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UWISHUNU - Philly. From the Inside Out.:• If the Locked-up Eye Fits
Charles Plaza is one of those restaurants that makes you want to consider eating Chinese food more often. It has a huge vegetarian menu and everything I ate was delicious (and quite reasonably priced). Plus Charles makes the place have an almost homey feel. Most customers said hello to him by name. At one point he sang “Happy Birthday” to a guest and brought him a small gift. When we were ordering Charles told us that one of the [... >> read more or comment We call it a tofu hoagie but it’s actually a bahn mi–a Vietnamese sandwich. These tasty inexpensive lunch or snack options are famous in West Philly but you can get a great one near the Italian Market too. Try the tiny mom ‘n pop spot Cafe Nhu Y. A satisfying veggie bahn mi is made with marinated tofu fresh cilantro shredded carrots and cucumber along with a little bit of mayo and jalapeño on a flakey French baguette. This is exactly [... >> read more or comment Amardeep Singh:- - -• read more >> • • Notes From a Punjabi Literature Conference in Vancouver read more >> • Spring -- a photo read more >> • • • • Suriname's Linguistic Khichri read more >> • Arthur C. Clarke RIP read more >> • Interviewing Partition Survivors read more >> • A Little on Poet Alan Shapiro (Revised) read more >> • • Kal Penn @ UPenn read more >> • 'Every Unsavoury Separatist is Gloating': Questions About Kosovo read more >> • Desis Vote (And Tooting My Own Horn) read more >> • • • Indian Literature: Translation Stories read more >> • • Writing Deadlines read more >> 9th Street Records:- - -- _______________________ - Beautiful DayI'm laying in bed with a fever watching music videos on YouTube and I noticed that the "Beautiful Day" video by U2 was shot at Charles DeGualle International Airport where I took the photo below. It's the most beautiful airport I've ever been in. Also I like how the video has an obvious modern take on Robert Doisneau's Kiss at the Hotel De Ville. Very clever.  -ori.jpg) _______________________ - Friday Photo FinishWhy should Jeremy Del Rio have all the fun? Here's a shot of some of Ayuda's afterschool kids enjoying a spring day. Classic Philly style complete with 9th Street row homes in the background.  _______________________ - Too much houseExtreme Home Makeover is incomplete without an extreme budget makeover: After he became a local celebrity Marrero said the collection agencies came calling threatening to put liens on the home.I was there on the first day of construction. It's a very impressive operation with literally hundreds of people swinging hammers around the clock. It's interesting to see how all that sophistication allows them to build a giant house in three days but does not allow them to make the situation sustainable for the recipient. I bet a critical analysis of many great efforts would reveal similar patterns. Perhaps complex problems require complex solutions as a rule. And that tv show would probably be boring... _______________________ - Tensions at a Boiling PointExcellent Daily News article about the current status of Police and community relations. "You're out here riding around and you're involved in a shooting and the cops pull you over and you got your ass beat" Quinn said. "You know what? Let me tell you something when I was growing up I had my ass kicked by the cops and I deserved it."As summer moves closer here's hoping that Philly can recover from all this mess. _______________________ - Killer's girlfriend not our best ambassadorThe last suspect in Saturday's cop killing was caught late Wednseday night holed up in an abandoned house with his girlfriend of TWO MONTHS: Although hundreds of law-enforcement officers up and down the East Coast mobilized to find him Philadelphia's most-wanted man never left the city. He spent his days and nights in dark dreary seclusion in the company of his girlfriend Tonya Lynne Stephens a convicted hooker and drug addict who stood by her man despite a $150000 reward on his head. _______________________ - Knox for Governorwww.knoxforgovernor.com I've had the privilege of getting to know Tom and Linda Knox personally. Her family has roots here in Hunting Park. They are wonderful people and he's getting my vote in 2010. _______________________ - When your neighborhood makes the headlines for all the wrong reasons.What does a concerned citizen do when print and tv news around the world are talking about bad things in your neighborhood? The Hunting Park Civic Association might be our best outlet for positive news. Our fourth meeting is next Tuesday and we'll be working on developing a structure through which all the great passion energy and ideas can be channeled towards activities that will result in more positive headlines. _______________________ - New Yankee StadiumWow er bah humbug... _______________________ - Myanmar ranked most corrupt country in the worldSo says Transparency International according to Bloomberg: "Transparency International last year ranked Myanmar as the most corrupt nation in the world along with Somalia." _______________________ - Obama has the nomination_______________________ - It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood a beautiful day for a Police brutality scandal...This was going on over at 2nd Street last night around 2am. Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey who saw the video said “On the surface it certainly does not look good regarding the amount of force that was used. But a full investigation is underway.” Article. I think it deserves to be pointed out that the three men in the car were/are suspected of shooting three other men. Given the recent killing of an officer on Saturday and the nature of the suspected crime of these three men the brutality of this arrest seems understandable to me. The ACLU might not agree but you have to admit that these officers are under a lot of pressure in a situation like this. This is not some random traffic stop. These guys are the prime suspects in a triple shooting. An officer was just shot and killed by three different guys on Saturday. You do the math. _______________________ - The Commonwealth v. Mr. Brown: The Roots and Consequences of the Code of Silence in Inner City PhiladelphiaSamuel George's 2007 History Thesis from Oberlin College sounds like a good read. The Code of Silence otherwise known as "Stop Snitchin'" is a big roadblock to justice in many neighborhoods. You can hear Mr. George and others thoughts on the matter on May 16 at 10am.  _______________________ - Google Calendar now syncs with OutlookMy whole world just came together. If you use Google Calendar or Outlook get on this one. _______________________ - Just when you thought hip hop was dead......a bunch of legit DJ's show up at your local park with truckloads of sound equipment and battle each other for the entire afternoon. That was the scene at Hunting Park today.   The mic on my phone sucks... _______________________ - Why smart kids act dumbIf you aren't white the better your grades the fewer your friends.  _______________________ - Ed Nunez is a published artist!He made the painting we used for the Art Show Ad (www.ayudacc.org/gala) which was published in the Pyramid Club's monthly newsletter.  _______________________ - Ralf TuxRafael getting fitted for a tux (donated by Varani Formalwear) that he's going to wear to play piano at our 1st Annual Youth Art Exhibition and Gala at the Pyramid Club. He said he is even going to get a hair cut too.  _______________________ - Overheard in Harrisburg:"I can tell you unequivocally that if a pro-slavery bill were to reach the governor's desk this governor would certainly veto it." - Chuck Ardo Press Secretary for Gov. Ed Rendell in response to some of outgoing State Sen. Vince Fumo's lunacy. _______________________ - Ninth Street All StarsPlaying around with ideas for a new blog header. This is not really one of them but nonetheless...  _______________________ Girl About Philly:- - -• read more >> • Meet market Hello friends. It's been a little while mostly because there hasn't been much to write about. Thankfully the weather is getting warmer which means I am getting slightly more motivated to be active. So I've tried match I've tried bars now it's on to the next phase. Philly meet ups. I was perusing the interwebs last night and came across this lovely site. And I have devised a plan. Every month until I get sick of it I am going to go to a different one. I think I am going to save the Furry meetup and anything sports related until the very end. Nothing against the furries but I'm just not willing to test the beastiality waters at this time. So goodbye comfort zone hello playing scrabble with 40-50 somethings. Maybe they will have hot sons for me to play with. I'll let you know how my first one goes. It's scheduled for the end of the month. read more >> • Post Quarter Life crisis I swear my posts will start getting happier very shortly. I have self diagnosed severe Seasonal Affective Disorder and Spring is being a big ol' cock tease. Taunting me with her heaving sunshine but she is a frigid one. Brrrr. I need warmth. I need to un pastify. I need to enjoy Rita's without feeling like I am dying from the inside out. Anyway. So I'm going to be 27 on Tuesday. My brain knows this is young but this message is getting lost somewhere in my subconscious. I'm feeling rather old. I thought it was just me until I had an official old moment last night. Allow me to set the scene.... It's Making Time at Transit. I can only liken it to a festival o' hipster. Like carnies but with tighter pants. So I'm there with my usual crowd of boys since I have no more single lady friends in the area to speak of. They have all succumb. I notice a cute one giving me the eye and he starts dancing towards me so I mosey on over. Upon closer dancing I realize he is oh so young. I ask. He's 22. I say ohh you're young. I tell him how old I am and