Just Like a Woman

After being heartbroken that Charlotte Gainsbourg's show in NYC were completely sold out, I decided to take a trip to Philadelphia to see her there 2 days before. Thought it'd be a nice getaway from New York before school started up again. The trip to Philly turned out to be way better than I'd ever thought.

There was a lot of inspiring historical architecture and landmarks there. Something about the well-maintained old buildings and perfectly-groomed courtyards were very welcoming. I was lucky enough to catch her show at the Theater of the Living Arts in the Independence District. The venue was very close to my hotel and that area was clean, safe, beautiful with courtyards and cobblestone roads and townhouses galore. It was easy to navigate and I even took the subway there.

15th St. and Market St.:
The Theater of the Living Arts was located on South St., a busy street with tons of pubs and bars and brightly lit restaurants and shops. Even though it was late, there were a lot of young people walking about and having a good time out.

The crowd there was almost all French, ranging from older to young kiddos. I got to sit front row center stage (less than 10 feet away from stage). Charlotte was so humble and great and sweet and of course breathtakingly beautiful. She seemed really excited to be there in her first mini-tour. The band was incredible; they were all multi-instrument-proficient and spot on from her recordings. She played 3 shows in New York and 1 in Philly. They performed almost all of IRM (due out next Tuesday) and some from 5:55 and "Just Like a Woman" (co-written with Calexico) from the movie "I'm Not There":The next morning I took a little stroll around the hotel area since I didn't get to see the neighborhood in all its glory in the daylight:
Near the bus station by 30th St. and Market. Think this was the post office/Amtrak station/something else historical:I'm sad that the trip was so short, but I already look forward to my next trip there. Next time I'd like to actually dilly dally in the grass there, visit museums, drink/eat at the really attractive restaurants, etc. etc.

End of Cleanse

It's been only a few days since it's ended and I already miss [parts] of it.
-how healthy and fresh the juices felt
-not spending any money on food
-how thin I feel (lost 3/4" around my waist)

I didn't miss:
-having to worry about keeping them refrigerated and lugging them around everywhere I went
-the social opportunities missed out on
-the hunger
-the cold juices all the time

I have this headache that's back from taking in caffeine again probably. It lasted a few days while I was weening my body off of it. I used to drink coffee everyday in the morning, and the effects of NOT drinking it included feeling like death by 12pm until bedtime.

Anyway, all in all it was a good experience. Next time I'll keep it to 5 days at MAX. I look forward to doing it again soon because I just ate some nasty Chinese food noodles. Disgusting.

Day 4: Major Fail

It was such a beautiful day today. Sunny, but still pretty chilly. Good morning, Chelsea!
Today was to be the day I went with Hyeyoung and Anna to Connecticut for the first time ever to get amazing fabrics at amazing prices. Hyeyoung rented a Zipcar for the day:
We drove past this beautiful horse stable and barn:Past amazing river, mountain and sky views:Finally we arrived at Bankville Fabrics: don't let the Joanne's appearance fool you. We found double-faced cashmere coating from Loro Piana 60" wide for only $89.00 a yard among many other treasaures. It was incredible:Sunset drive back...but totally decided to go to the Japanese supermarker mall heaven Mitsuwa in Edgewater, New Jersey:Of course I was so excited to go to Mitsuwa that I left my camera in the car. I'll take photos next time.

As for the cleanse, the trip to Mitsuwa and the temptation to eat their ramen noodles was simply too strong to resist. I mean, I used to go there every weekend as a child/teenager. The food there is unmatched anywhere in the city to this day.

Back to liquids tomorrow until Wednesday night. The cleanse has gotten me feeling pretty weak and unfocused. The cravings for hot food is really bothersome. I think it would have been more successful during the summertime. However, my jeans are practically falling off my hips (!).

On a brighter, more brilliant note: Charlotte Gainsbourg's new album "IRM" (MRI in French) is out. This time around it's produced by Beck. Beck might have been the missing link from CG's last album to really bring it up. She's such a beautiful person. IRM is absolutely marvelous.

Day 3

I'm so HUNGRY. Otherwise I do feel pretty good. Haven't gone to the bathroom much though...
It also doesn't help that I'm surrounded by food and deliciousness everywhere I go. My jaw wants to chew on something.

Day 1

It was tough. The juices, for the most part, even though they sound disgusting, were pretty delicious. That was the nice surprise.

No. 1: Green Lemon
(romaine, celery, cucumber, apple, spinach, kale, parsley, lemon)
Tasted like a very fresh salad in liquid form with lemon dressing

No. 2: Pineapple Apple Mint
Amazingly refreshing, tart and yummy

No. 3: Green Lemon again

No. 4: Tart and Spicy Lemonade
(water, lemons, agave nectar, cayenne pepper)
Tastes like good lemonade, with a punch (and I do mean PUNCH) of hot aftertaste

No. 5: Carrot Apple Beet Ginger
Disgusting, my least favorite. Though it's probably because it tastes mostly like ginger

No. 6: Cashew Nut Milk
(cashews, water, agave nectar, vanilla beans, cinnamon)
Dessert. Bits of coarse cashews in it with lots of cinnamon.

Throughout the day I felt very light-headed and had a headache. Guess that's a part of being HUNGRY. I was hungry. Still am. It kinda sucks drinking cold juices 6x a day. I craved something hot and warm. It was difficult to concentrate on being productive and I felt worn out quite early.

However, I feel lighter and already start to feel better (don't know how else to describe it). The cashew nut milk is really delicious. We'll see how it pans out after 6 more days.

2010

Major blog neglect. It's been a busy year (in a good way). A lot has happened and a lot has changed. I've learned so much and have grown closer to some while drifted from others. That's life though, n'est-ce pas?

I have great expectations and anticipations for this year: thesis presentation, the benefit, graduation, the release out of school/comfort dungeon, finding a job, being on my own, keeping in touch with people, etc. etc. All of these are both exciting and terrifying.

So far in 2010 we've had this ridiculous snowstorm:
I've kitten-sat for Nicky's beautiful-but-naughty kitten named Nile [KNEE-lay]. Here she is looking out the window the morning of the snowstorm:Look at those LOVING eyes!:And now I'm starting this juice cleanse from Blue Print Cleanse that involves 6 bottles of liquefied vegetables and fruits. It's going to rid the body of all its unnatural toxins and in the process lose a ridiculous amount of weight. It's going to last 7 days. I'm very curious about it. It might be miserable. I'll be doing this again in April for panel and the benefit...
I'll be sure to use the blog as a record of how the cleanse goes day by day (ish).

Other than that, I've finished my year and a half internship with CK. I already miss working there but this semester contains a heavier courseload/school-workload. I have everything to thank them for teaching me so much, on many many levels.