Subway Stories

I usually see some of the same people on my commute to and from work on the subway. There are a few fun characters that I always wonder about when they are riding on my train or at my subway stop.

The first guy has super long hair that he always ties back in a low ponytail. He wears something close to a Hawaiian shirt in very muted colors and usually wears a straw hat. The most interesting thin about him is that he always has a different book. Every day he has a new title that he is reading. He must either spend a lot of time on the train reading or be a fast reader. I can only imagine that he has to be a super smart guy for all of those books that he has read.

Another guy is a common scene at Penn Station where I get off the train for work. He is always there between the hours of 6 and 7, sometimes earlier and later. He dances. Not only does he dance, but he tries to moonwalk quite unsuccessfully. He is hilarious but he is also glorious. He makes me smile every day that I see him. He truly enjoys his dancing on the platform to whatever music is playing in his headphones. He always has the biggest smile on his face as he is moon walking and skipping around.

One lady that I have seen frequently has her eyebrows drawn on. She has shaved or waxed off her original eyebrows and draws new ones on every day. They are always perfect. I always wonder what it would be like to not have eyebrows. What do you do if you smudge your eyebrow? Can you imagine being a little drunk trying to draw eyebrows on yourself? I feel like I would be the lady who always draws them on crooked on bad days or Mondays when you just aren't thinking straight.

There are always a true set of characters on the trains. These are just a few of the characters I get to see on a usual basis. They never fail to make me smile or make my day just a little more interesting than it would have been otherwise.

An NYC Visitor

This weekend, my sister visited me in the city. It is always fun to have visitors because you get to do very New York things. First, which should come to no surprise, we went shopping. Even though the tax rate in NY is more than in PA, you can always find better things in NY. It is pretty much a given that all of the really amazing stuff comes to New York first and then goes elsewhere later. With that said, she bought out the city.

As we were walking back to my apartment, she commented that there was a lady carrying a French Baguette. I said "Ohh was it cute? I didn't see it. Do you mean like a little purse?" No, a French Baguette is literally a loaf of bread - not a tiny purse. I'm not sorry. That is just the way my mind works.

Saturday night we went to Morandi for dinner. There was a guy there who had 4 of the most gorgeous women surrounding him having drinks. I am not sure if he paid them to be there, if they were all friends, or if they just wanted the free drinks but they were fabulous and he was not so fabulous. How do you think something like that works? Leggy, short skirts, bouncy hair, and 2 other bouncy appendages = You can have any guy that you want! I can't imagine that they wanted him but who knows. All I know is that my dinner was amazing and no matter how skinny they were, it didn't deter me from eating all of my Salmon and having the side potatoes as well.

This afternoon, we didn't do the usual Sunday brunch. We went to a party on the roof of the Thompson Hotel in the LES. I am still not clear on what the party was for...something about San Francisco and New York, but I do know that I had a really great time. The views were amazing and a lot of my friends were there which always makes for a good time. The best part about the party were the bartenders. The one bartender looked really familiar to me so I walked up and started a conversation with him (he is also absolutely gorgeous). Turns out, he lives in my building, on my floor, and just down the hallway from me!!! After he got my drink on the house, I sat down amongst my friends feeling very excited. I also noticed the chairs that we were sitting on were covered with a graffiti print that said "Men Are Great". I would have to agree with those chairs wholeheartedly!

The Real Yellow Mustard

I am hanging in tonight cleaning and catching up on mindless television. Right now I am watching re-runs of The Girls Next Door about Hugh Hefner's Playboy playmates. They were walking around NYC trying to get hot dogs from the street vendors, however they had to be with the "real yellow" mustard. They went to quite a few stands before finding the correct kind of mustard. I have to say that I also do this frustrating search every time I am hungry for a hot dog. It doesn't always have to be in the city, but whenever I want a hot dog, I want real yellow mustard on it - not Dijon, not spicy, just regular French's mustard!

Not only am I picky about the kind of mustard I like, I am picky about my men too. I am like Brigitte on The Girls Next Door in the fact that I will keep going to the next hot dog stand until I find the right one! I am not afraid to say no, refuse one that has already been around, and will gladly accept anyone that seems to be the right kind. Until I find that hot dog with the real yellow mustard, I don't mind sampling a few that are pretending to be the right kind.

Something To Lighten The Mood

Since I want to make people smile and laugh, I thought this little story would do the trick....

I currently work in Men's Fashion. Specifically, I deal with men's pants, denim and shorts. The past few weeks I have spent my time in the office looking at plaids, stripes, and different fabrics for our pant assortment. The other day on the train, I took work home with me. I was sitting on the subway, staring at some guy's stripe layout on his pants. Unfortunately, I was staring directly at his crotch. He also, unfortunately, noticed that I was staring at his crotch. He kept smiling at me the entire ride and I couldn't understand why he kept smiling. Well, when you stare at a guy's stripe layout on his pants, he may get the wrong idea.

