Everyone Loves a Boston Girl

At first I thought this was a joke. And as a joke, I admit, it would be kind of funny. I laughed. But now I’m pretty sure it’s for real. And I’ve stopped laughing. I first saw it on the Dig‘s blogging section of their website. Then saw that it was in Boston magazine’s blog. Then I realized that there are actual advertisements for it on the T. It is no joke, my friends. Cold Stone Creamery is coming out with a T inspired ice cream called, ready for this?, the (T)errific Charlie. I agree with everyone who is saying “WTF” right now. There are so many WTF’s about this situation, it’s not even funny. Like:

a) WTF are they thinking?

b)WTF is this going to taste like? Personally, all I can think of is the dirty T with obnoxious and gross people. I want to eat nothing that is actually inspired by this disgusting but necessary mode of transportation.

c) WTF makes them think that people are going to eat this? Even if the ice cream combination sounded unbelievable, I’d probably order it as my own combination (“I’ll have the cake batter ice cream with M&Ms, Snickers, and Kit Kats…What? The (T)errific Charlie? No, no, just cake batter ice cream with M&Ms, Snickers, and Kit Kats, please.”)

d) WTF do the candies in this ice cream have to do with the T? Allegedly, the M&Ms correspond to the different colors of the T lines. How cute..red, green, blue, orange. Oh, and yellow. The Dig’s blogger was smart enough to ask about the yellow and, but of course, they represent the T buses, which have yellow stripes on them. Clever. Kit Kats and Snickers? No idea.

I can say with absolute certainty that I will NOT be ordering the (T)errific Charlie at Cold Stone Creamery, ever. The best line in Boston’s blog is “And while rumors abound, there’s no word yet on whether Cold Stone plans to double the price of a (T)eriffic Charlie cone every two years, without doing anything to make it better.” Not funny, because it’s true!

It “stops you in your tracks!” And makes you throw up in your mouth a little.

Imperative question of the day:

Is it a better idea to date people you meet out randomly (at bars, on the subway, in the cheese section of Stop and Shop) or to date people you meet through friends (or friends of friends)??

In my opinion, dating people you meet randomly is more difficult, but less risky in the long run. You have nobody assuring you of your date’s character or that they’re not a psycho axe murder. You don’t really know their history or anything about them except what they choose to reveal themselves. However, if a date goes badly or a relationship takes a turn south, the person can be out of your life completely in no time at all. You have nobody to answer to and you aren’t likely to be put in awkward situations where you are in the same room with them and their friends trying to all normal-like. Delete number from phone book and move on.

Dating a person you meet through friends or friends of friends usually means someone is recommending them to you, thinking you’d be good together. Or at the very least, knowing that your friends will warn you if they think the relationship will end up in some sort of disastrous state. However, when a relationship ends up not working out, the chances of you seeing this person and his or her friends again are high. If the relationship did not end well or one person was hurt in the process, this can be extremely uncomfortable. Especially if you are currently dating another of this person’s friends. What? It happens.

I’ve only ever dated guys I’ve met through friends, while Chelsee has only ever dated guys she’s met in random places. We are debating the merits of each. Share, please!

Finding out about a friend or a stranger with an online people search isn’t difficult. Find anything from e-mails, to criminal records with an online search today.

If you know me then you know I take serious issue with picky eaters. I have a bunch of picky eater friends and they constantly intrigue me because I don’t get how a person can actively dislike so many foods. Right now I’m reading Jeffrey Steingarten’s The Man Who Ate Everything and it has convinced me that I’m not altogether wrong to be annoyed by picky eaters. It’s not even that I’m annoyed, I’m more saddened by the fact that people can’t try things with an open mind. As the food critic at Vogue magazine, Steingarten basically forced himself to eat the foods he thought he hated and soon realized he didn’t really hate them. He claims that food likes and dislikes are all learned and that when we come into this world, we do not have “tastes” for specific foods. We teach ourselves everything and make our own choices about what we like and don’t like. He eventually got himself to love foods like kimichi, anchovies, and desserts in Indian restaurants.

Steingarten exposed himself to the foods he hated based on scientific information that says “aversions fade away when we eat moderate doses of the hated foods at moderate intervals…” I believe this theory 100%. When I was a kid, I absolutely hated lobster. I tried it several times and couldn’t understand how other people thought it tasted good. But every time relatives came to visit and got soo excited about New England lobster, and every time my parents made a lobster dinner and had to cook me something else, I felt left out. There aren’t a whole lot of foods people get as excited over as they do lobster so what was wrong with me? I have one cousin who comes to visit from Texas, insists on eating lobster every meal, and calls it lobster bliss. So I finally kind of pretended I liked lobster. “I want my own lobster,” I’d tell my mom every time she was buying it. And I forced myself to eat it, basically to fit in, and not be some freak of nature. And you know what? I eventually started liking it. Really liking it. Now I get crazy cravings for lobster and cannot wait to go home this weekend and hopefully get some.

