It is amazing that earlier this week I was walking around without a coat and right now it’s about 40 degrees out. No wonder I’ve come down with the plague. I tried to hold out as long as I could, but had to leave work at about 3pm yesterday and crawl home and into my pajamas. I ordered some spicy shrimp soup from Saigon Grill and settled in on the couch, dozing on and off. I’m home again today, but have to get some work done — I am so grateful for remote access to my work network on days like this! I’m also thrilled to be able to participate in a conference call in my pajamas, which I’ll be doing shortly.
Category: Life
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Gold Diggers
I was talking to a friend tonight about a book he heard about of that basically teaches women how to "win" a "quality" guy. And by "quality," the author means "rich." He went on to describe some of the author’s key tips like not ordering apple martinis, but ordering scotch instead, or learning about wine not for the sake of gaining a new area of expertise, but more for the purpose of impressing his friends at a dinner party or the prep school reunion.
This whole idea is puzzling to me. Yes, it’s true that I’ve heard guys complain that so many women in the city only care about how much money a guy makes, but I really don’t think any of my female friends (or, to be fair, most of my female friends) are that type of woman. And I think the "quality" guys described in the book are really high-paid guys who find their confidence solely in the fact that they are high-paid. Who the hell wants to date that guy? Ick! May all the gold-digging women snatch them up and leave the rest of us with the good ones.
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My Dirty Little Secret
I have a problem. Well, I’m sure I have plenty, as we all do, but the particular problem I’m addressing today is the fact that I suck at buying wedding presents. Not that I don’t know what to get people. Hell, with registries and whatnot, it’s really a no-brainer. My problem is actually purchasing the present. Yes, yes, I realize that etiquette dictates that you have a year, but let’s just say that I have missed that deadline more than once. Many more times than once. So many times, in fact, that I am firmly convinced that if I ever do actually get married, I will probably get no presents at all (I hope that doesn’t discourage any potential suitors). The good news is that, with the exception of a KitchenAid mixer (which I don’t really have room for at the moment anyway), I pretty much have all the major kitchen stuff I need. And for those of you I still owe presents — you may still get them one of these days, and it’ll be sort of a fun surprise/anniversary present. I will note for the record that I did actually buy a present for the last wedding I went to, but I’ll admit that it’s because I joined forces with my family, who is much more on top of these things than I am.
What’s your dirty little secret?
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I’m Drivin’ in My Car
Well, not my car. A rental car. I (and my passagers) survived my first time driving around and out of Manhattan — somehow I managed to make it this far without doing it. It went just fine, for the record. OJ was full of friends, fun, food, music, a great run in the pine-scented air, and a fantastic video that Jay made to commemorate our 10th annual OJ.
Upon returning home on Sunday, I was able to sneak in a power nap before heading off to my judging duties at the Vendy’s — you can find out who won on Gothamist. It was an incredibly fun event, and I got to see a cross-section of my world: mom, beach house folks, public interest law folks, food people — they were all there. I somehow managed to take very few pictures the whole weekend, but I’ll get them up soon.
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Not Bitter
Things that made me smile yesterday:
– leaving for work without a jacket;
– listening to and singing along to Fidelity by Regina Spektor for the umpteenth time in a row (thanks, Ben!);
– listening to Catch Me Now I’m Falling by the Kinks yet again;
– dinner with Jimmy at Tides (go try the boulliabaise immediately if not sooner);
– a message from my mom telling me that I’m mentioned by name on page 52 of Time Out New York (the only other Vendy Judge mentioned was Mimi Sheraton!);
– watching the premiere of Top Chef 2 right before bed. -
Weekend Wrapup
Brunch was a huge success (although I’m still perfecting my bloody mary recipe) and, as usual, evolved into an afternoon and evening of festivities, including watching baseball at the Stoned Crow and a trip to Otto (shocking, I know). Sunday was a lazy, lazy day, with plenty of couch time, a mani/pedi, and shopping for a dinner party at Ben’s. The Lovely Miss Katie and I made our inaugural fall risotto and a salad with figs, toasted walnuts, and parmesan cheese. We were too stuffed to make much of a dent in the pastries that Art has bought, but all in all, it was a terrific way to spend a Sunday night. I also can’t forget our yummy dinner on Friday night at Saigon Grill — me, my bro & sis, and their respective significant others. I think Saigon Grill is going to be a fixture on my ordering-in rotation.
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Just Add Water
I’ve been meaning to write something about this "Insta-Family" article in New York Mag all week, but have just now managed to find the time. The article profiles people who, like me, were single and in their mid to late thirties (I’m still mid until at least December, I reckon), but then found themselves married, with a baby, and often owning an apartment or house, all in the space of about two years.My first thought upon reading the article was something along the lines of, "Ha! I’ll probably get struck by lightning before ending up married with a kid within two years!" But as the week continued on, I pondered it more and more. I’m starting to think that a lot of my first reaction was due to my own fear. As much as I want to get married and have kids, it still feels like such a far-off thing in my head that the notion of it really happening, particularly that quickly, is quite scary to me, to be honest. The fact that it seems so far-fetched gives me a bit of protection. But what if it really did happen? So I chewed on that for a while.
As I thought about it, I realized, much to my surprise, that it really wasn’t as far-fetched as I had originally thought. The older I get, the more I know what I’m looking for in a relationship. As a result, I don’t tend to linger on in things that really aren’t working for some way or other the way I might have in my twenties. In talking to my peers, I think that’s pretty common. That said, I’d imagine that once I knew I was in a solid, healthy and fulfilling relationship, I probably wouldn’t want to dick around with a long engagement, etc. If you know, you know — at least that’s what all my married friends tell me. And, as they say, I’m not getting any younger. Once I’m married, I would like to give me and my husband some time to just hang out and be married, just the two of us, but there is that pesky biology thing lurking in the background. So maybe that couple-time gets trimmed down from a cushy three to five years to a less indulgent year or two.
Who knows, really, how this will all play out in my life, but after a week of thinking about it, the "insta-family" doesn’t scare me quite as much, and I wouldn’t be all too surprised if that’s what happened to me. But in the meantime, back to singledom — got the ladies from the beach house coming over for brunch (heavy on the bloody marys and mimosas) in a few hours!
