Bright Idea

Day: One Hundred and Twenty One

Photo taken on Tuesday, November 30, 2010 in Jenn's car outside of the Rhythm and Soul dance studio in Levittown, NY at 731pm.

As cold as it is outside, we are hot and sweaty messes after attending Edna's Zumba class. I first experience Edna at the Massapequa Lucille Roberts one Thursday evening when our usual instructor, Kristen, is out sick and boy am I not prepared for her energy! She likes to not take breaks at all and I seriously think she crams in 500 songs in one hour. It is nonstop dancing but fantastic fun! There are points when I look over at Jenn and just laugh because I can't even keep up with the speed in which Edna is dancing. It is insanely fast but definitely a great workout! Feel free to take the Edna challenge with us one Tuesday night!

Mulan

Day: One Hundred and Twenty

Photo taken on Monday, November 29, 2010 on my balcony at 812pm.

Right now I'm reflecting on an interesting encounter I had today at the Surge. I admit, sometimes I get annoyed when I receive medical record requests because it requires me to find a chart and it is such a long process to do so but this time feels different. This time the patient is absolutely lovely on the phone and I find her chart without much effort.

When she comes in to retrieve it a few hours later she welcomes me with a sweet smile. She is an elderly lady with a very bright disposition and starts a conversation with me about how she did medical records for thirty years. We end up talking for a good 15 minutes because she is the kind of person that is so nice that she makes you want to be a better person. Before she leaves she insists upon giving me candy that she has in her pockets and I can't help getting choked up. Here is a stranger who just met me and already she has opened her heart up, and even her arms, as she asks if she can give me a hug.

This is a moment I want to keep inside me forever, to remember that there are good people out there that are just as caring and loving as myself. I take pride in my honesty, fairness, and open heart and today I meet another person who believes in the same things I do. It doesn't take much to give a little and then pay it forward. Her presence reminds me today that as down as I get, I have to have faith that a little bit of sunshine can still get through no matter what.

Mood Swings

Day: One Hundred and Nineteen

Photo taken on Sunday, November 28, 2010 at 937am.

Sometimes when I work I get bored (weird, I know, right?) so I tend to draw at my desk. Since I'm not a very good artist it takes a long time to finally create something that has been floating around in my head for awhile. Today I finally finish my third "Katie's Moods at Work" picture. These are the only three moods I have at the Surge and I use manga characters to depict them:

1) Nara Shikamaru- "Work...what a drag." This is when I'm being extremely lazy and complain a lot. I'm usually in the "Shika Mood" every Monday without fail. I'm also in this mood when I am busy wallowing in self pity from some personal issue not caused by work but more often than not caused from transit or something equally as trivial.

2) Edward Elric- "Determined Chart Face" Eddo already resides in my head but he definitely comes out when I have a fire under my ass usually on Tuesdays and Fridays. These days I get a ridiculous amount of work done as if I have a bunch of shadow clones working beside me.

3) Ryuk- "Let's get out of here and play some GTA4." (I think I left out the A in Grand Theft Auto, I knew it looked off!) When I read Death Note I read the shinigami as a goofball even though he's supposed to be scary. When I'm most like Ryuk, I'm bouncing around the Surge, talking up a storm, getting work done but doing it in a fun fashion.

I think I'm preferred on my "Ryuk Days".

Snape, Snape, Severus Snape.

Day: One Hundred and Eighteen

Photo taken on Saturday, November 27, 2010 in the Farmingdale Multiplex at 344pm.

Maeve and I are HUGE Potter geeks totally knee deep into Pottermania and we don't care what you think about that. Even though the seventh movie came out last week, we waited for the chance to watch it together for the first time. It is soooooo good! We eagerly await the next and final part and hope all you other Pgeeks come along for the ride. (Don't try to hide, we know who you are.)

PS- Maeve bought me that scarf!!

