this week is just flying by! Mostly because every day when i get off work, i have something to look forward to: my mom as my playmate! Total mary jane time. Monday afternoon mom & bob arrived, and I scooped them up at the hotel, and we all went for a nice walk while it was still light out, along the beach, on the wooden boardwalk. Their first night in, they wanted to sample some seafood, so we went to this little wee hole in the wall place right on collins and about 69th street, called ‘fifi’s.’ i know, right? Low expectations normally, but i’ve walked by and thought about it so often, and heard some good reviews (one last weekend on the beach, actually), that we decided to try it.
Unbelievable. They only serve whatever looked best that day, and when you pick what kind of fish you want, they bring it out to you so you can look at it before they fillet it and cook it for you (or, you could have it whole, if you preferred...). they started us with some on-the-house crispy rock shrimp; then mom & i had local-florida pompano, grilled and amazing; bob had lobster; and we all had tons of beans, rice, avocado salad, wine; and it was all followed up with flan (also on-the-house). Totally delectable. I dont even *like* flan normally, and this was out of control. All of it was.
Afterwards, they briefly came over to see the apartment, and i made them take my sunhat, sunblock, and some flip flops for their first true vacay day; then dropped them off at their hotel for the night. Tuesday afternoon i got a call in the afternoon from mj, who proclaimed that she was bored, but that "this is what vacation is like, I guess." (Obviously she is my mother. Who else would get bored and antsy and fussy when shes used to running around all the time?). thankfully she relieved herself by taking some more walks before i was able to get them for dinner– Tuesday = cuban, the neighborhood stand-by. Also delicious, also too much food. We went back to their hotel and hung out for a bit before i then headed home.
And tonight? Next stop on the culinary tour is joe’s stone crab, the miami institution. I went once before, way back with some co-workers next door, but i am very much looking forward to tonight- (1) it wont be at 11pm, as it was last time, (2) i will therefore be able to eat dinner– i.e., more than a salad & several stone-crab legs, and (3) um hello, ill be with mj. Need i explain more?
Tomorrow im officially (and legally) taking the day off to hang all day with them, which will be really nice. We’ve got a little spa appointment for massages, and it should be warm again, about 80 and sunny and lovely- so it will be beach pool and more beach for this girl. (Its funny that i say ‘it should be warm again’, right? Well we had one of our ‘cold’ fronts this week which meant the past 2 days were only about 75 and at night, down to about 53. I know. Heaven forbid. I will be so intolerable next year, you wont even want to talk to me).
Yes, everything feels right in the world. I finally got my p.t. back from the mechanics, it isnt making weird shudder-noises or vibrations, and ive got fam in town. It like i rarely notice that i feel unbalanced in the family-sense down here, since i have more recently been keeping myself busy, but it really is so great to have them around and close. While i wouldnt say its something i take for granted back in the n.y.c., i definitely feel i can appreciate it all in bulk this week. (And of course it greatly makes me appreciate that my mom isnt insane, like other horror stories i hear, more and more frequently from my co-workers and new friends). I know, time to stop bragging. But remember. My mom loves to give hugs, so dont feel so left out.
And now, im off!
xoxo
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Monday, April 6, 2009
non-culture / culture, wine and sun.
you know what i constantly find amusing? Whenever im about to hand something in at work, and my boss says something along the lines of, ‘no rush, take your time.’ in the past, i would have assumed that meant what it implied: make sure its good. Now, however, ive come to the realization that it really means, ‘thanks but no thanks. I dont want to deal with it right now.’ you know what? Im totally okay with that.
How sad that yet another weekend has flown by... i have finally gotten used to my new glasses; it took about 3-4 days for me to stop feeling like i was hallucinating whilst walking in the hallway to the bathroom. Something about the shape of a new frame was disorienting: like i could see out of the corner of my eye more, and it threw me for a loop. On the plus side, everything is more clear, and my old-glasses are now fixed up with the new prescription, too. Variety in eyewear, can you imagine? (I know, thrilling).
Last week came to a lovely close. On Thursday night i took a run on the beach and then went over to rachel’s house for take-out salads, a bottle of malbec, and ‘rachel getting married.’ we joked with her boyf (who made it just in time to watch with us) that it was actually a home movie we had created to show him exactly how she wanted her wedding. It moderately freaked him out until he realized it was an indie film. Kind of hilarious. Anyway i wont linger on this too long but it was really a brilliant movie; the screenplay was fabulous, the acting great, i couldnt recommend it more highly. Somehow the night lasted until about 1am, but well worth it.
Friday night i was all set on going home, curling up with dexter and some popcorn, and calling it quits. But one of the clerks from down the hall (justin) organized a mini-impromptu happy hour at the fountainebleu, so i headed over there post-work, luxuriated in a $16 watermelon-vodka-mint cocktail (i think my new staple)(minus the $16 part), and then we all grabbed cuban food for dinner up by my place. Justin had two friends in town, who kept insisting that i join them all that night to go out. While i was still ready at that point to go home & bed, i figured, why not. Be spontaneous! I would come to regret this decision, mind you, when i found myself a few hours later at the opening of a new club in hollywood, centered in the hardrock casino; it was the first night ‘opium’ was debuting, and the line and the crowds outside were a total shit show. Thankfully, im still not sure how this happened, we were waiting in the crowd and the doorman pointed at us, and pulled us through the crowd. There were 5 of us, and we all managed to get in without any hassle, because let me tell you, if that waiting in the mess of people had gone on much longer, i would have insisted on hitching a cab back to the 305 (holler).
The interior of ‘opium’ wasnt too bad- big enough, with a semi-asian theme–kind of like hiro, the club/restaurant at the maritime hotel in chelsea. All the waitresses/bartends had total fake boobs that were squished out in all proportions and basically you couldnt even pretend to look elsewhere. If it is so distracting to me, i dont quite understand how anyone functions there. Plus they were all wearing these tiny little getups that looked like french-maid-inspired-lingerie. Not really what you expect, but apparently it was working for them. (Tangential comment: not that i have ever contemplated breast-enhancement, but it does make a girl wonder at times, what exactly motivates the fake boobs. It remains a mystery to me, and yet, at times i still feel inferior in those situations. Go figure.).
