I've lived in California for 24 years, and decided to move clear across the country for law school. this will be where all can come to laugh at me as i die in the humidity and freeze in the snow as my california body adjusts to life in new york city...through this blog, i hope to have everyone else suffer just a little with me as i make my way through law school
Thursday, March 22, 2007
i cant even tell you...
so. im SUPER excited. no. i dont think you understand. i am SUPER EXCITED! my light, my sunshine, my summertime is coming to nyc tonight. (what sucks about it is that shes getting to my apartment at like 830 am.....which isnt TOO bad, except i think im going to be up late getting ready for her visit). i want you all to begin anticipating what will surely be an EXCITING and excessively entertaining blog sometime next week after she leaves. you'll never guess what we have going on saturday night......prom. thats right, i said prom. law school has a "prom" called barrister's ball. dinner. five hours of top shelf liquor in an open bar...and we get to dress pretty, too! it just came to me that ive blogged about prom already...i believe i mentioned that summer haines ruined prom for me in high school (oh RIGHT, we're blaming rick and mike...). but i so cant wait. and TOMORROW! oooh, tomorrow i am taking sum to schnack. for beer shakes. and THEN, if my friend chris doesnt bail, we will most likely head over to buck's lodge and play....BIG BUCK HUNTER! HOOWAH! i dont think thats my new (expensive) addiction... ooooh i cannot wait!!!!
alright, back to cleaning...company is so high maintenance...
i dont know whats been going on lately. first starbucks last week giving out free 12oz cups of coffee from 10-12, which my friend chris and i took total and complete advantage of. we did a "coffee crawl" if you will. hey, if starbucks insists on putting a store on every single friggin corner they have no right to expect any different. TODAY. all day. dunkin donuts is giving out free ICED coffee in honor of the first day of spring. for my readers in california, you may be surprised to hear that on the east coast, dunkin donuts is actually regarded as decent coffee. and, i must say, their free coffee is way better than starbucks' free coffee. now, what would i do for free coffee? well, i just walked about 7 blocks in 20 degree weather with no gloves clutching my free coffee. by teh time i got home, my fingers were THROBBING from the cold, and i still have the shivers. BUT! i have free coffee!!
friggin exercise...it's the ONLY thing i can think of as the culprit for my lack of sleep last night. i mean, sure, i had some coffee yesterday, but that has become a morning staple in my life and has not hindered my sleeping for somet time now. i DID however go running, then lifted for a while...im going to blame that.
now im up, when i want to still be passed out, ingesting coffee to get my energy up because i have to go BACK to the gym at 1130....wwwaaaaaahhh. (feel bad for me!!)
okay, first thought of the morning: justin timberlake's new video is WAYYY too long. my god. especially for a song that is so painfully repetitive. i will admit that i do enjoy his music. except for the one song that they turned in to a 27 minute-long music video.
second thought: well, this isnt so much a thought as i came across this blog. it's actually quite ingenious. this guy is looking for letters sent home from schools to parents that are silly, stupid, or outrageous. the two he has so far are pretty good. his own "pea throwing incident" is hilarious, and the other limeade mix-up....my god its awesome. enjoy it!
third, and final for the moment, thought: my spelling sucks.
so, today marks the last day of my first law school spring break. what do i have to show for it? well...
