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Reading Woes

Ever since I finished the last novel that I was reading, I have been at an impasse.  No matter what I do, I have not been able to get into my next novel…and, it has nothing to do with the second one.  This is not the first time that this has happened to me, generally, it occurs after I have completed an exceptionally great novel.  So, what do I do?

I’ve tried it all: reading another piece by the same author, picking a different genre, alternating with a classic, leafing through fashion magazines (I’ve recently discovered that, with the exception of my beloved Vogue, I find most magazines boring), I’ve even taken breaks from reading altogether.  Bottom line, none of these always work because they’re not what I crave.  It’s frustrating, when all you want to do is relax with a novel, but…you just can’t bring yourself to do it. 

Enter two things.  The first, is that I have now given that novel to two people and, have forced them to read it, so that I can continue to vicariously read it along with them, whist they bring up different parts for discussion; discussing literature is almost as much fun as reading it.  I have to admit though…I am a bit jealous of them, because I want to actually be reading it and experiencing it, but this is the next best thing.  The second thing is that now, since Vogue has just come out, I think I will be able to distract myself enough to then be able to pick up my new novel again.   But unfortunately, sometimes, the only thing that works is time.

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“In a library we are surrounded by many hundreds of dear friends imprisoned by an enchanter in paper and leathern boxes.”

 -Ralph Waldo Emerson

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My Vogue Addiction

I have talked about my love for Vogue many times before…but, it has reached way beyond love at this point. For the past two weeks, I have been venturing to drugstores and newsstands on a daily basis (okay, daily meaning work-week) in search of the February issue. I frustratedly watched as how, every other magazine came out with theirs and still, mine did not. I asked store employees if they knew when the next Vogue would grace their stands, but sadly, they didn’t have an answer for me. Desperately, I searched the internet to try and find out; I consider myself a decent googler, but I couldn’t find a publication date.

I was starting to give up hope, when I decided to call my friend Burke. He always can find things online when I can’t. After less than two minutes of conversing, where I expressed more than a little concern about my dilemma, Burke came to my rescue. Not only did he find out the answer that I was so desperate to know, he stumbled upon something I couldn’t have imagined; a list of all the Vogue publication dates for the entire year. My jaw dropped; I was in complete shock. Immediately, I scanned the page to look for the February date and my heart sank when I learned that I would have to wait another twelve days.

This morning, many days before the list told me that it would be out, I stepped into CVS on my way to work. I decided to just walk by the magazines, all the while thinking that I would once again be disappointed…I found my salvation. There, on the stand, in all its glossy glory, stood February Vogue. Instantly, my not-so-great week turned around and I was beaming. I plucked a copy and hurried to the cashier to pay for it, then headed to work with it carefully tucked under my arm. My coworkers, after laughing at me, convinced me that I should just subscribe to it already. I had thought of this before, but hadn’t actually done so.

I am now subscribed to Vogue; I enter into rehab for my addiction tomorrow.

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Nail Color Obsession

For as long as I can remember, I detested polishing my nails in any hue other than light pink or, a french manicure. I’m not exactly sure why this is, because it’s not that I didn’t like it on other people, and it’s not like nail color is permanent. Within a week it starts to chip away and, if you’re not happy with the color, you can take it off, no problem.

A few years ago, I decided it was time for a change. I started buying bold shades of pink, or, what I thought were bold, but in reality, they really weren’t. One day, I even decided that I wanted a shade of red. Of course, all of these colors were strictly for my toes…my fingers were reserved for the same colors as before, or more often than not, nothing at all. I told myself that I would never get anything extremely dark; I didn’t want the color to be mistaken for black, or me to be mistaken for something other than who I was…people tend to sometimes look at you differently if you are wearing black nail polish. And also, I felt that it was rather goth.

About a year ago, my friend Melissa and I stumbled upon a shade that would forever change my thoughts on nail color. It wasn’t a shade of pink or red, but brown; a dark brown to be exact. I love the color brown, but I never had thought of wearing it on my nails. I told myself that if I didn’t like it, I could take it off right away. So, I polished my toes with it and instantly, I fell in love. It became my go-to polish for my toes. I even wore it through the summer, despite the fact that that is the season for bright colors.

Then, a little over a month ago, I was at the salon with R and Z, and we were searching through polishes to choose colors for manicures. I automatically migrated towards the light pinks, but something told me to look at the rest of the colors. As I was searching, I found my brown (little brown dress, Essie) and considered if I should try it on my fingers. I went back-and-forth for a few minutes and ultimately decided that I was going to do it. It was time for a change…and I have been polishing my fingers with it ever since.

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Summer or Winter

What is it about the cold weather that drives us indoors? Why is it that the summer is more desirable? In the summer, I don’t walk out of my house and say that I’m going to brave the heat wave. During the hottest days, I put my sunglasses on, wear my hair up, and stroll leisurely around in the sun, ignoring the fact that sweat is coming out of my pores. I let my body drink up the sun’s natural vitamin d and, my skin obtains a healthy glow.

