countdown is on!

i'm hitting the wild blue yonder this summer and i couldn't be more excited!!  it seems to be the year for island vacations as i'm going to london and paris with joani and flex.  then about 6 weeks later will fly to the beautiful hawaiian island of oahu with clare.  ecstatic to spend my birthday relaxing on a beach in hawaii.  a girl has got to do what a girl has got to do.  

only 65 days until we head across the pond for some quality time with the brits and french.  and 120 days until clare and i head to the beach where we have a condo on the beach and i'm renting a convertible.  again, my life = awesome.  and i'm incredibly lucky and grateful.

why did i wait so long?

i have wanted to take a photography class since i got my pretty SLR camera over four years ago.  i have been able to fake good pictures and think i have decent composition but couldn't utilize the true photographic skill of shooting only in manual, aperture or shutter mode.  i really wanted to be able to use these functions rather than rely on the pretty icons on the mode dial for night, landscape and action shots.  so finally after checking with my friend yelp.com i found a school that had a 6 week course for those such as me who wanted to embrace their inner amateur, but wanting to be professional, photographer.  

my first class was last saturday.  i LOVED it.  soaked up all of the information like a sponge and was probably one of the more engaged of the 9 students in the class.  had so much fun that now i kick myself that i didn't do this earlier.  what was i waiting for?  it makes me happy and wasn't going to break the bank.

can't wait for session two where we learn about aperture.  gotta go do my homework to prepare.  i have homework and i love it!

gooch, me and NKOTB

my nyc residing cousin gooch helped me embrace my love for the boys who are new on the block as an adult.  we partied it up at their concerts about 4 years ago and also might have memorized their dance routine from their jimmy fallon late night performance.  I still thank her for the fun and joy that we experienced while partying with our favorite 80s boy band, who are now all grown up.

 

then came a really bad day at work this past week.  just as I was about to eat my weight in chocolate I got an email from gooch with a link to the new music video by NKOTB.  suddenly my frown was turned upside down.  amazing how a little pop/dance music by middle aged dudes in sexy suits can make me happy.  see for yourself below.  (it also didn't hurt that I saw myself like the lead girl in the video...I would totally start dancing around a lame party just to spice it up.)

 

 

I can't wait until saturday, june 1st when gooch, netter and I party like it's 1996 at a concert with boyz II men, 98 degrees and NKOTB.  we are also going to spend the day at the beach.  bonus!

 

now if only 'NSYNC would get with the current boy band tradition and reunite to bilk millions from their now 30-something fan base.  come on Justin, enough with all this "solo" stuff...so selfish.

debit cards seem to like me

crossing the street by my apartment I found a debit card resting peacefully on the ground.  I picked it up and put it in my purse.  the next day I went to the bank it originated from to return it.  the nice bank teller lady thanked me and I continued with my day.  my mommy taught me that "honesty is ALWAYS the best policy".

 

a couple of days later, netter and I headed to the 'burbs to do some food shopping.  the parking lot at the shopping center was packed so we ended up stalking a spot that was a little ways from where we wanted to be.  I pulled our zipcar into the space, turned off the engine, grabbed my coat and purse and proceeded to open the car door.  as soon as I looked down I saw a debit card literally right next to where I put my foot.  what are the odds?

 

the next day I made a trip to a different bank to return the debit card.  when I handed it to the business bank teller and explained where I found it, she looked at me incredulously and said "wow.  thank you." 

 

it makes me sad that a bank employee was shocked that I had returned this lost debit card.  they probably deal with more stolen credit and debit cards then they get lost ones returned.  that is truly tragic.  if only people would treat others how they want to be treated...