homeless

I just need a home.

Honestly, that's all I need. A place to live. Someplace to drop my books, kick up my feet and watch some late night television. A quiet, safe space that I can call my own for a few months and feel comfortable in.

Is that too much to ask?

the nypd's flying fleet comes to say hello

The past few days I've had the pleasure of waking up to bird songs. It seems there are hundreds of birds roosting (I almost typed roasting) around my apartment, all eager to share the trials and tribulations of the long winter with one another. It's a nice sound, and one that makes me feel like I'm not in the middle of an urban wasteland. Refreshing.

However, today I woke up to an all together different kind of noise. Instead of a bugle call or a robin's call, I woke up to ... two NYPD helicopters hovering over my house. I think a third one might have been flying around too. The helicopters were almost directly above my room (I'm on the top floor), and since I had my window open from the previous night, my blissful sleep got interrupted by the very loud thunder of the NYPD's flying fleet.

I have no idea who they were after -- fugitive from the law? murderer? car jacker? -- but the NYPD certainly took their sweet time and stayed above my apartment for a solid 30 minutes or so.

I kept waiting for the 'copters to leave, but they weren't budging. I didn't want to shut my window either, because it's warm out today and my landlord hasn't turned the heat off yet, so that my radiator is slowly but surely toasting me to death. So I had to cope with the noise, the vague worry of some criminal trying to break into my apartment in a mad attempt to escape the helicopters, and the faint paranoia of 'oh my, are the popos after ME?' (I always think I'm in trouble, even when I've done nothing wrong.)

Eventually the helicopters flew off. I don't think they caught whoever they were looking for, but I haven't heard the NYPD come back, so they must have flown off to greener pastures.

At any rate, all of this was a nice distraction from stressing over finding a place to live for 6 weeks, being mad at the majority of people I know in the world, and realizing I still have a bunch of papers/books to read for class next week. I totally just exaggerated about being mad at the majority of people I know, but since the people I'm angry with have major significance in my life, it feels like I'm mad at more people than just them ... if that makes any sense.

Oh! and I met a paramedic last night and spoke with him briefly about a neighborhood I was potentially looking to move in to -- one that is notorious for being a straight up ghetto. (I mean, let's not mince words here people ... it has the top crime rate in NYC except for the South Bronx.) It's cheap and has an apartment that is month-to-month, which is why I'm considering it. The paramedic I spoke with happened to work in the particular neighborhood I'm interested in, and told me "Just stay away from _____ Avenue, all the stabbings and murders I take care of happen there."

However, he did add that none of them were random. I think he was implying all the murders were drug dealers and the like getting their due, but I wasn't sure. Still, kind of scary!

observations

Odds & Ends:

The weather has been incredibly strange the past few days. Yesterday it was an incredible 60 degrees at one point, with bright blue skies and a sun that felt almost spring-like in intensity. Birds were swooping through the air, squirrels were out collecting nuts frantically, and all the school age children were running around like it was the first day of summer vacation. Strange for February!

After living in New York City for 3 years, I'm still amazed at all the things people throw out in their garbage. Items left out for grabs recently include: a skillet, books on baby care, a television set, a television stand, an armchair, several sofas, art magazines, cassette tapes, shoes (men's and women's), a hat and beaded belt. It would be possible to furnish an entire apartment with the things one can find on the street.

Speaking of items on the street ... did anyone notice the old man who sells records on West 4th and 6th Av this past Friday? He's always there, selling old LPs, but on this particular evening he had a magnificent fake reindeer for sale, made of wicker. It was parked out in the middle of the sidewalk, so people had move around it in order to get by. Classic!

On a totally unrelated note, the best hot chocolate in Brooklyn is at the Tea Lounge on 7th Avenue in Park Slope. I'm sure the other locations have equally amazing hot cocoa, as well. All I can say is ... creamy goodness that will blow a person away! Very yummy.

two men

Old Man in an Olive Green Jacket

"She is such a bitch."

I look up from my book, wondering if those words are addressed at me. I'm prepared to go on the defensive for an unknown reason, accepting the fact I live in a city full of nut jobs who are happy to throw insults at innocent people.

A fat man in an ugly olive colored jacket is standing by me. He is talking to himself, apparently in the midst of an angry monologue. His words are deliberate and loud. Phrases like "she just wanted to give me a hard time, so I called her a bitch," come pouring out of his mouth. I think I almost see the venom that's streaming from him in waves.

I want to roll my eyes and tell the guy to shut up, but instead I go back to reading my book. I'm sitting near the man, waiting for the subway to roll by so I can get to class, and I'm annoyed that this angry person is venting about some mystery woman so loudly. I want to tell him to be quiet and be mindful of his language, but somehow it doesn't seem wise to get into an altercation with someone who is so large and obnoxious. You never know with people, and this particular person seems very mad.

The man keeps talking.

I keep rereading the same paragraph, over and over.

A woman sitting next to me gets up and leaves, walking off in a huff.

The man takes her seat and turns towards me.

He keeps talking.

I keep trying to read until he addresses me.

"Can you believe people these days?" he asks. "That woman in the booth wouldn't refund my metro card. She was just being difficult. So I was more difficult back. I'm right, aren't I?"

He's talking about the poor old lady who works in the metro booth all day long. I see her sometimes, looking bored and placid like an old cow set out to pasture. She is kind of bitchy, but then again, her job is pretty terrible -- sitting underground in a glass booth all day, selling tickets and giving directions to strangers who don't say thank you and scowl at her with angry faces.

"No. I think that was pretty rude, actually."

My words make the guy pause for a second. It's as if the thought of him being rude never dawned on him. I want to smirk, but instead I go back to reading my book. I have an intense feeling of satisfaction at the telling the man off in my own little way, but I keep it hidden and internal.

The man doesn't get the point though. He launches into a long explanation of how he taught in the public school system for x amount of years, teaching "African American and Puerto Rican kids" and "keeping them in line." I want to ask him what being black or brown has to do with it, but I just nod, my eyes hovering somewhere between his olive clad arm and my book.

He's on a roll now. Somehow, the topic turns to the elections. The man is pro-Obama, which immediately makes me want to vote for Clinton. I don't say much except "uh huh" or "how nice" and make pointed attempts to read my book, but the man is relishing in his role of master orator. His reasonings are flawed and idiotic at best, and I feel like pointing out he's an ignorant schmuck. Plus, he keeps pulling me away from my book, which is irritating.

Finally and mercifully, the train arrives. I stand up, eager to get on board. The man is still sitting there, and jovially commands me to "Have a nice day." Yeah, whatever, dude. I will, as long as you stop talking to me. That's what I want to say, but instead I simply nod and mutter "thanks", because telling him "you too" would be a lie.

