How I Saw 'Avengers 2: Age of Ultron'

This past Saturday was so gorgeous, so after Pure Barre (my third in a row!) I decided to go sit in a dark, cold movie theater for two and a half hours. I also decided to walk the approximately four miles to Lincoln Square theaters to see Avengers 2: Age of Ultron, so I got plenty of vitamin D.

I love walking around New York City. Starting in my neighborhood downtown and walking through so many different ones -- Union Square, Madison Square Park, midtown Times Square - there is such an ebb an flow of tourists, solicitors and residential New Yorkers. One minute, you're pushing past people gazing up at the Empire State Building (admittedly, like you've done plenty of times), the next, you've got the whole block to yourself, everything is quiet and it's...eerie. But I digress.

Google Maps said it'd take me and hour and ten minutes so naturally I gave myself two hours to get into the Upper West Side theater. I stopped along the way at Juice Generation, picking up an I <3 Watermelon smoothie as replenishment. Slowly but surely, I've become addicted to the juicing craze, just like every other broke 20-something who cannot afford $7 smoothies everyday.

At 12:30, a half hour before the show started, I breezed right into the theater, virtually empty despite the crowd-control ropes and signs indicating different Avengers 2 show times. I settled into my seat and broke out the snacks.

A word about smuggling in snacks: I paid an arm and a leg for my $15 ticket. It's not like I would buy snacks anyways if I couldn't bring my own, so I feel no guilt sneaking in a plastic baggie of sustenance. Judging by the myriad of water bottles and CVS-sized snacks I noticed populating cup-holders during the trailers, other movie-goers felt similarly.

Unlike regular people who can eat regular popcorn, I cannot. A one-two combo of having inherited deep pockets in my teeth makes eating it painful, and my stomach's irritated intestinal tract means I haven't eaten "real" popcorn in a very long time. Enter: Shark Tank and Pipcorn. Long story short, this popcorn is only half-popped. Less kernel shells, easier to digest, and a super satisfying snack. I found a bag at the Union Square Whole Foods and have already gone back once a few times to replenish my supplies. It says a bag has four servings, more like one serving four me.

Seriously guys, if you see a bag of this, you've gotta buy it and try it.

Sitting in the theater though, I had a revelation. The Sea Salt Pipcorn, mixed with the similarly-sized Van's gluten free Honey Crunch cereal, created a harmonious unity of salty and sweet that made my taste buds sing. Like, I thought chocolate and salt were a perfect match. But I honestly think this has it beat. I'll never be able to think about movie snacking the same way again.

The movie was awesome and I think we call breathe a sign of relief now that the endless press tour is over. Even if Joss Whedon was forced to quit Twitter. Are you happy, haters? C'mon guys. We're all entitled to our own opinions. Love or hate the movie, nothing will ever please everyone.