Three-day Recap

Since I made this private, I've lost quite a bit of readers... Like... almost a 75 percent drop in page views per post. Which basically just tells me that most people are nosy, but don't want to admit that they might actually be interested in the goings-on of my life by requesting they be placed on the list. I don't blame them, to be honest. I'd be a little embarrassed asking someone from high school who I haven't talked to in six years if I could read their blog, too. I get it.

Anyway...

Matt's first official (see also: paid) day of work was today. It's... 12:17 AM and he's still not home. And his phone is dead. Since he left our apartment keys in the W-B, I have to stay up and make sure I hear the buzzer so I can let him in. So I figured I'd pass the time with a recap of the past few days.

SATURDAY—Matt got here around 1:30 and we almost immediately went to the bank to set up his accounts. We also decided to get a joint checking account so we could pay our bills/rent from one account. It just made more sense than him having to write me a check or withdraw cash that I'd just turn around and put in my account so I could write a new check, etc. etc. Too much effort... especially for someone as disorganized as him. 0=)

Joint checking is a very adult move, if I do say so myself. Moving in together was an adult move, as well. But for some reason, the fact that money is more directly involved in this decision makes me think that this is more important. That probably doesn't make sense to you, but it does to me!

After the bank on Saturday, we went to Target in the Bronx. And I immediately breathed a huge sigh of relief. Dieting out here has been absolutely impossible. Sure, you can get a salad for lunch, but you're going to pay upwards of $8 for it. And yeah, sandwiches are cheaper, but they're also mostly carbs and lunchmeat. And that just sucks times two. The "supermarkets" around my house suck, too, as they're mostly Dominican, their produce is questionable, and their frozen sections have been thawed and refrozen multiple times. Their selection is pretty poor, too. I've been really down about this—mostly because I worked so hard to get it all off the first time around. I didn't want my location to be the thing that did me in this time. There's a Whole Foods on 96th that isn't too far away, but they're super expensive because they're all organic and specialty foods. I couldn't shop like that every week. It'd definitely break the bank.

And then... there was Target. All the frozen dinners, individually packed snacks, and fresh (enough) produce I could ever want. It was like a little piece of W-B, thirty streets north of the apartment. I was nervous about going to Target at first. Not because of the area it's in, but because I was afraid it wouldn't have food in it. And then we made it to the grocery aisle and I got pretty excited. Individual servings of Minute Rice, chunky soups, Lean Cuisine pot stickers! And Target also makes my favorite string cheese. I can't even fully describe how happy I am that we decided to go to that store. It was like a giant weight just lifted off my shoulders. I can finally get back to eating right again. Sure, processed/frozen foods aren't the best thing I can be eating, but listen. I lost forty pounds counting calories, defrosting/microwaving my dinners, and working out last time. So clearly something was working.

After Target on Saturday, we went down to Columbus Circle and walked to Lincoln Center and back. We went into the Time Warner building and then Matt nearly had a heart attack. Unknown to us until we walked into the building, Per Se (one of his many dream restaurants) is located on the fourth floor of the mall. So of course we had to go all the way to the top and stand outside its doors. Reservations are nearly impossible to get, but at least we know where it is now. He was beyond excited. I almost convinced him to take a picture outside of it like we did when we saw the French Laundry in Yonteville, but he was too embarrassed.

After a very late dinner of sushi and Indian food in the Whole Foods cafe, we did a bit of grocery shopping and then went home. The trip home took about an hour and a half—and I take full blame for it. The air conditioning on the one car of the A-train was out, so I suggested we hop off and get back on at the next stop since we had frozen food in our bags. Well, we got off... but due to a very slow woman who just stopped on the platform outside of the car doors, we were not able to get back on. And it was 11:30 PM. And trains were running late. And we didn't get home until almost 12:20. The 125th Street stop is the worst. I have to remember to try to never get off there or transfer there again.

SUNDAY—We slept in... accidentally. And decided to go for a walk along the Hudson River. I knew there was a path and what not that people call the River Walk, but I didn't know it'd be so busy. Tons of picnics, barbeques, and birthday parties. Lots of people fishing, rollerblading, and bicycling. Tennis courts, basketball courts, a soccer field, and a baseball field. All right on the banks of the river. We also saw geese and a very frightening looking black squirrel. We walked all the way down to what I think was called Riverbank Park and then turned around and came back. It turned out to be about a 5-mile walk—and we did the whole thing sans water.

After the walk, Matt made the most delicious smoothies ever for lunch and we decided to start eating healthy right then and there. Of course, this all kind of went to shit after we had a really disappointing dinner at a restaurant called The New Leaf in the middle of Fort Tyron park. The pictures online look great and the menu sounded somewhat impressive, but when we got there and were seated at a table outside (inside wasn't air conditioned and was more humid than outside) with a really dirty tablecloth, all of our hopes came crashing down. We had to fight little bugs off our bread and I can't tell you how many new waters I had to ask for when they fell into my glass. The cocktail I ordered tasted like grass (sageberry? Stay away from it.) and my meal came with mushrooms, even though the menu did not list mushrooms. (And you know how I feel about mushrooms...) The appetizers were subpar, my chicken had hard pieces in it, and Matt's asparagus was horribly overcooked. It just... sucked. We won't be making that mistake again.

To console our depressed appetites, we came home and shared two pints of Ben & Jerry's (S'mores and Rocky Road-ish) while we watched Pulp Fiction. I fell asleep quickly and when I woke up around 2:00 AM, Matt was in "his" room, putting together his computer desk. I think I remember asking him to "turn off the candle" before he went to bed, but I'm not sure if I dreamed that part of if it really happened...

MONDAY—Work. Was. CRAZY. I had so much to do! Things just kept coming. I think I did two final passes, wrote back cover copy for a book that wasn't even mine, tracked down permission/copyright on a really old poem, emailed the two food bloggers about potential book proposals (both are interested!), inserted corrections into a 1,000-page hunting book, and was finally able to get back to editing the worst cookbook in the world. It's so horribly written and was self-published a few years ago in Papyrus. PAPYRUS. The ugliest font in the world. I inherited the book from Eleanor, the girl I replaced, and I wish it'd been passed to someone else. The author's first language is definitely not English, so I keep finding words like "tastebuts" throughout the manuscript. Or she'll get super lazy and instead of saying "1 cup chopped brocolli, celery, and carrots," she'll write "1 C BCC." Like people are going to know what that is?! Ugh. I spent half the afternoon on that book and it's not even half-done. And of course it's due tomorrow!

But... I accept the challenge. And even though there are tons of mistakes, I enjoy marking them. So, it's really not that big of a deal!

Went to the Planet Fitness on Dyckman Street today. It was pretty busy, but I think that's mostly because it's kind of small. There are fewer machines than I'm used to, but the ones they do have are newer than the ones I used in W-B. Some of them even have fans in them! I only did a half hour of cardio because I didn't want to jump in with too much (and my toes hurt from our walk on Sunday), but as the days pass, I'll tack on the minutes. When I get the courage to use the weight room, I'll start some strength training, too. But right now, I'm going to stay away from that area because a lot of the guys creep me out down there. They put W-B weightlifters to shame.

It's about 12:45. Matt's home now... He has a mission for tomorrow: buy tongs. Also, somehow, he's off Friday and Saturday!

Time for bed for me.