It was my birthday yesterday.  This is the first time I genuinely was not particularly looking forward to it, but that said, it turned out to be a chance to reflect and to be reminded of how amazing my life is and to treasure the people that are in it.  Now, granted, Facebook makes it very easy to wish people a happy birthday, but that doesn't make receiving the birthday greetings any less special.  Several of those who took the time to post a note on my wall or on Twitter were people I didn't even know a year ago — this year I've met more people than any year in recent memory.  Others who reached out both there and by phone and email were people who have been in my life for a very long time.  I hope they will all be in my life for the rest of it.

A special thanks to Jenn D., Sara & Arlan, Lauren, Caroline, Kim & John for closing out the day with great company and Momofuku fried chicken.

All dressed up for the holidays! Yes, I know it's blurry — still getting used to the camera on my new phone, but if you look hard you can see the Empire State Building through the arch, and, of course, my apartment on the left.

Here's to a Merry Xmas for those who celebrate!

I have a strange breed of insomnia — or maybe it's not, I haven't really discussed it that much with others so I don't know how common or uncommon it really is.  I can usually fall asleep just fine, but I wake up at 4 a.m. and then am unable to fall back asleep.  To make it worse, it generally only happens when I have to work the next morning.  I'm thinking I need more exercise, including the possible addition of a weekly yoga class, to combat this.  When I wake up, I actually use a guided meditation CD to help me try to fall back asleep.  Any other suggestions?

Have I ever mentioned that I hate crowds?  I think it stems from being short — I'm 5'1", which means that when I'm trapped in a crowd, I'm usually in the midst of armpits and elbows and my face is shoved in peoples' backs and chests.  The worst crowd I was ever in was in the Yankees victory parade in (I think) 1998.  Nathan, my boyfriend at the time, was a huge Yankees fan, so of course we were heading down to participate in the celebration.  At some point, however, we got completely trapped in the crowd — we were at a corner, and the crowd was pushing so hard in both directions towards us that my feet were literally swept up off the ground.  My arm had somehow gotten stuck up in the air (maybe I was trying to reach for Nathan, whose 6'2" stature couldn't even protect me at that point), as the crowd was so thick I couldn't put it back down by my side, and I was crying from the sheer panic of the situation. Ultimately a cop helped us get me out of the crowd and we headed off to watch the parade from the comfort of  much less crowded restaurant.

Last night I was at a party that brought back a bit of that feeling as I could barely move for most of the time I was there, particularly at one point when I had sought refuge near a wall.  Unfortunately it was right before a burlesque performance in front of me on the bar, so every photographer in the place was suddenly squeezing in front of me, and I had no room behind me to get out of the way.  Once again, armpits, elbows, and no escape.  Thankfully the performance (or what I could see of it between the people) distracted me for a bit.  Needless to say, I didn't make it that long.

At least according to some studies featured in the NYT recently.  And this is why I force myself to go to the gym, even when I am exhausted!  Today will be no exception.  There may, however, be some napping involved as well.  I knew this week would be rough!

For those of who who have read my blog for a long time (or probably even new readers), you're used to reading about my adventures in food and drink, with a generally amusing jackass story peppered in for good measure.  But today, I want to talk about the other big part of my life — pro bono. 

As you may know, I run the pro bono program at a large law firm.  People often ask me if I would give up my "day job" to become a full time food writer.  At this point in my life, absolutely not.  Some people give back to the community outside their jobs, but I learned early on that I am happiest when my work itself gives back to the community.  After a brief stint as a litigator, which wasn't particularly fulfilling to me, I worked hard to build a career in the pro bono world.  It has always been incredibly important to me that my work has an impact in the world, and with minor exceptions, every job I have had is somehow in the public interest.  I love food and drink, but in the end, it's not going to cure the world's evils, help keep a family from being kicked out on the streets, keep a domestic violence victim away from her abuser, or give someone the safety of political asylum.  The work I do every day ultimately achieves those goals, which is incredibly fulfilling.

Image courtesy of Hugh at Gaping Void.

I hadn't gotten my hair cut since April, so I visited Carlo last night. Don't you love it?  I really like what he did to my lips, too. . .