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Yesterday: the heat.

There were two plans and both involved going to the movies and one was reliant on another factor and included the director doing a Q&A and the other was just two ladies getting together for a subversive comedy. First plan devolved and then the second shortly after. I went home to the cats.

The cats were happy to see me and I was unhappy to see their fur coming off their bodies in swaths. The heat! The air was thick not only with humidity but also cat hair.

I made myself comfortable and heated up my leftover Thai food and got up again to crack open that last Crispin cider in the fridge because did I mention it was hot? The humidity was making my hair reach out to there.

The second season of Orange is the New Black continues to prove that there are still many, many stories out there left to be told (let's stop re-hashing the same stuff, right?) and a lot of those untold stories are that of women and people of color. I admired the brilliant unfolding of the fourth episode with Lorna's backstory. It's just full of the kind of storylines and people I don't see in the media much. More of this! More, please, more.

My attempt to stay cool in the apartment were dwindling as my cider evaporated but lucky for me Adam was nearby and he too enjoys cider. I walked into the bar and he already had two ciders waiting. Somebody asked if we were hydrating by drinking pints of water. Oh no, dear friend. This is cider.

After I flopped onto my bed and slept barely in that warmth. The cat wanted to snuggle like most nights but I had to push him away; what are you crazy? I said.

Tonight, my own personal brand of torture: doing laundry.

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I accomplished the feat of cleaning my closet last night! In the middle of the activity, with Jaime over for moral support and also so that she could finally see Thor because she hasn't, I found a bag of catnip. I decided to pour some in the foot of some tights I was throwing away and create a little playtoy for Pee Wee. Little did I know how crazy he was going to get. I decided to take away the toy, but that didn't deter Pee Wee from continuing to go nuts on the bed. See video above.

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In other news, the toilet broke and I've spent most of today waiting for the superintendent. EXCITING!

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Tomorrow is Friendsgiving with my Curbside family. I've been looking forward to it for weeks!

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Here are some important footnotes from the weekend that Blue is the Warmest Color probably took off my mind...

My brother Travis and my dad went on a The World's End-like pub crawl in my dad's hometown for his birthday. Ultimate bro-down it would seem. During the night (probably towards the end I would gather from the non-photo texts I recieved...) they sent me the following picture:

True to my best friend Kelly's nature, we did our best to recreate it at the housewarming to send back in playful, gentle mocking:

My brother was none too pleased, I quote: "I do not quite understand this photo nor do I approve of it. That is all." Um, bro we're just imitating you. He then texted, "False, we look like studs, not sketchy tools, fact, maybe a little bit tools, but that's not Dad's fault."

There you have it, my brother thinks Kelly and I look like "sketchy tools."

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I'm getting a little nervous because I can't find my favorite sweater of all time. Coincidentally, it is also Jesse's least favorite sweater (he doesn't get dolman-style) and I'm wondering if there has been some sort of sinister masterplan at work in the sweater-offseason among our things. I plan on doing a full-out search this evening before the Patriots game.

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Here is how Pee Wee has been reading with me of late, with his head buried in my armpit:

 

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Tonight: Go Pats!

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Okay I've been working on a big post about the great night I had last night, but I'm not quite done so I will finish it at home after my plans this evening (seeing Thor!). Until then, my gift to you is not only the fact that I will be posting TWO POSTS TODAY, but that I shall link you to the Nerd Geek Dork podcast I recorded the other day re: Friday Night Lights... and WITHOUT having listened to it yet. Listen to it if you, too, love FNL and all things related (i.e., perfect marriages, Parenthood, etc.)

Find it as the latest episode of Nerd Geek Dork on iTunes or on your Podcast app (search!)

or

DOWNLOAD HERE!

And here's a photo of me and my cat from the other night after recording the podcast, being nerdy.

Time for me to go listen to it on the way to the theater...



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On the tenth of every month, sometimes I record it by taking ten pictures. It started on tumblr as "10 on 10," but since I'm trying to post every day I thought I would publish them all today, here.

 01 Pee Wee and S in the morning

Oh how innocent he looks!

My 10th of November actually began around 3am when the cats Pee Wee and Frito decided to have a wrestling match next to the bed. They were continually chased out of the room; but then they also decided to put up a united front on the cause "FEED ME." Their strategy is two-fold: Pee Wee sits next to me and headbutts my cheek and purrs loudly, while Frito finds things on shelves in the room to knock over. I am always defeated: and so I fed them.

While I was downstairs, I texted Jesse. I had tried staying up the night before to FaceTime with him, but different time zones didn't allow for it. When I texted him he immediately FaceTime'd me and he saw my bleary-cat-awoken face as I sat on the floor and talked. The cats were decidedly confused as to why I had made it downstairs but was now not feeding them. I admittedly enjoyed their confusion. I was then fully awake by the time I made it back upstairs that I spent the next 40 or so minutes reading more of S until I felt sleepy again.

A few hours later I woke up when the sun was up, and took this photo. After feeding time, Pee Wee always comes back up to bed and curls up next to me in a super cute way. Demon cat! I love Sunday mornings because I can roll over, grab a book, and spend the morning just so. Pee Wee sometimes gets disgruntled by my movement, which is why he looks so perturbed in this photo. That's what he gets!

02 A beautiful, brisk day in Brooklyn

After reading for a couple of hours, I showered, dressed, and made it out of doors to meet up with Jaime for brunch. The sun was shining and the sky was blue as I walked to the restaurant in the cool weather.

03 & 04 Friend Brunch

I'm not sure these need much of an explanation. Let's be honest, Jaime is beautiful even when she's making that face.

 05 Afternoon at Home

I came back home to make some phone calls and for my new daily ritual of blogging. Pee Wee always makes sure to get in the way and to proofread. Especially since his dinner time was coming up soon.

Jesse and I tried to FaceTime but his hotel in Texas didn't have internet! We settled for a regular ol' phone call instead.

06 Vanessa Bayer introduces her brother

Later, I changed into a flannel and dark red lipstick ("Nighttime Jessica") and headed out to Greenpoint to meet up with Jaime again in order to see our friends Jonah, Geoff, and Lukas play a show. They're in a band called United Nations and performed at St. Vitus. Jonah's sister Vanessa warmed up the crowd with a few metal jokes, though I'm sure her Jennifer Aniston impression would have gone over great with all the long-haired tattoo'd guys in the audience.

07 United Nations

The band is so. good. live! At first I was afraid to be in the front due to the screaming-nature of the band, and crowd tendencies towards throwing their bodies at each other, but everybody remained energetic and non-threatening. I wholly enjoyed their set.

08 Nightwalk

I made the mistake of the taking the long way back, since it meant walking with Jaime longer. Mistake because I did not account for how cold it would be and my lack of hat. When my ears get cold I get the worst headaches and pain, and well, that certainly happened last night. It was a pretty night besides the bitter wind.

09 Subway wait

Luckily, it wasn't that long of a wait.

10 Finally home

I was home by 11pm, the nerves on my face dead from cold. I curled under the covers with Pee Wee and S, just as I'd started my day. (The second time!)

And that was my Sunday. How was yours?

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I should also mention that today is Veterans Day and since I grew up as part of a military family, it's always an important day to reflect and remember those who were or are in the service. Like my dad; he wrote a nice post today about it. He writes more thoughtfully about this day of remembrance than I ever could. Thank you, Dad, and to all the veterans of this great country!

 

And I know how it makes you careful.

(Post inspired by Liz!)


Watching...my soup simmer on the stovetop; Pee Wee stare up at me from the floor, telepathically telling me he'd like more food though I just fed him ten minutes ago (he's a beggar sort, I attribute that to where Jesse found him).

Reading...I, Lucifer and not enjoying it too much. Glen Duncan (the author) is trying too hard to be funny as the first-person voice of the Devil. The moments where he breaks from his undiscernable stream-of-consciousness thoughts is where Duncan's writing and storytelling really shines like it did in his novel Weathercock.

Listening...to nothing at the moment - sometimes after a long day and commute, I enjoy the silence and warm, dim lighting in the apartment. Otherwise, I've really only been listening to three albums in rotation the past few weeks: Paramore's brand new eyes, Dashboard Confessional's Alter the Ending, and MCS' My Dinosaur Life. I haven't heard anything else to pique my interest otherwise.

Drinking...water.

Wanting...more time, less anxiety, more money, less absences, more inspiration, less constraint, more exercise, less obligations, more sleep, less laziness, more teleportation, less crowded trains...you know, more or less.

If this is chemical.

And so, it is the 46th week of 2009, and guess what? I'm on book 49 of 52! BOOM! I last updated this list back in September, and I never know what's going to be picked next or what I'm in the mood to read, so it turned out a bit differently than expected these last few books -

