I went, I ate, I shot moonshine.
Back in New York City.
Summer trip #1 of 4 completed (Atlanta, GA).
Next up: Turks and Caicos over the 4th of July weekend.
A Year Ago Today: Unforgettable Day Weekend
Two Years Ago Today: No post
Showing posts with label time out. Show all posts
Showing posts with label time out. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
President's Day Weekend Caribbean Island Hop
Two islands in four days and new loves: quaint, rural islands; scuba diving; and breakfasts on mountainsides overlooking the sea.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Other Inaugural Recollections
The energy in D.C. was electrifying. There is no other way to describe it. I have heard it compared to the positive and uplifting vibe that John F. Kennedy brought to the nation's capitol when he was the President-Elect of the United States. Having just turned 29 on January 18, I cannot recall the emotions of watching JFK being sworn into office ... since I did not yet exist, but I feel a new empathy for that time and the mentality fueled by a country's hope for a historic change.
The personal highlight was joining my best friend in some of her first baby steps onto the Hollywood social scene, but the bigger picture was entirely consumed by narcissistic pleasures. The weekend was made all the more memorable by the droves of Obama supporters swarming about D.C. There was a steady hum that made the hair on the back of your neck stand up. There was a collective realization that we were witnessing the preparation for something extraordinary, a simultaneous moment in time that would have a distinct and simultaneously united view from every angle. Though I regretted not being able to stay through Tuesday for the Inauguration, I was grateful that I got to sense the anticipation and experience the atmosphere first hand.
At an awards brunch on Sunday, I heard Kerri Washington and Hill Harper give incredible politcal activism award acceptance speeches, each poignantly recounting their campaign journeys or their personal interaction with Obama. Washington's message was one of unity, reminding supporters that he is equally an interracial symbol of the evolving face of America as well as a role model for those of color, who are now finding the courage to consider the possibilities. Harper told a beautiful and endearingly witty story reliving the semesters he shared with Obama at Harvard Law School.
After an interesting first night that led from the chaos of car keys (permanently) lost by the valet to oddly-formed new friendships and various jaunts around the capitol to witness the sights, we rounded out the three-day MLK weekend by celebrating my 29th birthday yesterday before today's afternoon flight back to NYC. We had dinner at Marvin and hopped over to an Eric Roberson concert at The Black Cat. Afterward, we went out for drinks with my secret service buddy (off duty from his assignment to Joe Biden) and his fellow agents at J. Paul's in Georgetown. Throughout the course of the evening, my secret service buddy mentioned his admiration for my spontaneity with regard to my last minute trip on one of the most hectic and historic weekends in Washington D.C.'s history.
"You're doing something that very few people really do," he yelled over the bar chatter in J. Paul's. "And you know what it's called?"
He leaned into my ear, "It's called living."
I could not have been given a better compliment on my birthday.
Impromptu In Review
My best friend had called me in New York at 10am to see if I could join her for a few entertainment industry events in Washington D.C. surrounding the Presidential Inauguration of Barack Obama. She joked that as an H-List celebrity, she does not often receive much advanced notice for events, and since her husband could not attend at the last minute, she hoped I would join her for the three-day MLK Weekend and pre-inauguration festivities. I was on a plane out of JFK by 3:30 in the afternoon.
The focus and highlight of the weekend was watching my best friend find her place amidst Hollywood minglers. After ten years of watching her perform at WCU, The Juilliard School and in the small but gratifying array of professional stage, TV and film credits to her name, it was incredibly surreal and exciting to join her in this weekend's perks of her budding success and act like I attend stuff like this all the time without also appearing trite and contrived.
If my best friend ever becomes an A-List celebrity, events like these may likely become commonplace routines in her life, which will ultimately lack the electrifying amateur excitement of rookie Hollywood minglers. I can only hope that her talent and love for acting breeds a career that makes her a famous A-Lister - not because of socialite association or shock-valued scandal - but because the skill in her craft touches the spirit, moves the soul and inspires the creativity of art imitating life. Until then, her "H-List" status will ensure that industry events, to which she may be invited - even if her RSVP is not A-List priority - will continue to make us giggle like school girls at the end of the night.
Thursday, January 08, 2009
Rost in Tlansration
Greetings for a final time from the land of redundant packaging. See photo below.
Today is my last day in [city eradicated] ... not quite my last day in Japan as I have an 8-hour layover in Tokyo tomorrow before my 13-hour flight back to the armpit of the northeast, I mean, Newark. As usual, Terrence was busy most of the day with game film meetings and basketball practice, but I was able to enjoy one of very few sunny days that I've had during my trip. Most days were windy, rainy and snowy. Scattered showers. Lows in the twenties. Between team trips to away games in other cities, I caught up on a lot of much-needed sleep and discovered watch-movies.net over sushi and Japanese pastries.
