Charlottesville Has No Soul Cycle, No High Line and No Shake Shack!

Well, this weekend marks the unofficial end to the Summer and well, as y’all can imagine, I’m not exactly thrilled to be back in Charlottesville.  Don’t get me wrong, I love Charlottesville, but in the two short weeks since being back at school, I’ve already read well over six-hundred pages worth of books and reading assignments!

So let’s be honest, going from a full-time internship to school is not easy.  When you go from having responsibilities, a busy life and Soul Cycle to textbooks, schedules from hell, stress, and whatever else you want to throw into the college equation, it’s not easy to immediately adjust.  To makes things worse, Mother and Count Dooku decided that they didn’t need to help me move into my apartment this year, so I don’t even have half of my stuff with me because my car can’t hold a whole lot.  Now, I was going to go home last weekend, but first there was that earthquake, and then that damn Hurricane Irene decided to ruin those plans.  So aside from five pairs of pants I had ordered over the 4th of July weekend, the only clothes I have with me are from my last week of work in New York and a few polo shirts I managed to grab out of my suitcase before driving up to Charlottesville.  I’m now going to be missing the first football game of the season tomorrow so I can drive home in twenty minutes and spend all of Saturday unpacking what I bring back.  I’ll just be glad to have all of my belongings back with me.

Speaking of Hurricane Irene, Andrew experienced his first hurricane while still in New York.  Unfortunately, all he got was some heavy rain and wind.  I know it’s not nice of me to wish a hurricane on someone, but I just wanted him to experience what I’ve gone through way too many times: the no power for eight days, cold showers, being forced to walk down your street because power lines and trees are covering the road, doing homework by candlelight/flashlight, and all those other fun things associated with hurricanes.  Of course, a lot of that would require Andrew to live in suburbia, but that’s just a minor complication.

As for Justin, I had the pleasure of seeing him my last night in New York.  We went to a terrific dinner at Il Posto Accanto, which is just the greatest Italian restaurant made even more entertaining by its neighborhood Italian restaurant atmosphere.  Personally, I’m obsessed, and have found myself longing for the Bistecca ai Ferri, which is grass-fed Black Angus Hanger Steak resting on a warm pumpkin farro with wine-soaked raisins.  After dinner, we headed uptown so Justin and Andrew could meet for the first time, which went surprisingly well, considering that Andrew was moments from going to sleep.  It was also when Andrew and I said farewell until December, ending yet another wild summer in the city.  It was such a treat to see Justin as well, since it would have been December as well before we’d get to see one another otherwise.

As anticipated, Grace was ready and waiting for my return to Charlottesville and things went more smoothly than last time in New York.  Now, I have to be honest, Thomas Jefferson might have been a brilliant intellectual and yes, the Declaration of Independence is a great document, Monticello is lovely and UVa is wonderful school, but that man was horrible at picking real estate!  It is deathly hot out here in the summer and I’m told it’s beyond freezing in the winter.  Oh, and these hills don’t do much to help.  Needless to say, I’m greatly anticipating Fall.

Now that Summer is drawing to a close, I thought it would be good to reflect on what will be my final Summer break before graduate school.  This is a terrifying realization, even though Summer hasn’t been a break for years.  The six weeks in New York this Summer were more of a preview of what life after college than the year before when I only worked three days a week.  Honestly, I enjoyed the work week and can’t wait to get to it myself.  I found an athletic activity aside from running that I truly enjoy and sincerely miss; plus, I finally made it to Brooklyn, so that made the whole six weeks right there!

Finally, I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the BofA Intern brofest for helping to get me to kick my Starbucks addiction.  In the six weeks I was in New York, I only visited Starbucks twice: on my first day of work and one night with Andrew.  Well, that’s all for now, but I hope y’all have a good Labor Day weekend and until next time…

-JD

Alright, I’ll Admit It: Brooklyn is not Siberia, Even Though It Took Forever To Reach

Just as the New York Times did earlier this year while I was in Italy, I decided that this year, I was finally going to go where I have never been before: Brooklyn.  You see, when I think of Brooklyn, I think of hipsters from Williamsburg with their plaid shirts, Brooklyn designer jeans, Converse sneakers, and for some reason, Dr. Dre headphones.  Part of this idea of Brooklyn stems from my internship last summer at New York, which I unexpectedly discovered has a large Brooklyn-based staff.  Don’t get me wrong, I understand entirely why they’d want to live there: it’s cheaper, more square-footage for your money, you get somewhat of an escape from the extreme gentrification of Manhattan that has been underway over the last two decades, and you have this whole identity that is not connected to the island of Manhattan.  Unfortunately, I love Manhattan; I’d rather go hungry just so I could afford the rent in a dump the size of my bathroom at home in Virginia Beach (which, for the record, just happened to fit in the space between the living room wall and my bedroom)!  There’s nothing that can ever replace Central Park or that majestic scene of towers of steel and brick that shoot up into the sky.  However, Andrew spent most of his life living in Brooklyn, and after years of making fun of the city he called home, I decided that it was finally time for me to swallow my pride and journey beneath the East River to see what’s so great about Brooklyn, but only if I had my official Brooklyn tour guide, Andrew to take me.  Amazingly, he agreed.

Andrew grew up and attended school in Brooklyn Heights, which is where our tour primarily took place and we began on the Brooklyn Heights Promenade, a third-of-a-mile stretch that offers some of the most breathtaking views of lower Manhattan.  However, it was about ten-thousand degrees out on the Promenade and so we didn’t stay very long.

Those two cranes in the distance in the righthand corner are the future Freedom Tower.

After leaving the Promenade, Andrew and I proceeded to see where he lived for most of his life before walking over to the home of his grandparents, which was so stunning; the mural in their dining room still takes my breath away just thinking about it!  The rows and rows of townhouses are just incredible and thankfully, they’re all protected under the creation of the Brooklyn Heights Historic District in 1965.  Our tour then took us to see where Andrew had attended school, which was rather interesting for me because I would always talk to him while he walked back from school, and I refused to believe he could be home in only ten minutes.  I was wrong.  Right across from his old school is the Brooklyn Historical Society, which Andrew took me to so I learn a bit more about  the history of Brooklyn.  I think it’s so wonderful that this one neighborhood in the largest borough of New York has so much pride and that it fights so hard to preserve its past for future generations.

