Everyone knows Tom Cruise has been flirting a lot lately -- not just with new fiancee Katie Holmes, but with the danger of overexposure

USA Today

Image and Cruise control

By Anthony Breznican

In a number of recent appearances, the screen icon has been living up to his Top Gun character's nickname — Maverick.

On Friday, NBC aired an interview that turned terse when Today co-host Matt Lauer grilled Cruise about his anti-psychiatry views, which are an offshoot of the actor's devotion to the Church of Scientology. Cruise called Lauer "glib" for saying some people with mental disorders had been helped by medication.

You had us at 'you're glib'


Other attention-getting episodes include:
• The couch-bouncing appearance on Oprah last month, in which Cruise confessed his love for Holmes.
• Repeated public displays of affection with Holmes, including their recent Eiffel Tower engagement, though they started dating in March.
• Criticizing Brooke Shields for taking antidepressants to combat postpartum depression.
• Scolding the water-squirting pranksters who doused his face at a London premiere.


Though all of this is happening during Cruise's publicity blitz for director Steven Spielberg's $128 million sci-fi epic War of the Worlds, which opens Wednesday, Hollywood watchers predict the movie won't be harmed.

"The only thing that can unseat Tom Cruise as a major movie star is to make bad movies, and he has had incredibly good taste picking both the right projects and the people working around them," says Harry Knowles, editor of AintItCoolNews.com.

Cruise's behavior "is a turn-off, but not enough to turn away from the movie," says SciFi.com news editor Patrick Lee. "People just want to see aliens destroying the world."

Crisis public-relations manager Michael Sitrick, author of Spin: How to Turn the Power of the Press to Your Advantage, says becoming an object of mockery is not good.

"Once in a while everybody gets poked at by the Lettermans and Lenos, but when they're in the news constantly, pretty soon it becomes bigger than reality and you've got to take control of the perception," Sitrick says. "If I were advising him, I'd say pull it back."

Still, he says Cruise's animated behavior and his religious views aren't enough to make people dislike him. "I think all of his fans know his views on Scientology, so the fact that he's a devoted Scientologist doesn't come as a surprise."

Lee says moviegoers will flock to War of the Worlds, anyway.

Anne Thompson, deputy film editor at The Hollywood Reporter, slammed Cruise in a recent column for being clumsy with his public image, firing his hard-line publicist Pat Kingsley and hiring his sister Lee Ann DeVette in her place.

"I never thought I'd live to see the day that I would see the benefits of (Kingsley's) style of protective PR," Thompson says. "But movie stars can't really afford to make missteps because everything they do is spread virally on the Internet."

Ed Burns Movie Marathon

After my day of shopping and my Dippin’ Dots snack, I wanted to stop at the video store and pick up some movies. I had just rented “Meet the Fockers” last week and knew there weren’t any other new releases out I wanted to see. So I cruise the comedy section and after twenty minutes finally pick up “Sidewalks of New York”. Then I pick up “She’s The One” and realize that tonight would be an Ed Burns movie marathon.

Ed Burns is great. He writes, directs and stars in these movies. (And clearly he is obsessed with sex, a central theme of both these movies.)

“She’s The One” was only okay. A fair romantic comedy taking place in NYC. I don’t know why I didn’t like it, but it didn’t really hold my interest. I did get through the whole thing which means it wasn’t that bad. I'm notorious for not finishing a movie after I start watching it if I am disinterested.

However, “Sidewalks of New York” was fabulous. The IMDB tagline says it all...

In a city of 8 million people, what are the odds the perfect two will meet?

