Long time, No Blog!

I am officially the biggest blog slacker. It's been a month since my last post! I guess I don't really know who is reading this....oh well. It's fun to talk a bit about what I've been up to.

What I've been up to :

1. Went home and saw the fam, the friends, 2 movies and a musical. Classic.

2. Went to Vermont: mini-golf, swimming in lakes, nature and all that.

3. Alanna came! Which was awesome.

4. Sally came!! Which was also awesome.

Blah. Nothing interesting to write about tonight. I filled in for one of the assistants today, which was hectic. I have no desire to BE an assistant, but I think I'd be great at it. Is that cocky? Maybe. But it might also be true!!!

Found out that a bunch of people are on SPB that I didn't know about! Yay, friends that will be at school early like me.

:0 what are you up to?

New York Lights and Bar Harbor Nights

I'm back in the Big City! This weekend I took a hiatus from the smog and strangers to venture back into more familiar ground- trees, you say? Clean air? Why yes! And ocean to boot!


Beautiful bricks.

The camp before the famed camera-dashing incident of the weekend. Yes, I did dash my perfectly lovely digital camera on a rock for no reason other than sheer idiocy. Yes, I feel like an idiot about it. Moving on.

Wes and I went to a cute little street fair on 7th Avenue last weekend. Is it just me, or is this "mascot" just the kind of thing that could keep even the most ardent carnivore reaching for a tempeh kabob?


Truly terrifying. I can't decide what scares me more -- his vagabond ill-fitting clothing or the unnatural pinkness of his skin. Or maybe it's those piercing blue eyes....

Just had a delightful dinner with the cuz at Fig and Olive on 52nd between 5th and Madison. The cutest little Mediterranean tasting bar I've ever been to. Oh wait, I've only ever been to one. Either way, it was adorable. Free bread? Check. Three different kinds of olive oil to dip the free bread into? Check check check (+YUM). Lemon sorbet and fresh strawberries for dessert? Stick a fork in me, I'm done.

Off to tackle some VMizzle.

I Haven't Even Met You Yet!

Wow, it's been a week and no update! Things are good in the Big City, except that it's SO HOT. My NH-thermostated body cannot take this oppressive heat. Remind me never to live in Houston, OK?

The illustrious Mickleohb came to visit this weekend, which was a blast. We did a lot of lounging in various parks and the like. Even went to Times Square voluntary (!!) which is something unusal for me and Wes.

Oh, NYC. You are so shiny and bright.


The flags at Rockefeller Center.


There's a restaurant/bar down here when there's not an ice skating rink, and it looks really appealing to me. Why? No idea. Chances are it's overpriced and fairly mediocre. I think the sunkenness makes it look exclusive...I think I'll have to go there eventually.

Ben, Wes, and I ventured deep into the heart of Chinatown to explore Dumpling House, where you can get 4 dumplings for a dollar. THAT'S AMAZING. The dumplings were great but everything else was eh. Wes got hot soy bean SOUP which was very intense. My sesame pancake with beef was not good at all. But 4 dumplings for a DOLLAR? We'll be back, you can bet your hat on it.

Now we're pooped from a day of long subway rides and getting lost in Central Park.

How's everyone else?

Edit: The meaning of the title was never explained, and it's so awesome. Ben, Wes, and I were sitting on the desk yesterday, just talking, and there were two parties going on at the apartment two buildings over from us- one on the roof, and one on the deck at the same floor as us. The people from both parties started talking, the typical, "OMG come down!" "No you come up!" etc. They seemed fairly well-acquainted...and then the girl who lived on the top floor was like, "I haven't even met you yet!" OK...the story doesn't seem great, but it was awesome.

Coney Island State of Mind

What a fun weekend! I don't want to go back to work. Blah. Although if I just kept wandering around aimlessly, I'd probably be broke, as my wandering often involves shopping.

On Friday morning I picked up some more baos (YUM) and got iced coffee at the same Chinese bakery. I would testify in front of a court that they put crack in that coffee. I don't know what it is (probably sugar...) but that coffee is AMAZING. Right up there with Antica Bologna's cappucinos for my Coffee Hall of Fame (oh my god this should totally exist.) Then I did something else that I cannot at all remember. Wow. Maybe it DID really have crack in it...in the afternoon Wes and I went to Prospect Park, just an avenue from our apartment, and read while watching the world's sweetest dog. Evidence:

He looks so regal!

