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---Daniella’s Favorite Things---

About This Blogger

73 Things About Me

In Real Life

John – my man
John's Website
Jenny

My Bloggaggle

The Coffee Achiever
Incoherent Babbling
Sugarmama
Aussie Daniella
Welcome to the Dollhouse
Robin's Ramblings

My Daily Reads

Cap'n Ken's Homespun Wisdom
Digital Catharsis
Geese Aplenty
Gawker
Gothamist
Greek Tragedy
The Incompetent Attorney - RIP
Leading Brand
Le Petit Hiboux
Manhattan Transfer
Tequila Mockingbird
This Fish

Occasional Reads

Ali Davis
All About Latvia Blog
American Girls are Easy
Baghdad Burning
Because I Say So
Bluejake
Broken Windows: Tales from New Orleans
Capn Design
Dooce
Illuminated Donkey
Mike Wolf
Mirth, Musings and More
Mute Complications
NYC Bartenders
Paul Frankenstein
Paul Gutman
Paul Katcher
Saddam's Blog
Skillzy
Tales from the City
The People's Republic of Seabrook
The Sneeze
The Stiletto Philosophy

Everything Else

Chowhound
Salon.com
Krewe of St. Ann
Ben Franklin HS Aumni Page
Check My Referrals

Our Wedding

Our New and Improved Wedding Website - now with our registry!

contact...
How about an email? I like to communicate.

« Obscure Logs »

The MTV Generation?

I watched the VMA's last night and wasn't shocked by Madonna's much written about kiss with Christina Aguilera and Britney Spears. I wasn't shocked by the pimp fashions or the bleeped out "fucks" and "shits" and "ho's" (HO's??? They don't bleep out bitches, but they bleep out ho's?).

No, I was shocked by how few of these people I had heard of!

I'm supposed to be the MTV generation!

I was eight years old when MTV was launched. I was ten years old when we got MTV at our house. I watched the very first VMA's in 1983. I was raised on MTV, goddammit!!!

Who the hell is Good Charlotte (although I had to admit I loved it when Chris Rock called them "Bad Green day!")?? I mean, I know Green Day... no, I mean I know them personally.. they crashed out on my couch when they were on tour through New Orleans in the summer of 1991. They hadn't been signed to a major label yet and they were playing a show attended by twenty people at the Abstract Cafe. They were all under twenty-one and were amazed they could go drinking in New Orleans... My ex-boyfriend Abe and I took them to the old Ms. Mae's bar in New Orleans. I'd find a link, but I'm too lazy right now.

But I digress... either way, have I stopped being the MTV generation and become (gulp!)...

THE VH1 GENERATION????

Oh, kill me now!
posted by Daniella 5:10 PM

The Friday Five

I am going to institute the Friday Five, although this week's entry is rather tame...

1. Are you going to school this year? Yes

2. If yes, where are you going (high school, college, etc.)? If no, when did you graduate? Yes, transfering my MBA program. Have not decided between NYU, Columbia or Rutgers, assuming, of course, that I can get in.

4. What are/were your least favorite school subjects? Statistics

5. Have you ever had a favorite teacher? Why was he/she a favorite? Mr. Laventhal in high school American History. He was funny and smart and spit a lot when he talked!
posted by Daniella 10:43 AM

I know you all like quizzes...

This is a really good one!!!
posted by Daniella 11:51 AM

Klepto'd this from here:

News in Brief

Nike Sponsor War on Iraq

The world leader in sportswear today announced sponsorship of another world leader, George W. Bush. In a first of its kind deal, Nike are to provide US soldiers with Nike brand trainers modified to offer protection against sand, oil and bio-chemical warfare related slippery surfaces. Chuck Chuckinski, a US army marketing consultant, told us "Nike knows their products are going to be seen on every news channel around the world. This is valuable product placement which will shock and awe the consumer." McDonalds have indicated they may follow suit by offering 'freeze-dried' McRations, for the troops. "We've been working on these since the Apollo space mission" commented Ronald McDonald. "We've still not overcome the problem that removing all the water from our food considerably decreases it's nutritional value."


posted by Daniella 11:45 AM

Ever wanted to have your own country and be a despotic ruler?

