Holy Martha!

Ok, so I have had some FABULOUS days in this city and today was NO different! Today was celeb-fabulous!

Everyone arrived at an OBSCENE hour this morning. I am talking like 4:30 and 6:45 AM. Can you imagine? When we all congregated, we took a little nappie nap and got ready for our day. Big Daddy hasn't been to New York before, so we took the subway and made our way to Times Square, with a pit stop at Grand Central Station.

We go to Times Square and hang out for a bit in the area. Now, one thing I had yet to see in the city was the Letterman studio. Can you believe it?! Me, who has Dave as one of her top three celebrities to get it on with. We went to the Letterman studios and saw the Hello Deli (you know, Rupert Gee's Hello Deli). Big Daddy even ordered a Letterman sandwich and he got it from Rupert! Uber-cool!

We then walked through Midtown and made our way to the Plaza where Eve and I were meeting the Sex and the City tour. Both of us are very into SATC. VERY into it. We went on the tour and saw a ton of the sites where the girls hang out etc. We got to sit on Carrie's stoop and as we are waiting to get our pic taken, we see Nina Katz (she was the one that made the face to Carrie when they met) walking her dog. How random and cool. Sure she isn't a major celeb or anything, but still a little weird, right? On the SATC tour and a person that was on SATC walks by. Again, uber-cool.

We finish the tour and meet up with Big Daddy and Harp. They went to the Financial District and on the Staten Island ferry. We then begin the walk to my apt.

On the walk we see a film crew and big lights, so we decide to check it out. It is the new Elisha Cuthbert / Jesse Bradford movie that is filming in the city. While we didn't get to see them making the movie (it was all the stand-ins doing rehearsals) we did see them as they were walking to the set. Let me tell ya, Jesse Bradford (he was the really cute guy from Bring It On - one of the best teen movies EVER) is very cute in person as well.

So that was our day ... so far. Great minor celeb-filled day. I freaking love this city!


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Too Much Excitement for One Weekend

Holy shit is this weekend going to be awesome. I really don't know how to describe the fun that will be had in NYC this weekend.

First Eve is coming to co-celebrate our birthdays, hers is on the 14th and mine is on the 17th. She is older than I am by three days, which when we are old and grey will make all the difference in the world to me. We have not celebrated our birthdays together in five years. That was a blowout party in Vegas for our 21st. I also haven't seen her in over a year. Can you imagine? UNACCEPTABLE!!!

Second, and this was a last minute trip, Harp and Big Daddy are coming for a visit too! YAY! These two world travelers have been gone for so long that I have only seen Harp for two days in the past year and Big Daddy, well I have only seen him once since June! This again, is UNACCEPTABLE!!!

We should have a good time. I mean, so long as Harp doesn't get arrested, Big Daddy doesn't pick up any hookers and Eve doesn't get lost in the shops on Canal Street (the first and last are probably the most likely to happen, as I have yet to see a hooker in the city)

So, who's excited for this weekend? ME!!!


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Wow, this totally isn't my scene.

I was sitting in the apt last night trying to figure out what to do. So I went on myspace to check and see if there were any shows going on last night. I then went on Village Voice to search. There were a couple options, all downtown.

I got ready, called Harp and told her to tell me to get my ass out of the house and stop being a loser. Harp is REALLY good at doing stuff like that. Tell it like it is.

I decided on a show at Canal Room. His name is Mark Shine. The Village Voice said to "check out this rising star before you can't get tickets". So I did.

I took the subway all the way downtown, got out of the station and realized that Chinatown is a very different scene at night than it is during the day. It is a little disconcerting to see this usually bustling street deserted. I put on my bitch-face, so no one messes with me, and walked the six blocks to the venue.

Now I was going into this blind. I had heard a couple of his songs on his myspace page and thought what the hell. I pay the $10 to get in, and realize that this is a total reggae scene. Wow, not my scene at all. I didn't realize that this was also a bit of a club too. I thought it was just going to be a show.

I grab a beer and chill out. After listening to some really good reggae and having a couple of beers, the show starts. He really was awesome. A really cool mix of reggae on the rock-tip. Had a classical violinist on stage with him for an amazing song. He really didn't disappoint.

The only thing that bugged me was the guys. Just because I am there by myself doesn't mean that I want to hang out with you. It doesn't mean you can disrupt my enjoyment of this really small show. It doesn't mean I want you to tell me what clubs are hot tonight. What it does mean is that I am here by myself, to enjoy some music and to get out. LEAVE ME ALONE! I get that a girl by herself is an easy target. Oh, she must not have any friends or a boyfriend, so she must be dying to talk to someone. NO! And when I say that I am good not hanging out with you and your friends and that I don't want you to buy me a drink, don't leave and come back. I haven't changed my mind in the past 10 minutes. In fact, now you are just annoying me and I am going to tell you that.

Sorry for the rant. All-in-all, the show was great. I accidentally stepped out of my box and ended up having a really good time. Other than the two annoying guys, the crowd was totally chill. I got a little nervous when I thought I saw Suge Knight (you know, the guy that killed Tupac) there, but there wasn't a shooting, so I doubt it was him.
Hahaha, could you imagine??

Looking for another show tonight, so maybe I will again, have something for you tomorrow.


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Auntie?

