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This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

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new work area, originally uploaded by CosmoPolitician.

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new work area, originally uploaded by CosmoPolitician.

so i set out this morning to find a new desk for my new iMac that I received yesterday. for the last 2 months I’ve been working on mom and dad’s kitchen bar height table, hovering over my tiny 13 inch macbook. it was time for an upgrade.

my mission:
cheapo. under $200.
had to match decor in mom’s red and black "Paris Room"
needed it today. (i’m impatient).
minimal assembly.

on recommendations via twitter, i checked out target, IKEA, cost plus, and back to IKEA where i settled on a simple desk top and 2 legs. cheapo. classy. functional. the whole desk cost me $100. FTW!

i had to take apart my sister’s boys’ racetrack to put the desk up. they are gonna be livid, seeing as though they are already pissed i "took over their room" :-)

So i’ll be working from mom and dad’s for a few more months, and very excited about the new work area. "Mom, can you send up a sandwich?"

{cosmo} Politician

So in true chaotic Monica (read: Dram-ica) fashion, I’ve decided to move my blog home in the middle of my end of the year recap. I’ve had 100 wonderful posts here on my WordPress hosted site, and have decided to take the plunge to being self-hosted.

Big up to David Stagg for his ultimate patience with the process, and all the others I bugged about customization. It was definitely a learning experience.

Please visit {cosmo} Politician’s new home @ http://www.cosmopolitician.net

I posted the April + May 2008 recaps there, as well. The rest…coming soon!

Remember to update your bookmarks +  feeds, as well! I’ll soon be redirecting the WP address there, too.

If you would like to receive an e-mail update each time I update the blog, please sign up here.

WHAT A FRIGGIN’ YEAR IT’S BEEN!

Whew! I feel like just yesterday we were ringing in 2008 at the Proletariat.  RIP Pro! :-(

So much has happened this year, and I was looking for a way to document it all. Over the last few months I’ve been writing a book. Mainly something to document my twenties, seeing as I turned the big 3-0 this year.  And so far, 30 has been fabulous.  :-) The first step was looking back at the last 10 years and attempting to make a timeline. Things like boys,  trips, weddings, boys, New Year’s Eves, Birthdays, boys, and a lot of boys.  But we’ll save the boys part for the book.

So with that process, I’m in documenting mode. So here goes. With lots of help from my gCal and Flickr: A year I will never forget, (nor hardly remember).

And I totally didn’t plan this, but this is my 100th post on CosmoPolitician! Woo-hoo!

I’ve decided to split this post up, there is just too much to get in.  Here are the first three months, and the rest will follow each day from now until the end of December. Enjoy!

January: New Beginnings

Towards the end of 2007, when word was spreading that our beloved neighborhood bar, the Proletariat would be closing in February, we decided there would be no other fitting place to ring in 2008. So with some of Matt’s friends in from Austin, we headed to the Pro for one last blow out. It was happy, and sad, and all those things in between. We snuck beers into the bar, we shared bottles of champagne, and we danced until our feet stopped working. | Full New Year’s Eve @ the Pro set here.

January was also the month of our very first Dr. Sketchy! Still can’t believe it’s been a whole year! Big props to HappyKatie and the crew for an awesome monthly event that just keeps growing and growing! Looking forward to 2009 Sketchies! | Dr. Sketchy Pool on Flickr

One of my favorite memories from January took place on a night that Jeff Balke’s band, Orange Is In, was playing at Rudz. Earlier in the day, Noel was visiting and we all had gathered at the Microcinema house for a party. Following the party, and day long drinking, Matt, Ned and I headed to Rudz to catch the show; proceed to have one (read: five) too many Red Bull and Vodkas, and head to a Rice Archie party. In between resulted in car hurdling and surprising and kidnapping, Brandon, Matt’s transient roomie, and dancing the night away in a way too small grad student apartment with entirely too many people.  Oh to be in college again. Well, at least for one night. No picture exist from this night. And that is probably a good thing.

January was also the very first time I laid eyes on Caroline. More about that later.

February: Wanderlust

Feb was my month of travel.  I had just started a new job back in November of 2007, and with it came the opportunity for me to get back overseas. Something I had been dying to do since my days in the UK, and Europe proper. My first trip took me to Malaysia, where I fell in love with the city of Kuala Lumpur, and the Malaysian people.  I stayed for a week, stared out my hotel window at the Petronas Tower, and ate the most yummy food. Encountered women with four legs, bruised up my OWN leg taking a spill into a Singapore swanky hotel, even made it to infamous KL Beach Club. Oh. those. stories. | Full KL set here.

