Deliver me.

So, today I am embarking on and continuing a newly learned practice.  It's called DELIVERY.  Back in Texas, when one thinks of delivery, thoughts come to mind of chain restaurant pizza arriving at your door in 30 to 45.  Let me just say that in NYC, this is a much more involved concept.  This city is, without a doubt, a hermit's dream. 

While most people here get more exercise in one day than most Texans get in a week, this isn't necessarily a given.  If you wanted, you could carry on with the business of your life all from the comfort of your own home and ratty pajamas.  While in Galveston, I had a difficult time finding a restaurant that would serve food past 8 PM. In New York, I have any kind of food I could imagine at my fingertips (literally) at almost any time of night delivered personally to my doorstep.  You want pizza, pick from any variety you can conjure up.  I had a pizza the other night with sundried tomatoes, whole wheat crust, roasted garlic, and jalepeno pesto at almost midnight (I shouldn't admit that).  I ordered Persian food and had it in my hands in 15 minutes. Yesterday, I ordered a wrap for lunch from a restaurant that has 50- yes 50- different kinds of wraps.  You want a Thanksgiving meal? Why not have it in wrap, complete with turkey, mashed potatoes, and gravy? (I opted for the safer Mediterranean wrap).

But it doesn't just stop there.  Why do your own laundry when someone will pick it up from your house for free, then wash, fold, and box it, and lastly deliver it to your doorstep (again for free) nicely cleaned and smelling lovely?  Why do your own grocery shopping when you can pay an extra $5.79 to order all your grocery needs online and have them delivered, freshly packed, to your doorstep?  This includes all groceries from shampoo to freshly baked bread to cheese to kitty litter.  Need a new litter box and leash? The pet store will deliver whatever you need FOR FREE! This can really get out of control. In addition to the delivery, you don't even have to talk to a human.  You order everything online, click your mouse, and wait patiently for your order to show up.  Yesterday, I had to have my own little personal pep rally in my tiny living room just to leave the apartment.  What's even more pathetic is that the rallying was all in the name of getting a cupcake.

Hopefully, this doesn't become a regular occurrence.  I can at least talk myself in to making the effort to say, drop off my own laundry, or pick up my own food.  I dunno.  We will see.  Luckily, all this walking I have been doing lately has definitely made its mark on how my clothes fit, but if I keep eating all this amazing food in my knit pants that have no limits, it might end up going in the wrong direction.  Just keep me in your thoughts...

Crumbs Bakery - as you can see, this was totally worth a pep rally...

Speaking of delivery, I now have received all my things that I delivered to myself, proving that the shipping method when  moving does occasionally work.  I shipped a few boxes via FedEx Home Delivery and even set an appointment time to receive my boxes.  This worked great.  Granted, the FedEx guy decided it would be ok to ROLL one of my boxes up the stairs.  I did give him an interesting look when he rolled the box in front of my feet and then cheerfully asked me to sign for it.  Hmmm...   But I shouldn't complain.  Everything made it.  Nothing is broken, and this morning after my grocery delivery, I even received my last box containing all of my DVD's that I shipped media mail for $14.  Woo!  

In the meantime, if you are in this area and want to be just as lazy as I am, you should check out these sites:

http://www.freshdirect.com/ - all groceries, all at the click of a button

http://www.hamperville.com/ - laundry done the electronic way, including your choice of softener scent
http://www.allwashedup.com/ - even cheaper laundry done the electronic way

http://www.wrapstarny.com/ - remember that Thanksgiving wrap?  Here ya go...

http://www.twoboots.com/ - all over NY all the time

I am sure this is just the beginning.  I will keep you posted.