"Can I take you for a drink, my love?"

Sometimes I wish I had a camera following me to document my life. I might not be Snooki, but I'm pretty confident that I could provide just as much entertainment for American reality TV junkies as she does. Today I didn't have to work- no fairs, no visits, nothing for me to do. I was having mixed feelings earlier this week about having the day off. On one hand, I would have the chance to explore some of the historic sights in the area like the town of Sleepy Hollow (which would have been really cool because the whole town is decorated for the season and has lots of events going on since Halloween is coming up). However, I was also worried that I wouldn't have enough to do to fill my entire day. Anyhow, I woke up this morning and it was absolutely miserable out. It was not a good day to do any sort of exploring outside at all. Luckily, I work with a girl who loves to shop so she had suggested that I check out the Palisades Mall. I've been to a lot of malls in many different areas, including the almighty Mall of America, but I was immediately impressed by Palisades Mall. There are four floors and a wide variety of shops, including a glorious Sephora that I spent a good 45 minutes in and did NOT purchase a thing. Hold your applause though, folks. I want you all to know that I spent over four hours in the mall and did not spend any money. That's right. I did not spend a dime. Believe me when I say it was extremely painful and rather difficult not to buy any mascara, eyeliner, or eye shadows in Sephora, but I was determined not to spend my paycheck while on the road. Impressive, right? Yeah, I wish I could tell you that I actually did leave the mall empty-handed, but I started to cave at the very end of my shopping excursion. First, I came across a beautiful Barnes and Noble...and saw a copy of Ellen DeGeneres' new book sitting on the Best Sellers shelf...

...I love Ellen...and reading is educational, right?...so I needed her book...and then I came across the "Bargain Books"...and guess who was there?

...I mean...the hills are alive with the sound of music..and a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down in the most delightful way...and now its mine for only $5.98!...plus the Barnes and Noble membership renewal fee. That's right. I am now a renewed Barnes and Noble member who will receive her whopping additional 10% off her every purchase.

I wish I could say that my foolishness stopped there. I wish I could say that I left the mall with those two delightful books and ONLY those books. I was prepared to do just that, I swear. I had just asked the nice woman at the customer service desk how to find the parking lot in which I had parked my car when to my dismay, I happened to look up and catch the eye of the tall, dark, and handsome HerStyler hair salon tools salesman. He flashed his pearly whites at me as I whizzed past his khiosk. "My love? I want to see your hair. What do you use on your hair? Blow dryer? Yes, my love? Flat iron too, yes? Sit down, I want to show you something, my love." Now, my hair did look completely awful. I cannot argue this fact. The miserable weather had done a number on my hair, especially since I had forgotten to bring my umbrella on my trip. My hair was a curly, frizzy mess...and truth be told, I couldn't entirely blame the rain. My flat iron was getting old and I knew I needed a new one. So, my new friend proceeded to straighten and style my entire head as he educated me about every detail regarding this ceramic plated, ionic, simply amazing flat iron. I sat in that chair for a good 30 minutes as he styled my hair....my hair is short now...it takes me 10 minutes to straighten it. Maybe this was because he did a bit more than just educate me on the flat iron. "My love, do you travel? Where in Europe do you travel, my love? My love, you've never been? You want to? Italy? I will take you to Italy, my love. How long are you here for? Can I take you for a drink tomorrow, my love? Tonight? Is it because of my accent? No? Ahh, you're too young to fall in love? Ahh yes, but I am already in love." I knew what he was doing, but you better believe I walked out of there with a new flat iron in hand.

I am a sucker.

A Gentleman and Gelato: A Win-Win Situation

They breed gentlemen downstate! I feel kind of silly writing about a guy in my first post, but it is definitely the most interesting aspect of my travels thus far. I spend a lot of time in empty hotel rooms on this job, so meeting people is exciting, regardless of their sex. This week I start out in Westchester recruiting at a couple of different large fairs. Last night's fair was held at a big convention center, so it was obviously meant to hold a rather large crowd. However, whoever set up the space was a little delusional...fully grown present at these events, not infants. We were in extremely cramped quarters for two and a half hours, which was bad for recruiting purposes (students were fanned out in a line to speak with the recruiter next to me, blocking my awesome display for my school), but wonderful for getting to know the recruiters around me. I chatted with a few girls around me, and I ended up hitting it off with the guy next to me, so we went out after the fair was over. We had drinks and dinner, and I just really enjoyed myself! (Dinner was a really good thing, because I hadn't eaten since breakfast with my sister that morning and I had a killer headache: no good. Note to self: eat something before fairs. A two and a half hour pounding headache without aspirin is not fun to deal with). Take note: He even rode in the cab with me on the way back to my hotel since I wasn't really loving the idea of taking a cab back alone at 1 AM in an area I don't know. Impressive. Guys don't do things like that anymore. Anyhow, after a lovely evening I went back to my hotel and passed out happy that I didn't have to wake up early.

Sleeping in was wonderful. I felt refreshed and was glad that the whites of my eyes once again appeared sparkly white instead of tainted with the reddish tint they had taken to the night before due to hours of driving and sleep deprivation. I went to the hotel fitness center, which was, by far, the best hotel gym I've been to yet. I find it kind of odd that they're all so different since they're all Hilton hotels. The second hotel I stayed in last week had three machines that were stationed millimeters apart from one another, crammed into the tiniest work-out room I've ever seen. I felt like I really formed a bond with the fellow next to me running on his treadmill since we were definitely in one another's personal space bubbles, and although that was memorable, I enjoyed the luxury of a spacious center with six machines and a lifting space as well today. However, my workout experiences aren't really what I want to focus on for today's post, so please excuse my tangent...

Nine months ago I experienced a tiny slice of heaven located in Eastchester, NY. After driving around for over an hour on an epic search for gelato in the Westchester area, I was pretty much ready to throw in the towel. However, my friend was filled with a determination I don't think I've ever quite seen in anyone before. No matter how many grocery stores we had to sift through for chocolate gelato, he was not going to give up. Finally, after an hour into our search, Eureka (my beloved GPS named after Eureka from the 90's kids show Eureka's Castle) directed us to Pane and Gelato, a cute little Italian bread and gelato shop. Although its exterior was nothing spectacular to look at, the fifteen flavors of mouth-watering, incredibly delicious gelato glistened behind its glass casing. The sweetest young woman welcomed us with a warm smile and samples of every flavor of gelato that was inspired by some sort of chocolate. At my first sampling, I was in love. That gelato was without a doubt, hands down, the best thing I had ever tasted. It was simply orgasmic. Sweet, decadent, chocolately deliciousness took over my entire body. I knew in that moment that this would not be my last visit to Pane and Gelato. Oh no, I would be there again...

And so, I scheduled a visit today to Eastchester High School, conveniently located five minutes from Pane and Gelato. I was beaming when I walked in and sampled a few of their new flavors. Once again, a sweet Italian woman was ever so accomodating and managed to fit three different mouth-watering flavors into one little bowl of heaven. I savored every bite of that gelato and found it perfectly acceptable that gelato was in fact my lunch for the day. There's nothing wrong with that! Something that delicious can only be right.