Jones Beach-July 4, 2009

the end of winter and the beginning of spring

Last weekend I was in Utah for my nephew Will's first birthday.





I love getting lost in Central Park. Today I was so tired of sitting in my apartment on call so I went for a walk in the park.

a little peace and quiet

Is it too much to ask to have silence on the subway in the morning? The kind of ride where us snobby New Yorkers don't look at each other, and definitely don't talk to each other?

Because today's subway ride started out with a guy yelling crazy rants at people-something about finding religion and how we were all going to hell. When I changed trains, I was lucky enough to get on the one with a Mexican mariachi singer, and not a very good one at that. He got off, and I thought things were looking up, but then there was this "filmmaker" selling his animated movies for a dollar. And yelling about it at the top of his lungs. 

My ears are still ringing from having my iPod turned up full volume.

December recap

This has been an insane month. Christmas has come and gone and I barely noticed it-working 2 jobs, housing issues, extreme dental work=good times all. I never saw the Rockefeller Christmas tree, and didn't have a tree in my apt. But I am still alive-almost daring to hope that things are soon going to get better. And at that point I will actually write something interesting, or maybe even post pictures, once I make it back to Utah for super-late fake Christmas extravaganza in maybe January or February. 

My highlights for the month:

I flew to Copenhagen for a two day layover, where I love the hotel, and the hot, tall Danish men.

I got to light a menorah for Hannukah. 

I had a lovely Christmas eve with friends here in New York, complete with delicious food, drink, and dessert, after which everyone (but me) wanted to go to sleep around 7:45 pm, but they all livened up and we then played a rousing game of Apples to Apples.

And that's all I can think of now-thanks for your Christmas letters, and happy holidays to everyone!

Signed, Sealed, Delivered.

Last night I watched the election results at Adam Clayton Powell Square in Harlem. We were just going to stay in and watch it on tv, but they kept showing the huge party 3 blocks away. So three white girls from Utah walked past the ice sculptures at Sylvia's, high-fived people on the street, and bonded with a guy with an Obama doll. We got into the square and joined the party, watching the coverage, dancing, cheering, talking to reporters. There was everyone there-mostly black, but white, hispanic, young, old, children. When the race was called, everyone went crazy. The governor of New York spoke, and a hip hop guy, who I'm not familiar with. The sense of accomplishment was amazing. The issues are most important, and that is why I, and I believe most Americans voted for Barack Obama, but it is a historical time, and I think there is a lot to be proud of. In the speeches I heard, there were references to overcoming slavery, and the civil rights era, and it seems that everyone felt what a great victory this was. That things are now possible that people didn't believe were.

Most people who know me know I'm a pretty skeptical person. I don't give my support easily or blindly to anyone. So it felt unusual to me being there last night and actually feel hope, and pride for my country, which I haven't felt in a long time. When Obama came on to give his speech, I was again impressed by his humility, his non-divisive language, and his ability to inspire.

As I walked home in the middle of the street, part of a parade of people, cheering and dancing and feeling good about their country and their place in it, I've never been happier to live in Harlem.

Spiderman!

Two crazy guys climbed the New York Times building today. Thus making it impossible for me to get to work on the bus because the entire street was closed off with people looking at him, ambulances and fire trucks. So I took a gypsy cab with some random guy and paid $45 bucks instead of my usual $8. Grr...


http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/06/05/man-scales-new-york-times-building/


(read the comments on the above story, they are funny)

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/06/05/man-scales-new-york-times-building/

"don't be mad at me"

i parked my car today. a little more in the ghetto, because let's face it, i live in a little shadier of a neighborhood. a guy came over to me, right up to my car, while i was still in it, and asked me for 20 or 30 cents. i told him i didn't have any money. which is the exact truth. i have the opposite of money. debt. i didn't go into all MY financial woes with him, because the poor man is probably living on the street, but i didn't give him anything either, just talked to him through the glass. "no i don't have any money" i said, "don't be mad, okay?" he said. "i'm not mad," says me. i thought, hey, as long as you're just asking me for some change, as opposed to actually robbing me or something, i'm not mad. "have a good day." i told him. "you too." he said.

New York City is so pretty

Okay, so that is a dumb title, but the Christmas lights are on here too. Yay!
(I promise to write about something besides Christmas next. I promise.)

a chilly Sunday morning walk

I was feeling restless and took a walk this past cold Sunday morning. This is what I saw.

Shopping Spree at Fairway

So right before my fateful date mentioned below I had to make a choice. A choice I never like making. I had just come in from Oslo and I was really really tired and really really hungry. I chose sleep. I didn't know if we were eating on our date, but I guess it didn't matter either way, because all I had in my cupboard was a Toblerone, some cookies from Switzerland, and some random cooking ingredients that you can't just eat. So I went without, all the while being scolded by Allina that I really needed to buy some groceries. Duh.

So yesterday, for the first time since living in Manhattan, I drove to Fairway. Being a Fairway virgin, I was a little overwhelmed. For awhile, I just drove my empty cart around the store. Finally I started putting the stuff on my list in there. Then I started putting random stuff that looked good in there. Smoked salmon, butternut squash soup, random cheeses. At first I thought the store was all organic. I bought 3 boxes of organic Peace cereal, which I am happily eating right now. Who doesn't want their cereal to have quotes from Mahatma Ghandi on it? And the berries in the cereal taste just like fresh berries!

