AUTHOR: Laren Spirer DATE: 9/5/2003 12:02:30 PM ----- BODY: I'm thinking about making this lovely blog o' mine public. Then I can be just like ever other witty, introspective, over-educated person in NYC. But different, of course. Let's see, I could be the wild-dating-single girl like Singlechick. Nah -- too stereotypical. Although I don't really know how I could write anything at the moment that didn't have some sort of dating element in it. Another friend has a blog about his upcoming wedding, but from the guy's perspective. Cute. Another friend is a musician, and she recently auditioned for American Idol. My life, however, is not filled with reality TV, or life milestones. It just is. As the strippers say in Gypsy -- you gotta have a gimmick. Suggestions are welcome. -------- AUTHOR: Laren Spirer DATE: 8/28/2003 11:44:47 AM ----- BODY: Since the whole bartender fiasco, many of my friends and family members have offered their services to help me meet a great guy. Here's an example of an email I sent to my friend Michael, who had asked me to send him a reminder with a description of what I was looking for: This is your official reminder to make it your mission in life to find a guy for me who's not a jackass. Leora and I were instant messaging about this one day, and here's the description we came up with, which I think is pretty on target: Religion: doesn't much matter, just not too religious either way - looks - edgy and cute - not any type specifically, just not preppy - personality - same - edgy and funny - must be sarcastic and also able to be warm - must "get it" and also not be intimidated by your friends - job: must have one with some plan for future - status: single and actually looking for a relationship - location: new york - -yes? is this right? [16:37] Larenator S: yes. and must like food and music [16:38] Larenator S: would be nice if he had creative side, but doesn't have to be creative for a living I also think he should be close his friends and family, and 30 or older would be a plus. Don't think that's too much to ask (or is it?). Maybe now's a good time to go public with this blog 'o mine. -------- AUTHOR: Laren Spirer DATE: 8/27/2003 12:51:11 PM ----- BODY: This weekend was my second foray into the world of Midnight Madness. Team Charlie Brown, comprised of fellow Tufts a cappella freaks, (a few imported from Boston, even) slogged through about 12 hours of the game, which brought us through Chinatown, over the Manhattan bridge, and on into DUMBO in Brooklyn. We think we came in 6th or so. And we still all like each other! Wow. Click here for pictures. The other piece of randomness stemming from MMVI is that I got a response on Nerve (which I just reactivated for the hell of it) from someone who participated. Haven't I been saying that I've always wanted to date someone who would like Midnight Madness and OJ? Hmm. . . -------- AUTHOR: Laren Spirer DATE: 8/13/2003 01:13:50 PM ----- BODY: Another food site -- 8Legged Entertainment. This site features an animated cooking show hosted by an octopus named Tako. Can't beat that! -------- AUTHOR: Laren Spirer DATE: 8/13/2003 12:57:30 PM ----- BODY: A few of my new favorite food sites: Chowhound's New York Region Home Page -- this site contains great message boards about eating out in NYC. You can type in a question about where to find fish tacos, find out what people think about a new place, or read about the eternal Mary's Fish Camp/Pearl Oyster Bar debate. The Julie/Julia Project -- this woman has spent the last year of her life methodically cooking every recipe in Julia Childs' The Art of French Cooking. She also has a fantastic potty-mouth and raves about all the crazy NYC shit that the rest of us only think, but don't commit to writing. Menupages -- this site contains printed menus from tons of NYC restaurants (Manhattan only, though). Very handy. And finally -- through Friendster, I discovered that a friend of mine is a major foodie -- a fact I never learned in the 5 years that I've known him. He's sort of an ancillary part of my circle of friends, so it's not completely surprising that I didn't know this before, but we've been having great IM chats about food, restaurants, and life in general. Who knows where that may lead? -------- AUTHOR: Laren Spirer DATE: 8/4/2003 01:49:19 PM ----- BODY: So we broke up. Again. It's amazing -- I'm torn between hoping it sticks and calling him to go out for dinner tonight like we had planned originally. The range of emotions is terrifying, especially since they are so damn contradictory. The other bartender is just as unavailable as the first -- keep on movin'. Tune in tomorrow . . . -------- AUTHOR: Laren Spirer DATE: 7/22/2003 12:54:36 PM ----- BODY: How can you break up with someone who's not even technically your boyfriend? Somehow we managed. But the definition of "breaking up" can be just as fuzzy as the definition of "dating" or "boyfriend." If by "breaking up" you mean still going out a few times a week and still hooking up, then yes, we broke up. Oy. So -- what's the best way to take care of yourself after a "break up"? Get lots of sleep, go to the gym, and, of course, go out for drinks with your ex and ask out another bartender. Nice one, Lar. -------- AUTHOR: Laren Spirer DATE: 7/8/2003 01:03:44 PM ----- BODY: Alright. I'm sticking with this format, so now back to the excitement that is my life. Just returned from a great weekend in Boston and the wilds of Maine with the Tufts crew. We ate a ton, including lobster at the Naples lobster pound and a pulled pork sandwich at Redbones. Also worth mentioning were two days of barbecues and two ice cream sodas at Pears. Time to get back on the food/exercise wagon. It's