From KL, it was on to Western Australia!  It was to be my first trip down under, and I was stoked. I headed for Perth from KL, and spent an amazing week in the sleepy Oil & Gas city. I went surfing in the Indian Ocean, hung out at the trendy Subi Hotel Bar, hiked to King’s Park, met a local chef who we spent a wild night at a casino with, swimming(?!), experienced Perth’s “Sunday Session” at the Little Creatures Brewey (same day as Heath Ledger’s funeral—it was 5 minutes from where we were) and  learned of the ridiculous shopping hours: Everything closes at 5pm! Whaaa?! The night our flight was supposed to leave at 2:55am, so we headed back down to Subiaco, and ran into some US ex-pats, who took us to get MORE wine, beer, and Indian food. Highly intoxicated at this point, Josh and I stumbled into the hotel at about 11:30pm, attempted to throw everything into a suitcase, and head for the airport. Here’s a tip. If you are about to board a plane, from Australia to KL to Tokyo to LA to Houston—do not get wasted, eating Indian food, a mere hours before you get in the plane. Not the best idea we ever had. | Full Perth set here.

On my way to Perth from KL, I also encountered a little WATER problem back home at my place. One of the most terrifying things to ever happen, especially when you are thousands of miles away. Always in debt to Mom, Matt and Maggie for their help with that situation! Maggie even made me feel better with her adorable marker presentation to assure me all was OK. What a doll. Loves her mucho.

From Perth, it was back home for a few days, serendipitously in time for the February Dr. Sketchy! It was great to see all my peeps after traveling for a few weeks, and what a welcome home with boobie cupcakes!

After a few days home, I was back off again.  This time to Amsterdam, where I went on the shopping spree of my lifetime, resulting in my new favorite winter coat; had a run-in slash fall out with KLM, spend a dreadfully boring day at the RAI for a trade show, hence resulting in Queen Trivia Post. |  Amsterdam full set

Then, on to the Middle East, Manama, Bahrain, where, yes, I rode a camel and smoked the hookah. It was a great month of traveling, but I sure was glad to crawl back into my bed. | Bahrain full set.

March: Music + Medicine

March began my first experience with my bad year of health. But before that, as with every year around SXSW, Houston gets some stellar shows coming to town. We were lucky to get two of my all time favs in a period of 4 days: Wilco and My Morning Jacket. The day after the MMJ show, Michelle and I drove to Austin for the night to attend the SXSW Rock Band party. We had a blast catching up with Gwen + Joel, met both Pete Cashmore and Marianne for the first time, and proceed to try on every single winter item of my cousin’s coat rack. Promise it was MUCH funnier at the time. Hell, maybe it’s funny now. “Let it snow, biatch.” This was probably the first time Michelle and I realized we would be friends forever.  “I love animals.” | SXSW Rock Band Party full dr. miggy set.

On Good Friday, i didn’t attend Mass.  And maybe I should have. I came down with a horrible pain in my stomach, which turned out to be, wait for it….waaaait for it…APPENDICITIS! Whoo-hoo!  Yep, I needed an emergency appendectomy Friday night. I still have a hard time believing it. I mean, how random?

If i learned anything this year, it’s that things never go as planned. My old roommate doesn’t call me Drama-ica for nuthin’. Of course, once they got in to do the surgery, they discovered that my appendix was hiding behind some important organs. So, instead of doing the nice and clean laproscopy, they had to do the old fashioned cut. Brilliant. Huge scar. Perfect.

Big thanks to Matthew who kept me company in the hospital for 3 days, Michelle who came to visit, but I feel asleep while she was there (”nobody likes sticking their finger in their eyeball!”), Stefanie and Paul for bringing by the portable DVD player (which I JUST returned last week), Shekara, Kasey, Jaime, Jill, Matt and the boys, and Mom and Dad.  Did I miss anyone? Lesson Leanred:  Demerol is AWESOME! (but not  awesome for remembering hospital guests.)

before

after

So that’s all for today.  The first quarter of 2008.  That was exhausting just recapping it!  Much more to come.  So check back everyday for a new month’s recap.

If you do one thing in Houston tonight, (besides drive all over town for 7 Holiday + Christmas + Album Release parties), do this.

My fav Houston art blogger, Sean Carroll, is curating a fascinating exhibit, that opens tonight at the joanna gallery. I’ve been looking forward to this for awhile, hope you can make some time to stop by and see it.

The American Wandering Club is pleased to present a new exhibition of technologically complex artwork by Mike Field and Frank Olson at The Joanna Gallery.

