I solemly Swear..

Welcome to the 6th floor. 

Today's contributors are: Ann

Subject:  Ann's 2009 Promise

 

I don't do 'normal' blog posts here often, preferring to stick to the group style.  This feels a little like the Fourth Wall of a Broadway play.  However, with my putrid care of the blog over the last couple of months, I feel to necessary to take a step back and try to work harder at creating something that people actually want to read.  Some bloggers or writers may say that they do it for themselves, but in my opinion every writer wants his story to be read.  Stories are like a writer's babies, and no one wants their baby to become a dusty paperweight in the back corner of some library, or the unread feed in someone’s feed reader.  So I'm going to lay out some rules and goals for 2009. 

 

I like the number 10.  10 posts a month, which seems like the right number since there isn't always a 'story' to blog about around here.

 

Try out different angles.  I've made a couple of posts which are more of my personal train of thought and observations, and I'd like to do more of that.  I'd also like to explore some of the more personal matters that go on around here.  I rarely blog about personal relationships, or any real negative stuff.  There will be more fights in 2009, more breakups, and hopefully more fun.  Reader input on the

 style of blog posts they like best are always welcome ,and encouraged.  Do people like it best when it's all six of us? Or are lesser, two-person blog posts exciting too?  I enjoy occasionally doing review type posts, particularly after a movie, or finding a cool new product.

 

More pictures!  I like pictures.  I probably could have a dozen blog posts just on some random observation we make, and if I photographed it, all the better.

 

Promote the blog better.  I think comments make blogs better, and an interactive readership is something that would be great.  If I get links out there, and draw more people in, this could happen.

 

I installed a Twitter feed on the top right of the site.  It's probably silly, and there is no way I'm going to start regularly sending in updates multiple times a day.  I've encouraged people to tweet the random one-liner though.  I may just do away with it entirely.

 

I intend to start writing a book.  I’ve been floating around ideas for a while, and It’s time to actually put pen to paper (fingers to keyboard) and start something.  I may post some blurbs here, and I’ll definitely upload much of it and link to it in the sidebar.

 

I’ve thought about buying a domain, for this as well as other things.  I’m not overly impressed with blogger, but I also don’t need bells and whistles.  The thing I hate most is the width of the actual text area. I wonder if I can get Sara to look at some of the code behind it and tweak it..hmm..

Toast Freedom

Welcome to the 6^th floor.

Today's contributors are: Ann, Sara, Tabitha, Frank, Billy and Scott.

Subject: 75^th Anniversary of Repeal Day

“So I get out three hours early on Friday. It’s our holiday party instead of a party.”

“Err…what was that?”

“Instead of a party, they’re just letting us go three hours early.”

“You could get started drinking early for Repeal Day.”

“Maybe. It’s the 75^th anniversary this year right?”

“I believe so. It really is a great holiday, you’ve got American History, drinking..it appeals to everyone!”

“Well, everyone except prohibitionists.”

“Those people don't exist anymore. Do they? DO THEY?!”

“Sure. There are still plenty of dry counties out there. The place where they make Jack Daniels

for one. Plenty of people still seem to think alcohol is a bad thing and a sin or something.”

“Silly (other) Americans!”

“I think I'll hit McSorley's..despite it not being historically friendly towards women.”

“Straight from the website, 'Established in 1854 – McSorley's can boast of being New York City's oldest continuously operated saloon.' It survived prohibition, and I think that's deserves a couple of half-pints of dark in it's honor. I'll meet you there after work.”

“Sweet!”

“I have to agree, this is the best drinking holiday of them all. There's too much green on St. Patrick's Day, and it's too Irish, not American. The night before Thanksgiving is nice, but no

one wants to be hungover and have to cook a turkey. New Years Eve is a great day too though.”

“I'd say New Years is more of a family holiday, a celebration of new beginnings, new chances, and the Twilight Zone.”

“Greatest drinking holiday or not, I'm going to make an effort on Friday.”

“Shouldn't be too hard at a great place like that. Hmm..do I want light first, or dark?”

“We'll get both and split them.”

“Smart.”

The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year?

Welcome to the 6^th floor.

Today's contributors are: Ann, Sara, Tabitha, Frank, Billy and Scott.

Subject: Final Month

“I warned you!” Ann intones, walking into the living room.

“No! Dive for cover!” Frank leaps behind the couch.

“I always feel like a celebrity talking to a tabloid when you 'interview' us like this Ann.”

“Well then it's good practice for when you are a celebrity right?”

“Oh sure, of course. Any day now.” Tabitha rolls her eyes.

“Fine, since you're all in such a bitchy mood ... Let's do what you hate most about December.”

“That's easy. The extra crazy lines for even the simplest of purchases.”

