patience & cookies

I was never so relieved to be back on a subway car as I was yesterday. Perhaps traveling back to NYC the day before New Years Eve wasn't the smartest idea ever, but a week in the suburbs proved itself a few days too long. I was anxious to get back to Brooklyn, despite new years eve invitations in Philadelphia. My father graciously drove me to the Trenton train station, where the ticket lines were long, and inexperienced travelers stood stupified at the vending machines. The ride was unbelievable crowded, and a loud family with obnoxious children stood next to me, constantly elbowing me and offering no apologies. They decided to loudly patronize and take malicious pictures of a passenger at the other end of the train. The father only laughed. I contained my disgust and tried my best to ignore them. After getting in to Penn Station, I ended up behind a French couple in line at the MetroCard machine. They stood there, with a long line behind them, looking over a subway map and not even touching the screen. I attempted to help (for purely selfish reasons, I'll admit), but language barriers left me completely frazzled and my impatience got the best of me. I suppose now they have a story about a real New Yorker confrontation to take home with them.

Upon entering a Brooklyn bound subway car my whole body relaxed. As I walked to street level, I sighed of relief; Being back in Greenpoint never felt so good.

My roommate is gone for the weekend, so I've been taking advantage of the empty apartment. The past two days have been filled with apartment scrubbing, errand running, and meal planning. Last night, after hitting up several grocery stories looking for ingredients for a vegetarian shepherds pie, and after not finding all of them in my neighborhood, I had to suck it up and head to the dreaded Union Square Whole Foods market.

For those who have not had the distinct pleasure of coming to this mega crowded mega market, let me indulge you in the hell that is the checkout line. There are 9 lines all together - four express, and five regular. Each line is represented by a different color, and when you have made your way up to the front of the line (I like to refer to this point as the "starting gate", as I feel like a race horse getting ready to gallop) there is a tv screen with colored rectangles corresponding with the color of your line. An automated voice calls the register number which you are to go to, and the number is displayed within the colored rectangles on the tv screen. When you see and hear a number in the color of your line, you check the sign below, telling you via arrows the location of the register you are to go to. There are 35 registers all together. Sound confusing? It is. I get high anxiety every time I step foot into that store. I try to avoid it at all costs.

After getting out of Whole Foods, I head down the street to the Trader Joe's Wine Store to pick up a cheap bottle of red to use in my recipe. As I walk towards the store, I stare dumbfounded at the fact that there was a line outside of the store just to get in. Thankfully the line moved quickly. It must be mentioned that the line at the Trader Joe's is just as bad as that of Whole Foods. It wraps around the entire store. It's advisable to go with another person; one person stands in line while the other person shops, and then you swap. It's absolutely ridiculous.

After my weary day yesterday, I decided today to make my favorite peanut butter cookies. Tomorrow perhaps I'll conquer the shepherd's pie. Tonight I will be bringing in the new year with a hot toddy, cookies, and a good book.

Not bad, not bad at all.





Listening to: The Static Age: Closing of the Year