By Beauty Damned

Unabashed Banality

Overdid it with the socializing, not eating right and consuming a tad too much alcohol this weekend and didn't feel so great today. I tried to remedy the situation with a bagel in the morning and a green tea blended creme from Starbucks for lunch. I rarely go to Starbucks because I think it's a goddamn crime what those people charge for coffee, but I know of no other place where I can get a frosty green tea milkshake that tastes like heaven. Do you? It's way overpriced like everything else there, at five dollars a pop, but I'm telling you, once in awhile, and especially if you're feeling mildly hungover and stuck at work, it's worth it to shell out the cash.

I assume Starbucks came from the west coast, since that seems to be where the really hardcore gourmet coffee trends started, but I think it's pretty much taken over Manhattan at this point. Thank god, because they're the only place other than McDonalds where you can go to the bathroom without buying anything. But I still can't get over how much they charge for a regular cup of coffee. (Oh wait! They don't have a regular cup of coffee! All they have is those frickin Americanos that are not in any way the same thing. What is the deal with that?) The first time I sent Robert (who had never been to a Starbucks before, having been raised drinking 75¢ coffee from bodegas like most everyone else in New York did before Starbucks arrived) he came back with two mochas looking mighty confused. He said "I don't understand. I ordered two coffees and I gave the girl a ten dollar bill and she gave me back fifty cents." It really is highway robbery. But strangely enough, sometimes it's actually worth it. Like today. That green tea thingy perked me right up.

Seemed like a few people in the office had an extra serving of krazyflakes this morning. There was a bit of hair-on-fire syndrome going on. So yeah, it was a pretty typical Monday at the firm. Luckily, I have Anya, who makes me laugh until I cry even when I think I couldn't possibly be more ready to stick a pencil in my eye. Accidental ryhyming also cheers me up. Anyway, Happy Birthday to Anya who celebrated this weekend with an amazing Indian dinner with friends and a couple martinis to boot. It was great times.

So when I got home tonight I laid down and contemplated a nap, but my stomach was grumbling so fiercely that I got up and made fried eggplant with mozzerella and marinara for dinner (yum!) and a goat cheese torte for later, the recipe for which I found online and am super excited about. It's currently in the chilling stage in the fridge. I had something like it at my dad's 4th of July party and had to learn to make it. Spread that on some garlicky toasties and go straight to the moon.

Why does food excite me so?

You know what else excites me? Trio. Anything called Trio. Seriously. Rob recently purchased a Trio handheld. It's extraordinary if you ask me. (But this is coming from a person who renounced the whole concept of having a cellphone after just two years of owning one). Trio, the band, excites me too. Even though they're an old, mostly forgotten group, I still can't get enough of listening to them. And Trio, the television channel...now that is some quality entertainment. Trio is running vintage reruns of the Dave Letterman Show. You need to watch. Forget about Bobby Brown and the Surreal Life. Tonight I saw a Letterman episode from like 1986 or something. Elvis Costello was the musical act. Elvis Costello is a fucking genius. I love him and it gave me chills to watch that dacades old live performance and see him be interviewed afterwards. He's just as brilliant when he speaks as when he's playing his guitar and singing and screaming like a banshee into the microphone. I was eight when that episode first aired and we didn't have a television, so I missed it on the first run. Glad I have DVR now and never have to miss it again.

After Letterman were some weirdo music videos on Trio. The first was by a group called The Brazilian Girls. Maybe cool hipsters know who they are, but I've never heard of them and their video was bizarro. A lot of dudes wearing funny little hats like the ones in the Life In Hell cartoons. The music wasn't bad though. Sort of Dido-ish. After that came this video called "Papercuts" by Gym Class Heroes. I like these guys. And of course they have a myspace page where you can also listen to their songs and be one of their thousands of "friends." Their video was nice. If you picture gritty tattoos and fighting with your girlfriend as "nice." I thought it was pretty inspired.

Posted by Maria at August 8, 2005 10:31 PM | TrackBack