I already do a lot of things by myself: go out to restaurants (both fancy and casual), see movies in the theater, see shows on Broadway, travel to foreign destinations (and all of the "solo" things accompanying such travel), etc.
But, until this weekend, that "etc" had never included: (1) going to the karaoke joint by myself and (2) going to the beach by myself.
So, yes, this past weekend, I did both things...by myself.
It was totally okay, and I ended up chatting with a bunch of random people when I was invited to join someone's karaoke party. At the beach, I shared laughs with a couple of girls who were also jumping the waves. I had fun both times.
What surprises me, though, is that, when I mentioned having done these things this weekend - and they find out I did them ALONE - a lot of people reacted somewhat in sympathy...like they felt a little sorry for me and sorry that I couldn't find anyone to take along. Hrm. If I don't feel sorry for myself, then why should someone else? It's odd... Sometimes I wonder if I'm too independent and self-sufficient for my own good (or at the least for others' comfort levels).
Monday, August 22, 2011
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Hola!
Como estas? Me llamo odderie. Como te llamas?
I'm taking Spanish lessons! Having free time is wonderful. :) Yay, non-law firm life!
I'm taking Spanish lessons! Having free time is wonderful. :) Yay, non-law firm life!
Friday, June 03, 2011
I'm a maniac, MANIAC! :)
For books, that is. I've been plowing through a bajillion books a minute (well, maybe not quite that many), but I just finished one that was a disappointment.
Have you ever had that happen to you? You're keeping pace and reading quite happily for a while, but then you read a clunker and now have lost your momentum? I'm not sure what to read next to "get back on the horse," so to speak.
Have you ever had that happen to you? You're keeping pace and reading quite happily for a while, but then you read a clunker and now have lost your momentum? I'm not sure what to read next to "get back on the horse," so to speak.
Monday, March 28, 2011
My Free eBooks Obsession
Ever since I got my iPad and downloaded the Kindle for iPad app, I've been obsessed with acquiring free ebooks. I now have upwards of 150+ ebooks, all of which I've acquired gratis. Even with this abundance of digital reading material, however, I can't help but continue to love - and I mean LOVE - DTB (that's "dead tree books" in the ebooks community, i.e. physical books made of paper).
I have a ton of DTB, which I don't ever foresee relinquishing. What I've been marinating on lately, however, is the medium and pricing. I already feel that an ebook should NOT cost the same as a DTB. Isn't there a parallel here where the prices of CDs were way higher before the market for MP3s was established?
If I own a DTB copy of a book, it feels like I should be able to buy the electronic version at a discount. I mean, we can rip a song off a CD and have an electronic version easy. Why not an easily acquired electronic version of a book, too? That said, something doesn't feel "right" about the reverse - a discount on the DTB if one already owns the ebook. Doesn't that, in and of itself, show less of a "value" to the ebook, whether it is just perceived or actual (e.g. being able to resell the DTB, costs of the physical production)? So, why do publishers insist on making the ebook the same price as the DTB?
I have a ton of DTB, which I don't ever foresee relinquishing. What I've been marinating on lately, however, is the medium and pricing. I already feel that an ebook should NOT cost the same as a DTB. Isn't there a parallel here where the prices of CDs were way higher before the market for MP3s was established?
If I own a DTB copy of a book, it feels like I should be able to buy the electronic version at a discount. I mean, we can rip a song off a CD and have an electronic version easy. Why not an easily acquired electronic version of a book, too? That said, something doesn't feel "right" about the reverse - a discount on the DTB if one already owns the ebook. Doesn't that, in and of itself, show less of a "value" to the ebook, whether it is just perceived or actual (e.g. being able to resell the DTB, costs of the physical production)? So, why do publishers insist on making the ebook the same price as the DTB?
Thursday, January 06, 2011
New Year...New You?
j/k...I am not an infomercial for Jenny Craig (Weight Watchers? - can't remember).
But it IS a new year...so I'm wondering, what's everyone aiming for this year?
I'd just like this year not to suck. A year of coasting as things are now, while lacking significant progress, would provide some stability I feel.
Losing my friend was very difficult and now it would just be nice to reach an equilibrium point. I think life has a semblance of normalcy at this time, so maintaining that level would be a positive thing.
And as an aside, my new year's "resolution" is to floss at least once a week.
What can I say? I'm realistic (and obviously not a dentist). :)
But it IS a new year...so I'm wondering, what's everyone aiming for this year?
I'd just like this year not to suck. A year of coasting as things are now, while lacking significant progress, would provide some stability I feel.
Losing my friend was very difficult and now it would just be nice to reach an equilibrium point. I think life has a semblance of normalcy at this time, so maintaining that level would be a positive thing.
And as an aside, my new year's "resolution" is to floss at least once a week.
What can I say? I'm realistic (and obviously not a dentist). :)
Thursday, October 28, 2010
RIP
One of my best friends passed away this week after losing his battle with cancer. I am at a loss for words, and I start crying over anything and everything. I hope he knows how much I loved him and that he will always be close to my heart.
I recently reactivated my Facebook account (shocker of shockers, I know), and I wanted to post the following to his page. However, apparently there is a 1000 character limit to Wall Posts. I just need to memorialize these words.
Roddy, I hope you are noraebanging your heart out with a stone bowl bibimbap and a Midori sour at your side.
