oops

Since Friday, I have spent close to $700.* And next weekend is tax-free weekend in Texas...

*Okay, so $530 of that was for car maintenance. But still. And the $30 sale price tag on sneakers was irresistable. They are light blue in place of the red. Getting the tiny remaining sizes on sale is probably the only useful thing about being this small.

currently on repeat

"between your eyes," patrick alan (a local dallas band)

i'm not worried, though i long to be
i'm not scared no cause you make me
and i've got something i want you to know
stay off the road when you don't know where to go
yeah, yeah, no no no

cause i'm caught somewhere between your arms and your eyes
and don't act like it's some kind of big surprise
that i'm caught somewhere between your arms and your eyes

walk away from something i know you're gonna miss
cause i never thought it'd end like this
and i took my time to spit out the lies
cause i never thought i'd get them all right
yeah, yeah, no no no

cause i'm caught somewhere between your arms and your eyes
and don't act like it's some kind of big surprise
that i'm caught somewhere between your arms and your eyes

cleaning

Most satisfying rooms to clean:
-kitchen
-bathroom
-vacuuming living room
Scrub, rinse, repeat. Dirt and stains actually disappear. Surfaces are visibly cleaner and disinfected. Instant gratification.

Least satisfying rooms/areas to clean:
-bedroom
-closet
-bookshelves
Organize, categorize, put things in proper place. Zero attention span.

While showering:
-I sometimes leave the TV on while showering, just for my own entertainment. It is extremely disconcerting when the commercials are broadcast at a much higher volume than the regular show, and especially when the commercial consists of a very deep man's voice. I nearly had a heart attack thinking someone had broken into my apartment while I was showering.

impulsive purchase

Today I bought a gently used Yamaha FG-411 guitar for $75 from some random guy on craigslist. Quick internet check shows retail price closer to $250-300. I've hardly played since leaving for college and leaving the shared-custody guitar (brother, dad, and me) at home.

Thoughts:
1) My fingertips/callouses have definitely softened after my year-long hiatus from violin and other string instruments.
2) The guy's house was in a decrepit area of SE Dallas. The entire inside of the house smelled like stale cigarette smoke and wet dogs. I knew it was a somewhat risky/dangerous situation to drive out there in the first place, but he had said on the phone that he was retired due to "being electrocuted" and signed his email "God bless." Hey, a religious disabled guy couldn't really hurt me, right? In any case he turned out to be really nice, albeit the very stereotypical smoking, beer-drinking, teeth-missing Texas guitar player type guy. And my plan-of-action-in-case-of-emergency turned out to be unnecessary.
3) I have had a lot of harebrained impulsive ideas this summer. Redecorating my apartment was one... I started out manically, and the pace slowed after about a week. Redecoration is still underway. Now that I have decided to pick up the guitar again, I hope it sticks instead of falling by the wayside as I desperately try to be a good little med student when classes start in 2 wks.

haha

It's times like these that I don't know whether to laugh or cry at how fcking absurd life can be.

college throwback

Some of the funniest times in college came from piecing together the events of the previous night via 6 diff versions of the same story when everyone was wasted. It's sort of like that sometimes here for me, only not everyone is wasted and thus it's less fun because there's an actual sober account of events.

smith and wollensky

Last night we went out to Smith and Wollensky for prix fixe, pay-your-age dinner after 9pm: appetizer, steak, and dessert.

I had fried calamari, filet au poivre, and a sampler of 3 diff creme brulees (classic, coconut, and chocolate). The calamari was a bit on the salty side, but pleasantly crispy and meaty in a huge portion. Lemon halves wrapped in cheesecloth were a nice touch. Peppercorn-crusted filet in a rich au jus was tender and buttery and perfectly medium rare inside. Creme brulee was ridiculously smooth and complex with copious black flecks of vanilla. I think at that point I reaffirmed my stance that the path to my heart is surely through my stomach. Feed me and I will fall in love with you.

Other people tried the crab and asparagus salad, Wollensky salad, crab cake w/ vegetable slaw, filet mignon, NY strip, chocolate cake, coconut cake, and carrot cake (the cake slices were 5 layers and literally the size of my head). The total bill came out close to $400. Mmmmm gluttony... easily my favorite of the seven deadly sins.

Today I discovered that my friendly neighborhood Kroger's sells Young's Double Chocolate Stout by the bottle. Score. AND I didn't even get carded while buying a case of Dos Equis. Small victories.

things that feel great

Things that feel great after but not necessarily during:
-brushing my teeth
-working out
-cleaning
-taking exams

Things that feel great during but not necessarily after:
-eating too much
-drinking too much
-college
-umm let's keep this PG

the prospect of moving

Some people spend countless hours searching the internet obsessively for porn. I search for real estate.

young's

Tonight I had my first Young's Double Chocolate Stout, made by Britain's oldest brewery at Wandsworth, South London, where beer has been brewed since 1581.

From their website:

Young's Double Chocolate Stout has an intriguing twist. Chocolate malt and real dark chocolate are combined with Young's award winning rich, full flavoured dark beer to craft a satisfyingly indulgent, but never overly sweet experience.

Pale ale and crystal malt, chocolate malt, special blend of sugars, Fuggle and Goldings hops, real dark chocolate and chocolate essence.

It was love at first sip.

scorpion

I just found and killed a baby scorpion in my apartment. When I finally opened the paper towel to peek at it and ensure its death, its tail was firmly pinched on a sizeable chunk of paper towel. If I suddenly go MIA, it may be because I have died from scorpion stings.

fifa

I wish I were a better soccer player. It might be time to step up training to improve running-in-Texas-afternoon-heat tolerance. It might also help to stop drinking 6 nights out of the week. On that note, off to the 3rd afternoon of beer + pool for the week.

summertime

Laissez les sketchy temps rouler.

parents' weekend visit

My mom is a way more enthusiastic shopper than I am. She also actually keeps track of ongoing deals at various stores. Off to hit the Polo outlet; my mom is apparently on Polo's mailing list for promotions. Who would've thought?

In other news, Visa just upgraded me to Platinum status. My Discover was already Platinum. I don't know how that happened, since I really don't shop that much.

***update***
Discover and Visa have definitely taken a hit. Polo (well obviously), Puma, Nine West, and J. Crew have gotten the best of my wallet, but can I just say how much I love the Allen outlets? Such great deals to be found! I also got a set of double old-fashioned glasses printed with Beefeater, Malibu, Kahlua, and Stolichnaya logos. Off to bake a cake for my parents.