Covered in sawdust for 3 days

Even though this weekend was a holiday weekend, all mom and Frank did was manual labor. Let me start at the beginning. Frank works for Transportation Alternatives, a non profit org that promotes all method's of transport other than cars. He was hired to organize and make happen there moving to a new office space. Cool right? Well, one of his specific duties is that he build 16 desk unites for the new space. Skipping a bunch of things . . . and moving to the good stuff, now all of the materials are in a workshop on 138th street in Harlem. The workshop is in the basement of an apartment building off of Broadway. Frank has been working his ass off to make these desks, being all foreman like and getting really dirty.

Just imagine that man's dirtier and Frank.

Mom offered to help Frank this weekend so that this week would go better for him in terms of work load. So they spent 3 days cutting, sawing, gluing, and screwing wood together. The project is massive, but not impossible to get done. Mom was so proud of Frank because of all his cool skills in the shop, he knows how to work all the tools safely and can actually build things!
Mom was proud of how dirty she got, she really saw a new side to herself after biking from Greenpoint to 138th street, working in the shop all day and then biking home. Let me just say I was not licking her neck this weekend!

All mom does at work is eat

Mom goes to work, and every day there are piles of food everywhere. People bring in cookies, bagels, candy, all things that are not really great for you. It is awful the amount of food people consume in office jobs. Not to mention the fact that all people do all day is sit.

Mom has had to make a contious effort not to eat as much as she wants to during the day, but a lot of the consumption happens out of boredom. She gets bored and starts the famous "grazing" to pass the time. Sit for 5 min do some crappy work, get up and eat a Bite of cookie. Sit for half and hour try and do more crappy work, then get up and eat a full half of a cookie. So, in a normal day it is possible for her to consume at least 5 full cookies with no awareness if she is not careful.
To pre-empt the inevitable ass spread

that women get from sitting behind a desk all day, mom has decided not to eat sugar, or carbs while at work.
Lets see how long this will last.

never

If mom ever made me live in the suburbs my life could be like this!

Yuck, I just don't think so. . .

Say what

I know I'm behind the times with my reaction, but it is because mom and I just moved in to a new apartment with no internet or cable yet.
What is this all about?

I am trying to figure out if it is a huge publicity stunt, or they really are in love. Mom told me about watching the Oprah Episode

in which Tom Cruise was on jumping all over the coutch and hugging Oprah, and saying how happy he was, and how he was in love and how he never felt this way before, ever.

And all I can think about is What about Nicole? How does she feel hearing this all? I know they broke up and all, but Tom just said he was never in love with her the way he is in love now. That made me think about the fact that maybe he is having a mid-life crisis.
That's just what some "person" in mom's life did. He freaked out, left his other marriage of 35 years, and is now remarried and prancing around telling everyone how happy he is now, and how he was never happy before, and because of all his suffering before everyone owes him, and has to accept him and be happy for him now.
I'm sorry, but it takes people a lot longer to come to grips with the reality of accepting that before there was never love and now there is, in the "NEW RELATIONSHIP".
It's not like people are trying to not accept, but it is hard when people ask you to forget the past ever happened. Like Nicole, she happened and they had kids, and even if they were not happy with eachother ever, and their relationship was a sham, people will not forget what happened in the past.
And then there's the whole Katie Holmes factor, but I am too tired to speculate now.

It's all done!

The move is over, I am in my new apartment in Greenpoint. I like it, but I get a bit scared because it is a lot bigger than my old apartment. I do not like the fact that I do not have my cubby hole shelf to go and hide in. What I have done in the meantime is take to hiding in my travel bag. I like it in there because mom shoved it under the coutch so it is a bit squished small and dark. I do have to say that I have been barking a lot when mom leaves but that is just because I want to make sure that mom comes back!
In other news Frank likes the apartment a lot too, I am glad about that. He really helped mom a lot with the moving part and the unpacking part. It was not without repayment though,

after they were done mom took them to one of there favorite places to eat in Williamsburg in N.9th and Berry called Oznots Dish. They both had Lamb burgers
LAMB BURGER
on homemade rosemary foccacia with zaatar aioli, harissa, and sautéed onions.
At Oznot's dish the atmosphere and the food are both to die for. Of course mom got the same thing she got last time but it was well worth it.

The only bad part about there dinner to me was that they did not bring me back anything! How rude.

The painting is done!