he says. "Wow. I've never talked to anyone that old at a bar before. You look at least 5 years younger than that." Yowch. The horror. So I backed away slowly blending into the flailing crowd. I think that made me put my desperate shoes on cause then I spotted another cute one and strapped on my lager balls and that convo went something like this. me: I'm trying to hit on you him: Oh I didn't notice. I'm leaving though. me: Oh well. You win some you lose some. him: Consider this one a tie. What???????? That was the saddest excuse for witty banter/ rejection I've ever heard. So it seems that all of my single friends are in the same position I am. Severe dry spell. I'm blaming the weather. We're hot and it should be too. Operation Me Time hit a snag this week. I drank 6 out of 7 days which means my liver is about the only thing getting a work out. That changes this week.Back to the gym. Aside from B-day mojitos at Alma de Cuba of course. mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm read more >> • This used to be my playground I'm about to get real on your asses. OK. So when I first started contributing to this blog I told my boss and he gave me two stipulations. The first was that I don't show my real picture (because of the crazies) and the second was that I had to be completely honest. 100% honest. And I have been to a fault. And tonight I had my first blog casualty. It sucks and I feel bad although it is admittedly semi funny. OK. Remember the Match guy the "over communicator" who I made out with last weekend? Well I saw him at Silk City again tonight. He nudged me and I was really happy to see him. The thing was aside from the over communicating I did kinda like him. But how do you tell someone they over communicate without it sounding otherwise? So I decided to ride it out and when he stopped I was able to put things in perspective. But after that we just kinda stopped talking without either one of us making any sort of move. In hindsight this is probably because of the story to follow. So he was at Silk City tonight and was acting kinda rude. I went up to him to ask what his deal what and he made it clear that he had found this blog (I am sure he'll read this) and was upset that I called him an "over communicator." He wasn't interested in discussing it further. The funny thing is I'm sure he read that way before we dance floor made out last weekend but go figure it didn't stop him. Maybe this is my red flag anyway. He stalked out my blog which I kind of figured he would and he is the kind that professes every aspect of this life via his status messages and everything over the last few weeks has been about him hating women. And really what 30 yr old does that? So there. From what you know of me I don't have much of a filter. And it sucks cause it may have held me back from getting to know a cool fun person but if he is sensitive about this he prolly couldn't handle allll this anyway. Gah. I'm just getting home from the bar and will try to not delete this tomorrow. Lesson learned. Blog with caution. Maybe I'll just start writing these blogs directly to the people I'm writing about and cut out the middle man. read more >> • ugh First off I would like to apologize to those coming here looking for actual relevant cultural info. Apparently my cohorts have lives so it looks like you're stuck reading about my dating (or lack thereof at the current moment.) While I haven't had anything happen in quite the while (so little if fact that I ran into and consequently made out with that one match guy that I mentioned in earlier posts.) So today after searching the missed connections for word from any of those little 18 yr old hotties that were too afraid to approach me at the Justice show last night (Can you be 26 and a cougar?) I read this article sent to me by a friend. Single men read this. Learn it live it. OK back to work. read more >> • R.I.P late night binging Today is a sad sad day. Last night before going to a show at Johnny Brenda's (more on this later) I stopped into my beloved Wawa on 20th and Locust and all of the shelves were barren. Then I noticed a sign that in 3 days they will be closed (you can't see it but a single tear just hit my keyboard.) I don't know what upsets me more the fact that I was blindsided by the very people who fed me when I was intoxicated put up with me singing entirely too loud to the muzak playing over the speakers and gave me feeless atm withdrawls over the past 3 years or is it the fact that I am actually really upset that a Wawa is closing. Now I have to shlep it aaall the way to 20th and Chestnut for my delicious hoagie treats. Le sigh. But what's the deal? First the wawa on 15th and Walnut now this one? I thought they were doing well. I mean there are like 3 with in 3 miles of my parent's house in the burbs alone. So I am going to start a petition for a WAWA delivery service. "One hot dog please. Yes straight to my mouth. Actually could you go one step further and just chew it up and regurgitate