An Independent Thanksgiving

Okay, so it is the 2nd year that I've done Thanksgiving on my own. We're heading into the holiday season and I'll probably be doing most of them by myself. My roommates travel and the mister isn't in town for the holidays.

Last year it was a little emotional and overwhelming... This year not so much.

What do you do for Thanksgiving on your own?

- You make a Thanksgiving smoothie (no turkey involved, just fruit).
- You scrub the Thanksgiving tub and do the Thanksgiving dishes (and because you're at home by yourself, you know they stay done).
- You take a Thanksgiving personal spa day - exfoliate, pluck, shave, deep condition and spend 2 hours in a hot bath.
- You pick a TV show (Ugly Betty this time around) and marathon during all of your activities.
- You make some Thanksgiving wraps...
- Then you feel a little left out of the pie-a-thon.
- You go to the corner store and buy a cake mix and some frosting.
- You bake a Thanksgiving cake... and continue to watch Ugly Betty.
- And then you wind up the night with all the skin care you normally neglect... and flossing.

I'm really grateful that I stuck it out here in NYC. I've got a beautiful house, lovely roommates, good friends, a great boyfriend and a loving family. And for Black Friday, I'm staying home, doing some laundry and avoiding all crowds... and eating some Thanksgiving cake.

I have a first world problem.

Today's shipments. 

So I am doing those subscription beauty boxes (glossybox, ipsy, julep)... and they give you great discounts for products. Well, this last month, there were really great coupons. I bought a couple items here... and another couple there.... and then NYX had a great sale and they have these great glittery eyeliners that I've been obsessing about for about a month and then their eyeshadow pots were only a dollar, and their nail polish was only $2 a bottle.

Well, All the orders came in today. Which was surprising. And overwhelming. And eye opening. Looks like I am going to be canceling two of the boxes. But I don't know which to quit.



Ipsy - $10 per month. 4-6 items. 

Brands that I could afford and buy at the duane reade... More makeup than skincare and haircare.

However, if you quit. Then you have to join the waiting list again before you can sign up again.



Glossybox - $23 with shipping per month 4-5 items. 

Luxury foreign and high end brands. Great sized samples. Excellent actual boxes (for easy organizing at home) :) Usually an even smattering of haircare, skincare and makeup.



Julep - $20 per month 3 items. 

3 nail polishes or 2 polishes and 1 beauty product. I CAN skip months with Julep instead of fully quitting.



WEAK! I am weak.

So December... Here we go. Gotta make some cancelations. Save a little money and go through the massive amounts of stuff I already have.

First. World. Problem.

ART NIGHT!

Today was a stay-in-holy-cow-it's-freezing day. Our heater is half working (hey, it's keeping us at about 60 degrees). So I've been wrapped up in Lauren's electric blanket (kind woman) making hot chocolate and thinking of things to bake and cook for the upcoming week so I can keep the oven or stove going. I cooked up a bunch of hamburger for this week's lunches, hot chocolate, soup. I also made baked chicken for lunch. I contemplated brownies... but didn't have the eggs. Next time. 

My dear friend Katya came over for a girls evening. We did the obligatory nail painting and then busted out the art supplies. 

Tamara went on a shopping spree a while back and gave me a bunch of shoe box lids to use for art projects. 5 months later we put them to use. 

I don't know the exact measurements of the "canvases" but I do imagine taking them in and asking for them to be framed in size 9.5... 

Our final products... 

Stranger than thou.

I walked out of the train station, down the front steps. It was all normal, rowdy kids shouting at each other, that sunken looking dude that's always begging for change, a police officer on the corner. I caught the eye of a strange white guy I've never seen before. And believe me, the white people are the minority. You notice someone new. He said hello. I said hi back.

"hope you have a good night!"
"Thanks!" I hefted my bag higher, grabbed my keys and kept walking.

The kitty lady from earlier this week had already filled the food bowls for the strays. The orange one I like so much was sniffing around the fence near the sidewalk. The mind wanders..

Tiffany & Co.... on the way to dinner.

Katya and the delicious mac. 

