pictures are fun

2008-01-27T20:28:00.000-05:00

Welcome to the marriage of Shundaloo Walls
and L. Ron Hubbard. It is a blissful day.

The world will forever be blessed by this blessed union.

2007-03-02T09:59:00.000-05:00

Oh the train. Just because of a little rain, the 1 train (formerly and still to me known as the 1-9) went all crazy. I sat on the 1 for 10 minutes, while three 2/3 trains came and went, and the announcer repeatedly said (clearly at least) "this train will NOT stop at South Ferry." Well, I weren't going to no South Ferry, so I waited for the train to take me to Houston street. Finally the announcer seemed to realize that perhaps her announcement wasn't quite right. So in an extremely exasperated voice, she said "THIS TRAIN WILL NOT BE STOPPING AT CHRISTOPHER, HOUSTON..." and the rest. Couldn't she have mentioned that earlier? Rather than fight through the angry mob to take the 2-3 down to Chambers and then the uptown 1, I elected to walk. In the rain. With no umbrella. But, the story has a happy ending because on my way, I passed the MUD truck! Now I have a fantastic giant $2 cup of deliciousness and I'm as high as a caffeinated kite. Happy Friday!

2007-02-25T17:18:00.000-05:00

The Brunch Institute
A Study of the Brunch Options in Williamsburg
Study 1: Sweetwater
105 N 6th St (Cross Street: Between Berry Street and Wythe Avenue)
French toast option - Stuffed French Toast with homemade marmelade & cream $8
The french toast is phenomenally good. It made John cry and believe in Jesus. He thinks it is stuffed with apples and butter, though the menu says marmelade and cream. It comes with a big pile of whipped cream which is very good on bacon, dolloped into the coffee, or just eaten with a spoon. Also figs - like fig newtons, but better. The eggs benedict is excellent, with perfectly cooked eggs, and a slice of tomato as a little bonus underneath the canadian bacon. It is accompanied by very good french fries and a nice little salad with grape tomatoes and red onions. Very nice decor, a short wait, and friendly service from the bartender and the cute waitress. No omelettes - the egg options are the benedict and 2 served any style with the aforementioned fries and salad. They will bring you a side of bacon for $2. All in all, an extremely happy meal, though entirely lacking in cheese.

2007-02-25T17:08:00.000-05:00

The Brunch Institute
A Study of the Brunch Options in Williamsburg
Emphasis: French Toast

Lodge
http://www.lodgenyc.com/
318 Grand St (Cross Street: Havemeyer Street)
Menu sound deeelish and is pretty cheap.
French toast option - cardamom french toast with carmelized pinapple and almonds $7
Also $6 for 2 bloody mary's if we are in the mood for that... you know me the alcoholic.

Union Picnic
577 Union Ave, Brooklyn 11211
At N 11th St
Mmm, southern soul food, everything sounds delicious and cheap. I want to go for non-brunch!
French toast option - "elvis french toast."

Santa Fe
366 Union
Southwestern food.
French toast option - Texas stuffed french toast - stuffed with cream cheese and fresh fruit, $8

Sweetwater
105 N 6th St (Cross Street: Between Berry Street and Wythe Avenue)
Not a lot of options on the brunch menu.
French toast option - Stuffed French Toast with homemade marmelade & cream $8

Williamsburgh Cafe
170 Wythe Ave, Brooklyn 11211
At N 6th St
A bit pricey. but lots of delicious sounding options. This sounds un-be-lee-vable:
Pumpkin Waffle Served with candied pecans, sweet whipped cream & maple bourbon syrup - $10
French toast option - Challah French Toast Fresh banana and berry foster sauce - $10

Park Luncheonette
334 Driggs Ave- At Lorimer St
I've been here for brunch, it was excellent. They filmed part of The Departed here as well.

FADA
530 Driggs Ave (Cross Street: N 8th Street)
$10.95 Brunch special includes fresh squeezed juice and coffee
French toast option - French toast with fruit. Also several yummy sounding egg choices.

