Today is a Good Day. Officially.

One way to identify a New York woman is to look at her computer history. Other than 10am visits to the Momofuku website and noon visits to Gilt Groupe's homepage, one can undoubtedly find the first-of-the-month visits to Susan Miller's monthly predictions. Despite our multicultural differences and religious disbeliefs (as well as blatant intolerance for fluff), New Yorkers have somehow enabled astrology to explain the unexplainable, legitimize the illogical, and create a world of candy where concrete once stood. Somehow, silently and unanimously, New York women have bowed to the mercy of Susan Miller's predictions.

I am one of those women. 2010 looks to be a positive year for me. Mercury is going to spin out of retrograde (finally!) and it looks like my luck just might turn in terms of career, love, money..... (shit, that's the trifecta of life, right? yesssss) More specifically, Feb. 27th is supposed to be the best darned day of my year. And guess what, it's good for you, too. And you. And you. And you, over there. By my calculations, if 2010 is a good year, and the 27th is the best day out of the year, then shoot- isn't today supposed to be like, the best day of our lives?! That's a lot of pressure.

I'm not going to buy myself an entire bodega's worth of lotto tickets or anything. In fact, I think I'm going to wake up late, have some oatmeal, stick with my original plans for the afternoon, and then tag along with LF at night to a party in Red Hook. Astrology, like love and like bowling, is one of those things where in order for the situation to turn out good- to turn out as "planned"- one can't possibly focus on the end. The more you think about bowling a strike, the more you're gonna gutter that big ol' ball of yours.

So, drink a beer, loosen up, and granny-chuck your way to a ten pin victory. Cheers to the day!

Jobs in the next decade

NPR Makes the best interactive graphs.

Jobs are bound to go up...eventually. Though economists predict it might take at least another decade, this NPR article claims that the U.S. will eventually create up to 15million jobs in the next ten years, with the Unemployment Rate dropping to 5%. A pretty big claim, I don't completely doubt that. What is interesting are the predictions of the markets where these jobs will open up. I guess, in a re-shaping economy, jobs bloom first in the lower paying, lesser qualified, least desirable sectors of the workforce.

Apparently, I should look into truck driving.

Happy 2010!

Going down to SoCal for New Years Eve. Seeya all next year...Peace!!

Tuthilltown Distillery/Hudson Valley Whiskey

The torrential downpour Saturday night left some of the clearest, bluest skies I've yet to see in New York on Sunday morning.

What better day to take a trip upstate to see Fall foliage and, while we're at it, have a whiskey tour/tasting?

(View of the city from the Wburg bridge)

Tuthilltown (pronounced "Tuttle-town") Distilleries is about 90 miles out and up from New York City, with the nearest "big" town being New Paltz. It has some of the most gorgeous mountain ranges and is particularly known for their outdoor activities, most especially as a climbing mecca with some of the best climbers coming in from all over New York.

The Distillery, occupying a much smaller plot of land than expected (think small farm operation), was founded a mere six years ago by an entrepreneurial climber (Ralph) as more of an enthusiastic business idea rather than any sort of passed-down brewer's secret craft. What struck me the most was their dedication and particularity about their product, as well as their enthusiasm for the industry as a whole. Tuthilltown became the first whiskey distillers in the state of New York to produce in-house since prohibition. Respectably, they are also vehement in their efforts and largely responsible for passing bills allowing distilleries to have tasting rooms and sell on-location, as well as pushing for the DEA to recognize their industry as farms, rather than industrial plants.

My favorite part of Tuthilltown was seeing the bottling process. Although their production has doubled in the last two years (they aim to one day produce 30,000 gallons of whiskey a year), the distillery still makes it a point to hand-craft their product from start to finish. They purchase their grain and corn from a neighboring farm, make the whiskey in-house in old-fashioned looking distilling machines, store the moonshine in varying sizes of oak barrels depending on the batch, bottle each individual bottle by hand (including the wax seal, the label, and an individual HAND-WRITTEN number for each bottle that goes out) and distribute from the distillery.

Check out their 4-Grain Whiskey. It's by newest love.

Kombucha Kegger

Are you on the kombucha train? As much as I hate to take part in anything that's a "what's hot" item, I am pretty into this. Not so much into the over-marketed $5 bottles of Kombucha that they sell at whole foods/at every deli in Brooklyn, but whatever, it's good stuff.

