a not so food related post where I ramble a lot
- By Robyn Lee
- Apr 11, 2006
- Comments
- pile o scones
Mm, pile of scones. Is there any better way to present scones? Mountain of scones? Bottomless sea of scones? Avalanche of scones? D) ALL OF THE ABOVE?
That's your food part of this post. I guess that means you can stop reading now if all you wanted to do was get your salivary glands going. [hands over a napkin] There's something else I'd like to talk about that's related to blogging and being online in general, which may interest those of you who have blogs. Or not. Well. I'm using this as an open forum. If this were a real life discussion, I would have a bucket of scones to hand out and maybe some tea for those of you who like tea. And then we would forget what we were talking about and just have a tea party.
...Dude, let's do it. If you live in NYC you'll have noticed how ridiculously nice it is today. I passed a girl in Washington Square Park today eating a chocolate covered vanilla ice cream popsicle and sadly thought, "...I want one," while mentally grabbing towards my fuzzy childhood, which seems to be the most popsicle-appropriate time of life. But what about the rest of us old people? DON'T WE DESERVE THE JOY OF POPSICLES TOO? Yes. When the weather gets even warmer, let's all congregate in the park and gorge on popsicles. You know I'm serious.
I will have a real foodie post later, tomorrow hopefully. Although it's only been three days since my last post, I feel like it's been much longer. ETERNITY! Wow, that's disturbing. If you blog, you may notice that there's a difference between not posting due to lack of time and not posting due to a conscious decision because you don't feel like it. My attempt to stay blogging-celibate didn't really work, as you can see. Over the weekend (actually, two days ago) I decided that I shouldn't use this blog as an excuse to eat a lot (partially because my mum told me I should stop...eating so much crap). "Oh, I haven't been to this sandwich place. I'm not hungry, but I think I'll try it anyway so I CAN BLOG IT. And to increase my sandwich prowess." (Yes, sandwich prowess. How much SP do you possess?) I wasn't very hungry over the weekend, so I didn't want to use this blog as a reason to stuff myself. However, I ended up eating at L&L for lunch because I hadn't reviewed it on this site yet. So. Um. I'm screwed.
Anyway...that paragraph wasn't really necessary, as it's not what I wanted to talk about.
A lot of my life is online. Ye-up. I've been blogging since 2000. This is the first blog post I made; prepare to be underwhelmed:
Hiho!I have no idea why I made this page. Maybe so I can write something when I get a burst of creativity.
HAHA...yeah whatever. That will happen when the earth explodes.
I rather like the word "explode". Isn't it nice? It sounds weird. Like diarrhea, you know? Wait..not really...okay. Think about it. Not too hard though, wouldn't want you to hurt any of those important things...you know...brain cells? They are important aren't they? Think about that too.
But not too hard.
17 minutes later, I made another post. Wow. Let the obsession begin. Thankfully when blogging was in its infancy, comment forms weren't a common feature, or else people may have left comments such as, "Dude...you're a moron."
However, although that statement may be true, it's doubtful anyone would write it as no one (implying random people) really read my blogs until this one came about, and even then it's only been in the past few months of this blog's 1.5 year lifespan. Before blogging I made fansites for musicians I really like, some of which still exist. I can't say I ever made websites for the sake of meeting new people or building friendships--that ended up being a convenient side effect. When I found out what a nice side effect it was, I didn't see the point of letting it stop. I met my first Internet friend Diana (we both had Wallflowers fansites) in 1999; she's still one of my best friends today. Later that year I met another Internet friend (we both had Beck fansites) who was visiting the East Coast from her home in Hawaii. I don't remember the whole "meeting online friends in real life, people that I know aren't creepy, so don't worry" timeline, but this year will probably win as "highest rate of online friends met in real life" when December comes, primarily because of this blog and because I live in NYC. It's a lot easier to arrange activities with foodies than music lovers because...um, food is everywhere.
What's my point? It may seem like I rely on Internet relationships more than real life ones and that the reliance has a negative effect on my ability to make real life connections. The way I see it, I'll always be inept at making real life connections; I'm a socially awkward person, and I always have been. If I'm lucky, other people will find that appealing. If I live in NJ, people will just think I'm weird [shakes fist at NJ]. Did I make friends before I started using the Internet? Of course; my first use for the Internet was to keep in touch with other real-life friends (this was when I moved from NJ to Taiwan). Did I make friends in real life after using the Internet? Of course, although not very long lasting ones. As I said before, I don't use the Internet to pursue friendships. If I had to trace all my friendships, I may have started a couple of them, but otherwise it's almost always the other person who contacts me. Don't get me wrong--I welcome other people to contact me--but I have a bunch of reasons for sticking to the receiving end, which I won't go into here.