Coming from radically different philosophies, both artists have advanced fractal computer-based art by applying aestheticism and shamanism to an impersonal medium. Their surreal landscapes and textural abstractions hum with energy, echoing the building blocks of science and the structures of microscopic organisms.

Conversely, Field and Olson exude passion through color, form and composition in much the same way that early Modernists like Wassily Kandinsky explored emotion through abstraction.

Join us this winter for an exhibit of 21st century technology and timeless compassion bringing together academic and intuitive inspiration.

There will be lectures by both Field and Olson at 6 pm on December 13th in conjunction with the opening. Refreshments will be provided.

Saturday, December 13, 2008
Artist Lectures @ 6pm
the joanna gallery | 4014 Graustark (near the Menil)
direction to the gallery here.

…and six other random things you may not know about me, thanks to the prodding of Miss MagsMac. I never do these, but sitting home sick for a week has made me resort to things I would normally never do. Like cook, decorate, and other domestic things. (shudder.)

1. I once was a bus driver.

Yep, drove a bus for 1.5 years in College Station, TX when I attended Texas A&M. Not sure why people are always so shocked when they hear this. It’s actually a pretty common job on campus. And the best paying. :-) Had to take a CDL test, and parallel park a 50 foot bus. That’s why I gots mad skillz with parallel parking.

2. My dad is one of 10 kids.

Pretty much grew up amongst a horde of Italians: kids, adults, any woman who is older than me is called “aunt”, and spaghetti at Thanksgiving. My great-grandma Danna shocked me with her facial hair each time we had to kiss her on both cheeks. My dad has 8 sisters, and a brother, and I was the first grandchild. I was a bit spoiled, to say the least.

3. I’m writing a book.

Yep, and you’re all in it. :-) There are just too many stories from my 20’s I can’t let get away.  Don’t worry, I’ll change the names. (If you’re lucky).

4. I have a design blog.

Sure do.  It’s Design Junky, and it’s pretty much just an homage to things that inspire me. I’m not a designer, but I do appreciate good, smart design. You can visit it at www.iHeartSmartDesign.com

5. My job has taken me to 5 continents.

If you are a regular reader of this blog, then you probably already know this. Over the last 8 years, I’ve been fortunate to have the opportunity to work in London, Newcastle, Amsterdam and Perth.  This year alone I traveled to 5 continents in 8 weeks. Followed by an appendectomy 1 week after returning from Manama, Bahrain. Whew! Wonder what surgery would have been like in the Middle East? Glad I didn’t have to find out.  Most asked Q: What was your favorite place? A: Malaysia.

6. Dancing is pretty much my ONLY form of exercise.

Thankfully, I have a hobby that allows me to publicly show affection for pop icons such as Britney and JT. It’s all about the dancing, yo. And people don’t get that. And I’m cool with that.  We’ll settle it on on the dance floor. There WAS a reason I moved into my current place, and that DID have much to do with the wall of mirrors. It’s me against the music.

7. I don’t own an iron.

Nor an ironing board. Yes, it even baffles ME. I haven’t owned an iron, or ironing board since college. Work clothes go to the cleaners, everything else is on their own. Besides, when would I iron? I’d rather be dancing.

Now, the fun part. To tag random, unsuspecting victims.

1. Michelle “Dr. Miggy”
Calabretta – because 2008 would not have been the same without her. Nor will the rest of my life be WITH her.
2. Sew Crafty Sarah – because her creativity and talents inspire me.
3. Mellowynk - because ONE DAY we ARE gonna have that cooking lesson! (and im jealous of her craft)
4. Brentabousko – cuz I know he’ll do it.
5. Chris Everson – because he should blog more often.
6. Mandy Graessle – beause she’s one of my favorite new people to meet this year. and houston is lucky to have her.
7. Ashley Slania – because I’m so proud of her venture into the blogosphere this year, and  she some how manages to have it all. and do it all so well.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it?

• Link your original tagger(s), and list these rules on your blog.
• Share seven facts about yourself in the post – some random, some weird.
• Tag seven people at the end of your post by leaving their names and the links to their blogs.
• Let them know they’ve been tagged by leaving a comment on their blogs and/or Twitter.

Some of you have probably heard  recently of the amazing project I’ve been lucky to be a part of: the 1st Annual Mom 2.0 Summit taking place in Houston next February 19th-21st,  a conference that will bring together Moms, Bloggers, Marketers, Media, and all things saavy and smart.  Houston has become a hot bed for these talented Web 2.0 moms, and I am happy to be able to showcase Houston the the country, when over 300 attendees, speakers, and sponsors descend upon the Bayou City in February. Check out all the deets here, and don’t miss our 2nd Houston Kick-Off Party at the Caroline Collective on Wednesday, Dec 17th.

