I'm turning 25, but I feel like a teenager!

And goodness knows I act more like a teenager now than I ever did when I actually was one. My life seems to be full of texting, embracing those all-too-fabulous teen movies, staying up way past "bedtime", and having junior-high like relationships - no wonder I get along so well with my 14 - year old sister. Weird to revert so far back in maturity levels. I guess I should go see that Brad Pitt movie about aging backwards - maybe Benjamin Button will understand how I feel.

I lied.

I can't seem to give up my invisibility.

Why do I keep taking the Red Eye?

Every time I take the Sunday night red eye back from Salt Lake I spend Monday at my desk lamenting what a bad decision it was! And the head/stomach/everything-aches always lead me to promising myself that I won't book another red eye - yet for some reason I keep doing it! I am seduced into those few extra Sunday evening hours at home... visions of chocolate chip cookies and board games always get the better of me. And while I take every precaution (including lugging the pillows, blankets, and sleeping pills my mom sends with me) - there really is no escaping the fatigue that inevitably follows a night of sitting much too close to a snoring stranger.

Next time I'm booking my flight home - please remind me how I'm feeling right now and have me get on the 5pm flight with Ali - my much wiser-than-me roommate.

I heart Salt Lake -

It's good to be home!

Productivity

http://www.mensa.org/workout2.php

If you're as bored at work today as I am... I'd suggest this mensa quiz as a way to fill up a half hour. My friend at work and I are taking it and experiencing major flashbacks to the days of standardized testing and junior high math teachers!

Invisibility might be overrated... So I'm giving it up!

Maybe being invisible wouldn't be as great as I used to think. I remember as a little kid just wishing I could sneak around invisibly and then as a not so little kid (in college) being so jealous of Harry Potter's cloak! But now that google has bestowed upon us invisible powers of sorts I'm not so sure how I feel about it.

I've been invisible on g-chat all day, and this afternoon I started to get depressed. After Lauren had to go to class I had no other chats going on. Nobody else knew or cared to "send offline chat"s my direction and I started feeling lonely. And then I realized how preposterous the whole thing is! If I want to chat I should get online and show myself! If I don't, I should just sign out. What is with the limbo of invisibility? Why do I like/use it so much? Someone asked me who I was hiding from the other day and I had no idea. I don't even know why I use it! I think I originally fell for the setting because of how it made me feel... akin to Jack Bauer or Sydney Bristow... so sneaky...so savvy! But now it's just obnoxious and I need to stop!

And to anyone else with the same invisibility addiction - I might be sending you random offline chats in an effort to flush you out and rid you of the horrid habit ("lovely girl/horrid habit")!

Ethan Frome

Have you ever stopped reading a book just because you don't know if you can handle the sad ending that you're fairly certain is coming?

Chocolate Show!

If there was ever any doubt as to whether I was in the right place to indulge my overindulgent tendencies, this confirmed it and removed all doubt:

http://www.chocolateshow.com/

And it's good to know this show hits other cities as well. Although now that I've seen this Ali and I may need to reconsider our 2014 move-to-Singapore plans in favor of Tokyo, Beijing, Moscow, or Shanghai.

PRESIDENTIAL QUIZ FOR ELECTION DAY:

COMPLIMENTS OF MY DAD - a bit of a political enthusiast... (hence the reason for the urgent phone call I got Saturday asking me to pick up more badges to round out his collection)

Oh and don't worry if you don't know any of these... I only got TWO right. I'm kind of dying about that and thinking about going back to school because apparently I know nothing!

1. Who is the only person to serve 2 terms as vice president and 2 terms as president?

2. What was the official name of the political party that Teddy Roosevelt ran under in the 1912 election?

3. Who was the only president to never be married?

4. How many different vice presidents served during FDR’s tenure as President?

5. Who is the only person to ever serve non consecutive terms as president?

6 The election of 1800 had to go to the congress to elect a winner. The ballots were tied for 35 ballots. Thomas Jefferson eventually won the election. Who was the candidate who was tied with Jefferson on those ballots?

