High-End Freegan Finds Great Hair Product at NYSC

So I snuck away from my freelance job for 30 minutes before lunchtime to get in 20 minutes on the pre-cor machine at NY Sports Club. After I showered, realized I don't have hair product in my bag, and need some. I'm blowdrying, and I find that someone has left behind a John Frieda anti-frizz gel. I squeeze some into my hand and apply, and, two hours later, my hair looks better than it has in years! It indeed removed the frizz, left my hair soft and shiny and not goopy at all, and piecey, the way it should be. Brills.

Another Corporate Cafeteria, with Soul

Started a new freelance job at a major publishing company in midtown this week, and finally visited the cafeteria today. Like the one at the previous company I worked for, this one has a nice range of food options, and is cheap.

Got a chicken salad sandwich today and made friends with the sandwich guy, who is clearly an artiste. He was gingerly slicing my lettuce leaf so that it fit inside the nine-grain roll that had to contain it (I hate how a big lettuce leaf sticks out and makes eating a sandwich difficult, too), and I commented on how I liked his practice, and he said, "Culinary school, my dear." Love that he went to culinary school! And then he said, "Would you enjoy a pickle with your creation today?" I mean, he's calling a chicken salad sandwich a "creation." This is a man who takes pride and joy in his work. He's my new office boyfriend.

The Smell of Chinatown

It's my second-to-last day at my freelance job in Chinatown, and today I took the D train to Grand Street and exited at Grand and Chrystie. At this stop, before you even get up the subway station stairs, you can smell the dried fish that's being hawked on the streets outside. It's so familiar and specific and comforting, like the smell of those roasted candied nuts from the carts in midtown near Central Park. I'm really going to miss working in Chinatown. Next week I start a job in midtown on the west side. Where's the culinary fun in that? (Oh but there is a Magnolia Bakery across the street from the office...)