Old Man In Navy Blue

It's late and I'm riding the subway back home, same book as last time clutched in my hand. The train isn't too crowded, so everyone has a seat. The people sitting around me remind me of plumped up pigeons, fat and stuffed full of bread crumbs and gossip. It's mostly a car full of older women, talking loudly and cackling madly. I am very glad not to be a part of their conversations.

The subway stops to disgorge passengers, and to let a few others on. An older gentleman dressed in navy blue steps on board, and takes a seat across from me. He nods politely in my direction, and I nod back.

I go back to reading my book. I look up a few times to scope out the scene, but it's all the same chattering people and pigeon-women. So I go back to reading.

At my stop, I get up and the older man catches my eye. "Have a nice night," I tell him. He smiles and says, "Thanks. Thanks a lot. I appreciate it."

And you know what? I've never heard anyone more sincere than him.

He really was grateful.

song for eddie

I've given up trying to post an mp3 directly onto the blog, because every mp3 upload service online apparently does not allow this. So, if you want to hear my song for Eddie, please visit http://www.myspace.com/bailarsalsa and click on track '5'. This is the only way I could manage to share an mp3 with the readers of this blog.

Again, the song is called 'Long Journey Home' and it is off the album 'Raising Sand' by Robert Plant and Alison Krauss.

Ignore the other songs on the page unless you're into Bone Thugs n' Harmony, Prince and Atmosphere. And no, I don't want a discussion of legalities.

Real blog post coming next ...

for eddie

This past Sunday, I learned that my beloved Uncle Eddie had died after a long battle with cancer. He died on Friday, but there was a delay in getting the word to me for various reasons. Needless to say, I was saddened by the news, although I can't say it took me by surprise.

Uncle Eddie, although not an 'uncle' in the traditional sense of the word, was a dear family friend who was a part of my life from infancy onwards. He watched me grow up in so many ways. From my days of playing with Barbie and My Little Ponies to playing instruments, Eddie was there. He heard my woes about boyfriends, he was there to watch me perform a world premiere and he was always there to give me a compliment most people wouldn't think of -- like telling me I had a nice neck, or that I was a sensitive, sweet girl. (Things that don't seem like a big deal, but somehow are.) I will never forget the time when I was little and he kindly laughed over my panic at the Prophet Elijah's supposed appearence during a Passover celebration. I was so scared of Eliajah's ghost that I refused to use the bathroom until my mom walked in with me and stood there while I peed.

Eddie had a beautiful apartment, full of exquisite things. He had an amazing collection of Irish silver, perhaps a nod to his Irish roots. Eddie told the best stories of growing up with my dad -- I learned some funny things about my father as a young boy, thanks to Eddie. I loved standing in Eddie's apartment just looking at everything. There was so much to see, so many beautiful things.

So, in case Eddie can see this from whatever cloud he's zooming around on in Heaven:

I love you very much, Uncle E., and will miss you. I'm sorry I never got to say goodbye to you, but on the next sunny day, if you see me looking up and waving, it's in an effort to give you some sort of proper send off. (Of course, a real good bye will never be needed, as you are always in my heart.)

Everyone else: I have a song I am going to post in his honor. Soon as I find a file upload service that's free and doesn't suck (no such luck yet) I will post it.

thriller madness!

This is golden. So, apparently some passengers on the underground system of London decided to put together a little show for their fellow commuters. Someone got a video of them dancing along to Michael Jackson's 'Thriller', complete with dance moves from that video. The best part of the clip is the polite applause at the end. London, so civilized! New Yorkers would be rolling their eyes and ignoring the dancers.

Here's the clip:

And, if you need a refresher for what the original awesome-tastic video was like, here it is (you need to click the link)(and ahh, memories!!): Thriller Video

Of course, if you haven't seen the Indian Bollywood version (I've heard that it's actually in Tamil, but whatever), then this is truly the best version of them all:

poor women need not apply ...

I suppose that one of the wonderful things about NYC is the amount of material wealth floating around this city. I mean, I don't find it that great, but there are plenty of people who make it their sole mission in life to mass together vast amounts of wealth.

In this proud American tradition, the 'Sugar Mommas and Boy Toys Speed Date' has been set up by one enterprising company named Pocket Change. Male applicants are picked based solely on their appearance (photographs must be sent in), while women must be over 35, have a salary of over $500,000 and have assets worth at least four million. The logic behind this is that older women can pick up, wine, dine and get cozy with hot younger men.

The website proudly proclaims that it takes over where "Susan B. Anthony left off. The Fourth Wave of Feminism, Pocket Change be thy name!" This statement is followed by the cheerful announcement that it is "the women's turn."

I have several issues with this. I'm all for physical beauty (especially in males), but this website comes across as a tad ... shallow. YaknowwhatImean? Like. Really shallow.

And then there's the issue of this whole 'fourth wave of feminism' nonsense. When was there ever a real third wave? Even the 'second wave' feminist movement (which, arguably, was in the 60's), was kind of an off shoot of Civil Rights and everything else. Where is the third wave? And what the hell is a fourth wave?

Not to mention, citing this company as somehow feminist or on the brink of a new gynocentric movement is absurd. If anything, Pocket Change sets women back 25 years by turning their website into a wealthy woman's version of 'Hot or Not' with all the voting for the best looking applicants. It is a study in absurdity, not feminism.

Also ... it's the women's turn to do what? Collect attractive young men to parade around on their Versace and Gucci glad arms? Find someone to lavish their $500,000 annual salary on? Turn the tables and have older women pick up younger men?

I'm not exactly the world's great philosopher, but the morals behind this website disturb me. I know similar websites exist for 'Sugar Daddies' to find young, beautiful women (well, more like teenagers), and I have a problem with those too. Why? Because it boils down a relationship into two categories: 1) looking good and 2) having money or having money spent on you. It cheapens everything about romance, love, sex and friendship.

Which is fine, I guess. There are a lot of people who are really only after money and/or a good looking partner. I'm not going to rain on anyone's parade if that's what they're after. But geez, people. Don't start patting yourself on the back for being 'feminist' or whatever. That's total bull.

You can see the 'Top Female Applicants' and 'Top Male Applicants' on the Sugar Mommas page. You can comment on their looks, leave them little messages and browse their various photographs. All of the women have a similar plastic look, while all the men are yes, incredibly attractive ... in a wax figure, Hollywood kind of way.

