A year ago today was my last night in Cullowhee, North Carolina. After selling my car, my furniture and giving away the bulk of my belongings, I packed the remaining items - clothes, shoes and anything important to me - in a rented stow-and-go minivan. Then Terrence and I stopped through my parents house in Asheville for a little over a day to tie up loose ends with my old Honda and deal with an unexpected delay before he drove me and my stuff all night up the east coast. We arrived in the Bronx around 9 o'clock in the morning on August 3. Terrence returned to the South within the week, and I've taken it one moment at a time since that first month and chronicled almost every good, bad, ugly - and even boring - day.
Looking back on my posts, there is a naivety and romanticism in much of my early writing that I recognized then and still embrace today. Just as children are encouraged to enjoy being children for as long as they can, I want to enjoy being new to the city. I don't want to be that transplant, who arrogantly gives incorrect directions in the subway or calls the MetLife Building "the Pan Am Building" in a contrived attempt to sound like a native.
Labeled the consummate tourist by a coworker, there are so many things about this city that are still new and exciting to me. But I've changed, too. I walk a little faster and I look up a little less; however, I consciously welcome the personal novelty in which I allow New York to present itself to me. The city rubs everything it has on you - the wonderful, the inane, the whimsical, the repulsive and the unexpected. You balance the harmonious moments with a certain layer of grime, and those who survive here find 10 reasons to love the city for every one reason they hate it.
In chronological order are my top good, bad and ugly first-year moments (subject to changes and additions):
The Good
10) One Week Completed
9) First Day of Work
8) Apartment Hunting, Scrabble & Two Drifters
7) The Sound of My Mom's Smile
6) Key to the City
5) Great Expectations
4) A Knowing Wink
2) New Years Rockin' Eve
2) Random Act of Kindness
1) Almost Home
And another (1) Crossroads of the World
The Bad
10) "Fast" is an Understatement
9) First Day on Broadway
8) Reality Soon Sets
7) Subway Convos
6) Winter Wonder
5) What Was That Smell?
4) Commute-Associated Hazards
3) Frustrations with Furnishing Your Life
2) Six Months to Final Repairs
1) Once in a Blue Moon
The Ugly
10) Craigslist NYC
9) Midnight Police Raid
8) Bad Day
7) Game of Grab Ass
6) Minding My Own Business
5) Accepted Anomalies of Incoherent Commuters
4) Costs of Living
3) NYC Mass Transit Wants You to Cry Them a River
2) To A/C or Not to A/C?
1) I'm Melting
The good, the bad and the ugly ... through it all, one thing is for sure:
I love New York!
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Monday, July 30, 2007
Phone Photo Ops - True High-Rise Profession
Some colleagues and I marveled at this construction worker outside of our building without a harness, tether, net or any safety contraption that would otherwise qualify him for minimal medical, life or liability insurance coverage.
Here is a little more impressive view.
Here is a little more impressive view.
Phone Photo Ops - Self-Help
While running errands for my boss, I noticed the following titles - books indicative of women in my generation.
Sunday, July 29, 2007
City Walk #11 - Nolita ("North of Little Italy")
Card no. 13 - photos
The catchy name of this trapezoid of narrow streets, well-scrubbed former tenements, boutiques is borne out by the small scale, slow pace, and continental style of old residents and recent arrivals.
Begin at Houston and Lafayette Streets (6 train to Bleecker Street).
Head south on Lafayette, where, just south of Prince, and next to Ladder Company No. 20, you'll find the Fire and the Police Store, both irresistible stops for levers of badges, batons, and New York T-shirts. Turn right on Prince toward Mulberry, where New York's original St. Patrick's Cathedral, consecrated in 1815, is enclosed by a beautiful, if alarmingly canted, brick wall. (If the gate on Mulberry is open, take a look at the lovely graveyard within.) There is a gift shop across the street, below sidewalk level. On the south side of Prince Street between Mulberry and Mott is St. Patrick's School, staffed for close to 200 years by the Sisters of Charity, the first American community of Catholic Sisters. Opposite the cathedral's Mott Street entrance is the former Fourteenth Ward Industrial School, established in 1888 by the Children's Aid Society. The striking 12-bay building with turquoise fire escapes up Mott Street was designed by the principal architect of Central Park, as housing for Irish immigrant families. Amid these echoes of the 19th century, some of New York's most imaginative young clothing, shoe, and accessory designers have transformed old neighborhood storefronts into luscious, one-of-a-kind shops. Take you time in this charming neighborhood, stopping for coffee at Cafe Gitane, or lunch at the very tiny Bistro Margot, both at Prince and Mott, before strolling east to Elizabeth Street and south into what remains of Little Italy (Walk 8).
From City Walks: New York: 50 Adventures on Foot by Martha Fay
The catchy name of this trapezoid of narrow streets, well-scrubbed former tenements, boutiques is borne out by the small scale, slow pace, and continental style of old residents and recent arrivals.
Begin at Houston and Lafayette Streets (6 train to Bleecker Street).
Head south on Lafayette, where, just south of Prince, and next to Ladder Company No. 20, you'll find the Fire and the Police Store, both irresistible stops for levers of badges, batons, and New York T-shirts. Turn right on Prince toward Mulberry, where New York's original St. Patrick's Cathedral, consecrated in 1815, is enclosed by a beautiful, if alarmingly canted, brick wall. (If the gate on Mulberry is open, take a look at the lovely graveyard within.) There is a gift shop across the street, below sidewalk level. On the south side of Prince Street between Mulberry and Mott is St. Patrick's School, staffed for close to 200 years by the Sisters of Charity, the first American community of Catholic Sisters. Opposite the cathedral's Mott Street entrance is the former Fourteenth Ward Industrial School, established in 1888 by the Children's Aid Society. The striking 12-bay building with turquoise fire escapes up Mott Street was designed by the principal architect of Central Park, as housing for Irish immigrant families. Amid these echoes of the 19th century, some of New York's most imaginative young clothing, shoe, and accessory designers have transformed old neighborhood storefronts into luscious, one-of-a-kind shops. Take you time in this charming neighborhood, stopping for coffee at Cafe Gitane, or lunch at the very tiny Bistro Margot, both at Prince and Mott, before strolling east to Elizabeth Street and south into what remains of Little Italy (Walk 8).
From City Walks: New York: 50 Adventures on Foot by Martha Fay
Phone Photo Ops - City Walk #11
Today's route: Nolita ("North of Little Italy")
Looking south on Crosby Street
Ladder Company No. 20
New York's original St. Patrick's Cathedral
Sunday mass
Funky jewelry, hats and handbags line the brick wall
along Prince Street
And the graveyard within the brick wall
bordering Mulberry, Prince and Mott Streets
Former Fourteenth Ward Industrial School
with turquoise fire escapes
Cafe Gitane at Prince and Mott
"The very tiny Bistro Margot" is very tiny apparently;
I couldn't find it so I took a picture of The Kitchen Club.
Elizabeth Street Gallery
Proceeding south on Elizabeth Street
Old neighborhood storefront turned sleek and stylish boutique
166 Elizabeth Street at Kenmare
Looking west into Little Italy ...
... And south into Chinatown
The Empire State Building looms here from the corner of Broome and Mott, but it's lost in white-out due to the overcast sky and poor pixels on my camera phone.
This is one way to secure a bike: remove wheels and lock to street sign
But one has to wonder, if you're going to take the wheels with you, why not bring the entire bike? This person's apartment must be really small.
Looking south on Crosby Street
Ladder Company No. 20
New York's original St. Patrick's Cathedral
Sunday mass
Funky jewelry, hats and handbags line the brick wall
along Prince Street
And the graveyard within the brick wall
bordering Mulberry, Prince and Mott Streets
Former Fourteenth Ward Industrial School
with turquoise fire escapes
Cafe Gitane at Prince and Mott
"The very tiny Bistro Margot" is very tiny apparently;
I couldn't find it so I took a picture of The Kitchen Club.
Elizabeth Street Gallery
Proceeding south on Elizabeth Street
Old neighborhood storefront turned sleek and stylish boutique
166 Elizabeth Street at Kenmare
Looking west into Little Italy ...
... And south into Chinatown
The Empire State Building looms here from the corner of Broome and Mott, but it's lost in white-out due to the overcast sky and poor pixels on my camera phone.
This is one way to secure a bike: remove wheels and lock to street sign
But one has to wonder, if you're going to take the wheels with you, why not bring the entire bike? This person's apartment must be really small.
Saturday, July 28, 2007
New tag: Search-Term Saturdays
Thanks to the technology of sitemeter.com, I can see the terms used in search engines that lead people to my blog, whether their search leads them to me intentionally or unintentionally. And sometimes their search terms lead me to other cool blogs.