-i watched a LOT of tv -i read 1.2 books (non-school) -i outlined ONE section of ONE class (soooo not enough) -i did reading for ONE class (that might change if i gain motivation in the next hour) -i went to a school talent show type thing (where i saw a really cute boy perform "dick in a box") -i drank. often. and a lot. (hey! its spring break! leave me alone!) -i played the WORST game of pool in my life. -i helped a friend buy a 7-foot mirror that looks HOT and SEXY in her apartment... -i ate SO MUCH GOOD FOOD. actually, let's just pause and reflect on the food... -where to begin....let's start with eating with matt. first, we went to Mizu near union square. SUCH good sushi!! they have this AMAZING scallop roll...excuse me as my mouth waters. ive been here once before with matt (at night) when its a pretty hot crowd of 20-somethings with fun music. for lunch, its a lot more chill, but still soooo good. Next, matt and i (and mike!) went and got thai food here in brooklyn at joya. sooo good, too! i had spicy noodles with shrimp and spring rolls. -i went to "brunch" with erin last weekend on the upper west side. im blanking on the name of the place, but i had eggs benedict, but with smoked salmon instead of canadian bacon. holy mother it was good. i've since been told that this is a relatively common dish, but i dont think ive EVER seen it on a menu before. but i think ive fallen in love... -i also met up with andy and a friend of his from DC. i think ive mentioned before that both andy and i are on a mission to find the best burrito in the 5 boroughs...and i think what we had last week may be the winner thus far. It's a place in park slope (brooklyn for those of you not in-the-know) called Rachel's Taqueria. i believe they also have another location in brooklyn as well. not only was the burrito itself good, but their hot sauces were HOT!! amazingly, wonderfully, happily hot. and i loved the way it was decorated! im not sure if they were real or not, but the walls looked as if they were covered in family pictures. a HUGE collage of pictures. it was thoroughly enjoyable and i cant wait to get back there for another burrito. from there, we went to a coffee shop a few blocks away. i dont remember the name of it, but they offered quite a bit of chocolates, so i had to buy one as well--dark chocolate and pear, and the pear tasted sooo fresh. it was good. it had been kinda nice out that day, so we decided to sit out back in the garden area. yeah. that lasted maybe 40 minutes before i started FREEZING, so we left. we went back to andy's apartment to study, where i promptly fell asleep on the couch, and he fell asleep at the table....oops. -"other" foods.... I actually had dinner made for me by a very nice boy (and, no, there will be no details) who made me this amazingly good vegetarian lasagna. he made it with an alfredo sauce and lemon goat cheese....soooooo good. with the left-over ricotta mixture, he and i made this kind of baked-rotini dish that was quite impressive as well. i had brunch at panino'teca here in brooklyn. i dont even have words to express my happiness with this place. i got...wait for it...."luxurious baked eggs." i wont be able to adequately describe it, but i will try. essentially, there is a small dish, about 1.5-2 inches in diameter. at the bottom is a piece of crostini topped with a poached egg topped with cheese. and then its all baked. wow. thats all i can say. holy mother effing WOW. if you are living in the brooklyn area, and you are reading this go. NOW! just...wow... and the coffee!! holy crap! my *other* mission here in new york (other than finding the perfect burrito) has been to find good coffee. well, i found it. i havent had coffee that good since i was in europe. actually, for my family members, the taste of it made me feel like we were back in the villa in toscana having breakfast...all that was missing was some bread and cheese. so, i found the waitress, adn she said that they actually bought their coffee from a little italian coffeeshop around the corner, Damico. so, i went and bought some of their coffee, and i have been happy ever since. (real quick, before i move on, i want to continue RAVING about panino'teca. the day we went was another warm morning, so we decided to sit out in the back garden. it was unbelievable. we were the only people out there, and it was a quaint little garden, and it was SILENT except for some quiet sounds from the kitchen and birds chirping. it felt like a private garden that wasnt in the middle of brooklyn. and the sun was shining and it was warm, and there was a cat walking along the fence....i dont think there was anything that could have made that moment better. the food, the coffee....crap. my mouth is watering like crazy!!) i think that was all of my eating-out...although, i feel like im forgetting some things...
needless to say, spring break was a good time, and im a little sad that its over...however, in just about an hour, i will be heading off for some more good eating! my absolute favorite sushi place just happens to be two blocks away from my building--iron chef house (which, sadly, does not have a web page for me to link to!!). im totally looking forward to it, plus! i get to have dinner with sara! which is always fun.
alright, i have now taken WAY too long to write this (that is also because i've had some technical problems--i accidentally hit "publish" half way through my writing, then, when i tried to recover it, it deleted chunks, and THEN, im super retarded and i accidentally highlighted a portion and deleted it....whoops...) anyways, im done. time to start getting ready for dinner. but, i wanted to leave you with one last little item.
as many of you know, i love love LOVE project runway. and i am deeply saddened that it hasnt come back on in months. but, i recently found this great little parody of the show that some of you may enjoy!
i bought a new ipod. i feel a little wrong, almost like i have betrayed the dearly departed...is that wrong? for those of you who dont live in nyc, i really dont think you understand the gravity of life without an ipod. i spend so much time walking to class/riding the subway that if you dont have your ipod, youre stuck with your own thoughts, or...heaven forbid!!!....you have to study!! aack!
anyway, i got a nice discount, about $50 off. but then i bought an extended warranty. came out to just barely over $200....and i wont be doing any shopping for quite sometime!
thank goodness for my second set of parents who gave me a trader joe's gift card! otherwise, i probably wouldnt have groceries....well. wait. i dont have groceries. but thats because im too lazy to get to union square...