7. Who was the first Mormon to declare himself a candidate for President of the United States?

8. Before Bush 43, who was the last president to win the presidency while losing the popular vote? And before Bush 43, who was the last president to be elected without receiving a majority of the popular vote?

9. How many of the men we elected president have been impeached? And name him (or them).

10. Virginia is the state that has produced the most presidents. Name the state that has produced the second most number of presidents?

TIE BREAKER QUESTION: Who was the president that was sandwiched between the non consecutive terms of one of the presidents?

ANSWERS TO BE POSTED JUST AS SOON AS WE FIND OUT WHO ARE NEXT PRESIDENT WILL BE! Although, I don't feel like we'll be even a smidge surprised.

If You Get Sick and Have to Stay Home from Work:

I recommend watching 12 hours of Friday Night Lights. I know I SHOULD be embarrassed - but have you seen this show? Plus, let's be honest - there are other guilty viewing pleasures that merit more embarrassment...

Speaking of Money

If my direct deposits were larger, I'd send you all a box of these:

http://levainbakery.com/

I pretty much think about these all day every day, and if I get off work before they close - I stop by and somehow feel like $3.75 for a cookie is a really good deal.

Liz is...

Grateful for Payday.*

I always forget that we have jobs to earn money. Somehow I internalized the whole "do something you love and don't worry about the money" advice (that our parents' generation so zealously showered on us) to the point that I don't see my job as a means to money. But on days like today when it's a struggle to get in by 10:30 (ask Linds and Amy about this morning or Ali about every morning) it's good to see my e-pay notice and remember there is some sort of meaning in it all - in addition to filling out tax returns of course-which is so obviously fraught with meaning.

*thanks for indulging my desire to participate in the facebook status without actually using the facebook status tool...

A Surprising Reaction to Stress:

Work is too much! It's ridiculous. I know I keep harping on it. And anytime I see any of you in the flesh I'm sure it's all I've talked to you about--may I just apologize for that now! How annoying! So I PROMISE that in 10 days when the madness is over I will join the real world again. And I can't wait! But don't worry--in the meantime I don't think I'll see any of you anyway (as I'll be at 300 Madison from now until the 15th) so this will be the last of my complaints!

Anyway, enough is enough -with this whining as much as the work itself. Plus - the reason behind this stream of consciousness post is not to vent but to share what I have found to be an entertaining reaction to stress...

Incessant Laughter!

How weird is that? I think it's a sign that I'm really cracking up! People will write mildly funny things on my inter-PwC messenger "sametime" (akin to google chat but more acceptable in the office because it's presumably all professionally relevant-right...) and I will start giggling at my desk. Audible giggling. The kind that lets everyone around you know that you're not working. And then if someone writes something actually funny I will start laughing so hard I have to excuse myself to either the bathroom or the pantry! I feel like I'm 12. Now there's a way to shoot your 16-hour day in the foot. You work hard all day and then giggle for 20 seconds and suddenly everyone around you assumes that you're not getting anything done... Oh dear and oh well.

Just think how hard I'll laugh when I'm back to doing fun things and hearing real jokes about non-tax accounting. You'll probably be embarrassed to be around me in public, but you'll also probably feel like the funniest person in the world!

Wishing on Eyelashes

I just spent twenty-five precious minutes organizing my desk... it had become a scary mess of piles. The kind of piles that start out with meaning. Someone asks you for a document and you can reach up one pile and over two and have exactly what they need immediately. But somehow that type of order inevitably turns to total chaos...such that this morning when I got in my heart sank... wondering who had dropped all this stuff off and what they wanted me to do with all of it! Of course once I actually looked at what was strewn about I realized that I was the culprit... oh dear.

Anyway, after finally cleaning my desk I started feeling a little overprotective. Suddenly I felt like I couldn't tolerate anything to be out of place. I started fidgeting with my phone cord and my post-its. I became obsessed with order! I noticed an eyelash next to my keyboard and swept it right into the garbage can. And only after it was already in the trash with my fun-size snickers wrappers did I realize how sad that was! I ALWAYS wish on eyelashes. When did my subconscious start interpreting eyelashes as waste as opposed to the three leaf clovers they are supposed to be?

