Yep! You were one of the ones I was talking about. For some reason I kind of think of you as like the unofficial Queen of Woohu. I really have no idea why I feel this way, but I do. Haha.
Hallofest
Annual Halloween party was quite the success. Although I somehow managed to make a Smurf creepy. I was...just creepy. Used a whole tube of blue paint and still wasn't completely covered. Blue on my pants, blue on the carpet, and blue on the walls when I woke up in the morning. Sacre bleu.
Then when you add in my Scully wig for an extra effect, it's just a slutty sort of creepy.
No shame.
Although, I was less slutty than last year...
I feel like Halloween is an excuse for girls to be slutty, so this year I made an effort not to be. But ended up whoring myself out in other ways. Har har.
Took about 150 photos that night. Uploaded a good bit of them. Facebook, bien sur.
I love Halloween in the city because while riding public transportation you see the strangest things. Just random monsters and weird heads sitting there across from you, staring. There was a women dressed up as Beeker, wearing a giant head and lab coat, going "mee mee meeee me" at random people. It was awesome. And there's like a billion kids out today. I had to go pick up a few things and omg I swear the streets are crawling with little creatures taking candy from all the shop owners. I am amused.
And it's 70 freaking degrees out. I was sweating while walking my groceries home. Isn't it November tomorrow? Sheesh.
Getting the apartment ready for our annual Halloween fest tomorrow (today). Carved a pumpkin tonight and baked the seeds. Warm, toasty, salty goodness. Om.
Free-handed a NYC skyline to commemorate my 4th Halloween in Gotham. Even used a carrot peeler for the damn thing. Can't believe it's been 4 years already. Costumes picked out and mostly ready. Still some things to get ready before the party. I'm not as slutty this year--this is a good thing. :)
Otherwise doing good. I need to update. I'm getting promoted on Monday. Ceremony is at headquarters with the police commissioner et al.
Must go clean up the pumpkin guts strewn about the kitchen.
Loved Where the Wild Things Are.
Somehow it said a lot about life in a small way. If you know how to listen.
I may or may not be rocking out naked in my bedroom right now.
Mmm.
Where the Wild Things Are
Inglourious Bastards
New York, I Love You
A Christmas Carol
Surrogates
The Invention of Lying
Holmes
Whip It
The Men Who Stare At Goats
Shutter Island
...I know there are more but I really need to catch up on Apple movie trailers. I need a budget just for movies.
Moving to a new desk at work tomorrow. New supervisor, new neighbors...casework day one begins.
adirondacks
I finally put together a video compilation from our week in the Adirondacks this summer. It's more of a mini-movie because of the sheer amount of footage I took, but I cut it down to 13 minutes. I made it for my friends who went, but hopefully it's interesting enough to people who didn't go. Or maybe not, who knows. Silly comments / nonsense on my Facebook anyway.
I was originally going to add a soundtrack to the thing, but most of the footage had its own music and the ambient sounds of the trip are nice too. I broke it up into sections, how we spent our morning, days, nights. It kinda alternates between serenity and insanity, because that's how we roll.
Things You Will See:
fooding
drinking
boating in a thunderstorm
wandering through caves
singing down an underground river
RockBanding our hearts out
Wii Fit-inspired tree trunk balancing
epic iPhone lightsaber battling
sassy Skip-Bo-ing
MikeFace-ing
more singing
and a drunken confessional
If anything, I hope it makes people want to go there someday. It's a beautiful area and I will definitely be taking my kids someday.
Where the Wild Things Are
Inglourious Bastards
500 Days of Summer
New York, I Love You
A Christmas Carol
Surrogates
The Invention of Lying
are all things that I really want to see. In no particular order. But I really do want to see New York, I Love You because the preview looks exactly how I feel.
Here:
I love my beautiful city.
And I liked Paris, Je t'aime too.
And I am a fan of their soundtrack choice.
It's just so me. :)
day 365
Brand new court suit. Check.
Haircut. Check.
Review case files. Check.
Intense need to vomit. Check.
