Spotted: Lunch-Hour Edition

During my lunch-hour yesterday, I walked over to the place where we are having our rehearsal dinner to make sure everything looked okay--it's a nice room and I think it'll work well and there's a good view of a parking garage. On the way back to my office, I noticed this outside of New Haven City Hall:

Yes, folks, that's right. It's a Nuts 4 Nuts cart! My favorite $1 New York City treat is camped out three blocks from where I work. Perhaps I'll be walking down there more often for afternoon nom noms.

Also, since I was right near Chipotle, I stopped for lunch to-go. I've never had Chipotle before and, although I don't want to sound like an idiot, the menu is kind of confusing. After waiting in line for ten minutes behind the most obnoxious Yale Hockey players, I finally ordered a burrito. Good news is that I really liked it. The rice and corn were awesome. Bad news is that I still have the urge to cut my burrito in half like I'm eating a wrap. I'm obviously not eating enough burritos. xo

Surprise

I'm on the fence when it comes to surprises. No one has ever thrown me a surprise party, and I've never been to one when the guest of honor wasn't actually already aware that a party was being thrown for him or her.  Surprises are hard in a world where it's nearly impossible to keep secrets.

But yesterday, I was surprised. My office put together a bridal shower-type party for me in our conference room complete with cake, champagne and gifts. Our overhead projector was decorated with streamers and over 30 people showed up. I've been at my current job for about eight years, and needless to say, many of my co-workers are close friends.  It was so touching, and I love how an entire group of people kept the secret for over three weeks.

I spend so much time at my desk set in a corner on the sixth floor of an office building, perhaps more time than I spend even with Anthony.  It's comforting to know that I have a small work family that is truly excited about our wedding, and my life in general outside of the office. This wedding has been a bit difficult to plan, but one of the best parts has been celebrating with supportive friends and family. After all, that's what love is all about.

I only wish I can convince someone to keep these decorations up in our conference room year-round. xo

Closer to Free

Flash mobs are always fun to watch but this one made me tear up. It takes place at Union Station in New Haven, a place where I have been hundreds of times, and features cancer survivors, physicians and a local choir.  Maybe it's because my job deals with the Smilow Cancer Center or maybe it's that my grandmother has been receiving treatment for ovarian cancer for almost eight years at this very facility, but I think this is such an inspiring video.  There is true joy and cheer emanating from this clip. I'm so thankful for the wonderful care Smilow provides, and I know I'm not the only one. xo 

Cardi Pony Party

 Lately, I've been trying to figure out what I want out of life. What do I want to every day? What do I like and what makes me happy? After reading this, I've decided that I want to stay home and knit cardigan sweaters for ponies all day.  How could I ever be crabby or cranky while making cardis for little horses? Now that's a dream job.

Marketing idea: to boost tourism, Scotland should offer tours that allow people to actually put these button-up sweaters on the ponies. Just that alone would definitely be worth a visit overseas. xo

View from the Almost-Top

The view from the window by my desk on the sixth floor of a small skyscraper-type building yesterday:

We haven't had much snow this winter (at least not yet) but I love looking out and seeing just the tops of buildings covered in white, like a scene from a holiday card. xo

Yankee Swap Fail

During my office holiday luncheon yesterday, we played Yankee Swap, aka Dirty Santa, which is just a holiday grab bag where steals are allowed. This is what I pulled:

Yes, that's right.  It's a head massager.  I have spent the last day trying to figure out which one of my co-workers bought this, wrapped it and then brought it to the office thinking that this was the best gift that $10 could buy. I can't use this thing--my long hair alternates between pure frizz and Chia Pet puff. There's no way I can stick this contraption in my hair and not expect a huge knotted mess after ten seconds.

At least I didn't get the five pairs of pink plastic earrings from the tween accessory store Claire's though--that went to my male colleague and no one would trade with him.  I should have followed my instincts and picked my own gift, which was a gift card to a kickass coffee shop. Fa la la la laaaaa....

Bulldogs All Around

Today at work, everyone in my office received one of these awesome Yale "Handsome Dan" Bulldog stress balls. I immediately put him on my desk, front and center. 

You know how some people bring little mascots on vacation and then take pictures with them in really cool locations (think of the Travelocity gnome popping up in a family picture at the Grand Canyon)? I can totally imagine taking Handsome Dan all over the world with us, propping him up on Anthony's shoulder in every photo. Let's face it, this rubber dog has a face for close-ups. xo

Happy Mondays

I brought a plate of pumpkin pie streusel bars to work today and put them out in the communal kitchen, where they were eaten very quickly by my co-workers.  Sometimes it's nice to be nice, especially on a Monday.

What's for Lunch?

Just a few years ago, New Haven had only two food trucks. Now, there are six to ten that rotate around the city, parking on the streets during lunchtime. I visited the Fryborg truck for the first time today with a co-worker and it was more than worth the trip. 

The menu is simple with Belgium-style french fries, grilled cheese sandwiches, dessert grilled sandwiches and a variety of drinks.  I ordered the special of the day, a Black Forest melt on pumpernickel, which was pretty good but needed more time to cook.  The fries were yummy and you get to pick your own dipping sauces from a large list of choices (the Old Bay mayo ruled).  The real stand-out though was my co-worker's sandwich, which was a combo of warm marshmallow fluff and peanut butter on grilled white bread.  It was so delicious that I think I may actually have to break down and buy a jar of fluff so I can make one for Anthony.

