Friday afternoon I called my parents for a normal, mundane conversation. Surprisingly, my dad closed the conversation with, "Annie, live it up this weekend. Live it up." My dad is a man of habit; he always uses the same hackneyed jokes and phrases in the appropriate moment.
For example:

Me: I got a haircut.
Dad: Which one?

And he always ends our conversations with the three words "use good judgment." It is something I can count on. It is a phrase that I repeat to my friends because they know it is a Papa Rudnik motto. When our conversations close, I can often mouth those words as he is saying them. So on Friday, when he used these three different words, LIVE IT UP, I took it to heart, really.

Friday night Erin asked, "Want to go to the diner?" Well, I just bought groceries, and I have tons of fresh fruit and vegetables, but, what the hell, live it up! Bring on the French fries! Later, I am a little tired, I have work that needs to get done and an early morning, but The Office DVD is in my possession, so live it up!

Saturday I made plans using the art building, but that space was closed. Go home? No! I did it outside, and got my first sunburn of the season! Afterwards, stick around campus and get more work done? No. Live it up! I went into the city, walked from Grand Central to Washington Square Park, ate dinner with Alice, drank tea with Alice, ate snacks with Jay and Zara, met up with YoonYoung and ate chocolate cheesecake while drinking hot chocolate, both decorated with coco powder and powdered sugar... Live it up! Then head home? Sleep in my own bed? NO! I stayed at YY's place on the Upper West Side.

Sunday I woke up to a choir of Central Park birds. Ate a banana as I walked leisurely through the park. Go back to campus? Do what I ought to do? NO! Live it up. I went to the Met for the first time in my four years of living in the NYC area. I found a room full of fantastic furniture and pocket-sized portraits (I want wallet-sized watercolor portraits in my billfold!). Then I went to a fancy-shmancy Belgian breakfast restaurant, drank organic tea from a bowl and ate a croissant with praline spread. There was a long wait for seats, but I took my time and read my book until I finished the entire pot of tea. Live it up. I met my friend Corinne in Union Square and we walked and talked and snacked at a vegetarian restaurant. I returned to Bronxville and went to Haagen-Daaz (my first time there since freshman year). I tasted Baileys Irish Cream ice cream, but walked home licking Almond-Hazelnut Swirl. I arrived home at 7pm, put on a 100% cotton t-shirt and linen pants (sans underwear), crawled under my covers and finished the second season of The Office. Live It Up.

Thanks, Dad.