....Katya and I had the best mac and cheese tonight at S'mac. I'm sure glad I met her. See the doc's office isn't that bad. We're going to have a salon day this December. I ran into this dude peddling a salon package on my way to dinner. $400 worth of services at the 5th ave aveda salon for $69. I told him I couldn't afford it. Then he sweetened the deal. Two packages for $69. It's Christmas after all. It would make a great gift. . I paid for the certificates (mom, don't worry. It's a real thing). And he walked with me from 52nd and 5th down to 34th just sorta chatting along the way.

I walked from the Columbus circle area all the way down to 12th and 1st ave (that's like... 3.2 miles). Man... I can't wait to get home and kick these shoes off. My dogs are barkin'.

At that point in the mind wanderings, the man from the subway passed me. His phone in one hand. A glowing cigarette in the other, "Hang on a sec. Hey, I wanted to tell you back there, I really like your shoes."

"Thanks, New Balance is the best. I haven't seen you around before. Are you new to the neighborhood?"

"I've been here 2 years. My name is Nathaniel. So you really like them? The shoes?"

"Yeah, I've been through about 7 pairs of new balance."

"They wear out quickly?"

"No. I just mean... brand loyalty, you know? I really like them."

"Do they get hot? Do they keep your feet from getting hot and sweaty?"

"Yes. I mean. They've got mesh outers, so it stays pretty fresh in there."

"Any chance I could see your feet sometime?"

"Oh, wow. Ummm... No. That would make me uncomfortable. But thanks! Hey man, It's nice to meet you. I'll see you around."

And with that. I am 100% sure my day was weirder than yours.

Facts, Coffee Talk, Hurrah! Feminism and Another Musician...

Tonight my friend Cat and I met up for a belated-lated birthday evening. We met up at Washington Square (remember those 25,000 dead bodies?). We stalked some historic sites... First, the archway at Washington Square...

Standing on dead bodies! Also, the well that provided the water to 5th avenue residents was exactly where the fountain today stands. 

Couldn't decide which to use. Mom... input? 

So today is the transgender memorial day? Someone made those birds out of paper. Each one represents a transgendered person martyred for their gender. Underneath each bird is a name and a bit about who they are and how they died. It's nearly 6pm and none of the birds have been stolen. New York, I am impressed. 

Facts...

In 1911 the triangle shirtwaist fire was started when a sewing machine ignited. At that time the area near Washington Square was a garment district. Where the bottom floor was the shop and the upper floors were sweatshops. During the fire, women, trapped by the flames jumped out the window to their deaths. Because of this fire there were changes in fire safety regulations, worker regulations (not locking people in their work space) and the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union was created.

McSorley's Old Ale House 

And my personal favorite... "at 15 E. 7th st. you'll find McSorley's Old Ale House, the last of New York's "men only" pubs, until it was liberated by Gloria Steinem, an action successfully defended in court by the National Organization for Women in 1970. Today McSorley's welcomes men and women patrons."

Coffee Talk
While waiting for Cat to arrive (my habitual earliness will die when I do), I ordered coffee and got to put some words down. So ermm...  here is my rusty prose.

She makes a stink face. 

     But we gotta let go! 

These small offenses unwittingly performed 

         by strangers are not a just cause 

     for loss of faith in humanity. 

            Rather our vehement & animalistic responses 

            are those that should elicit disdain. 

She makes a stink face? 

     Or maybe she just looks that way. 

Greenwich Village is immersed in shops whose very bricks are steeped in culture and revolution. 

It must emanate. It has been an hour and I haven't seen one iPhone. Rather, long-haired, genderless bohemians - reading magazines, writing in composition books & leaning in too closely to each other while conversing. 

These lives they lead, stimuli. I am green. This educational and social scape. My 20-something self licks it's malnourished, creaking neurons. 

Beans, barnwood floor, vintage shoes, Whitman haunts, reading over shoulders about a different kind of leaves of grass. 

Feminism 

So Cat showed up... and we flexed our right to go to McSorley's. 1970... That is ridiculously late in the civil rights movement to get with the program and let women into your establishment. So, Thank YOU, Gloria Steinem.

It was such a cool place. Sawdust on the floor. Every inch of the walls was covered with framed articles, old photos, pen-knife carved fraternity symbols and lots of dust. We sat in the back, near the kitchen and the unlit fireplace.

