Being 23.

Well, my friend Ruthie says that being 23 means that I am no longer considered to be in the "college student" category...which I guess is a good thing. However, considering that i do not at ALL feel like a college student, that feeling of being 23 is not how i would define it. Maybe being 23 isnt such a specifically special year. I mean, it has only been a few days - so it is hard to say at this point...

...although, I did have somewhat of a revelation the night of my birthday though - saturday. My sister sammy came in town to visit me for her spring break...and she, my friend ruthie, and I went to dinner out in the town. Well, actually we (I) decided to go to a restaurant in Williamsburg (Brooklyn) - a place I rarely venture to. Even though it is only one stop outside of Manhattan, on the subway, the minute we got there I felt like i was on vacation - i think it had to do with the feeling of being in a new place, a change of atmosphere, i'm not exactly sure. It just felt different. So, we went to the restuarant of choice, Sea, and were deeply dissappointed to find out that the wait to get in was nearly 2 hours! Especially since i had called earlier in the day to make a reservation (which they claim to not take for parties under 8 people) AND said the wait would be 10 minutes at the most! They were wrong, or lying, or ... We decided to wait around for a while, maybe it wouldnt really be that long of a wait. but, it was.

After 4 sore feet (me and sam couldnt walk well in our shoes), and after $8 spent on a shot of pomegranate juice - with a little sake, we decided to go back to Manhattan, to a restaurant i had originally made reservations at, but cancelled at the last minute because i thought it would be "better" to go to Brooklyn. The new restaurant of choice: Milos. It was PERFECT. And when i say PERFECT, i really mean PERFECT. *But, before i begin to talk about the restaurant, let me add my revelation. As we were driving back in the cab from Brooklyn to Manhattan, when i saw the skyline of "the city" I immediately felt a sigh of relief...I was SO happy to be back in Manhattan - it felt like home. It really, really, did. And i do not want to come off/turn into one of those "Manhattan is the only place to live in New York" snobs, but it brings me a sense of comfort that is unexplainable for someone who has only lived there for 6 months.

Ok, Milos - a mediterranian and Greek cuisine, let me tell you why it was so PERFECT. We walked in; they sat us at a table immediately; the decor of the restaurant was all white with brown-toned accents, and the dimmed lighting - along with the white - made it feel bright, but not too bright; when we sat down someone brought us a free sample of the best chicken soup; the wine list was a book of 20 pages (categorized by world regions); our waiter (whose name is Benjamin, not Nicholas - like we had hoped) looked like the business man from Love Actually and picked out THE BEST fish and wine for us to enjoy; almost every waiter (4 of them) came to our table at least twice to make sure that we had everything that we needed; our 1/2 waiter, Sebastian, filled the water glasses just over the halfway line - but not too full - which made me feel not overwhelmed (opposite of how i feel when they do fill it all the way to the top...then i feel like i have to drink the whole thing, but after i take one sip they jsut keep refilling it, and then i feel like i am not making any progress! but, with the glass being refilled NOT all the way to the top, makes me feel at ease); AND they brough me a piece of hazelnut honey cake (seriously, how did he know???) with vanilla-lavender ice cream topped with a birthday candle. Seriously, this place might be a taste of heaven on Earth. And even though the bill was a bit pricey - it was OK, because it was PERFECT.

Afterwards, we just went home and i passed out because i was EXHAUSTED (and because my feet would not allow me to walk any further).