Tomorrow is the big day. My year of training at the NYPD will finally culminate in Mock Trial. A grilling by senior criminalists in front of the camera, in which my knowledge, composure, and well, performance, is tested. They enjoy every second of it, because lets face it -- being the defense lawyer is just a good excuse to play asshole. I will be testifying on two of my cases, one marijuana and one ecstasy. Oddly enough, tomorrow is also my one-year anniversary at the NYPD. One year since day one. It's been quite the journey, and of course it never happened just as I expected.
If six years of school didn't turn me into a scientist, then the past year certainly did. Scientist bootcamp? Pretty much.
I'm finally coming into my own. I'm finally becoming a criminalist and not just a student of my trade. I've learned evidence handling, chain of custody, evidence analysis, courtroom testimony, documentation, and all the little things that come along with the job. Not that I didn't learn all this while getting my degrees, but the NYPD taught it to me in a more intimate manner. Working on criminal cases is a hell of a lot more different than some of the theoretics Pace could offer.
I'm also getting a promotion this month, which is unrelated to the Mock Trial thing. This will be my third pay raise since starting. I'm just thankful, thankful that I can survive in this city on my own in the career that I want. The country is in a recession and I've been given this good fortune. I never ever want to take that for granted.
You know sometimes it amazes me that I used to complain about money in Michigan. I remember how poor I felt at WMU. I used to complain about rent over there, which now just makes me laugh. Now I've learned that it's survivable to live with an $1800 rent every month, and that doesn't include every other bill we pay, or food, or entertainment. I don't know, but it can be done. Because I did it.
Nothing in life is to be feared,
it is only to be understood.
:: Marie Curie
I'm off to stare at my bedroom ceiling
until the darkness sweeps me away.
Saw Paranormal Activity tonight in Astoria. Great seasonal film, in that it creeped me the eff out. Can't remember the last time I've seen a horror film, or its equivalent. It was more suspense and creep factor than horror, but it had a realistic aspect to it and was filmed similar to the Blair Witch Project. I got wrapped up in the story. It's about demons PS, not aliens. At the end of the movie, the audience sat there silent for a minute and this black guy in the front row yells out That shit was crazy! And people started to move again. :)
So combined with the movie, an excessive 3-hour nap I took this afternoon, and two coffees at Panera Bread tonight, I'm wide awake.
Upcoming events:
Queens Farm for autumny things
Cemetery tour on Halloween
Or maybe the Halloween parade
Another caramel apple perhaps?
Our Halloween party
Some more movies to go see
Uh, work
Oh, speaking of which, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Christopher Columbus for discovering San Salvador and to Americans for thinking that the Bahamas are close enough to call America and therefore create this national holiday in which I don't have to work but get paid all the same.
Best.
idea.
ever.
Um, what else. I should upload random photos more often. I never upload what I want to. I have over 10,000 photos on my hard drives. A shutter clicking clusterfuck, if you will.
I need to read A Christmas Carol. And like, a million other books. What the hell do I do all the time? There are always things I want to do. Need to travel soon. Haven't traveled since Phoenix in May. Not including Michigan trips.
Oh right, random picture.
Mmm, liberty. Wearing my Fetchez la vache! shirt, bien sur.
No more giant coffee nap scary movie days. If I sleep in and waste tomorrow there will be hell to pay.
Mike and Tiffany's birthdays this weekend so Saturday was a drunken brunch in the meatpacking district of Manhattan, which left me drunk by 2 o'clock in the afternoon. That place was absolutely nuts. Euro-trash million dollar whores. You have no idea. I've never seen a menu that had prices written out plain as day: $16,000. No joke. Then later that night was party #2 at the Beer Garden to get redrunk. I will do pictures and videos but not now.
Today I went to see Hamlet on Broadway starring Jude Law. It was fantastic play and Law did a great job. And he's fucking hot. He had a lot of passion in his character. Stuck around the stage door afterward to get a few photos.
Then after dinner, I saw Ben Stiller and Laurence Fishburne walking down the street to a birthday party at the restaurant next to mine. Ben Stiller is such a little guy, holy crap. And I saw f'ing Morpheus. Eee!
Classic New York weekend. :)
Pics and vids later when I'm not tired.
Cases at work keeping me busy. I need to buy a court suit for testifying soon. ::vomits::
I feel bad for people who go to school for something only to complain about their job. All that studying, all those nights. What a waste.
