So Live Your Life

I have been so bad about blogging this summer but fortunately I have been living my life. Last week I went to my first Green Day concert in 10 years and it was so fun. I am in LOVE with Billie Joe Armstrong. It happened when he so earnestly sang 21 guns towards the end of the show. This past weekend my friend S visited from Atlanta and it was so much fun. She is one of my most fun friends ever!

We went to Alice's Tea Cup. The decorations are all Alice in Wonderland and the tea cups are so cute. I had an omelet and it was yummmy but next time I will get the french toast that S got. Look at it. mmmm
We also went to see the 2010 Tony winner for Best Musical.
Finally we ended up listening to and awesome cover band at Cafe Wha?.

I hadn't been there since college but Sunday nights are still so much fun.

My friend J from Savannah was also in town with her husband. It was great to catch up with her since we hadn't seen each other since her wedding 3 years ago. We had frozen custard from Shake Shack and sat near the Natural History Museum. I miss my friends from Georgia so much. It was so nice to reconnect but now I am so exhausted. Living life makes me sleepy.

Food Coma and the City

I love trying out new places in the city. And I love to eat. So this weekend was a good one. My friend B introduced me and some of our friends to a new (to me) Italian restaurant and a new nook in the city. Situated behind a bridge in West Harlem at 135th street and 12th avenue is a delicious authentic Italian place called Covo.
The pasta is homemade and the crowd seems to be from all parts of the city. I had the spinach gnocchi with mozzarella and marinara sauce. It was amazing. I was full half way through but I just kept plugging away because it was absolutely delectable. There is a lounge upstairs and a couple big clubs down the street. I don't know how this area evaded me for 10 years. Actually I do. I never go as high as 135th street, nor as far as 12th avenue. Now that I have relocated to the Upper West Side I am realizing that there is an entire half of Manhattan that I know nothing about. This makes me anxious because I simultaneously want to vacate New York yet yearn to explore and revive my love affair with this city. Just on the other side.

Today I met up with my friend J and her fellow dentist friend L and went here for brunch. It's across from my favorite crepe place but I've never gone. I need to branch out more because it was yummy.
Then J took us to the Black Hound for cakes.
Sorry J. The cake was good but at 7.50 for a small cake. That don't impress me much. Still so happy to have tried something new out. And all cakes are a good thing for me.

Something to which I Aspire

Funny and Sad

A friend of mine sent me this today . . .

The Art of Apathy

Apathy is an important attribute in the city. You can't take people and situations too seriously or too personally. If you care too much you won't make it here. You can't waste your time being upset when people break their promises and leave you in a bind. Otherwise you'll be upset everyday. You can't get worked up about poverty or injustice because it's constantly in your face. All you can do is choose not to care. All you can control is yourself. When you see the guy you were out with last night holding hands with a gorgeous leggy model in the meatpacking district, you have to let it just roll right off you. When your ex boyfriend/love of your life is with a prostitute on the very same night you must just shrug and brush that dirt off your shoulder. (True story. Tonight in fact. Did I just stop being polite and start getting real?) I am anything but apathetic. But I am learning . . . because in New York, only the strong survive.

In order to be apathetic, you must recognize that you are expendable to most people in your life. Just mentally prepare yourself before you become friends. Thus, most people in your life must be expendable to you. You have to remind yourself that your time doesn't matter to certain friends and so certain friends' time cannot matter to you. It's important to accept that most people will ditch plans with you if they get a better offer. So it follows that when you get a better offer, you must ditch plans these friends. You can't feel guilty. You cannot allow yourself to care. It's not easy for a super reliable, trustworthy person who grew up with strong Protestant values. Unfortunately, it is necessary.

When dealing with men in the city . . . my new mantra: "I am a robot. I will not cry."

Or . . . I could just move.