10 new experiences/discoveries to share

10. This summer, I’ve begun to ride MTA city buses rather than take the subway. Sometimes it’s because a bus will drop me off right at a destination, instead of a few blocks away. Sometimes, it’s because I’m walking and a bus just pulls up and I don’t have to coyly ask, “Going my way?” I know it is, so I get on. I’ve seen ridiculous, albeit interesting, things happen on subways - people rolling joints, drunken ensembles singing showtunes, men in verbal altercations with rival gang members. Bus riders are more sedate. It’s also incredibly hot on subway platforms in the summer, and I don’t need to swelter any more than I already do. I still love the subway system, but I implore ye, “Take the bus!”

9. One of my favorite places to eat is Blue Smoke, NYC’s best barbeque restaurant. The food is consistently divine. Blue Smoke serves Texas salt and pepper beef ribs that would make any grill-firing Texan proud. Another barbeque restaurant with a good reputation is R.U.B. (Righteous Urban Barbeque) in Chelsea. I went last week for lunch and had a sandwich with their delicious smoked ham. The atmosphere and service were good, but the value wasn’t really there. The brisket, the most touted menu selection, was so-so. I haven’t had brisket at Blue Smoke, but if I wanted it, I’d go there instead.

8. I bought these Nine West shoes at a serendipitous discount, and now I want to wear them with everything. On a side note: I like that I still have to look up to Cade when I wear them.

7. My new neighborhood supermarket is a namby pamby place with overpriced produce and almost entirely organic offerings. I have issues with food elitism, but I understand how some people just want to take better care of themselves. That’s all well and good…as long as I’m able to occasionally buy my nacho cheese Doritos. I’ve found myself nearly buying some pretty interesting things at the supermarket, like honey still in a honey comb (never mind that I don’t like honey) and cinnamon soy ice cream (never mind that I seldom even buy dairy, much less alternatives to dairy). One thing I did buy and kind of like was spearmint flavored water. It provides that hydration you need with the breath freshening you probably also need. I thought my dad would like it, so I gave him a sample when he visited. Alas, he thought it tasted like drinking out of someone’s mouthwash cup. Remember that scene in Cabaret with the cocktail in Sally Bowles’s toothpaste glass? Classic.

6. Not so long ago, Cade and I paid to see The Devil Wears Prada and upon being dissatisfied, decided to sneak into Little Miss Sunshine. Our second film was everything that TDWP wasn’t. It was entirely well-acted and sympathetic and a breath of fresh air. I haven’t laughed so much at a movie since…well, I don’t know. I’ve now seen it twice and have a complimentary yellow movie shirt. I’ve told most people I know to see it, and now it’s your turn - go see Little Miss Sunshine!

5. I saw Stanley Bing’s 100 Bullshit Jobs…And How to Get Them last week at a bookstore. I didn’t have time to thumb through it, and I know reviews have been mixed, but I want to read this book. Rather than the usual vociferous and off-base comments I get, I’d like to know if anyone has read this or any of Bing’s other books. Or just recommend a book to read - I have a yearly goal to fulfill.

4. On another movie note, I saw The Descent last week with Cade and my dad. It’s a horror about a spelunking trip gone horribly awry. We saw it opening night, so the theater was packed. People were screaming and jumping out of their seats from beginning to end. It was a lot of fun, though formulaic and full of cheesy dialogue.

3. I recently read Angela Nissel’s Mixed: My Life in Black and White about growing up biracial in Philadelphia. The book presents a very different person from her first memoir, The Broke Diaries. Nissel is understandably a lot angrier and more conflicted, but still very funny. As I read, I kept thinking that I’d like to have seen a Broke Diaries/Mixed amalgam to put more of her stories into context. I’ll probably re-read the first book anyway.

2. I bought a belted, black and maroon dress from the 1960’s at a thrift store weeks ago. It screamed flight attendant on the hanger, but actually looks really cool. It’s a heavier wool fabric, so I have to wait until fall/early winter to wear it. The find reaffirmed my belief in second-hand shopping, as did my discovery of a new thrift store downtown with one of the nicest collections of clothing, accessories, and housewares I’ve ever seen.

1. How is it that I had never heard of Morgan Spurlock’s series 30 Days until recently? I’ve never been much of a tv person, but I would watch 30 Days every Wednesday. Read more about the show here.

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