Terrence has a comfortable, furnished apartment decorated with tatami mats and shoji screens. He doesn't live in the most lavish neighborhood in [town eradicated] , where I was told that the per capita income is higher than any other city in Japan, but his neighborhood has adorable, narrow streets lined with tiny restaurants, cafes, bakeries and shops. Bell Bakery, two blocks from his apartment, has become a daily favorite of mine. They have the best bread and cakes. It's always crowded before noon and the wide variety of baked goods go fast. I am certain that everything is fresh every day because one evening I went in and literally bought the last bag of rolls.
Very few people in [town eradicated] speak English so I have purchased quite a few things that weren't exactly what I thought they were - the outcome of which has had diverse effects. Grocery shopping, for example, is a lot harder than one may think. Imagine walking into a grocery store where none of the packages or cans have labels; that is what it feels like. Or imagine sitting in a restaurant and trying to order what-you-thought-was-chicken based on a faded, blurry photo adjacent some Japanese characters. The experience overall has been a lot of fun - and certainly memorable.
The Japanese also have an amusing disregard for what Americans would accept as proper English spelling and grammar (much to my delight). In the past three weeks, I've noted the following: a candy called Crunky (pronounced Crunchy); a T-shirt with the words: "Love is Brind"; a sign that read: "Wishing Christmas pals to bring you a happy time"; a hardware store called Hard-Off. I wish I could remember some of the other good ones. The variances in spelling and grammar have to do with Japanese pronunciation. R's are pronounced like L's and some L's are pronounced like R's - even though the Japanese don't seem to be able to produce a true R sound. Terrence's fans, for example, were always shouting: "Tellence! Tellence!" And his teammate Rodney has learned to answer to "Law-doh-ney." I also found much delight in this and encourage Tellence to legally change his name.
As I prepare to leave Japan, I am reflecting on the experiences and discoveries that I am logging to memory. One of the greatest lessons I have learned is that, in my 28 years, I have vastly underestimated the value of a heated toilet seat. I am also quite sad to leave behind the posterior shower and bidet spray. If I ever own a home, I fully plan to invest in importing one from Japan.
Until then ... sayonara.
A Year Ago Today: NYC Real Estate: You Do Not Get What You Pay For
Two Years Ago Today: Penmanship Approved
Today is my last day in [city eradicated] ... not quite my last day in Japan as I have an 8-hour layover in Tokyo tomorrow before my 13-hour flight back to the armpit of the northeast, I mean, Newark. As usual, Terrence was busy most of the day with game film meetings and basketball practice, but I was able to enjoy one of very few sunny days that I've had during my trip. Most days were windy, rainy and snowy. Scattered showers. Lows in the twenties. Between team trips to away games in other cities, I caught up on a lot of much-needed sleep and discovered watch-movies.net over sushi and Japanese pastries.
Terrence has a comfortable, furnished apartment decorated with tatami mats and shoji screens. He doesn't live in the most lavish neighborhood in [town eradicated] , where I was told that the per capita income is higher than any other city in Japan, but his neighborhood has adorable, narrow streets lined with tiny restaurants, cafes, bakeries and shops. Bell Bakery, two blocks from his apartment, has become a daily favorite of mine. They have the best bread and cakes. It's always crowded before noon and the wide variety of baked goods go fast. I am certain that everything is fresh every day because one evening I went in and literally bought the last bag of rolls.
Very few people in [town eradicated] speak English so I have purchased quite a few things that weren't exactly what I thought they were - the outcome of which has had diverse effects. Grocery shopping, for example, is a lot harder than one may think. Imagine walking into a grocery store where none of the packages or cans have labels; that is what it feels like. Or imagine sitting in a restaurant and trying to order what-you-thought-was-chicken based on a faded, blurry photo adjacent some Japanese characters. The experience overall has been a lot of fun - and certainly memorable.
The Japanese also have an amusing disregard for what Americans would accept as proper English spelling and grammar (much to my delight). In the past three weeks, I've noted the following: a candy called Crunky (pronounced Crunchy); a T-shirt with the words: "Love is Brind"; a sign that read: "Wishing Christmas pals to bring you a happy time"; a hardware store called Hard-Off. I wish I could remember some of the other good ones. The variances in spelling and grammar have to do with Japanese pronunciation. R's are pronounced like L's and some L's are pronounced like R's - even though the Japanese don't seem to be able to produce a true R sound. Terrence's fans, for example, were always shouting: "Tellence! Tellence!" And his teammate Rodney has learned to answer to "Law-doh-ney." I also found much delight in this and encourage Tellence to legally change his name.
