I Don't Smell Bad

Will add pictures later...

Moving is probably one of the few things everyone in NY can agree sucks – including movers. My previous moving mishaps have included 1) attempting to drive a UHaul the same day that 150,000+ college students were graduating (in Boston) 2) SLEEPING in a UHaul truck overnight – don’t even ask, and 3) having to have my friends pack my stuff for me to put into storage, while I ran to the airport after missing two flights home.

This time, I actually thought I was pretty on top of things. While my friends were at the beach/at PS1/in the Hamptons/picnicking in Central Park/at the Made in Italy party/at Bagatelle “brunch” (a future post)/etc etc, I was at home like a good little girl, packing away. Yet somehow, I STILL ended up in a frantic state when my movers (surprisingly) showed up on time, and I had to resort to the throwing-shit-into-boxes approach. Thanks CK for the last minute help, and thanks girls for helping me unpack and clean!

Anyway, my new place is sweet, although the two guys who already live there have a unique sense of décor. The first words that come to my mind are “frat house basement” – but that’s why they really need a girl like me to live there. Baby steps, though – I’m painting next weekend, and then I’ll deal with the flamingo mirror/bar (seriously).

So last night, after unpacking/organizing/cleaning for two hours, I completely gave up and went to Stanton Social. I really like the place, and not just because the kitchen closes really late (3am Thursdays to Saturdays, 2am on other nights) – I like a lot of things on the menu, which consists of only small plates meant for sharing (wasn’t there something in Times about entrees being passé). Ambiance is nice too, although the acoustics are terrible – the walls are all stone/concrete, so noise just bounces off them making it really, really noisy. Anyway, avoid the ‘special’ Monday night menu...it’s…well, it’s just bad. Someone decided to pick the worst things on the menu and put them together. Sweet & sour chicken & cashew spring rolls (ehh), braised short rib soft tacos (ok), grill apple & brie quesadilla (yuck), crostini w/a spectacularly gross crème fraiche concoction, goat cheese croquettes (not on the regular menu, it was ok). and wok charred edamame (soooo good). Just order off the main menu – i.e. the kobe beef sliders, my favorite! Oh, and the warm donuts, which are served with a warm dark chocolate sauce. For some reason, the staff REALLY wants the tables turned over quickly on Mondays. Don’t get distracted talking to your friends because the waiters/waitresses have no problem removing your plate whether you’re finished eating or not!

I’m not sure if anyone else has noticed this before, but there was this AWFUL smell in the main downstairs room last night. I couldn’t put my finger on it until today and then I realized – hemp necklace, the kind that was popular in elementary/middle school. Anyway, at first I thought this smell was coming from the guy sitting to my right. When he got up for a smoke, and the smell was still there, I figured it must be coming from the guy sitting to my left. Then he got up to make a phone call. Since everyone else was sitting either down the table from me, or across (far), I thought – oh shit, maybe it’s me!! But I don’t smell (except of Serge Lutens A La Nuit - best jasmine perfume ever), plus I just showered and was wearing a dress I took out of a dry cleaning bag. For a good half hour, I was very disturbed that it might have been me causing the stench. It wasn't until we left that I realized the entire restaurant smells like a wet hemp necklace.

I dropped by Butter with Bridgette for a little bit since she's going to be out of town for the three weeks. Yes, Mondays at Butter are still very fun - good music, good crowd, and not too crowded while I was there...although, as always, I left "early" so I could GO THE GYM THIS MORNING. Yeaaa!!

This was only 665 words. Brevity is the soul of wit, as Hamlet/Mr. Georgandis used to say.

BTW, I used College Educated Movers . Yea, I’m totally elitist…no, actually, I saw their ad on Craigslist – their sales pitch was something along the lines of “Wouldn’t your rather support aspiring writers/filmmakers/starving artists than some 15 year old punk who’s going to break all your stuff?” Yea, I totally would! I had imagined two skinny hipsters who wouldn’t be able to carry much, and would take excessively long smoking breaks. But they were great! Punctual, efficient, and professional. And they charge a flat rate, so I didn’t really care when they took excessively long smoking breaks.

Ok, 779 words.