Last night after changing in to pants and a shirt mom took me on a walk to the subway. WE got on (I am not so scared any more) and we went to Brooklyn. I love Mcarren Park, we get to walk through it on the way to our house. We go the the house and mom begins to paint again. She had to cover up all the primer that she put down first in order for the red to stick. I got a little bored at first and tried to stick my face in the paint to help mom, she was not having that and she tied me to the wall. Just as I got pissed off, the door bell rings and it is MILO! My friend had come over with his mom Kristine to play! Mom and Kristine painted while we got to play. I have to say Milo is a humper, and this time I humped back, this is my house and he is the visitor.
If we painted ourselves on the wall, we would look like this. . . .

and this. . . .

I know we would be cute.
Mom owes Kristine so much for all the help that she gave. She rolled up her sleeves got on a ladder and told mom that the color she picked for the bedroom was ugly and looked like a fairy princess! How funny is Kristine! All jokes aside she really helped mom a lot and it would not have been able to have gotten done with out her. Thanks, Kristine and Milo too!

Marilyn

Mom decided to wear a skirt today that she has not worn before. She found out the hard way on her way to work that it is not a good skirt for a windy day.
As she was walking from the subway reading the NY Metro's article about a guy putting a hidden camera under a subway grate in the Upper East Side, she had a total Marilyn Monroe moment. A gust of wind came flying out of the grate and her skirt flew up over her chest.


I happened so fast that she was not able to be graceful, or cute about it. She flung her hands down and went in to a semi crotch to guard the fact that her ass was visible to all the people behind her. Those of you who know mom well know about how that would be a real problem cause a certain garment she wears not!
At least she does not live around that area and have to see the same people she flashed. On the bright side she did make a bike messenger's day!

in case you wanted to know

um just to remind you, I was young once.

Life without a car

So mom is in the process of moving or rather painting our new apartment in Greenpoint.

I have to say that it is very difficult to gather supplies when there is no way to take more than you can carry. Last night mom decided that it would be a good idea to carry 3 gallons of paint a stool and other random things to our new apartment so she could begin painting it! Well, everything that she needed to carry weighed over 50lbs, (and she is not strong enought to do this. . . .

That is ok for really short distances but for long distances such as walking to the subway and down the the street to the apartment it is not ok.
Mom got half way to the bleeker st stop arms shaking and all, and broke down and took a cab. She had to. There was no way she could have put that load in her bike basket, and no way she could have continued to carry it all the way to BK. The cab ride only cost her 11 dollars, but it was money that she would not have to spend if she had a car. (I KNOW THERE ARE SO MANY OTHER COSTS THAT GO ALONG WITH HAVING A CAR THAT MAKES IT STUPID TO HAVE ONE IN THE CITY, BUT IF MONEY AND PARKING WERE NOT AN ISSUE), it might be nice to have the option of another method of transport while carrying heavy loads.
Tonight will be fun, mom is going to try and carry me in the dog bag (which I hate), and a very large ladder from soho to Greenpoint via subway.

I'll keep you updated on how that process goes. I can just say, I will not make it easy for her!

It's one of those weeks at work

So it has turned in one of those weeks where mom keeps getting yelled at at work for no reason. I guess the honeymoon period is over.
There is a lady here that is all over the place, who barks orders at her and then does not pay attention and follow through with the info mom gives her.

For example mom was supposted to make travel arrangements for one person who was going to be attending a conference. Mom made the arrangements, at a cheaper price and got everything confirmed all in one day. She emailed the "barker" at her job with all the info and that was that.
So today over two weeks later, mom gets a screaming phone call telling her that she messed up and the lady does not have a hotel room. Turns out the "Barker" at her job never told the lady which hotel she was going to be staying at!
It was not Mom's fault but she took the heat so the "Barker" would not have to look bad because she did not follow through.

Yuck. People should not bark, only dogs. Mom should not take things personally, and she needs to stop looking for reasons to quit her job. Stick it out mom, the steady pay is worth more!

Greenpoint is where it's at

It is offical, I'm moving to Greenpoint. I am moving to a bigger apartment in a great location. Mom says that there is a park right down the street. I am so excited to sniff everything on the Brooklyn streets! One of the best things is that Frank lives right down the street. That means that I will now be able to come sometimes when Mom has sleep overs!
We are going to live right above this!


Mom also says that I am going to be getting a walker soon. That means that when mom's at work I will be able to go out and play! Brooklyn is where it's at!

MOM DID IT!!