it right in there." Anyway so yeah. My emo friend and I went to JB's last night cause he wanted to see this band called the Headlights. I had never heard of them but figured I couldn't pass up the chance of possibly meeting my dream hipsterish fella. The band was actually really good. But the clientele was mostly made up of the bad kind of crunchy hipster. You know the kind with the smelly knit caps and the coke bottle glasses? To each his own. Anyway it's tough to meet people at bars and it doesn't help that my friend is a dude and it always looks like we're on a date. So I spotted a guy that was pretty cute and decided to ignore the fact that he was wearing skinny jeans. Then my friend (emo) and I realized that he was a drummer of this band and that I had already forced my number on him about a year ago. Is the selection in Philly that small? I've been forced to recycle? Oh well my only other option is hot but has the personality of toast that's been staling on the counter for a few days. So I went up to him and said "Didn't I force my number on you once?" He remembered still had my number gave a good excuse for not calling and we had a nice little chat. So I'll let you know if I hear from him. More importantly. Here's a question for you. Where are all the hot people in Philly hiding? I know there has to be some. The second part of this question is why am I not invited? I think it's because of those years with braces. Pretty people can sense that shit. It's like dogs smelling fear. read more >> • Saint Valentine. Why must you smite me? It's that time of year. You the coupled call it Valentines Day. We the independents call it Singles Awareness Day (also known as S.A.D.) While others will be toasting to companionship and the fact that you will most likely be getting some I will be enjoying my second annual S.A.D. festivities. For the second year my friends and I (some coupled but they have to pretend to not like each other for the night) will be singing karaoke in our own room atop Fugi Mountain restaurant. I plan on opening with "All by myself" leading into "un break my heart" then maybe up the tempo a little with "love stinks". I kid. In reality it's just an excuse to get drunk with my peeps and crack a few glasses with what I always think at the time is my angelic voice. Operation me time hit a snag today. I'm moderately hairy and this freezing weather is blackening my soul. And instead of going out and trying to meet people I opted to stay in this weekend and play a crap load of guitar hero and sing star for ps2. I justified it cause I was drunk and people came over. We tried to go to Loie and it stunk and we realized we were having much more fun with the video games. But then I fell outside of wawa when I was trying to get a hot dog. It was so worth it because it was the best late night hot dog ever made. And every time I look at the scab on my hand I remember. Oh hot dog will you be my Valentine? OK I'm going to try to get out of this funk and go to the gym. grrrrrrrr. Oh and I am going to take up yoga. Although I'm afraid I'm going to look like an asshole during the first class. The fact that the place is covered with windows doesn't help. Tah. read more >> • Semantics I've come to a realization. I don't think I could date Ryan Gosling. On my walk home last night I discovered that I would not be OK with him going off and making out with the Scarlet Johansons and Natalie Portmans of the world. He would then of course tell me that he would give up acting to be with me and I just couldn't have that. As much as I would like to not admit it I think his famousness adds to his appeal. 'Cause then he would just be some dude that was in the Mickey Mouse Club. I won't have to deal with this situation until he actually meets and subsequently falls madly in love with me. So I went out with 700 Club boy on Sat. Actually let me back this up. Even though I've been going on dates I'm in the middle of the longest dry spell I'd had in a long while (hence my delusions of Mr. Gosling.) So Friday I'm at work. Feeling pretty randy when along comes an IM from dating past. He was one of the dudes I was talking to but it had kind of just fizzled. He's hot and all but came with little too much baggage for my taste... just got out of a long relationship blaah blaaah blaaaah. Wellhe caught me at a weak moment and invited me to his burb house for wining dining. and making out. Dry spell is officially over. And I went into Saturday's date with that itch scratched. Sweet relief. The date was fun but he was wearing more jewelry then I was. Hippie jewelry. With his shirt unbuttoned enough to provide a window to his copious amounts of chest hair. Unpleasant. We went to Black Sheep (my ol' fallback) then Snack Bar which was pretty cool. I got too drunk. Shocker. He called me to go out again this weekend and I'm not really into it. Here's why I am crappy at dating. I would much rather just never call him back and let it go away rather than saying I'm not