So I'm 26...

...rather, I turned 26 last week. I was lucky enough to go back home to Long Island for a week: I didn't have much planned, all I really cared about was eating at Carmine's (Upper West Side) for my birthday dinner. With working the crazy hours of retail, the simple pleasures of sitting around and talking with family and friends, sleeping in, and watching TV are very valuable to me. Most of the time, my family kept asking if I wanted to do anything, go anywhere, etc; as if sitting around all day and hanging out at home were a waste of time. Believe me, having time to just sit and breathe and soak in the undemanding quiet presence of "home" is my contentment. It almost makes me want to be a stay at home fill-in-the-blank. Almost. [N.B. To those who filled in the above "blank" with "mom", the only thing I'm even remotely considering birthing is The Great American Novel. Speaking of which, Liv recommends that I read Thomas-Wolfe-not-to-be-confused-with-Tom-Wolfe for novel writing inspiration. Maybe I should read both...]
Although I was quite passive about the things that I did in NY, I was very adamant about eating all of my favorite foods before. So, the week can more or less be described as "the countdown of Liza's favorite foods, in no particular order." I absolutely needed to eat bagels, pizza, sushi (and other seafood), lasagna, steak, and Filipino foods, with a smattering of Chinese. And with that, a couple gallons of Bubble Tea (Black tea with tapioca) from Mark and my favorite Tea house in Chinatown, Teariffic Cafe (ludicrous name, I know), formerly, Tea and Tea. Looking back on my week, aside from some garnishes that accompanied my meals, like seaweed, I didn't eat any vegetables of substance that entire week. Hm. Good thing I have a treadmill at home to run on and a tub of spinach that I can munch on to counterbalance my decadent, near libidinous, carnivorous tendencies. Ironically, most of my co-workers think I'm a vegetarian. I really don't know where they may have gotten that silly notion. When I think of common vegetarians (those who just avoid meat rather than expert vegetarians who, surprisingly, eat vegetables, etc), I think of malnourished, sickly looking, un-muscled females, who may or may not wash their hair because it's falling out in clumps from their vitamin deficiency. I may seem vain, but I can't see myself in that group.
Alas, the one hitch in the entire week was getting confirmation from Lola's doctor that Lola did indeed have liver cancer, and has only 4-5 months to live. Fortunately, Lola is in good spirits, and seems to look forward to spending the rest of her days in the Philippines. I can't wait to visit her in Cali, but how bittersweet that will be, knowing it's the last time I'll be seeing her (Presumably. she may outlive us all. I wouldn't be surprised.)
I think the best part of my trip to the Island was that, when some vacations seem to go by too quickly, this one seemed to stretch out for a month. And that was the best birthday present I could ask for: time. That, and the Tiffany & Co. necklace that will be delivered no later than Friday. Hee hee.