Synopsis:

Six New Yorkers have an interrelated series of relationships. TV producer Tommy, who's just broken up with his girlfriend, has a short relationship with commitment-phobe Maria, who he meets in a video store, and also hooks up with married real-estate agent Annie, who he meets while apartment hunting. Annie is open to a relationship because her husband, Griffin, is cheating on her, which she slowly comes to realize through talking to her friend/co-worker who's gone through the same thing. Griffin, a 39-year-old dentist, is cheating with 19-year-old waitress Ashley, who he picked up in a park; she realizes she can do better when Ben, a hotel doorman and aspiring musician, tries to pick her up, in a belated attempt to recover from his divorce a year ago from schoolteacher Maria (the same Maria from the video store). Most of these relationships seem driven more by a desperate need to be in a relationship than actual love.


Heather Graham in this movie is sooooooooooooo me. I just hope I don’t ever marry a guy who will cheat on me.

These were some of my favorite quotes from the move:

• “Nothing heals a broken heart like a brand new piece of booty.”
• “I just think its weird that there is this person out there just walking around leading their life and then you met them at a bar and 2 or 3 hours later you have his penis inside you. I just think that’s a little scary.”
• “Men are like a disease and most of us have already been infected. And as far as I can tell, there’s no cure.”
• “Is this understanding with you and your wife, or you and your dick.”
• “How many people do you have to screw in order to realize you can get laid.”
• “Is it love or sex that makes us feel confused in our relationships…Maybe it’s the love of sex that screws us up.”
  

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Remember the Staples commercials they always air in August during Back to School time with the parents getting all excited about their children going back to school and buying school supplies. That nerdy guy dancing and jumping around the store to the Christmas favorite "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year."

Well, for single women the most wonderful time of the year is Victoria's Secret semi annual sale. It's the time of year you kick yourself for paying full price all year, yet can't help but buy an ample amount of things anyway. I don't know what it is with me and underwear....at last count I was at 50+. Which is great, except for the fact that I can go like 7 weeks without doing laundry.

You don't buy anything practical during these sales. You buy all the unpractical items that you "have to have" but would never pay full price for. Anything with sparkles, bows, lace, etc. Always a good time....75. later, I'm all ready if anyone asks me out. :-)

It's Not About Winning or Losing

The Subway Series game last night was a ton of fun. There's nothing like watching an action packed game at Yankee stadium. The New York rivalry was high last night. And although my Yanks didn't win, I still had an amazing time catching up with Cheryl and seeing some great plays. The best by far was when my Tino a 2-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning to try and keep the Yanks in the game. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough and the Yankees lost 4 - 6.

Pedometer Update

Wearing a pedometer is great motivation for me to get more exercise. It pushes me to walk to and from work everyday and go to the gym more regularly. I've been doing very well and manage to register at least 10,000 steps a day. But now I have become a little obsessed. You have to wear it in the exact right spot on your hip, or it doesn't register your steps. Yesterday, I was very upset. I walked all the way to work and when I checked my steps, I only had 196! Clearly it didn't register my entire walk to work which is 3,000+. Luckily today I am back on track. It's 9:20 and I already have 3,500 steps.

(Woohoo, I'm going to the Yankees/Mets game tonight and I can not wait. I'll be sure to blog about it this weekend.)

Ocean City, MD

I'm in the process of planning a vacation to my dad's house in Maryland and am looking for suggestions on places to go. I already know I'll be spending time at Seacrets http://www.seacrets.com/ and Dumpsters (for ice cream), but welcome any additional suggestions of places my friends and I should eat, drink, shop and have fun! Your help is greatly appreciated.

Pet Peeve

I really wish all the pregnant people out there would buy looser clothing. It really bothers me that they wear these tight shirts that you can see their huge "popped" belly button through. I've been walking to work every day and you would be surprised how many pregnant women there are in Manhattan at this time of year and almost all of them feel the need to wear tight shirts. I can't really identify why, but it really disturbs me.

Just a little rant to start off my Friday morning. :-)

PS If you have your belly button pierced and you get pregnant, I'm assuming you have to take your ring out, right?

Feeling Old

It's been a long week, with little sleep. In addition to feeling old physically, I want to know when I become old mentally. My thinking has become old. I think about the future all the time. I think about sad things like the family members I love who are getting old. I think about the importance of spending as much time with my loved ones as possible and creating memories that will last forever, etc. I even spent a day with my mom in her first grade classroom recently so we could bond....luckily enough I haven't become too old-- even being around children all day hasn't sparked my maternal instinct. I am still as anti-kid as possible.

But as "old" as I am feeling, there are some things that will never change. There will always be the same things that exist when you're younger. There will always be happiness, tears, crushes, fears and drama. I thought I outgrew drama as we know it, but I haven't.

This week has been an emotional one. I conteplated quitting my job, moving out of the state, giving up all my ambitions, canceling my one big vacation, etc.

But as one of my good friends always says "You can't run away forever, but there's nothing wrong with getting a head start"

I think I need to run away for a bit....

How do you blog?

The more frequently I blog, the more I think about the art of blogging, so to speak. Do you blog multiple times a day? Do you only blog at the same time every day? Do you have a list of evergreen topics to write about when you don't have any other subjects?

I am always amazed at the how different people approach the same task. Case in point, last week when I was spending time in my mom's classroom I was helping each of the kids on an individual basis create a beach scene as their Father's Day gift. I gave the instructions the same way each time but I was amazed to see how each child was creative in their own way. For instance, where each child placed the sun in their scenes. Most children pasted the sun on the upper right hand corner, but there were a few who put it on the left side or half off the edge or even in the middle. It was very, very interesting.

Well, I am definitely a planner. I prepare blog entries in my head, I have a running list of things I want to blog about that aren't time sesitive so I will get to them when I have nothing more important to write about, etc...so stayed tuned for some interesting posts about Pedestal Syndrome, Fleet Week, and more!

Tennis Anyone?

It's been so nice out that my urge to play tennis has returned. Looking for an average partner who would like to get together for a friendly match. I've always had an easy time reserving the courts at Fordham Lincoln Center. Let me know if you're interested in playing sometime soon.

Thanks!

Where have all the good guys gone?

Disclaimer: I know there's a handful of guys reading my blog, so try not to take too much of this personally. I don't want to make generalizations or be stereotypical but when you have an evening like I did, it's hard not to.
___________________________________________________________________

Last night, over the course of only three hours, I heard about or witnessed three different situations that left me angry, shocked and more convinced than ever that I'll never find a really great guy whom I can trust and spend the rest of my life, or even night, with.

First I was talking to a girl who I had just met and somehow we ventured into the topic of dating in NYC. She told me about a recent date she had. Everything was going well...dinner, extended into drinks and suddenly it's pretty late on week night. Then while enjoying one another's company at a bar the guy started checking out this other blonde woman. She tried not to notice or be upset and they continued on their date. She's pretty excited and is thinking she's at least scored a second date when he walks her to the subway and starts talking about the other blonde from the bar. Who does this??? This scenario is similar to about a half dozen dates I've been out on.

Then I had a good friend tell me about an experience with her boyfriend that bordered on domestic abuse. It's not my place to write too much more on this topic. But violence is bad and no means no.

What really capped off the evening was watching a married man with 17 month old twin boys try and make out with one of my best friends. While we were out last night we met some friends of friends and all started talking. I assumed this one guy wasn't married since he wasn;t wearing a wedding room. Then I find out he IS married. Okay I think, he and his wife must be the type of people who don't wear wedding rings. But I was wrong-- as my friend is screaming at him for not wearing his ring which he "forgot to put it back on after the gym" he takes the ring out of his pocket and puts it on his finger. Now, that's wrong. It's one thing if you just don't wear your ring often. It's a complete different story when you consciously take it off because you are out at a bar with friends and want to hit on women. It was clear this guy was completely drunk-- but I did all I could not to punch him in the face as he keeps hugging my friend (and me for the matter) and then starts kissing her. Eventually I said we were leaving to get food, thinking he would get the picture, but instead he just followed. It wasn't until we were out on the street and I screamed very loudly "YOU need to go home to your wife and children and she needs to come with me."


