"That's it, I don't want you talking to me for the rest of the robbery!"

Recently, I was chided by some of my nearest and dearest for being too snobby and stuck up about movies. Apparently it is unheard of that I have yet to see movies such as Knocked Up, I Love You, Man, Princess Bride and Get Him To The Greek. My philosophy is that I can only see so many movies, so why not see movies that I may actually appreciate and enjoy? Then again, I recently discovered that my DVD of Nicholas Nickleby (one of my all time favorites) is totally messed up, likely because I have watched it too many times. So, I could probably stand to spend my time more wisely in the movie department. 


In an effort to be more relaxed in my movie choices and broaden my horizons, I decided to watch Tower Heist last night. It already has the makings of many things I enjoy: New York, Ben Stiller, a heist and hilarious antics. The cast is kind of fantastic: Ben Stiller, Eddie Murphy, Alan Alda, Michael Pena, Casey Affleck, Matthew Broderick and Tea Leoni. Ben Stiller basically plays himself. Eddie Murphy is the same character/voice as always. Casey Affleck and Matthew Broderick (a laid-off wall streeter who is being evicted from his mega-millions condo) are exceptional. 


Even before you watch the trailer, you probably know how this one will end. That's ok. Watching Eddie Murphy mentor and lead four hapless men new to the robbery game is just fun (he has them prove that they can do "the big job" by getting them to steal $50 worth of merchandise each from a mall). I also loved that most scenes take place in/around Columbus Circle, and the major showdown is during the Macy's Day Parade (a tradition to watch in the Landis household). 


Hopefully the trailer below will wet your appetite for this funny, fun, heist comedy. It was a welcome break for my brain! 

We're famous.

Oh hey. Remember when my family was the face of AIPAC?

Either we were the most attractive people at the conference (yes), or this picture most embodied "friends and family". The fact that a possible-rabbi/stranger is also in the picture only enhances the "friends" aspect. This picture also works well because we are all already signed up for PC 2013 (although I cannot vouch for possible-rabbi)!

Ew-mint.

Season after season on The Biggest Loser, we have witnessed the weight loss powers of fancy gum. Without fail, almost every episode has one of those awkward ignore-that-this-is-a-commercial meetings between contestant and coach. They discuss the merits of fat free turkey or oatmeal or ziplocs. There has also been more than one non-commercial about Dessert Delights gum. This is low calorie gum that tastes like dessert: apple pie, strawberry shortcake, etc. The contestants go ga-ga for it because you can have the taste of dessert without the calories. Yay! 


I thought I would give the world of fancy gum a try, partially for its potential assistance in weight loss and partially to just give it a go. I like trying new things! This morning at Walgreens while stocking up on my usual snack of Fiji water and almonds, I also grabbed a pack of Trident Layers gum in the mint/melon flavor. As a savory-over-sweet person, I thought this would be a much less offensive flavor than pineapple or strawberry (and definitely not as bad as the Dessert Delights). 


After a team status call and my two cups of coffee, I tried stick #1 (and - spoiler alert - probably stick # last) of Trident Layers. Honestly, the first 3-5 minutes were pretty good. A nice blend of minty and fruity. It almost reminded me of Strawberry flavored Chapstick. That stuff is like an extra special treat when you find a stick of it on sale, or hanging around in a long-lost coat pocket. But similar to the Trident Layers, it loses its oomph after a really short time (WTF is this overly-sweet-strawberry stuff doing on my lips?!). All of a sudden, the gum was not only sweet, but sickeningly sweet for my taste. Even worse, the texture of the gum was mushy and slimey, as if I'd been chewing it for hours. Promptly spat it out. To make matters worse, the awful taste hung around all. Even after more coffee, more water and lunch, this horrible metallic taste still permeated my mouth. 


While I cannot vouch for the other flavors, do not try Trident Layers mint melon gum! Has anyone tried the other flavors with good results? Has anyone tried the Dessert Delights gum? Possibly my new business venture could be no-calorie gum for people with savory preferences. Gum that tastes like chips, cheese or fried chicken?! Sign me up! Sounds like a job for Willy Wonka (in cahoots with Rebloga). 

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.    

UPDATE: Run out the clock.

C would like to add another website to waste your time at work: how to talk to girls at parties. contrary to the name, it really doesn't have much to do with how to talk to girls at parties (although that is a blog idea right there, if you are looking for one). 


it is a man clothes website: pictures of man clothes, questions about man clothes and discussions about man clothes. if you are a man, you'll enjoy this site. if you are a lady who likes to look at male models, you may also enjoy it. 

Run out the clock.

Because I love you, here are some additional awesome websites to while away your hours at work.

• Animals Talking in All Caps: Just what it sounds like. And it is pretty awesome. Example: 

At the very least, there are cute pictures of animals, right? 

