Sunday, July 24, 2005

SF Update

I emailed the hiring partner last Monday morning mentioning more firmly my interest in possibly trying out another city *coughs "San Francisco"* if the opportunity arose this summer. I still haven't heard back from him. I'm concerned and just a little *coughs "a lot"* worried. I really don't want to jeopardize my NY offer. Tomorrow my plan is to play the "scared shitless" part with a partner I trust to see if he can get the lay of the land. Let's hope all goes well.

Sad to report that, as of now, it looks like I should prepare for Fall OCI.

Saturday, July 23, 2005

FILTH

odderie: I like Jake Ryan.
odderie: :-(
friend: Who's this f*cker Jake Ryan?
odderie: hahahahaa
odderie: He's probably 40 by now.
odderie: He's Molly Ringwald's crush on "Sixteen Candles."
odderie: Yeah, he's 44.
odderie: :-)
friend: I wonder what you call a male MILF?
odderie: FILTH?
odderie: Father I'd Like To Hump?
odderie: C'mon. You know you like it.
friend: Oh that's good, very good!
odderie: hehehe
odderie: I'm not a law student for nothing!

Bug-eyed update

I feel like an AA member every time I wake up.

"My name is odderie, and I have been bug-bite-free for three days."

Yay for bathing in "Off! Deep Woods" every night.

Blub Blub

My pants fit. This is not good. At the beginning of the week (let alone the beginning of the summer), my pants were a little loose. Now, after an indulgent and delectable (and totally worth it) week of yummy food, I have officially blubbered a little this week. This week's culprits really wow-ed me:

On Wednesday, I went to Asia de Cuba for a funky, yummy lunch with some of my favorite summers at the firm. The restaurant was bustling with what apparently was a sorority reunion of some sort. (But don't let that dissuade you from trying the place!) Dishes are served family-style, which worked very well because it gave us all the opportunity to try a lot of different flavors. The star dishes (in my mind) were the calimari salad, the fried plantain (SO GOOD), and the Cuban spiced chicken. For dessert, we had the sorbet selection (delicious and beautifully presented) and the coconut cake (ridiculously coconut-y and super duper rich -- almost too rich for me *gasp*).

On Thursday, in preparation for our meat-fest later that evening, a bunch of us went to Sushi Yasuda for a light sushi lunch. I had been here before during my call-back with this firm, so, having had a delicious meal before, I went expecting great things. I was not disappointed. The sushi here is beyond words wonderful. It is so fresh, I swear all of the fish must have been swimming scant hours before the meal. I had a variety of sushi, including a tuna roll, egg sushi, tuna sushi, squid, and (drumroll) cherrystone clam. I was very excited to try a new sushi, and the clam was very good. I love the texture of clam and the taste is not offensive like oysters. (No offense to oyster lovers out there.) What I was disappointed about this time, though, was the service. It seemed like they wanted to hurry us out of there! Granted, at the time of making the reservation, they mentioned something vague about having something going on where we would need to finish by 1:30, but clearing up quickly and telling us they had run out (or didn't have in the first place?) any of the listed desserts was ridiculous! Anyway, the sushi was fabulous, so we left content.

Thursday night was the Business & Finance group's Meat Fest at Churrascaria Plataforma, a Brazilian meat fest restaurant. In case you haven't been to a Brazilian barbecue place before, let me describe the scene: You sit down, they give you a marker with red on one side (for stop) and green on the other (for go), and then the parade begins. Meat after meat after meat comes by you (as long as you're still green lighting, that is), and the waiters present the various cuts on long skewers. At least ten different cuts of steak, pork, chicken, sausage, etc. passed by, not to mention the salmon option they also offered. My table completely bypassed the (apparently phenomenal) salad bar in favor of getting straight to the good stuff. It was a good thing we did because there was more meat than we could literally chew. What peeved us, though, was that we (by which I mean the people at my table) saved (some) room for dessert in the hopes that they would continue this completely gluttonous feast and offer us multiple desserts. Sadly, disappointingly, frustratingly enough, they did not. No, they did not. "Only one dessert per person." Which makes you wonder...they'll give you unlimited amounts of meat for who knows how long, but they'll only allow you one dessert? Let's all hear it: Hrm.

