Pure Genius

For a reference, here's the original Queen version.

What Ifs

Last night after I got off work, I went strolling over to Broadway to stock up on my Bath & Body Works shower gel. The air was cool and fresh, so after my errand was accomplished, I took the long way back to the subway stop that would take me home.

My chosen path took me by the NYU campus, and subsequently into the midst of college central. There were students everywhere: noses deep in books while perched on Starbucks barstools, tapping away on laptops in the unversity common rooms, sitting in packed windowed classrooms looking misserably bored, congregating around the benches in Washington Square Park, and walking in packs along the narrow surrounding streets.

Surprisingly, I didn't feel annoyed or indifferent to my surroundings, but melancholy. I currently have no desire to return to school, and have no deep love of my college experience (which concluded over 6 years ago) but that evening left me wondering about the 'what ifs'. I know that it is usually never a good thing to allow yourself to go down that road, but sometimes you can't help yourself.

The thing that intrigues me the most about 'what ifs' is not just the regret over missed opportunities, but the Butterfly Effect of those 'what ifs'. If I had done one small thing differently during my college years, what would my life be like today? I am intrigued by the fact that I could have have a completely different life (or lives) today.

Anyway, if I had the chance to do college all over again (knowing what I know now), would I have had the courage to go for that photography degree? Or would I have not been afraid of rejection and applied a month earlier to UT Austin, the school I really wanted to attend, in order to be considered for admission? (I submitted my application too late.) Or would I have been proactive and gone after those scholarships, instead of taking the 'easy' way and just accumulating student loans?

The logical answer is no I wouldn't have, because who I was at the time did not allow it since I didn't know then what I know now. And the decisions I made at the time were for an ultimate purpose (although, I'm still not entirely sure what that is exactly). Unfortunately, that is little comfort, as someone who truly wishes that she would have been braver. I wonder how many of those students I passed would have similar 'what ifs' in 6 years time? I hope, for their sake, not many.

Ladies and Gentlemen...

The World's Most Inefficient Water Drinker



Courtesy of Cute Overload.

I Don't Want To Live On The Moon

Well, I'd like to visit the moon,
On a rocket ship high in the air.
Yes, I'd like to visit the moon,
But I don't think I'd like to live there.
Though I'd like to look down at the earth from above,
I would miss all the places and people I love.
So although I might like it for one afternoon,
I don't want to live on the moon.

I'd like to travel under the sea,
I could meet all the fish everywhere.
Yes, I'd travel under the sea,
But I don't think I'd like to live there.
I might stay for a day there if I had my wish,
But there's not much to do when your friends are all fish,
And an oyster and clam aren't real family.
So I don't want to live in the sea.

I'd like to visit the jungle, hear the lions roar.
Go back in time and meet a dinosaur.
There's so many strange places I'd like to be,
But none of them permanently.

So if I should visit the moon,
Well, I'll dance on a moonbeam and then
I will make a wish on a star,
And I'll wish I was home once again.
Though I'd like to look down at the earth from above,
I would miss all the places and people I love.
So although I may go I'll be coming home soon,
'Cause I don't want to live on the moon.
No, I don't want to live on the moon.

Written by Jeff Moss
Sung by Ernie (Jim Henson)

My New Favorite Place

I probably have the biggest sweet tooth of anyone I’ve ever met. Seriously. I don’t know how or when it started, but all I know is that I like sweets. A lot. You offer me something with sugar in it, and there is 90% chance that I won’t turn it down. I think my senses have become so acute that I can actually sense when a sugar is near.

So in my quest for delicious desserts in New York, and, well, anywhere really, there has been one place in particular that I’ve been dying to try. The problem was that the timing/location/company/ect was never quite right for a visit. But everything finally came together last night, for my first (and most certainly not last) visit to Café Lalo.

