Straight from the PONY's mouth

Long time no blog! I have been swamped at work getting free massages and facials for an article I'm writing on "hidden gem" spas around Portland, exploring haunted sites for a Halloween-theme article and finding out all about every single awesome event coming to town in the coming months. It's pretty freakin' sweet!

Anyway, I guess it's no surprise, then, that now that I'm working at a city-focused magazine, my posts seem to be focused on the Portland media world (the editor-in-chief leaving Portland Monthly). As many misgivings that I have about that magazine, I have to admit that I appreciated a recent PONY-style piece they did called "NY State of Mind." Some of the staffers were in the Big Apple recently and asked people they came across what they knew about Portland. The responses:

Driver: "I've only heard of Oregon."
[What do you know about it?]
"Nothing."
[Just that it's west?]
"I didn't even know that."

Product developer: "Good hospitals. OBGYN researchers in Portland. It's a good market to test new products."

Hotel doorman: "Home of Nike. That's all I know."

Bartender: "The love of my life left me and moved there, so I have mixed feelings."

Woman at lunch: "Powell's Books. Beer."

Marketing exec: "It's so lush and beautiful. My husband toured with Imago Theatre there. I'd love to get back there."

Coffee cart guy: "Isn't it somewhere in the United Kingdom?"

Cabbie: "Is that a store? I'm embarrassed to say I don't even know where it is."

Some predictable, some sad....I know when I lived in New York, most east coasters didn't know much about good ole Portland - common question, "What there?" "What's it like there?" - but everyone who has since visited me has fallen in love with it (Kristin, Brooke). Well, duh!

Oh, and by the way, they illustrated the piece by showing quote bubbles coming out of an apple half. Ugh.

Trouble in paradise?

Some interesting news on the Portland media front:

Rumor has it (thanks for the heads up, Jen!) that Louise Lague, the new editor-in-chief of Portland Monthly, has been ousted after only 2 months on the job. Yikes! I'm never sure what's going on over there anymore because the two founding editors I worked with left awhile ago (hmmm, now I wonder why...), but something's gotta be up. Check out the more informed gossip at Portland Media Watch (why didn't I know about this blog before today?!).

After only 3 days on the job at PDX Magazine, I can only imagine what all the media gossips will be saying about us in a couple weeks. I guess it's all a part of the job description, especially in such a small market as Portland (hell, even the biggest market - New York - is riddled with gossip!). Us media folks are such navel gazers! I'd apologize, but I just can't help it.

Give and Take

Sometimes my Dad is on top of some pop culture stuff before me - yes, it's painful to admit, but it's true. Yesterday, I paid him and my cat, Boo, a visit, and he was watching Al Gore's new TV channel, Current.

I'd heard of the channel, of course, because I get various media-related newsletters, but other than the name and Al Gore, I didn't really know anything about it. Well, it turns out that it's sort of a blog for TV....short segments (no more than 15-minutes), many of them produced and submitted to the channel from real people (some crazy guy base jumping off cliffs, another wacky one working random jobs, a documentary of the characters working at the fulton fish market in nyc, etc), and other regular segments like "current Google" - a (young and hip, of course) talking head making comments about Google search results based on a certain word - "current Mentor" - words of advice from people like Deepak Chopra (write in and tell them who you want to hear from) - "current Gig" - a day in the life of a certain job (it's a young female minister right now) - "The Current Parent" - chronicles a young couple becoming parents - "current Maverick" - a profile on someone breaking boundaries (a motorcross racer with lots of scars right now) - "current Culture" - currently (ha!) highlighting the urban acrobats of parkour - "current Hottie" - a, yes, very hot Abercrombie & Fitch model - and more.

My favorite is "current Style" (duh!), though I hate that it's obviously sponsored by Loreal. Still, they had this great feature on last night about La Miroiterie, an artists' co-op in Paris that includes a "store" full of stuff - if see something you want, you take it and leave something you don't want behind. Yeah, I know that it's pretty much the age-old barter/trade system, but it is freakin' BRILLIANT!

Right now, the back seat of my car is full of clothes I don't want anymore, but I'm not quite ready to just give them away. I've tried to sell them several times at Buffalo Exchange, always hoping to get a different buyer, hoping they'll be buying for a new season, but I've still got piles and piles of garments they don't want. If I could trade them for stuff that's at least new to me, I would have no problem unloading my stuff for "free." I just really love the idea that the clothes (or books or movies or music or plates or whatever) that I'm sick of could make someone else really happy, and vice versa. It's all relative. Not to mention how great it would be to just keep all this stuff in circulation, not adding to landfills and not buying new stuff to pile on top of it all. And you know me, little miss consumer, so if even I like this idea, than it must be good!

I think I should open a store (or "co-op") like this in Portland - I'll call it PDXchange. It'll be a hit....though it won't make me any money. Then again, I guess the lack of money has never really stopped me before (i.e. my low-paying journalism/magazine career)...

So, to sum it all up, check out Current TV, channel 125 on Comcast in Portland! And trade yo' stuff!

New Job!

So I haven't really talked about it a while lot on here because I try to avoid posting to many monotonous details of my professional life, but obviously I have a new job to announce, so I should back up a bit and explain...I have been job searching for the past three weeks. My boss at PR-at-Large, Nikki, is finally making the move to get out of PR and start her own clothing line and/or boutique, a dream she's held for a long time, and is therefore phasing out the business, doing less PR for our clients, leaving not enough money and not enough work to justify my current full-time position. I will keep doing part-time work with her on my own time, but yikes, what about my bills and what about the development of my career??

Yeah, I was pretty well freaked the f#@k out when all this went down, but I tried to stick with the positive outlook I struggle to maintain, looking at this transition as an opportunity for something better. And, luckily, it has turned out to be just that!

I'm starting next week as an Editorial Assistant at new PDX Magazine, set to launch in October. Modeled on the Time Out-style "Listings Bible," it's going to be a monthly publication of entertainment, culture, nightlife, shopping, restaurant, events (etc) features and listings.

I have a feeling that my adventures and research on the job will provide a lot of fodder for the blog, and the experience will prove invaluable to turning PONY into a full-fledged mag itself one day (soon)...so stay tuned!

My Portland Picks

I made a little debut today, as a contributor to the local weekly e-newsletter and website Portland Picks. Yeah, so my name's not showcased anywhere, but as Mari so nicely pointed out, my "voice shines through (in the bestest of ways)." Check them all out yourself and guess which ones are mine (okay, it can't be #7, but still...I'll post the answers if I get some comments, so post your guesses please!):

Portland Picks:

1 Just Like Heaven

One word for Healing Waters & Sacred Spaces—utopia. We met our masseuse, Brenda, downstairs in the gift shop (next to the gallery) and she led us upstairs to a very serene, warm, welcoming spa space. We felt relaxed before we even received the treatment. Brenda made us feel like an old friend, as if we’d just popped in for a cup of tea.

We treated ourselves to the 90-minute Intuitive Massage & Energy Infusion. Ninety fabulous minutes of lying there in pure rapture as Brenda guided us to a place of serene tranquility. Each massage is unique, depending on what state you’re in, so it’s not a cookie-cutter rubdown. Brenda applied hot stones, essential oils, and even used a tuning fork at the end to deepen our state of relaxation and soothe our overtaxed nervous systems. This should be mandatory for all of us.

She described Healing Waters & Sacred Spaces as a “collective of people who do healing work.” Try a session of Gemstone Healing, Reiki, Sound Therapy, Aromatherapy, or a Soul-Card Reading. They have specialists in all of them! (Our ideal day would be to come in and have a treatment from everyone on staff, pure research and pure heaven.)

Release all that negative energy and find your center. You deserve to unwind and feel divine. You owe this to yourself. And tell them Portland Picks sent you – you’ll get 10% off your first massage!

Healing Waters & Sacred Spaces
2426 NE Broadway
503.528.1430
livingsacred.com


2 You Are Such a Baddoll

There are few things cuter on this planet than baby-size shoes. We want to bronze all of the baby shoes - not just the customary one! And though Baddoll Shoes is really a place for grownups, the itty-bitty Converse and Chuck Taylors (in crayon colors, no less) completely captured our hearts.

We also loved the funky selection of Faryl Robin and Fornarina shoes – we have a super-duper big soft-spot in our hearts for Fornarinas – along with brands like Puma and Diesel, for women and men. From what they tell us, the sportier shoes are flying out of the store, as are the Reef flip flops – after all, it is summer. Oh, and they have Puma flip flops for just $15! Inexpensive enough to buy a couple pairs and keep them in the car for impromptu afternoons at the beach!

