Word Association

Do you ever find yourself thinking about the Aztec god Xipe Totec when typing in the web address for my blog? Xipe Totec was worshipped mainly by flaying the skin of live human sacrifices. Something about the pieelsewhere or, more specifically the "pieel" portion of the url always makes me think of the this image of the god. I think it can mostly be attributed to my studies of spanish (piel= skin, right?) and the verb to peel. So if any of you have been similarly reminded of human sacrific by this website, I assure you this was not a conscious part of naming my blog. Sorry

Reviewed: Lunch Meetings

As an intern I am not afforded many opportunities to go to meetings. I am even less likely to be invited to meetings with a meal included. Happily today was rare occassion wherein my presence was requested, nay REQUIRED, at a lunch meeting. To be perfectly honest, the meeting was expressly designed to address the concerns of interns in the publicity department, so the circumstances were a little unusual. But the moral of the story is, I got free lunch. Which really makes me wonder about that recent New York Time article about how annoying it is to meet with people over a meal. I know the article mostly described breakfast, but it seems like a particularly upper-class position to take to me. A person in my economic position pretty much always benefits from a lunch meeting:

1) The lunch is paid for by some larger corporate entity which saves you money.
2) You are "working" during lunch and therefore logging hours, but still

3) getting to spend a good deal of time outside of the office in the middle of the day while the sun is still shining. And let's face it, the sun is not shining nearly enough these days.

4) It promotes a sort of conviviality so often missing normal office interactions. For example, maybe you hadn't seen your co-workers purse before and now you know that her mother is a handbag salesperson!

A person disinterested in these obvious benefits is most likely:

1) Unconcerned about the cost of lunch due to a high salary.

2) Unconcerned about how hard it seems she/he is working because her/his job is already secure.

3) Job security allows this person to take midday strolls or yoga classes or coffee breaks.

4) Heartless and uninterested in others (maybe a reach).

But screw the richies. I say lunch meetings are great. And they allowed me to have a delicious curry chicken sandwhich and and fluffy maccaroon rather than cold leftover kale (which I'll eat tomorrow, but still).

Lunch Meeting grade: A

Monday Cooking Diary, pt. 2: Glorious Kale!

So my kale recipe? Was fucking phenomenal! I mean, not to toot my own horn but, Jessica Seinfeld take note, this is how to make people eat vegetables. I did modify the recipe a little as per the very helpful message board. I used more curry and a combo of low sodium chicken broth and some very old apple cider that was languishing at the back of the fridge (apparently it's better for cooking that way!). Also the seven hours in the slow cooker makes for some crazy tender beef. I wish that the broth was thicker and the flavor of the parsnips had come through more, but other than that I felt pretty good about the meal.
So anyone have ideas for what I should try to cook next? I need an eggplant-free meat dish to bring to the Pot Luck Club (the name is an extremely subtly play on the title of the Amy Tan novel) on Sunday and then dinner for the boys on Monday. So let me know. What's delicious? I'm up for a challenge. Cause if I fail, you know I can just write a better blog entry about it.

Monday Cooking Diary, Pt. 1: Crock Pot, Talk Shows

Many of you may know that I am fairly new to eating mammal flesh. It's been about a year and a half now, and I have tried lots of things. But honestly I haven't cooked that many of them. So today I decided to take on beef stew. It's sort of perfect for the season, not just because it's getting chilly, but also because root vegetables are so delicious at this time of year. In a lot of ways stews are the perfect place for tubers because the other stew items lend the fleshy veggie chunks savory flavor. Reciprocally the starchiness of root veggies makes the stew thicker. My final inspiration was the fact that Josh has a crock pot (in the interest of full discourse, the crock pot belongs to his mother, he has been borrowing it since last winter).


Not to sound like a crazy TV advertisement but cooking with a crock pot is embarrassingly easy. Basically I bought a bunch of vegetables, some beef and a couple cans of Murphy's Irish Stout (I don't buy Irish stout in a bottle, it's not right). I chopped everything up and put it into the crock pot at two o'clock. It'll be ready around nine. I didn't even use a recipe!

This has left me with a lot of free time. I plan to make some kale (more on that later) but I don't need to start until eight-thirty or so. So I have basically spent the day in full domestic mode. I'm sure it would be ok to leave the crock pot a while, but it makes me nervous. An independent, heat-causing appliance left on while I leave the house??? Surely my father would climb through the phone lines from Boston to prevent such a mistake! So I have mopped, tidied, done dishes, done laundry and watched several daytime talk shows. Of course the hosts covered a variety of topics, but Ellen, through some bizarre cosmic synchronicity did a CROCK POT themed episode today! She was making some gross looking stuff like eight hour chicken breasts cooked in salsa. Which in turn makes me feel better about the delicious smells wafting from my kitchen. Yes, I think it will be alright. Look for an update later tonight!

*Did anyone catch the Tyra show today?? It was called "What's up down there?" and was awkwardly about gynecological health. I mean, has the Vagina Monologues done nothing in its eleven years of production? Does anyone want to learn about menstrual synchronicity and HPV from a woman so prone to dramatic facial expressions and self-involvement? It's embarrassing!

Worst Entry Ever

I wouldn't consider myself the neatest person around. My morning dressing routine is essentially trying on five or six bottoms and tops and depositing them all on the ground. So by the end of the week I am left with a room closely resembling the aftermath of a tornado. And so every Sunday or Monday I take on the sloth.


I think this might be my worst blog entry ever. Sorry. I'll do two tomorrow. I swear.

Quel scandaleux!

So I am back now from a very creamy croque madame and extremely cheesy music at Bellville Bistro. I wasn't intending to update again, but I was poking about the internet and noticed that my occupation on blogger was still listed as student. When trying to update it, I was SHOCKED to see that there is no option among the industry choices for restaurant work. Not food service or even service more generally. Not even culinary! What the hell? Are people who work in restaurants really so illiterate on the whole that blogger assumes they wouldn't be users? I will be sending an email to the powers that be about this. Until then, my industry is listed as "Maritime." Which is a perfectly reasonable profession for bloggers. What with all those mid-ocean Wi-Fi hot spots.

S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y!

The life of a waitress has little room for Saturday night fun. It's almost always Sunday morning when work gets out. And taking Saturdays off is financially risky. When faced with hanging out with friends or making a significant portion of a month's rent in a few hours, practicality almost always wins out. But not tonight. I took a chance and worked Friday instead. So here I am, faced with an expanse of time in which to relax. After four twelve-plus hour days it sure feels good. I stayed in bed till noon, had a nice long shower, made some tea. Josh and I will set out for a leisurely brunch soon. I feel like I'm one of those hardworking moms taking a "me day." It's ridiculous.

Elements of Publicity Style

It has been a little more than a month and half since I began my internship. Three days a week, four to five hours a day, I have been learning the craft of book publishing publicity. Slightly more than half of my work is boring office stuff like photocopying, filing, mass emailing, stuffing envelopes and making contact lists from a neon-colored data based (the screen literally brings tears to my eyes). The other portion is writing "snappy" emails and letters to writers, editors and producers of all ilks. Although this does require a certain level of grammatical skill, several of the tried and true rules of good writing are reversed in publicity writing. Most notably cliche and hyperbole are whole-heartedly embraced. In writing class leading off with a cliche may have aroused the scorn of instructors and peers alike, but in publishing it's a hook which will inevitably lead to high profile interviews and starred reviews in all the trades. Sort of disheartening. Vagueness is also highly valued. In the two paragraph pitch one can't be bothered with details to support claims. Adjectives run rampant. The most common edit to my emails has been the addition of the word "fantastic." And I am learning from this. I have made a concerted effort to describe the writing, story or reviews of each book as "fantastic" in my last several emails. And it's working!

And so it Begins!