Now there's a local brewer of the fizzy fermented drink. There's a big party on Saturday at my local beer shoppe, Brouwerij Lane, to celebrate the very first keg of Kombucha. BYOG- bring your own Growlers! Amazing! As the flier notes, go in between 6-10pm and yell "Drink the Revolution!" and you'll get a free glass.

I'm there.

Brouwerij Lane

78 Greenpoint Avenue

Brooklyn 11222

Kombucha Kegger, 6-10pm

DC Birthday

I know I just briefly mentioned it in my last post, but I'm making a special note to say it's going to be a fete to remember. I'm hosting with the one and only ms. fergustuff; We've got the menu, decor, and of course a little gift, all planned out.

I'm inclined to share the menu and a lil' sneak peak with you all ahead of time, but for surprise's sake you'll just have to stay tuned....pics to come, too!!

Also visit DC's new blog! yay for new blogettes!

Vandals

labor day weekend

Time well spent with good people and good food. Another DC trip in the books.

Amazing photoshop job courtesy of Fergustuff

Burgers and Beer and Babes in Brooklyn

Pound pound pound pound

That's my head right now. Last night was the perfect night, spent a beautiful Brooklyn evening clucking with three lovely ladies and a delicious burger and many many beverages.

yum.

Nashville

I'm in Nashville for the next week with my sister who has just made a move down here. We drove 600 miles from Ann Arbor, MI down through Indiana and Kentucky. Saw about 500 miles worth of corn fields, and it totally blew my mind. Also ate some big-ass plates of food. Heavy starchy eggy buttery cheesy food. Ahhhh good ole Middle America, how I am fascinated with thee.

Anyway stay tuned for lots of fun pictures of corn fields and sunsets. Will probably title it "What I did this summer, by Jessie Chien". It's been a busy month, will be even busier come Sept.

Peace from definitely not the Middle East.

For the Unemployed, the Day Stacks Up Differently

By AMANDA COX, SHAN CARTER, KEVIN QUEALY and AMY SCHOENFELD

Published: July 31, 2009

Nearly 1 in 10 members of the American work force are unemployed — a level not seen in 27 years.

Multimedia

Interactive Graphic

How Different Groups Spend Their Day

Without a paying job, these Americans have picked up other forms of labor: vacuuming the house, sending out résumés, taking classes and caring for family. And the unemployed have more time for leisure and socializing.

Sunday Business analyzed new data from the American Time Use Survey to compare the 2008 weekday activities of the employed and unemployed. The comparison may seem obvious, but differences in time spent by these two groups can be striking.

On an average weekday, the unemployed sleep an hour more than their employed peers. They tidy the house, do laundry and yard work for more than two hours, twice as much as the employed. The unemployed also spend an extra hour in the classroom and an additional 70 minutes in front of the television.

The annual time use survey, which asks thousands of residents to recall every minute of a single day, is important to economists trying to value the time spent by those not bringing home a paycheck.

"If all we were doing is substituting production at home for production in the marketplace," said Daniel S. Hamermesh, an economics professor at the University of Texas at Austin, "then maybe unemployment wouldn't be so bad."

summer time fun

still no interwebz at home. I realized, after not having internet access at my fingertips for a few days, that I spend a heckuva lot of time online, and that there's not much to do at home without it.

Luckily it's summer in New York.

I know, I know, technically it's summer in many places in the world, but summer in New York is special, unlike any summer anywhere else. How do I describe it? The city becomes an ultra-lively activity-driven place on the weekdays and the weeknights, and then slows down to a perfect strolling pace on the weekends. Lots of out-of towners parade through midtown, walking far too slow for anyone's good, and all the hipsters and yuppies alike come out of their hipster yuppie holes to bask in grassy ditches in Parks. Outdoor seating is set up at every other restaurant, free shows and movies and markets are offered throughout the each borough, and any mode of transportation can be taken on Fridays to get OUT of the city. Oh, and the magic word to get people to come to your party: ROOFTOP. It's like a strange mix of summer vacation and summer camp and summer projects rolled into two months worth of sun (well, this year it's more thunderstorms than sun) and humidity and friends. It's my third summer here - yikes! - and though this seasonal city-wide celebration has become quite familiar, there is a difference this year in that now I am unemployed. All the better! Also for some reason my friends have suddenly become cooler this year, more adventurous, more available to eat see hear do new things.

