Bend And Snap

I’m a slacker. I’m suffering from an affliction; it’s called Unemployed Writer’s Block. It’s rough, I tell you.

A selfish reason why I wanted to write this blog was just to keep up the practice of writing in general. I met a really intriguing woman in June who has been very successful and has an amazing job, and we spent a few hours talking one morning about her experiences and about my interests. She asked me some things I enjoy doing, and one of the things I mentioned was writing. I said that I would love to be a writer one day; to work freelance or for a publication or maybe be an author…one day.

She told me that if I enjoyed writing so much, that I should do it now, and never to let a professional title dictate what I can and cannot do with my free time. It sounds simple enough, doesn’t it? I don’t want to sit down at a desk ten years from now and have nothing to say.

So hear I am, saying things to you.

We had a great long weekend with our visitors. We got to see Legally Blonde from the second row (for $26.50 per ticket, thank you very much. I’m keeping my student ID as long as I can still pass for my 18–year-old self in the picture). We got to see all of the facial expressions and eyes watering and tiny mistakes that go unnoticed by the suckers in the mezzanine who paid way more than we did to see the show. They can afford it; they have jobs.

There were two theatre students in front of us who had each seen the show four times already. FOUR. And they were giving US a hard time after they figured out that they were sitting with a bunch of sorority girls from Texas. As if the Legally Blonde musical is any indication of a typical sorority experience. It didn’t help that our cause that we ran into a younger girl from our sorority after the show who was in town visiting with her family. Stereotypes sneak up on you when you least expect them.

Saturday we woke up leisurely and went to eat at our favorite brunch place in Murray Hill called Penelope. Have I mentioned it yet? The Penelope people consider brunch to be an art form, and we consider it to be delicious. We then made our way over to Herald Square to browse around and shop, and made the hideous mistake of entering Macy’s.

The flagship store.

On a Saturday that also happened to be a holiday weekend.

Did I mention that there are three Starbucks inside this one store?

I camped out with AG in the Bandolino section while AV and KR searched for their perfect fall boots. I wasn’t even going to try- it was madness. Like Century 21 madness, just more civilized. They both made purchases, which somehow validated the time we spent there.

Saturday night we went to a restaurant called Cleopatra’s Needle for live jazz and Italian food. The place had great ambiance, and the saxophone player flirted with us and even dedicated a song to our table. It was a nice try. We made our way over to Rockefeller Center to see the tree and watch the ice skaters. And by “watch the ice skaters” I mean we watched them fall. Sunday the weather in the city was beautiful, and we spent as much time as we could outdoors. AG spotted some celebrities, and KR found her REAL pair of perfect boots, at the Steven by Steve Madden store. Steve himself even made an appearance at his store for the occasion.

I sent AG and LB to Century 21 without me on Monday morning. I did laundry instead, because I prefer sitting in a hot underground room with a book to Century 21. They did well and did not get lost at ALL.

I’m so proud.

"Sometimes I wonder about my life. I lead a small life. Well, not small, but valuable. And sometimes I wonder, do I do it because I like it, or because I haven't been brave? So much of what I see reminds me of something I read in a book, when shouldn't it be the other way around? I don't really want an answer. I just want to send this cosmic question out into the void. So good night, dear void."

-Kathleen Kelly, "You've Got Mail"