Yesterday, though, was the incredibly most wonderfully divine lunch ever! Before, I'd stated that Jean-Georges was my favorite lunch. Friday's lunch is right up there with it. We went to Bouley, and it was amazing. It is definitely the best meal for the money that I've had in the city. I had the Chef's tasting menu: sashimi quality tuna with shaved fennel, steamed Chatham halibut, Long Island duckling, and the chocolate souffle. The food was crazy good, and the experience was just flat out really enjoyable. The staff was warm, friendly, and accessible (granted, it helps that the attorney I was with knew the staff), and the restaurant's layout and decor was welcoming and homey. I have to mention the bread. The bread. Is. Amazing. I had soooo much bread, and it was all soooo good. Among them were the garlic bread (AWESOME with little chunks of garlic), fig bread (for those with simpler tastes), black & white pepper bread (muy caliente! bread), and (my absolute favorite) the saffron walnut bread. *drools* They were kind enough to wrap up some saffron walnut bread for me, which I lovingly enjoyed this afternoon while I sat in the shade under a tree in Central Park, alternately reading my book and people watching. Yay for saffron walnut bread and yay for Bouley!

Now that I think about it, those trousers-that-now-fit are TOTALLY worth it.

The Real World: Crayola

Just a quick note to say I saw my first bona fide blue-haired (probable) grandma today.

Her hair was a fluffy cloud of wisteria cotton candy.

Mmm...cotton candy.

Tuesday, July 19, 2005

Meals^2

The good:

Today I went to Wolfgang's Steakhouse, which is run by the same people over at Peter Luger's (more on Luger's next Friday, a day I have been eagerly anticipating!). We had steak for 9 (and there were still 2 non-beef eaters who ordered fish). The steak was pretty dang tasty in its medium-rare charred goodness. I learned that, on the T-bone, the big side (for lack of a more technical term that probably does exist but of which I'm unaware) is the sirloin steak side and the small side (again, I admit my lack of knowledge here) is the filet mignon side. Isn't that cool?? In addition to hunks of sizzling meat, I of course left room for a horrifyingly rich chocolate mousse cake. The cake/mousse itself was eh-okay, but the crust was really cool (an Oreo cookie-like crust) and the "schlag" (their homemade whipped cream) was REALLY awesome.


The bad:

I am BEING EATEN ALIVE in NYC. (Stop thinking perverted thoughts!) I woke up this morning to EIGHT, count them EIGHT bug bites on me, TWO of which are on my FACE. How nasty is that?????? Trust me, you are not the only one grossed out by this because I am majorly disgusted.

I should explain that bug bites + my skin don't mix, and I end up with bad allergic reactions (think gigantic, really red, puffy, etc.). Anyway, I'd thought I'd been careful after having been spider-bitten earlier this summer (which is an even bigger debacle -- think antibiotics, the works -- than these mosquito bites), and I'd been wearing this really cool-dorky -- "corky?" -- (you know...one of those hybrid things that is awesome to find but that some would totally shun...like a Harry Potter robe or something) bug repellent bracelets that are supposed to keep biting bugs away. It appears that this one (which I'd admittedly been using for about a month -- it would likely wear off by now, I guess) had worn out by last night because man alive am I feeling it.

I've now reached a new level of nighttime bug repellent. In addition to my (NEW, just opened from the package) bug repellent bracelet, I have ceremoniously decorated my room with Bounce fabric softener sheets (placing one on my windowsill, tying one to my doorknob, you name it), and I bought a long sleeved shirt to wear to sleep. Yes, a long sleeved shirt. Those of you not in New York may not appreciate the fact that I will be wearing a long sleeved shirt. Let me just say that it is so hot-humid -- "homid?" -- here you don't even dry off when you step inside the air conditioned building -- the sweat sort of just sits there, nastily hanging out on the back of your neck. Granted, we DO have AC now (thank the LORD), but it's still stickily uncomfortable to be wearing sleeves at a time like this. *sigh*

Does anybody have suggestions for other things I could do? (I've heard garlic consumption is good and makes your blood unsavory...yea? nay? And, yes, I am aware that my voracious dessert consumption likely contributes to the taste of my blood...So sad...)

Friday, July 15, 2005

A random observation

Tonight I went to a release party for Harry Potter 6 at a little independent bookstore in SoHo. There was a tarot card reader (TRES cool -- she actually talked about my New York/San Francisco problem at work and the important people who will be making the decisions ultimately) and a palm reader (not as cool -- she seemed young and inexperienced with little detail or indications of where she was basing her reading on). Anyway, I have the book now (yay), but a random observation just occurred to me (2 hours later, granted) that I felt compelled to document.

So I bought a new pin/brooch yesterday (okay okay, Thursday), and I wore it today (okay okay, Friday -- you get the picture!!). Mind you, this was a new pin/brooch, tags on and all. I was standing in line for the palm reader when a woman who was in the line for the tarot card reader said my brooch was lovely. I thanked her. She asked if it was from the '40s. I said "No, I actually just bought it yesterday." She asks "Oh, is it old? Like at a vintage store?" I said "No, it was brand new at a little shop near Grand Central." She says "Well, it's very lovely." We chat a bit more about HP6's release.