This one is for the ladies! 

At McSorley's Ale House, you can order beer. They have a couple different types on tap, namely, Dark or Light. They also have an exhaustive menu including Soup. Sandwich (tuna, ham & cheese, or Liverwurst), Burger and fries or the daily special. I got the burger. Cat got the sandwich.

The food is survival food. Like the kind you read about in books. Take a day-long journey on a horse and buggy. Better pack a hunk of bread, a bit of cheese and some meat. Survival food. Food made for sustenance and just that.

We found the wishbones that were hung by boys and men who went off to WWII. What happened was, they hung the wishbone before they left. And when they returned, they took the wishbone down. Well... There are still quite a few wishbones hanging from the wire. I can't help but wish to be there when the next one gets taken down... if ever. 

Another Music Video

This is a lovely little trio that was playing the L train on Tuesday midday. I always feel sheepish blatantly recording people... so... that's my skirt and the floor. 

This was a strange flute and cello duet. They were just picking up and getting started. It was too dark to get better view... and my phone was too dying to get more. 

Lunchbreak and November's Ipsy

Today isn't very interesting. I'm at work for a few hours manning the desk while doc does some Alzheimer's screenings. Then I'm going to be home with the mister watching movies and cooking. Better adventures tomorrow, I promise.

I was out to lunch yesterday. I only go out when I work the long day at the doc's. 10 hours. I don't want to pack a lunch and then go hunting for a place to eat it. I am CERTAINLY not going to eat it in the office. The point is to get away from that place. Plus, even if I'm "on lunch," if I'm in the vicinity, I'm still expected to answer the phones and be all customer service-y.

Anyway... I've taken to this little place called La Parisienne. It's a hole in the wall diner with better prices than the fancy restaurants surrounding it... and it's not a chain. This Russian guy owns it. Russian owner, Latin workers, American/Greek food and it's called La Parisienne. It's my multicultural experience for the day.

This is the diner... don't worry, that guy picking at his face doesn't serve food. He's the owner. 

If I get out of the diner too early, I take a stroll through central park. Can't go too far into it but it's nice to get the daily dose of trees. These photos are at 2:30pm. The tall buildings make everything so dark. It is in the shade until you get far enough in. 

From the Artists Gate entrance. 

What? Renovation... new carpet? An extra guest room? Painting the roses red? 

This is where the rickshaws sleep. $2 per minute per ride is the lowest price I've seen so far. 

I just like that this dude is wearing a crown of birds. 

Also, It is a good day when one of the beauty box subscriptions comes in. Yesterday was PARTICULARLY lucky. I had two come in on the same day. I'm not going to bore you with both of the reviews. Ipsy won the awesome contest this month, so I'll review that one. 

Ipsy 

It's $11.23 a month including shipping. The Ipsy November Glambag was a hit.

First, it came in a gold alligator skin looking bag. FUN! 

$13 - Nailtini Nail polish in Champagne. So new years! This is why I love fall and winter. Glitter and shimmer is easy to find, buy and wear! 

$16.50 - EM Michelle Phan Lipstick in Nude. This makes me think of Connie and Carla.

"Straw hair and beige lips?" 

"What?! It's the new look." 

"Yeah... for dead Californians." 

$14 - Starlooks liner in Topaz - silvery, glittery, holiday goodness. 

$9 - Pixi Bronzer (sample size) in Subtly Suntouched - Hey, the first bronzer that's hasn't turned me orange! Extraordinary. 

$2 - Galaxy Chic Eyeshadow in Aphrodite - I feel meh about this. Baked eyeshadows are always chalky. But it blends well. Anyone want an eyeshadow? It's a shimmery deep magenta color. 

$14 - Be a Bombshell lip crayon in Hot Damn - Pinky Red. It'll need a brown lipliner to darken and warm up the color. But I do love a lip crayon. I'm not sure if it's the lipstick part that I love more or that it's a crayon so it's not even makeup anymore but arts and crafts. 

So what was that again? $11.23 for $68.50 of cosmetics. This is what hooks me. I get to try new stuff. For so cheap. I wish I had this in Idaho... the drugstores out there don't carry a lot of this and a lot of these brands only pair with certain distributors (see: not walmart or mart-y like stores). 