No, I’m not a mom, but I have a pretty great one, as I’ve pointed out many times on this blog.  I think being a parent is the greatest, most important job in the world, and both of mine have managed to do it with flying colors.  I would be so lucky to be half the woman that my mom is. Which brings me to another reason why I truly believe my mother is a saint.

A few weeks ago, my parents were awarded custody of my cousin’s two month old baby girl, Kailey.  Baby Kailey had been in and out of the hospital since she was born on Sept 8th.  Without going into too many details, CPS stepped in and held an emergency hearing for Kailey’s welfare.  While a few of  Kailey’s caregivers are being investigated, the baby was to come live with my parents.

I’ll never forget the night at Texas Children’s Hospital with my mom and Aunt Barbara. I’ll never forget the look on my mother’s face, a look of concern, sadness and determination to get this baby to a safe place. The next morning an emergency hearing was held.  The baby was appointed an attorney, and the case was assigned a case worker from CPS.  My parents were identified as potential candidates for custody, pending a house visit from both the baby’s lawyer and the CPS worker.

That day, I got to work, contacting all of my amazing friends, who I called on to help us get my parents’ house ready for the site visit that weekend.  Before I knew it, the place was looking like a Babies R Us, with bouncers, and pack-n-plays, bathtubs, and cribs coming out of our ears!  My sister and I’s friends, in one short day, had supplied us everything we needed to welcome home this dear baby girl, and everything we should need for the next year of her life.  (Of course, irony set in, as I usually am the one hyperventilating as i walk though the baby department in Target.) :-)

Throughout all of this, baby Kailey was still recovering in the hospital, 5 broken ribs, and a broken collar bone.  Her little bones were healing well, and she was ready to be discharged, unfortunately before the site visit occurred. Kailey was taken to a foster home for what seemed like the longest week and a half EVER, before we finally we back to court and got to go pick her up.   We couldn’t be more happy to be able to have her in a safe place with family.

So, for the past 3 weeks, mom and dad have transformed their lives to care for a now 3 month old.  Mom took a leave of absence from her teaching job, and has become little Kailey’s angel on earth.  Or as I now call her, the REAL Mom 2.0!!  If you know my mom, you know she was born to do just this.  She never for a second even flinched when asked to take on this role.

Jill and I help out as much as we can,  after work and on the weekends, and during the holidays. Jill’s boyfriend, Matt, and his 2 boys, Matthew (8) and Jacob (3), have been very helpful, too.  Matt put the entire nursery together, schooled us in formula, and is a pro at getting Kailey to sleep when she’s fussy.  The boys ADORE her, and love to hold her when she sleeps.  Jacob whispered, the first night he saw her, “I bet she thinks we’re her brothers!” And sweet Matthew said to me, “Monica, Kailey is my little angel.” :-)

We don’t really know what will happen next.  As they continue the investigation, Kailey will continue to stay with us, until we return to court in January.  We are just glad to have her in a safe, happy place.  She is such a joy to be around, such a good, happy baby.  I’ve taken her to her first party at Shekara’s, to the Mall, and even to Taneka’s 20th birthday party this past weekend.  She was a doll the whole time, and everyone just falls in love with her when they meet her.

I’m constantly updating my Flickr page with pics of her here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/metropolitician/sets/72157609075569204/

Thanks SO MUCH to all of you who have let us borrow all of your baby stuff! Jen, Ashley, The Whittons, Adriane & Aunt Mary, Shekara, and Kerri. And for those of you who have offered to help.  She’s a little chunker and and is squeezing right out of those 3 month outfits!  I swear mom comes home with a new outfit for her everyday.

So, I just wanted to give you all an update.  If you haven’t seen me around lately, this is why.  I am simply amazed every day by my mom (and dad) who have taken this on without a second thought.  I’m trying my best to help mom out every chance I get.

Thanks for all your love and prayers for Baby Kailey (and for mom and dad!).  We feel we are the lucky ones getting to spend this time with her. I’ll update as soon as we know more.

I wrote the below story 2 years ago for a Barstool Magazine Assignment.  It’s always been one of my favorites. Given the Greek Festival is taking place this weekend, thought I’d revisit the story. Entirely true life events. :-)

My Big Fat Greek Hangover
by Monica Danna

Originally Published: Barstool Magazine, Nov 2006

As the hot Houston heat subsides and the autumn temperatures creep in at a snail’s pace, one thing Houstonians can look forward to is the Fall festival season. Art festivals, the Italian festival, Turkishfest; we even celebrate Dia De Los Muertos for our neighbors south of the border. And all this before Halloween festivities even begin.

