Weekly Consumptions #3

FOOD
Grilled chicken salad (croutons, tomatoes, & balsamic vinaigrette) - Palace Diner

BOOK
none (I suck)  

TV SHOW
Survivor

YOUTUBE
Freelee the Banana Girl  

MUSIC
Far Far Away - Tyga
Jessie's Girl - Rick Springfield
Photograph - Nickelback
Chris Daughtry

Rossi's Deli

    Rossi's. Where do I even begin? For those of you who aren't familiar (which, for the sake of your own well being, I hope that's not you), Rossi's is a deli located a couple miles away from Marist College. Now, considering there are not one, but TWO delis located directly across the street from Marist, you might wonder why in the world anyone would get in their car and travel all the way to a sandwich place. The simple answer is this: because it's Rossi's.

    I'm someone who's not too fussy about her food. I didn't grow up in an Italian family with divine meals that my grandmother spent all day cooking. Honestly, my mom would make pork chops and mashed potatoes every other night, and I would take about three bites and then shove a bag of cookies down my throat. It should also be noted that I'm not really a sandwich person. I'd choose a salad over a sandwich any day of the week. And to be honest, I could probably make a sandwich just as good as the ones made at Rossi's. (After all, I did work in a deli all summer.)
    So then why exactly am I obsessed with a sandwich place that requires me to get in my car and face the long, winding, bumpy roads of Poughkeepsie? Well, I guess it's because it's part of my culture. Rossi's isn't just a deli; it's a part of Marist.
   The morning after a fun, crazy night out, there's nothing better than gathering a bunch of friends and going to Rossi's. More likely than not you'll see about 10 people you know there, and more likely than not you'll wait on a 20 minute line. But once you get your delicious sandwich (mine includes grilled chicken, tomatoes, roasted red peppers, & balsamic), you and your friends can then go to a nearby park, or the Hudson river, or even back to someone's house, and continue recapping the night.
   Last Saturday, my friends and I decided to sit on the dock right on the Hudson River, and in that moment, I was so happy. There's something to be said about eating good food with good friends, and the whole Rossi's experience is just that.
    Personally, I don't think I would ever go to Rossi's by myself or eat anything from there alone. Yeah, the sandwiches are good, but that's not what brings me to 45 South Clover Street. What brings me is the experience; the tradition and culture that surround this famous delicatessen.

Weekly Consumptions #3

FOOD
Rossi's Panini - Grilled chicken, roasted red peppers, tomatoes, balsamic

BOOK
iJustine - Justine Ezarik
In Real Life - Joey Graceffa

TV SHOW
Black Mirror

PODCAST
Serial

YOUTUBE
Aspyn and Parker

MUSIC
Poison - Rita Ora

The 21st Century Birthday

My chosen topic for this week's notable "cultural consumption" is a bit of a stretch, but nothing really intrigued me as much as this: the 21st century birthday.

This past Thursday I turned 20 years old, and to be honest, birthdays have never really been a big deal to me. I'm not the kind of girl who runs around in a tiara with a huge sign plastered to my shirt that says "HEY WORLD, IT'S MY BIRTHDAY." Then again, I'm not really sure anyone does that...

Nonetheless, I awoke on September 10th feeling like it was just another day. Another typical Thursday in the life of Clancy Burke. But then I reached across my desk and checked my phone and immediately felt the sharp realization that today was not any other day. Today was my day and I had about a dozen messages full of love and kind wishes to prove that. In my head that sounds absolutely ridiculous - I didn't win the Nobel prize, nor did I find the cure for cancer - but to society, this is the norm. 

After responding to an overwhelming and endless stream of texts, I grabbed my books and began the walk to class. Normally I'll pass a few people and give them a nod or a casual hello. But thanks to 21st century technology, my walk to class was different. People I barely even knew - and might not have even said hi to otherwise - were wishing me a happy birthday, paired with warm smiles and enthusiastic waves. Ten years ago no one would have even known it was my birthday, but now it's 2015 and websites like Facebook and Instagram make sure everyone knows. 