interested. But that's rude right? If you're a dude would you rather be rejected or just have someone not call you back? read more >> • La isla bonita OK Operation Me Time is progressing swimmingly. If you need a refresher this includes going to the gym keeping organizedish surroundings and daily shaving of my unmentionables even without promise of anyone seeing them. Trust me this is a big feat for me. And my pants are a whole lot roomier I'm pretty sure it's not because of the gym. I figure I'd take the field of dreams mentality of dating. "If you ladyscape it they will come." But I can't complain. Love life aside everything is going pretty damned well. I got a promotion. Huzzah! And moved into a little office. I feel aaaall growed up. Last weekend I did some celebrating and I have to say I was so very upset. My latest haunt Silk City has officially been ruined for me. We had kind of become obsessed. It was our old school L'Etage. You know before everyone and their turdish friends found out about it and you could move without elbowing a wannabe hipster in the face? Well that's what Silk City meant to me. No cover no wait and all the Madonna Michael and Prince you could shake your shit to. We knew it was just a matter of time before word got around. And how! When we went on Sat there was a wall of people front to back. My first task was to pee (due to excessive pregaming). Big mistake. The light was out and I had to feel my way around. I haven't been walking right since. On the verge of a body-heat induced panic attack my crowd and I bolted after 15 mins went to the 700 club. It had been a while since we'd been there. Mainly because Saturday DJ as good as he is smells like a hippie corpse that has been rotting on that bathroom toilet for months. DJ Stank aside we had fun. I gave some dude my number even though he had a chodey hat on and he kept insisting that I was born in Spain. But he was kinda cute friend approved and he called me yest and asked me out for a drink. I will try fit into the pre-drink convos that there will be no train driving so he can leave the conductor hat at home. And if you're wondering. Yes it hurts to be this judgmental. But it hurts so good. read more >> • Mismatched Well hello. So I did it. I signed up for the Match and rode out the month. Consensus; still scares le poo outta me. But what do I know? My friend signed up with me- a suicide pact if you will. And she's lovin' it. But we can both agree that there are heaps of crazy dudes in Philadelphia. Don't believe me? Well take a look at this gem of an email I received. "Roses are Red Violets are Blue Inspired by your Beauty So I’m Writing to you Life is Hard and Life can Strife Maybe one day I can make you my Wife I don’t mean to be Forward and don’t mean to Press But Judging by your Page I’m very Impressed I know this Sounds Cheesy and you may not Believe Me But I just wrote this Poem and you’re the only one I’ve Shown If you like what you’ve Read and you like what u See Please do not Hesitate in Contacting Me =)" I couldn't make this shit up. One guy sent me his life story including but not limited to a youtube video of his latest vacation. Complete with captions that flew across the screen in dayglo colors "DUDE THIS IS AWESOME!" Glorious. I also got winked at by a chick and was tempted to wink back. Maybe I have more soul searching to do than originally thought. Oh but don't worry I'm not saying there aren't crazy girls. I am one of them and I wear it proudly on my sleeve (another light bulb flashing as to why I am writing this.) But what I can say with complete honesty is that if you are a single GUY match is a good bet for you. I did a reverse search and the ratio of hot girls to guys is nuts. Such is Philly. In all honesty I only went on one date. Well it turned into 3. He was funny and nice and I tried oh so hard to be into it. But alas no sparks. I don't know if it's because I secretly judged him for being on match or the fact that he over communicated. (Yes I understand my hypocrisy.) How can I write one blog preaching the woes of no phone calls and now complain about over communicating? As much as a don't like to admit it the chase is fun. And when you're getting texts on top of emails on top of IMs (all in the span of one hour) you start feeling a little... congested. So what now? Whatever happens happens. I'm tiiiiired of looking. Dating is exhausting. So for now I focus on me and maybe he'll turn up in the meantime. I started going to the gym which is pretty funny if you knew me. I think a direct quote from Megan was that "somewhere there is a dough nut crying." And it's true. If you listen hard enough you can hear him. He sounds delicious. I digress. To all of you ladies on Match I wish you luck. You're braver than I. read more >> • Meet You at the Diner!  