February, more like Feb-brrr-ary, has brought about some chillingly unexpected events. There’s been some snow, some car incidents, some funny dating stories from Ariel, some cooking, but mostly happiness.
The month began with ice skating and the Super Bowl. I was proud of myself for two reasons that day. First, I didn’t fall on the rink. Second, I made cupcakes from scratch for the first time. On the flip side, I couldn’t figure out how to open a locker and some cashier was getting feisty when I ordered a grilled cheese. Whatever, I quickly overcame those setbacks and continued to enjoy having free time to do random things. The week progressed with more inaugural events. I ate at Dandelion, an inconspicuous corner spot with the best chowder ever, for restaurant week. Next, I went to a Flyers game where the competitors were the Islanders. That was a tough one for me to choose sides. Later, some coworkers and I ventured into Old City for First Friday. What an experience.
Brittany, Julia, and I wandered on the streets looking for a place to settle. We started at an interesting gallery that I can’t remember the name of and looked at some yarn on cloth squares. Glorious. When we left that locale, we ended up in what I’m pretty sure was someone’s apartment. There were baked goods and babies and colorful displays of beverage cans. After about five minutes we agreed to leave the art viewing to others and searched for food. Cuba Libre is the place we chose. Noelle met us after the bartender recommended exactly what to order and what not to order. What a guy. My memorable mango mojito was complimented by delicious paella and Julia’s Cuban insight. We went to the cozy Sassafras for one last drink before heading home.
Saturday was low-key until about six o’clock when I left my apartment to go out to dinner. As I was crossing the street, a car was making a turn and hit me! No joke. Luckily only my arm was hit by the mirror and I fell but nothing too damaging. The situation was more shocking than painful. The woman who hit me stopped to talk to me. She was just as frazzled as I was, but we parted ways after exchanging information. I continued my night with dinner, a movie, and a little arm soreness. The woman has kept in touch with me ever since.
Sunday, I met Laura, Molly, and some of their friends for brunch. After eating Laura and I took some dog for a walk at Forbidden Trail in Wissahickon Park. The trail was really icy, but I was so happy to be outside. Being cooped up all winter makes me a little stir crazy. The dog was crazy too. I liked the excitement he brought even if he had his ass in my face most of the time we were in the car.
I spent more time outside when I went to an Italian restaurant in the city. We decided to walk there instead of getting a cab. Little did we know, there was a snowstorm coming and it was relentless. We arrived at the restaurant apparently looking like the craziest people on the planet because everyone who was seated turned around to stare at us as we walked to our table. I have never felt more judged in my life than in that moment. We didn’t let the haters or dampened hair dampen our spirits. The night ended up being pleasantly delightful just like our dinner.
Not everything has been fine and dandy. I feel like I’ve been working overtime lately. My body is tired. I had to work one Saturday morning. That wasn’t too fun. I’m not ever in the office by 7am on weekdays, so why was I on a weekend?! The course went well though, so I guess it was worth it even if the coordinators didn’t get me a name tag. I’ll get over it eventually. Another night, I was in the office late and knew I shouldn’t have answered my phone. There were two reps on the other side and I ended up staying about an hour and half longer than I wanted to trying to prepare them for an event they had the next day. They exhausted me. Come on guys, I’m happy to help but things run more smoothly if you think about what you’re doing. I blew off the steam by meeting coworkers at Dave and Buster’s. Two members from my team and I played games together. I really like them. They’re good people and we won a nice stuffed yolo hamster that we deemed our team mascot. A sweet ending to a sour night.
To keep calm, I’ve been cooking and watching lots of tv. Most notable food: salmon, soup, pizza, crab cakes, and cookies. Most notable tv: How to Get Away with Murder, Survivor, and all the singing competitions known to mankind. I know, I know, my life is so exciting.
Actually, something pretty exciting did happen. My car was towed. Most people wouldn’t use exciting to describe that dilemma, but my experience was. I was with three of my friends and my car was nowhere to be found when we went back to where I parked it. I quickly noticed a towing sign and called the number. Thank goodness the company had my car and it wasn’t stolen! So, my friend Mark drove us to where my car was towed, and it was the sketchiest place I’ve been in Philadelphia so far. We were near the Zoo around midnight. Not the place or time you would typically choose. The room we walked into was covered in metal sheeting and one side had a small slot where a faceless figure asked for my id, money, and car keys. I didn’t have enough cash, so Andrew and I walked to a Chinese restaurant/convenience store/atm location. I’ve never feared for my life more, but humor was introduced to the situation when a man walked in looking for a condom. He wasn’t happy with Lisa, the woman behind the counter, when she gave him “free condoms from the clinic” for a dollar. He told Lisa that if the lady he was about to use that condom with became pregnant, it was her fault. Way to shift responsibility, man. He made me giggle as I watched countless 20s flow out of the ATM. Luckily, my car was returned and I learned to pay more attention to where I park.
Oh yeah. I forgot. I’ve been apartment hunting a lot. It finally paid off because I signed a lease last Wednesday! The place I ended up getting was the first place I checked out. That’s what always seems to happen. After a lot of back-and-forth with the people who currently live in the apartment and a lot of wracking nerves on my end, I met the landlord at Reading Terminal Market. The woman and her husband were very kind and have a personal connection to the house I’m moving into. That makes me feel like they take good care of it and so will I! I can’t wait to move in and have brunch with my Fairmount friends all the time. 🙂 Most importantly, I was able to stop at a doughnut (donut?) stand and bring goodies in for the office. The treats were gone within twenty minutes.
This past week I went to a few new bars including Taphouse 23, Cavanaugh’s Headhouse, and Good Dog. Taphouse ran out of everything we ordered. Cavanaugh’s was awesome and I’m sure I’ll be back again. Good Dog has pictures of dogs posted on the walls of each floor, which is cute. The only caveat, the third floor’s pictures are of the dogs that passed away because all dogs go to heaven. At least that’s what my friend said. I’m not sure if there’s any truth to that statement. I left Good Dog because I had visitors who had arrived in Philadelphia!
My mom, Lisa, and Sue were here this weekend, but I’ll blog about that later. Their stay deserves its own post for how good it was. Watch out for that! My cheeks still hurt from all the laughing we did. Okay. I’m done for the night. Getting sleepy. Bye!
Liana's Life 