Feeling Like a Rutgers Girl Again

Secret stash--my college friend clued me in.

Met Bill Strugger for dinner--he's my friend who was a cub reporter [in cheery yellow slicker on rainy days] when I was a news editor at the Rutgers Daily Targum. He went on to be editor in chief. Now he's a husband, father of three and successful in his career in information technology and services.

Bill lives in nearby Maplewood, and we dined at Costanera in Montclair, a Peruvian restaurant I had never tried but will revisit. The rotisserie chicken with fried plantains was delicious.

Not only will Bill always be my younger friend, but hanging around with him will always make me feel younger, too. And hipper--you should see his cool "Mad Men"-esque eyeglass frames.

We're hoping to get a bunch of our Targum friends together for dinner in May.....

Bill is fit and healthy, but eats a little dark chocolate every day. He clued me in to his internet source: chocosphere, where he orders his favorites, including Columbian Santander 53% cacao bar and coffee dark chocolate bar, as well as Côte d'Or brand Belgian bars. He learned about the latter when his French au pair got care packages from her parents with that chocolate stashed inside. "I don't go for the frou-frou Madison Avenue chocolates," Bill said when I asked if he'd tried Vosges. "Santander is like the Nestlé of Columbia." And he orders large amounts at a time to get the most bang for his shipping buck.

More to discover, always more to discover. I don't know those brands.

Here's to old friends. And to be perfectly honest, to old friends who make me feel like the girl in a blue Shetland wool crewneck and jeans who took notes on a steno pad, lived in a dorm, ate in the dining hall, danced to  "Rosalita" at Saturday-night parties and came back from weekends at home with a loaf of Pepperidge Farm Raisin Bread in her backpack--a gift from her grandmother Alice. It was fun to revisit that girl tonight; she's been hidden inside this 53-year-old foster mom with frizzy hair and low energy. [That's about to change; I got a pretty pink and blue Lilly Pulitzer dress and control-top pantyhose for Easter, and booked a blowout for Friday.]

Good night. 

TCOY

1. Boot camp in the park.
2. Walked around block with Sug and Punch, played out in sunshine with her friend Oliver.
3. Logged 11,145 steps today--my fitbit bracelet from Sis vibrates when I hit 10,000. Fun.