I'll try not to be too jaded, but I guess not going on dates, not having a boyfriend and not having anyone ever approach you in a bar has it's pluses when you hear stories like this...

One Satisfied Customer

Today I made my first purchase at J. Crew. I typically don't spend a lot on clothing and I guess price and style always swayed me away from the store. Out of sheer laziness (I had been walking all around the east side and really just wanted to walk across town and go home instead of walking to 34th St. to buy the father's day gift I needed for tomorrow) I decided to see if I could get my dad a shirt in J. Crew since it was on the way home.

I had instructions from my step mom that my dad could always use shirts but that they need to have a pocket for his glasses-- size M. Since polos are the in thing right now, I figured J. Crew had to have polo shirts. Lucky for me I found very soft polo shirts with pockets in a variety of colors. I chose the one I wanted and went to pay. That's when things got interesting.

I asked for a gift receipt and a box. And the little blond woman behind the counter worked her magic. She perfectly folded the shirt. Took off the price part of the tag. Did the most fabulous tissue paper job I have ever seen. Added the little J. Crew sticker. All the while I sat there in amazement that she was doing all the hard work for me. Then she takes the gift receipt and folds it into a little J. Crew envelope and places the enveloped in the fold of the tissue paper. Then she put the shirt in the box and the box in a bag and I was on my way.

I love to wrap, but I hate to prep clothing for wrapping. It's so time consuming and never comes out as perfect as I want it to. I guess I don't shop at nice enough stores, because I've never had someone do so much work for one little purchase. She even chased after me when I forgot my receipt!

I just may be doing a lot more shopping, or at the very least gift shopping, at J. Crew in the future.

Top 20 Brands

Interesting article I just came across via Aol.com, originally posted on Forbes.com. Good to know I am doing my share to help Victoria's Secret and Apple....now if only my company would give me Blackberry...


Next Generation
Kurt Badenhausen and Maya Roney

For the sixth installment in our Beyond the Balance Sheet series, we turned to New York marketing consultants Vivaldi Partners. They began their study by surveying chief marketing officers and consumers, asking them to identify brands they felt were both growing fast and being innovative. Next Vivaldi screened for brand-owning companies that beat their peers in earnings growth. Vivaldi valued the remaining 40 brands using a discounted cash flow model that also factored in the percentage of the business being driven by the brand. The brands whose values increased the most within their respective industries during the past four years are identified in the table below.

1 Apple
Over 400 million songs have been purchased at the iTunes store.

2 Blackberry
Users average a 53-minute-a-day productivity gain, says Research in Motion.

3. Google
World's largest search engine sorts through 8 billion Web pages.

4. Amazon.com
New service lets users pay $79 annually for unlimited shipping.

5 Yahoo
New online music subscription service gives access to 1 million songs.

6 Ebay
150 million users are registered at the online auction site.

7 Red Bull
Sponsors extreme-sports athletes and parties on college campuses.

8 Starbucks
Opened four stores a day on average in 2004.

9 Pixar
The Incredibles is the bestselling DVD of 2005 to date.

10 Coach
Business in Japan now accounts for 22% of company sales.

11 Whole Foods
Stores generate $800 per square foot annually, twice the industry norm.

12 EA Sports
31 product franchises have reached 1 million unit sales worldwide.

13 MTV
Network's 100th channel broadcasts to 48 countries in sub-Saharan Africa.

14 Samsung
Employs more than 24,000 researchers at 17 R&D centers worldwide.

15 Victoria's Secret
Catalog and online sales generated $1.1 billion in revenue in 2004.

16 Nike
Future endorsement contract obligations total $1.7 billion.

17 Toyota
Camry was the bestselling passenger vehicle in U.S. seven of past eight years.

18 Formula One
Budgets for this sport's top teams exceed $250 million a year.

19 ESPN
Has more than 5,000 hours of original programming a year.

20 Harley-Davidson
Company's 100-year-anniversary events in 2003 drew 1 million people.


Sources: Vivaldi +Partners (Jeffrey Parkhurst, David Ferreira, Andre Kursancew); Forbes

Pedometer Fun

Regardless that I live in the city, it's really easy to become inactive. Work is such a huge part of my life-- where I sit in a cubicle all day. I've felt like I haven't been getting as much exercise so my mom bought me a pedometer when I was home. They say you should aim for 10,000 steps a day for a healthy lifestyle. Even more if you want to try and lose weight.

I wore it all day yesterday and the reality was harsh. I had taken the bus to work and didn't have the chance to leave the office-- even for lunch. As I was leaving work at 8pm, I had only registered 3,800 steps. I was so upset, I decided I had to walk home even though it was so hot out. By the time I went to sleep last night I had recorded over 8,000 steps.

Today I was determined to hit the 10,000 mark. By walking to and from work, taking a lunch break, etc., I was able to reach 15,600 steps. Woohoo. It's kind of like a little game.

Chocolate Chip Cake

I really love baking. Nothing brings a smile to the faces of your friends and family like home baked goods. The reaction you get from people when you bake something delicious is fabulous. For me, what tops the delicious list is a chocolate chip cinnamon/sugar cake. My supervisor previously said this cake ranked in the top 5 desserts he ever had. This week I baked the cake again for his last day and he bumped the cake of to the top 3. Today I delivered the cake to a friend. We had plans to hang out and I said I'd bring a cake. I think I am setting a new goal to deliver at least one cake a month. So, just invite me over sometime in the future and maybe you'll get one of my special cake deliveries. I've included the recipe below for anyone who may want to try baking it for themselves. MMMMMM Yummy!


2 sticks soft butter
2 cups sugar
3 cups sifted flour
16oz. sour cream
3tsp baking powder
2tsp. baking soda
4 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

topping: 1/2 cup sugar & 1 tbs. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350; grease & flour pan (use a big pan, 13x9)
(I sprayed it with Baker's Joy last time & that worked just fine)

1. Cream butter & sugar
2.Add sour cream; beat 2 minutes
3.Alternate flour & eggs; mix well
4.Add powder, soda & vanilla
5. Pour half the batter into the pan; sprinkle
1 cup chips on top and press down with fork
6.Add remaining batter
7.Top with remaining chips
8.Mix sugar & cinnamon~ sprinkle on top
9.Bake at 350, for 45 minutes or until it tests
done.

PR Vs. Advertising: This Time, It's Personal

by Joe Mandese

THE PUBLIC RELATIONS INDUSTRY, NOT advertising agencies, appears to be taking the lead on the burgeoning marketplace of so-called "personalized media." Ketchum, the giant public relations division of Omnicom, late Monday unveiled Ketchum Personalized Media, a new unit focused on "how, why and when" to integrate personalized media strategies into marketing communications plans. Ketchum is not the first PR firm to do so - Cooper Katz recently launched what it's calling a "Micro Persuasion" practice - but it is by far the largest so far.

Unlike traditional mass media communications, the micro media marketplace focuses on new forms of personalized, or consumer generated media such as blogs (Web logs), podcasts, RSS (really simple syndication) and new mobile marketing applications in which individuals transmit media content directly to a few or many end-users.

While most major ad agencies have begun tracking the rapidly growing field, none of yet formed a dedicated practice devoted to developing and exploiting what many believe could be the future of marketing communications.

"A lot of conflicting information and anxiety exist about how to incorporate these new online technologies into 'traditional' communications programs," said Paul Rand, a Ketchum Partner, Chicago Managing Director, and co-leader of the development team that oversees the new unit, which will draw on the firm's eKetchum Digital Media Group, as well as PR and technology offices worldwide. Ketchum executives said a global perspective is essential for understanding the personalized media marketplace, because technologies evolve differently in different markets. For example, the firm said the U.S. is "six to 18-months behind" Europe and Asia in terms of new mobile marketing techniques such as Short Message Service (SMS), text-based messaging that has proven to be an especially viral way of spreading word-of-mouth in overseas markets. Perhaps the best example of SMS used on a wide scale in the U.S. was the high-profile phone-in-vote campaigns utilized by Fox's "American Idol" series.