I mean, New Haven's food truck scene isn't as hopping as it is in New York, but it's definitely growing.  Everyone deserves a chance to buy gourmet food from a converted bread delivery truck, right? xo

Newly Minted

I never thought that I would need business cards, but the last few times that I gave my contact information to someone on a small, crumpled scrap of paper, I wondered if that was really the best way to exchange email addresses and urls.  I'm not a professional writer, but maybe I will be, someday.  Perhaps I should start trying to network more effectively and efficiently.

Enter these really great calling cards from Minted.  I had a credit that I needed to use and when browsing the site, I came across grown-up versions of casual business cards.  I went ahead and ordered a bunch and I hope I get to give one out someday soon.  At least it's more professional than jotting my phone number on the back of a receipt from Bertucci's.  Also, I'm kind of in love with both stripes and the color peach so I couldn't have found a more perfect design.

Do you have business cards? And check out the Minted site; the invitations are gorgeous. xo

Touring the Town

 
On Saturday, I met with a friend from college who is now back in Connecticut for a PhD program.  He'd never seen New Haven so we spent the day walking around the city as I did my best not to sound like a tour guide. 

I've worked in downtown New Haven for over seven years but I almost never walk around the Yale campus anymore.  When I first started my job, I used to take walks during my lunch hour but found that I loved reading in the courtyards so much that I could barely get myself back to the office for an afternoon of work.  This weekend, the weather was just perfect.  It was almost like we were undergraduates again, blending in with the groups on the sidewalks, talking about television and museums.  It was the kind of easy day that made my friend and I declare that we want to be professional college students and just live on a campus forever.

For me, the best thing about working on a college campus is that things are always happening.  The lectures and speakers and concerts are open to the public and if you really want to take advantage, you can attend an event every night and learn something new daily.  I loved being in school and attending classes.  I even loved writing papers, at least most of the time, and in a way, I think that being a student is the only thing at which I ever really excelled.  But if I can't perpetually be enrolled in graduate programs, working at a university is certainly an acceptable compromise, especially one with so much history. xo



Photo of Sterling Memorial Library, Yale University

In Preparation...

I've been on holiday break from work for the past week so tonight, when I started to put my stuff together for tomorrow, it kind of felt like the first day of school.  My calendar is new, my bag is new and I even have my lunch all packed in the refrigerator.  I feel like I need another few weeks off but if I can get through just a few more days, I will be rewarded with a lovely weekend trip to Washington DC with Anthony. 

Sometimes I wish my office looked like this.  How fun would work be!

Photo via weheartit

Hello Kitty, Deconstructed

I walked into the kitchen at work today to see this:

So sad and adorable at the same time.  I wonder why someone poked one of the whiskers into her forehead though.  And I wish someone would make a Hello Kitty cake for me.

Lunch-Hour Netflix

 
Lately, I've been trying to take a break for lunch.  Work gets busy for some reason right around the time I'm supposed to leave for lunch so more often than not, I wind up eating my sad sandwich at my desk while typing contracts.  At a certain point, it became clear to me that I may actually need to take that time to re-group.  In the past two weeks, I've watched three movies on Netflix while on my lunch break at work, using the iTouch that Anthony bought me in January.  I think that I've definitely underestimated the benefits of a 30-minute midday break.  I'm not only refreshed for the remaining five hours of the day, but I'm also watching movies that I know Anthony wouldn't want to see, including:

Brief Conversations with Hideous Men: a John Krasinski-directed adaption of a short story by David Foster Wallace which was dark, scattered and extremely intense and was probably better as a short story, no offense at all to John Krasinski, who bravely cast himself in a very unlikeable role against type. 
 

Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work: although I did feel like much of this documentary was scripted, parts were quite raw and emotional.  I had no idea that Rivers' husband had committed suicide, I didn't know much about her relationship with Johnny Carson, and this was an interesting view into the life of a true legend, a female comedian doing things in the 1960's that no one else was who is trying to stay on top as she gets older. 

Please Give: I really enjoyed this movie about a New York City family and their elderly next-door neighbor. To me, the characters were all flawed and 3-dimensional, and overflowing with emotion and guilt, although they couldn't always explain why, which made the film even more realistic.  Catherine Keener is wonderful, as always, and I appreciated what the film was trying to say (money isn't everything, but if you have it, it can't always make you happy, etc., etc.) even if there were uneven moments.

Share: Do you have any movies that you think I should add to my Netflix queue for lunch-hour enjoyment?

Path Back to Healthiness?

It's been a week or so since I've posted but what a week it's been.  I went to Savannah with Anthony and his mother (a recap to follow soon!) and returned with a stomach flu/food poisoning that sidelined me for days.  I'm a person who never calls in sick to work, who will go to the office even if she is feeling absolutely horrible and knows that her co-workers will stay far away, fearing a contagious disease (this may explain why I have several months of vacation days banked just waiting to be used).  But even I couldn't fight through the vomiting and pounding headaches to make it to work--I stayed home sick two days and slept most of this weekend too.  My stomach is still not feeling well but compared to how I felt just a few days ago, I'm considering this a great improvement. 

So what occupied my mind while I was drifting in and out of consciousness, you may ask?  I was basically making a mental list of all the things I want to do, like finish a short story that I've been working on and finally trying the recipe for homemade gum drops that I found last month.  I need to start reading more fiction and finish my taxes too.  It's going to be a busy spring, I think. 

And with that, I'm back to posting regularly again.  Have a wonderful Monday--I'm glad to be back!


Photo courtesy of weheartit