As I prepare to leave Japan, I am reflecting on the experiences and discoveries that I am logging to memory. One of the greatest lessons I have learned is that, in my 28 years, I have vastly underestimated the value of a heated toilet seat. I am also quite sad to leave behind the posterior shower and bidet spray. If I ever own a home, I fully plan to invest in importing one from Japan.
Until then ... sayonara.
A Year Ago Today: NYC Real Estate: You Do Not Get What You Pay For
Two Years Ago Today: Penmanship Approved
Wednesday, January 07, 2009
Must ... Stop ... Clicking
Sentences like the second one in this blog post are why I am searching for an A.A. group to help me phase online social networking out of my life. Every time I try to deactivate my Facebook account I choose "This is temporary. I'll be back." when I know the truth is "I spend too much time using Facebook." I deactivated it once for awhile, but before I could truly allow my withdrawal symptoms to subside, I was reactivated and relieved that my profile was indeed "restored in its entirety."
Since I can never get myself to re-click that ominous red deactivation bar with the appropriately selected radio button indicating that I am an addict, I decided that my first step was to stop telling people to "find me on Facebook". Then I changed my privacy settings, made it impossible for more acquaintances to search for me, request me as a friend or invite me to join groups. I couldn't even get myself to delete my adolescent MySpace account so I updated my profile with a note that I would be checking in intermittently so one should email me instead. Email! There's really no way out of the abyss.
Poking, status update stalking, mindless personal photo surfing that subtly fosters my inner narcissist, and other inane applications are just an endless misuse of my time, and I must stop the madness of secluded virtual interaction.
Not that blogging is the most productive use of my time either since my public posts are rarely revolutionary, introspective or inspiring ... not like BNR's. About to go leave comments on other people's blogs instead of further exploring the gorgeous Japanese city in which I am vacationing for only two more days.
A Year Ago Today: Random Act of Kindness
Two Years Ago Today: Please Use All Available Doors ... If You Can Get There Before I Shut 'Em
Since I can never get myself to re-click that ominous red deactivation bar with the appropriately selected radio button indicating that I am an addict, I decided that my first step was to stop telling people to "find me on Facebook". Then I changed my privacy settings, made it impossible for more acquaintances to search for me, request me as a friend or invite me to join groups. I couldn't even get myself to delete my adolescent MySpace account so I updated my profile with a note that I would be checking in intermittently so one should email me instead. Email! There's really no way out of the abyss.
Poking, status update stalking, mindless personal photo surfing that subtly fosters my inner narcissist, and other inane applications are just an endless misuse of my time, and I must stop the madness of secluded virtual interaction.
Not that blogging is the most productive use of my time either since my public posts are rarely revolutionary, introspective or inspiring ... not like BNR's. About to go leave comments on other people's blogs instead of further exploring the gorgeous Japanese city in which I am vacationing for only two more days.
A Year Ago Today: Random Act of Kindness
Two Years Ago Today: Please Use All Available Doors ... If You Can Get There Before I Shut 'Em
Saturday, January 03, 2009
A Yen For Your Thoughts?
Lack of non-Christian-based Japanese religions aside, I was confused by the message of this sign in a Japanese hotel.
A Year Ago Today: The Moments That Make the Ride
Two Years Ago Today: Brush with Death
A Year Ago Today: The Moments That Make the Ride
Two Years Ago Today: Brush with Death
Thursday, January 01, 2009
"Things I Love" Thursdays - The Crossroads of the World
I'm alone in Terrence's apartment in eastern Japan, listening to Times Square celebrate the New Year on the other side of the world. It's just after two o'clock in the afternoon here. Beyond the shoji screens of the floor-to-ceiling windows, the morning snow that topped the oriental bushes is gone. The space heater is warming my bare feet on the tatami mats. I can't decide what to eat. Terrence has a jam-packed first day of 2009 with game film sessions and basketball practice. My mom and I talked via Skype for her last 30 minutes of 2008 while I watched live streaming video of Times Square on boxingvid.com.
The video is still playing in another web window, and Louis Armstrong's magnetic voice is crooning What a Wonderful World over the horns and screams in Times Square. I know it sounds more savvy as a New Yorker to announce that I hate the tourist trap in the Crossroads of the World, but I don't. I can't say I'm always happy squashed between a family from Minnesota decked out in the latest and greatest tourist gear and a homeless man pushing a shopping cart filled with trash bags of unwashed clothes, a broken coffee maker, a Scooby Doo plastic dining set, and a step ladder, but I do love living within five blocks of Times Square on a narrow street tucked away in Hell's Kitchen with Broadway in my "backyard." I love that magical moments can actually happen outside the gaudy souvenir shops, below the neon lights and oversized billboards. I love that my intimacy with the streets edifies me to avoid the crowds when I want to and provides solace in familiarity.
