The Girlfriend Experience

This post has nothing to do with Steven Soderbergh's film. But this weekend I experienced being a girlfriend, and what it's like when you're the girlfriend meeting LITERALLY 50 family members (of your boyfriend).

Flew into JFK on Weds night, and spent a day lazin' around on Thursday before making the 9 1/2 hour drive from Brooklyn to Youngstown, Ohio to meet Ari's parents and siblings and extended family for the first time. They were all super nice, thankfully, although Ari had warned me that his mother could be scary (she served in the Israeli army, after all), it was all hearsay. They were all very welcoming and sweet, and the whole family gets along ridiculously well (I wasn't sure families like that actually existed).

Anyway, there was a reunion/birthday party on Saturday night for approximately 50 relatives/friends, and I think I met them all. Platters of food; a birthday cake in the shape of a 3D castle, and 10 boxes of pizza. It was a fun night.

We packed up to leave on Sunday morning, and got 30 miles into Pennsylvania, only to discover at the first rest stop that our brakes weren't working! So 2 hours later we were towed back to Youngstown, spent an EXTRA night in Youngstown, waited for the car to get fixed, which took until 7pm. So we got back to Brooklyn at 2am this morning. Hooray!

Highlights of the weekend:

• Handel's Ice Cream (a Youngstown institution)--we bought 5 different flavors (chocolate pecan, mint chocolate chip, cookies and cream, peach, black cherry)
• Learning Rummikub (a family institution, apparently)
• Finding a cool random Indian/Pakistani market on our scenic walk around the car repair shop
• Walking around the lake (Newport Lake) that is literally less than a block from Ari's backyard. And the area is so lush and GREEN in summer! And humid. I felt like I was in Hawaii.
  

New York, New York

What a wonderful town!

At least, when it's not as humid as it is right now.

Going for a walk in Prospect Park, and then latin music later.

Curse You, New Yorker

BTW, I did NOT achieve my goal of catching up on all the issues of the New Yorker before leaving.

I got through about 10 of them, but I still have about 5 more. I am bringing them with me. And my dad gets to keep receiving them back here, in LA.

I will consider getting my own subscription, but it doesn't seem very logical. Perhaps TimeOut New York will be more my speed.

Aargh. Sorry to leave that depressing previous post up for so long. I have not been wallowing in sadness these past few days, as one might assume.

In fact, I am almost done PACKING! Two massive suitcases and one roll-y carry-on. And a purse. Yeah, I'm moving, what can I do? There's really no way around sweatin' a lot during the trips to and from the airport. Especially since I'll be lugging the bags through NY, which apparently is still suffering from humid heat waves.

Oh well, Ari's picking me up at the airport at least, and I'm arriving at 10pm. So it shouldn't be too bad.

I am excited!!!! My enthusiasm about moving to NY has picked up again; I'm pretty sure I won't be able to sleep tonight (since I couldn't really sleep last night either; my excitement kicked in two days in advance).

Just listened to a news story about the LRA, a group that recruits child soldiers in several countries of Africa. It seems the LRA is getting stronger, and the issue of child soldiers isn't at the top of the list for the US government, with so many other problems in the world.

Sometimes NPR just makes me cry.

It's good to be free

I've been off work for 2 1/2 weeks now, and it's been pretty great. I loved my job (teaching ESL in La Verne), but I don't miss it yet.

The only problem with having this much time on my hands is that I start thinking about more activities I need to take up--mainly musical instruments, artistic outlets, and sports. Perhaps dulcimer, ceramics, and karate are in the cards? Not sure how much time I'll have once school gets started, but I hope to find at least one "extracurricular activity" to do.

Anyway, recent events:

• Camping at Lake Cuyamaca over the weekend: Gorgeous and luxurious! I've never before eaten potato/avocado/tomato/bell pepper/squash scramble for breakfast while camping. And I reached a mountaintop by 8am on Sunday. This is what it looked like:
  

• Free Monday concerts at Spaceland in Silver Lake! I can never check these things out on work nights. Leah and I saw 3 (unknown to us) bands: Vanaprasta, Tomorrow's Tulips (I think), and White Arrow. Vanaprasta was the best; the lead singer looked like Zach Galifianakis, and was quite energetic.
  

