The Best of 2009: Day 5

Day 5: Best night out?

Remembering my best night out is bittersweet. Memories of how happy we were, how carefree, how daft, how utterly irresponsible. It was Valentines Day and I was on my to meet him for a coffee. Things were confusing, unsure and I was nervous. Half a bottle of gin and half a frozen pizza later and things were great again. Our Valentines feast followed by him teaching me how to use his decks. I was never very good but I wanted to learn. I wanted to feel what he felt, that same passion, that magic behind his eyes. I wanted to understand.

A house party followed. Cava, more gin, unmentionable things. Laughter, mockery, play fighting, fielding questions we didn't know how to answer about how he knew me. About who we were.

And so to the nightclub. Our favourite. The night aptly named 'Valentines Day Massacre'. Loud, pulsating music that reached into your very soul and forced you to dance. And dance we did, until the wee small (big?) hours, entwined in laughter, music and love too, though neither of us would admit it. Falling out into the street afterwards, a sweating mass of happiness, music still ringing in our ears.

Then home. More gin. Him on the decks. My own personal DJ. A post-night out routine that I miss so much. Keeping the party going until the sun rose and the room became filled with light. No sleep. More laughing. The next two days spent in a haze of wine, conversations about anything and everything and intense happiness.


Yeah, that was a pretty good night out.

The Best of 2009: Day 4

Day 4: Best book?

Once again I hang my head in shame as I admit to not having finished a single book this year. Bad Helen. So instead I present to you a selection of my all time favourites, most of them books I read a lot as a child...

Go Ask Alice by Anonymous -  I read this book over and over when I was younger. I think it came free with Sugar or Just Seventeen and it was probably the first time I became aware of the existence of drugs. A harrowing book.

Matilda by Roald Dahl - Who hasn't read Matilda? Who doesn't love Matilda? Awesome.

Lord of the Flies by William Golding - Again, another book that I've read over and over. I first read it as part of my English GCSE (I think?) and I loved it. Poor Piggy.

The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole by Sue Townsend - This book reminds me of my childhood. It was made into a TV series and I was forbidden from watching it. Apparently it was too naughty. Thanks Mum.

And, my all time favourite....

James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl - I think my copy of this is possibly the oldest thing in the whole world. It's falling to pieces and has been read hundreds of times. I read it so much as a child that I developed an irrational fear of my parents being trampled to death by a rampaging rhinocerous. A most wonderful book, in every respect.


One of my resolutions for next year: read more.

The Best of 2009: Day 3

Day 3: Best article?

As I've said before, I really don't read as much as I should. I haven't read a single book this year. I've started many but not completed any of them and this is not something I'm proud of. I do read quite a lot of articles online though. Varying in subject from teacup pigs (WANT!) to Scientology (DO NOT WANT) to whatever-I'm-currently-obsessed-with (currently it's Hashima Island).

I've read many an article on happiness this year. How to find it. How to keep it. How to be happy with what you have and stop wishing your life away. There was a time a few months ago when I needed some direction, when I felt like everything was imploding around me. Internet articles are possibly not the best place to obtain direction in times of sadness but one article really spoke to me...

'Creating Our Own Happiness' by Wayne Coyne.

"Try to be happy within the context of the life we are actually living. Happiness is not a situation to be longed for or a convergence of lucky happenstance. Through the power of our own minds, we can help ourselves. This I believe."

The Best of 2009: Day 2

Not the best meal, but an incredible burger nonetheless

Day 2: Best restaurant experience?

Carrying on the theme from yesterday, my best restaurant experience of this year (and probably ever) was Spice Market, in New York. It was, in a word, sensational. The restaurant serves what is, essentially, posh Asian street food but every single bite was like a little piece of heaven. I'm not even exaggerating. Even more incredible than the food though was the service. Unobtrusive yet ridiculously efficient. And I can't even describe the decor so I shall simply quote from a review I read.... "The restaurant’s vast space is immediately disorienting yet instantly welcoming, energized and undeniably dazzling... going vertical instead of horizontal, shadowy rather than bright, utilizing no glass, all wood, with nary a right angle or unadorned square inch... The result is a carved and tiered temple to hedonism with great sight lines, bordello lighting, and terrific traffic flow." Basically it's like having dinner inside a giant carved wooden pagoda. Which is always fun.

We ate:

Vietnamese Spring Rolls
Spicy Thai Fried Chicken Wings with Mango and Mint
Crispy Salt and Pepper Skate
Onion and Chili Crusted Short Ribs with Egg Noodles and Pea Shoots
Jasmine Rice

We drank:

The most expensive bottle of red wine of my entire life.

We felt:

Like movie stars. Sad fact: I felt like I was in an episode of Sex and the City. Walking out onto the streets of the Meatpacking District, with the light from neighbouring bars bouncing off the cobbles was an experience I'll never ever forget. An expensive experience (that's what you do for the birthday of someone special though, isn't it?) but worth every single penny.


I've made myself hungry now. Darn it.

The Best of 2009: Day 1

This year has been good, bad, brilliant, horrific, sad, happy and I've experienced the whole spectrum of emotions. To try and make a bit of sense of it, and to try and appreciate the good things that have happened (because I am all about that these days, after all) I've decided to do The Best of 2009 challenge (along with LizSara and Smidge).

One post, one topic, every day in December. Some days I might just post a photo. Some days I might write a longer post. We shall have to see how it pans out...

Day 1 - Best Trip of 2009?

Undoubtedly New York. Not only the best trip of 2009 but the best trip of my entire life. If you've got time on your hands and you feel so inclined you can read about my trip here, here, here and here. I never quite finished my New York Tale, I never wrote the final part. I'm not sure why to be honest. I never did like endings though... I prefer to leave things open.

New York was magnificent in every respect. It's the only city I've ever been to where I can see myself living. If only it wasn't so expensive and US immigration wasn't so arduous (for arduous read impossible). Every street felt like a movie set, every meal was the most wonderful meal, every Budweiser was the best beer ever tasted. There were more 'bests' than you can shake a stick at. From the best coffee (in the Financial District on our first day) to the best burger (in Hard Rock Cafe, fyi) to the best muffins (a little deli on Bleeker). 

It was exhausting, exhilerating and utterly wonderful. I'll never forget those 8 magical days or that little apartment in Harlem that saw so much laughter, a fair few 99 cent beers and a hell of a lot of foot soak.