I blessed the rains down in (South) Africa.

South Africa was awesome.

Getting off work at 6:12PM today was awesome.

My life is pretty much awesome. (First time I've said that non-sarcastically in a while.)

Taking Another Bite

Of the Big Apple, that is.

This is my last week at the firm (woohoo!). In September, I'll be going in-house here in NYC. That's right - not moving back to California in the near future, it seems. I'm really psyched for this in-house gig because it seems like it could be a great change in lifestyle and lowered stress levels. I was very close to writing off lawyering altogether, but my new job seems like a perfect compromise of seeing how lawyering is like in another (hopefully more positive) setting.

Oh, and another intrinsically HUGE positive: no. more. billable. hours. YAY!

NB: I'm taking a few weeks off between jobs, and I am going to SOUTH AFRICA. Ahhhh!!! Very random and impulsive choice - booked my flight on Friday of last week, and I fly out next week. I'm waiting for my safari to confirm, but barring any unforeseen circumstances, I'll be safari-ing, using my Fairmont hotel vouchers that I won on a few nights at the Fairmont lodge in SA, and heading to Cape Town. I also have a full day's layover in Dubai. Needless to say, this trip is costing me a small fortune, but leaving big law life is surely worth the celebration, no?

I love the smell of [____] in the morning!

Where [_____] = "Daria" on DVD!!

Step 1: Acquire "Daria" on DVD when it came out.
Step 2: Determine years of cat-sitting-on-top-of-VCR/DVD-player have resulted in killing said VCR/DVD player.
Step 3: Purchase NEW VCR/DVD player.
Step 4: Set up aforementioned new VCR/DVD player.
Step 5: SEE ABOVE!!

yay.com/lahlahlaaaahlahlah.html

*heart*

I *heart* my new apartment. :)

The Happiest Place on Earth!

Yes, I drank the Kool-Aid. I was in SoCal for a friend's wedding last weekend (gorgeous wedding, gorgeous bride!), and I couldn't help myself - I went to Disneyland!

It was a lot of fun, and I totally took pictures with Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, and MICKEY! I also am now the (proud?) owner of a pair of plushie ear clips with Minnie bows.



Yes, I am a grown, mature and responsible adult.

:D

Nico and I are movin' on up...

Movin' on up to the West Side!

And, while my rent is a chunk more than $1600, I'm quite pleased with my new place. AND I still save $700+ on my rent!

yay.com!

Oh! And I ordered DARIA ON DVD!!!!

yay.com x 2!!! :)

oh. em. gee.

I just gave my 60 days' notice on my apartment. OH. EM. GEEEEE. So my plan is to move to another apartment (likely to a less swanky zip code) in order to save more money. Like....a SIGNIFICANT amount of more money. My budget will now be $1600, hoping to get a 1BR but okay with a studio, take a cat, and not in the UES or Midtown East (hoping for UWS or Midtown West). Anybody? Bueller? Bueller?

To flee or not to flee...that is the question.

So I have a week of vacation that is as yet unplanned. Week 1 of the vacay has already been allocated to California. Week 2, however, is completely open to interpretation.

I've been thinking of a few things:
1) Fleeting trip to Peru (with main goal of seeing Machu Picchu) with the following itinerary: Fly into Cuzco/tour Cuzco (depart Sunday night/arrive Monday - Day 1), Machu Picchu (Day 2), Fly into Lima/Lima (Day 3), tour more Lima (Day 4), Lima/return to NYC (Friday night/arrive Saturday - Day 5). Yes, I have Fairmont/Swissotel hotel vouchers for Lima (hence the Lima-ness at the end there). I'd probably book a package for the Cuzco/Machu Picchu portion because that would be easiest in terms of hotel and getting my butt up that mountain. Total cost of flights (NYC --> Cuzco --> Lima --> NYC), hotel and Machu Picchu package, give or take a couple hundred, ~$2100.

2) Cruise. I know I know...a total cop-out. There's something to be said about having everything figured out for you and eating as much as you want, whenever you want, then going to lie on a deck with a book. Based on my available dates, it'd be a five day cruise from NYC up the Canadian coast to visit St. John and Halifax (never been to either). I've solicited cruise bids from this website and they are quoting ~$1070 for a balcony stateroom for just me, not inclusive of tips, etc.

3) Round trip to somewhere random, tropical, and not necessarily high on my list of must-see/must-do, but suitable for an escapist approach (e.g., Costa Rica, the Bahamas, etc.). Considering I've been to Belize and Fiji (not to mention the Omani beaches), I'm not sure if I need another beach vacation. Then again, there's something to be said about lying on a beach with a book - similar to the cruise escape idea. It does sound nice...and would be pretty affordable. I'm seeing under $1000 or so for flight and hotel, 5 days/4 nights.

4) Do nothing?

*shudder*

Pretend I didn't say that.

5) I'm open to suggestions. Anything from the night of June 13 to the night of June 19. Any ideas?

Nico has something to say.

And I'm thinking of creating a blog for him to say it.

Um...categorize this under "cat lady"...?

Epic Timing

My Blackberry died. (See immediately previous post.)

Is it possible to curse an electronic mobile device?