Coffee

Should I ask him to it tomorrow? It is certain.

You're shaking my confidence daily...

After a day spent chilling out in Brooklyn, one of my friends and I decided to head back to Manhattan for the day. Chelsea, Meatpacking District and West village were on the agenda. So was a huge pillow fight that we ended up missing out on as it didn't run as long as it was advertised to go to; it's too soon to talk about it. We did however end up taking photos of ourselves with bunny ears and our inflatable pillows we'd bought in union square and I toyed with the idea of pretending we had gone, but even when I tried to carry out the lie theoretically in my mind over drinks with our other two friends I caved, so I guess I can cross becoming a spy off my list of career options.

In any case, we did successfully hang out in the village area almost all day (after requisite 'family breakfast' in Brooklyn). One area that I was really keen on checking out was the Chelsea Market which is an old oreo cookie factory. Only problem is as soon as we got there all my breakfast coffees started to hit and I needed to get myself to a washroom and stat! We looked all over the market and couldn't find one and as the urgency started to mount I exclaimed to my friend that I was just going to go across the street to the starbucks to use the washroom there instead of searching around the now annoyingly large Chelsea market. Well, as I waited over 30 minutes in line at the starbucks across the street I felt like I had the phrase "I'm just going to the starbucks across the street" ringing through my head like that seat belt promotion commercial that goes "I'm just going to the store..." Alas, I somehow managed to survive such a trauma and was given another life lesson on how a lot of my issues are really a matter of perspective because upon re-entry into the Chelsea Market the building which had just seemed to be an annoying labyrinth was full of smiling faces, amazing infrastructure and gigantic take-out lobsters. My friend and I hit up my very first NYC sample sale where I narrowly avoided buying tops and dresses I didn't even like because they were sooooo on sale.

After avoiding buying things on super sale, we made our way out of the Chelsea Market, but not before stopping at an interior flea market type deal where almost all of the vendors made some connection to Brooklyn ('made in Brooklyn,' 'visit our shop in Brooklyn' etc.); we'd come all the way to Chelsea just to head back to Brooklyn it seemed. This is the place that I used the eight ball today. I was eyeing a large plastic bag that has birds all over it and rhinestones (hmmm that not selling it). For some reason I quite liked it, but wasn't sure about the price point - $80 for a used bag. I asked the eight ball and it told me I should get it. I managed to get it for $70 by paying in cash. Walking around the village I got quite a few compliments on my new purchase, but as I left the Chelsea Market it became apparent that the general 'vintage smell' of the area we'd be in was not so general and was more localized than that in that it was emanating from my new purse. I will have to trust the eight ball's wisdom on this one, making it officially my new oracle of Delphi, well not that I ever visited the oracle of Delphi, but you get what I mean, right? On an unrelated note, anyone of tips for getting rid of vintage smell in a purse?

The Purse

Faking it

Looking for questions to the answers

Another day out wandering the streets of Brooklyn, another day with a short entry. Today we mostly hung out in our neighbourhood - Park Slope. Morning brunch was found at la boulangerie lopez where I got overly ambitious and ordered gauc and a sandwich, only managing to finish half of each. We then made the trek over to a nail salon to get manis, pedis and eyebrow threading. En route, we crossed an overpass that provided a relatively unobstructed view of the water and Manhattan with the statue of liberty blending into the skyline; it was a great view and I wish I'd taken the time to take a photo. I think, in part, I found it such a great moment as it was the first time I'd actually seen the statue in person. All the other times I've seen the statue it was in films or photographs where it was a central focus. In this first real life encounter there she was just kind of hanging out with some other buildings around her; no biggie. In any case, along the way to the salon we learned where the slope in park slope comes from and we arrived a half hour late. Now, I'll admit I'm a bit of a baby and am just getting used to doing anything to my eyebrows, but I knew I was in trouble when the woman about to 'thread' my eyebrows looked at them and declared them to be 'so natural' (this, I gathered to be polite salon speak for messy and/or long) adding this is going to hurt more; 'yay!' I thought.