We didn’t stay at the Historical Society for very long and ventured over to the area of Brooklyn known as Dumbo (Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass) where we stopped for ice cream at the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory before walking (and by walking, I mean power walking because leisurely strolling is just not Andrew’s style) around the Brooklyn Bridge Park, which is a park constructed atop of the no longer used piers that line Brooklyn’s waterfront.

Due to an obscenely long line, we skipped Grimaldi’s Pizzeria and headed further into Dumbo along Water Street.  We went into Jacques Torres‘s chocolate factory (oh the temptation, and oh the restraint I showed) and the Almondine Bakery (more restraint, but only because they don’t take credit cards and I honestly had two dollars in my wallet because I didn’t want to pay a withdrawl fee).  However, it was at the corner of Water Street and Main Street that Andrew and I had the most entertaining part of our day.

We made our way into the powerHouseArena bookshop, which was hosting the launch party for Paul Frank’s Academy of Awesomeness Mobile Tour.  It turns out that powerHouse publishes the book, Take Ivy, which was recently reprinted in 2008 to the delight of preppies up and down the East Coast, and they had it on sale for $8.70, down from the $24.95 that Andrew paid, so of course I had to buy it!  While there, we made our way up into the VIP area (because Andrew, who doesn’t drink, saw the bar and decided we needed to go there) where we ran into the self-annoited Queen and Queen of Brooklyn, Alex McCord (who I actually like) and Simon Van Kampen, with their children, John and François.  Andrew asked why I wasn’t photographing them, but I didn’t want to because I said they had their kids with them, and while they are getting beat up when they’re older for being given those names, I feel that they’re too young at the moment to exploit.  However, I will say that while Simon was nowhere to be seen unless there was a camera pointed at him, Alex actually looks like a great mother.  So after I bought the book and we stalked Silex for a few minutes, we thought it was time to leave, but as we’re walking out the door, who shows up in a black Escalade?  None other than permanent psych-ward resident Kelly Killoren Bensimon!  Now, as avid watchers of guilty pleasure number one, Los Veramentes Housewives di Nueva York (yes, that is what I honestly call the show), then y’all know that “kellamity” Kelly and Silex don’t exactly like each other, so we had to go see this clashing of Bravo divas in person.  Simon was really nowhere to be seen when Kelly and Alex had their civil,but clearly fake meeting.

Knowing that the island of Manhattan was momentarily free of crazies, Andrew and decided it was safe to return, and when you’re visiting Brooklyn for the first time, there’s only one way to return to the island and that’s via the Brooklyn Bridge.  It’s here I should mention that I was breaking in a pair of shoes that day and amazingly only had two blisters, but oh did my feet hurt at this point!  Also, I had broken my toe just a week earlier, so I probably shouldn’t have done as much walking as we did, and yet, we trekked onward.  There’s no really way to describe walking on the Brooklyn Bridge for the first time; it was surreal and remarkable to stand on a structure that is so engrained in the American psyche and I found myself speechless for so much of the journey across.  Andrew only gave me about ten seconds to stand and just take it all in, but in that time, I just looked at the beauty of the bridge, because it is beautiful, despite its roughness; underneath the surface there is a great story of triumph and success.

To sum things up about Brooklyn, I really can’t believe I waited so long to visit and while I know that there is so much more of this massive city that I have yet to discover, I think I’ve made a pretty good start.  Also, I’d like to thank my tour guide for the day, Andrew, who gave up a weekend in the Hamptons to show me around!  Until next time…

-JD

Midnight at the Met

This past weekend, I did something that every child dreams about and that is going to a museum after hours and going exploring.  Okay, so maybe I’m exaggerating a little about the exploring part, but still, I was there until after Midnight on Sunday.  Last weekend was the final weekend for the Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty exhibit at the Met and this was my third, and last, attempt to see what all the fuss was about.  The lines have been hours long inside the museum, but this weekend, three lines wrapped themselves into Central Park.  I lasted about ten minutes behind two guys in drag who were wearing what they called an homage to McQueen.  It looked more like they had raided the costume closets of Lady Gaga and Madonna before coming to the Met.  They were in bright, 80s spandex with Gaga-esque headgear and the most painful looking shoes I’ve ever seen in my life.  The only thing that kept me thinking about staying was the prospect of watching these two goof off for the next five hours.  Then I ran out of water and decided it wasn’t worth the wait.

Saturday night, after a slight drizzle, I marched back over to 81st and Fifth to see if the lines were still crazy.  The Met was allowing people to enter until Midnight this weekend to see the exhibit and once you were inside the building, you were guaranteed admission, even if it was after Midnight.  Of the three lines, I thankfully got in the shortest and was inside just before the rain started up again.  That was at 21h40 and so for the next two hours, I slowly made my way up to the second level, passing the Drawings and Prints gallery into the Great Hall and around the balcony, briefly entering the Asian Art galleries, back around the Great Hall’s balcony, and through Ancient Near Eastern galleries before finally reaching the 19th and Early 20th Century European Painting and Sculpture Gallery’s long corridor that ended at the entrance to Savage Beauty.

Along the way, I became friends with the woman in line behind me.  Though I don’t know her name, I do know that she was headed for French Toast after leaving the exhibit.  She was very sweet and we kept each other’s spirits up during the sometimes painfully boring, and equally warm, trek through the museum.  All the while, we wondered why there wasn’t a  bar cart, which would have been a huge help!  Though as I was thinking about delicious a very large cocktail would have been, I began remembering all of the books I had read as a child about children or teddy bears being left in a store or a museum after hours and all of the exploring that went on over the course of the night; today’s children have Night at the Museum, which isn’t the same thing.  To be honest, I feel like I was fulfilling every child’s dream of being in a museum after hours with most of the exhibits blanked in darkness.

