Ooooops

This week has been a bit stressful, and in order to do the things I needed to get done, I had to neglect my blog. I've missed the last couple prompts of "on my mind," "something beginning with 'i,'" and "chair." Today's prompt is "fly" and surprisingly, it seems like waiting to write these all at once makes a lot more sense.

This past week has been spent stressing over a cover letter for a job application. This isn't just any job to me, it's a start in a new direction, a way into a world that I have finally realized is the right one for me, and a chance to live a little out of the ordinary. I already have an insane hatred of cover letters, and in some cases I don't really understand the point. In others, like this one, I get it, but I instantly become the most insecure, incapable person while trying to sell myself in a half page letter that is supposed to convince a stranger to take a chance, interview and possibly hire me. No pressure, right?

So that's what has been on my mind the last week, from last Thursday til now. Why now? Because I just sent it in. I sent in my application, and the only thing that I can do is hope that this amazing website takes a chance on me. Hell, I probably should just send them this blog entry and be like, "see? I right good."

Back to the point, cover letters have been "on my mind" because I was stressing over this application, my "i" words are insecure and incapable because no matter how good at something I know I am, that fear creeps when I have to explain why I think I'm going to be the person they want in said cover letters.

That leaves "chair" from yesterday, and "fly" for today's post. Here's my set up at a local Starbucks:

My laptop, water, a drink, crumpled napkins, snack bags, my phone, chargers, and most importantly, the chair that has been my home for the past couple hours while I tried to hammer this out. This chair has been my inspiration to get this done because it's terrible for my back and incredibly uncomfortable. The sooner I got my stuff done, the sooner I don't have to sit in it. Makes sense, right?

I'll write my post for today a bit later, I need to take a break. I need to let my brain calm down and do some yoga to help recover from all this sitting. I'm also not going to post where I applied or anything about the job, because in case something comes of it, I know I'll be incredibly superstitious about it. If the reviewing parties read this post, thanks for looking into what I'm all about. I hope you like me!

4 months later.

Well, that was an unexpected break from this thing, but a lot can happen in 4 months.

I decided to give NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) a go... whoa. I wrote about 30,000 words in a month, while working graveyard and barely sleeping, so to say it was difficult is an understatement. I have a beautiful half written story that would be somewhat of my fairy tale life, but it doesn't need my attention right now.

I went head first into college basketball season and loving it and my team is doing really well. Work was awful, and I barely slept most of the time, so November through January was kinda awful other than basketball. I did a lot of friend, and regular housecleaning, and since then I've felt a lot better about things. And as of the end of January, I'm no longer working.... again. So, 2014 is yet another adventure, but an adventure with lots of goals and a good outlook.

Here's my list of goals for 2014:
- write more
- cook more
- write about cooking more
- go on adventures, near and far
- write more about cooking without an oven
- budget and use some of the money that I've saved for the baking adventure to get it off the ground
- get tattooed
- get a new oven
- bake and bake and bake some more
- secure a fantastic job that makes me happy and isn't an awful environment
- do really fun things and write about them
- get a new computer and camera

I'm actually really excited about this year. It didn't exactly start off the way I wanted to, but I truly believe that things happen for a reason and it's never for the reason you believe or when you want them to happen. I have working and researching for the last 2 years what it will take to get this baking excursion off the ground, but it hasn't happened yet, much to my dismay. However I know that it will this year. I'm hoping to have it going by the holidays so I can provide delicious things for lots of people.

Here's to starting the year in March and not paying attention to the actual calendar when you're pursuing dreams.

No Sleep Til Brooklynnnnnn

yesterday was amazing. in all ways! 

Kristin got here around 1145 and we got ready, hung out at the house and got to meet the ther owner of the house. Jay and Maria are so amazing and nice and put so much work and love into their properties. We found out they live in each of their properties before they start renting them out and make sure that all the little nuances are there and that it feels like a home. They just bought another building about 5 blocks from the place i'm staying and they're going to spend the next year or so fixing it up and getting it ready to rent.. after they do that, they're most likely going to move back into the house that i'm staying in, since this was their first home after moving out of their apartment in Harlem. it has been so nice getting to know them, and it makes staying here even better. i will for sure be staying at their different properties whenever i come to the New York area and i will be sure to recommend them to anyone who wants to stay in the area. 

