thrillist, gaga, kenya, yerba buena, le bernadin

thrillist had their 4th anniversary at carnival which is a club atop a bowling alley that has carnival/street fair games. it was a cute place for a party but the stuff you won was stuff i didn't want to carry around. there's something snotty and ungrateful about saying no to a free prize that some people were excited to get. so i pretty much didn't play the games at all. we did discover a mini dance club in back but the DJ there was terrible. wasn't matching up the beats at all (and if not for that, what is the point of a dj at all? might as well put your ipod on shuffle) and would play 2 measures of a song before cutting it off. it was a total mess. but the cocktails were good, the atmosphere so playful, the crowd good looking and there were CORNDOGS. enough said. this party wins.

re: this, lindsay's response is perfect. although my very first thought was, "um, that guy's wife is a shoplifter" and my second thought was, "she's buying this shit and is probably on some budget so lies about how it's free which we all know is BS." i'm sure she's all, "these shoes? yes, they're new...but i didn't buy them! the man at the store told me i could just have them! isn't that incredible? so nice of him!"

i can't stop watching the lady gaga bad romance video. it's hypnotizing. info on all the clothes is here. i mean, insane.

roller skating was good but it was so much harder than i remembered. also, these dudes who were flying around the rink and kind of racing each other tripped me and i definitely went flying. it all happened so fast and then i sprang up as to not get run over so i didn't really have time to think, "fuck! that hurt!" until a few minutes later. i've got bruises on the heels of my hands from the fall. those skates are damn heavy and really pretty clunky. our yellow bus driver's name was pressure. yes, you read that right. lots of people dressed up and our friend rob even grew a cheesy mustache for the event. speaking of mustaches, everyone is growing one these days. it's a trendy thing now and it is BAD BAD because, really, they're so unattractive. urban outfitters used to sell a shirt that read, "guns don't kill people. people with mustaches kill people." it's true.

i'm packed for kenya. i can't decide if i have too much clothing or too little. it doesn't feel just right at all. zanzibar will be a steamy 95, the safari's highest will be 80 degrees so it won't be oppressive heat. nights are cool and we'll be in muslim areas where i'll have to have my skin covered. so it's a bit of everything. so far it all fits in a medium-sized backpack. we got lots of dollar store trinkets to give to the kids. colin says they'll want to see our cameras which kind of scares me because, you know, i paid for a leica and i'd like to see it live through the trip. he also says not to wear clothing with insignia or labels on it because they'll go crazy asking what they all mean/stand for. good thing i don't buy clothes with words on them because they're tacky.

saw precious too. i highly recommend it. but i must warn you, it's HEAVY. but precious takes all the hits with her feet firmly planted and her sights set on a better life.

ran into an old friend a the new yerba buena on perry street. the food there was fantastic. we ordered half the menu and the croquetas twice. we're gluttons.

another friend just had dinner at le bernadin. we've been talking about it for weeks and she was so excited. i see her today and she says the service was disappointing. like, her friend had a nut allergy and twice, TWICE, they put things with nuts down in front of her (a dessert and petit fours), having told her there were no nuts in them. they said their water was never refilled and that her friend had to ask 3 times for a cup of coffee. i'm sorry, but when you're spending that much money on food, you shouldn't have to ask for more water. or more coffee. nor should you tell someone you have a nut allergy and have one waiter say, "oh, there's no nuts in that" and another say, "there's almond paste in that, is that okay?" HELLO? NO. NOT OKAY. nut allergies are serious shit. i've never been to le bernadin but i know eric ripert is amazing and it was definitely on my list of "places i will head when i win the lottery" but maybe i shouldn't be in such a rush...