Upon closer inspection of the search results for "new yorker blog" by someone in New York on July 24, I found Mimi in New York, which I loved immediately for its description alone:
"40 countries, 12 boats, 37 flights, 46 assholes and over a year later... Writing for The Village Voice, avoiding Bill O'Reilly and campaigning for immigrants whilst musing on anal sex and pissing off the religious right."
But my favorite this week was this googled phrase: "act like a native new yorker why do new yorkers say do that," which not only provoked the idea for Search-Term Saturdays (where I will post the funniest search term that leads some cyber-wondering soul to my blog each week), but also led me to Ask a New Yorker:
Upon closer inspection of the search results for "new yorker blog" by someone in New York on July 24, I found Mimi in New York, which I loved immediately for its description alone:
"40 countries, 12 boats, 37 flights, 46 assholes and over a year later... Writing for The Village Voice, avoiding Bill O'Reilly and campaigning for immigrants whilst musing on anal sex and pissing off the religious right."
But my favorite this week was this googled phrase: "act like a native new yorker why do new yorkers say do that," which not only provoked the idea for Search-Term Saturdays (where I will post the funniest search term that leads some cyber-wondering soul to my blog each week), but also led me to Ask a New Yorker:
Friday, July 27, 2007
Currently Taking Bets On How Long It'll Take Me to Get to JFK on the E
Waiting for the super to come by and fix the plumbing in my bathroom before I go to work. I won't be back to the apartment, and I don't want the toilet to continue running over the weekend. My bags are packed, and I'll be headed directly to JFK to catch a flight to North Carolina this afternoon. My brother is home from Shanghai for a few weeks so I'm spending a few days with the family and maybe catching up with some high school friends.
Terrence is wrapping up the week working Kev's basketball camp in Sac. And next weekend, he'll be flying from California to New York to hang out with me in the city before we go to Raleigh, North Carolina, for the following week. My best friend is getting married on August 10, and one of my duties as bridesmaid is to run around and get all her busy work and errands accomplished so she can try to be as relaxed as possible. Her week will already be hectic enough because she has to fly back up to New York for a day on the 8th to film another episode of Guiding Light. Yes, she is returning for a third time as the sexy police officer.
But before we head South together, Karoke is planned for next Friday night with one of my coworkers and her boyfriend. Some good camera phone pics should come from that.
Terrence is wrapping up the week working Kev's basketball camp in Sac. And next weekend, he'll be flying from California to New York to hang out with me in the city before we go to Raleigh, North Carolina, for the following week. My best friend is getting married on August 10, and one of my duties as bridesmaid is to run around and get all her busy work and errands accomplished so she can try to be as relaxed as possible. Her week will already be hectic enough because she has to fly back up to New York for a day on the 8th to film another episode of Guiding Light. Yes, she is returning for a third time as the sexy police officer.
But before we head South together, Karoke is planned for next Friday night with one of my coworkers and her boyfriend. Some good camera phone pics should come from that.
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Lunch Break Post - Street Photography Permit?
I received the following forwarded email today at work:
All of a sudden we, as photographers, students and teachers, are facing serious restrictions by The Mayor's office about NYC street photography. I know you know Everyone. Would you alert them and have them sign or petition. We don't have much time with an August 3rd deadline.
Here is the URL with the petition to sign: just click on this: http://www.pictureny.org/petition/index.php
You can explore the rest of that site and the original call to arms - links to NY Times article on this; Billy's rally 6:30 union square friday and other info follow.
And then I found this on Gothamist. Aburd. Hope it doesn't eventually affect my camera phone photo ops ...
All of a sudden we, as photographers, students and teachers, are facing serious restrictions by The Mayor's office about NYC street photography. I know you know Everyone. Would you alert them and have them sign or petition. We don't have much time with an August 3rd deadline.
Here is the URL with the petition to sign: just click on this: http://www.pictureny.org/petition/index.php
You can explore the rest of that site and the original call to arms - links to NY Times article on this; Billy's rally 6:30 union square friday and other info follow.
And then I found this on Gothamist. Aburd. Hope it doesn't eventually affect my camera phone photo ops ...