So what kind of "things" can one do in New York in the upcoming weeks? I, for one, am going to try to make it out to a Hudson River Flick next week. Maybe pick up some picnic fare at the Chelsea Market and watch the sun set over the Hudson. Lots of park frolicking, including NY Phil's summer series in Central Park next Tuesday and Friday (which reminds me, I should check out the much discussed Anne Hathaway in Shakespeare in the Park). There are market market markets galore in Brooklyn each weekend this summer....and something's going on between the South Street Seaport and LIC that I need to explore too. Free Dirty Projectors concert in Wburg next Sunday, and then a yoga party the Saturday after that at the studio - a yoga class choreographed to music by The Beatles. whoa, am I becoming too much of a granola nut now with all this enthusiastic yoga chatter? Sorry.

***image taken last summer from Madison Square Park looking towards the Empire State Building

Happy Weekend!

I'm off to Maine to celebrate the 4th of July! Going to take a funcation with fun friends. Destination: Damariscotta; home to an annual rubber ducky race. How much more small-town-wholesome can it get?!

Keep your fingers crossed for sunny skies....

random picture found via kecute

Blueberry Oat Scones

Yesterday I spent the day with Donna, baking and eating and being lazy- the things that we love to always do together.

We're going up to Maine for the July 4th Weekend (HOOORAY!) with several other friendsies so we wanted to bake a few goodies for the trip. After several email recipe exchanges and lots of thoughtful consideration, including an adventurous suggestion of macarons (too risky), we decided to make pound cake and batch of scones, both of which could keep for the remainder of this week in the freezer.

We met up at Cafe Pedlar to start our day with Stumptown, of course, then made what seemed like a Carroll Gardens supermarket Odyssey through Trader Joe's, KY Mart (hehe), the Natural Foods store, and finally the Fish Monger. Er, the fish wasn't for the pound cake nor the scones, it was so we could have a little lunch, let's just clear that up right here.

We baked the pound cake first, a super-easy recipe I found in this month's Martha Stewart Living. Yes, I subscribe to Martha Stewart Living.

After lunch and a short tv break/catnap, we moved onto baking the scones. Though we encountered a tiny problem when Donna's mini-cuisinart food processor couldn't handle the entire recipe at once, we solved it by breaking up the ingredients in two and processing the necessary ingredients in two batches. Other than that minor snafu, the recipe was easy-peasy, and didn't take longer than 30 minutes to bake. They look fabulous, so delicioius! So here's to hoping they will taste that way, too.

From left to right: Unloading Trader Joe's groceries (!), pound cake on the cooling rack, and our decadent lunch spread.

Blueberry Oat Scones

adapted from Molly Wizenberg's recipe in Bon Appetit July 2009

Prep Time: 30 min

Bake Time: 30 min

Plus time to cool

3 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup (packed) golden brown sugar

1 tbsp plus 1 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp coarse kosher salt

11 tbsp chilled unsalted butter, cut into cubes

1 cup plus 3 tbsp old-fashioned oats

1 cup fresh blueberries

1 3/4 cups half and half

1 tsp vanilla extract

5 tsp raw sugar

Our ingredients, all set out on the table. Look! You can see mini-upside-down-me in the stainless steel bowl!!

Position rack in upper and bottom thirds of oven an preheat to 350 degrees (F). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Alternatively, you may line the sheets with foil and lightly butter the foil.

Combine first five ingredients in a processor, blend for 5 seconds. Add butter. Using on/off turns, blend until the mixture resembles a coarse meal. If you have a mini-processor like we did, halve all ingredients and do the same thing twice. Transfer mixture to a large bowl, mix in oats and blueberries. Stir blend evenly.

Stir half and half and vanilla together, gradually add to flour mixture and toss until dough just comes together. (dough will be very moist and sticky!)

Using 1/2 cup measuring cup for each scone, drop dough in high mounds onto prepared baking sheets, spacing a few inches apart (as they will flatten during baking). Sprinkle tops with remaining 3 tbsp oats, then raw sugar.

Bake 15 minutes. Reverse sheets and continue baking until the scones are golden and tester inserted into the center from side comes out clean, about 12 minutes longer. Let cool for about 5 minutes, then transfer to a rack. Serve warm or at room temperature

Improv cooling rack: The bottom side of muffin pans!

*1/2 cup portions ensures 12 large scones. Use smaller portions if desired.

Homemade Granola & Yogurt

My apartment has been cleaner than it's ever been before. I've cleaned our fridge, Laundered all our linens, cleaned and installed our A/C, mopped the floors, dusted all the shelves....Unemployment is looking good for our humble little abode.

