Adventures with Dr. Lady Cutie Troublemaker

Life is in flux BIG TIME these days. I want to keep in touch with all of my peeps. The Internet is this beautiful thing. I can move to a brand new city and still stay in easy, near-daily contact with the people I love. When I feel connected to the people in my life that matter, I am unstoppable!

Hello, My Name is Abby.

By Abby at 6:14 pm on Saturday, January 20, 2007

For Joseph!

Why is my blog wearing a nametag? Because I’m paying homage to my former neighbor and current friend, Joseph Porcelli, who is getting national attention because of his decision to wear a nametag for a year. Here’s an email I got from him the other day:

Friends,

So much has transpired in the last 24 hours. Neasa is participating by wearing a digital name tag on her blog and inviting other bloggers to join her, Charlie will comparing the experience of wearing a name tag in Boston v NYC, and 14 year old teen is going snow boarding with his buddies wearing name tags. Check it out here. How will you participate.

I’ve been interviewed five time already and will also be interviewed on WBZ Radio 1030 tonight, Q104 in Cleveland tomorrow, and Sunday on a local radio show in Kingston NY.

If you’re considering wearing a name tag for a day – stop considering – and choose to do it. You’ll have a blast. It not about looking like a dork – which you will – It’s about getting over felling silly to make a point that you believe the power of community and are being proactive about creating it. Join me! If you do, be sure to record your experiences, take pictures, and email them back to me so I can post them to the Neighbors for Neighbors blog.

All of you who are getting this email are people I consider friends. Some of you who don’t know me that well are getting this email cause I think you are cool and I’d would like to get to know you better. If any of you would like to not receive any more name tag email please simply reply with no thanks and you be removed from this list. I will not take any offense.

One last thing please forward this email to as many people as you know and invite them to participate. I want this to spread as quickly and powerfully as possible nationwide!

Your neighbor,

Joseph Porcelli.

Imagine what would be possible if every one in the country would wear a name tag for a day.

Will I do this in real life? Yeah, I probably will. I think Joseph and I both have that personality that naturally wears a nametag, meaning that we are both very approachable and friendly to strangers, but the nametag is one step further. And why not? I like meeting new people. I want to wait until a day I’m out of the house more, unlike today, when I’m in here putting ads on Craigslist and unpacking boxes.

Read more about Joseph’s name tag adventure here.

Filed under: Friends,I Just Think It's Neat/Sick Sad World,Jamaica Plain1 Comment »

My Friend Joseph has Impeccable Karma!

By Abby at 1:19 am on Monday, January 15, 2007

What a great idea! Joseph (of JP Neighbors for Neighbors fame) has resolved to wear a name tag for the whole year. He’s a connector and loves meeting strangers just like me, but he brings it to a “whole nother level”. He’s another of JP’s local treasures. I love his idea. Go Joseph!

JP Contingent

Update: A new article about it.

Filed under: Friends,Jamaica Plain1 Comment »

JWay Castle Follow-Up

By Abby at 12:09 am on Friday, December 22, 2006

That guy on the Jamaicaway in the castle wants to shoot off fireworks every day during the holiday season next year!! Maybe it was good I moved. That just doesn’t seem safe! (See my previous posts on this topic if you’re just hearing about this.)

Filed under: Jamaica Plain2 Comments »

A Little More About Life in Raleigh

By Abby at 2:44 pm on Friday, December 1, 2006

I was mostly offline (except for my phone, which is limited in the sites it can access) for the last two days. It seems an eternity without my sweet, sweet internets! I’m in a cafe borrowing wifi to catch up on everything, upload pictures, etc. Here’s a view of what I’m seeing right this very second:
IMG_8827

It’s really rainy out today, and the big news is that I’ve finally found a place to live. Yay! It’s a 6 month lease, too, so if I hate the part of town, come into a lot of money, decide I need to get back to Boston, get recruited to a foreign land, I’m not stuck in a year-long lease. I decided to take a place that is slightly out of the middle of town. The cool center of things is 5 minutes further than it would be if I’d done my normal thing of going with the hipper areas of town. But the last two times I’ve done that, I haven’t been as happy as I’d like to be. This place is quiet, wooded, and on a lake. I have a screened in porch that I know my cats will adore. And for the 650 sq ft (that’s NOT including the porch and outdoor storage closet), I’ll be paying $620 a month. What a deal! I move in on December 12th.

My first trip back to Boston is in a week (for Kristopher’s bday), and I’m going back again for New Year’s Eve. I know that once the new year starts, I will be starting to work and won’t have as much time to take off like this, so I might as well travel while the getting’s good!

This was written yesterday at Christopher’s house, where there is an extremely weak connection to some neighbor, but it wasn’t strong enough to get this posted: The last few days have been pretty interesting. I spent quite a bit of time at Helios Coffee House. It’s a great place to get coffee, food, and free wifi, and on Wednesday nights, they have a (really good) DJ and serve wine. It was quite a scene. I even approached a knitting circle (stitch ‘n’ bitch) and got their opinions about where to live in Raleigh. Hopefully, I can find the sock Anna got me started on so I can join next week. Last night, I met Christopher there, and we headed to Chapel Hill (of UNC fame) to see Dat Politics (“French Electronic Pop”), which was hard to comprehend when I was told about it. And it’s just as hard to describe. The gig was in this extremely groovy space. It’s a bookstore by day, but instead of having rows of books, then are on high shelves that line the room. On one side, there is a diner counter which serves food during that day. At night, the entire place becomes a venue for gigs. When we got there, another great DJ was spinning (how are there so many here?).
IMG_8790
The kitchen was closed, but there was an Asian fusion place next door where we picked up some food that we brought back into the gig venue. The opening act was impossible to describe. It was just one woman who began by playing a guitar, but the guitar was fed through a synth so it sounded like a banjo. Her first song was mundane, boring. I thought, “oh no”, but then the whole thing went off in all directions. This plain jane of a woman has a thousand voices, a wicked sense of humor with her lyrics and musical gestures, and considerable skill in creating electronic dance beats on her laptop. The most amusing lyric was something along the lines of “I’m free of hygenic responsibility”.
IMG_8818

Normally, I’d add more pictures and links to things, but I’ve been at this cafe for a few hours, and I’m HONGRY, and there’s leftover Indian in the fridge at Christopher’s house!

By the way, have you JP people seen Steve Garfield’s latest upload of old JP home movies? Facinating stuff!

Home movies from the Mutascio Family of Jamaica Plain, MA 1939-1963 Contains moving images of Centre Street, Horse Riding the Jamaicaway, Jamaica Pond, Sledding, a wedding, Franklin Park Zoo. Fleeting moments captured on film. Coutesy of Rick Minot Photography by Samuel Minot Video Transfer and Sound by Steve Garfield For the Jamaica Plain Historical Society

Filed under: Jamaica Plain,Music,Pictures,Raleigh and the Triangle,Video4 Comments »

The JP Castle is in the Globe

By Abby at 12:30 pm on Monday, November 20, 2006

The JP castle is in the Globe today (thanks, Lorna). In general, I think he’s VERY early, but since I’m moving, I’m glad it’s already there so I didn’t have to miss it. If you haven’t seen my Merry Christmas video featuring the castle, please take a look.
JP Castle Xmas Lights
Here’s a picture I took of the JP castle last year.

Filed under: Jamaica Plain1 Comment »
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