Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in Lauren M [nodoubter]'s LiveJournal:

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Wednesday, January 21st, 2009
5:37 pm	EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE NO DOUBT TOURING CANADA AND US SUMMER 2009 AFTER 5 YEAR HIATUS!!!!!!! (Yesterday for dinner I had Barack-olli.) (4 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, January 19th, 2009
2:47 pm	Happy Martin Luther King Day, And George W Bush's last day in office. (Comment on this)
Thursday, September 18th, 2008
10:48 am	By the way, they didn't send me to India. (Comment on this)
Thursday, September 11th, 2008
10:21 am	A 9/11 Loss Some Can See From Their Window, Still The New York Times Article Tools Sponsored By By ANDY NEWMAN Published: September 10, 2008 All across the city, for days, months, maybe years after 9/11, it hurt to look out the window. In Sunset Park, Brooklyn, Marissa Gonzalez, a corporate recruiter and writer, could not adjust. She had designed her whole fourth-floor apartment on 40th Street around the postcard-worthy outline of the Lower Manhattan skyline rising above the slope of Green-Wood Cemetery and the flats of northwest Brooklyn beyond. “Looking out those windows was a ritual for me,” she said. “They were part of my sanctuary, my place of inspiration. It was impossible for me to go there and not tie into the day and the days after and the pain and the grief.” A few months after 9/11, she moved out. The question of how New Yorkers view their view may seem abstract, trivial, remote, compared with the pain of thousands upon thousands who lost loved ones, friends or colleagues when the World Trade Center towers fell. But for a broad swath of New Yorkers for whom the two towers were primarily the crowning jewel of a cherished vista, the amputated skyline was a daily reminder of loss. The way they have reached accommodation, or not, with the transformed view provides yet another window into the city’s infinitely long process of recovery. Conversations with dozens of New Yorkers this week, when the end-of-summer light is just so and passing planes induce a wince, found them poised somewhere between Never Forget and Enough Already. Some confessed to occasional pangs of survivor guilt when they catch themselves enjoying the cityscape, diminished but still quite impressive, that gleams in their windows and draws them to park benches. “I still think it’s the most beautiful city view there is,” said Christine Sugrue, 31, resting with her infant twins on the Brooklyn Heights promenade on Monday. Even so, she said, “Whenever I look over there, I’m always conscious that’s something missing.” On Withers Street in East Williamsburg, Brooklyn, where the towers once loomed above the Williamsburg Bridge on the western horizon, Theresa Cianciotta, an assistant to a state assemblyman, said she never left her house now without casting a rueful glance at the skyline. “There’s a lot of emptiness there,” said Ms. Cianciotta, who is in her 70s and keeps a photo she took the day after 9/11 of her husband pointing down the street at a column of smoke. She also showed off an earlier photo of the same view, the towers intact. “I will always feel very sad and angry that something like that could happen in this country.” Just down the block, Ben Moccio, a retired security director, said he had stopped consciously noticing the towers’ absence after a year or so, as more immediate concerns asserted themselves. “There’re so many things involved in life that keep creeping up on you,” he said. Not noticing was not possible, of course, in Battery Park City. Michelle Lord, a stay-at-home mother, moved into an apartment not long after 9/11 that looked directly onto the wound of ground zero. “I always kept my blinds down,” said Ms. Lord, 32. (She has since moved to a nearby apartment facing the Hudson; the blinds are up.) High above Upper New York Bay in a complex called the Towers of Bay Ridge, though, Joe Metzger, a retired doorman, said the view that made his studio apartment worth having still moved him. “I had the view, that’s the important thing,” he said. “Now it’s a new view. That’s the way it is.” Even Ms. Gonzalez, 51, who eventually moved much closer to the financial district, to an apartment in Chinatown that looks into the heart of Lower Manhattan, has made her peace. “The function of the view in my current apartment,” she said, “it’s not a place to go for inspiration. It’s just a normal view and needing skylight. Just a normal view.” Some people, like Ms. Gonzalez’s former next-door neighbor on 40th Street in Sunset Park, Paula Stamatis, were able to trace the way the view out their windows had evolved, even though the skyline itself has not changed much since 9/11. “You adjust to whatever the reality is — it’s a gradual process, like anything else,” said Ms. Stamatis, 42, a sculptor and painter. “If you have a melancholy disposition and you’re looking for something to remind you of loss, that’s going to be there.” Her son, Zach Donovan, 21, said the difference no longer had much of an emotional effect on him. Mr. Donovan, a college student, said, “It was more of a grief and tragedy for other people, and I didn’t want to sully the sincerity of their grief by grieving for something that for me was impersonal, tragic but impersonal.” Few businesses in the city were prouder of their skyline view, distant though it was, than Douglaston Manor, a catering hall in Queens about 15 miles east of Manhattan. The manor’s Glass Room commands a panoramic westward view against the twinkling backdrop of the big city. “Typically, what people say is, ‘What a beautiful view,’ ” said the general manager, Thomas DeMartino. From time to time, he said, guests are brought up a little short. “They say, ‘You must have had a terrific view of the World Trade Center.’ ” Ann Farmer contributed reporting. (Comment on this)