And when I'm not cleaning like a maniac I'm usually dreaming up some crazy recipe that will substitute for my cravings to go out to dinner. We're talking penny-pinching here, people. I've been a little more cautious at the grocery store, taking note of the per pound/per ounce prices more than ever before. But I decided to splurge a little on Wednesday and made a trip to the Union Square farmers market and Whole Foods - I had a few ideas brewing in mind.

One of which was something I've been meaning to do for a long time, which was make homemade granola. As far as the cost-effectiveness of homemade granola, the jury's still out. I made a pretty decent-sized batch of granola, but nuts and seeds and flax are still expensive.

The thing I love about making things at home is that you know EXACTLY what is being put into the foods you make. Duh. But really, I like the idea that granola is granola, not sugar and processed oats and refined wheats and what not. Without further ado, here is the recipe I used, passed on from my good friend Gillian:

4c - oats

4c - combined of some or all of the following: wheat germ, flax, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, almonds and/or pecans, and/or walnuts, raisins and/or cranberries and/or cherries. (I have found the perfect combination of these to be: 2/3c wheat germ, 2/3c flax seed, 2/3c sesame seeds, 1/2c pecans, 1/2c walnuts, 1/2c pepitas, and 1/2c golden raisins)

some - cinnamon

some - salt

2c - oj

1c - honey (mostly maple syrup 2/3c and a little honey 1/3c)

1/2c - canola oil

preheat oven to 300.

Mix all dry ingredients together in a large bowl

on the stovetop heat the oj, honey (or maple) and oil in a small saucepan until combined and smooth. Whisk together like a dressing. Pour 'dressing' over rest of the dry ingredients and fold everything together. The mix should be rather wet, like an oatmeal cookie dough.

Line 2 baking sheets or pans with foil, and spread the granola mixture evenly between the two sheets. Bake in the oven for an hour, stirring/checking ever 20 minutes. The longer the granola is in the oven the crunchier it will be, so bake for as long as it suits you tastes. I have found that in my oven, the perfect cooking time for my preferences is 1 hr. 15 min.

Leave out to cool for at least 30min, the longer the better. Stir around the granola with your hands and break up the larger chunks if you prefer. Make sure granola is completely cooled and dry before you store in airtight containers or ziplocs.

The finished product, mixed into some homemade plain yogurt

The result? After one hour of baking and about an hour or so to cool and set, I had perfectly nutty, chewy, not too-hard, not too-sweet, perfect with plain yogurt granola. (And to top it off, I made my own yogurt, too- whaddya think bout that!?) Keep in mind this is not your store-bought packaged crunchy hard granola. I cannot emphasize enought that it is a softer, chewier, less-sweet version. In my opinion, yummier. This recipe is definitely going to get some good use.

DF

Went to dinner at Petite Abeille last night with Tanya and David, who are living in the city for the summer! Triple yay for excellent company, moules frites, and Chimay Red Ale. Yumyumyum!

You must be awfully confused right now. that picture above is OBVIOUSLY not of mussels nor fries nor any cute Belgian restaurant in NYC. What it is is a delicious-looking Taco stand in Mexico City. We started talking about Mexico City since that's where David grew up. Tanya and David have traveled there several times (but let's be real, where have they NOT traveled?), and mentioned that I would really love it there. After that, I did nothing short of invite myself to David's family's next Christmas get-together. Ooops, better dust off some of those high school Spanish textbooks. I've never been to Mexico City but have heard nothing but excellent things about the place- from it's native citizens as well as tourists who pass through. Everyone raves about how vibrant, how cultural, how bustling, how CHEAP! the city is...(Tanya really sold me on the $2 ceviches and guacamole)

It really got me thinking about my future travels, where I will go next and how long I will want to go for. That, and how I will fund the means to do so. Well flights to Mexico City are no more than $300 during off-peak season, so maybe you will see me there after the summer! A couple months in Mexico City to pass the cold NYC winter blues? I mean, porque no?

Image via Oishii Eats, one of my favorite LA foodie blogs!!

Buttons!

I went to the button store today;

Tender Buttons

143 East 62nd Street

NYC 10021

Also, I thought this was funny-

When I did a google search for "Tender Buttons", this little 1994 article from the Times about beans came up.

Day 1

Quote of the day:

"Let's start a book club, where all we do is watch movies"

I tossed and turned last night, a mixture of anticipation and anxiety keeping me up. That, and the 90-degree days NY has been experiencing have left me with a close to 80-degree room for me to sleep in.