Note to self...it is not always a good idea to take your work home with you, especially when you look like a creeper doing it!

Changes

As I am reading my posting from last night, I see that it does not flow as nicely as it should. There are also a few spelling mistakes. I am issuing an apology for Typing While Tipsy as this should not be allowed in writing. It does make for a funny day, however, when your friends email you to tell you that they could judge the amount of martini's I had from the number of misspellings. I can't promise that it will not happen again - and for that I am issuing another apology. On the other hand, if I never got tipsy, I would have half as many good stories.

Tonight my posting is about change. Is change good or is change bad? I guess that it depends on the perspective from which you are viewing the change. When things are going your way and changing positively for you, change is good. When things change and you don't like what has happened then you see the change as negative. That is an obvious statement that honestly doesn't need to be said, however, what about the change that is neither good nor bad? For example, the weather. Are people in Florida really happier because the weather is nice and sunny all year round? Personally, I like the weather change so that I can rotate my shoes in and out with the seasons.

Change also affects friendships and relationships. People change. This is another obvious statement. Do friendships and relationships always end when one person changes and the other does not? Do people have to grow at exactly the same rate in order to remain close? Why doesn't one person changing make the other person happy for them? It always seems as if that person feels left in the dust. If that friend isn't happy for their friend who has changed for the better, are they really a friend at all? If you think that you have changed in a positive way but someone else sees it negatively, have you really changed for the better?

I know this is pretty deep for a blog but it is something that was on my mind all day long. If things in life stay stagnant and the same, isn't that just boring? Personally, if I do not change from this moment until the time that I am 30 (which I might never admit to being that age) then I would think that I haven't learned anything in that time period. I want to keep on learning and growing until the day I am 45 (definitely never admitting that I am older than that). Hopefully there are a few things that will not change about me though. I always want to be a fun person who is great to be around and I always want to be a great friend. I always want to support my friends in whatever they do and through whatever changes they may encounter. I also want to be that ridiculous girl who Types While Tipsy and tells her funny stories to the world :)

It's Not What They Say, It's What They Do.

Tonight I was out with my girlfriends and we went to this great happy hour place called Public House. When I walked in, I could barely look for our other friend that was meeting up because the place was filled with beautiful men and firemen! Who can resist firemen? They were also all watching the Yankee's game. There was so much testosterone in that one bar all of the women there could barely breathe.

One guy was chatting us up, and for some reason he dropped to his knees on the dirty, sticky bar floor. Another guy beside us, one of the firemen, took off his boss' hat and placed it on my friend's head - apparently cause for reprimanding a fellow officer. We saw nothing wrong with it but his chief did not like that a girl had on the sergeant's hat.

I am repeating the phrase "It's not what they say, it's what they do" because we were testing that this evening. My friend had a guy that just moved away, however, he spent his last evening with her in the city. That means more than just saying a general goodbye.

Meat Head decided to take me out to dinner last night. Even though he was telling me the story after the fact, this actually happened. He was explaining to me how him and his friends were joking around and he mentioned something that I had said to make him laugh. Even though he was telling his friends what I had said, it was his physical action of talking about me that made me realize that he felt something more. The action of a guy telling their friends about a girl means a lot more than the guy just saying that he is going to hang out with his friends.

Always look for the action from the person that you are seeing. If they say they will call and talk to you and they don't, please don't expect much more from then. The guy could possibly be playing the 2-3 day rule and not following up, however, if it gets past 4 days, don't think that he will call tomorrow. If a guy really wants to be with you, he will make it work - even if he is moving half way across the country. Only time and his actions will tell.

Rachel Zoe Is OOC

"I Die", "Bananas", and "OOC - Out Of Control" aren't normally phrases that I use to describe anything, unless I am watching the Rachel Zoe Project on Bravo. Honestly the show I just watched about Paris fashion week was phenomenal, also known as OOC! The clothing, the shoes, the architecture was to die for.

Rachel is so fabulous that she gets to meet the designers...John Galliano, Marc Jacobs, and Karl Lagerfeld!! I would probably pass out if I even got to pass by any one of them on the street, much less congratulate them for a job well done at their Paris shows. One day I will be at those shows. I might even get to meet Karl :)

Another amazing thing is how great Rachel's husband is. Roger just wanders around Paris taking pictures all day while Rachel is at the fashion shows. He takes her shopping and pretends to care what she is buying. He is probably more worried about the money that she is spending but who cares - it's mostly hers. Then, he makes her a gorgeous photo album with all of the pictures that he has taken....can you say Bananas? Can I just spend a day in her Chanel shoes? Please?!?

She also went to one of my favorite places in Paris. She shopped for vintage at Didier Ludot in the Palais Royal. It was the cutest little store with the most expensive and exquisite vintage and pieces that I have ever seen. I have also vowed to return to that amazing little shop some day in the near future (hopefully very near!).