3 hours in the salon later we wandered over to meet our friend to eat yet again. This time for more 'ethical' burgers at Bareburger. This was followed by a bit of collective shoe shopping as well as searching for bunny ears to wear tomorrow to New York's event for 'pillow fight day' - a worldwide event. While my friend and I inquired in one toy store a woman gave us a tip that she'd seen some at a pharmacy down the street and this is where I acquired my first part of bunny ears on a headband. I'm hoping to fashion some manner of bunny tail ala Bridget Jones, but we'll see I have a lot of plans for tomorrow. In any case, to progress what's turning into a travel diary along the eight ball questioning of the day, today it came at a vintage shop on Atlantic avenue where my friends were busy buying everything. I was debating a gold ring with a huge imitation emerald. I was debating its purchase assuming that like so many other vintage or antique stores we'd come across it was going to a pretty penny. As I hemmed and hawed I realized I needed to ask the eight ball, which instructed me in turn to purchase the ring. As I approached the saleswoman to find out how much this new ring was going to set me back she said something quite magical in a sweet-not-quite-placeable-by-me-new-england-accent: ten dollars.

A few cocktails and hours later, my friend and I headed to a psychic for my very first tarot card reading. I am still processing what I think about what took place, but it was certainly interesting. I made note of all of the predictive elements to come back to them once time had passed. I did find, however, during the reading as she asked me for questions that I simultaneously had so many questions and none at all, making for awkward half questions. It was an odd feeling of unease as I sat hearing someone's answers and not quite coming up with questions for them. As I think about it now this song comes to mind:

Pillow fight day in NYC 2011

Brooklyn hipster attitude

So, I already missed a deadline. But, I've been busy strolling the streets of Brooklyn and Manhattan with limited internet. I'm alright with that fate. Today, was a slow start. Slept in and the mosied over to a local hipster bakery here in Brooklyn to get brunch with my friend before heading to Manhattan for our guilty pleasure of a SATC tour. When we arrived at the recommended bakery they, of course, only took cash. After a 7 block stroll we finally found an ATM. We had walked through a weird middle-earth of genterfication where it was not quite sketchy enough to be dodgy, but not enough strollers, vintage shops, brownstones and restos/barber shops to be the Brooklyn we've become accostumed to. When we arrived back to the bakery/coffee shop (after being cat called by construction workers) I couldn't choose between an egg/cheese/bacon melted creation or a lamb savory pie. So, I asked the eight ball expectantly if I should get my secret favourite in this race - the egg thingy, but it responded "not likely" or something to that effect. I then inquired about the lamb pastry and it said no to that too. Miffed and confused, but feeling committed to my project I asked the eight ball about the one other savory pie - a butternut sqaush creation with various spices. I shook the eight ball anxiously as there were only about 5 food options it finally revealed a "it is certain." As I settled up I asked if it was possible to get it heated up; I never did get a repsonse, I got a scoff a sigh and a turn around to put the pastry in the oven. And, you know what that pie was pretty damn good, but it would have been shit if it were cold.

These streets will make you feel brand new

Three posts in and I'm already starting to wonder if I'm manipulating this project. Let me clarify, today I didn't really use the eight ball much. In fact, I think the only time I used it revolved around whether I should go on this Sex and the City tour. I mean it'll be cheesy, surrounded by annoying women, overly expensive - annnnnnnddd I'll get to see where Carrie did this and where Big did that get a good tour of the island, eat a cupcake and, well, SQUEAL. It'll be ridiculous. So, as I was debating this I asked the eight ball should I go alone on Thursday it responded in the negative and suddenly my dreams of buying a sex toy where Charlotte bought her 'rabbit' began to fade. I then exchanged e-mails with one of my friend's I'm travelling to NYC with to ask her if this tour was the tour she had already gone on and whether it was worth it (my heart brimming with a plan to go against the eight ball's advice). I had assumed I would have to go it alone as my friend had already done this tour (or a similar one). Turns out it was the same one and she offered to go again. So, I asked the eight ball if I should go to the SATC tour with my friend on Thursday and it responded: Outlook good. I'll take it, eight ball, I'll take it and I'll be smiling as I get told about the church where Sam first met friar fuck. Oh, I'm getting excited for this trip! I swear I'm going to do non-lame things too.

Better not tell you now...

So, it turns out that this may have been the worst time to start a blog as I am heading to NYC for a long, long weekend on Wednesday morning and have a great many things to do at work as well as for a class I was taking for work (ahem - a 20 page paper in 3 days is feasible right?) Woe is me, I know. I was also overcome by fear that after a short time carrying out this exercise I will already make decisions faster than 5 minutes over the course of one day and therefore will not actually use my eight ball to help guide me. But, I suppose I will cross that bridge if and when I come to it.

