My Fourth Post

To celebrate this great nation's independence, I not only ate beef this July 4th, I also rode some beef. It sounds a little more racy than it actually was. Check it out! Cow statue courtesy of my fabulous roommate's fabulous grandmother. Fabulous.

My Third Post

It's really just now starting to hit me that I'm leaving SOON for my grand tour of the U.S. Only a week and a half until I move out of my apartment. Up until now I've felt only excited and free, and I still feel that, but now I feel a little scared too. Not scared about what I'm going to do, but what I'm leaving behind. Until I decided to take this trip, I've always sort of felt that New York is my home, for better or for worse. My family, my friends, my support system, my life is here. And even if there are things I don't like about it, this is it. I'm happy I've decided to explore other options, and I look forward to picturing my life as being something and somewhere else. But what if I move somewhere, and my niece and nephews forget who I am? What if a family member gets really sick and I can't be around to care for him or her? What if I lose the closeness I feel with my friends here? But then I guess I have to say, are those really reasons to not try something new, and perhaps discover a life that suits me a little better? Definitely not.

I've got my itinerary all laid out. Here it is!

Connecticut
DC
Louisville
New Orleans
Austin
Truth or Consequences (a town in New Mexico)
Canyon de Chelly
Grand Canyon
LA
San Luis Obispo
Reno
San Francisco
Redwood
Portland
Seattle
Sun Valley
Denver
Boulder
Minneapolis
Chicago
Niagara Falls
Burlington
Maine
Then I guess back to Connecticut?

It's an ambitious itinerary, but I know I can do it, and I know I'll have a fabulous time seeing new places and old friends.

Peace and cupcakes.

My Second Post

Ok, I think I'm getting the hang of this a little bit. Once I get really comfortable with the blogging thing I will start thinking up more creative titles for the post. For now, this will do. I was talking with my roommate tonight about the purpose of a blog, and just how much information one should expose. In a sense, I want to keep a journal, as a sort of timeline of a point when I'm fully embracing my 'quarter life crisis' and doing something a bit spontaneous, pretty exciting, and something that has quite a bit of emotion wrapped up in it for me. I'm sure I'll experience a lot of profound (and not so profound) feelings throughout my trip, and I'd like to write about them. And perhaps it might be a good exercise to put them out there, on this blog, and share them, unashamed. But how much do others really want to read that stuff? Do you really care about what I think, or would you rather just read a few silly little comments about how I saw a bearded lady in Omaha, or a five-legged donkey in Texas? I suppose I should just write whatever the hell I want, and if others want to read it they can, and if they don't, then don't. Simple.

In my first post I wrote about my dislike of crowded subways with all the crazies. Well tonight, for the first time ever, I got officially "ridden" on the subway. I thought I was going to vomit - It was a crowded subway, i was presed up against a railing, and this older man kept finding a way to conveniently bump and softly rub his junk right up against my rear end. I mean, c'mon, crowded or not, there is a way to avoid doing that. i tried shifting around, but it didn't help. I was very close to pulling a Linda Ramsey (Chapin gals, you know the drill) but I refrained and as soon as the car door opened I fled. Then on the bus a crazy lady got on and refused to pay the fare and started screaming and yelling about how she always gives and noone ever gives back to her and she's not gonna pay cause they don't deserve her money. it's funny, i used to love all this nonsense - not so much now...Needless to say I'm looking forward to getting in my car - where I'll have a sense of my own defined private space. But wait, I'm a New Yorker, who needs space? What's space? Ahhh...pshaw...

Night!

My First Post

This is my first time writing in a public forum online. I've never left a comment, or a review - I'm even shy about posting things on other people's pages - a strange neurotic fear of judgement perhaps. So stick with me while I get used to this whole blogging thing - YIKES!

First I'll eplain why I'm here, why I brought you here too. I'm a born and bred New Yorker (ok, well technically I was born in a New London, CT hospital - but I like to ignore that fact and just go with the former statement) and in the last couple of years have fallen in love with baking and pastry. When I was younger and I couldn't sleep, I would sneak downstairs in the middle of the night without my parents' knowledge and make fudge - and then go sit in bed and eat it before it had even set. Some may say disgusting, I say fabulous. I remember one night in particular, around 2 am yours truly was climbing the stairs to her bedroom juggling a tray of fudge and a big glass of milk. One false step and milk went everywhere - coated my hair, splattered on the wall, and flooded the fudge. But I didn't care; I hadn't dropped the fudge and that was all that mattered. Damn that stuff was delicious. The stale aroma of my hair the next day? not so much.

Fast forward to my mid-twenties. I went to college in Maine, travelled abroad a bunch, became fluent in Spanish, had my gallbladder removed, fell into a baking job, went to culinary school, and here I am. I love my current job (One Girl Cookies rules! Check 'em out - onegirlcookies.com) but have decided to take some time to explore other places, other options, other cities, other lifestyles. I would really like to be able to afford my rent. I would really like to have a dog. I would really like to not have to take the f*ing crowded ass nyc subway, with all the crazies that yell obscenities and preach and rub up against me. If I stay in New York, accomplishing these things might be a challenge. We shall see.

On July 23rd I'm taking off for a two month (almost) road trip. I'll be heading down to New Orleans, then across through Texas and Arizona, up the California, Oregon and Washington coastlines, down through Idaho, Colorado, across the mid-west to finally end up in Maine mid-September. I'll be staying with friends, in hostels, Best Westerns, and who knows where else. Well, hopefully nowhere else. I thought I'd blog it - for my own fun, and so I can make all of you jealous as you sit at your boring day jobs killing time reading blogs about people having fun adventures. Sorry to rub it in. I'll be trying to eat as much good food as possible too - if anyone has suggestions of great bakeries to hit up along the way let me know!

Keep in touch and keep checking in - After 12 hour days in the car with just me, myself and I, I might need to hear from people other than the voices in my head.

On that note, I should sleep. It's one AM, I'm on valium for a muscle spasm in my neck, and I'd best just hit the hay. Night!