Now to quote the gentleman about two feet behind me in line wearing John Lennon sunglasses, denim cutoffs and a tee-shirt that said “Look Whose in VOGUE Now, Bitch!” when we reached the entrance to the exhibit, “LORD JESUS, HONEY, THAT WAS HARD TO DO SOBER!”  I’ll be honest, I was thinking the same thing.  Now, it’s here that I should probably explain that in terms of fashion, I don’t get Alexander McQueen’s stuff; I’m about as far from being unconventional as you can get in terms of fashion.  That said, McQueen had talent.  The clothes from his days on Saville Row were so well tailored that I just stood in awe at some of those jackets in the first room.  Making my way past the hoards of people inside the exhibit, I saw one beautifully-made, highly impractical outfit after another; there were a few that someone could wear theoretically, but everything else was total Gaga or Daphne Guinness.  The most amazing pieces that I saw were a white, Elvis-esque jacket with a skirt made of gold-leaves, the dress made of silk and real flowers and of course, the Sping/Summer 1999 show-stopper:

I think that piece is so stunning and seeing the video from the show was just unbelievable!  The other video that I feel stood out for me was the Spring/Summer 2005 show that McQueen presented in an homage to the chess game in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone:

The displays were breathtaking and done in a way that showed how McQueen’s creativity evolved over the years.  I left the final room at 0h10 on Sunday morning feeling as though I had witnessed more than just an exhibit on clothes; it was more of a deconstruction of McQueen’s thought process over the years.  Although still wondering who on earth could wear some of those outrageous pieces, I walked through the a part of the African Art gallery thinking about how hard it must have been to continuously come up with such eye-popping and cohesive collections season after season and I feel sorry that he and his creative genius are no longer with us.

As that, the most intellectual thought I’ve had in months, bounced around the hollow space that is my head, I got a glimpse of the Greek and Roman Statues not bathed in their usual sunlight,but instead in darkness with only lights to keep them visible and I thought it was just the most striking thing I’ve ever seen.

As I reached the Great Hall, the long lines were slowly beginning to disappear for the night as the museum was officially closed.  I asked the head of security if anyone was turned away and he said that because of the rain, nearly a third of the people in line left, so everyone who was left made it in.

Saturday night at the Met was a night I won’t soon forget and  to say the very least, it was well worth the wait!  Until next time…

-JD

My Newest Obsession: Soul Cycle

Last night, as part of my new crusade to try new things that I’d ordinarily never attempt, I went to check out New York’s newest exercise obsession, Soul Cycle.  I first heard about it at work because our Editor-in-Chief is beyond obsessed and after four weeks of hearing about it, I decided I needed to see what was so great about it.  So, I signed up and went last night at 19h30 for my first Soul Cycle class.  Grace knew about Soul Cycle from some radio show she listens to that mentions it all the time, but even as I walked up to the studio on the corner 3rd Avenue and 83rd Street, I still didn’t really understand what I was about to partake in, let alone how long it lasted!

It turns out that Soul Cycle is part spinning, part yoga, part weight-lifting, part stretching, and part crunches/push-ups with very high energy music and an equally energetic coach.  It was unlike anything I’ve ever done before.  I should say that for the record, the only exercise I do regularly is running five miles, three times a week and then doing some very basic sit-ups, crunches, etc…  I loathe gyms partly because seeing people bench-pressing my bodyweight while I’ve got the 15lb weights doesn’t help make working-out seem like any fun.  The other reason I avoid gyms the same way I avoid families with small children is because I’m not out to look like David Hasselhoff when he was on Baywatch; I run so that I can continue to eat all of the desserts that I can’t live without and not die before I hit Sixty!  It’s purely for survival and because of said running, I left Italy this May weighing exactly as much as I had when I arrived!  I wish my roommates could have said the same thing.

Soul Cycle was unlike anything I had ever witnessed before.  Before I knew what was happening, I was on a bike in dim-light room filled with a very odd mix of people; a few people my age, but mostly people in their 30s or 40s; there was one woman who looked late 60s-early 70s, but no one older than her.  Our instructor, a man by the name of String, got right into things after a very fast orientation for myself and the other newcomer.  I was in the back row, thinking the fan would be blowing on me directly though I quickly learned that it was above me and so I barely got any air on me during the one hour class.  After the brief rundown of the do’s and don’ts, we were off.

I began like all beginners, like a deer in the headlights, fearing that I should just leave before I make a complete fool of myself.  However, I figured that I should just stick it out and if I don’t like it, then I won’t come back.  By the end, I had sort of figured out all of the different positions we were told to get into throughout our session.  My legs didn’t stop moving the entire time, which was most painful when we simulated riding uphill!  There were times when I thought I would pass out, but String and the extremely upbeat music kept me going right up to the end.

After leaving the studio an hour later, I stood on the corner for a few minutes just trying to grasp what I had just done.  I now get why Richard, my Editor-in-Chief, is obsessed with Soul Cycle; it combines so many different exercises into one and is the perfect thing for someone who doesn’t have the time to do all of these exercises individually.  Despite being kind of expensive ($32 for an hour session), I will definitely be going back a few more times before leaving New York for Charlottesville, where they don’t have Soul Cycle (yet), next Friday!  Plus, starting in November, they reopen the South Beach location, so I’ll be driving down from Palm Beach regularly this winter to get my Soul Cycle fix.  To say the least, I’m hooked!  My only regret is that I didn’t try it earlier.  Now if y’all will excuse me because I need to get to bed now because I’m dead tired, so until next time…

-JD

The Most Memorable Night

I have to say, this year has really been a year of unforgettable experiences.  I got to fulfill my dream of seeing Bordeaux at Twenty-One, I went to the opera at La Scala, went to Mount Etna, took the Auto Train, and I made it back to New York for another dream summer.  Last night, however, Maggie and I were treated to something neither of us will ever forget.  We went to Andrew’s apartment where the last person we ever expected to know how to cook made us a caprese salad using only the finest and freshest ingredients (though if I get sick from that New Jersey basil, I will kill you), a perfectly-cooked rack of lamb and farro.  Plus, he served us wine and champagne, because Andrew knows that the way to our hearts is through our livers!  On top of the surprisingly delicious dinner, Andrew treated us to movies he has made over the last decade or so and I have to be honest here when I say that watching these movies in which he cast his brother and sister as the actors, I genuinely wish I had siblings and that I could have done the same thing with them!

If all of that wasn’t enough, as an added bonus, we blasted music ranging from Katy Perry’s “Last Friday Night” to some of Broadway’s greatest hits and had an impromptu dance party in his living room!  To Andrew’s neighbors and the people across the street who had to have been watching this: y’all wish you could have been apart of the fun!  I know he’s going to murder me for doing this, but here are some photos I took of the festivities last night:

The Caprese Salad

The lamb and farro

Maggie with her vegan burger, which was quickly replaced with lamb

Again, this night was just so memorable and I don’t think I’ll ever forget it!  It was so amazing to see this side of Andrew that we never really get to see and I am genuinely honored to say that I have such a talented friend!  Andrew, despite his… Andrewness, is without a doubt one of the smartest people I know.  He knows something about everything and he constantly amazes me with his talents about which most people know nothing.  But that’s Andrew; he’s not one to brag about these sorts of things.  This summer has already treated me to so many unforgettable moments and meals, but this one, because it was made by Andrew, combined with the home movies, just made it so memorable!  Until next time…

-JD

Did No One Suggest That Lord Voldemort Get a Nose Job?

