Baby takes Manhattan

I love NYC in the fall. Better yet, I love it with a baby even more. It's true. You see, the number of times I've maneuvered that city with a baby strapped in a stroller FAR outnumber the times I've been there alone. After all, it's certainly no secret that I worked my twenties away. I do what I love and it's easy for time to just slip away. Anyway, this 2 day trip with my client was a short and sweet one. We were on a United shuttle early on Thursday and back again on Friday night.

Lunch with a view.

I met my cousin Carlos for lunch on the corner of 5th and 49th. It was so perfect that we did it both days.

I met the best street vendor I've ever encountered in NYC, ever. He was selling his daughter's artwork outside of MOMA! Frame-ready prints and a self-published picture book that is quite lovely.

Bedros Zerdelian - Awesome father

Resting our tired feet.

Our second day was supposed to be our busy shopping day.....until the rain came.

He sang to me!

These crazy hours I've been keeping make it almost impossible to talk on the phone for more than a few minutes, but yesterday I finally talked to Oliver for the first time in 6 weeks! Needless to say we had a lot of catching up to do. He is such a magpie and I was soaking it all in! I heard all about the big kid things he's been doing. Like eating pizza ("The red kind, you know, with tomatoes?"), being a good owner to his dog Juno ("I mix her wet food and her kibble together"), swimming with shorts on, and inviting his friends over for play dates ("Benny came to my house and we played with the soccer ball in the ballroom!") *GROAN*

Just as we were saying goodbye, inspiration struck and he decided to sing me a song so that I would remember him. I can't even deal with typing these words right now without getting a little weepy. I miss my friends SO MUCH!

Umm.....what?!

So, here's the deal. The baby nursing job I am currently on is for 24hr care. My clients are kind, truly genuine people and in the last 6 weeks we have settled into a routine that works very well for everyone all around. Every morning I retreat to my room on the 4th floor (given to me because it's quiet way up there), where I sleep and shower before I'm back on the clock around 2-3pm. On Thursdays and Saturdays I take a 12hr day to spend time with Bryan. That being said, an important part of this story is that I haven't had more than 5hrs of sleep per day since July 26th. Equally as important is that this story is not about me, my clients, or the beautiful baby I care for. This story is about that baby's Uncle.

You see, across the hall from me on the 4th floor is another room occupied by Baby's Uncle. I hesitate to even write about him because he is a very nice person, always affable when we cross paths in the hall or kitchen and otherwise maintaining a comfortable distance. But he is also unwittingly hilarious! Seriously, his antics are already becoming legendary. The other day he came downstairs and asked the nanny to shave his neck! And that brings me to this morning...

Nothing special or unusual about going upstairs and crawling into bed. I've been sleeping deep and hard lately since I'm sure my body is trying to play catch up. I was out by 8:30am. At 11:30am my phone is ringing and I am groggy as hell. I reach over to look at caller id and recognize immediately that it's an international call. My sister! I hadn't talked to her since she arrived in Paris! I answer and then proceed to have a conversation that I do not remember for the life of me. I was actually falling asleep while she was talking and then I'd jerk back to attention when it was my turn to respond. That has never happened before! For the two years that she was in France last time I would drop everything to take her calls. She called me to wish me a happy birthday one year while I was at a Dodger game and I was angrily shushing people around me!

I felt REALLY bad, but my brain just wanted MORE SLEEP! Sorry, sis. I can't function right now. Call me on Saturday. I dropped the phone on the nightstand and passed out again. Well, probably not much later than that, I open my eyes to find Baby's Uncle in my closet getting dressed! I literally gasped, (I sleep nude, people!) frantically looked down to check that the blanket was covering all essential areas, and then thought to myself, "Ehhh....all in a day". Shrugged my shoulders, and was back to sleep within seconds.

Of course, when I was in my right mind again I was mortified! Also, I can't blame him one little bit. He was probably knocking for a while and I was just dead to the world. (I wouldn't know because I've been avoiding him all day) He's been keeping clothes in that closet since before I moved in, I'm sure. No harm, no foul. This is just the kind of thing that happens surprisingly often when I do live-ins. At least no one has walked in on my while on the toilet.....yet!