Bibliography:
Citysearch (www.newyork.citysearch.com)
Menupages (www.menupages.com)

2007-02-02T13:55:00.000-05:00

Well, it's Friday at 2 pm, and I'm drunk at work again. Oops!
That sounds terrible. But this is not my fault, my bosses just took me out for my belated birthday lunch. I ordered a water and Denise said "Jeez, doesn't anyone drink anymore!" So we went for the bottle of wine. And they kept pouring more in my glass! My head hurts. I think I have a hangover already.

2007-02-01T17:11:00.000-05:00

Oh my goodness.

My head hurts terribly. I think this is because my glasses aren't strong enough and I'm out of contacts. I ordered more, and UPS tried to deliver my package 5 days ago. Apparently they've been back three times. Luckily I know that because I've gotten exactly ZERO notices. Oh wait... So I call the store to see what's the deal, and they tell me that UPS tried to deliver, and give me the tracking number.

On the UPS website, I can track my package. It says "1st delivery attempt failed", "2nd delivery attempt failed", "3rd delivery attempt failed". And that's the end. That's wonderful, UPS, thanks. Where is my package NOW? After spending many minutes on their terrible website, I give up and call. They only give me four choices on the phone, none of which seems right. I say "talk to a PERSON PLEASE!" but the nice recording says "I'm sorry, I didn't understand that." They put it in a soothing voice... I don't know who they think they're kidding with that. So I select "track the package," which is what I just did on the website, but fine. This time, I get a little more information - "three delivery attempts failed. Your package is now at a Customer Center." And that's all the help I can get from the phone operator. So, armed with this new information, I go back to the website and look up "Customer Center". Very kindly, they offer several! One near my apartment, one near my office, how lovely. It's unfortunate that my package can only be at one place and yet they won't tell me where it is. Anyway, I'm sure it's at the one near the office, but still I am very grouchy. I really don't understand how UPS is still in business. And how no one has bombed it or anything.

Thanks for listening, blog, you're always so understanding.

2007-01-26T13:12:00.000-05:00

To extend the holiday spirits for a little longer, Shun, Cyni and I headed off to the Dominican Republic for some fun in the sun. Nothing like the joys of an all-inclusive beach vacation! though the tropical sun does not agree with my hair.

2007-01-26T12:15:00.000-05:00

Ah, long time no write words on the internet.

And, I'm afraid that what I'm going to have to write is once again, I hate dunkin donuts. They forgot the cheese on my disgusting only-edible-because-of-the-cheese egg and cheese sandwich. If it were 20 degrees out, I would go back and make them fix it. But alas, it is only 15 degrees and I am staying put at my desk. God, what a world.

Maybe I'll eat a bowl of melted cheese for dinner. I deserve it.

2006-09-15T15:51:00.000-04:00

this is an example of something that is not interesting at all. so that is why it goes onto the blog - because no one wants to hear it.

yesterday, i went to d'agastino's on my lunch hour, and spent the whole hour wandering around. d'agastino's is a very nice grocery store. much nicer than met foods. i wish the whole foods on houston would open. but i think that is a lost cause. what is the deal.

i got some peaches which are just so delicious... it is unbelievable. i did not eat nearly enough fruit this summer, and now it's over. i'll add it to the list of reasons the summer went too fast. so today i eat some oatmeal with peaches for breakfast. what a great combo. i also got some oregon chai stuff which you mix with milk and it makes a chai tea latte. it's pretty good, although it would be way better if the milk were foamy. i think my office should have a cappucino machine instead of the dinky coffeepot. people work better when they are caffeinated. for lunch i had some more irish bread and cheese, the irish bread is really too stale to eat at this point. luckily i have good teeth. actually, i have terrible teeth, cavities abound, nevermind. now i am hungry as the devil... isn't oatmeal supposed to be filling? so i'm eating some applesauce which i also bought yesterday (i keep more food in the office then i do at home!) but i am nearing the bottom of the applesauce and wondering what i can put in my mouth next... i have a pile of chocolates here but i really don't want to eat them - they are for sugar cravings and right now i want some mac and cheese or a burrito or something. is it weird to leave streams of conciousness about food on the internet? also, is it weird that all i think about is food? i'm going to suggest mac and cheese for dinner.

