Sweet Blog o' Mine

Weekend Wrapup

In a nutshell: Friday, drinks with MT to show off my lawyer costume (which I wear somewhat infrequently), a party in honor of a blogger who recently passed away (where I met some lovely new folks), then on to Andrew's birthday party, where I saw many familiar and friendly faces, like Dens, Youngna, Krucoff, and Erin (from my wine club society).  Don't let Dens' scowl fool you -- he's quite nice in person.

Saturday, the Duckathlon (more on that later in Gothamist Food -- it was an absolute blast!), a brief nap, then on to Matt's pajama party.   Today, recovery and a much needed trip to the gym. 

And by the way, Erika and Jeremy's wedding is in today's NYT, and it even includes a quote from yours truly (thanks, Jennie!). 

For those of you I met at Matt's party who might be looking for more pictures, you can find them all here.

The Plague, Take Seventy-Four

Believe it or not, I had to leave work early yesterday.  Was having one of those days where I had to be within arm's reach of a box of tissues, and I think I was grossing out my co-workers.  As my nose got redder, and I got more and more tired and headache-y, I finally decided that I might as well go home, don the red flannel pj's yet again, dose up on Airborne, and sack out on the couch, which I did.  After a nap and about 10 hours of sleep on top of that, I'm feeling better, although I'm still blowing my nose a bit.  Thank God for Puffs with lotion.

I don't think I've even been sick this much in such a short period of time -- not sure what's going on really (stress? not enough sleep this weekend?), but once again, I'm taking it as a cue to slow down a bit.  I may just stay in tonight, especially since I have to compete in the Duckathlon tomorrow with Augie, Rob, and Lauren and I have to be in peak condition so we can kick some serious ass!

The "Society" Wedding

Sometimes it's a little bittersweet when a very close friend gets married.  There's a lingering fear in the back of your mind that they're going to disappear, that you won't see them quite as much.  Erika, my closest friend from law school (we were even roommates for a year), got married on Sunday, and although the fear I mentioned is in the back of my mind, at the very least it's in the waaay back, hidden behind a great deal of clutter and 80's song lyrics.  I don't think I've seen Erika any less since she started dating Jeremy three years ago, and I've gotten to know him as well.  They're truly happy together, and above all else, that makes me happy.

Their wedding was a blast.  I've known Erika for about ten years now (gulp), and so I've gotten to know her friends and family over the years.  There were mutual friends from law school I got to catch up with, a great band for dancing (they even played the Clash), excellent food, and even a friend of Jeremy's who I had gone on a few dates with several years ago (yes, he's still cute (and possibly reading this, so I should probably shut up before I embarrass myself)).  And I was a bridesmaid -- Erika was kind enough to save me from typical bridesmaid dress hideousness and give me an elegant, black, cleavage-enhancing number that I will definitely wear again (and by the way, in case you were wondering how the booty-busting went, although I did manage to bust off a bit of the booty, I am currently madly in love with my tailor).  The best coincidence of the evening, however, was the fact that not only were Erika and Jeremy selected to be the featured wedding in next Sunday's New York Times, (Erika and Jeremy, who are not the "high society" types frequently featured, seem to be a little puzzled about how they got selected) but that the reporter covering the wedding was my friend Jennie Tung from the Amalgamates, so I got to hang out with her as well!  I'm looking forward to reading all about it this weekend.

Congratulations Erika and Jeremy!  Hope you're enjoying your honeymoon (they're in New Zealand, so if you have any must see/must do ideas for them, shoot me a note -- they're a little behind on the planning; sort of a "figure it out as they go" kind of honeymoon).

Feelin' Saffron

See more of my Gates photos (actually, some were taken by the lovely Ms. Katie) at Flickr.

The Gates

I finally went and saw the Gates yesterday. More pictures to come. I even took my "old fashioned" camera with me!  Thanks to John B. for organizing.

So I'm a Stalker. Big Whoop.

Last night, I had a few of my fellow Gothamist Foodies over, so on my way home, I stopped at the Whole Foods in Chelsea for some nibbles.  I'm walking around, doing my thing, and I notice this woman who looks familiar.  It took a second, and then I thought to myself -- that's Smitten!  We've commented on each other's blogs, and I knew she lived or worked near that Whole Foods from one of her comments, we've emailed with each other a bit about a friend of mine who's a wedding photographer, and we're on each other's link lists.  I realized suddenly that I couldn't very well call her "Smitten," and it took me a bit of brain-searching to dig for her real name. Hmm . . . . Ah.  Got it.   

"Excuse me," I said tentatively, "but is your name Deb?" 
"Yes," she replied. 
"I'm Laren." 
"I know who you are!" she smiled. 
"And I know who you are!" 

We chatted for a while, then went our separate ways.

I always enjoy meeting people from my blogosphere in real life, however briefly.  And encounters like that just show how small New York really is -- the more people I meet, the smaller it gets, and I kinda like that sometimes.

The Unwritten Code

So I was busted again yesterday.  I was at a meeting of professional colleagues yesterday -- let's just say it was a room full of folks who have the kind of job that I want.  (I'm that close . . . but not quite there). Anyhow, a few of them know about my blogging; more about the stuff I do for Gothamist Food than about this site, but one guy didn't know about it, and was very hurt to learn that I had been "hiding" my food knowledge from him!  He was teasing, of course, and I managed to redeem myself by taking a bunch of these folks to the Burger Joint, which they loved (although they joked that their respective law firms weren't going to believe how cheap their dinners were). 

I also learned that one of these folks has a blog.  I'm not even going to link to it now, because he seemed somewhat concerned about work people discovering it, as it's a tad more racy and less vanilla than my site.  But as far as I'm concerned, there's an unwritten code among bloggers.  It's kind of like Vegas -- what happens here stays here.  I'm not going to tell anyone about his blog, or what I read on his blog, or discuss it in front of anyone we know.  The two worlds are completely compartmentalized, and all secrets are safe and sacred.  I have to admit, though, it's somewhat comforting to know that I have a fellow blogger out there in my professional world, and that there is a bit of overlap. 

And on a completely unrelated note, go to Moveable Hype 2.0 tonight -- I'll be there, possibly wearing an obscenely snug Gothamist t-shirt.

A Subtle V-Day Message for the Boys Out There

Courtesy of Gaping Void

Extra special smooches and whatnot to everyone today, especially Jeff, who has sent me e-flowers at least three years running.

Gone Fishin'

Went to Jewel Bako Makimono last night with Rob. In a nutshell -- yum. I even tried some new things -- sushi came somewhat late in life for me, post-college, so I tend to stick to the basics, like tuna, salmon, and yellowtail. But not last night. I was so incredibly tired after the meal, however, that I retired to the couch. In before midnight on a weekend for the first time in ages. I think I needed that!

Oh Yeah. That.

So when is it appropriate to tell someone you're dating or planning to go out with about your blog (or in my case, blogs)?  My gut reaction is -- look, this is part of who I am, it comes with the territory, so get used to it.  And certainly, this blog and Gothamist Food are hardly places where I air my dirty laundry, tell my tales of dating woe, or bare my deepest, darkest thoughts, so I can't imagine that anyone would really have a problem with it.

But I had a recent experience trying to schedule a date with someone I had met on JDate (yes, I've had a relapse.  I don't want to discuss it).  I sent him an email from this old hotmail account which I used to use for online dating and blog-related stuff before I got my sweetblogomine.com domain.  Instead of my first and last name being displayed, I am identified as "Laren at Sweet Blog o' Mine."  He responded to one of my emails and replaced whatever the subject line had been previously with "Sweet Blog o' Mine."  Busted.  I did what anyone in my situation might do -- completely ignore what he had done and continue with our ridiculous scheduling negotiations (I'm starting to think that scheduling is one of the primary obstacles to dating in this city -- at least dating anyone interesting).  We're set to go out next week, but I'd imagine that he might peek over here before then. 

When I think about the guys I've gone out with over the past year, it's kind of a mixed bag -- I know that some of them read my blog.  Some while we were dating, and one blind date even read up on me before our date so he could get the inside scoop.  I've never dated a blogger, so I don't really know what that's like, but I'd imagine it must be sort of weird reading up on someone's life, but it might actually provide some degree of insight.

What about you?  Do you tell or not?  When?  Why?  I don't think Ms. Manners has an official rule on this one, so I turn to you for the answer.