Click here and go to Home Despot -- the place to buy all the supplies that you will need to take over a country and rule with an iron fist. CIA backing not yet included, but don't worry... Dubya will come through for you -- just tell him you'll help fight the war on terror!
posted by Daniella 11:35 AM

Do you remember the game we used to play as kids with the little paper thingie that you counted and would tell you what would happen when you grew up? You can now play it online at Playmash. Be sure to post your results in the comments section.

My results are:

You will live in Apartment.
You will drive a pink Volkswagen.
You will marry Catherine and have 1 kids.
You will be a Head of Marketing for Guinness in NYC.


Wow... Catherine, I guess you do not need to wait for tall, dark and handsome. Someday in the future, I will realize that John isn't really the one for me and I will become a lesbian and marry you!

Thanks to the Coffee Achiever (link on the left hand side navigation) for the link to playmash!
posted by Daniella 6:32 PM

What's the story with the word "troops"?

Why can't they say "soldiers"? Is it because troops sounds so impersonal, and they want you not to think that it's a person who was killed? Case in point:

"Two American troops were killed today in Iraq when the humvee they were driving was riddled with sniper fire."

-or-

"Two American soldiers were killed today in Iraq when the humvee they were driving was riddled with sniper fire."

I'm just sick of the use of the de-humanizing term "troops". They are people -- kids, mostly from poorer families who couldn't afford to send them to college!
posted by Daniella 4:32 PM

sad, sad sight....

There's nothing sadder than a 65-ish bald man looking intently at a Maxim magazine on his lunch hour. I don't know why this struck me as so sad, but it did. Maxim is geared toward twenty-something and thirty-something overgrown frat boys, not wishing-I-could-retire-but-my-401-K-is-in-the-toilet old men.
posted by Daniella 4:28 PM

About how I accidentally Febreeze'd the cat....

Meant to blog about this earlier, but I forgot.

I was cleaning the house Saturday evening in preparation for our first full dinner party (both of John's brothers and a couple of my friends from work) and Frank Sinatra, my 19 lbs 7 oz big grey pussy cat, was lounging on the couch which I was about to Febreeze. So I sent a little spritz in his general direction thinking he would immediately run off. Well, he didn't move fast enough and got a full on spraying of Febreeze all over his hind quarters.

Poor Frankie Fat Ass... he still smells like Febreeze and it's three days later! He's as mad at me now as he was the time I washed his one eyed winker -- I think he feels that I am questioning his essential catness -- you know, his ability to groom himself!
posted by Daniella 6:40 PM

And th moron is our president? Combat operations, military operations... whatever! It's all the same when American soldiers and Iraqi civilians are dying by the dozens.
posted by Daniella 2:26 PM

Your Generation Rips Off My Generation....

...and my future children's generation. All this from a supposedly conservative administration?

posted by Daniella 2:23 PM

The Wire -- my new TV addiction

I should just start a whole new blog called "What Daniella is Watching." Only I'm lazy and maintaining this blog is enough work (side note: check out the cool new Site-o-meter down at the very bottom left of my blog).

Anyway, I started watching The Wire on HBO after this dismal season of Sex and the City. This show is brilliant. The writing, the acting... everything is mesmerizing.

I have been a fan of Chris Bauer who plays Frank Sobotka since he played the S&M snuff film psychopath in 8mm. He was also terrific as Faith's alcoholic husband on Third Watch. He played Frank with such poignancy and inner conflict that it just tore me up to watch him.

The season finale replays tonight on HBO. Go to the websight (link above) and catch up on what has happened so far -- you won't be sorry. As for Sex and the Shitty (I klepto'd the term from the Coffe Achiever), I may not watch again if the writers don't improve these pathetic storylines!
posted by Daniella 4:59 PM

Cousin Jenny has her baby!

Congratulations to Jenny and her husband, Adam, Peter and Carol (proud grandparents) and fabulous new Auntie, Melissa!

I hear the little nugget is a healthy baby boy.
posted by Daniella 12:03 PM

When did I start caring more about my house beautification than my self-beautification?

Today is a glorious, gorgeous Sunday and John and I find ourselves with a couple hundred extra dollars that we can spend. We've put some money into the savings account (honeymoons are expensive, people!). But, after balancing the checkbook, setting aside money for the rent and bills that are due, there is still money left to blow on stuff.

We are going hiking first, then we are trying to decide what to do after...

I desperately need some clothes for work. So what do I want to spend the money on?

"Let's go to Bed, Bath and Beyond or Linens and Things and look for stuff for the house!"

When did I go insane?
posted by Daniella 1:48 PM

I wish that I had written this because this is how I feel today!
posted by Daniella 10:56 AM

This has to be the most tasteless news story of the day...

The Smarts ink a movie deal. Could anything be more vomit inducing?
posted by Daniella 4:01 PM

Buy me stuff

I mean it. It's not my birthday or anything, but why should that preclude you from buying me stuff?
posted by Daniella 2:51 PM

Meanwhile in Connecticut...

Sounds like the beginning of a joke, doesn't it? John and I went to Greenwich, Connecticut last night to meet up with his friend, Mark (who is one of John's groomsmen) and Colin, who runs a very successful ad agency in Greenwich.

We had a great time, but I am paying for it today because we did not get back until waaay after midnight and retired party girls (which is what I consider myself) do not stay up that late on work nights. So there!
posted by Daniella 1:54 PM

Interesting story in the Washington Post....

About the fact that the news no longer rests in August. Read it here.
posted by Daniella 2:47 PM

On pins and needles

I came in to the office this morning to find a voicemail from yesterday evening from the car dealership to which we went last week in search of a car. The saleman merely said that they had been able to arrange financing for us after all (there was a problem because we both had negative equity in our trade in vehicles. I will explain this later). So, excitedly, I returned his call at 9:07 AM to find out two important questions...

What was the interest rate that they were offering? and...
What would be our monthly note?

He could answer neither question. He said he would discuss with the finance manager and get back to me ASAP. I have now called to follow up three times and he still doesn't know. He is still waiting "to hear from" the finance manager who has been "in a meeting" all damn day.

I am now reconsidering the purchase of the damn car if they can't even answer two simple damn questions in FIVE HOURS AND 12 MINUTES!
posted by Daniella 2:24 PM

This could be true... (it's not, but dammit I insist that it could almost be true!)
posted by Daniella 4:41 PM

Yeeeoowwwww... how would you like to be this guy???
posted by Daniella 2:46 PM

Update on the parental visit

Fabulous. Who knew that I would enjoy having them here this much? But, boy, am I exhausted! The pre-parental visit cleaning fest. The during parental visit cleaning fest. The get-up-in-the-middle-of the-night-and-clean cleaning fest. The fighting my mother who kept wanting to vacuum or sweep or swiffer or de-cat-hair-ify everything in my apartment at any and every moment.

Plus, we had the official meeting of the future in-laws. John and I were the penultimate in nervousness. You know, "what if they hate each other and claw each other's eyes out trying to get to the future grandchildren"? Not that either of us thought that would happen, it's just my paranoid delusions of the worst case scenario.

Hey, don't judge -- did you think a blackout could send the whole East Coast and part of the Midwest into th dark ages in 9 seconds. Yeah, well... me neither... now we know better.

So, anyway, it went fantastically. There was a veritable love fest at the Taste of Asia restaurant and later at our house. John and I are relieved. Now we can get married and procreate without further worries (yeah, shut up, I know there are bigger problems in the world than whether our parents would like each other!).