“Not a huge fan of the cold.”

“Christmas cards. I hate the buggers. Really, you wish me a happy holiday? Isn't that nice of you, let me hang onto this generic piece of paper to collect dust for a month!”

“The wretched heat in some places. They figure It's always going to be 20 out and blast it, but today, and many days in December are actually kind of nice. I wish they'd have a little more control over being able to set the thermostat day to day.”

“I hate seeing another year ticking to a close without me seemingly accomplishing anything. Tick..Tick...”

“Frank?”

....

“Frank! I see you behind the couch!”

“Fine. I hate the tree.”

“The Tree? The Rockefeller center Tree? Are you a terrorist? How can you hate the tree?!”

“No, I just hate the tree and the whole idolization behind it. Big deal, it's a big freaking tree. And who in their right mind goes ice skating there? It's packed like sardines!”

“Wow..maybe he is a terrorist.”

“But Frank..what about that wonderful scene in Home Al...”

Frank cuts her off. “Don't even get me started on Home Alone 2. I'll never watch something with Macaulay Culkin in it again.”

Leftovers For a Week

Welcome to the 6^th floor.

Today's contributors are: Ann, Sara, Tabitha, Frank, Billy and Scott.

Subject: Could there be anymore food?

“I hate to say it, but I'm full.”

Ann fakes surprise, “You'd better be, after all that.”

“I think he ate for three.”

“At least.”

“Yet we're still going to have leftovers.”

“That's a good thing. Leftovers are the best part of Thanksgiving.”

“I'm good with Turkey for one day, I don't think I could handle it as dinner all weekend. That's on you guys.”

“Gladly. Just make sure there is some stuffing and potatoes for me to eat with it.”

“We'll take care of removing the leftovers this weekend. It'll be a clean start by Monday.”

“I think us girls can take care of the pies.” Tabitha says, with a wink to Ann and Sara.

“Dibs on the chocolate crème.”

“I'm partial to the mincemeat tarts myself.”

“You're not going to share any of the dessert?” Billy pouts.

“Maybe a little.”

“That cheesecake looks scrumptious.”

“We can share some, we've got way too many desserts anyway.”

“Should we do one of those round robin “What I'm thankful for” things?”

“No.”

“Lame.”

“Pass.”

“Fine, but I'm going back to the monthly 'Tell me about December' post for the blog. Think about it.”

“Can we reuse last years?”

“No.”

“Billy groans.”

“Maybe I'll think of a slightly different question this year. Hey..where's Frank?”

Everyone looks around and notices Frank has left the table and is asleep on the couch.

“We've got our first Tryptophan casualty!”

“Who had Frank in the pool?”

“That'd be me.”

Everyone hands Scott five dollars.

Fortunate

Welcome to the 6^th floor.

Today's contributors are: Ann, Sara, Billy and Scott.

Subject: Fortunate

“What's that smell?” Ann asks, walking in.

“Dinner!”

“You cooked?”

“No, Scott took care of dinner this time.”

“Ahh, so it's take out.”

“I could cook if I wanted to, but those Chinese dudes down the block do it so much better.”

“Break out the fortune cookies!”

“This is a new place actually, they just opened. How could they know our fortunes already?”

“Magical cookie voodoo, here they are.”

“Woah. Are those half chocolate?”

“They are!”

“Marble fortune cookies, this I can get on board with!”

Sara bites into a fortune cookie, and pulls out her fortune.

“I like the chocolate! Delicious.”

“Billy yanks the fortune out of her hand: You are filled up with a sense of urgency. Be patient or you may end up confused.”

Sara frowns. “What's that mean?”

“It was right! You are confused!”

“It means you are rushing around so much that you've forgotten why you're rushing around.”

“Profound!”

Scott opens his and reads it aloud. “No one ever drowned in his own sweat. What? What kind of fortune is this? I think they're defective.”

“Open your mind. It's suggesting that that you shouldn't be afraid to get a little dirty, do a little work.”

“Who said I'm afraid dirty? Not me!”

“Relax Scott, I don't think the Cookies are meant as a personal insult.”

“Passive aggressive fortune cookies? Now there's an idea.”

“As long as they're chocolate.”

“Amen.”

Dinner Delicious

Welcome to the 6^th floor.

Today's contributors are: Ann, Sara, Tabitha, Frank, Billy and Scott.

Subject: 6^th Floor Blog Chows Down

“I apologize Frank. This meal is very yummy.”

“Told you I could do it.”

“Sorry I doubted you.”

“Me too...I'm sorry I ordered that chinese food now.” Billy says, as the buzzer buzzes.

“Love that vote of confidence. I'll get it.” Frank gets up to retrieve Billy's food.

“I can't believe you ordered food Billy! That was mean.”