In the winter, I walk with my head tilted slightly down, my shoulders hunched inward, trying to keep my scarf in place and protect myself from the crisp wind. Although a sunny day still brings a smile to my face, the shock of the frigid temperature instantly takes it away. The only time that I am genuinely satisfied with the winter is on a “warm” day.

Its funny how, the temperatures that we run away from in one season, we run to in the other. They both boast extreme temperatures albeit, in opposite directions, but how different are they really? As a child, I didn’t mind the change. I played in pools in the summer and tried to build igloos with my brothers in the winter. We never actually succeeded at that; more often than not, our igloos looked like poor attempts at small, circular, incomplete forts. My brothers would get into snowball fights and, I would occasionally throw one or two, when no one was looking.

Then I grew up and my whole viewpoint changed. Instead of playing outside during the cold months, I’d rather be indoors drinking a glass of wine by the fireplace. In the summer, I could live at the beach, or really, anywhere outdoors; I never want to leave the sun. Can we only ever enjoy both seasons when we are young? Does your mind just automatically press a switch when you enter into adulthood?

We dress in layers for one and shed our clothes for the other, but are they really so different? Is one really better than the other? I don’t think one is. It’s not the seasons that change between childhood and adulthood, it’s us, individually, that do. We seem to feel that, in order to grow up, we have to stop having fun, and in the process, we lose some of our appreciation for nature and all it’s beauty because, the winter, although cold, can be just as beautiful as the summer.

Posted on by saraelizabeth419

“Language is not an abstract construction of the learned, or of dictionary makers, but is something arising out of the work, needs, ties, joys, affections, tastes, of long generations of humanity, and has its bases broad and low, close to the ground.”

-Noah Webster

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Shop Less…with Exceptions

So, this year, I plan to shop less and…pay the credit card companies more, hahaha. Subletting in the East Village over this past summer, I made way too many expensive purchases but, I do not regret any one of them. Since I have vowed to curb my addiction this year, why am I still trolling the internet in search of new items pray-tell? Multiple reasons, but really, it’s because old habits die hard.

Right now, among the items that I am coveting at the moment, there is this skirt at the Limited that I absolutely must have (item pictured below). As you can see, the print is bold and, not for everyone. I love the yellow, especially since I don’t really have many yellows in my wardrobe. A full skirt is always nice because, although it doesn’t “show off” certain assets, it does create a nice silhouette. The selling point for me…the matching belt. I don’t know why, but I feel like without it, the skirt would be too much, but with it, it’s perfect!

Now, I know what you’re saying, the Limited?  Is that still around?  It is!  Unfortunately though, synonymous with the name, the store locations are in fact, limited.  There is a location that I visit when I go home to Long Island, but that is not often; I mostly shop their online site, which, has a lot of items.  The Limited is such a great store, especially if you’re looking for some conservative pieces.  I have a bunch of dresses from them.  Even though I have decided to “take a break” from shopping, there still are certain pieces that are a must. Luckily, my mom is buying me this one (along with some other items from the Limited) as a belated Chanukah present☺.

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The Perfect New York Night

There is nothing like the perfect New York night: great food, drinks, amazing company, the ability to hail a cab at a moment’s notice and, the fact that although it’s winter, the temperature is extremely mild. You forget about the rest of the world and the night feels like it could last forever. Aside from my New Year’s Eve festivities, which don’t count because, everyone was out celebrating that night, I hadn’t had the perfect New York night in a while. That is, until this past friday.

Friday night, I ran home from work, showered, changed, and drove back into the city to meet a friend for dinner. It was my first time driving through the tunnel and, I’m sure that whoever was behind me was cursing me out but, it was a little scary so, I did the speed limit. I wanted to close my eyes but, figured that was a bad idea, so I just looked straight ahead.

We ended up catching a cab and heading downtown to this trendy restaurant in the East Village called, Momofuku. It has an Asian inspired American cuisine and, if that doesn’t confuse you enough, it boasts a menu that certainly will. Luckily, the waiters and waitresses are skilled in aiding your needs. Momofuku is not one of those place that you can just walk into and get seated right away; there’s always a wait. So, we walked over to the bar and waited for them to call our name.

They had some interesting wine choices. I, of course, went with a Pinot Blanc from Alscase, which I stuck with through the rest of our stay there and, my friend started off with a scotch drink (the name of which escapes me) but switched to a red of my choice during dinner. I cannot tell you exactly what we had because, honestly, I don’t know, but everything there was delicious.

After dinner, we hailed a cab and went a little ways uptown to a cute bar for some drinks. That’s sort of what you do in the city; bounce around from one place to the next, always going to multiple places in one night. New York is, after all, the city that never sleeps. We had a couple of drinks there, then called it a night and, I stayed at my friend’s place because I wasn’t about to get back in the car. Of course, with the wine and the not sleeping at my place, I had to wait until the following night for a decent sleep, but that didn’t matter; the perfect New York evening does not consist of a good night’s rest, it’s about every moment leading up to it.