Backlog (photo heavy)

Had a good weekend with the mister. One of the lovely practitioners in our office gave him a jacket from UniQlo (p.s. friends - it's worth looking up. Great clothes. Great prices). We took the jacket back for something a bit more "him." And we did a little sight-seeing.

The Christmas decorations started in October. I saw trees getting wrapped along 5th avenue in OCTOBER. BEFORE. HALLOWEEN. I think it's because Hanukkah is early this year and everyone just pairs it with Christmas. Hanukkah starts the night before Thanksgiving. That's crazy, right?!

Anyway... Here's the city in preparation for the season.

Big Box Stores are turning into Big Giftbox Stores. (Cartier Jewelry in the red ribbon). 

Just some perspective... That is the scaffolding for trimming the Rockefeller Tree

The Tree from the front side... 

Zamboni on the Rockefeller Rink. Look at those trees. Remind you of Temple Square? 

 And of course there is the every day festivity that is NYC. Art deco sculptures, architecture, taking photos during red lights and embracing that someone might think I'm a tourist. Also, points to the gentleman for being patient while I settled into the "mom should see this" mindset.

Above an entryway to one of the buildings in the Rockefeller Plaza. 

That Atlas guy... and a christmas-y wreath in the background. 

Fancy building... The one in front of the METLIFE/Panam monster. Oncoming traffic. Cardboard box... or as they call them here, Derelict Studio Housing. Funnily enough, on the very next block, the maison du 5th avenue is for lease. 6 floors to call your own, right on fifth avenue. Betcha it's 100 million dollars to buy. 

Typical view of waiting for a train...  tick. tock. SCREEEEEEAAAAACHHHH! CLANG! CLANG! 

Some Facts, A Story, Progressing Vanity and Pigeons

So I've been reading the book that I bought at The Strand. It's called "Chronicles of Old New York: Exploring Manhattan's Landmark Neighborhood" by James Roman. And let me just tell you... Manhattan has always been an elitist city. Always.

Facts

The Manhattan Company was the first to implement plumbing in the city... which happened to be owned (still?) by Chase Bank.

Also, Con Edison was actually a company founded by Thomas Edison. (It's like the equivalent of Idaho Power back home).

A potter's field - where people who couldn't afford a proper burial were put to rest - is under Washington Square Park. Many of those that were buried there died from yellow fever and cholera outbreaks. Then get this... "Although it is estimated that twenty-five thousand bodies were decomposing beneath it, the city fathers selected Washington Square as the place to install the large well from which all the Fifth Avenue residents would acquire their water. Even more amazing, those neighbors praised the water for its 'clarity and softness.'"

Congress passed a Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882 that banned them from immigrating to our country... leading many of the Chinese to move to more "accepting" cities like San Fran and New York, hence China Town.

A Story... 

It's been getting colder here and quickly. Today actually reached freezing. I could see my breath on the air. Well, Tuesday, I was walking to the subway station in my workout capris and hoodie jacket FREEZING my tush off. I was almost to the station when my "friend" who normally likes to walk me from the subway station to my door while trying to convince me that my boyfriend is temporary and if I ever decide I need a REAL man, I know where to find him.

Anyway, Friend intercepts me. I had my earbuds in, so I popped one out to say "hi." He had his phone playing R&B loudly in his pocket, meanwhile my other earbud is still pumping out "Get Lucky" and on top of it he's trying to have a conversation with me.

"You're wearing my color."

"You own a color?"

"I'm going with the cool colors this winter."

"Seems like a good choice." I shiver...

"You look hot. *mumble*"

"Hot? Man, if this is hot, you should see me when I'm done with my work out." Meanwhile thinking - how the hell does he think I'm hot?! I am completely under-dressed for this freezing weather and can feel my leg hairs grow with each round of goosebumps that hit me.

"I bet you be even hotter."

"Steaming. Where you heading?" He gives me a weird look..

"Queens."

"Have fun!" and I run awkwardly to my train trying to put in my other earbud.

I do my entire workout and when I start walking home about an hour later...  I realize. Hot. He was hitting on me. I totally missed that. You look hot...   and he DIDN'T mean my body temperature.

