Life happened

This month has been really busy - between finalizing my long-term career plans, figuring out some personal stuff, and the return of Fall TV, there hasn't been any time to blog about:

- Watching some really terrible movies

- Visiting the dentist in a country where English, though widely spoken, is still a second language

- Debating whether the term "cougar" really even applies to women who are under 30

- Doing my first ever 10K run and promptly dying at the end of it

- Going through the agony of only being able to eat three meals a day for two consecutive weeks due to stress

I'm off to Munich this weekend for Oktoberfest, which should be interesting because I don't even drink beer! I also get to meet my BFF from New York who is currently in Berlin - can't wait to catch up with her on all the gossip!

I hope to come back sometime before the end of this decade to blog about Munich, and about some additional traveling that I plan on doing within the next few days. Until then, May the force be with you!

Things I don't miss about New York

Along the heels of the Top Five things I miss about New York, I had compiled a list of a few things that I didn't miss about the Big Apple. But after reading my blog, and then reading this article, another friend of mine, who also moved from New York to Zurich, went a little bit crazy and compiled a list of 32 things that he hated about New York. His list was so hilarious that I decided to post a few items from it, with permission, of course:

- Grand Central Terminus

- Taking NJ Transit

- People always wanting to go to a specific place

- People lying all the time by saying, "Queens is not SO bad after all"

- People exaggerating the size of their apartments

- People not admitting that a rat in the house is ACTUALLY disgusting

- People always demanding that YOU do something fun on the weekend, because if you dont, like OMG, like you are such a loser! What do you mean you will cook and read???WTF!

- Every one pretending to be making 'six figures' or more, even when they are barely scraping by

- Plainsboro NJ (or anywhere with no hot dog vendors and traffic, sirens and smoke) being considered quaint

- Anyone (which is mostly everyone) who walks around the city with their eyebrows perpetually in a raised position

- People running to catch subway trains, knowing there's another one coming

- Guys standing around swiping subway cards for no reason

- Women yelling at their kids to 'shut the f#$k up'

You may not agree whole heartedly with everything on it, but you must admit, it does make for an interesting read!

What do I miss about New York?

I've been here for close to six months now, which seems incredibly long, and yet the time here went by unbelievably quickly. In honor of this realization, I thought I'd compile a list of the Top Five things that I miss about New York:

- FALAFEL. I can't explain how much. Indian Food. Thai Food. Food. FOOD FOOD FOOD.

- Shopping. The next time I'm in New York, I'm going to hug Macys, make out with Ann Taylor, and have a wild fling with Banana Republic.

- Lifelong friends - and the convenience of just picking up the phone and yapping with them for hours, or making an emergency Viniero's strawberry cake run at 2am.

- Grocery stores being open on Sundays - I never thought I'd miss Whole Foods as much as I do!

- The energy of a big city - the hustle and bustle, and the rudeness, and the jaywalking.


The list of Top FIVE things that I don't miss will be up tomorrow! I know at least half the things in the above list are food related, but honestly, would you really expect anything different? Can anyone else who's an expat relate to any of the above? Or is it just me?

Something new

Lately, things have been...interesting. I'm trying something new - I'm trying to "live in the present." This doesn't mean I still won't plan far in the future when it comes to food - it just means that when it comes to life, I'm not going to freak about what's going to happen five years from now and just...be. I'm trying to embrace the chaos. Or at least not let it drown me. My brother asked me to "stop being a moron and behave like a normal human being." We all know how difficult being normal is for me. An attempt, however, needs to be made. One thing's for sure - a lot of ice cream, cake, and chocolate is the the only way this whole "enjoying the moment" thing is gonna happen. But I'm going to see if I can do what Jack Johnson would like me to:



I guess we'll soon find out!

So What

This week has been, as the French say, shit. Actually, it has been eine grosse katastrophe. It has been fraught with suspense, drama, and bouts of hunger, all culminating in an epic public meltdown that shocked pretty much all of Zurich. You know me - I have been known to only cry while watching Hallmark commercials or while watching the opening montage from the movie UP. And such rumored acts of crying have only occured in a dark movie theater or within the confines of my apartment. I'm almost vampire like that way. So an epic daylight public meltdown by me is not only unheard of, it is also deeply embarrassing, and doesn't make for a pretty sight. I sat in abject horror and almost had this out-of-body experience where I looked at myself askance and wondered, "Who is this insane, emotionally unhinged, out of control madwoman?" as I was undergoing said meltdown. Thank god for beverage therapy, good friends, and ice cream.

Apart from some really good friends, both new and old, Pink is the only other person who's helping me deal with the disaster that was this week and helped channel my despair into rage. This song has now become my mantra:



Hope you all had a better week than I did!