Ha ha, Sarah's right, this IS the funniest!

Goooooooood Morning! :)

It's Monday (ugh) but do you know why I'm excited (yay!)? Because we are moving this week!! We pick up the keys on Thursday, the movers arrive on Friday, and my PIANO movers come on Saturday! That's right, a PIANO! We bought a white lacquer piano for our new apartment!! (cute!)

Our new place is gonna look SOOO different. Everything will be very modern, very minimalist. Sadly, our new couch that won't arrive until the end of October, and 2 Jacobsen Egg chairs that we ordered will arrive next weekend, so we're gonna be basically sitting on the floor for a while! lol Naw, I think we're going to bring our small sofa that we have currently downstairs in the bedroom with us just until the new furniture arrives.

Ack! Boxes, Boxes, everywhere! We are packing up a storm!!!

We had a wonderful weekend- I recorded THREE songs at Newett Studios and while we were out in the 'burbs, we rented a minivan and loaded it up at Ikea. On Saturday night, Cory came into the City and we had a lovely dinner at Luca Bar in the East Village. Check out pictures at our family blog; www.carmineanddan.blogspot.com

Please don't hate me if you don't hear from me much this week- but I WILL post pics of moving day! :)

1943 Guide to Hiring Women

This gem is from the July 1943 issue of Transportation Magazine, written for male supervisors of women during World War II. These were "helpful tips" on supervising women at work (emphasis mine):

1. Pick young married women. They usually have more of a sense of responsibility than their unmarried sisters, they're less likely to be flirtatious,they need the work or they wouldn't be doing it, they still have the pep and interest to work hard and to deal with the public efficiently.

2. When you have to use older women, try to get ones who have worked outside the home at some time in their lives. Older women who have never contacted the public have a hard time adapting themselves and are inclined to be cantankerous and fussy. It's always well to impress upon older women the importance of friendliness and courtesy.

3. General experience indicates that "husky" girls - those who are just a little on the heavy side - are more even tempered and efficient than their underweight sisters.

4. Retain a physician to give each woman you hire a special physical examination - one covering female conditions. This step not only protects the property against the possibilities of lawsuit, but reveals whether the employee-to-be has any female weaknesses which would make her mentally or physically unfit for the job.

Is it just me or does this sound like an episode of the Crocodile Hunter? Except in this case they're, you know, not animals. Sigh.

The rest of this madness is after the jump, my fave being, "A girl has more confidence and is more efficient if she can keep her hair tidied, apply fresh lipstick and wash her hands several times a day." Just give me a tube of lipstick and I'll be ready to take on the world!

5. Stress at the outset the importance of time the fact that a minute or two lost here and there makes serious inroads on schedules. Until this point is gotten across, service is likely to be slowed up.

6. Give the female employee a definite day-long schedule of duties so that they'll keep busy without bothering the management for instructions every few minutes. Numerous properties say that women make excellent workers when they have their jobs cut out for them, but that they lack initiative in finding work themselves.

7. Whenever possible, let the inside employee change from one job to another at some time during the day. Women are inclined to be less nervous and happier with change.

8. Give every girl an adequate number of rest periods during the day. You have to make some allowances for feminine psychology. A girl has more confidence and is more efficient if she can keep her hair tidied, apply fresh lipstick and wash her hands several times a day.

9. Be tactful when issuing instructions or in making criticisms. Women are often sensitive; they can't shrug off harsh words the way men do. Never ridicule a woman - it breaks her spirit and cuts off her efficiency.

10. Be reasonably considerate about using strong language around women. Even though a girl's husband or father may swear vociferously, she'll grow to dislike a place of business where she hears too much of this.

11. Get enough size variety in operator's uniforms so that each girl can have a proper fit. This point can't be stressed too much in keeping women happy."

LOL

Tiniest plot of private property in NYC

So interesting! I'm gonna go on a hunt for THIS!

Too late to Apologize?

SORRY for the lack of new posts recently on this blog and on carmineanddan.blogspot.com! We have been crazy busy these past few weeks, ever since we started the moving process. Our apartment is full of boxes, and the new furniture has been delivered too, so we are bursting at the seams in our little home! Can't wait to have the keys to the new place, so we can finally exhale again!

I spent an amazing weekend with my girlfriends in Allentown, hosted by Miss Cory! It was fun to get out of town for the weekend, but man, it made Monday even harder to wake up to!

My brother was in town this weekend from L.A., and my sister is coming down from Montreal the week after we move. Dan will be in Vegas for a week, so we'll have a good time unpacking, arranging furniture, and enjoying the new place together.

It's hard to believe that October is right around the corner! This weekend, we started making plans for NEW YEAR'S! Crazy!

Little Lady in a Big Apartment!

Breaking news! We signed a lease on a brand new apartment! We're super excited, and moving day is Oct. 2nd, so we've got to get packing! More info and pics to come soon, but for now, check out www.silvertowers.com to see where we'll be living!

WA-HOO! So excited! :)

Actual 911 Emergency Calls

I enjoyed this email from a friend and thought I'd share:

Dispatcher: 9-1-1 What is your emergency?
Caller: I heard what sounded like gunshots coming from the brown
house on the corner.
Dispatcher: Do you have an address?
Caller: No, I have on a blouse and slacks, why?