A number of top media agencies have begun tracking and analyzing the personalized media marketplace, and are initiating programs to capitalize on it, but the PR industry appears to be developing it as a dedicated marketing services practice.
_________________________________________________________________
Very interesting article about the future of the PR industry and the direction it's headed.

PS Now I finally know what RSS means, lol.

Read this in a magazine

Friend With Potential

Go from "buddy" to "budding romantic" behavior. Instead of racquetball, suggest staying in and renting a movie. As things heat up, you might just graduate to girlfriend status.



Does anyone actually think this happens? I have a lots of guy friends and they all view me as just a friend and won't even consider anything more. I don't think it's that easy to go from friend to lover. Maybe it's just my opinion...

Good Advice From Carrie Bradshaw

"The most exciting, challenging and significant relationship of all is the one you have with yourself. And if you find someone to love the you you love, well, that's just fabulous." Sex and the City

Last Time I Checked...

It's PR, not ER.

Sometimes work is so frustrating!

The Best Combination Ever

7-11 now has big Slurpees that come with a free iTunes download. I think I paid 1.46 for a huge Slurpee-- that's only a little bit more than a download would cost and it's totally worth it. This has to be one of the best combinations ever!

And my uncle even said there was an article in the paper this weekend about 7-Eleven finally coming to NYC. Yippeeeeeee!

$450 Later

Got my car back this evening before I came back to the city. Luckily, it was just the alternator.

Isn't It Ironic

I must point out how comical it is to me that the spell-checker on this blog doesn't recognize blog, blogging, blogger, etc. Everytime I spell check a post and one of these words comes up in question, I can't help but crack a smile.

Head-Blogging

I'm not sure if other bloggers out there are like me, but whenever I get on a blogging role I find myself thinking about all the different things I could blog about while I am out and about during the day. And it's not just the topics that run through my head, but I actually draft the blog while in my head. The hard part is remembering all of the things and finding the time to sit down and post. However, I also find it interesting how throughout the day the blog can completely change. For instance, you could be blogging in your head about some great experience and then something can happen and you have to change the blog to something not as positive. Well today's blog in my head definitely took a turn for the worse.

Whenever I am home, I think a lot about the past and a lot about what makes home so special. In fact, I was blogging in my head all about it. I was trying to analyze all the things home means to me-- getting the best night's sleep, food, family and of course driving.

In case you don't know, I never really liked driving. That's part of the reason I love living in the city so much-- no daily driving necessary. Over the years I've gotten much better. I find my way around, are less anxious at the wheel and actually started driving on highways, lol. When I had to drive on a daily basis, even if it was just to and from the train station, I hated it. I hated how if I wanted to go anywhere on LI I had to get in the car. And the fact that I have an old car wasn't very helpful either. I mean who wants to plan a road trip with a car that may not make it to your destination.

So I was thinking about driving-- specifically how I never used to like it but really look forward to it now when I am home. I love to blast the radio. And I love my car. It's old and nothing special, but it's mine. It's a luxury I love. I definitely don't need a car, but it makes it so much easier when I come home to see people and get errands done, etc.

With that said, I still worry about my car. I recently passed the 120K mile marker and for the last 3 years my check engine soon light has come on every now and then for no reason. Plus, my biggest fear is what happens when the car breaks down and it's not worth it to fix it. One of the main reasons I have the car is because financially it's worth it. I got the car from my step-mother when I graduated from high school and passed my road test. It's 13 years old and has a lot of miles. I know it won't be around forever. My dad pays for gas and my insurance for a full year is less than I pay for one month of rent. It just makes sense to have it so when I come home (which seems to be very often lately) I have something to drive and am not housebound and reliant on others. But I've always known, once this car is dead for good, I won't ever have enough money to buy another one.