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Back to the Airport…Again

Since June, I have been frequenting JFK airport, although, I have not traveled anywhere myself.  It seems to be that, I am the preferred chauffeur of my family when it comes to their comings and goings.  I have been to JFK so much so that, I think it’s safe to say, I know my way around the maze of terminals and highways…because let’s face it, that is exactly what it is: a maze.  (Okay, I still get lost on occasion☺) 

Tonight I will be once again visiting the airport, to drop off my father while he goes on yet another vacation (he retired last year)…this time, to Puerto Rico with his girlfriend to visit her family. They have been going to Puerto Rico once a year for the past ten years I would say, and I have never once gone with them. I almost was going to join them this time, however, the costs were ridiculous (they’re flying on buddy-passes and could not get a third one), so I will not be partaking in their journey.

I am especially jealous because they will be leaving behind the frigid temperatures of New York and running to temps in the eighties.  I know that things here are supposed to warm up for the weekends, but, oh, how I long for those warm summer days where, I would run away from all of my problems and stresses to the beach; nothing seemed to matter when I was laying out on the beach.  The world seemed to be so far away.  (I had a ridiculous tan☺) 

I would leave my sublet in the East Village those days and, on my four block walk to the subway, I would stop inside a deli and purchase a sandwich and bottle of water for the beach.  These would be kept in my trusty basket, which, although is lined in stripes of different shades of blue (blue is my least favorite color, although I know that it looks really good on me) I love it.  I purchased it at one of my favorite haunts in Huntington.  So, I would sit at the beach with my sandwich and water, and literally spend the whole day there, just doing nothing.  I would bring my ipod and magazines, or a book, but I would never pick any of them up…it was just so relaxing and peaceful.  My jealousy stems from there, lol, because if I were traversing the globe with them, that is exactly what I would be doing☺. 

So tonight, at a very undesirable hour, I will be on my way to the airport.  Of course, before that, I have to meet my father at his place in Brooklyn…and we know how I feel about that.  He is the only reason that I ever venture to those far away parts.  I don’t even remember the last time I was on an airplane, and I love flying…hopefully, at some point this year, I will be headed to the airport as a customer, not a visitor☺.

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“Can’t Take My Eyes Off You”

It’s funny how a song has the power to bring you back to a moment, or memory that you had long forgotten. For me, this was about a week ago. My friend H and I decided to treat ourselves to a celebratory holiday dinner at this delicious Japanese restaurant out in Great Neck. The service had been a little slow so, we were there for a while. We each had a glass of Pinot Noir and relaxed.

It just so happens that a good friend of mine works at the restaurant across the street from where H and I were dining, so, when we were finished, we decided to drive (not walk it was freezing out) across the street and stop in for a drink. Although this time one drink did not turn into many, it did turn into a long night.

My friend is one of those guys who can be very charming when he wants to be…and that night, he was. H and I ended up staying until closing, when, he offered to drive me home. Since H lives about five minutes from the restaurant and, my friend lives extremely close to me, I took him up on his offer to drive me home. Of course, I knew that I wasn’t going to end up back at my place at a decent hour…that is the downfall of hanging out with him.

After we dropped off one of his coworkers, who lives surprisingly close to my place, he drove right past my block to a neighborhood pub that wasn’t too far away, to meet up with a friend of his that I hadn’t seen in a long time. The pub is literally in walking distance from my apartment and at the corner of the block where my bus drops me off on my way home. At that point it was already pretty late, so I decided to stay out a little longer.

His friend ordered me some weird (but strong) drink, and the three of us were laughing and joking around…I think that aside from us there was maybe one or two other patrons occupying the bar, so, we were the life of it. His friend put some music on and at some point my friend grabbed my hand, dragged me away from the bar and we started dancing to an old Sinatra song. When the song was over, we walked back to our drinks. Then, Frankie Valli”s “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You” came on, and instantly I was engulfed with memories.

I had gotten the flu once, when I was a teenager. It was a time where my parents had really been into renting movies (or, when everyone had been). I remember they came back home with a few movies, one of them being Conspiracy Theory which starred Mel Gibson and Julia Roberts. Now, I was a huge fan of both (and still am, although I haven’t seen Mel Gibson in a movie for years), but that wasn’t why I liked the movie. There’s one scene where, Mel Gibson’s character is sitting in his car with binoculars pointed up at the window of Julia Roberts’ character’s apartment. She’s running on a treadmill, mouthing words to some song. Mel Gibson plays around with the radio station while watching her mouth move and finally comes across the song. It’s Frankie Valli’s “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You.” From then on I became obsessed with the movie and, every time my parents would go to the video store, I would insist upon them renting Conspiracy Theory. It got to the point where my dad finally gave up and came home with it for me one day. He had bought it. I still have it too, although it is on VHS, and sadly, I no longer own a functioning VHS player…perhaps I should get it on DVD.

Years later, I had told this to my friend’s mother…or rather, I had told her that I had loved that song. For Christmas that year, I unwrapped a gift from her, and carefully hidden inside what was clearly a shirt box, was a Frankie Valli cd featuring the song “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You.” I was truly touched by this.

I had completely forgotten both of those moments, and the song, until I was standing in that bar last week. It really is incredible what kind of memories a song can stir up. Needless to say that after I left the bar and walked home that night, I searched my cd collection, found the cd and added the song to my ipod.