"One mildly bizarre trait of mine is I enjoy being useful."

Sarah, who's in a position of authority at her workplace, has lately been reviewing resumes for an entry level job opening, and the other night she was entertaining me with tales of cover letters. Writing a cover letter is not easy, as we all know -- I'm pretty sure I still suck at it -- but hearing about other people's cover letters is fun. The standout of this particular group, by far, was the person who wrote "One mildly bizarre trait of mine is I enjoy being useful."

Sarah and I have been mulling over this phrase quite a bit in the last few days, and I think it's safe to say that its joys are endless. It is a true gem of usage and style. "One mildly bizarre trait of mine is I enjoy being useful."

The best part is picturing other people saying it.


"One mildly bizarre trait of mine is I enjoy being useful."


















"One mildly bizarre trait of mine is I enjoy being useful."




"One mildly bizarre trait of mine is I enjoy being useful."




"One mildly bizarre trait of mine is I enjoy being useful."

Viva New York!

Whatever happened to Grimaldi's?

Whatever happened to the West Side bike path?

Whatever happened to five different languages in one subway car?

Whatever happened to "If I can make it there, I'll make it anywhere"?

Whatever happened to the descent into Laguardia where you look out the plane window at that amazing skyline and think, "This is the most awesomely beautiful city in the world and I must have done something great in a former life to have the fortune to wake up here nearly every single day"?

NOTHING! NOTHING HAPPENED TO THEM! THEY'RE STILL HERE! I LOVE NEW YORK AND I WILL NEVER LEAVE!


**This post has been brought to you by those annoying Move To Philly "ads" everyone's been talking about.

Really Awesome Things

It's difficult to say which of these two things I'm more excited about:

NY Times - But Will It Play in Manhattan? (aka, Topshop is coming!)

Variety.com - '80s idols to reunite for 'Coreys'


Truly, we are living in a golden age.

Best. Blog. Ever.

Cute Otters

Need I say more?

Netflix

Today I finally joined Netflix.

It's not that I didn't hear about it two years ago along with everyone else; it's just that I'm generally slow to embrace new trends and/or technology, even if (like Netflix) they are the MOST INGENIOUS INVENTION EVER. Also, I'm more of a movie-goer than a movie-renter, because there is no movie theater popcorn in my home, and movie-watching for me is mainly a front for popcorn gluttony. However, I've long loved the idea of Netflix, even though it's taken me so long to make use of it. This is truly what the Internet was meant for: making our lives easier, while enabling laziness.

My first order of business was to queue up Troop Beverly Hills, because we are having a Troop Beverly Hills party this weekend. Next in my queue (queue: funnest word to type? yes.) is Season 1, Disc 1 of Entourage. I already know that TV series are going to make up the bulk of my Netflix rentals. After Entourage, I'm going to blow through Deadwood, Weeds and Season 2 of Veronica Mars. Then, if I don't want to cancel my membership yet, I may start in on the Sopranos, which I have never seen (see "slow to embrace new trends," above; also see "has not had HBO since lived with parents, OK?").

I think it's quite possible that the very first movies one rents on Netflix offer a window into one's innermost soul. Think about it: unlimited access to an entire library of weird wonders that you might not have thought of in years, AND no one ever has to know that you rented them. If ever you were embarrassed to check out "She's All That" for fear your snooty Brooklyn video store clerk would sneer at you over his thick-framed glasses (this is pure conjecture -- my local Extreme Video isn't much for hipster clerks), Netflix offers you a safe haven.

Obviously, my soul is that of a person with '80s nostalgia who lacks cable or DVR. Someone else I know (who lives in my building and shall remain nameless) kicked off his Netflix subscription with Top Gun, Mary Poppins and Dances With Wolves. I'm not trying to judge; I'm just saying. Tell me: what were the first movies you 'flixed?

New to the blogroll: Bohemian On A Shoestring

My friend Arcadia has a blog called Bohemian On A Shoestring that you should all check out. She'll give you the scoop on cheap and artsy events going on around town, the weirder the better (we at Sage Advice are pro-quirk, as you know).

"Anyone who enjoys checking out downtown theatre, hole-in-the-wall ethnic restaurants, poetry slams and weird robotics competitions knows that places in which one can pop in for free (or, OK, $20 and under, this IS a New York-based Blog) are a gamble. Sometimes you've trekked out to the end of the E line to see a post-punk, musical version of “King Lear” staged by recent NYU Tisch grads, and you're trapped in your misery, wishing desperately for a clean break (or a beer), and sometimes, you've trekked out to see, well, a post-punk, musical version of “King Lear” staged by recent NYU Tisch grads, and lo and behold! it is sublime (or, at least, entertaining, quirky and the source of a good story or a dumb lyric you can impress your hipster friends with)."

Brilliant, no? Give her a look!