The NY Times said that "surest signal of approaching Labor Day is the appearance of black clothes on the sidewalks". I disagree. New Yorkers wear black year round. For me, the surest sign that summer is coming to a close is that the weather was nice enough that I could go for a "run" on a Saturday afternoon. I had meant to wake up bright and early to go run in Inwood Park but instead, I rolled out of bed at around 1:00 pm. The sun was shining, birds were singing, and the humidity was actually bearable. BF had suggested that we do a training run--this involves walking for 5 minutes to warm up, running for one minute followed by walking for one minute, repeat running and walking for a total of 20 minutes. This is actually only about 6 minutes of running, but that was enough to make me sore on Sunday. Sadly, this is the most activity that I've had all summer. It's been uttterly disgusting this summer--hot, muggy, gross. Great reasons for allowing myself to sit in front of the TV on the weekends, watching HBO on demand and to gain weight.
But, all that is over. I have vowed to be more active, to walk up the six flights of stairs to my apartment instead of taking the elevator, to eat salad for lunch, to be not so much of a slug. To be able to fit into something other than skirts and elastic-waist pants.
Wednesday, August 31, 2005
Monday, August 29, 2005
Fake dating
Being single and having not been paid in two months has not stopped me from dating. Unfortunately, it is not the kind of dating you would presume a hip and happening gal would be doing: no kissing, awkward pauses, or hoochie outfits. This past week I went on two such outings.
On Thursday night, I went out with H. He is pleasant upstanding (in all ways, I mean he even has excellent posture) fellow with a laid back attitude. I wore a skirt, he wore a blazer and to any unsuspecting bystander we looked like a typical yuppie couple. We met at 7:30 and has a pleasant stroll in the cool August night to the South end. Our waiter seated us at a window table for two illuminated only by the tealight in the glass votive. H ordered a bottle of wine and we sipped it as our meal trickled to our table. Talking with H is always a blast. He has the kind of dry voice that can make a story funny, which is why I am sparing you all the details because they lose their zest in any retelling. When our tealight burned out, we realized it was time to go home. 11: 15 pm we had been chatting and giggling for almost 4 hours straight. We strolled back and watched all the real yuppies gathering for the Thursday night mating call. But we had our fake date, were done for the night, and parted ways.
While going out with H is a very rare event, my friend D and I have date night every other month, normally when his boyfriend is otherwise occupied. D and I used work in the same lab so many of our conversations cover old times or advances in sciences, subjects often found distasteful to others. The nice thing about going out with D is that he will tell you exactly what he wants. On Saturday, I got to choose the restaurant with D's only criteria that we had to dress "smart casual." I wore dark jeans with high heels; D wore a lacoste shirt. Once again to the unknowing eye, a handsome yuppie couple. D picked me up at around 8pm. We went to a hip restaurant in Jamaica Plain with red walls, funky picture lampshades, and hipster wait staff. A bottle of wine, excellent comfort food, and lots of laughter were the elements of the evening. Sometimes hanging out with friends results in entertainment and a valued therapy session all rolled into one. We moved date to a local Irish pub. This pub had once been a favorite of mine, but apparently got refurbished over the summer and the new sleek black tables and formica walls were designer don'ts. D and I were gossiping, when a reggae band walked in the door. The music was loud and the crowd odd and we kept seeing this one white girl with cornrows pacing back and forth. We sat outside on the steps of a church, enjoying the night air for a little while before heading home.
While I understand real dating is a necessary evil, I find it such an inferior experience to my fake dating. I hate the weird small talk, constantly monitoring my body language, constantly monitoring his, and the tango of guarded feelings. With my friends, I share intimate conversations, genuine laughter, and my emotions no matter how dramatic they may be. Who knows maybe one I'll go on a real date as good as my fake ones. I have my fingers crossed.