Anyway, take a peek for yourself if you are so inclined. You have been warned however: it is like entering a parallel, artificial universe where everyone is made out of rubber and plastic, has Barbie doll hair and doesn't mind dropping $200 on dinner to get a man to hook up with them.

No thanks!

The website is at: http://www.pocketchangenyc.com/sugarmamas.asp.

odds & ends

This isn't a 'real' post. Think of it as more of a junk entry.

Anyway, don't forget to click on goosetopia. A click each day adds to my population.

Also, this is funny:

apartment hunting is a difficult thing to do

Apartment hunting in New York is probably one of the most frustrating aspects of living in the city. This is especially true for my peers, people who are in their twenties, recently out of (or in graduate) school, and on a tight budget. We're the ones who are stuck scouring Craigslist advertisements, dealing with shady brokers, and charming landlords who ask you questions like "Are you going to smoke pot and have parties in the apartment? Because I don't want that."

Alas, the time has come again for me to find an apartment in this large and amazing city. I have a few requirements, which are apparently contradictory to one another: a cheap place that's also in a safe neighborhood. Apparently, anything under $900 a month isn't going to get you very far, even in the outermost boroughs. (Note that my budget is more like $700.) I'm also hoping for little things, like, you know, actual doors that lock and kitchens that are large enough for more than a midget sized child to cook in.

I've developed a sort-of 'Apartment Niceness Scale' (A.N.S.), akin to the Kinsey Scale. The obvious difference is that my A.N.S. relates to domestic abodes, not modes of sexuality.

At the extreme top of the Apartment Niceness Scale would be the palatial dwelling spaces of the upper echelons of society, those marble and brick residences that line Central Park, Fifth Avenue, Park Avenue and the like. Middle range would be someplace decent in Astoria or Park Slope, with an exposed brick wall or too, functioning hot water, views that aren't of the wall belonging to the next building over, and perhaps an attractive male neighbor next door who can help screw in light bulbs and share his beer on a Saturday night. The lowest rank would be the suicide inducing monstrosity I visited yesterday afternoon, a dismal and dank place with floral wallpaper from 1975 and no doors. (Yes, no doors, you heard me right. There was a door to the bathroom and an entrance ... and that was it.)

It was bad enough that walking to this apartment of doom -- during midday, mind you -- I felt like I could be jumped at any second. Well, okay, it wasn't quite that bad. It was certainly not fun, though. The only thing going for the neighborhood was that it was quintessential New York. I passed a Halal butcher, Hassidic Jews, signs that were only in Hebrew, and about a gazillion Mexican bodegas. Long live NYC, minus creepy guys and criminals!

After getting lost twice and being distracted in reminiscing about a Halal butcher I used to live near that kept live geese and chickens in the shop, I finally found the apartment in question. Yuck!! I think my first thought to myself was, "I'd slit my wrists if I lived here." No joke.

Luckily, I had another viewing scheduled for later that evening. Again, shady neighborhood, but not quite as sketch as the last one. Four flights up, and I find the apartment: nice, but not worth the rent given the neighborhood and climb up the stairs. And then, to top it off, I almost fell through the stairs when a board I stepped on gave way. Joy! (Not.)

So, anyway. I'm off again to look at more apartments this week. I'm sure it will prove to be a joyless task, but a girl needs a place to live. I'm trying to see these home hunting adventures as a way of exploring NYC. New neighborhoods and all that. But, honestly, it would just be lovely if someone plopped down a beautiful first floor apartment on my doorstep tomorrow and said, "Here, take it, rent free!"

dear 2008,

Dear 2008,
Welcome to Planet Earth. I hope you find it to your liking here. I'm sure you'll bring all kinds of excitement and misery alike -- births, deaths, dreams into fruition, incidents and accidents, peace marches and death matches, great works of art, new friendships, new scientific discoveries and old archaeological finds. Under your tenure there will be, undoubtedly, wars and fires, hurricanes and volcano blasts, sunny days, cloudy evenings, rain and snow, sleet and ice, warm summer evenings and long, cold winter twilights. Some things will remain the same, such as MTV, basketball players being paid too much to shoot a ball around, and kids cheating on exams in school. Other things will change, like my age, who will become president, what colors are 'in' or 'out' next season, and the like.

There are a few things I want to say before all of these things get set in motion, however. To begin with, I'm tired of some things in my own life, and I'm sure other people can relate as well. For example, I'm really quite over being force fed what is HOT or NOT on every magazine cover; I'm tired of being told if only I were blonder, or taller, or thinner, or had a bigger butt, I'd be somehow more desirable and therefore worthy of the good things in life.

I'm done with half baked friends, and the types of fake people who smile at you in your presence and then turn around and call you every snarky name in the book once you are absent. Magenta may be so last season, but why doesn't anyone ever say treating other people like crap is, too?

I have some requests on behalf of the citizens of New York City, as well. For one thing, landlords need to stop raising their rents so high. When Brooklyn gets too expensive to live in, what is left? Queens? (Ugh, the indignity!)

People looking to pick up a little change need to come up with more inventive acts. I've seen you play a guitar, an African harp, steel drums, keyboards, sing, play buckets like they were drums, break dance, do Michael Jackson impersonations, protest march against the Iraq War, sell knickknacks, hawk newspapers, try to barter off pirated DVDs and stolen batteries, ask for change, scrounge for lost money under vending machines, sell furniture on the street, design jewelry and offer me hot dogs for $2. Try something new. How about a space launch from 42nd Street? Or a caged liger (not lion, not tiger, but liger) act in Washington Square Park?

Girls need to put their Ugg boots to rest, everyone needs to put down their cell phones and pay attention to the world for five minutes, and, in addition, it would be great if Star Bucks stopped proliferating on every street corner in Manhattan.

It remains to be seen what kind of year you will be, 2008. I only hope it is a good one for everybody, full of cheer and happy moments. For me personally, it will be my third year in NYC and a milestone -- I've made it this long here. Here's too another few years of life in this wonderful, mad, crazy city in this wonderful, mad, crazy new year.

Love,
me

i like .... this amazing video.

Now this is truly amazing! Witness a parachute jump from the edge of space, as caught on camera. It is actual military footage and it is a-m-a-z-i-n-g. The video then cuts to a beautiful underwater scene that turns into some amazing surfing footage. This entire piece is the music video for Boards of Canada's 'Davycan Cowboy.' Boards of Canada is generally quite excellent, and although this is arguably a weaker track, the footage gives it a boost. In fact, the picture and sound go together perfectly.

Enjoy!

oh, japan.

