Go girl

A phrase I've warmed up to in recent years is "You go, girl."

I remember it coming onto the scene.  I feel like it's most like Oprah who popularized it.

And I tried pretty hard to keep it out of my personal middle classed white girl vernacular.

But my boss lady says it on the reg, and in marathon training I've heard it time and again from a range of sisterfriends, as it were, so try as I might, I've caved under the pressure of appreciation.

I feel oddly and unquestionably empowered doling out or receiving the encouragement  and what harm is there in that?

Tale as old as time

Sort of.

I had thought I might write a post for every day of February as this month started out and then my brain just basically shut itself off the day after the day after the Superbowl.

So there were two weeks there where I was like 24/7:

I call it February Fritz.  I was on it big time.

And now, I've checked out for another reason altogether...  2 weekend days, 2 work days, and 35 miles of running stand between me and my flight to FLORIDA, Wednesday at the crack of dawn.

Among things I'm putting out in the Universe at the moment is the opportunity to write for http://thegloss.com/.  Among things I'm going to try to dissect over butterbeer and whatnot with my best gf's, who will all be in Orlando with me to run The Disney Princess Half Marathon a week from Sunday, is how I can undo the lasting impact of my longtime love for Disney movies ala Beauty & the Beast.  As these writers point out, the cartoons clearly lead young ladies astray: http://thegloss.com/odds-and-ends/the-editors-discuss-what-we-learned-about-relationships-from-beauty-the-beast-889/

How oh how oh how

did I miss this!??

http://www.nbc.com/the-tonight-show/the-tonight-show/nbcs-brotherhood-of-man/

I party hopped from a Superbowl Party? where the theme was America and the hosts threw orange bandana flags on any "plays" that involved party guests yelling anything other than "Go Sports!!"  to an intimate viewing party of 5 gays & me.

Catching this 3minutes and 50 second spot would have softened the blow of the Pats' loss but alas...

The bff and I were having a two person sing off in my tower on the UUWS from 6 - 6:30, so we missed pre-game programming.

True story.

For shame.

I see more changes

Well, I see one.  Made one.

No longer writing about being a princess or nomad so much as I am going to about being a baller-ina.

Tweeted and/or fb posted this convo I had with my non-bestfriend and ACK roomie where I asked if it's possible for a girl to be a baller, and he said of course, and that they call those ballerinas.

I'm owning that.

I've had an American Express gold card for five years now.  I'm not playing around here.  I'm getting shit done.

I'm practically an Avenger.  Good God I love Robert Downey Junior.  Is it May 4th yet?  3 months.

The In Crowd

Will it ever go out of style?

I'm really not sure.

I shouldn't out her, but everyone's favorite MamaNaugs called me practically bubbling over with excitement last week when she received an invite to a "Girls Night In" with some of the Newton moms she always says she wishes she could be better friends with.  And for those who are keeping track, she's pushing 49 and feeling fine (last year's surprise breakfast party was in honor of her hitting 48 and feeling great).

My Nanny Janny always prides herself on being tight lipped but probably would have turned in to a gossip back in her day if she'd known it would have landed her on the Football Cheerleading Squad instead of just the Ice Hockey one.  (Amazing fact about my maternal grandparents, they both held coveted positions on illustrious teams of yore: said cheerleading squad on ice and Brandeis' Football - undefeated since 1959 when the team was disassembled).

And here I am an example of frailty... strong, independent, NYNaugs, all excited because I got emails today inducting me to two online societies of note: improvteams.com and that sparkology site I wrote about two days ago.  Practically a plastic!

In like Flynn, as they say.  Poor Gretchen.  Always trying to make fetch happen.

I say "ciao for now"

fairly often, generally genuinely, and to just about anyone I'm ending a conversation with but likely to chat with again before long.

I think this is working against me when it comes to my finding my funny.

I'm in musical improv right now at a rival improvisational school of my beloved House of Amy Poehler aka UCB, and I get the impression I am significantly less negative than several of my comedy classmates particularly in said musical class but perhaps across the board at these comedy schools.  

I don't want to be too sunshiney but at the same time, I'm not really one to gripe, hold a grudge or dwell, and according to The Comedy Bible, jokes come from musing on what's weird, stupid, hard or scary about anything and everything under the sun that is experienced and thus relatable, so it's a strange challenge to feel compelled to find things to whine about.

Actually as I just typed that I realized that if you play the weird, stupid or scary angles you don't necessarily have to whine while doing so.

And so maybe - huzzah!!  I can find my funny afterall, even IF I use cheesy sayings on the regular.  Like "ciao for now" and "okie doke" and "gotcha!" (always with an exclamation point).

Tonight I played the weird card when asked to make up a song on the spot about Bubbles.  I went full throttle into a country tune inviting a fella over for a bubble bath and it was a hit.

One step or trot at a time as the case may be.

Back from hiatus

The writer in me had to do some reading, the actress in me had to do some scene study, and the nomad in me had to bounce between New York and Newton twice in the last two weeks of January for two of the four final performances of my baby sisterfriend at the infamous NNHS.  I think there's one Jubilee Singers concert and one last Pops Night in June standing between my family and our official graduation from the 12 years of high school extracurricular activities we've partaken in.  Indeed, the end of an era.

What brings me back to my soap box, you ask?  Evolution.  And specifically, the evolution of dating sites.  Two of my BC modmates sent me this link this morning:  http://mashable.com/2012/01/31/sparkology/

And one can only wonder whether the next chapter in my fairytale is to be told with the help of an elitist bunch of yentas.  The graphics are priceless, no?  My kind of straight to the point cartoons.

For anyone that's counting I've received 5 Save The Dates for 2012, and it's just the first of February.  Love actually IS all around.  In the meantime, I am 21 days away from flying to Florida with four of my favorite Nook Girls for the Walt Disney World Princess Half Marathon.  And that about brings you up to speed.

More musings to come as the month moves right along.