Sweat and Salad

i haven't posted anything on the weight loss front in a while, mostly because there's been nothing to post. When i went to New York for that seminar, i had no time to exercise, and i sort of fell off the wagon. Packing and moving served as excuses for the next several weeks, and when i arrived here, well, i packed my social calender so that i could make new friends and that served as an excuse!

So last week when i went to my gym to transfer my membership from Wichita to here, i knew they would weigh me, and i prepared myself for the worst. i was sure i wouldn't have gained all 40 back, but i thought 10 at best, 20 at worst.

Then i got on the scale, and... nothing! i maintained. So even though my timeline is off (i had hoped to be below my post-Emily weight by my birthday), at least i didn't lose any ground.

So, now i'm back to a routine of sweat and salad. The walking/jogging i was doing in Kansas has been put on hold for now. There's an active rapist running around Fairmount Park here in Philly and the news says you can walk there, but best not to do it alone, and especially not alone with an iPod in your ears. [pointing to myself] So instead of walking 3 miles once a week, i use the elliptical machine in my apartment's clubhouse for 35 minutes 3x/week. i figure that's a fair trade, if not a better one.

i also have a date, if i can bring myself to call the guy back. It's scary to think about going out on a date for the first time in almost a year. i don't even know how to make a connection on a date anymore... not without 3" of ice and Tennyson, or rope and thumbtacks, or swords and moonlight (you college buddies remember when i stabbed Duncan in the hand and had to take him to to the hospital for our first date?.... heh... i don't think that'll work a second time).

But for now, i'm enjoying the fruits of summertime! i spent the last two days poolside, and will drive up north to hike Big Pocono sometime later this week. Those pictures should rock, so stay tuned!

Center City and South Philly Market

Today i went on the train down to Center City. i had a couple of things i wanted to see so that i could "get the tourist out." i don't want to be lugging my camera downtown every time i go there like i'm some hillbilly come to see the big city. i hit the tourist spots so that next time i can go down there like, 'i'm a metropolitan gal... do this all the time...' you know... even though i don't.

i also wanted to identify some places for future reference, like the Hard Rock, and the South Philly Italian market, and the train stations so that i can get back to them without needing a map.

It's just about a 5 minute walk from my door to the nearest SEPTA station with a direct train to the three downtown stops (Market East, Suburban, and 30th Street Stations). i got off at Market East, and headed west a few blocks to check out City Hall. That's Ben Franklin on the top, and many years ago, it was a city ordinance that nothing could be built higher than Ben....




...so much for that city ordinance. It was tossed so that the financial district could go up. Really, it was unrealistic to expect it to remain, once skyscrapers became more feasable.




From there i walked along Market Street back toward the train station and then on down the line to the Constitution Complex. Here, between 5th and 6th Streets, is the Philly Mint (no photos allowed in the Mint), the Constitution Center, Independence Visitors Center, the Liberty Bell, Constitution Hall and Independence Hall.

First, the Liberty Bell... had to do it. So Philly.



Now here is a building that has been tragically overlooked. my feeling is that it has become so because of its proximity to Independence Hall, which is impressive, and i will address it independently (get it?). But this is Constitution Hall, where the first congress met, where George Washington was inaugurated, and where three states were admitted to the Union. But who remembers this place!?



This is, of course, Independence Hall, where the Declaration and the Constitution were both debated and signed. Here is where the geniuses who engineered our society did so. That's pretty cool, but i still don't think it deserves all the credit!



Then i was off to find the South Philly Italian market. So i headed down 6th and through a little square between 6th and 7th where i stumbled upon this. It is officially the Tomb of the Unknown Revolutionary War Soldier, but apparently there's no grave to find. People, men, soldiers, are just... under the ground... all over the square... i loved this marker. "Freedom is a light for which many men have died in darkness." Wow.



When i made it to the Italian Market, i was dumbfounded. This place is SO classic... look at it, that's all i can say. i bought some bread and basalmic vinegar to make my favorite dippin' oil, and then had a slice of pizza that put all other pizza to shame. (i know, if there were any New Yorkers around, they'd pulverize me for saying that, but hey, it was that good.)



i felt like a real dork taking a photo of this and not going in to patronize the place, but i just couldn't NOT.



Then this, i don't know if you can see in the thumbnail, but if you click the pic and enlarge it, get a load of the last line!



Finally, i walked back up 9th street to Walnut and then across to 15th, were i returned to City Hall and found Love Park before boarding Suburban Station and returning home. Seriously, guys, how many times have you see this sculpture reproduced? And how many of you knew it was in Philly?

Vestiges of a New Life

i am slowly sloughing off the vestiges of my old life. Before i get into it, here is the Mary Tyler Moore photo. my mother bought me this big wooden E because we used to watch the Mary Tyler Moore show, and a big wooden M hung in her apartment. It was the first thing she moved in and the last thing she moved out. So, i do the same with my E.



As i suspected, the apartment is humongous. It leaves me with a lot of space that is just... space. Which is nice. Here's the living room.



And as i suspected, Sao LOVES the windowsills! my Wichita apartment had one window, and the sill was big enough for her to stand on, but not to turn around on, or sit on, or lounge on. This apartment has three windows, and all have cat-sized sills.




i actually have a dining room. A room that is for dining. It has a door and everything. It's not a nook. It's a room. i even had to buy a floor lamp to light it. i went with the four-footed one, so that it would be harder for Sao to knock over. So far, so good.



my bedroom. The door on the right goes out to a hallway (with a walk-in coat closet, no less!) and the powder room. The door on the left goes to my dressing area (a dressing area, for god's sake!) and the master bath and walk-in clothes closet.



Here's the view from the dressing area. Big white wooden E and all.



The apartment was expected. Here's my news. Believe it or not (i know, it's a stretch), the truck qualified as a clunker under the government CARS program. It was falling apart, guys. The passenger door wouldn't close unless it was locked from the outside first. It was leaking gas whenever i filled up. It was making knocking sounds over every bump in the road (and in Pennsylvania, that's every 1.2 meters or so). When it rained, it was leaking over the passenger seat. It was rusting, under the frame and into the frame. The gas cap took several minutes to pry off.

Don't get me wrong, i loved that truck. Loved it. Duke. i'll miss you, buddy.

But meet The Black Sparrow...


He's a 2009 Toyota Yaris. Three doors. (Yeah, that took me a minute too... they consider the back trunk a door.) Tiny. Sleek. Fuel efficient. i got $4500 for the truck, which was worth about $50. But to do that, Steve and i had to jump through about 24 hoops made out of beurocratic red tape. Steve is my Toyota dealer. We spent so much time together, we made it to first-name basis. Everything was set on Thursday, but i had to wait for the car to arrive from Jersey. So when the program was suspended on Thursday night, we freaked out. It all turned out alright, but i had a very sleepless night and a very stressful Friday.

i didn't realize how much stress the truck was giving me until i thought about not worrying about it anymore.

This is my first new car. Oh, i've had cars before. But never new. And i have never bought one before. my dad bought the Escort i drove in college, and gave it to me after i split a year's worth of payments with him or so. my dad also found and bought the truck (used) because my credit was so bad at the time. And while i payed for it, and maintained it, it didn't feel like mine, even when we transfered the title to my name.

The Black Sparrow is mine. i don't even think i'll mind making the payments on it. i just love driving it around. It has a CD player. Guys, i've never had a car with a CD player before!

And the back bumper? A blank canvas for new bumper stickers.... mwahahahahahaha.....

It has power nothing. No sun roof, like i've always wanted. No little beepy panic button. But i don't care. He's all mine, and he smells like a new car.

i've been fixing up the apartment, car shopping, and meeting new people in the last few weeks. But i think i will venture into the city on the train this week sometime, and hopefully bring you some Philly photos.