I imagine this is how a jealous lover would feel, watching someone else dance with the object of their affection. Or maybe it's more envy of not being able to join them because I would gladly allow others to cut in if only for the chance to share that beautiful, dirty, wonderful, grimy, charming, smelly city. New York moments are, after all, best when shared.
Ringing in 2009 in Japan roughly 14 hours ago wasn't too shabby, however. I joined Terrence and his American teammates outside a Japanese castle in the city square, which was haloed in a gorgeous fireworks display at the stroke of midnight. But I still thought of New York.
Last year, I gathered for the 2008 countdown with my New York friends in an apartment on Bleecker Street in the West Village, continued to celebrate at after-hours on the Lower East Side ... and somehow ended up in Jersey.
Three years ago, I brought in 2006 working in a smoky casino in North Carolina holding a tray full of drinks and watching the guests around me jump up and down, blow horns, and kiss and hug each other. It's weird how you can feel completely alone in a sea of people. I quietly consoled myself among the masses with images of what my night could be like a year later somewhere in New York City. It would have to be in Times Square. My next New Year's Eve had to be better. For me.
So for 2007, I found myself again in a sea of people, but for a few brief moments, I felt like I was one with everybody in the new city that I called home. It's so cliché but the sheer, non-alcohol influenced happiness was absolutely surreal. For the first few minutes of 2007 - despite what hardships may follow - we were at peace with ourselves, our lives and the world.
Immediately after "Auld Lang Syne," Frank Sinatra's voice floated over Times Square as confetti drifted in loops and swirls to the jubilant bodies below.
Start spreading the news
I'm leaving today
I want to be a part of it,
New York, New York
These vagabond shoes
Are longing to stray
Right through the very heart of it -
New York, New York
I want to wake up in a city that never sleeps
And find I'm king of the hill, top of the heap
These little town blues
Are melting away
I'll make a brand new start of it
In old New York
If I can make it there
I'll make it anywhere
It's up to you,
New York, New York.
I sang along at the top of my lungs, completely off key, and half swaying off beat and half jumping up and down, waving my long, red balloon, and thanking my lucky stars for that first night of '07.
"Things I Love" Thursdays are inspired by "I Love New York" (BNY, February 14, 2007).
A Year Ago Today:
On the Brink of 2000-Great
Two Years Ago Today:
Rockin' New Year's Eve
Phone Photo Ops - First of 2007
The video is still playing in another web window, and Louis Armstrong's magnetic voice is crooning What a Wonderful World over the horns and screams in Times Square. I know it sounds more savvy as a New Yorker to announce that I hate the tourist trap in the Crossroads of the World, but I don't. I can't say I'm always happy squashed between a family from Minnesota decked out in the latest and greatest tourist gear and a homeless man pushing a shopping cart filled with trash bags of unwashed clothes, a broken coffee maker, a Scooby Doo plastic dining set, and a step ladder, but I do love living within five blocks of Times Square on a narrow street tucked away in Hell's Kitchen with Broadway in my "backyard." I love that magical moments can actually happen outside the gaudy souvenir shops, below the neon lights and oversized billboards. I love that my intimacy with the streets edifies me to avoid the crowds when I want to and provides solace in familiarity.
I imagine this is how a jealous lover would feel, watching someone else dance with the object of their affection. Or maybe it's more envy of not being able to join them because I would gladly allow others to cut in if only for the chance to share that beautiful, dirty, wonderful, grimy, charming, smelly city. New York moments are, after all, best when shared.
Ringing in 2009 in Japan roughly 14 hours ago wasn't too shabby, however. I joined Terrence and his American teammates outside a Japanese castle in the city square, which was haloed in a gorgeous fireworks display at the stroke of midnight. But I still thought of New York.
Last year, I gathered for the 2008 countdown with my New York friends in an apartment on Bleecker Street in the West Village, continued to celebrate at after-hours on the Lower East Side ... and somehow ended up in Jersey.
Three years ago, I brought in 2006 working in a smoky casino in North Carolina holding a tray full of drinks and watching the guests around me jump up and down, blow horns, and kiss and hug each other. It's weird how you can feel completely alone in a sea of people. I quietly consoled myself among the masses with images of what my night could be like a year later somewhere in New York City. It would have to be in Times Square. My next New Year's Eve had to be better. For me.
So for 2007, I found myself again in a sea of people, but for a few brief moments, I felt like I was one with everybody in the new city that I called home. It's so cliché but the sheer, non-alcohol influenced happiness was absolutely surreal. For the first few minutes of 2007 - despite what hardships may follow - we were at peace with ourselves, our lives and the world.
