je na sais quoi

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Forty Eight Hours in Las Vegas

The first time I went to Vegas was around age eight. I flew there with my mom to visit my dad, only a few years (hours really) after meeting him. We saw Siegfried and Roy, took photos in front of the MGM Lion – which I recall being quite stressful, and I fell asleep at every show and restaurant to which they took me.

It planted a seed, at a young age, that Vegas and late nights were not my thing.

I traveled back at age 20, following the removal of four impacted wisdom teeth, to surprise my dad for his 60th birthday. My lack of wisdom (teeth) paired with too many cocktails landed me in the Emergency Room. A Las Vegas Emergency Room. Sit on that for a minute.

Drinking and dentist visits were soon added to the list of activities I wouldn’t thrive in.

At 22, I visited the city once more. This time, with three girlfriends. We spent four days (three days too many in my opinion) and took a red eye home with the worst hangovers of our lives.

I can barely fly well-rested, during the clearest of conditions without drugs. Forget red eyes. NO. Just, no.

So when Melissa told me her bachelorette would be in Vegas, I’ll admit, I panicked. But then? I planned my flights perfectly, avoided any and all dental work, and limited myself to night drinking.

Slowly, but surely, each girl was hit with dehydration and a hangover, and all six were set to fly home on a red eye Sunday night.

The part of me that felt horrible for them was outnumbered by the many parts of me that were so happy I had planned so well.

Of course, I was bumped to my own redeye, delayed due to storms all over the country, had to buy a sweatshirt that said ONE MAN WOLFPACK on the back, and missed my first day of work.

So that’s my story, and here are some photos. Moral(s) not included.

Jokes aside, Happy Bachelorette Melissa – Thanks for the memories Ashlee, Laura, Emily, Anna & Leslie! See you in June Xo

Thursday, May 16, 2013

Seven Days Without a Job

Last Thursday was the last day of my last job and as they handed me a card, the cartoon one where a bunch of characters say “Don’t Leave” in various ways, I realized I had been given this same exact card at least four times and hoped that I wouldn’t receive this card again for a very, very long time.

I walked out of the company into the parking lot into my car and drove home like I had done all the days before and nothing felt different except that it was warm out and I realized that it is going to be summer soon and I’ll never drive to this place again. I didn’t look back, though maybe I should have.

James and I spent another weekend enjoying Boston, then mother’s day with his family before driving five hours to New Jersey on Sunday night. His new job allows for nights and weekends together so the travel isn’t so bad. I went along for the ride, spent Monday holed up in the hotel, ordered room service and watched Netflix until I found myself at the hotel bar drinking waters and talking to Edmond, the bartender, who later said “HEY GIRL YOU CHANGED” when he saw us at dinner and James laughed at me because I made a friend.

The amtrak station, 2.1 miles away, left from New Brunswick once a day and took people into New York City. I made the train and read a magazine article about why certain celebrities have a higher likability factor, like Emma Stone and Jennifer Lawrence, and why some celebrities, no matter how sweet and successful, make us cringe, like Anne Hathaway. I thought about this in terms of blogging, and wondered if you really do just have to fall up the hypothetical stairs of your life for girls to like you. I thought about this from 7:53 until 8:39 when I arrived in NYC, hopped in a cab and found my best friend.

Antonia was waiting in the doorway when I stepped off the elevator and we hugged for a long time because we always feel the weight of our problems lighten when we see each other. We found ourselves in a bar chatting with this older man and woman who claimed to be just friends, neither were from Boston, but in the events of the Marathon, felt compelled to tell us how much they hated Boston until it all happened. We left soon after that, and will likely never see them again.

We slept side by side, like all those times in college, both falling asleep before the movie even started, waking up to sunlight bouncing off city buildings. We rushed to breakfast and made two more friends, two girls from outside the city. Her husband was a photographer and she had a doctor’s appointment that day, which brought her here in the first place.

We caught a cab and spent the day shopping in Antonia’s favorite places, her inner stylist dressing me all day. The girl who could barely leave her dorm room in Rhode Island was now dragging me through the biggest city without restraint. From experience, I had learned that some places just look better on people, and NYC looked best on her.

Later, I took another train, this one four hours long, from NYC to Boston. I sat in an empty pair of seats, hoping no one would talk to me, sit with me, look at me.

I tucked all my personal belongings up under my legs and under my arm and under my coat and sometimes I looked out the window and sometimes I looked at my computer and sometimes I closed my eyes.

This was the most freedom I would have for a very, very long time. If I never get that card again, it would be too soon.

Monday, May 13, 2013

Homemade Iced Ameri-Cacao-nos

We spent five days visiting my sister and brother in Colorado in April and among the many things I love about the city of Boulder – the food, the culture, the cleanest air ever and the perpetual sunshine – our favorite thing is that a coffee shop, a good coffee shop, can be found on every corner. On every non-corner. They’re as common to the city as dogs and Suburus. We love it.

On day one, we stopped at Ozo, a place that had just started serving Cacao Elixers, a caffeine alternative, and I made my sister bring me there several times in five days to order one. It tasted like a Mexican Hot Chocolate with an energy kick. When we returned, I bought Cacao powder and ever since, James and I have attempted different variations of coffee drinks including the superfood.

I did a little research and learned that Cacao contains theobromine and phenylethylamine which actaully enhance your mood and give you an energy rush. This probably explains why I loved them so much. We have tried both substituting Cacao for coffee, and also combining the two for an extra boost.

When the warm weather arrives, we make the transition from hot Americanos to iced, and on this particular Friday, we decided to add Cacao. I think the extra step is worth the extra antioxidants and flavor that the ingredient adds.