Being Italian, I’m fairly familiar with Greece and Greek culture. My knowledge goes a little bit beyond Mary Kate and Paris Hilton’s ex-lovers, but I am still always anxious to partake in any “cultural studies” especially when food and drink are involved. So I headed down Montrose to check out the 40^th annual Greek Festival.

Armed with a posse of fearless friends, we were for some reason filled with the urban spirit and decided to take the bus. YES-the Houston Metro. After walking halfway down Montrose (which would prove to not be my only trek down Montrose this night) we looked for a bus stop. We must have looked like Oprah Winfrey in a Wal-Mart. We had no idea were one was or what to do once we found one. I’ve lived in Houston for 28 years and have never been to a bus stop, much less on a Metro Bus. Wait, does the Rodeo Shuttle count? After finally finding one, waiting for 30 minutes for the right bus, we seceded our valiant environmental efforts and as a friend pulled up, “To Greece!” we shouted at our still-confused chauffer, and thus our Dionysian worship began.

The Annual Greek festival takes place every year in October on the grounds of the Greek Orthodox Cathedral. A beautiful area smack in the middle of Montrose, it shares Yoakum Ave. with the University of St. Thomas. Activities include tours of the gorgeous Cathedral, Folk Dance programs put on by the darling students of the Orthodox school, and a gift shop featuring unique jewelry, food imports, and artwork from Greek artists. Greeks love their food (and wine). Souvlaki (Greek “shiskabobs”), Greek wine, Gyros, Red Wine, Greek Salad, Greek Pizza, White Wine, and the ever popular dessert, Baklava, were just some of the native delicacies one can experiences at the festival. Did I mention the wine?

Bottle #1

With all the food choices, we couldn’t decide. So we headed straight for the “Wine By The Bottle” tent. We chose a Kretikos White. Now, I’m not sure what “Kretikos” means, but I’m pretty sure “Kretikos Red” and “Kretikos White” both translate into “The Devil in a Bottle,” if not, it should. And who are they kidding with those tiny wine cups? To serious drinkers like my group, these only served as wine shot glasses. The first bottle went down like the city of Troy.

Bottle #2

What goes better with Greek wine than Greek Dancing? Ok, so maybe some food would have been helpful, but we headed to the music tent to check out Alex Kalos a.k.a. “The Golden Greek”, think: Matsiyahu minus the Kipah. The one man band / DJ / entertainer began and ended each song with a resounding “OPA!” or as my friend Lauri kept exclaiming, “Like SOAPA…without the ‘S’!” Greek wine makes this statement a whole hell of a lot funnier than it looks on paper. Trust me.

On Bottle #3 I was having flashbacks of Tara Reid’s insightful party documentary “Taradise” as I attempted to give Greek Dancing a try. Ok, I’m no Janet Jackson, but I’ve been dancing all my life and have even been known to throw down a mean robot. However, the minute my friend and I stepped into the circle (seeping with Greek wine, mind you) we immediately felt as if we were the ONLY ones who could not catch on. Is Greek Dancing some random pattern of steps? Did we miss the tutorial? We felt as if we were on an episode of Punk’d and we were the only ones not in on the joke. We quickly gave in and returned to our other favorite Greek past time: drinking Greek wine. I mentioned the wine, right?

Bottle #4

There should be a warning label on Greek wine.

The label should read: DO NOT CONSUME…

…unless you plan to walk home.

…if you don’t plan on getting engaged to someone you aren’t even dating.

…unless you are confident you can catch on to Greek dancing. Quickly.

…if you are supposed to be writing a story on the Greek festival. (this requires memory)

…if you want to function the next day.

…until you have erased all ex-boyfriends’ numbers out of your phone.

…under any circumstance.

I canceled a trip to Greece a few years back as the Iraq war had just began. I’m beginning to think I may have survived a war before I survived a week in Greece. I now understand why Orlando Bloom, uh, I mean Paris son of Priam, started a ten year war over a girl…he was obviously drunk.

The next morning, as I celebrated my own Dia De Los Muertos, I didn’t know whether to call my friend and congratulate him on his engagement, call my editor and tell her I wasn’t able to make it to the festival, ice my twisted-Greek-dancing-ankle, or find my shirt and score a ride home from my ex-boyfriend’s. Ahhhhh Greek wine…OPA! (like Soapa, without the “S”).