Mom and Dad are safely on their way to the Berkshires (in my car, which they "rented" from me) and will be back in New Jersey on Friday. More cleaning to come!
posted by Daniella 11:23 AM

How much has this season of Sex and the City sucked?

Oh, let me count the ways... first Berger descended from a mildly interesting character into a whiny, self-absorbed twit and now this crap. What do we think? Is it time to start watching something else?
posted by Daniella 11:06 AM

Check out Fox's "Fair and Balanced (TM)" coverage of Decision 2004....

You have to read this article.
posted by Daniella 10:20 AM

The 'rents are here... That's all I have to say for now. Believe it or not, it's wonderful to see them and I'm actually enjoying the visit... gotta go -- have to go wrench the vacuum or the broom or some other cleaning implement from my mother's hands... she insists on cleaning my already spotless apartment approximately hourly. More later...
posted by Daniella 12:09 PM

The day the world went black

So, I had this whole long blog entry about how they are inducting Lance Bass of N'Sync into the Mississippi Music Hall of Fame. Yup, the same one with Robert Johnson (he must be turning in his grave)! Anyway, it had links and it was quite witty and I was championing the idea that his induction was a sign that the world was ending and as I hit the "post" button....

The world went black.

At first I thought my building had an outage. No big deal, right? So, I called John to tell him how I annoyed I was that I had just lost my funny blog entry. He said his office (which is about 20 miles from here) was without power.

Then the guy in the cubicle near me said that he was on the phone with our NYC office and they had just lost power. Then the girl across the way said our Connecticut offices were down too.

Suddenly, I got very, very cold. The terrorists have struck again. Everyone in my office started to panic. Then we got phone calls from other offices in other parts of the country who told us it was not terrorists. Thank God (in whom I do not believe, it's just an expression, people!).

Anyway, to make a long story short, driving home from work was a nightmare, but I made it and our little burg of Montclair had power although Upper Montclair and all the towns to East of us did not.

So don't worry, we are all fine, albeit inconvenienced.
posted by Daniella 9:47 AM

Tonight is the night....

... that I buy my first ever brand new car! I have bought plenty of semi-used ones (due to an ex-boyfriend that wrecked a whopping three cars in three years!), but I have never as yet bought a car with less than 5,000 miles on it. So, tonight, John and I are going to the Subaru dealership to get ourselves a brand new Forrester Turbo! Yeah, baby!

The other part of this is -- we are buying our first car together! And I thought it was a big step when I integrated our CD collections and we got engaged.
posted by Daniella 10:22 AM

This explains my obsession with John's pores...
posted by Daniella 2:56 PM

First day of work...nothing to do!

All three of the people on my team were out today. I sat in the lobby for about 45 minutes as I haven't got my identity badge yet and there was no one in the department around to clear me through security (they don't fuck around with security here after 9/11). I've done pretty much nothing all day... When my new boss called in to check on me a little while ago, I asked him what I should be doing. He said, "nothing, just relax today."

Uh, ok.

In New Orleans I was always doing seven things simultaneously... they have waaaay too many resources in Home Office!
posted by Daniella 4:58 PM

... You gotta know when to hold 'em... know when to fold 'em, know when to walk away....

So, I got everything I asked for money-wise from my new supervisor. What he does not know was that I would have settled for his original offer. Of course, he is probably sitting in his office thinking, "what she does not know is that I would have gone another $10K higher..."

Either way, I start tomorrow. Yeah!!!

Unemployment bites, what with the anxiety, the lack of money, the dearth of anything decent on TV during the day (all my books are somewhere on a truck driving up the East Coast and I can't afford new books as I was unemployed -- it's a vicious cycle, get it?) and that generally not-so-fresh feeling you get when you're unemployed. My one week experience was enough to make me never want to repeat it. Sorry, John... you're staying home with the kid, should we have one! I have a low threshold for boredom.

