Ok,
So New York City. Amazing.
I saw many places and many people. But it was an absolutely ridiculous time for me mentally. Here I was back at the scene of the crime, where I had visited schools for my undergrad years. It was a battle between admitting to myself of a lost chance, and the fear of acknowledging that New York City might be another place for me to live and to attend grad school. Options are more scary than limits to me. In this case, I have to be able to trust myself that I'll be able to make the right decision when deciding on a school (even if it's for 2 years). However, this trip made my schema of decision making thoroughly get tested.
As usually, though, I had an amazing time, and saw two of my absolute best friends. Back in my strongest of nerd years, I associated with our school's "Drama Mafia," and immediately felt at home with a group of people that shared my love of "making scenes" in public and finding obscure musical theme songs on repeat on my CD player. (oh yes, before the magical time of the nano iPods...) These two have been my rocks, and even forgave me as I decided to settle on a place close to home, rather than moving to the East Coast. Any reservations that I've ever had about a friend moving away is met with my cognition regarding these 2 amazing people. Scott and Emily, I will love you forever. (Keep in mind that this yuppie might move in with them one day!)
I digress. As a self-proclaimed yuppie, I had a hard time budgeting. New York City is indeed expensive. During my 4th day, I was wandering around, looking for any place that even had a suggestion of "dollar menu," and couldn't find anything under $20. For Lunch?! That's DEFINITELY not the Chicago way. This kind, presumably Slavic woman (perhaps a Polish woman like myself) led me out of the rain into her cafe. Obviously, I could see that she
had an interest in getting my business, but I was not about to complain about food and warmth. I ordered the cheapest and, what I had hoped to be, the most filling entree on the menu. "Grilled cheese panini," apparently must include bacon and mayonaise in this establishment. Oy! What's a veggie girl to do? I peel off as much as I could.....but was still hungry! Mind you, this is after another trip to Babycakes. There was no way that I was going to pass up their red velvet cakes while I was still in NYC! NYC is the place for cupcakes! I went to Magnolia, and rather than getting the plain of plain, I got a pumpkin cheesecake. Running just under $5, it was worth every penny.
Now, I have a slight obsession with food. Especially baked goods. I find that it is so nice to just work on a project and have a homemade finished product that you can experiment with from time to time. Every major holiday, I have requested some form of kitchenware. Last Christmas, it was an AMAZING mixer. Cheesecake for this girl is a breeze now. Many of the people I know have joked that I am minutes away from quitting my psych degree path and taking on a bakery of my own....To sum up...don't tempt me....
In general, I'm going to stop writing now, as I find it hard to stay on topic when you've got money issues, financial issues, and you're technically still in the office. Tonight I'll be studying and making spelt flour blueberry scones. HUZZAH! :)
More yuppie thoughts later...
Look at those bean bags! Whoa! Lots of ingredients for the Babycakes NYC gluten-free cupcakes, but I think the "Healthy Hostess" worked out just fine! Hit up the local library for the recipe! I did not have time to get the ingredients for the frosting (one of which is soymilk powder [not soy powder...much easier to obtain]) so I just dusted them with cinnamon or powdered sugar for a finished effect...although an icing-written expression of Marquez-esque love would also be appropriate :)
