Motown Philly Back Again

Independence Hall - Philadelphia, PA

I hope everyone had a great weekend because mine was fabulous. In a last minute executive decision I decided to join my Mom in Philadelphia, PA for Saturday and Sunday. My Mom was attending a conference and staying at The Ritz-Carlton. Yes. Free room at the Ritz. Yes.

I had never been to Philly and in the short time I was there I enjoyed myself a lot. First I met my Mom in our swank hotel room. Nothing says classy like a Ritz-Carlton plush robe:

From there we went to El Vez restaurant (named after the Mexican Elvis impersonator). Basically this place was like El Charro for the "jet-set". Over trendy and crowded, but it was worth it to see my Mom get drunk off of 2 strong margaritas.

Next I took Mom out to Zanzibar Blue, a chic little jazz bar. But Mumsy was a little tipsy and I was planning on meeting a friend from college later. I dropped El Drunko Mom off and headed out for a fun night of drinking.

The next day we got up early to do the touristy stuff. When I'm in a new city I like to pack lots of sites into one day. We only had limited time so we walked from our hotel to the Liberty Bell (it was a hell of a walk in 20 degree weather).

First, there is a security entrance to enter the building that houses the bell. The security checkpoint was worse than an effing international airport. All the tourists who had mounds of clothes on complete with fanny packs had to take all of it off and send through a conveyor belt. The whole operation was very inefficient.

The Liberty Bell is now housed in a glass building facing Independence Hall where the Declaration of Independence was signed. It was pretty cool being in the exact location where the infancy of the United States of America began.

From the Liberty Bell we cabbed it over to the Philadelphia Museum of Arts. I was pleased that there was a collection by Van Gogh that included one of my favorite paintings "Sunflowers":

But of course the real reason for the museum visit was for the Rocky steps : ) The fruits of my weekend adventures culminated here. I wish I had more time in Philly but I'll be sure to return soon (I gots to get a Pat's cheesesteak!).

ADDRIAANNNNNEEEEEEE!

Friday Boobies

Thank god it's Friday and time for boobies. Today's lovely lady is Courtney Cox-Arquette. Now I believe on Friends she was kinda cute and played up as the goofy counterpart to Rachel "the hot one." But in last year's mediocre movie "The Longest Yard" Cox had a bit part in the beginning where she looked HOT. I remember seeing a clip and thinking, wow they made her look really good.

I think she shot this post-baby Coco. You can sort of tell because her bust looks bigger than when she was on Friends. I think she looks fantastic. Her hair and makeup contributes to the hotness and her body and boobs are very natural looking. I'm giving her an 8!

Everything Falls Into Place

All day Tuesday I wondered if he would call. He called to tell me he was getting on the plane and he wanted to see me tonight. But I didn't know that because I didn't answer his call. By the time I got home and got his message I decided it would be another quiet Me Night. He called again while I was watching ice skating (btw Dick Button is a bamboon's ass). We talked and I tried my best to sound normal. I thought I succeeded. But he called me out and acknowledged that I sounded different. He then wanted to talk about the "L" word. I braced myself for something bad but he surprised me. He told me how much he cares about me and about us and that he loved me. Huge sigh of relief :) Sharkbait gets the award for most spot on advice and thanks to everyone else who offfered kind words. Now I can go on not feeling icky and try to keep the lines of communication open with my wonderful BF.

Tips for Happy Hour

**First, I told MK about my blog last week. I thought he would be upset or confused but he thought the wholed idea was funny. I didn't tell him the web address and promised him that I won't share too many intimate details on my blog. I think he wants to read it someday, but not just yet....**

So tonight is the Blogger Happy Hour at Lucky Bar organized by Kathryn, high priestess of social gatherings, and I-66, former child model. There may or may not be a camera crew there from a local news channel.

I'd like to take this opportunity to provide some helpful hints for first timers:

* These events start fairly early but are known to run late. Please pace yourself with the Yuenglings. The tap will be there all night and so will you.

*Many bloggers are not afraid of taking pics of themselves and of you and posting on their blog. If you do not want to be photographed steer clear of I-66.

*In addition to not being photographed, if you do not want to be inadvertently seen on camera or if you have a blog stalker to avoid, may I suggest a burqa to cover your face. Surely no one will think twice of seeing such garb in the fine establishment of Lucky Bar.

*It is perfectly acceptable to go up to a blogger and freely admit you don't know their name and have not read their blog. The whole point of these things is to meet face-to-face people you wouldn't normally meet. If you do know their blog feel free to compliment their writing :)

*Lucky Bar has a pool table and an upstairs area. The stairs leading up to the second floor and bathrooms are quite steep. Coming down those stairs could be difficult for some later in the evening. Don't try to look "cute" coming down the stairs. Just hold on to the railing and keep your balance.

*If you drop something on the floor at Lucky Bar you will need to rush it to a decontamination facility ASAP.

* Lucky Bar nachos are top notch!

Hope to see you all there tonight :)

What I Didn't Do on My Day Off

I did not talk to Malibu Ken at all yesterday. It may seem childish or cowardly but let me explain. I needed a Me Day. A day where I wake up in my own bed, take my time getting ready and do something new. He left for a business trip anyway and I had the day off so yesterday was perfect for a Me Day.

I woke up around 11AM and started some house cleaning. I made plans to meet my friends at the National Gallery of Art to take in the Cezanne in Provence exhibit. I metr-hoed in to the Smithsonian and had a nice afternoon of museums. The Mall and the Cezanne exhibit was mad crowded on account of the 3-day weekend and the reasonable weather. From there we headed over to the Museum of Natural History to see me all time fave Gems and Minerals exhibit. Any day that I can see the Hope Diamond is a good day :)

Next was a quick stop for a respite at Teasim. I was very impressed by the Chai and cookie I had. I was really surprised at the HUGE cup the tea was served in. The first thing I said was, "Um excuse me. There seems to be a mistake. I believe I ordered the large chai." :)

The chai energized me for the rest of the afternoon to run some errands and then go to dance class. I've been meaning to do a post about my experiences at DC Dance Collective (where I was spotted by another blogger!). I've always loved dancing - whether it's jazz, modern, hip-hop, salsa, etc. But jazz is where I've always had the most fun and my body responds quite well to its demands. When I was taking jazz and modern in college I was in the best shape so I figured continuing classes would be kick my ass into shape. The classes have been enjoyable and I'll write about this in more detail in a later post.

After dance class I went home and prepared myself for a nice evening alone. I hadn't spoken to MK all day. We aren't one of those couples who is on the phone constantly anyway. So I sat down for a delectable repast consisting of Taco Bell and a glass of California Pinot Noir. I tuned into The Bachelor and The Gauntlet II. At 10:30 MK called and I didn't answer. It was my plan all day not to answer and I stuck to that goal. I think I needed some space and time to approach what to do next. I will probably talk to him tonight when he calls and put my best practices foward. I will remain calm and just try to have a normal conversation. I think the Me Day helped me to refocus and recenter myself - which is key to being in a relationship. As they say, "You can't love someone else until you learn to love yourself." ..... Wait, or did I hear Dr. Phil say that in a Match.com commercial? I watch too much TV :)

Anxiety

Friday I had what I think was an anxiety attack. I've never had one but I had trouble breathing, nausea and onset of crying fits. I think it's because I wanted to tell Malibu Ken that I love him. I didn't think it would be too soon into the relationship. We've been dating for 6 months. But the words wouldn't come.

Tonight I had another anxiety attack. Shallow breathing, complete loss of my bearings and nausea. I felt the words coming up like bile. I finally said it. I told him not to say anything. But of course I wanted him to say the words back. He didn't. He asked, "Are you sure?" I was stunned. Not the response I was expecting. Again, words were coming up like bile. I left feeling embarrassed, shaken, confused. Nauseated and feeling weak. This is exactly why I did not want to be the first to say it. Am I over-reacting? I don't know what to do...

Friday Boobies

Somewhere Bruce Wayne is wondering what he's missing out on:

I have to say I like her hair. The color and cute is flattering. But the pose is....shall I say sloppy. Her boobs look a little strange. I'm giving them a score of 7.5 only because they looked good in Monsters Ball.

I-66 is a Genius

Thank you to I-66 for pointing out a simple flaw on my website that was causing the sidebar to be pushed down to the end of the page. I would not have been able to figure it out because I'm essentially computer/HTML illiterate :)

Klassy Georgetown

Yesterday I went to my 3rd job interview for a firm in Georgetown. The interview went well and I think I would enjoy the people - except there are no perks. Is it wrong to heavily consider the benefits of the job? This job offers no dental, no parking, no metro reimbursement, and no gym (I know for a fact that other jobs offer some of these perks). So I guess if I take this job I will be toothless, fat, and Metro Bus bound. Gee, sounds great. But seriously if I get the second interview or the job I would probably take it.

After the interview I did a little shopping in G-Town. What is it about that section of town that reeks of utter snobbery? Why did I go into 3 stores and not receive any good customer service with the exception of the knowledgable gay guy at Sephora? The 19 year olds working at Urban Outfitters especially bothered me. Listen, I've worked in retail before and yes it sucks. And yes I know that you see thousands of shoppers in a week because it's a tourist/hipster trap. But that does not mean I will take kindly to your lack of help. The only thing keeping me there was the half off sale. I also noticed that people who shop at Urban are obnoxious and inconsiderate - for someone like myself who isn't those things this really bothered me. M.A.C. was also a bust. It is my conclusion that places like G-Town that try to scream classy are in fact the most classless places™. I'm going to start a list of classless places™ in D.C. and points beyond that need to be called out (I'm glaring at you Eighteenth St. Lounge).