File this under 'the Japanese make some crazy stuff!'

rellerindos

One of the best parts about living in New York is all the candy. Yes, I said candy, and no, I'm not kidding. As far as I'm concerned, high fructose corn syrup and sugar are the nectar of the gods, and NYC is Candy Mecca!

My most recent discovery happened last night. My friend innocently handed me over a bag of Mexican candies, and suggested I try one. Well, after all the ghetto things I've heard about candy from Mexico over the years (it's tainted with lead, child laborers package it, etc., etc.) I timidly said no, until I realized ... what the hell. It's candy.

The treat that I popped in my mouth was heavenly. Spicy, sweet, sour and salty all at once. What were these nuggets of goodness? Rellerindos, tamarind flavor!!

I am going to hunt through all my local bodegas and see if I can find more. They are DELICIOUS.

last minute gift ideas

Two last minute gift ideas for anyone trying to think of a unique and fun gift for someone (or yourself):

* Sponser a chimp at the Chimpanzee sanctuary in Florida! They're all chimps that were used in the Air Force's space program, lab chimps and/or their offspring. I love this organization and everytime I read their website my heart breaks for all those poor chimps who've been so horrifically abused. (Can you imagine NOT HAVING TOUCHED GRASS FOR 40 YEARS? Some of those chimps have been through that and worse.)

Here's the link: http://www.savethechimps.org/give_adopt.asp
You can pick which chimp you want to sponser and read their life stories. Also, you can also sponser a chimp's move to Florida, donate blankets and food, join the organization and/or help buy some chimps dinner with their meal program!

* If you want a unique, handmade gift by a very talented artist out of California, check out http://www.sappymoosetree.com/. The artist is a person I have known online for a long time, and I have two of her lovely products which have a special place in my bedroom. She specializes in adorable stuffed animals -- gotta see them to believe it.

life: an update

Feeling a little bit better today. Getting out and forcing myself to be social with friends and classmates has been good. My over inflated tution actually covered my dinner out last night with my professor and class, so it was nice to nosh on some Egyptian goodies. I chowed down on falafels, lamb and chicken kabobs, roasted veggies, hummus and pita and some yummy salad and cheese. The food was excellent, for the record.

Then it was a stop off at a friend's bar she manages in the East Village. It was crowded and totally not my scene, but with a $2 glass of Yuengling, who can complain that much? I stayed for a drink and then jetted out to catch my train before Late Hours began.

Things improved later in the evening when I took advantage of the wonderful views on my roof and had a friend over. Great conversation, weather that isn't too cold, and a misty view of Manhattan will always add flavor to one's night.

Today I had lunch out with a friend (his treat) and caught the new-ish Coen brothers flick, No Country For Old Men. I have enjoyed the work of the Coens in the past, and this was no exception. A bit of a departure from some of their earlier work, and quite disturbing, but it is a well rounded and beautifully shot movie. Very violent, though, but it fits in with the script.

In an interesting aside, I had an interesting conversation with a Hassidic Jewish guy in a used bookstore today. He was really curious about my life. He was asking all sorts of questions -- what bacon tasted like, what I thought of Hassidic Jews, if I knew any Hebrew, did I know any Jews, and the like. We even went over my martial life -- or rather, my lack of one! He was very open, and told me he couldn't be caught talking to a woman in his religious community, but he could outside of his neighborhood. We even shook hands, which is a very tabboo thing for most Hassidic men. He was very proud of being a father and having 5 children (at age 35), and was very into being Jewish, but he was also genuinely curious about non-Hassidic life. He even announced he felt women and men were equal ... but not to tell his wife that! Anyway, he was a friendly fat little fellow and maybe I'll bump into him again. We had a good conversation.

Now I'm contemplating the pile of finals and papers I have to finish before the end of the coming week. So much to do! At least having work on my mind will keep me from dwelling too much on the lamer aspects of my life right now ... I guess give thanks for the small things, right? Even if those small things otherwise suck.

I am taking tonight off from doing work, and then it's back to the grind in the morning. I wish you all a good weekend, and hope that life, or finals, or whatever, are going well.

lights and candles

My candle in the window isn't there anymore. (Is everything leaving me? Feels that way.) I don't know if you remember, but a while back I wrote about the comfort of a routine I had developed for evenings I was feeling lonely or low. I'd look out my window and would always see a candle flickering in the window of an apartment a few streets over. It was always such a warm and welcoming sight, and served as a reminder that there were other people out there, at home like me, enjoying the warmth of a flame.

Sadly, my candle is gone. I went to go look for it the past few nights, and it hasn't been there. This is a little too fitting for someone who is not feeling warmth or love right now! I keep losing things and people I love and depend on. Men, candles ... metaphors ... ugh.

Luckily, there's a new candle in a different window to cheer me up. In fact, the owner of this candle has Christmas lights all around the edge of their window, which glow bright white in little star shapes. They also have the red candle that burns on the windowsill. Love it.

The weather may be getting colder, but thank god for the holiday decorations. Like last year, people are out doing themselves in my neighborhood to display plastic lit up Santas, strings of lights and blinking technicolor snowflake ornaments. I might have to try and take some snaps of the Christmas display for this blog. There's something incredibly sweet about a family that takes the time to put up decorations. It shows some dedication to the holiday spirit.

I'm feeling sad right now, but at least I have my lights and blinking flakes and the like. I guess the world can't be totally gray if I have red and green colors flashing all over my nightly walk home from the subway.

But I still say ... life is a series of departures. My Christmas Candle in the Window will be departing after the holidays, and come January, all those decorations will be packed away to collect dust. I'd say that's pretty blue, and not at all a happy thought.

a sad day post

In the end, this is all it came down to,--
a frustrated, confused phone call and me in tears, knowing that the best friend I'll ever have (that I will ever want to have) is leaving me, extracting from me, mining out bits and pieces of my heart and head and my being --

what is left?

and

what more is there?

What is life, if nothing but a series of departures?

dancing on the train

Well, dear God, the following clip just made the evening news. Apparently some girls entered an online dare to win $10,000 for the best pole dancing contest and they decided to film themselves going nuts on a N subway train.

I have to say, it took some serious guts to do this. That said, they're all musical theater majors, which explains a lot -- every acting student I know is pretty much clinically insane.

The clip is semi-vulgar, but there's no nudity. Just lots and lots of smiling men, girls hanging from bars, and some crazy dance moves.

wild parrots in brooklyn

Who knew that there were wild parrots in Brooklyn? Yes, you read that correctly. Wild parrots. Apparently they've been flying around parts of B'lyn since the 1960's. Somehow they have managed to co-exist with all the power lines, people and cold weather for decades.

