Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all of you out there. If I were my mom, I would already be married with like 3 kids already by my age lolololol no offense!



My mother conquered her fears and flew across the Atlantic for this.



And Aunt Patricia who has really been like a mother to me

Last night I went to a free ballet performance of the Joffrey company at Columbia University. It was great, I love going to ballets more than most performances. On the way home, I was walking by a hair salon. A young boy, maybe like 10 years old, was leading his mother out of the salon, who clearly worked there, she still had a round brush and hair scissors in her hand. He had made her cover her eyes, and he was pulling her outside, where I saw a large bouquet of flowers waiting against his bike that he had propped against the brick wall. He was leading her and directing her in Spanish, so literally I couldn't understand what was being said, but I could tell understand what was happening. I slowed my walk but kept glancing back to watch the little boy's excitement with each step, and then when he finally let his mother open her eyes to see the flowers, her big huge smile and excitement, and her arms swinging wide open and them hugging each other. It was so sweet to watch, and I liked it more that I couldn't understand their words because a lot of things don't need them.

Friday Night Fate Defeated

Emilie arrived safely, and from the minute I saw her (which was so surreal!) we were gabbing all night like chatty Cathys, from the subway to my apartment, to dinner at the Metro Diner on Broadway, back home until we fell asleep around 1 in the morning. She left yesterday morning to DC and will be back on Monday. That left me acquiescing to Ronnie's pleas to go see Something Borrowed with him in the evening.

The plan was meet up at Times Square around 7:00, get dinner, and catch the movie at the cinemas on 42nd St. Ronnie had last minute meetings and was late, which left me puttering around Times Square for an hour, reading my book on the red steps, and entertaining myself with Instagram photos on my phone.



When Ronnie arrived we made our way through the mass crowds of tourists that have swelled since the winter, to a cheap Cuban restaurant I had looked up earlier, just to find it closed. That left us zigzagging around the streets until we wandered into Pearl, a small Chinese restaurant on 7th Ave, after which we had to rush to the cinemas, to find two movie theatres across the street from each other, going to the wrong one, then finding the right one sold out. We decided to get a 9:40 showing near Lincoln Center, so took the subway up. When we got there, we found THAT showing was sold out too, and the next (and last) was at 12:20am. We felt that our fate, like Cannoli Island, was always to have our plans pathetically ruined, so we argued and bickered and decided we wouldn't let fate win, and bought tickets to the 12:20am showing, wondering what we would do for the next three hours.

First stop: Caffeine intake at Starbucks. We tried to wander around stores, but they were starting to close. We wandered over to Lincoln Center where the New York City Opera was at intermission. Isn't it such a beautiful picture?



We were bored and starting to fall asleep, with still TWO HOURS until the show started. We were admitting how sleepy we were and then decided it was better to get a refund now and just go home than wait another 2 hours and then fall asleep in the movie. It was so pathetic we were laughing the whole way to the theatre. After we got a refund, we were feeling so dejected over how fate had won again that we went back to the ticket kiosk to at least see if there was anything else we could see so we weren't just going home on a Friday night like losers. Ronnie actually talked me into PROM, that ridiculous middle-school type Disney movie about a bunch of kids getting ready for Prom. I don't know how I ended up giving in.

Inside, we were laughing hysterically and talking so much trash on the movie, than the crazy woman in front of us kept turning around with dirty stares and I swear she was going to tell us to shut up before we got up and moved to the very back of the theatre so we could continue. By the time it was over, it was 12:20, and we were on such a high that we went and bought tickets again to see Something Borrowed for that 12:20 showing. We also laughed and talked throughout that whole thing, but in the end we were SO HAPPY we more than defeated fate and turn a movie refund and 10p bedtime into a 3a double feature!

Mademoiselles.

While in Bordeaux, I found a great friend in a girl named Emilie. She was from Bordeaux and studied at the university with me. Emilie is arguably the sweetest person I have ever met, extremely helpful, and patient. During my last week in France, Emilie even took me out to a traditional French restaurant for a proper goodbye. We have loosely kept in touch since, and now I am happy to say that Emilie will be coming to New York City... tonight! She will stay with me tonight and leave tomorrow to visit our mutual friend Daniel in Washington D.C. and then come back to the Big Apple.

I'm so excited to welcome Emilie to the United States for her FIRST TIME and repay all the kindness and patience that she showed me while I was in Bordeaux. And I even get to speak French again.

Another story, I found myself on the news! On Tuesday I went walking and ended up at Ground Zero. Because of all the Bin Laden craze, and hyped up security, there were news reporters everywhere.

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2011/05/03/rep-king-waterboarded-ksm-gave-up-bin-ladens-courier/

I can't seem to link the exact video, but it's for the story called "Rep King Says Waterboarding..." and I'm seriously in like, the last 2 seconds behind that blonde lady, in a hot pink button up shirt with my hair down and sunglasses on! I told you there'd be something good on the news soon

Breakfast at Tiffany's

Ronnie had plans to move to New York City way before it was even showing on the radar for me. So when it turned out that I would heading out there even before him, our celebration was to have a breakfast at Tiffany's to celebrate. (Ronnie and I hail Audrey Hepburn as our patron saint of friendship... we first met and talked in the college dorms when Ronnie saw a Breakfast at Tiffany's poster I put up in my room and we bonded over our love for Audrey). So this plan was to be another jewel in our crown of friendship (lololololol).



