I spent eight days in Philadelphia after final exams ended in late January. Living in an off-campus apartment by Penn, I was practically a college student — just without class to attend. Did I manage to get into trouble? Not much, but here are my intercession confessions …

Jess’ 42nd St. Home

* Flew US Airways for a neat $168 roundtrip. I now have a new appreciation for Logan and LAX after experiencing Philadelphia International.

* Stayed with Jessica Haralson, the editor in chief of Penn’s erotica magazine. Besides stuffing our faces, we did way too much shopping together. We are pretty much co-dependents. Among my consignment store finds were a Laundry dress, Louis Vuitton purse, and two coats!

* Caught up with my favorite DP editor, Eric Obenzinger, over sushi at Genji and apple martinis somewhere random. No, I have not slept with him yet, though I assume the repeated inquiries mean people are cheering me on.

* Ate entirely too much sushi. Besides dining hall fare and Genji, I had highly affordable Mizu ($6 for 12 pieces is unheard of) and enjoyed the setting at Nara. Food at both was so-so but sitting shoeless on the floor at Nara (with its faux-Japanese decor) was pretty fun.

With JGH at Gay Fridays at Cliff’s

* Attended Gay Fridays at Cliff’s (GFAC), a long-standing Penn tradition and a chance for equal opportunity drunkeness. Though overrun with more friends of Converse (i.e. hipsters) than friends of Dorothy, it was nonetheless one of the better parties I’ve witnessed in recent memory. If only the cute guys weren’t after the other cute guys. Regardless, I met quite the cute girl there — too bad our schedules never aligned.

* Managed to make my relationship with Summer Guy worse. The beauty of time zones is that his California 3 a.m. is my Philadelphia 6 a.m. The beauty of alcohol is that it induces exes to accuse you of having STDs. By the end of my Philly visit, he told me that his trip to Boston was a no-go. Saw it coming.

* Passed up, tried to land, and flirted with the idea of a threesome. Despite three separate opportunities, nothing came to fruition. The mission continues …

* Hit up Naked Chocolate Cafe with Jessica and my high school pal Judy (who now attends University of the Sciences). It was Philly’s answer to LA Burdick. I think I still prefer the latter but the former comes highly recommended — chocolate lovers will go nuts at first sip. I prefer the bittersweet.

Treats at Naked Chocolate Cafe

* Had lunch at White Dog Cafe with Jennifer Glaser, the author of one of my favorite Modern Love columns. While scouring the Times for a good example of Modern Love, I reread her piece, found out Jennifer was a grad student at Penn, and immediately hunted her down. Published on my birthday this year, her essay (”Mortality Can Be A Powerful Aphrodisiac”) is about the sexual relationship between her and her dying boyfriend.

* Dragged Miss Jessica over to Pattaya for Thai cuisine, mostly because I met the owner while picking up takeout dinner and thought he ought to be dessert. Alas, he wasn’t there, but I decided to be bold and left him my number. (Okay, so he did say he had a girlfriend.)

* Despite sleeping until noon, I managed to finish and submit my first piece to The Boston Globe. We’ll see if they like my youthful perspective.

Baby’s First Cheesesteak

* Had a taste of my first Philly Cheesesteak! Jessica’s guy pal took us to his favorite tried-and-true eatery. I got the classic and finished half before calling it quits. My meal was good for the novelty but had way too much meat to become it a regular part of my diet. (Now don’t think dirty, kids.)

* Promised to swear off guys with commitmentphobia, yellow fever, and girlfriends. Failed on all accounts.

* Hung out with a pal who’s visiting Penn for a semester. She’s enrolled in the visiting student program I want to apply to. Caught up while taking a meal in the dining hall — in case you were wondering, the food is unimpressive, just like Harvard.

* Took a stroll through South St. with Jessica by my side. She gave me a tour of all the notable sex shops and I came home with a new toy — a black leather riding crop. Fun!

* Discovered a hidden love for groceries. Thanks to the fabulous proximity, Fresh Grocer became my home away from my home away from home (did that make sense?) I’ve since decided that a major supermarket must relocate to the Square.

