Young lady, slow down!

It's officially summer.

Yesterday, I was speed-walking in the Times Square section* of the West Village with an empty IKEA bag in my hand after dropping off clothing donations at Housing Works, and an older woman with silver hair, leathery skin, and a Roman nose stopped in her tracks in front of me. She looked me in the eyes, extending both of her hands toward me, and warned, “Young lady, slow down! I’m sensing an energy from you.”

I laughed and sped off. It was 88° outside, and I desperately needed to feel cool air or I would soon perish. No time to chat on the sidewalk with a stranger among hoards of tourists taking photos of pizza and West Village Girls holding $12 iced matcha lattes.

As I continued my walk, a million thoughts began to swirl in my head. I’ve had psychics stop me on the sidewalk before and say the same thing as her, which is why I laughed it off and kept walking, because usually this happens when I’m passing their place of business and they try to get me to come in and Spend Money on a palm reading. This woman, however, was simply walking down the street just like me. She could’ve been a tourist or a New Yorker or someone’s grandma just in town for the weekend. And I laughed in her face. Maybe she was trying to tell me something.

All day, I kept thinking about that woman. I regretted laughing in her face, which in hindsight was pretty rude, but I couldn’t help it. I thought the situation was funny! (I’m unfortunately one of those people who blatantly laughs if something is funny to me. This has gotten me in trouble in school, at work, and in relationships. Please don’t take it personally. I’m just having fun. Perhaps I should work on this.) Knowing that I couldn’t change the situation, I decided to take her words as a message to slow down. As I write this, I wonder if she was even real.

*I’m referring to the area of Bleecker Street from W 11th St all the way down to 7th Avenue. What is happening here???

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Today, I did just that. I had lunch with a friend who is moving out of New York soon—a friend I hadn’t seen in months—and we chatted incessantly for over an hour at a folding table on the sidewalk in front of C&B like no time had passed. My friend has a quite adorable 5-month-old puppy, so many passersby on E 7th Street stopped to pet River and chat with Pippa and me, and it brought so much joy to my day. At one point, after chatting with a guy who brought his own mug to get coffee from C&B (Walking-Outside-With-A-Mug Supremacy), I exclaimed, “God, I love New York! Everyone is so nice!”

As Pippa and I caught up, one of the questions she asked me was what I’ve been up to, after we had joked about how I’m in the same apartment with the same job I’ve had for many years and that I’m one of her most consistent friends.

What have I been up to?

Listening to Phoenix’s Bankrupt! album
In times of uncertainty in the world around me, I find myself listening to albums that I played nonstop in high school, and Bankrupt! is one of them, so much so that I incorporated the peach from the album cover into my senior year self portrait for my studio art final. The music of that time is so comforting to me. Thomas Mars is cooler than all of us.

Shopping at local grocery stores
Although I am a top customer at the Astor Place Wegmans, I began shopping at more local grocery stores earlier this year, and I cannot recommend this enough. The prices are surprisingly good, and the quality is top notch. I’ve found so many hyper-specific ingredients that I’ve needed for certain recipes, and it’s fun to explore other new foods that I wouldn’t normally find at my typical grocery store. Here are a few of my favorites:

• Sahadi’s (Lebanese/Middle Eastern)

• Ten Ichi Mart (Japanese)

• Dainobu (Japanese)

• Raffetto’s Fresh Pasta (Italian)

• Tashkent Supermarket (Uzbek)

• Ottomanelli & Sons (Italian butcher shop)

• Big Night (a bit pricey, but a fabulous destination for niche cocktail ingredients & party-hosting necessities, among other things)

I know this just scratches the surface — if you have any other recommendations, please share in the comments!!!

Wearing sneakers
I recently went on a trip to Shanghai and Tokyo, two cities with really amazing sneaker culture, and now I have so many pairs I want. In Tokyo, I did purchase the Puma x A$AP Rocky Mostros, and I love them a lot. They’re the type of sneaker that a lot of people probably think is really ugly, but the ones who get it get it. Some of the best fashion choices are the most polarizing ones.

WALKING! EVERYWHERE! EVERY DAY!
Yesterday, I walked 22,000 steps unintentionally. It wasn’t like I woke up and set out to walk that much, it’s just how the day panned out. That’s one of the best things about summer—a day with no plans can turn into the best day ever. I love walking. Walk with me.

Eating, of course
What’s Lunch on Friday without food? Here are some of my favorite things I’ve had recently:

• Chrysanthemum ice cream from Lai Rai in Chinatown — ice cream & rice wine pair very well together.

• Pea Panzanella salad from Achilles Heel in Greenpoint — eating outside here feels like dining in a dear friend’s backyard.

• “Sardinian Nights” cocktail from Bar Madonna in Williamsburg — this tasted like a whiskey highball but also like a toasty s’more? I can’t explain it so you just have to try it.

• A5 Wagyu beef skewer from Tsukiji Fish Market in Tokyo — probably the single best piece of meat I’ve ever had.

• White pizza with broccoli from Anthony’s in Old Forge, PA — iykyk.

• Pig & Egg sandwich from C&B in the East Village — it took me so long to try this but holy moly. Make sure to get hot sauce on the side.

• Omg.. these Hello Kitty biscuit crackers I got from Ten Ichi Mart. They are the perfect storm of buttery, salty, and crunchy, and the can says ONLY FOR SALE IN JAPAN which makes me feel like a badass when I eat them because I bought them in New York. You MUST try this buttery Hello Kitty propaganda.

Cleaning out my closet
So I bought a lot of clothes in Japan……………………
but I’m very good at donating and selling clothing as well. I’m a firm believer that you need to make space in your life for whatever new things you bring into it, which is why I frequently clean out my closet. If I get rid of something, there’s a big part of me that’s confident something better will present itself. (In many situations, not just with clothing.) :)

Maybe that’s the energy that the psychic woman was sensing on my mad dash home from Housing Works. She knew I had just gotten rid of things I didn’t need anymore and that new opportunities would present themselves. Maybe I’m too romantic. But that’s why you read this, isn’t it?

HAPPY FIRST DAY OF SUMMER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Also, as a bonus for making it this far, here’s my summer playlist: