The New York Shoe Box

Also known as an apartment in Manhattan. I guess everyone would live here if it was affordable, since smelly subways and crazies walking next to you is appealing. I mean really and the real estate agents have to make a small fortune off of their so called "no fee" apartments. Some of the apartments I've seen are atrocious, but can you imagine - having two days to move and you start to convince yourself that you can share a bathroom in the hallway with two neighbors in a six floor walk up (yes those places exist and are on the market). Seriously, the rat infested apartments should be discounted since more than one thing is living there at a time -- what you think is a studio is really a three bedroom convert.
If you can't tell I'm having a moment - and I have a blog, why not merge the two :)
Welcome home:

You take 1/2

So it's 2012 - end of the Mayan calendar, beginning of my first mile marker in becoming a centenarian. Just kidding, I know I'm being a little dramatic about my birthday, so don't worry that's not why I'm writing to you today. I've been thinking about sharing; you know this was the first year my honeys came with me over the holidays. I had spent a few holidays with his family so this completed the circle - we shared our families with each other. At the end of it my bf discovered I'm the weird one in my family...
We shared so many wonderful moments together, laughing at my nephew who talks like he's a thirty year old trapped in a three year old body. Seeing the matriarch of my family hold our newest member. Listening to my sister vow to only invest in relationship that are valuable in the truest sense of that word. We spent four days together at home and my bf left with the most cookies from my Grammy (much to my Dad's dismay) and more of my heart than he can know. Might be slow on understanding this, but here's what I figure - I give 1/2 of me and you give me 1/2 of you, as long as we promise to make each other whole whenever we're together what more can a girl ask for?

Oh where, oh where has my little blog gone?

...Oh where oh where can she be? Apologies for the lack of posts, seems my blog inspiration decided to go into hibernation along with my running shoes for the winter... Never fear, they are both back and ready for running and writing (and boy the skinny girl inside me is just as happy as you are about the resurgence). So here we are, a few days before one of the most optimistic days of the year; where everyone vows to be a better self, be organized and create goals - GO YOU! I'm sorry to say you guys are late to this party. Part of my sabbatical was due to my quarter life crisis that decided to remind me in nearly two weeks I will be a quarter of a century so there has been a lot of "goal processing"...Two weeks away from that long list of things I wanted to do before 25 like climb Everest goes into the fail pile and onto the bucket list...Two years away from a drastic metabolism yield...One year away from my dream age -- 26. You know, when you were younger (and with apparently no concept of time) this is the magical age you thought you'd be married, in a glamorous apartment somewhere and VP of something...Although all of these dreams were pretty much crushed in the last two years or so by a little thing called Realism and his sister Practicality, it's hard to come to terms with the idea that your magical age is disappearing into the same purgatory as fairy tales princesses and Santa.
Anyway the list goes on, I had to get a new license, I will move into the 25-30 box column on surveys, and my decision making skills need to be sharper than ever. So I'm nervous. I don't think per say anything that day will happen, but it does lessen my chance that I will be on the Inc 30 under 30 list.
Is this an appropriate age to freak out? Can you imagine what I'll be like at my midlife crisis? Hopefully, you'll be reading my amazing book by then and you can read all about it vicariously through one of my fictional characters.

Triskaidekaphobia, fear of the number 13, Mr. Webster should've thought of one for the number 25.

Fine Print

I normally stay away from food/restaurant/dining reviews primarily because I'm not a certified food/restaurant/dining critic, and sometimes you might just have to chalk up a bad experience to the restaurant having a bad day. However, this I needed to write about because I think it's a customer experience that people should be cautioned of.
This weekend I decided to try my first Groupon and go to a wine tasting with the bf. The wine was delicious and I even learned a few things that will make me pause before ordering my staple Pinot. We arrive to Giorgio's in good fashion (not my typical 15 minutes late) and the honeys and I sat down for what he likes to call "one of my adventures." To our right was a nice couple from Edison, NJ (who apparently had reservations for dinner at Top of the Rock following the tasting). To our left were a brother/sister looking pair, the brother (we'll call him) obnoxiously called out random facts about his personal wine journey and how he loves reds. Needless to say, he continuously got the side eye all night from most of the participants in the class.
10 wines, two types of cheese, salami, mini pizzas (called artisan - but resembled a cracker with red sauce) - the night was going well. Even our instructor,  a Bulgarian woman named, Maggie could be named mildly entertaining and outright funny 10 wines deep. Then we started to pack up to leave.
So here is where I need to derail slightly so that you have the full picture: Groupon offers an ironically named and yet informative section on each deal called "the fine print", in which they intend to claim all terms and conditions that could be defined as "the catch". Nothing in this fine print section mentioned "you might get bamboozled at this deal site...."
Back to the story - the honeys and I were leaving and Maggie approaches us with the bottle of wine promised in the deal in addition to a $9.00 tax and whatever gratuity we would like to add. Now, all this is understandable as Groupon specifies "tax not included" however, I have two points, 1. someone could have mentioned/reminded us of this before/during/after we sat down for the class and 2. four people left while we scrambled through our bags. When we reveal a $20.00 bill and ask for the change she becomes very insistent that gratuity isn't included and that she only has $10 bills, mind you, on a Saturday night. Now, since I've worked in a restaurant before I cannot explain to you the rarity that early on a Saturday night you run out of change for twenties. Not only does it risk the chance that people just won't tip you - it's just not very smart business. So while we're debating on the reality that she really didn't have change for the $10 she handed over, two more patrons that did the wine class walk out. Here's my gripe: in the 4 minutes that you bamboozled us $20.00, six people walked out without paying the tax OR gratuity and with a free-ninety-nine bottle of wine.
I'm not cheap, but I'm wondering - was that legit? Or were we just the lucky couple selected for the price increase?
And Dear Groupon, is this something you support... the duping of customers?