Getting in the Christmas spirit!

Sadly, I have to admit that up until this weekend I wasn't really in the Christmas mood. But I guess a weekend consisting of the Coyne Holiday Party, blizzard 2008, NYC in the snow, the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree, pictures with Santa, Christmas movies and an abundance of Christmas shopping will put you in the mood whether you want to be or not. Here are some things I learned/realized this weekend:

-I work at the best company ever. I would have never thought that a work holiday party could be that much fun but it was. I am so lucky and grateful to work at this place. Also - Beth Kimmerling is awesome and gives amazingly thoughtful gifts. She's the best. Also, I've made some pretty awesome friends at Coyne and that's something I feel so lucky about.

-Going to see the tree in Rockefeller Center can be kind of depressing. Lila and I trekked into the city in the snow to see the tree (I've never been before) but she had already been in the city so I went in to meet up with her. Before I found her (there are only a million people in Rockefeller Center on the Saturday before Christmas) I was asked to take probably 20 pictures of couples who were all in love and stuff. While that is great for them it just reminds that I am alone this Christmas.

-That being said, while I stood there waiting for Lila and taking countless pictures for strangers, I also took a minute to stand back and just watch things. It was snowing and here i was staring at the tree. What more could you ask for? It was beautiful. And as much as the picture taking annoyed me, I also found it oddly reassuring. It's proof that people do still have some good left in them. Countless strangers do this kind gesture for people they don't even know and will never see again. And all with a smile on their face. So many people told me "happy holidays" etc and it's just nice. Also - how can you be sad after you take a picture with a very good friend and Santa? seriously.




-Going to the mall (or shopping in general) the weekend before Christmas is just DUMB. I had a few last minute things to do and it was just awful. Saturday afternoon I went to the Willowbrook mall. I literally just had to run in and pick up a gift card - as task that should've taken about...20 minutes tops. from the minute i entered that ridiculous parking lot, i should've known. I spent 45 minutes driving around/sitting in traffic trying to find a spot. Then I realized that if I didn't head back to Clifton soon - I'd most likely miss my train to the city. So I left. It was a great afternoon of wasted gas and time. So I trekked back this morning and finally found a spot. While the traffic was just as horrific, I still noticed some very cheerful people which made me smile. People holding doors and letting people pull in front of them in the parking lot, etc. All in all a good day.

-Black ice is a bitch. Annie and I both fell (literally) victim to it this weekend. I feel en route to the Morristown diner after the holiday party and almost faceplanted today in front of our house. Annie, on the other hand, fell right on her butt in our driveway. Also, our steep driveway becomes a mountain when covered with ice.

-Annie just made us some very delicious hot chocolate and now we're watching Serendipity while she's trying to guess what I got her for Christmas. mwhaha. She'll never figure it out.

-I think I bought some pretty awesome gifts this year and I'm excited to see the faces on people when they open them.

-I cannot fill out or even shop for cards without crying. I even told Liz today that I wasn't going to do cards. I should've known that wasn't going to happen. i get carried away. Annie came home while i was filling them out and was like omg what happened? since I had been crying. It's ridiculous. When I get old and retire I want to work for Hallmark. true story.

See - I told you this weekend put me into the holiday mood. Happy Holidays!

We Can't Let This Bank Fail.

More than 35 million Americans, including 12 million children, either live with or are on the verge of hunger. In New Jersey alone, an estimated 250,000 new clients will be seeking sustenance this year from the state's food banks. But recently, as requests for food assistance have risen, food donations are on the decline, leaving food bank shelves almost empty and hungry families waiting for something to eat.

The situation is dire, no more so than at the Community FoodBank of New Jersey (CFBNJ), the largest food bank in the state, where requests for food have gone up 30 percent, but donations are down by 25 percent. Warehouse shelves that are typically stocked with food are bare and supplies have gotten so low that, for the first time in its 25 year history, the food bank is developing a rationing mechanism.

As the state's key distributor of food to local banks – serving more than 500,000 people a year and providing assistance to nearly 1,700 non-profits in the state – the stability of replenishment of the CFBNJ is essential to ensuring that individuals in need have access to food.

If everyone could just do a little, it would help those in need a lot. To help, people can:
-Make a monetary contribution: Visit www.njfoodbank.org .
-Donate food: Drop off a bag of food at your local food pantry. Click here to find a food pantry near you: www.sefan.org .
-Organize a food drive: We can help explain the logistics of starting a food drive. Just call 908-355-FOOD.
-Help "Check Out Hunger:" Look for the "Check Out Hunger" coupons at your local supermarket and donate.

