Things we leave behind...

So I'm pretty much all moved into my new studio apartment in the trendy UES and luckily for me the last tenant left behind quite a bit of random stuff...

* 35 cents under the mini-stove

* Shiny maroon shower curtain & super tiny bathroom trash can

* Pantry items: Canned soup, olive oil, sauces

* Dishes made circa 1980s and other random kitchen stuff - a few utensils, cooking pot, bowls

* 7 pairs of size 12 men's shoes in the cupboard

* Ginormous wood framed mirror with matching nightstand & fold-out kitchen table

* Bar of christmas chocolate left in the fridge

* Cleaning supplies & step ladder

* Take-out menus, dry cleaner card, lighter

* By far my most bizarre find was located under the sink in a Strand shopping bag - a frame with an envelope of pictures & a sentimental note attached to the back. (Out of respect I will not post what this girl wrote but trust me it was entertaining) To my surprise these pictures were of a half-naked chick who had decided to artfully pose with a piece of plaster painted on her torso. So thoughtful? Apparently this dude who lived here didn't think so because he left it behind. Now I'm not sure what to do because it seems wrong to throw it in the trash after so much love went into the present but I very much doubt that Salvation Army would enjoy receiving that particular donation.

Thoughts?

Volunteer Abroad

Direct flight from New York to Costa Rica: $325.42

Weekly fee for the IVHQ reconstruction program in San Jose: $285.00

Spanish classes at Máximo Nivel: $85

Ray-Ban sunglasses from the mall in San Pedro: ₡89,150

Spinning class taught all in Spanish: ₡1,500

Movie ticket to see the Informant with Spanish subtitles: ₡1,000



Being called a gringa while walking down the street............... PRICELESS!

My Buried List

Because I’m a 14 year old girl at heart, I still watch quality MTV shows like Real World, Jersey Shore, and True Life. Most recently I saw the first episode of The Buried Life with these 4 tan cuties who have big hearts and ambition to live their lives to the fullest. I would love to be on that bus traveling across North America and not have to sit in an office all day in front of my computer (ah, to dream). I just looked up their Buried list online and cherry picked the ones that I want to do before I kick the bucket (which hopefully won’t be for a long while):

3. Get a tattoo

4. Start a dance in a public place

6. Be in a Hollywood movie

7. Plant a tree

8. Ride a bull

9. Destroy a computer (I would love to do that right now!!)

13. Help someone build a house

19. Write a book

23. Learn how to play an instrument (besides the recorder)

25. Drive across North America

27. Give a stranger a $100 bill

28. Send a message in a bottle

30. Make a big donation to a charity

32. Get something named after you

34. Pay for someone’s groceries

44. Catch something and eat it

48. Skydive (actually I’m too chicken to do this but I might bungee jump and pee my pants)

51. Climb a large mountain

52. Go on a blind date

56. Write an article for a major publication

57. Spend a week in silence

61. Draw a mural

62. Be in a protest

68. Swim with sharks

75. Be a contestant on a gameshow

78. Fall in love (with a non-douchebag)

84. Run a marathon

88. Jump off a waterfall

92. Learn how to surf

93. Ride through the desert in a dune-buggy

97. Be in a boxing match


I better get started soon...

To Dos for 2010

See ya later 2009 - you sucked a big one! I'm looking ahead to bigger and better things in the teens decade. I just started making a list of things I want to accomplish in the beginning third of this new year:

• Quit drinking booze until March (or maybe just stop doing shots on weekdays)

• Attend a cooking class or two at the Brooklyn Kitchen, so I can pretend to cook something other than pasta

• Learn a little Spanish - hopefully I won't embarrass myself too much while traveling abroad

• Go to Costa Rica in February to volunteer in San Jose for a week - still need to pay for it

• Officially give up eating dirty fast food like McDonalds and Burger King (Chinese food and pizza are still ok though)

• Ween myself off my pricey morning addiction to Starbucks - I don't need a latte a day

• Lose 10lbs so my mom's Wii Fit doesn't say my age should really be 47 years old

• Actually finish one of the many books I've started writing
  

• Run my first half-marathon on March 20th at the National Marathon in DC

More to come...

Help ME, Help YOU!

So I've been thinking lately that I need to fix my karma by doing some good in the world in 2010. I have four travel options right now that I'm mulling over:

Option 1:
Go on a volunteer trip to India with an organization called International Volunteer HQ, the program's web page: IVHQ.

My friend Jenn from Boston went on a trip with IVHQ before and has already booked her trip to Palampur to work with street kids for 2 weeks in late February. You typically stay with host families and works the entire day in an orphanages, teaching English or in day care centers with street children.

My only concern with traveling to India is that I've talked to several people who have had very bad experiences traveling there (especially going to Delhi) and are recommending strongly against it. Also the flight and program costs will be about 2 grand - big dent in my savings account!

Option 2:
Travel to South Africa, with a company called OverlandingAfrica.com on a 14 day camping trip from Cape Town to Durban. According to the website, you can "make a REAL difference" by helping the people of Africa with family planning, environmental projects,
building infrastructure, etc.

Downsides of this trip would traveling alone, which is slightly concerning given that South Africa seems to have a bad reputation for crime. Also I would be camping for 2 weeks in a tent and it costs $1,055 per person for the tour, food and volunteer experience. That doesn't factor in the cost of a flight which would be over a grand.

Option 3:
Take some personal time off to visit my friend Sara from London who will be working in Hong Kong sometime next March.

The obvious negatives are that the flight would be horrendously expensive and take a long time to get there. Plus I wouldn't really be doing any good stuff to help other people, although I would be eating delicious food and exploring China which sounds pretty amazing.

Option 4:
Go on a fun beachy trip with girlfriends in late January to relax and sip fruity cocktails with little pink umbrellas.

Again the negative would be that this trip is completely self-serving and not helping to fix my karma in the slightest. On the other side it would help drastically improve my skin tone. Plus it's a cheap holiday which would be good fun with the girls.

Ughhh too many choices and so little vacation time!

All I Want for Christmas...

Here's my list in case anyone wants to buy me a few prezzies this year:


- North Face black backpack

- Rollerblades (ladies size 9)

- Mini food processor

- Hunter rain boots (in black or green)

- Granny cart

- Ray-Ban sunglasses (aviator style)

- Ikea MALM dresser (med. brown color)

- New job

- Tropical vacation in January

- A puppy


I don't think I'm asking for too much :)


**Update - A new cute boyfriend is going on the list too!

Celebrity Sightings

Since I moved to the big city in June '09, I've seen quite a few famous people milling around the streets of Manhattan. Here's my list starting from the most recent sighting (yesterday morning)...

* Brooke Shields walking her big white dog in front of my Crunch gym on Lafayette st.

* Jude Law attending a premiere on Chrystie street in the Lower East Side (he's gorgeous although a tad short)

* Some guy in a band - 3Oh!3 - at a downtown bar

* Larry David walking his scruffy dog on Broadway early in the morning

* I saw Claire Danes twice! Waiting in line at Cafe Cafe in SoHo and walking up Broadway

* The attractive slightly older newscaster, Dan Abrams, walking down Broadway

* While they were filming 'Date Night' (coming out in 2010), we saw Tina Fey get out of a car

* Robert Pattinson at Gemma restaurant (technically I didn't see his adorableness because Tim forgot to mention that he walked by)

I might have to check out Bar Pitti in the West Village because that seems to be a good celebrity hotspot. Maybe I will finally see one of the Olsen girls and prove to my boss that they really do exist!