On Thursday night, I went out with H. He is pleasant upstanding (in all ways, I mean he even has excellent posture) fellow with a laid back attitude. I wore a skirt, he wore a blazer and to any unsuspecting bystander we looked like a typical yuppie couple. We met at 7:30 and has a pleasant stroll in the cool August night to the South end. Our waiter seated us at a window table for two illuminated only by the tealight in the glass votive. H ordered a bottle of wine and we sipped it as our meal trickled to our table. Talking with H is always a blast. He has the kind of dry voice that can make a story funny, which is why I am sparing you all the details because they lose their zest in any retelling. When our tealight burned out, we realized it was time to go home. 11: 15 pm we had been chatting and giggling for almost 4 hours straight. We strolled back and watched all the real yuppies gathering for the Thursday night mating call. But we had our fake date, were done for the night, and parted ways.
While going out with H is a very rare event, my friend D and I have date night every other month, normally when his boyfriend is otherwise occupied. D and I used work in the same lab so many of our conversations cover old times or advances in sciences, subjects often found distasteful to others. The nice thing about going out with D is that he will tell you exactly what he wants. On Saturday, I got to choose the restaurant with D's only criteria that we had to dress "smart casual." I wore dark jeans with high heels; D wore a lacoste shirt. Once again to the unknowing eye, a handsome yuppie couple. D picked me up at around 8pm. We went to a hip restaurant in Jamaica Plain with red walls, funky picture lampshades, and hipster wait staff. A bottle of wine, excellent comfort food, and lots of laughter were the elements of the evening. Sometimes hanging out with friends results in entertainment and a valued therapy session all rolled into one. We moved date to a local Irish pub. This pub had once been a favorite of mine, but apparently got refurbished over the summer and the new sleek black tables and formica walls were designer don'ts. D and I were gossiping, when a reggae band walked in the door. The music was loud and the crowd odd and we kept seeing this one white girl with cornrows pacing back and forth. We sat outside on the steps of a church, enjoying the night air for a little while before heading home.
While I understand real dating is a necessary evil, I find it such an inferior experience to my fake dating. I hate the weird small talk, constantly monitoring my body language, constantly monitoring his, and the tango of guarded feelings. With my friends, I share intimate conversations, genuine laughter, and my emotions no matter how dramatic they may be. Who knows maybe one I'll go on a real date as good as my fake ones. I have my fingers crossed.
Tuesday, August 23, 2005
Monday, August 22, 2005
Dunkin' Donut's Iced Coffee Survey
In the Boston area, Dunkin Donut's reigns supreme for coffee. As a matter of fact, a friend once pointed out that the doughnut has become simply become an incidental that you buy to go with your coffee. West Coast brands, such as Starbucks, have made their presence known, but have yet to topple the Dunkin Donut's coffee stranglehold.
Evil twin #2 and I have had many discussions trying to figure out why D&D coffee is so dominant. As she has a D&D one block from her NYC apt., she has an unique insight on the subject. She noticed that the coffee in NYC is not as good as it is in Boston and that her D&D is never as crowded as the D&D'd in Boston in the mornings. Her conclusion: Higher foot traffic equals higher coffee turnover which translates into fresher coffee. ET#2 also concluded that New Englanders seem to prefer the medium roasts versus the darker roasts of Seattle.
The competition of upscale West Coast brands have forced D&D to make a few changes to their coffee. They now offer things like lattes and espresso shots. A few years ago, they introduced a frozen wonder called the Coolatta. I love the Coolatta. I love the sound of the word. I love the icy goodness and inevitable brain freeze. I love that it comes with whipped cream. I hate that you cannot get a Decaf Coolatta. The amount of caffeine in a regular coffee often gives me heart palpitations. Since I am a hyper freak anyway, my ingestion of large doses of caffeine has also been known to be dangerous to those around me. For well over a year, I had been on an e-mail crusade to convince D&D to make a Decaf Coolatta. (D&D's are franchises but the store owners must buy the Coolatta mix from D&D) Once a week, I would send an e-mail detailing the benefits of a decaffeinated delight to no avail.
