new york

out takes

so much work

for one happy photo.

good job, philip.

new phone

this is a beautifully complicated story.

my iphone was stolen.

yesterday.

from work.

and it probably wasn't a fellow employee that did it.

you see,

people in the bistro have told me countless times

"don't leave your phone laying around."

the homeless people/the drugged people/ the crazy people/ the dishonest people

they all frequent the gateway quarter

and they all like to wander in the TOB doors.

"don't leave your phone laying around,"

everyone says

so i don't

but i do :(

and i don't have pockets in soo many of my clothes

so sometimes, down my phone goes, and then, up again, it goes, back into my hands.

not yesterday though

woop!

it was down,

and then

BAM

it was gone.

i knew it right away too

i just knew

PHONE? gone.

PHONE? not where i thought it was.

and so i called it.

no answer.

busy signal.

called again.

busy signal.

dill called it.

no answer

we texted it.

nothing.

i didn't worry about it.

it's a phone!

no big deal.

i've gone without a phone before.

and it was getting glitchy anyway,

shorting out, taking a long time

small glitches i'd ignored because replacing an iphone is not an inexpensive task.

and today,

again,

on my day off, 

good thing,

i went back to the bistro and checked around for it.

no phone.

days off are a weird thing for me.

i'm either so exhausted i can't get out of bed

or i wander around aimlessly wondering what to do before i go back to work the next day.

so i went to church.

and before church,

dill and i went to findlay market, and he bought spices, and we got vietnamese pho, and i rummaged around in my bag and found the three dollars and change i've had for two weeks--literally, the only money i have.

i wanted a coffee. or a latte. or maybe a piece of cake.

but i didn't buy any, and we had a lovely lunch, and dill went to work, and i went to church.

st. mary's on 13th is gorgeous.

big, cathedral-y

the kind of church that you don't have to pay attention in, just listen.

i did.

i prayed, i listened, and when mass was over, 

i headed out the back and saw the votive candles by the door.

$2 says the sign,

and i reach into my bag and pull out my three and change and toss them in the cash collector.

"please, lord,"

(i pray,)

"watch over philip today. may his day be filled with strength, peace, and a good sense of humor,"

and out the door i go.

i hop in my car,

drive to the AT&T store,

and walk in.

i'm unkempt.

a red jersey dress, red sequined heart, and gray keds.

long, wild hair.

dreading what iphone expenses are to come.

i know i can't afford a new phone.

in fact, i know it'll probably be another two months before i get something in my hands.

it's just that kind of money existence for me right now.

but In, i go, to do the responsible thing, and at least see what my options are.

turns out 

i'm in luck.

the AT&T guy, Mike, is fantastic, and he knows and loves my bistro.

turns out, AT&T is having a sale on the exact iphone i have, the iphone 4 for .99 cents.

.99 cents!! i laugh!! .99 cents!!

here i was, all morning, thinking of buying coffee or cake or a latte,

and instead, INSTEAD,

i'm charging an iphone 4 to my credit card for .99 cents.

i die.

i rejoice.

i bless my stars and thank the heavens.

every little glitch worked itself out.

lucky me!

breakfast detritus

the birthday party two days ago was great fun.

and now,

for the first time since moving in

my fridge is actually stocked with food.

it hasn't been stocked for multiple reasons

1) it turns out i don't need that much food at home

i'm paid in meals at work, and one only needs so much.

2) even if i didn't get paid in meals, i get home much too late for dinner.

3) since i get paid in meals, i'm obviously not making a fortune in paycheck so i don't have any cash for that, anyway.

ANYWAY.

the fridge is stocked.

with bacon

sausage

biscuits

cinnamon rolls

two cartons of eggs

milk

juice

and a whole additional quiche.

i'm eating it bit by bit

thank god

or i'd walk away being a carb-loaded blimp of a woman.

i just decided

i just decided i'm moving.

i just made a choice.

i just made the choice.

i can't believe it took me so long.

i can't believe it took me two years.

i just decided i'm moving to new york.

i just decided that.

WOW!

i can believe it!

i finally can believe it!

i'm moving to new york.

i'm working on it.

for about a year.

a big move takes about that much time.

i just decided to begin working on that now.

COOL!

dilly deli

philip 

took me to dilly cafe

for my birthday

saturday night.

we sat outside on the patio

drinking wine

reading the menu

talking about philip's work there

watching couples dancing and kissing 

and loving the fall air.

we lazed during dinner.

we chatted with philip's friends 

we chatted with philip's old kitchen.

we planned and loved and looked at the stars.

later, we sat in the bar with friends

catching up

catching forward

celebrating a wedding and celebrating it all

i wore sequins and green, laughing and dancing and relaxing for now. :)

birthday debris

i woke up around ten this morning

#thankgod i work at 3

and surveyed my apartment for birthday debris.

amazingly, there was little.

philip and i clean well.

in fact

the biggest offender

was that someone had popped all the brussel sprouts out of the vegetarian quiche last night

and there were all these little brussel sprout shaped crevices all over the top of the quiche.

i baked it back up and ate it anyway. :) 

still good.

the birthday was WONDERFUL.

originally, we planned on going camping this weekend, but it didn't work out.

so instead, 

we hosted V.3 of the Monday Night Dinner Series,

which, just happened to coincide with my birthday.

BREAKFAST

screamed the invitation

and breakfast we did have.

Philip and I spent two days preparing!

Sunday was brunch

a trip to his parents' house

where he baked three cakes for my triple layer cake, (mango, pineapple, banana with strawberry-banana icing,)

and we painted dining room chairs in the garage all afternoon.

Monday was equally busy

and lovingly blessed, being my actual birthday,

waking up

brunching

thrift-store shopping for baking and serving ware

back to loveland for the chairs

picked up an additional rug and lamps from his parents' basement

home to unload

groceries

philip's apartment, to pick up cooking things

home to arrange, bake, cook, plan, clean, and party!

the party was BEAUTIFUL

and i had such a gorgeous birthday.

23 was an interesting year

a year of solid ground and patient foundation building

24 starts me yearning for life

yearning for passion, love, and theatre.

i'm re-writing the course of my life, now

deciding and choosing who i want to be.

24 is going to be one of the best years of my life, i can feel it.