Sad days

So, for those who don't know, I had to put my best friend and cat of 18 years to sleep on Saturday. It was heartwrenching for so many reasons even beyond the loss because of the guilt and remorse afterwards. I could go on forever about the experience but in light of my really sad demeanor right now, I'll just say that.

And not to expect any posts for a week or so because I definitely want to write more about her and share some sweet photos and memories but its just too painful right now still. I never knew it would hit me so hard . . .

Snuggle all your cats, dogs, ferrets, chimanzees, or goldfish for me in the meantime.

xo

I Burned 40,000 Calories in 2008 — How 'Bout You?

My run down in 2008 running is attached. Curious what 2007 would have been since I ran three half marathons and a full and I actually did my training runs.

This year I will be faster, I can feel it . . . and keep saving gas and burning calories.

The Evolution of Obama (the Logo)

Great post on New York magazine about the evolution of the Obama logo. Its pretty great.

Kudos to artists Sol Sender, Andy Keene, and Amanda Gentry.

In fact, I'm going to check out this exhibition at the Danziger Projects gallery this weekend on the Obama political graphics. It looks AMAZING.

Busy is My Middle Name . . .

. . . but not in a "gettin bizy" kinda way, you pervs.

2009 is sure to be a VERY busy (and VERY great) year.

In the next month I have several weekend trips (one from a Boltbus frequent rider program free ride and one from USAirways frequent flyer miles — yay for free trips!).

I also have four HUGE weddings this year. All involving travel — one internationally to Africa. One I'm in the wedding (and doing major planning for which is fun albeit a lot to do!). Two I'm designing the invitations and collateral for. And one I'm singing in!

BUT! This busy schedule cannot stop me from running once it finally gets up to . . . I dunno +10 degrees? Its the best way to really see these places I will be traveling to in 2009 not to mention familiarize myself with my new city!

Here are the possible races I am planning for over the next 6 months. No full marathons although for some deranged reason I have the bug . . . even though my training was entirely inconsistent last year because of a lack of motivation. I think the later 6 months will consist of at least one more triathlon and possibly a century (100-mile) bike ride as well:

Sunday, February 15: Valentine's 5K, Brooklyn
Sunday, March 1: Coogan's Salsa, Blues, and Shamrocks Run 5K, Manhattan
Sunday, April 26: More fitness Half-Marathon, Central Park, Manhattan
Sunday, May 3: Five Boro Bike Tour, 42 mile bike ride through the five boros of NYC
Sunday, May 17: NYPD 5K, Manhattan
Saturday, May 30: NYRR Half-Marathon Brooklyn
Sunday, June 28: Achilles Hope & Possibility 5M, Central Park, Manhattan

Anyone care to join me with any of these? I love having buddies to talk about war stories with over bagels and gatorade.

Summary of January 20, 2009

Thanks for emailing this to me Blogorelli. Thanks for writing someecards. I couldn't have said it better myself.

2 out of 3 Wehrman girls mentioned in this news article

Yea . . . I was working and didn't see squat. And I don't work for a newspaper. So there wasn't much to mention about me.

Published in the Dayton Daily News . . .

Urbana native witnessed plane crash
By Jennie Szink
Staff Writer
Thursday, January 15, 2009

Urbana native Tessa Wehrman was sitting next to a window on the 33rd floor of a building in New York City when she heard the worst words a New Yorker can hear.

"Someone goes, 'Oh my God is that a plane?'" Wehrman said.

Turning around to look outside, Wehrman watched as a US Airways jetliner crashed into the Hudson River about 3:30 p.m. Thursday. She and her coworkers at Nickelodeon saw the plane "smoothly" cut through the frigid water and waited to see if passengers would exit.

"We said 'It can't be a water plane,' and at that moment we saw the side doors open and (the passengers) were standing on the wings," Wehrman said. "We first thought, 'Where is a boat, where is a boat?' "

The river's current carried the plane about 10 blocks before ferry boats reached it, she said. The boats carried the plane's 155 passengers and crew to shore to meet the many ambulances that lined the banks.

"It's good to hear everyone's safe for the most part," said Wehrman, the sister of Dayton Daily News Washington correspondent Jessica Wehrman.

Wehrman said her office was "pretty crazed" and her coworkers were glued to the TV since seeing the falling plane out their windows. She has lived in the city for two-and-a-half years and sympathizes with the alarm the reported accident set off in the city.

On Sept. 11, 2001, terrorists crashed hijacked jetliners into the twin towers of the World Trade Center, causing them to collapse. Nearly 3,000 people died in the attack.

"It's not something you want to see in New York," Wehrman said. "It's still very sensitive for everyone, even if you haven't lived there."

Water Rescue in the Hudson River!!

Breaking news from NYC . . . US Airways flight to Charlotte, NC made a water landing. Check it out here.