Monday, April 14th, 2008
3:13 pm	Recycling forward that did not cite the source If You Must Use Plastics, Select Recyclable Plastics! Tip of the week for Monday, April 14, 2008 Tip: If You Must Use Plastic Bottles…Use Recyclable Plastics For the environment's sake, it's best to reuse water bottles and avoid plastic packaging, choosing glass, metal, paper or ceramics instead. But when plastics are the only choice, look for options with recycling codes. To find a plastic container’s recycling code, look on the bottom of the container. You will find the “Chasing Arrow” symbol with the number code in the center. If you must use plastic… In terms of recyclability, the best items to choose are those with numbers 1, 2, 4 and 5 in the center of the chasing arrow. Of these, #1 and #2 are most commonly recycled. Avoid these plastics…. Avoid plastics with the numbers 3, 6 and 7 in the center of the chasing arrow. These are generally not recyclable. PVC's manufacture and incineration release dioxins, which are carcinogens and hormone disruptors. In contact with foods, especially hot, fatty foods, PVC can also release chemicals such as adipates and phthalates, which have been shown in mice to cause birth defects and damage to the liver, kidneys, lungs and reproductive systems. Polycarbonate plastic can release bisphenol A, a suspected hormone disruptor, into liquids and foods it touches. Please see a breakdown of the specific codes below. Breakdown of Codes Safe and RecyclableAvoid, Not Recyclable 1: PET or PETE (polyethylene terephthalate) 2: HDPE (high-density polyethylene) 4: LDPE (low-density polyethylene) 5: PP (polypropylene) 7: PLA (polyactide)3: VINYL or PVC (polyvinyl chloride) 6: PS (polystyrene) 7: PC (polycarbonate) Remember, the best codes to choose from are 1, 2, 4 and 5. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Thursday, March 27th, 2008
4:31 pm	Papi talking about my work http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=esyhoyJg6oU (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Tuesday, March 25th, 2008
2:06 pm	Earlier today I was in a public washroom, glad to be alone. A woman entered another stall, and I could hear her grunting. It's silly how people can be concerned about making too much noise, or stinking up the place. I suppose it's because of those idiots (not a word I throw around) who say things like "man, it smells like sh*t in here," and subsequently cast shame upon the person who went through the natural process moving their bowels. Really, be happy for them, their body is ridding itself of waste, in a normal and healthy way, something to be applauded, not ostracized. Anyway, when drying my hands I smiled to myself and thought "Good for you. You take that dump." (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, March 24th, 2008
11:47 am	New favourite thing Are you ready? Here goes. Finding beauty in new places. Recent examples include- in people as you get to know them better, as well as our physical environment. Thanks. What's yours? (3 Comments |Comment on this)
10:26 am	You know when you're having a personal thought, or have have something weighing on your mind, then you tell somebody about it, and it turns out you've only shared because they were next to you? Then for some reason you regret it? It could be because you are simply not prepared to divulge such a personal matter (ie in a professional relationship), or it's none of their business, or they have a big mouth? That's so silly. Let's know our audiences, people. (Blogs don't count. Right? Crap.) (Comment on this)
9:30 am	Confidence I'm having an overload of life lessons Seeing/hearing/feeling things happen, that may have happened before But are now being absorbed differently. Emotions are running rampant. I don't know what most of them mean, some of the time. Or what some of them mean, most of the time. [What happened to my vocabulary :( ] -People -Places -things in that order. Do you ever have an inner monologue that you can't wait to write? Then, by the time you sit, it may still be percolating somewhere in your head, but your access has been blocked by something new? This is the latter. What I meant to share, had to do with confidence. You'll have a better day. It hurts not to have, but there is a way to trick yourself into it by being around people that do, and accepting the influence of their attitude. Whatever great feats they accomplish, have nothing to do with you. And it's selfish of you to compare yourself. Really. It's not about you. Their story is about them, and if it's so effing great, let it inspire you to be more, and mean more to yourself. (Comment on this)
Monday, March 10th, 2008
12:06 pm	from careerbuilder.com I'm on the list... == Did You Know These Jobs Exist? By Rachel Zupek, CareerBuilder.com Do you ever wonder whose job it is to do some of the less desirable things in life? If you think about it, there’s a job doing almost anything, no matter how exciting, disgusting or just plain weird it may seem. For example, remember when you stuck your wad of gum underneath the seat of a roller coaster so you wouldn’t choke? That sticky mess didn’t just disappear – a gum buster scraped it off, using a special steaming tool that removes gum stuck to various surfaces. Think about all those times your golf ball didn’t make it over the water. Did you think the fish ate them? Nope, a golf ball diver, who scours the depths of bodies of water on golf courses to find lost golf balls to refinish and resell, got it. Many Americans dominate the corporate working world, but don’t forget about those who took the road less traveled. Through photography in her books, “Odd Jobs” and “Odder Jobs,” Nancy Rica Schiff portrays people working jobs you probably won’t find in the Sunday classifieds. They aren’t your run-of-the-mill doctors, lawyers and the like. Some are simple, some complex; some are common, some one in a million – but one thing’s for sure – they are all (extremely) unusual. Here are 20 odd jobs portrayed in Rica Schiff’s books. 1. Breath odor evaluator What they do: Odor judges smell nasty morning breath or breath “insulted” with strong scents, like garlic or coffee. They rate the breath on a scale from one to nine, one being the worst. To test odor-reducing products like gum or mouthwash, they smell the breath again and assign it a new rating. 2. Diener What they do: Prepare cadavers for the pathologist before autopsies are performed in hospitals. 3. Ribbon candy puller What they do: After a heated combination of sugar, corn syrup, water and coloring agent has cooled, batches of different colors are laid out side by side. Someone then pulls the candy thin until it’s about an inch wide. The final product is a multicolored hard candy. 4. Ocularist What they do: In short, they paint artificial eyes. It sounds easier than it is, since as with real eyes, no two are exactly the same. 5. Flatulence smell-reduction underwear maker What they do: Create underwear that protects against bad human gas for people who suffer from gastrointestinal problems. The underwear is made with various materials and filters to help remedy hydrogen sulfide gases, the main offender in foul smells. 6. Beer tester What they do: Taste – and spit out – beer all day to approve new and existing flavors. 7. Crack filler What they do: Using a silicone sealant, they repair the wear and tear inflicted on monumental structures, like Mount Rushmore. 8. Ball tester What they do: Assess basketballs, footballs, volleyballs and soccer balls for air-retention, inflation, roundness, weight and reboundability. 9. Video game tester What they do: For eight hours a day, five days a week, a group of males and females of all ages play video games. They repeat levels, games and characters, looking for any bugs and/or glitches in the software. 10. Tampon tester What they do: Check all sizes of tampons for absorbency and cord strength in accordance with Food and Drug Administration standards. Most testers check up to 125 pieces per day. 11. Gold reclaimer What they do: Scour old teeth for fillings, melting the gold from them with broken gold jewelry into tiny gold pellets, which are then resold to jewelers. 12. Dog sniffer What they do: Once a week, they analyze the odor of dogs' breath to test the effect of the animals' diet on their teeth. Breath is graded on a scale of zero to 10 and is categorized as sweaty, salty, musty, fungal or decaying. 13. Potato chip inspector What they do: Search for overcooked or clumped chips to discard as they come down the assembly line. 14. Porta-potty servicer What they do: Like regular restrooms, portable toilets need maintenance, too. Once a week, service workers clean these single-stall facilities to achieve certain standards of sanitation. 15. Barbie dress designer What they do: Fashion designers at Mattel Toys, the company behind Barbie, create hundreds of new styles for Barbie and her ever-expanding entourage. 16. Wax figure maker What they do: Mold wax to create figures, often for, but not limited to, the human form. Figures are often made in the likeness of people who have achieved historical or celebrity recognition. 17. Safecracker What they do: When combinations are lost or forgotten, safecrackers use their ears and fingers to open the safe. 18. Wig maker What they do: Put simply, they make wigs, but the process is anything but simple. First, wig makers create a plastic model of the wearer’s head and hairline, and then they transfer the mold onto a padded canvas similar to the client’s general head size, covering it with wig lace. Using a needle, they knot and pull thousands of hairs, one by one, through the mesh cap. Once all the hairs are in place, the wig is styled to the wearer’s preference. 19. Paper towel sniffer What they do: Paper towel manufacturers prefer their products to be odorless before, during and after their use. Naturally, paper towel sniffers ensure that once a paper towel is used, there is no noticeable scent. 20. Foley artist What they do: Use whatever they can find to create and record the noises used to make the sound effects in films, like heavy footsteps, rolling thunder or creaking doors. Rachel Zupek is a writer and blogger for CareerBuilder.com. She researches and writes about job search strategy, career management, hiring trends and workplace issues. == (5 Comments |Comment on this)
Saturday, January 26th, 2008
11:15 am	Winter's new Upper West Side apartment is very Plateau :D (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Thursday, January 24th, 2008
