Alright, only because I was asked am I even posting this little bearer of bad news. Take it at your own risk, I am warning you that it could lead to severely lowering your self esteem.

Me and my harvest...pumpkin picking in upstate New York!

Yay! I now have the stuff I need to post pictures to my blog which will be so much more fun and interesting. Anyway, here is a little shot of my weekend trip to Wilken's Farm outside of Peekskill, New York, just an hour train ride up the Hudson. The changing leaves were beautiful and the apple cider and apple cider doughnuts were amazing. It was a great way to celebrate autumn in New York!

Okay, as of today I investng in kitty litter for when I become an old spinster woman with a house full smelly cats who roam around while I sit in my armchair in my housecoat eating chocolate watchng As The World Turns everyday on my tv as a direct result of taking a quiz that boldly described me as a "Downer Date," and after looking at the description, I don't even want to date myself so why anyone else would is beyond me!

Here's what they say...go ahead, read slowly and really take it in...then remind yourself that even being friends with a "Downer Date" is probably an unfruitful venture for which I will not protest if each of you chooses to withdraw your friendship tokens from my bag...I am officially never taking an online quizz again. I will just have to find other ways to waste time at work...perhaps readng this book will help!

Downer Date

Hate to say it, but you could you use a class in Dating 101. And the first lesson you need to learn is how to have a more positive attitude. Excluding those few dud dates (and, face it, everyone experiences a few of those), dating is supposed to be fun. If nothing else, it provides an opportunity to try out new restaurants, wear a new outfit or go a movie you've been dying to see. No one's asking you to plaster on a fake happy face or to act unnatural, but do try to show some enthusiasm for getting out and meeting men. And maybe even practice making the first (or second, or third) move once in a while. You have nothing to lose and, yes, everything to gain.

Think of it this way: If someone who hardly knows you rebuffs you, it's certainly not a negative statement about you as a person. One thing to keep in mind, though: Being optimistic and open to intimacy is one thing; being desperate and needy is another. Besides scaring guys away (and fast), neediness blinds you to what a guy is really all about, plus it saps your self-confidence. And more than anything else, you need to be happy with yourself to be a great date.

Validation

For the last couple of weeks I have insisted that it has been colder in New York than it usually is this time of year. Not that I have that many years on which to base my research but I swear that it wasn't even chilly in New York until Halloween, but this year we have been chillin in the 50s for weeks now. My friends all think I am crazy usually just reminding me that it is the end of October. Well, this morning on the news before work, the lovely weather girl spoke the words I have been longing to hear..."Now let's see the report on this November-like weather we've been having, hard to believe it's been this cool for October..." That's it! That's all I needed! A little validation in the form of a peppy weather girl! Thank you channel seven!

She's Gone Country

Somewhere, in the deep darkness of a fall New York City night, there lurked a group of people banned together by beer, belt buckles, stetsons, and the lure of a steel guitear. From the ashes of punk bands and indie rock fanatics, the doors of Irving Plaza opened and the sounds of boot heels and yee-haws exploded as the music of Robert Earl Keen found its way to the city that never sleeps. As for me, not only was I there singing along to Gringo Honeymoon and Merry Christmas From the Family, but I was belting it out from the VIP section upstairs. Yes, thanks to a very generous friend who's step dad happens to be the drummer for Robert Earl, who hooked her and her friends up accordingly, I got a piece of home that I had desperately been missing! I am almost certain that all of the Texans in New York were standing side-by-side in one room down in the village. I know that they were all Texans because each young man was dressed in his best Texas gear: jeans, boots, and a nicely washed button down shirt--or an Aggie shirt--and twirling their ladies around with all of the two-step abandon they could muster. It sort of reminded me of a wild night at the Pike house in college dancing with Pi girls on the fireplace, yeah, good time, but I digress. All in all it was a fantastic night and really helped my little Texas soul to a much needed dose of home.

And the best part, which I saved for the end because that's where best parts go, is that when the concert was over, our VIP badges got their mojo working and before I knew it, I was standing face-face-with Robert Earl himself, shaking hands and swapping stories about the state that we all call home. He was funny, gracious, and has a super laugh...it was the perfect ending to the perfect country night...via New York City. I'm still sort of glowing from the whole thing...indeed The Road Goes on Forever...