Immediately after "Auld Lang Syne," Frank Sinatra's voice floated over Times Square as confetti drifted in loops and swirls to the jubilant bodies below.
Start spreading the news
I'm leaving today
I want to be a part of it,
New York, New York
These vagabond shoes
Are longing to stray
Right through the very heart of it -
New York, New York
I want to wake up in a city that never sleeps
And find I'm king of the hill, top of the heap
These little town blues
Are melting away
I'll make a brand new start of it
In old New York
If I can make it there
I'll make it anywhere
It's up to you,
New York, New York.
I sang along at the top of my lungs, completely off key, and half swaying off beat and half jumping up and down, waving my long, red balloon, and thanking my lucky stars for that first night of '07.
"Things I Love" Thursdays are inspired by "I Love New York" (BNY, February 14, 2007).
A Year Ago Today:
On the Brink of 2000-Great
Two Years Ago Today:
Rockin' New Year's Eve
Phone Photo Ops - First of 2007
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Thursday, January 1, 2009
4:10am JST (Japanese Standard Time)
If you are reading this post from any location west of the general geographic alignment of latitude 36°00' N and longitude 138°00' E prior to midnight in your time zone, greetings from the future. It is 2009 here, and we've just returned from celebrating in the streets and bars of "The Land of the Rising Sun."
Wishing the world all the best for the new year!
See the rest of you when you get here.
4:10am JST (Japanese Standard Time)
If you are reading this post from any location west of the general geographic alignment of latitude 36°00' N and longitude 138°00' E prior to midnight in your time zone, greetings from the future. It is 2009 here, and we've just returned from celebrating in the streets and bars of "The Land of the Rising Sun."
Wishing the world all the best for the new year!
See the rest of you when you get here.
Saturday, December 20, 2008
In Japan
I made it to Japan. I arrived in [town eradicated] late Thursday night (Thursday morning in the U.S.) and roughly 24 hours after I left Newark. Friday morning, I rode with Terrence's BJ league basketball team to another Japanese town, which is where I am now - about six hours from his seasonal home. The girlfriend of one of his American teammates is also visiting (from Los Angeles) so it's nice to not be the only girl on the team bus. It was a beautiful drive north along the coast before we looped south around a chain of enormous snow-capped mountains. I do also have to mention that the Japanese coastal tunnel system is quite impressive. I took lots of pictures, of course.
The team had a game yesterday, which they won. Their fans are amazing. I was surprised at how many of them made the six-hour trek to support the team this weekend. You cannot miss them because they were dressed head to toe in fan gear and were waiting at the arena to welcome the team when the bus arrived for Saturday's game. I don't think I have seen anything quite so adorable as watching Japanese fans, dwarfed by the American players, asking for photos and autographs. Some of the children are as tall as Terrence's knees and stand with pen and paper in outstretched arms with their heads cocked so far back that the backs of their necks disappear. After the game, they waited around the bus to take more photos, get hugs and then stood waving until the bus pulled away. I have always thought it to be corny when entertainers and athletes tell their fans that they love them, yet - even though their fans had absolutely no interest in me whatsoever - I felt something like love watching them interact with the team. The sincerity of their admiration and the pride in their smiles were so genuine and warm.
There is another game tomorrow at 2:30pm before we head back. The day after Christmas, we leave for another Japanese city.
A few initial notes on Japan:
- The Japanese definitely have the cleanest genitalia in the world. I find the toilet posterior shower and bidet spray quite refreshing.
- When I arrived, I noticed that random people were wearing surgical masks. The American in me assumed that these random Japanese were phobic of other people's germs or air pollution, but Terrence told me that they wear surgical masks when they have a cold or other contagious ailments because they do not want to infect others - something I could never see happening in the U.S.
- They have squid jerky here. I took a few pictures.
A Year Ago Today:
What I Love About New York
And More
Two Years Ago Today:
Homekeeping
Morning Star Sighting
The team had a game yesterday, which they won. Their fans are amazing. I was surprised at how many of them made the six-hour trek to support the team this weekend. You cannot miss them because they were dressed head to toe in fan gear and were waiting at the arena to welcome the team when the bus arrived for Saturday's game. I don't think I have seen anything quite so adorable as watching Japanese fans, dwarfed by the American players, asking for photos and autographs. Some of the children are as tall as Terrence's knees and stand with pen and paper in outstretched arms with their heads cocked so far back that the backs of their necks disappear. After the game, they waited around the bus to take more photos, get hugs and then stood waving until the bus pulled away. I have always thought it to be corny when entertainers and athletes tell their fans that they love them, yet - even though their fans had absolutely no interest in me whatsoever - I felt something like love watching them interact with the team. The sincerity of their admiration and the pride in their smiles were so genuine and warm.
There is another game tomorrow at 2:30pm before we head back. The day after Christmas, we leave for another Japanese city.
A few initial notes on Japan:
- The Japanese definitely have the cleanest genitalia in the world. I find the toilet posterior shower and bidet spray quite refreshing.
- When I arrived, I noticed that random people were wearing surgical masks. The American in me assumed that these random Japanese were phobic of other people's germs or air pollution, but Terrence told me that they wear surgical masks when they have a cold or other contagious ailments because they do not want to infect others - something I could never see happening in the U.S.
- They have squid jerky here. I took a few pictures.
A Year Ago Today:
What I Love About New York
And More
Two Years Ago Today:
Homekeeping
Morning Star Sighting
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
En Route to Time Out
In approximately four hours, a car to Newark airport will be picking me up for my flight to Japan. I highly recommend 212-333-3333. The next time I will see New York will be in 2009.
Sayonara!
A Year Ago Today: No post
Two Years Ago Today:
Drunk Santa
Chinatown
Sayonara!
A Year Ago Today: No post
Two Years Ago Today:
Drunk Santa
Chinatown
Monday, October 06, 2008
Slices of Time
Returning to Western Carolina University was like going back in time. A group of us planned a trip for the 2008 Homecoming Weekend in a year that marks 10 years since we were freshmen.
I hear ghosts on that campus. Not necessarily of those who have died. But the sounds of our pasts. The ghosts of the younger versions of ourselves. We came face to face with memories from our college days and were intensely reminded of how much the university shaped the versions of ourselves that now exist.
I saw the younger me there. Sitting on "the bricks" between classes and sometimes skipping lectures on exceptionally beautiful days. Pretending not to see Rickey, the attractive new junior college transfer, walking down the street while I strategically sat where he would be sure to see me among those who congregated there daily. And then trying to appear nonchalant as I waited for him to walk up behind me and gently tug on my hair or tickle my side. Racing with him to step on the small plaque below the Alumni Tower. Seeing him saunter up the steps to the second floor of the University Center (UC) to visit me while I worked at the Student Information Desk. Photocopying our hands on one of the Xerox machines in Hunter Library. Opening a greeting card card while we ate Wendy's takeout on his bed in Leatherwood after he took me to see Hannibal for Valentine's Day. Refreshing the university's live web cam over and over again in my dorm room while he made different, silly poses in the shadow of the Alumni Tower.
I saw the younger me laughing at Tokii when she split her jeans while performing her trademark impersonations of Michael Jackson in Illusions; making silly videos while we were on RA duty in Scott Hall with "Ms. Sue Ella" and "Bernie Mac"; cheering for Monique during halftime of a basketball game; playing pool with Jessica in the old UC Game Room; going to Reid Gym after dinner to watch the football players play basketball; waving at Toya and Kori passing by in his SUV; cooking out during Valley Bally Hoo or Spring Fling; giving tours to new students at Orientation; watching SportsCenter with BJ, Jon, Pat and Dunstan; water gun fights in the summer; stomping through piles of leaves in the fall; sledding on Dodson Cafeteria lunch trays in the winter; accepting flowers that Rickey would pick off the UC Lawn in the spring.
The memories were all around us despite the vastly changing landscape of the campus. Helder Hall, where I lived my sophomore and junior years, is gone. A landmark of my past erased and replaced by a state-of-the-art cafeteria - complete with Starbucks. There is no where to relive my memories of Rickey sneaking a bowl of Tokii's cereal or diving into my closet in his boxer shorts. Or Tokii dancing in her bathrobe. Or Jonas and Jarvis benchpressing and curling Kamata in the hallway or asking a muffled, inaudible question and then yelling "Heeeyyy!" in your face. Or surprise birthday parties in the study. Or the night I stuck some forks in the third floor microwave. Or the snowball fight in the lobby. Or photo shoots in the hall. Or Kevin driving through the Helder parking lot in his tiny car, giving Terrence his debit card and telling him that under no circumstances was Terrence to allow him to spend the remainder of his refund check.
Those versions of all of us are there in Cullowhee, wholly defined by slices of time that exist one on top of another and are buried only by the passage of itself.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Our Stomping Ground in Photos
The Alumni Tower looms over the University Center Lawn.
"The Bricks," which will be removed in the next phase
of campus renovations.
Where there were once two feet competing to stomp
on the plaque below the Alumni Tower...
We were moved when we discovered a bulletin board that Jan now maintains, a woman who is - and always will be - remembered as so much more than a "lunch lady" - who captures all of us in our younger versions semester after semester.
And a slice of time that we remember. Before the multimillion-
dollar renovations, a younger version of the WCU that we knew.
A Year Ago Today: No post
Two Years Ago Today: Subway Dancers
I hear ghosts on that campus. Not necessarily of those who have died. But the sounds of our pasts. The ghosts of the younger versions of ourselves. We came face to face with memories from our college days and were intensely reminded of how much the university shaped the versions of ourselves that now exist.
I saw the younger me there. Sitting on "the bricks" between classes and sometimes skipping lectures on exceptionally beautiful days. Pretending not to see Rickey, the attractive new junior college transfer, walking down the street while I strategically sat where he would be sure to see me among those who congregated there daily. And then trying to appear nonchalant as I waited for him to walk up behind me and gently tug on my hair or tickle my side. Racing with him to step on the small plaque below the Alumni Tower. Seeing him saunter up the steps to the second floor of the University Center (UC) to visit me while I worked at the Student Information Desk. Photocopying our hands on one of the Xerox machines in Hunter Library. Opening a greeting card card while we ate Wendy's takeout on his bed in Leatherwood after he took me to see Hannibal for Valentine's Day. Refreshing the university's live web cam over and over again in my dorm room while he made different, silly poses in the shadow of the Alumni Tower.
I saw the younger me laughing at Tokii when she split her jeans while performing her trademark impersonations of Michael Jackson in Illusions; making silly videos while we were on RA duty in Scott Hall with "Ms. Sue Ella" and "Bernie Mac"; cheering for Monique during halftime of a basketball game; playing pool with Jessica in the old UC Game Room; going to Reid Gym after dinner to watch the football players play basketball; waving at Toya and Kori passing by in his SUV; cooking out during Valley Bally Hoo or Spring Fling; giving tours to new students at Orientation; watching SportsCenter with BJ, Jon, Pat and Dunstan; water gun fights in the summer; stomping through piles of leaves in the fall; sledding on Dodson Cafeteria lunch trays in the winter; accepting flowers that Rickey would pick off the UC Lawn in the spring.
The memories were all around us despite the vastly changing landscape of the campus. Helder Hall, where I lived my sophomore and junior years, is gone. A landmark of my past erased and replaced by a state-of-the-art cafeteria - complete with Starbucks. There is no where to relive my memories of Rickey sneaking a bowl of Tokii's cereal or diving into my closet in his boxer shorts. Or Tokii dancing in her bathrobe. Or Jonas and Jarvis benchpressing and curling Kamata in the hallway or asking a muffled, inaudible question and then yelling "Heeeyyy!" in your face. Or surprise birthday parties in the study. Or the night I stuck some forks in the third floor microwave. Or the snowball fight in the lobby. Or photo shoots in the hall. Or Kevin driving through the Helder parking lot in his tiny car, giving Terrence his debit card and telling him that under no circumstances was Terrence to allow him to spend the remainder of his refund check.
Those versions of all of us are there in Cullowhee, wholly defined by slices of time that exist one on top of another and are buried only by the passage of itself.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Our Stomping Ground in Photos
The Alumni Tower looms over the University Center Lawn.
"The Bricks," which will be removed in the next phase
of campus renovations.
Where there were once two feet competing to stomp
on the plaque below the Alumni Tower...
We were moved when we discovered a bulletin board that Jan now maintains, a woman who is - and always will be - remembered as so much more than a "lunch lady" - who captures all of us in our younger versions semester after semester.
And a slice of time that we remember. Before the multimillion-
dollar renovations, a younger version of the WCU that we knew.
A Year Ago Today: No post
Two Years Ago Today: Subway Dancers
Friday, October 03, 2008
The Photo Not Taken
There is a picture I will always regret not taking. It was a moment on my flight out of JFK this morning as we rose over Queens and Brooklyn just ahead of the sun. The deep orange of the horizon behind us cast a golden glow across the East River and echoed a soft red off the buildings of Manhattan. The island looked like a giant uncut ruby.
I looked back until it was tiny sparkle.
A Year Ago Today: Liberty and Justice for All from the Bar
Two Years Ago Today: Craigslist NYC
I looked back until it was tiny sparkle.
A Year Ago Today: Liberty and Justice for All from the Bar
Two Years Ago Today: Craigslist NYC
Monday, July 28, 2008
Returning to New York City
My New York girlfriends partied two nights in a row with a few of the Wayans brothers while I spent the weekend in Western North Carolina doing this and had another 7-hour delay in the Cincinnati airport on Sunday.
In happier local news, a coworker got engaged on a mountaintop in Montana over her weekend. Before our weekly ad sales meeting today, my colleagues discussed her exciting news.
Amie: Well, we just got a dog so engagement seemed like the next logical step.
Me: I just don't know if I agree with marriage just because of the arrival of a dog.
