Katrina Fundraising Efforts
After the tsunami I was very impressed by America's efforts to help victims overseas and of course I was not surprised to see that it has been the same way with Hurricane Katrina efforts.

I noticed that younger kids have especially been getting involved in the relief effort. Over the holiday weekend in Stonington, Connecticut, two young boys probably about 10-years-old, were sitting in the sun collecting donations for hurricane victims. My girlfriends and I donated a few dollars that we had in our wallets, but I didn't have much cash on me so I donated online this morning.

Also in Milford, CT on Labor Day, a bunch of little girls, all under the age of 10, were on the side of a busy cross section selling lemonade, holding signs that were larger than themselves and waving at passing cars in order to get their attention and raise money for victims.

In the lobby of my office building there is also an empty water cooler already filled with money for the Red Cross.

I know many human victims have suffered due to the hurricane but I also can't help but be concerned for the four legged creatures down there too. I think I might donate to the ASPCA's relief efforts as well. Take a look at their pet version of the astrodome HERE.

News: Small survivor: US Airforce Lt. Nathan Brosheal holds a kitten rescued and airlifted to New Orleans International Airport in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

PS: How is it September already, never mind the 6th?

•2: The number of women I saw wearing white pants the day after Labor Day, tsk tsk.

Sunday Stats
• 1 in 8: The chance you have that a first date will call you for a second date after 24 hours have passed.

• 11: The number of single friends the average 27 year old has.

• 110 Million: The number of single adults in the United States.

• 79%: of men will take 15 minutes on a first date to determine whether or not they would see the person again.

• 71%: of women prefer not to date someone within the same profession

• 38%: of female attorneys don't like dating other attorneys.

• 0: The amount Tara cares about these stats, lol.

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I'm off on my family's sailboat for the weekend, I go every Labor Day Weekend with them, 4th of July too. I packed all my white dresses and pants, so I can wear them one last time before Labor Day.

Thursday Confession
I sleep with an eye mask. My eyes are light sensitive, so I have dozens of fancy eye masks that I use at home and on the road. I started this way back when, kids in sleep away camp used to tease me, lol. Oh well.

I loved this one mask that I got recently at DSW, which had velcro straps and was super soft, but I left it on the plane coming back from SanFran and cannot find a replacement :(

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News: I just got our client in Mobile Enterprise magazine :) Cashing In

Shout out: to Heather and Joey, my Canadian friends, ay? ;) Thanks for lunch!

The People on the Subway
These were the people I observed on my subway train today:

* A young woman applying mascara while looking at her reflection in the back of her iPod. Kudows for ingenuity.

* A man in a suit clutching his briefcase to his chest as if his newborn child was in it and quickly darting around the subway looking for a mythical attacker, indicating he must normally take a taxi to work.

* A woman grabbing the overhead bar while reading The Wall Street Journal and sheltering an iced Dunkin Donuts coffee between her flip flopped feet. Very impressive!

* An older woman with remnants of her breakfast still on her chin.

* A man reading an Arab newspaper and another man reading a Japanese paper, but looking at the comics.

* An unwell man steps on the train and SHOUTS nonsense about God while staring out the dark window, he yells, "God's a pretty God, yeah he's pretty. God is a princess. An angel." The man standing near him jumps, a teenage couple laughs, the boyfriend mimicking the "he's pretty" part but looking more like Bernie Mac than the screamer and the iPod woman puts up the volume on her mp3 player. Luckily the man got off at 28th street, the following stop. The train is eerily silent in his absence.
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Last night while coming home from the Cheesecake Factory (yum) for Yellow's birthday dinner, I met two men coming back from the U.S. Open. They asked me if I liked living in the city and if I felt safe etc (yes to both). When they heard that I work and am a student, they asked me if I was an actress. I think this is funny. They are not the first to assume that I'm a struggling actress trying to make it in the city. I'm not sure if I'm flattered that they think I can be an actress or annoyed that they are assuming that I'm not capable of a professional/corporate job and am going for my master's degree. I usually try to make it clear right away that I'm in Graduate school and not an undergrad, but people hear NYU and because I sometimes look younger, they just assume. Anyway, I digress, it was one of those fun quick subway meetings that happen in New York.

Afterwards I was walking to my apartment and contemplating eating my massive leftover sandwich tomorrow for lunch, when I spotted the group of homeless men in the little park near my place. They are often there drinking, laughing with each other and asking the passing cars and people for money. I sometimes give them my spare change, but they sort of leave me alone now that they know I'm not a tourist. Feeling guilty that I had a such a nice meal, I gave them my still warm leftovers.

News: Katrina Victims Keep in Touch With Web Logs

Dating Help, Book Reviews
Apparently people think I need some dating help, because for some reason I keep receiving singles books. Gee thanks, lol. I got a copy of Dating in America during a taping of The Tony Danza Show and then the author of How to Survive Dating kindly sent me a copy of her book and finally a friend and non-fiction guru gave me Why Men Prefer Bitches. Here are my reviews and what I thought was most useful:

The It's Just Lunch Guide to Dating in America by Andrea McGinty is quite long and tries to get the reader to join their nationwide dating service for "real" results. No thank you. However, lots of fun tips can be found in this book like first date ideas with actual locations in major cities to grab lunch, coffee, etc. Granted I didn't read this book cover to cover or beyond the first date part, but here is what I found most useful from the first section. First dates should be something that requires an activity or doing something new for both of you so you can share a new experience and have some fun doing something you normally would not do, like attempting a rock climbing wall, seeing a new exhibit, etc. I also like the book's philosophy that "it's just lunch." As in, do not put too much pressure on a first date or the first couple of meetings, just go in with the attitude that it's just lunch and cest le vie, which has always been my policy. The book also advises that you should never turn down a date with a reasonable man or woman. You should always go out on the date because you never know. And if anything, it keeps you in practice and can help you fine tune your skills for the real thing.

Book #2 How to Survive Dating: By Hundreds of Happy Singles Who Did and Some Things to Avoid from a Few Broken Hearts Who Didn't. Despite the how to in the title this book is not a guide but a collection of horror stories and success stories to learn from. There are quotes from singles and people in relationships from all over America and their experiences. Lots of their advice and confessions are simple and heartfelt, others are also really amusing in the I'm glad that wasn't me sense. One woman tells a story about how she went for coffee with a guy and when the bill came to the table he scrutinized it for several minutes and then said to her, "your half is $5.50." In response she scoops up the check saying "I don't do halves" and pays for the bill in full herself. There are lots of dating situations like these as well as recommendations for first dates and how not to scare someone off. Some of the advice they give are no-brainers, but the book goes really quickly just skipping from one bold quote and cartoon to another. A single friend of mine from college particularly liked reading the different entries when visiting my place this summer.

Last but not least, there is this gem by Sherry Argov, Why Men Prefer Bitches: From Doormat to Dreamgirl-A Woman's Guide to Holding Her Own in a Relationship. This book is hysterical and a really quick read. I did not plan on reading the whole thing, since I can never seem to read through most self-help books in their entirety, but with this one, I wanted to keep reading. The advice is simple and tells women to value their self first and be confident, then the men will follow or not, whatever. I like this more empowered take and really appreciated the humor.

Take a look at this quote:
"After a couple of dates, he goes out with the boys, comes in at midnight, calls her, and off she goes to see him. When a woman drives to see a man in the middle of the night, the only thing missing is a neon sign on the roof of her car that says WE DELIVER." lol!