Office prank with balloons

My co-workers and I decided to fill up one of my co-workers offices who has been out on jury duty for 2 weeks with balloons. We also sent 1 balloon in a box via messenger to his house...reminiscent of the movie Seven. We spent all day inflating these balloons and one co-worker actually got injured as the one she was blowing popped her in the eye. And people say productivity in this nation is declining!

Matthew Fox from LOST finds my office building!

Just ran into Matthew Fox outside my building...what a great start to the week.

He was on Regis and Kelly, which is filmed here. As you can see, I got pretty close to the dude.

Lots of professional autograph seekers and paparrazi though. They are really annoying.

I was probably one of three real fans out there. One of them was this younger girl with her mom. She got a great photograph with him. Way to go! Did you know he was going to be a banker after graduating from Columbia?

This season of LOST is great thus far. The Asian dude in the season is getting on my nerves though. Gold Star for placing him in a previous movie distributed by New Line Cinema...any guesses?

Superman is in the building!

If you missed this year's Slam Dunk Contest, you missed The Official Dwight Howard show.


Check this out.

Moving from Brooklyn to Brooklyn

Yesterday, A and I helped her brother move into his new place in Williamsburg from his 2nd floor walkup in Greenpoint. That's a lot of stairs! Thank God his new place had an elevator. In fact, his new place is really sweet. "Let me upgrade ya!"

Lots of dust inhalation from his old place...5 of us total, so pretty efficient. I'm dreading moving myself, which may happen within the next 6 months.

Roger Clemens is lying...and we all know it (including him)

What is really annoying about the hearings simulcast on ABC News Now, CNN, and ESPN is seeing these really unattractive congressmen berating not only Clemens, but also the weasel-looking Scott McNamee. It is a total ego trip for these losers to be wasting good taxpayers' money to create a circus for the media.

Not to mention, nobody's opinion was going to be changed on this hearing. There was absolutely nothing getting accomplished in this hearing.

Clemens: I didn't take HGH
McNamee: I gave it to him

It could have been over after that.

The weirdest twist is Mrs. Clemens (previously seen in SI's Swimsuit issue) got a little juice from the weasel as well.

Problems in the world that could be focused on but took a back seat: (a) War in Iraq, (b) War in Afghanistan, (c) Potential Recession, (d) Subprime mortgage losses, (e) Sudan. Not sure how one baseball player taking steroids required 15 of our nation's finest to sit in a cramped room just to get their mug on TV.

Another shooting at another college

This one is close to my heart as I used to take cello lessons at NIU in Dekalb. (did you know Cindy Crawford is from there?)

Anyway, here is the email notice that went out to all students:


Northern Illinois University
CAMPUS ALERT
3:20 p.m.
There has been a report of a possible gunman on campus. Get to a safe area and take precautions until given the all clear. Avoid the King Commons and all buildings in that vicinity

Hope this gets resolved swiftly and everyone is safe!

Goldman Sachs covers transgender sex change

Yo, next time you get that wink from that chick with an adam’s apple, think twice before winking back.

NEW YORK (Fortune) -- Wall Street is typically considered a pretty conservative place to work. But the classic white-shoe investment bank is loosening things up by adding health benefits that cover sex-change operations.

Not only is Goldman Sachs ranked No. 9 on Fortune's list of 100 Best Companies to Work For, it also appears on what could be a list of transgendered job-seekers' ideal employers as well.

Goldman added health-insurance coverage of sex reassignment surgery as part of a push last year to attract top talent and recruit and retain a more diverse workforce, the company said.

The surgery alone could cost an individual anywhere from $5,000 to $150,000 if they paid out of pocket, depending on their particular situation, said Pauline Park, chair of the New York Association for Gender Rights Advocacy, a group that campaigns for transgender rights. That figure doesn't include hormone and other drug treatments.

Goldman Sachs (GS, Fortune 500)' plan covers the actual surgery, as well as transgender-related prescription drugs, such as testosterone injections, said spokeswoman Gia Morón. It does not cover electrolysis and other cosmetic treatments, she said.

The surgery is free under the company's HMO and PPO plans as long as patients are screened and diagnosed with transsexualism and see an in-network doctor. Drugs are subject to regular prescription copays that are typically $5 to $30 a month.

Goldman is not the only financial firm that offers such benefits. Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500), Deutsche Bank (DB) and Wachovia (WB, Fortune 500) also offer some level of coverage for transgender treatments, according to a poll by the Human Rights Campaign - a gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender advocacy group.

The HRC asked Fortune 1000 corporations, large law firms and other companies to volunteer information on their policies and benefits; 519 employers responded. But companies on its list may cover just hormone therapy and related prescription drugs, and not the sex reassignment surgery, as Goldman does.

For example, Wachovia's health plan deems sex reassignment surgery "elective," and not medically necessary, so it doesn't pay for actual operations. But the bank does allow transgendered employees to take short-term disability leave for surgery and covers some related prescriptions, such as painkillers and antidepressants, said a company spokeswoman, Megan Roberts.

Wachovia also offers post-operative counseling and provides diversity and sensitivity training for the "transitioning" employee's officemates, allowing the person to "feel like they can come back to some sort of normal work environment," Roberts adds.

Air Jordan XX3

Air Jordans ready to launch! Great CNBC special looking into the secretive workings of Nike and their very strong Swoosh brand.

I heard he was on the Today Show, which got me excited since I was thinking maybe he's in NYC and he'd stop by our studio. That got me thinking to go buy a basketball and conveniently "run" into him and get his autograph. Did you know a signed basketball from him costs around $150,000 now?

But I was really disappointed to see that it was a pre-recorded interview with him somewhere else, not here in New York. One thing he should do - ditch the pirate earring. And that's advice from your #1 fan, Mike! Tough love, dude. Tough love.

Making the Band 4 Update

The guys get KICKED OUT of the studio by Diddy b/c they really really suck. Man, it is humbling but I think they are starting to realize that as a group, they need to start singing like a group. They are still singing like 5 guys trying to compete to be the star of the group.

Let's not forget Donnie, the Long Island dude, that also got sent back to the vocal coach.

They actually make Danity Kane sounds good!

Wait, what am I saying?

Grammys...fall flat

After watching another boring performance on the Grammys (like Fergie struggling through a solo with John Legend on the ivories), I had to turn it off...I guess America agreed as it was the third-lowest rated Grammys in its history. Even the writers couldn't save it.

Highlight - Amy Winehouse's 3 backup dancers who only sang "No No No" during her "surprise" performance live via satellite from London.

So what went wrong? Lots of slow songs, too many really really old performers, and lack of a host. Not to mention, the crowd was really not into the songs. I noticed a lot of silence during the performances.

Here's to hoping the Oscars are more exciting!

Felix...the house of Euro Trash

Ever notice that W.Broadway in SoHo is really the new house of Euro-Trash for Manhattan? Every time I walk around there, I feel like there is a hard core disco song pounding with dudes in alligator boots and girls spittin' French or something.

Building about to fall down in SoHo

Check out this building about to topple over in SoHo. I bet it's worth $15M. ha ha.

They had to create elaborate braces to support the building.

One day, someone will be making egges and start noticing that everything in their apartment will start sliding to the left...(to the left...)

Britney Spears Restraining Order

Wow.

http://www.aolcdn.com/tmz_documents/0205_sam_brit_wm.pdf

Vietnamese people take "Year of the Rat" too far

An interesting article seen today in the WSJ about Vietnamese people eating rat more and more. Here is an excerpt...

TU SON, Vietnam -- According to the Chinese calendar, the Year of the Rat begins tomorrow. But here it may have started sooner: Unexpected changes in Vietnam's food chain and diet have sparked a rodent-eating bonanza.

Due to bird flu, field rats have become a popular food in Vietnam. Watch how rats are caught and prepared, and see WSJ reporter James Hookway have a taste.

In Tu Son, a small village sitting near the banks of the Red River, rat hunter Ngo Minh Tam reckons "99%" of the people regularly dine on rat meat, an estimate local street vendor Nguyen Thi Le supports. "I've sold two kilos [almost 4.5 pounds] in the past quarter hour," she boasts, displaying a large metal bowl of skinned and cleaned bodies.

Rat-based cuisine is beginning to catch on in the big cities as well. Handwritten signs in some of the backstreets of Hanoi offer cash in return for freshly caught rat. "Both Vietnamese and foreign tourists are eating more rat meat these days," says Pham Huu Thanh, proprietor of the Luong Son Quan restaurant in Ho Chi Minh City, the former southern capital Saigon. Mr. Thanh serves rat grilled with lemon grass or roasted in garlic for around 60,000 Vietnamese dong, or $4, a serving. (Rat may taste like chicken, but with a tiny rat drumstick between your fingers, it's hard to pretend it really is.)

Rats have been a delicacy in Vietnam's rural areas for centuries, with recipes dating back 150 years. For a long time, however, this country's big city folk were generally less enthusiastic, often associating the animals more with garbage-digging vermin than mouth-watering entrees.

Nguyen Huy Duc stir-fries some rat. Smoking seems to help mask the smell.

But in 2004, flare-ups of bird flu claimed scores of lives here and prompted many diners to search for alternative sources of protein. Demand went up, but paradoxically supply did too. That's because rats' natural predators -- snakes and cats -- are increasingly finding themselves on the menus of posh restaurants frequented by wealthy Vietnamese.

In the Le Mat district of Hanoi, dozens of restaurants specialize in snakes either farmed for the table or caught by hunters. Other snakes are shipped to China, where they are also considered a delicacy. A booming economy has caused snake prices to double in the past year in some places to roughly $18 a pound.

And despite a 1998 government ban on cat consumption enacted to control the rat population, felines are also sometimes eaten at some restaurants; on menus, they appear as "little tiger."
"If people are eating the rats' natural predators, then that means more rats for us," says the spry Mr. Tam as he pursues his quarry one recent morning. The 53-year-old farmer and part-time taxi driver supplements his income by hunting the rodents in the fields and industrial estates around this village on the outskirts of Hanoi.

Nylon Magazine Sucks!

I've tried to subscribe to Nylon Magazine for A for awhile now and they are really crappy at their customer service. I ordered through their website and this was July 2007. It takes 8-12 weeks to get your first copy of a magazine once you order it. How come it takes that long in the first place?? 12 weeks is 4 months from the time you put in the order. So I wait until mid-November, call in December, get told that their systems are getting migrated to a new customer system and to call back in a few weeks since they are unable to look up my information. So I wait until Mid Jan to call. Same story. Just called again, and yet again, in another "10 days" their systems will be up. Do they NOT CARE about getting people to sign up for their magazine? Don’t' they want to get more subscribers? You can't even order the magazine now if you WANTED to b/c they don't have their systems up and running. What kind of idiots are running this magazine?? I just want my money back.

Jackie Vertuccio meets Whitney from The Hills!

Wow, talk about a run-in with an A-list celebrity (if you're a Hills fan)!!

A's co-worker, Jackie V, not only met Whitney but also had dinner and drinks with her at La Esquina in New York during Fashion Week.

If we were only all so lucky. Our sources tells us that she is "not dumb." She does not blank out during a conversation. Not sure if that's the greatest source of confidence…she's also stick-thin. We hope she doesn't disappear into thin air!

What's next for her for The Hills Season 3? Guess you'll have to wait and find out. Whitney currently works for a small PR firm, based in LA.

Where's LC? She's been seen hanging out with Audrina and Kevin Connelly (from Entourage) this past weekend at the Super Bowl. Rumor is that Kevin asked Audrina for her number and she rejected him. And then he moved on to hit on Kristin Cavelleri and while she paid him attention initially, she ditched him for Brody when he came through the party. Sucks being Kevin, huh?

Giants Win! And my meatloaf is a hit!

I made meatloaf for the first time last night and it wasn't too shabby if I say so myself. Crock pots are a miraculous invention. The secret ingredients? Brown sugar and ketchup.

The best part is to see the Patriots perfect season ruined by the unsuspecting Giants and Easy Eli scrambling out of pressure time and time again. Does anyone remember him being so nimble and active in and out of the pocket? Hats off to them for coming through in the clutch in the 4th quarter and keeping the potent Patriots offense off the field for most of the game.

My niece, Sophie

She is really cute.

Orange Bike

Walking through SoHo, minding my own business, when out of the corner of my eye, I see the most orange bicycle ever! I remember when I had a "Panasonic" bike during college with faulty brakes. I once rode into the bushes b/c I couldn't stop. But eventually that bike was stolen senior year. Suckas! I am betting that nobody will steal this bike however.

Go Cousin, It's yo Birthday!

Last night was a good time at my cousin's birthday party at Angels and Kings. So sweet when the company you work for also has a financial interest at a bar (aka free Vueve all night).

Met a random girl who used to be a student of my sisters wayyy back in the day. Totally random that she knows my cousin.

DJ was wack, but that's ok b/c she played "Kick in the Door" by Biggie followed by "Whoa" by Black Rob. I will definitely give her those hits. She also dropped "Sure Shot" by Beastie Boys. Man, hearing that song loud was great, but hearing live was even better over last summer at CenterStage.