Be Fruitful And Multiply

Today I have a goal: eat at least five full servings of fruit before bedtime.  I have half a pint of blueberries, a kiwi, a container of mango yogurt, and an absolutely perfect and fragrant white peach in the fridge at work.  I devoured three banana-and-applesauce muffins for breakfast, and I have a bag of citrus vitamin C drops in my desk drawer.  When I go home, there’s a fat pink grapefruit on my counter waiting to be sliced open and juiced.  Mmm, fruit.

Plus there’s another rep lunch today (second one this week, hooray!), at Molyvos, the Greek place just up the street.  I’ve never been there, but I’m keeping my fingers crossed for a baby goat meat special, and an authentic Greek waitstaff.  Also, I’m hoping that at the very end of the meal, they bring us a lavish and overflowing fruit plate.

Summer Reading… Like Book It! Except Without The Free Pizza

In this past month-and-a-half, I have read the following:

1. How To Be Good (Nick Hornby)
2. The Fortunate Fall (Raphael Carter)
3. Here Beneath Low-Flying Planes (Merrill Feitell)
4. Tender Is The Night (F. Scott Fitzgerald)
5. The Namesake (Jhumpa Lahiri)
6. A Farewell To Arms (Ernest Hemingway)
7. Bridge of Birds (Barry Hughart)
8. Carolyn’s thesis

I am currently reading Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close (Jonathan Safran Foer) and Smart Choices (Hammond, Keeney, Raiffa).  I’m semi-literate!

*By the way, I highly recommend ALL of the above books.  And Carolyn’s thesis, too, if you’re lucky enough to get your hands on a copy.

Come Fly The Friendly Liquid and Gel-Free Skies

These new restrictions on airline travel are RIDICULOUS. I have always carried lotion and antibacterial gel in my purse. When I travel, I like to have my toothbrush and face wash with me as well, in case my bag gets held up.  Or in case I get one of those frequent urges to brush my teeth.  Now, I am bereft.  HOW WILL I FEED MY OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE NEEDS WHILE AIRBORNE?

Next week I fly to Madison, WI.  I’m terrifically excited about having to get to the airport even earlier than planned, so I can wade through more security than usual and have my dignity confiscated at the metal detectors.  My flight leaves at SIX a.m., but it is recommended that I show up at the airport by FOUR.  In the morning.

And the snacks/drink I was planning to bring because my bankrupt airline doesn’t give free food or beverages on the plane anymore? Also not allowed.  I never understood people who got irrationally angry and violent when the subject of terrorists and plane hijackers came up, but now, finally, I do.  I’m going to hunt down the people responsible for me not being allowed to bring a Coke on the plane, and then kill them in a slow and painful way.

Close Encounters of the College Student Kind

UNEXCITING (READ: LAZY) RETELLING OF RECENT EVENTS:

I spent yesterday running into many people from Allegheny.  I had hoped to meet up with Mike and his friend Shelby, who was visiting NYC, but he wasn’t getting my calls.  Very coincidentally (since it turned out that Mike’s phone was dead), they walked out of the seminary just as I was approaching it, in the hopes of running into them.

They were on their way to Barnes & Noble, so I joined them, and we spent the next few hours sipping Starbucks and reading through astrological tables, in an effort to figure out the star charts for virtually everyone whose birthdates and birth times we knew.  The interpretations found in The Only Astrology Book You’ll Ever Need were marvelously accurate, EXCEPT, in my opinion, for Sagittarius.  Ever the inscrutable sign, I suppose.

Then we walked to Chinatown for dinner, and while waiting for Rose (Alleghenian #3) to arrive from Harlem, Ashleigh (Alleghenian #4) who was visiting a friend for the weekend and happened to be in the same area, noticed us and said hello.  I kept expecting more people from college to randomly appear, but that turned out to be it.

We had a very substantial meal at a random restaurant that served mediocre dumplings, followed by cones from the ice cream truck (which were delicious but very Softee indeed–mine was falling over and melting even before I could pay for it).  We passed the next hour loitering around Union Square, almost buying CDs from an excellent all-in-the-family horn ensemble, and watching the apathetic break dancers milling around across the street.  The Union Square break dancer posse grows increasingly lifeless; their routine now consists purely of standing around and changing the songs blaring from their boombox every fifteen seconds.  At least last summer I could occasionally catch them busting a move.

We capped our night with the ten o’clock showing of Little Miss Sunshine, which I thought was hysterical, and recommend highly.  The last time I saw a movie in the theatres was January (Brokeback Mountain), so this was a rare treat.

I Learned Spanish From The Harlots Around The Corner

I love the lag time on AIM. Accidental comedy EVERY time.

Emma: Anything we can bring you from home when we come visit?
Me: Yeah, my Spanish book. I think it’s called A Bordo.
Emma: You mean De Viaje?
Me: Umm, I think I own A Bordo. And the less-popular (but equally good) sequel, A Bordello.
Emma: No, that’s mine. I need it for college.
Me: Really? That’s a pretty progressive way to learn Spanish vocabulary.

Park School, We Sing To Thee

This is from my Parkie friend Kerry, via Myspace (which I do not use heavily, since I find it overly cluttered with cheap Flash advertisements).

High School Fun

1. Who was your best friend(s)?
I liked lots and lots of people. Except Natalya, ’cause she’s a loser. (But don’t let Cianca hear, or else we’ll be subjected to another twenty-minute “do you know what the word ‘hate’ means?” lecture.)

2. What sports did you play?
Soccer (one embarrassing season), and track (for three days).

3. What kind of car did you drive?
Ha ha ha… I got my license when I was eighteen-and-a-half. And in college.

4. It’s Friday night, where were you?
Home, unless I was running a Coffeehouse or at/in a play.

5. Were you a party animal?
POLITICAL party animal! No.

6. Were you in the “In Crowd”?
Was there an “Out Crowd”?

Insights About Me, Facilitated By A Popular Apple Program

Yes, it’s another one of these Deeply Revealing Psychological Profiles Disguised As An Innocent Quiz-Thing.  I’m sure you will learn much about me from this.

1. Open iTunes. 
2. Figure out the next steps on your own.

Love And Marriage (And Machine-Made Rice)

While reading the Times this morning, I ended up following an ad link to theknot.com.  I wanted to see just how much they were charging for the item pictured in their ad: a case of miniature bottles of sparkling cider, personalized with Your Special Message.  I nearly retreated from the website when I learned that a dozen small bottles of this fine-quality carbonated juice will run you $45.

Before I closed the window, though, I noticed the “Flower Girl Baskets” section.  I couldn’t resist.  How many ways can one add panache to a white basket?  How much could one charge for a gussied-up prop for a four-year-old?