To me, denying the social connections that can be made on the Internet is like closing off a door to a gajillion other people who don't live in your commnunity. GAJILLION. If that were a real number, it'd be one of those big ones with a lot of digits. Being tied to the Internet may seem like I'm closed off to the "real world", but the real word...is fuckin' huge. [points] Out there? Pretty big place, full of lots of people you're unlikely to meet on a regular basis. I'm not saying everyone has to dive into a myspace-esque brothel (please don't), but if you surf carefully, you'll come across plenty of cool people without necessarily looking for them.
As for real life...well. I've always felt out of place, although I didn't realize how out of place I was until I lived in Taiwan. However, I went to an international school, which isn't the same as just living in Taiwan. Methinks the school brought together a mesh of people more diverse than I'd ever find in my small home town in New Jersey, perhaps more comparable to a college campus in NYC, and that's what I needed. Admittedly, I haven't even made many friends in my college, but...I swear there's some kind of point to be made here. I'm just too lazy to flesh it out.
Conveniently, Washington Square News has a feature article about Internet addiction. You think that'd be me, right? Well...no. Not really. I'm not saying my Internet use isn't alarming, I'm just saying that it's not as horrible as I thought it was.
�People who are shy can get on the internet and be anybody they want to be,� Orzack said. �It provides an escape.�
Whoa whoaa...whoa. I can be extremely shy, but I use the Internet to dump my brain, not to be someone else. It's debatable whether my online persona is the same as my real life one (if you've met me, you should let me know), but...well, it's not that far off. Depends on my mood. How comfortable I am around you. Etc.
Damn, this was kind of long and rambling. If you have anything to add, let me know.
Here's another photo, if you're still paying attention:
- fried sesame rice ball thinger with red bean paste
I absolute love a good fried sesame rice ball thinger with red bean paste (and I'm not the only one; click on the photo). I could go for some dessert now. Dammit.
Comments
Robyn, regardless of what your mom tells you, you do have readers out here that constantly check to see if you've posted anything new, whether it's junk food or not. I moved away from the east coast about 8 years ago and LOVE to see all the NY yumminess you blog about. Great rant/rave post.
Don't worry about this internet thing being wierd. You're just on the vanguard of the way things are heading...
The wayback machine of doom!
I basically had 2 phases on the internet, one was attempting to be completely anonymous (under the nickname nutate) and then the current phase of oh what the heck ever.
Going and logging into whatever internet environment as someone completely else is a bit strange I'd say. But perhaps more natural in EverQuest... games... ...
And well uhhh... yeah hopefully the rest of the comments will be people in NYC joining up for a wsp teaparty.
Hey Robyn,
Your a cool girl, don't ever doubt yourself because you always seem to provide more and more new things about yourself on here. You have no idea how funny you truly are! I'm very glad to have meet ya on here. Take care
hey i think the web will soon be the mainstream way for meeting people :)) i've made/met several good friends online ...oh and I should add that I'm old (late 20s boohoo), so the kids must surely be doing it too.
What's the difference between an unsweetened buttermilk scone and a buscuit?
And where can I find a good unsweetened buttermilk scone?
how abouts a shoutout for NJ accents? Making friends over the Internet is a toss up if not a toss salad. U can make some bad calls there. Also, there's a huge difference between acting friendly to, as opposed to, being genuine friends with, someone you become aquainted with via the Internet.
I like the internet because if someone tries to persue friendship with me and it becomes too intense, i can just turn the machine off. :-)
its a way for me to maintain stretched real life relationships without actually being a bitch. like, 'oop my computer is being all wonky' *logoff*
Amanda: Constantly? Holy crap...okay, I will print this out, show my mum, and she'll be like, "Oh, well those people are obviously insane and you shouldn't have any contact with them"...and then I'll RUN AWAY FROM MY CRAZY HOME, OH GOD.
I think my mum things the outside world is full of insane people. But she doesn't realize that I'm the kind of person people should be afraid of. (nods)
...Anyway. I'm glad you're enjoying the posts!
