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’m in Philadelphia and I’m alive.

Jessica is calling to rent a car for tomorrow’s shopping excursion. We are dropping mad money in New Hope.

We are mugging on her MacBook:

Tonight, we are drinking $3 margaritas and I am wearing jeans. Both are firsts in a looong time (the alcohol and pants, I mean). But I don’t think non-liquor diets should count after you cross the state line, and I’ve come to terms with dress season being over. So I will indulge.

Life is good. It feels good to be away. And Penn men? Different and new. Just what I need.

For some strange reason though, I miss Boston. Or something. It’s barely been ten hours, but I can’t quite put my finger on it. Maybe it’s because being at Penn with my friend, who is on the verge of graduating, is making me realize how little time I have left at Harvard. It is really hard to imagine the end of college.

In any case, I’ll be back Sunday night.

Friday

9:00 a.m. Greyhound from South Station, Boston to Port Authority, New York City.
1:30 p.m. Lunch at Odeon with my boss and CollegeOTR founder, Doug, in Tribeca
3:00 p.m. Back to the classy Port Authority for departure to Philly.
5:00 p.m. Arriving to Philadelphia via Greyhound.
6:00 p.m. (Unless I fuck up directions) with Jessica at her apartment.
7:00 p.m. Dinner, followed by partying. The works.

Saturday

11:00 a.m. Breakfast. Gym with Jessica.
1:00 p.m. Shopping. Eating. Unbridled consumption.
6:00 p.m. At some point, seeing my friend from the University of the Sciences.
8:00 p.m. Dinner. Hot date with Penn boy at McDonald’s.
10:00 p.m. Marbar with aforementioned hottie. Sex, drugs, rock ‘n roll.

Sunday

11:00 a.m. Depending on the previous night, either breakfast in bed or a far tamer brunch.
1:00 p.m. See ya, Penn.
3:00 p.m. Hello, Manhattan. Pit stop at Beacon’s Closet?
4:00 p.m. Coffee with any number of New Yorkers, but most importantly RKB and Jules.
10:00 p.m. Back to Boston. With no school on Monday, maybe more partying?

Weather has been beautiful the past couple days. Head of the Charles was clearly blessed this year. A few blurbs:

* This Thursday, come hear me speak at a True Love Revolution discussion forum from 5-7pm in the Winthrop JCR. Details follow:

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LENA CHEN vs. TRUE LOVE REVOLUTION

A discussion forum to be held Thursday, October 25th, from 5-7 in the Winthrop JCR.
PIZZA PROVIDED.
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Could opposites attract?
Join us as Lena Chen, author of blog “Sex & The Ivy,” and Janie Fredell, of the True Love Revolution, face off in an open discussion on sex & dating at Harvard over pizza.
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* Decided that my Halloween outfit should come with a twist. JB is going to be Peter Prep/Pan, his Jewish boyfriend is going to be Captain Hook Nose, I am going to be Chinkerbell, and Kay (who’s Indian) is going to be Tiger Chutney/Lily. We’re going for “Most Patently Offensive” group costume. Still need a costume? Buy from Pierre Silber. I was this close to coming as a sexy version of a Hogwarts gal.

* Totally pumped for next weekend’s Halloween parties. Always tend to have fun at these, and I love that Heaven & Hell forces my River friends to party at the Quad for once (and thus, visit me in Currier). Might be hosting a pre-game since I anticipate more pals willing to make the trek than usual.

* Summer Guy visited this weekend. Was fun and significantly less stressful than when he visited this summer in New York (in the midst of my 50-hour weeks). Might be spending Thanksgiving in D.C. with him. Never been to the city, so it could be fun. Plus, tons of friends from California are spending this semester in D.C.

* Was supposed to go to Dartmouth homecoming, but couldn’t since Summer Guy visited. What a shame, because I wanted to see CeCe, my UCSD friend who spent last quarter at Dartmouth and flew in to visit.

* Been thinking about visiting Philadelphia as well. It’s been six months since I last visited for spring break, and I kind of want to check it out again. Plus, my friend’s boyfriend, a Penn student, was visiting this weekend and I found myself yearning to be on the campus while talking to him about what was going on there.

* Somehow managed to light the conveyor toaster in Mather on fire yesterday. I was trying to toast a warp and it got stuck at the end and caught fire. The dining staff — who let me say preemptively, I do love and appreciate — came to my aid but one snapped, “Those are not allowed in the machine!” I replied, “Sorry, I didn’t know!” (After all, the sign above it only says that buttered goods aren’t to be toasted.) I got a terse “Guess we’ll just have to make a sign” in response. Great, I am now responsible for the dummy-proofing of Harvard dining facilities.

You know your Lent resolution is in trouble when a phone conversation about Eastern philosophy gets you horny enough to start covertly masturbating. In my defense, I hadn’t heard his voice in a week, so forgive me if I felt a little frisky the other night.

With the cellular wedged between my ear and shoulder, I reached beneath my panties and found my clit with my index while continuing to mutter the requisite uh-huh’s and yes’s as his spiel went on. It’s not that I didn’t find his critique fascinating. I love his brain; I was just that much more distracted by the thought of his cock.

Besides, with the exception of that evening’s shameful behavior, sex has hardly been on my mind since I’ve returned from New York (every time I write that sentence it means less and less considering the frequency of my travels). Between producing a show (tickets on sale NOW at the box office) and finishing edits on a freelance piece, I’ve barely had time for class, much more sex. Okay, who am I kidding? Sextracurriculars always trump academics.

But that’s beside the point. Even when I have time to contemplate sex, I only treat it as a theoretical possibility. I’ve vowed to ditch all the boys of last season, thus leaving no local hookups. The only way I can have sex is if I leave Boston … which come to think of it, happens monthly anyway.

My next trip isn’t until the first weekend of my spring break. I’m flying into Philadelphia the evening of March 22nd. Adia joins me the day after and together, we shall wreak havoc through Penn and our eventual destination: New York. Until then, it’s all about getting through the very stressful month with no sexual distractions to speak of. It’s a good thing my favorite man lives over a hundred miles away…