2006-08-09T14:53:00.000-04:00

FOURTHOFJULY!!!

I was selecting some photos for our annual report at work, which made me think about MY photos and how much more fun they are than the photos from LM events. So I decided to take a little break and post some photos of my own. Work is boring.

I think that we have spent progressively less time at each Mofo party. But, we are now at two in a row without tears, which is an excellent thing. 4th of july was much less eventful than last year but a good time was had by all. And it was only $10... and the futureheads were awesomely fun. These are Cyni's pics because although I sent out an email to Shun and Rachel imploring them to share their photos on snapfish, I was soundly ignored. You bastards!!

Sean and I revived our outfits from MOFO4OFJULY05, with a few alterations. I covered my middle this year, as all the drinking and eating seems to have enlarged it a bit. Rachel and Shun showed some lovely cleavage. And Cyni, next time only underwear for you!

Cynthia, what did you say to Shun before you took this picture? I have never seen such fear in her eyes!

2006-06-01T11:43:00.000-04:00

Ode to Ruby Burgers:

perhaps the most
delicious
thing to ever
exist
all other food
seems a waste of
time.

2006-06-01T11:42:00.000-04:00

Hot 97:

We have just been informed by Building Management that there will be a rally today beginning at approximately 2:00 p.m. outside of 395 Hudson Street (across Hudson Street in front of the construction site) protesting comments made by an on-air personality of the radio station. Building Management has assured us that they are taking the necessary precautions to ensure the security of our building and its occupants.

Interesting... this makes me a little nervous. Two people have now been shot in front of my building. And I have to go to a meeting at 2:15. I hope this is a peaceful rally.

2006-05-31T10:07:00.000-04:00

ah, memorial day weekend, a time for barbecues, beach days and picnics. none for me though. instead i had a graduation and a mofo party. graduation was less than thrilling but mofo made up for that. the theme: black and white masquerade ball. i did a little variation on the theme with black and pink. aren't we cute?

we drank our requisite table-full of red bull vodkas:

met some priests:

danced like fiends:

and ate some fries!

all in all, a very successful mofo. and nobody cried!

see you at the 4th of july!

2006-05-19T13:39:00.000-04:00

Mmm. (em em em.) I just had the most delicious sandwich ever. It was a panini from Grey Dog with apples, maple bacon, and smoked gouda. It was so delicious I thought my brain might melt. And then I had two delicous cookies. Because it's Friday and I'm sleepy, I need to eat a lot. Yuppers.

2006-05-19T11:53:00.000-04:00

Gothamist reported that there could be a tornado cruising around Manhattan. This truly is the apocolypse. Well, I'll just sit here stuffing envelopes till the roof falls on my head.

Actually, that's not true, I'm going to head out into the rain/thunder/tornado/hailstorm because I am desperately in need of some CHEESE!!!! After a long night of drinking last night and no dinner, my belly woke up crying for a hangover breakfast of grease and cheese. Unfortunately I had to go to work so I briefly satiated myself with a rice cake and peanut butter on the walk over. But now in 7 minutes I am going to brave the weather to get my fix.

I feel like it's been a long time since I've had a big night out and followed it up with a truly satisfying brunch. I suppose that's because a) I don't go out as much anymore and b) I keep having things to do on these weekend mornings. Stupid activities. I need some lazy days.

But the happy news is... NEXT WEEK BEGINS SUMMER FRIDAYS!!! 3:30 closing every week! I have to leave at 3:30 anyway for the next two weeks for family activity weekends, blech. But then follow 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13 weeks of summer!!! All I can think of is leaving work, picking up an ice coffee, and strolling. Oooh, can't wait for the apocolyptal weather to end and the strolling to begin.