“Actually, I asked Mike to ring the buzzer for me.”

“That's just funny!”

“It is pretty funny.”

Mike: “Well I thought it was funny. I offered him an old fortune cookie when he got downstairs.” Mike said as he and Frank return.

“Now Mike's sharing a portion of the food, I hope you're happy.”

“No no, eat up. You made plenty.”

Mike: “What are we having?”

“It's some sort of Cheesy Ricey Vegetably casserole.”

“Vegetably?”

“Well, if something can be fruity, why not vegetably?”

“Well..because..umm..well..I guess..okay fine. Vegetably it is. Whatever it is, it's tasty!”

Dinner or Charbroiled Disaster?

Welcome to the 6^th floor.

Today's contributors are: Ann, Tabitha, Frank, Billy.

Subject: 6^th Floor Blog Eats Dinner

It's about 6:30pm when Billy walks in the door.

“Woah, what's that smell? What's for dinner?”

“Frank's cooking.”

“So toast?”

“Haha..no, it's a surprise.”

“Vegetarian?”

“I said it's a surprise!”

“But if I'm not going to be able to eat it I should know so I can make alternate plans.”

Tabitha hops off her stool and walks over to the stove to peek.

“Hey! Get out of here! Enforcer! Enforcer! Take care of her!”

“Sorry Tabitha.” Ann says, tackling Tabitha and pushing her into the living room.

“Dinner AND a show?” Billy says, watching Ann and Tabitha, “I'm sold.”

“You'll just have to trust I remembered you're a vegetarian Tabitha. Relax.”

“Fine.”

“I hope this turns out better than whatever you made yourself for dinner on Monday...”

“What kind of food did he make for dinner Monday?”

“I'm not sure it was classified as food. More like...rock.”

“I'm sure you've heard of 'learning from your mistakes'? I was multi-tasking and forgot to set the timer on Monday. Not a big deal. I'm paying attention now. It'll be tasty, I promise.”

“Trust me, I'm holding you to that.”

Leftovers

Welcome to the 6^th floor.

Today's contributors are: Ann, Sara, Tabitha

Subject: 6^th Floor Sins: Gluttony

“Okay, help me find room in the fridge. Billy...Billy? Hey...where'd the guys go?”

“They went to Catalina's for a drink. They claim they need to unwind from the trip to Jersey.” Tabitha says, putting down a huge tray of food and hanging up her coat.

“Figures. Well, help me find room for all this food. Sue really packed us the Billy sized doggie bag.”

“There was enough to feed an army!”

“And we took home enough to feed at least a small platoon.”

“I'm sure it'll go faster than we think. Especially if we don't feel Billy otherwise.”

“We're going to have to toss stuff to make room in this fridge. Think I can take out some of these beers?”

“Probably. We don't really need to have...what is that, 30?! Beers cold at one time.”

“Beer's meant to be drank warmer than that anyway. Nix some of it.”

“Don't think Frank will be annoyed if we remove it?”

“He could've helped, instead he bolted for the bar.”

“Wow, is this a whole tray of Baked Ziti?”

“Probably goes with this entire cheesecake...sans one slice.”

“And I believe that one slice was mine..Did Sue really just pack up all her leftovers and hand them to us?”

“Certainly looks that way. I have a whole plate of deviled eggs here.”

“Those don't last long. Better put them here.” Tabitha gestures towards the counter.

“I agree.” Ann says, popping an egg into her mouth.

“Oh, a large plateful of mashed potatoes. Craziness.”

“Didn't Sue say she was going on vacation tomorrow actually?”

“Right! She's going to St. Louis with her husband. I guess that's why she gave us all the leftovers.”

“Did you notice everyone on the train eying us? I think we made the whole train smell like food.”

“Probably.”

Meet Metrocard Millie

Welcome to the 6^th floor.

Today's contributors are: Ann, Sara, Billy and Scott.

Subject: Metrocard Millie

“Ugh! Gimme a quad espresso Scott.” Sara says at the register as she enters Starbucks.

“Sure Sara. Ann and Billy are over there.” Scott gestures to the corner. “I’ll bring it over for you.”

“Hey Sara! Didn’t think you were coming. What’s up?”

“Oh, you know. The usual; the MTA sucks.”

“Except the drivers.”

“You at least..”

“Bitching about the stupid celebrity announcements again?”

“Al Roker needs to shut the hell up.”

“Nah, just annoyed that my card didn’t seem to read right this morning, and then it only had 15 cents left on it. What am I supposed to do with 15 cents?”

“Give it Millie.” Scott says, as he brings over Sara’s espresso.

“Er..who is Millie?”

“You haven’t named your nipples again have you Scott? Because I’m not sure how I’d give your nipple a metrocard.”