* Had a weekend affair with Sam — acronym for Secret Agent Man. Adventures included: nursing mutual hangovers via afternoon coffee, attempting to eat dinner at 4pm (and mostly failing but settling on Indian), hitting on my bartender at Smoke’s, consuming seven spiked Shirley Temples (my new favorite drink), trying to convince him to have sex in public after the alcohol took its toll, passing out with little recollection of my whereabouts, and having way too much sex (the afternoon, evening, the morning after …) He was fun, romantic, and a gentleman. Couldn’t ask for a better or more well-endowed late-night escort.

Thoroughly enjoyed Philadelphia and all it had to offer! Adia has a pal at Penn so we’re thinking of a joint trip sometime this spring. Could be fun to hit the town with her in tow. And now that I’ve graced its streets, Philly’s love has got to be just a little less fraternal, don’t you think?

* Enjoying my last couple days in Philadelphia, where I’m staying with le sexy Jessica Gold Haralson (see right) and hanging with all the cool kids at Penn. Hot student journalist Eric Obenzinger told me that ever since I linked to his Facebook profile, the page has skyrocketed in Google searches. Ladies, friend him.

* Just got nominated for the 2007 Bloggies as a finalist for Best Teen Weblog. Show your love by submitting a vote! And if you haven’t voted for the Sex Blog Awards yet, click on the graphic on my sidebar. Both end Thursday!

* Suffering through a severe case of writer’s block. Been trying to finish two freelance assignments for the past month and have gotten nowhere. My first CollegeHumor piece (still to-be-written) debuts in a week. I’m also toying with the idea of submitting for “In Their Own Words”, a production put on by Harvard’s Women’s Center. Waiting for a creative breakthrough, perhaps in the form of …

* An intercession fling in Philly! Sam, who I met this weekend, is unconventional but a sweetheart … exactly what I need to cure mid-winter monotomy. Thanks to Jess and him, I’ll carry fond memories of Penn: great dessert with the former (love the bitter chocolate gelato at Capogiro) and fantastic sex with the latter (love, well …) I’ll write the full chronicle of my New York/Philadelphia adventures when I return to Boston.

* In addition to shopping classes, next week will be devoted to getting my ass in line. Pending are uncompleted work-study forms, multiple internship deadlines, and a yet-to-be-scheduled pre-screening for group therapy.

* FemSex information sessions kick off this week. I’m so there!

* I hear it’s twenty below freezing back on campus. Better warm up soon, if not for my arrival, then for the arrival of my favorite man I love to hate. Summer Guy may be paying a visit to Boston, Massachusetts in the next month or so. Details tk.

* And in lieu of a male conquest, here’s a snapshot of five-month-old baby, Dash — the first male face to appear on the blog! He accompanied his father, Ryan, to our (platonic) coffee date last Saturday in Union Square. I peg him as a future heartbreaker.

Between the Sociology 25 exam tomorrow morning and my final presentation for a seminar Monday afternoon, I’m blatantly disregarding my need to study and research to head off to New York in search of sexy Manhattanites instead.

Wednesday — Upon my evening arrival, I’m attending an erotic reading series hosted by Village Voice sex columnist Rachel Kramer Bussel.

Thursday — An afternoon visit to AM New York’s “The Dating Life” columnist Julia Allison who is interviewing me for CO-ED Magazine.

Friday — Lunch date/gangbang in TriBeCa with the boys of CollegeHumor, for whom I’m selling my soul via a sex column that debuts next month. Perhaps a jaunt to the East Village to say hi to Ryan Iverson (Yale ‘02) who I stayed with over Thanksgiving.

Saturday — Late afternoon joe (the drink, not the man) with Viviane, sex blog mistress and tea party hostess.

Sunday — Back in Boston in time for brunch so I can work on my Monday presentation. Yikes!

In between and late at night, I’m whipping out my little black book of booty calls in the city. Kidding. Maybe. Hey, maybe if I sleep around enough, I won’t even have to look for accommodations! Kidding. Maybe.

Okay, really now. I don’t actually know where the hell I’m sleeping Wednesday. Friday and Saturday I’ll be living in Columbia sex columnist Miriam Datskovsky’s dorm room. Other accommodations yet to be acquired/confirmed, though I should probably get on that considering I’m leaving in 24 hours. Thus, my frantic Facebook status: “Lena is baking cookies for the first NYC gal to offer her a place to stay tomorrow night.” Emphasis on gal. Sex is really not on my immediate agenda.