• Vintage Gal: Old-timey pictures. Maybe you'll get a new hairdo idea? 

• Old Films: Film student blogs about all manner of movie-related things. Also some old-timey photos. 
• Ugly Renaissance Babies: You KNOW I love this one. Hilarious commentary on mostly Jesus-related paintings. 
• I'm Remembering: Pictures/videos of amazing 80's and early 90's stuff. You will not be able to stop looking through this one. (Sidenote: I had this Sesame Street Doctor Kit and we recently watched a home video where I am using the stethoscope to listen to my mom's stomach prior to the birth of my little sister. It did not work and I wasn't happy about it.)

For even MORE ideas, check out this recently released list of the best blogs of 2011. Let me know if you find other goodies! Happy time wasting!

UPDATE: "They say a cluttered desk means a cluttered mind." --Michael Scott

If you haven't already read my post on jewelry organization, go read that first. The same disclaimer applies here:

• Gentlemen: this post may not be for you. Other than watches, I'm pretty sure most of you do not wear jewelry. Proceed with caution. 
• Ladies: Has your jewelry gotten out of control? Do you have no method of organization? Is your dresser/desk/nightstand cluttered with every necklace you own? Read below and be unorganized no more! 

Regarding said "better situation for watches and bangles," BEHOLD: 

For the bangles, I bought a hammered bowl from West Elm that is actually a serveware piece: 

There are several beautiful pieces in this collection (I have the "large bowl"). I also really like the footed bowl and almost bought that one instead, but I thought I might have to pile up the bracelets as opposed to having a concave bowl to place them into. If you have smaller and/or less bangles, this would be a good item to get. 


For the watches, I bought a tray from West Elm that is actually a bathroom accessory:

I thought it was so pretty! Who would relegate this to the bathroom? It's perfect for laying out watches - I can fit about nine on here. West Elm sells a huge variety of cute trays (both for bathroom and serving or entertaining) that can be used for jewelry storage/display. I LOVE these menswear print trays, but they sadly were not large enough for watch purposes. Please post below if you see anything else awesome and jewelry-worthy!


Gentlemen (and ladies who don't care about the above): I promise a non-jewelry post shortly!

happy bird-day.

First off, thanks to ALL for a truly amazing, wonderful, fantastic birthday. Thank you for the wall posts, dinners, tweets, emails, texts, drinks, cards, calls and other forms of love. I would be no where without the love and support of my friends and family. Secondly, I have to advertise some of the awesome presents I received from my people! 

1. Photojojo set of three iPhone lenses: 

2. Banana Republic metallic scarf: 

3. New Shel Silverstein book (poems published following his death):

4. Letter writing "Hi There" notepad: 

5. Magnetic nail polish:

6. Nail Art book (with six nail polishes!): 

I cannot thank everyone enough for the wonderfulness of my birthday. If the last few months are any indication, I am confident that the new year will be phenomenal. 

"They say a cluttered desk means a cluttered mind." --Michael Scott

Gentlemen: this post may not be for you. Other than watches, I'm pretty sure most of you do not wear jewelry. Proceed with caution. 


Ladies: Has your jewelry gotten out of control? Do you have no method of organization? Is your dresser/desk/nightstand cluttered with every necklace you own? Read below and be unorganized no more! 


For several years, I've had one of those 100 pocket things that hangs in the closet. This worked out well in New York, but my closet is a little different now and this was just not cutting it anymore. My dresser had become a sea of unorganized watches, rings and necklaces, not to mention all of my small earrings which were always impossible to locate. On my quest to accessorize more, I needed to have a clean way to store my jewelry out on my dresser. 

The "Before" Picture: 

After much research, I found two items at Bed Bath and Beyond. The first is a telescoping necklace holder, $20. It has two levels of double hooks. You can either keep the levels together, or move the second one up to hold even longer necklaces. Of course, mine is at the highest point. With the double hooks, you can really have things organized and all hanging separately. It also has a large, scooped tray at the bottom that can hold rings, or small bracelets. The bottom is felted so it won't scratch your dresser! 

Item number two is the GemGini, also $20 from Bed Bath & Beyond. Despite the annoying name, I really like this product. It is awesome for holding longer earrings, and has spaces for post earrings and/or rings at the bottom. I wear a lot of smaller earrings to work, so this is perfect for having those organized and at the ready. It comes set up with magnets - they advertise that you can magnetize this to the inside of your medicine cabinet so you can "put on makeup and jewelry at the same time." Not sure I would ever do those activities at the same time, but it's a nice idea. You can also use the sticky strips to hang it up on a wall. I haven't done that yet (just have it leaning against the wall), but that's your option. The only issue is that this doesn't really have an option for "huggie" style earrings. I have a few of those hanging on the bottom hooks right now... We'll see how long that lasts. All in all, it's great to have everything organized but available. I feel like I can see everything and it makes me want to wear things I don't usually wear because I can actually find them! 

If you like this concept but want something cuter, I would definitely look at Etsy. They have a TON of earrings organizers like this, but with cute frames and colors. I just didn't want to hang something on the wall, so I went simple.  

Ta da! Organization achieved.

I still need some better situation for bangles and watches 

(you know I have about 15 watches in the rotation), but that's for another day.

alinea.

In the ongoing celebration of my mom's "big" birthday, the four of us went to Alinea last week. For those of you who don't know, Alinea is only one of two restaurants to receive a 3-star rating from the Michelin Guide and was voted 6th best restaurant in the world by Restaurant Magazine this year. Currently, it is a 20-course affair (it took us approximately 4.5 hours for the entire meal), and each course is artistic, inventive, interactive and playful. 

Since each course is so unusual and intricate, I brought a notebook (and of course, a camera), to document the full meal. My notes are below, and then you can see some pictures by clicking on the link to my Picasa album (at the bottom). I tried to detail each ingredient, what we really enjoyed and the smells/sounds/tastes of each dish.Enjoy! 

* Aperitif: Champagne, Apple liquor, potable bitters

1.    Under the pumpkin table display, savory pumpkin cake on a metal guitar pick.

·         Curry

·         Coconut

·         Crème fraîche

2.    Seaweed on wood plank with four bites: 

·         Garlic leaf in a shallot

·         Snapper on a corn husk

·         Unagi on cabbage leaf (soy sauce – this one we liked best)

·         Cod on a leek

3.    Lightly Fried Yuba (aka “Witch Finger”), byproduct of tofu

·         Avocado

·         Green onions

·         Toasted sesame seeds

·         Miso emulsion

·         [Crunchy, yummy]

4.    Bowl of Fish Stuff

·         Trout

·         Bourbon maple syrup jelly balls

·         Rice with smoked gel

·         [Sweet, fishy, crunchy, earthy]

5.    Toasted Oak Leaves with Lightly Fried Cheese

·         Cheese

·         Shallots

·         Apple

·         [Aromatic, Autumnal]

6.    Family Style Course

·         Whole sea bream with mint pesto

·         Caponata with vegetables and chocolate

·         Crunchy crackers

* Brought out four red cabbage leaves on sticks. Set them on our table but we didn’t eat them yet. Looked like flags.

7.    Hands-Free Bite (on an antennae)

·         Papaya

·         Dehydrated orange

·         Raw fennel

·         Cucumber

·         [Soft, crunchy, gummy]

8.    Big Pillow with Mushrooms

·         Pillow with pine aroma

·         Plate had mushrooms, thyme foam, pine cream

·         [Earthy, foresty]

9.    Little Wax Soup Bowl (pin through bowl; pull pin to dump stuff into soup)

·         Truffle

·         Parmesan

·         Potato

·         Chive

·         [Hot and cold, time sensitive]

10.  Interactive Red Cabbage Wrap (wood with glass plate on top; take glass plate off; construct metal stand from two pieces that interlock)

·         Tomato

·         Potato

·         Bell Pepper

·         Onion

·         Mustard

·         Paprika potato

·         Hamachi with huckleberry

11.  Fork bite (handed us round bottom bowl with fork balancing; eat fork first, then sip soup)

·         Fork: eggplant and sea bass

·         Soup: sweet vidalia onion soup and pepper foam

*Sprayed black tea oil on our table

12.  Miro Painting (9 forks and spoons each laid out on the table in front of us; after each bite, deposit utensil into metal vase with lavender salt)

·         Lavender noodle

·         Beet jello

·         Olive

·         Pickled cherries

·         Fig

·         Apple

·         Fish

·         Olive oil

13.  Liquid black truffle ravioli (on spoon in bottomless bowl)

·         One bite

·         Explosion!

14.  Yuzu Snow (palate cleanser)

·         Metal cone

·         Frozen with liquid nitrogen

15.  Cubist fruit and cheese plate

·         Cheese with nuts

·         Flat crunchy paper

·         Applesauce

16.  Test tube (“It could get messy”)

·         Lemongrass gelatin

·         Cucumber

*Mom got chocolate cake ball with cream for her birthday

17.  Silicon table cloth

·         4 little bowls of stuff: lingonberry syrup, butternut squash syrup, goose island stout beer syrup, citrus marigold flowers

·         Brought out two brown bowls which were put in the middle of the table and two cups of dry ice

·         Grant Aschatz and helper come out!

