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“isn’t it funny that we’re… grown-ups?” asked my high school friend michael over a brunch of quail eggs and polenta at a sidewalk table in the west village. six years ago in my illinois backyard roasting hot dogs over a bon fire in broad daylight, had we any idea that we’d be oh just casually having a sunday brunch as two working college-graduate humans in new york city? i had an inkling i’d be, just not with michael. {i thought he’d stay in the midwest, make $$$, pop out babes.} why yes, it is funny, i thought this morning in the shower as i shaved over all the cuts and scratches one acquires as a grown-up {or rather from visciously scratching allergy hives}. it’s funny that i spend most of my waking hours dreaming about the future, plotting adventures, building in my head the brooklyn home of my dreams and i rarely acknowledge that yes, i am living variations on the dream that i dreamt some time ago. 18-year-old molly would have wanted 22-year-old-going-on-23-year-old molly to be right here, physically and mentally, i think. i would have wanted this bike, to be doing these things, to be surrounded by these people. if this is being a grown-up, this is hilarious and i love it and i never want it to stop. the idea slapped me across the face after awesome thing after awesome thing presented themselves to me this weekend and they upped the awesome ante, awesomeness exploded, i became messy, i nearly cried in how wonderful life is. i’m going to list the awesome things i did this weekend. they might bore you to death, they might give you good ideas on how to be a funny grown-up.

1. biked through the village, down the hudson, under the moon, through the park, by a little lake, and down gay street {1}.

2. brought self on a date to the feist concert to see some of my very best friends perform with her. danced with every single last fiber of my being on stage until i nearly vommed {3}.

3. got a little drunk, bought a plane ticket to berlin for the month of july.
4. threw an impromptu breakfast taco dinner party {5}, which was accompanied by live original songs by a farmer friend with a surprise voice.
5. engaged in an afternoon slice of carrot cake at billy’s {8}. the moist kind with all them chunks. dreamt of the afternoon cake i will eat in berlin.
6. sipped whiskey, saw jazz by aaron diehl, spoken word opera by a balliett brother, and ben folds covers by an emergency room doctor {6}.
7. ate ghost chili salt and purchased a ramen noodle chocolate bar {4} at the meadows.
8. ate a meat pie from the brit store myers of keswick on the river as the sun set, almost bought a vintage juicer at the hell’s kitchen flea.
9. ate a tempura fried egg, hush puppies, and rosemary cotton candy at dirt candy.
10. had a midnight tamale and a coconut margarita.
11. strolled for hours up broadway as the upper west side slept.
12. was inspired, shocked, and grossed out in the best possible way at the cindy sherman exhibit {7}.
13. thought about home, about my family, about what on earth i will do with my life.
in some ways, this year has been the beginning of the part of my life that i've always looked forward to. i'm done with school {for now}, my metabolism hasn't slowed that much yet, and i can still dance like an idiot. many of you are probably laughing at me right now: "22-going-on-23 is certainly not grown-up status, young lady." lolz.
-yeh!