phatrish

At 7:30 yesterday morning,  I woke up to my mother screaming.  I jumped out of bed and before I could even see, I was jumping up and down and screaming with her.

Overnight, Gabriella and Richie left a vase of Gerber daisies on the table.  Attached to each stem was a note with the name of every child and grandchild.  One of which said, "Baby De Ofranco.  Arriving December 2010!"

Gabriella and Richie are soon to be mama and papa to some lucky little nugget!  Or to quote Loretta, "Gabriella has a baby in she!"

OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD

I get bits of my dad's childhood periodically when something reminds him of this or that story.  Today over a feast of breakfast he brought home from our restaurant, he recounted this tale:

When he was a kid, on his farm on the Italian countryside, he used to spy on the chickens. When one would lay an egg, he would steal it, cut a hole in the bottom, drink the warm raw baby chick, and put it back under the hen.  When mom asked him about it, he blamed the chickens. 

For the two people who may still be reading this, I am now giving blog love to another host.  You can find my musings at phatrish.tumblr.com.

I've found two typos in the past twenty minutes of reading the New York Times online. Naughty, naughty newspaper. 

I found this posting on www.ffffound.com today--a design blog I visit every morning for inspiration. Loved this one too much not to archive for myself.  Click on it to enlarge.

After several months of working it out at the gym, I came to the realization that I am completely capable of running in a 5k.  This excited me.  Approximately one day later, the opportunity arose to run a 5k through the Bronx Zoo in their first ever "Run For the Wild."  I took it, figuring what better venue to run my first race than the lush Bronx Zoo with all it's lovely wild animal distractions.  And tomorrow will be like a day in Camelot--85 degrees and sunny, with a breeze.  I will be waking my ass up at 6:30am tomorrow to get there early enough for a t-shirt.  We also get a wrist band for what I'm assuming is free booze along the way.

The race starts at 9am, and if I don't pass out and/or vomit on myself, I should finish by 9:45.  Kelly, Sam, Ansel, and Ted will probably be on their third game of Animal Charades by the time I get there, but it's all good.  It's not about winning, it's about not coming in last.  And if all else fails, there's a monorail.

Check out the path.

First off, I want to thank Leah.  Without you and my Catholic born guilt, this livejournal would have never happened.

So much has gone down since Obama won the election, but let's kick off with a video from moments after it was declared:    


Cut to a week later, I'm in Jamaica, relieving the stress of a two year election.  As Adri said, I didn't just go to Jamaica, I went to Jamaica as the Queen of England.  With a house on the Caribbean equipped with a full staff, it sure was a royal time.  *Hardy, har har har*






More photos here:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2040773&l=55003&id=28500663

Two weeks later, for Thanksgiving, I took a trip to Philly to be with Stel, Tim, and the fat kids.  It was the most intimate Thanksgiving I've ever had, and I really enjoyed it.  We went to the parade, drank rum apple ciders, played Chutes and Ladders, and practiced our "Single Ladies" routine. Typical Thanksgiving day stuff.  The next day, I stepped off the Chinatown bus in NYC to a warm welcome from Richie, Gabriella, and Adri.  Sidenote: both of my sisters on separate occasions commented that I looked homeless from afar.  It's either my big black coat or my shopping cart full of posessions.  Either way--rude.

Friday night kicked off siblings weekend/Adri's 40h birthday extravaganza in the city.  We all voted Stel out of the siblings circle when she was late to a conference call one night, so that made it easier to start without her.  After a day of shopping and Thai food, Richie, Gabriella, Adri, and I made our way to the Upright Citizens Brigade theater where we saw the improv group, "The Stepfathers."  They were so brilliantly brilliant, and Bobby Moynihan, even after hitting SNL fame, was still working with the group.  We forgot to make a reservation, so when we walked in they told us we'd be in standing room only.  Then, I don't know if Adri showed off her new bra or what, but an employee told her we could sit on the floor.  So the four of us were right up on stage for the whole show!  it was a trip.  Subsequently, Adri and I both developed fervid crushes on the players.  (The apple doesn't fall too far from the other apple.)

The next morning, the smart one showed up.  We all had breakfast at the apartment soon followed by shots of Jamaican rum, which I did not partake in, but which brought me to the realization that I have the least issues of all my siblings.   From there, we booked it to Broadway and quenched our Fosse thirst with "Chicago."  We did isolated dance movements the rest of the day, and of course, more "Single Ladies" practice.  

A case of beer and a bottle of wine later, we hit up one of my absolute favorite places in the city--Marie's Crisis--a showtune piano bar in the West Village.  I'm hoping we can make it a yearly tradition.  See the magic below:

I've been listening to this soundtrack all week.  It's even beat out my Tuesday morning "This American Life" slot, which really says a lot.  Sunday afternoon, the ladies and I ventured through the rain and into the most adorable Swiss cafe that just opened near my apartment--Cafe Select.  We sat for two hours, divulging information like drunken sorority sisters, and it was glorious. 

The whole weekend was all too short.  This week, I've felt a void from lack of sister talk.  Hopefully, one day that will be a consistent reality. For now, we'll have to get drunk in our own environments and write each other about it. 

All I care about is love,
t

The front page of nytimes.com today: