Where the Streets Aren't Straight.

Today i made a google map that has the places i know i'll be going most marked by little pushpins. Maybe when i get to london i'll get a real map and do the same. Streets in london are all curvy. Where's the grid?

Ouch, My Brain.

Sometimes i just don't have anything to say on here. A million things running through my brain, they're all stuck there bouncing around and none are ready to put on paper or into type. They all either dissolve or come to fruition. I am leaving the country in four days without knowing at all what i'm getting into. I don't know how many classes i'm taking, let alone what my schedule's like. I don't know anything about where i'm living. I don't know much about the city. I don't know what to pack or whether or not i need a warm coat. I don't know what phone company to go with, or how i'll be able to keep in touch with everyone here. I don't know how to open a bank account. I don't know anything.

There's both peace and chaos when you know nothing.

A New Life.

Today i woke up being excited about going to London. Maybe it's the chilly grey day i've found myself living in, or maybe it's because it's less than ten days until i go, whatever it is it makes me feel pretty great. I found what looks to be an amazing café that's near my house, a place i can imagine myself hanging out in often. And i discovered that my favorite record shop is nearby as well. I get excited when i look at maps of where things i like are and see my tube stop is listed. Things are looking up.

Changin It Up.

Usually there aren't many options in my mind when it comes to sneakers. Blue or Off-White Authentic Vans or Black or Off-White Chucks. No big deal, just what's classic. They go with everything and never let me down. But, and this is a big but, this weekend i stumbled upon these vans in a shop in Doylestown and i had to have them. Vans 106 Vulcanized, i'd seen them in NYC at DQM, which was down the street from my apartment, and every time i passed there i thought about buying them, except they were a plum color and i was unsure about if i'd really ever wear them. With these however, i couldn't resist two of my favorite colors together, grey and purple. Subtle and nice. The first day i wore them my dad told me about how he'd debated buying them at Autumn NYC and i don't know whether i was more astonished by the fact that my dad and i might have matched, or that he goes to Autumn all the time. But, either way, it made me feel like these were a good choice.

Truths.

Hubble.

It's 09/09/09 and something was bound to happen out there in the universe that was bigger than anything i could ever imagine. The Hubble Telescope has a new camera and it's producing some pretty mind blowing things. I don't think my brain is capable of grasping the fact that the images are real, they look constructed by what i don't even know.

Two By Two.

Every so often you see two people who look so completely in love with one another that you don't get envious, or jealous, or grossed out by their affection, but rather you see their symbiosis and think that it makes sense more than anything else in the world. Further than finishing each other's sentences, it's more that together they can sit in a room without talking and be completely content. They fight passionately instead of passively being angry, they leave hidden notes for each other, they do their best. Mostly the way they look at each other conveys an emotion that no words can describe. They aren't perfect, but they're perfect for each other.

Just Watch.

Thanks corin.

Diners and Me.

There's been a diner that's been monumental in every important stage in my life, and it was only today that i realized this. Growing up in philadelphia my dad would take me to a diner all the time as we played hooky from my daycare. There was a whole routine we had. I would beg to watch under the umbrella tree and fraggle rock and we'd be later and later for leaving to go to school. We'd hop in the grey fox we had and go to the diner where i'd always finish the meal with a piece of bazooka joe bubble gum, the kind with the cartoon strip in it. Finally we'd get to my school and i'd be the last kid there, and my dad and i knew exactly why that was, and no one else did. Our secret. 

Then there was the diner that was in a rundown strip mall by the place that i figured skated every day all day for years and years. We didn't go there too often, but when we did i always knew it'd be a good day. It meant we'd gotten to where we were going a little bit early, and had enough time to do something that wasn't in the normal routine. 

The argonaut is the next diner that popped up into my life. Long nights ending with neon lighting and flowery pleather booths, the corner table if you were lucky that had the rolling chair at the head. Spontaneous brunches. Late night talks. Dinners with a friend. So many fries and shakes, sometimes the salad. Squeezing 10 people into one car or sometimes sneaking away with one person and having no one notice.

I wonder what diner will be next. 

Another First.

After i made soufflé i wasn't ready to be done in the kitchen, and there was a huge piece of beef that needed cooking, so, a pot roast was made. I've never made pot roast before, and after having to carefully bake a soufflé, the pot roast seemed like the easiest thing in the world. Chop, chop, chop, throw it in a pot and let it sit. Every time i use the huge red le creuset pot i know that something wonderful will come of it, especially when bunches of herbs from the garden are involved. The contents always look homier in there than in any other pots. Soufflé and pot roast can now be checked off the list.

A First For Everything.

Today i made my first ever soufflé. I'm kind of surprised that i haven't made one yet seeing as i spend absurd amounts of time in my kitchen when i'm home. But, today was the day, and a soufflé is now sitting happily on the kitchen island, and it tastes delicious, and it looks pretty, and i am proud that i didn't fail at this on my first go. I have my friends at Canal House Cooking to thank for the recipe!