New Year; New Book, New York in the 70s

Happy Happy 2010 everyone. I've yet to write it without first having to scratch out the '09. How about yall?

Anyway-- I rang in the New Year in Gulfport, Mississippi with some old friends from college. It was fun. Dinner reservation, jazz band, -- much more grown up than what I usually do. You know why? Because I was with grownups. Technically speaking, I was with my friends Morgan and Matt who recently got married, and technically speaking, they are both a couple months younger than me... but here's how I know they qualify: Their kitchen. It's a nice, neat, granite countertops, oversized refrigerator, laundry room attache, TONS of cabinet space-- but I'm not even talking about that. I'm talking about the CONTENTS of this kitchen. Their fridge was so packed that we were constantly getting rid of some of it just to make room for MORE stuff. I'm talking milk, eggs, grapefruit juice, orange juice, casseroles, vegetables, meats, cheeses, jams, cinnamon rolls, biscuits, bacon, condiments of every kind, backup condiments of every kind... And I'm going to be honest-- there was some stuff in there I didn't even recognize. And if you think that's impressive (because I did... I really did) you should see this girl's pantry! It had everything, I tell you... EVERTHING. In fact, we were making a dip on Thursday night when I got into town and it called for vinegar--and she was like, "Hmmm-- I don't think I have vinegar"--- as she looked through the pantry, but then exclaimed-- "Wait--found some!" I mean Whaaaat? Where do you even BUY vinegar? Do you want to know what's in MY fridge right now? (I just went and did inventory to be sure)
A carton of eggs
some lettuce
half a tube of cookie dough
12 pack of Miller Light
Bottle of wine
Crystal Light--grape
and a box of baking soda.
There is also a half eaten jar of salsa -- but I have no idea how it even got there. I think Melissa may have left it.
My freezer contains a bunch of Lean Cuisines and a bottle of vodka. And that's it. I use my pantry for storage, and I'm not even kidding.

Anyway-- all of that to say that I've decided that my New Year's Resolution is going to be to go to the grocery store! I think I can handle that one.

And while we are on the subject of food-- I gotta mention how I think that the "New Year's Meal" is kind of really gross and weird. I think its also important to mention that the entire concept of the foods representing luck, money, and health etc... was a complete and total obscurity to me until I got to college. I wonder if my parents even know about it... because they sure never fed it to me! OR-- maybe I inherited THEIR distaste for black-eyed peas, mustard greens, and ham, and THAT'S why we never had it. At any rate-- ever since I left the Mississippi Delta, people try and force that meal down my throat on New Year's Day... and I eat it-- graciously, of course, because it's always nice when someone offers you a meal.

In other news, I am STRUGGLING to get through my book club book this month. It's called "Let the Great World Spin" by Colum McCann and I kind of hate it. It's a fiction novel but it is based around a real life event. APPARENTLY--- a man by the name of Philippe Petit strung a steel cable between the as yet unfinished World Trade Center towers in 1974 and then proceeded to perform a 45 minute high wire act for all of New York City to see right around 7:15 in the morning. WHAAAT?! I mean--- THAT. IS. AWESOME. I didn't even know that had happened! I wikipediaed it to be sure. I mean-- WHY can't anyone do anything cool like that anymore? And why didn't we learn that in American History class?! It was dubbed "The Artistic Crime of the Century" and took six years of planning. What a CrAzY ole Phillipe must've been! Still-- I bet he was really really cool.
The rest of the book centers around mediocre story lines at best. I find myself bored, bored, bored, bored, bored, bored. But I am determined to finish. It's like a competition, you see-- and I must win. Ha.

Bye for now. I feel like 2010 is going to be a blog-worthy sort of year! :) Here's hoping!