·         Start decorating table with 3 syrups and flowers

·         Then then smash the brown bowls on the table – dark chocolate piñatas, with cotton candy, French toast pieces, lingonberry taffy, pumpkin pie filling… 

Alinea

dino the dragon.

After passing along this phenomenal blog post to C, she requested that my blog start to include pictures. I'm pretty awful at drawing but just thought I'd spend about 10 minutes in MS Paint to see what happened. After I actually FOUND MS Paint on my laptop (do you remember where that thing is located??), this is what I came up with:

Really really awful. Perhaps was drawn by a kindergartner who still can't hold a writing implement properly.

C then told me that dinosaurs don't breathe fire. Ooops. So, its some scary breed of dinosaur and dragon. That does compensation consulting. Deal with it.

new nail art.

 As you may know, my newest obsession is nail art. After the blood trial, i've moved onto a new design. As described by my favorite step-by-step nail guide blog, refinery29, today I worked on the chevrons. 


It's pretty easy. You just need a nude color and black with a skinny brush (available at Walgreens). First, you make a gloopy triangle of the nude color at the base of your nail. It should be wide enough to cover the bottom edge of your nail. When that is dry, use the skinny black to make two crossing lines creating a nude triangle. The nude color should fill the entire spaced marked by the black lines. Then, fill in the top of your nail with the black. When fully dry, finish with your favorite top coat. Lately I've been using sally hansen insta-dri. See final pictures below! 

I think next time I want to use a darker nude color. The one I used is a little too white/beige. Here are the refinery29 instructions. Post your own nail art pictures below! 

these boots are made for walking.

I like to share when I find a company, service or product that I think is particularly spectacular.  


Last week, I brought in my favorite boots to be shined. I've had these boots at least since the beginning of college, possibly since high school. They are an integral part of my wardrobe - I wear them to work, to go out and to bunk around on Sunday afternoons. As soon as fall hits, I break these out and basically live in them until summer. 


That being said, it was time to get them spruced up. They were getting embarrassing to wear to work or in any form of public company. They has salt stains, scratches and crazy worn-down heels. I was concerned that they would spontaneously fall apart due to mistreatment. And then I would just be barefoot all winter!




My dad has always raved about this place that shines his shoes. I even heard about this place as a kid. Since it's close to my office, I thought I would try it out. I was met by an extremely nice guy who seemed genuinely happy to help me; I think he may be the owner. He recommended new heels, waterproofing, shining, etc and I was glad to get everything he suggested. (Full disclosure - after I said my name, he actually knew who my dad was and gave me free waterproofing because my dad is "such an awesome guy.") I'd rather put money into these fantastic shoes than buy new ones. My shoes were ready exactly on time and upon each visit to their store, I was met by a friendly, knowledgeable, glad-to-help employee and/or owner. They were happy to go over each change they had made and ensure I was satisfied with the final product. And I was satisfied! Look at those sweet, shiny boots: 

Head over to Beehive Shoeworks (at 35 North Wells) with your work shoes and boots! (I'm sure you have a pair of shoes in need of a cobble.) Maybe if you say your last name is Landis you'll get a discount too? 

follow up on demotivation.

if you've made your way to this post, please ensure you've read this one first. 


look what arrived in my inbox today! awesome analyst is at it again with the wondrous poster below: 

we've been killing ourselves to assemble this complex workplan in Microsoft Project (at the express request of our client). if you've ever worked with Project, you know that it is way more cumbersome and confusing than it needs to be. example - i opened the latest file today and all the dates were changed because the file had decided to auto-schedule itself! now i've spent the morning rescheduling previously correctly scheduled tasks. that seems worth my time. 


in other news, i'm pretty sure that awesome analyst is in the wrong line of work... 

demotivation.

As you all know, I am a huge fan of sarcasm. My main mode is sarcasm and it should probably be my legal middle name. Now that I am an official office drone/cube dweller, I am a huge fan of those sarcastic office demotivating posters, modeled off of the way-too-happy office inspiration posters. ("Effort and courage are not enough without purpose and direction." That is just vomit-city.) There are even hilarious demotivation posters from the office (cough - birthday present - cough)! A personal favorite in demotivation: 

Just come to our weekly Monday morning meetings. The above is more than true there. 


Recently, a particular analyst in our group had performed an analysis that I was reviewing. I told her that I had found a mistake and she felt really bad about it. She is amazing 99.9% of the time, so I don't care about one mistake. I told her that it was good that she had made a mistake because it gave me purpose and allowed me to affect change for our project. She immediately said "Oh that sounds like one of those posters!" This morning, I woke up to the following picture in my inbox: 

Personal motivational poster for me! It is now hanging in my cube, among all of my pictures, birthday cards, project workplans and consultant roadmaps. It's a great reminder of my purpose in office life!