January 12, 2012
Sarah: And then I moved to New York
The fun part about being a mild hoarder is finding stuff like this, a thank you note from my brother and his new wife from 2008:
It may have taken almost four years, but earlier this week, I managed to get myself and four suitcases on a plane to New York with no immediate plans to move back to Utah.
Hopefully they were serious.
A few observations thusfar:
1. I'm not good at public transportation. I get total anxiety that I'll miss my stop and you haven't seen pure confusion until you've seen me emerge onto the street with absolutely no idea which direction I'm pointed.
2. One good thing about the subway is that I'm afraid to touch my face after I've touched any of the surfaces. It's at least partially due to this photo. I'm notorious for rubbing my eyes until the mascara on the eyelashes of the people around me flakes off, so this is really going to improve my appearance.
3. This is really going to improve the frequency of my blog posts. That last one you've probably heard before.
January 13, 2012
Lisa: Well played, Melinda Clarke's publicity team
UPSIDE: If your television or low-budget movie production needs an attractive, seductive brunette of a certain age, you're in luck! There are three nearly identical actresses who have been capably filling that niche for years. One of them is sure to be free (probably Musetta Vander).
DOWNSIDE: If you are Polly Walker or Musetta Vander, all your acting credits are going to Melinda Clarke, because NOBODY KNOWS YOU ARE DIFFERENT PEOPLE.
THE CANDIDATES
Sarah knows Melinda Clarke as Lady Heather, the so-called "Moddom" from CSI. Melinda played another brothel owner on Firefly, but you might remember her best as Julie Cooper on The O.C.. IMDB says she played a Siren on Charmed. Obviously.
When I see Musetta Vander, I can't think of anything but the praying mantis substitute teacher on Buffy. Apparently she also--like Melinda--played a Siren (this time on O Brother, Where Art Thou?) and some kind of corset-wearing villainous lady bodyguard on Wild Wild West.
Before some extensive Googling, I'd pretty much forgotten I'd seen Polly Walker as the "elegant" Jane Fairfax in Gwyneth Paltrow's Emma and (much further back) the beautiful but jaded Caroline Dester in Enchanted April. More relevantly, she appeared as Atia of the Julii on Rome, a character confusingly but aptly dubbed Julii Cooper on Television Without Pity. She hasn't played any characters named "Siren," and there don't seem to be any photos of her online in fetish wear. If there weren't so many completely nude stills from Rome, I'd be forced to call her the classy one.
YOU BE THE JUDGE
Honestly, if I told you these were all the same woman, you'd believe me, right?
AS IF FURTHER PROOF WAS NEEDED
I explained to Sarah that I was doing a little research in preparation for this post, and she inadvertently proved my point:
Lisa: "I had to physically stop myself from searching the Internet for photos of Polly Walker in a corset. Ten pages of Google Images results and nothing!"
Sarah: "What? There MUST be screen captures of her in a corset from CSI!"
Lisa: "Yes. The problem is that was Melinda Clarke."
EDITED TO ADD:
Blake peered over my shoulder at these three photos and emphatically stated they looked completely different. Then he pointed at the middle one (Musetta Vander), and said, "That looks like the lady who played Julie Cooper (Melinda Clarke). You know, the girl from Rome (Polly Walker)." SERVED, SERVED, SERVED.
January 16, 2012
Sarah: Camera photos and Napkin envy
Today marks one week of living in New York, or as I like to call it: one week of resisting the empanada place down the block. No seriously, those empanadas call to me every afternoon, but I have stayed strong thusfar. But you will be mine, empanadas, and I won't regret the $1.60 or the slightly tighter pants. If you guys don't believe me that the empanadas are worth at least $2.15, just ask my friend here, who enjoyed one filled with macaroni and cheese.
I've done a terrible job thusfar of documenting my adventures. Let's recap with grainy photos, where available:
Some highlights of the day that I left Salt Lake City. Yes, it was really sad. And yes, the sight of a clumsy woman maneuvering 4 bags out of the airport and into a taxi isn't something you should have to see. But a few cute things include my brother, and my carry-on bag. Tied for first place.
My first day in New York was mostly spent sleeping and walking around Manhattan with Kaeleigh. She took a photo of me saying that New York was too loud for my phone call. I took a photo of the fancy visitor passes required by her building. And then blurred out any incriminating information.
Work:
This week I had my first job interview. I looked like a school marm, but I was fine with it.
Food:
If you're in the area sometime and like things that are delicious and made with butter, try Cafe Katja. They have spatzle. And Austrian meatballs. And we only got slightly yelled at by a drunken homeless man for not respecting veterans. And then my two 20-something comrades and I were home watching Downton Abbey by 8:30. We party hard.
In other food adventures, we discovered you can have a pound of shrimp delivered to your home. Peel and eat, my favorite.
Between fried food and the apartment, I took this photo of Kaeleigh documenting weird, homemade signage. It's almost like catching the Sartorialist snap a photo of Anna Wintour. I'm almost positive that those were all words.
Shopping:
When I got to town, I gave my NY friends their belated Christmas gifts. When Kaeleigh opened hers, she gleefully exclaimed "I don't already have one of these!"
Failure.
Kaeleigh and I also tagged along with Angie while she did some maternity shopping. Baaaaaabyyyyy! That fake belly really suits her. As does the sleeping dude in the Dad Zone. Hey baby? That's not your real dad.
Our satisfaction with Angie's clothing purchases, however, paled in comparison to the ecstatic conversation between these two women over one's paper napkin purchases.
Trust me, she was ecstatic at the time.
January 17, 2012
Sarah: Overalls
Dear Gap,
Are you sure this is the direction you want to go? Are you sure you want to be the one responsible for doing this to our nation, nay, the world?
Because I really think you should reconsider.
Sincerely (and sincerely considering a denim jumper),
Sarah
