no unifying theme.

okay! here are the rest of things i promised to share before, and then some:

nene! my little friend from mali! look at that face. awww.

again, you can go to this link if you decide to help out a kid.

i also have this link for you! gizmodo is cool because they’re funny dorks who write about tech stuff. this particular article isn’t actually that funny, but the subject is amazing! oh, canadians…

and finally, i was totally all about posting some road trip videos for everyone, but i totally can’t! and i don’t think is just another time where i’m dumb and can’t figure it out. kind of. but basically they’re not the appropriate format to post on the blog, and i can’t “save as” in quicktime because i don’t have the upgrade or whatever. bummer! if anyone knows some other (free) venue where i can put them up, let me know. there are a ton of them, and i thought i picked the most interesting five for you guys, but now i have no way to get them to you! sad face.

YES.

and we’re back!

but by now it’s been so long i forget almost everything that’s happened! so i’ll just let the photos do the talking.

as most of you know, i went to boston a couple of weeks ago. what you might not all know is that i had a trip within a trip! to providence. and while there, i saw the new happy family and hallie.

it’s amos (dad) and baby, hallie and baby, and amy (mom) and baby:

and then, you know, the day i get back starts the worst week EVER, and then pepe came to visit!

but yes, i did finally get my computer back. and the screen is better than ever of course, and EVEN better than ever, because i saved 600 bucks by getting applecare when i first go the computer! whew. but they definitely called me like 30 minutes after i told a client on friday that i wouldn’t be able to finish my work for them that day. lame. honestly though, the events of that day were kind of screwed up anyway. whatevs.

the important thing is, now i have my baby back, and i can do work again, and look for work again, and distract myself way more easily again. for a while there it was all knitting and su doku, which frankly is a little too old, even for me.

no soup for you!

now i’m not the biggest seinfeld fan in the world, but i do think this soup nazi guy was way misunderstood. and this coming from a soup jew. but seriously, he had a system, an EFFICIENT system, and you better learn that system or get out of the way. so whhhhhy can’t other people and businesses learn from his example.

i ordered something from tinyshowcase a little while ago, and the usps tried to deliver it april 15. i wasn’t home, so they gave me that godawful pink slip letting me know when i could pick it up. after not being home some more, and being busy and being lazy and whatnot, i went to pick it up this morning on my way home from este’s house. i got there at about 10:50. at 11, it was my turn at the window (this may not seem like a big time to wait, by the way, but there was ONE person in front of me.).

i get to the window, very efficiently give them my slip and my id, as they ask you to, and the guy at the window disappears. i move to the right, where the put the packages for you once they find them, to free up the first window for the next person in line. no more than two minutes later, two hasidic guys on bluetooths come up next to and behind me, chattering away. loudly. keep in mind, they are not in the “official” line, which is to the left of me now. finally, a woman comes over and tells me that she has someone else (now a third person) looking for the package for me. as soon as she finishes, the guy next to me starts yelling about the mail that he’s come to pick up, and why isn’t there anything in the box (which is right behind the window)? so now she’s catering to him and the girl who’s in the ACTUAL line next to me, who i later find out has been sitting at home waiting for a package for the past two days that never got delivered. she ended up calling the national line for usps to get the damn thing taken off the truck so she could come pick it up. but she had to bring a full-sized suitcase with her because it was so big.

fast forward to 11:15… the second one comes up to the window, finally, and tells me she just can’t “find the damn thing anywhere”. i politely tell her that it’s been there for a week, so it has to be there somewhere, and she replies that it could be in “that big bin back there, but [i don't] have time to go through it.” i ask if someone ELSE could go through it. no. so she photocopies my slip, writes down my phone number and redelivery date, and starts talking to the next person in line.

NOT OKAY. not only is it not okay to keep me waiting so long without actually hearing from anybody what’s going on, but it’s not okay to talk to three other people in the meantime, and then blatantly not do your job in the end (by not finding the package). i’m really sorry that there are now four other people in line that are waiting (besides the very rude guys next to me), but i came here because you told me to and now you’re not even going to have the courtesy to give me what i came for? the object that YOU have potentially lost? that’s not how businesses work, lady.

so i come home and check the mailbox. i have three netflix videos waiting for me. three! you know why? because lucy and i sent three to THEM on tuesday. and they told us that they received those videos, and they’re going to return three new ones to us on thursday. and when one video didn’t get delivered two months ago? they resent it and then double-checked to make sure it arrived. can you believe it? they did what they promised. crazy.

i have a really big problem with inefficiency. clearly. but when an establishment like the united states goddamn postal service has so clearly become a dysfunctional business environment, i get angry. long lines i can deal with (and have to. every time i go there), but if all of your employees are esl (at best) and most of them can’t even take the time to complete the job that another employee failed to do? not okay.

needless to say, the usps will be getting a strongly worded letter from me.