I got lucky I guess. I followed my heart instead of my pocketbook. If I went through 6 years of school only to discover that I didn't like my career, I would be so disheartened.
Why don't people understand that your career is a huge part of your life, so fucking do something that you love. Not just for money. I could be making a hundred grand, but if I don't look forward to work everyday then screw it.
I didn't go to the WTC on 9/11 this year. First year I've missed it since I moved here. I was tired after work and the weather was way crappy so I bailed. I looked back for my old entries. I apparently didn't write one in 2006. But I did in 2007--the crazy year, and 2008--the not-as-crazy-year.
We had a little memorial at work where we remembered the 23 fallen NYPD. One of which was from the forensic investigation division bomb squad. It's my first 9/11 with the department. Seems a little different from the inside.
This weekend Jason and I had our first NY Giants party. I ate too much. Surprise. I'm wearing my jersey for the first time in forever. We were laughing because I bought a Shockey jersey (he's no longer on the team) and Jason bought a Burress jersey (he's shot himself in the leg and now has a prison term).
So.
Jersey fail.
I have discovered that I am neglecting Broadway as there are several plays I want to see. Jude Law, Hugh Jackman, and Daniel Craig are all out there right now. Mmm.
Haven't been back to Broadway since Spamalot, which was awesome. I need to see Wicked too.
Working on cases at work now. Saw a big ol' crack rock. Weird that people smoke that stuff. And people use the weirdest shit for crack pipes. Like, seriously, a metal screw? Why you would want to heat a drug in a metal pipe is beyond me. Heat conduction = hurty fingertips. When you open up that evidence envelope you're never quite sure what you're gonna see.
Oh yeah and because it's all over my f'ing newsfeed:
zomgkanyewtf!!!1
So I'm on the subway coming home from work tonight wearing my NYPD criminalist shirt when this middle-aged black guy sitting across from me holds out his wrists and says, "You can lock me up anytime baby."
The neighbor I talked about a few days ago died. Jason saw some city workers seal off the doorway. It really sucks, he was a nice old man. When we moved in three years ago he asked us to tell him if his TV was ever too loud because he couldn't hear well. We never had any problems with him. Used to say hi in the hallway but I never knew his name. New Yorkers just keep to themselves, but I regret not telling him that he can always knock on our door if he needs something. I wish he had told us or anyone that he was sick and needed help. It bothers me that he was in there on the floor.
I'm really sick of the amount of death I've seen this year. Yes I know people die everyday, trust me. But not usually this many people I know, or at least interact with. Death count is 6 for 2009. I hope it's over.
And I'd like to post another brilliant comment by the lad Kevin once again, the guy in the chat a few posts ago.
I'm sorry.now u can use ur forensic training and find out y
Verbatim. And insightful as always. I know he could potentially read this, but I somehow really don't care. If that makes me a twat, so be it.
us open
I've lived a few miles away from the US Open for 3 years now and never bothered to head over there and look around. Every year I watch as that omnipresent blimp flies over my neighborhood. It's there when I get up in the morning and there when I go to bed. When does that guy pee?
Anyway, went there on Labor Day and took a few shots around Flushing Meadow Park. This is also the site of the 1939 and 1964 Worlds Fair. Some historic artifacts lying around, including two Time Capsules filled with random stuff and those giant weird metal things that were in the movie Men in Black. Wtf are those things?
But not to forget, the Unisphere!
Oh Unisphere, I love you.
So you know how I complain about people who want to talk to me about my career? It's not like I don't want to talk about it or don't appreciate the interest, and I certainly don't mind when people have questions about the field, but when people are just dumb about it...ugh. Here is a chat I had today, verbatim, to illustrate what I'm complaining about. I thought it epitomized what I hate about the CSI Effect. I didn't change anything, just copy and paste.
1:36pm Kevin
so is ur neighbor dead
1:36pm Michelle
don't know, they took him away
1:40pm Kevin
Lol.I thought that was funny
1:40pm Michelle
why is that funny?