First night became first summer became never. When I realized that this had never come to fruition, we said we would do it on May 4, Audrey's birthday. At 5pm yesterday, I realized the next day was May 4, and we had to commit if it would ever happen! Ronnie got annoyed, wondering why she couldn't have had dinner at Tiffany's, and saying he'd start following Marilyn Monroe since all she did was sleep and didn't get up early. But we persisted.

Well, the morning was MISERABLE. It was overcast when I left my place, and overcast when I got off on 5th Avenue, but by the time I got to the steps of Tiffany's to wait for Ronnie, it was pouring rain. We went to the atrium at the end of the block and picked up coffee and almond croissants / pain au chocolat (no danishes! sadface) and went back on the steps of Tiffany's to eat. It ended up being fun in the rain!


This is Ronnie's reaction to the rain


This is my window-shopping-Breakfast-at-Tiffany's moment. They vault up all the entrances, so there's like, these 2 window displays available. Lulz.


Ronnie's rebellion to the rain



New York City is still just our playground.

Urgent: Tom Petty

A friend of mine once referred to Tom Petty as a "glorified garage band". I see where they're coming from, they're a bit more mellow than some of their crazy counterparts like, I don't know, Humble Pie or Lynyrd Skynyrd, but we don't keep Simon & Garfunkel or The Eagles in the garage because they're mellow. I just lovelovelove Tom Petty.

The day I knew I loved Tom Petty was in high school, and I was at least sixteen because I was driving in my little Susie Saturn, and "Breakdown" came on. I was listening to all classic rock that summer, and I didn't know who sang this. I called Mat immediately, but he didn't pick up so I left a message saying "Tell me who this is" and held the phone up the radio speaker, and then for good measure, I marked the voicemail as urgent. From then on, we always joked that we took matters of Tom Petty urgently.

So where is this coming from? From the fact that I FINALLY watched the movie Almost Famous for the first time last night. Talk about badass! Filmed in my old neck of the woods in San Diego, (looks like North Park, University Heights and Golden Hill) plus all the great music. I'm tempted to go into the music industry so I can just sit on tour with all these great musicians... except they don't exist anymore lolololol. There's no kingdom of great rock anymore, just a mash of electronica autotuned adolescents trying to make it big. Maybe one day it will be revived.



I got up early this morning so I had extra time to absorb Tom Petty for the day ahead

What's Good on the News?

I've said it before and I'll say it again: I don't like talking politics on here, even though for all intents and purposes, I could theoretically play that dirtiest of all dirty cards: "this is my soapbox and my own journal and if you don't like it, don't read it", but I don't like that stance. I guess it's pretty obvious where I stand anyways.

The news is all about Osama bin Laden and interestingly enough, I heard about it first from the Facebook newsfeed, and then had to direct myself to CNN and New York Times pages. It does feel like a relief, viewing him as a terrorist, and knowing that no one adhered to him except a highly select and minimal group of radical followers. The most disconcerting thing though, are these barbaric reactions. People climbing on lampposts and spraying champagne, and people screaming "USA!" in the mobs everywhere they were. That just seems... unnecessary. Did we do it, virtually alone? Yes, I guess so. But I thought we did it for the benefit of the world to wipe out terrorism, not to scream and chant our name down the throats of the world. It's just so... utterly gross how prideful we are. Why does his death incite chants of "USA" ? Pride goes before a fall. In the Book of Revelations, regarding the end times, the United States, and the Americas, are never mentioned once. It could be that we will be basically dissolved into nothingness by the time this rolls out. No civilization lasts forever. Just ask the Romans.

This makes me realize why i loved the Royal Wedding so much! It's obliterated out of the news now, but it was cute and aesthetic and fun to follow. I know bin Laden's death is ultimately good news too, but it's got that darkened twist.

Did you know that Times Square broadcasted the Royal Wedding live?! If so, shame on you, because I would have loved to know that and gone there personally!



Buuuuuuuuut I missed it. Oh wellsies! Even London had it set up, and I thought all those Brits had a radar on their forehead which projected it two feet in front of them, lulz.



What's next on the news? Maybe the fact that I need to wash dishes tonight?? Just kidding... i'm selling the movie rights to that, so it will be under wraps until we find the right director

The Curse of Cannoli Island

Ronnie and I have, for about 2 or 3 months now, been making plans every free weekend, to make a trip to Staten Island to go exploring around the place, get some sun and see the nature of New York City's Last Frontier Borough (called that only by me). We saw a cannoli restaurant on Staten Island featured on the Food Network or something like that, hence the new name. With my new fitness regiment I don't get too many sweets, so the reward of a cannoli has been motivation enough.

Somehow though, something ALWAYS comes in the way, and we STILL have not made it out there. We planned to go yesterday, but of course something came up. I got sick. I feel like I was JUST sick, which was the most perplexing. I left work early on Friday, hot with fever and achey all over, and Jenny walked me to the subway station because I was crying. I came straight home, loaded with pre-emptive medicine I bought earlier in the day, and have slept through the entire weekend. The fever has broken, but I still feel sick and achey and gross. I feel like it's still Friday because all I've done is sleep, with occasional bouts of consciousness to eat or take meds.

It's been really depressing to wake to pretty, sunshiney days outside on the weekend, when I can hear people talking and taxis honking, and I am just tossing and turning in bed. I think the lesson is that I can never make a planned trip to Staten Island, it's just not meant to be. I was going to make mint chutney this weekend too, I already bought all the ingredients...