I drove my car last night and had no problems. I went to the store and a graduation party and it ran as smooth as possible. Today, I was going to my twin cousins' bowling birthday party. I thought it would be fun to see all the kids bowl and I hadn't been home for their actual birthday. Plus, I'd get to see my grandma and my aunt and uncle. Since I was just in the area of the bowling alley yesterday for the other party I went to, I knew the main road would be closed so I had to find a detour. Essentially what should have been a 20 minute ride, turned into a 45 minute trip. I made a stop at 7-11 for a Slurpee and it wasn't until about the 25 minute mark that my car started to act up a little bit. I shut off the A/C and kept on my way. It looked like the battery light kept going on and off. At this point, I figured I just needed to get to my destination and then figure something out. It didn't really pay to turn around and go all the way back home. Well, lucky for me I did make it to my destination. The last 5 minutes of the trip scared me a bit. My car was having trouble accelerating and making some funny sounds. But at last, I arrived at my destination and let my parents know they may be picking me up later.

Ironically enough, as the party was ending, one of the mothers' cars wouldn't start so my uncle was going to try and jump it. I walk over to my car-- hoping I wouldn't have the same problems-- and my car starts without any problem. So I get in and drive away. Soon after though, my car is really making some bad sounds. And I feel like I am going very slowly and can't get enough power. I decide maybe I need more gas and I pull into the first gas station I see.

I fill up and when I go to start the car again-- NOTHING. I tried not to panic. I called my parents who weren't very helpful. I asked the non-English speaking man to help me. He jumped my car and I prayed I'd make it home. I call my parents again, who essential say-- try to make it home and call us if it dies again. So I go back out on the main road and take my chances. (In retrospect, I should have called the toe truck right after it wouldn't start.)

So now I am on a main road with lots of stopping at lights (my car seemed to fine when I was going a normal speed, but when I stopped and needed to start again it just wouldn't go fast). I put my hazards on but as my car started to go slower, the hazard lights started ticking slower as well. Eventually, they stopped altogether. All the while, I am freaking out and white knuckling the steering wheel just hoping to make it home. It wouldn't have been so bad if I was on a side road, but the main road was really making me nervous. What sealed the deal was when I was at a major intersection stopped at a light and I started to think about my car stalling out right there. I was lucky once more and it didn't, but now I was sick of pushing my luck and taking chances. I decided if I could just get to my aunt's house, then I would be okay.

And I almost did. I made it about a block away from my aunt's when it was done altogether. I let myself roll to the side of the road and the car wouldn't start again. I walked to my aunt's house and we tried to jump the car but nothing happened. My uncle insisted on pushing the car to their house until the tow truck people could come. Then I sadly watched as the man with the ponytail (who my little cousin couldn't help loudly asking me if that was a man or a woman) loaded Barbie* on to the flatbed to take her away. Now I have to wait until tomorrow to find out the dreaded fate of my car.

So what started in my head as a great blog about all the wonderful things about home has turned into a horror story about my broken down car. As my family typically says "no good deed goes unpunished".



*the name of my car. She's named Barbie because Saturns are plastic and plastic cars make me think of the Barbie corvette I had when I was younger.

The Rams Win....The Rams Win....THE FORDHAM RAMS WIN!

The Fordham Alumni softball team won its first game today against an undefeated team, final score 3-1. We were playing with a much smaller squad and rotated positions a little bit, including trying a new pitcher. All in all we had a strong showing. We still struggled getting runs on the board, but there were no errors and our defense was strong-- ensuring we didn't have too many runs scored against us.

Patty commanded the mound and threw her share of strikes. It seemed as though all the balls were being hit to Jason out in left field and time after time (at least 7) he successfully caught the ball for an out. Kevin continued batting and fielding well. He saved my ass when I was playing short-center and never even attempted to catch a ball in my area. But I made up for it when I was placed back at my preferred catching position. I even caught a foul tip off a batter. To quote Brian, I leaped like I had "a stick of dynamite in my ass!" Speaking of Brian, he made no errors at first and had a few nice hits throughout the game.

My first at bat was going foul when the third baseman caught the ball and secured the out. I have no clue where I hit the ball when I got up next, I just know it was enough to get me on base and the other team erred and over threw advancing me to second and Ron to third while the score was still tied 1-1 and there were no outs. Again, I couldn't even tell you who was up next, but they hit the ball hard and far enough for Ron (with a bum knee) and I, (who can't run for my life) to come home. I did catch a break, the other team threw the ball to second to get the batter out so there was no contest for me to easily score...but I was ready, man was I ready to take out the pitcher covering home plate if I needed to. Those two runs in the sixth clinched the win for the Rams!

Next Game: Thursday, June 16th, Central Park...followed by Third Thursday Happy Hour at the Gin Mill

Editors Note:

I hope that if there are people out there reading, that you will consider posting more comments. I'd like to think that blogs spark a dialogue of sorts between people via the web. So if I am the only one saying anything, then there isn't the exchange of information that I hope for.

Plus, I bet if people commented more, I would be better about blogging more regularly.

Today I Became a Princess

Well, no. Not really.

But I did get my first crown. And no, I am not talking about a platinum and diamond tiara for me to display on my head-- I am talking about a porcelain faux tooth that will live forever in my mouth.

Do people ever blog about the dentist? I guess there is a first time for everything. And since I do work in the oral care industry, toothpaste, gums, teeth, whitening, dentists, etc., are what I talk about all day!

So I was definitely nervous about today's appointment, but ironically I am very intrigued by the whole process. My dentist had given me a temporary crown a few weeks ago and I spent over a week sore and in pain. So I told my dentist I was a little worried about how he was going to get the temporary out since it seemed to be in there pretty good. He assured me that with a little tug it would painlessly come out. I tried to believe him, but I've believed dentists before and been painfully surprised. Of course, I accept his offer of novacaine. I mean c'mon, I live the riskless life and there was no way I was going to start this morning and risk being in even more pain.

So he gave me some sharp shots and told me to chill while I numb up. That's one of the most relaxing times. I mean, those chairs all reclined and back are pretty comfortable when you're not worrying about gagging and drilling. So as I crank up the ipod (doctor's orders), I relaxed for the first time in 3 weeks!

And when he came back, one extremely gentle tug later, the temporary was out. The only scary part was when he went to get the crown from the other room and realized the lab mislabeled the two crowns they made on the same day. So my dentist had the wrong one and had to go retrieve the right one.

The weirdest part is the crown pretty much snaps into place. Like a little pressure and click it's in. My dentist had to keep putting it in and taking it out to make some minor adjustments....then came the cement and click it was in for good. And to top it off, he put some medication under the crown to make me less sensitive and hopefully control the pain I had been in with the temporary. So far so good!

For someone who despises seeing any doctor, I've come to terms with the dentist after enough visits each year, I have no choice but to suck it up and deal. Then again, it's my job to protect this million dollar smile :-)

I'm A Bad Blogger

There I said it. Admitting the problem is the first step to recovery right?

Well it's been a month since I've written anything, so I guess I owe some sort of explanation. When I first stopped blogging it was because I had been hanging out with this new guy I was really interested in. And those of you who know me, know when I get very interested in a new guy I don't think about anything else but the potential for a new relationship. Therefore, since I don't and probably won't ever blog about that area of my personal life, I didn't really have anything to say because all of my free time was spent with HIM, or thinking about HIM.

Clearly, that didn't last very long. The last few weeks have been so busy with work that I just haven't had the time to put together any real thoughts and blog. But there are a few things that I do want to blog about and now that I am sick in bed, I'll try to play catch up.

Stay tuned...