Because they're fun...and I haven't posted one in a while....here are my quiz results...Thanks, Misty!

The Sonnet
(Deliberate Gentle Love Dreamer)

Romantic, hopeful, and composed. You are the Sonnet. Get it? Composed? Sonnets want Love and have high ideals about it. They're conscientious people, caring & careful. You yourself have deep convictions, and you devote a lot of thought to romance and what it should be. This will frighten away most potential mates, but that's okay, because you're very choosy with your affections anyway. You'd absolutely refuse to date someone dumber than you, for instance.

Lovers who share your idealized perspective, or who are at least willing to totally throw themselves into a relationship, will be very, very happy with you. And you with them. You're already selfless and compassionate, and with the right partner, there's no doubt you can be sensual, even adventurously so. You probably have lots of female friends, and they have a special soft spot for you. Babies do, too, at the tippy-top of their baby skulls.

Take that haters!

(Making it through Monday, one googlefight at a time!)

Because both my roommate and I are at work during the day, we chat online...and sometimes, the conversations are just too wacky...so I decided to share, just a fraction, of the crazy stuff that comes out during a cyber conversation that, in real life woudn't be nearly as funny....but while sitting at a desk staring at a screen seems like pure genious...

pinklady_uk99 (1:02:02 PM): i'm having pudding for my lunch dessert
elly_p_richards (1:02:24 PM): yummy
elly_p_richards (1:02:36 PM): it's no baskin-robins ice cream cake, but it'll do
pinklady_uk99 (1:02:59 PM): we so gotta get one of those....maybe this weekend....who cares if it's not an occasion!
elly_p_richards (1:03:34 PM): yes we do!
elly_p_richards (1:03:43 PM): the cake is the occasion
elly_p_richards (1:03:52 PM): "what are you celebrating" they'll ask
elly_p_richards (1:04:00 PM): "an ice cream cake" we'll say
pinklady_uk99 (1:04:38 PM): that was good....like a children's book or something
pinklady_uk99 (1:04:54 PM): "The Girl Who Celebrated Cake"
elly_p_richards (1:04:59 PM): I AM a writer

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elly_p_richards: let's get it on!
elly_p_richards: marvin's on
pinklady_uk99: i am NOt that kind of girl!
pinklady_uk99: but i appreciate the offer
elly_p_richards: cute
elly_p_richards: smarty pants
elly_p_richards: remember though, there's nothin wrong w/ me lovin you!
elly_p_richards: ...if the love it true!

How appropriate it is that after spending a fabulous weekend with my Texas lovelies in Washington, DC I return home to find my Official Presidential Election Ballot awaiting me in my mail. I am more excited then I probably should be but eager to add my name, officially, to camp Kerry in the race towards the finish. Absentee voting, if nothing else, means something to me.

Meanwhile, upon returning home I was greeted to a bathroom without toilet paper and two sick roommates who apparantly are cool with dirty asses. I have been informed however, that it is my turn to buy the toilet paper which, of course, completely justifies not buying any while I was away for four days...or doing any dishes, but that is a whole different blog entry altogether.

I just finished packing for my weekend trip to reconnect with the ladies in DC. I am so excited to be getting out of New York for a few days! I mean, I looked up and all of a sudden it's October and I am nowhere near where I need to be with my schoolwork and I had to bust out a jacket and buy some new turtlenecks (yes, I wear turtlenecks, and I like it) and I have yet to get my mom a plane ticket for her trip to see me over Thanksgiving and Rockettes tickets are already on sale! So yes, I think now is a perfect time to get away for a few days and think about nothing. Okay, not nothing, I am bringing some reading with me on the bus like a good little grad student. I'm not saying that I am going to read, cause honestly, sleep sounds like a really good bus plan too, but I am taking it with me and that is half the battle.

In other news...I finished the crossword in the New York Metro....I am officially brilliant!

It is a gorgeous day in Brooklyn...and I have to sit inside and do homework. But somehow, the sunshine is a huge motivation today. I think it's becuase it has been a week of gray skies and icky weather which does nothing but drain the soul. And now that the sun is out, my little soul is all excited and my smile is way too big for a Sunday afternoon. But being the kind of person who embraces fleeting moments of spontaneous happines, I am on my way to this place to do some reading and grab a cup of tea.