Yes.
Backblaze Online Backup Service
If I ever have a kid, I will constantly tell him/her these three things.
- Don't smoke - your grandfather will love you less if you smoke.
- I'm putting you on birth control at 16 (or I'll start buying you condoms at 16).
- As soon as you own a laptop, back up every four weeks.
There really isn't more to life past those statements.
I've had my external hard drive for a few years now and I back up at least once a month. And even though I own that device, there's always the thought in my mind that something could happen to it.
I recently learned that there are ways in which you can back up online now (I realize I'm probably the last one on earth to lear this, calm down) and I'm likely going to make this my next move. The one that I hear about the most has been Backblaze since it's $5/month or $50/year. Maybe it's just me, but that seems amazing. Definitely gonna do this.
You can find out more about it over here.
The Hot Chocolate at City Bakery
All I can say about the hot chocolate at City Bakery is this:
It's one of the most horrendous drinks you'll ever have the displeasure of putting into your body. The taste will linger within you for hours. Even if you get the small!
If you're wondering why I'm narrowing in on such a seemingly insignificant seasonal item in such a large city, well, you obviously haven't had to listen to the masses upon masses declare this concoction as the "city's greatest hot chocolate." I've heard that statement for years now and finally tried it for myself yesterday. Here are the reasons it ruined my day.
- A small sized cup costs $5. That's five American dollars. (And if you wanted a housemade marshmallow* - that would be an extra $2.)
*A housemade marshmallow? Are you fucking kidding me? I'm not six. I will never want that. And if you're an adult who wants a housemade marshmallow? You need to reassess your entire life. You either have too much money and/or questionable eating habits. Either way, figure it out.
- I literally drank 1/4 of the whole cup and felt sick to my stomach. And I didn't even gulp it down! Drinking that 1/4 took me twenty minutes! I had to take breaks! Breaks that, ultimately, made me angrier and angrier that I'd wasted good money on this agony.
- What's so terrible tasting about it? IT'S LIQUID FUCKING CHOCOLATE. It tastes as though there's no water or milk or anything in that cup! It's 150% sweetness. And not the good kind of sweetness. Listen, I love chocolate. It's my second favourite thing to eat. But this was unholy - and not the good kind of unholy.
- I was thinking about who would possibly enjoy this drink - and came up with the answer that it would have to be children. Children make terrible decisions, food-wise. It must solely be for them. But then I thought that no child could afford $5 for a mere beverage. Maybe an NYC-raised child, sure, but that's another issue of its own. So does this drink only exist for parent-tourists who'll pay anything for something their kid wants? It has to. And if that's the case? Fuck you, City Bakery. That's garbage. I'm never a fan of gouging tourists.
- Look, I know I hate this drink. And I know it's too expensive. And I know I threw it out when it was 3/4 full. But LOOK at how small it actually is. (See below). For that kind of money, shouldn't I get something a little more human sized?! Yes, I know I'm complaining that they shouldn't be selling them at all, but since they are - can they get a little more decent with the cup size? C'mon!
Please never try this hot chocolate for two reasons: 1) If you try it and hate it, you'll regret losing that $5 and 2) If you try it and love it, there are way deeper issues going on inside of you that need to be addressed and treated.
(And if you didn't know my first favourite thing to eat is fries - well, that's disappointing 'cause you should know me by now. I know it doesn't make a lot of sense to bash a hot chocolate and then boast about the beauty of french fries, but I'm a complex woman.)
“Just because it’s winter doesn’t mean you can’t wear heels out to dinner. Keep that in mind.”
The Chocolate Babka at Breads Bakery
Photograph: Niko Triantafillou
Photograph: Niko Triantafillou
If you're unaware of what a babka is, let me break it down for you. It's essentially chocolate, hazelnut and bread BAKED INTO PERFECTION.
They are sold by the loaf at bakeries around the city, but the best I've had so far is the one they have at Breads Bakery. And they're aware they have the best one.
They bake about a million a day since they're so popular - you HAVE to try one. And I don't care what anyone says, the chocolate is eons better than the cinnamon.
Fire Drill
Mom Says
“When you get a gift, don’t shake the box. Children shake boxes, not adults.”
The Tumble in Scrooged
Let me be clear, it is not funny when someone in real life falls down. That being said, this part in the movie Scrooged (at 20 seconds) when Bill Murray first stumbles and then slips from his foot sliding sideways? I lose my shit every single time I see it. That foot slip looks like it was a complete accident (and that'll be the first thing I ask the man if I ever meet him), which is maybe why I find it so especially fantastic. Love this man. Love this fall.
“A woman is like a tea bag; you never know how strong it is until it’s in hot water.”
Yes Please By Amy Poehler - A Review
Available on Amazon
Available on Amazon
I've been waiting for this book for awhile now and it definitely delivered. The only thing I would change about it would be this: I wish she talked less about how inexperienced she is as a book writer. I'm a big fan of self-deprecation - but I thought that it was too excessive at times. But other than that one thing, this book was fantastic. My favourite parts are ahead.
- "Nice manners are the secret keys to the universe."
- "Did you know that when your water breaks the best thing to do is stand up? Your baby acts as a plug. Isn't that insane?"
- The fact that she allots two blank pages for the reader to write down their own personal "Day I Was Born" story = so kind and too great.
- "It takes years as a woman to unlearn what you have been taught to be sorry for. It takes years to find your voice and seize your real estate."
- "Anger and embarrassment are often neighbors. Sometimes we get defensive about what we feel guilty about."
- She mentions the book The Gift of Fear and made me really want to read it, so that'll have to go on my book list. (Nora Ephron's book Heartburn was also put on that list because of this book - I can't remember where she mentioned it, but it was enough of a mention to make me want to read it.)
- "A word about apologizing: It's hard to do it without digging yourself in deeper. It's also scary and that's why we avoid the pain. We want so badly to plead our case and tell our story. The bad news is that everybody has a story."
- In her ninety-year-old self advice paragraph she says to: "Make "No" a complete sentence." (Ugh, I can't tell you how much I love this one.)
- If there's one chapter you definitely need to read, it's the one describing her two sons (on page 299). Not only does she sound like an amazing mother, but the things that she does with her kids makes me so envious that these little boys get to live the lives that they do.
- "The only way we will survive is by being kind. The only way we can get by in this world is through the help we receive from others. No one can do it alone, no matter how great the machines are."
(On that second page scanned up there (with numbers seven through ten) you can see a strand of my hair. Sorry about that, that was an accident. There are strands of my hair all over my apartment and there's nothing I can do about it. My long, luxurious hair wants to seep into every aspect of my life. Apparently it really wanted to be in a blog post, so who am I to stop it? Hope you're not grossed out. And yes, I could have just re-scanned that page, but ugh - re-scanning? Who has the time.)
Anyway, it's a great book. You should definitely read it.