No donation is too small!

I don’t understand why this happens.

I’m sure you’ve all experienced this at one point or another. Say you’re driving home from dinner and all of a sudden you realize you have to pee. You’re fine the whole car ride and casually ask the driver to pull over so you can use the restroom. As you’re walking in to the bathroom, doesn’t it always seem as if you have to pee 20 times worse? It’s as if I wouldn’t physically be able to hold it any longer had we taken another minute to get there. I think that when you know you’re so close it just gets worse.

This is probably a really weird post but I think its so weird how that happens.

Verizon Fios hates us.

Annie was away last week in Disney, when she got back she realized that her tv box wasn’t working. However, the boxes in my room and in the living room were working fine. She decided to call Verizon to see if someone could come out to fix it. They came out last night – we were hoping they would get there and be gone by 7:10 because we wanted to go see Four Christmases. 7:10 came and went. Then around 7:30 he shows up (hardly enough time for him to fix the problem and us make the 8:10 movie but that’s besides the point). The next movie wasn’t until 9:45 so we had some time to kill since our little friend was taking forever. We decided to turn on Intervention on A&E (we may or may not have a small obsession with it…) and our friend (let’s call him Carlos) decided he was finally finished. He came downstairs and plopped his but down and started watching Intervention with us! For at least a good 10 minutes! It was absurd and hilarious all at once. Finally he decides to leave. About 20 mins later, Annie and I are pulling out of our driveway en route to the movie and there he was, SITTING IN HIS VAN OUTSIDE OUR HOUSE.

CREEPY.

What a Wonderful World...

I'm not sure if it's the same for everyone, but I remained very close to the people I met during my freshman year of college. I lived on the 5th floor of North Boland hall and my entire floor was very tight knit. i lived with desiree and we lived across the hall from 4 boys who were all from South Plainfield, NJ. Jason, Tom, Greg and Rob. They had all gone to high school together and decided they'd stick together at Seton Hall as well. As the year went on, we all got very close because we spent so much of our time together. Between the classes, the silly string fights, the blackouts, the infamous "last night" (where i may or may not have cried hysterically..) they all became some of my very best friends. Here's a picture from the last night of freshmen year. Please excuse how i look. The night involved a lot of goodbyes, alcohol and tears.



Greg played the bass guitar and would bring it out sometimes to entertain us all. At the end of freshman year he told us that he wouldn't be coming back in the fall because this little band asked him to be their bassist. That was in 2005, and now, in 2008, The Jonas Brothers are one of the biggest bands out there.

The other 3 South Plainfield boys stuck it out at Seton Hall, until the middle of the fall semester of senior year when Rob decided to drop out. Turns out, The Jonas Brothers needed a photographer to go on tour with them. Greg, being the great guy that he is, mentioned his friend Rob, Setonian photographer and next thing you know, the two of them are literally traveling around the world with the jonas brothers.

Talk about luck! On Thanksgiving, after stuffing my face with tons of turkey and stuffing, i sat down to watch some football. Next thing you know, it was halftime of the Cowboys game and who do I see? Good old Greg. And this past week when I turned on NBC to catch some of the Christmas Tree Lighting special, who do i see? Greg.



it's crazy! the other day i googled him just for fun and found some CREEPY fan clubs for him. ridiculous.

I think it's true that good things happen to good people. I couldn't be happier for these two guys.

Thanksgiving break was lovely. Coyne had off Thursday and Friday but I used three vacation days and took Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday off as well – so I got to go home on Friday the 21st. Home is always great but its so much better when all of my friends are home too. As usual, I was very sad to leave yesterday and, as usual, I made the rounds and started saying goodbye to people. I made sure to stop by the Goehringers to say bye to the kids, gave my brother (and his stupid dog) a hug, kissed my mom on the cheek and gave my dad a hug. Then there was one thing I was forgetting.

Jinx is my 14-year-old Shetland Sheepdog/Lab mix and I love him dearly. He is getting so old – he has horrific breath, decrepit teeth and he has even started to lose is fur. But I love him. And everytime I have to say goodbye to him I get teary – mainly because I know 14 is old for a dog. Living away from home doesn’t make it easy because every time I leave I can’t help but wonder if it’ll be the last time I see him. I know that sounds awful and maybe I’m just a baby but he is the best.