9:36 am	The Downside of Online Networking The Downside of Online Networking by Megan Lau MSN Lifestyle Don't let modern conveniences distance you from your friends. In this age of online social networking, it is remarkable when friends manage to get together face to face. In fact, it’s remarkable when ‘friends’ have actually ever met in ‘real life’. MySpace and Facebook have made collecting friends a hobby. With so many ‘friends’, it’s hard to keep up. But your real friends, those you met in the sandbox or roomed with in your first year of college, are the ones suffering from your emotional relationship ADD. More and more of the women and men that I talk to these days are telling me how much they miss meeting up with their friends. Their work lives are taking over their free time and all they can do to keep in touch is send an email once in a while or post a message on their MySpace wall. They accept or extend invites via online exchanges but tend to back out at the last minute, using social network websites as a buffer for real confrontation. I’ve experienced it myself and I think it’s time to end this flakiness. Why It Happens Yes, perhaps wireless technology is bringing us together in more immediate ways (I can now talk to my friend in Kenya while at the breakfast table) but it’s also distancing us from the people closest to us. With email, the amount of time that it takes for two people to arrange a coffee date has exponentially increased. It might require a number of exchanges over a week: “Let’s meet for coffee and catch up next week” “Perfect – where?” “I’m free Mon-Fri” “Tuesday at four?” “Doctor’s appt – can we reschedule for Wednesday at Café Barney’s?” “Perfect – call me to confirm.” In the meantime, a week has passed when you could’ve met at some point if you’d started with a simple phone call. If the email invitation is sent to an address rarely checked, it might take even longer. Ultimately, email and instant messaging allow us to make phoney emotional gestures with no intention to ever follow up. A Plethora of Plans So what happens when you don’t actually speak to your friend and you’re not sure if they’ve received your text message? Well, you can’t be entirely sure if your plans are still on. As a result, many people make several plans for one night just in case their original arrangement falls through. Sure, we all party hop so that we can see as many people in a night as possible but double booking is another matter. It’s hugely inconsiderate to make plans with someone you know is setting aside time for you and then cancel on them at the last minute because something else came up. People who are guilty of this usually cancel on the people most loyal and closest to them, because they know these people are more likely to forgive them for flaking. So if you’re someone who always has ‘backup plans’ consider this: would you book three vacations at once and then cancel the two vacations you don’t want to take the morning of your departure? Of course not, you’d end up paying for all three in full. Make a commitment to one plan. If it falls through, you might spend the night at home. Trust me, it won’t kill you. Empty Gestures If there’s anything that we’ve lost in gaining the convenience of text messaging and voice mail, it is the capacity for spontaneous and sincere gestures between friends. In the online world, declaring your relationship to the world by changing your profile status from ‘single’ to ‘attached’ has become the equivalent of getting together with your girlfriends to dish about the new guy you’re dating. This not only diminishes your opportunities to talk up your exhilarating new relationship, but it prevents your friends from sharing in the excitement. I’m guilty of the empty gesture as well. If I realise that I haven’t spoke to my friend Jessie in a few weeks, I’ll give her a call when I know she won’t be available to pick up. I’ll leave a vague message about when I can be reached and say that we should meet up for coffee sometime. This way, the ball is in her court and if she doesn’t call back, well, I’ve done my part. What I failed to realize until recently though, is that it’s my responsibility to put forth the effort to catch her when she’s actually at home. My answering machine message doesn’t count as real interaction with my friend. Bottom line is, don’t use computers or answering machines as replacements for genuine gestures of friendship. It comes across as insincere and it’s hurtful. _____________________________________ (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, January 23rd, 2008
9:21 am	My dad is the best guy I know. (Comment on this)
9:08 am	Why I'm mad at Pop Culture "Is Paula heading for a meltdown? By Amber Dowling 2008-01-17 Britney may have a new rival for worst comebacks On the surface, Paula Abdul seems to be getting it together: we’re seeing a more subdued version of the 80’s pop princess on Idol, and her new single (produced by Idol co-judge Randy Jackson) sparked massive industry interest in the former diva’s potential comeback. ... Could this be another Britney train wreck waiting to happen? Probably not, but with the negative press does anyone really blame celebrities for turning to drugs and alcohol? Let's hope for a success story on this one..." Condemning "negative press," and writing "hoping for a success story" -in- negative press, somehow just doesn't add up. (Comment on this)
Tuesday, January 22nd, 2008
4:18 pm	Rest in Peace Heath Ledger. (Why does this shit keep happening?) (Comment on this)
Tuesday, January 8th, 2008
1:59 pm	Today in the fog, McGill looks likes a castle. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Thursday, January 3rd, 2008
11:32 am	Yesterday, someone asked if I was 21. Today, I'm 24. Oy :) (Comment on this)
Tuesday, December 11th, 2007
12:17 pm	I still love marketing. (Comment on this)
Monday, December 10th, 2007
5:17 pm	It turns out Fantasia from American Idol plays the lead in The Color Purple, which I saw on Broadway the other day. Thanks for checking in. (1 Comment |Comment on this)