I mean really, it would have done wonders to his self-esteem!  Besides, I’m sure there is a spell in the magic world that could have just made a nose appear.  So yes, I saw Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2.  I have to say, I found it to be a slightly moving one because if you think about it, the Harry Potter series has in fact shaped my entire generation.  I was barely nine years old when I started reading Harry Potter books and now I’m twenty-one as the last movie comes out.  That is thirteen years of my life that I have spent with Harry Potter!  The only other thing that I have had just as long is a pair of eye glasses that I do not wear in public (unless I really have to) that will be fourteen in a few months, and I’m throwing them out before that milestone is reached.

I remember exactly where I saw the first movie and with whom I saw it; I bought so much chazerai when the movies first came out; I was absolutely obsessed with them.  Also, I still have the same crush on Emma Watson I had back in 2001.  So with all of these emotions filling my head, I sat in front of a man dressed as Dumbledore who critiqued all two hours and five minutes of this final Harry Potter movie.  I must say that I’m okay with the fact that the movie didn’t follow the book word-for-word, though as “cute” as it was, that epilogue scene could have been left out because I think it ended on a really good note already.  As always, the kids did great (I guess we can’t call them kids anymore since they’re kind of really my age) and the adults were phenomenal, with a special mention to Maggie Smith and Julie Walters for their amazing line delivery, and of course a pause to mention Helen Bonham Carter because she now no longer has an excuse to dress like a crazy person who has just done copious amounts of drugs!

In closing, I just have to say that while not adored by every critic, the Harry Potter franchise helped my generation love books.  It gave us a reason to go to a bookstore other than to buy a CD or magazine.  They offered an escape into a world that was entirely unknown and you know, it’s nice to have a place to go to escape the muggle world every now and then.  Also, I’d like to thank J.K. Rowling for sharing her brilliant beyond brilliant story with the world and for inspiring so many to keep dreaming.  Until next time…

-JD

The Paris I Saw Was Not The Same As The One In “Midnight in Paris”

Last week, I went to the Vinegar Hill Theater in Charlottesville to see Woody Allen’s new movie, “Midnight in Paris.”  I know the movie came out in late May, but it’s better late then never!  Okay, so I loved it, but probably for the wrong reasons because for me, it was more about seeing Paris and less about the story that Woody Allen created around what is probably the most beautiful city on earth.

In case y’all have been in the Sahara for the last year,”Midnight in Paris” follows Hollywood writer Gil (Owen Wilson) and his new money fiancée, Inez (Rachel McAdams), on their freeloading trip to Paris with Inez’s parents (Mimi Kennedy and Kurt Fuller).  Inez and her parents remind me of the cast of the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.  I say this because only people from Beverly Hills would check Goyard luggage and bring multiple Birkin bags on one trip.

Gil goes out for a walk and ends up going back in time to the Paris of the 1920s, meeting Hemingway, Picasso, the Fitzgeralds, Gertrude Stein, and Dalí.  It’s an era that Gil feels was Paris at its best.  It’s at this point in the movie when I began to question why he was engaged to Inez, a Malibu-loving label whore whose mother is one of those women who thinks she has great taste and has turned herself into a decorator because she hast too much free time and nothing to do!  Inez is the exact opposite of Gil and it becomes quite clear that they have little in common and she really just with him because he’s rich.

All of that said, I loved the movie!  I thought it was Woody Allen at his best.  No, it wasn’t “Manhattan” or “Annie Hall,” which will forever be his greatest movies, but it was really quite amazing.  The way Allen shows Paris is just as magical as the way he shows New York in “Manhattan” as a character on its own, and it was just so enchanting that I’m ready to go back tonight (no really, instead of driving back to Virginia Beach for the 4th, I can just go straight to Dulles to catch the 21h50 flight to De Gaulle)!

Now, in my last note about the movie, I have to say that I read last year in the Daily Mail that Mme. Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, the prettiest spouse of a Head of State anywhere in the world, required thirty-five retakes before finally getting her scene right.  I thought she did a great job playing a tour guide at the Rodin Museum, regardless of the number of takes that were required.

Moving back to reality, the pair of J Brand raw denim jeans I bought finally made it up here to Charlottesville, courtesy of Annie, just in time for Grace’s birthday bash.  Now, maybe it was the heat that was messing with my brain, maybe it was the fact that I bought them very quickly (I tried them on because they had to be shortened), maybe it was because I had just had an interview, or because I had eight blisters with two more on the way because I was wearing my new pair of Tod’s, but these jeans are very slim-fitting!

Now, I’m not complaining because I love them and I wanted a pair of jeans that doesn’t have a label on my tuchus!  I’ve gone nearly seven years with everyone knowing that I wear 7 for all Mankind or AG Jeans because you can tell by the logo.  Even though my new jeans have a leather label on the back, my belt will hide the J Brand logo (I always wear a belt and I don’t understand why people don’t wear belts, especially if there are belt loops on their pants), so I have nothing to worry about now!  Plus, I was talking with my favorite Rollins graduate/fellow French class survivor, Tasleem, and she said that she only wears J Brand because they’re “The only brand that fits me well.”  That’s all I needed to hear, because as much as I loved that first pair of 7’s, these feel right.

Now, everyone who knows me now knows that I’m obsessed beyond all belief with Twitter after a few years of me refusing to accept Twitter as a normal social media tool.  Now, I think it’s brilliant!  Well, among the now seventy-five Twitter accounts I follow as of right now is Joshua Kushner, the younger brother of Ivanka Trump‘s husband, soon to be father and owner of the New York Observer Jared Kushner.  Unlike Jared, Joshua Kushner actually tweets things and on June 28th, he tweeted this video, which I watched at about 3h30 because I couldn’t sleep and it rocked my world:

This has to be the neatest thing I’ve EVER seen in my life!  I just can’t get over how amazing this is and I have to try this “liquid mountaineering.”  Thank you, Joshua Kushner, and Twitter for this amazing moment that has captivated me for the last few days!

