And then there were none

Magnet #1170 - Coney Island

And so, my friends, my Escape Home to NYC ends today as I hop a train down to NC in the morning.

I know...how overdramatic have I been over this trip? It's only because I had packed to be gone for three weeks, not three months, and I was going a little stir-crazy in NC. But, this trip has reaffirmed my crazy NYC love.

I can tell ya'll, I am avoiding packing for NC to the bitter end - lunch, walk, nap, cleaning, Tweeting, texting, whatever possible to not have to pack.

And speaking of packed up...I love this shot of Coney Island, and I'm deathly afraid that this desolation is what I'll find if I head back out there, just based on all the reports over what's been dismantled, what's staying, what's being built, etc., I'm sure it's fine, but I'm really just afraid to see what we're all going to be left with in the end.

I can tell ya'll I've ridden only two rides out there - the Cyclone that I've magnetblogged before, and this Wonder Wheel in the background. I'll confess, for a while there, the only thing I knew about the Wonder Wheel is that some very naughty folks filmed some very naughty things that you stumble upon on those naughty cable access channels in the middle of the night.

I mean, it was all I could think of upon boarding the clackety-clack cars of the Wonder Wheel, what those folks were doing in there. Like, I totally had to check out the cleanliness of the seats before I sat down. (Ewwww.)

Of course, those thoughts were quickly replaced by worry, as I wondered if we would actually make it through the ride. I had no idea that the cars actually swing around and out, making it look like you're about to fly off the wheel itself. Dudes, I hate when coasters or rides are made to look like they're about to fly off the track. Freaks me out - every time!

And it was so long! It went on forever! Yeah. Probably wouldn't re-ride that ride again if given the chance.

What I do want another crack at are those swirley coils that you have to get the stick down from the top to the bottom. Damn, can I waste a ton of money trying to win that thing.

I've won it once or twice, and won some big stuffies from it, but man, every time I get in front of one, I just have to keep trying and trying. And, just when I think I've got it,

MEEEEEP.

Oh, how nifty, look who's 50! Happy birthday, George Clooney!

Magnet#1169 - Houston Astronaut

I love this Houston magnet - totally bought it in the Houston airport, though I'm wishing that one space store had been open, cuz I think they would have had such cooler magnets. Like a NASA one that says, It's not Rocket Science (except that it is)! Eh, maybe next year.

Anyway, I'm using this magnet today because it's the closest magnet I had at the ready for George's birthday.

Ya'll know how much I love my boyfriend. But, I will readily admit: I totally fell asleep during Solaris.

I'm sorry, George. Do you hate me?

Please don't. I've watched all of your other movies and own them, too. Including Red Surf. And dude, I oughta get a medal for that one.

Anyway, happy 50th birthday!

Love and kisses,
joy

A toy surprise in every meal!

Magnet #1168 - Happy Meals

Another Ann Taintor magnet I picked up - I think at Alice's Tea Cup last week.

I know, why they have Ann over there, I haven't figured out, but it was cute, and I wanted it. However, I do need to be careful or I'm likely to end up with the entire set of her magnets, including the ones with the chicks complaining about their hubs and kids.

I just loved this one, because even at my advanced age, I'm still buying Happy Meals wherever I can. Can't help it - I love the toys. Honestly. It's a magnetblog, tell me you're surprised. At all.

Once when I moved out of an office - I had a special (small) box just for all my Happy Meal toys. The thing was, I had only been in that job for like nine months, so I can't even imagine how many McDonald's trips that box equaled.

Scary.

Skyline

Magnet #1167 - Chrysler Building

Picked up this magnet from a new Union Square magnet vendor.

I know! The horrors! As it turns out, just like my tv and film boyfriends, I'm a fickle, fickle girl when it comes to who sells me magnets. If they've got 'em, I'll buy 'em.

Ya'll know how much I love the Chrysler Building. It's one of my favorites here in town, and this is such a great shot. Figured a New York magnet was in order, since we're headed back from Houston today.

Can I just say? Nothing beats that first glimpse of the city skyline for me - whether I'm coming up on Amtrak on the Jersey side, driving up the NJ Turnpike, or on the flight path approach into JFK or LGA, I love seeing that skyline.

Yes, it's changed over the years, buildings have come and gone - but thankfully, mostly come. But, no matter what vantage point, no matter which part - it's the greatest skyline in the world.

Seriously - I grin like a crazy fool when I see it. I hope the day never comes when I don't.

Desserts come first

Magnet #1166 - Compagnie Francaise

Another magnet from my Union Square magnet guy - it's a turn-of-the-century advertising poster created by T.A. Steinlen for the French Chocolate and Tea Company.

