Tuesday, September 29, 2009

So when I started this blog, I wanted to post things that I write (plays, poems etc) on here in addition to just writing & ranting on any given subject.
I'm not Plath or Dickinson so I wouldn't be expecting anything life changing or mind blowing. Honestly, I just write what comes to me and it helps me to get things out of my head.

This particular poem doesn't have a title (yet).

A slight touch
those blue eyes looking so...
A smile and an embrace
of which I can not possibly describe.
Lying there
so close
yet uncertainty makes the small space between us seem so vast,
like we are worlds apart.

I'm speechless
I wish to reach out
to hold you
kiss you
want you
want you to want me.
I want you to tell me your dreams
secrets
fears
I want you to tell me anything.
But you seem so far
unreachable.
I feel I may lose you.

Breathing and my bass-drum beating heart.
The silence is deafening.
Please make it stop.
I want you.
I want you to make it stop.

N. Strawbridge
9/28/09

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Seasons of Love....and Hatred.

Disclaimer: let me first say that this isn't going to be your typical post or blog where I'm just bitch about the weather (well,I might a little but only to make a valid point) or try to be the next Framer's Almanac - it will involve more that that.

I've been a Northeast girl my whole life - I've never lived outside of the tri-state area - so I've always had the privilege & the extreme displeasure of experiencing all 4 seasons. Unfortunately in the past decade or so, the normal 4 seasons have become something more of a thing of the past, like 8-track players, typewriters & phones with cords.

So in honor of the the recent change of season, here is my list of seasons (listed in the order of most hated to most loved):

I despise, loathe, have the deepest hatred for Winter that i'm getting angry just thinking about it's arrival in just a few months. The only thing I used to enjoy about Winter is the Christmas holidays but well, that now just gets me depressed. So basically I HATE WINTER. that is all.

Spring & Fall are the most evident victims for us East Coasters. I don't remember the last time we had decent a Spring or Fall. Believe me, I know when they get here - my sinuses are my new change in season indicator - but that aside, or looking at a calendar or hearing it via the news, the actual weather will not let you know what season it is.

Spring, normally a time for growth, warming up and breaking out of a winter shell, has brought unusually colder & damp days. This past Spring, we had more rain in a matter of 1 month than we did the entire summer before. Now I know that Spring is the rainy season, but seriously? What happened to the color and life that Spring used to offer? Flowers blooming & animals coming back out to play? Spring I really don't have a like or dislike for. I just can't stand that cold dampness that runs through my body and chills me to the bone. If we could make it rain less in the Spring, I'd probably enjoy it more.

My second favorite season is Fall. I love a lot of things about Fall - it is one of the prettiest times of year, especially in the Northeast - nothing beats taking a drive up the Taconic and seeing the leaves & trees change colors. I love that Fall has brief snippets of "Indian Summer" to help ease me into Winter. It is also the only season that has 2 names - some people only call it Autumn because they are too cool to say Fall. Fall to me as a kid was fun - back to school time, jumping in leaf piles my dad just made, it wasn't too hot or too cold to be outside (a.k.a perfect bike riding weather). Now, Fall has other amazing reminders: Television comes back to life, postseason baseball & the beginning of another Football season. I kinda wish sometimes it could be Fall all the time - it's not too cold but it's not ungodly hot. It's sweatshirt/long-sleeved weather all the time... you can't beat that.

Summer is my favorite season. Summer means: longer, sunnier days, getting to watch my favorite sport practically everyday, Tanktops & Flipflops, windows rolled all way down in my car with the music blaring, my birthday, weekend roadtrips, outdoor funtimes. My favorite memories as a kid were during the summertime. If someone came up with a solution to getting rid of the humidity & bug issue that Summer brings to the Northeast, I would be willing to give them my first born child or a high-five. I guess I could just move to San Diego or Arizona too.


Thursday, September 10, 2009

My 4 Food Groups

If I could create 4 food groups and live on those for the rest of my life (without weight gain or health issues) they would be:

Coffee, Cookies, Pizza & Beer.

Why?
Because they all taste so fucking good. Yes, there are the cases that you get a horrid slice of pizza (usually this occurs outside of the tri-state area) or that cup of coffee isn't to your standards, but I can honestly say that when eating these things I have consciously said out loud and in my head, "Oh My God, this is/tastes amazing."

