Blast from two weekends past. Random list of things I did and places I went (mostly in the company of Jess Gold):

* Drinks and late snacks at Continental
* Dual spa treatments at Jean Madeline Aveda Institute
* Saturday brunch at Marathon
* Day trip to New Hope, Pennsylvania with Jess, Arielle, and Mike. Found great boutique A Beautiful Life where I picked up this kickass “Cocaine Blows” tee. Dinner at Karla’s.
* Sunday brunch at Rx (probably the best brunch I’ve had in the history of brunch). Ordered french toast brioche with blueberries and chorizo frittata. It was amazing and everything on the menu was under $10. Pretty incredible.

Sunday brunch at Rx in Philly, originally uploaded by lenachen.

So I get a lot of heat for spending too much on clothes (not justified since I work year-round during college and every summer since age 15!) But beside the fact that this is my money I’m dropping, I should also be redeemed by my bargain-hunting tendencies. I may have $300 shoes, but I also own $30 blazers. Really. Here’s a significantly more affordable edition of Anatomy of an Outfit from a night (11/09/07) in Philly:

* Tristan & Iseut Denim Blazer ($30, from a consignment store)
* Express Zelda Skinny Jeans ($27 down from $60, on sale + a $25 off coupon + a pal’s employee discount)
* Henri Bendel Cashmere V-Neck Sweater in Black ($120 down from $300, on sale for 60% off. Kind of a splurge but I wear it all the time)
* Element Knit Tank in Cream, layered under above sweater (gift)
* Urban Outfitters Button Fingerless Gloves in Charcoal ($16)
* Audrey Brooke Kitten Heels in Brown ($25 down from over $60, on clearance at DSW)
* Leather Tote Bag with Gold Hardware in Medium Tan ($30, off a street vendor in NY. Mistaken for designer by a reader.)

Going out in Philly, originally uploaded by lenachen.

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.

* Back from Arizona where I rang in the New Year with my So Cal pals. Flying off to Boston tomorrow night on a red-eye and arriving Friday morning to globally warmed New England.

* In my first instance of non-Ivy media attention, Radar Magazine called me a “gum-snapping phone-sex operator” in a factually questionable entry on their Pulp Friction blog. At least it’s a publication I’d subscribe to. So you know what this means: I have pop culture significance. I think this is what we call a “new low” in American society.

* The Kate Spade sale kicked off online today. I will blow the first person to buy me the Kensington Ariane in Ruby (image displayed).

* Got inked today at Shogun Tattoo — pictures tk!

* It’s the end of “The O.C.”, according to USA Today’s Pop Candy. I pretty much would let Seth Cohen do anything to me … even anal. I obviously love my Jewish boys (shoutout to Rody).

* Purchased my plane ticket to Philadelphia, thus making official my intercession plans to rendezvous with UPenn sex journalist Jessica Gold in late January.

* Apparently, no one believes Kyle put up with the longest cocktease in the history of Harvard. If it wasn’t for the circumstances, I’d out the lad just to prove it. And obviously, I still need to pen a real sex scene with actual intercourse. But these things — like his orgasms — take time.

* Check out my sidebar my new page listing the Cast of Characters (a.k.a. everyone I’ve libeled, stalked, and drunk dialed). Also, blog entries are now tagged with character names for handy access to archived dirt. I think it’d be awesome to host a Reading Period tea party with all characters in attendance. Okay, so it miiight be a bit awkward for the guys. This is an event in progress.

* And lastly, there are now icons to “share the sex.” Digg me.