Aside from asian-themed-decor and distracting breasts everywhere, the music was more on the sucky-techno side, which i was not a fan of. We arrived sometime around midnight, and i was honestly ready to beat it by about 2, 2.30... unfortunately though, the 4 others were having a good time so i had to put up a good front even though i wanted to start stabbing bypassers. One of the other clerks with us, josh, tried to theorize that the reason why i wasnt having a good time was because i was a girl, and that men enjoyed these kind of clubs in a different way. (Um, because of the fake boobs?). to try and test out this theory, i looked around the club for any semblance of an attractive male. You know what? Nonexistent. Its true. The male genre in that club consisted of gelled, spikey hair; tee-shirts that had prints -like tattoos-, in glittery ink or sparkles (no joke); tight-yet-flared-jeans; and the physical body that implies the individual does little other than drink creotene and work out. In other words, doing nothing for me. So maybe josh was right. Still, i maintain that i would have had fun if i had atleast been able to dance- but the music was just all around suckage.
Finally, finally, at about 4.30am they realize i am about to start eating broken glass as a coping mechanism, so they agree its time to get me home and we all hustle out. I arrive at my door at 5am, which is when it occurred to me that there was no way i was going to make it to this ballet class that rachel was trying to get me to at noon; so i face-planted into bed wrapped in my bathrobe and slept soundly for a few hours. In retrospect, its always fun to meet new people, especially friends of your new friends (since you only know them in this new weird context), but of course i realize i would have been happier to flake out that night.
Then- Saturday night, to counter-balance the cheese of Friday, rachel, ashley & i, and their respective men, went to see branford marsalis at an old theatre here in downtown miami. (branford is the brother of wynton, who ashley’s husband, anton, and i saw a few months ago). The show was amazing; it was branford, playing either sax, clarinet, or oboe; a drummer who was only 18; a fabulous piano player; and a bass player. They were much more loose-jazz, not as big-band-old-school as wynton, and we had a blast. Oddly enough, the theatre looked like it had been this gorgeous old thing that was then somehow redecorated to be more "miami": there were all these intricate marble-looking carvings in the wall, right beside some odd purple lights, palm trees shoved into odd spaces, and no joke- a flamingo sculpture. Wha? They also, alongside the bar, sold popcorn and hotdogs, the kind that rotate in a glass case, like at a convenience store. Sooo weird, at least for a jazz concert. I would never have expected it! Chalk it all up to a wonderful time, either way.
After the show, we headed back to the beach, and went to dinner at this turkish spot- both adrian & rachel know the owner- so we let him order for us, and ate a ton of delicious food- phyllo cigars stuffed with feta and spices; spinach pie; tzaiki; falafel; meatie bits; lamb chops; stuffed tomatoes; brie with honey and garlic (to die for); and baklava (of course)- all washed up with a few bottles of wine. Tons of good conversation, talking about latin american politics, cuban, immigration; somehow i think rachel and ashley have convinced me to join a little ‘book club’ they want to get going. (To which i responded, cant it just be a wine club? Um, apparently not).
Sunday i spent most of the day just lazing around in the sun; its been rather hot & humid here, giving us a little taste of what summer will be like (insane)- today its supposed to be 92 or so! I think yesterday i accomplished laying in the sun on the beach, and by the pool; swimming in both bodies of water; drinking a beer and falling asleep while listening to the pixies; and still managing to motivate for a 6 mi run at the end of the day; before making some home-made seitan. Oddly it looks productive. I swear it wasnt.
And today my mom & bob come in for a few days! They’ll be here until Friday morning so at least i get a few evenings with them, and hopefully i will be able to take a day off to play; lets cross fingers. In the meantime, im feeling much more optimistic about work this week and am back on the proverbial horse with a new project. I think not drinking coffee for 3 days and then having it this morning has made my life infinitely better. No joke! How i am so turbo powered on a Monday is kind of unbelievable, but i will not question it at all!
xoxo
How sad that yet another weekend has flown by... i have finally gotten used to my new glasses; it took about 3-4 days for me to stop feeling like i was hallucinating whilst walking in the hallway to the bathroom. Something about the shape of a new frame was disorienting: like i could see out of the corner of my eye more, and it threw me for a loop. On the plus side, everything is more clear, and my old-glasses are now fixed up with the new prescription, too. Variety in eyewear, can you imagine? (I know, thrilling).
Last week came to a lovely close. On Thursday night i took a run on the beach and then went over to rachel’s house for take-out salads, a bottle of malbec, and ‘rachel getting married.’ we joked with her boyf (who made it just in time to watch with us) that it was actually a home movie we had created to show him exactly how she wanted her wedding. It moderately freaked him out until he realized it was an indie film. Kind of hilarious. Anyway i wont linger on this too long but it was really a brilliant movie; the screenplay was fabulous, the acting great, i couldnt recommend it more highly. Somehow the night lasted until about 1am, but well worth it.
Friday night i was all set on going home, curling up with dexter and some popcorn, and calling it quits. But one of the clerks from down the hall (justin) organized a mini-impromptu happy hour at the fountainebleu, so i headed over there post-work, luxuriated in a $16 watermelon-vodka-mint cocktail (i think my new staple)(minus the $16 part), and then we all grabbed cuban food for dinner up by my place. Justin had two friends in town, who kept insisting that i join them all that night to go out. While i was still ready at that point to go home & bed, i figured, why not. Be spontaneous! I would come to regret this decision, mind you, when i found myself a few hours later at the opening of a new club in hollywood, centered in the hardrock casino; it was the first night ‘opium’ was debuting, and the line and the crowds outside were a total shit show. Thankfully, im still not sure how this happened, we were waiting in the crowd and the doorman pointed at us, and pulled us through the crowd. There were 5 of us, and we all managed to get in without any hassle, because let me tell you, if that waiting in the mess of people had gone on much longer, i would have insisted on hitching a cab back to the 305 (holler).
The interior of ‘opium’ wasnt too bad- big enough, with a semi-asian theme–kind of like hiro, the club/restaurant at the maritime hotel in chelsea. All the waitresses/bartends had total fake boobs that were squished out in all proportions and basically you couldnt even pretend to look elsewhere. If it is so distracting to me, i dont quite understand how anyone functions there. Plus they were all wearing these tiny little getups that looked like french-maid-inspired-lingerie. Not really what you expect, but apparently it was working for them. (Tangential comment: not that i have ever contemplated breast-enhancement, but it does make a girl wonder at times, what exactly motivates the fake boobs. It remains a mystery to me, and yet, at times i still feel inferior in those situations. Go figure.).