2006-05-16T16:09:00.000-04:00

good news!!! my ipod is fixed!!! apparently everyone who said that i just needed to google "ipod" and "frozen" and would be able to figure out a fix was CORRECT! you are all some smart people. also, my phone broke yesterday and then fixed itself. it was a day of ups and downs. and i had ice cream for lunch, so it was overall a good day.

in high school, i used to lie in bed and think through the next day. i would rate all my classes good, bad or neutral and then add up the day's score. things were so much more discrete back then. i think that's the problem with adult life - it's too hit or miss. wouldn't it be great if we could say "ugh, i have my fundraising job for an hour tomorrow morning, but then i have two optas in a row!" haha, opta. optional time activity.

2006-05-02T16:43:00.000-04:00

Things that taste good (that i have eaten today):
mud coffee (caffeineatacious!)

raisin bran

strawberries
chocolate covered cherries
curried chicken salad (even better with grapes in it! no onions though, they fell on the floor.)
more chocolate covered cherries

Things that are disgusting:
balance bars. who knew? i thought it would be like a luna bar, which i quite enjoy. but not at alllllll. i got the yogurt honey peanut one. it had the texture of nougout (how is that spelled?) - mushy with a mushy coating. to be fair, i should point out that i don't like nougout. oook it is disgusting. but there weren't even any peanuts in it! i guess it's just peanut flavored? rather unfair. and i swear, there was a distinct aftertaste of fish! with the first bite, i thought i was just crazy, so i tried one more. definitely fish. goodbye balance bar, you can balance in the trash can. good thing i have more chocolate covered cherries to drown out the flavor!

that really was a stroke of luck - i got a bag of chocolate covered cherries in my thank-you present from my boss after the big event. (this was not a surprise, as i picked out and ordered the gift myself.) i hoarded them slowly throughout the month until yesterday when i was overtaken and ate six of them. they're pretty good-sized, so six might have been too many for one sitting, judging by the belly-ache. after the binge, there was one sad cherry alone in the bag. then today, my other boss came in with a whole new bag of chocolate covered cherries as a thank-you for another event! hoo-ray!! events are bad in nearly every way, but you certainly do get nice goodies. i could open a perfumerie and a chocolate covered cherry shop. scratch that, i eat the latter, it's the former that are starting to stockpile.

one sad thing to note: harry and david chocolate cherries (former stash) are far superior to chukar cherries (latter stash.) the chukar ones have kind of a malt-y flavor that isn't meshing as well with the cherries. but, what can you do, gotta get the fix!

2006-04-26T15:40:00.000-04:00

bad news

my ipod is broken!! i can access the music if it is plugged into the computer, but otherwise it just has a big checkmark on it and none of the buttons do anything. this is so annoying! i've only had it for 4 months and i don't even use it that often, just at the gym. ipods are garbage. now i have to deal with bringing it in to see if they can fix it. ugh. but first i should take all my stolen music and put it on my computer in case they can't fix the ipod. i wonder how i do that. who would have thunk i'd be on to oliver III so quickly? i like the name oliver jr. better. oh ollie!!!!

2006-04-25T16:53:00.000-04:00

ohhhhhhhh boy.
that was a lot of brownie i just ate. also, i got some on an acknowledgement letter. i hope the donor likes chocolate.

2006-04-25T15:23:00.000-04:00

expedia is stupid

i've gotten it into my head that i would like to go on a tropical beach vacation, just for a few days. i know, it's almost summer, but i think that's a fine time to go. two years ago, shun, cyni and i went to jamaica for 5 days in the middle of july, and it was awesome. fabulous. wonderful. the life. so, if i could find a good deal i would try to organize this trip. i want a cheap, all inclusive vacation where i can lie on a tropical beach for a few days with my feet in the ocean. but i want to do the looking with minimal work. i looked up beach vacations on expedia and this is the pearls of wisdom i received:

So many beaches, so little time! You know you want to go somewhere that’s sunny and sandy—but how to choose from there? One simple way to narrow down the possibilities is to think about what you want to do while you’re there (besides laying about in the sun!).