Today was day one of unemployment. Unbeknownst to me, it's now commonly referred to as "Funemployment". Hm. We'll see if it lives up to that. Since I don't want to fall into the deep dark depths of white-trash unemployment (read: drink until wee hours of the morning, sleep in 'til the afternoon, watch Price is Right/Days of Our Lives/Maury, eat jenny craig TV dinners) I am trying to create a schedule for myself, filled with many fun activities. Factivities? Anyway, these activities, so far, are comprised mostly of having lunch with friends who are either unemployed or have odd-hour jobs, and trying to do yoga/go to the gym. Fun.

I celebrated Day One by meeting up with my funemployed mentor Laura. No really, she is my inspiration in layoff life, talk about milking unemployment for all it's worth... I also think she was the only person, when I told her I was getting laid off, that actually physically jumped for joy and told me what great news it was. And no, she doesn't hate me. I think...

Back to lunch. We ate at Egg- I kept hearing about this place, but since I don't eat eggs, there wasn't much desire for me to go there. duh. But after perusing through their menu upon Laura's suggestion (and this amazing drool-inducing article in Edible Brooklyn) ohhhh meohmy there was SO much desire to go there! For all you breakfast aficionados, they serve breakfast until 3pm every day. And for all you penny-pinching aficionados, all their main breakfast/lunch plates hover around $7-$8. Their menu was simple but so elegant and rich, how could I say no? And looking back, it is everything I look for in a solid neighborhood joint. A great, open atmosphere, good music, super quirky waiter who gets things done with a smile on his face, great hearty fare imported from artisanal farms, and the strongest iced coffee I've had in awhile. AND the two of us had a perfect filling lunch for $20. Yum, on account of stomach and my wallet.

We also had great lunch conversation, which is where that quirky quote of the day came from. Laura did nothing short of coach me through what will be a rough week one of unemployment. Rough, only because it's so foreign and so mind-alteringly different. I mean, I am not gonna lie- I've been ridden with anxiety this entire weekend. So many what-ifs, so many things up in the air. What if I don't want to work right away, what if I pass up job opportunities now and they don't come back, what if I become straight up lazy, what if I slowly drift away from my friends at work, what if WHAT IF WHAT IF. So many of them. Laura managed to assuage my minor freak out and bring me back down to funemployment land. She told me about all the people she's met and networked with since she was laid off, the opportunities that have been presented to her, the trips that she has taken, and the lovely projects she has been able to work on, the super cool program she is volunteering with (http://feastinbklyn.org), and how the new thing to do is to barter services for goods.

It's a novel idea- this new concept on bartering goods. In a time where so many people are unemployed, it's really a great tool, both for your own benefit and to others, not to mention to build community character and comraderie as well. I'm totally into it.

From our lunch we took a short walk around Wburg into Spoonbill and Sugartown, my favorite independent bookstore in NY. I got two books, and the reason I share this with you is because this is one of them:

Excuse the shitty picture, but you get the idea. I mean, I like Tom Robbins and all, but really, the main reason I purchased this book was for its cover. (And the $2 price tag)

I came home, and after spending about an hour looking at craft blogs, my mind was spinning and I could barely keep my eyes open. So I took a nap.

No one told me unemployment was so exhausting.

I'm here.

For once, I'm aware, ready, and able for a change.

I've gotten laid off from my job. It's weird. It's good. Don't be sad, I'm pretty damn near elated. I'm joining the ranks of the increasingly large unemployment population, so I hold solace in the fact that I am not alone. In fact, we've even gotten a raise (thanks, NYC 8.1% unemployment rate)!! Despite my current state of bliss over not having a job, I can't deny that it wasn't the second-biggest shock of my life (the first was learning that I was accepted into college). When I was called in for a meeting with T at 5pm that ill-fated Thursday evening, I knew something was up, but can you really be prepared for something like this? How do you simply accept being told that you will no longer be doing something that you have been doing every day for the last 800-or-so days of your life? And no matter how much you are told that being "let go" has nothing to do with performance issues, good/bad or otherwise, you can't help but wonder if you could have done more- and that's the worst feeling in the world. It's a horrible swirling tornado of regret and embarrassment and all those sorts of negative, self-abashing emotions. I wrote a pretty long journal entry the day or two after I was given notice- but it's too much to go into right now, maybe I'll transcribe that another day within a more focused entry. This entry is meant to be slightly more unfocused.