As a native Long Islander I consider myself somewhat of a connoisseur of the American diner. In fact I truly love them. I grew up with a diner on every corner. After every high school evening out we headed to the local diner. God knows we were tired and hungry from the hours of aimlessly driving around. It was a who's who of the Wantagh Social Scene. Fast forward 10 years and I am a girl about Philly in constant search of the perfect diner. Living in Center City I find my diner options are slim. While I know that Philly has some of the best restaurants around sometimes a girl just needs a greasy meal. Rittenhouse Square's Little Pete's (219 South 17th Street) is tiny but it gets props for being open 24 hours making drunken nights all the better. University City's Philly Diner (3925 Walnut Street) may be the worst diner I've ever visited. Packed with Penn kids and locals I excitedly ordered a platter of cheese fries. Imagine my disappointment when they served me a small portion of microwaved American Cheese fries. I think I left in tears. Do not waste your time at this place under any circumstance. The newly vamped Northern Liberties hot spot Silk City Diner (435 Spring Garden Street) is too trendy to be a diner in my expert opinion. It is delicious but not super cheap. They offer plenty of fancy drinks making this an ideal place for a girl's night out. South Philly's famed Penrose Diner (2016 Penrose Avenue) has some of the most spectacular people watching that you could ever imagine. A Friday night in the heart of South Philly will provide hours of conversation for your table. Finally my top rated diner choice is Bella Vista's Morning Glory Diner (735 South 10th Street). The hours are terrible and the servers aren't overly friendly but it is a wonderful brunch spot if you can withstand a bit of a wait. Be sure to try the homemade ketchup. Support diners- an American institution. Ben Franklin would have wanted it that way. read more >>• Excommunicated A few things about me. 1.) I have crazy hair that kind of resembles a mop. A sexy sexy mop of course. 2.) Sometimes I think I might drink too much but the thought of not drinking makes me sad. I likes my wine. Apparently not as much as I likes my liver. 3.) and the most important is that I think I am perpetually trapped in one of those ice breakers. You know the one where you have the piece of paper taped to your forehead and other people have to give you clues about what's written on there? Well I think I've finally begun to narrow mine down. It either says "rebound" or "Person you want to treat like crap". So the ex I have now erased him from my life. Finally. It's a New Years resolution that just kind of fell into my lap. And I have his douchebaggines to thank for it. We never talk but he always seems to pop back into my life whenever he likes to and give it a metophical noogie. Usually just around the time when I start seeing someone new or haven't thought of him in a while. I think all exes posses this gift. And I allow him to. Why? Cause he was hot. And even though he was a good guy he definitely took advantage of me. So last night was the straw that broke the camel's back. He IMed me out of nowhere to wish me a happy new year and tell me that he's sorry he didn't come to my party but he is seeing someone. Oh and that he thought getting drunk around me would be a bad idea and that it was probably bad that he really wished he could be there. Am I missing something? I don't know when I subscribed to updates about his personal life. UNSUBSCRIBE! UNSUBSCRIBE! Remove me from your mailing list. I mean I certainly didn't think he was celibate but I also don't need to know when he's seeing someone. That was one of the benefits to having him hundreds of miles away. Anyway I feel like I said my piece. That we are not friends we don't need to talk and him telling me this was purely selfish on his part. He is now blocked. The initial upsetness has been replaced by a weight off my shoulder. I no longer have to wonder when he's going to decide to barge back into my life. Onto other men. I tried match. I'm only doing it for this month. I've talked to a few nice guys got winked at by people I'm pretty sure aren't guys yet and decided I am very shallow. It's not for me. While it's kind of addictive almost like shopping for dudes it feels a little forced to me. Oh and in random news. I get a text from sidehugs (remember him? Cause I barely do) on Friday at like 8 pm. It said "sorry I was such a dick 2 u". A.) This makes me nervous because I didn't realize he was such a dick to me. And b.) I've come to the conclusion that he's either going through the steps or it was part of a new years resolution. So now I'm option free but also ex free. So it's a good feeling. I think I'm going to try to enjoy being on my own a little more rather than trying so hard to look for a cuddle buddy. That's what cats are for. Now if I can only keep them from scratching my face. read more >> • Better Late than Never  It's been a very busy holiday season for this philly girl. I spent the better part of the last month being eaten alive by every flu cold and sinus infection that came to town fretting over work