Mike: SWEET! Wait. I dunno if I want everyone to sit on their bums for 50% of the day. In time computers should automatically shut off unless the user gets off their bum and does some stretches. Or goes to the bathroom. Or does something else that's more important than surfing the Internet...let the dog out...feed the baby...
Rich: You had phases! Sounds like mitosis. Or something comparable to mitosis. Except there are more than two phases in mitosis. Yes, I like the word "mitosis".
I only tried to be semi-anonymous once on a message board because I was trying to avoid other people who knew who I was. Haha. Mm. I can see being "someone else" in games, but I don't play games, so weee!
NO ONE WANTS TO JOIN THE TEA ICE CREAM PARTAY.
Heather: Ohh I so owe you an email! Okay, don't doubt myself...that's a hard one, but thanks for the support. :)
Mini: Late 20s isn't too old! That would make my mum ...practically dead. (scratches head) :) Yup, us kids are all into this crazy stuff.
Tokyo: Ahhh. Um. Hm. Well, they are pretty similar, but I'd think there are differences. I dunno about you, but from my eating experience (haven't had enough biscuit eating experiences, sadly), biscuits are more moist than scones. Scones are drier and more tender than the biscuits I've had. BUT I COULD BE WRONG!!
Unsweetened buttermilk scone...well, Alice's Tea Cup is the only place I can remember seeing it. But I bet other places do. Alice's changes their scone flavors a lot though. They're the only place I've been to that gives you cream and jam with your scone! Super awesome.
RONW: I don't have an NJ accent, hehe. Mrrh. NJ accents are just south Jersey, right? I don't recall anyone around where I lived having one at least. Or we just couldn't tell. (nod)
Yeah, you can make bad calls. Surprisingly, I don't think I ever have. ...Damn, I just jinxed myself. I totally understand what you mean about being genuinely friendly and just acting friendly, as I've done both. That might be part of the reason I don't initiate friendships.
Roxanne: Good point. ;D Wellllll I do prefer IM-ing to telephone (even if I can call someone) because I don't have to...er, write stuff right away (although many times I do, depending on the nature of the conversation), and I can multitask...or just quit for no reason when I want to. Sweet. Short-attention span communication!
Robyn, I'm so stoked you mentioned L&L. My father is from Hawaii and I try to visit twice a year. It was a lot easier when I lived in Seattle.
However, I'll be headed back in two weeks for the second time since October (the month I moved here.) Turns out L&L is pretty close to Vh1 (where I work,) so I'm going to head down there for lunch if the weather remains nice.
I've now erased two paragraphs on the 'friends' thing. Both sounded like I'm an 85-year old man passing down wisdom to the youth. When in fact, I'm a complete moron. So, my advice to you, to quote Johnny in "The Outsider"... "stay gold, Ponyboy. Stay gold."
Hmmm... im gonna say.... I think you'r cooler than the other side of the pillow dear, and yes, you are strange....the STRANGEST
Don't let mum or anyone get in your way, you'r totally on to something great.
It's short notice but im going to try and go to death cab and franz
much love and pieces
robyn roboppy robynlicious, so i've drooled over your flickr food photos and now i'm checking out your food blog. i've never met anyone else more excited about food than you, it's awesome. the way you describe food makes me crave it instantly cuz you're always all "ZOMG #&*(&@#$& ::DIES:: SOOOOOOO GOOOOOOOOD" and it makes me all "OHMYGAH I MUST HAVE IT NOW!!!" about things like say... a cookie crumb
but anyway, i like your post about the internet. i agree, it's an awesome stepping stone for meeting people. i've made really good friends on the internet, people that i consider to be actual friends, not just "internet friends". i agree about the meeting foodies thing. dude, i had no idea i would go to a flickr food meet of all things but hey, i like to eat and so does everyone else so, it works out!
okay i forgot what i was saying, but keep writing, keep eating, keep internetting. and if you're ever hungry and want some company, let me know, and i can join you for a 8000 calorie meal, oh yeahhhhh
Robyn, don't worry so much. I think for shy-depending-on-the-company type of people are of course more sociable on a blog (and I'm speaking for myself too), because there really isn't anything tangible to blotter our thoughts. Unless your internet connection is down or something...