Finally today, I have a major announcement to make.  After years of refusing to visit, I’m finally going to go somewhere I’ve never been before, even though I’ve had the chance to go so many times!  That’s right, 2011 is the year that both the New York Times and I discover BROOKLYN!  Andrew used to live and go to school in Brooklyn Heights, but I still never saw a reason to go across that bridge to see it.  Well, that changes this summer because this time next week, I’ll be back in Virginia Beach packing to spend the last six weeks of this summer, my last as an undergraduate, in New York, interning at Departures Magazine, the American Express Platinum and Centurion card member only magazine!  I’m so excited because it’s a magazine that I love to read and find to be not just entertaining, but interesting(Andrew says it’s his favorite magazine), and I just can’t wait to get there to start because all of the people there seem to actually enjoy their jobs!  And as an added bonus, Andrew is working two blocks from where I’m working, so we can get lunch on a regular basis!  Last summer, my lunch consisted of me in a Starbucks for thirty minutes.  This summer, I have so many options that I won’t know where to begin!  This might actually be the first time in my life that I genuinely love Midtown Manhattan, even though it’s full of tourists who walk at a glacial pace!

Getting back to talking about Brooklyn, I figured that with this being a year of trying new things (after all, I stood on an active volcano on the island of Sicily, toured vineyards in Bordeaux, went to a museum dedicated solely to medals given to the Republic of France, and managed to get wine back from Italy without changing the color of my clothing in the process), so I figured that if Brooklyn is good enough for the Times to re-discover, then it’s sure as hell good enough for me to see for the first time!

I’m going to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge, see where Andrew went to school (oh yeah, Andrew, you’re going with me on this little journey to Brooklyn) and then that’s all I’ve got so far, but I am going to visit the Brooklyn Slate Company because I think their slate place mates are kind of neat (and can double as great shields during food fights).  Well, that’s all for now, but I wish y’all a Happy Fourth of July and until next time…

-JD

“Sorry I Couldn’t Make It Tonight. I Had to Take My Mom to the Hospital!”

That line was used on a friend of mine this past Tuesday evening by a “solid eight” girl with whom he was supposed to have dinner.  Yes, it’s tragic that this young lady stood him up, but with a line like that, she is definitely a perfect ten when it comes to having a great excuse!  That is so much better than feigning an illness and I felt it needed to be shared.

Moving on, I have to say that it is so hot here in Virginia Beach that I’m ready to trade in my new Tod’s for a pair of hiking boots and my suitcases for a hiking bag and head to Antarctica because at least it’s cold there!  I’ll probably just end up moving into my freezer for the next 72 hours before I head to Charlottesville, where the high yesterday was 98, though I’m told it felt like 103.  And Wednesday, I was in New York for an interview and it was deathly hot out!

I arrived Tuesday night and went straight to dinner with Andrew after dropping my off my bags.  It didn’t seem that hot out so I decided to walk from the Upper East Side over toward the West Side through Central Park, which is one of my favorite things to do.  I just love being in the park and will find any excuse to spend time there.  By the time I hit the West Side, my shirt was untucked and I felt like Justin on a Thursday night after a few drinks with my shirt unbuttoned nearly all the way; all I was missing were a cigar and one of his fedoras!  I quickly tucked my shirt back in and buttoned-up and headed over to meet Andrew at Boulud Sud.  More importantly that actually getting a reservation there, I beat Andrew!  This never happens because he is always on time so I was very excited, especially since he only lives like two blocks away.

Dinner blew me away!  It’s a mediteranian-inspired restaurant so it has a very light and relaxing feel about it to begin with; the sea-foam greenish color on the wall and the light woods and white marble just kind of made me feel like I was on the Med instantly; the Birkins and the high-pitched voices of their formally-dressed totterers, however, reminded me that we were not on the island of Crete, but instead the island of Manhattan!  To start, Andrew and i split this plate of imported, Spanish ham with olives and grilled bread, which I was great, aside from those olives being a bit too spicy for me.  The bread they served was phenomenal; they were all made fresh and the focaccia with olives on it was just killer in my opinion!  For a main course, Andrew tried the Carpetto Orecchiette, which is a pasta dish that he certainly seemed to enjoy, while I had the Lamb Shoulder Cleopatra, which just would have blown my socks off had I been wearing any!  The sweet potatoes and the sweet potato purée, along with the onions and apricots were so delicious and that lamb shoulder was simply incredible.  In fact, I didn’t even need a knife to cut it now that I think about it.  Plus, when it arrived, the waiters covered it with a white-ceramic tagine instead of a silver cover, which I thought was kind of neat while still keeping with the whole Mediterranean feel of the restaurant (remember, North Africa is on the Med as well).  As an added bonus, I had a glass of the Terre Nere 2009 Etna Rosso, which was made with grapes grown on Mount Etna, which I visited in March.  The volcanic soil in which the grapes are grown give the wine this very smooth and uncomplicated taste to it that didn’t try to overpower the lamb, so I was very satisfied and I’m definitely buying a few bottles (I’ve recently decided to take up wine as a hobby of mine).

Dessert, which in my opinion is the only part of the meal that really matters, was a bit of a problem.  Unlike Café Boulud in Palm Beach where that warm upside down chocolate soufflé has never let me down, Andrew and i failed to find anything that really jumped out at us.  So instead, we decided we would go next door to Daniel Boulud’s new Épicerie Boulud to get dessert because it was basically designed to compete with Thomas Keller’s Bouchon Bakery a few blocks away in the TimeWarner Center, but when we got there at just after 21h0, it was already closed!  One would expect that a place like that across the street from Lincoln Center would be open until at least 23h0, if not later on weekends!  For some horribly stupid reason, however, it’s only open until 20h0.  Instead, we went to our favorite standby, Grom.  This was my first visit to Grom since I was in Siena with mother so y’all can imagine my sticker shock when I realized that a small at Grom has gone up a dollar to $5.25 since last summer!  That didn’t stop me from a cup of melone and fiondente!

After walking around for a bit while we ate our Grom, Andrew took me to see his family’s new apartment on the West Side, which was beautiful, even if it lacked most of its furniture!  I must say that I’m quite jealous of Andrew’s brother William because while mother insisted that my KitchenAid be stainless steel so that it would match all the other appliances in the house, William’s is lime green!  Oh I would kill for that color and since I have to schlep my mixer to Florida in the winter to bake, I might just ask my Jewish Mr. Grinch for a lime green mixer to leave there this Hanukkah.  It was also great getting to see Andrew’s mother, who I love because she’s so nice.  As an added bonus, I got to see photos of Andrew from his youth, which was hysterical!

Wednesday morning saw me rising with the sun so I could go for a walk with “Aunt Faye” (I was also staying with her for the night), which was nice aside from the deathly heat that hit before 9h0!  I then attempted a five-mile run, but had to stop after only three miles because it was simply too hot to continue.  On my way back to her apartment, I stopped at E.A.T. to get some Health Loaf bread as well as the best hamburger buns on earth; they’re brioche hamburger buns and they just put Peperidge Farm to shame.  I also got little brioche rolls, which I use when I make sliders.  While there, Eli himself showed up, which was kind of neat.

By the time my interview finished up around Noon, it was so hot that by the time I reached Barney’s, fourteen blocks from where I had my interview, it was clear that I needed more than a pair of dark jeans!  In fact, (and I know this is disgusting/embarrassing, but we’ll get through it together) I was in such desperate need of a new shirt that I couldn’t even bring myself to take off my blazer since I could only imagine how my shirt looked!  The only problem was that I didn’t plan on needing a new shirt so I had to buy one (so tragic)!  Instead of going to Ralph Lipchitz as usual, I decided to check out that J. Crew on 79th and Madison since it carries a nicer selection than the normal J. Crew line.  I ended up with a shirt that I wouldn’t normally consider to be “my style,” but I’ve decided that I need to shake things up a bit more so why not!  While I was there, though, I overheard this clearly lost father and his fourteen-year-old son telling the salesman that the “tween” needed a tuxedo for one of his friend’s fourteenth birthday party!  Now I know that New York kids, especially New York Prep School kids do things differently from the rest of the world, but you have got to be effing kidding me if you think it’s appropriate for a fourteen-year-old to be having a black tie birthday party!  At that age, it sounds kind of stuffy and boring, though because of its intrigue and fascination, EVERYONE will obviously being attending, so maybe that kid’s on to something.  While I owned a tux of my own at that age, it was only because I had worn it to my Bar Mitzvah party and not because I needed it for a classmate’s fourteenth birthday!

After changing and making myself look like a human being again, I headed down to Union Square to meet Aunt Faye at the Union Square Greenmarket, which takes places every Monday, Wednesday Friday, and Saturday, so I could help her get ready for the dinner she was preparing that evening.  In between getting the seafood and the snow peas, she finished catching me up on what was new in her life.  The Greenmarket is another one of those things I absolutely love because you can get the freshest food that was sometimes picked just the day earlier and have it in your kitchen while its still at its peak.  Plus, everything is so much cheaper than going to a grocery store, so it makes economical sense to go there as well!

After we got back to her apartment, it was time to leave and just as quickly as a I came, I bid farewell to my beloved New York, but not for long since I’ll be back in four short weeks.

Meanwhile, Justin has had some super diva trouble real estate drama down in very much so Hotlando this summer ending with him moving after only being in his apartment for about a week.  He was originally renting a room in an apartment for the summer that he was going to be sharing with some random Canadian woman, but she turned out to be an actual alcoholic (not just a very social drinker) who was also kind of crazy and so he moved into a house of his very own not far from Rollins and so he’ll be living there until he finishes up the Fall semester.  His job at the law offices of Jew, Jew and Jew seems to be going well as he’s loving foreclosing on people who bought houses they couldn’t afford.  Personally, I don’t know why people thought Orlando was the only place they could go for a vacation, but they did.  Personally, I would have picked Cap Ferrat.

In addition to interning with Oscar-winning producer Scott Rudin, Andrew has managed to attend the hottest events (literally) thus far this summer in New York.  Last weekend, he went with Nathaniel and Caroline to the Veuve Cliquot Polo Classic on Governor’s Island and to say that I am jealous is a huge understatement!  The three of them also went to see the Gotham Girls Roller Derby, which is not an event I see Andrew voluntarily attending.  When I asked him about it, most of the conversation was spent discussing the movie Whip It, which is about the “sport” that is roller derby.  Plus, he was supposed to spend Thursday night in the park (in actual death heat) at the Black Eyed Peas and Friends Concert 4 NYC to Benefit Robin Hood, but I read that it was canceled due to “inclement weather,” which is a shame because I saw them setting up for it on the Great Lawn while I was walking with Aunt Faye and it looked like it was going to be amazing!

Finally, I’d like to wish an early Happy Twenty-First Birthday to Grace!  She hits the legal drinking age in America on Saturday and I’m so excited, partly because I’ve managed to not tell her what I bought her since March!  Sadly, I’ll be heading to Charlottesville on Saturday, so instead, we’re celebrating tonight.  Grace has also decided to be a good humanitarian (I guess that’s what you call it) and rescued a bird.  I know it was done with the best of intentions, but y’all know that bird must have gone insane when it saw Beatrice, Grace’s stuffed rooster, just standing there in her living room, motionless.  Anyway, I’m off because I have to go bake her birthday cake and pack so until next time…

-JD

Mrs. Kathy Wouldn’t Let Nate Get Another Photo

So to start, I looked into the whole Second Class Stamp thing, and basically you can only send mail First Class, which yours truly isn’t thrilled about, because I would love to send my mail for less money.  Moving on, to the explanation of this post’s title.  My friend Nate convinced me on Monday that I should stand in line with him for an hour (after he had already been in line for an hour) to meet Kathy Griffin.

First of all, I’m kind of over Kathy Griffin.  I mean her comedy specials are funny, but I’m getting sick of the repetition.  So, after dinner with Andrew, which we’ll discuss later, i head straight to the Border’s at Columbus Circle where Nate is in line with some rather creative characters.  In front of us is this overweight, very loud, clearly intoxicated/drugged, and somewhat insane woman who every five minutes or so would say, “Ohmigod, it’s Kathy Griffin!” in a very high screeching voice.  She was nice, but a whack job.  Nathaniel said she was like this for the first hour he had been in line, which is scary.  Behind us were three teenagers, one of whom was missing a layer of skin on her left shoulder, which I couldn’t stop staring at because it stood out like such a sore thumb in contrast to the rest of her very spray-tanned body.  They were not as nuts, but by the end, they were getting a little wacko.  So after the red-headed midget Mrs. Kathy started signing books, we began weaving our way through fiction, business, pets, LAST prep, college prep, and finally music before making our way to the front of the line to meet Mrs. Kathy.