But don't worry--if I've learned anything from the PwC bookclub book of the month (the brain that changes itself) - it's that I can change all this. I can reframe and get back to instinctive eyelash wishing. And luckily with how tired work is making me--I'll be rubbing my eyes plenty and littering my desk with all sorts of eyelashes.

Why they have credit card machines in cabs...

Here I was - all the time assuming it was for customer convenience - both because no matter how many times you stop by the ATM in a week you always run out of cash and because after lat nights at work it's so much easier to use the company card than to wait several weeks to be reimbursed. But despite these bonuses - they were not the primary reason for adding the machines... I have been oh so blind - or so my cab driver informed me last night.

It's all about Big Brother.

Apparently Bloomberg is tracking my cabby and his friends - trying to gain control! An interesting application from one of my favorite high school reads. And the thing my driver was most concerned about was that "they" know who we are all associating with - which made me start wondering/worrying who he's been associating with for it to cause such concern...

For many many MANY more details on this theory - so many more that you will start fidgeting in your purse and think about getting dropped off a few blocks early - find cab driver in his late 50s/early 60s with disheveled white hair last seen on Broadway and 79th.

Concerned?

Nothing like getting a notice in the mail that there's a problem with your tax return!

Especially when you're compulsive like me--I nearly had an aneurism when I started reading that my refund could be reduced and fines could be incurred if corrective action isn't taken within ten days! (which judging by the date of the notice has already passed-why I outta!) You can imagine my panic. My mind started racing... what did I do wrong?... I knew I wasn't up to this... I knew I'd make a mistake...I TOLD my dad I didn't want to do my own taxes (never mind the fact that my masters was in tax and that I do lots of taxes)--I just don't like the accountability when it comes to doing my own.

So apparently my subconscious felt the same way and took a stand by not signing my return. Thank heavens that's easy to fix: One signature later and I'm fully compliant! I'm not going down like Capone.

Fair-Weathered

I remember people telling me that moving to New York in January was not a great idea. They said it was cold and dreary and that I might get depressed. They said how much better it would be to come in the spring. I thought they were exaggerating the influence of weather and the seasons, but now that spring has sprung I see what all the fuss was and is about! While I was unaware at the time of any alleged depression due to winter in the city, the light-hearted freedom I now feel makes me wonder if I wasn't in fact suffering from some circadian rhythm defects that have now been most blessedly healed by the sun! So as to take full advantage of the double blessing of weather and freedom from work, ali, maria and I rented bikes and took a spin around the island. A spin, however, doesn't do it justice, as what started out easy became quite a workout by the end of our 4-hour tour, which took us down the Hudson around the financial district and back up the East River... [refer to either of their blogs for undoubtedly better descriptions--biking apparently made me too tired to write about biking]

Note to self: sucking on a lollipop in above fashion makes your face look very weird and may not be a best practice for future pictures. Just maybe. Or definitely.


Amateur Night at the Apollo Theater in Harlem with Laura and her fun ward... I had a harder time with the "boo"-ing of participants than I would have expected. I was so excited at the prospect of heckling, but when it came down to it, I just wanted to cheer for everyone and I wanted to go give the people who got "boo"-ed off a big hug. I sat there worrying about how in less than 5 minutes we were undoing the years of self-esteem building that some darling mother has slowly and steadily been working on for years!


Followed by a rooftop afterparty with delicious food... LOVE it!

So HAPPY SPRING to all!

Tempering Expectations for my peace of mind…

I’ve had a bit of blogging paralysis of late, as evidenced by a complete lack of posts these past few months. And while I’d love to blame it on busy season (my favorite excuse for everything these days and a semi-annual undisputable justification for tax accountants everywhere to get out of unpalatable jobs and activities), I can’t! I’m not a true PwC employee as yet. I haven’t really weathered a busy season. Somehow I avoided it. But as with all things you read here, please don’t tell them! Although I haven’t adjusted to this whole idea of working yet (and wouldn’t mind getting to stay home and sleep in again), I HAVE become quite accustomed to those direct deposits they take care of for me and the things they enable me to do and better yet, eat!