Listening Leg

Day: One Hundred and Seventeen

Photo taken on Friday, November 26, 2010 in the New York Transit Museum in Brooklyn Heights, NY at 235pm. (Legs pictured: mine is center, dad to my left, Anna, Moma, Pher, and Steve)

It is one of those moments when someone touches their nose then someone else puts their finger to their nose and giggles about it until the others in the room realize what's going on and then everyone is touching their nose, not wanting to be the last one to do it. It's like that, only with legs. Dad put his leg up on this thing while we are all in the middle of a conversation and Steve jokingly mimics him. Not to be outdone, I follow suit. Anna definitely catches on with a sly smile and beats Pher to the punch. Moma stops mid-sentence, looks around at all of us, notices our silly grins, and then puts her leg up as well.

It is just too perfect of a moment not to share with you.

Happy Turkey Day!

Day: One Hundred and Sixteen

Photo taken on Thursday, November 25, 2010 at 542pm in our dining area. (Pictured: Charlie, Anna, Pher, Grandma, Moma, Dad, Kim, Preston, and Steve)

With a lot of help and love from my family, Steve and I are able to put on our first holiday as a married couple and it is a success! I always knew it takes a lot of preparation to put on Thanksgiving but I now have a new found respect for my parents for entertaining all those years. Sure I would be up at the same time they were on Thursday morning but I would be out the door and off to the parade with the Pelkowski's, never knowing how many times you actually have to baste the bird throughout the day. It is a lot of work to put out an extravagant spread but as the night was winding down, Steve admits to me that he would gladly do this again.

The Desserterie

Day: One Hundred and Fifteen

Photo taken on Wednesday, November 24, 2010 in my kitchen at 631pm.

Currently Moma is teaching me how to make her tasty apple pie so I am peeling the apples while she cuts them into slices. We make a pretty good team in the baking department and I have faith that tomorrow the dessert spread will be impressive and scrumptious. Kim has already made three types of cookies, we have two other pies down, and a few more goodies up our sleeves.

So this means that everyone is invited to come over this weekend and eat all the leftovers because a Raab holiday spread isn't done right unless it's done up!

Maeve's Heaven

Day: One Hundred and Fourteen

Photo taken on Tuesday, November 23, 2010 by the file cabinet in my office at 939am.

One of the doctors sent over these delicious bite-sized cupcakes for taking such good care of his patients when at the Surge (and of course we all dive in well before lunch). These creations are from Baked By Melissa and all of the different combinations are out of this world. I am so surprised about how much flavor is packed into each tiny helping. This is definitely a cool gift idea for the season!

The base keep runnin' runnin' and runnin' runnin'.

Day: One Hundred and Thirteen

Photo taken on Monday, November 22, 2010 in the Time Out Room holding my fifth running award of my career at 940pm.

Not only do I beat my 10k time by four minutes I actually place in my age category for once in the Yes Your Energy Shines 10k race on November 7 in Center Moriches. I have no idea I place since they have listed me as 31 years old so when I check my official time days later, I email them the unfortunate mistake. The race directors are very nice and helpful and even send me my award right away!

The last time I have a race this good I am disappointed I do not place, coming in 4th, and Kim tells me I PRed so that should be enough but I can't help feeling like I failed myself. She says I can't always have both and teasingly tells me to stop being selfish and take just the PR. But I guess for this race I'm greedy and you know what? It feels damn good to do both!

Bed Head

Day: One Hundred and Twelve

Photo taken on Sunday, November 21, 2010 in the living room at 1007am.

Steve and I are so similar that it is downright frightening. I don't mind having so many of the same personality traits; however I do mind waking up with hair that looks exactly like his.

Popping up a Sidewalk

Day: One Hundred and Eleven

Photo taken on Saturday, November 20, 2010 by the butterfly table at 904pm.