01 A Clash of Kings, George R.R. Martin (01.05.09)
02 World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War, Max Brooks (01.18.09)
03 Eclipse, Stephenie Meyer (01.20.09)
04 The Road, Cormac McCarthy (01.22.09)
05 Y: The Last Man, Brian K. Vaughn (01.27.09)
06 Breaking Dawn, Stephenie Meyers (01.31.09)
07 Infinity Blues, Ryan Adams (02.12.09)
08 The Best American Magazine Writing 2008 (02.28.09)
09 First Love, Ivan S. Turgenev (03.08.09)
10 Fun Home, Alison Bechdel (03.15.09)
11 Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy (03.16.09)
12 The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Milan Kundera (03.24.09)
13 Never Let Me Go, Ishiguro Kazuo (03.29.09)
14 The Last Vampire, Christopher Pike (04.05.09)
15 Whisper of Death, Christopher Pike (04.13.09)
16 Monster, Christopher Pike (04.21.09)
17 A Storm of Swords, George R.R. Martin (04.30.09)
18 Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Seth Grahame-Smith (05.15.09)
19 Crimson, Brian Augustyn (06.15.09)
20 2666, Roberto Bolaño (06.07.09)
21 The Devil in the White City, Erik Larson (06.17.09)
22 The Uncommon Reader, Alan Bennett (06.19.09)
23 The Lover, Marguerite Duras (06.22.09)
24 The Sound of My Voice, Ron Butlin (06.25.09)
25 Blood Meridian, Cormac McCarthy (07.07.09)
26 L.A. Confidential (Film Criticism), Manohla Dargis (07.10.09)
27 Are You There Vodka? It's Me Chelsea, Chelsea Handler (07.12.09)
28 Ender's Game, Orson Scott Card (07.18.09)
29 The Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Atwood (07.26.09)
30 Nine Stories, J.D. Salinger (08.05.09)
31 Slouching Towards Bethlehem, Joan Didion (08.09.09)
32 Seven (Film Criticism), Richard Dyer (08.15.09)
33 Delta of Venus, Anais Nin (08.17.09)
34 The House of the Spirits, Isabel Allende (08.23.09)
35 The Little Stranger, Sarah Waters (09.05.09)
36 To the Lighthouse, Virginia Woolf (09.10.09)
37 White Teeth, Zadie Smith (09.27.09)
38 Breakfast at Tiffany's, Truman Capote (09.29.09)
39 Chronicle of a Death Foretold, Gabriel Garcia Márquez (10.02.09)
40 Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Hunter S. Thompson (10.08.10)
41 Jesus' Son, Denis Johnson (10.12.09)
42 Perfect Fifths, Megan McCafferty (10.13.09)
43 The Year of Magical Thinking, Joan Didion (10.19.09)
44 The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Stieg Larsson (10.27.09)
45 Bad Behavior, Mary Gaitskill (11.03.09)
46 Come Together, Fall Apart, Cristina Henriquez (11.09.09)
47 Daughters of the North, Sarah Hall (11.15.09)
48 Night, Elie Wiesel (11.16.09)
49 I, Lucifer, Glen Duncan (CURRENTLY READING)

Possibly next:

50 Delirium, Laura Restrepo
51 Madame Bovary, Gustave Flaubert
52 1984, George Orwell

Also, I know I had the Sherlock Holmes books in there before, but do you know how hard it is to relax comfortably and read with an 800+ page, mini-font size, hardcover anthology?! For me, it's next to impossible. I'm seriously considering buying the books individually. Or perhaps I will attempt it again! I feel like I need to be sitting in a library with a big wooden table and a reading light to get through something in that format. No? Am I being weird? I tell you what - that book sits on my bedside table mocking me every time I go to bed. Sometimes I pick it up and then grunt at its weight. The cats have watched me struggle to "curl up in bed" with it. It has sharp corners and resting it on my stomach literally (HA) causes enough pressure to induce an ache.

Last night I finished the harrowing memoir Night, by Elie Wiesel - it recounts his time in concentration camps during WWII and though it's only about 120 pages long, it's incredibly heavy. Afterwards, I needed to pick my next book so I lay a few unread titles on my bed and then Pee Wee jumped up and lay in my lap, apparently wanting to help with my decision.

Here is Pee Wee pondering over the titles and book covers with me.

After reading the back cover, he pushes away Bukowski.

He decides Glen Duncan's I, Lucifer should be my next read, over Laure Restrepo's Delirium.

He hopes that I am pleased with his decision, as he certainly is satisfied with his literary prowess.

Waiting for the sun to clear away the haze.

Pee Wee says "Good afternoon to you. I hope you are having a fabulous day."

Where was I? Where am I? Honestly, I'm trying to figure out how to continue using this. There are many people now in my life who remind me - "don't blog about this (nervous laughter)" and at the same time I often tire of writing solely about myself. I started this whole thing because I wanted to continue writing in some regular way; however, I think I've found that with another venture and now I don't know how to incorporate the ol' blogspot in my routine. I'll figure it out. I envision some more thinking and a reshaping for 2010.

My weekend? Let's see -

It began with a viewing of The Fantastic Mr. Fox alongside Jesse, Gaby, Kells, and Mike. It was, indeed, fantastic. The animation was adorable, along with the characters and the voices. George Clooney stars, but I was really captivated by Jason Schwartzman's turn as his son, Ash.