it then narrows down into choices like family fun, active beach stuff, romantic, etc. i think this is extremely stupid. the way to narrow down the possibilities is by PRICE. you should just be able to say, "hey expedia, at some point over the next two months, i would like to go to a tropical beach resort. i would like to leave from NYC. please give me choices and sort them by price."

sometimes i don't even care if it's the beach, i just want to go on a trip. surely i am not the only cheap bastard who will go anywhere if it's a good deal. there must be a site with "good deals leaving from NY." travel stuff is so tricky though, you have to trust where you're getting it from. i'm not buying plane tickets off a popup ad.

end of rant.

2006-04-25T13:35:00.000-04:00

today i made curry chicken salad, which was very good. actually i made it on sunday to eat yesterday, but yesterday was too rainy for a picnic. today is a lovely day. here is the recipe:

1 3/4 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 lb skinless boneless chicken breast
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup plain yogurt
5 teaspoons curry powder
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon honey
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 medium red onion, chopped (1 cup)
1 firm-ripe mango (3/4 lb), peeled, pitted, and chopped
1 cup red seedless grapes (5 oz), halved
1/2 cup salted roasted cashews, coarsely chopped

Bring 4 cups water to a simmer with chicken broth in a 2- to 3-quart saucepan. Add chicken and simmer, uncovered, 6 minutes. Remove pan from heat and cover, then let stand until chicken is cooked through, about 15 minutes. Transfer chicken to a plate and cool 10 minutes. Chop into 1/2-inch pieces.
While chicken is cooling, whisk together mayonnaise, yogurt, curry, lime juice, honey, ginger, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Add chicken, onion, mango, grapes, and cashews and stir gently to combine.Makes 6 servings. (Gourmet June 2002)

except i made some changes (like the crazy epicurious commenters who make a million changes and then rate the recipe, it's so funny.) i didn't want to buy the mango and grapes because i'm a cheapo so i used an apple. and i used almonds instead of cashews because i had them. and, funnily enough, i just noticed that although i halved the recipe, i forgot to halve the amount of curry powder. but it wasn't that curryful, i think perhaps the powder had lost its oomph. it was over two years old, i think that is overly aged.

the chicken salad was nicely accompanied by some greens and some espresso brownies from starbucks. everyone's roommate should work at starbucks.

2006-04-25T10:52:00.000-04:00

A few weeks ago (I'm still delayed on this posting thing), we had an Easter egg party at M&V's. Eggggggggcellent!

2006-04-10T10:07:00.000-04:00

why don't my posts have titles? i like titles.

2006-04-07T17:04:00.000-04:00

my new theory about blogging: people who have lots of things to say but don't have anyone to say them to write them on the internet. i told jake this theory. he said that i should start writing my thoughts on the internet instead of telling them to him. does that mean he is bored of me?

2006-04-07T16:13:00.000-04:00

ugh.
i feel terrible.
bad sushi cannot be fixed by eating beard papa.
fishy+creamy=yuck

2006-03-29T13:19:00.000-05:00

okay obviously i suck at blogging. it takes a long time to put up pictures, when you put up so many. perhaps i would do better if i just put up an occasional picture. and then in between i could write about extremely uninteresting things. i am getting oil from my sandwich on my keyboard.

right now i would just like to say that the people at dunkin donuts are idiots. why can they not remember to TOAST my TOASTED italian sub? it's not even like subway where any sub comes toasted or untoasted. dunkin donuts is so dumb that they have "toasted subs" - italian, ham and cheese, some others that sound too creepy to get. then they have regular subs - turkey and cheese, tuna, etc. i once asked if i could get turkey and cheese but toasted and the woman just stared at me and then i got an untoasted one. so obviously the paths do not cross. i don't even like italian subs but i got it because i am sick of ham and cheese and dunkin donuts sandwiches taste crappy if they are not toasted. and now here i am eating a crappy italian sub with all kinds of weird meats and it is yuck-o. and nearly $5, jeez louise. okay, this is the end of my insane rant. i'm going to eat my sandwich now. goodbye!