It's basically his wife Emilie and daughter Colette, having their coffee and tea (from the French Chocolate and Tea Company), plus their cat, who, by his perch on their kitchen table is meant to show how much of the family.

Honestly, I'm just using it for today, because I'm staring at a Pico's leftovers box full of chocolate-y goodness, wondering if I need to get up and walk over there and knock out the rest of the contents.

It's the remnants of the Bestest. Dessert. Ever. Called a Diplomatica, it's a flan top half with a brownie bread pudding-y bottom, with pecans on top, drizzled with caramel.

It. Was. Amazing.

Like, had I known that that was waiting for me at the end of the meal, I would have just made it the meal - and then been able to eat the whole damn thing.

Clearly, I need to get back to North Carolina, because I will totally need to be rolled down the train tracks on Thursday...between today's Diplomatica, yesterday's dark chocolate chipotle cake, and the pecan pie the night before, I think I've cut a dessert swath across Houston to last me a while...

Or at least until next year's OTC, anyway!

Unrealized potential

Magnet #1165 - James Dean, Giant

Bought this magnet from my Union Square magnet guy - it's James Dean in Giant, where he plays arguably his best role, as a bitter ranch hand who turns into a wealthy oil wildcatter. I figured it was a fitting magnet for our first day at OTC, the Offshore Technology Conference (#OTCHouston), one of the largest oil & gas industry trade shows.

James Dean was only 24 when he died, and had only three movies to his name, and yet it feels like every girl goes through a James Dean phase at some point in their lives, no?

It's partly the "every girl wants to reform the bad boy" mentality, but for me, he was just awesome. And awesomely hot.

I'm sure my parents wondered if I'd done the math and knew that he'd died back in the 50s, but I was certainly the only one my age who totally had some iteration of his boulevard of broken dreams poster on my wall. I still own his movie set, even though it's been years since I've cracked them open. If I were totally honest, I'm sure if I look hard enough, that poster's somewhere, too.

I still get mad that he died so young - I mean, he had two Oscar noms in three movies. Amazing. He was amazing. Just like River Phoenix and Heath Ledger, so much unrealized potential. Argh.


"Dream as if you'll live forever. Live as if you'll die today."

- James Dean

Creating tomorrow in advance

Magnet #1164 - Kankin

I usually like to use a Joy magnet for my birthday, but I figure this might work as well - a friend got me this from her trip down to Cancun. Apparently, Kankin is my Mayan Zodiac sign.

I go back and forth believing in astrology and mysticism - even as I know it's a bit flighty to believe in the stars, there's just something there that can't be ignored.

Born today, May 1, I'm right smack in the middle of Taurus, so it makes sense that the sign fits me so well. Really, have you ever met anyone more stubborn?

I grew up reading my horoscope religiously, always creeped out by how true my day's events matched up to the generic blurbs. I say religiously, mostly because I once got in trouble with my high school speech & debate teacher for reading my horoscope every day, instead of the Bible.

And I believe it enough to find out when people's birthdays are, so that I can look up their signs to get a little more insight to their personalities and their traits. It totally helps figure out how best to deal with people when you're having issues (or not) with them.

For sure, I believe the whole mercury into retrograde thing - this very laptop conked out 2 hours before it went into retrograde, and she's magically worked since the day I picked her up - the day mercury went out of retrograde. (Though, don't think I'm not still angry at Best Buy, but that's a different magnet.)

But the Mayan calendar is something that I'm not at all versed in - other than everyone seems to think that the world is actually going to end in 2012, per the Mayan calendar. And, believe me, I tried looking up explanations of the calendar, but all the numbers and sets of days and year cycles pretty much made my eyes roll back into my head.

So that leaves me with this pretty cool magnet.

According to this Mayan Astrology site, I'm supposed to be made of both earth and sun - which is funny, given how much I don't really like the sun at all. It also says that I would be more comfortable in caves because it's like the womb of mother earth - my hermit-like habits notwithstanding, I totally get freaked out walking around in caves.

My totem animal are yellow dogs, because they're the symbol of loyalty and inner strength. I'd like to think that might be fitting, although I've never had much use for the color yellow. Or dogs, really, if I'm honest.

Since it didn't quite fit, I looked at Muwan, the next symbol, starting tomorrow - they're basically rain and clouds and water, with an affinity for storms (that's me), and the totem animal of owl, who has the power to see truth (that's usually not me - ever).

So yeah, a little bit of this, a little bit of that, I'd bet that's pretty much how you can read any astrological sign - standard or Mayan. Especially since there's a lot of traits that overlap between the two.

Eh, whether you believe in it or not, for me, it's still fun to look to the mysteries of the universe to unravel the mysteries of, well...me?