Oh man, well I expertly avoided that flirtation by embracing complete oblivion. I laughed for a good 5-10 minutes when I realized how awkward I had made that interaction.

***Side note*** Trimmed 0:35 off my workout time. Hit 503 calories in 30:55 on the elliptical. 

Progressing Vanity... 

I found this company. www.coastalscents.com. They are cruelty free and have pretty good makeup. (Good makeup = color saturation is good, blendable, and doesn't put you in the poorhouse). I just got my new stuff in the mail from them today. It is a customizable magnetized makeup palette. You buy an empty palette (that's where they get you) and then you can fill it with colors that you KNOW that you will use. As opposed to those multi-color eyeshadows you buy and then only "hit pan" (that's fancy makeup lingo for "run out of") one or two colors... WASTING the other colors.

Major bonus of moving across country and having to start over from scratch... Getting to replace your old stuff with cooler new stuff.

Dang... one color short of a full palette. Looks like I'll have to fix that. It's good to have goals. 

Random Video of the Day... 

This was taken in August. There were a bunch of pigeons having church on the fence down by union square. I really wanted to scare them... but if there is anything you don't want to do is encourage a lot of pigeons to fly over you out of fear. I believe that terrified pigeons are the reason "scared the crap out of me" is even a phrase. If you enjoy clean clothing, don't scare the pigeons.

Tuesday!

I have the best work hours in the world. The job? meh. But the hours are wonderful.

Monday 9:30am - 7:30pm (10 hours).
Tuesday - off
Wednesday 9:30am - 2:00pm (4.5 hours).
Thursday 9:30am - 2:00pm (4.5 hours)
Friday 8:30am - 2:30pm (6 hours) + freelance meetings until 4pm.
Saturday - off
Sunday - off.

I do some at home projects that help me beef up those hours (for both the current doc and a freelance client). Stuff like sending out Mailchimp emails, updating the website, cleaning up and prepping a months worth of posts for facebook, doing some of the detail work for event planning/community outreach.

The work is good, the hours are stellar, my boss.. meh. Let's call it a "personality conflict." If it were a marriage it would be a bad one and the divorce papers would read irreconcilable differences. However, only recently have I just taken the reigns of the office. Doc is hitting a troubled spot and is finally open to change. So we're creating change and that feels SO GOOD. We are actually doing community outreach and service and that I can get behind.

But you know what? Today is my day off. So I'm not going to worry about all that mumbo jumbo.

On the docket for today...
- Gym (gotta beat Sunday's score:  500 calories in 31:30 on the elliptical).
- Go to Costco and buy a couple of things that are running low.
- Spend the afternoon with the mister, being all snuggly, cooking dinner and watching movies.
- Eat a freaking salad. (you paid too much for that mescaline at the farmer's market. DON'T YOU DARE LET IT GO BAD).
- straighten hair, put on that gold eyeliner that I tried so hard to find.

Straight Hairs!!!  It is getting so long! 

Aaaaannnd... here is another subway performer. The L train is getting much better musicians as of late. And fewer of those "Showtime, Showtime! What time is it? It's Showtime!" subway dancers - that are dangerous... and loud.

Crack house? Squatters? You be the Judge.

First of all, This is our subway station. It's not a very busy station... and it's filthy. All that black stuff on the walls is steel dust, grime, and the closer  you get to poles and walls... urine. The steel dust is so heavy and mixed with the humidity, many of the subway ceilings are growing mini stalactites.  It's gross, but there's space, fresh air and the upstairs looks out over a cemetery. I like our station. 

So it's gross... but I really like this part of it. I couldn't capture it very well with the camera phone. The light is always slanted and glinting off the dust and particulate in the air at the very end of the station platform. It is very Saturday morning - exploring an abandoned building - feeling. 

And this is my neighbor Chuck's place. The brown building with the deteriorating furniture and crap out front. 

What do you think? Squatters? Crack house? You decide! Meanwhile... here it goes again... CHUCK!! YO! CHUCK! 

Take a trip into the city with me.

Whenever I think about sharing photos with the online community, my brain always says, "That's not interesting enough to post." But when I think of "What would mom like to see/hear about?"... this happens. 

