Things that make the world a slightly better place

1. Comedy clubs

On a quiet Monday night, Matt got off of work early, so he met me at NYU around 6:30. We had Vietnamese food in the Village and then saw a show at Comedy Cellar. IT WAS SO FUNNY THAT I AM WRITING IN ALL CAPS, which I never do.

2. Survival stories

For some reason I love the show "I Shouldn't Be Alive." I think it has to do with the fact that I almost never do anything adventurous in the wild, and this show makes me feel infinitely happy about that decision.

Some of the stories are truly jaw-dropping amazing, for example the episode where the guy is stuck out at sea in a dinghy for 72 days. But for the most part, the gist of the show is as follows: some idiotic person or group of people decide to go into nature, only to discover that they are LOST! with no food or water! and there are wild animals around who may or may not want to eat them! They have to drink their own pee and only survive the ordeal to sell their story to Animal Planet. 

Let us briefly recap some episodes. 

• Woman gets her family lost in the Arizona desert which she supposedly knows like the back of her hand. Someone tries to rescue them at night, but she chases them away because she is convinced they are human traffickers. 
• Man decides to go trekking alone with his dog in the Amazon. After getting lost, he decides to eat his own dog to survive, then can't digest any of it and gets malaria (karma!).
• Climbers decide to walk along melting glaciers and fall through a giant crevasse.
• Skiiers go skiing in avalanche country, and get slammed by an avalanche.  

Yes, I am reciting these plotlines by memory. Unfortunately I've exhausted every episode, and these aren't fun to rewatch. Lucky for me, "I'm Alive" recently came up on Netflix -- stories of people getting mauled by animals. Some episodes are better than others, but the last one I saw was about two people who got attacked by a swarm of killer bees. AMAZING!

3. Chocolate chip cookies

It really frustrates me that most recipes for chocolate chip cookies are so bad. Everyone has their own theory about what makes a great cookie, and all of their theories are wrong. The cookies spread too much or are too buttery, or they are too cakey and hard, or they don't last past one day. In my opinion, the best chocolate chip cookies are thick but not cakey, with delicious caramel colored and flavored cookie dough, slightly underbaked.

My solution was to have a taste test, but I gave up after 2 recipes because I was pretty sure I'd never find a better one. However, the annoying thing is that you literally have to let your cookie dough sit in the refrigerator for two days...

New York Times Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

• 2 c minus 2 Tbsp cake flour 
• 1 2/3 cups bread flour 
• 1 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 1/2 sticks butter (Yep. Get out those elastic-waistband pants.) 
• 1 1/4 c light brown sugar
• 1 c and 2 Tbsp sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1 package dark chocolate chips

1. Cream butter and sugars together until very light, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. Reduce speed to low, add dry ingredients and mix until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds. Drop chocolate pieces in and incorporate them without breaking them. Press plastic wrap against dough and refrigerate for 24 to 48 hours.
2. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat. Set aside.
3. Scoop 6 3 1/2-ounce mounds of dough (the size of generous golf balls). Bake until golden brown but still soft, 15-18 minutes. 

4. Sleepy kitties

It is bone-chillingly cold outside. This last week, the high was somewhere around 20 degrees - FAHRENHEIT. Translated into Californian, that's like -200 degrees. So there is nothing more heart-warming after a long day and a disgusting subway ride then coming home to a kitty sleeping on a rocking chair: 

And the amazing thing about cats is that you can buy them a $5 cardboard scratcher, or a 75-cent can of Friskies, and then live vicariously through their joy. (And also curse them angrily when they won't eat your fresh sauteed chicken giblets. Argh!) 

... TO BE CONTINUED when I can think of more things to write.