Post Graduation- The One Month Report

Here are some things that have been happening in my life.*

• Today on my way home from grocery shopping I walked past Rachel Dratch. She was carrying a baby and looked like your average slightly-schlumpy mom. Execpt that after I saw her, all I could think of was this.

• It occurred to me that since moving to Manhattan I have had more celebrity sightings. Not a lot, and not big names, but a few that were recognizable from movies I’ve seen. I saw Ron Livingston hailing a cab on 7^th avenue, and once saw Jennifer Coolidge at a coffee stand with her dog.

• Through some combination of subscribing to Vogue and working at FIT, I have gotten on the mailing list of every major fashion magazine. They keep offering me as “professional” or “industry” discount, and also explain that I could even make the purchase tax deductible if I can prove it is vital to my profession. And you know what? Fashion magazines are RIDICULOUSLY cheap. I think they make all their money on printed ads, so it is really only about circulation numbers rather than money from subscribers. I recently caved in and got Harper’s Bazaar for $7.97 a year, but somehow resisted getting Elle for 2 years for $9.

• Have you ever read the blog This is Why You’re Fat? Well, I am pretty sure the restaurant I went to this morning has been featured on that blog at least once. It is a tiny hole-in-the-wall place called Shopsin’s, and it has a menu that is completely crazy- both in terms of offerings and overall seizure-inducing layout. (click here to see it). I was very tempted by the “So Good,” which is a grilled cheese sandwich made out of French toast with a side of poached eggs; as well as breakfast combo tray B1, which includes a fried tomato BLT, a fried egg quesidilla, garlic potato skins, and a nutella crepe. However, I couldn’t resist the pancake union of two of my favorite things: red velvet and poppyseeds. Totally awesome.

• My biggest recent news is that I have been approved to live in Menno House for a second year! Woo hoo! More communal soup eating and loft sleeping ahead!

• Speaking of Menno House, the latest house obsession is the war on our rodent problem. For some time we have had frequent mouse sightings, and poison and snap traps didn’t seem to have much effect. About a week ago the manager invested in $50 electrocution traps, which are reportedly more humane than snap traps or poison. They are also remarkably effective. In one day, five were caught in the kitchen-- once hearing the telltale buzz just moments after the trap had been emptied. We have started a tally on the communal white board.

*I feel like that should be the name of my blog. Also, every other personal blog ever.

First page 239... next THE WORLD

In case you haven't heard, the Alexander McQueen exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art is drawing huge crowds in a way that is unprecedented even for the Met. It opened in May and already over 225,000 visitors have seen it. That number means that it has been constantly crowded and that on some days the wait to get in is over an hour (reportedly close to two hours on Memorial Day). Sure the show is visually stunning, and recognition of the McQueen name probably got a huge boost from the royal wedding, but what can possibly explain the massive public enthusiasm?

Wait a minute... what is this on page 239 of the exhibition catalog?

Me! The reason for the show's success is me! I did it!!

If you can't read the tiny font, make sure to click on it to see it in its larger glory. Or blow it up and print it out on a giant piece of paper that you can roll around on. I certainly did.

Photo Extravaganza

Today dear readers, I have a smorgasbord of photos for you! I'm not one of those people who always has a camera in her hand or a phone with incredible picture taking abilities, so much of my present life is left undocumented. For graduation I just assumed that other people would pick up my slack and be in the photo-snapping mood. Luckily I was right, and photos from graduation week have been rolling in via email and facebook. So here are the best of the bunch.

Here is me at the awards dinner with Denyse, the head of my program. The lighting at the venue was strange.

Jim was in town and I dragged him to the awards dinner with me. We survived by looking fabulous.

Me and classmate Rebecca at graduation

Audrey and I taking care to keep our hoods in the proper over-the-right-arm position

A blurry picture of the whole gang (at least those who attended) and our two main professors in their Harry Potter robes.

After graduating, beer and cheese dip was required (with classmate Ariele)

On the Thursday after graduation most of us met up for drinks on the lawn of the Cooper-Hewitt museum. Pictured here is the majority of the class of 2011, as well as the four part-time students who entered with us in the Fall of 2009. In the center is our fashion history professor Lourdes Font, who fittingly has assumed some sort of hands-outstretched Messiah pose as two of my classmates kneel at her feet. Later she performed a miracle of turning jeggings into a pair of real pants.