2005-10-28T22:52:00.000-04:00

Halloween 2005 - Day 1

Getting ready:

Shiva wins!

Where else would I keep my belongings?

Shun is not dressed as Venus or Serena.

Oh no! Motherfucker is cancelled!

We said hello to Marc and friends...
(walk of shame - good costume!)

met up with Disco Stu...

and went to a bar in the east village.
Someone asked Rachel if her arms were robotic.

Shiva's slutty arms are always grabbing places they shouldn't be.

Then we went to sixes and eights where there were lots of people in funny hats.

This guy looks very nice in my hat.

They were there for this fellow's birthday.
Happy Birthday, Brendan!

But this guy has the funniest hat of them all.

but what is the rule about purchasing a pre-made costume...

We did some dancing...

Peace out, yo.

Good times with hats at sixes and eights.

Except that Shun's jacket got stolen and Sean's wallet got lost. So we thought we would go to Caverna and dance our sorrows away. But the sleazy bouncer rejected Sean's poor id-less booty without a bribe of $20.

So for a change, we went to the Johnson's.
Shotgunning PBR - the perfect end to any night.

How do I do this, asks Shun.

Is this right?

Stu succeeded...

but Shun did not.

Just suck it out!

Shun knows how to do that...

2005-10-01T11:51:00.000-04:00

Hooray! We are going on a road trip to Maine!

Shun and Cyni are driving because they know how.

Liz is writing in a notebook because that is what she likes to do.

First stop: Providence, Rhode Island.

Wickenden Street is most delicious, says the freshman. He is correct.

Next Stop: Salem, Mass

A lovely place to sit and eat some fried dough.

Salem is a good place to see witches.

or be witches!

A scary, scary town. Also a good town to dress as whores.

We love to look like whores!

The nice men take photos of us as whores.

Then we go back to the scary stuff. Oh, but we did have some fun as whores.

The next morning: Portland, Maine.
Where shall we have breakfast? Where has Cynthia never been?

An orgy of food at Denny's! Three meat-lovers breakfasts and a meat-lovers bowl.

Also, a man in a lobster hat. You just never know who you'll meet at Denny's.

Next stop, the Alpaca Farm!

An investment you can hug!

"You are cute," says the Alpaca. "Thanks, so are you," says Cynthia.

They are cute. We took too many pictures of them.

And their fur makes a lovely cloak!

A beautiful day at the Alpaca farm.

Also a good day for apple-picking!

An apple tree is a great place to be.

We like to put things on our heads.

And there was even a hayride. I give it an A+!

Hayrides are extremely fun.

And now, onward to Bar Harbor!

Where we will finally eat the long-awaited
LOBSTER
mmmmmm...
who needs utensils when you have hands?

and blueberry beer!

and stay in a cute, cute cottage.

Good morning, cottage!
We're off to go whale-watching!

We are on a boat!

Sailing the open seas!

It was veeeery cold.

But we did see a whale! Hooray!

And then we took ourselves out for ice cream.

Then, it was time for some nature,
so we headed to Acadia National Park...

with Ranger Liz!

Wow! What a beautiful view!

I can see Canada from here!

We are one with the universe.

All this nature makes me want to get drunk.
"No, I'm not stealing anything, sir! Just pretending to be a bartender!"

Meanwhile, Rachel interviews the night clerk of the hotel.
Mainians are very creepy sometimes. Some of them seem like they might murder the hotel guests and stuff their bodies. Luckily that did not happen to us.

We ended up safe and sound in bed.

The next morning, we said goodbye to the lighthouse
(no real lighthouses, but this was good enough), and headed homeward.

But we did make a pit stop in Bangor, Maine,
home of the world's largest Paul Bunyon statue!
(which was surprisingly hard to find.)

Look how small we are under the statue.

It was much too tall to climb.

And then, after 17 hours of outlet shopping, we were homeward bound.

"A great trip, all in all," says ghetto Liz.