About Amanda
I’m a disgruntled LIRR commuter by morning, real estate journalist by day, insomniac by night, and cancer butt-kicker for life.
Where To Find Me
Nobody Puts Baby in the Corner
Published January 7, 2012 | A Writer’s Book of Days (01/07) – Once, When No One Was Looking…
104.3, advertisement. 97.5, talk show. 103.1, The Beatles., 94.3, alternative rock. 106.7, a bumper previewing the upcoming ’80s segment. I keep that station on.
I was driving down Sunrise Highway, on the service road. I don’t remember where I was going – perhaps South Shore Mall or Home Depot, two of the few reasons I’d drive the service road. It was a breezy summer day, so I kept the windows opened a crack instead of using the air conditioner.
Then I heard the haunting piano intro. She’s like the wind, through my trees… Patrick Swayze had recently died. The station was playing the song in his memory. How could I not sing along?
I was alone, which was good. I generally don’t like singing in front of people, especially cheesy ’80s music. No cars were around me either, so I started to belt it out, particularly the female duet. I was getting really into it.
No cars had been around me at the beginning of the song, but I had pulled up to a red light, oblivious that there were now cars all around me. Just a fool to believe I have anything she needs… The man to my right honked and waved. I snapped back to reality, slightly embarrassed.
But I realized he’d never see me again. He was making a right and the light was about to turn green. You bet your bippy I finished. Just a fool (just a fool) to believe (just a fool to believe) she’s like the wind…
The 31st Day of Christmas – For Auld Lang Syne
Published December 31, 2011 | I can’t believe 2011 is nearly over. It seems like only yesterday we were sitting in my best friends’ living room watching Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve and waiting to see if Y2K would make the world blow up. Even worse, I remember when Prince’s (the artist formerly known as the Artist Formerly Known as Prince?) “1999″ was so far into the future.
Overall, 2011 was a decent year.
- Although January saw our car Zephyr’s first accident, it was repaired to even better condition that when Lexcie and I first purchased it. We traveled to many places in that car, including New England and down the East Coast to Virginia to see my friends Chris and Nicole get married. We then traveled to West Virginia, a state I’ve never been to before. I wish I knew how many miles we put on the car this year. Over 3,000, at least.
- Our travels also took us to Great Britain, Scotland, and Wales for 10 days in October, the first time I’ve ever been to Europe. It was a fantastic trip.
- I was promoted to an editorial position at my job.
- Healthwise, I reached my sixth year of being cancer free – each day is a celebration! But additional celebrating at the I’m Too Young for This! Cancer Foundation‘s (i[2]y) OMG Summit in NYC in April sent me in for a battery of tests after I discovered I had a strange reaction to drinking alcohol (so my memories of the booze cruise weren’t exactly as fun as everyone else’s). After eight months or so, arrows are pointing to a potential gallbladder issue, but I don’t find out until January 2. My body really needs to give me a break!
- I met a whole bunch of new friends this year, particularly through i[2]y, my lymphoma support group on Facebook, Long Island Tweetup, and 140ConfLI.
- I accomplished plenty of items from my 101 in 1,001 list.
The 10th Day of Christmas – Best Holiday Songs
Published December 10, 2011 | A few days ago, I remarked on Twitter that I haven’t heard Band Aid’s “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” on the radio at all this holiday season. The Daily Snip, however, has heard it about 30 times since I tweeted that. It made me start thinking about my favorite holiday songs ever. And no, it’s not “Do They Know It’s Christmas.”
First, an interesting graph, courtesy of xkcd.com:
Only two of my songs fall into that category. Here they are in no particular order:
1) “Night of Silence/Silent Night“ - Daniel Kantor. We sang this in elementary school one Christmas and it’s been my favorite ever since.
2) “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” - the Judy Garland version. It’s sentimental, yet sad. No one matches Judy’s version from Meet Me in St. Louis.
3) “O Holy Night“
4) “All I Want for Christmas is You” - Mariah Carey. NOT the one with Justin Bieber.
5) “Oh Come All Ye Faithful/Adeste Fidelis“
6) “The 12 Days of Christmas” - John Denver and The Muppets. This was always my favorite from the album, particularly Miss Piggy and Beaker.
7) “Keep Christmas With You” by Sesame Street. My favorite is the version from Christmas Eve on Sesame Street.
8 ) “The Christmas Song” - Nat King Cole
9) “Where Are You Christmas?“ – Faith Hill
10) “Baby It’s Cold Outside“ – Dinah Shore and Buddy Clark
The 8th Day of Christmas – Christmas in NYC
Published December 8, 2011 | When I was younger, I went to St. Mary’s School in East Islip. Every December 8, we’d have the day off for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, so we took the opportunity to go into Manhattan and spend the day doing fun holiday things. Even though I’m not off on that day anymore, I love spending at least one full day in the city doing holiday things. My favorites, in no particular order: Continue reading
The 5th Day of Christmas – Oh Christmas Tree
Published December 5, 2011 | The only artificial Christmas tree I’ve ever owned was the two-footer that sat in my dorm room at college. Other than that, I will always get a real Christmas tree. Nothing beats the smell, the feel, the frustration, and the satisfaction of having a real tree.
Most years, we buy our tree from a lot, slowly walking up and down the rows of Douglas firs, looking for the right one. Criteria: between 7 1/2 to 8 feet tall, nice and full, plenty of branches for ornaments, strong branches on the bottom for heavy ornaments, and some gaps for the special ornaments we’d like to showcase. Usually the process takes about half an hour or so. But this year? Less than 30 seconds. Mom and I walked into Lowe’s to pick up some wreaths, saw a tree standing to the side, said “That’s the one!” and off it was hauled to the car. It was perfect, and here it is in all its decorated glory: Continue reading