Last night, it was around 3am and all of the sudden someone is wailing outside. I mean like scream-sobbing, death of a child, rent your clothing in mourning, Italian women at a funeral kind of crying. It went on for over an hour.

I live next to what I assume is a crack house. People come by at all hours of the day and night and yell "Yo! Chuck!" Sometimes Chuck yells back. Sometimes he goes downstairs to the doorway and pulls the door aside to talk to them. I say pulls the door aside because the door is not on the hinges. But there is one propped up where a normal door would be. Behind there is a curtain to keep out light and draft. The ground level of this house has boarded up windows (from the inside) and shattered glass panes on the outside. The second level has perpetually open windows... and I know this place has electricity. But there was a disturbing jug of fluid in the front courtyard for a good month or two that leads me to believe there is not plumbing. Crack house? Squatters? I'll post a photo and you can be the judge. Oh, also, another interesting fact... they blast Whitney Houston, Janet Jackson and motown tunes whenever they are having sex or arguing. 

Anyway... that's only one house in the neighborhood. I'll fill you in on other neighbors as they present interesting stories. 

A trip to the city...   In photos. 

Riding the subway into Union Square.

Bookstore Located... We're going to The Strand. 

Inside The Strand. This bookstore is always so full of people you can barely stand to browse until you get to the back of the store or onto one of the other 4 levels. 

Just walking down the street. I like the variety of building facades in this. 

Heading back to Union Square to browse the farmer's market. 

A less densely packed part of the market. I bought a couple things but I can't tell you what because they're going in the mail on Monday for mom's birthday. 

And here is a video of the band in the subway today... I actually happen to quite like them. Enough that I gave them a dollar. They are so much better than the elderly violinist... And possess more skill than the dude that shows up with 3 ipods and does techno mixes. 

A concept that I frequently use to discern good subway musicians from bad ones is something they taught us in World of Music. Music is an alternation of sounds and silence. Basically that means anything is music. But I find that most of the subway musicians think they need to be making sound all of the time... there may be louder notes that indicate the downbeat or create a rhythm, but so often it's just notes drowning into notes... especially in the groups that are doing "jazz." There was a particularly bad one twice this week. I'll try to get a recording. 

Weekend Ambition

I have woken up with some tenacious weekend ambition. To be honest, I went to bed with it too... around 2am. You know the feeling I'm talking about... those zealous moments at night when you decide that you can create an entire workout routine and strict diet and you know you will follow it. Then you fall asleep and in the morning that zeal has somehow disappeared as you pour a bowl of fruity pebbles and settle in for a day of surfing the net and watching cartoons/walking dead/netflix.

Since I still woke up with it, here's my list.

Things to accomplish...

Make baggie inserts for WHNY.
Prep a WHNY mailing for their acupuncture event.
Insert tax codes into prostores.
Fix that money issue at the gym.
Work out at the gym.
Make a week plan for working out at the gym.
Clean my room.
Do my dishes.
Go to dinner with Timtam or Mister.
Go to the strand and maybe buy a good book, probably something about the history of NYC.
Locate and buy gold glitter eyeliner by nyx.

Updates and hopefully photos later...

Day Something or Other Without Facebook...

Okay. So it's been a few days since I was on facebook. I don't know how many, nor do I care enough to go back and count. The official analysis... (you know it's official... it's a list).

Pros
- More time to cook.
- More time to spend with roommates and friends.
- More productive at work.
- More productive at home.
- No stupid political drama in my life unless I instigate it.
- Less time bothered and upset about people being mean to each other.

Cons 
- Fewer pictures of baby animals.
- No pics of nephew (I'll catch up, I promise).
- No chatting with people when work gets really boring.
- My phone dies faster from texting and phone calls now.

I'm not hurting. My life hasn't been very exciting the past few days. I haven't had any awesome photos to post. If I were to post photos... It would be like...

Photo 1 - Dragging myself to the bathroom.
Photo 2 - Sitting on a crowded train during rush hour.
Photo 3 - Sitting at a desk working on a project or checking out a customer.
Photo 4 - Riding on a train during the after school rush hour (just as crowded, way more noise).
Photo 5 - Flannel Pajama bottoms (Yeah! Those came this week!) and working on some project or another online while netflix plays in the background... or making chicken wraps. Or painting my nails.