During that time, we read about each other’s colleges in a college prep book, I contemplated buying about six business books, we pondered why a Teen Vogue style book was in the “Required Reading” list for local schools.  Then came the big moment.  Now I didn’t buy her book, simply because I instead plan to put the $15 toward something more worthwhile, like a new pair of Tod’s or another tee shirt I can wear when I go running.  That said, Nate was nice enough to let me be in the photo with Mrs. Kathy.  So we get up there and someone from Border’s took the photo with Nate’s BlackBerry.  Well, Nate has the BlackBerry Storm, which requires you to physically press down on the screen until it clicks.  Unfortunately, the moron from Border’s didn’t push down hard enough on the screen, so the photo never took!

Meanwhile, Mrs. Kathy herself needs some more face work because she has actual black circles under her eyes and in the flesh, she’s more orange than on camera.  That said, she seemed cordial.  Her assistant, on the other hand, was a real schmuck and basically  shoved us out of the way after about thirty seconds with Mrs. Kathy.  We of course do not realize that the photo never took until just as we are walking away and heading toward the door.  As you can imagine, Nathaniel and I were rather upset with the fact that the photo never took, so we ask someone from Border’s if we can go back because of our situation and following about a minute of walkie-talkieing, the Border’s lady (who looked like a lesbian, btw) says that the only thing they can offer us is to let us get back in line and wait for another two hours to get our photo taken.  Well, it was not exactly Mrs. Kathy’s assistant’s finest hour.  Therefore, I present exhibits A, B and C to the Jury showing the before, before and after our experience with Mrs. Kathy:

Exhibit A 

Exhibit B  

Exhibit C, a very “happy” Nathaniel after meeting Mrs. Kathy 

It got better though, because on Thursday night, Nate and I went to see probably my favorite comedian ever, Loni Love!  That’s right, we met the self-described “Chocolate Bunny” herself and I was in a mental high that until now, I thought only might only be achieved through the use of illegal substances, just taking the subway to 23rd Street, where the Gotham Comedy Club is located.  All I was thinking all day Thursday was Fat People, Unite!

As I’m sure Nate will agree, it was heavenly!  To start, there were two other comedians opening for Loni, who were hysterical, and all hate children (who doesn’t?).  We were seated in the front row, thus making it even more memorable.  Unfortunately, there was no air conditioning and it was hot as death in that place, but still worth it.  Below are the photos of Nathaniel and me with Loni herself, who was such a genuinely nice person (and I bet she would have taken the photo again); we used my BlackBerry this time!

Me in nirvana!

Nate with Loni

Meanwhile, back in America, Grace seems to have a little problem with her dog, Oliver.  While on vacation in St. Thomas (which I’ve agreed to treat like the Las Vegas commercial, so what happens in the STT stays in the STT), Oliver decided to bite Grace’s father’s twenty-eight-year old girlfriend.  Frankly, I don’t see what’s so wrong with that, because it’s not as if we’re all huge fans of the woman.  Plus, she might have provoked the biting for all we know.  Regardless, Grace has had to put out the electric fence to keep Oliver under control and well, wouldn’t you hate it too if you got shocked for going somewhere?

Justin thankfully, not really surprisingly, passed the driving test for the state of Massachusetts earlier in the week, so I will officially be placing my car up for sale and never driving again.  Besides, Andrew always says that car services do the driving, not us.  All jokes aside, I’m very proud of him and can’t wait for him to pick me up at Orlando International Airport in his new, old Benz when I come to visit, which I will do eventually!

Lisa got caught talking to me on GChat while at work and has taken up cooking lately now that she has the Food Network to satisfy her hunger cravings 24/7.  When I asked her just before writing this what was new in her life, she told me that her life was unexciting and that she has nothing to report.  Now, if that were the case, she wouldn’t be on here.  I suggest returning in a few weeks to see how Lisa’s love life is going because once I land in the ville, I’ll be able to report on every last detail!  OH I CAN’T WAIT TO PLAY MATCHMAKER!

Andrew has been working like a dog as usual, but he’s had some time to enjoy some cultural things with me.  Most recently, we saw the new movie, Cairo Time, which was so wonderful.  Andrew was the youngest person in the theatre (I am older by seven months), and I believe we were the only two who didn’t get the Senior Discount.  The movie follows Patricia Clarkson around Cairo as she waits for her husband to return from Gaza.  She falls in love with another man, goes to Alexandria, the pyramids, tries to go to Gaza, and takes the viewer on an amazing tour of a city I now have to see!  My only complaint is that the volume of the horns and car sounds were just a tad bit too loud, even for the Senior crowd.  This coming week, we plan to have a celebratory end of summer dinner, which will also serve as a way for us to honor our five-year friendship, which personally seems to have lasted so much longer than that short span.

Wednesday is an important day for us (that all of y’all who read this blog and me) because August 11th is the one-year anniversary of this blog, which I didn’t expect I’d ever see.  It has been such a blast sharing my beyond bizarre life, and the equally bizarre lives of my friends with all of y’all and I can’t wait to see what this next year brings.  Unfortunately, Thursday is the end of my internship, and I’m so beyond devastated because I’ve had such an amazing experience getting to work for a publication I’ve enjoyed reading for so many years.  Plus, I’ve gotten to meet people whose names I’ve read week after week both online and in the magazine, had incredible experiences and have had the privilege to work with six wonderful co-interns.  This also means that this will probably be my last post from New York, a city with which I’ve completely fallen in love, more so than ever before in my life.  I’ve been able to see so many places I haven’t visited in years, spend entire days getting lost in museums, met so many wonderful and creative people, and been able to discover my own little world within this amazing place.  I’ve decided that out of everything there is to do here, there are a few things that I’ll miss more than anything else: the announcement on the subway when arriving in Grand Central, getting groceries delivered, the Union Square Farmer’s Market, Chelsea Market, and most importantly, running in Central Park.  I think I’ll miss that one the most because there is nothing more beautiful than seeing the sun rise over all of Manhattan as you run around the reservoir.  It truly is this city’s greatest treasure and I miss it already.  With that, I’m heading to bed because I do have my run at 6h0, so that means I’m up at 5h30.  My next post will be from Virginia, after my return to America on Friday, so until next time…

-JD

Larry wants to put me on a “grocery budget”

That’s right, Lady Madonna herself is trying to make me go on a grocery budget for when I move into my apartment in Charlottesville.  The man is clearly insane if he thinks I’m going to become one of those people who clips coupons, he’s got to be joking.  Besides, I doubt I’ll see anything I buy in the coupon thing you get at the front of the grocery store.  Anyway, this means I’ve returned from my summer hiatus, in which I just didn’t have any time to blog (or didn’t have access to the internet).  It’s been a fun time, but there’s a lot that we’ve missed together.