Baddoll Shoes
808 NW 23rd
503.525.2202
baddoll.com


3 We’ll be in the Powder Room

Want to have fun shopping for sparkly glam hippie clothes that won’t break your budget?

The Powder Room is “that place.” We loved their mad selection of platform sandals and inexpensive bags and baubles. Big gaudy rings on the cheap? We love it! Camis in every color, with or without beading? We love it! It’s like your hippest hippie girlfriend crashed into a glam-rock video. Totally awesome! (And from what we hear, the biggest seller is the Paradigm dress with delish candy stripes, a halter neck and a leather tie…for only $44.95.)

Don’t tell everyone about it; just go get one for yourself! Watch as others glance at you in envy and then do the kind thing—send them to the Powder Room!

The Powder Room
814 NW 23rd
503.248.9160


4 Get Tangled

Because we are, let’s just say, frenetic, the act of sitting down and actually relaxing or even watching TV is a challenge. We never thought of ourselves as the scrapbooking, berry picking, jam making, knitting type, though we’ve always admired those that could do such things.

Knitting in particular has taken on a very cool, glamorous, Zen-like reputation. With all the gorgeous accessories and luxurious yarns to choose from, it’s become so fashionable. And it isn’t just Grandma who’s doing it. All the models, celebs, and even college students are curling up and creating. It’s a whole new fantabulous trend. And we think it’s about time to try our hand at knitting. (Who’d a thought?) Just a quick private class and poof, we’re making a scarf ! (Cross your fingers for us.) We’ve always held romantic visions of ourselves knitting feverishly next to the big fireplace up at Timberline. The trick is that knitting is a communal habit. It is about making time with a beloved pal to sit and knit.

And our new hangout, Tangle Knitting, also has group classes and events. Our favorite: Stitch and Bitch. And if that’s not enough to get you knitting, check out their amazing knitting handbags (they look like carpet bags...gorgeous!) We’re sold.

Tangle Knitting
440 1st Street
Lake Oswego
503-636-knit


5 Ellaina Comes to Town

We know what you’re thinking; you love the idea of local designers, but you’re not sure you have the cash or the panache to actually buy those often edgy, expensive styles. Well then, check out Sue Bradbury’s soft, comfy, classic-with-a-twist designs at Ellaina.com.

It’s hard to believe that this San Diego transplant has only been living in Portland for a month. From all corners, we are receiving rave reviews about her stuff, and we’re not surprised. Lightweight soft mint-green shrugs, clingy tees with leaf appliqués and lace cutouts, plush pink curve-hugging cords and flowy floral skirts are just some of the feminine pieces that will surely become our wardrobe essentials for the rest of the summer and into the fall. Oh and lest we forget one of our favorite parts, all of the items are priced within our budget ($60 cords, $25 tanks), so now we really can stock our closet with unique, handmade local designs!

Eventually, Sue plans to open a brick-and-mortar Ellaina boutique just like the one she had in San Diego, but until then, you can pick up her designs at Say Say Boutique and Fix Gallery, as well as online at Ellaina.com.

Although we loved playing dress-up in person, it’s also worth it to check out the website for “pair with” ideas as well as purses, belts and jewelry and Sue’s own personal online journal detailing her inspirations and observations of her new home, “the most beautiful place I’ve ever been.” Well thank you, Sue, we love you, too! When newcomers can’t resist Portland, we can’t resist them!

Sue Bradbury available at: www.Ellaina.com

* Say Say Boutique
1010 SW Morrison
* Fix Gallery
811 East Burnside

ellaina.com


6 Quilted Memories

We tried to clean our closet this week. We planned to stick with the if-you-haven’t-worn-it-in-a-year-then-toss-it rule, but we didn’t accomplish much. Our old prom dress, skinny jeans, the ex-boyfriend’s college t-shirt and countless other nostalgic wardrobe pieces are still lingering. We don’t know about you, but we’d have lots more room in our closet for cute NEW clothes if we got rid of these blasts from the past, but we can’t bear to part with them.

Cue Lori Mason to the rescue. The former Nike textile designer turned to quilting 6 years ago with Lori Mason Design, and now she creates personal commemorative quilts out of your precious fabrics. Wedding and baby quilts are quite popular to mark those life-changing occasions, but we also like the idea of creating our own personal security blanket out of the garments that have made us happy through the years. We’ll curl up with the soft satin of that first fancy dress, run our fingers over the worn letters on his shirt we used to sleep in, revel in the memories of how hot those jeans made our butt look back in our heyday, and smile.

Lori also creates ready-made quilts with a modern edge, using wool suiting materials or linen. Her designs are clean and simple, making us think more of West Elm than Amish country. Prices range from $400 for a throw to $5000 for an intricate king-sized spread. Prices for commemorative quilts vary depending on size, pattern (Lori uses only her own original patterns) and number of fabrics used. You are investing in an heirloom. These will be the things the kids argue over.

lorimasondesign.com


7 You are One Hot Mama

When I was nursing the twins, I was afraid to leave the house. I was constantly starved, binging on Raisin Bran at 2 a.m. and listening to the neighbors partying next door. My surreal life consisted of alternating between nursing and pumping (sometimes on high speed to just be done with it, which of course wreaked havoc later). But I couldn’t leave my house because my poor starving twins never stopped nursing. And my bra, yuck! Though I must say I had quite a rack (for a fleeting moment anyway). At that time, sexy was not something I was feeling.

Many companies have claimed to have a "sexy" nursing bra, but their idea of sexy is offering one in black. Ho-hum. Now there’s a new local company that really is making the first-ever, sexy and functional nursing bra! De Ma Vie was started by two nursing mothers who thought, "Why must nursing bras be so unflattering?" We’re trussed up like Vikings when our bras are getting the most frequent viewing by the husbands! . One of the women, Heather Chamberlain, is the creative designer behind the De Ma Vie line and the model on the website. The De Ma Vie line was created in a Portland-area suburb where Heather currently lives with her two children.

Times have changed. And see, it isn’t an oxymoron....you can be a sexy mom, especially in De Ma Vie.

De Ma Vie
503-533-1751

demavie.com


8 Gelato comes to Old Town

We have dreams of being a flapper in the Roaring 20s. We can picture our hair in a bob while sporting a drop-waist dress and hanging out in the speakeasy with our bootlegger boyfriend. That’s why we love Chumley’s in New York, an old speakeasy in Greenwich Village, complete with a steel peep-slot in the nondescript wood door.

Back home in Portland, we’re always on the lookout for places with the same secret, underground cool, which is why we love love love the new Old Town Gelato. An offshoot of Old Town Pizza on NW Davis between 2nd & 3rd, Old Town Gelato is tucked into a tiny space next to the restaurant, which is only about as big as the gelato freezer itself. When the door is closed, you wouldn’t even know it was there; but when they’re open (11am-8 pm Mon-Thurs, 11am-11pm Fri & Sat) you’ll know where to look.

You’ll be drawn to their welcoming bistro tables lining the sidewalk. In addition to the yummy gelato and sorbet (we gobbled up the fresh, tart, green apple sorbet, while our girlfriend indulged in creamy hazelnut gelato), you can also enjoy take-out sandwiches, Italian sodas and coffee – no password required.

Old Town Pizza
NW Davis between 2nd & 3rd

In an effort to keep this post from being completely self-promotional, I suggest you check out the rest of today's edition (#80) for more cool ideas and goodies, one of which is those Sigerson Morrison rubber flats I wrote about awhile back (I just can't help writing about myself in some way, I guess!).

Now I know what's wrong with me...

thank you Gawker!

When I'm moaning and writhing on the floor, despondent that I've abandoned you readers for too long, therefore further paralyzed from posting and falling further into my blogging block, now at least I can take comfort in knowing there's a name for my condition. Someone should start a support group...

Along these same lines, I'm also a sufferer of Restless Leg Symdrome (or RLS). I know, everyone always thinks I'm just nervous or neurotic, and even though I am, that's not why I bounce my legs incessently (even in bed when I'm going to sleep!). Although the "severity" of my RLS is pretty minor - frankly, I like to think of the leg bouncing as my cardio - apparently this condition can be pretty debilitating. Seriously! Check out the RLS Foundation's website! Now will you stop telling me to sit still?! :-)

LATE-breaking news

Remember my little love affair earlier this month with the pop culture-obsessed beauty editor-written blog Jolie in NYC? Well, lots o' crazy stuff has happened for her in the past week, and I have been remiss in not sharing the news with all you, my lovely readers. (I'm not sure if any of you actually find my media-world news interesting, but it's kind of my obsession, and I'm gonna blog about it if I want to! And I really do hope you find it at least a little bit captivating, even if it's in a don't-want-to-admit-I'm-that-shallow kind of way.)