Recently I’ve been getting some definite flak for failing to update, and that’s made me wonder… what IS the reason that I never write. And I’m realizing that it all comes down to expectations, and my fear of failing to meet them. So I’ve decided that if this blogging bit is going to work for me I need to make a few things clear before I proceed…

And that is the blaring fact I am just plain old Liz Hansen, the one who’s kind of OCD, kind of lazy, kind of nerdy, kind of indulgent, and kind of indifferent to hair and make-up. Living in New York hasn’t changed that. I’m still me. I don’t hang out with celebrities. I don’t see celebrities, or anyone of import for that matter… except for the guy from SNL, who I SHOULD know but don’t… [see cute Sarah’s blog for pics]

So for all my Utah loves, these updates from NY may not be the astounding adventures I’m sensing that you want me to produce. And to all my NY friends, I am undoubtedly not as cool and chic as you… I work for an accounting firm for crying out loud… can you say Albert Brennaman?

So please no expectations.

Tribute to the 79th Street Laundry People!

Since moving to the city a month ago, I've discovered all sorts of phenomenal things about living here... but today I am particularly grateful for what I am afraid is an often over-looked and under-appreciated aspect of the New York City lifestyle. And that is the freedom from doing my laundry! At first I thought it was amazing when I was able to drop off and pick up my laundry the next day, but this weekend I discovered the absolute ideal... same-day pick-up and delivery service--meaning that I can call the darling couple that runs the 79th Street Laundry Service and they'll send someone over to pick up my dirty clothes. For just one extra dollar they'll come get my 22-pound bag of laundry (seriously, 22 pounds!) and return it later that afternoon with the most impeccable folding job I've ever seen! I'm telling you... these people are incredible! If it were a publicly traded company I would DEFINITELY invest, as opposed to my company's various 401K funds for which I have no passion whatsoever!

P.S. As Kate Connolly now-Anderson so astutely pointed out, it's Cadbury mini-Easter egg time, and considering the early Easter we're facing this year, I recommend you follow our lead and stock up now before you find yourself in a post-Easter funk without any of the world's greatest creations! But I would NOT recommend that you do what I did by putting a bag into your desk drawer (the BIG bag) and eating it egg by egg (only pulling out two or three at a time) until it's gone and you spend the evening embarrassed and nursing a stomach ache!

Waiting on my Montage: Cue The Music

Apparently I live in New York, where every morning I wake up surprised by my surroundings. And every day I find another reason that I love the city. And every day I get more and more nervous about the impending busy season.

And any time people ask me about living here I feel like such a poser. I don't wear cool clothes. I don't know what a hedge fund does. I don't make a million dollars. And what's worse--I don't even care to make a million dollars... All of which are exile-deserving flaws, so I'm trusting that you won't tell. It'd be a shame to be kicked off the island after finally finding an apartment and signing a year lease! (Which consequently is for an apartment you are all invited to visit. I say invited because I'm trying to sound polite and hospitable, but as I get more desperate and homesick for all of you, this will likely turn into more of a demand--so start saving money for your flights and broadway shows now. Consider yourselves fairly warned.)

So… there is a definite movie-like quality to living in the city. As I'm essentially walking through the scenes of You've Got Mail, I feel undoubtedly like I'm in a movie! as an EXTRA, which is serious cause for concern. I ought to be the LEADING LADY of [my] own life!'---true words of wisdom from an adorable (albeit fictitious) old man that struck a chord and prompted Steph to create a phenomenal playlist-gumption.

But alas, until the music starts playing, the romantic interest enters, and time starts flying (all while I'm getting movie-star-skinny AND becoming extremely competent at my job with seeming ease), I'm stuck in the real world where I have to grow up one day at a time. So if only my ipod hadn't broken I could turn the music up really loud and PRETEND that my life had its very own montages that fast forward through some of the tough going and would help me wake up on the other side of April 15th.