To begin, Grace sliced part of her finger off while trying to slice a piece of bread, thus making her officially insane.  I’ve seen it; she showed me at dinner, so I nearly lost my appetite.  She’s hopefully coming to visit me this summer before I return to America on the 13th of August.  Lisa and her roommates finally got cable television for their apartment in Charlottesville, which I personally don’t know how she did without for the past two years.  Do y’all know how much mindless television she has missed?  Justin bought himself a 2002 Mercedes E Class and has gone insane over the tires, the tiny ding on the grill, everything.  I shouldn’t be surprised by this, but I can’t wait for him to visit me in Charlottesville on his drive down to Rollins.  Andrew has been… doing Andrew things.  I swear, he works 24/7, but I’m depressed that he is no longer off on Mondays because now I’ve got no one dumb enough to go with me to see The Wendy Williams Show.

So I’ve had some rather bizarre experiences on the subway this past month; things y’all would never believe.  I’ve seen magicians pull rabbits out of a hat only after pulling a dove from a box; I’ve seen a Mariachi Band perform in full costume; there is an advertisement on the Shuttle between Times Square and Grand Central Terminal for a book that Queen Latifah apparently wrote.  Here’s my problem: since when is Queen Latifah an author?  She’s a rapper-turned “movie star” who makes movies that are so bad it’s not even funny.  Movies like Last Holiday, which Grace says is a movie that should be banned at insane asylums because the crazies in there might try to take the movie literally.  Then there is the five-year-old kid in the Times Square station who plays Beethoven better than some adults.  While this kid is amazing and he deserves to be fawned over for his talent, I really don’t need to have them standing in front of the entrances for the subway tracks, specifically the ones I’m using.  Finally, there is this other little issue: Subway PDA.  I’m sorry, but the last thing I need to see is a usually ugly couple getting their ish on while everyone is trying to pretend to ignore what’s happening.  It’s not that I have anything against public displays of emotion, but it’s just that they are so “up in der bidness” that it’s disturbing.  I mean, can’t they wait until they get to the last row of the movie theater, their apartments, their sleazy hotel rooms, or even a cab, because then it’s just one guy with you, and he usually doesn’t pay attention to you anyway.

By the way, I’ve experienced two great things that can only be done in New York: a stroll on the High Line and a night under the stars at HBO’s Bryant Park Summer Film Festival.  I’d never been for a stroll on the High Line before so I picked up lunch at the nearby Chelsea Market, where I snagged the photo you’ll see below.  It’s an industrial-size container of Nutella that’s so big, it has a handle on it.  I did not spend $70 on Nutella, even though I wanted to, and instead opted for a $5 glass jar of the edible heaven.  Following lunch, I spent the next hour strolling up and down stage one of the High Line before exploring Chelsea.  That night, I met my friend, Erica, in Bryant Park for the Bryant Park Summer Film Festival where we saw one of the greatest movies of all time, Monty Python and the Holy Grail.  It was so amazing because everyone is on blankets (or chairs, in our case); the whole park is filled with people, we brought snacks (we ate before, but I had a piece of cake with me for dessert) and had a great time together.  There are four more movies this summer, so if you’re in the city, do make it your business to spend a Monday evening in Bryant Park.  If any of y’all do go, however, do be aware that it’s best to arrive very early to secure a good space because we had good seats, only by chance.

So since our last chat, I’ve been treated to two performances: Bachelorette and Abraham Lincoln’s Big Gay Dance Party.  Let’s start with Bachelorette.  So the Times beat me to reviewing it, but to say that I was dying of laughter is a gross understatement.  The show stars Eddie Kaye Thomas of American Pie fame as well as Katherine Waterson, the very attractive daughter of very old and unattractive former DA Jack McCoy on Law & Order, Sam Waterson.  My personal favorite actors were Celia Keenan-Bolger and Tracee Chimo, who played Katie and Regan respectively.  The show portrays drug use, excessive drinking and extreme profanity, which was all done rather well.  The show’s humor suddenly turns to seriousness when Katie seems to overdose on anti-depressants and Regan’s drug addiction becomes very known to all.  It’s a show that hides a very serious subject behind a very funny script, which is what is something I love in a show.  Bachelorette is being performed at Second Stage’s Uptown Theater and will be performed through August 14th.

The other show I saw with my friend, Nate, was Abraham Lincoln’s Big Gay Sex Party, which was… interesting and way too long.  So when Nate asked if I wanted to go see this, I decided it was time I swallow my pride and just go with it.  I had no clue what to expect, but the show left me laughing my tuchus off.  The show is about the trial of a Fourth Grade teacher who suggested that Abraham Lincoln was a homosexual in the school’s holiday performance.  The case is seen from three different perspectives and a member of the audience chooses the order in which it’s seen.  The show pokes fun at gay stereotypes (fancy city folk), Republicans (there are a few Bill O’Reilly jokes), blacks (specifically, black Republicans, who don’t really exist, let’s be honest), and lesbians (there was a tool-belt).  It was a great show, but it was just way too long; We sat down just before 19h0 and didn’t get out until 22h0 because each scene is forty-minutes long.  I feel as though it could be shortened because some people didn’t return for the third scene.  The performance is in previews and officially opens on August 11th and will run through September 5th.

Finally this evening, my cousin Kevin is a bit of a tight-ass when it comes to money; he basically only buys on sale, which would normally be okay, but Kevin took it a step further two weeks ago.  While at his Giant grocery store, Kevin stumbled upon those liquid things that you freeze and then suck on them and your mouth turns to whatever color the icy pop thing is.  Well, this one came with a mail-in rebate, so of course, Kevin had to buy it.  The icy things cost $2.50 and after you mail the rebate back in, you get $2 back.  Unfortunately for Kevin, he had to pay $0.44 for the stamp, so at the end of the day, Kevin really only saved $1.56, instead of the $2 he was promised on the wrapper.  Thus, this makes Kevin Super Jew of the week, so MAZEL!  I’m going to try to finish my book, The Imperfectionists, this week so until next time…

-JD

PS: Thinking about Kevin’s stamp cost has got me thinking about whether or not there is such a thing as a Second Class Stamp, because all they let me use is a First Class Stamp, and I bet it’s cheaper to go Second Class.  I’ll investigate and get back to y’all on that.

That is Nutella on steroids (the little one at the bottom is a regular-sized jar of Nutella)!