II

^ that’s supposed to represent day two of my being without a computer, like they do it in jail, you know? since they’re comparable? but i don’t think it’s as effective as i’d hoped.

anyway, yes, it’s officially been over 48 hours that i’ve been without a computer. and it’s seriously killing me. i even tried calling the apple store to see if they could give me some sort of eta on when this is all going to be over, but alas… no. but lucy’s been letting me use her internet, which is really nice, and i got some work done on este’s computer last night. luckily i’m in what i’ll call a “work drought” (somebody hire me!) right now, but i’d really like to be able to at least work on the one project i have going on. oh! and one major symptom of my withdrawal? sinus awfulness. and the eight dollar claritin i bought (for five pills! five! they left one little square BLANK, for christ’s sake!) gives me chest pains.

but regardless, i have some things to share:

the first is design-related. scroll down to “no more swooshes”. i’m not sure why it won’t let me link directly to the post… but anyway, there isn’t a whole lot actually written on this particular post, but i thought the content/image was pretty interesting. there are a lot of websites out there right now that allow people and business to make their own logo online. you basically input some keywords and small details (color, font size, etc), and the website gives you a selection of logos that it feels fits within the categories that you have specified. for a price, obviously. and the price, i have to say, is super low. or, at least, way lower than it would be to pay a real designer. so it’s easy to see the appeal, BUT, the logos are all crap. they’re not as personalized as they should be (for obvious reasons), and things like what you see in that website’s image happen much more frequently. so hire designers. please.

additionally, kati mennett’s website is up. designed by richard quay, it’s quite lovely.

i also, of course, have to re-mention the aids walk. lucy and i put in our order so we can screenprint team t-shirts (because we’re awesome), but there’s still time to sign up and add to that order. or, you can just be nice and give us money. :) it doesn’t even have to be a lot. the link is in the post entitled “for shame”.

and last, but certainly not least, NEED to put this in. my sister is at college so naturally is a remarkable source for awesome youtube videos. check it out:

things to look forward to when i get my baby back (ribs)
-pictures of nene, my little friend from mali
-pictures from boston and providence
-videos from the roadtrip

i’m so cold and miserable.

that’s right, boys and girls, i am a sad mac. i didn’t actually get that image up on my screen, but only because it couldn’t because it was too busy fading in and out with crazy stripes lines! what the f?! i haven’t been computer-commando in something like… 14 years? i mean, not as hardcore as the past few years, but we definitely got a family computer when i was pretty young. and i’ve been a laptopper for the last five years straight, without a hitch, and now i’m here, sans computer, without a clue of what to do with my day.

‘but alyson,’ you may be thinking to yourself, ‘how are you bringing us this news and/or rockin’ blog post if you are without a computer?’ well, faithful readers, thank you for your relevant and – might i add – very important question.

i’m using lucy’s computer.

oh, but it’s just not the same. i was all excited to get home and upload pictures of boston and a providence baby, but now i have to WAIT. WAIT, people! this is really a whole new set of emotions for me. so, while i WAIT patiently for my computer to come home (“patiently” = rocking back and forth in the corner with my phone in hand), help me out and leave some encouraging comments that my life is not basically over for the next 3 to 5 business days. that there are things to do besides reading/writing awesome blogs and watching online tv shows and, oh… work.

bangin’ tatas.

yeah, you heard me.

this is the new(-ish) face of the boston celtics’ cheerleaders:

now let me explain why this makes me sick. SICK. i’ve been going to celtics games since i was pretty small, so i may be biased, but last time i checked, sports games like baseball and basketball – basically anything besides ultimate fighting or something – are pretty much family events. this is why (wait for it) there are so many families there. and i KNOW this for a fact, because they show all the cute dads with their sons and daughters with the face paint dancing to the music and getting really exciting on the jumbotron. so clearly i have hard evidence.

so is that cheerleader ^ something that is REALLY appropriate for an occasion like this? i’m thinking no. there are probably about twenty girls in this “cheerleading” squad. and i put “cheerleading” in “quotations” because it’s basically just a glorified club for girls with daddy issues that like to dance. so, as i’m sitting next to my father, eating ice cream and trying to figure out if that’s donnie or mark wahlberg sitting across the court from us, do i really want twenty sixteen year olds in bikinis shaking things that actually aren’t really there yet? no.

and furthermore – and we’re finally getting to the reason for the title now – do i really need the four drunk 23 year olds sitting behind me and my father screaming about the asian girl’s “bangin’ tatas”?! absolutely not. especially when that’s basically the only phrase that they apparently know to describe a nice rack. see how easy that was? there are many synonyms for not just “bangin’”, but “tatas” as well. take note, drunk assholes. take note.

for shame.

guys! join our team and/or sponsor us! we’ll make you tshirts!