So Jolie...well, the mask has come off and thanks to a silly beauty publicist (gotta love them!), this anonymous beauty editor was outed last week as Nadine Haobsh, an asociate beauty editor at Ladies' Home Journal:



Small world - my ASME friend, Meredith, is an editorial assistant at LHJ.

Anyway, the blog was quickly taken down, and Nadine's fresh-on-the-table job offer from Seventeen to be their new beauty editor (she had already given notice at LHJ) was rescinded. Ouch!

But, come on, this is the media bubble of New York - no publicity is bad publicity! Nadine had the blog back up by the end of the week (with a new "direct all press inquiries ot my publicist" note, of course) and has now signed with the William Morris Agency to write a book about the beauty industry, complete with TV and movie tie-ins. She was also on MSNBC and is booked on Tyra's Banks's new TV show and Anderson Cooper's CNN show. Hmmm, I have a feeling that all this new excitement is a lot more lucrative (albeit, without all the swag perhaps) than that editor gig anyway.

See? Anonymity gets you nowhere! To keep up with all this craziness, feel free to go directly to the source: Jolie in NYC, now providing the behind-the-scenes stories of what it's like to be newly infamous in the media world (a girl can dream, right?)

Now, if only someone would take notice of our little blog here and hmmm, maybe offer me a book deal? A magazine deal? Maybe just a deal on my car insurance?

need i say more?

even though the job market sucks.

i apologize for again slacking on the blogging, but i am pimping myself out nonstop hoping someone wants to pay me for what i'm good at - yeah, what i'm good at with my clothes on, too. speaking of which, i'll link to it on friday, but make sure to check out Portland Picks at the end of this week when three little feature-ettes i wrote on local businesses will be featured. if only i was doing it for the money and not just the glory.

anyway, i can pretty much assure you that i will be blogging a whole lot more starting next week because that's when my current hours get cut to half. i'm looking forward to the free time, but certainly not the empty checking account! i'm still waiting for my salary to catch up with my spending habits....one day.

as always when i am being a lazy blogger, i'm going to refer you to yet another cool new blog i discovered. ultra is a local Portland blog focusing on the up-and-coming fashion scene here (yes, we have one!). if you want proof of how cool this city really is (in addition to the evidence i share with you here at PONYtales, of course!), then check it out.

No wonder I'm broke!

So Forbes just released their list of the top ten Most Overpriced Places in the U.S. They determined these by studying the median home price and other costs of living in relation to the job growth and unemployment or something like that.

Big duh: New York is #2 (though I guess you could say it's a surprise that it's not #1).

The big surprise? Portland is #3!! Wha??????

Now, I know for a fact that Portland is way cheaper to live in than New York or even Sacramento, my home town. In fact, it's probably the most inexpensive cool city to live in! But apparently, our unemployment rate is high and homes are actually fairly expensive, so it's overpriced:


Forbes says: "Portland comes in on the northern end of the list once again. Like Seattle, it took some hard knocks during the dot-com bust. "Oregon's economy has not yet recovered from the recession of 2001," according to the state's official fact book, the Oregon Blue Book. At the end of 2004, the state's unemployment rate was lingering around 7% (it was 5% nationally in June). The quality of life is good, but real estate comes at a price. From the end of 2003 to the end of 2004, the median home-cost price increased by nearly $20,000 to $201,500, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development."

Well, crap, I'm screwed. Just when I find out that my boss won't be able to keep me on full-time at PR-at-Large after the end of this month, thereby cutting my guaranteed income in half (don't worry, I'm job searching!), this fancy-pants money magazine tells me that I'm living in a way too expensive city. Ack! Okay, I'm just going to deal with it through denial: the magazine's statistics don't apply to me and that's the end of it. My Portland is cheap cheap cheap!

I'm a celeb whore - my [now ex-]boyfriend is famous!

Just when I thought I didn't belong, the Imaginary Socialite posted my email to her:

Marty McFly Is So My Guy

Ya see, I noticed during my obsessive reading of her archives that IS seems to have a thing for the Back to the Future movies. Well, for those of you I haven't told yet (which is, what, like one of you because I tell this bit of trivia to everyone I can), my boyfriend, John, was in Back to the Future II as one of the boys playing the Wild Gunmen video game in the 80's Cafe. His famous line: "That's like a baby's toy!" (said in response to realizing that you had to use your hands to play the game). Yeah! I'm dating a movie star! IS thought that was pretty cool, too.

And as she suggested, I went to imbd.com (Internet Movie Database - go there to look up all the info on any movie or TV show ever made) and looked at John's page (can't believe I never did that before). I coudn't have been prouder! And what is this - John guest starred on Highway to Heaven? I loved that show when I was a kid and I'm sure I saw him on TV and that's when I first fell in love. Ha!

**Additional trivia: For those of you really into this, check out John's sister Noley's page. She was the really successful one, playing Heidi in the Disney remake and Dylan's little sister, Erica McKay on 90210. Lucky!

Some late night ramblings from last night...

Sometimes I can't tell if I feel that I'm missing out on some things by not living in New York right now, or if I really am happy living a slower pace in Portland. I honestly feel both at the same time - which is the one I should listen to?

Anyway, this quandry comes up most often after I've watched or read something that depicts the single-girl-in-the-city lifestyle I thought I would lead after college, though was never sure I really wanted. A couple media that have been catalysts for this tonight:

Hooking Up
Summer reality shows - I have come to rely on them. According to the show promos, this one has been called "the real life Sex and the City" by some notable newspaper out there, so you know I'm already hooked. Basically, the hour show followed five or six women as they emailed a bit, called, set up dates and met with various guys in New York City. Some bad dates (a self-proclaimed "thin Fabio" with a hot model photo showed up 15-years older than he said he was with stringy red hair and craggy face - ewww!), some okay dates (guy buys dinner, gets a few laughs, but the girl doesn't want to jump his bones at all) and some great dates (ending with late night drinks, passionate kisses, all that warm and fuzzy stuff). At first, I enjoyed the vicarious rush of watching them meet new guys, get butterflies and hear the flirty and flattering things the guys said to them. Do I miss dating?, I wondered. But the more I watched, the more stressed out I became and the more disillusioned I got about the guys that are out there (not to say, single ladies, that there aren't some great catches - I'm just happy I caught one). The show was damn fine entertainment and I will surely be watching again, if only to remind myself that I am so much happier chillin' on the couch in my lovely apartment with my wacky boyfriend.

Score: Portland 1 / New York 0

Imaginary Socialite
A blog by a mysterious magazine editor who is very much plugged into the "hipster scene," as well the media and young celebrity world. I spent a good chunk of time after watching the show catching up on her archived posts. I wanted to think that I was hip and in-the-know enough to guess her veiled references (just the fact that I used "hip" and "in-the-know" proves that I'm not), but reading most of the posts just left me feeling even more left out. Is this the life I should be leading?, I thought to myself (okay, I said it out loud - I was alone at home!). It's not like I hit the town and go to the hottest spots even in Portland, so would I really be doing that in new York? What about the magazine world that I thought I so loved? Am I selling myself short not going after that? The questions swirled in my head as I clicked through post after post, and I wanted to stop but I couldn't. I read them all, torturing myself with self-doubt.

Score: Portland 1 / New York 1

So I'm back where I started, wanting both.

I have this weird complusive nature that makes me never want to miss out on anything, never be out of the loop, never fall behind the trends. That must be why I'm such a voracious consumer of media. And I think that's why I have this desire to live in new York - where it all starts, where it all happens - so I can be in the thick of it and never miss out.

Sometimes I think if I didn't know about that New York life, I wouldn't care. So why do I torture myself with these tastes of New York, even when I know the romanticization (word?) of the city and the lifestyle really is bullshit? It's like an addiction...I had a taste and now I can't stop, and yet I am unable to take the big plunge, instead just sitting on the sidelines, hanging on the fringes and flirting with that life....then going back to the safety of my bed and sleep and my yummy cute boyfriend.

I called John before I went to bed (he's out of town) and listened to him talk and felt at home, finally.

It's gettin' hot in here!