Speaking of classy, did anyone see Iman on Project Runway last night? She was a guest judge and agreed to wear the winning designers dress. Daniel won again (big surprise) and all the dresses were pretty boring (big surprise). I've been very disappointed in this season and the designer's lack of creativity (with the exception of the week they had to take a photo of something to inspire them). None of the outfits could be in Vogue or WWD.

***Spoiler Alert** - Last week was Fashion Week and 4 designers from Project runway showed collections. They let 4 show to avoid giving away who were the final three. You can view photos of the collections here: New York Metro . I think the final collections turned out well...

Ti Amo - Happy Hearts Day

THIS is true love:

[Photo Source]

Seeing this picture was a good way to start off my Valentine's Day. This is my first Valentine's with a boyfriend so I'm eagerly awaiting tonight's rendevous with Malibu Ken. I'm not going to go into mushy detail right now but I think my horoscope sums it up pretty well:

Leo July 23 - August 22
For Tuesday, February 14 -The heavens are urging you to celebrate this Valentine's Day in a rather unusual fashion -- at least, according to your usual tradition. You're thinking about staying home, snuggling up and getting comfy. It's easy to predict that you won't get any arguments from your sweetheart, either. They'll be only too happy to actually have you all to themselves -- for once -- so whatever you hand over for a Valentine's Day present will absolutely be secondary.

I don't believe in using a day to put pressure on someone to prove that they care and from day one he's showed me that he cares. Whether it was coming with me to DC to hunt down my cell phone or lending a perfectly sculpted shoulder to cry on, he's always been my rock. Neither one of us has said "I Love You" yet. Frankly I don't want to be the first and maybe he doesn't either. Will tonight be the night? He promised tonight would be extra special... but whatever happens I want to enjoy myself and relish in the moment :)

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY TO ALL THE LOVERLY BLOGGERS. TAKE THE TIME TO TELL YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS YOU LOVE THEM!

Edit 12:12PM:

I wanted to add these lovely V-Day terms from Daily Candy to the post for your viewing pleasure (I personally like "bud light" and "do-or-diamond") !

amoraphobia - n. an irrational fear of Valentine’s Day.

blue bawls - n. an emotional, romantic version of flirting that leaves you feeling sad and crying.

bud light - n. the blatantly cheap flower selection from a guy who needs to be dumped ASAP. (How was your V-Day? Bud light.)

carniwhore - n. a girl who puts out for carnations.

do-or-diamond - adj. as in, if I don’t see a ring today, he’s dead to me.

long-stem posers - n. people who send themselves flowers from a “secret admirer.”

lote - v. to walk the thin line between love and hate. (I lote Johnny. One day he’s a dollface; the next he’s a total wanker.)

ménage à flaws - n. when you crash your friend’s Valentine’s Day date only to talk about all your relationships gone wrong.

PDR - n. public display of rejection: when your valentine takes you somewhere lovely only to break your heart in front of strangers.

Valentiny Tim - n. a man whose masculinity is put in question by his overenthusiasm for V-Day. (I mean, I don’t expect him to be a Valentiny Tim, but he could at least try to hide his total amoraphobia.)

Friday Boobies

Did you miss this post? It missed you too baby, mwah! Welcome back to Friday Boobies, where boobies are in the eye of the beholder. Last week on the inaugural installment we examined a pair of fake boobs. This week I've gone the opposite route with an all natural beauty:



Ahhhh Scarlett J. A girl after my own cleavage. My only reservations about this is that she's only 20 years old so I don't want to come off as creepy...but girl's got some great boobies. Nice, natural, probably very soft. I'm going to guess a 34DD or 36DD. I also like that she accentuates them on special occasions and doesn't just let them hang out all the time. So it's a nice treat when we get to see them, like in this lovely dress.

I know not everyone is into ample bosoms, but I like seeing healthy celebrities with some meat on them. I'm giving these a 9 out of 10. Happy Friday Boobies!

Lazy Days

I don't know if it's the resurgence of cold weather or general PMS but I am exhausted. Zero zilch nada energy. I haven't had anything exciting to post about recently either.... just a lot of work and job searching (I have 2 interviews next week).

And I'm thinking it's also sad that I sat in front of the TV from 8PM-11PM and only got up once to refill my wine glass and once to pee. There was simply too much good programming. I flipped back and forth during American Idol, Grammys, Lost, Project Runway, and PBS African American Lives (which was COMPLETELY FASCINATING and I think every grade school or college should show this program).

