HOLY CRAP!!!

AMY SAYS....

THIS IS WHAT I GOT FROM A POWER BAR!!!! Salmonella Typhimurium Poisoning!!!

Salmonella is an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Healthy persons infected with Salmonella often experience fever, diarrhea (which may be bloody), nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. In rare circumstances, infection with Salmonella can result in the organism getting into the bloodstream and producing more severe illnesses such as arterial infections (i.e., infected aneurysms), endocarditis and arthritis. For more information on Salmonella, please visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Website at http://www.cdc.gov.

Holy Crap is right, literally!!!! I'm down to 106 pounds!!! That is frighteningly thin!!! I'm pretty skinny as it is but now take 15 pounds away and you have my new scary figure :(

Here is the recall sheet posted:
Peanut Butter Product Recall (Salmonella Typhimurium Outbreak): Main Page

Note: This list includes human food subject to recall in the United States since January 2009 related to peanut products recalled by Peanut Corporation of America.

Category: Snack Bar
Brand Name: ZonePerfect
Product Description: Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars
Recalling Firm: Abbott Nutrition
Size: All sizes and quantities

FUCK!!! You never actually think you're gonna catch this shit but, oh I forgot, I'm Amy Globus, of course I'm gonna catch this shit!!!

Anyway, my job today is to see if I can get any compensation from the Manufacturer of the ZonePerfect Bars or Whole Foods (where I bought it) I'll keep you posted!!!

PEOPLE BE FUCKING CAREFUL!!! DO NOT EAT PEANUT BUTTER!!!

Sickness barter

AMY SAYS...

I paid my mother $60 to take care of me while gareth is away with work. this $60 will cover the following...

Rent - I'm sleeping on her couch!
All the Jell-O I can eat on the couch!
Cooking and delivering bowls of oatmeal to the couch!
Cable fees for watching HBO on the couch!
All the GAtorade I can drink on the couch!
Heating to keep me warm on the couch!

Amy is still poorly sick!

GARETH IS WORRIED...

Amy just isn't getting better.

It has been 10 days now.

She has lost loads of weight and can only hold down the simplest of foods - rice, bread and plain oatmeal.

Poor poor amy.

Her Doctor is running tests this week so hopefully it will all get fixed.

The only up side of all this is that our food bills have now been cut in half.

"Do you hulu?"

GARETH IS DELIGHTED TO HAVE DISCOVERED...

A friend told me yesterday about hulu!

It is going to change our lives completely.

We only have a basic cable package in our new flat so no 'on demand' for us.

But to be honest who needs it with hulu...

"Hulu's mission is to help you find and enjoy the world's premium content, when, where and how you want it. Our library includes thousands of videos, from full episodes of new and archive TV shows to full-length movies to sports games and highlights to clips. We are always working with our content partners to deliver the most compelling selection of programming online. Check out our current list of content partners."

It is amazing and only has a quarter of the ads that spoil regular TV.

Sadly it is only available in the US at the moment but who knows - it is such a good service i'm sure they will extend it when they sort out the legal headaches.

Death in service

GARTEH SAYS...

If i die during my employment at ?WhatIf! the insurance company will pay out four times my salary to whoever i choose.

I chose Amy and got her to fill out the paperwork.

Four times my salary is not to be sniffed at.

Let's hope Amy doesn't start to get any ideas ;)

Begging

GARETH SAYS...

We just watched 'Confessions of a superhero'. It is a great documentary about the celebrity look-a-likes that make a living posing for pictures on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame. It was a great film but pretty heartbreaking stuff. Each day they'd go home with their pants filled with dollar bills and convince themselves that one day they would be a real actor.

It got us talking about who we would impersonate for a few extra bucks. We couldn't make up our minds so we are open to suggestions. Any ideas?

Bored Of Butternut Squash

GARETH SAYS...

Now the Chinese leftovers i have been busy in the kitchen. I have transformed one Butternut Squash (that cost $3) into the following dishes...

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup
Cut the Butternut Squash into a handful of small chunks and roast in olive oil. Fry one onion with one tablespoon of cumin. Add the squash and a pint of water. Simmer for 15 minutes. Blend. Return to heat. Add a splash of cream and add salt and pepper to taste. I made croutons with crushed pistachios to go with the soup. Yummy.

Lemon CousCous with Butternut Squash and Peas
Mix the couscous with a handful of small chunks of roasted squash. Add a handful of peas. Add a big splash of lemon juice and enough water to hydrate the couscous.

Spaghetti with a Creamy Mushroom and Butternut Squash Sauce
Fry a finely chopped onion with some sliced mushrooms. Stir in some small chunks of roasted squash. Add some mustard and cup of cream and simmer. Add salt and pepper and pour over a generous portion of spaghetti.

And would you believe it i still have a quarter of the Squash left!!!!

When i asked Amy what she wanted for dinner tonight she said: "Anything but Butternut Squash"

I guess you can always have too much of a good thing ;)

Leftover lunches

GARETH SAYS...

To celebrate our first night in the flat we got Chinese take away. I have now been eating leftover Chinese food for 4 days straight. Everyone i work with must think i wash my hair in blackbean sauce. Thankfully it is all gone now.

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

AMY SAYS...
Gareth came home last night a brought me a pot, dirt and sunflower seeds! So sweet! I'm home sick STILL!! So I will plant it today while watching the inauguration!

Gareth has been swamped at work and I think a bit overwhelmed, he hasn't had a break in weeks and I've been bed ridden :(

A potted plant always lasts longer then cut flowers, the sentiment feels richer, and it's much cheaper ;)

Oh Ohhh

AMY SAYS...
We have finally left the mother nest to start our own!!!!

Wow! I almost forgot how unbelieveably awesome it is to have a place to call you very own! (even if it's for only three months!)

But I've had an awful stomach flu for days now!! No drinking, no eating, no running around dancing for joy :(

I've been so sick that poor Gareth is bummed that our start in are new home
consists mainly, of me running to the bathroom and moaning on the couch :(

Oh well, we will have plenty of chances to run around in our new pad, I just hope this bug goes away!!!

Otherwise, for me, it is completely liberating!

We're in!!!!

GARETH SAYS...

Amy is still really sick but we managed to move in yesterday.

To cheer Amy up i wanted to get her a 'Get Well Soon' and 'Happy New Home' present and i didn't have a lot of cash thanks to some bastard movers (but that is another blog entry!).

I went into K Mart for inspiration and ended up buying...

A plant pot for $1.50
A bag of fertilizer for $2.00
And a packet of sunflower seeds for $2.50

Half the price of a bunch of flowers and we will easily get months of pleasure from watching them grow! We will keep you updated with their progress over the next three months.

SICK = SAVE

AMY SAYS...

Well, I'm still sick :( didn't go into work today! 5 days, no food and tons of sleep.

Gareth called around 9am and I told him I still had 'the bug.' My boss said he wanted me to stay home and get better so I didn't get anyone else at work sick (perfectly understandable).

So, I thought, maybe I'd go and hang out in my studio, nothing too rigorous but just to get my head back in there. When I told Gareth he wigged, "No! You have to get better, this is too boring!!!! That is stupid, just rest up"

Hmmm...so I thought, what's boring? Being sick in bed for 5 days - yep that's pretty boring, being in a new place and still not being able to spend any money, yep that's pretty boring too!! Hmmm...wait a minute is he telling me I'M BORING!!

Well I can't say that I've been a bundle of laughs more like a bundle of vomit in the form of the walking dead...and I know that it's not ideal being our first weekend in a new place, but such is life.

Anyway, at least I won't be spending any money ;) Having a stomach flu is always a good way to save (on food at least!)

Tears before breakfast

GARETH SAYS...

Today was my last day leaving Amy's Mum's flat.

All our bags are packed and are in the hallway ready for collection by a man with a van.

Goodbye airmatress!! As if to spite me the mattress gave me my worst night's sleep ever.

As i left for my last bike ride from the Upper West Side to work I gave Amy's Mum a hug and she started to cry which made me get a bit teary.

But we have a plan...

We are coming back over next Sunday for dinner.

She hasn't got rid of us that easily :)

Moving Day ....................... delayed :(

GARETH MOANS...

We're both sick - although Amy is more sick than i am. I think we have been burning the candle at both ends with work and our bodies are screaming 'ENOOUGGGHHHHHHHHH'

Yesterday we were supposed to have moved into our new flat but Amy is glued to the bed. I am trying my best to be nurse but there are only so many episodes i can watch of the West Wing - the patient's favorite show!

To escape the West Wing i went over to check out the new flat and do some grocery shopping and cleaning. I spent $65 on almost nothing - Ouch!!!! I think we will soon appreciate everything Amy's Mum did for us over the last 8 months. In our new flat if we run out of milk we will have to replace, if we want butter on our toast we will have to go and buy it etc. The list goes on and on and the expenses go up and up - privacy comes at quite a price.