On a side note, that sesame thinger is very popular here in Chinese restaurants in the Philippines. We call it BUCHI! ;)
actually, to meet ppl from the net world takes guts and it's really the most unshy thing to do. i think you deserve more credit than you're giving yourself : you brought more people together than any food blogger I know, that takes effort and time .. i don't know anyone else who's eating sandwiches just to "share" the innards with the rest of the world (: .. you rock!
Hey Robs,
You know what they say about Moms -- they know how to push our buttons because they put them there. :)
You do rock!
I stop in about once a day to see where yot've been, but even if you hadn't gone and had a press toast sandwich, you'd probably still say something clever in your blog.
Do you need some chocolate to cheer you up???
Your Internet Pal,
Deb
Just to say something a little different from the chorus of "Hey Robyn, you RAAAAAWWWK!"
(although you do of course:), chances are you're probably not going to be young, healthy, and the possessor of a twenty-billion gigawatt digestive system for your entire life. Now that you've got it, enjoy it, but if you accept the fact that things will probably be pretty different five or ten years down the line, that should mitigate some of your lingering concerns about your lifestyle. Maybe when you graduate from college and you're a busy working adult, you'll update your food blog less frequently, but you can always keep fooding (and of course blogging) in your life if you want it, even though you'll probably want to tone down the intensity at some point.
Anyway, I don't mean to get into the whole "aged giving advice to youth" thing either (particularly because everything I just wrote is super-obvious), but I've been making a similar transition lately myself, so it's on my mind.
Get out of my brain Robyn. :) But seriously I understand the post. I am always thinking about that.
I FORTUNATELY (i don't know why i put that in caps because it might be wrong spelling) came accross this web world of yours from a link on my sister's blog (kat)..and thank-God I did. Like someone stated earlier, I also moved out of NY and this website makes me so happy because I do miss NY and the food (almost therapy for me). I'm even happy when you haven't updated it and I still like to re-read old posts and analyze the photos. I also wish I could duplicate you and bring you over here so we could explore the dining scene and also throw things at people (you and your friends are way cooler than the conservative crowd here in D.C.).
You obviously don't live online, because you're not like made out of numbers or anything and plus what would you post about? The foodies need you!
I just heard my boss making seal sounds. How's that for random?
often times in the past i found myself enjoying the company of internet friends moreso than the ones i see everyday. perhaps it's easier to find more people like myself online, since the internet, in essence, is merely a glorified hub where people trade information, and in the sea of data the size of hundreds of peta-bytes (yes, that's a real term! measure data in peta's, and eat one too :] ), in the sea of pete-bytes of data...there's always somewhere i can go where i belong, whether or not i 'feel' it, whether or not i really know where it is.
but when you think about it, it's interesting how the internet, originally set to provide information exchange across a more global network, has already sort of accomplished it's goal, and has evolved into something much more complex...into a social arena of sort. it's become almost like the real world in the internet, except that the internet is almost limitless, like the universe itself.
aaaaaaaaanyways...perhaps you've bit me with the rambling bug. i seem to be talking much more today..hehe
i'll end it here. i love sesame rice balls too. my mom used to buy me one every day when i was a kid. it was all she could afford at the time, but to me, it was my golden treasure. =)
don't tease me like that woman.
where is that pile o' scones from!?!?
I check in at least once a day, sometimes more if I feel like salivating in between meals.
Keep your head up! I think you're really cool and pretty normal so don't doubt yourself and don't change a thing!
PS - tea party is just a superb idea
David: L&L review, coming up sooooon! Methinks Loco Moco doesn't mesh well with my tastebuds, hehe.
Man, I wish I had family that lived in Hawaii. Then I would have more reason to visit! Alas, my family doesn't live in cool places.
Oo, work at VH1? Sweet. I've walked around where the other L&L is a lot (to go to Port Authority) although I don't remember what else is around there food wise. Mmhhm.
I'm sure you're not a moron! I would've been interested to read what you had to say. BUT IT'S ERASED! POOF! Be that way. ;) I'll stay gold. And by "gold" I mean "full of carbs".
Grace: Ahh yes, you are discovering what's beyond the flickr photo stream of neverending innards! Dude, some cookie crumbs are worth going bonkers over. I must convey that passion. By going apeshit, for lack of a better term.
I will keep internetting! Until I die! And even after that, I still will...from beyond the grave...okay, that's creepy.
I'm holding you to the 8000 calorie meal.
abster: No thought blotter = DANGER, RAMBLING DANGER, ZOMGG!@@#@#!$ KEYBOARD SMASH!