Coffee: When I'm @ home, I put splenda & coffeemate french vanilla creamer in my coffee, but when I'm out, I go for the ol' light & sweet (just like me!) unless I'm at starbucks - then it's the skinny vanilla lattes that are my weakness. I am a fan of Iced Coffee but a hot cup of coffee will never let me down.

Pizza: I'm a plain person - always have, always will be. It's dough, sauce & cheese - why fuck it up with everything else? If you're going to throw meat or vegetables on it, you might as well just have a sandwich. I do like sicilian slices, but it depends from where. Fleetwood Joe's Pizzeria & Restaurant makes the BEST sicilian slices I've ever had.

Beer: You know when people say "it's an acquired taste"? I acquired the taste for Beer. I used to never like it. In college, I liked Rum & 'fratboy punch' (if you have to ask, you probably didn't go to college & don't want to know what I'm referring to) and assorted mixed drinks (which i do still like), but except to play beruit(beer pong), I never drank beer. Not until I was living in the city did I start drinking beer on a regular basis & sadly I think I started because it was cheaper than buying other drinks. But so started my love for Beer.... I prefer ales over lagers or stouts (I like to have a beer with my meal, not AS my meal) and I really can't stand IPAs. I have to admit that I'm not that much of a beer snob - my favorites are Sam Adams Summer Ale, Allagash, Hennepin & PBR, right out of the can (classy right?)

Cookies: The trickest one on this list. This is where my desire for things being plain sort of goes out the window. I LOVE cookies. Cookie Monster wasn't my favorite seasame street character growing up (actually it sort of scared the hell out of me when he would manically attack cookie products) but he slowly became my favorite over the years. Much like people are on a mission to find God, or to go to every Major League Ballpark, or climb to the top of every mountain, I would like to start my own mission: to find the best & most delicious cookies in the world. I'm going to go call that guy on that show (you know who I'm talking about) and see if we have a spin-off in the making. My favorite cookie of all time is a chewy soft chocolate chip cookie, but I do enjoy Oatmeal, Snickerdoodle, Samoas (thank you girl scouts of america) cookies. I do not like cookies with peanut butter, nuts, fruit, berries, sprinkles, sparkles or confetti in them. Caramel, coconut & Chocolate are the only exceptions.


These make up the 4 food groups. Now, of course there are the occasional speciality foods like ice cream cake, my mom's mashed potatoes, pancakes, burritos but I don't love those enough to give them their own category. They are like holidays - foods that I wouldn't want to live on but gorge myself on every once in awhile.

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Things (you may or may not know) about me

Some things may surprise, some may be totally obvious and well, other things just unexplainable....
Do with it what you will.


I'm left handed but the only thing I can't do is bat lefty.

I was on a soap opera when I was 2.

I'm a sports fanatic - most people, especially guys, are amazed at the fact that not only do I like sports, and like to watch them, but I can actually TALK sports....not that "I love Derek Jeter!" BS, but I actually know shit. I was born and raised a Yankees fan & accidentally became an Eagles fan, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. The 2 sports that I can't really watch are golf (it's too quiet & boring) and the NBA.

I've never been outside of the continental US - I don't even have a passport.

Unlike most people, I pretty much hated college. To me it was an over-sized, sleep-away version of High School, drama included. I didn't go to my college graduation because a) I didn't give a shit & b) it was the season finale of SNL and since I was interning there that Spring, being THERE was cooler than anything my college could have even attempted to pull off.

My current job description: I watch TV and get paid for it. So yes, that means I get to watch tv for a living. I guess it helps that I am a TV addict - I'll watch almost anything but cooking shows, televised mass or the CBS network (unless it's for sports)

At this moment, I truly have no idea what I want to do for the rest of my life.

Thanks to my mom's fear of drowning, I started swimming when I was 10 months old. I've lifeguarded, taught swim lessons & even swam Division III in college, but I want to know why I didn't turn out like Michael Phelps... I blame it on my shortness.

I’m an only child and so is my mom.

Working in radio was the best & worst thing that could have happened to me. I now know an insane amount of information about music, but have gained a greater respect & hatred for the music business. Music has always been and always will be an intense & huge part of my life.

I've had a subscription to Sports Illustrated for the last 8 years.

Over the last few years, I don’t know what I would have done without my cat, Lucy. I don't care what anyone else says, she is the fucking coolest cat ever. She's been my lifesaver (literally). I will probably bawl my eyes out when she goes.

