we had a yummy brunch at our neighborhood greasy spoon spot, Sweet Life, then proceeded to the gym for a swim workout. (Note to self: do not attempt a 3,000 yard workout with about 3 pounds of breakfast in your stomach). Then we got in the car and drove out to Point Pleasant, NJ for Shannon's and Jeff's engagement party. Dinner lasted about three hours...bruschetta, calamari, salmon with artichoke, chicken parm, shrimp parm, penne with vodka sauce, cheesecake, and more...

Afterwards, he hit the Mariani's house for an hour or so, before returning back to the city.
Today, I'm still glued to the couch (thanks to a Project Runway marathon) but hope to step outside in a few for some sort of excercise and fresh air.

Pictures of last night's party are below.

The happy couple

Squinty eyes

A blurry shot of Erica and me

Shannon, the bride-to-be, and me

2.02.2006

Celebrity Sighting Roundup

I realized I forgot to report a few recent celebrity sightings. These happen to be repeat sightings, but I'll report 'em anyway:

Saturday 1/28: Q-Tip (of Tribe called Quest) checking into the gym. Black puffy coat with a mini-fro. Apparently, he later hit the boxing ring.

Sunday, 1/29: Walked by Ed Norton and a friend as they escaped the rain by ducking into the Spotted Pig. He was wearing a blue windbreaker (with a hood) and an FDNY hat. His friend was unrecognizeable.

Tuesday, 1/31: Molly Shannon, wearing black high-heeled boots over jeans, a black cropped pea-coat and a white hat, sprinting down 15th street between 8th and 9th Aves. I guessed she was rushing to get on the subway. This is the first time I've seen her within the past year or so without any of her kids in tow. (So maybe she was in a rush to pick them up?)

A Night With Joni


Last night's pre-birthday celebration was not spent at Bec's place with a few friends. Rather (much to my delight and surprise) it was spent with a few thousand friends at Carnegie Hall! Bec masterminded a plan that involved me meeting her at the Columbus Cirlce Whole Foods. She asked me to "help carry some groceries home," and, being the extremely gullible person I am, I bought right into it. I met her there where she was waiting with no groceries but a small bag. My curiosity knowing no boundaries or patience, I continued to plug her with questions about what we were doing there, but she wouldn't relent. We waited in the food court area for "Karl to meet us so we could all go home together." Wait, wasn't Karl supposed to be in a pilates class?

Then Mark showed up. Wasn't he supposed to be at work?

Then Karl. Then Annick. Then Bec opened her bag and revealed a cheesecake and blackberries. Dessert before dinner? That's very unlike Bec (and so is cheesecake!) The clock was inching towards 8, so I guessed out loud that we were going to a show. "A show?" Bec replied, aghast, as though I asked her if she had eaten a McDonalds' hamburger for lunch. But Annick and Karl went to get coffee, and Mark went to get dinner...and I finally got Bec to give up with act. We were indeed going to a show: The Music of Joni Mitchell at Carnegie Hall, to be exact.

With Joni being one of my favorite all-time singers, there couldn't have been a better show to take me to! The five of us (John joined us at the theatre) sat among many aging hippies (who no doubt spent a few choice days at Yasgur's Farm) as we listened to Marc Cohn, Judy Collins, Shawn Colvin, Cowboy Junkies, eels Amy Grant, Richie Havens, Jesse Malin, Me'shell Ndeg'Ocello, Tom Rush, Neil Sedaka, Suzanne Vega, Dar Williams, and Michelle Williams (of Destiny's Child, not Brokeback Mountain), and more. Best of the night, in my opinion: Jesse Malin singing Carey, Michelle Williams lending youthful exuberance to Help Me, and a bewigged, but beautiful Judy Collins with Both Sides Now (not Chelsea Morning...which was previously butchered by Nellie McKay).

Despite the lack of an appearance by Ms. Mitchell and a few sleepy moments, the show was excellent and a fantastic way to kickoff my birthday month! Thanks again to Bec for organizing!

2.01.2006

Getting Back in the Swing of Things

I’ve been keeping pretty quiet my training lately, only because I really wasn’t sure if working out at the gym technically qualifies as “training.” In order to be in training, you have to actually be training for something right? This kind of goes along with my other philosophy about writing: Don’t call yourself a writer if you aren’t published regularly (hence the reason why I often shy away from tossing around the label as my occupation).

But I digress. Many of you have probably caught on to my obsession with the gym—my home away from 165 Christopher Street. What am I doing there for hours on end, you ask? Well, lots of swimming, biking and running, all in preparation for the New York City Triathlon. Yep, I’m following in my sisters’ ginormous footsteps (metaphorically speaking, of course. I’m the one with the huge feet!) as I dive into the Hudson River at some ungodly hour on July 17. And I will not be alone. Mark is doing it too (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!), along with Laurel, Bec, and John. I think this calls for a major celebration come July!

More about the tri later—as you’ll be hearing much on the topic within the next five months. But I’m proud to share with you that I had a great track workout with Bec last night. 4x800 at tempo speed, with about 90 seconds rest in between. Coach Karl called out the times: 3:10, 3:14, 3:12, 3:08. Okay, so I’m not headed to the Olympics any time soon, but at least I stayed consistent. I topped the workout with about 20 minutes on the bike and then ran a steady 48 minutes this morning. I feel great (knock on wood...)!

Tonight I’ll be off—celebrating the birthday a little early at Bec’s. I’m not ready to turn 27, but I don't mind having an excuse to party!