Jesse and I slept in on Saturday - like, REALLY slept in. It felt great after the hectic three weeks of work I've been having. We got up at around 1:30pm. Okay - wait, I got up at around 10am, took a shower, blowdried my hair, and then got back in back at noon until 1:30. It's really hard for me to stay asleep in the mornings these days!

We promptly went to brunch upon waking, only to be met with an hour wait that didn't get food into our stomachs until 3pm. The humanity!

Speaking of...probably my biggest guilty pleasure is huge-budge, special-effects-laden disaster movies. And 2012 came out this weekend and I simply HAD to see it. However, nobody would go to see the "crapfest" with me, so I was determined to see it by myself. I trudged in the rain to Manhattan from Brooklyn and found myself seated in the packed theater between two others seeing the movie solo. I tell you what: it didn't disappoint! It was like a rollercoaster of DOOM and DEATH and then quiet hope. Haha, nobody cares about that hope and the survival of the human race! The earth is crumbling around these characters you like and dislike! People die! It was amazing. But I can't do it justice like The Awl did - read the best review of the film HERE. It's entitled: "'2012' is Awesome and Haters Can Suck It" - the body just amazing as the title.

Afterwards, I headed to SoHo to meet up with some lovely ladyfriends - Kells, Amber, Tiffany, and Anabel - for some exquisite English cuisine and a gabfest. It also included some zoom-in shots of Willem Dafoe's neck-skin, as I had to google image-search the actor after someone divulged in a certain crush. These are the things we talk about...

Anyway, then Amber and Kells and I headed into Brooklyn to meet up with Jesse, Mike, James, and Adam and played UNO and darts. At a bar. Until around 3 in the morning. I am always at my loosest when in the presence of Amber and Kelly - you never know what I'm going to do or say, and sometimes I don't. As you may have already guessed, we slept in on Sunday as well.

But upon waking, I made Jesse what he termed, "the best breakfast sandwich I've ever had." I then congratulated myself on my burgeoning domesticity and we settled in for some football. I also called my father as it was his BIRTHDAY! Happy Birthday, Dad!!!

Erica and I made margaritas for the evening Colts v. Pats games with one of the wedding gifts Jesse and I recieved - a blender. I was very impressed by its power to get me tipsy.

On the football front, my six-week fantasy football winning streak has come to an end, as has Belichick's infallibility and that is all I can say about last night's game, as I am too bitter to linger on it long. Soon after that, I curled up in bed with book #48 (!!!) of the year. Progress report to come soon, along with another (longer) tale of domesticity.

How was your weekend?

Our little rebel.

It's been some time since I updated about Pee Wee, the little kitten Jesse rescued from the streets of Brooklyn the Monday after we got married. Pee Wee is growing up well and is ADORABLE. We can't imagine our household without him now! Also, Eko has stopped hissing at the little guy and they've become an unbelievable tag team - chasing each other through the house, spooning together on the couch, and setting up strategic "wake up and feed me" attacks.

Pee Wee has also proven to be a handful when anybody steps in the kitchen - he's a jumper! Whenever I'm cooking or washing dishes he'll be right next to me trying to jump up to the counter. He's succeeded a couple of times, but mostly he just hangs on the edge by his claws and meows. He also loves to snuggle in bed and ocassionally attack our feet under the covers. He's a purr-er. His purring can sometimes be louder than his meowing. And his little tiny face packs so much attitude sometimes I just drop everything and squeeze it because I think it's so cute and I'm also akin to an 80-year-old grandmother, of course.

              

You don't wanna get mixed up with a guy like me.

Oh boy, we have some unexpected news.

No. NOT THAT.

We have adopted a kitty!!

This afternoon Jesse saw a little three-month-old kitten tied with twine to a bench and around his neck holding him there were some earbud headphones. He asked who the kitten belonged to and some people pointed out a man who had flowers decorating his hair and he was wearing, ahem, diapers. He was mumbling to himself and the guy who ran the coffee shop said he always gets thrown out of the place for erratic behavior. The people outside the cafe, where the kitten was tied, said that he had left the kitten in the extremely hot weather for a few hours, and he had basically dragged the cat by it's "leash" down the street. Jesse asked if the cat belonged to anyone, and not even the apparent owner said anything.

Jesse took the kitten and brought him to the vet to be evaluated. He does not have feline AIDS nor leukemia and the doctor deemed the little guy healthy, giving him some vaccinations and some flea/heartworm medicine in case.

I was wary about keeping him - I wasn't sure if I could take being so attached to another little kitty if this one got sickly, too. But then I met the little dude. He's adorable. He purrs. He snuggles. He has so much love; I can see it when he warily wanders up to my leg and rubs himself on me and plops in my lap, purring and rubbing his face against my arm.

Eko is still getting used to him, but I think she'll come around! She doesn't attack him, but she keeps her distance and growls a bit.

Please, meet Pee Wee!!!! --