Then she mentions that she has a new book that was just released, too.

It's called...wait for this...

Small Mediums at Large: The True Tale of a Family of Psychics

Think about that for a sec.

Okay.

Random observation: If she's a psychic, shouldn't she be able to tell that the pin/brooch was brand-spankin' new?

Hrmmmm...

Life & Lunch

Yesterday (well, Thursday anyway...) I saw Altar Boyz, an Off-Broadway musical about a boy band...that preaches the word of God. It was, in short, hilariously awesome. I won't waste your time with the details, but suffice to say that a musical that features songs such as "Something About You (Girl, You Make Me Wanna Wait)" ("Girl, you make me wanna wait / At least until our wedding date / So 'till then, I'll mast'r.........my own fate") is bust a gut funny. The critics were right that, if you loved Avenue Q, you'll love Altar Boyz. Highly recommended.

Last week was an Asian round-up of lunches. On Tuesday, at my suggestion, we went for Korean barbecue over at Kum Gang San over in K-town. It was awesome. We ordered a BUNCH of food (Korean beef, jap chae, scallion pancakes, etc.) and it was all delicious. We may have left smelling like we brought the BBQ back with us to the office, but it was well worth it.

Wednesday I went to Boi, a Vietnamese place close to the office. I ordered the sizzling crepes, with which I was not at all impressed. I guess that's what I get for ordering something that sounds very UNauthentic at an ethnic food place. I wouldn't write off the restaurant entirely, though, because the partner who was in our group had a grilled lemongrass pork over noodles that was truly excellent. A lot of complex flavors just rolling around on the tongue. Mmmm... For dessert, I had a toasted sesame sundae, which was nice and refreshing on that humid NYC summer day.

Today we went to the ultra hip and trendy Megu for Japanese food. As seems likely to be the case for ultra hip and swanky new restaurants, I found Megu to be quite spectacular in its decor and interior "finishing touches" while unfortunately lackluster in service and only good in food (as opposed to amazing). I had a toro roll (which was yummy) and the chef's (cooked) tasting menu, which was overall pretty tasty except for the grilled fish (yellowtail, I think), which was just narsty. My dessert was really cool, though. (I had a green tea crepe.) Don't get me wrong -- the presentation and design of the place was amazing, but the execution (service wasn't well-trained and food wasn't all that sparkling, either) could have been better. This is, after all, a restaurant, people. Let's make some good food happen!

Monday, July 11, 2005

Fore!

We had our firm outing today at a swanky country club. It was pretty uneventful for the most part. The most memorable thing about it is a toss-up between 1) the insanely ridiculous heat/humidity combo 2) the cool firm-embossed golf bag towel thingee and 3) the horrendously bad jokes made at the mercifully short dinner speech.

On the last topic, I always wonder what compels the speaker to push forward with the (never ending) jokes. After the first...I don't know...two or three...or even, say, NINE fall flat, doesn't the speaker want to end it? I know I mustn't have been the only one praying for a mercy kill. It may be even worse to consider that somebody actually wrote those jokes. *shudder*

Sunday, July 10, 2005

Miscellany

Tuesday's lunch was at Sparks Steak House. I'd been here before when I was checking out firms. It was great then, and it was great on Tuesday. I had a gigantic filet mignon, which was the size of my head. The dessert was delicious. I had a strawberry Romanoff, which was strawberries with a cream that was oh so wonderful.

I got a haircut yesterday at a chichi salon. I went to Ted Gibson Salon, which is the same place (or at least the same guy) that does Angelina Jolie's hair. I was very happy with the cut, which was my first paid-for haircut in about 5 years and my first chichi cut ever. Haircutting has always been a control freak issue for me; some sort of twisted logic always wins me over where I'd rather wield the scissors and be in control than have a $20 stylist work on me. Really, can you really trust a person being paid $20 actually to care about what he/she does to your hair? The chichi place, though, seemed like the perfect solution because, even though I wouldn't be completely in control, at least the person in control would be a super trained stylist who (one would hope) would know what he/she was doing. There's something about cutting my own hair that is very freeing, though. I love the feel of the scissor making its way through the chunk of hair.

Baaaaaa-d Move

File this in the "can't believe it really happened" category. The poor farmers. :( (And sheep.)

Saturday, July 09, 2005

Fording the River!

I've been watching the horrifically bad but watchable like a train wreck "Into the West" on TNT lately. After having watched the first episode, I've been sucked in, and I can't get out!