Aside from asian-themed-decor and distracting breasts everywhere, the music was more on the sucky-techno side, which i was not a fan of. We arrived sometime around midnight, and i was honestly ready to beat it by about 2, 2.30... unfortunately though, the 4 others were having a good time so i had to put up a good front even though i wanted to start stabbing bypassers. One of the other clerks with us, josh, tried to theorize that the reason why i wasnt having a good time was because i was a girl, and that men enjoyed these kind of clubs in a different way. (Um, because of the fake boobs?). to try and test out this theory, i looked around the club for any semblance of an attractive male. You know what? Nonexistent. Its true. The male genre in that club consisted of gelled, spikey hair; tee-shirts that had prints -like tattoos-, in glittery ink or sparkles (no joke); tight-yet-flared-jeans; and the physical body that implies the individual does little other than drink creotene and work out. In other words, doing nothing for me. So maybe josh was right. Still, i maintain that i would have had fun if i had atleast been able to dance- but the music was just all around suckage.
Finally, finally, at about 4.30am they realize i am about to start eating broken glass as a coping mechanism, so they agree its time to get me home and we all hustle out. I arrive at my door at 5am, which is when it occurred to me that there was no way i was going to make it to this ballet class that rachel was trying to get me to at noon; so i face-planted into bed wrapped in my bathrobe and slept soundly for a few hours. In retrospect, its always fun to meet new people, especially friends of your new friends (since you only know them in this new weird context), but of course i realize i would have been happier to flake out that night.
Then- Saturday night, to counter-balance the cheese of Friday, rachel, ashley & i, and their respective men, went to see branford marsalis at an old theatre here in downtown miami. (branford is the brother of wynton, who ashley’s husband, anton, and i saw a few months ago). The show was amazing; it was branford, playing either sax, clarinet, or oboe; a drummer who was only 18; a fabulous piano player; and a bass player. They were much more loose-jazz, not as big-band-old-school as wynton, and we had a blast. Oddly enough, the theatre looked like it had been this gorgeous old thing that was then somehow redecorated to be more "miami": there were all these intricate marble-looking carvings in the wall, right beside some odd purple lights, palm trees shoved into odd spaces, and no joke- a flamingo sculpture. Wha? They also, alongside the bar, sold popcorn and hotdogs, the kind that rotate in a glass case, like at a convenience store. Sooo weird, at least for a jazz concert. I would never have expected it! Chalk it all up to a wonderful time, either way.
After the show, we headed back to the beach, and went to dinner at this turkish spot- both adrian & rachel know the owner- so we let him order for us, and ate a ton of delicious food- phyllo cigars stuffed with feta and spices; spinach pie; tzaiki; falafel; meatie bits; lamb chops; stuffed tomatoes; brie with honey and garlic (to die for); and baklava (of course)- all washed up with a few bottles of wine. Tons of good conversation, talking about latin american politics, cuban, immigration; somehow i think rachel and ashley have convinced me to join a little ‘book club’ they want to get going. (To which i responded, cant it just be a wine club? Um, apparently not).
Sunday i spent most of the day just lazing around in the sun; its been rather hot & humid here, giving us a little taste of what summer will be like (insane)- today its supposed to be 92 or so! I think yesterday i accomplished laying in the sun on the beach, and by the pool; swimming in both bodies of water; drinking a beer and falling asleep while listening to the pixies; and still managing to motivate for a 6 mi run at the end of the day; before making some home-made seitan. Oddly it looks productive. I swear it wasnt.
And today my mom & bob come in for a few days! They’ll be here until Friday morning so at least i get a few evenings with them, and hopefully i will be able to take a day off to play; lets cross fingers. In the meantime, im feeling much more optimistic about work this week and am back on the proverbial horse with a new project. I think not drinking coffee for 3 days and then having it this morning has made my life infinitely better. No joke! How i am so turbo powered on a Monday is kind of unbelievable, but i will not question it at all!
xoxo
Sunday, April 5, 2009
P: What a Week!
Some items on the weekly list that have kept me busy:
Mon:
-Found out which country I'm going to be in next year
-Had my roomie Sheila reread Fulbright letter to make sure I wasn't taking crazy pills
-Danced around the kitchen table with said roomie
Tues:
-Awoke to Miss Anna Burns' melodious voice on the other line. Proceeded to exchange a series of textuals/phone calls through the week debating the term "animalistic."
-Went to H.a. J.in's reading, where he complimented me on winning the award!!! (word travels fast)
-Got a surprise email from my crazy militant prof Leslie (he's on sabbatical) who said congrats; I was a talented writer and I showed great character. Then turned it back to the program by saying I showed the "pluck and perseverance," which were just the kinds of values he tries to encourage in the program. (What?) No, in all seriousness, it was a very nice email.
Wed:
-Turned in 50 pages of writing, which somehow took a backseat amidst the Fulbright nonsense
-Breathed a huge sigh of relief!
-Received two bouquets of beautiful flowers from roomie and my friend Tim!
-Wrestled on the phone with the Korean embassy
Thurs:
-Celebrated Thurs night with poets and way too many sapphire and tonics
-Entertained my cousin Jen and her friend who were coming into town that wknd at last minute
- .... stuff happened here that I can't quite place
Fri:
-Woke up next morning completely disoriented
-Got a phone call and was put on speaker phone half an hour later--my entire dept at Random House had called to CONGRATULATE ME, including my old boss!!!
-Went to bed at 10pm
Sat:
-Ran 5 miles with my running club
-Library
-Cousin and her friend left
-Watched some Final 4 games at Greatest Bar; crazy sports bar.
-Refused 3 rounds of shots (jaeger, sambuca, tequila) until finally being forced to down some gross cherry liquer
-Jumped around the empty dance floor of said bar to "No Diggity" while taunting people waiting on the line to get in (they could see us through the windows)
-Waited on the platform for the T that never came
-Split a cab back to Brookline
-Got very little sleep
-Was up at 4am to eat baguette and pesto for the dinner I skipped; went back to sleep
Sun:
-Woke up way too early
-Ran a 5 mile race in Cambridge with Amy, where I had a Personal Record--ran it in 40:44min, averaging an 8:09 minute mile! Hurray!