***
"In one of the stars I shall be living. In one of them I shall be laughing. And so it will be as if all the stars were laughing, when you look at the sky at night... You--only you--will have stars that can laugh!" - "The Little Prince"
Roddy, you always knew how to make me laugh. You were always there for me through everything. I only hope you knew how much you've meant to me all of these years. I remember all of the times we shared - the 10PM trip in the Rodmobile to Gibney's, your green shirt for the pink v. green tournament (yes, I'm still green with envy), Skee-Ball match-ups...a lot of them, when we freaked out at seeing that guy with the Carlton face shirt at APW (and then you got me a Carlton face shirt for Christmas!!!), picking up Joolie at the bus stop (me: "hey, isn't that Joolie?" and then you drove around the block for us to pick her up) and getting bubble tea, the epic hooky meal at Jean-Georges and all of the shenanigans that followed, last minute road-tripping to DC and making the executive decision to stop off at AC on the way up, the picnic in Washington Square Park that led to said road-tripping, our first night at Izu when we closed that place down after singing "Umbrella" (how many times did we shut it down afterwards? too many to count), how we refused to call it Karaoke Kave/Cave after it changed its name from Izu, going to dim sum...which turned into a 5-destinations-food-stop at dim sum, Baohaus, Doughnut Plant, Quickly, and Sugar Sweet Sunshine, going to BAM to watch "The Way We Were" with Robert Redford's in person interview (and racing NASCAR arcade games and playing Skee-Ball at Chuck E. Cheese's while we waited), how you drew "the flowchart" (with such accuracy and precision), clown-car-ing it in the photobooth on RDO and standing in a Hess gas station parking lot for 2 hours, how you were as excited as I was about New Kids on the Block floor seats at MSG (and how you confirmed that my touching Joey's jacket = yes, I touched Joey), White Castle in the parking lot like fugitives (yes, I know you loved it, and that's why we were both thankful to find I liked their mozz. sticks because that meant I wouldn't pull a face every time we wanted to find food at 2AM...which was often), talking until 4AM about anything and everything (um, yes, you do have work in 4 hours...and didn't I just pull a 16 hour day? "oh well"), countless nights at Izu, Verlaine and WRL (not to mention Bon Chon, Artichoke, Amy Ruth's, Cha-An, etc.)...I'll miss everything.
But most of all, Roddy, I'll miss you. I miss you so much already. I look to the stars, knowing you're smiling down on us.
Love to you and your family.
***
May peace be with you, Roddy.
I recently reactivated my Facebook account (shocker of shockers, I know), and I wanted to post the following to his page. However, apparently there is a 1000 character limit to Wall Posts. I just need to memorialize these words.
Roddy, I hope you are noraebanging your heart out with a stone bowl bibimbap and a Midori sour at your side.
***
"In one of the stars I shall be living. In one of them I shall be laughing. And so it will be as if all the stars were laughing, when you look at the sky at night... You--only you--will have stars that can laugh!" - "The Little Prince"
Roddy, you always knew how to make me laugh. You were always there for me through everything. I only hope you knew how much you've meant to me all of these years. I remember all of the times we shared - the 10PM trip in the Rodmobile to Gibney's, your green shirt for the pink v. green tournament (yes, I'm still green with envy), Skee-Ball match-ups...a lot of them, when we freaked out at seeing that guy with the Carlton face shirt at APW (and then you got me a Carlton face shirt for Christmas!!!), picking up Joolie at the bus stop (me: "hey, isn't that Joolie?" and then you drove around the block for us to pick her up) and getting bubble tea, the epic hooky meal at Jean-Georges and all of the shenanigans that followed, last minute road-tripping to DC and making the executive decision to stop off at AC on the way up, the picnic in Washington Square Park that led to said road-tripping, our first night at Izu when we closed that place down after singing "Umbrella" (how many times did we shut it down afterwards? too many to count), how we refused to call it Karaoke Kave/Cave after it changed its name from Izu, going to dim sum...which turned into a 5-destinations-food-stop at dim sum, Baohaus, Doughnut Plant, Quickly, and Sugar Sweet Sunshine, going to BAM to watch "The Way We Were" with Robert Redford's in person interview (and racing NASCAR arcade games and playing Skee-Ball at Chuck E. Cheese's while we waited), how you drew "the flowchart" (with such accuracy and precision), clown-car-ing it in the photobooth on RDO and standing in a Hess gas station parking lot for 2 hours, how you were as excited as I was about New Kids on the Block floor seats at MSG (and how you confirmed that my touching Joey's jacket = yes, I touched Joey), White Castle in the parking lot like fugitives (yes, I know you loved it, and that's why we were both thankful to find I liked their mozz. sticks because that meant I wouldn't pull a face every time we wanted to find food at 2AM...which was often), talking until 4AM about anything and everything (um, yes, you do have work in 4 hours...and didn't I just pull a 16 hour day? "oh well"), countless nights at Izu, Verlaine and WRL (not to mention Bon Chon, Artichoke, Amy Ruth's, Cha-An, etc.)...I'll miss everything.
But most of all, Roddy, I'll miss you. I miss you so much already. I look to the stars, knowing you're smiling down on us.
Love to you and your family.
***
May peace be with you, Roddy.
Monday, September 27, 2010
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.)
Monday, August 23, 2010
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?
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?
Wednesday, August 04, 2010
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
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
Thursday, July 01, 2010
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