jaysaint Getting it all down on paper…

It’s a rainy, overcast day. I’m part of a pretty small minority, I think, in that I like weather like this. If it goes long enough I’ll long for sunshine, but I can take lots of misty, damp before I feel discouraged. This only goes for days that are mild and still. Windy is my least favorite weather. But days like this feel gentle and peaceful to me.

On a totally unrelated note, I’m thinking about cleaning up my diet. I don’t have tons of bad habits, but the pasta party is way out of control. I’m going to try to break the habit with a two-week simple carb fast. That means pasta, bread, potato and fruit. But I’ll keep up my veggies, because I’m not crazy. Just giving up the nearly daily pasta would be a pretty radical change for me. I’m going to start that any minute now…

To celebrate my big day I have ordered FOUR sushi rolls for delivery. Because it’s my birthday and I want to stay home and drink wine and eat raw fish. Damon has a “dessert surprise” about which I am also excited.

Better than my birthday even was news that my friend S got into a grad program. She’s been sweating it hard, as she only applied to super competitive programs. But now she knows she’s got at least one option. The only one she hasn’t heard from yet is Columbia. I am, of course, holding out for Columbia. The other program, University of Arizona, is one of the best in the nation but it’s geographically undesirable (for me).

In just one hour I will be 35. But Damon and I have been pretending today is my birthday. I’m not even sure how it got started, but it seemed like a good idea. I think it had to do with us already being downtown for work, so handily proximal to the place he proposed taking me for dinner.

But the universe got on board and here are some of the nice things that happened to me today:
— I got 2 dozen baby roses of orange, pink and yellow from Damon.
— I got an insane and beautiful flower arrangement from Dad. I don’t know anything about flowers, so have no idea what any of them are. But they’re neat.
— I met a fantastic candidate for one of my open staff positions and she’s already told me straight up she’s dying for the job.
— Our marketing deparment gave me free tickets to a new Broadway show (Well) for next week.
— I found a quarter and two pennies.
— I got a pass to that new Denzel Washington/Jodie Foster movie
— Damon took me to Zen Palate for dinner. It was delicious and we tried fake ham that tastes (as best as I can recall) EXACTLY like ham ham.
— Oh, and the beauty editor swung by my office to say that she couldn’t do a spa trip and wondered if I might go in her place. So yours truly will be spending five days in the Berkshires at the Canyon Ranch getting spa treatments, taking private yoga and pilates lessons, going to cooking classes and generally being pampered and humored at every turn. And the punch line is that the PR person is acting like I’m doing THEM a favor. I talked to him briefly to confirm today and he said he’d call me Monday to arrange my travel in the way that best suits me.

I freely admit that I have no idea how I feel ass backward into magazine life, and that I keep thinking someone will say, “What’s she doing here?! Send her to the salt mines!” But I’m going to enjoy it for as long as it lasts.

I was recently invited to the “Blue Bunny Ice Cream Garden Party at Tavern on the Green.”

My job is fun.

I went to said ice cream party today. Everyone was oh-so nice. But the big breaking news was this:
ice cream on a waffle

There were lots of ways to eat ice cream, including ice cream martinis and wontons with a lemon ice glaze
But I was drawn inexorably (admittedly with an ice cream martini in my hand) to a sweet, warm, baking smell. Belgian waffles. The waffle guy made me a fluffy waffle. Then I took it over to the ice cream bar where the ice cream guy let me pick from his many flavors (I went with Peanut Butter Panic) to top the waffle. Then I went to the topping bar, which was two banquet tables long. There were some things I couldn’t even identify, although I’ll take it on faith that they were edible. I opted for strawberries, bananas, chocolate sauce and fresh whipped cream.

I’m now here to break the news that ice cream waffles are really good!

I’m sure my former journalism professors would be glowing with pride if they could see me right now.

I don’t think anyone has ever been as in her pajamas as I am currently in my pajamas. I have become one with my pajamas. My skin is lavender velour.

Yes, I admit it, I’m wearing lavendar velour. It was a Christmas present and I dare you to try to take it away from me.

The meeting today went just fine. I think we did ourselves proud and I got the greenlight to hire two staffers. So, know anyone who wants to come work for me?