i have some happy memories. the long walks. the stories. hours of endless entertainment. but im having a really hard time living wihtout him. he was there in really good times, and really sad times, and all the times in between. he was there for me while i traveled, and while i just wanted to lay low. he helped me rant at the world. he was with me while i danced happily through the streets of brooklyn. the words he shared with me would, many times, stick in my head for hours and hours on end.
yesterday morning, i first noticed that he wasn't behaving quite right. a few times, he was really low, almost passing out. but then, he would jump back to his regular, normal self. and i would think he would be fine. but then, again, he would almost be to the point of passing out. but then he would be back to normal. i brought him home, and i let him take a nap, to try to recharge himself. about an hour later, i began to hear a strange noise. i ran to him, and he was gasping and gasping for air. i didnt know what to do. i took him in to a specialist today, and thats when they told me...he had died. he is gone.
that's right, my ipod has died. well, the hard drive. i dont know WHAT im going to do. my options: a) oh well, no more ipod (noooooooooooooooooooooooooo) b) replace the hard drive through someone for $100, but it wont have a warranty or c) buy a whole new ipod -a brand new one, 10% off -a refurbished one, 20% off
well, america (or the 4 of you who read this), tell me what to do!
and now, a moment of silence for my lost love the ipod...
ooh, this sounds pretty awesome! mark your calendars!!!
also, i found it kind of interesting that at the bottom of the page it says "for the location nearest you click here." seriously? i mean, i understand i live in a city, but arent there starbucks on EVERY CORNER OF EVERY STREET?
i dont know if i said this lately: i love new york. i cant help myself. im like a giddy little school girl in love. all wide-eyed and impressed...
so, my theory of spring relativity.
in california, we had cold days during winter, but for the most part it stayed in the fortys/fiftys. but we also had a lot more rain. the thing is, though, is that i hate the cold. i really truly do. so i was always really bitter during the "cold" months of the winter.
in new york...oh new york. our coldest day was something like four degrees (and, yes, i understand that this has been a SUPER mild winter. hurrah for global warming). anyways, 20 degree days, i have realized, are the worst. when it gets below 20, its all about the same, but 20-25 is just PAINFUL. so, whenever the forecast says the temp is going to be in the 30s, i get a little happy...and when it hits the fortys, well...last week when it said it was 43 degrees out, it was sunny, i walked out of the house in a tank top and light hoodie (thankfully i also brought a jacket and scarf with me, because i almost died the second i walked out the door). so, forty degree weather, while it is warmer and excites me, isnt as warm as i would like it to be. in FIFTY degree weather, however...wow. its beautiful and sunny out, and i have my window open. its funny how different the air even smells between 50 and 20 degrees...
but, my point, is that if i were in california, i would be bitching about cold it is and how i couldnt wait for spring. in new york, i am ECSTATIC that it is fifty degrees. and, now, it has made me *giddy* for when actual spring comes....
oh goodness....i feel like puking. soooo much food.
so, casey gets excited about a lot of things. and i mean, REALLY excited. and a lot of the time, its silly weird things that will slightly amuse me, but really arent the most amazing things in teh world. but every so often, his excitement pays off...
