Well, 2010 was an interesting year. I certainly can't accuse it of being dull. Let's see -- though I stayed at the same company I changed jobs four times, had three different bosses, and got promoted; I traveled to two music festivals (SXSW and New Orleans Jazz Fest); I got kicked out of my beloved apartment of 16 years; I moved into a new place; I dropped a knife in my foot and went to the emergency room for the first time (got stitches for the first time, too). And now I still can't move my big toe.
Oh, and I turned 40. As some of you already know, after spending a year trying to figure out what to do for my 40th, I settled upon a whole-pig dinner at Back Forty, and drinks with a larger crew of people at Eight Mile Creek afterward.
And then it snowed. And 10,000 flights were canceled, so I got stuck in California and had to cancel the grand plans -- which means my birthday didn't happen, right? I'm still 39?
But that was all right, since I had already had a fabulous birthday dinner with my family, consisting of ceviche, smoked prime rib and four wines from places I've been to as an adult (definition of "an adult" being somewhat vague, since it included France and I haven't been there since I was 18, unless you count Charles de Gaulle Airport). The wine highlight for me was a 1970 Mouton Rothschild, which my dad bought back in 1976 for $14, and which is currently worth ... a lot more than that. We toasted with the hope that I had aged better than the wine. That's a pretty tall order.
The meal was capped off with the cake of my dreams: bacon cake courtesy of my brother Lou and sister-in-law Julee. Bacon baked into the batter, and mixed into the frosting filling, and piped around the top. Oh dear. And by that, I mean YUM.
On the birthday itself, Abby, her boyfriend and I had lunch at Angelini Osteria (I had the branzino -- delicious), saw True Grit (great fun), dinner at Father's Office (the famed burgers were good, but not the best I've ever had -- I probably should have split one with Abby instead of tackling one on my own), and the ultimate dessert finisher, butterscotch budino at Pizzeria Mozza. So not too shabby, in the end.
I hate making New Year's resolutions, and yet I always find myself making them. And then breaking them. Am I unrealistic? Strangely optimistic? Lacking in resolve? Stupid?
At any rate, a new year is the time to look ahead and envision your better self. So with that in mind, here are a few ... let's not call them "resolutions." Goals? Determinations? Things it'd be nice to do? Wishes?
Write in this blog more. Duh. Part of the problem is that whenever I get the initiative to write something, it's usually to vent, and more often than not it's about work or something else that I wouldn't necessarily want exposed on the Internet. (There is a fantastic blog that lives in my head. You'd be blown away.) Maybe it'd help if I tried to stick to themes. Food? Customer service rants? The chronicles of fixing up my apartment? Suggestions welcome.
Plan my meals out in advance. This isn't always going to be possible, of course. But I find that my cooking pattern for the week tends to go like this: Saturday: intend to cook, nap instead, order in. Sunday: Cook a stew or roast chicken. Monday - Friday: eat Sunday's leftovers until I run out or get sick of them, get home too late to cook anything, have no food in my apartment, order in.
When I was a kid, my mom created a "menu calendar" that she posted on the refrigerator each month, and we all got to enter what we wanted to eat in every fifth square. We loved it because it meant we got to eat all our favorite foods; and though my mom surely didn't relish when we "ordered" gourmet meals that required hours of cooking, it probably made her life easier in some ways, because she could plan ahead. So I may try something like this. Not that I'll ever be the menu planner my mom is, but at the very least if I can think ahead a little, then I won't be eating oxtail stew from the Dominican takeout counter three times a week. Not that there's too much wrong with that.
Go meatless one day a week. I am about to get my cholesterol checked. I am afraid. And I figure that going "vegetarian" once in a while is probably "healthy," or something. (Note: Do not be surprised if every vegetarian meal I make consists of something that has a poached egg on top. I didn't say vegan. I'm not crazy.)
Do some regular exercise that involves using my dumbbells. My arms are flabby. Eww.
Do some regular exercise, period. My belly is flabby. Eww.
Fix up my apartment in the next three months. I told my mom this past week that my apartment, which I moved into in October, doesn't feel like home yet. All the unpacked boxes probably have something to do with that. So I'm going to suck it up, unpack for real, and buy all the things I need to buy in one fell swoop (come on, bonus check). Necessary purchases include, but are not limited to: coffee table, bed frame and headboard, shelves for kitchen, curtains and curtain rods, cabinet for bathroom, lamp for my bedroom, floor lamp for living room, throw pillows for couch. Also a handyman to pick up and install it all. And a sugar daddy to finance it.
Eat a burger from Five Guys. I'm told that the burgers here are amazing, possibly even better than In-N-Out's or Shake Shack's (sacrilege!). I am ready to accept the challenge.
Travel someplace I've never been before. My money's on Argentina.
Achieve a better work-life balance. I don't know that I'll ever actually be able to achieve this. But I'm trying more and more every day. I'll get there if it hurts me.
Save money (for a rainy day). Hmm, looking back at last January's post, I see that then, too, I resolved to save money. But it's not really fair to hold me to that, given that I moved and went to the emergency room. So I will buy a messload of furniture and THEN save money. While also eating out and doing fun stuff. This can happen. Somehow.
Do one thing a month that's cool, unusual, different and/or unique to New York. What's the point of living here if I don't take advantage of the city? What's the point of being young-ish and single if all I do is stay home and worship my DVR? I used to go to theater all the time when I was in my 20s. Goodness knows how I could afford it then. I guess it helped that my dinners used to consist of 7-Layer Burritos off the dollar menu at Taco Bell.
Still, while I love going out to great restaurants and drinking with friends and staying in and being a homebody, there are tons of interesting, can't-do-anywhere-else things to do here (as there are in every city) that I haven't bothered to go out and find. This year, I'm determined to find them. The first one happens on January 7, and I'm super excited about it. Details to come.
Eat at these restaurants: Torrisi Italian Specialties, Kin Shop, Brucie, Aldea, Ma Peche, Fatty Cue, ABC Kitchen, Northern Spy Food Co., Joseph Leonard, Recette, the new Shake Shack in Brooklyn, the new NYC outpost of Lotus of Siam, Eataly (or just shop there). Also: Eat at Mile End more. Montreal bagels and smoked meat poutine, mmmmm. Also: Get the lamb burger at The Breslin and see how it compares to the superfluous lamb burger at Strong Place. Also: Hit up fried chicken night at Seersucker. (I *think* it's Tuesdays.)
So basically, ignore what I said above about "while I love going out to great restaurants ..." Let's face it, I'll never stop going out to great restaurants.
***
All right, as I keep writing I keep thinking of more, so I will quit while I'm delusional. What are your resolutions? Are you smarter than I am, and didn't bother making any?
Happy 2011 to all. It's going to be quite a year. How do I know this? I just do.