Super Bad Brad
The showbiz extravaganzas taking place near my apartment as described by today's Very Short List email, a free daily email to which I subscribed after learning that our CEO subscribes to it:
A lot of times, street performers can seem like the cultural squeegee men of the big city: as much a nuisance as an appreciated service. But if there is one talent who can redeem the art of busking, we’ll cast our vote for Super Bad Brad. A grungy-looking, 40-something white guy, Brad sings soul and R&B classics on the streets of New York, accompanied only by his boom box and a microphone. And his voice is authentically amazing.
Recently, Brad got a shot at the big time, appearing on Showtime at the Apollo to belt out the Marvin Gaye classic "Let’s Get It On." Once Brad opened his mouth, the understandably skeptical crowd went wild. In fact, his performance was so theatrically over-the-top that Internet message boards theorized Brad was in fact Bruce Willis. But Super Bad Brad is the real deal. Whatever "soul" means, this dude’s got it.
A lot of times, street performers can seem like the cultural squeegee men of the big city: as much a nuisance as an appreciated service. But if there is one talent who can redeem the art of busking, we’ll cast our vote for Super Bad Brad. A grungy-looking, 40-something white guy, Brad sings soul and R&B classics on the streets of New York, accompanied only by his boom box and a microphone. And his voice is authentically amazing.
Recently, Brad got a shot at the big time, appearing on Showtime at the Apollo to belt out the Marvin Gaye classic "Let’s Get It On." Once Brad opened his mouth, the understandably skeptical crowd went wild. In fact, his performance was so theatrically over-the-top that Internet message boards theorized Brad was in fact Bruce Willis. But Super Bad Brad is the real deal. Whatever "soul" means, this dude’s got it.
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Phone Photo Ops - 40/40 Club
Phone photos ops to come from an event at the 40/40 club tonight, hosted by one of our digital vendors for their clients. Too sleepy now.
Monday, July 23, 2007
Phone Photo Op - Is That a Banana in Your Pocket or Are You Just Happy to See Me?
Yea ... no. Just a banana.
Sunday, July 22, 2007
City Walk #10 - Chelsea
Card no. 18 - photos
A stroll through this handsome neighborhood offers aesthetic rewards indoors and outdoors, contemporary and historic.
Begin at Eighth Avenue and West 23rd Street (C or E or 1 or 9 to 23rd Street).
In the late 1990's, seemingly overnight, half the art galleries in Soho packed up and moved to the far west reaches of Chelsea. Now anyone looking for contemporary art in New York is likely to view it in either a made-over car repair shop or a superannuated office building somewhere between West 17th and West 27th Streets and 10th and 11th Avenues. At last count, the building at 529 West 20th Street alone housed 21 galleries. A Chelsea walk is well worth making for other reasons, not least the handsome streets of lovingly renovated brownstones and the surplus of good restaurants that have followed the artists and buyers to the river's edge. Walk west on West 23rd Street from Eighth Avenue, past the hiply shabby Chelsea Hotel, a favorite of writers and rockers, to Ninth Avenue. The massive apartment complex on the north side of West 23rd is the second "London Terrace" to fill the block all the way to 10th Avenue. The first was a stretch of private houses known as Millionaire's Row, which in turn had replaced the house of Clement Clark Moore, credited with authoring "A Visit from Saint Nicolas." Turn left down Ninth Avenue and right onto West 22nd Street all the way to 10th Avenue. Turn left on 10th and left again on West 21st Street, to the General Theological Seminary, whose inviting grounds can be entered from the middle of the West 20th-21st Street block of Ninth Avenue. Turn right as you leave the seminary, and right again onto West 20th Street heading west, to explore the galleries ahead.
From City Walks: New York: 50 Adventures on Foot by Martha Fay
A stroll through this handsome neighborhood offers aesthetic rewards indoors and outdoors, contemporary and historic.
Begin at Eighth Avenue and West 23rd Street (C or E or 1 or 9 to 23rd Street).