There's a website dedicated to them here. There are even Parrot Sighting Safaris for those who want to actually catch a glimpse of these colorful birds. (The next one is coming up on December 1.)The guy who runs the website, and gives the safaris (which are free) seems to be a huge parrot advocate, which is nice. I'm not sure about trudging around in the cold to see the parrots, but perhaps I'll luck out and see one on my own.

The Washington Post ran a story on the subject back in 2006. The link to it is here. Highlights from the article include where to spot them, that they live in herds (or flocks? whatever) of 50 to 60 birds, and that they've adapted quite well to Brooklyn's climes.

Further research has yielded intriguing tidbits about parrot poaching and suspicious activity by ConEdison, the local power company. Sketchy, sketchy! However, if you want to find out the scoop on these details, I suggest you do a little detective work yourself and type in 'Brooklyn parrots' at a search engine online.

Oh, and don't forget to Google image search them ... they're cute! And green!

sonic BOOM!!

The lighting of the Christmas Tree at Rockefeller Center is tonight for anyone interested. I think it goes on between 7 - 9 pm Eastern Time. I won't be there (boo for getting an education instead!), but a lot of other people will be ... If you want a live look at the tree from here on out until Christmas, there's a webcam pointed directly at the tree here. Just click on 'Exclusive: A Live Look At The Christmas Tree.' The tree is up until around January 6, and is lit from 5:30am-11:30pm. That's a whole lot of electricity.

In other news (and totally unrelated), does anyone else find the following video clip incredibly cool? It's of a military jet breaking the sound barrier. You can hear the sonic BOOM! and see the actual displacement of the sound wave or whatever. I remember when I used to live near a military base, and jets would always be zooming over head, breaking the sound barrier ... the dishes and windows would rattle like crazy in my house, and it was very loud. I know some people who had their china and glass break during the 'boom times'. (Ha ha, pun intended ... sadly.) Honestly, I know this is unrelated to Xmas, but youtube is so much fun, I can't resist finding the most random stuff possible. I'll try to get back to blurbs about life in NYC in the next post. I'm so ADD!

Here's the youtube clip:

some arvo part and an update

Friends, it's been awhile. Life has been zipping along like a flash, a great burst of energy, colors, people and sounds. In the past few weeks I've:

* retrieved my purse and wallet from the evidence locker at an out of state police station
* eaten two Thanksgiving dinners
* written more papers than I'd like to count
* been gifted with the second season of He-Man ... and, naturally, reliving my very early youth while watching it (YEAH, Battle Cat!)
* virtually memorized Joni Mitchell's album 'Song to a Seagull' while the song 'Marcie' has become one of my favorite of all time
* been on a bus at least 4 times in the past 2 weeks.

And that, folks, has been my life. I haven't been around NYC much lately, so I don't have anything that is related to city life to report. However, I am including a clip of Arvo Part's brilliant 'Spiegel Im Spiegel' which is one of my favorite pieces by one of my favorite living composers. The video quality is bad, but the point is the music anyway ...

too funny!

Ahhh, this is too funny! Clips from the film 'Amadeus' and a Family Guy episode spoofing the movie.

nyc marathon

For those of you who are in NYC or going to watch this on television:

The NYC Marathon is Sunday! World's largest marathon with over 38,000 runners! Also, fun fact: the world's largest urinal is set up at the Staten Island starting point. 200+ feet long. That's a whole lot of pee!

Official Website
Best Places to Watch The Race From
Marathon Information, Route Map & More Tips On Observation Points

My first year living in NYC I walked out my front door one day and right in to the middle of the marathon. It was going on and I had no idea! Needless to say, big surprise.

I'm not sure if I'll watch it this year. I guess I'll update you on if I go or not in the next post. If anyone catches it, let me know!

i like ... aya kato

I really like the work of Aya Kato.  A female Japanese artist born in 1982, Aya plays with color and form in inventive ways. 

In a funny way, her work reminds me a little bit of Henry Darger, at least in terms of the Technicolor palette and fanciful subject matter.  

What do you think?

 

my landlord might possibly be the biggest jerk on the planet

Now, can I take just a moment to complain about cheap landlords? If you have never dealt with one, then lucky you. However, if you've had the misfortune of dealing with a scum-of-the-earth property owner, then you will probably feel my pain more acutely than those who haven't had to deal.

My landlord is notoriously bad. When I say notorious I mean really just among my roommate and the lady next door (who is a freak show herself and a totally different story), but I'm assuming if I spoke with anyone else in the building they'd all agree -- our landlord is the pits.

To start with, he never repairs anything. I only got a mailbox fixed after I threatened to file a police report about mail theft from my box. If anything does magically get 'fixed', the work is so shoddily done that whatever has just been repaired will be sure to break again within a few days. We didn't have running water for 4 days our first summer here -- it took him that long to fix it, and that was after we got the Health Department on his case.

This landlord has verbally abused me over the phone (and my dad!), hires a drunk for a super who lives in New Jersey and is therefore never around when you need him, and is trying to up our rent by $25 ... just because we called about him painting the place.

The latest fiasco is our heating situation. Well folks, it's getting cold out. It's November. Heat would be nice. But we didn't have a working thermostat for over a week, and when it did get fixed the landlord's wife made sure that the heat is timed to shut off at 10pm. Yes, that's right, we get NO heat after 10pm.

I'm working on rectifying this situation, but getting anyone to respond to me is like pulling teeth. I literally have to rip a response out of someone around here to get anything (shoddily/poorly/horribly) done.

I suspect this is illegal, as well. Shutting the heat off after 10pm? Hmm.

obligatory holiday post

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

I have to say, Manhattan on Halloween is a freak show -- and an annoying one, at that. Too many people, too much glitter and too much bad attitude from police officers! Seriously, if I see another fat girl in a bumblebee outfit or another gay man in drag (how unoriginal, boys) I am going to vomit.
Halloween is one of my favorite holidays, but getting through a mess of people just to catch a ride on the subway is not fun. Why the congestion? The annual East Village Halloween Parade, of course, a legendary staple of NYC holiday life.

Best costume seen tonight: The girl running around who was a lamp, complete with lampshade on her head.
Earliest time I saw someone wearing a costume: Around 11am this afternoon.
Most unoriginal/uninspired costume: Anything involving fishnet stockings, a push up bra, wings and a woman. GET OVER YOURSELVES, GIRLS!
Least Involved get-up of the evening: The girl on the subway who was wearing devil horns strapped to her head while dressed in regular jeans and a sweater.
Cutest costume: The baby I saw this afternoon who was a little bee!


HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

photos: autumn love

These photos were taken at a park near my non-NYC house over my birthday weekend. Love that fall foliage!

photo: manhattan from the 18th floor

view from the 18th floor balcony of a hotel in the lower east side
manhattan, ny
october 23, 2007
photo taken on my cell phone camera ... as usual.

birthday!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!

And to my fellow October 17 babies: Arthur Miller, Pope John Paul I, Rita Hayworth, Eminem, Robert Atkins (the Atkins diet guy!), Evel Knievel, Michael Hossack (Doobie Brothers), Margot Kidder (Superman!), Rob Marshall, Mike Judge (Beavis & Butthead, King of the Hill among others -- MTV legend and yes, I like his cartoons), Norm MacDonald, Ziggy Marley, Chris Kirkpatrick ('NSYNC) and Wyclef Jean.


October 17 was a great day to be born, and here I am, 25 years later, celebrating that eventful moment! (Thanks mom!)

I just want to share some interesting things that happened on my birthday, courtesy of wikipedia.org:

* 593 BC: "King Cyrus The Great of Persia marches into the city of Babylon, releasing the Jews from almost 70 years of exile and making the first Human Rights Declaration.

* 1604 AD: "1604 - Kepler's Star: German astronomer Johannes Kepler observes that an exceptionally bright star had suddenly appeared in the constellation. Ophiuchus, which turned out to be the last supernova to have been observed in our own galaxy, the Milky Way."

* 1888: "Thomas Edison files a patent for the Optical Phonograph (the first movie)."

* 1937: "Huey, Dewey and Louie, Donald Duck's three almost identical nephews, first appear in a newspaper comic strip."

*1967: "The musical Hair opens at the Anspacher Theater on Broadway."

*1979: "Mother Teresa awarded the Nobel Peace Prize."

eating in lower manhattan

Like every good New Yorker, I love to go out to eat. There are so many options in the city that, for the foodophile, picking a place to eat dinner can be quite a daunting task. Being the impoverished and cheap student that I am this problem is somewhat lessened, since half of the places to eat in NYC I can't afford. I'm all about the cheap eats.

For those of you on a tight budget and in the East Village, I suggest Dumpling Man on St. Mark's Place. You can order a variety of yummy Chinese dumplings made fresh to order. The dipping sauces are tasty, too. A good snack option are the pumpkin dumplings -- seriously, it's like fried pumpkin pie. Too good!

Although I haven't eaten there, I did try the hookah at Horus Cafe (also in the East Village). My friend swears by the place. While I can't attest to the food, I can state that the cafe has a great vibe, decorating and a nice staff. Just don't order water there -- I did, thinking it was going to be tap water, and it wound up being a $2 bottle of Poland Spring!

There's another cheap joint that isn't half bad. No hookah bar though. I don't know the name of the place, but it is also located on St. Mark's Place and has the infamous 'eat me' hot dog sign out front. Anyway, it's cheap, has good hot dogs and you can get the most disgustingly greasy cheese covered tater tots there. I promise you will feel like throwing up afterwards, but in a good way.

Oh, and my new favorite food spot in the Washington Square area is the vegan friendly Temple in the Village, located on West 3rd Street near the NYU Law School. It's a buffet of all vegetarian friendly fare, and the owners make a point of listing if the foods are raw, high fiber, cooked in oil and any other conceivable thing. It's a tad pricey at roughly $7 a pound, but it is one of the better deals in the neighborhood, especially for the quality of the food. They also have tea specials for $1 when you get food there -- corn, barley and ginger tea, here I come! I actually prefer the place to Red Bamboo. (Although Red Bamboo has a much better atmosphere, more choices to pick from, and has a killin' appetizer section.)

Anyway, enough about food! More posts to come. The travel blog is due for an update, as well ...

photo: bench & snow

snow & bench in prospect park last winter
photo taken (as usual) on my cell phone camera.

observations

Random things:

Today was:
dismal
dank
wet

New York City smelled like a damp dog from all the rain today.

The old lady who lives in the bottom floor apartment next door (and spends all her time staring out the window at people walking by) is apparently quite charitable and has become known as the local Goodwill-that-isn't-a-Goodwill. She disperses donated items to her friends and family who need it.

There's some guy living in the stairwell next door. He's been there over a month now. His possessions are:
an ashtray
two books
cigarettes
a lighter
shoes

I always see his things lying around, along with copies of the latest newspapers.

I feel like asking him -- do you pay rent to live in a stairwell? Because it's totally illegal. And then I feel like telling him -- it's against the law for a reason.

My roommate's cat won't shut up. Meow, meow, meow.
She needs to install a mute button in him.

It's almost my birthday and I'm not sure if I'm happy or dismayed about it.

I've been eating way too much chocolate pudding lately.

The grocery store in my neighborhood stocks three kinds of chocolate puddings.

photo: kitten love

parker and bradley, the kitties next door.

photo by tatiana forero, otherwise known as my lovely neighbor.

photo: sunset

A sunset in September; taken from my roof.
The picture does the sunset no justice, as it was one of the most beautiful I have ever seen.

a candle in the window

Sometimes, when I'm in a contemplative mood, I sit by my window and look outside. I like doing this during the day, but it's at night when the world really comes alive. Shadows, dark figures walking by, cars parking on the street, lights twinkling below in someone's garden, all quiet, nocturnal things that speak to me louder than the bright, hot colors and sights of the day. I sit and look out the window, listening to the crickets, thinking things or sometimes thinking nothing much at all.

A few nights past the weather was perfect for October. Faintly ominous, with heavy fog, a light wind and the faintest last hint of summer's warm evenings. A scattering of droplets fell from the sky, coating everything in a dusky sheen, clinging to the sidewalk and coating my hair.

It was on this night I decided to get re-acquainted with my nightly ritual of Observing. It had been suspended for part of the summer, and the time was right to start it anew. I pulled the air conditioner out of my window and lifted up my window screen to let in as much air from the outside as possible.

While sitting on my windowsill and looking around, I noticed a comforting sight. It was so minimal and unassuming that I was probably the only person in the vicinity to see it. Yet it brought me so much happiness to look at that I sat and stared for a long time, simply soaking in the sight.

What was it? A little candle flame, flickering in the window of an apartment building two streets over. Most of the rooms I could see into from my perch were dark, but the one room with the candle looked bright, cheerful and glowing. It was such a happy sight. Someone had taken the time to place that candle in their front window, light it, and admire it. Now here I was too, enjoying the bright and flickering flames.

The next night I took a glance outside, and again saw my trusty little candle friend. And then, again, the next night, there it was, glowing away.

