24 May 2012

Oh good heavens, baby where’s my medicine?

- Hotel Illness, Black Crowes


A friend of mine posted on Facebook that she had a horrible stomach virus. The throwing-up-for-multiple-days kind. I commented, only half-kidding, that I would like to come to her house so she could lick my face so I could lose a few pounds with little effort.

The universe listened. Boy, did it.

Not more than 12 hours later, I, too, was in the throes of a stomach virus. WebMD tells me it's "viral gastroenteritis," which sounds about right. I'm almost done with day two, and it better hurry up and go away because a dear dear friend is arriving for a weekend visit from Minneapolis in less than half an hour. I would like to be able to leave the house for more than 20 minutes at a time while she's here.

So, be careful what you wish for.

By the same token, I'm also putting it out there that I would like to win Powerball. Maybe it's my lucky week?

21 May 2012

You Make My Dreams Come True

One of the things I do miss about living in New York are the rampant celebrity sightings. We didn't even live in the best parts of town for that, but when I worked at [giant privately-owned financial media company] they filmed a show on-site that had lots and lots of famous people as guests. We would find out the filming schedule and go stalk stars on the pretense of a coffee break.

I got to see people like Julia Roberts and Bill Clinton up close and personal. Some of them even said hi to me. And wow, is Julia gorgeous in person. Like, so-not-fair, I-can't-believe-we're-both-members-of-the-same- human-race gorgeous. That shouldn't surprise you. I met Andrew from Top Chef Season 4, and had a little conversation with him the day after his elimination episode aired and I told him he was robbed. I think he appreciated that. Beyoncé lived in the building where I worked, and while I only saw her once, I saw her Louis Vuitton luggage an awful lot. Oh, and Jay-Z's Maybach. That is a sweet ride. Brian Williams lived there too, and I saw him the morning after Obama was elected -- he was coming home from work when I was coming in. He is a really, REALLY nice guy.

I saw Jon Hamm walking down Madison Avenue one time, and I smiled at him and he smiled back at me. I was so excited until I realized that I had on my rainboots with my pants tucked in and had my work i.d. badge around my neck, over my coat. He was probably smiling because he thought I was some sort of mentally challenged Cossack. I also saw Sal from Mad Men on the way to dinner in our neighborhood, but it was after he left the show and I really wanted to run up to him and say "Please come back to Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce!" but my husband held me back. He's helpful like that, keeping me from getting restraining orders taken out against me.

One of my dear friends DOES live in one of those neighborhoods that are celebrity-sighting central. To the point where, when giving directions, she says "If you see Liv Tyler, you've gone too far." And, she gets to work out next to John Slattery at the gym. [Wow, I just realized there's quite a Mad Men theme going on here -- guess you know where I am on Sunday nights.] But now, she has super-fabulous news. One of the singers of the aforementioned song, and his wife, are moving into her apartment when she moves out this summer.

I can't tell you which one. Sorry, I can't go for that. No can do.