It's inspired me, actually, to hunt down a copy of Oregon Trail. Man alive was that game awesome. I loved hunting the little animals. It was always fun to go for the little squirrels or rabbits (the challenging game), but when supplies were low, a big, slow bison or elk was more than welcome. I think it's funny how the most entertaining animals to hunt (the little squirrels or rabbits) always yielded the least amount of meat ("You bring back 2 lb of meat to your camp.") while the easiest ones to hunt (the big elk and bison) yielded WAY too much food for you to carry home ("You hunt 398 lb of meat, but can only bring back 200 lb of meat to your camp.")

Watching "Into the West" has also made me appreciate that "Daniel [really CAN have] died of a broken arm." I think it was the second episode that showed a woman with a broken leg who ended up dying because it got nastily infected and then they tried to amputate (with no drugs and a saw!!! EW!). Man have we gotten soft in the past hundred years.

Random thought: Were there vegetarians in the West?

Random request: Does anybody know where I can download a free copy of Oregon Trail?

Decisions

So I had my midsummer review yesterday. I am, as expected, AWESOME. (j/k -- but the review did go very well) Anyway, over the past week, I'd been agonizing over whether or not to bring up the subject of San Francisco with the firm. After asking many people (my partner mentor was the one who convinced me it would be a-okay to do), I took the plunge and mentioned it in my review.

No, the world did not come tumbling down.

I wasn't confrontational about it at all; I just mentioned that it was the first time I'd ever lived in NY and that, while I love the firm, I'm not sure yet if I love New York. They seemed to take it pretty well. I didn't commit actually to having made a decision yet, but I figure it's good to have put it on the table.

My partner mentor mentioned that it wasn't unheard of as there have been people who have started in New York who didn't summer here. That is very encouraging. I'd been very worried about jeopardizing my New York offer, and she reassured me it wouldn't do that. *crosses fingers that she was right*

I figure I'll let them marinate on this and then maybe bring up the subject later next week to see if they have any suggestions "if it does come to that [situation where I don't like New York for my permanent position]."

For now, I'm just super happy to have gotten it out in the open.

Man, the Neon Lights are Bright

One thing I do love about New York is the accessibility to AWESOME Broadway shows. I guess you could say I love New York, but I'm not sure if I'd love to live here.

Anyway, the firm took us to see Spamalot, which was hilariously fabulous. I didn't know anything about Monty Python, so I wasn't sure how I'd like it going into it. Coming out of it, though, I had my answer: It's awesome! The songs are so much fun. Along the lines of Avenue Q, the songs in Spamalot are self-aware and VERY clever. I love it!

This past Tuesday, I went to see Wicked, which tells the tale-that-never-was-told of the purported "Wicked" Witch of the West. It was a lot of fun, and the leads had amazing voices. I had very high expectations going into it, though, and I left feeling okay with the show. I can honestly see why Avenue Q won the Tony over Wicked, though.

Wouldn't life be so much more fun if we would all just burst into song? Three cheers for Musicals!

Monday, July 04, 2005

Changes

I've tried to be positive in the past, but it's gotten to the point where I just need to be honest with myself -- I don't think New York is the place for me. It's not my firm -- I really like my firm and the people here. Practically speaking, though, it just isn't financially responsible to come to NY. Personally speaking, I just don't think my homebodiness and I fit in well here. The problem, then, is what to do about it. Do I tell my firm? If so, when? If so, how? I want to avoid doing on-campus interviewing again because my horrendous grades would make it a painful experience. It would also be incredibly cool to stay with the firm I've gotten to know and enjoy. It would be awesome if they could send me over to SF once I graduate. On the other hand, what if my firm refuses to send me over to San Francisco? Will I get an offer from the NY office still? I don't want to be unemployed!!!

On a lighter note, we went to Le Bernardin on Friday. To be honest, it was a bit of a disappointment. I had the lobster first course and the black bass main course. The lobster was tasty enough, but the black bass was a major let down. It didn't have any taste! What's up with that??? For dessert, I had a pretty gosh darn good "Milk Chocolate" dessert, which was milk chocolate mousse and other delectable (tiny) goodies arranged decoratively on a pristinely simple (and obviously expensive in its simplicity) white square plate.

Once again, Jean-Georges was way superior, even more so than it was to Nobu. I'm not surprised; Le Bernardin and Nobu are "only" four star restaurants, after all. *insert hair toss* [/mock snooty heiress tone] As one of my awesome fellow summers said, "I'd been to four star restaurants before, and Jean-Georges was the first five star restaurant I'd ever dined at. You can really taste and feel that fifth star." Surprising, but true.