$113 later, I was all checked out. I figured it's okay, thinking of how I haven't gone grocery shopping for 6 months, and thinking of all the meals I've skipped because I didn't have food around. I took 2 trips hauling it up my 4 flights of stairs and set to eating. Yum.

random sunday thoughts

This week I've really felt like a New Yorker. Like a normal person. Not that those are one and the same really. They're probably not. But I've been off for a few days, and actually felt like I've lived in the city, and that has been nice. Doing normal people things. Waking up in the morning. Going to bed at a reasonable hour. Not ordering delivery every meal. Not flying anywhere, not driving back and forth to the airport or riding the bus where the mean man checks your ID even though you're in a FLIGHT ATTENDANT UNIFORM. Now I'm back at work, going to Oslo tonight, and it's like, 'oh yeah, I have a job.' I think it will be a little hard to get into work tonight. But I'm pretty sure I'll get into it quick cause I hear that those flights are CRAZY and the people are thirsty.

On another, unrelated note, on my way to church, I was driving along, enjoying the ride (perhaps too much), listening to music, and I guess I just went into autopilot. Apparently I thought I was going to work, and I took the exit for the George Washington Bridge. There is nowhere to turn around from that point on. So there I was, going across the bridge, into New Jersey, instead of North, to church, where I really wanted to be. So I exited at the first exit, the Palisades, and all I could think of was the Billy Joel song "See the Lights go Down on Broadway," but sadly, that song offered me no clues on how to get back to Manhattan. I drove around the Palisades for a few minutes, looking for signs back to the GW bridge, and eventually found my way back. Fortunately I had $6 to get across the bridge, because that's what it costs to enter my lovely island. Where else can you get lost and it costs you $6? As soon as I was driving back across the bridge I turned my radio back on and could see a lovely view of Manhattan. This is exactly what I heard on the radio: "if you're lost you will look and you can find it, time after time..." Seriously. Uncanny.

Conan

Last night I went to see Conan O'Brien. It was awesome. The NBC people were really mean before you get into the show (have you ever taken a tour of their studios?), but once you get in there (does anyone want an extra large Conan T-shirt? Maybe I'll auction it off to the highest bidder on my blog) they are pretty nice and funny, and put on a good show. Conan is kind of a freak, but in a good way.



Jerry Seinfeld was on, he was way funny. There was a surprise visit by Larry King, who was only a few feet away from us in the audience, and somehow I felt like he was like my grandpa, or someone who I should know and should know me. Strangely, he didn't seem to recognize me...

Then Big Poppy or something like that from the Boston Red Sox (obviously I really follow baseball), but he was cool.

I love living in New York. In a couple of weeks I have Jon Stewart tickets. Yeah baby.

Overheard in New York

You know when you are riding on the subway, or sitting in a restaurant, or pretty much anywhere in New York, and you think-MAN-there are some crazy people here! Well, this is a website devoted to the stupid things New Yorkers and the millions of tourists who come here are overheard to have said. (warning-it does contain some offensive language)

http://www.overheardinnewyork.com

I'm a punk rocker

Part I

So last night I went to this free concert in New York where the Teddybears were playing. I didn't know anything about them. I just thought, hey, it will be fun, hopefully. Or, it will suck, at that will be something to talk about too. It was at a really cool venue and once the screechy girl band before them stopped, it was really great.

So Teddybears comes out. And they are actually wearing teddy bear HEADS. As in the previous pictures are actually band members. And I have to say something about it was really cool. I really liked the fact that they were playing music and singing, with mean-looking bear heads.
So, yeah, go to their website to watch their video and see more giant bear heads. You won't be disappointed. It is: teddybearsrock.com

A few other things about the night:

1. I am not really good at ordering drinks at a bar, not being a seasoned bar-goer/alcoholic

2. Maybe, just maybe, I can dance okay, or at least enough to have a great time

3. There are some freaky, freaky looking people in New York

Part II

So we leave Hiro, and are STARVING from, you know dancing like maniacs, and there is the most fabulous place around the corner, crap, what's it called? Anyway, they serve these tiny cheeseburgers that are delicious. We decided it was time for another meal at 1:00. Apparently so had one of the cast from 30 Rock. I don't know his name. So we sat down at a table that had only one semi-hunky business guy sitting at it. His friend joined him, and after a few minutes, they decided to give us their hamburgers. (apparently we looked malnourished?) Ours weren't ready yet, and we protested that surely we would be fed soon, but they insisted. So we ate their burgers. Then we ended up talking to them for about an hour, during which conversation we realized that one of them was quite drunk, and could not follow our conversation. "Wait...so your IN the band? So you live in Utah?" The other guy was not so dense, and tried to assist his friend, but was not extremely successful. We gave them our burgers when they arrived, so it was a fairly even swap on the burgers. Then they ate all our fries, without really an invitation. Drunk guy offered to drive us home, (he had to drive to White Plains, I pray he and everyone else made it) but we declined and rode the subway. Too bad he didn't have that option.

now new new york can be like old amsterdam

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/23/nyregion/23streetfuture.html

i hate generic

i was so happy to get back to new york today and see a man with dredlocks standing on the subway platform. this is one of the many joys of life in the city.

just like the movie with Matthew and J-Lo, only without them

View in Bryant Park at the summer movie-All the King's Men. I love living in New York.

The Drowsy Chaperone

Finally! After over a year of finally trying to get tickets to this play, I finally got them today at the half price tickets booth. (I have given up on the lottery). It better be good!

Heaven

I finally did find a place in the city. I am proud to now call myself a New Yorker.

So I was thinking yesterday that I think that maybe heaven will be like Manhattan. Everything you could possibly want to do, something for everyone. You have skyscrapers, you have central park.

HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Is there nowhere to live in Manhattan that is a good location and affordable???