I am an only child. I will never have ACTUAL nieces and nephews, so I have claimed my second-cousins as my nieces and nephews. Jarod always reminds me how this is not a true claim of blood relation, but when did I EVER listen to his ass?

Mom and I went to Houston on Wednesday. I haven't seen Sydney and Hugh since August, and, well, kids just grow so quickly, that you miss so much.

I have never wanted kids, at least not yet, maybe ever. I don't think I have the patience to have kids, but I LOVE THEM!

Sydney is three and Hugh is 1. Holy shit are they cute. I mean COME ON! Why do they have to be so damn cute? We hung out all Wed, Thur and Fri. Let me tell ya, they totally melt this grinch's heart.

Thursday Sydney and I were hanging out, playing, dancing, singing, yelling. I got her to take a bath, which she totally didn't want to do. Then I did the impossible. I got her to sleep with me. She usually sleeps with her grandma or her parents, and doesn't usually sleep with others, but the promise of a slumber party suckered her in. We got ready for bed, and she asks "Aunty Iris, what's a slumber party??" This after she was sooooo excited for it. SO cute! Holy moly is this kid a bed hog. She had me shmooshed against the wall all night. How is someone 35 lbs able to ruin a perfectly good night's sleep like that? Although I will not complain.

The next day I got her all jazzed to go ice skating. For those of you not in the know, I once skated daily. I was never very good, in fact I sucked, but I loved it. So we packed the family up, got Sydney ready and went to the rink.

I put on my skates, which have not been on my feet for 13 years. It was like the first time I had stepped on the ice. I was sooooo bad. But it was hilarious. I did a couple of laps and then got her out there. We made it about half way around the rink when she got tired, and so did I.

It was great fun. She asked me yesterday, (I am back in NYC now) if I was going skating today. She is sooo cute. I wanted to die.

Moral of the story ... I really like being an aunt - even a fake one.


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Three Small Town Albertan Do NY Right

As I alluded to in my last post, Jarod and Steve came for New Year's Eve. I was super excited. I love my parents, but I was in need of some interaction with people that laugh at my jokes. Jarod hates laughing, so thank god Steve was with him.

I picked them up from the airport and we returned to my apartment to get ready and grab a bite to eat. Since I am a creature of habit, I suggested we walk around the West Village and see what is available. We found this cool little restaurant and ate. Had some drinks and found out where a couple of gay bars were in the neighborhood.

We walked to the gay bar and realized it was a major club. None of us were really in the mood for a big club, so we reenacted mine and Jarod's last trip here. We bought a couple of bottle of beers and brown-bagged-it around the East Village. I love the East Village. Eclectic and youthful, with little-to-no pretense. We continued to drink and enjoy the neighborhood. We didn't hit any bars or anything, and then just made our way back to the apartment.

Saturday came. We got up and went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I have said this before, but the Met is truly awe-inspiring. The vastness of this museum is incredible. You have an inherent appreciation for the stuff here simply because most of it is so freaking old.

After a few hours at the Met, we were getting a little hungry. Grabbed some pizza and decided to hit Little Italy for dinner. We subwayed it to Union Square, my old stomping grounds, and walked to Little Italy. I am a firm believer that you can't really see a city unless you are walking it. Walked through SoHo and down Broadway. Found some great street finds and eventually made it down to Little Italy. Found a good little dive restaurant and had some cheap, but good Italian.

Saturday night is when the insanity started. One of our street finds told us about this party in the West Village. He was selling some really good house c.d.s so we trusted that this would be a decent party. We come home, put on our Albertans-in-New York best and hit the town.

We get to the party and it is in this warehouse or gym of sorts. The crowd is super cool and chill and some KILLER music. There was a dance-off that Jarod participated in. He busted out some Ukrainian dancing on a breakdance tip. It was awesome. I have never been more in awe of him in my entire life.

We stayed at the party till like 5 in the morning. Jarod got VERY drunk and fell out of the cab when it stopped by my apartment. HILARIOUS!

Sunday was painful. We only got out of the apartment around 1:30 pm. We are not 18 anymore, and sleeping after drinking that much is much appreciated.

We then get our hungover asses out of the house and hit MoMA. I really like a lot of the stuff at MoMA, but there is a huge chunk of it that I just don't get. Modern art is a little over my head. Like a red canvas, sorry, I don't get it. So, meh, we finished that and then went to Grand Central Station. Every time I have been in GCS before, I have been running to catch a train or heading somewhere. I have never had a chance to hang out in the terminal and appreciate how cool it is. Very nice.

Finished at GCS and went to meet my parents for dinner. This was a typical Dias dinner. I mean, dad was harassing the wait staff, I was getting annoyed, mom was trying to keep it together, and poor Jarod and Steve got to witness all of this. Good times.

We did nothing of interest for NYE. We were tired, had no desire to stand in a crowd of 1 million people (yes, 1 million people) to see the damn ball drop, so we came back to the apt and hung out here. Didn't even really realize it was midnight till it was after midnight. Haha, I hate New Year's. So much expectations for a night that is usually just mediocre.

All in all it was an ab fab trip. I love having people here to talk to and laugh with and do the shit I want to do.

Next up ... Eve in 11 days! YAY!!!! I am so fucking excited it hurts.


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