The candle has replaced my old comfort, which was a red curtain someone had hung over their window. I never could see inside the room where the curtain was, but when ever that person was home they always had their light on, which gave a bright red glow through the drapery. On Friday nights, when I was home alone and feeling lonely, I'd look through the window and would often see that room, brightly lit up, assuring me that someone else was staying in for the evening as well.

One day the curtain and light ceased to be there, and eventually it was taken down. I think the person must have moved, because now there is no curtain there and I can see that the room I'd been curious about all this time had been someone's kitchen.

Eventually, I am sure, the candle in the window will stop being burnt at night. It will diminish and eventually cease to burn. But until that evening comes, I'm planning on enjoying the comfort the candle brings me, the human connection it gives me. And, perhaps, by the time I stop having the comfort of my candle, something else will have come along to take its place.

trend setting

I'm a trend setter. That's right, I'm setting the bar for what's hip and cool in my neighborhood. Or, if that's an overstatement, I'm perhaps influencing a handful of people in the immediate vicinity of my apartment.

Do you remember the fire escape garden I so lovingly grew and posted about earlier in the summer? I posted about it several times on here, and included some photographs in my blog entries. I noted the lack of other fire escape gardens on surrounding buildings, and hoped the situation would change.

Well, it has. Finally! Both of my next door neighbors now have gardens on their fire escapes, as well. The neighbors on my right have actually turned their patch of the outdoors into a jungle, in an almost literal sense of the word. Huge potted palms, tomato plants and ivies are livening up their property. The neighbors to my left have added a collection of potted flowers to their fire escape, as have two families below me.

It's a green revolution! And I'm loving it. As for my own little garden ... well, it suffered a little neglect for a bit, but it's back in shape. My herbs finally kicked the bucket with the cooler autumn temperatures, but my other plants are still standing tall and proud.

The time is approaching when I'm going to have to bring everything indoors. My roommate's cat eats plants, so I'm going to have to figure out a plan to keep him from attacking my green babies.

At any rate, it's a semi-beautiful day (a touch too cloudy and chilly for it to be perfect), and I have plenty of reading to do for class. All I can say about that is Durkheim is the driest writer ever, ancient Egyptian religion is convoluted, and reading ethnographies on the non-universality of emotion is certainly thought provoking if too based in theory to entirely wrap my head around.

Going to update the travel blog shortly, so keep checking back here and there.

update again

The travel blog has been updated again. This time the Marais quarter of Paris is written about. Don't miss this installment if you like grand old houses, gourmet cafes and cobblestone streets!

update

Travel blog updated!

Go check it out.

Gracias & merci!

new york sun works

Also, how cool is this? A farm on a floating barge in the middle of NYC?! Very awesome.

People who want to visit the vessel may do so. Go here for more information.

I am going to check it out and report back soon on this!

the 2007 pickle festival

The annual New York City International Pickle Day Festival took place in the heart of NYC's pickle district, the lower east side in Manhattan. An entire city block was turned over the event, which was flooded with people, vats of pickles and free samples galore.

Vendor after vendor were set up under tidy white tents, giving the scene a carnival like feeling. Almost every vendor was giving away free samples, many of which weren't the usual green pickle. I tried everything up for grabs, including pickled grapes, pickled turnip, dried ginger, pickled hot peppers and kimchi. There were plenty of the normal American style pickles too, from hot and spicy to mildly sweet.

In the spirit of pickledom, people were sporting t-shirts depicting smiling green pickles, and one vendor was giving away free pickle pins. (Of course I had to take one ... and yup, I still wear it.) Bulletin boards were set up on the sidewalks and posted with information on how to make pickles, what vinegars to use, and foods good for pickling. I tried reading one page of information but got bored after about a minute, so I have no idea how to make pickles. Oh well.

There was live music as well, although what I heard was pretty lame. I'm not sure what pickles and electric guitar have to do with each other, but I guess somebody was trying to add a little pizzazz to the festival.

Although packed to the gills with people, the over all atmosphere was fun, enlightening and pickle friendly. Plenty of small children were running about, and I saw many grandmas and grandpas sporting half gnawed on pickles in their hands.

If interested, the pickle website is still up online, although I'm not sure how much longer it will stay posted. Here's the site, which gives a complete run-down of the vendors present, presentations given, and more: PICKLE FESTIVAL WEBSITE.

facebook, the final frontier

As usual, I'm putting off being productive by prowling around the internet. This time it's on facebook, the infamous (or famous, depending on who you ask) networking site that comes from the tradition of the myspaces and friendsters of the world.

One of the features of facebook is the ability to form and join groups. They can be on the topic of anything, and are designed as places where people can get together and discuss related themes. While there are many serious groups on facebook, it seems the majority are humor related, or, at the very least, quite tongue-in-cheek.

So, a trip through the vaults of facebook's groups yields some interesting finds.

Some of my favorites:

School/Work Related Groups:
I Wish My Homework Were Asexual So It Would Do Itself
Graduating College in 4 Years Is Like Leaving the Party at 10:30!

Politics:
Oh Shit, He Won Again (in reference to Bush)
Ayn Rand Is Incompatible With Reason (ok, not political, but still funny!)

Musical Groups: (and yes, these are only going to appeal to people who know music theory and/or are involved in classical music.)
Nice subject, Wanna Fugue?
Everytime you write parallel fifths, Bach kills a kitten
I'm a Fermata ... Hold Me.
I'm Glad Pluto's No Longer A Planet; It Makes Gustav Holst's Suite Complete

Misc. Groups:
I Speak My Mind So My Life is Awkward
I Secretly Want to Punch Slow Walking People in the Back of the Head
I Flip My Pillow Over to Get to the Cold Side
When I Was Your Age, Pluto Was a Planet
I Use My Cell Phone to See In The Dark
I Can't Believe I Have Braces In College
My Friends Are Getting Married. I'm Just Getting Drunk.

That's it for now. I'm sure other deserving group names will be posted here at an indefinite point in the future when, once again, I am putting off being productive.

Also, the pickle festival post *is* coming. Look forward to the sour, savory, crunchy post.

update

Posted my first entry about Paris in the travel blog. The link to my second blog is on the right hand side of this page. Please click and read if you're interested. Photos from the trip will be posted at some point in the near future, but I can't until I find the cable to upload photos from digi cam to my computer.

Also, I'll be posting an entry on here about the annual pickle festival held in Manhattan's Lower East Side that I attended yesterday. And yes, I ate PLENTY of pickles -- and pickled fruits and veggies!

back from paris

I'm back from Paris!!

