Rating: 💋 💋 💋
So one of my updates to 2020 is, once a week I have a three hour acting class after work. It is really the best way to decompress after a long work day and I am loving every minute of it. A consequence of the schedule is, I cannot cook dinner that night. I leave my apartment just before 7am and don't get home til 11pm, so I have to pack all three of my meals, or go out. Usually, I try to do meal prep, but occasionally I treat myself. My pit stop at Ess-A-Bagel was one such of those very fun times.
Ess-A-Bagel has long been on my list, and I always mean to go because it is so convenient, right near Herald Square, Penn Station, and all that. The white marble interior is very clean and cute and I thought the displays were pretty nicely done. It is also the largest bagel shop I have been into in the city, which I find very important, as bagel shops tend to have lines winding out the doorway and crazy crowds within - if they're any good at least. This shop has the capacity to handle a bagel-crazed crowd. I was not a fan of the digital menu screens though. I never am. I want to peruse all the options at once so I can decide, and I cannot do that if the screen is constantly switching!
They had pretty display cases for sure with a variety of bagels, cream cheeses, and sandwiches, but I was not blown away by the options. It was all pretty standard. In comparison, Tompkin's is going above and beyond with creativity. Ess-A-Bagel is just doing its job, and its doing well, but it's not knocking my socks off or anything.
Since none of the options were super crazy or exciting, I just got the BLTA. I promise after this I am staging a moratorium on BLTs, but this was a good way to go out. The tomato was fresher and redder than what I could find at the grocery store, so that was a super happy surprise, and the Romaine was super crisp, adding a nice, refreshing crunch to go with the salty, crispy bacon. They were generous with all their portions, but did not overdo anything. The creamy avocado sunk into the bacon without crowding it out, and they added the lightest touch of mayonnaise. Honestly, I have an aversion to mayonnaise. It's the one French thing I don't get. The flavor just does not appeal to me, but if it's blended into a Caesar dressing or aioli with other flavors, that's groovy. In this case though, it was mayonnaise or a dry sandwich. I could not accept a dry meal, so I was like fine, but the teeniest tiniest amount. I am very grateful that they respected that decision.
It was a good, satisfying dinner. I'd go back to try the egg salad or egg sandwich option, out of curiosity, if convenient. I'm not going out of my way to get Ess-A-Bagel though. It is just not that kind of place.
The best part of my meal had to be the psychic and the aspiring actress making friends behind me. Oh yeah. What a crew.
When I first sat down, they were talking about people's energies, how some people just aren't compatible, and how you can read people's energy and know right away that you don't mesh. I sat down with my bagel at a nearby counter and could not help nodding in agreement. Every single time I have ignored my instincts, it has come back to bite me. I've met people, been unsure, and ignored that, only to have those relationships prove my initial reservations correct by turning sour. If only I had listened to my instincts! Our society places such a premium on logic and, don't get me wrong, logic is great, but it is not everything. We need to remember that we are animals. We have instincts for a reason.
The psychic then said that when we notice bad energy emanating from people, we need to have sympathy for them rather than distaste. I found this very amusing - an enlightened form of pettiness!
From there, the two went on to discuss the frenetic schedules we all chain ourselves to, which is a hallmark of the New York City lifestyle. They noted how we are constantly planning future events and have no time for our present. By the time we get to the future events we were so busy planning, we don't even enjoy them because we are on to the next thing. My entire job revolves around managing people's schedules, so I feel this very deeply. Every meeting is all-consuming until it is actually happening (usually, if all goes well). By the time it is in action, it no longer affects me, and thank God because I am busy going over details for new events. I have to agree with the spiritual sisters at the bagel counter: it would be really nice to exist within my own life in the moment, rather than the future of a bunch of other people's.
It was all very enlightening.
Then I went to my class and saw a horrifying advertisement. The bulletin board in the lobby usually has marketing for head shot services and auditions and whatnot. Normal stuff. Then I found a flyer a man out up requesting people to schedule appointments to come by his apartment and just chat in one-on-one conversations. That was the ad. He said it would be totally friendly and comfortable.
Maybe I am just a girl. Maybe I am overly suspicious. I think that flyer might as well read, "Hey you! Have you always dreamed of experiencing a horror movie plot in real life? I'm your guy! Schedule an appointment to swing by and get kidnapped today!" Needless to say, I will not be calling the number. Taking the psychic's advice, trusting my instincts, and dodging creepy men tyvm.
The mind reels...
Anyway, today is Shannon's birthday so I'm off to celebrate! Yay Shannon!
XX,
MK
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