How Does 80 More Sound?

Three years! I can’t believe that it’s been that long. I’ve been having so much fun that it feels like just a flash, and yet I feel as though I’ve known you for a couple centuries.

Happy Anniversary, Andy! And thanks for the roses.

Katrina

The first I heard of Hurricane Katrina, it was a small tropical storm just South of Andy’s location in Florida. “Don’t worry.” He told me, “they’re shutting down school for the day just to make sure, but it’s no big deal.”

Less than a week later, we all know what a big deal it is. The devastation from this hurricane is massive. State officials in Louisiana and Mississippi won’t even hazard a guess as to the number of dead. New Orleans is mostly under water. Stories are being told of people swimming for their lives as the storm surge washed away their buildings in Biloxi, while their neighbors drowned in their second floor apartments next door.

I thank God every day that Andy wasn’t in the path of that storm - but what about all of those people who have lost their lifelong partners, their children, their parents and friends, not to mention property to the devastation? How am I so lucky when so many others are not?

We can offer only our prayers, and our money to the the Red Cross. If any of you have ideas beyond that for what ordinary folks can do to help - please e-mail me and we’ll get it started.

Jewish in Corporate America

I have a bone to pick with you, Corporate America.

At most companies, employees get 10 pre-selected holidays off a year, plus a certain number of vacation days and sick days. Usually, employees get Christmas Eve and Christmas Day as pre-selected holidays - but Jewish employees need to use vacation days for Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashana.

That’s not fair. It’s anti-Semetic. It’s bad manners, not to mention bad business.

If companies would allow Jewish employees to trade Christmas Eve and Day for the High Holy Days, they could keep their businesses open on Christmas. Bank branches, supermarkets, drug stores, etc. could be open on a limited basis using Jewish employees who were given the completely fair option of working Christmas instead of the holiest days on their calendar. Businesses everywhere could continue to get work done, even during the Christmas holiday.

I say Bah, Humbug!

Now is the time!!!

Click here to vote for me to be the face and voice of Net 10.

Help me win!!!

So yes, I’ve gone and done it. I’ve signed up for another one of those internet singing contests where I have to pester all my friends to vote and have them pester all their friends and so on and so forth.

The first step is to go to SizzleFizzle and register, and get five friends to do the same. Then, when the contest starts - I’ll let you know by e-mail - you can vote for me to make sure that I win and make lots of monies.

And just for voting, you get a shot at a $50,000 grand prize. Michelle, it could pay for some of med school! Susanne, you could get Oribe to be your hairstylist on retainer! Nissa, you could probably get Rufus to sing at your birthday party! Dan, you could pay for a year of living in Pittsburgh with monies left over! Chris, you could get season Yankees tickets! Montoya, you could pay the city of El Paso to get its own electric grid so you’re not sharing power with New Mexico!

Just think!

And if I win - I’ll take everyone out to dinner someplace HELLA fancy!

My Great Political Dillemma

I got an e-mail from good ol’ Eli Pariser over at MoveOn.org today. Normally, I’m 100% behind whatever Eli is e-mailing me about - whether it’s taking down Karl Rove or sticking it to Bush on foreign policy. But this time, I’m a little torn.

The issue is the estate tax, a Federal policy with which my family has had recent experience. When my Grandpa passed away last fall, a substantial portion of his hard-earned money went to the Federal government. Normally, I would have no problem with this. My family is very comfortable, if not obscenely wealthy.

But then I calculated the amount of money from my Grandpa’s estate that was going directly to fund this dirty little war we’re involved in, and I was miffed. That money could be going to a thousand more important causes than funding the Iraq war. It could be paying for my little brother to attend private school or making our home more energy efficient. But instead, my Grandfather’s money is building bombs.

I have no idea which way I want Senators Murray and Cantwell to vote on the issue. Does anyone have any perspective for me on this?

What the hell is happening on my stove?

Is it…
(a) An alien life form giving birth
(b) A soufflé gone terribly, horribly wrong
(c) Eggs boiling
(d) Whatever Nissa says

My Elle Reviews are Out!!!

Hear that, world? You can now read my witty, insightful prose in the best magazine in America! I’ve decided that I get to indulge in a little productive narcisicm today and be very, very self-congratulatory about it.

Click here to read my review of Anita Diamant’s, The Last Days of Dogtown.
Click here to read my review of Gwen Hyman Rubio’s, The Woodsman’s Daughter.

And be sure to pick up the September issue of Elle, on newstands now.

Now off to do a little celebratory boating on the lake.

Wedding Shopping

So Karlie and I went out looking for THE DRESS yesterday. Luly Yang, in downtown Seattle next to the Fairmont, is a brilliant designer. I’m so in love with this one dress with a very fitted bodice and a blue ribbon. It’s sweet and whimsical and it makes my waist look tiny and my butt look fantastic. Andy’s going to love it!

They’re going to have to remake it in a lighter fabric for a summer Long Island wedding, and shorten the hem so the train doesn’t drag in the sand - but the basic build of the dress is gorgeous. It wasn’t until I put on the veil though that I looked at myself in the mirror and thought - “I’m getting married!”

I’ve always said that if I were Carrie Bradshaw, Andy would be my Aiden and Mark would be my Mr. Big. So thank God I’m not Carrie Bradshaw! Because - apart from the fact that Carrie wound up with Mr. Big (ick!) - if I were Carrie, I would have looked at myself in the mirror in that wedding dress, freaked the fuck out, and started cheating on my fiancé. Instead, I looked at myself, looked at Karlie (maid of honor) and said, “I’m getting married to my best friend!”

And there was no freaking out whatsoever.

I love you, Andy.

Never felt so lost, or so free - A classic 309.28 if you ask me.

You know, this is the oddest feeling. Yesterday, I put Andy on a plane to Florida and cried myself to sleep - and today I went back to living my life. My heart might be aching, but I can still laugh. My whole world might be upside down, and I might be scared shitless - but I’m doing ok. This sounds suspiciously like adulthood to me.

I have to balance my money coming in with my money going out. What a concept! I have a stuffed Tigger covered in Andy’s cologne on my bed that I can bury my face in when I get lonely. But Karlie is close by, and I have another new girlfriend who is just adorable and who I love spending time with.

Doesn’t mean it’s hard. It’s like freshman year all over again, as a matter of fact. But I know I’m capable of doing this with a little help.

I think my current emotional state qualifies as a 309.28 - Adjustment disorder with mixed emotional features. Yes, I memorized the DSM-IV. I’m a nerd. I accept this. I accept a lot of things. Just giving it a name helps though.