Okay, so that headline was too easy...sorry. Anyway, wanted to share with y'all Daily Candy's latest Lexicon XV (like the bar in Portland that everyone calls "15" but Selena and I call "X-V"!). It's about the summer heat, and since they put it in their "Everywhere" edition, I guess it's about heat all over the country, but trust me, these funny-ass made-up words are really truly applicable to the the nasty, muggy, dirty, did I say nasty yet? HEAT in New York City. It's hot in Portland right now, which means the sun is shining and that makes me happy, but when it's hot in New York, it is miserable - especially on the subway platforms. I'm feeling faint just thinking about it. Enough of my complaints - Daily Candy is much funnier at portraying the misery:

Lexicon XV
summertime! Summertime, and the lingo is easy.

a.c. pee
n. The nasty drip from an air conditioning unit. Also known as "liquid garbage."

condenversation
n. The exchange of sweat by people in close quarters (i.e., dance floors, cramped elevators). See also: filmic moment.

despair conditioning
n. An unexpected waft of cool air (e.g., from a passing bus) that is at once disgusting and welcome in 90-degree heat.

filmic moment
n. A glistening sheen of sweat on your body or your belongings, and the realization that the sweat may not be your own. (That messenger and I shared a nasty but hot filmic moment in the lobby.)

glute glue
n. The cohesive agent that develops on the backs of thighs in July, forcing one to peel them off park benches, car seats, or bar stools.

little white line
n. The thong outline seen on girls wearing the wrong white pants. (Does that skank with the little white line not check her reflection before going out?)

pit-fall
n. 1. The unavoidable underarm stains one gets from wearing tight, nonbreathable tees. 2. One's inability to avoid wearing tight, nonbreathable tees.

shamtonite
n. Summer house freeloader. (Chad is such a shamtonite. He's been hanging out in Bridgehampton for the past three weekends and he doesn't even rent.)

skimplify
v. To reduce the amount of cloth used to cover the body. (Summer's here. Time to skimplify the wardrobe.)

Our laugh for the day

This doesn't really have anything to do with Portland or New York, but being that I am celebrity-obsessed, it made me laugh and I hope it will make you laugh, too. If you know even just the tiniest bit about the Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes relationship (like, um, that they're together and they're crazy Scientologists), then you must visit The Tom Cruise Scientology Centre. And make sure you click on everything, like even the "No" button under "Donate." Funny shit!

So this is what Media Studies is all about!

Well, shiznit, I'm already doin' it! Are you? Take Simon Dumenco's hil-air-ious pop quiz from today's AdAge and find out:

A MEDIA-STUDIES POP QUIZ
What Was Martha Stewart's Prison Nickname?
July 11, 2005
QwikFIND ID: AAQ73K
By Simon Dumenco

I know all you want to do is go to the beach and read Ed Klein’s The Truth About Hillary, but the real truth is that we’ve got some serious work to do here, people, and I’m concerned that some of you are just not keeping up. So I’ve decided we’re having a media-studies pop quiz. Right now. What’s that? Yes, I’m serious. Clear your desks and take out your No. 2 pencils. And stop your groaning!

The best catchphrase of the year so far is:
A. “I can’t be cool. I can’t be laid-back. Something happened and I want to celebrate it.”
B. “If you start talking about chemical imbalance, you have to evaluate and read the research papers on how they came up with these theories, Matt, OK? That’s what I’ve done.”
C. “They smell good. They look pretty. I love women. I do.”
D. “You don’t know the history of psychiatry. I do.”

Fill in the blank for P. Diddy’s pitch in an ad currently airing on MTV: “One of the things about _____ is it moisturizes my situation, it preserves my sexy, and then I’m off to doing what I need to do.”
A. Pennzoil (Long-Life Heavy Duty Engine Oil)
B. Replens (Long-Lasting Vaginal Moisturizer)
C. Cheetos (Dangerously Cheesy Cheese Flavored Snacks)
D. Proactiv (The Answer for Acne)

Martha Stewart revealed in Vanity Fair that her prison nickname was:
A. Martha Stewart Omnibitchy
B. Martha Stewart Omniguilty
C. Martha StewartOmnipretty
D. M. Diddy

Which of the following did a Dublin court not rule must be returned to Bono by a former stylist who worked for U2 18 years ago?
A. Bono’s pants
B. Bono’s hoop earrings
C. Bono’s Stetson hat
D. Bono’s last name

New York Times reporter Judith Miller got sent to jail for:
A. Buying all that crap about WMDs, and thereby aiding and abetting the headlong rush into war with Iraq.
B. Selling her ImClone stock based on an insider tip.
C. Stealing Bono’s pants.
D. Robert Novak.

A spokesperson for the Christian organization The Resistance has blasted Jessica Simpson for her “These Boots are Made for Walking” video, demanding that she shoot a family-friendly version. They’re also demanding that:
A. The guy whose butt was shown in a photograph posted to the Los Angeles Times Web site’s “wikitorial” put on a pair of pants, for Chrissakes.
B. Nick Lachey stop doing bench presses because, Lordy, that hot bod of his is gonna turn all the men in this parish into queers!
C. ABC add “Praying With the Stars” to its fall lineup.
D. I rewrite this quiz to exclude mentions of Nick Lachey’s sexy body and that dude’s butt.

In response to the news that Angelina Jolie and (supposedly) Brad Pitt are adopting an Ethopian AIDS orphan:
A. Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn are going to try to adopt a Lebanese crack baby.
B. Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin are thinking about adopting a lesbian baby with diaper rash.
C. Juliette Lewis and Woody Harrelson may adopt kosher cooking practices.
D. I’m adopting Norm Pearlstine.

The only people expected to apply for jobs at the Al-Jazeera network as it enters the English-language market next year include:
A. Al-Roker
B. Tony Danza
C. Bloggers who got turned down by The Huffington Post
D. American Media employees inured to terror after years of working for Bonnie Fuller and David Pecker

Which of the following is not a lyric from Destiny’s Child’s stomach-turning new hit “Cater 2 U”?
A. Let me help you/take off your shoes/untie your shoestrings/take off your cuff links
B. When you come home late/tap me on my shoulder/I’ll roll over
C. I got your slippers/your dinner/your dessert/and so much more
D. Boo, I have no shred of self-esteem/do you take your coffee with cream?

If Karl Rove didn’t leak the identity of CIA agent Valerie Plame to Matt Cooper, what did he tell the Time reporter?
A. “I can’t be cool. I can’t be laid-back. Something happened and I want to celebrate it.”
B. “If you start talking about chemical imbalance, you have to evaluate and read the research papers on how they came up with these theories, Matt, OK? That’s what I’ve done.”
C. “They smell good. They look pretty. I love women. I do.”
D. “You don’t know the history of psychiatry. I do.”

The only person buying the Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes romance is:
A. Liz Smith, on alternate Tuesdays, after a few cocktails.
B. 9-year-old Becky Kerwin of Sheboygan, Wisconsin.
C. Tom Cruise’s publicist-sister Lee Anne DeVette.
D. Xenu of Scientology fame, who, according to Wikipedia, “is the galactic tyrant who stacked hundreds of billions of his frozen victims around Earth’s volcanoes 75 million years ago before blowing them up with hydrogen bombs and brainwashing them with a ‘3-D, super colossal motion picture’ for 36 days.”

Which of the following is not an upcoming reality TV show?
A. NBC’s Tommy Lee Goes to College
B. Bravo’s Being Bobby Brown
C. NBC’s I’m a Celebrity, but I Want to be a Pop Star
D. HBO’s I’m James Gandolfini, Are You Going to Finish Those Fries?

I’m writing Media Guy:
A. To serve as a launching pad for my podcast.
B. To serve as a platform for my blog.
C. Until Mel Karmazin offers me my own satellite radio show on Sirius.
D. With the hopes that an editor at Highlights for Children notices my work.

You're dying for the answers now, right? Are you cool enough? Smart enough? Or maybe dumb enough? Okay, Frisky, check it out here.

If this is what Mari's grad school program entails, then I gotta get my ass back to school!

A warning to all PoweR Girls...

Jolie, are we operating on the same media world (not to mention pop culture-obsessed) wavelength?

I think this beauty editor must have been attacked by PR people yesterday, because after she waxed eloquently about the typical editor-flack relationships, she also posted a helpful list of rules all PoweR Girls should (try their best to) memorize, or at the very least post in their magazine-clip covered cubicle.

Jolie in NYC: Rules for PR people to live by

I couldn't agree more, but may I also add a few of my own...