In the end, I've realized it was simply that I have (had?) what is/was probably the most expendable position at one of the largest primary market galleries in New York. As a bonus, I work in sales, at a time where there's not really a huge demand in the luxury-goods industry... so, well, you get the idea. Anyway the gallery has also assured me that they are very regretful to see me go (am I a fool to wholeheartedly believe this?), and I was offered four more weeks at work to finish things up, a month's worth of severance, and open access to everyone's rolodexes. Seriously, I don't think I've ever had this much support and recommendations since, well, ever! Note to self: a good way to network is to get laid off.

So what now? To reiterate, I'm happy to be leaving. I had been struggling in what was an unbelievably stagnant career (if you could even call it that), on a path that I didn't even know if I wanted to be on. I hate to sound terribly cliche, but this break will really allow me to re-evaluate what I've done in the last two+ years (holy moses, what have I been doing these last few years???!). And if I want to continue on this path, where I can go. Then again, if all signs point to the opposite, then what should I be doing? What CAN I be doing? Hot diggity, a real-life choose your own adventure, how exciting!

In fact, I am so excited to be out of a job that I've already compiled a fairly lengthy list of all the things I'll be able accomplish, some that have been on my to-do list for quite some time now. A sample of these things include:

• write (to be accomplished in blog form)
• Bake for friends/for a cause!!
• Get a hot glue gun + Craft it up
• Take a train along the Hudson on a random weekday, explore past the 5 boroughs
• Volunteer on a farm for a few days
• Organize my iTunes library + playlists
• REGULARLY go to the gym/lose the freshman 15 I've had since, sadly, freshman year.
• pick up my diploma from UCLA (err, four years later, I know.)
• Shop at the farmers market on a regular basis
• Get a bike. Bike around/explore Brooklyn
• Start taking pictures again, start painting again
• Go to more art shows/write about said art shows

So, as you can see, I will have no shortage of things to do in my soon-to-be omnipresent free time. I also plan to hang out all the time with my friend LFerg, who is also currently reveling in the world of unemployment, so my social life won't be at a complete loss without my gallery girlfriends.

Anyway, back to this blog. I was told by my good coworker/friend/travel companion/all around awesome girl D that I should start a blog. Maybe she said this in pure jest, who knows, but I've been thinking about it, ever since she mentioned in two weeks ago. Alas, after conquering my fears of being just another indulgent blogger without any readership, I logged on today to weigh my cyber-journalistic options. I'm going with blogspot. After typing in an access word (why do they make you do this? they are never real words and are rarely ever legible: my word was psyosse, wtf is that?!) and picking my "theme" (minima), I am now a (proud) member of the cybercommunity.

Also very important was what to title this blog. Oh, the all-important title! You may find it silly, but a huge reason why I have never started a blog was because I could never think of a clever, stellar title for one (oh, the vanity!). I would hate for my writings to be filed under just another "random musings" type titled blog. I wanted to think of something clever and witty that had my name in it, but Jessie doesn't rhyme with anything but messy and hasn't been used in very many useful pop culture references (Jessie's Girl was not going to make the cut), and alas my lifetime struggle with a fairly dull last name proved to be a major disappointment again. I was then going to title this untitled, a clever tribute to my life in the art world, but decided not to tie this to something that I'm getting away from. So came about the name afterlife, as I feel like this is the end of a huge part of my life, and the beginning to something truly special/inspirational (awww). Plus that wiki entry that I linked to is pretty impressive.

I promise that most entries will be significantly shorter and significantly more significant, with many more kewl piktyures for all those who hate all that philosblogical bullshit and just look at blogs for their pics, like I do. I'd like for this to be a place to log what I am doing, now that I haven't got much to do. It will also prove to myself that I am doing something, blogging at the least, and simultaneously assure anyone who cares that I haven't fallen off the face of the earth. Though I'd like to think that it will be somewhat poignant, what will most likely occur is that my afterlife will be a hodgepodge of a forum where I talk about my pet peeves, what I ate, how much coffee I drank, and where I can use the vocabulary I am not clever enough to use in everyday conversation. I also forsee it being a bunch of run-on sentences, so readers be warned! And finally, I am secretly hoping that this blog can be a channel to obtain my ultimate wants in life: Cool furniture, free food, a super cool job, and a boyfriend. Is that hoping for too much?

My job-lessness begins effective next Tuesday...so stay tuned....