I'm very hard to define: outwardly I'm not the most feminine creature but I do love earrings, bracelets, and things that are pink. I'm certainly not traditional yet I hold my drumsticks that way. I'm Republican but I agree with the liberals on issues like gay marriage and abortion. I get very sensitive and emotional at times though I understand men better than I do women. I'm very logical with my thinking but irrational with my compulsions.

So when it came time to pick a last name on my marriage license, I struggled immensely. I wanted to honor thy husband and take his and I rationalized it by saying I would only have to change two letters, that it would still be the same initials and length. But then I felt my individuality start to slip and I panicked, asking Steve if I could keep my own last name. His initial reaction was one of hurt and I resigned myself to getting used to my new last name.

A year passed and I still never got used to it. In fact, I hated it. I didn't like to be referred to as Mrs. Reed and continued to make reservations under the name Raab. I then started to compromise using a hyphen and decided to eventually go to the courts to make it official. But then I started to get mail in the new hyphenated name only it had no hyphen. Not only did the hyphenated name sound ridiculous in the first place, it looked ridiculous without a hyphen.

Today after receiving one too many mailings with Raabreed on it, I screamed and Steve conceded.

I'm going back to my roots.

Frosty the Snowman

Day: One Hundred and Ten

Photo taken on Friday, November 19, 2010 in the Smithtown train station parking lot after returning from our time with the twins at 1130pm.


The first frost of the season! Seems odd that I have to chip off the ice at night, right? But I guess this sort of thing happens when you start your car before the frost has a chance to form... because you leave for work so freakin' early!

Dadquest

Day: One Hundred and Nine

Photo taken on Thursday, November 18, 2010 in dad's Lincoln heading down Bruckner Blvd at 354pm.

We are on our way to order the bird for my first ever hosting of a holiday! Of course we hit traffic even though it's early and of course dad refuses to sit in it. He has this thing about being stationary so instead he takes the first exit he can and maneuvers through neighborhoods and towns as if he's lived there his entire life. I'm not sure how dad accomplishes this, how he knows every road possible, but he does. It's as if Google Earth consulted him before going live on the internet.

Lights, Camera, Action!

Day: One Hundred and Eight

Photo taken on Wednesday, November 17, 2010 directly outside of the Surge at 509pm in front of the movie lighting equipment.

Cassandra informs me today that there are a ton of movie people outside setting up to film Mr. Popper's Penguins right on our block! I am so very excited that I text Maeve the news and she quickly researches what it is and who is starring...

JIM CARREY! And I guess some penguins?

Shotty

Day: One Hundred and Seven

Photo taken on Tuesday, November 16, 2010 at my desk at 857am.

There are a lot of perks to working at the Surge:

1. I work for dad. (Simple enough.)
2. Sometimes my boss takes me out to lunch. (That means it's FREE.)
3. Sometimes we all get free lunchies for random reasons on random days.
4. Free breakfast every day. (An assortment of breads, muffins, and bagels)
5. Free (good) water, juice, and soda.
6. Transportation is paid for. (That saves me $390 a month.)
7. Healthcare is paid for. (Beat that Obama!)
8. 401k that matches up to 10%.
9. Everyone gets a cake for their birthday paid for by the Surge and handpicked by yours truly.
10. Nurse's Day, Admin Day, and Boss's Day are observed.
11. We have potlucks...alot.
12. As much overtime as I want.
13. Doctors and nurses that are there to answer any health-related questions you may have. (Or fix you up when you break a foot.)
14. Free flu shots.
15. A sizeable Christmas bonus.

Today I can add, PPD testing (right there at my desk) to the list. Sure beats making an appointment at a doc's office and taking a day off of work for something so trivial.

Just hear those sleigh bells jingling!

Day: One Hundred and Six

Photo taken on Monday, November 15, 2010 (half in the kitchen half not) at 744pm.

I go to the store for something important and come back with this instead. I don't even remember what I go to the store for because once I spot this, this is all I need. It's never too early in the holiday season for eggnog, especially Southern Comfort eggnog. If you find it, buy it. Not for you but for me. It sells out so quickly here I need to stock up. Southern Comfort eggnog care packages are a perfect gift and if a bottle of real Southern Comfort finds its way into the package too, I won't complain.

