Guest Post by India the Awesome Analyst!

Hello avid fans of Rebloga!  I am so excited to write this guest post!  Rebecca and I work together and when she said she was looking for guest bloggers I asked her what the application process was...clearly I am a nerd.  But I wanted to take a few minutes to warn you about the dangers of winter in my hometown of New York (and anywhere else it gets cold).

My morning commute in winter now features  brokers in ski masks…women who forgot to wear tights, running and cursing all the way to the office, and an excuse to wear leather and boots.  I am originally from Illinois so I am no stranger to cold.  However, I did spend the last four years at college in southern California so I was nervous I might have gotten a bit soft. 

My suspicions were confirmed on Tuesday.  I was commuting from my client site in New Jersey to the city.  My iPhone told me a Whole Foods was a mere two blocks away.  2 blocks in 8 degree weather?  No problem.  I had a coat.  I had gloves.  Then fast forward 45 minutes.  I was lost in Tribeca, which is basically just large indiscriminate warehouses in the dark.  During this time, my hands started hurting.  I have small hands and they get cold very easily so I didn't think too much of it.  I abandoned my search for food and made a beeline for the closest subway station.  Down below I discovered a problem: my fingers wouldn't move.  Every time I tried to pull off a glove I would squeal like a school girl.

Frostbite.  Yes I gotten frostbite.  I stood in the station for about 20 minutes looking pitiful until my hands had thawed enough to get my metro card out.  After a painful subway ride back home, I crouched in front of a space heater and slowly warmed them.  I couldn't type--which made me nervous considering we are chained to our computers at work often at the hands of the benevolent dictator Rebecca.  I slept in gloves.  As the days progressed the color and feeling returned.  I am of course typing this in gloves right now.  All in all, it was a mild case. But in case you needed any further incentive: BUNDLE UP THIS WINTER!

There are a few other take aways from this tale:
1. Do not believe your iPhone in terms of directions.  It can and will lie to you.
2. Making a Whole Foods run in 8 degree weather is ok...if you know where it is
3. Do not rub your hands if you get frostbite--this only increases the tissue damage.


Keep warm, you don't want to have to explain why you lost your fingers to frostbite.  You couldn't even perform the awkward turtle  hand gesture after that conversation.  Now that's awkward.    

vomit-fest.

thank you to tlc for inundating me with commercials about the time traveler's wife movie, coming out this friday! even though i previously said i was "excited" for this movie to come out, that was only because it's one of my all time favorite books of all time. unfortunately, the trailer makes me want to stab my eyes out, and makes me so sad for its suckiness. here it is, but don't say i didn't warn you...




if you see it, let me know what you think (especially if you read/enjoyed the book).

that being said - i will remind you all that i will be away for the next 2-ish weeks. i will be sure to look out for goo blobs, and do bucko updates when i return!

uh oh....

i don't like this, sam i am. apparently my irrational fears of the airport baggage handlers going through stuff may really be true. the police at jfk sent some fake luggage through, and they witnessed baggage handlers stealing laptops and cell phones! now, i'm not sure who doesn't travel with their cell phone on their person but STILL. and i'm traveling this weekend! all the more reason to pack light and carry on..... (which, in my almost-25-years, i have still not figured out how to do.)

omg.

obama at the g8 summit this week in italy -

kind of love sarkozy's face also. hey prez - did you think the photographers took the day off??

need some europe?

so, we finally made it to the cloisters this weekend! considering im obsessed with early christian-y art, this was a delight for me. (i almost bought a book that only had paintings of the crucifixion. i'm cool.) you might also like it if you enjoy: museums, beautiful parks, flowers, architecture, getting out of the heart of nyc. seriously - gorgeous scenery, lovely smelling flowers, beautiful views high above the hudson river. maybe you will even run into the tai-chi-shadow-boxing-zombie man who managed to entertain us for a good half hour.

in other news, apparently farah fawcett is not alone. i still maintain it was ok that mj eclipsed her death (come on people! we knew she was going to die since like, forever!), but it's interesting to see how many other celebs deaths were overshadowed by cooler dead people. sorry, ray charles....

if you give a puppy ice cream...

if you've been watching this week of colbert report: operation iraqi stephen, going commando, then you can disregard this post.

if not, may i ask why? ok, so you don't like stephen colbert. that's fine. he's not for everyone. but, i think it's really cool that he's spending this time in iraq with the troops and showing off their work and lives. i'm about the least patriotic person, but i've really been enjoying seeing the guys (and gals) and hearing from generals and, last night, from the deputy prime minister of iraq.

but it's not all seriousness, of course. i offer up this clip of stephen and tom hanks sending a care package to the troops (or at least attempting to...)

