Doesn't get much more exciting.

A friend told me yesterday that she can't wait to come visit me in New York and follow in the footsteps of my exciting life. I couldn't help but laugh at that. Let me give you a run down of my day yesterday, which is VERY typical:

7:00 am: alarm goes off- snooze

7:09 am: snooze

7:18 am: snooze

7:27 am: snooze

7:36 am: snooze

7:45 am: realize what time it is and get out of bed

8:30 am: walk the half mile to the Subway because I have just missed the free shuttle from my building.

9:15 am: get to work late because I have just missed two subway cars by mere seconds.

6:00 pm: leave work

6:30 pm: realize that I have an hour until I am feeding the missionaries, so I go to Starbucks, order a tea and play a game on my phone that I am addicted to .

7:30 pm: eat dinner at the Greek Kitchen around the corner from my house with the missionaries. It was super delicious. I will be going back as soon as possible.

9:00 pm: activities committee meeting at the church at Lincoln Center.

10:20 pm: get home

10:30 pm: in bed

11:30 pm: talk to yourself about how you are crazy for being addicted to some stupid game on your iphone, say your prayers and go to sleep.

Other items of interest:

Advice on how to live on a tight budget. Let's just say that I might get invites sometimes because of the subway card I buy every month and my willingness to shove someone in a turnstyle with me.

Rebecca & Derek's fabulous wedding is finally up on Martha Stewart's website

Last night I was at Starbucks as previously mentioned and Adele's CD was playing in the background. I heard the people next to me talking and the conversation went like this:

Guy: Oh, this is totally my song!

Girl: Who is singing?

Guy: Here name is Adele (pronounced - Ah dee-lee)

I just shook my head. Learn how to pronounce her name if this is "totally your song."

Happy Wednesday!

Lessons I have learned

• Running in Central Park is good for my soul.
• You know how I run into people I know everywhere? Last night, Stef invited me to a screening of a web series she was in, "Octane Pistols of Fury" and I ran into a girl I knew in elementary school. I called her name and she knew me immediately which made me feel good considering that people I've vacationed with in recent years can't remember my face, let alone my name. Lesson learned - I don't only run into Mormon people. (case in point - I just got back from lunch where I ran into a friend)
• This past weekend was super girly - I loved every second of it. It was much needed, so thank you to all who were involved.
• I have a ton of weekend trips lined up: DC, LA, Houston, Duck, Charlotte, Seattle, & Orlando. By the end of this, my big birthday will be upon us. Heaven help me. I'd like to take suggestions in the comments for what I should do/go (other than to my bed to sleep it away) Lesson - I have really enjoyed spending my weekends at home. I am a sleep in/eat brunch kind of girl.
• No matter how much time passes and even though I think that I will somehow outgrow it, I need to take iron pills so that I don't want to sleep the day away. Will iron make me a morning person? Here is to hoping.
• My celebrity sightings continue - saw Robin Williams the other day and some designer that I can't remember the name of. I saw others, but there will be a full post about that experience.

Grateful for: Being Single

I have had some varied experiences with men as of late that I'd like to relay to you. I will keep this as anonymous as possible to protect the reputation of the guilty parties.

• I went speed dating a few months ago and had 6 matches, which I thought was a pretty good number considering the number of times I said "yes". I had a guy email me soon afterward and ask me for my phone number which I thought was considerate since he already had it via the speed dating "you got a match" email. He's told me at least 3 times now via text and email that he'd like to take me out and then has done nothing. I invited him to a group activity last week and ran into a friend while with him. She asked me how I met him and turns out, she met him speed dating, too. Apparently she got the same "funny" email from him that I did, asking for her number and he's taken her out and asked her on a second date already. Not so charming anymore, Speed Dating Guy.
• I had a guy stare at me on and off for over an hour the other night in the temple. Awesome. I had not showered in 2 days. Glad I ever spend time getting ready for anything. I have heard that he wants to ask me out. I'm not super optimistic.
• Got an email from a guy that I really care about that just said "Loser" with no other text.
• Had a great date with someone, he told me he wanted to see me again - that was a month ago and I have heard nothing.
• Got a text from someone today saying that they never see me on gchat anymore and they are wondering if we are still friends. I emailed and texted back. No response.