and stressing over choosing the perfect gift for each of my various in-laws. But all's well that ends well and now on a rainy and hung-over last Sunday of '07 I have some time to reflect on the season's activities. I did manage to make it to a few lovely holiday events and while it does little good for you readers to hear about them after they are over for next year's holiday cheer I highly recommend the holiday home tour through Elfreth's Alley. For one evening in early December the residents of this the nation's oldest continually inhabited residential street open their doors to the public to tour their adorable and historically significant humble abodes. The houses are all dressed up for Christmas trees trimmed and fires blazing in each living room. There was even a slight snowfall for effect. And Elfreth's is just a stone's throw from The Race Street Cafe which has a great cozy ambiance and creative beer selection a perfect winter warm up spot.One more recommendation that maybe some last-minute types such as myself can take advantage of for one more week - not a holiday theme but certainly a nice family-friendly outing if you have guests coming in from out of town or if you're just looking for a worthwhile way to spend an afternoon. The Renoir exhibit at the Philadelphia Museum of Art is really spectacular. It takes you through his life and loves and his experiences of Paris London and his travels through the coast of Italy Algiers and other colorful and lively destinations. You see paintings of every day life of young men having drinks or his good friends painting in their back yards. Nevermind that his best friend just happens to be Monet. The exhibit is here through to 01.06 so you still have time! Run the Rocky stairs straight into Renoir's world. The Philadelphia Museum of Art Benjamin Franklin Parkway www.philamuseum.org read more >> • New Year New low? You know what they say about New Years Eve? That how you spend it will reflect how your year will play out. I'm starting to believe this. Last year I made out with my ex and that pretty much spelled out how this year went. Until September when we realized what we realized the September before that. We're better off as exes. This new years may very well be my first that is completely kiss free in about 7 years. I say this but there is possibility of the exes attendance again and I can't tell what my state will be around the stroke of midnight. I've enlisted a few of my girlfriends to distract me through whatever means necessary. That being said I'm hiding my frying pans. My only other option at the moment is Texty McGee. We've been playing a very dull game of phone tag. In other news. I was at the Aunt and Uncle's for Christmas when my two hot cousins were talking about their adventures on match.com. I was surprised. Now I'll admit I tried match once before and it scared the shit outta me. All I could do is judge the boys I talked to. I mean I guess I think it's unnatural for a guy to actually be looking for a girlfriend. At least the guys I've dated. Which is making me realize why I'm in my bathrobe writing a blog at 10 pm when I have off from work tomorrow (in my defense my lungs are full of phlegmy goo and I probably only have 2 days left to live.) Anyway back to match when i was on it last January I went on 2 dates. One with Handsy Greaserson. He followed me to a bar afterwards and presented drinks that my sister bought as if he had paid for them. The second was OK he just wasn't my type (which admittedly is pretty specific--rugged hipster.. yummmm). So I thought since they were digging the match maybe the selection had gone up. I just checked it out. FUGVILLE. But dammit they got me. Someone sent me a message and I can't view it unless I pay the 39.95 to "enroll". Should I do it? I mean if I do it I will actually have to force myself to go on dates. Has anyone had positive experiences? This whole thing gives me the willies. But so be it I'll put my dating life in your hands. If more people think I should do it. I will. And if 2008 sucks I will hunt each one of you down. And give you a case of my crackly lung. Now I'm going to look on web MD to self diagnose. read more >> • Call me old fashioned.. Hell just call me. I've noticed a disturbing new trend on the dating front. More disturbing is that it doesn't seem to phase other people. I think I'm part of a weird generation that started dating right around the beginning of the cell phone era. It's been really interesting to see how it's playing out in the whole dating scheme of things. In addition to the normal awkward struggles "who pays" "who calls first" now we have to deal with the dreaded text message (if I could insert dramatic music here I would.) For example. Italian stallion only picked up the phone once and that was to tell me that he was at my house. He asked for a second via INSTANT MESSENGER. omg. Sidehugs texted to cancel a date with me AND texted to reschedule. |
In a small corner room on the second floor of the