Also check out a friend of a friend's camera phone pic from the ferry. Thank God everyone's safe although I can't imagine they'll be too eager to get back on a plane soon.

Gap + Pantone!

Designers rejoice! Pantone has been embraced by Gap! On Fifth Avenue there is a temporary store open with Gap T-shirts in a large selection of Pantone colors. Love it! I'm going to check it out this weekend!

Details about Gap & Pantone T-Shop:
WHEN: Friday, Jan. 9 through Sunday, Feb. 8, 2009
HOURS: Monday – Saturday: 10:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m. | Sunday: 11:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.
WHERE: 680 Fifth Avenue (between 53rd and 54th Streets), New York

Disney Rejection Letter

Look at the response some ladies in the 30s got when they applied for a position at Disney as an illustrator (click the image and it will appear full-size).

(via Buzzfeed)

Where the *cat eating spaghetti* did that come from?

This kills me. . . so I first saw this clip on my cat sitter's blog. Yes, you read that right folks. I found my phenomenal cat sitter by her blog in a drastically desperate December the week before Christmas. Not only do I love her and her friend (and they love Midnight), I also love her cute blog.

This clip she posted had to be published here as well. It makes me laugh at the complete randomness of it. Even better is that FOX network purposely inserted this random photo as a "bleep photo" to cover up an inappropriate remark made by one of the guests.

Enjoy.

The Arrows Point to a Bummer

Here's a pretty wild (although not tweaked to perfection) arrow illustration I did for a client a while back that we never used. Its kinda creates a very cool floral pattern almost.

Sad that they didn't go in this . . . DIRECTION.

Folks Just Love Those Burritos

From consumerist.com:

Yesterday, a magical new application appeared in the iPhone App Store. What did it do? Well, it allowed you to order burritos from Chipotle (for pick-up). From your iPhone.

There's apparently such a huge demand for this service that it broke the application.

Wow. So it was SO successful that they pulled it (for two weeks or so until they can streamline things). Expect many many more iphone ordering services from other restaurants soon!

Official Member of NSS

I wish I could figure out where I found this but I've had it for a while and just stumbled upon it again.

Hot Mess #2

So yesterday — inside out day — in addition to my shirt being inside out all day long, I also had the arched piece of plastic that is sold with shoes to keep their form, inside my boot all day. Except for the annoying squeaking of that foot (which I blamed on the shoe itself), I didn't notice until I went to put the same boots on this morning.

Wow.

Inside-Out Day

Its 3:20pm on an average Thursday . . . and I'm JUST NOW realizing that I have had my shirt on inside out all day long.

A New Brilliant Discovery

This discovery brought to you by Lynn (and her peep). And it's genius, if I do say so myself.

12 Angry Men and a Lady

Maybe being on a jury just seems so glamorous to me because my friend Sally was recently on one with Queer Eye for the Straight Guy's Thom Filicia.

But I just watched what could easily be one of my top five favorite movies from the AFI Top 100 List (Life List item #75). 12 Angry Men. 1957. Starrying Henry Fonda. Black-and-white (dang I love B&W movies). Absolutely riveting. I picked it tonight because I have a lot to do and thought the plot sounded interesting enough to keep my attention while I cleaned my apartment and finished up a few things. WRONG. I couldn't look away. In fact, I had my dinner finishing up as I started the movie and I ended up eating it cold!


Here's an attempt at my top five movies of the 40 I've seen on the list (in no order between them):
12 Angry Men
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
West Side Story
To Kill a Mockingbird
Vertigo
Honorable mention to the Godfathers though . . . I liked those way more than I expected to


And here are five I could have gone without seeing (oh boy, I know I'm opening myself up to some serious backlash):
Raging Bull
Dr. Strangelove
Midnight Cowboy
A Streetcar Named Desire (not so bad, and definitely at the very least worth it to see a hot young Marlon Brando)
Raiders of the Lost Ark