But that's a normal week. Weekend is here. I have an expiring groupon (that's really why I leave the house). I'll be using it to go out to dinner on Saturday or Sunday depending on if Will wants to go or if I'm taking Tamara. If I look cute, I'll take a picture.

Oh speaking of trying to look cute. In my efforts to become more fancy and frankly, a little more vain, I borrowed Tamara's clip-less curling iron to see what I could do. I didn't fail like that one girl... but I did fail. heh. Alas, I need a curling iron 101 class. Though I do a pretty amazing straightening job with the instyler.

Also, very exciting in the fascinating drama of adulthood... On my budget post-it last week and this week I wrote the same bill. Metro card $113.00. Which I only had to buy once. So I have an extra $113.00 to play with. Granted, I put $40 of it in savings. But that's still $73 big fun dollars! Weekend, here I come!

Ferocious.

Best show on Netflix...

If you haven't watched Derek on Netflix... you need to. I was expecting it to be an irreverent comedy starring Ricky Gervais. It's not at all. Within 7 episodes, I cried 3 times. It is SO unlike everything on the TV these days.

It doesn't glorify sexiness, or social climbing or anything like that. The message is the importance of being nice. Kindness is the cool thing here. Being an innocent and good person is what's valued in this show. I think it definitely contrasts with so much of TV today... Weeds, Dexter, Breaking Bad... these shows are deliciously gritty. They have protagonists that are so human. You both love and hate them. 

Derek is not like this at all. It is endearing. It is uncomfortable. It is sweet and small town. It reminded me of grandma in the nursing home. It reminded me of singing for school or church, when we went around to the different living facilities. Derek is disarming. It doesn't allow you to be cynical or jaded. Because it's a show about goodness... how do you hate that? 

I just can't recommend watching it enough. 

Latest in the Life in the Times of Nanette... 

- Spent the afternoon talking about imaginary concepts with my freelance boss. I have got to get away from faux medicine. I just don't think that placing lucite cubes with markings on them will change life that drastically. 

- Outreach project at work is beginning to take off in a most delightful way. We may see this business turn around here in the next quarter. 

- Walked the length of midtown and nearly the width of Manhattan today (just a couple avenues short). And didn't buy a thing. Gotta save for the big move. 

- Also managed to not eat everything in sight. Been seeing the weight respond. 

Summary: Success. 

Trying this thing...

Be patient with me...

I'm trying to get this auto post to facebook thing working...

11:17 on a Tuesday. That's the shawl you gave me at the wedding, Laura! :) 

Just another Tuesday in Bushwick

My normal work schedule has me in Manhattan Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. It's a cush gig. Work 4 days a week to afford my needs and a little extra to pay off whatever my last irresponsible purchase was. On top of that Wednesday - Friday are only half days. It's great. I get a full weekend and a random Tuesday off in the middle of the week.

Today was nothing special. Laundry. Cooking. Cleaning up the house. Prepping a donation bag (AKA: I didn't have enough hangers for the stuff I washed today). 

The boy came out tonight. We watched Freedom Writers (it's part of his juvenile justice course) and made dinner. I'm learning to whip up a mean toasted wrap (goat cheese, grilled chicken, spinach, tomato and guacamole). 

My major accomplishment today was taking the train into the city on my day off - my metro card is unlimited, take advantage of it!  I walked through 6 stores and didn't buy one thing. Not one thing. Nothing more to add to the collection of odds and ends. (please feel free to break into song... "look at this stuff, isn't it neat? wouldn't you say my collection's complete?" *bonus points if sung in a swimming pool*). 

I'm trying to make the transition from the boy's neighborhood back to my own. I understand why I thought he was snooty. It IS different. I mean, my neighborhood doesn't make me uncomfortable at all. But there are a lot more people yelling at each other... some very obvious crack houses...   and his neighborhood is a bunch of tall buildings, immediate stores and shops on the ground level of every block and everyone is walking a dog or a baby. 

I would still consider my neighborhood more friendly. Everyone says "Hello" in passing. If anything they are usually too affectionate. "mmmm... girl! Walk this way." Right. I'm sure that will work one day and then you will fall in love and live happily ever after. 