And then we took goofy pictures. Why so pensive, Wes?




At night we made pizza and watched a ton of Vmars, including the finale of season 1!! Now I never have to see it again!! (Love it to death, but 4/5 views per episode in a year? TOO MUCH!! Can't wait to dive back into Season 2, though. That I've only seen once.)

On Saturday we went to Coney Island because it was SO HOT. 95 and man, did it feel like it. No pictures 'cause I felt like my camera was going to be stolen...but it was really fun. The water was cold. Not New England cold, but I don't want to dive in quite yet cold. The Cyclone was AMAZING as usual...and way scarier than I expected.

Today I went to the flea market on the Upper West Side that I love, but it was just too hot to really enjoy it. I bought a cute scarf for 2 dollars (!!) and then retreated to the cool subway and sweated my way home (ew, yes, but accurate). We were going to go to this artwalk thing in another part of BK but the subway was closed...guess the power went out! Odd. We read in Barnes & Noble for a good long while and made delicious stirfry.

Lesson of the weekend: Blockbuster sucks. We got a card there yesterday and the new release (Diving Bell & The Butterfly- pretty good but very artsy-fartsy) was 4.45. Indie movie rental place in our neighboorhood? Every movie's 2.25. Glad we found out early...

Why, oh why, did I volunteer to read/write a reader's report (summary/comments/should it be rep'd?) for an Italian book?? Help me God.

And for good spirit...

How cute are we?

Long time, no post!

This post is dedicated to my mum, who seems to be currently blog-obsessed :) I've been busy getting settled in at the Agency- going to keep the work deets at the absolute minimum. Too many horror stories about bosses finding blogs...you guys know how it goes. I will say that my internship is very fun- maybe even better than last year- and that yesterday I rejected something about a girl dying from Crohn's. Wrong person to be reading your letter, buddy!! Better luck next time. Or your dreams are crushed forever. Mwa ha ha.

There's so much stuff to write about! I'm going to write about a few tonight and some tomorrow...

First of all, how sweet is this guy playing accordion outside of the Smiling Pizza? Awesome. Only in New York....And yes, Mom, I gave him some money afterwards.

The frozen custard flavors at the Shake Shack in Mad Sq Pk look pretty good. I had Salted Caramel on Monday and it was truly delish. They have a different flavor for every day of the week for a month, and then it all changes. Tuesday's is Raspberry Jalapeno! I can't decide if that sounds good or bad.

Today when I was walking back from Loehmann's (=fancier Marshalls/The Maxx) ... I mean, eating lunch :) there was a woman on the sidewalk, maybe 60, with her feet all twisted and blood dripping from her mouth. There were about 8 people gathered around her so I kept going...but it was very odd. At first I thought you had fallen, but would she have blood on her face? Now I'm thinking she was mugged. Again...only in New York. But a darker side, cause she wasn't outside a smiling pizza and didn't have an accordion.

The other day, on my way to work, two women (strangers) were walking dogs. The dogs started playing together and the women started discussing dog floss. DOG FLOSS. Most HUMANS I know don't use floss. *no names- you know who you are, blog reader!!* That is nuts.

I had the most delish 1.50 coffee from the foreign-owned little deli across the street. I think they put crack in their coffee there. Seriously.

Wes and I just made a COMPLETE MEAL. It was nuts. We made linguine with sausage, peppers, and arugula and ginger snap peas with ginger. And garlic bread. It was SO GOOD. We're basically really proud.

Yesterday we met up with 3 of my friends from Italian class. It's so odd- out of a 7 person class, 4 of us are in New York. Kinda odd...we got delish dumplings at Rickshaw in Chelsea (between work and dinner, I played my favorite NYC game- "how far can I walk before I reach an H&M?" Yesterday's answer- 6 streets. And I bought something, of course.) Then we got gelato in the West Village. It was so legit, it was great! AND guess what? Everyone who worked in the gelateria spoke ITALIAN! And so did all of us (minus Wes, but he was a good sport). It was a huge pleasant surprise. Now I know where I can go to practice this summer. And everyone who came in spoke Italian. The dude who served us was even from Rome. That's awesome.