-Ran an extra 1.5 miles with Amy, as we are upping our mileage in training for the Heartbreak Hill Half-Marathon at the end of May (all hills. oy vay)
-Experienced another runner's high while driving to a cafe in Union Sq
-Did work at this cute cafe in Union Sq; got Anna's burritos in Davis Sq
-Met SYDNEY at her apt for an aperitif -- she just got into the PhD program at U of Miami!!! She is super excited to be leaving Boston
-Went home, finally showered, ate my second dinner (but technically only my 3rd meal of the day)
-Watched that dumb Gordon Ramsay show Hell's Kitchen on hulu
-Shoved Triscuits and pesto into my mouth (God, that race left me starving)
-Googled lyrics to Vampire Weekend's Oxford Comma from Annie's awesome Miami mix. The song is hopelessly catchy and addictive/addicting? Unfortunately had a moment of disappointment because the song's form did not reflect content; there were no oxford, aka "serial" commas that appeared throughout the song lyrics.
-Lamented this as a lost opportunity; got mad at hipster musicians who drop literary references and don't follow through with them (also the same reason why the movie Definitely Maybe makes me upset--they keep mentioning Jane Eyre, but there were no orphans or madwomen in the attic that appeared throughout the plot of the movie)
-Getting pumped for the end of the semester!
love,
Patty
Mon:
-Found out which country I'm going to be in next year
-Had my roomie Sheila reread Fulbright letter to make sure I wasn't taking crazy pills
-Danced around the kitchen table with said roomie
Tues:
-Awoke to Miss Anna Burns' melodious voice on the other line. Proceeded to exchange a series of textuals/phone calls through the week debating the term "animalistic."
-Went to H.a. J.in's reading, where he complimented me on winning the award!!! (word travels fast)
-Got a surprise email from my crazy militant prof Leslie (he's on sabbatical) who said congrats; I was a talented writer and I showed great character. Then turned it back to the program by saying I showed the "pluck and perseverance," which were just the kinds of values he tries to encourage in the program. (What?) No, in all seriousness, it was a very nice email.
Wed:
-Turned in 50 pages of writing, which somehow took a backseat amidst the Fulbright nonsense
-Breathed a huge sigh of relief!
-Received two bouquets of beautiful flowers from roomie and my friend Tim!
-Wrestled on the phone with the Korean embassy
Thurs:
-Celebrated Thurs night with poets and way too many sapphire and tonics
-Entertained my cousin Jen and her friend who were coming into town that wknd at last minute
- .... stuff happened here that I can't quite place
Fri:
-Woke up next morning completely disoriented
-Got a phone call and was put on speaker phone half an hour later--my entire dept at Random House had called to CONGRATULATE ME, including my old boss!!!
-Went to bed at 10pm
Sat:
-Ran 5 miles with my running club
-Library
-Cousin and her friend left
-Watched some Final 4 games at Greatest Bar; crazy sports bar.
-Refused 3 rounds of shots (jaeger, sambuca, tequila) until finally being forced to down some gross cherry liquer
-Jumped around the empty dance floor of said bar to "No Diggity" while taunting people waiting on the line to get in (they could see us through the windows)
-Waited on the platform for the T that never came
-Split a cab back to Brookline
-Got very little sleep
-Was up at 4am to eat baguette and pesto for the dinner I skipped; went back to sleep
Sun:
-Woke up way too early
-Ran a 5 mile race in Cambridge with Amy, where I had a Personal Record--ran it in 40:44min, averaging an 8:09 minute mile! Hurray!
-Ran an extra 1.5 miles with Amy, as we are upping our mileage in training for the Heartbreak Hill Half-Marathon at the end of May (all hills. oy vay)
-Experienced another runner's high while driving to a cafe in Union Sq
-Did work at this cute cafe in Union Sq; got Anna's burritos in Davis Sq
-Met SYDNEY at her apt for an aperitif -- she just got into the PhD program at U of Miami!!! She is super excited to be leaving Boston
-Went home, finally showered, ate my second dinner (but technically only my 3rd meal of the day)
-Watched that dumb Gordon Ramsay show Hell's Kitchen on hulu
-Shoved Triscuits and pesto into my mouth (God, that race left me starving)
-Googled lyrics to Vampire Weekend's Oxford Comma from Annie's awesome Miami mix. The song is hopelessly catchy and addictive/addicting? Unfortunately had a moment of disappointment because the song's form did not reflect content; there were no oxford, aka "serial" commas that appeared throughout the song lyrics.
-Lamented this as a lost opportunity; got mad at hipster musicians who drop literary references and don't follow through with them (also the same reason why the movie Definitely Maybe makes me upset--they keep mentioning Jane Eyre, but there were no orphans or madwomen in the attic that appeared throughout the plot of the movie)
-Getting pumped for the end of the semester!
love,
Patty
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
you know its Wednesday when...
... annie and patty trade each other text messages about how much they would like to go get a drink in the middle of the day together. Thats friendship.
This week is crawling by at an all-time-slow pace. Feeling slightly better about work, yes, thats true. But its still kind of like eating dirt. Highlights so far include: running and listening to an episode of ‘this american life,’ only to then realize it was about two sisters who ran away from home as children and became heroin addicts; trying to adjust to new glasses that apply a little too much pressure over my ears and kind of make me disoriented; finding out there is yet *another* engine problem with my car, so that i have to leave p.t. at the mechanics yet again. Oh my, im almost forgetting the best part.
Yesterday morning i headed over to the mechanics for the car to be checked out & get its oil changed, right? Simple. Got there at 7.20am, before they opened; called patty to congratulate her on the fulbright; eventually got to go into the waiting room and drink coffee and read an old new-yorker magazine (still catching up). The waiting room begins to fill up, time goes by– its actually an enjoyable morning, minus the fact that ive been up since 6.20 and am sitting in a waiting room drinking out of styrofoam. Still, could be worse, right?
Then this man sits across from me. Hes got blonde hair, longish, and is wearing shorts, a plain tee shirt, and sneakers. He also happens to have a dog with him– almost like a collie, but maybe a terrier. Anyway, his dog starts to pee. On the carpet. In the waiting room. So i happen to see it out of the corner of my eye and say, "your dog- is peeing." thats it- thats all- because he is oblivious. So, a normal person, you might expect them to be embarassed? To apologise to the room? To get a napkin and put it on the carpet?