Hello my loyal reader(s?)! The day you probably forgot to wait for is here. I am officially blogging every day for the whole month of November (mercifully one with thirty, not thirty-one). I have been racking my brain to come up with features and recurring themes to make this process easier on all of us. So far I have come up with the following:

1)Monday cooking recaps: Because I work at a restaurant and don't spend a lot of time at home, I really only cook dinner on Monday nights (and soon Sundays, Pot Luck Unlimited peeps!). So I am planning to recap each of these endeavors. You can expect recipes, hilarious tales of what I spilled or broke and my top comments from the Epicurious message board that inevitably inspired the meal.

2)Reviews: And not just the normal things! While I do intend to share my opinion of books, movies, restaurants and television programs, I'll also be undertaking reviews of clothing, food stuffs, beauty products.... really anything. I may even review people, so watch out!

3)Formatting Experiments: If I am going to become a for-serious-blogger, I will need to be consistent in matters of style and formatting. I could really use your help on this. Should I capitalize my titles (see above conundrum)? Should I change my layout? What about punctuation? Should I put commas before the "and" in lists of three or more items (I don't like to, but it's an interesting debate!)? Too many adverbs? Too many parentheticals? These are important issues!

And that's only the begining! Well I am excited. See you for more topical blogging tomorrow!

Not even a trick, let alone a treat.

For those of you who live elsewhere, it has been an unusually warm fall here in New York City. Until last week I barely had to wear a sweater, and I am always cold. But last Wednesday or Thursday the weather shifted dramatically and it was cold and wet for days. And lo and behold, I woke up Friday morning with a head cold. For some reason it seems I don't just get little colds. I get them in heaping doses. The kind that put my energy just at the level of being able to make tea and subsequently urinate. Though apparently I can also type a bit (though I just realized that I am going to have to take the Lysol to the keyboard after I use it today). I guess no one really wants to hear me whine about how sick I feel so I spare the details (no, I won't be sharing the color and consistency of my mucus in this entry). But this illness has prevented me from acting in full Halloween spirit this weekend. So right now I am planning to be better by Wednesday so I can do something ridiculous at work. Like tell people the cavatelli is maggots or the spaghetti squash is human liver put through a meat grinder. And maybe also wear a costume.

Really. Every day. Like flossing.

Hear yee! Hear Yee! I just filled out the registration for National Blog Posting Month. It's basically an agreement with a nebulous internet entity to write a blog post everyday during the month of November. And even though I am pretty busy right now, writing is important to me. And even if it's just a group of 2000 anonymous bloggers, I figure a little pressure is just what I need. So hopefully I will write at least one more entry before next Thursday when it becomes compulsory (or strongly recommended). And I am going to think of fun column ideas (like Friday Pie-day?). So hold on to your hats. You'll be giving thanks everyday this month for new blog posts on Eating Pie Elsewhere.

Your Offical Source for Free Lacan*

I am finally doing something besides waiting tables (and watching Top Chef! In an effort to curb the overwhelming listlessness that had come to dominate my days I got an internship with the publicity department at a publishing company. I am still working at Aroma in the evenings of course, but it's a little change!
In my three days of interning I have filed, copied, researched and done both paper and electronic mailings! Oh internships! Padding resumes since 1863.* Also, they pay me the staggering stipend of ten dollars a day! Which is taxed. But the perk of all this is the endless supply of free books. Of course only books published by the company, but there are some good ones in there. Lots of really great poetry. So if you're nice maybe I'll set you up with a spicy volume of Adrienne Rich.
I am sort of still figuring out the sleep thing with working nights and then the next morning as well. Also the business casual or "office casual" dress code. Are all non-denim pants acceptable? Are there any affordable business clothes that aren't made of that cheap, flammable polyester? What skirt length separates business from business?
Ok. It's time for work again. But really now that I am getting my life on track, this blog thing is totally gonna blow up. I have been thinking about making it a little more thematic. Perhaps the real reason that I never update is that the possibility of subjects is too broad. So please let me know which topics you, my loyal readership (probably consisting only of Devin at this point), are most interested in hearing about.


*actually there is no reliable information on the history of internships on the whole internet. I checked. One of my now marketable skills is research.

Not Close to an Update

I spilled coffee in my underwear drawer today. It seemed like a low point but since it's the only thing that really happened at all today I guess that's an overstatement. It is neither high nor low. Looks like I'll spend the next few days washing my delicates in the sink. I am in a rut.