Mom ran her half marathon on Saturday with Frank and their friend Shannon. They all finished it! Her time was 2 hours and 22min. That means that her average time per mile was about 11 minutes. She only stopped for about a second when they all needed to pee around mile 7. Frank sprinted the last 2 miles and came in before them!
The race it self went through Queens which was not to pretty but it did loop through a part that as Frank said looked like Nantucket. Still they will never live in Queens no matter what!
Mom was so proud of herself that she was able to run the whole race, in the beginning she was all freaked out that she would come in last, she was worried about what others would think about her, she was questioning where to pin her number. All of her concerns were out of FEAR. Once she started running every feeling and concern left her body, she was running. She got a total runners high and became really funny. She was not able to sensor anything that came out of her mouth.
After the run, Frank and her, Ate a lot, and drank a lot a lot!
All in all the day was great, and mom has lost her fear of running long distances, and will someday run a real marathon, not just a half.

Brooklyn here I come!

I have some really good news, but I need the keys in my paws first.

In other news I have made a friend, his name is Milo.

He's a Boston Terrier and his mom's Kristine, that's mom's new friend from her office. We went to my favorite bar The Dove last night and I got to drink wine, eat cheese crackers and play in the Window with milo. I do like him but he was trying to Hump me a lot and I did not like that!

We are cute right!
I hope we get to hang out again soon, he has a blog too and I am happy that my trend is catching on. Well it was Franks idea for me to have a blog in the first place.
Speaking of Frank, he has a show tonight that people should see. It is in an evening entitled "Catch #11". Check it out!

Crying

Mom goes through these phases where she becomes masochist and dredges up anything painful. Such as old memories, reading about boyfriends ex's on their friends websights, listening to old music that people she was one close with wrote, looking at pictures and generally thinking about anything that may make her sad. She does not do this often but when she does it is usually sparked by something. Last night she was hired to clean her old boss's office and usually that would be ok, but this time she learned that it's time to move on an not count on any favors from her ever again. This way if something good does come then it will be unexpected and out of the blue. (there is a whole lot more to that comment but it's not only my story to tell).
Next, she got bad news about this great apartment she thought she was going to get. Someone else got it. That sparked a whole flood of tears, and a feeling that she needed to go home and cry about everything in her life that was making her sad, and once made her sad. When you are searching for things to keep the tears flowing it is amazing how things pile out of the woodwork.
I feel like good buckets of tears are good for you. They get everything out and when you wake up in the morning, yes your eyes are puffy but your head is a lot clearer and the day is more manageable.
I just get sad when mom cries because she does not let me lick her tears, but instead pushes me away until she has controlled her sobbs.

A dinner party / 10 miles down / 2 sausages / and an apartment with a roommate

That is what mom's weekend was like. Friday night was fun mom had Frank and two of her friends Rick and Katie over and made a post Cinco de Mayo vegetarian taco feast. They also celebrated all of Frank's hard work to get a lease signed for a huge office move he is in charge of at Transportation Alternatives! How Cool is he in this pic!

The next day the morning was spent laying around, (but I got to go for a walk), and Then they went and fixed the rear tires of their bikes which were both out.

Next came the crazy part. Mom met her friend Shannon on 69th street and the west side Highway for their biggest run to date, 10 miles! It was near the end of their run that mom discovered that she was totally prepared for the half marathon on Saturday!
She went home / played with me on the roof, showered and got on her bike to go and meet Frank and quench her craving for hot dogs. They cooked dinner and then went off to a bar in Brooklyn named Capones. It is one of those bars owned by the same people who own / The Lyric / The Alligator Lounge / The Abby / The Cellar, the point being that they had free Pizza. So they ate more.
The next day since mom is looking to move to an apartment in Brooklyn she went to go see this place that was a huge loft space. She loved everything about it, except for the fact that it was not her space, it was this guy's space, and she would go from her own space to penciling in when she could watch TV and not having control of cleanliness. She would be reverting back to dorm life! Yuck.
That was the weekend! All and all fun, Sunday night was the best for me cause mom pet me for 5 hours strait while she watched TV ending in "Grey's Anatomy" a great show! her legs were too tired to move so she sat there all night!

It is a family Day

Last night mom went running, and was running late so decided to run to meet her cousin Amy who she was meeting for dinner. She showed up to the Heartland Brewery in her running gear and a bit sweaty. You can only really do that with family.
They ate and talked, and Amy reveled that she bought a paper shredder on Sale from Staples. Now having a shredder and obsessively using it are two separate things. Amy decided to spent a lot of time the other night figuring all the different types of paper she could shred. That's what I call a contious consumer.