And before anyone out there thinks that I am a manhater, I will tell you that last night I had dinner with Scott and it was great - he is wonderful. I also had a man friend volunteer to run 11 miles with me on Saturday. The next man to tell me that women are complicated is going to get a punch in the nose.

On my to-do list

• Run 10 miles tomorrow morning in preparation for the half marathon I'm running at the end of this month.
• Find a place to take a friend visiting from the UK to dinner on Saturday night. eek. Any suggestions?
• I'm thinking of going grocery shopping, but I don't want to get overwhelmed.

Proof

I have been horrible at taking photos since leaving San Francisco. Occasionally other people take photos and I am in them, but then I never get copies.

This morning I received some photos from Annie's birthday party at the beginning of January and I thought that I'd share so that you can see that I actually do have friends here. Also, I was in DC for meetings last week, so I went down Sunday night so that I could see some friends on the Monday holiday. I will include those for your viewing enjoyment as well.

Scott & Annie - some of my favorite people. Aren't they darling?

Annie, me, and Traci

The perfect place to be on President's Day - Mt. Vernon. There was a surprise party for George.

This pic is mostly for my parents - this is the original Prayer at Valley Forge that used to hang over Arnold's fireplace. We miss you, Arnold.

I called him "George" and he didn't seem to like that too much. "Not even my wife calls me George, young lady." haha. oops!

Maybe one day I will really start taking photos again without my coat on so that you can see that I haven't gained 50 pounds.

As seen on tv.

So a close friend of mine got engaged a few weeks ago and so this morning, we did this:

Filene's Running Of The Brides: MyFoxNY.com

Scattered Pictures....

Finally got around to putting pics up on my wall. Please note that many of you are also framed. Good thing there isn't a friend quota. Sheesh.

You should know...

I feel like I have this conversation with my friends here fairly regularly(especially Traci), but don't really share it with the masses:

I really love living in New York. I don't actually miss San Francisco. Yet. I DO miss the people there for sure. One day my old coworkers put me on speakerphone and I could hear everyone yelling their hellos at me - and I could have cried. They are great people. But back to New York - I love that today I walked to work because it was a beautiful day; cold, but beautiful. I was walking down 5th Avenue enjoying all the window displays while almost no one else was out on the street. I love not having a car and not having to deal with parking, gas, paying for parking, insurance, registering, moving the car on street cleaning day, moving the car when your roommate parked behind you in the garage, etc. I love that other people are constantly in your face - not in your business, but just that you look other people in the eye all day long. You say you're sorry to people when you walk into them and you say thank you when someone holds the door open for you - and it happens all the time. New Yorkers are really nice and helpful. I love that it is 7pm and I am still here at work with my other coworkers (but that we aren't bitter about it). I love that the grocery store is just a block away from my house. I love that there are always friends in town. I love that there is so much history around here - mostly, I just love it here.

Love.

Love.

Love.

Valentines Day 2011

I haven't seen a photo of myself in my sleeping bag before. Tomorrow I'm starting my diet again. Also, Valentines day was great.

I spent the evening with good friends and felt very loved today - the texts that I received were amazing- there was virtual kissing, teasing, promises of risque photos, and cat calling. What more could a girl ask for? Maybe watching The Cutting Edge at the park with your girlfriends? If so, I asked for it and I got it. Life is good.

Hope your Valentines Day was amazing.

Post-edit - here I am with my girls at Bryant Park. Love these two.

What are we going to do next, Pinky?

Someone said to me tonight:

"I asked someone recently, 'Did Steph just move into our ward? How does she know everyone??'"

My plan to take over the world is slowly working.

Estefania

I am not as skilled as some of my friends when it comes to snapping mobile pics when the right opportunity presents itself (you know who you are).

Tonight I was riding the bus on my way home from my friend's comedy show. To avoid awkward encounters with my fellow riders, I was playing Nerts on my iphone. I noticed the guy sitting across from me staring at me and I was doing my best to ignore the situation. I have found that the best way to deal with these types of things is to pretend that they aren't happening. After a few minutes the Latin gentleman pulled out a book and started paying more attention to his book than me. My stop was next and when I stood up to get off the bus, I noticed the title of the book he was reading: "Estefania!" If only I were more savvy with the camera on my phone.

I'd also like to make a few shout outs.