In this neighborhood, it's important not to keep eye contact for too long or you wind up showing that you're interested which... if like me, you are prone to staring off into space on the subway, instead of closing your eyes or playing on your phone... can lead to awkward and amusing situations. Let me just tell you... I drive the 40+ year old latin men wild. Now, this is a gross generalization, but it seems that in most cases, they just happen to be eye level while sitting on the subway.

I got the stare down by an older latin man just today... With his straw resort style hat, cream colored suit and dark, but-not-so-dark-you-can't-see-him-make-eye-contact-and-raise-his-eyebrows, sunglasses. I spent 16 awkward minutes trying to look anywhere but in his direction. I did the quick visual scan of the train from left to right a couple of times to see if he was still staring...   nnnnngggghhhh...   Being the object of Creep-o-vision has a distinct feel - similar to being backed into a corner... or the uncomfortable mind-odor of knowing that you are sunburning (red heads out there, you feel me?), except this time it's sunburning a hole through you. 

Sex in the city got it wrong. That's not what dating out here is like... at all. Maybe it's a plus-sized thing? Maybe a difference of salaries thing? Maybe it's a Bushwick thing...  But I'm just saying, in my personal experience, there has been little to NO similarity. 

Also, wearing heels while in the city... stupidest idea ever. If you're ever here, just know it's normal to see a business skirt suit paired with sneakers on the street. Don't be ashamed and don't let TV tell you different. 

Love, 

Nanette

Testing Facebook Autoposts...

This is what it looks like when I try to wink. 

This is a morning commute on a bus. 

This is where I sleep... also where I watch movies with the cat. 

This is where I work...

This is one of my favorite nights with one of my favorite people... and that's a needle through her nose, stuck in a cork. 

10 minute free write...

9:25pm... ready... set...   Go!

I started writing something like this at the doctor's office and I quickly realized I don't get 10 uninterrupted minutes... ever.

Today was a good day in the office. I was able to be very frank and communicate clearly about doc's behavior being in conflict with what we discussed in the work meeting. Priorities... Getting new clients in the door and retaining them. I mean... who leaves a patient waiting so they can microwave their coffee. Stop wasting everyone's life. The patient's... because they are just waiting and it's a particularly frail one who needs a good chair and can't stand for a long period of time. Mine because I have to stop being productive in order to nag the crap out of him for being a complete idiot. And his own... really, you're microwaving coffee that you're not even going to drink but rather use as a prop and a time consuming device to make yourself feel important.

It's nice to know that I've retained some of my original Idaho self... the part that can't freaking STAND people wasting my time.

Back to home... Back to my house, my bed. Mom and dad sent me a birthday check. I used a little bit of it to buy some fancy socks. they have lavender in them and buckwheat or something. You're supposed to microwave them and they turn into puddles of black bear coziness. So far... they're working. So... there's that. The rest of it is going to pay my gym membership registration fee. So... you're encouraging me to keep fit for another year. Thanks!

I was thinking on my way home that I have bought all the fun things a girl could need. Makeup, nail polish, shoes, perfumes, hair stuff... And when you have too much it's not fun anymore. Just another thing to keep and store. So I guess I'm all about using everything up and getting rid of things. I'm actually taking my first trip to donate stuff. I have gone from no mattress to 3 tubes of the same damn lip crayon that makes me look too pale (thank you subscription boxes).

So this is 27. I love to make a list of things that I want to accomplish in the year... using my birthday as my own personal new years. I have it somewhere. I should post that.

As any of you who were directed here from my facebook know, I'm taking a little hiatus. Facebook is so full of anger and hate and boredom. It's frustrating to watch and be a part of. I like sharing my thoughts and photos... and can't stand those stupid posts about what facebook should be... 12 worst types of selfies, or top 10 worst kinds of posts... etc. etc. etc. So I'm withdrawing. People can use social networking how they will. I'm just going to bow out. But I don't want to lose this time in my life... Facebook is such a good documentation. Daily snippets, photos, notes from loved ones. it's a sentimentalist's dream.

But for now, I will enjoy these cozy socks and the warm glow of the laptop screen and bid you all good night. My 10 minutes are now....   three... two... one..... Over.