This man though, he looks at me, and yells, "SO WHAT? WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO DO ABOUT IT? MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS." a little taken aback, i say, "well, you might want to take it outside. Maybe it needs to go to the bathroom?". which is again met by "MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS. IT WAS JUST AN ACCIDENT. DONT TELL ME WHAT TO DO." this is the point that every trained new yorker averts eye-contact, sensing that she is in the midst of a crazy person, one of those people that poop on the subway floor, or expose themselves in the middle of a crowd- theres a head on their shoulders, yes, but its not quite right. I go back to my new yorker. The rest of the waiting room is suddenly fused with all of this negative energy- you can feel the anxiety reaching this palable level- like we’re all confused as to why (1) he has a dog inside (2) the dog peed and he didnt apologise or try to clean it up (3) he flipped his shit on a stranger when she pointed it out.
At this point, the man sitting kitty-corner to me– only about 2 seats away from psycho and the dog pee – a much burlier, hispanic man, looks at the blonde man and says, "i think you should take your dog outside." this escalates into a manly aggressive yelling match: "dont tell me what to do" "take your dog outside" "fuck you dont talk to me" "dont say fuck you to me" "dont tell me what to do", on and on and on. Eventually the blonde man gets up and goes outside with his dog.
Shortly thereafter, i get up to use the bathroom and check on the status of my car. On my way back from the customer service desk, the blonde man approaches me- we make eye contact– because again, like a new yorker, im not going to be intimidated by this psycho. He again reiterates his position on the incident: "MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS. FUCKING MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS." to which i reply, "all i did was tell you that your dog was peeing. cool on the aggression. This isnt your house." then he lets me know that "I WOULD THINK YOUR BIGGEST PROBLEM THIS MORNING IS HOW YOU LOOK." implying somehow i am not the cutest thing ever in my gray jeans, little patent pumps, barneys handbag. The nerve people. Either way, he eventually leaves the area again. Needless to say the rest of the morning couldnt get weirder. I had to pass him several more times when i was going out to pick up extra things from my car for the week (had to leave it there for it to be fixed), and he kept sneering at me. Perhaps also predictably? His partner was a very mild, timid gay man- slouchy, uncomfortable, weak-looking. I can only imagine the hell that is his life.
Dont worry though friends. I managed to escape carmax with only residual negative energy bits, which, although they hung around for a while, were eventually dissipated by dinner, a run, and then some living-room-style-impromptu dance-party to the killers. Cuddled up with dexter before bed, and finally felt like i could breathe. What fucking weirdos, everywhere. Let this be a lesson to us all. and, a reminder. In florida people can drive with handguns in their glove compartments, without needing a special concealed-weapon permit. So always be careful. Know when to stand up, but also know when to avert your eyes.
After work today? Another night of relaxation; perhaps this time, just a walk on the beach with a little jar full of wine. Because i can. (i wish you could too!)
xoxo
This week is crawling by at an all-time-slow pace. Feeling slightly better about work, yes, thats true. But its still kind of like eating dirt. Highlights so far include: running and listening to an episode of ‘this american life,’ only to then realize it was about two sisters who ran away from home as children and became heroin addicts; trying to adjust to new glasses that apply a little too much pressure over my ears and kind of make me disoriented; finding out there is yet *another* engine problem with my car, so that i have to leave p.t. at the mechanics yet again. Oh my, im almost forgetting the best part.
Yesterday morning i headed over to the mechanics for the car to be checked out & get its oil changed, right? Simple. Got there at 7.20am, before they opened; called patty to congratulate her on the fulbright; eventually got to go into the waiting room and drink coffee and read an old new-yorker magazine (still catching up). The waiting room begins to fill up, time goes by– its actually an enjoyable morning, minus the fact that ive been up since 6.20 and am sitting in a waiting room drinking out of styrofoam. Still, could be worse, right?
Then this man sits across from me. Hes got blonde hair, longish, and is wearing shorts, a plain tee shirt, and sneakers. He also happens to have a dog with him– almost like a collie, but maybe a terrier. Anyway, his dog starts to pee. On the carpet. In the waiting room. So i happen to see it out of the corner of my eye and say, "your dog- is peeing." thats it- thats all- because he is oblivious. So, a normal person, you might expect them to be embarassed? To apologise to the room? To get a napkin and put it on the carpet?
This man though, he looks at me, and yells, "SO WHAT? WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO DO ABOUT IT? MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS." a little taken aback, i say, "well, you might want to take it outside. Maybe it needs to go to the bathroom?". which is again met by "MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS. IT WAS JUST AN ACCIDENT. DONT TELL ME WHAT TO DO." this is the point that every trained new yorker averts eye-contact, sensing that she is in the midst of a crazy person, one of those people that poop on the subway floor, or expose themselves in the middle of a crowd- theres a head on their shoulders, yes, but its not quite right. I go back to my new yorker. The rest of the waiting room is suddenly fused with all of this negative energy- you can feel the anxiety reaching this palable level- like we’re all confused as to why (1) he has a dog inside (2) the dog peed and he didnt apologise or try to clean it up (3) he flipped his shit on a stranger when she pointed it out.
At this point, the man sitting kitty-corner to me– only about 2 seats away from psycho and the dog pee – a much burlier, hispanic man, looks at the blonde man and says, "i think you should take your dog outside." this escalates into a manly aggressive yelling match: "dont tell me what to do" "take your dog outside" "fuck you dont talk to me" "dont say fuck you to me" "dont tell me what to do", on and on and on. Eventually the blonde man gets up and goes outside with his dog.
Shortly thereafter, i get up to use the bathroom and check on the status of my car. On my way back from the customer service desk, the blonde man approaches me- we make eye contact– because again, like a new yorker, im not going to be intimidated by this psycho. He again reiterates his position on the incident: "MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS. FUCKING MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS." to which i reply, "all i did was tell you that your dog was peeing. cool on the aggression. This isnt your house." then he lets me know that "I WOULD THINK YOUR BIGGEST PROBLEM THIS MORNING IS HOW YOU LOOK." implying somehow i am not the cutest thing ever in my gray jeans, little patent pumps, barneys handbag. The nerve people. Either way, he eventually leaves the area again. Needless to say the rest of the morning couldnt get weirder. I had to pass him several more times when i was going out to pick up extra things from my car for the week (had to leave it there for it to be fixed), and he kept sneering at me. Perhaps also predictably? His partner was a very mild, timid gay man- slouchy, uncomfortable, weak-looking. I can only imagine the hell that is his life.