1:41pm Kevin
I don't know just the way u had put the post up
Just convient that u can do ur job so close to home
1:41pm Michelle
ha yeah
1:42pm Kevin
So r u like the ppl on tv
1:42pm Michelle
uh huh
1:42pm Kevin
That's sooooo cool
Please note my sarcasm. And I really appreciate starting off the conversation with IS HE DEAD? like you care about him, but no not really, you just care about drama. And so I don't talk to you for a few minutes because you've already annoyed me and then you have the audacity to IM me again and say that you found the situation funny.
I'm sorry, but you're an ASS for thinking my dying neighbor is funny. It's not fucking funny, he's a person. And no I'm not doing my job close to home, I'm bloody answering a cop's questions to help him out. I'm a civilian, dumbass, being MOS doesn't mean dick. It doesn't mean I tramp on in my neighbor's apartment and start taking blood samples off the wall. What the fug people? Turn off the TV.
So when I'm complaining about people, it's that type of person. Not friends who are interested or have questions.
Went out in the hallway earlier this evening to be greeted by two NYPD and my doorman. They were trying to see if my next door neighbor was home because the doormen hadn't seen him all week. I identified myself as MOS and they asked some questions but I didn't know anything. Jason and I can't remember the last time we've seen him. They didn't get an answer when they knocked so they called the super and had him unlock the door. Only to find the second lock was bolted and they didn't have a key. So they went outside and climbed a ladder up to our floor and spent the next half hour trying to break in the window.
I figured he was either dead or not home. They finally got in through the window and found him on the floor next to his bed. When they opened the apartment door I saw his legs sticking out from behind a wall. I think he was naked, they covered him, and I could see his legs moving slightly, kinda shaking. He wasn't able to really communicate and the officer said it looked like he had been trying to crawl around, there was blood on the walls.
They took him to the hospital, but I felt terrible knowing that I've been walking past his door all week and had no idea he was laying on the floor in there. He could have died. If it wasn't for the persistence of our doorman, he probably would have. Kinda good to know that if Jason or I go missing somebody would notice.
Anyway, hope he's ok. Glad our doormen pay attention.
jury duty complete
Let it be known that it may take several hours, but being a forensic scientist can in fact get you out of jury duty. I was in the first group called over the phone, in the first group called to voir dire, and by some stroke of chance picked out of the lottery to be in the first 6 jurors for trial. I was Juror #4 and questioned the rest of the day by the attorneys. At first I thought they were going to pick me but by the end they were asking a lot of questions about expert witnesses and I ended up having to elaborate on my job in front of a room of 40 people, which was kind of embarrassing. I even got that CSI shit from them, which was surprising since I thought they would know better. The prosecutor got a little testy with me, which was also surprising since I thought it would be the defense questioning my allegiance to one side of the law over the other, but it in fact was opposite. I tried to explain the unbiased approach my own testimony must take while on the stand and that I must, and will only, allow the evidence to speak for itself. My job is to explain technical and scientific knowledge to a jury that I must assume are laymen in the areas of hard science. This apparently wasn't what they wanted to hear. I also probably should not have mentioned who my "boss" was. But actually, I think that's what got me out of the whole ordeal. Just unfortunate it happened at 3:50 instead of the morning so I didn't sit there all day in voir dire for nothing. Anyway, not one of the 6. I can go back to work and back to normal. I'll toast to that.
Mock trial coming up soon at work. Shoot me.
Some positions might be opening in criminalistics so I can work on homicides, rapes, and assaults. I might apply but haven't made up my mind yet. I don't have a lot of faith that I'll get the position because I'm so new there but it's more of what I want to do in the future. I'm content in controlled substances though, so worse case scenario I have a job in the field that I love. That works.
Wish I could talk about work more but can't.
But I swear to god I've been getting a lot of "ooooh CSI" bullshit recently. It gets repetitive and although I appreciate the interest in my field and people wanting to come up to me and talk about it, it's still annoying on some level. I try not to show the annoyance but inside I'm probably going LALALALALALALALALA until it's over. Sorry, I'm probably coming off as bitchy, it's just because I get the same thing over and over. I should shut up and appreciate it, truthfully.
The city is cooling down. I need to get in some last trips to Central Park and outdoor stuff before autumn rolls in. And like I've said every year since I can remember, I fucking love autumn. Some of my favorite sights and smells start creeping in, and cuddling while it's crisp and chilly outside is somehow more rewarding.
