
Yesterday Kim and I had a Queens brunch at 2:30 pm. Yup, it took a while to get going. My whole day was so NY food. Or at least NY food that I only partake in when I'm here.
I had:
a mimosa, a Mexican omlette (okay, but I need to stop eating Mexican food outside the Bay Area), three cups of coffee (Greek-style), and some potatoes.
We went to the Upper East Side so see this gallery that was featuring women comic artists. It could have been more extensive, but I loved the show. The gallery woman hadn't heard of Vanessa Davis, so I put in a plug for our high school superstar. Check out these two women who are new to me (I don't know how to hyperlink, so just google 'em): Debbie Dreschler and Diane Noomin (see picture). (They even had some Roz originals, which I know isn't original, but I was excited. Oh, and they had that woman who does those great pictures for The Drama Magazine, Miles. The ones we had hanging up in Mpls.)
Then we walked and walked, stopping at Gracious Home for Kim's attempt at retail therapy. I've never seen such practical purchases: a shoe holder and a catch for the kitchen sink. But it made her happy and I aim to please.
We were looking for a combo of coffee for me and ice cream for Kim. I refused every Starbuck's in an attempt to prove that we didn't have to stoop so low. And by 6:45, we didn't! We found our new tradition: Follow Me Cafe, the cutest and yummiest little place where we will gather a week before Kim's birthday (as it is now) every year that we live in the city.
I ate: hummus with warm and fresh foccacia, two lattes, and half of this warm apricot,vanilla ice cream, walnuts, and chocolate sauce dessert.
Then we spent twenty minutes in Duane Reade while I chose the perfect hair bands and concealor, since I left mine in Queens.
After this, we parted ways so I can meet up with the always wondrous Tara. We caught up, walked across the Brooklyn Bridge and back, and had a grand time. We've never lived in the same city so if I live here, it's going to be a whole new level of friendship. How excellent.
Eventually, I hopped a train back to Queens and met Kim and her friend (the one who thinks I look like Nelly Furtado) back at the place where I had my morning brunch. I had half a mojito (this time, delicious).
Finally, Kim and I found a tape of School of the Arts (the high school we went to before I moved to Interlochen) and let me tell you, I was such a ham. (Shocking!) I demanded camera time in every single thing we did. We watched two hours of game shows. I cannot believe they considered our classes educational. It's amazing what we got away with. Hours of complete silliness and inappropriateness.
When Kim and I were in a television class (we were both communications majors), our teacher lost herself. She was this normal, great woman who looked like a tv anchor and taught us all about the biz. One day, she stopped wearing makeup. The next day, her hair stopped being sprayed. Then, she came in and said something horrible to one of the heavier students in the middle of class. The same day, she called one of the kids in my class a "faggot." I really wish we had it on tape. The whole thing was completely surreal. He had just jumped on a plastic bag full of grapefruits while wearing a red rain slicker (it was for a game show). The grapefruit got all over the camera and she got so angry. Kim thinks she also threw a paper towel dispenser at him. I don't know about this. Anyway, next thing we knew, rumors were flying and she was fired. Kim remembers hearing that she caught her husband in bed with another woman and burned her house down. Ah, Florida. I just thought she was going through a rough divorce. The next time I saw her, she was working at a Natural Foods Store as a cashier in a plaza near my house. I was so ashamed for her that I didn't go back for a long time. Good old Palm Beach County School of the Arts.
Today's plan: buy Kim an early birthday brunch at the place of her choice, pack up and ship off to Boston. Hopefully I can get some reading done on the train. I'm so behind on school stuff.
p.s. I'm routing for Kim to have a blog.
p.p.s. song of the hour: anything Muzak, since I've decided working for Muzak could be a dream job.