Dont worry though friends. I managed to escape carmax with only residual negative energy bits, which, although they hung around for a while, were eventually dissipated by dinner, a run, and then some living-room-style-impromptu dance-party to the killers. Cuddled up with dexter before bed, and finally felt like i could breathe. What fucking weirdos, everywhere. Let this be a lesson to us all. and, a reminder. In florida people can drive with handguns in their glove compartments, without needing a special concealed-weapon permit. So always be careful. Know when to stand up, but also know when to avert your eyes.
After work today? Another night of relaxation; perhaps this time, just a walk on the beach with a little jar full of wine. Because i can. (i wish you could too!)
xoxo
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
I WON THE FULBRIGHT!!!!!!!!!
I AM GOING TO SEOUL TO WRITE/RESEARCH MY BOOK--here's the kicker-- on the government's dime!!!!!
Monday, March 30, 2009
dancing/sushi/sunshine/how long can i stay in my bathing suit?
Somehow Monday is really cramping my style. Its not like i didnt get enough sleep- although i think i woke up every hour on the hour and looked at the clock- but today is just crawling by. I think im just a little mentally-stuck at work, on what im writing. You know when that happens? If only you could push over the hump- but its like the hump lasts for days and by the time youre over it, youre just too exhausted to re-configure and re-exite yourself.
Rightly so though, i shouldnt complain - i had a lovely weekend that was busy and packed and involved sunshine and everything else floridian. Friday after work i went directly home to take a nap, woke up at 8.30pm (although i set an alarm, it didnt go off so waking up was total happenstance). While i could barely figure out if it was day or night (only the darkness outside gave it away), i slowly nourished myself back to health by eating popcorn for dinner and watching ‘american beauty’ on tv. Yes. American beauty. That movie is weird. It got such hype when it came out, and then you see it now, and its like, i dont get it. Its not that great. Anyway, moving on. Ashley had a friend in town & we were all supposed to get together & go out- two other coworkers from down the hall were also heading out- so we were all set to meet at the florida room- a club, within the delano hotel. Except its in the basement, so it has a low ceiling, and its not that big- kind of oddly-spaced so that the actual dance floor is small. After eating my scrumptiously nutritious popcorn dinner, ashley tries to bail on me and i force her to agree to meet there at 11.30. I know, can you imagine trying to motivate and leave the house at 11.30pm? Neither can i. I dont know how i did it. I think it was the nap. Otherwise, by that point in time, me and dexter would have already hung out and then gone to bed.
The florida room had djs there on friday as part of ‘winter music conference’ - this several-day-long rave/techno/electro music festival down in miami. The music was, allegedly, supposed to be hip-hopish, but of course it wasnt. Either way we had fun. I managed to take a cue from ashley’s spaniard friends who had just brought little bottles of alcohol with them everywhere, so instead of buying drinks, i just drank my little mini grey goose from my purse. Trashy? Yes. But can you blame a girl? Kind of like high school, isnt it? Whats next- vodka and snapple in plastic water bottles?
Bearing in mind there was electro-techno-music playing all night, we had a lot of fun dancing on booths, making random friends, and engaging in a conversation with total strangers about what we would eat for our last meal before we died. Me? Heirloom tomato salad with salt & pepper, basil, olive oil. And sushi. Which the next day apparently i remembered enough to go to the farmers market and buy like, 12 tomatoes. Um. Great planning on my part.
Saturday was another leisurely day in the sunshine, mostly at the pool. I finally tackled reading several issues of the new yorker that ive been meaning to finish. Well, ok. Lets be honest. That ive been meaning to actually open and read. After a nice run on the beach, i headed over to ashley’s house for the night- her friend julie had left- and we had a low-key girls night in, involving delivery-sushi and the movie "definitely maybe"- which i saw previews for months ago, and expected to be a totally painful shit-show- but it was actually really cute. We had been gabbing so much before dinner that the movie didnt end until about 1am, at which time i got into the car and made myself drive straight home to bed even though i *kind of* wanted to stop for a drink at the beloved sandbar. Holler back.
Whilst laying poolside Sunday morning, i got a call from jedd (of bronx-science-fort-lauderdale-fame) - and when i picked up- it was actually elana (high school weekend represent). Elana and her fiancé were visiting jedd and they all wanted to drive down to hang in miami for the day. This prompted me to leave the pool, but i made the strategic decision to keep my bathing suit on. Dont ask why. Maybe i was too lazy. It was mildly uncomfortable but thankfully soaked up some sweat because it was disgustingly humid and hot everywhere. Summertime in miami, here i come?
We ate some cuban lunch down in south beach, walked around; scooped my friend justin from his house, and then headed to the gansevort hotel- where candice (ALSO of bronx-sci fame) was throwing/hosting/whatevering a party as part of the winter-music-conference– supposedly on the rooftop of the gansevort, but then it rained, so there was a dj-rockin-pool-party in... the lobby. i know, a little odd. Also, a little miami. Where else do you actually expect to see girls dancing around all the time in their bathing suits? We stayed for a little bit & then dropped a totally hungover & barely functional justin at home, & the fort-lauderdalers headed back up north.
By this point the humidity had overtaken my body and was making me so cranky- as soon as i got home, i went right up to the pool and swam laps for a while. So cool and refreshing! Even better, i was all alone up there bc it had been raining earlier, although the sky was mostly clear and the sun was trying to poke through for me. All in a days work. Although i was planning on going back out again, instead i took a run, made a delicious healthy french-inspired chicken provencale dish courtesy of my mark-bittman cookbook.... and then put dinner away- opting again, for popcorn and sauvignon blanc. Is this a theme? Its like the bookend to my weekend. How clever of me.