New Apartment and a World of Possiblity

Post-Potter Depression

Graduating from college didn't really leave the expected impression on me. It was sort of an anti-climax. I felt the same as I did during college. Except everyone started asking me what I was going to do next. Since I am doing exactly the same thing this question doesn't really bother me (right). However, finishing the final Harry Potter book around 7am today has left me with a sort of empty grown up feeling. Unlike college, which was sort of disjointed and alienating for me, Harry Potter has been a consistent part of my life since I was sixteen. Sure there are lots of comparisons about loss of youth I could make, but part of me feels like the up-all-night joy and excitement I got from reading Harry Potter books is gone forever. While I will probably read anther book that makes me want to stay up all night rather than put it down, I will probably never go to semi-illegal ends to obtain a book before its release date again. And I will grow old my hair will fall out and I'll start eating pureed foods and squinting to see the typeface in a book late at night. Sigh. Today it seems like I can see lines and discolorations on my face. It's probably only from staying up late, but it can't be long until I really do start to get old.

Still Life With Packing

Yesterday my lease started on my new apartment. I still have a couple weeks before I have to be out of my old place but I don't even know where to begin the moving process. As you can see my current organizational system is a bit haphazard (not pictured: desk surface covered in tea cups and ATM receipts, milk crates full of books). What if I pack clothes and then want to wear them? That ALWAYS happens to me! And because I haven't really figured out what I am going to do for a bed (this IKEA frame is not transportable) or a dresser (currently I am without, clearly) I am sort of spending time staring at empty suitcases rather than packing them. Sigh.
Additionally, I would like to issue a general call to all New Yorkers with unwanted furniture. We need chairs, bookcases, tables, little shelves for the bathroom, a broom... And we aren't really in the financial situation to be picky so lay any crap you have on us. After scouring the internet all day it seems like I might be re-entering the vicious IKEA buying cycle for bed and drawers. I am sure many of you are familiar with the way all of their reasonably priced furniture falls apart if you try to move it. And of course IKEA furniture is the only kind you can afford while moving so you buy more. They have us all by the throat. I'll get you next time, you Swedish mongrels!

Season Update: Summer 2007

Still at the beginning of the summer, I feel a need to reflect upon and update anyone who might still read this about recent and coming changes in my life. Because chronology is overused, this update will be alphabetical.

Angel Cards My friends Ella (who used to live down the hall from me) and Kendra (who used to live in the room next to mine in the same apartment) both have little boxes with small slips of cardboard called Angel Cards in them. The idea is that you take cards from the box and the words printed on them tell you something about your life and what you should be thinking about and working towards. Last night Kendra and I drew three angel cards each and it seems that the angels are feeling particularly serious. Whereas many or maybe even most of the cards have positive words on them (joy, abundance) I drew the words "purification," "courage" and "surrender." I guess if it was surrender to joy, I wouldn't mind so much. But it seems like I must have the courage to surrender to purification. Or I must surrender to a purification of courage? But basically, the angel cards seem to be saying something I already know, that I am in a sort of difficult place right now (needing courage to make decisions) and that I should word towards a more healthy fulfilling lifestyle (purification) and that stress and anxiety is not the way to handle it (surrender).

Beach I was off all week last week so in addition to going to see my parent and not writing a lot of blog entries, Josh and I went to North Carolina where his parents have a house on the beach. It was just wonderful. I have come to realize that I am one of those people who likes having plans so much that I can often make plans and stress out about them rather than enjoy myself. But I was completely relaxed the whole time we were there. We went body surfing, mini-golfing and played trivial pursuit. We even rode on jet skis! And we saw wild horses! It was fantastic. The beach... is wonderful. You should all go.