amazing how relaxed, decompressed, and lethargic I get when I go up to Maine. All I want to do is chill out, nap, read, and eat. Swimming and kayaking were fun, though. Back to work. -------- AUTHOR: Laren Spirer DATE: 7/2/2003 10:48:27 AM ----- BODY: Yes -- back to the orange blog. The star thing just wasn't working out. Oh well. -------- AUTHOR: Laren Spirer DATE: 6/27/2003 06:02:19 PM ----- BODY: I tried to download a new skin for my oh-so-exciting blog. What do we think? (who the hell am I talking to anyway here?!?) -------- AUTHOR: Laren Spirer DATE: 6/26/2003 11:55:03 AM ----- BODY: I've deleted the archive and published, and now I've recreated the archive and am about to publish -- but it keeps fucking up. Isn't this exciting? See why I haven't made this public yet? -------- AUTHOR: Laren Spirer DATE: 6/26/2003 11:40:03 AM ----- BODY: Well, here's the problem. From the main page, the archive links don't work. But if you insert /archive/ into the URL (as in "weblog/archive/filename.html") you can get to the right archive page. And on the archive page, the archive links are correct. Hmm. Where's that customer support . . .? -------- AUTHOR: Laren Spirer DATE: 6/26/2003 11:18:19 AM ----- BODY: Dunno what the hell is going on here. And I'm supposed to be high-tech. Jeez. -------- AUTHOR: Laren Spirer DATE: 6/26/2003 10:57:52 AM ----- BODY: Okay -- so maybe using a new (albeit slightly more boring) template will help me get into the archives. We'll see . . . -------- AUTHOR: Laren Spirer DATE: 5/16/2003 01:41:56 PM ----- BODY: Same shit, different month. Kaaren mentioned blogging today, so I remembered that I had one out there in cyberland. Too tired to deal with actually posting anything, however. . . :) -------- AUTHOR: Laren Spirer DATE: 4/8/2003 01:31:42 PM ----- BODY: Well, apparently I'm so technologically retarded that I can't even get my archives to work. Not that there's anything all that exciting in here anyway. Perhaps I should get started on all that witty stuff I was discussing earlier. Tales from the wonderful world of dating or some such thing. Today's issue -- "I recognize that I have a good thing in front of me, but I am unwilling/unable to take a risk and go for it." Blech. -------- AUTHOR: Laren Spirer DATE: 4/2/2003 01:31:57 PM ----- BODY: Well, maybe this is a decent outlet for my so-called-wit. Joan seems to think that I am hysterically funny and should be writing columns about my life in NYC. Yeah -- me and everyone else. Although I guess every once in a while I come up with something witty and amusing, I suppose. Maybe I'll give it a shot. -------- AUTHOR: Laren Spirer DATE: 12/19/2002 11:22:24 PM ----- BODY: As usual, it has been WAY too long. Months and months. Okay, Lar -- pick one: blog or journal, and stick with it! -------- AUTHOR: Laren Spirer DATE: 9/24/2002 03:18:55 PM ----- BODY: whew -- been a while. Just returned from a three day ride from Ground Zero to the Pentagon. I'll post links to the press later. What a fantastic ride. The second day was 126 miles!!!! Ack! But I rode every single mile. Yay me! -------- AUTHOR: Laren Spirer DATE: 9/4/2002 02:22:20 PM ----- BODY: Well. It has been a few days, so I just wanted to check in. Wonder if those archives work yet . . . -------- AUTHOR: Laren Spirer DATE: 8/26/2002 01:50:31 PM ----- BODY: testing yet again with the archives. . . -------- AUTHOR: Laren Spirer DATE: 8/26/2002 01:38:24 PM ----- BODY: Today's saga? Archives. Can't get the fuckers to work. -------- AUTHOR: Laren Spirer DATE: 8/23/2002 04:22:26 PM ----- BODY: Oh, but there is sooooo much to tell! First, check me out. Pretty, fuckin' cool, huh? Oh yeah. I always refer to it as "the bizzare social experiment," which it is. Witty email banter, endless scheduling conflicts, and then . . .?!? Who knows. Does this really ever work!? -------- AUTHOR: Laren Spirer DATE: 8/21/2002 11:34:45 AM ----- BODY: Checking in. I'm exhausted today -- was up late dealing with "issues." I think updating my web page would be a good self-focused, creative project for this fall. Until it gets colder, the self-focused project needs to be training for the WTC to Pentagon ride in September. -------- AUTHOR: Laren Spirer DATE: 8/13/2002 12:18:59 PM ----- BODY: Okay -- here are those pictures I mentioned. First -- the bike trip. The first week was in Provence and the second week was in Tuscany. Eat your heart out! -------- AUTHOR: Laren Spirer DATE: 8/13/2002 12:03:38 PM ----- BODY: Testing, testing . . . -------- AUTHOR: Laren Spirer DATE: 8/12/2002 04:04:55 PM ----- BODY: Next stop -- pictures . . . -------- AUTHOR: Laren Spirer DATE: 8/12/2002 03:37:42 PM ----- BODY: There. Does that look any better? Can't believe it took me 1/2 hour to figure this out . . . -------- AUTHOR: Laren Spirer DATE: 8/12/2002 03:03:43 PM ----- BODY: I don't know if this is working properly . . . I've experimented on the fomat, but it still looks kinda crappy . . .hmm. -------- AUTHOR: Laren Spirer DATE: 8/2/2002 11:00:16 AM ----- BODY: Hello -- just checking in. It's not like anybody's looking at this thing, but I want to keep it going. I'm wondering how I should use this. Maybe as an online journal of some sort? Don't know if I want the cyberworld looking at my business. Then again, I wonder if I'd use it more given my "online" nature these days. Hmmmm. -------- AUTHOR: Laren Spirer DATE: 7/29/2002 01:59:47 PM ----- BODY: So far, I'm learning that my web page sucks and needs to be redone. Quite the project. Not sure that I should be doing it during work hours. -------- AUTHOR: Laren Spirer DATE: 7/29/2002 01:13:23 PM ----- BODY: So here goes -- it's the first posting on my new weblog. Tune in and see what happens . . . --------