4 and 3 and 2 and 1!

Like Uncle Albert and Bert in Mary Poppins, I love to laugh. 

 "some only blast"

Growing up in the nineties, I lived for watching shows like The Wonder Years, Perfect Strangers, The Golden Girls and, of course, Seinfeld. Also, Kids in the Hall and Saturday Night Live. 

I remember this one time when I laughed so hard during Perfect Strangers that I literally showered the television with the yoghurt that was in my mouth (TMI?). My mother was not impressed.

I don't own a television. As such, I don't want much TV. Not that it matters. There just isn't anything that funny on anymore. 

Or so I thought.

While I enjoy Girls and sometimes even laugh out loud while watching it, nothing is funnier than Broad City, a comedy series that debuted on Comedy Central in 2014 but started online in 2009 as a web series.

broad city theme song; latino and proud by dj raff

I just Wikipedia'd the show and found the description quite amusing: "Broad City follows Ilana and Abbi, both are self-professed Jewish feminist women that perpetually experience misadventures of carelessness and frivolity in New York City. Ilana seeks to avoid working as much as possible while pursuing her relentless hedonism and Abbi tries to make a career as an illustrator, often getting sidetracked into Ilana's hijinks." 

Hijinks??? Now that's funny! 

This is how I'd describe the show: Broad City follows Ilana Wexler and Abbi Abrams, two best friends in their twenties who, while broke, smoke a lot of pot and have a lot of fun while getting into their fair share of sketchy situations.

The second episode of the first season was called Pu$$y Weed. This is why:

"the vagnagna is nature's pocket" 

The show was created by it's two stars, Ilana Glazer (who plays Ilana Wexler) and Abbi Jacobson (who plays Abbi Abrams) who also happen to be best friends in real life. Glazer and Jacobson are alumnae of the Upright Citizens Brigade, an improvisational theatre in New York.  They met, and became fast friends, when they joined a sub-group of the theatre called the Secret Promise Circle. 

Amy Poehler joined the comedy duo as an executive producer for the final episode of the web series. Thanks to her considerable influence, Broad City got picked up by Comedy Central and the show went from 4 minute episodes to 22 minutes. And the rest, as they say, is history.     

Wikipedia describes the characters as feminists and while I wouldn't disagree with that, I don't think that's the central premise of the show. Broad City, essentially, revolves around the friendship between Ilana and Abbi, which is what makes it so relatable. 

To me, anyhow. 

And if you still need convincing, here are some of the funniest clips (I could find on You Tube):

the worldwide bloodstream

nature skills

to peg or not to peg?

ilana's intern army

abbi on the edge of glory

eight f**king thousand dollars

Good thing I didn't have any yoghurt in my mouth.

Oh, and one more thing. I die for Ilana's head dance:

Neighborhood watch

According to Merriam-Webster, there is an inextricable link between the word "neighbor" and the word(s) "fellow man," or kindred human being.

Not where I live.

Where I live, a neighbor is someone who calls the city to complain about another neighbor's lawn.

Sigh...

Moving here has been very different than I thought it would be and one of the most difficult things has been making new friends.

I used to be the kind of gal who made new friends everywhere she went.

Since moving here though, it feels as if I haven't met a single kindred spirit.

Except for Tammy.

Tammy is a neighborhood cat and truth be told... she is one of the few things (people?) that has made me smile this week.

Isn't she beautiful? 

Last night a little after 1 a.m. I realized I had forgotten to take the recycling out. Since the truck comes by early in the morning and I didn't want to miss it, I decided to get out of bed and do the deed.

I scampered down the stairs and dragged the recycling bin, yard waste bin and six cardboard boxes filled with the remains of the day garden to the curb before turning around to see Tammy trying to make a break for it... into my house.

This isn't the first Tammy has tried to adopt me, or the house I live in, and I hope it isn't the last because the look she gave me before scurrying away filled my heart with hope and love.

Seriously.

The reason I had so much garden waste - a bin and six boxes seems a little excessive, don't you think - is because a neighbor who shall remain nameless (the cranky Polish guy next door) complained to the city about the sorry state of our lawn and gardens.

In addition to being the last thing I needed to deal with this week it also made me feel really bad, and kind of sad, because I actually put a lot of work into, and take a lot of pride out of, maintaining what I thought was a beautiful home.  

To satisfy the neighbor (and the city which gave me one week to address the issue) I spent the last three days weeding, pruning and mowing (for the first time, might I add).

Unlike Gwyneth Paltrow... who works a seventies vibe.

Here are two quotes that sum up the way I feel about life right now...

In everyone's life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people (OR CATS!) who rekindle the inner spirit.

Albert Schweitzer

A single rose can be my garden... a single friend, my world.
Leo Buscaglia