Ear Assaults

I have been thinking about noises quite a bit lately. There is no doubt that in NYC I hear a multitude of sounds each day, and night for that matter. Trash trucks at all hours, sirens, more sirens, car honks people moving about in my apt building, rain falling onto my window AC, and I consequently have bought a white noise machine to whisk me off to sleep each night by drowning it out.

However, there are some sounds one can't avoid. Just today I was walking from the shuttle to the 2 train in Times Square. As I made that 30 sec walk, I experienced five assaults on my eardrum. They were: a rock band jamming, a Santa ringing his bell, a man literally shouting about Jesus to me, another man shoving a flyer in my face, and the all too familiar sound of a train screeching to a halt. I needed a drink by the time I reached 72nd street.

Another intriguing sound is the radiators in NYC apartments. They are in a league of their own when it comes to heating devices. Mine sounds like crickets, it's just like camping in the summer. All I need is some mallows to fire up. However, mine is a melody compared to my boyfriend's radiator. His sounds like someone is coming through the wall with a jackhammer. The sound is somewhat like a hammering on metal pipes. It makes the typical steaming and hissing sound like an absolute symphony. Apparently, this is a common problem among apt dwellers. Click here for a sound bite of the noise:http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/noise/steam-hammer-season-noisy-radiators-pipes-005805

All these noises are a bit crazy but they are just part of this wonderful city's charm!

I love this little monkey staying warm next to a radiator. Hopefully, it's not a loud one! :)

Veggin' Out

Apparently I have been veggin' out lately because it's been more than a month since I blogged. Geez, sorry about that! The fall has been a bit of a blur. It's almost Turkey day? How did that happen?

Speaking of turkey, I have been doing some serious listening on my subway rides to a book called "Eating Animals" by Jonathan Safran Forre. And let me tell you, learning about the ways factory farms raise and abuse animals, the environment, workers, and even the consumer has been eye opening. It's not easy to listen to fun facts about chickens getting drug through electric shock baths half alive while you're trying to remember to switch trains. Whew, little stressful!

I know what you're thinking. Ugh yeah yeah, got it Katie, heard it and don't want to know one more thing about it. I know, I didn't either. It took me a few months to get up the courage to read this book that my sweet friend Elodie suggested to me. But I did and it confirmed many a concern I had at a young age about McDonalds Chicken nuggets. Its really shocking that all these horrible things are happening to the meat we are consuming everyday, and no one is talking about it.

So I am officially a vegetarian. Its big, I know. But I am ready, and it really only means I can eat everything, except meat. I have already survived a BLT party with success! So don't worry about me! In the mean time, if you have any good veggie recipes, send them my way, please!!

Fun Factory Farm Fact: 99% of meat sold in the US comes from a factory farm, even when it says "farm raised" or "antibiotic free." Don't let that fool you.

I won't turn this into a crazy, meat-eater hating blog. Promise.