friday friday

hooray, im glad youre on your way back to the homeland! & i hear it is snowing! sounds like perfect viewing criteria for monday’s trip to see the lights up in the bronx (?). i will hopefully be spending tomorrow morning perched beachside with a new us weekly. i know i know, unfairness all around. im writing a post now because my stolen internet was out last night and i fear this has become a weekly occurrence- every weekend it appears to be out. now, i dont necessarily know anything about making one’s wireless internet secure, but it seems odd to me that the one i steal from is only secure on some weekends. interesting set up there (not complaining, believe me!). my new obsession at work is listening to radio at pandora.com - im sure the rest of the universe knew about this a long time ago, but not this girl- which im guessing had something to do with the fact that i was living in a hole for the past 3 years. so back to pandora: you type in an artists name (say, casio tone for the painfully alone) and then proceed to fall in love with all the music pandora then figures out you also might like. i feel like im back in college and have that friend who always suggested good, slightly obscure music you didnt know. or similarly, like im listening to a really good college radio station. the best part is that im sure its all founded on some complex mathematical formula based on beats, rhythm, genre, and the like. way to go MIT, or whichever genius came up with this plan.

cupcakes on wednesday night were a lot of fun- first, after work, i went down over to lincoln road again to try and buy some great crappy christmas presents for my fam. you know, i wanted to get some miami-themed articles, maybe some shirts, mugs, whatever. surprisingly, you can find this stuff in most drugstores here- its like walgreens is also a haven for tourists who need last minute "miami florida" potholders. i always forget though, how annoying lincoln road is until i get there. you couldnt find a more densely-packed tourista area, and all the hostesses from the restaurants stand outside and try to accost you. actually- its very similar in that sense to little italy -but minus those kind chinese ladies who offer to sell you fake bags in chinatown. now if that started happening, i might change my tune. anyway after i frustrated myself to holy hell, i drove over to rachel’s apartment and parked. there are so many huge apartment complexes all over this town, its so strange to see what they all look like on the inside. its almost like when youre in ny and are obsessed with everyone else’s apartment, except here, everyone else lives in similarly gaudy, expensive, out of control huge complexes, and you kind of cant get over the fact that they all have their own gyms, pools, doormen, views of the bay, and the like. earlier in the evening i had run over to one of the infamous ones, the flamingo. oh, flamingos, pink birds, whatevs, how can that be infamous? trust me. first, you need a swipe card, like for a hotel room, just to get through the literal gates. there’s valet parking (please, i kicked it on the street, parallel style). once youre through the gates, there are three huge buildings in a U shape- one that you walk through, another on the left, and a third on the right. when i say huge, i mean at least 20 floors- but also extremely wide. in front of you is a wide open expanse of HUGE palm trees and greenery, and the bay is beyond that, along with the pool. my gut reaction was that i had suddenly entered a gated community: stepford wives, miami version. apparently the infinity pool is also accompanied by a bar, and many topless women. wait a second, topless? yes. they are not only topless at the pool, but also walking around, or if youre lucky, on the elliptical trainer next to you at the gym. honestly, i couldnt make this up if i tried. hearing these stories (several of my coworkers live there) always makes me immensely glad that i do not live in south beach nor at this infamous complex. it actually sounds like all the 20-something european sluts got together and formed a retreat, so hey, for some people, im sure it is enjoyable.

thankfully though, rachel does not live there. (wow, sidetracked much?). her building was a few doors down, and lovely,with kitties, and her lovely boyfriend adrien, and a lovely wine refridgerator, full of lovely wines. the four of us (rachel, ashley, adrien & i) drank, laughed, talked, and eventually made magnolia cupcakes. i must admit, im still a lover of the sugar sweet sunshine: nothing can beat that stuff. the magnolia cakes are dense- i had never had one until we made them, and i was a little surprised actually at how many eggs & milk they contained. i guess this contributes to the denseness: i have never added milk to any other cupcakes before. the frosting was even better. after taking intermittent breaks for baking and eating takeout, we frosted & decorated & suddenly it was almost midnight and i barely escaped being turned into a pumpkin. i still cant decide if i should try to attempt cookie baking this weekend so i can give the doormen something tangible with their xmas tips, or if i will avoid any further baking labor. honestly, just the thought of entering the supermarket this weekend is probably enough to curb the desire. ive actually started seeing some winterbirds or whatever they call them down here- last night in the market, there was a family talking about how good it was to be back in the publix miami supermarket- kind of insane. and then there was an older couple, dressed very new englandly, each with their own shopping cart to help them stand up (i honestly kid you not). either way, they take too long in the dairy aisle and are impossible to pass, so therefore, are highly noticeable.

so speaking of handle’s massiah and hallelujah, today is the last day of potluck holiday week. im sure my stomach will be pleased to thank her lucky stars and say goodbye to endless deserts and odd assortments of delectable savories. (patty, you would die). though, there is one last pitstop on the way: tonight is a going-away-happy-hour for one of the guys down the hall, its again at the swanky hotel bar "level 25" in the brickell neighb - we were there a few weeks ago. i suppose this means we will be buying overpriced cocktails and then going home to eat a random assortment of food items, due to wine-infused hunger. all in all, not bad things to complain about. AND, i just got started on a very new cool case at work (i know, it seems antithetical to describe work as cool, but i swear, it is) so thats keeping me going. that, and some lovely vacation time coming up in the next week. speaking of cool cases though, i should get back to it. if by some miraculous reason, i am able to post again this weekend, i certainly will- otherwise, enjoy your collective saturdays & sundays, and see you after then!

xoxoxoxox