Oct. 12th, '05, 12:38 a.m.
OK, so I'm officially 24, as of yesterday. And everyone made me feel so loved on my birthday, thank you! I got calls from Hawai'i, Rhode Island, SoCal, NoCal, AFRICA (can you believe it?!), Florida, Napa, and SF. I also got texts and e-mails from other places, including Jersey and Boston. To be honest I wasn't sure anyone would remember, so I was very surprised and happy.
Highlights from the past week or so:
- working 2 catering jobs to make me about $200 - one of which was a totally fun and easy bbq which I got to do with two of my (new) flatmates, who I adore. The other was a wedding which I got to work with both cindy and kenda - that's my favorite, working with them, because they're so fun and silly but hard workers. We have a great time
- going to a farmer's market and getting lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, including two beautiful, fuzzy, orange peaches. I was so excited that I actually motivated to go and do that on a Saturday morning.
- going to a lifting/bodywork class, pilates, ballet, jazz, and yoga (not all on the same day, of course ... and ask me if I'm feeling it)
- really settling into my room. First, finding a free mattress on craigslist and then picking it up with bethy's SUV, then packing kenda's dresser into daniel's van and bringing it over to my place -- which means my room is now officially furnished!!! Then spending like an hour going through everything, FINALLY getting rid of my suitcases, and finding a place for all my stuff
- going to tango three times and taking one lesson. The scene here is very, very welcoming and I've already made a lot of friends. They make a real effort to include people rather than intimidate them, and it makes a big difference.
- going to lindy one night and having a few really stellar dances (sometimes I forget how much I really like lindy), and then an awesome afterhours blues party, complete with red lights and funky, soulful music
- helping my sister buy a CAR and then roadtripping it down to long beach, Cali. This is a longer story but basically I helped her figure out what kind of car she wanted, was adamant about taking various cars to mechanics (which saved her from buying a crappy American car, among other things), and eventually negotiated the car dealer we ended up buying from into giving us a car that was listed for $6,000 for $3,250. The day we bought the car was crazy, too; we saw it, made an initial offer, took it to a mechanic, made a lower offer, negotiated (including walking out and everything! It was so typical used-car dealership bullshit), bought it, insured it over the phone as we were driving away, and then drove it for 7 hours straight to the LBC. Whoo HOO! I then hung out with Kenda in Long Beach for two days and got to see her apartment, correct undergraduate psych exams with her (you should write down the "best of the worst" answers, kenny), and make a much-needed trip to target. I then flew back on JetBlue Wed. night.
- hanging out with Jamie, a friend from the UK, who I haven't seen in months
- seeing Na'amah, a super-close friend from Stanford, and getting tapas with her and a bunch of people and then going to a funky/fun Senegalese hip hop club, then back to her friend's place for (interesting) hot chocolate and looking at pictures of India
- getting coffee with Nicole - SO AWESOME that we're in the same area again!!! and her friend angie, who is great. We went to a neat café in the Sunset with all sorts of art on the wall. Again, I love cities.
- TURNING IN my application for the University in Bs.As.! This was huge - it was due Oct 15th but I got it in the mail on the 8th, complete with proof of health insurance, a statement of purpose in spanish, passport photos, and a number of other forms. I'm stoked that that's finished.
Also, on a random note I'm trying to eat more iron so I thought I might share how that's done. A lot of young women (especially vegetarians) are iron-deficient. If you find that you're tired a lot of the time and you scratch/bruise easily, you might be anemic. Here are some things you can do to combat that:
1. Eat chicken, fish, egg yolks and red meat.
2. Feast on dark green, leafy vegetables such as chard; kale; spinach; endive; and mustard, collard and turnip greens.
3. Snack on high-iron dried fruits such as prunes, apricots, dates, figs, peaches and raisins.
4. Start off your day with iron-fortified cereals and breads for breakfast.
5. Eat iron-rich foods in combination with foods that are high in vitamin C to better absorb the iron. For example, have spinach salad with orange slices or eggs with grapefruit juice.
6. Eat foods that are naturally high in both iron and vitamin C, such as broccoli and bok choy.
7. Cook in cast-iron pots. Iron will be absorbed into the food, especially acidic foods such as tomato sauce.
8. Drink tea between meals, not with them. Tea contains tannin, which blocks the absorption of iron. Herbal tea is a good alternative.
9. Add 1 to 2 tbsp. blackstrap molasses, which is high in both calcium and iron, to hot water as a substitute for coffee or tea.