The cafe is located on West 83rd and Amsterdam, and just might be vaguely familiar to some of you out there. This patisserie happens to be the exact place used for the scene in the film You’ve Got Mail, where Kathleen (played by Meg Ryan) is anxiously waiting with book and flower to meet her pen pal for the first time. It’s a great movie, and a wonderful scene.

(Sorry for the poor picture qualities. My cell phone camera is good, but not as good as my actual camera.)

I always wondered if that place was real, and if so, where it was located. Sure enough I found it on-line, and immediately knew that I had to go. Not just because it was “famous”, but because they have the longest list of desserts I have ever seen at one place. No joke. It puts places like The Cheesecake Factory to shame. They have 47 types of Cake, 18 types of Tarts, 26 types of Cheesecake, and 26 types of Pie, not to mention their Café Cakes, Cupcakes, Canolis, Brownies, Cookies, Rugalach (they have 11 different kinds), Biscotti, Frozen Yogurt, Ice Cream, Sorbet, and Gelato. AND you can get any of these with Fresh Berries, Whipped Cream, Nuts, Hot Fudge, Tropical Fruits, Berry Sauce or a Liqueur Splash. If you don’t believe me check out their menu at http://www.cafelalo.com/. Last night I had the Chocolate Silk Cake, a la mode of course, and it was divine.

Not only was I in love with their endless list of desserts (they serve brunch every day as well!), but also with the atmosphere. A wall's worth of vintage Italian posters (similar to the ones I own), huge bay windows propped open to let in the cool summer's night, intimate marble-top tables, and tall trees outside lit with tiny yellow bulbs. It was romantic. I can only imagine how many first dates have concluded at that spot. While my first time there was not with a date, I was in the company of dear, old friends as we chatted over our decadent treats and fresh coffee.

If you ever come to New York, and have half as much of a sweet-tooth as me, then you have to visit this little jem.

Goodbye, Brooklyn

Hello Friends! Here I am again after a long hiatus, and several things have changed for me over the past few months. Most notably, I moved (almost two months ago) to a new apartment in Manhattan! While I am itching to share about my new place, I feel like I should pay some respect, to the place that was my first home here in New York City. So, without further ado, here is my list, an 'ode', if you will, to Crown Heights.

Goodbye…B44 Bus, which has saved me multiple times from being extremely late to work.
Goodbye…Mega 99¢, Kings 99¢, and Crown 99¢ Stores.
Goodbye…African Hair Braiding Salons.
Goodbye…Jerk Chicken and Roti Restaurants.
Goodbye…10 minute walk to a subway station.
Goodbye…Key Foods, my slightly overpriced grocery shop.
Goodbye…Dread locks. Rastafari!
Goodbye…Dudes who smoked weed in the courtyard directly outside of our windows. Pew!Goodbye…Beautiful tree-lined Eastern Parkway.
Goodbye…Nostrand Laundromat, Inc., where I’ve spent many hours and quarters.
Goodbye…White shirted, drug dealers who hang around the street corners.
Goodbye…small bedroom and large closet.
Goodbye...Wheelie-popping motorcyclists on St. Marks Avenue.
Goodbye…Half bathroom. I loved you so much.
Goodbye…Nostrand A stop, always teeming with activity.
Goodbye…Red bearded essential oil and incense man.
Goodbye…To being the only white person on an entire street. And to being called "Snowflake" and "Snowbunny".
Goodbye…Jamaican accents.
Goodbye…Kelsey and Grace, my two crazy (and forgiving) roommates
Goodbye…Apartment #5.
Goodbye…Brooklyn, until we meet again.

Here are some photos I snapped on my last day living in Brooklyn. They were all taken within two square blocks of my old apartment.

I am Listening to "A Sorta Fairytale" by Tori Amos on My iPod...

Sitting to my left, a woman with a cello in a white case doing a crossword puzzle. Sitting to my right, a man in a business suit playing Super Mario Brothers on an original Game Boy. In front of me, a drunk man with a bottle of whiskey in is back pocket putting on a show.

Just another commute home on the New York Subway.