In the late 1990's, seemingly overnight, half the art galleries in Soho packed up and moved to the far west reaches of Chelsea. Now anyone looking for contemporary art in New York is likely to view it in either a made-over car repair shop or a superannuated office building somewhere between West 17th and West 27th Streets and 10th and 11th Avenues. At last count, the building at 529 West 20th Street alone housed 21 galleries. A Chelsea walk is well worth making for other reasons, not least the handsome streets of lovingly renovated brownstones and the surplus of good restaurants that have followed the artists and buyers to the river's edge. Walk west on West 23rd Street from Eighth Avenue, past the hiply shabby Chelsea Hotel, a favorite of writers and rockers, to Ninth Avenue. The massive apartment complex on the north side of West 23rd is the second "London Terrace" to fill the block all the way to 10th Avenue. The first was a stretch of private houses known as Millionaire's Row, which in turn had replaced the house of Clement Clark Moore, credited with authoring "A Visit from Saint Nicolas." Turn left down Ninth Avenue and right onto West 22nd Street all the way to 10th Avenue. Turn left on 10th and left again on West 21st Street, to the General Theological Seminary, whose inviting grounds can be entered from the middle of the West 20th-21st Street block of Ninth Avenue. Turn right as you leave the seminary, and right again onto West 20th Street heading west, to explore the galleries ahead.
From City Walks: New York: 50 Adventures on Foot by Martha Fay
Phone Photo Ops - City Walk #10
Today's route: Chelsea
Hotel Chelsea
Another view
Sunday flowers
The second "London Terrace"
A camera phone pic I took along West 23rd Street last spring
West 22nd Street from Ninth Avenue
West 22nd Street
In support of my belief that one can raise kids in New York City
West 21st Street from Tenth Avenue
Bird houses on West 21st
A peak into the grounds of the General Theological Seminary
from the West 20th-21st Street entrance on Ninth Avenue
Rear of the General Theological Seminary on Tenth Avenue
West 20th Street
Looking back at two dogs who passed me while
obediently following a third dog and their owner
These flyers were posted along West 20th between
Tenth and Eleventh Avenues
Upon closer inspection, I learned that a film crew
was restricting the street parking
I didn't see any filming going on, but at Eleventh Avenue, there was a nice view of the the West 20th Street art galleries that now occupy the former "car repair shops and superannuated office buildings"
Chelsea Piers - sports on the Hudson River
Hotel Chelsea
Another view
Sunday flowers
The second "London Terrace"
A camera phone pic I took along West 23rd Street last spring
West 22nd Street from Ninth Avenue
West 22nd Street
In support of my belief that one can raise kids in New York City
West 21st Street from Tenth Avenue
Bird houses on West 21st
A peak into the grounds of the General Theological Seminary
from the West 20th-21st Street entrance on Ninth Avenue
Rear of the General Theological Seminary on Tenth Avenue
West 20th Street
Looking back at two dogs who passed me while
obediently following a third dog and their owner
These flyers were posted along West 20th between
Tenth and Eleventh Avenues
Upon closer inspection, I learned that a film crew
was restricting the street parking
I didn't see any filming going on, but at Eleventh Avenue, there was a nice view of the the West 20th Street art galleries that now occupy the former "car repair shops and superannuated office buildings"
Chelsea Piers - sports on the Hudson River
Phone Photo Op - Morning View
Beautiful days like today make me wish I had someone in New York to share them with.
Until then, it's time for today's Sunday City Walk ...
Until then, it's time for today's Sunday City Walk ...
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Phone Photo Op - Skyline from Soho
I spent Thursday evening playing cards and drinking at The Half King with coworkers and Friday night with another colleague. We had a glass of wine at her apartment in Soho before hitting up Essex Ale House for dinner and The Vig Bar for a former coworker's birthday party.
While walking through Soho after work, a man in a suit passed me on the crosswalk. He was like any other man wearing a suit who has ever passed me at a crosswalk, except that his face was painted like a tiger. In 11 months, I have become so accustomed to seeing strange things in New York that I had barely thought twice about seeing a grown man wearing face paint. It wasn't until much later when I saw an entire street of adults dressed like Harry Potter characters that I thought about him again and realized he must have been a part of this.
Below is a camera phone photo op from my colleague's Soho apartment. The Twin Towers of the World Trade Center once stood in what is now a blank patch of sky from her living room window.
While walking through Soho after work, a man in a suit passed me on the crosswalk. He was like any other man wearing a suit who has ever passed me at a crosswalk, except that his face was painted like a tiger. In 11 months, I have become so accustomed to seeing strange things in New York that I had barely thought twice about seeing a grown man wearing face paint. It wasn't until much later when I saw an entire street of adults dressed like Harry Potter characters that I thought about him again and realized he must have been a part of this.
Below is a camera phone photo op from my colleague's Soho apartment. The Twin Towers of the World Trade Center once stood in what is now a blank patch of sky from her living room window.
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