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Tom Hanks Care Package
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Stephen Colbert in Iraq

i'm weird. apparently.

earlier this week, i received an email from my dearest l. the subject line read: "you know how you like weird things?" the rest of the email went on to say "I found this online, and I thought you might like it." she was right.... sometimes it's scary how well my friends know me. good work, l. i'm mostly likely now going to run away to london to make architectural models out of jello with sam and harry.

chicago recap.

#1 - Lost.
If you haven't read the ew.com recap yet, you really need to. The past few episodes have been particularly confusing, with all the time travel and "when are they now" type questions. The Doc did a good job this week of explaining the episode and all of the important time changes. He also has some particularly good insights into the characters. (Which reminds me - wtf is going on with Sun?! I love her, but who is she crossing/doublecrossing?! Where the hell is Ji Yeon? Why did she show Kate a pic of baby Ji Yeon, when she really should be about as old as Aaron??) (Also, if you haven't read The Little Prince, you really should. Not only because it shares a title with the most recent Lost episode and has many similar ideas and themes, but it is just a fantastic little book.)

#2 - What Recession?
Word to the wise - if you have the means to keep shopping during these lametastic economic times, get in your deals now while they are running rampant! M and I stayed at a fancy fancy downtown hotel in Chicago this weekend, and not only did they fall all over us to be nice and accommodating, they gave us money up the wazoo in spa, food and parking credit. At Nordstroms - same thing. At Banana Republic - same thing (ended up getting 25% off EVERYTHING I bought in one day of NEW stuff). N wanted a new down coat. She went to Macy's and found one that was already half off, marked down from like $250. Then, it was some American Heart Association day, and since she happened to be wearing red, she got another 10% off. Check out what deals are to be had, because they are out there, my friends.

#3 - Airport Weirdness.
I must have traveled on odd days this week, where the gods of travel were all napping (or out shopping). On Wednesday on my way to Chicago, I got through security in about 3 seconds. Literally. It was like the TSA agents came out that day to solely get me through security. There was NO one else there. Also, my plane got in 35 minutes early. When does that ever hapen?!
Today on the way to LGA, I was getting coffee at O'Hare and also on the phone with M. When I got the coffee, I walked over to the bar to sugar it up -

Me: Hang on a sec, Ma, I need to put the phone down to put sugar in my coffee.
Dude at Starbucks bar next to me: (Chuckle)
Me: Oh, that's ok. My mom is at a Starbucks drive through right now, so she understands.
Dude: Yea, I have that conversation with my dad just about every day. "Dad, stop talking! I need to fix my coffee!"

So, apparently we are not the only people who are so insane about coffee/Starbucks. Good news.

#4 - Lost, again.
As I've been writing this, E, goddess of Lost, has posted her The Little Price recap. I haven't read it yet, but I'm sure it's delightful and insightful. Let me know what you think.

#5 - Le Office.
One important thing about last week's episode that I doubt anyone noticed aside from me. When Andy is trying to get advice about how to woo the hot new client lady, he turns to Creed. (Big mistake, as far as I can tell. I doubt I'd rely on Creed for anything, much less relationship advice.) Creed suggests just trying to go in for a kiss, as a way to get the girl. He mentions that this is what he did to woo Squeaky Fromme. For all those who are not obsessed with cults (i.e. everyone besides me), Squeaky Fromme was one of the main chicks in the Manson Family (!!!). While she was never charged for any of the Manson murders, she was later charged and convicted of an assassintaion attempt on President Ford. She is currently serving a life sentence for this crime. Whatever conclusions you want to draw regarding Creed potentially being involved with the Manson Family (or at least its outer circle), go for it.