Progress Report

Our time left living in New York is rapidly depleting, as every minute seems to be filled with work, cramming in as many yoga classes with my awesome teachers as I can (big, BIG crocodile tear), doing move-related chores, and, of course, tackling the very fun and very important List. Since it's really too cold right now for me to go anywhere willingly and taking apart our bookshelves was making me a little too sad, I decided it's the perfect time to update you on our progress in the official New York countdown.

We hit the ground running with a frigid walk through Central Park on our way uptown on Sunday. I, being typically moronic in my choice of shoes, decided it was ok to not wear socks. Let's just say I was too busy worrying that my feet had turned to useless stumps due to lack of blood flow to take a Central Park photo. Despite the chill in the air and my numb extremities, it was lovely in that special way that Central Park always is.

Our destination on Operation: No Socks was Blockheads! Turns out that when you can't feel your hands or your feet, a frozen margarita is just what you need! We savored those cheap, completely tasty little concoctions along with our usual spinach burritos and then said "hasta la vista" to good old Blockheads.

Later that day (don't judge- time is short, people), we went with Paul to Mee Noodle House. Oh, Mee Noodle House....You and your egg rolls and noodle soup and carb cakes and sizzling platters of brown food have treated us so well. You will be greatly missed. There are three waitresses at Mee and luckily for us our favorite, we call her the Smiley One, was working that night. Paul decided she should be in our souvenir Mee picture, so he asked her for one just as she was leaving. For the night. How lucky for her that we made her stay at work longer! I have to admit that I have not been that nervous since the first time I paid just a quarter to go to a museum (that just does not seem right- wasn't the box office guy going to judge me??), but Paul is a charmer and Smiley One will forever be a part of our Mee lore.

On Monday, we got our Christmas tree- not on the list, but fun, nonetheless.


And it doesn't stop there, no, no- on Tuesday we hit up Loco Tuesday at 1849 for old times' sake. Loco Tuesday tends to draw NYU frat boy types looking for a $2 tequila shot, but we go to 1849 with one goal: Nachos Problem In Our Faces.

You all know that I believe nachos are the perfect food- what more could anyone need besides melted cheese, chips, salsa, and guacamole? Nachos Problem at 1849 may just be the perfect version of the world's perfect food.

Is your mouth watering? Because mine definitely is.

After resisting the urge to order another round of Nachos Problem, we took a detour to Washington Square Park. In typical WSP fashion, much of the park was still under construction and there plenty of crazies wandering around, but we did get to pay our respects to the hallowed campus of New York University. NYU, you may have cramped my style for nearly three years and will continue to cramp our bank account for the next bazillion years, but those were actually some pretty good times. Plus, I have a Masters degree, so that's pretty good I guess.

We're taking tonight and last night off because after this it's full steam ahead, see you at the finish line. Next on the agenda? A write-in: lunch with my department at Landmarc. Can anyone say "bacon salad"? Actually it's Frisee aux Lardons, if you're fancy...

And the Countdown Starts...

Unbelievably, today was the first day of the last month of 2010 and, even more unbelievably, it occurred to me that I have less than 20 days left in this fair city. Nineteen to be exact. Eighteen if you count today as passed, which it is, and I am here to tell you first-hand that eighteen days is not a lot, especially when you have a Goodbye New York agenda as packed as mine.

Despite Dolby's all-around awesomeness in making this the easiest move ever for us, Eric and I still have a whole bunch of boring stuff to do (cleaning dust bunnies out from under the bed, anyone? How about filling in the EIGHT MILLION holes we've made in our wall? No?). Don't worry, though, doing boring stuff has never been my priority and I certainly don't plan on starting that kind of behavior now.

So, to waste no further time (I have only eighteen days, after all), I present The Completely Unofficially, Entirely Inconclusive List (which could also be known as How to Eat and Drink a City in Eighteen Days):

-Unpack my suitcase from Thanksgiving (I mean, first things first)
-Mud Truck (pumpkin pie) chai
-Brunch at Sunburnt Calf
-Brunch at Calle Ocho
-Cider from the farmers market-fresh margs at Blockheads
-Walk through as many neighborhoods as possible (on my way to eat everywhere. Duh)
-Mee Noodle House (maybe I'll even branch out to some of those "Hard to Find Items" listed on the menu...probably not though.)
-STREET MEAT
-Nachos Problem at 1849
-Iron Chef brunch with the NYU crew
-Marseilles? Mesa Grill? Somewhere else fancy? (This depends heavily on my old moneybags, Eric)
-Brooklyn Bridge
-Row a boat in Central Park
-Giant beers, giant sausages, and giant pretzels at Radegast (I promise to share)
-Rockefeller Center (because those crowds of tourists never get old!)
-Central Park, Central Park, and more Central Park
-At least 4 cupcakes from Magnolia

Ok, that seems like a lot, or at least a lot of calories, so maybe that should do it. The good news is that I saw the very best of Broadway with mom and dad when they were here, so that is already checked off the list! Dad and I even had Shake Shack and fancy cocktails at the Parker Meridien last month, so there's two more down! Plus, we had huge trip to Coney Island with Allison Gomer, so even though that was a few months ago, it was so epic that it definitely counts. Plus, it's cold there now. Clearly, I'm already on a roll, so it's on to the (Un)Official List.

Are you ready New York, I'm coming to eat you, once and for all!

PS- if you have ideas for things I need to do to cap off my Manhattan life that DON'T involve stuffing my face, please let me know. My hips would probably appreciate it.