In other news one of mom's other cousin's from the same side of the family Steve and his wife Jesse just announced they are going to have a baby!

I am really excited not only because they are my first cousins to have a baby, but Steve also got tenure at his job! Congrats to both of them!

A funny other family bit of news about mom's cousin Andrew, he has launched his own company up at his college McGill. Called "Party McGill". I briefly glanced over the pictures of him (he's one the left)out at the clubs, and let me just say. . . .

He looks too "tired" to be out that late!!!

Last evening

Last night went very well for mom, she got off work and did her laundry, and put me in the cart with all her wet clothes and transported me to the dryer, you can guess how loud I squealed!
Then mom went to Brooklyn because she was meeting Frank who had her bike, which she lent to a friends sister for "Bike New York".
As has mom was getting a Slice of Pizza in Brooklyn she started to think about the places she may want to move to around that area. Which brings me to the point that Mom wants to move to Brooklyn for various reasons, one of them and the biggest one having to do with money. So pretty soon I will be a Brooklyn puppy.
As mom was walking around the streets, she decided she wants to live on Berry.
I don't think that's too much to ask.
She met Frank, and their plan of riding back to the city was foiled because she had a flat in her rear tire, and Frank had lent out his tools to a friend. They hauled the bikes on the the subway, and went back to Manhattan.
In Manhattan they grabbed a beer at this new WAY OVERPRICED Mexican place right off of Bleeker on McDougall, and then went back to my house.
As they were talking mom was trying to explain the idea of the Human names being way over the top too funny to be dog names. Such as "Nick, Stephanie, Amanda and Emily" the list goes on. Maybe you had to be there, but mom was demonstrating by calling me some of the names, and cracking up. Think about it this was, say your dog was named Stephanie, you go to the office and you tell a co-worker; "last night Stephanie crapped all over my rug, I can't tame the bitch". And then what if you had another co-worker named Stephanie. Funny right?
Anyway, moving on At 3am Mom and Frank got awakened by the god damn trash truck picking up the Bleeker st. trash, and after conversing lucidly for a half an hour Frank decided to drug himself with the baby benadryl that mom had taken 5 hours earlier. In my opinion their day was eventful, and I am thankful my name is not Mike.

Boycott

Mom is in her training session now for the half marathon that she is going to be running on May 12th. She went for a 6 mile run last night, and as usual all she had on her was her keys and like 20$. When she was done with her run, she wanted to get dinner, the deli on Bleeker that is next to the CVS was looking mighty good.

She went in there and ordered a roast beef sandwich and grabbed 2 beers out of the case. She went up to wait for the sandwich to be ready and the man (who she sees every day of her life). Told her he needed to see ID for the beers. WHAT! Mom laughed and said "that's funny, you see me every day, I'm 25 and I don't have my ID with me". The man was not budging, he brought the sandwich guy over and asked him if he'd ever seen me before, and (well I know he has) but he said No! Mom was getting so pissed, she was hungry, it was raining and all she wanted to do was eat her sandwich and drink her beer on her couch and watch "24". But the man was not giving her the beer, and so mom point blank said. "I come in here every day, I am 25 years old, I live next door, I am not a cop, I just went running and so I don't have my ID on me can you help me out"? The man looked right at her and said "no, no ID no Beer". Mom looked the man in the face so frustrated and angry dripping with sweat and rain, and said "you just made a huge mistake, you have lost my business forever!" She stormed out and started to cry, ran to another deli and got what she wanted!
It is amazing to me that under different circumstances mom would have just said ok I'll go get my ID, but it was the principle and the fact she just ran 6 miles and her hunger was fueling her. I guess the lesson is in order to always get what you want, when you want you have to have your ID with you!

Not to Be Gross

Not to be too gross, but talking about Vomit is usually ok when you are not feeling sick, and there is nothing gross around such as more vomit.
Mom Got Sick on Saturday, So ill that she decided to Question the dinner she ate at Planet Tai in Brooklyn with Frank, it also could have been because Frank made mom drink like a man. Wine mixed with shots of JD is never a good combo. Mom in fact was so sick that she could not get back to the city on Sunday morning to take me out for a walk, she called Rick and Katie to come an rescue me. . .But they did not make it over in time. I peed all over the floor! And then when mom got home, I could tell she was feeling sick so I licked a bit of the floor cleaner she used to clean up my pee, and I vomited my self.
We had a really good sleep last night, we were so worn out from the Vomiting!