for example. How I Met Your Mother. its a tv show. its quite humorous, and there are some amazing one-liners in it. casey loves it, and lives by it. and now im hooked. well, im hooked on season 1, which is on dvd. im not quite invested enough to add it to the things i record on tv while im in class. however, one of the things i like most about it is that its something my father would DETEST. every time i watch it, i can picture my dad coming in to spend some quality father/daughter tv time, plopping himself down on the couch, and basically, as soon as he is down, he will look at me, roll his eyes, and leave the room. i swear EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. i see the show, i imagine that scenario. so, in a weird, sick way, it makes me think of my dad =)
okay, well, tonight, casey came through again. he has been raving for WEEKS about this place called schnack dog, which has "the best burgers ever" blah blah blah. and every time he starts raving, i nod and say, yes casey, of course casey....you know. well, ive had a stressful week and have not had the opportunity to go grocery shopping in a while. so i called casey and asked if he wanted to make a run to the grocery store with me. he, in turn, suggested that we make the trek down to schnack dog, and i finally gave in. what else did i have going on tonight? so, we get down there, and the first thing i notice is that the handle bar on hte door was a long giant hot dog. i was hooked. the hamburgers are "shooter" size, so they are relatively cheap. i think a regular hamburger is like $1.65. but, somehow, a veggie burger costs like 3 bucks. whatever, its good. so, the burgers all come with the schnack secret sauce, which is pretty good, but then you can order Aho on the side. (so, i didnt know that "aho" is spanish for garlic. how did i not know that!!!) schnack's aho sauce is the best thing EVER. its fresh jalapenos and garlic mushed into a sauce. holy mother of GOD its amazing. another cool thing about the restaurant was that the owner was there, and he kept coming by and chatting with us, and we asked him about the secret sauce (all he would tell us is that there is a little dijon in there. hmmm...), and we asked him about the Aho sauce, and he told us precisely how to make it (i will never be dating again because i will constantly reek of fresh garlic and jalapenos). and then, realizing we liked spicy, he brought over some of their signature kraut. now, being a vegetarian, i dont know if ive ever had kraut, because, for the most part, when you are ordering kraut, its usually on a hot dog. and most places dont serve veggie hot dogs. oh, schnack dog does!! anyways, the kraut was a-mazing. spicy. but sweet. but a little kraut-y.....oh goodness it was good. and then, the guy next to us ordered fries, so we went ahead and ordered a basket of fries. they were spicy, too!!!! essentially, the fries there are "shoelace" fries, but they have the same seasonings as curly fries--except BETTER. and we were dipping them in the aho sauce....oh goodness, sooooo good. and THEN! schnack dog is also known for something else. deep breath....beer shakes.
okay, i understand, they sound freaky. its yet *another* thing that casey has been raving about that ive been like, "uh-huh, sure dude." but the owner brought us over a sample (and, seriously, who turns down free food?!). may i just say....holy beejeezus. it was soooooo good. a little bit of a beer flavor (stout) with chocolate shake. they overall taste was like dark chocolate.... and THEN we found out, they had a special beer tonight. 18% alcohol. wow. i have no other words.
AND! the grand total of the bill? sixteen dollars. two burgers, huge basket of fries, a beer, and free samples. for sixteen dollars.
so, apparently, every year in spring semester my school does an auction for the Public Interest organization to raise money for a fellowship or something....im a little fuzzy on teh details. i was not going to go. the RESPONSIBLE thing would have been for me to stay in and work on trial ad preparations. the RESPONSIBLE thing would have been for me to stay in and save my money. the RESPONSIBLE thing would have been not to gorge myself on pizza and beer (dont tell my trainer...) but, hey. if you think im "responsible" you dont know me at all...
so, i really truly honestly was NOT going to go. but then i found out that one of the items is a backyard fiesta with three of the lawschool professors, one of whom i had last semester for contracts, prof janger. i thoroughly enjoyed his class. he was a lot of fun.... so, i thought, hey, i think eating mexican food and drinking margaritas in janger's backyard could be a lot of fun, i think i will go and bid on that.
the dinner is for six people, so the idea is that you have six people pooling their money together to bid. i didnt have 5 other people, but i figured i would bid at $45/person and i could find 5 other people to go with me. janger is well liked and i knew i could do it...
but before i get to that bid, let me tell you about the auction. i had never been to one before, i have only seen them on tv. we had a real-life auctioneer there. craziness. i actually pondered for a while just how one might becme a professional auctioneer....you know, in case this whole "law school" thing doesnt really pan out. and it was pirate themed, which was fun. i didnt dress up, but just *knowing* that if i wanted to dress like a pirate today, it would have been socially acceptable.
so, i bid on a few other things before getting to the big enchilada. things that i didnt really want, but i figured, "hey, i could bid $20 when i know its going to go way higher than that" just to have a little fun.
and hten comes the dinner with janger, cahill, and serkin. and the bidding starts. and all of a sudden, we're past the $270 that i was going to put a cap on...and i kept bidding. and then it hit $500 and i stopped. what the HELL am i doing!!? i thought. thats $84/person!! yikes! so i stopped. and then it hit $525, and i thought the girl in front of me was going to win. and then. deena. deena freakin darwish...she turns around, looks right at me, and says, "if you win this, im in. go!" and so i bid. and i won. $550. $92/person. holy beejezus. thank god they accept credit cards...i keep telling myself, "its for a good cause. its just $100. dont worry about it." and then i decided that i just wont spend any money for a week (hahahahaahahaha), or, more realistically, i will spend a LOT LESS money....what was i thinking??!
fyi: if i ever go to an auction again, well, dont let me. but if i DO, DONT LET ME HOLD THE PADDLE.