Buchi? Oo, never heard that before. My other name for them is "deep fried morsels of death."
tian: I guess I'm not too sociall awkward or else...yeah, I wouldn't have been able to meet Internet people in real life. I brought people together? :O Sweet, now I feel like I have some kind of purpose! Yeey! (And of course, sharing innards...is very important for the welfare of the human race!)
Deb: Yes, she did them them there. (sigh) But eeeh, I didn't ask to be born...
...but that's a different post full of self-loathing.
ANYWAY! Thanks for stopping by so much, it means a lot to me. Especially since I don't update all the time, so most of your visits must be met in disappointment. Doh! As for chocs, I'll tell you what is disappointing; I realized that I had leftover Ghirardelli chocolate chips, so I ate em. Like potato chips. And it might just be me, but they don't taste that good. I think I'd prefer Nestle. Damn, I like most chocolate, don't I? (Eh, tasted good in a cookie...)
I'm cool. :) But I do know where to go for chocolates of mass deliciousness. [points at you...yes..]
Karen: Ah, a different kind of comment! That's very welcome. :)
I've had this debate many many times, oh ho hoo....I don't know if that's a good thing. To explain, during the summer of 2002 (wow, that long ago!) I decided to clean up my diet. My health was rather craptastic, so I took on a vegetarian diet. Then a vegan diet. Then maybe back to a vegetarian diet. I looked at the people around me indulging in crappy food and thought, "Don't they know we're not invincible? We're all probably going to get cancer. Among other things." My mum filled me in on the various disease-ridden states of her friends and I was confronted with my own health problems, along with my friends...and the stupidity of my high school classmates, which I figured had something to do with their crappy diets. (Maybe, maybe not.)
And then I went on a raw food diet for 1.5 years. That was fun. Well. It was worthwhile. For one thing, my health cleared up (I had health problems on the raw food diet too, but they weren't as bad as when I just ate regular food). I lost a lot of weight (all gained back, unfortunately). I had very little in the ways of a social life (not that eating cooked food would've helped much). I didn't spend much time eating or preparing food, methinks (you save a lot of time not cooking, hooha!), but I'm sure I thought about food a lot.
So...I lasted 1.5 years when I realized it wasn't really for me. Maybe it's good for other people, but as a college freshman (I stopped at the end of that year), I realized it wasn't worth it at the time. I was kind of extreme, perhaps. Not like I was a cooked food nazi, but....eh...
I don't know if that story clears up anything. Actually, there are lots of blog posts somewhere about the quick change I made from "I gorge on fruit and nuts" to "I EAT THE UNIVERSE." Last year I reveloped some issues with eating. I remember I made a "do not eat" list that started off small, but then grew out of control where I put just about...anything pleasurable on it. I taped it to my bed. Of course, that didn't last long, but it's weird to think that I actually wrote one.
...Oops, that explanation was too long, and it didn't really explain anything. Ahh!
Today I ate some cookies. Now I kinda want an apple. But I already ate an apple. Well. I can eat another one. (While on the raw food diet I told people that if I allowed myself to eat cooked food, I would eat way too much. I WAS TOTALLY RIGHT!)
Ani: You understand! Cool. Sorry for wiggling into your brain. :)
Helen: I'm glad this website helps you cope with the pain of not living in NY anymore! ;) It's thereputic, eh? I would love to try food in DC sometime, although I have no huge reason to go. :| The last time I was there was in 8th grade for a class trip. "Look, important government building thing, TAKE A PHOTO!" Next time I go, it'll be all about the food.
Janet: I am made out of numbers! I puke ones and zeros!
...Okay, that'd be weird.
And your boss making seal sounds? Kinda weird. But who am I to judge? I hope there was a good reason? After I saw "March of the Penguins", I kept making penguins sounds.
Ed: It's much easier to find people like myself online. Or at least....semi-like myself. Spending high school surrounded by people who had no interest in Beck was just painful.
I didn't grow up eating sesame rice balls, but I love em now! Weird maybe...or...they're just really tasty, yes.
Mona: Alice's Tea Cup! So many scones!
Nick: Once a day? Holy crap, you're addicted! ...Okay, once an hour would probably be worse.
Pretty normal? Haha..haah..AHRHAHARH..I mean, okay. :)
Tea party....actually, now I just want an ice cream party. Mmm.
haha... all the lurkers are now coming out of the woodwork.. so you know how popular you are :)