Anyway, there are only so many times in a day that one can watch the awful Christopher Lowell gesticulate like a bald hamster on meth amphetamines and say "it's the classic Mars versus Venus decorating problem!" I mean, really -- why did they give this man three whole hours on daytime television??
posted by Daniella 12:43 PM

...and Daniella rejoins the ranks of the employed!

I have a job offer that I am happy with (I am still planning to negotiate for a little more money...)! It's within my company and it's a flexible enough position that I can continue my MBA program at either NYU or Rutgers (I thought about Columbia, but I don't know that I could get in...). Plus, I get to keep all my seniority, my fabulous benefits and they will continue to pay for my studies.

Happy days are here again!
posted by Daniella 11:37 AM

Lions and Tigers and Bears. Oh my!

So I drove to Connecticut this morning at dawn for a grueling three and half hour interview. It went really well and I loved the people, the corporate culture (prior to being a subsidiary of the company for which I work, this company was a subsidiary of a Swedish company... think Marimekko furnishings and four weeks a year vacation), the facilities and the job itself. However, this is not what this is about.. this blog entry is about the drive up to New England.

We left in grey pre-dawn hours and took the Garden State Parkway (this part is for my New Jersey readers who will know what the hell I'm talking about) to the Tappan Zee Bridge. The Hudson River was shrouded in a mist and looked cool and spooky (we were lucky as there was not that much traffic at 6:30 AM). We took 287 through Westchester to the Merritt Parkway, which is a highway built in the thirties (this was John's guess, I said the forties). It has no shoulder to speak of, sharp turns and cut through dense woods on either side. At 7 AM, we felt like we were intrepid explorers trekking through the wilderness (of course, one look at the bumper to bumper traffic going the other way towards NYC would disabuse us of that notion, but let me remain romantic at this point...). I saw several deer, about twenty gophers, an owl and what I think was a skunk.

I also saw, peeking out through the woods on either side of the parkway, $4 million dollar homes in Greenwich, Norwich and Stamford. Apparently, there are no other kinds of homes in that part of Connecticut. John called it the "CEO highway" -- we certainly saw their limos heading the other direction towards the city.

Either way, a nice trip. Boy, am I sleepy... gotta go nap.
posted by Daniella 5:04 PM

... Scenes from a road trip...

There is a Cracker Barrel at nearly every exit. Who are all these people that keep 1.2 million Cracker Barrels in business?

We saw a pick up truck in Knoxville, TN that had a porno scene airbrushed on the back of his pick up truck -- two busty babes in a beach scene. Both were popping out of their bikinis. As we pulled up closer, I realized this was the guy's work truck! He was some sort of contractor. Can you imagine your contractor pulling up to your house with the porno pick up truck?

The waiter at the Outback steakhouse in Harrisburg, PA started his spiel by saying, "as you may not know, all of our food does come spiced. If you would like it with no spice, please let us know in advance." I just wonder how many central Pennsylvanians have sent back their steak because it was "too spicy"? By the way, all it had on it was a little black pepper...

We ate at Applebee's on the first night (it was the only thing open that late as we had lost an hour going from the Central time zone to the Eastern time zone). It was every bit as horrible as we expected. The weirdest things was that the restaurant was populated by Elvi... guys with Elvis haircuts. They were all young too. Hmmmm.....

At one point John and I were talking about past times of loneliness and then I said, "well, we don't have to be lonely anymore.. we have each other." Then I thought about it and realized that John doesn't have to be lonely anymore, but because he is ten years older than I am and has a shorter life expectancy because he is a male, I WILL be lonely for something like 16 years after he is gone. What did he say to that?

"you won't be lonely, honey... I'll come back as a ghost and help you make tacky pottery!"

The people at Applebee's were surprised to hear me cackling over my crappy food...

more to come.
posted by Daniella 9:26 AM

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