6) Target your pitches to the appropriate magazine, then the appropriate editor and section. Read the publication and, as Jolie mentioned, make a point to check out the masthead every month to become familiar with the names and keep an eye out for any editor changes (they happen endlessly, it seems!). Even better, pay attention to industry updates like mediabistro's Revolving Door and Fashion Week Daily. If you don't want to be treated like an outsider, don't stay on the outside.

7) Don't ever feel (and certainly never act) entitled to a response from every editor you call or email. They are already handling more than what's outlined in their job description, and you, the 564th PR person to call or email that week, are not that special. Don't ever take it personally.

8) Rule #7 does not mean that you should treat editors the same way. I always remember editors who contact me and drop everything (or at least act like I am) to facilitate their request or answer their questions. I treat them like friends, which isn't so hard considering we're all pretty much women in our 20s & 30s. If editors feel good when they deal with you, whether or not the interaction results in a placement, they'll be more apt to contact you again. Relationships are the basis of PR (duh).

9) Believe in your client's service/product/whatever your pushing. Not every PoweR Girl is so lucky, but if you can at least fake some enthusiasm it may become contagious. If you actually like what you're pitching, you'll feel less smarmy making those dreaded follow-up calls.

Ugh, that's more than enough work-related blogging for my own good. I promise no more PR posts....for at least a week!

PoweR Girl!

Public Relations. The "dark side" as we called it during my summer ASME internship.

Don't get me wrong, I am loving my PR job right now - mostly because I have an awesome boss and genuinely like our clients (and who are they you ask? Twist, b-glowing, Flowerbud and Schoolhouse Electric Co., of course!) - but I still have trouble identifying myself as a PR person, mostly because of the bad rap PR flacks (often deservedly, sometimes unfairly) get from editors. The thing is, because I was on the magazine side for a bit, I completely agree with the usual complaints - pitching items that are completely irrelevant to the editor and anything he/she is working on, annoyingly persistent follow up verging on stalking - and I try to avoid those pitfalls in my own work.

Maybe that's why I still think I would get along with beauty editor Jolie (my new favorite blogger mentioned in my previous post), despite (or maybe because of) her recent missive on PR events and PR girls (a little negative, but also celebrating all the freebies and fun events she gets to go to thanks to the beauty PR peeps). If you're at all curious about the world I navigate and the relationship between magazines and PR (specifically in beauty departments), check it out: A Day in the Life, or Jolie Gets Wordy and Earnest.

In my absence, read these....

Yes, I am alive, have no fear (now that Mari has a job, maybe she'll stop posting so much and making me look like a lazy-ass). We just finished the move last night (next task: unpacking!) and I will soon finish posting about my New York trip (3 weeks later!) - Sunday, Monday and Tuesday left to write about - and also post camera phone pics of our new apartment. It is ADORABLE if I do say so myself. Very happy, I am.

Anyway, in the meantime, I thought I'd share with all of you some new blogs that I came across today. Not that Mari isn't keeping all of you fully entertained (I know, because I'm so engrossed with reading about her life I'm starting to think I'll just let her take over - nah, I could never leave y'all like that!), but until I'm also back providing my ridiculous insights, check out what these bloggers have to say:

Jolie in NYC
Random musings (and gossip updates) from a "pop culture-obsessed" beauty editor in NYC. Being pop culture-obsessed myself, the gossip alerts are no news to me, but I have been enjoying her snarky comments about them and also her inside revelations of the beauty editor world (hint: lots of extravagent freebies from PR people like me). Everyone is wondering who she is (mediabistro, Fashion Week Daily), and I just asked my boss, Nikki, who did PR for Estee Lauder brands for over 10 years in NYC, for any insights she might have. Whoever it is, I would like to meet her - I think we would get along famously.

Overheard in NYC
Hilariously idiotic conversations people have >duh< overheard in NYC. I've only looked at the first few so far, but I can already tell this is going to be regular stop on my daily blog tour.

I'll be adding these blogs to the links at right for future reference, but get on them now!

New York City - Tuesday, 6.14.05

I had all these ambitious plans that Mari and I would get up early (ha!), go get some breakfast, and maybe wander through Central Park a bit as I had yet to get there, before I had to hop on my 12:45 shuttle to good ole Newark International Airport. Silly me! Instead, we woke up late around 11am (but still so early for us!) and went to Bag o' Bagels so I could get....well, a bag of bagels as a little present for my New-York-native boss who hasn't found a sufficiently delicious bagel in Portland. Yeah, kissin' some ass! We had some bagels for ourselves, too, of course.

Anyway, after stuffing our faces with way too much cream cheese, we headed back to Mari's, grabbed my stuff and began the arduous journey dragging my bags up and down subway stairs to get to Grand Central and then to my fancy coach (i.e. bus) that would take me away from my beloved New York (damnit!).

New York City - Monday, 6.13.05

Back to the grind on Monday morning. No, not at all, thank goodness, but I did have to get up around 9 to meet Peter Shankman for breakfast. Remember Peter, the PR guy (president of The Geek Factory, actually) that I met in Portland when he came out to pitch the city as a potential client? Anyway, as I mentioned in my on-the-plane post, he lives in New York, so less than a week after we met up in my neck of the woods, I headed over for a tour of his bachelor pad at The Helena, on the up-and-coming west side of the city, and some yummy greasy diner breakfast. Good times!

After getting refreshed from the (sweaty) walk back to Mari's, I walked down to the infamous Conde Nast building at 4 Times Square to have lunch with my friend Eric (he was the ASME intern at Parents the year before me), who now works at Gourmet (yeah, Monday was all about eating, meal after meal!). Now, for all of you who have a life and aren't obsessed with the magazine world like me, I should tell you that Conde Nast is the ultimate mag publisher, home of Vogue, The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, Glamour, Lucky, Domino, etc, and their cafeteria is infamous for a couple reasons:

1) It was designed by Frank Gehry, notable architect of the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain and the Experience Music Project in Seattle, among many other disinctive buildings. His "sculptural approach to architecture" is obvious in the undulating glass and stainless steel of the Conde Nast cafeteria:


Official photo of the seating area.


The crazy free-for-all serving area (just imagine a mass of skinny, long-haired, trendy girls fighting for that last leaf of lettuce).




My two attmepts (thanks camera phone!) at capturing the magic moment.

2) The Conde Nast cafeteria is often thought to be an oxymoron itself because all the women who helm the mastheads at Vogue, Lucky, Glamour, Self and the like are always under pressure to look good at their image-conscious jobs, therefore the generalization is that they don't eat. I stormed into that cafeteria ready to prove that all wrong and show up the wannabe Mary-Kate Olson's that skinny girls can eat too, damnit! I did my best - ordered a turkey sandwich with all the fixings, picked up two cookies and loaded the largest cup with regular, calorie-laden Pepsi. I thought I had bucked the system for sure, but as soon as I sat down and took a sip of my sugary beverage, I realized that the Conde Nast gods had gotten the last laugh - my cup was full of diet soda! That's right, diet soda comes out of the regular fountain at the Conde Nast cafeteria because, obviously, they know what's best to keep all their employees skinny as a rail. It's an anorexic fascist regime, I tell you! And I'm not the only one who thinks so - read Gawker's undercover investigation of Conde Nast cafeteria etiquette to see that my experience was not an anomaly.

Phew....having recovered from this disturbing event, I headed back to Mari's (light-headed because the cafeteria had deprived me of a crucial couple hundred calories), changed into something more comfortable and two two of us headed to the Museum of Modern Art. It was a stunning space - I think was more captivated by the architecture for at least the first half hour - but the art and design on display was equally impressive. I especially enjoyed the design section of the museum, full of everything from innovative car pistons to the Apple iPod to Tupperware to the Smart Car to midcentury modern furntiure (yummy Eames chairs and Saarinen pieces!) and so much more. Another high point was seeing Andy Warhol's famous Campbell's soup series:


Did you know that each can was a different soup, representing all the varieties available at the time? Well, I didn't....I guess I had only seen Tomato on its own or something. Anyway, MOMA arranged the canvases in the order of the soups' introductions into the market. Very cool....I love consumerism and pop culture!

The rest of the visit was filled with lots of contemporary art by artists I'd never heard of but enjoyed, Picasso, Cezanne, Miro, Rothko, Monet, Matisse, Lichtenstein, Van Gogh....I could go on and on. I hate to sound like jaded and unappreciative, but frankly, by the time Mari and I got to the top floors, our eyes were glazed over and we barely paid attention to all the famous pieces. I definitely suggest enjoying museums in multiple, smaller doses if possible. It was exhausting!