When I come back on Monday, I’m doing my presentation (ends at 2 pm) and pretty much leaving right after for Philadelphia (getting on the T at 5:30 pm). It’ll be the shortest plane flight ever, unlike the 6.5-hour trips home to Los Angeles, and my longest mid-year trip at eight days. I am staying with the oh-so-sweet Jess Gold, founder of UPenn’s literary erotica magazine, Quake, and hanging with Eric Obenzinger, the cutest student journalist I’ve yet to screw.

I’ll blog in between I’m sure, but it’s adieu to Harvard and all my Boston boys until February 1st. Work hard and play safe without me, kids.

As you can tell from my new banner, the subject line “back” has more than one connotation. I’m pushing the limits of propriety here and believe it or not, the image above is the result of a compromise between my friends and me. It could’ve been worse. Anyway, it’s a temporary fill-in while I search for a more suitable header. Enjoy while it lasts because I’m folding any day now from the disapproval.

So my week-long absence has been due to a lengthy stay in Manhattan. New York was an amazing and very welcome break from life. I was initially planning to stay from Wednesday to Sunday but I ended up extending my trip a few more days at the suggestion of my Saturday night host (Harvard ‘06). I ended up having a full-week vacation, the only proper way to do things when you’re already acting on impulse.

I spent the first half of my trip in the East Village with a Yale ‘02er, whose younger brother (at an acceptable 24) was as adorable as his three-month-old … in different ways, of course. But no, I didn’t hit on the bro nor did I have a sitcom-style mishap with the baby. Surprisingly enough, I left the guy’s apartment intact. Score. On Thanksgiving, Blaser took me upstate for the day and we ventured into the suburbs of southern Jersey for turkey and diabetes-inducing dessert. It was fantastic being around a family in lieu of my own. Beats eating takeout sushi by myself on a random stranger’s couch (i.e. the rest of my evenings).

On Saturday, I trekked it uptown to 63rd where I stayed for the remainder of my trip. Luckily for me, we were right next to a sushi/Chinese place as well as a Verizon Wireless (I left my charger at Blaser’s). I had everything I needed in life within a one-block radius. I was in Upper East Side heaven. Both my hosts were accomodating (one gave me weed, the other paid for dinner!) but they had their own lives to deal with. And so I ran around Manhattan without much direction and managed to spend a lot of money in the process of distracting myself.

Flying solo wasn’t such a bad deal and for someone so unacquainted with solitude, it was surprisingly refreshing. Perhaps it was because solitude came with freedom from constant external pressure — both academic and social. I really needed the time off from dorm-room living, friends, classes, and blogging. All I did in New York was live day-to-day. For once, my iCal was blank and I felt the happiest I’d been since summer. Toward the end of my trip, I started receiving more and more text messages, phone calls, and IMs asking after my whereabouts. I think people became convinced I just wasn’t going to ever return, and trust me, I had thought of extending my trip even further. I pretty much issued a mass “I’m still alive” announcement via a couple friends and put Cambridge on the backburner for the remainder of the trip. I removed myself from communication with Harvard as much as I could, because I was beginning to realize that it was Harvard driving me crazy the past couple of months.

Within the week, I saw most of what I wanted to see in Manhattan and more. On Black Friday, I shopped both Midtown and SoHo, managing to spend atrocious amounts of money between cashmere sweaters from Henri Bendel and vintage accessories from an East Village boutique. I walked through Central Park, stood by both the East River and the Hudson, toured Meg Ryan landmarks (Katz’s Delicatessen in “When Harry Met Sally”, Cafe Lalo in “You’ve Got Mail), witnessed the madness that is Times Square, ran around Gramercy in search of coffee, had a meal and drink at Max Brenner, and even found wireless Internet in Chinatown.

Best of all, I wasn’t completely solo. Before heading to New York, I mass emailed everyone I knew in the city (plenty I’d never met) and shamelessly requested tour guides and accomodations. I ended up grabbing drinks with The Daily Pennsylvanian’s Deputy Editorial Page Editor Eric Obenzinger, getting the Midtown tour from fellow blogger Kat, and hanging out with the photogenic-yet-beautiful-in-person Julia Allison. New friends are always fabulous, especially when they finally make the online-to-real-life transition. Hear that, Jess?

Anyhow, I’ll leave this entry with a picture of a location I became all too familiar with during my visit: