Pretty Excited!!

My mom is coming tomorrow and I have been cleaning like a mad woman. I fully admit it. I am not the neatest person. I tend to have things pile up. I once told my mom that I knew I could find anything I needed because I knew it would be somewhere on the floor. She really didn't like that answer. Well, I have picked up around my living, I've swept and mopped the floors. I've washed my dishes, cleared out my fridge. I still have to wipe down my shower but I'll tackle that after work. You want to really see how dirty this city is, take a shower and see the dirt come off. Yeah, it's gross. I'm not a big fan of that aspect of living here but it's kind of a minor thing. So, I am almost done with everything I need to do before she gets here tomorrow afternoon! I'm so pumped! I can't wait for her to get here. We have some loose plans for the weekend. I think we are mostly going to explore some areas of the Brooklyn/Manhattan that we are not the familiar with. It's pretty sad, that I have lived in Brooklyn for almost a year but haven't really explored it much. I think, when I first moved here, I was still just getting my bearings and wasn't really all that confident. and then the winter came and I really didn't want to be outside anymore then I had to be. (Even though this winter wasn't as bad as post winter's I have experienced) Now, that it's warmer out and I am a bit more confident in my city navigational skills, I want to see more of the my new city. So, I think we are going to see more of Brooklyn and more of downtown Manhattan. I haven't walked across the Brooklyn Bridge yet either so we are going to do that. I'm working Monday and then Tuesday, we will walk around Soho and Greenwich before heading uptown to listen to the NY Philharmonic in Central Park and then Wednesday is HARRY POTTER! I already bought out tickets for the first IMAX 3D showing at 10am! We have to go Lincoln Center, which is a bit of a trek so it's going to be an early morning but so worth it! And since we are going to be midtown anyway, I think we will do a bit of shopping! That's the tentative plan for now. I'm super excited!

Andy Roddick is like my Harry Potter

When Katharine came to visit me last month, we got matching tattoos. We got the words Mischief Managed tattooed to my wrist and her shoulders. It's a reference to Harry Potter if you didn't know that. On our way home from the Tattoo parlour we talked about how appropriate a HP tattoo was for us because HP is not just one of our favorite books but the role that they have played in our personal and professional lives. All the midnight parties we have worked, all the people we have met and so forth. HP has been a bigger part of our lives then I had originally. (Side Note: another reason our tattoos are special. My tattoo is in her handwriting and hers is in mine. So, not to sound cheesy or creepy but I have a little bit of my sister where ever I go) This got me thinking.

Today, in between helping customers, I was following Andy Roddick's match against Andy Murray on my blackberry. When Roddick finally won, I was beyond ecstatic! At one point I looked down on my new tattoo and thought to myself, Andy Roddick is kind of like Harry Potter. I have always enjoyed watching tennis on TV. I really loved watching Wimbledon when it was on HBO. Those were the days, no commercials and so of the games all time best commentating. I remember when a young Venus Williams played Steffi Graf. The match was being called by Billie Jean King, Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert. It was a pretty intense match and at one point Billie Jean couldn't even watch, she was so nervous for both players. Anyway, I digress. It really wasn't until I started following Roddick in late 2000-early 2001 that I become a real fanatic. I started to follow the sport week and and week out, which isn't easy. I also started visiting fan sites and message boards. One day I found a site named Roddick Rocks. There a I met friends that I still have today. We from all over the world and from different backgrounds but one thing we had in common was that we loved tennis and loved Andy. Unfortunately the site did not last but the friendships I made there have. Also, from following Andy, I have talked my family into going to tournaments in Paris (Davis Cup semis 2002) and London (Wimbledon, twice) and other tournaments throughout the US. I'm pretty sure, if it wasn't for my enthusiasm, I could never have convinced my mom to go to Paris in the middle of the school year. *lol* So, for me, Andy isn't just my favorite player because I like his game, or I admire his fight and his willingness to improve but he's my favorite because of all that he has given me. The memories from the vacations I went on to see him play, the hours on the Internet following a stupid score tick, the friends that I met and still talk to and occasionally see. He has truly been a bigger part of my life then I realized and for that I thank him and I also want to Congratulate him on making his third Wimbledon final!

I do not like to woken up

In the last week or so, one of my neighbors has gone out early, forgotten their keys and for some reason decides to ring my bell to let him in. Now this tends to happen around 7 o'clock in the morning. I don't know if my neighbor picked my apartment because chances are I am home at the time (unless I have to open) or if pushed everyone's number and I was just stupid enough to get up and answer him. Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me. After the second day in a row I let him and said no more. I'm not getting up anymore. I answered him because what if it was someone I knew or if someone was in trouble but after the second time, he just forgot his keys then he deserves to be locked out. So, this morning, again around 7am, my buzzer rings. It wakes me up and I said nope, not getting up. If it is one of my friends, then if they were really outside my door they would call me to let me know. If someone is in trouble, well then I'm sorry but there are other people who live in my building that are probably already up who can help them. I am not anyone's back up plan if they forget or decide to leave their keys because they are just going out for a minute and know that someone will let them in. No, I am not that person. I never leave my apartment without my keys, even if I am just going to the little botega to get milk. Even if I did, I'm I wouldn't want to wake someone up that early in the morning. I think it's kind of rude a persumptious to think that there will be someone here to let you in. Take responisibility for yourself people!

After writing this all out. Am I being too harsh? I like my neighbors for the most part. They are usually quiet. We say hi to each other in the stairwell, I guess if I am ever in that situation I would hope someone would let me in too. hmmm... I guess my biggest issue is this is that it has happened 4 times in the last week. No one is that forgetful, right? Of course, the waking me up at 7am when I don't have to get up early never win you points with me, no matter what the situation is. Maybe I am just a cranky neighbor.