Sagat

Day: One Hundred and Five

Photo taken on Sunday, November 14, 2010 behind the King's Chair at 424pm.


I love Tiger Balm. I love the smell. I love the feel of it on my skin. I even love the little jar it comes in. I love it so much that sometimes I overwork my muscles just to get the chance to use it.

"Yup, works on everything except nearsightedness and cavities."-Spike Spiegel

Jim Halpert

Day: One Hundred and Four

Photo taken on Saturday, November 13, 2010 by the time-out room door at 908pm. (I didn't need the room, don't worry.)

I used to love having short hair. I had it short throughout college and it was easy to manage especially before class when I had ten minutes to get there in time and no minutes to get ready. So when I made the decision to donate my hair again, I forgot to take in the fact that most women don't have short-short hair like this anymore. And it's probably because of Justin Bieber.

In the past week, I have looked in the mirror after styling only to feel like an emo teen boy is staring back out at me. It's really quite disturbing. Back when I had short hair, boys wore their hair like boys. Now boys wear it like punk rocker girls.

And after snapping this picture, I realize the angle on my nose doesn't help the "I have boy hair" factor. Today, I definitely look like John Krasinski:

Jason

Day: One Hundred and Three

Photo taken on Friday, November 12, 2010 in the kitchen at 1154pm.

I saw this shirt at Comic Con and I had to get it and it seemed very appropriate to wear it today.

Plus I didn't want to wait until August 12, 2011.

R.L. Stine

Day: One Hundred and Two

Photo taken on Thursday, November 11, 2010 in the bathroom at 937pm.

Steve is ruggedly handsome, with his wavy hair and four days growth on his face. It is because of this facial hair that I get a good dose of goosebumps everyday. All he has to do is give me a hug and brush against my neck and half my body will erupt in the tiny bumps. Depending on which side he's on, that is the side that gets it and the other side is totally unaffected. It's kind of creepy that my body does this.

Return of Ghost Hand

Day: One Hundred and One

Photo taken on Wednesday, November 10, 2010 in the Surge kitchen at 228pm. (Pictured: Valerie, Cassandra, Maryann, and Tania)

Right now we are toasting Cassandra at her surprise bridal shower. Valerie does such a nice job decorating (she did mine too!) and the kitchen table has never looked so fantastic! Unfortunately, we did not give Two Little Red Hens enough time to bake an ordered cake so I quickly call another bakery I totally love: Dortoni's.

Steve introduced me to this bakery when we started dating and they never disappoint kind of like Cassandra's chocolate mousse cake today. Everyone starts raving about the flavor and that it is so fresh and moist. They then enquire where I purchased this heavenly cake and I tell them in Levittown; they are shocked I carried it in from there and quite frankly, I am too. My arms still hurt me from lugging it up 12 flights of stairs, balancing it on three trains (two of which I had to stand, no one offered me a seat, shocker!), and walking four (long) blocks and did I mention the cake is like fifteen pounds? It is definitely worth all the trouble because the entire 10" square goodness is gone before the day is over.

But then bossdad comes in to toast Cassandra as well and make the announcement that from now on, all cakes are to come from Dortoni's. Lucky me.

Cake Bitch

Day: One Hundred

Photo taken on Tuesday, November 9, 2010 on 86th Street in between 3rd and Lexington Avenues at 1056am.

I hold in my hand two cakes from the Two Little Red Hens bakery. Today we at the Surge are celebrating six October birthdays with a Brooklyn Blackout and a Red Velvet. One day I volunteered to pick up the dessert for my coworkers and have done so ever since. They all swear I pick out the best cakes for the occasion but I suspect the real reason I go is because no one wants to walk the six blocks to go pick it up. I don't mind really, gets me out of the building for a bit and I get to look at beautifully decorated cakes. We used to buy from Hot & Crusty for all our birthday cake needs but one time we received a cake from them that was not hot but definitely crusty so we (happily) made the switch to the Hens.