Tonight- VMars, of course. Color us both obsessed.

(is anyone reading this?)

I've arrived!

I've survived the Fung Wah bus once again! Ha ha, you people who say that it is a death machine. It is awesome.

Wes was there to meet me but no cha siu bao in hand (roast pork bun. SO GOOD.) He did have a delish piece of raisiny eggy bread from the Chinese bakery- also delish and hearty enough to old me over until we got noodles and fried wontons at a Chinese restaurant. So basically it was a China-tastic evening.

Now we're just hanging out in the apt. I've been sort of freaking out over work tomorrow- you know that feeling of second-guessing all your decisions? I'm unusually plagued with it. Some Veronica Mars Season 1 and chocolate Lactaid milk will probably cure all of my mild-grade anxiety- if not, some street fruit and an iced latte will have to do the trick before I start work at the Agency at 10 tomorrow.

In "what free stuff can Wes and I do in the most expensive city on earth" (other than...all of Europe) game, we've won! PS 321 is having a POETRY SLAM this Friday at the Barnes and Noble near us. Awesome AND free. YAY!

Wes and I are thinking Coney Island this weekend- we have a hankering for the Cyclone. Who doesn't?

Off tomorrow!

I'm leaving tomorrow! I'm excited but I have SO much to do before I arrive in NYC via my favorite sketchy form of transportation, the Fung Wah bus. The haters can hate- I love it. 15 dollars AND it gets me about 20 minutes closer to Brooklyn than the Greyhound (which comes into Port Authority on 42nd)? Yes please.

I want to start looking for places to speak Italian this summer. You lose so much of a language when you don't speak it for 3 monthes, and I've learned too much Italian this year to give it up lightly.

I hope people come and visit!! Come visit me, people! How can you pass up the wonders of NYC? We can hop from free museum night to free museum night and eat hot dogs in Central Park in between.

Another thing I want to find before too long- a good place to read that's not Starbucks (WHY IS THE COFFEE SO EXPENSIVE??). Maybe the BK Public Library? The NYC Public Library at Bryant Park is also supposed to be really nice...

Any suggestions that don't involve 4.50 iced soy caramel macchiatos that neither my wallet nor my soft teeth :( need?

To Do- Or, How to Spend the Money I Won't be Making!

I've been thinking a lot lately about all the stuff I want to do in New York City- places I've never been, food I've never explored, etc! I'd LOVE to hear what you guys think, too- where are some places I shouldn't miss?

So far...

• check out thrift stores but don't buy a lot of clothes- I never end up wearing them! Maybe look for vintage necklaces or bags...
• find the best cupcake. I'm totally not convinced it's at Magnolia of SNL fame, although I'll have to try it before I decide for sure. I found someplace on the UWS (Upper West Side) that is very delish- the last time I was there two businessmen were sharing cupcakes after work. Adorable.
• find a used bookstore that sells Italian books. Contemporary ones. This may be a challenge. The last Italian bookstore I went after totally didn't exist.
• teach the bf to cook. This will be FUN.
• go to the Brooklyn Botanical Garden, which is supposed to be great, and the Brooklyn museum.

That's it for now, I think...of course I'll be haunting my favorite NYC spots- Union Square, the junky clothing shops in SoHo, and the B&N in Park Slope to read mags for free. And there's always the Madison Square Park Shake Shack, which did not recieve enough of my business last year. Flavor-of-the-day frozen custard, here I come!

Things I'll miss here include dinner on the deck (when the bugs are absent), Settlers (if you don't know, it's really safer not to ask) and all of my friends.

Off to the city soon...

Hey guys! Not sure who (if anyone) will be reading this, but I just felt in the mood for a new blog. LJ is all fine and dandy, but I want to have a blog just for writing about my adventures in New York.

I'm leaving on Sunday! Excited but nervous...This is my second summer and I'm going back to the same internship.

And living here:

Oh, Park Slope, you are one of the most gorgeous places ever. Although I'm not used to having to WALK home with a week and a half's worth of groceries- should I just buy one of those old-lady metal carts and get over myself? Probably. Will I? Probably not. My shoulders will (maybe!) survive.