Today i am back eating zinc lozenges and drinking tea and hoping that this cold goes away soon. I cant really take much more of it. The lozenges are disgusting in this indescribable way, but sometimes-- its like i love them. A little love-hate on a Monday morning. simply deliciously disgusting. like work in general. I want to find a way to just live in my pool for a few months. I know ill get wrinkly and gross and cold, but i think i can find a way... Just give me a little more time.
xoxo
Rightly so though, i shouldnt complain - i had a lovely weekend that was busy and packed and involved sunshine and everything else floridian. Friday after work i went directly home to take a nap, woke up at 8.30pm (although i set an alarm, it didnt go off so waking up was total happenstance). While i could barely figure out if it was day or night (only the darkness outside gave it away), i slowly nourished myself back to health by eating popcorn for dinner and watching ‘american beauty’ on tv. Yes. American beauty. That movie is weird. It got such hype when it came out, and then you see it now, and its like, i dont get it. Its not that great. Anyway, moving on. Ashley had a friend in town & we were all supposed to get together & go out- two other coworkers from down the hall were also heading out- so we were all set to meet at the florida room- a club, within the delano hotel. Except its in the basement, so it has a low ceiling, and its not that big- kind of oddly-spaced so that the actual dance floor is small. After eating my scrumptiously nutritious popcorn dinner, ashley tries to bail on me and i force her to agree to meet there at 11.30. I know, can you imagine trying to motivate and leave the house at 11.30pm? Neither can i. I dont know how i did it. I think it was the nap. Otherwise, by that point in time, me and dexter would have already hung out and then gone to bed.
The florida room had djs there on friday as part of ‘winter music conference’ - this several-day-long rave/techno/electro music festival down in miami. The music was, allegedly, supposed to be hip-hopish, but of course it wasnt. Either way we had fun. I managed to take a cue from ashley’s spaniard friends who had just brought little bottles of alcohol with them everywhere, so instead of buying drinks, i just drank my little mini grey goose from my purse. Trashy? Yes. But can you blame a girl? Kind of like high school, isnt it? Whats next- vodka and snapple in plastic water bottles?
Bearing in mind there was electro-techno-music playing all night, we had a lot of fun dancing on booths, making random friends, and engaging in a conversation with total strangers about what we would eat for our last meal before we died. Me? Heirloom tomato salad with salt & pepper, basil, olive oil. And sushi. Which the next day apparently i remembered enough to go to the farmers market and buy like, 12 tomatoes. Um. Great planning on my part.
Saturday was another leisurely day in the sunshine, mostly at the pool. I finally tackled reading several issues of the new yorker that ive been meaning to finish. Well, ok. Lets be honest. That ive been meaning to actually open and read. After a nice run on the beach, i headed over to ashley’s house for the night- her friend julie had left- and we had a low-key girls night in, involving delivery-sushi and the movie "definitely maybe"- which i saw previews for months ago, and expected to be a totally painful shit-show- but it was actually really cute. We had been gabbing so much before dinner that the movie didnt end until about 1am, at which time i got into the car and made myself drive straight home to bed even though i *kind of* wanted to stop for a drink at the beloved sandbar. Holler back.
Whilst laying poolside Sunday morning, i got a call from jedd (of bronx-science-fort-lauderdale-fame) - and when i picked up- it was actually elana (high school weekend represent). Elana and her fiancé were visiting jedd and they all wanted to drive down to hang in miami for the day. This prompted me to leave the pool, but i made the strategic decision to keep my bathing suit on. Dont ask why. Maybe i was too lazy. It was mildly uncomfortable but thankfully soaked up some sweat because it was disgustingly humid and hot everywhere. Summertime in miami, here i come?
We ate some cuban lunch down in south beach, walked around; scooped my friend justin from his house, and then headed to the gansevort hotel- where candice (ALSO of bronx-sci fame) was throwing/hosting/whatevering a party as part of the winter-music-conference– supposedly on the rooftop of the gansevort, but then it rained, so there was a dj-rockin-pool-party in... the lobby. i know, a little odd. Also, a little miami. Where else do you actually expect to see girls dancing around all the time in their bathing suits? We stayed for a little bit & then dropped a totally hungover & barely functional justin at home, & the fort-lauderdalers headed back up north.
By this point the humidity had overtaken my body and was making me so cranky- as soon as i got home, i went right up to the pool and swam laps for a while. So cool and refreshing! Even better, i was all alone up there bc it had been raining earlier, although the sky was mostly clear and the sun was trying to poke through for me. All in a days work. Although i was planning on going back out again, instead i took a run, made a delicious healthy french-inspired chicken provencale dish courtesy of my mark-bittman cookbook.... and then put dinner away- opting again, for popcorn and sauvignon blanc. Is this a theme? Its like the bookend to my weekend. How clever of me.
Today i am back eating zinc lozenges and drinking tea and hoping that this cold goes away soon. I cant really take much more of it. The lozenges are disgusting in this indescribable way, but sometimes-- its like i love them. A little love-hate on a Monday morning. simply deliciously disgusting. like work in general. I want to find a way to just live in my pool for a few months. I know ill get wrinkly and gross and cold, but i think i can find a way... Just give me a little more time.
xoxo
P: Quick Recap of last week!
So, I'm turning in another 50p this Wed, followed by another story due a week and a half later, and...then technically I'm done with all of my "writing" for the year. I just have to continue grading papers, critiquing my classmates' stories, etc, which comes out to about 200+ pages of reading a week. But it's totally manageable! So I just basically need to get through Wed and then the following Mon April 13, and I can breathe a semi-sigh of relief. Before--dum dum dum!--I have to revise extensively for my thesis.
Last week was somewhat interesting. In a bizarro coincidence, I met a couple in Miami--they were sitting next to us at the Sand Bar (I snapped a photo of them on that blog post). When they learned I was living in Boston/Brookline (the guy of the couple had just moved from Boston a few months back), Adam was like, you should totally meet my friend Nate! He lives in Brkline, and he's coming to Miami in a few days! The girl said, you should change your ticket and stay longer! And in one of these--oh they're totally not going to follow up--kind of way, Adam's like, give me your contact info, and I'll have my buddy email you. If only to get to know someone else in the neighborhood.