I am the night!

Day: Ninety Nine

Photo taken on Monday, November 8, 2010 on my regular train at 548pm.

It is that time of year again, the time of year when I am convinced it is night forever.

When I get up in the morning, it is pitch black. When I ride the LIRR, it remains night-like. When I come out of the subway it is still dark and when I leave the Surge it's just as dark. Since I have no windows in my office, I am convinced the sun never comes out at all.

Ta-Da!

Day: Ninety Eight

Photo taken on Sunday, November 7, 2010 in the living room at 1242pm.

I am happy to learn that I still know how to blowout short hair and that I still have my old styling products. So what if they're four years old...

Gracia Hughes

Day: Ninety Seven

Photo taken on Saturday, November 6, 2010 in the bathroom doorway at 1227pm.

I did it. It's done. I have cut off 13 inches of my hair.

Actually John from Head Sessions cuts it off for me this morning and since I forget to bring a bag to store it in, he gives me the Ziplock he brought his candy in. I am very grateful for this because knowing me I would lose the two ponytails before I could even address the envelope to Beautiful Lengths. Barbara then does my highlights, asking me what color I would like. I shrug and tell her she can pick for me, I trust her completely. She has been doing my hair coloring since I was 16 and has kept track of each dying session since. When I get blown out later I am very happy with the results: blond highlights with chunky reds mixed in throughout. It looks really cool with my new cut too.

I am so looking forward to using less shampoo and conditioner. I also can't wait to break out the manipulators, pastes, pomades, and waxes I used to style with!

Heads

Day: Ninety Six

Photo taken on Friday, November 5, 2010 in my office at 816am.

You won't see a ponytail as long as this on me for at least another four years.

28 going on 16

Day: Ninety Five

Photo taken on Thursday, November 4, 2010 in the bathroom at 856pm.

I am getting desperate. I have more acne now as an adult then I did as an adolescent. Tonight I'm trying a mask to help flush out my pores. It makes my skin tight and when it dries it feels like plastic which disturbs Steve (he's too chicken to try it out though). I think if puberty does not stop by the time I'm 30, I'm dying my hair white in order to trick my brain into thinking I'm elderly; maybe then I'll finally have clear skin.

My Induction

Day: Ninety Four

Photo taken on Wednesday, November 3, 2010 at the Chelsea Manor in New York, NY at 841pm.

This is Cassandra. She is the life of the party whenever the Surge crowd goes out at night and also everyday when she walks into work. She greets all of us individually with a bright smile and a kind word no matter what the weather is or how late she stayed up the night before; she comes in fresh and if you're still in a bad mood after she pops her head into your office to say hello, there is something majorly wrong with you. Her positive nature is energizing so when I am offered a spot next to her at the food tasting for our Christmas party, I jump at the chance.

Here we are enjoying a bubblegum flavored cocktail in between two savory entrees. I am so happy to be here tonight, trying out food I would normally pass up and engaging in fun conversations with my coworkers after hours. I don't mind that I get home around 1230 because tonight I officially become a member of their "crowd".

Chores

Day: Ninety Three

Photo taken Tuesday, November 2, 2010 in the bathroom at 1005pm.

Blowing out my extremely long hair? Yeah. Not going to miss that.

Tosh.0

Day: Ninety Two

Photo taken on Monday, November 1, 2010 at the top of the stairs at 1010pm.

Moma sends us a rather large tin can full of four types of popcorn for our Halloween party. Upon opening the container, Steve makes a decision that we will hide it when guests come over because the caramel popcorn is just too darn delicious to share. I leave it out anyway for everyone but luckily Jenn brings over a big bag of popcorn for the partygoers so Steve's precious cheese flavored popcorn is safe!

Thanks for the snackies, mom!