Gadget Gal

Yesterday marked three weeks since I began a new baby nursing position in DC. My contract is for 24hr care this whole month of August followed by night shifts in September. This position has far surpassed any expectations I had when I arrived on the 26th of July. The family is wonderful and the multi-staffed environment is relaxed and friendly despite this being a very formal household. The estate is beautiful and sits hidden like a jewel in the heart of the city.

As always, I am well prepared with the tools I need in the nursery to keep idle time from getting the best of me. A million thanks to the folks at Amazon for inventing the Kindle!! In all the years I've been doing this, it was customary for me to carry loads of books with me at all times. I would pack up my trunk with favorites so that I would always have one while on a job. I would add a half hour to my commute just so that I could stop at the nearest bookstore for more reading material before a shift. I've ran desperately into the closest drug store or (god forbid) grocery store looking for my reading fix before or even sometimes during a shift. Those days are now behind me. I will always have something to read at hand and it will always be something hand picked by me, at my leisure, via the wireless connectivity on Kindle. I swear to you people, I could sell this device!

Then there's my ipod for when I need to give my brain a break. For this one I have Bryan to thank for having the fortitude to get me an 80GB video ipod when I specifically requested the 3rd gen. nano for X-mas last year. I was more interested in portability and cute factor, but he KNEW as soon as I realized the full potential of the device I would be crying for more gigs. Now I have my favorite shows (I could watch 30 ROCK for hours and not get bored), favorite movies (two nights ago I woke up the baby because I couldn't keep the laughter in while watching Birdcage) and favorite music for when I'm rocking baby back to sleep.

So, now here I am three weeks into a great situation and I realize that there is still something missing. The ugly truth is that I miss the internet! I really do. I want to:

• Update my blog whenever inspiration strikes.




• Read the news every day.




• Network socially on occasion.




• Write reviews on all the books I've been reading lately.




• Plan my next vacation on a whim.




• Order stuff! (I live for deliveries)

And so it came to be that I am writing this blog post from my new netbook. I realized that checking email, updating facebook, and reading snippets of news via my cell phone just wasn't enough of an internet fix. I've had it for less than one day and it has already become indispensable! It is so freakin' small and adorable. I can't wait for my sister to hurry up and leave for France already so that we can skype or live video chat! Hooray for technology!

August 5, 2000

Nine years ago today I walked up a flight of stairs in downtown Long Beach and met my destiny. He thought I was on the elevator and when I opened the stairwell door, we collided. The rest of my life started at that very moment.

A few minutes after that clandestine meeting, another monumental life-changing event occurred. My destiny walked me to his condo and introduced me to the most amazing dog I have ever known, my beloved Kuma.

That day I had the best date of my life. I arrived for lunch and I didn't leave until 4am. Bryan was funny, kind, attentive and above all else, a perfect gentleman! We talked for hours over our Taco Beach lunch, then sat on his couch and talked for hours over a six pack of Sierra Nevada pale ale. That night we went to the Foothill and saw OO Soul perform a live set and then popped in Notting Hill back at his place later so that I could clear my tipsy head before driving home.

It's amazing to me how very vivid these memories are in my swiss cheese brain. I was 22 years old and I fell hard. Nine years later I sometimes feel like I'm still falling.

Thank you my dearest, my darling, my heart.

Tales from the Road #3

So apparently, all it takes is one little glance from a state trooper for him to notice that I don't have a required Virginia inspection sticker on my windshield. Then when he pulls me over he finds out I don't have a Virginia DL either.

"Did you know you only have 60 days from when you move here to comply?"

" No", I lied.

Just how required are we talking here? Because I've managed to make it more than ONE year without them!

Uh oh...

C- "Birdie, what is wrong with you? You're like a balloon these days!"

B- "Yeah, I've noticed too. She's also having a hard time getting on the bed, and the weird thing is that she's not eating much lately."

C- "Huh."

Bryan picks Birdie up.

B-"Also, have you noticed her doggie nips are huge?!"

Heads snap up.

"OH NO!!!"