Birthday In just over a week, I will turn twenty-four. It's exciting because twenty-four is such a nice even number. And it doesn't feel very old yet. But twenty-three has been a particularly nice age to be. And it will be a bit sad to leave it behind. BUT... there will be celebrating. So if you're reading this from New York, I intend to have some sort of low key, bar-type thing next Friday (the 20th). If you're in Boston, my parents are throwing a party for me (because of graduating really, but there's going to be cake so it probably counts for birthdays too) on July 28th. You're most welcome to either or both events. And if you don't live in Boston or New York and you want to come (!) let me know and you can stay with me if you want.

Exercise In addition to my somewhat abortive attempts at bike riding, I have begun to do yoga again. Although I often feel like my abs are too sore to laugh deeply it's good to not be such a lump. (This photo is called "Lump of Meat on a Stool")

Moving I mentioned in my last post that I am moving to Park Slope. In fact, I get keys on Sunday! It's really exciting to think about having all my things and myself in the same place for an entire year (I signed a year lease so it's basically guaranteed). Richard, my good friend from high school and beyond, is going to be my roomate. And I am probably going to paint some part of some wall yellow. So exciting! If you're looking for a room in New York or trying to get rid of some furniture or wondering if you could sew some curtains for me (the answer is yes and I won't even charge you!), let me know.

Work I am still only working at Aroma (serving food and wine) as of right now. I have been looking and applying for jobs somewhat casually, but I have come to realize in the last week or so, that I don't really want to do a job I find boring. And I don't really have to. I have pretty much resolved to stay with Aroma basically full time through the end of the summer. During the days I am trying to get back in the practice of writing (which means more updates!) and editing some stuff I have written before to get a portfolio together. The idea of pursing a career as a writer is a little frighteningly uncertain, but I feel like I have an opportunity to do this now that I might not have again. And I'm actually excited about it.

Biking Accross the Atlantic

This is my new bike. This picture was taken only moments after my parents gave it to me (those curious about what I wore to graduation can now rest easy). It's very nice. And actually very fancy. So far I have only fallen off of it twice. And I feel confident blaming others- specifically reckless motorists- in both circumstances. The only problem with my bike is that it may be too nice. I am afraid to take it anywhere because it seems like a prime target for theft. And also there are hills here.
Not to seem totally lazy but this whole elevation, multi-gear biking thing is a lot of work. The bike I received for my tenth birthday was a ten-speed (or maybe more, who knows?), but honestly I never used it that much. And I certainly didn't use it to go long distances. After my beloved rental bike from Amsterdam, the adjustment to shifting gear has been difficult. Coupled with the fact that cars are oblivious, and sometimes antagonistic, toward cyclists I have to say that biking here just isn't the same.
But in just a few days I will begin moving to a new neighborhood in Brooklyn. For the non-New Yorkers among you, Park Slope is known as being a sort of mecca for young families. I am hoping this will mean lots of courteous and careful drivers. Unfortunately it certainly means a big hill throughout the neighborhood (hence "slope") but in the long run this will only make me stronger.

Permanent Standby

Ah, graduation. It's over and gone now and I am beginning to settle into my remarkably boring post-grad life. A life dominated by staying in bed reading science fiction novels until two in the afternoon and working at an increasingly slow restaurant in the evenings. Not even really taking the time to go to my computer to look for jobs or apartments or even update my blog (apparently). So basically my life is just the same but without the excuse of school for not getting things done.
I put perennial effort into buying a plane ticket to Amsterdam before everyone over there starts moving away. Sadly this seems less and less likely. In my most recent search, flights to Australia were cheaper than flights to Europe. I guess that there is less demand for them since it's winter over there, but pure fuel economy would seem to require flights that long to cost a LITTLE more, right? Anyhow I keep looking, hoping that something crazy will happen to make flights really cheap. Like an entire crew team scheduled to fly to Schipol for an international competition will have to cancel due to a mass outbreak of food born illness (the kind that doesn't do lasting damage) and suddenly there will be like twenty tickets they need to sell off fast and cheap. In fact, it seems like there should be some sort of list you could put yourself on. Like "permanent standby" or something. So they can give you like one days notice and you will take a seat canceled at the last minute for half the cost. Perhaps tomorrow I'll see if I can get on that list. Yes. First thing.

Wholesale Sunglass Bonanza