Never in a lull for long, though, on the walk home, Mari and I walked right past the Bewitched premiere at the Ziegfeld Theatre right behind Mari's apartment building, which is apparently where most of the New York premieres of movies are held. Oooh, celebrities in my vicinity got me all hot and bothered. Unfortunately, I didn't get to actually see Nicole or Will or any of the other stars in person, but just knowing that I got close made me happy. Here's what I could have seen with my own eyes:






I have to say that seeing Will Ferrel or Amy Sedaris (above) would have been way more thrilling than the ghost of Nicole Kidman.

The gods (the celeb ones this time, not Conde Nast deities) must have been shining on me, because as Mari and I waited to meet Emily and Meredith at the Astor Place Starbucks to go to yummy, cheap Indian food on 6th Avenue, we noticed a crowd around the door. Ooooh, could it be another celeb sighting? Could I be that lucky? Hell yes I could! A very conspicuous peek in the window informed me that none other than Alanis Morisette was playing an acoustic set at Starbucks (I later learned that she's launching her new acoustic album only at Starbucks for the first six weeks - ahhh, marketing!). I think I must have conjured her, blond streak and all (see below), by listening to Jagged Little Pill on the subway the day before.



Perfect.

Our Indian meal was fabulous and insanely cheap as only can be found on 6th Avenue in NYC - live sitar music, soup, samosa, chicken tikka masala, rice and unlimited naan for $7.95. We need some of that in Portland!

We stuffed ourselves silly and had to walk it off around the East Village for a bit before heading into Barnes & Noble (needed to pick up some mags, of course). We browsed for a bit and then headed home. Long day! I spent the evening packing and resting and being silly....and slept like a baby.

New York City - Sunday, 6.12.05

"I wish it was Sunday - ooooh-woah - 'Cause that's my fun day - ooooh-woah"

Yeah....I pretty much disagree with that Bangles song because no matter what - like even when you're on vacation and don't have to go back to work or anything on Monday - Sunday is pretty much a lazy and worthless day. It was no different in New York, and I finally caught up on sleep by dozing until close to 3pm. Classic Liz, right?

In any case, once I woke up all refreshed, I got dolled up to hit the town (in my new H&M top) and head out to Brooklyn to see Emily, Kim and Kerry and the 'hood (Park Slope) that they call home.

On the way there I came across yet another example of PONY synergy: New York's well-known Roseland, just like our own Roseland venue here in Portland!




What you can't see is the poster for the upcoming Sleater-Kinney show (the indie chick band who calls Portland home). Talk about a meta-PONY moment!

After this thrilling encounter, I hopped on the subway and rocked out to Alanis Morisette on Mari's iPod all the way out to Park Slope. Once there, Emily, Kim and I got some grub at Lobo (I don't think this CitySearch profile I linked to is the right location, but it sounds like the place - weird). The Tex Mex wasn't that good compared to what I'm used to from California, or even here in Portland, but I was hungry and the chicken fajitas filled me right up.

Now satiated, I went back to Emily and Kim's pad for a little home tour and to meet their adorable kitties, and then Emily headed back out for a nice stroll on the tree-lined and brownstone-lined streets of Park Slope and indulged in some ice cream at Haagen-Dazs (That's right, no Tasti-D-Lite for me! I want the real shit!).

I headed back soon after that (didn't want to be chillin' on the subway alone too late at night), again with Alanis as my soundtrack (this will be an important detail for the next post), and then just hung out at Mari's apartment for the rest of the evening. Lame, I know, but I was happy with the day. :-)

New York City - Saturday, 6.11.05

Bright eyed and bushy tailed (ha!), I woke up around 9am Saturday morning and got all pretty for the "So You Want to Be a Publicist? Part 2" conference (in case you're wondering, I wore my white suit pants and my sheer aqua polka dot blouse with silver strappy heels). Mari, bless her soul, woke up along with me and accompanied me for my "15 minutes" of semi-fame.

After a quick cab ride, Mari and I walked into some random office building and jetted up to the 16th floor to Ripley Grier Studios. This is what greeted us at we stepped off the elevator:


No, we didn't mistakenly wind up at some cheesy tanning salon; this was the correct location for the conference, which turned out to be some sort of casting agency, so we were surrounded by lots of would-be actors, actresses, dancers and singers. Oh boy!

Luckily, the conference was tucked away upstairs, and we didn't have to worry about all the other craziness going on around us. After a couple donuts and cups of apple juice, the conference got under way with a little "ice breaker" game in the form of the "Name Game" - you know, the first person says her name, the second person says the first person's name and then her own name, and so on. Silly, but not to tough - usually. This time, however, these were the names I had to remember before my turn came around (yes, I cheated and wrote them down, but didn't use the list when I had the floor): LaTonya, Erica, Nile, Shelda, Keita, Lyn, Erica, Ramlah, Priscilla, Bettina, Chantel, Heather, Yunis, Monica, Wanda, Taneisha, Ayana, Audia, Stacy, Mari, then me. And just for giggles, here's the rest of the names after my turn: Jenai, LaShonda, Malissa, Kateisha, Crystal, Tasha, Taneisha, Sharonda, Rachel, Ohameika, Tiffany and Melissa. Mercifully, they stopped the game only about halfway through the room. Phew, that was a doozy!

Next up, the keynote speaker, Ms. Millie Monyo [see below], one of the girls from the MTV reality show "PoweR Girls," which focused on Lizzie Grubman, her agency Grubman PR, and four girls working under her. It was a ridiculous show, which made the girls out to be celebrity-obsessed airheads, so I was curious if that impression was created by the editors or if was truly the "reality" of these girls.



Well, I am sorry (or happy?) to report that the show seems to have been right on target. I don't want to do a whole lot of shit-talking on here (email me in private for all the real scoop if you want), but without a doubt, I didn't learn anything new from Millie. First of all, she didn't even have a talk prepared, she rushed in late and simply said something like, "I'm not really very good at just talking, so do you have questions for me?" Huh? You're the keynote speaker! You're supposed to speak and we're supposed to listen, maybe ask some questions after all that jazz! But, of course, everyone had plenty of questions for her because she works with celebs and was on TV, so I thought I'd give her a chance. Hmmm, yeah, I should have known better. My favorite part: in response to someone asking how to gather media contacts, Millie began with, "Well, there's this thing in a magazine called a masthead..." Now I know that the average Jane doesn't necessarily know this (but I still think a lot do), but if you're at all interested in magazines or PR you absolutely do know about the masthead that lists all the editors. I'm trying to think about how I would have started my response, and yes, I probably would have mentioned the masthead, but the thing that gets me is her patronizing assumption that no one else knows what exactly a masthead is. Okay, that's enough about mastheads.

A few more winners from the darling PoweR Girl that sprang forth during her participation in the subsequent panel discussion "Publicity to the Stars":

"It's really good to be a people person." Duh, especially in public relations when the whole point of the job is to relate to the public.

Addressing the fact that you have to already be in the industry to get invited to press events and networking opportunities, which exactly where people want to go to get into the industry - "It's a double-edged sword." Hmmmm....yeah, maybe, but I think it's more like a catch-22.

And one more actually useful lesson I learned during the conference: Even though you (like me) may be excited to have your very own business cards, don't just hand out them to anyone and everyone (even those who aren't interested), especially without talking to them first. A particular woman was doing this, and it was just plain tacky. Mari was waiting for me to finish with some picture-taking and was merely standing within a ten-foot radius of this woman, who, assuming that Mari must want to speak to her very knowledgeable and important self, gave her the I'll-be-with-you-in-just-a-minute gesture and then handed Mari a business card because of course she must be dying to get one just like everyone else! I think I ended with 5 of those cards or something. Ick. Just don't do it.

So yeah, we left the conference soon after that because we were sleepy (yeah, neither Mari nor I are really morning people, and remember, I was still going on only 8 hours sleep in the past two days - I'm full of excuses) and I don't think I could have handled getting anymore business cards. We headed home only briefly before heading back out and downtown to do a little wandering and shopping in Soho.

That's right, kiddies, I was finally making the pilgrimage to my mecca - H&M. We got off the subway, sent Michael on his way and made a beeline for the store. In less than two minutes, I had at least 8 garments over my arm and had barely made it past the entrance. In the end, I could only afford a few tops, but they're damn cute if I do say so myself (black cargigan with a slim silouhette - great basic - and vintage-looking turquoise knit shell - it'll make a great layering sweater vest in the winter, too - with chartreuse and white scallops and accents). Love it!