I am "Eifel Tired" and should go to bed (yes, that was another amazing phrase uttered during the show and it might be cheesy but it is totally cute).

What I Learn From Shopping

Shopping isn't just a silly thing to do when one wants to pass the time. It can actually teach you a lot of life lessons.

Sharing - When you see someone who is looking for that exact dress you have been carrying around for over 10 minutes just because you like it and not because you are going to buy it, you kindly pass it off to her. This is sharing.

Math - Yes, I know that math is not a life lesson, but it is something to learn. 20% off, 40% off, 2 for $20 versus $15 each. You quickly learn math and how to calculate the value of buying in multiples.

Patience - You have been waiting in line for over 15 minutes to get a fitting room. Finally you get to try on all of your clothes and make it to the register. There is another line to check out. Patience is learned in these lines. Since the clothes that you are holding are worth it, you will wait patiently in line and you quickly learn that huffing and puffing doesn't make the line go faster. Honestly, it makes the lady behind the counter go slower just to make you angrier.

Decision Making - There is always that time when you have to choose between the really fun party dress and the black cardigan that you came into the store to find. You needed the cardigan but are very reluctant to let go of the sparkly number you spotted on the rack when you walked in. Not only do you learn to decide, you find out if you are a practical person or if you are a little more adventurous than you thought. Who needs work clothes anyway?

Focus - Checking each tag for the little S, M, or L is a lesson in focus. You need to be zeroing in to find that little letter printed in each garment while also flipping through the rack at an even pace so you can shop the rest of the store in the 15 minutes that you have to shop on your lunch break. If you are too slow, you only see a little bit of the store, if you are too fast you never find your size.

Calmness - When the doors to the sample sale are finally opened after waiting in line for 1/2 an hour, all you want to do is run in screaming and grabbing things off of the shelves. However, calmness is key in this situation since all of those girls that run in screaming don't have the focus and calmness to walk past the crowd to the back where all of the fun treasures are hidden.

Happiness - One of life's biggest rewards is being truly happy. The thrill of purchasing a truly amazing high heel or cocktail ring always makes me happy :)

Happy Learning and Shopping!

Are They Giants?

I was at a party in Tribeca last night where everyone was a giant. I wish I meant the NY football team but unfortunately I do not. Literally every girl there was over 6 feet and skinny. Also, all of the boys were taller than the girls. I walked in feeling all cute and confident in my 4 inch high heels and fun outfit. I quickly started to feel like a little kid that no one wanted around. It wasn't that they didn't want me, it was that they couldn't really see me. I was bumped into numerous times and spilled on countless others. Even the shortest of the boys definitely weren't interested. If you were a guy and you had the choice to speak to the short girl or the girl that her boobs are at your eye level - who do you think you would pick?

How was I supposed to try to flirt with anyone if I couldn't even see eye level with them to catch their gaze?! I tried a different approach of looking all of the way across the room. That way you don't have to be eye level, they can see you from far away. I thought that I was making eye contact with this really cute guy playing pool. I smiled and looked away and by the time I looked back up, the weird guy who had been standing next to him was at my side. Damn it! I forgot that from far away, it is hard to tell what direction you are looking and you attract more people rather than just the one you were aiming for. I chatted with the weird guy for a little and then I decided to abort the mission.

The party should have had one of those "You must be this tall to enter" signs so that I wouldn't have had all of that confusion.

Moving Madness

I am typing this blog covered in paint. Yes, I tried to wash it off of my nails, hands, face, and out of my hair before I began typing, however it is proving to be quite impossible. I might have paint on myself for the next week. Tonight, I helped my friends re-paint their apartment white since they moved out of it. For all of you New Yorkers out there - Do Not Paint Your Apartment any thing other than white. It is so not worth it. It was fun to hang out with my friends and drink but the painting part was unnecessary.

When we finally made it to their new apartment we arrived to a scene that could have been an episode of Friends (of course - do you expect anything else from me at this point?). Their couch was not only stuck in their doorway but it was jammed between their doorway, their new neighbor's doorway, and the hallway. Very stuck. I liked the idea of calling firemen to saw apart the couch, however, the neighbor (of only a couple of hours) had a "saw" (read: steak knife) and decided to use that to break the couch free. To my disappointment and everyone else's relief, we didn't have to call firemen and the steak knife actually worked. I will have to find out what brand of knife that is. If it can cut through a couch, it can cut through anything that I might ever try to cook. Am I kidding myself? Me try to cook? Must be the paint fumes getting to my head - I'm not going to cook anything.

I have to give a big shout out to my city girls in this blog. Only you girls can make painting eggshell walls a fun task and make a couch stuck in the doorway hilarious. Trying to walk up and down stairs carrying a thousand bags and playing with the trash shoot wouldn't be nearly as interesting if it were done with anyone else. Thanks for giving me material to write about :)