Dispatcher: 9-1-1 What is your emergency?
Caller: Someone broke into my house and took a bite out of my ham
and cheese sandwich
Dispatcher: Excuse me?
Caller: I made a ham and cheese sandwich and left it on the kitchen
table and when I came back from the bathroom, someone had
taken a bite out of it.
Dispatcher: Was anything else taken?
Caller: No, but this has happened to me before and I’m sick and tired
of it!

Dispatcher: 9-1-1 What is the nature of your emergency?
Caller: I’m trying to reach nine eleven but my phone doesn’t have
an eleven on it.
Dispatcher: This is nine eleven.
Caller: I thought you just said it was nine-one-one
Dispatcher: Yes, ma’am nine-one-one and nine-eleven are the same
thing.
Caller: Honey, I may be old, but I’m not stupid.

Dispatcher: 9-1-1 What’s the nature of your emergency?
Caller: My wife is pregnant and her contractions are only two
minutes apart
Dispatcher: Is this her first child?
Caller: No, you idiot! This is her husband!

And the winner is……….

Dispatcher: 9-1-1
Caller: Yeah, I’m having trouble breathing. I’m all out of breath.
Darn….I think I’m going to pass out.
Dispatcher: Sir, where are you calling from?
Caller: I’m at a pay phone. North and Foster.
Dispatcher: ! Sir, an ambulance is on the way. Are you an asthmatic?
Caller: No
Dispatcher: What were you doing before you started having trouble
breathing?
Caller: Running from the Police.

"prune" pose taken a bit too far...

Mary Kate and Ashley pioneered the "prune" smile, which my friends and I have all imitated ever since. But at Fashion's Night Out, the girls were photo'd with a bit TOO much prune...don't you think? lol

Photo taken on 9/11/01 from the international space station

(click to enlarge)

The Marshmallow Test

Click HERE to watch the cutest video ever! Little kids are placed in a room with a marshmallow on a plate...see what happens when they try to resist temptation!

Bring on the LOL's!

I Wish You Enough

I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright.

I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun more.

I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive.

I wish you enough pain so that the smallest joys in life appear much bigger.

I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.

I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.

I wish enough “Hello’s” to get you through the final “Good-bye.”

Wildfires in CA

Amazing gallery of photos from the California wildfires.

CHECK IT OUT

Canadian shirts

If YOU wish you were Canadian like Carmin the Canadian, then check out all these funny Canadian shirts!

I think everyone should read this.

"Stay hungry. Stay foolish."

Take a moment to read the commencement address by Steve Jobs delivered in June, 2005. Beautiful and inspiring. The part that hit me the most was this :

"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary."

September

Hellooooooooo, September! Wow, that’s just crazy. I feel like every month is speeding up faster and faster! This morning, I seriously considered wearing my tall leather boots, but my my sandals won out on the battle. Hey, it’s a high of 78F in NYC today, so I need to enjoy this warm weather while it’s still here! There will be plenty of time for boots and sweaters, I’m sure. (depressing!) I feel like it’s been a while since I’ve actually journaled about what’s been going on- that’s because we’ve been trying to spend as much time outside enjoying NYC as we can before cold weather sets in. We’ve had lots of guests and a lot of fun showing people around. We’re also starting to apartment hunt again, as our lease is up in November and we are absolutely ready to move. We’ve been in our current apartment for 3 years (since our first day in NYC!) and it’s a beautiful apartment in an amazing neighborhood, but we’re honestly just paying way too much. Since the economy crashed in Nov. 08, we’ve noticed that all the rents in Manhattan have seemed to drop. That’s great incentive to move, since our current landlord is desperate to keep us locked in at the highest market pricepoint for our duplex. How do we know we’re paying too much for our apartment? Because we can get an apartment TWICE the size of ours, brand new, for about a GRAND less than what we pay now. Depressing! Also, we’ve noticed that the people moving into our building now are mostly STUDENTS, which hey- I don’t mind the noise and parties and stuff, but it’s the inconsiderate behavior that’s just frustrating me. We pay WAY too much to have to deal with that nonsense. The washer/dryer in the laundry room is constantly jammed or broken, or I have to run a cycle BEFORE I put my clothes in because it’s so nasty, dirty, and full of cat or dog hair (sick!) The walls in the hallway are scraped up and gross looking because people don’t take care when they’re moving their stuff in. The front (locked) security doors are constantly being propped OPEN for their friends to come in, which makes me nervous because OUR apartment is on the front of the building, and I don’t especially like the thought of theifs or vagrants coming in and making a home for themselves overnight in front of our doorway. On top of it all, the weather is getting so nice and cool that we’d LOVE to have our windows open for a nice fall breeze in the apartment, but we’re forced to keep the windows shut and the AC unit on all the time because of people SMOKING directly outside our windows! Can you sense my frustration? And I’m sure that if you knew how much we pay in rent every month (let’s just say it’s in the multiple thousands…) you’d be frustrated too!

So yeah, we’re excited to move.

This weekend we’re taking a STAYcation for labour day weekend. Honestly, the traffic in this area over labour day is just not worth traveling for. Everyone goes to the beach or the hamptons for one last weekend to enjoy the summer, and it is an absolute NIGHTMARE trying to drive anywhere. We plan on walking around Manhattan, getting brunch and sitting at some outdoor café’s over coffee. Oh, and sleeping in. That’s a must.

Hope you all enjoyed your summer! I’m looking forward to FALL!

That's more like it!