take care of yourself so you don't get sick like me (nyc day 18 & 19)
Today I woke up with a headache, runny nose, and sore throat. Considering I haven't slept much this weekend (or these past two months in general), I must say I'm not surprised; I figured it would catch up to me eventually. The breaking point was almost certainly staying up till 5 AM Friday night: I had a good time, but I will Not be doing that again; consider this lesson learned.
I don't know who out there needs to hear this, but take care of yourself! Nobody else can do it for you. Get lots of sleep, drink water, eat right, take your vitamins, and go outside.
Being sick is awful, especially so in New York. There's no fresh air to be had anywhere here. I forced myself to go on a short walk today and all the filth and noise made my head hurt more. I feel exhausted and can't focus at work, but I can't sleep because I already took an hourlong nap at lunch and falling asleep now would surely cause irreparable damage to my sleep schedule.
I was texting a friend today about how much we spend on drinks in a year (north of $1,000, he estimated), including coffee, tea, liquor, and what have you. It's pretty incredible when you think about it. I don't drink coffee or tea regularly but I also probably spend a few hundred dollars on drinks a year (a boba here, a latte there). While I often don't think much of spending five to ten dollars on a drink, I'll frequently balk at spending the same amount of money on stationery, alterations, or other things that would almost certainly be more useful to me than a chai latte. What's the reason for this seemingly irrational behavior? Is it that we've been conditioned to think spending more money on food/drink is okay? Is it habit, or social pressure? Or are our thirst and hunger more pressing than other desires? I've got no clue what the answers to these questions are, but the older I get the more I am fascinated by how our experiences shape how we view and spend our money.
Speaking of money, a friend of mine just signed a lease for a brand-new apartment located in some backcountry Carolina town and her rent for a 2 bed, 2 bath apartment came out to be $1,000. One. Thousand. Dollars. For the whole apartment! I pay more than that to share a bed and a room in a shared apartment with two other roommates, and I don't get amenities like a gym or a pool. Hearing figures like this make me think: is living in a big city a good use of my money? Sure, I'll certainly have more fun here than I would in Bumpkin county, North Carolina, but when I look back, are these memories worth the extra two or three thousand dollars every month? If I moved to a smaller city and saved enough to retire a few years earlier, would it be worth it?
Yesterday I made myself probably the worst pasta I've ever had. Our apartment doesn't have any pots, so I tried to cook the pasta and the sauce together in a pan. And it turned out a disaster. For starters, I added way too much water, so by the time I reduced the sauce the pasta was very Not al dente. And to make matters worse, I bought the pasta sauce with no salt added, which explained why my final product was a sour, bland mess. You don't realize how much salt is in things until you buy the 'no salt added' version and have to season it yourself—I put in what felt like a ton of salt and it still tasted miles weaker than the normal stuff.
We've got new roommates in the Airbnb again. This time it's a young couple (I think?) from France. They're quite nice, and aside from the girl using her perfume as a chemical weapon, I don't mind them. I think this is the fourth or fifth group we've met now in this Airbnb? I wonder how many we'll see by the end of the summer, and if I'll befriend any of them. (Prediction: I will not.)
I saw some screenprints at an art exhibit recently and was struck by how bold the colors were. Ever since then, I've been browsing screen printing classes near me. There's a lab only a few blocks from me that does a beginner's workshop, and I'd really like to take advantage of the convenient opportunity. I'm sure it will be fun, but is it Four Hours And One Hundred Dollars fun?
I think I'm going to take it easy this week, stay in, and work a little overtime. I'm supposed to travel to Boston early Friday morning, and I pray I'm not sick by then. I don't want to waste the $200 round trip Amtrak tickets or the two days of vacation I took off.
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