This convinced me that I can develop a taste for anything if I give it a chance. Also, I think there’s a huge difference between “not liking” a food and “not being a huge fan” of a food or enjoying a food less than you enjoy, say a cupcake with buttercream frosting. So I always wonder when people say they “don’t like” something, if they really cannot stand it, or if they just aren’t crazy about it. I also really understand why I don’t like most of the foods I don’t; it’s not just a random “I don’t like it,” but an “I don’t like it because…”

Foods I’m not a huge fan of but still eat if presented with:

-Cilantro (I think it overpowers every other flavor in the food I’m trying to eat)
-Sprouts (saw a news report on how dirty they are and my mom worked at a catering place and said they are the hardest food to clean)
-Cheesecake-unless it has chocolate in it (cheese shouldn’t be for dessert in cake form)
-Cottage cheese (I love cheese but don’t love shovelling spoonfuls in my mouth)
-Ricotta cheese (got very very sick after eating lasagna for 5 nights straight)

In rare circumstances:

-Whipped cream- gagg, but if it’s homemade I think I can handle it (no clue…I think it has something to do with the sound the can makes)

There’s only one food I seriously dislike:

-Scallops (again, got sick after eating them on several occasions)- But I haven’t had them in years and might force myself to eat some and see what happens. If Steingarten can make himself love desserts in Indian restaurants then I can surely get myself to at least “like” scallops.

Many of my friends and I (ahem, me and Chelsee) seem to be going through weird points in our dating/relationship lives. Chelsee and I spend great deals of time contemplating our issues and (over)analyzing what the hell is going on with us. We’ve come to many (no) conclusions. First of all, different types of guys are attracted to us for completely inexplicable reasons. For some reason, completely immature guys who just want to have a good time go for Chelsee. Not to say they’re not nice guys, but they’re usually guys not looking for relationships. And for some other reasons, guys who want to get married and make me their wife are attracted to me. Which is completely odd, because nothing about Chelsee or her appearance screams “Hi, I’m slutty and just like to have a good time, so by all means use me and then leave.” And I’m pretty sure there’s nothing about me saying “I’d love to be your wife and stay home with the kids while you’re off making the bucks.” So what gives? We have no idea.

It leaves us both in awkward positions. Essentially, she doesn’t quite know how to have a relationship, while I don’t really know how not to. She has become an incredibly skilled dater, while I am the worst dater in the world. It also leaves us confused with her saying things like, “I mean, I’m not necessarily looking for a relationship, but I mean, ummm.” And me saying things like, “I just want (need) to date, I mean uhhh, obviously if I find someone, but not now, uhhh I just don’t know.” And I basically feel like a horrible person for complaining that guys see me as a relationship material, because isn’t that a good thing? I mean, I know it’s good that I’m seen as wifey material; I’m sure some day I will make a fabulously amazing wife, but I think I’d rather meet a guy not eagerly searching for a wife, and instead someone who realizes he wants to get married after meeting me.

I guess what I’m trying to say is, it’s tough out there. It’s hard to figure out what you want, and more importantly what you need. And even in the rare case that you have that all figured out, there’s no saying you’re going to get it.

These times also make me truly realize the importance of friends. With Chelsee and I (over)analyzing each and every aspect of our lives together, no matter how different our issues are, we help each other understand so much. But in the end, we mostly help each other to understand that we are smart, amazing women and we have to trust ourselves. And no matter how awkward and weird we get, I think we really do. Right? Chels? Yeah, friends make pretty much everything easier.

I love September. For sooo many reasons. First of all, I think it’s the prettiest sounding month. Obvi for the foliage in New England. And it’s also my birthday month, so that adds some excitement (or not, because I’m seriously dreading turning 25…luckily I have till the end of the month).

Other reasons why September is absolutely fabulous:

• I get to start school. This time of year is the dorkiest time of year for me. I legitimately get giddy about going back to school. I’ve always been this way but it gets worse as I get older. But today it hit me; I have only one class to take before I have my degree. What am I going to do with myself? I seriously felt depressed for a few minutes. For a really brief second, I considered registering for another class just “for fun.” Then I remembered that it would cost about $3,300 and I don’t really LOVE school that much (or not as much as I love eating and paying rent). Anyway, by October, the appeal of school has worn off a bit.

• It’s still summer until September 23. And then it’s fall, and the beginning of fall is my favorite part of the year. I am obsessed with ridiculously hot weather, but I also get this tingly feeling in me when I feel the cool air but am still comfortable in flip flops. And I love snuggling under my blankets in the fall. Plus, I love fall clothes.

• Macintosh apples are at their best.

• Baseball gets sooo exciting. Let’s just hope the Red Sox can keep it together through September. And P.S. I told ya JD Drew wasn’t going to work out so well. Not that I’m still bitter or anything, but I’m going to be pretty sad when the Sox are in the World Series without Trot.

• Even though it’s the ninth month of the year, it feels like the beginning in so many ways. Not that the past year hasn’t been incredible for me, but I think it was tough in a lot of ways and I’ve gone through a lot of changes, learned more than I could imagine, successfully made it through a pretty damn good summer, and am looking forward to starting a “new year.” My goal this year is to concentrate on myself and not let other people’s issues interrupt my own life…no matter how bad I feel for them.

Beautiful Boston in September:

“For many in baseball September is a month of stark contrast with April, when everyone had dared to hope. If baseball is a lot like life, as pundits declare, it is because life is more about losing than winning.” -John Thorn