Side Of Spaghetti: #9
Take a peek into my week!
Monday 5/19- I started off this week with a giant iced coffee at home, and once I was firmly in the grasps of a caffeine frenzy, I ran to the gym for a kettlebell strength training class, and it kicked my butt! I ate a turkey CHOMPS stick, which is like a dog treat for people who are trying to overdose on protein. I tried the high protein thing for a hot sec, and while I know there is real value in giving your body the proper nutrients it needs to thrive, I personally can’t fixate on food like this. I find it stressful and it takes the fun out of the great privilege of eating. If you like eating a lot of protein I applaud you though:) But I did eat a CHOMPS because I still have some in my cabinet. For lunch I had some Bjorn Corn, Sahadi’s hummus and a bunch of cucumbers from Lani’s. Dinnertime rolled around and I made some roasted string beans and tofu which I topped with a salad of smashed cukes, avocado, spinach, shisho, cilantro and scallions in a crunchy chili vinaigrette. I cued up The Studio and ate my delicious dinner as I laughed and laughed.
Tuesday 5/20- I woke up in a funny mood, so I spent some time trying to detangle it. I ran on the treadmill and watched Bad Lieutenant to keep my streak going of watching wildly inappropriate movies in public. Watched just long enough to see Harvey’s peen and then headed to Pilates. Had some leftover tofu for lunch, which I ate with my hands, straight from the container, while standing over the sink. For dinner I went to Henry Public for burgers with my friends/upstairs neighbors Katie and Ben! We laughed, gossiped and headed home at a decent hour, just enough time for me to watch one of the all time great movies, Close Encounters Of The Third Kind before bed. It made me wish I had gotten mashed potatoes instead of salad with my burger. I went to bed craving mashed potatoes.
Wednesday 5/21- I woke up craving mashed potatoes. It was raining, and I didn’t have any mashed potatoes, or any non mashed potatoes— no potatoes of any sort in the whole house. I walked down to Octavia for a pistachio latte, and came back home to work on writing work. Took a midday hot yoga class and came home to write a bunch of catering proposals. It was cold and rainy so I made a chickpea and kale soup/stew thing for dinner, took a long bubble bath, read my Kubrick book and watched You’ve Got Mail and went to be early.
Thursday 5/22- I took a nice ride out to the Island to visit my folks for a quick lunch. We went to Parea, our favorite Greek spot, and had avgolemeno soup, which was perfect for the chilly May weather. I listened to an old episode of The Rewatchables podcast about Inglorious Basterds on the drive, which was such a treat. Nothing better than a good drive with a great episode of your favorite pod. For dinner I met my friend AD for dinner at Al Badawi, the incredibly delicious and charming Palestinian restaurant on Atlantic Ave in Cobble Hill. We had hummus, baba ghanoush, freshly baked pits, stewed lamb over green rice, falafel, and a Shepards salad that was perfectly soaked in red wine vinegar. SO GOOD! This place rules! If you haven’t been, get yourself there ASAP. Really great spot to go with a group, as the portions are quite large. We were having dinner to discuss a screenplay we are working on……stay tuned! I came home and finished The Studio and I felt very sad that it was over.
Friday 5/23- The rainy weather was making me feel unusually unmotivated. I’m always on the go, working on a million things at once, but the rain and cold had me feeling like a total lump. I spent the morning tending to things around the house. I dragged myself to the gym for an extra long, extra hard hot yoga class. I watched the rest of Bad Lieutenant in shame on the treadmill. I listened to the latest episode of Pure Cinema Podcast, and while I enjoyed all of these things very much, I felt glum. The state of the world is depressing and bleak. I definitely try to find the joy in everything I can, and am a die hard glass half full-er, but today I just felt sad for how tough things are for so many people, particularly those in Gaza. I came home and worked on writing work, and met some friends in the evening at Clandestino. I was a designated driver subway rider, so I took myself home early-ish and watched The Larry Sanders Show before bed.
Saturday 5/24- I met my parents bright and early fro breakfast at Salt’s Cure. We are making an effort to see each other more often, so little quick visits are becoming more of the norm and I love it! My mom had wanted to sneak in syrup, and while you guys know I share her feelings here, I told her to try the oatmeal cakes as they are first, and if she still feels like they need it, we can swallow syrup filled balloons and traffic it in next time. Went to a hot yoga class, did some errands and came home to chill for a bit. I did something that I never do, which is watch a movie at home durring the daytime. It was rainy and cold again, and I decided that I was having a much needed lazy week, so I watched the Jamie Lee Curtis’ copaganda classic, Blue Steel. This movie is absolutely unhinged and insane, but it’s a lot of fun and a cool early effort by Katherine Bigelow. In the evening I went to see the new/ last Mission Impossible movie with my friend Thomas. I should preface this with saying I am Tom Cruises’ number 1 fan, and love all of the previous films in the series. I think it’s probably the best American franchise in film history, and I wanted nothing more than to love this movie. But sadly this was one of the worst films I have ever seen. It is incomprehensible how it is so bad, but it does explain why all Tom can talk about on this press tour is eating popcorn. He has to talk about something other than how shitty and boring it is. I will say that the submarine set piece in the second act is pretty cool, and the bi-plane finale is INCREDIBLE, but the rest of the movie is cheap looking, strange, boring and no fun. But there is one dude who plays a submarine captain who is like acting in a totally different movie then everyone else. This dude is like in a submarine porno, and he deserves an Oscar. We ate chips and queso and I had a margarita and we still had a great time:)
Sunday 5/25- I watered the plants, cleaned the house and went to the Carroll Gardens farmers market. I bought cucumbers, shisho, bok choy, young celery, collards and kale at Lani’s. I came home and made green tahini with some herbs that were on their way out. I also made a two bean salad with kidney and string beans, cucumber, dill, red onion, capers and feta. I also made some raspberry jam with raspberries I had in the freezer. For breakfast I had a green juice from Lani’s and an iced coffee. I ate some hummus and bean salad for lunch ans headed to meet my best friend Becky at FIlm Forum for a late afternoon showing of 8 1/2. I love Felini and this is my favorite of his films. I ate a coconut cookie and drank a diet coke. After the movie we walked around and had dinner at Commerce Inn in the West Village. It’s a Rita & Jodi spot, and is definitely a restaurant, restaurant, but I liked it. Nothing crazy or terribly interesting, and I mean that in a good way. It was just simple approachable food in a nice room with excellent company. It was expensive though, but sadly what isn’t in this city rn? We had a simple spring salad, a lamb pasty, roast chicken with fries, creamed spinach and roasted asparagus with bearnaise. Simple and delicious. I came home and watched Hacks and was in bed by ten!
It was a great week, and I feel so grateful for the privilege of being able to eat nice food and watch great movies. It’s a gift to have time to relax and spend with my friends and family. So many people have such deep suffering, and it seems ridiculous to write about all the ways in which I am lucky and well fed in the face of this reality. I do not wish to be tone deaf. I do not wish to bury my head in the sand and pretend the world is not on fire. I do not wish to carry on like it’s all fine when clearly it isn’t. But I do wish to appreciate the times that feel alive and good, and to write and share because I enjoy doing those things. I hope reading this stuff feels like what it is intended to be— a little brain break. Thank you for reading, and let me know what kinds of things you are all doing and eating and watching.
XOXO,
Z