“…these are their stories.”

so i’m sitting in my room yesterday, ichatting with my sister, when i smell smoke. the window was open, and it smelled like someone was bbq-ing outside, so i ignored it. but then i heard sirens. sirens that stopped right outside my building. so i figured that was a good time to check things out.

for those of you who aren’t familiar with the glory of my apartment, my room and the living room are in the back of the apartment, and they both overlook the alley behind it. we share this alley with about three other buildings. directly across from me, the cement that makes the alley is raised up about half a foot and then blocked off with an iron fence. no biggie. so i look down, and there in the fenced area are two hasidic jews. burning stuff. seriously. and right under a tree! so by this time i’m on the phone with my sister, whispering and watching out the window as a firefighter comes up on the other side of that fence and asks them what they’re doing. which they blatantly ignore. when he asks them again, they say they’re burning “food and paper”.

now i’m assuming that because of the upcoming holiday (passover, this coming saturday night) they kind of had to do this, for religious reasons. regardless, they were burning a pile of stuff, unprotected, behind an apartment building, under a tree. by the time i go get my camera (and discover the battery is dead, DAMMIT.) and get back to the window, there are five other firefighters coming through the back door of the apartment this part of the alley belongs to. having been told to put the fire out, one of the jewish guys has grabbed a 2×4 and started beating the fire with it. so naturally, one of the firefighters gets him out of the way and puts it out with an extinguisher. duh.

and then this afternoon on my way home, i saw one hobo trying to smother another hobo on the stoop across from my apartment.

what is going on here? does the pending holiday just bring out the worst in everybody? does the idea that in six short days you won’t be able to eat bread for a week? apparently. all i know is it makes me a little glad i’m hauling back to boston on wednesday. go celts!

hasselblog

what a weekend. WHAT a weekend. este and i went to boston thursday afternoon… we lucky starred it up, which was a big change for me. i took the train home last fall and haven’t been able to go back to the bus since then, but that streak was broken. and the fung wah was an obvious non-choice, so we survived! and that was nice. and it was surprisingly pretty empty, which was even nicer.

we went to school to hang out for a little bit, and then took the shuttle to lindsay book’s thesis show. rockin’. there were a bunch of people i haven’t seen in a while, and they actually let us all stay about an hour later than we should have. then este, abby, mike, and i went to anna’s nearby because este was talking about eating an anna’s burrito starting about three days before we left, and then we met up with everyone else at the cambridge common. fun times ensued, but we called it an early night. or at least most of us did. there were a few rock stars who went out for more beers, but the majority of us went home to watch ’step it up and dance’. that’s right.

friday este and i were a wee bit lost on what to do. which is actually really sad, now that i think about it. i mean, i grew up in the area, and we both went to school there for five four years, and yet the best we could do was decide to go to pita pit for lunch. and we didn’t even end up doing that! we went to anna’s again! and then back to school for like three hours! but that gave este a chance to see the 43789234 friends he has there, and me a chance to distract admissions people. they loved it.

but it also gave us a chance to figure out what was really happening for dinner. generally, in my world, plans start off simple and then escalate really quickly. what can i say? i like inviting people to things! regardless, our four person dinner quickly became a 12 person dinner. totally worth it. erin and lucy made like ten pizzas, and then were all phenoooomenal. check out abby’s stamp of pizza approval:

and after we were all full, and kind of drunk because everyone brought wine, we kicked the guests out and got ready and went to lindsay’s follow-up to her show, the end of an era extravaganza. and it was extravagant. there was a dance floor, a semi-open bar (to a point… i mean, she’s not made of money, and we’re definitely made of irresponsible drinking habits), AND an ice sculpture of a hasselblaad camera (hence the title of this entry).

it was pretty incredible. and as the night went on, it got better and better. i even made it on to the dance floor at the end, if you can believe it (yes, i was carried out there, but i did stay for a little while). but it was a truly great time, despite the missing friends (that’s right, ross and mariel, i’m calling you out. DEAL WITH IT!!1).

and when we arose the next morning, we were greeted with another fabulous meal. breakfast. “mama mush” (as she is so named) put together one of the best breakfasts i have ever had. there were omelets, there were potatoes,

there were friends… there were great times. steve awoke from the dead at dan’s house, and este’s brother camilo came by, too, so it was a truly great ending to an awesome time in boston. not to mention the ride that we got from camilo to the bus station. sweet.

and now i’m back in new york, watching too much downloaded television, ordering indian food, and finally figuring out how to put pictures in blog posts for your viewing pleasure… life is hard.

team fifteen

hey kids! lucy and i are doing the aids walk! it’s on may 18, and it’s a 10k. i’m waiting to hear back from them to make sure our “team” got approved, so let me know if you want to join us. otherwise, stay tuned for information on how to sponsor us. you betta.

in unrelated news, i start my internship today!

UPDATE click here to sponsor our team! it’s under my name, so click on “sponsor a walker” on the left, and then search for me. DO IT. orrrr you could always join us if you want! we’re more than happy to add to our team. i started my internship today, and they’re getting their screenprinter ready to go and the said i could totally use it to make team t-shirts, so if you want a rockin’ shirt… i’m just saying. it could happen.

UPDATE 2 i’m coming to boston tomorrow (thursday). get into it.