“No. Millie’s a homeless person that comes in here occasionally. She walks around to all the subway stations and takes the discarded Metrocards hoping to find those nickels and dimes left on them. Then she takes a big pile of ‘em somewhere and gets them converted into cash.”

“Wow, they let her do that? I’d think they laugh at her.”

“I think she must be friendly with someone somewhere, or maybe they take pity on her. I don’t know. But she usually comes in here when she has a good day and gets a hot chocolate.”

“Well good for her. Reclaiming the probably millions of dollars the MTA saves by people discarding these.” Sara says, waving her 15cent metrocard at Scott.

“I asked her what the best stations were, but she wouldn’t tell me. Trade secret I guess.”

“Probably the PATH train stations. Especially 33^rd street.”

“Yeah. PATH fare is 25cents cheaper. Anytime anyone has to hop over to Jersey once they tend to end up with an extraneous dollar on their card or something.”

“I still have an odd-dollar amount from when we went to the Devils game in Newark. I’m hoping to go to another game and even it out though.”

“Well back to work guys. We should go get a beer or something tonight. I haven’t had one all week.”

“I had one already today.”

“Billy..it’s like 10am!”

“And I had one when I got home from work last night at 1am. So there.”

Billy sticks out his tongue at Ann.

“But I could always use another!”

Oblivion

Welcome to the 6^th floor.

Today's contributors are: Ann, Tabitha, Frank, and Scott.

Subject: Oblivious

It’s early afternoon on Tuesday. Tabitha and Ann are headed to Starbucks to get some coffee and see Scott at work.

“I’m in the mood for one of those syrupy, sugary frappachinos.”

“You’re still on a sugar high from Halloween aren’t you?”

“Yeah, I think so. The candy’s almost gone though, and then I can fight through the sugar crash and be okay I think.”

“I’m going to get a hot chocolate. Those new ones are very good.”

“Yes, they certainly are.”

“Hey look, Frank’s here!” Tabitha says, as they walk in.

“Hey Frank! What are you up to?”

“Hi there ladies. Nothing very interesting. Normal poker stuff, chasing this fish..”

“You remember to vote?”

“Vote? Crap..today’s election day?”

“How could you not realize it’s election day? Are you really that oblivious?”

“I haven’t really been paying much attention to anything but work lately. Well, work and beer.”

Scott jogs over, and skids to a stop. “Hi guys. I don’t know how you didn’t realize Frank..there has been so much election talk here today..I’m so sick of it.”

“Well, only one more day and hopefully it’ll be done with.”

“Thankfully. Although, I’m sure I’ll be bored of the teeny-brats talking about Gossip Girl and other such shows just as much.”

“You just love your customers don’t you?”

“Only the annoying ones.”

“Since you’re here, you can take our drink orders!”

“Like this one!” Scott says, ruffling Ann’s hair.

“Extra espresso shot?” Scott asks, as he walks back behind the counter.

Good Books

Welcome to the 6^th floor.

Today's contributors are: Ann, Sara, Tabitha

Subject: Bookworms

Sara's sitting on the couch reading, and Ann and Tabitha are doing the crossword puzzle together in the kitchen.

“I think we're stuck.”

“Me too. But this is pretty good for a Thursday.”

“We did get like three quarters of it. Maybe Sara can help.”

“No thanks. I'm really into my book.”

“You're just staring into space.”

“I'm absorbing.”

“Absorbing?”

“Yeah. You know how a good book makes you sit back, and just take it all in? How you need a moment to catch up to all the good stuff you just read?”

“Aren't you reading a book about beer? What can be so complex about that?”

“It's not just a beer book. It's the Brewmaster's Table. Garrett Oliver is my new hero.”

“Who?”

“Head brewer of Brooklyn Brewery.”

“Oh, nice. It's a good book then? I'm always interested in different types of books.”

“Yeah, you might enjoy this. It's focused around beer pairing with food, but he intersperses a lot of what makes the beers different, some history, who makes them..”

“I'll read it then when you're done. I think Frank was talking about going on a Brooklyn Brewery tour.”

“Yeah, that sounds fun. Especially after reading this. The downside is I've wanted a beer virtually constantly while reading it. 7 am commute to work? Doesn't matter, I want a beer.”

“Beer for breakfast is one of the signs of alcoholism.”

“Nah, that's just Americans and Puritan heritage. Beer was always a regular beverage, it was cleaner than water. Even now, wheat beers are common with breakfast sausages in Germany.”

“So we'll make a plan to go to the Brewery then. You can wow us with all your information from the book, be our special tour guide.”

“I guess I could. At this rate, it won't be long before I'm a beer snob.”

“Getting there! At least it's less pretentious than wine snobs.”