Just filling time

I don't really have anything cool or exciting to write about today, but I just wasted a few minutes reading other people's blogs, and thought I might as well update my own. Also, I'm sleepy, and would like to take a little nap, but since that's not exactly accepted at the office, I have to find something else to do instead. Tonight I'm meeting a friend/editor for drinks at one of my favorite bars, the Old Town Bar , then heading way the heck uptown to Inwood to Laura's. We're doing a little GiveEasy Girls version of Clean Sweep to her papers and stuff. Should be more exciting than it sounds though, to judge by how we all jumped on the idea when it was first proposed. So there's that. Tomorrow is a gym day -- probably a swim gym day, actually, since I haven't gone swimming since Saturday. Yes, that long. I know, I know, I know. But I hit the gym Monday and Tuesday night, for biking and weights and the cool elliptical machine. I'd use the treadmill too, and should, but damn if there isn't always this crazy-ass line of people waiting to get on one every time I'm there. And, the fact is, I'd prefer to run outside if I'm going to run. So what's keeping me from doing it? Ah.... hold on a moment while I come up with a good answer for that, will ya? Thanks.

Ok, right -- running buddies. I'm waiting till Yi Shun gets back, or Alana and I go. Or Maureen, who agreed to sign up with me for the Revlon Run/Walk on May 1st. And speaking of which, that's something fun I can do. Set up my little donation site and all that. Check it out, ok? Support your local Kate!

I survived a media blackout! Ask me how!

Well, I made it through my 48 hour media blackout. Did it kill me? No. Did it make me stronger? Maybe. Long term fallout is yet to be determined. The fact is, I survived without TV or books, spending time instead writing, playing The Game with friends, or sleeping. There was a LOT of sleeping. A few other things filled my weekend as well: hitting the gym, going to a museum, walking through the park, cooking... All good stuff. On a longer blackout period (not that I'm requesting that, don't get any ideas Kyrra!), I think I'd get more writing done, but I got to a good place with the sequel to The King's Sister , as well as getting some writing done on Afterwards. Not the 10 pages I'd hoped for, but something, at least. So.... it's all good. And now I can read my Entertainment Weekly article on Hugh Jackman, review a manuscript for work, hit the library at lunchtime to pick up a couple of DVDs, and catch up on last night's Alias. Yay!

Counting down to no tv time

It's just past 2:30pm. Less than 9 1/2 hours until I begin a 48-hour media deprivation experiment dictated by my creativity group. No tv, no radio, no movies, no video games, no web surfing, no newspapers, no books, no magazines. No idea how I'm going to fill 48 hours.

I do have a glimmer of a plan, though. We're supposed to use the time we'd otherwise spend on passive entertainment to write, or be otherwise active and creative. So I'll be working on my new novel, but also updating the world wide web with a minute-to-minute status report on my efforts. Ok, maybe not quite minute-to-minute, but I'm planning on chronicling the adventure on my little blog. Maybe even on a new and exciting page!! We'll see. Until then, I have 9 odd hours if which to get in all the reading and tv-watching I can manage. Gotta fly!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Well, folks, it's that time of year again. The Irish have invaded, or come out of the woodwork, or whatever, and infested all the local bars. Huzzah! Went to see the parade at lunchtime, which was quite a sight, what with all the snow and everything. Poor little Irish dancing girls in their short skirts walking up Fifth Avenue in the snow. At least the whiskey will keep most of the marchers warm!

I'm supposed to meet up with Timothy later, and some of his friends, at a local haunt as yet unknown. Until then, I'll hang with Anja, Donna, and Elena at Trinity, our cozy local pub. So conveniently located downstairs from my little apartment...

Hurry and date me already!

Big exciting plans for tonight, and for the weekend. Tonight, Helen and I are participating in a HurryDate event, and I really should be coming up with some scintillating conversational gambits or probing questions for the 20-odd 3-minute dates I've therefore got scheduled for the evening. Hopefully a few of them will be good ones. Anyone got any ideas for questions, beyond "What's your favorite book/movie?" "What's your ideal vacation spot?" and my current favorite, "Who would win in a fight between a caveman and an astronaut?"?

Then, this weekend, I'm meeting Yi Shun at her house in the wild northern reaches of New York (practically Canada) and driving with her to Connecticut, where her friend Jamie is giving us a seminar on competitive swimming in prep for the Danskin triathlon we're doing on August 1st. But that's not even the best part! Saturday night, we're heading even farther north, to the Mohegan Sun Casino to see my boys, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy! Yay! Go Daddy-o!

As you can see from the plethora of exclamation marks, I'm excited. I also have to pick up the skirt I was having altered (cut down from my multi-use wedding guest dress, actually) and hope it looks ok to wear. I wasn't entirely thrilled with it when I saw it last week -- I didn't like the way they did a fat boring elastic waistband, especially as we'd never discussed it, and I wouldn't have gone that way at all, given a choice. But maybe I can pick it up, wear it, and bring it back for them to fix, without their charging me any more money. Yeah, like that's likely. But we'll see.

And now I should get back to work. Ciao!