• Met up with Anja in Downtown LA on Tuesday to get scrumptious "Smac & Cheese" and mint lemonade at Nickel Diner and then ridiculously indulgent waffles and ice cream at Syrup Desserts. I heartily recommend both spots.

please pay no attention to the random woman on her laptop in the background.

• AFTER dinner and dessert with Anja, went with Leah to the Kogi truck in Altadena! Waited 1 1/2 hours (until midnight) to get a tofu burrito. So not worth it. Although it wasn't a terrible wait, since it's kind of a social event. Lots of folks chillin' on the street and sidewalk. But by the time I got my burrito, all I wanted was to go to sleep.
  

That is all. Going to see "Surfin' Safari" (a Beach Boys cover group) with the fam at the Coffee Gallery tonight.

One more week till I leave for New York!

The Bands I've Owned and Abandoned

The NPR All Songs Considered Blog recently asked its readers which artists have put out the most music they own but never listen to. For example, some band you were obsessed with in the past, and whose CDs you continue to buy, but never actually play.

The far and away most popular response was (not so surprisingly) Dave Matthews Band. Boy am I glad I've NEVER been into him! Well all right, I did have a brief phase during the time that "free hugs" music video came out. But I can't even remember the song that went with it.

Anyway, the artist that I would have to confess to never listening to is Radiohead. I realized this upon reading someone else's comment: "Probably Radiohead. I love them, love their music, love seeing them live — and am almost never in the mood to listen to them."

This describes exactly how I feel. Although I've never actually seen them live, I hope to some day, because I've heard they're awesome. But I went through a Radiohead phase in college which lasted a couple years, and haven't really gone back since, despite continuing to buy their CDs. Radiohead's music creates such a strong, and often depressing mood; I'm often unable to tolerate it unless I'm willing to sit down and focus on a whole album.

Anyway, anyone else have an artist they feel this way about?

Went to see In the Heights tonight with the fam, in honor of my parents' 31-year anniversary. (Thank goodness they still invite the kids.) I was a little worried before the show because I know the musical has a lot of hip hop, and I wasn't sure the folks would go for it. But thankfully, the production was really good! Great singers, catchy tunes (not too much rapping), and a sweet story. I recommend it.

And now I want to visit Washington Heights when I get to New York.

Best Purchase of the Weekend

Bought this on vinyl for 40 cents at Armadillo Records. I think it will set the mood nicely in my dorm.

Upon my impending move to New York, (and my current 3-week vacation), I will make another attempt at resurrecting this blog. Ideally, I'll post little anecdotes from my life in Manhattan/Harlem, so people who are interested can stay up-to-date.

But I'm not in New York yet! So I will post some other random thoughts/activities instead.

1. My goal before leaving is to finish all the issues of The New Yorker. My father and I somewhat thoughtlessly subscribed to it back in December, after I made my first trip out to visit Ari and kind of fell in love with the city all over again. Did you know that you get a new issue every week? Thus, it's a bit challenging to get through one when you're also working virtually full-time. Anyway, I've made it through about 5 issues in one week; I've got to speed up my game here.

2. My mother and I have created a "No New Clothing" pledge, which I've read about on some fashion blogs. The idea is not to buy any new clothing for a certain amount of time; in our case, six months. No new clothing or jewelry purchased, although shopping at Goodwill or Salvation Army is allowed. This is an excellent time for me to take up this challenge, since the starting date will be my first day of classes at Columbia.

3. Cooking again--I found some inspiring recipes on Andrea's blog that I've been meaning to make for a while. Vegetarian chili first! And after that some Thai curry (not from her blog, but just my own attempt).

4. Going to see terrible movies! Ok, not a goal, but it seems to be happening regardless. I saw Dinner for Schmucks last weekend with Michelle in Davis, and it was pretty much the worst comedy I've seen all year. Made the mistake of NOT consulting my trusty LA Times beforehand. And then today I'm probably going to see Sex & the City 2 with Leah. Although at least that will only be $2.

That's all I can think of at the mo. Alright, time to get back to my New Yorker. I must finish another one today!

Haven't posted in a while, but Salinger's death today inspired me.

After hearing about this death, I'm sure almost everyone flashed back to their "Salinger" moment (if they have one); I personally remember middle school, when I worked as the computer lab T.A. for Mrs. Soja, and had way too much time on my hands. I finished Catcher in the Rye during one of those slow days, and then immediately started reading it again. I enjoyed it so much I didn't want to put it down. So I read it twice in a row, with a time span of about 2 minutes between readings.

I also have memories of reading Nine Stories in Mrs. Swanson's 11th grad English class, and acting out scenes from the stories. Such a weird, albeit creative, idea. Nevertheless I remember feeling greatly moved by those stories as well, particularly the last one, entitled "Teddy."

Just watched the movie Adventureland and have developed a crush on the actor Martin Starr. Don't judge me.

The Vietnamese lady I go to for manicures gave me a guava from her tree today.

It's little things like that that really make my day sometimes.

PB + CHO

I have made my first thing since coming home!

And the thing looks like this:

Yes, it is a baked thing. Peanut butter cookies with mini Reese's peanut butter cups pressed in the center! I was inspired by the coffee shop near Cammy's house in Long Beach, which sells giant versions of these cookies, with a full-size peanut butter cup in the middle.

I made so many cookies (about 48) that I had to ask Dad to take some in to work tomorrow. My mom won't eat them, so I must save myself from myself!

Happy Early Turkey Day

Off to Napa (via Berkeley to pick up my sis) tomorrow morning! As my dad's driving, we will be leaving somewhat promptly at 8am. I'm SO glad I can sleep in the car. If it were me, we wouldn't be leaving until 11am. But since Dad's driving--fine by me!

This will probably be our last time going to Napa for Thanksgiving (we went up there my freshman and sophomore years of college), and it's been a wonderful tradition. I'm not sure if there's any other region in California that has such consistently stellar food. And now, Leah and I can actually participate in the wine tasting!

What am I thankful for?

As always, my family comes up first on my list. Next would be friends. And I am always especially thankful that I still have Cammy, after all she's been through. And I'm thankful that I live in such a great country (despite its many issues), and that my family has never had to worry about putting enough food on the table.

Let's see.... I need something less banal to be thankful for. I am thankful that I have traveled to so many countries! Although I have many more on the list.

And with that, a good vacation to everyone.

I am back again! How many times have I started a post with that sentence?

Anyway, unemployment inspires me to write. Or to write some short blog posts, at least.

I have been on an art fix! What does that mean, you ask? It means that I have been obsessed with finding and framing artwork. I think it's largely because my walls are so empty, after not having lived in my room (or added many personal touches) for about 6 years. Yeah, that's how long it's been since high school.

Anyway, I digress. Today I went to Michael's and Target and bought 5 picture frames (one frame holds 7 pictures), and filled them all up with art! Mainly postcards I've collected over the years, but picture comes from a calendar that I had in 7th grade, and one picture is a print that I ordered from Etsy. It's pretty great.

Now I just need to actually hang them on the wall without taking large chunks of plaster out as well. My parents wouldn't be too happy about thtat.

Another reason why I love teaching

Student: Teacher, do you dye your hair?
Me: Yes.
Student: Oh. Is your hair actually black?
Me: No, it's dark brown.
Student: Oh. Are you American?


I love that foreign students expect all "real" Americans to have blond hair. I'm an American too, gosh darn it!!

I think we can all agree the advertising...could be improved.

I alternate between hesitantly loving and strongly despising American Apparel--I try to shop there, but everything is either too baggy or WAY WAY WAY too tight/short.  

Anyway, this latest offering from the AA catalogue doesn't really change my uncertainty on the company.  It's at once horrifying and amazing.  

Just a quick shout-out

To all my friends, all over the world, whether they read this thing or not:

You are great. I'm lucky to have you.

I just had a great and busy weekend hanging with a good mix of people (and not hanging out with a few, sadly), and it reminded me how happy my friends make me.

THANK YOU! I hope I'm still in touch with all of you in 30 years.

"You look tired."

Never a compliment, right?

I have been told this THREE TIMES in the last 2 months while at work. It has motivated me to buy thicker foundation and wear more makeup, since I figure that is one of the small joys of being a woman--you can generally cover it up if you look like crap.

But apparently it's not working, since one of my students commented again today that I look tired.

GAH!

That is all.