So I think I'm getting the juice up to go out tonight. If I can just get past this laziness.

But do no fret kiddies. I shall return tomorrow for the much anticipated Friday Boobies!

katies hump

I was at my friendly slow ass-make me late for work-Lee Highway Starbucks this morning for the requisite Tall Skim Caramel Macchiato. I began to ponder about what it would be like to be pregnant and unable to drink coffee for nine months or wear heels. But clearly Katie Holmes doesn't let a little thing like a growing gremlin/cash cow get in the way of such activities:

Photos from Just Jared

Here we see Katie Holmes lovely lady preggers hump. Katie's unborn demon spawn is also the newest blogger buddy of Direct Current! Anyway I know that being pregnant does not mean you have to be barefoot in the kitchen and wearing a muumuu. But I don't think wearing what appear to be stilettos in your supposed 6th month or so of pregnancy is a good idea. I'll give her the benefit of the doubt and assume that the coffee is for a friend and she just got hot chocolate or chai.

On to the mystery of the hump. This looks like a fairly loose, flowing shirt so it's hard to tell if the hump has gone done in size again as it is apt to do. Comparing pictures of her belly it does appear that the hump was bigger last month. Is this a case of a top quality-CIA disguise lab-prosthetic belly or just a pregnant young woman who makes poor maternity clothes choices (as well as poor life choices cuz after all she has allowed herself to be brainwashed by Tom Cruise and the Church of LIE-Entology)? You decide.

Friday Boobies

I have nice boobs. They are natural and sit in a good spot (i.e. not too droopy). It's been discussed in the blog world on many occassions. I even won an accolade for my bosom. Even though I am hetero I like boobs - seeing, touching, etc. :) So whenever I come across celebrities with good/bad boobies I always investigate the picture. So I think I'm going to start a weekly series called "Friday Boobies" where I post a picture of a celebrity's bosom. For this inaugural edition, I chose a lady who has made a whole career out of the evolution of her boob jobs. Behold Pamela Anderson:

[Photo Source]

OK, dear dear Pamela. Stop. With. The. Plastic. How can she thinks this looks good? In the first picture they are massively enlarged from previous accounts of what they looked like. Those things could have served as rafts for the crewmen on The Perfect Storm. The long skinny necklace further exxagerates her meatnormous boobs. In the second pic it gets worse, as she hunches over to reveal the hardness and indentations of the implants. How can anyone think this is attractive? I mean, I like nice boobs on healthy looking women as much as the next person, but this is wrong. Any guy who says this is a good look is demented.

So on a scale of 0-10 I'd have to give her a 0.5. And she only gets half a point becase I don't mind the outfit she's wearing and the accessories are cute. And she still has a killer body. None of which relates to her boobs but I'm trying to find the silver (non-plastic) lining here folks. Happy Friday Boobies!

Poetry Orgy and Groundhog's Day

Does anyone else like the movie Groundhog Day? Bill Murray is perfect as the most cynical weatherman who has to relive the worst day of his life over and over again. I love this movie and the lesson it teaches - maybe you get second chances at changing yourself and being nice to others.

Moving on to Reya from Grace's Poppies. She started an experiment where she asked bloggers to post their fave poem on Groundhog's Day to honor the Feast of Bridgid. Nothing says pagan holiday like a fat groundhog and poetry!



But I really like the idea of reading everyone else's poems. It's a virtual blog poetry orgy. And the only thing you'll catch is some inspiration :) I had a difficult time finding just one poem to present. I decided upon a poem by Margaret Atwood one of my favorite authors/poets. I first read this poem in college while coping with a broken heart. The longing and wanting is always there, but now that I'm in a relationship that makes me happy this poem takes on a whole new meaning. Enjoy.



Variations on the Word Love
By Margaret Atwood

This is a word we use to plug
holes with. It's the right size for those warm
blanks in speech, for those red heart
-shaped vacancies on the page that look nothing
like real hearts. Add lace
and you can sell it.
We insert it also in the one empty
space on the printed form
that comes with no instructions. There are whole
magazines with not much in them
but the word love, you can
rub it all over your body and you
can cook with it too. How do we know
it isn't what goes on at the cool
debaucheries of slugs under damp
pieces of cardboard? As for the weed
-seedlings nosing their tough snouts up
among the lettuces, they shout it.
Love! Love! sing the soldiers, raising
their glittering knives in salute.

Then there's the two
of us. This word
is far too short for us, it has only
f our letters, too sparse
to fill those deep bare
vacuums between the stars
that press on us with their deafness.
It's not love we don't wish
to fall into, but that fear.
This word is not enough but it will
have to do. It's a single vowel in this metallic
silence, a mouth that says
O again and again in wonder
and pain, a breath, a finger
grip on a cliffside.
You can hold on
or let go.