 (that's the view coming down the stairs of the house, no big deal)

we left the house and headed over to brooklyn and to googa mooga. it was drizzly and kinda windy, but we toughed it out. it was COMPLETELY WORTH IT. we got there, and got Crack Pie and a sweet and salty brownie from Baked to start off our day. from there, kristin went and got a cheeseburger from The Burger Joint and I got The Meatball Shop's Meatball BLT. absolutely fantastic. From there I went and got a half loaf of Gwynett St Whiskey bread with fresh cultured butter and their fresh strawberry rhubarb jam. i don't even like strawberry jam and i could have eaten a gallon of that stuff. Warm fresh baked bread with fresh butter and jam?! duh. perfect. after a while, i went and ordered a slice of pizza from South Brooklyn Pizza and the guy gave me an extra slice for free. yay! haha pizza was good, but i need more before i head out of the city. we milled around for a bit, kristin got a sweet and savory pizza with a chewy crust, ricotta, honey and salt and pepper. we ended up having a few beers and some wine, and then i got a chocolate filled syringe. WONDERFUL. just standing around, shooting chocolate into my mouth hanging out. hahaha it was awesome. The only thing that could have made googa mooga better was if things were sold in smaller portions. the sandwiches and stuff were full sized, and i think that put a limit on what you could eat. there were tons of things that i wanted to try, but my stomach and my pocket book are only so big. so yeah, next year, smaller portions of each thing, and i will buy them all. :) 

After we left GM around 730, Roy, my teammate and friend from college met up with us after a crazy long train ride, thanks to construction and weekend scheduling, and then a ridiculous cab ride where the cabby got pulled over for speeding and then a half a mile walk because he was fed up with transportation. Seeing him was one of the best things. I haven't seen him since 2006, but we've kept in touch via facebook and instagram. he's one of my most favorite people and when he walked up to meet us, i got the best 2 minute hug that i've ever received. Roy and Kristin got along great and we had a blast. Roy treated us for drinks at this corner bar that had the Knicks game on. First whiskey of the trip! haha after hanging out at the bar for a while, laughing at everything, we decided to head home. We left the bar and came upon a place called Dub Pie Shop and they had little savory hand pies and they were wonderful!! I got a New York Shepard's Pie. oh my god. so so so good!!! Roy lives in Jersey, we spent the majority of the trip home, and the crazy long subway waits together which was super fun. I love Brooklyn, and I can't wait to come back and see more of this part of New York. It's great, and artsy and reminds me a lot of Silver Lake. Prospect Park is gorgeous and woodsy, there were horses all over and so far, most people i've met have been great. 

We're heading to Hoboken soon for lunch and to take a picture or two of the Cake Boss bakery, and explore a little, even though it's raining. The rain is supposed to stop tonight, so hopefully i'll be able to adventure around the city tomorrow. I want to see a little of Central Park, hit of ?uestlove's new food stand in Chelsea Market, maybe check out a few more places on my list :) and eat more delicious food. I love being able to walk around and see such different parts of the same area. so much walking! i wish more things were this at home. 

Good news! Kristin brought some stain remover and yay! said tomato gravy splattering on my yellow scarf is gone!!! fannnntastic! 

Well, here we go.

I haven't been on the computer much lately, mostly because I've been prepping for a trip I've been planning for almost a year. holy freaking crap. I leave on Thursday night to spend 4 and a half days in New York, then I'll be off to Italy to spend a week there in the Veneto region and rumor has it that we're going to Cinque Terre on the country's west coast. After that grand adventure, I'm heading to the eastern coast of Spain for a wedding and adventuring around before heading 5 hours north to Barcelona for a couple days. Then I come home.

There are many incredible reasons to be excited for this, but mostly I'm really excited to see friends that I haven't seen for a long time, a decade for the one who's getting married (that's what happens when a family moves to Spain when you're 10/12 years old.) and to experience so many different cuisines and learn even more about the culture through food. I'm a little shy when it comes to trying new things, but luckily, my friends in Italy are not. Expect tons of pictures of food, friends, and beautiful sites.

This is a most exciting time and I'll do my best to update from the road when I can, not only for myself, but for my friends and family back home and whoever else stumbles upon this silly thing.

For random quick updates and pictures, you can follow me on Twitter at @angerawrrrr, on Instagram @angerawrrr, just don't be a creep, okay?