Zack and Miri make a porno

GARETH AND AMY WATCHED...

... this! It is pretty funny. It is a comedy with Seth Rogen in. Him and his best friend Miri are so skint they decide to make a porno to make some much needed cash money.

Don't worry Mum - we aren't getting any ideas ;-) x

However if you are getting ideas here is some salary info from wikipedia...

"According to some sources, most male performers in straight porn are paid less than their female counterparts. Ron Jeremy has commented on the pay scale of women and men of the sex film industry: "The average guy gets $300 to $400 a scene, or $100 to $200 if he's new. A woman makes $100,000 to $250,000 at the end of the year."[7] and "Girls can easily make 100K-250K per year, plus stuff on the side like strip shows and appearances. The average guy makes $40,000 a year."

Free Socks??

AMY SAYS...

Gareth and I have no socks left, no pairs at all!!!

Today I went to a radiology clinic (I'm fine, just checking some things out) In the changing area they had a bag of socks you can wear temporarily so your feet don't get cold waiting in a flimsy robe for your exam.

Comfor-Treds Non-Skid Shower Slippers - ideal for patients/residents at increased risk for falls in the shower ;) Retail value (only for doctors) is $18.95 per box!!

Yes, I grabbed a bunch ;) They're like airplane socks, thin and uncomfortable, but they will work for now!!!

G gets 4 pairs and I get 4 pairs!!

Woo hoo no slippin' and slidin' for us ;)

(Did feel like an ass leaving the changing area though - doh!)

Homeless??

AMY SAYS...


I think we've had enough training to be officially homeless people and survive!!! After 9 months of ONB.

However, I just googled 'What does it take to survive being homeless'

And there are actually some good tips here ;)

"APPEARANCE"

The most effective way to prevent drawing unwanted attention to yourself is to blend in with your surroundings. You should try to match your style of dress to the type of neighborhood you find yourself in.

Yikes - the fact that I'm reading this stuff and agreeing with some of it is a little scary ;)

"Any old iron"

GARETH FOUND...

...some brand new pots and pans that were being thrown out by our neighbor. They have never been used (take-aways are very very popular in New York). Result. This will be perfect for our new place. I intend to cook loads and loads when we move in. I find it soooooo relaxing and it saves us a small fortune. Healthy packed lunches are going to become my speciality - Amy is getting rather miserable from eating boring cheese sandwiches everyday!

THE UK'S TIGHTEST MAN

GARETH SAYS...
My dad sent me this link last week about a man in Wales who has just been named Britain's "Tightest Man" in a Channel 4 TV show.

He fixes his shoes with sellotape and uses the same teabag over and over. Even i think he is a bit of a nutter but when i read he only had $18,000 left on his mortgage i thought 'good on you'. He is only 39 so he is in the perfect position for a very early retirement!!

Goodbye small room, goodbye inflatable bed

GARETH SAYS...

Next Saturday we move in to our new (but temporary) apartment in Brooklyn.

We are both very excited but also a little bit scared.

There have been sometimes that i couldn't wait to escape our tiny 'prison' but in a funny kind of way i think i am going to miss it. It has felt like we have been living in a bit of a bubble away from everything and everyone. Next Saturday sees us take a step back into the real world and we are both a bit apprehensive.

It is going to be great to finally get some privacy and sleep on a normal bed but i think we are both a little bit worried about being lonely. Being alone isn't something we have had to experience in the last 8 months. Amy's Mum's place is always busy - there is always someone to talk to or do nothing with but when it is just us who knows how we will cope. Amy is worried about the amount of time i spend away with work and I'm a worried about the late nights she will be doing in her studio.

I think it is a good sign that we are able to talk about our fears as well as our hopes - it will serve us well in the future.

KARMA

GARETH SAYS...
While queuing up to pay for something in a shop last week i noticed a $5 bill on the floor. I didn't see the woman in front of me drop it but i assumed it was her's so i picked it up and gave it to her. She seemed pretty happy about it!

Later that day i had managed to get lost on the subway and was at 125th rather than 72nd (I have been here two years and i still find the subway fricking impossible). While i waited for a train to take me back in the right direction i looked down at the floor and there was a $10 bill. There was no-one around that it could have belonged to so i picked it up and put it in my pocket.

Karma-tastic.

Love for sale!

AMY SAYS...

'A friend of a friend' has managed to make $12,000 by getting married to someone who was in need of a green card. Hmmmm $12,000!!!! I would only have to have got married and divorced 15 times and the debt would be all gone.

Err perhaps not...

"Just like the movie "Green Card" - where Gerard Depardieux and Andy MacDowell strike an accord to "marry" for convenience and citizenship, a Russian girl looking for an American greencard has been busted by INS.
Russian national Yuliya Kalinina, 24, is accused of placing an ad on Craigslist for a "Green Card Marriage."
Kalinina, 24, spelled out exactly what she was looking for in a husband in her Internet ad:
"Green Card Marriage -- Will pay $300/month. Total $15,000," the Russian national wrote in an ad placed on the Craigslist Web site. "This is strictly platonic business offer, sex not involved."
CNN reports the ad caught the attention of the man who would eventually marry her on February 17, 2006. But it also caught the eye of agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Kalinina, from Russia, and her husband, Benjamin C. Adams, 30, were arrested last week for what federal prosecutors allege was a sham marriage.
Robert Schoch, special agent in charge of ICE investigations in Los Angeles, said it is the first criminal case he is aware of in which people allegedly used the Internet to engineer a sham marriage for a green card.
Attorney Dale Rubin, who is representing Kalinina, said she didn't know it was illegal to marry for a green card, which he said was evidenced by the blatant language in her ad.
Adams' attorney, public defender John Littrell, declined to comment to the Los Angeles Times."

Health Care Credit

GARETH SAYS...

We are changing our healthcare scheme at work as a result i no longer need my healthcare bank card.

I phoned them up to find out how much money i had on the bank card.

$3000!!!!!!!!!

Now as far as i can see it this is free money!

As part of our insurance plan, work paid $2000 into the account each year and in the 2 years i have been in the US i only used $1000.

I can withdraw the money and use it however i like although there will be a 30% tax fine on it! That means i can get my grubby little mitts on $2000 and put it towards the loans.

Thank you work!!!

Thank you America and your weird healthcare system that i still don't fully understand!

100 billion in student loans!

GARETH READ...

Found this article on the bbc that made me laugh. Poor guy - what a shock to get!!! Thankfully it is all resolved now.

"A student from Ayrshire was left in a state of shock when his online banking statement showed him to be overdrawn by almost £100bn. Donald Moffat, 38, from Irvine, said that on Tuesday morning his Barclays account was showing two separate withdrawals of £50bn. The bank said a "technical error" was to blame and apologised. Mr Moffat said Barclays also offered £10 in compensation for the phone calls he had to make to resolve the error. The full-time student, who is also a part-time care worker, e-mailed a copy of his bank statement to BBC Scotland. It showed a debit balance on 30 December of just under £100bn. Mr Moffat said on Tuesday morning his wife had noticed "a major discrepancy of two £50bn debits" being taken out of his account."

Yeah ok...

AMY SAYS....

We've done the sums until April 15th 2009, and turns out on that date we will owe around $15,000!!!

That's amazing but this was the date ALL the loans were supposed to be gone :(

So, I figure we need another 3 freelance jobs each paying around $5,000!!

PS - Gareth has managed to post a lot of photos where I either look cross-eyed or completely spastic!!! I assure you all I am neither ;)

JAWA

AMY SAYS...

Gareth got me a SLANKET. yes a SLANKET!!!!

Very thoughtful and CHEAP 'cause I'm always cold but I don't think I can ware it around t he office without looking like a JAWA!!!

Resolutions

AMY SAYS...

Ok ok my New Years Resolutions:

I will not smoke cigarettes in 2009

I will pay off all of my student Debt in 2009

I will get a life changing raise based on my work performance in 2009

I will complete an entire shows worth of art in 2009


Gareth's request of Amy in 2009:

Control mood swings (this translates to never get mad at Gareth)

Be more lady like (this translates to don't fart on Gareth)

;)


GARETH SAYS...

My New Years resolutions:

Write, write, write as many children's poems and stories as i possibly can

Make Amy feel supported with work

Make Amy feel supported with her art

Have loads of holidays


Amy's request of Gareth in 2009:

Give her whatever she wants

Magic Lentils

GARETH SAYS...

In Italy they have a great tradition that I'm sure was started by the Lentil Growers Association. They say that for every lentil you eat on New Year's Day you will get $1 in the New Year.

Amy and I ate so many we suffered from gas for the next three days. I have no idea if we ate 180,000 lentils but it felt like it!!!

Let's see if there is anything to this tradition - we will be keeping our fingers crossed.

Santa???

