Having started following Dooce in the geekiest way possible (through a match of Layer Tennis on Coudal), it was a shock to realize after awhile that her blog was considered a parenting blog - something as foreign to me as mayonnaise on french fries (yuck! I don’t know how the Europeans do it). Parenthood? Children? No, thank you. At least not for the next 10 years.

But to classify her blog as such doesn’t really give it justice to the full scope of what is covered. It’s full of witty observations and sharp, yet thoughtful perceptions of human relations… which thinking of it now may, in fact, come FROM parenthood. But again, not there yet. Entertaining as it is, it’s very smart. In essence, she is a great writer. And that is probably why she just published a book and had a signing tonight at Soda Bar in Brooklyn.

It was awesome. They did, however, sell out of books which was a bit disappointing. But, hey! Booze was flowing, it was a gorgeous spring evening, and people were happy. Plus, it was like internet she-geek heaven - Dooce’s east coast followers in one room! It was quite interesting for a couple of reasons. 1. There were a lot more young people there than I would have expected seeing as it’s a. New York coupled with b. a ‘parenthood’ blog. 2. Dooce is really a celebrity in the she-geek world (a world I didn’t know existed outside of, well, myself!)

I asked Dooce if the Kathy Lee interview was as awkward as I’d heard and then proceeded to tell her that it’s because Kathie Lee is a hot mess. I’m so appropriate. Soon afterwards the party was moved to the street.

Not quite sure what happened, but she said it wasn’t going to be blogged about because she didn’t want to get sued. Must have been too many hot women in one room. Fire hazard.

She’s so sweet. Hot, too! The girl in the front of the line here and I talked about how Dooce’s boobs were bigger than we thought they would be. Don’t let the silhouette here fool you!

They were chowing down on pizza over at Cringe afterwards. I was really hungry. And it took 110% self-restraint to not butt through those tall, gangly Midwesterners and steal a slice.

P.S. Jon~ I wanted to complement you on your photography. I really love all the trippy things you do to your photos with the lensbaby and Aperture. But alas, you were busy taking care of moving the crowd to the street and signing books.

I did, however, manage to get the most awkweird photo ever taken. I’m really short and knew there would be an awkwardly funny height difference. But it didn’t really work out so well. I should’ve just let her crouch down on her knees so I’d only look like half a munchkin.

Anyway, it seemed like everyone was in a very good mood and happy to be there. It was a lovely way to spend a Wednesday evening and it seemed like the guest of honor had a great time.

And she totally seems like she wouldn’t judge me for my total lack of maternal skills and phobia of babies. That’s the kind of mommy blogger I like.

Last week I took off to Amsterdam for 10 days. It was an amazing trip that will be relived vicariously through several blog posts over the next couple of weeks. To begin with, the most pressing issue of all from those days abroad was that I ate the most delicious bagel that was ever created. And it scared me. After all, I live in New York, famous for pizza and bagels (among other things of course; it’s the best city in the world for a reason, duh).

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But it was flawless! Toasted to perfection, the exact right amount of cream cheese to cover each side without having to waste any (since I prefer to eat it open face rather than as a sandwich), and just absolutely delectable overall. I wish I were a food critic so I’d have thought to write down just WHY it tasted so good. My unrefined explanation: I was famished from not having eaten the night before and missing breakfast at the hostel in the morning. Or maybe there was crack in the dough.

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So, this morning when I woke up ravenous having skipped dinner in favor of having a couple of beers instead, I decided to get the same exact everything bagel with scallion cream cheese from LaBagel Delight in Dumbo since the bagels here are a good representation of the best bagels in New York. And, as we already stated, bagels in New York are renowned, so this was no light task.

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Guess what? This morning’s test of New York bagels failed miserably. And now I’m upset that I did not eat breakfast at Royal Bagels and Muffins every day while I was there. If you are ever in Amsterdam, please, if you love bagels, go here and eat one. You will not be disappointed.

AMSTERDAM: 1 NEW YORK: 0

1. Umbrella.

2. Rainboots.

3. Raincoat.

4. Clothing more appropriate for transitioning seasons (ie. less slinky party dresses, more sweaters).

5. An adapter that actually works with my hairdryer. (Radioshack: you WILL be seeing my face in a couple of days.  Fair warning.)

Actually, the weather hasn’t been as bad as I just made it out to be.  It rains about once a day just long enough to completely ruin my hair, then the sun comes out until it hits the horizon.  It’s a little chillier than I anticipated, but it’s spring and what did I really expect?  80 degrees?  Like it was ALL last week?  Please, that’s just silly.

Anyway, even though I’ve been taking tons of photos, I haven’t wanted to post any until I get my baby back from the shop because the RAW editor in CS3 is sooooooo much better than CS2.  If that means nothing to you, I’m sorry.  Moment of nerdiness. (*snorts and pushed up glasses*)

But stay tuned because I will be blasting this site with photos next week.  Amsterdam is quite photogenic.