weapon of massive consumption

I completely sympathize with jordy's packing plight, as I have been mocked ceaselessly and mercilessly by piles of crap (my crap) for the past week. it sits there innocently, silently asking "how do you plan to manage me? cradle me in your tired tired arms? *gasp* ultimately UNPACK me?" to which I will respond, "silly boxes. you will sit packed for at least three weeks until I have furniture and have gathered enough courage to face you again."

in other, happier, non-misery related news, my parents have decided to get another golden. meet mack:


I am sure there will be more apartment news in the near, hopefully less-cluttered future.

adventures in eating: chinese in flushing, queens

I have never been a picky eater. for those closest to me (in the figurative and literal sense of the word), I am quite vocal about the fact that for (the majority of) my whole life, there have only been two foods that I absolutelypositivelywillnot eat - 1) mayonnaise 2) mushrooms.

recently, I've decided that these specific aversions are childish and must be changed. if I am to sign onto my new lease on adult life, I must let go of these culinary boundaries and embrace the frontiers of adventurous eating. which I did today.

the dining editors of iny and I took a trip to flushing queens to cover some of the cheaper eats beat for next year's guide. I am all about chinese food -- there wasn't nearly enough of the good stuff in los angeles, and one of my favorite city restaurants happens to be congee village (...a chinese restaurant on allen/delancey, if you hadn't gleaned from the casual direction in which I was headed). the journey was a long, 7-train rollercoaster ride, but as I exited the main st. subway station, I found myself out of nyc and halfway across the world. never have I felt so far away from home while maintaining a visual of the manhattan skyline.

a feast of oxtail noodle soup, dumplings, stuffed buns, lamb burgers, cold vegetable noodles, trotters (that's right folks -- pigs feet), tripe, spicy sausage, egg custard, creamyflaky pastry, shaved ice later and approximately $13/person later, I patted my back and a full belly for confronting the unusual and unconventional with an open mind and open mouth.

I still don't really like mayonnaise -- I won't order it willingly, but won't fuss like a tiny, gagging baby if it's around. mushrooms remain another story. no matter how hard I try, I can't seem to enjoy them like most other, self-respecting grown-ups do. no foodie is perfect. not that I could even begin to label myself as such. after spending the past few weeks in the office with some true foodies, I see that I have more than a long way to go. but I am prepared to eat my way there.

grown-up chaos

when you're young you like to pretend you're a grown-up because you assume that there isn't anyone taller/wiser/better to tell you what to do, who to be, which vegetables you have to eat. to a child, the adult world means freedom without rules.

well, as a very recent graduate, I will tell you that a life without rules is exactly what any grown-up would imagine it to be -- chaos.

this is not to say that I'm not trying to get it/keep it together. things in my life that appear to be in order:

1) I have a new job (gig? what do you call a job with an end date) that I am basically obsessed with, and it just fell into my lap. I'm the nightlife editor for inside new york, a guidebook put together by columbia students every year [also -- I seem to only tackle "grown-up" projects with fellow lions, ie - putting on an original musical (varsity show), putting together a nyc guidebook (inside new york)].

2) I am looking for a three-bedroom apartment with two of my dearest friends. it is a cruel, cruel broker-world out there, and I insist that all of the good, three-bedroom with a living room apartments on the uws are hidden from us. maybe they're just all in brooklyn.

3) I have been **GASP** going to the gym. REGULARLY. if that doesn't mean I'm a grown-up who takes care of herself, than I don't know what does.

4) the post-graduation bender has appeared to have subsided. this is not to say that I've experienced some "bendettes" in the past few weeks -- it is my responsibility as nightlife editor, after all.

it seems that I update less and catch-up more on this blog than I mean to. perhaps the real world will leave me more time for self-indulgent internet prose. that's what being a grown-up is all about, right?