AMY SAYS...

My whole family decided to do only one gift this year, one gift for one person that cost no more then $20!!

So I got my brother Andy. I asked him what he'd like and her said a 100 stack of blank DVD's. So I looked on Amazon and the y were $39.99, I went to Circuit City and they were over $50! Oh no what was I going to do???

So I rummaged through my studio and found all the blank DVD's I could..put them in an old spool and wrapped it up in newspaper.

The day after Christmas my sister Jen called me and said Andy was really pissed off!
What could he possibly be upset about??

Ok ok!!

maybe they weren't all new

maybe they weren't all blank

maybe it didn't have a spindle cover

But it was the thought that counts, right??? ;)

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

AMY SAYS...

We had made absolutely no plans for New Years Eve, Gareth and I were super jet-lagged and didn't want to spend any money on, what is always a very expensive night!!!

So we headed to my sisters for some Berliner Faufinkuten (a German Jelly doughnut, a Globus family tradition) and Champaign at my sisters apartment.

Gareth and I thought we could possibly take the train to Coney Island for midnight after my sisters, or go downtown and meet my friends Michael and Bill for a toast.

But instead we ended up staying at my sisters and hung out with my niece, Isabel, AKA Stinky. Isabel and I put on a dance performance for everyone and we pigged out on the spread my sister and her husband, Phil put together, Fra Grois, Caviar, all kinds of different cheese from around the world, fruit etc.

Gareth and I brought the fruit...costing us a total of $24.00. It ended up being a really easy, warm, and fun night!!

Beside the seaside...

GARETH AND AMY...
Here are two more pics from the seaside. You'll notice the pose is the same as our profile one on the right!!! It is a classic 'hold out your arm and snap away' pose.

Penny arcades

GARETH SAYS...

While back in the UK for Xmas we went to Southwold, a beautiful english seaside town. We went for a walk along the pier and ended up in the penny arcade.

The 2p cascade games brought back loads of memories from my childhood - they are so much fun and we could easily spend all day in them.

Whilst we were standing there looking at the machines a miracle happened!

12p fell from one of the machines that no-one was playing at. With lightening fast reflexes I scooped them up and Amy and I began to play. We lucked out again and won a whole handful of 2ps - too many to count. Someone was definitely looking out for us. We played for about 30 minutes for FREE - all because of that 12p!

We lost everything in the end put we had loads of fun.

"Oh we do like to be besides the seaside!!!!!"

Days left

GARETH SAYS...

I have a work trip to San Diego for a whole week that means i know only have 10 days left living at Amy's mum's. Privacy here we come!

WAIT WHAT?

AMY SAYS...
So it finally arrived...the morning I was going to England to see Gareth for the first time in almost 2 whole weeks!!! I know that doesn't seem that long but it felt like a lifetime!!

Gareth had me call Virgin, seeing as they has sent him to JKF when his flight was leaving Newark Airport, miles away!

I set my alarm for 4:30am, my flight was leaving Newark at 8:05am. I asked Gareth to call me to make sure I was up, set all three alarms and went to bed.

My alarms were all broken and Gareth had tried calling my 30 times! I woke up at 5am! Yikes I had to bolt!

I so grab my suitcase and ran to catch a taxi to the airport. It was freeeezing!! I caught a cab and off we went. Gareth called me and we started gabbing about how lucky it was that I actually woke up when my alarms didn't go off! Anyway, we were gabbing along when, I looked up and the was a sign for LaGuardia Airport...NOOOOOOOO!!! The cabdriver's taken me to the wrong place!!!

So I didn't argue with him I just said, "Step on it and just go to Newark!"

Gareth called me back and said, "What's happened?" I told him and he couldn't believe it! "Oh, no, you're never gonna make it!!!" He said.

I told him don't worry I will!

And again off we went...at 100mph. In exactly 30mins we made it from Queens, through Manhattan all the way to Jersey!!!

Gareth kept say, "But that's, that's just so STUPID!!!"

I didn't argue with the driver..just prayed that he focused on driving!

Gareth called me again and said, "When you get to the airport just tell them you took a cab all the way to JFK (which was on my e-ticket) and they told you your flight was leaving Newark!!! Ask them to pay for your cab fare!"

SO I did just that and without and hesitation the manager refunded my $150 cab ride and pushed me straight through the queue!! There I was, on the plane in no time having spent absolutely nothing for the cab ride there!!!


And I even tipped the cab driver!!!

Thank you VIRGIN and Gareth!!