So that's how my day went. I talked to more acquaintances than I had in the past week, and connected with so many old friends who decided to reach out through text. If there's one thing I learned it's that birthdays are HUGE in society today, and while it made me feel great and happy and loved, it kind of bothered me. Why does everyone wait for one day a year to reach out to someone and be friendly and reconnect? It's not like I'm any less of a person than I was yesterday, nor am I any different than I'll be tomorrow. 

To the "Happy birthday! I miss you so much!!!" texts, I wanted to say, "If you missed me so much, why didn't you text me a month ago?"

And to the "Happy birthday! Love you!!" texts, I wanted to say, "If you really loved me, I'm pretty sure we would have communicated some time in the past few months."

It seems as though today we are becoming more and more hermit-like. With each decade that passes, there are more websites, apps, and online jobs, and less face-to-face interaction. Today, everyone seems to come out of their little hermit shells only a few times a year, the birthday of an acquaintance being one of them. 

Imagine we could wish our friends and family a great day several times a week. Imagine we could happily wave to acquaintances every single day and ask them how they're doing. Imagine that was the world we lived in. Imagine.... 

Weekly Consumptions #2

In the past week, here are the notable cultural items that I have consumed:

FOOD
Homemade banana smoothie 

BOOK
Beyond Belief - Josh Hamilton
MOVIE
Bridget Jones' Diary

TV SHOW
Desperate Housewives
YOUTUBE
Hayley Segar
Gigi Gorgeous

MUSIC
Armor - Landon Austin
Little Talks - Of Monsters and Men 

Desperate Housewives

Whenever most people think of bad TV, soap operas and scripted dramas are usually what pop into their minds. For whatever reason, watching comedies like Orange is the New Black and How I Met Your Mother is deemed cool, but God forbid you watch Days of Our Lives you're immediately thought of as a joke. While extremely exaggerated and dramatic soap operas aren't exactly my forte, one show that I just can't get enough of is Desperate Housewives. 

Set in a suburban neighborhood where every resident has large, beautiful houses and perfectly manicured lawns, the show follows around five above average-looking women who each have unique problems and situations. I guess you could say it's kind of typical (there's the wife who only married her husband for his money and the husband who has an affair with a prostitute), but I don't care. I am hooked. 

I hadn't watched the show since I was a freshman in high school, but as I was moving all of my things into college the other day, I needed a distraction to help pass the time. I logged onto my Hulu account and after scrolling for a minute or two, was surprised to see the name of my old favorite show. As I hesitantly clicked on the link that said Desperate Housewives: Season 1, Episode 1, I wasn't really sure what to expect. It had been years since I saw that show and my likes and dislikes have obviously changed. But as soon as the narrator began speaking and I was re-introduced to these familiar faces, a wave of nostalgia hit me. Nothing had changed. As I ripped through episode after episode, nothing could be clearer. 

Watching a show you have already seen is like eating a candy from your childhood. Maybe your grandma was the only one who bought it for you, or maybe it had been discontinued. Either way, you haven't had this candy in a very long time. When you first open the wrapper of that candy, you're unsure. Hmm. I know I liked it when I was 6, but I also liked to roll around in mud and put sand in my hair. Still, you take a bite. And it's like nothing has changed. It's like the years haven't passed you by and you're that same 6-year-old who lived for these candies. Well, that's exactly how it felt to watch Desperate Housewives after such a long hiatus. 

I was taken back to the days when I would snuggle up on my big, comfy couch with my mom where we would eat ice cream and enjoy 60 minutes of whatever drama the girls on Wisteria Lane were stirring up. For 60 minutes, I could forget about homework and chores and responsibilities. For 60 minutes, I could just relax. 

Watching Desperate Housewives now kind of puts me in a weird time warp. For the hour I'm watching this show, it's like absolutely nothing has changed. I'm still that girl in high school watching a show with her mom.

Weekly Consumptions #1

In the past week, these are the notable items that I have consumed:

FOOD
Grilled chicken caesar salad - Lola's

BOOK
L.A. Candy - Lauren Conrad

TV SHOW
Desperate Housewives
Bachelor in Paradise

MUSIC
What Do You Mean - Justin Bieber
Wildest Dreams - Taylor Swift
Firestone - Kygo