So I forked over my info on a napkin, thinking--oh, it could be nice to make a new friend in the area--but fully expecting flakiness to ensue. Low and behold, some three days later, I get an email from this Nate character. We talk a bit about the bars in the area, and we make plans to meet for a drink at Washin.gton Sq Tav.ern once he's back from Miami (he emailed before he even left for Miami). So we met last Wed, and he's really nice, and I'm just continually struck by how people in Boston seem to do follow-through. Like, this kid had never met me, so it's not like he had an ulterior romantic motive, per se--for all he knew, I could've looked like a dog. I just feel like this kind of thing would never happen in NY/among NYers. How many oodles of friends of friends do we know who've moved to NY, and we never have time/motivation to invite them out to do stuff? As Jessi would say, "the application process is closed." (My other favorite Jessi quote, from her father: "never show your contempt." indeed.)
This wknd was supposed to be low-key, because I'm in the midst of banging out these pages. And it was, pretty much. I mean, Wed night set me back because Nate and I had 4 beers apiece, and as i walked home (the T stopped running, so I walked the 2+ miles home), I found a late-night Chinese take-out place that my brother and I went to when he moved me up here in August. Perhaps I was struck by a sense of nostalgia/homesickness?, so I went and ordered chicken and broccoli, carried the stupid food back home the remaining 1.5 miles (in that whole walk on busy Beacon St, nothing was still open--it was 1am). So, I was all prepared to have a Friday night all to myself, watching "Kissing Jessica Stein" from my Netflix queue (it was cute) and making dinner (baked breaded chicken breasts and baked onion rings and Florida avocado (believe it or not, I still have it)). But my friend Alexis calls, and the playwrights are at the Lower Depths bar, and I pop over for one beer, which I nursed over the course of 2.5 hrs. I'm in bed by 1am, but I'm somehow struck with the munchies and can't fall asleep. So I eat leftovers from dinner, and I'm still hungry, and I'm like, this is f-ing ridiculous.
Sat: run 5 miles with Amy and our running club, chat with some people over breakfast/lunch, go to the library. Again, I was going to stay in and catch up on work and hulu videos, but my friend Adam and the poets were going to Om in Har. vard Sq. I've been to Om before (back in the Fall, for a bday party), and I'm kind of like, ugh, I don't feel like going, but I should, etc. So I pop over late, drink only water and get my dance on their dance floor for 45 minutes, and then I catch the bus home, followed by a 15min walk. Getting to Harvard is kind of a pain in the butt. It took me 45min to get home.
Sun: a beautiful day in Somer.ville's Davis Sq-- shout out, Jessi! I met Amy at Diesel, which is this coffee shop, at 9:30am, and we did work until 5pm, and then we went on a 4 mile run around Tufts U. Then Amy made stirfry, and my roommate Sheila came over, and we had a really nice dinner evening! By the time I got home, I was exhausted, so I put myself to bed at 10:15pm. But still I overslept my alarm for 7:15 and rolled out of bed an hour later.
So it goes.
Back to work in the library...
Last week was somewhat interesting. In a bizarro coincidence, I met a couple in Miami--they were sitting next to us at the Sand Bar (I snapped a photo of them on that blog post). When they learned I was living in Boston/Brookline (the guy of the couple had just moved from Boston a few months back), Adam was like, you should totally meet my friend Nate! He lives in Brkline, and he's coming to Miami in a few days! The girl said, you should change your ticket and stay longer! And in one of these--oh they're totally not going to follow up--kind of way, Adam's like, give me your contact info, and I'll have my buddy email you. If only to get to know someone else in the neighborhood.
So I forked over my info on a napkin, thinking--oh, it could be nice to make a new friend in the area--but fully expecting flakiness to ensue. Low and behold, some three days later, I get an email from this Nate character. We talk a bit about the bars in the area, and we make plans to meet for a drink at Washin.gton Sq Tav.ern once he's back from Miami (he emailed before he even left for Miami). So we met last Wed, and he's really nice, and I'm just continually struck by how people in Boston seem to do follow-through. Like, this kid had never met me, so it's not like he had an ulterior romantic motive, per se--for all he knew, I could've looked like a dog. I just feel like this kind of thing would never happen in NY/among NYers. How many oodles of friends of friends do we know who've moved to NY, and we never have time/motivation to invite them out to do stuff? As Jessi would say, "the application process is closed." (My other favorite Jessi quote, from her father: "never show your contempt." indeed.)
This wknd was supposed to be low-key, because I'm in the midst of banging out these pages. And it was, pretty much. I mean, Wed night set me back because Nate and I had 4 beers apiece, and as i walked home (the T stopped running, so I walked the 2+ miles home), I found a late-night Chinese take-out place that my brother and I went to when he moved me up here in August. Perhaps I was struck by a sense of nostalgia/homesickness?, so I went and ordered chicken and broccoli, carried the stupid food back home the remaining 1.5 miles (in that whole walk on busy Beacon St, nothing was still open--it was 1am). So, I was all prepared to have a Friday night all to myself, watching "Kissing Jessica Stein" from my Netflix queue (it was cute) and making dinner (baked breaded chicken breasts and baked onion rings and Florida avocado (believe it or not, I still have it)). But my friend Alexis calls, and the playwrights are at the Lower Depths bar, and I pop over for one beer, which I nursed over the course of 2.5 hrs. I'm in bed by 1am, but I'm somehow struck with the munchies and can't fall asleep. So I eat leftovers from dinner, and I'm still hungry, and I'm like, this is f-ing ridiculous.
Sat: run 5 miles with Amy and our running club, chat with some people over breakfast/lunch, go to the library. Again, I was going to stay in and catch up on work and hulu videos, but my friend Adam and the poets were going to Om in Har. vard Sq. I've been to Om before (back in the Fall, for a bday party), and I'm kind of like, ugh, I don't feel like going, but I should, etc. So I pop over late, drink only water and get my dance on their dance floor for 45 minutes, and then I catch the bus home, followed by a 15min walk. Getting to Harvard is kind of a pain in the butt. It took me 45min to get home.
Sun: a beautiful day in Somer.ville's Davis Sq-- shout out, Jessi! I met Amy at Diesel, which is this coffee shop, at 9:30am, and we did work until 5pm, and then we went on a 4 mile run around Tufts U. Then Amy made stirfry, and my roommate Sheila came over, and we had a really nice dinner evening! By the time I got home, I was exhausted, so I put myself to bed at 10:15pm. But still I overslept my alarm for 7:15 and rolled out of bed an hour later.
So it goes.
Back to work in the library...
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