1. MJ - Happy Birthday to my great friend. My friendship with Jill was destined for lots of reasons that we could discuss in a later post. Her ability to make me laugh is my favorite reason. Knowing her in real life is the best. Reading about her life on her funny blog is the second best.

2. This season of the Mormon Bachelor is almost over, but since Rick Buck is one of my favorite friends, this shout out is way past due.

xo

Should I be worried??

This morning I got on the subway like usual. I even snapped this photo so that those of you who have never experienced 8:30am on the 1 train going downtown can see what it looks like. The guy on the loudspeaker usually says things like "Next stop 50th Street" or "Stand clear of the closing doors!" This morning, the doors closed and it was unusually quiet on the train when he said "Well, this is going to be an adventure!"

I would like to report that I experienced nothing unusual and got to work without a scratch, but after the conductor's announcement, I wasn't sure that would happen. Oh, New York.

This should get some comments.

Look who was in my kitchen a few days ago!!

In which my personal belongings are like boomerangs

There are things about me that you might not know, even if you have been reading this blog for years, unless you are a day-to-day friend. The best example of this that I can offer you is that I have this amazing ability to lose things and then have them find their way back to me.

Case(s) in point:

Last year when I was running the Ragnar Relay in Southern California, my teammates and I made a pit stop in a random cul-de-sac somewhere along the route. An hour or so later, a friend of mine (who was luckily on my team and in another van) called to tell me that someone found my phone on their lawn and she was the last person I'd called, so they called her. I had no idea my phone was lost.

Later on last summer, I went to Vancouver for work. I was in my hotel room taking a nap when the hotel phone rang. Who calls each other on the hotel phone anymore, right? I answered and it was someone who found my phone, called the last person I'd talked to - my Dad - who told them who my boss was and that they should call her (by finding the number in my phone), and then my boss told them what hotel I was staying in. Yet again, I had no idea I'd lost my phone until they called.

This also happened once on the BART - but we've had enough stories about me losing my phone, haven't we.

A few years ago I was running some errands on my way home from work in the Tenderloin of SF. (In case you aren't familiar, think of crack heads and then think of more crack heads) All I remember is that I had to fill the meter for street parking and then I went on my merry way. Later on that night, I realized that somewhere between the parking meter and that evening, my wallet had disappeared along with my social security card, and the $200 cash I had in my wallet. Bummer. The next morning at 5am, the police were banging on my door telling me that my wallet had been found and I needed to go to the police station to pick it up. I lost it in the Tenderloin and everything was there when I got it back. Miracle.

A year and a half ago, I went to the wave organ with some girlfriends on a Sunday evening. I was trying to not take a bunch of stuff with me, so I put my debit card and drivers license in my back pocket (normal behavior for me) and away we went. We got home, and I couldn't find them. We'd just walked about a mile on a jetty in the dark. Good luck finding it unless you put on scuba gear. So I ordered a new license and debit card. I went to DC for work a week or so later and took my passport with me as my photo ID and my temporary drivers license - and then at the last minute decided to go to London for reasons that we don't need to discuss. The day that I got home, a blind and deaf man showed up on my doorstep with a note saying that he'd found my license and debit card and I could go pick it up at the yacht club in the marina. That is a true story.

Fast forward to the present time. I bought some really awesome pink knit gloves when Amy was here at New Years and I wear them constantly due to the cold. I took a cab home a few weeks back and ever since then, could not find them anywhere. Blasted. Someone in a cab somewhere was wearing my gloves. I was coming home from visiting some friends in Queens on Sunday afternoon and all I could think about on my way home was how hungry I was. I decided that even though I didn't have any food, I had a few pieces of bread and some eggs, so I could make do without going to buy food on Sunday. Seconds after thinking that, I was walking toward the front door of my apartment building when I saw something pink sitting on the parking barrier covered in snow and ice - and a bit dirty.

I was telling my coworker about this ability that I have and she said to me: "I lost my hat the other day. You want to walk around with me for a little while?" If only this were a skill that could be hired out. Some people just have skills. Or luck - not sure which this is.

The Meetles. Apparently.

Remember this scene in Ferris Bueller's Day Off?

Well, the other night, I was coming home from Stef's comedy show when I came across this:

Somehow in person they all look much more homeless. I don't mean that as a slam - just an observation. I even put a dollar in their guitar case. And maybe Traci and I danced in the subway station for a little while before getting on our connecting train.

I love New York.