New York

 I went to New York, and I liked it.

Statue of Liberty – Check

Ellis Island – Check

American Apparel Warehouse Sale NY – Check

Times Square – Check

Manhattan – Check

Brooklyn – Check

Subway – OWNED

Met Museum – Check

Moma – Check

Lovely Finds I didn’t expect

‘Snice Café – Check

Gorilla Coffee – Check

Stumptown Coffee – Check

Prodigy Coffee – Check

Starbucks – Way too many checks

It was so cold I almost died.

Oatmeal and Quad Espresso

‘Snice Café

The best Vegan / Vegetarian place I found. There is one in Brooklyn and one (maybe two) in Manhattan. I had a Vegan Chicken Pot Pie in a wrap. It had the crust and all, and it was the best thing….ever. They also had amazing tofu burritos for breakfast with the best steel cut oats ever. To top it off…. The barista’s were amazing, and while the coffee was weak, the espresso was delicious. Totally smooth, loads of caramel undertones. … mm

         

Gorilla Coffee:

Pretentious baristas with pretentious coffee. I’d have to say the quality is on the lower end of the high-end hipster coffees. It was a little on the weak side, the crema was not what I expected, and it was just as bitter as the barista. Dude needed to chill.

Stumptown:

         Oregon based, but definitely Manhattan quality. We found it in this swanky hotel, which was like the Abercrombie of hotel lounges. Good food, ambient lighting, mild music, and total vibe of it being the hippest place to be. The espresso was fantastic. Juicy. C’est tout.

Prodigy:
This was by far, the best. We actually found it because we were lost going to another café that had been recommended. The cab driver took us to the wrong location and we never made it. So we stopped at a pizza place so April could refuel, then on our way to Angelica’s Restaurant (WORST VEGAN EVER), I saw prodigy and decided we had to make the best out of a sketch situation. The coffee was ridiculously good, the baristas were cute and knowledgeable and amazing. The espresso was super juicy, the crema was fantastic and prominent. It was like a bang in the mouth. Love LOVE. Find them if you go to Manhattan. 

Wants and Whats

What do you want?

What do I want?

A simple question, a simple question that I have been able to avoid.

My default setting is indecisive, non-committal and reserved.

I choose to live a life in which I use most of my energy in the pursuit of helping others attain what they want. Until asked the question, I had assumed that my intentions were nothing more than philanthropic and benevolent, but I can see how my choosing to help other people make their decisions is an excuse to not pursue what I want and to avoid the fear that is associated with the failure that could be involved.

It is far easier to let someone tell you who they want you to be, than to tell them who you really are and have to defend your own character.

It is easier to hear someone tell you that they want to be with you, than it is to be asked what you want and risk losing them and regretting your honesty.

It is easier to consistently fail when your failure is nothing more than your own desire being supplanted by another’s wants. Somehow, neglecting your own wants is easier if you see it as a sacrifice of your happiness for the greater good.

What a copout, right?

Story of my life.

What I Want
(I'm just laying it all out, In my blog, I GET WHAT I WANT)

1.     Find my Dissertation Topic

2.     Find my focus in Graduate School

3.     Flourish in my Practicums

4.     Graduate from Graduate School

5.     Get a nice Trek Bike with a million gears, so I can conquer any hill in San Francisco

6.     My own flat in SF, New York, South Korea, Tuscany or Rome

7.     Find a guy that actually understands me, without me having to give away my life story

8.     Get married and have a nice childless life with an amazing guy who is relaxed, artistic, a little crazy, madly intellectual and a little conspiracy theory (just for fun)

9.     Read one book a month

10.   Knit one thing-a-magig a month (On Hold, Carpel Tunnel)

11.   Sell my Linocut prints on Etsy

12.   Work in a Prison with geriatric patients

13.   Work with Veterans

14.   Study Psychopaths’ artwork

15.   Own a coffee shop or be deeply involved in one

16.   Volunteer in a homeless shelter or Geriatric community

17.   Visit: Thailand, Portugal, Amsterdam, Vietnam, Japan, Australia, New Zeland, Quebec, France, Ireland, Alaska, Costa Rica

18.   Stop being scared of failure

19.   Get a dog

20.   Learn to make pottery

Addiction Salon

Bestexperience ever.

AddictionSalon350 Alabama St
(between 16th St & 17th St) 
San Francisco, CA 94110
Neighborhood: Mission

I decided I wanted to cut all my hair.

You know those days when nothing you do to your hair makes it acceptable looking, and you have to hid it under a hat?

That was my life, pretty much every day. I would get so tired of dealing with fussing with it, that I would just go to my trustee knitted hat and go out.

I was over it. I picked a random salon off of Yelp (it had to have surpurb reviews) and decided to go all out and get it cut by a swanky professional.

What better choice for a swanky hipster professional than a salon in the Mission?

So, I found Anthony. Who is… AMAZING. Great guy.

He fit me in the same day I called for an appointment, was super nice on the phone when I got lost and couldn’t find the place (it’s nestled in a small street between Harrison and Folsom), and gave me amazing espresso while I waited.

I was pretty vague when he asked me what I wanted.

Me: “I… uhmm.. want it short, but not Emma Watson short, but short”

Anthony: “I know exactly what you want and it will look perfect with your face shape”

Me: “I have a face shape?”

I was so nervous, I felt like I was going to lose the delicious espresso I had just downed. He seemed to see it in my face and assured me throughout that it would be amazing. I could tell it was legit because sometimes he would just stop and smile and say how good it was going to look. Good sign.

Long story short, this man knows how to cut. He took that vague description and gave me the best cut I’ve ever had. $12 haircuts? No thank you, I’m going all out if this is what I get instead. 

Ahh-Whim-a-Way

I love Teajava.

Simply Delicious

I want it in my life, FO’EVA

 New Print

^Simba

New Clothes Smell

.05    Everything that can be fried... WILL BE FRIED

Things that make me happy

In no particular order

1.              Hot showers

a.     Best time to contemplate life

b.     Clean clean clean

2.              Random presents for no other reason than it made someone think of you
          so they had to buy it

3.              When people gdive me free coffee

4.              When a barista gives you an extra shot for free

5.              When that extra shot comes from a barista at Four Barrel Coffee

6.              Waking up with the sun and not having to rush

7.              Tea when it’s cooled down to the perfect sipable temperature

8.              Holding hands

9.              Being challenged

10.          Being asked questions and not knowing the answer

a.     Shows me where I need to grow

b.     I like researching things

11.          Biking up a super steep hill and feeling as if you’ve conquered Everest.

12.          The days when its warm in the sun but cold in the shade, it’s a challenge
           to get around the city only using the sunny spots

13.          When you meet a person who was born to be nice

14.          Finishing a book that is not a textbook

15.          Reading and watching non-fiction crime stories and trying to diagnose the
          criminal

16.          Getting A’s in graduate school

17.          Being excited to be in graduate school

18.          Guys that make me smile but aren’t afraid to make me frown

19.          Finding an old childhood classic on Netflix instant watch

20.          Getting a sweater I’ve wanted for FOREVER, on sale and half price
          HOOK. IT. UP

21.           The first sip from a new coffee mug

22.          COSTCO

23.          Going to Japan Town and buying new pens for taking notes

24.          When SF is warm enough to ride my bike without a sweater

25.          The Bushman

26.          Cleaning my room, organizing, more cleaning, clean

27. Pretty colors on EVERYTHING

More for later.

Aligator.