I am a huge procrastinator - my first all-nighter was when I was a junior in HS because I waited to do a semester long assignment the night before it was due. (I still hate you Mrs. Rooney!)

I couldn’t play the part of the fox in my Kindergarten play “The Gingerbread Boy” because I had the chicken pox.

30 Rock, The Office, House, LOST, Weeds & The Soup are the greatest shows on TV right now, but no matter what, if any of the Law & Orders are on (except for Criminal Intent), I will always watch it even if I’ve seen it 12 times already.

I’ve never fractured or broken a bone. I’ve also never had a cavity. (Hooray Milk!)

The NY Neo-Futurists (the theater group I work with) are some of the most talented & greatest writers/performers/people in NYC. I am so grateful to be able to work with them - I want to be like them when I grow up. go check them out - www.nynf.org

I'm what you call an 'almost-vegetarian': I don't eat red meat, pork or seafood. I've always been an extremely picky eater since I was very young, but if I could live on coffee, cookies & pizza for the rest of my life and stay exactly the size I am now, I'd do it in a heartbeat.

I’ve dreamed of just picking up and moving to several places in the US, but always fear that no city could match New York. I would miss it & all that it offers, especially the pizza.

2 things that I absolutely can not stand are idiotic, careless drivers & today’s country music.

Movies are not my best category in trivia. People have wanted to hurt me when I've said things like "I've never seen the Princess Bride" or "I just recently saw The Goonies for the first time".

I wish I saw & talked to all of my friends more often, regardless of whether they live in the same town or in another country.... with all this damn technology, keeping in touch should be easier!

I enjoy puzzles, especially crossword puzzles and although most people thought I was crazy, I actually enjoyed math classes in school.

Nothing is better than live music – the energy & emotion that you see, hear & feel is something that needs to be bottled & sold.... I believe I just created the solution that will help save the economy.

I have 6 tattoos and I want to get more. I don't think they are for everyone, but I love them.

I like to get mail - who doesn't love the feeling of opening their mailbox & finding a card or a letter instead of just boring bills?? it means someone thought of you and cared to say hi.

I'm DEFINITELY not a morning person.... trust me, you probably don't want to find out so take my word for it.

I love trivia & karaoke nights at bars. I'm not going to be the next American Idol, but I can hold my own on a few songs... and I'm one hell of a backup singer.

I hate getting dressed up & very, very rarely do you see me wearing makeup.

I LOATHE the winter, but if i could get rid of one thing associated with the summer is humidity.

I believe that people 65+ years old should not be allowed to drive. No exceptions.

I don't understand people who say they have a favorite song. I could not think of 1 singular song that I LOVE SO MUCH that if I was forced to listen to ONLY that for the rest of my life, I wouldn't blow my brains out. Plus songs for me are kinda like memories - some are amazing, some are just good & others you wish you didn't have, but you won't ever forget.

My favorite book of all time is "Go Dog, Go!" by P.D. Eastman. Check it out - it will blow your mind.

I believe, and have been also told by others, that I was born in the wrong generation.

I love driving around and blasting music in my car and singing at the top of my lungs.

I'm a loud, sometimes bitchy & stubborn smartass.

If you haven't noticed, I like to write. I'm going to be honest - it's not all good, but hey we can't all be John Steinbeck or Edgar Allan Poe. I do write other things besides blog entries but I'm not entirely sure those things will be posted here - that's still TBD. I write to vent. I write to still keep my creativity alive in this depressive & monotonous life I lead. I write mainly because I can and want to, god damn it, so back off! and thanks for reading. (Oh and the pen & paper/computer don't talk back)

Monday, September 7, 2009

Hi.

This is my attempt at keeping a blog - I've had a few blog accounts over the past few years (which I actually would update and keep up with fairly frequently) but have since been neglected and well, I think it's time to start fresh - a new page, new chapter.... and honestly, I like to write and need a place to vent. I find more comfort with putting thoughts down to paper, or in this case, blog form.

If you are reading this, then there's a 98% chance that you know me & I know you. If you fall into that 2%, I am excited/intrigued/slightly creeped out that you are reading this, but I digress. It's the internet - I shouldn't be all that surprised if people I don't know stumble upon this - I just hope you find something of what I have to say interesting/funny/insightful.

Enjoy.