And here's the most up-to-date:
1. Citizen Kane (1941) WATCHED SENIOR YEAR IN COLLEGE
2. The Godfather (1972) WATCHED 09-30-07
3. Casablanca (1942) WATCHED 09-08-07
4. Raging Bull (1980) WATCHED 04-01-08
5. Singin' in the Rain (1952) WATCHED 12-31-08
6. Gone with the Wind (1939) READ BOOK FIRST!
7. Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
8. Schindler's List (1993) NEED TO REWATCH ITS BEEN AWHILE
9. Vertigo (1958) WATCHED 01-05-08
10. The Wizard of Oz (1939) WATCHED MANY MANY TIMES
11. City Lights (1931)
12. The Searchers (1956)
13. Star Wars (1977)
14. Psycho (1960) WATCHED 8-3-08
15. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
117. The Graduate (1967) WATCHED 1-08
18. The General (1927) WATCHED 05-12-08
19. On the Waterfront (1954)
20. It's a Wonderful Life (1946) NEED TO REWATCH SINCE ITS BEEN AWHILE
21. Chinatown (1974)
22. Some Like It Hot (1959) WATCHED 2-08
23. The Grapes of Wrath (1940) — READ BOOK FIRST!
24. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) WATCHED MANY MANY TIMES
25. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) WATCHED WHEN I WAS YOUNGER
26. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) WATCHED 9-10-07
27. High Noon (1952)
28. All About Eve (1950)
29. Double Indemnity (1944) WATCHED 12-5-07
30. Apocalypse Now (1979)
31. The Maltese Falcon (1941)
32. The Godfather Part II (1974) WATCHED 10-08-07
33. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) REREAD BOOK FIRST!
34. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) WATCHED MANY MANY TIMES
35. Annie Hall (1977) WATCHED 9-22-07
36. The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
37. The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
38. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
39. Dr. Strangelove (1964) WATCHED 9-2307
40 The Sound of Music (1965) WATCHED MANY MANY TIMES
41. King Kong (1933)
42. Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
43. Midnight Cowboy (1969) WATCHED 12-14-08
44. The Philadelphia Story (1940)
45. Shane (1953)
46. It Happened One Night (1934) WATCHED 12-30-08
47. A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) WATCHED 12-18-08
48. Rear Window (1954)
49. Intolerance (1916)
50. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) WATCHED IN THEATRES
51. West Side Story (1961) WATCHED MANY MANY TIMES
52. Taxi Driver (1976)
53. The Deer Hunter (1978)
54. MASH (1970) WATCHED ON 10-6-07
55. North by Northwest (1959)
56. Jaws (1975) WATCHED WHEN I WAS YOUNGER
57. Rocky (1976) WATCHED ON 10-1-07
58. The Gold Rush (1925)
59. Nashville (1975)
60. Duck Soup (1933)
61. Sullivan's Travels (1941)
62. American Graffiti (1973) WATCHED 2-08-08
63. Cabaret (1972)
64. Network (1976)
65. The African Queen (1951)
66. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) WATCHED 9-29-07
67. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)
68. Unforgiven (1992)
69. Tootsie (1982) WATCHED 9-23-07
70. A Clockwork Orange (1971) READ BOOK FIRST!
71. Saving Private Ryan (1998) WATCHED IN THEATRES
72. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
73. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
74. The Silence of the Lambs (1991) WATCHED MANY MANY TIMES
75. In the Heat of the Night (1967) WATCHED 9-14-08, MAY NEED TO REWATCH, DON'T REMEMBER MUCH (I WAS PROBABLY MULTI-TASKING)
76. Forrest Gump (1994) WATCHED MANY MANY TIMES
77. All the President's Men (1976)
78. Modern Times (1936)
79. The Wild Bunch (1969)
80. The Apartment (1960)
81. Spartacus (1960)
82. Sunrise (1927)
83. Titanic (1997) WATCHED IN THE THEATRES WHEN IT CAME OUT
84. Easy Rider (1969) WATCHED 10-31-07
85. A Night at the Opera (1935)
86. Platoon (1986)
87. 12 Angry Men (1957) WATCHED ON 1-2-09
88. Bringing Up Baby (1938)
89. The Sixth Sense (1999)
90. Swing Time (1936)
91. Sophie's Choice (1982) — REREAD BOOK FIRST!
92. Goodfellas (1990)
93. The French Connection (1971)
94. Pulp Fiction (1994) REWATCHED 9-27-07
95. The Last Picture Show (1971)
96. Do the Right Thing (1989) WATCHED 4-08
97. Blade Runner (1982)
98. Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)
99. Toy Story (1995)
100. Ben-Hur (1959)

Happy Holidays!

This weekend. . . two MAJOR holidays hit us.

Saturday, 1/3/09 is Festival of Sleep Day (I've been celebrating for the past two weeks really).

And Sunday, 1/4/09 is National Spaghetti Day.

Weird? Kinda.
Awesome? Absolutely.

Have a sleep and spaghetti-filled weekend!

Back in Black

Due to a horrifying incident on my travels to Ohio over Christmas (helpful hint: just because you still have the factory-seal on that water bottle, does not mean that the whole top of it cannot bust off in your bag), I am now the owner of a new pretty MacBook.

Thank you MacMall for your awesome after-Christmas sale (no thank you for spelling my dang name wrong even though I spelled it out for you about 12 times). Thank you Santa for helping me out since times are rough at this moment (too many expenses in 2008!).

I love that my computer is now 13" and much more transportable. And I adore the matte black fabulousness (the glossy screen will take an adjustment). And I REALLY adore how zippy and fast it is. Now I just have to get up and running with all my programs.

However, if anyone comes within ten feet of it with a beverage, I swear I will judo-chop them. Don't test me, folks. I am, after all, wearing a black belt today.