XOXO, dcgirl.

I did something mildly terrifying last night.
If you had told me a year ago that I would someday do what I did, I wouldn't have believed you.
It's all Serena Van der Woodsen's fault.

To my credit (maybe?), it was a director of the non-profit where I work who got me hooked on the show. And she has a MDiv from Princeton.

If she can love Gossip Girl, I can love Gossip Girl.

But last night, it just rolled off my tongue -- "SIDEBAR," I said, and then continued with my tangent. "SIDEBAR," I said, just like B, when she drags Chuck off for a snipey lecture. "SIDEBAR," I said, and then realized how effortlessly I had just incorporated GG lingo into my everyday vocabulary.

So move over, Shakespeare -- the Upper East Siders are the vocab factories of the 21st century.

I was in their home this weekend for the first time since May. And it was glorious. For the first time ever, NY seemed like a place I could be and enjoy and not just bustle about in. This was probably because I prepared this time.

My preparation consisted of consulting KMK to find his 'can't live without 'em' spots, which should really be everyone's first stop when planning a vaca or a stayca. He suggested these two spots, which I will, in turn suggest to you:

Jack's Stir Brew Coffee - Everything a coffeehouse should be -- cozy, fair-trade, organic, tasteful chalkboards, eclectic people with big textbooks. Home run.

Three Lives and Co. - Everything a bookstore should be -- wood floors, packed shelves, witty greeting card collection, on a cobblestone street. Home run, part two.

Being in the W Village led me to an important conclusion: I like NY if I can be in it. I could maybe even live in NY if I could live in it. But that's a sidebar. (!)

Other weekend highlights included some great tunes by The Northern (I keep saying 'I knew them when...') and the halftime show during Columbia football's win over Dartmouth. If only I had had a video camera to film their 'marching band,' I would be skyrocketing to YouTube stardom. As a taste, there was one point when a band member portrayed Sarah Palin running around with her trumpet as a gun trying to kill the 'Dartmoose...'

Other firsts of the weekend included hearing Tim Keller live, dreaming DTJ with Wade McM, reflecting in Central Park with my pen and paper, the NY Public Library, and the beauty of Penn Station's straight shot to DC.

It was pure glory.

Now I'm back in what WGTS 91.9 calls, 'the most important city in the world -- the city of Freedom,' and I'm feeling important and free.

I'm also feeling like I'm going to miss the FRCS's and MRCS's when they abandon ship next week. The memorabilia is getting even more intricate these days -- silk scarves for the ladies, woven belts for the men, all branded with that very Mavericky logo.

Mostly, I'm feeling back. I'm another month older and another month yuppier and I'm picking up new vocab from pop teen shows every day. I love my life.

XOXO.