I'll be posting photos (once I find my camera cable that lets me upload photos to the computer) and entries about my trip to my travel blog.

I had a fantastic time, saw a lot, learned a little french, and ate a lot of excellent cheese. Good times.

Back to the NYC grind now ... going to get settled in, adjust to the time change, and take care of practical matters like bills, getting ready for the coming semester, and all those other tasks of daily life.

New posts soon, so check back frequently.

chapel of sacred mirrors

This past Thursday involved a trip to Alex Gray's Cosm: Chapel of Sacred Mirrors. An artist who "specializes in spiritual and psychedlic art", Gray produces intricately detailed works that focus on issues such as birth, death, and humanity. He often depicts auras in his paintings, and includes symbolism from various religious traditions in much of his art.

The Chapel of Sacred Mirrors was located in a slightly-hard-to-find location on 27th Street in Manhattan. (In an odd twist, the famous strip club Scores is located across the street.) An old cargo elevator is the entrance to the chapel, which is located on the 4th floor of an otherwise nondescript warehouse type building.

The entrance fee to the chapel is $5, although if you have less, that's alright. (A girl behind me got in for only $3.) You are surrounded by Alex Gray's art from the moment you walk in the doors. His work is everywhere, and with it, a very calm and cool vibe that goes nicely with the trance music playing in the background.

I spent about an hour there with friends, taking the time to examine each painting and sculpture closely. One work, called 'Caring', brought me close to tears. Another, his famous anatomically correct portrait of a couple kissing, had such an aura of love and calm around it that I was glued to the piece for a lengthy period of time.

The gallery comes in two parts. To the best of my understanding, one side is 'Cosm' which is mainly paintings, and the other side is the 'Chapel of Sacred Mirrors', which houses more sculptural work. My favorite artwork on the Chapel side was a mirror that reflected your own image back at you, with the word 'God' in the middle, right where your head should be if you are of average height. For me, being short, it floated somewhere above my forehead, but that's alright.

I got a positive feeling from the place and plan on going back again. There is also a nice gift shop, full of t-shirts, incense, books and posters. While the commercialization of Grey's work is a little bothersome and makes everything feel a little less pure, it is still nice to be able to wear or look at his art anytime you want in the form of a postcard or t-shirt.

And, in other news, I leave for Paris in less than 48 hours!!

big announcement

The BIG ANNOUNCEMENT as promised ...


I'm going to Paris!! Yes, the Paris. I'll be gone for roughly a week at the end of August. While I have been to Europe many times, I have never been to France. I am very excited about the trip and grateful for the chance to go.

New York City will just have to live without me for a few days!!

646-TRAFFIC, funk, jerks from NJ & a cheerful vagrant

Came back into the city grooving to Pure Funk 2. Traffic everywhere, people driving like maniacs (especially the ones from New Jersey), cars weaving between trucks and jeeps and vans. Watched some guy almost kill himself after suddenly deciding to switch over four lanes of traffic to make an off ramp exit. Heart started beating hard after watching the man swerve across black asphalt. He almost hit a barrier wall, and right then I almost stopped breathing. Got mad once he made the exit safely -- the idiot risked the lives of everyone around him to pull some sort of James Bond stunt.

Had the windows rolled down as I cruised along the Westside Highway in Manhattan. Funk was pumping out the window and I was bopping my head and neck like crazy. Passed the Chelsea Piers, and a vagrant was sitting on a bench outside of them. He smiled and waved at me. Guess he liked the music.

My friend, who was driving, kept cranking the volume up on the dial. A subtle increase each time, but a method I heartily approved of. Sneaky and sweet. Sneaky because he did it so slowly, and sweet because he liked the music as much as I did.

Some old white lady in the next car over (again at Chelsea Piers) gave us a condescending glance, but it turned into a smile. No one can resist the power of a goodly groove.

By the way, the greatest well-known secret for anyone driving into the City: 646-TRAFFIC. Dial it and see what happens. It's free, automated and amazing. Also, great source of unintentional humor. If you speak with any kind of accent or quietly, a creepy computer voice will demand information from you repeatedly.

Hot sauce. I'm tired. New entry coming in the next day.

Oh yeah ...

big announcement in the following post.

a tornado grows in brooklyn

It seems I picked the perfect time to be out of town. Yesterday a tornado hit south Brooklyn, the first since 1889. Apparently a huge storm passed through the area, and it turned into a small tornado that wrecked the expected damage and havoc in such an urban area. The public transportation system got royally screwed up, and there were reports of subway lines flooding from all the rain.

I have one friend who was at 'ground zero' of the storm. He reported massive winds, and described the scene as something eerie and well ... weird. The sky outside was dark (it was early morning), pieces of trash and scrap metal were getting blown about, and no one was outside on the streets, which is very unusual for Brooklyn.

Anyway, as expected, the news channels out of NYC are having a field day with the story, as are all those urban bloggers who 'survived' the tornado. Photos abound online -- simply type in 'Brooklyn tornado 2007' on google.com and about a dozen sites will pop up with photos. I'm not posting any of the photos from those sites here, because of copyright reasons. (Every photo posted here is either my own photograph I've taken, or borrowed from a royalty/copyright free website for bloggers. I ain't stupid when it comes to property usage rights!)

I'm assuming my apartment wasn't near the scene of the storm, since no one back in NYC has called to tell me "oh, by the way, your apartment was hit by a tornado ..." I suppose I should keep my fingers crossed, though.

In other news: I'm adding more labels to posts. Labels follow the end of every blog entry and you can click on a label such as 'brooklyn' or 'weather' to get every post that has been labeled in the same fashion. It's a good way of reading through entries on the same topic.

a way to kill time

I was going to post an actual blog entry, but it's 2:11am and I'm too tired to write something decent. However, I can't sleep, so I figure I might as well post something here.

I'm stupidly obsessed with the most annoying, pointless game of all time. It's free, online, and seems to mostly be in Chinese (??), but I can't stop playing

it. The entire premise of the game is to cook breakfast for impatient customers. Who knew that frying up sausages, toasting bread and boiling noodles could be so entertaining.

I'm suspicious of the high scores list, as I can never break 3,000 points and yet there's people on there who have over 100,000 ... HOW? I demand answers -- and a place on the high score list!

If you are so inclined, check it out at http://funnyflash.com/games/h.k._cafe/

Better yet, if anyone breaks 3,000 points, let me know how you did it.

Another equally idiotic game that fascinates me with how utterly nitpicky / type A / anal retentive it is:

http://maggiemarket.kizash.com/games/facial_house/

Real post coming soon!