By the time Mari and I emerged from H&M, it was pissing rain outside and we were starving, so we met up with Mike at Broome Street Bar for some yummies. He quickly deemed the place is his favorite bar in NYC and convinced us to eat there even though Mari wasn't too keen on the idea. And thank God we did, because Mike ordered the most hilarious burger we'd ever seen - it was served in a pita pocket! Witness below:





I couldn't tell if he was enjoying it so much because it actually tasted good or just for the novelty of the whole thing. If you care enough to divulge your email address and register with Shecky's (it's really easy and quick), check out their review of the place, which actually mentions the "unfortunate" pita burger.

Oh, and I forgot to mention that while Mari and I were doing our own shopping, Mike stumbled upon a "huge" sale at Broadway Panhandler, a kitchen store, and showed off all his goodies while we ate dinner - new knives, a chopping board and the BIGGEST saute pan ever! Check it out in all its glory:



All that junk was so bulky and heavy that we had to take it back to the apartment before we headed out for the night instead of wandering around the neighborhood during the evening. Silly Michael. No matter, we had a lot of fun with each other just chilling at the apartment - I surfed the web while Mari and Michael had a tickle fight, then Michael decided to invade my privacy and take a picture of me in the loo. Again, I have no shame, because I'm sharing it with you:



Classy, yes? I swear, Mike is like the annoying (yet lovable) brother I never had growing up.

All that craziness could only keep up entertained for long - we really had to get to some drinking! We headed back downtown and met up with Emily, Kim and Meredith at some random bar in Gramery Park (Mike desperately wants to live there) called Still. At the risk of sounding like a crotchety old lady, the music was crazy loud and all I could keep yelling was "This music is too loud!"

Needless to say, we only stayed for one drink, and then Mari, Mike, Emily, Meredith and I headed to my old stomping ground around Union Square to Nevada Smith's, a "pub" we hit up several times during my summer in NYC. During the week it's a pretty chill English-style pub that caters to fanatical soccer fans, but on the weekends it can get a little "clubby" with a dance floor in the back, more loud music, lots of scoping out the opposite sex, etc. We pretty much hung around with each other, though, and the 2004 ASME interns that Emily knew. Our boy buddy from our summer as interns, Jared, met up with just a bit later and I was so thrilled to see him (it'd been almost two years)!

We all had a great time together, and though I didn't even get a buzz from nursing about 3 beers throughout the night, I was starving by the time 3am rolled around. For more reminscing, Mari, Michael and I headed to Amore's Pizza (I'd link to it but they don't have any web presence!), where the girls and I used to get late-night munchies and greasy hangover cures all the time because it was right next door to our dorm. I got a delicious pepperoni roll (basically a cinammon roll with cheese, pepperoni and canadian bacon instead of all that sweet stuff) and Michael got a heartattack on pizza dough: the Lasagna Pizza. It was so much food that he could only eat half of it:



You really had to see it in person!

And after an uneventful subway ride home, I think we all finally fell asleep around 5am.

Although it was loads of fun to see all the old hangouts and it certainly made me miss those special months I spent in the city, I was also happy that my visit there and, in fact, myself were different than those heady ASME days. I didn't have the energy to stay out way past closing time (4am) like I used to, I didn't have any desire to drink a lot and/or get drunk, and I wasn't interested at all in flirting with and/or meeting any guys. Therefore, I don't have the same sort of wild stories to report as those old days, but at the same time, I feel a lot happier and truer to myself.

Sunday preview: I slept until the early afternoon (I really needed to catch up!) and went to Brooklyn to visit with Emily and see where a lot of the girls (Emily, Kim, Kerry and Kristen) call home. Details to come in the next post...

New York City - Friday, 6.10.05

First of all, some photos of that sunrise on the plane.....so gorgeous.




Pretty sweet, huh? These may be my favorite pictures of the whole trip.


So after nearly missing my connecting flight in Minneapolis, praying to the luggage gods that my bags made it on the plane with me (they did), and running on only about 2 hours of sleep (not consecutive, mind you), I finally arrived in New York City – well, Newark, NJ, but a helluva lot closer to Manhattan than Portland – around 11am PST. On the bus into the city, I was so thrilled to be there – and deliriously sleep-deprived – that I went camera phone crazy. The edited results below:


Yep, that's me, a little wide-eyed-crazy-happy to be on my way into the city. I must have no shame to post this on the internet, truly.


My first H&M sighting! If I wasn't so tired, I would have jumped off the bus right then and there and done a little shopping. As it was, I kept my lazy wits about me and waited until the next day to get my fix.


Not a second later, we drove by a Forever 21. Not quite as exciting... [see my previous post about H&M vs. Forever 21]


Hot dog stand! I was so excited to see my first one of these - I suppose that my empty stomach may have a little to do with that - but as it turned out, I didn't get a hot dog on the street my whole time there. Maybe that's because I wasn't ever hungover enough!

Mari and Michael met me at the bus stop right by Grand Central, and Mari and I started lugging all the bags back onto the subway to dump them at her place. We walked into Grand Central, where I used to get off the subway everyday for work, and I got very giddy and took this picture:


That is such a stunning building, and this picture really doesn't do it justice. Forgive me.

When Mari and I got off the subway at the 57th street stop right by her apartment, who was on the platform but Kurt "RedBall" Perschke! Small freakin' world - in all of Manhattan (he lives there) and of all the times (I was only there for 5 days, one week after he was in Portland), we ran into each other on one random subway platform. It was one of those moments that can only happen in the most populated city in the country. Fabu!

After all of this excitement, we finally got to Mari's place - very cute, by the way, and her camera phone pics don't do it justice - and I had about 15 minutes (if that!) to rest before I had to head back to Grand Central to meet John's mom for lunch, which was very enjoyable. As tired as I was, I think was running on some sort of lack-of-sleep adrenaline, because I had a ton of energy and talked with John's mom, Elizabeth, all through our 2.5 hour lunch.

The next stop on my whirlwind first day in NYC was dinner with a group of my ASME friends at 'inoteca on the Lower East Side. On the way there, Mari and I walked by Teany, Moby's tea shop where Gwyneth Paltrow celebrated her daughter Apple's first birthday. Of course, I had to take a picture because I'm a whore for anything celebrity-related (more of that to come in subsequent posts, so brace yourself):



Dinner was a blast - and very yummy - just like the old days when all the ASME interns would get together on Friday for a big group dinner. Here's some documentation (thanks Brooke!) of our mini-reunion; the pictures say it all:


Brooke (who works at VITALS) and Kim (who works at Glamour).

A whole series of pictures of Emily (one of my former roommates, who now works at All You) and me...








Kerry (who also works at VITALS) makin' a silly face.


Robin (who works at Twist) looks stunned, but I'm not sure why.


Meredith (who works at Ladies' Home Journal) enjoys her delicious dinner.


Oh, there's a camera in my face - I better smile!


Mari (who doesn't work right now) is so beautiful.


While we finished our wine and waited for the check, Kerry got a little creative...


The avant-garde fruits of her labor. I'm sure the waitstaff loved us!

Stuffed and a little tipsy, Emily, Meredith, Mari and I headed uptown to a bar called Tin Lizzie's (fitting, yes?) where drinks were two for one (sweeeeet!). Unfortunately, I could only handle one beer, so we ended up heading home before the night got to crazy....Lame, I know, but I hadn't slept at all and had to get up at 9am the next morning for the conference, so please give me a break. :-)

Horse(PONY)shoes

Okay, first of all, I swear on the Portland rain (yes, it's raining here in June!) that I will blog all about my New York trip starting tomorrow. Promise!

In the meantime, speaking of the rain, thought I'd let you know that it seems you and I aren't the only ones with PONY on the mind. Sigerson Morrison has come up with the perfect PONY shoes, combining New York style (pointy-toe flats revealing just a hint of sexy toe cleavage) with Portland utility (they're made of waterproof rubber). How hot is that?! Even DailyCandy has deemed them cool (of course!). Anyone want to donate to the Liz-really-should-own-these-shoes fund?

I'm guilty of neglecting the blog, it's true

So I've come to the realization (and I really should have known better in the first place) that blogging everyday while I'm in New York for only 5 days is just impossible. I haven't been "home" (i.e. Mari's darling apartment) much and when I am I'm exhausted and don't really want to pull out my computer. So I'm sorry. I hate to disappoint you, my loyal readers. I may very well get to blogging about Friday afternoon, yesterday, posting pictures and all that jazz later tonight, after I get back from dinner in Brooklyn with Emily and Kim, but I've learned my lesson and I'm making no promises yet. I will promise, however, that in the very least, I will blog every last detail, with tons of hilarious (at least to me) pictures as soon as I get back to my regular, homebody life in Portland. So at the very latest, look to Wednesday/Thursday for all the adventures of Liz, Super PONYgirl, in New York City!

PO in the NY

Sooooo, sorry this is late. My day was a whirlwind once I got here yesterday (details below) and once I got finally back to Mari’s apartment last night, I really had to pass out since I only got two hours of sleep during my redeye and had to wake up at 9am to go to the conference. Anyway, without further adieu, the first post of my New York adventure…..

Yes, I’ve been a lazy blogger lately. Have you missed me? Really, I thought I would give Mari the chance to shine for a week or so since she’s the new New Yorker and I’ve been dominating the blog with random-ass posts. And yes, I’m lazy, too – although in my defense, the week was busy preparing for my new apartment (SOOOO excited – more details to come next week) and this trip to New York (SOOOO exciting also!).

So to get back into the swing of things, I am sitting on the plane blogging away (well, typing away and will post as soon as I come back to earth and find a wifi connection) thanks to the spiffy new battery John bought for my laptop today. But shit, it’s already half gone from watching Six Feet Under episodes!

Anyway, back to the plane….I am on my way back to New York and it’s about damn time. Right now, we’re flying into the sunrise and it’s absolutely beautiful. I have a feeling I won’t be sleeping much on this journey, just to excited to take it all in again. I feel like I’m back on the flight to New York for the first time two years ago (same airline and everything!), only this time I’m watching Six Feet Under instead of Sex and the City, my laptop is two years old, I am leaving behind a boyfriend I’m going to miss terribly for these four days rather than jonesing to experience the single life, and I am, well, more grown up I guess. I have to say, also, that with all the new apartment excitement, I am a little sad to be leaving Portland. I have come to appreciate my city more than ever over the course of the past year and I am proud to call it home (did that sound too cheesy? I think the Xanax is making me all mushy).

I went out to dinner last night with Peter Shankman, a very successful and unconventional PR guy based in NYC. He came to town to pitch the city of Portland, ironically enough, (tourism or something like that) and had never been here before, so I took it upon myself to give him a proper taste of the city (literally because the night centered around drinking and eating!). I find that I really love showing off Portland because I think its charms are so refreshing and unexpected to out-of-towners, especially New Yorkers. We went to Blue Hour for drinks (designed by Portland-based and now the talk of New York City - for his project on the Contemporary Arts Museum at 2 Lincoln Center - architect Brad Cloepfil (he also designed the Weiden + Kennedy building, very eco-friendly, warehouse-converted-into-creative-space Portland design), and then we had dinner at Gotham Building Tavern, the third gem in the crown of this brilliant young Portland couple who started Family Supper (hip dinner-party-esque gathering of strangers in a loft-like kitchen space eating dee-licious organic, seasonal northwest food, all for $25 a piece) and clarklewis (the restaurant version of Family Supper, restaurant of the year last year). Yummy – and it didn’t hurt that Peter picked up the tab (thanks again, Peter!). If you’re curious, I had asparagus ravioli with cream and browned butter and salmon with some fancy sounding sauce and greens; it really doesn’t do the restaurant justice not to know those names! Anyway, Peter had all these fresh ideas about bringing the cosmopolitan, wordly flavor (and attention) of New York to Portland to really put it on the map, maybe creating a “mini-oregon” in Central Park or something like that. I even told Peter about PONY and he absolutely loved the idea, even teased that if he used it in his pitch and he got the account, he would bring me on as a consultant. I hope that wasn’t just talk because that would be awesome!! [hint hint, Peter :-)]

Anyway, maybe it is the Xanax making me really happy and excited, but I’m feeling on top of the world, on the verge of moving into my dream apartment – vintage moldings and alcoves, walk-through closet with storage (a la Carrie Bradshaw’s apartment), burgundy walls in the living room, dark blue in the bedroom, and even a fire escape! – headed for an awesome weekend in New York, made new friends with a colleague in NYC, and well, flying into the gorgeous sunrise so full of possibility. Not too shabby.

I’m hoping this will the first of my daily posts while I’m in New York – complete with camera phone pics! – so check back often. Just as things have changed since my last time there as I mentioned above, I have updated my technogical journaliing of my experiences in the city from the low-tech mass email to the blogosphere. Hope you enjoy!

>>pictures to come later, later tonight, along with the rest of yesterday's and today's events<<

Vocab Lesson

Unfortunately, I can't take credit for coming up with these clever new NYC slang words, but I can take credit for being cool enough to read about them on DailyCandy and now share them with you. The first of you to actually use one of these words in an everyday conversation wins a prize - my undying respect and admiration. So post a comment when you do.

DailyCandy Lexicon XII

The seductive, steamy, sublime New York night. Words cannot describe. Or can they?

alphabet pity
n. Awarding extra points or praise to venues east of First Avenue solely because of geography — and not actual merit.

barnese
n. 1. An obscure religion based on a devotion to Barneys New York and the belief that spiritual well-being can be found on the store's upper floors. 2. Followers of this religion. (Smart, funny, and so good-looking — if only he were barnese!)

boroughbred
n. The rare New Yorker who was actually born and raised in Manhattan.

bungaho
n. 1. A species of men and women (you know who you are, kiddies) who frequent Bungalow 8 with staggering regularity. 2. Those whose love of Bungalow 8 stems entirely from the fact that they can get in.

gansevoria
n. The haze that comes over one when sitting on the Gansevoort rooftop in the summer, characterized by a willingness to buy $18 cocktails and a lack of care when said drinks take 30 minutes to arrive.

l.i.e.r
n. In casual conversation, one who claims to have grown up in NYC, if by NYC one means Long Island.

marislime
n. The clientele who fill the Maritime Hotel's courtyard and bars at night. 2. Nighttime scenes characterized by thick clouds of smoke and sweaty faux hipsters.

p.u.i.
n. Planning under the influence. Plan-making late in the evening, especially with friends, for next-day activities, such as SoHo shopping and brunch.

Saturday night fever
n. The overwhelming desire to ask a taxi driver to blast his radio, as if the cab could magically transform into a disco.

A few added tidbits of information....Kristen is a nearly certifiable bungaho (and she said I was allowed to post that). And John and I and Hubbel and our friend Dana were most definitely guilty of p.u.i. last night as we finished off our third bottle of wine at 4am and seriously planned on waking up at 9am, going out to breakfast and then going to watch Dana's fiance, Joey's soccer game. And what happened? Ha! We all slept until close to noon and never really left the house all day.

Santiam River, OR

Got out of town a bit yesterday - not to the beach because, as it turns out, John and I will be going on a beach camping trip next weekend with all his Frisbee peeps - but we did head to the Santiam River, a bit east of Salem. It was BEE-YOO-TEE-FULL! So, without further ado, enjoy the (camera phone) photos of the afternoon:






I wish it had been warm enough to actually wade in the water. But alas, the usual schizophrenia of Oregon weather set in and a day after the temp hit 90 and had us all dripping in sweat, the clouds rolled in.


The human touch - inevitable, I suppose. I did not put that there, by the way, just noticed it. I ain't no litter bug!


Hubbel was a bit sick, trying to get over a nasty cold or something, but the trooper never complained (like I would have!).


John hates to have his picture taken, and I was lucky enough to capture that with perfect timing. I LOVE this picture.


I am white trash. Expecting scorching sun, I wore my bathing suit, a tank top and cut off shorts (that I think have shrunk since last summer!), but in desperation (I hate to be cold) had to add this old poncho that John had in his car. I felt like Britney Spears.


My attempt at "meaningful" photography with a camera phone! I call it "Pensive." Ha ha.


John and Hubbel reenacting the scene in Dirty Dancing when Johnny and Baby dance on the log. Contrary to what you may think because of his name, I'm pretty sure that John has taken on the Baby role.


Look at that water! I was so taken by its clarity I couldn't stop blabbering about it, so I'm glad you can kind of see that in the picture. These kayakers came down a bit of rapids into the placid pool while we were watching and it made me want to go rafting sooooo bad.




Something about the wilderness brings out the kid in John. Here's the monkey boy climbing another log.


This is what I looked at most of the hike. Of course, I'm not in any of the pictures because I'm the crazy picture taker.


Cute little log bridge over a stream that flowed into the river. See below...




I went down the edge of the water and so wanted to wade in...Maybe next time.