Alas, I did use the eight ball a few times today. In fact, the first time I used the eight ball today may have been subconsciously motivated out of a fear that I wouldn't organically use it daily. This thought somehow simultaneously stirred a minor fear that perhaps the opposite would happen and I'd become completely beholden to the eight ball and eventually, like a drug addict, I'd reach for it in a meeting at work to help me make a decision needing just a 'quick fix.' I am mostly joking and likely revealing a little too early how neurotic I am, but I digress. As I was saying, as per usual, this morning I was running late for work when realized I didn't have any pita bread for my typical half a grapefruit and half a pita with peanut butter breakfast. I asked my eight ball if I should just get a bagel with pb at work and it said: "better not tell you now." To which, after looking at my iPhone for the time, I responded: "oh yes, you'd better tell me now." So, I shook my eight ball asking it again about my pressing breakfast dilemma and it responded: "As I see it, yes." And, so off I went to work where I promptly sought out a whole wheat bagel with peanut butter. Now, you may be asking yourself if you're reading this (and I suspect no one is reading this and I'm being purely rhetorical here) 'wait, does this mean you thought about whether to eat breakfast at home or at work for more than 5 minutes?' The answer to that question, dear fictitious reader, is: yes, yes it does. I know, I'm leading a very meaningful life where I routinely deal with 'first world problems.' Actually, I'm pretty sure I could spend more than 5 minutes contemplating whether using that term, even humorously, is appropriate. I would say cut to the chase and ask the eight ball, but then I realized that I had originally conceived of a rule for this project that I could not use the 8 ball predictively (e.g. asking questions such as 'will I ever get married'? - I mean, just purely for instance). So, I think asking the eight ball whether it's appropriate to use the term 'first world problems,' would violate this rule or, at best, be a grey area. I know! I'll ask the eight ball itself if I 'should' ask it (how's that for meta?) Here we go, my first 'live' eight ball-ing .... and the response is: "don't count on it." Thank you eight ball for keeping me honest.

Okay, anywho, I had asked a few other equally banal questions to the eight ball today, but let's save it for the next few posts in case I don't end up asking it questions daily. I will assume if you are indeed reading this that you will are now awaiting said potential entries with baited breath. Hmmmm, I probably should have asked my eight ball if I had time to watch the most recent episode of Gossip Girl tonight or listen to that podcast on the most recent Nicaraguan elections (how is that for contrasts?), but I well knew I wanted to avoid its wise counsel and continue to procrastinate from my paper. As Samuel Beckett would so often say: oh boy.

Outlook Good: Where do I start, where do I begin?

So, here's the idea I am going to endeavour for one full year to let a magic eight ball make my decisions for me. Well, not exactly all of my decisions. I mean the world wide web tells me that research suggests humans make approximately 200 food and beverage related choices a day, most without even thinking of it. No, I will restrict this to any decision that I don't make after 5 minutes of thinking about it. I've decided this in part out of considerations for practically, but moreover to try to get at one of the key reasons why I decided to embark on this journey: I all to often suffer analysis paralysis and I want to lessen the amount of time I spend in this state. I also thought that this could be my 'hook'; we'll see if it catches anything other than an old boot.

I also wanted to engage in an activity that would give me the opportunity to practice daily discipline as I find that my discipline often comes in, to put it politely, fits and starts. Finally, I wanted to work on something that would help me to improve my writing skills. I've read many times that part of refining writing skills is just simply writing and writing regularly. While many exercises I've read about in this vein put a word limit on this type of practice, I've decided that, for the time being, I'm not going to do that; rather, I'm just going to focus on trying to have one entry per day. Entries will focus then on some aspect of a decision or decisions that I made using the magic eight ball. I suspect that some entries - like this one - will be less entertaining and more banal, some even just made to make the daily requirement part of this challenge to myself. But, I also think that some will allow for a lot of personal reflection and others still will, hopefully, be funny, thought-provoking or in some other way interesting to anyone else who may happen upon this project.

I had originally contemplated starting this blog on January 1st, but I'm not much of one for New Year's resolutions in the strict sense. For no real good reason, new year's resolutions that start on January first feel like I'd be setting myself up to travel down a road that is doomed to failure. So, with that timeline scratched I kind of shelved the whole idea until I experienced a bit of existential angst last week which was brought on by equal parts mild career dissatisfaction, coming off a week long flu that had me a bit shack whacky, and - oddly - having just watched the movie the Descendants. I decided that April 1st is the beginning of a new year of sorts (a new fiscal year at work) and that it seemed as good as day as any. Well, that and when I spent time thinking about whether today - April 1st - would be the day, I asked the magic eight ball app on my iPhone: "should I start the blog today?" and it responded: "outlook good." And, so it begins...