In the meantime, I have been trying out D&D's new flavored iced coffee selection. (All which are available in decaf.) Below is my opinion of each flavor. Please note the following: iced coffee taste different from hot coffee and I drink my iced coffees black.
Blueberry: Surprisingly, not bad. I had a bad incident with the server being unable to get my order right and having to send it back twice, but the coffee itself was good.
Caramel: Caramel looks like sweetened condensed milk instead of the burnt sugar Toroni syrup. Try to mix well before drinking because caramel tends to accumulate on the bottom. A definite thumbs up and the winner of the survey.
Cinnamon: Starts off medicinal. As you drink more, it does gets better tasting. I think it would be better with milk or cream.
Coconut: Tastes artificial. Its like drinking coffee while smelling a bottle of Hawaiian Tropics.
French Vanilla: Enjoyable at first, but left a plastic coating in my mouth.
Hazelnut: Delightful. Very nutty and flavorful. It can be a little overpowering so it cannot be drunk every day.
Marshmallow: Could not detect the flavoring. Will have to try again since the idea of marshmallow flavoring is intriguing.
Raspberry: Absolutely disgusting. The woman gave me a medium for the price of a small. What a waste as I threw it out after drinking a couple of ounces.
Toasted Almond: Tasted like the hazelnut coffee except burnt. Milk or cream would probably mellow it.
Who said that we do not do investigative journalism at evil-twins!
Evil twin #2 and I have had many discussions trying to figure out why D&D coffee is so dominant. As she has a D&D one block from her NYC apt., she has an unique insight on the subject. She noticed that the coffee in NYC is not as good as it is in Boston and that her D&D is never as crowded as the D&D'd in Boston in the mornings. Her conclusion: Higher foot traffic equals higher coffee turnover which translates into fresher coffee. ET#2 also concluded that New Englanders seem to prefer the medium roasts versus the darker roasts of Seattle.
The competition of upscale West Coast brands have forced D&D to make a few changes to their coffee. They now offer things like lattes and espresso shots. A few years ago, they introduced a frozen wonder called the Coolatta. I love the Coolatta. I love the sound of the word. I love the icy goodness and inevitable brain freeze. I love that it comes with whipped cream. I hate that you cannot get a Decaf Coolatta. The amount of caffeine in a regular coffee often gives me heart palpitations. Since I am a hyper freak anyway, my ingestion of large doses of caffeine has also been known to be dangerous to those around me. For well over a year, I had been on an e-mail crusade to convince D&D to make a Decaf Coolatta. (D&D's are franchises but the store owners must buy the Coolatta mix from D&D) Once a week, I would send an e-mail detailing the benefits of a decaffeinated delight to no avail.
In the meantime, I have been trying out D&D's new flavored iced coffee selection. (All which are available in decaf.) Below is my opinion of each flavor. Please note the following: iced coffee taste different from hot coffee and I drink my iced coffees black.
Blueberry: Surprisingly, not bad. I had a bad incident with the server being unable to get my order right and having to send it back twice, but the coffee itself was good.
Caramel: Caramel looks like sweetened condensed milk instead of the burnt sugar Toroni syrup. Try to mix well before drinking because caramel tends to accumulate on the bottom. A definite thumbs up and the winner of the survey.
Cinnamon: Starts off medicinal. As you drink more, it does gets better tasting. I think it would be better with milk or cream.
Coconut: Tastes artificial. Its like drinking coffee while smelling a bottle of Hawaiian Tropics.
French Vanilla: Enjoyable at first, but left a plastic coating in my mouth.
Hazelnut: Delightful. Very nutty and flavorful. It can be a little overpowering so it cannot be drunk every day.
Marshmallow: Could not detect the flavoring. Will have to try again since the idea of marshmallow flavoring is intriguing.
Raspberry: Absolutely disgusting. The woman gave me a medium for the price of a small. What a waste as I threw it out after drinking a couple of ounces.
Toasted Almond: Tasted like the hazelnut coffee except burnt. Milk or cream would probably mellow it.
Who said that we do not do investigative journalism at evil-twins!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)