Sam: But studies show that it's better for the dog in the long run.
Me: Be that as it may, I just don't think it's a good idea to follow one mistake with another.
And my cubicle neighbor - another of the executive assistants in the row of white cubicles lining the glass offices behind us - just sent me this.
Incredibly, Warren Wilson College, in Asheville, NC - where I recently witnessed an unwelcome reaction to a gay rights parade during Bele Chere that had me ready to rejoin modern civilization in New York - was ranked the Most Socially Liberal College by MSN Encarta.
1. Warren Wilson College (Asheville, N.C.)
The typical WWC undergrad "likes good organic wholesome food, a good local brew and bluegrass on a starry night, is health conscious but smokes hand-rolled cigarettes, dresses in work clothes but accessorizes, recycles, doesn't watch TV and knows some botanical-ornithological basics." To put it more simply: "This place is a haven for hippies and very left-wing people." Other types pepper the student body, including "surfers, farmers and punks, some people with dreadlocks, others with dyed hair. A small portion of the population has facial piercings and tattoos."
Students who considered Warren Wilson also looked at Earlham College and The Evergreen State College.
To be fair, Asheville is one of the more socially progressive cities in the South, and I am generally proud to have lived there in my late teens. New York City, however, is for my late twenties.
And beyond.
A Year Ago Today:
New Tag: Search-Term Saturdays
The Morning After Jet Blue
Another Charlotte No-Go
Interesting Things I Saw in JFK Before I Did NOT Fly to Charlotte
Two Years Ago Today: Top 10 Favorite Asheville Memories
In happier local news, a coworker got engaged on a mountaintop in Montana over her weekend. Before our weekly ad sales meeting today, my colleagues discussed her exciting news.
Amie: Well, we just got a dog so engagement seemed like the next logical step.
Me: I just don't know if I agree with marriage just because of the arrival of a dog.
Sam: But studies show that it's better for the dog in the long run.
Me: Be that as it may, I just don't think it's a good idea to follow one mistake with another.
And my cubicle neighbor - another of the executive assistants in the row of white cubicles lining the glass offices behind us - just sent me this.
Incredibly, Warren Wilson College, in Asheville, NC - where I recently witnessed an unwelcome reaction to a gay rights parade during Bele Chere that had me ready to rejoin modern civilization in New York - was ranked the Most Socially Liberal College by MSN Encarta.
1. Warren Wilson College (Asheville, N.C.)
The typical WWC undergrad "likes good organic wholesome food, a good local brew and bluegrass on a starry night, is health conscious but smokes hand-rolled cigarettes, dresses in work clothes but accessorizes, recycles, doesn't watch TV and knows some botanical-ornithological basics." To put it more simply: "This place is a haven for hippies and very left-wing people." Other types pepper the student body, including "surfers, farmers and punks, some people with dreadlocks, others with dyed hair. A small portion of the population has facial piercings and tattoos."
Students who considered Warren Wilson also looked at Earlham College and The Evergreen State College.
To be fair, Asheville is one of the more socially progressive cities in the South, and I am generally proud to have lived there in my late teens. New York City, however, is for my late twenties.
And beyond.
A Year Ago Today:
New Tag: Search-Term Saturdays
The Morning After Jet Blue
Another Charlotte No-Go
Interesting Things I Saw in JFK Before I Did NOT Fly to Charlotte
Two Years Ago Today: Top 10 Favorite Asheville Memories
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Lessons Unlearned
Ironically, you'd think I'd have learned the system by now.
A Year Ago Today: Currently Taking Bets On How Long It'll Take Me to Get to JFK on the E
Two Years Ago Today: Time Flies ... Sometimes
A Year Ago Today: Currently Taking Bets On How Long It'll Take Me to Get to JFK on the E
Two Years Ago Today: Time Flies ... Sometimes
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Back in the South
Within 48 hours of touching down in Asheville, North Carolina, I have had chewing tobacco randomly spit across my path (he did apologize), was inadvertently burned with a cigarette (he did not apologize), watched a crowd of ignorant high school boys taunt a gay rights activist march at Bele Chere (one of the boys took a break from yelling "It's going to be hot in hell" to tell me that I was beautiful; I smiled back sweetly and told him I was a lesbian), ended up on a dark mountain road with drunk people and no mode of transportation, and bailed a friend out of jail.
My signature is now on file in the Buncombe County Courthouse, logged at 3:15am on Saturday, July 26, 2008, where we had a mini-highschool reunion with former classmates waiting for sisters, boyfriends and husbands, who had been arrested for disorderly conduct, public drunkeness and/or harsher charges.
A Year Ago Today: Lunch Break Post - Street Photography Permit?
Super Bad Brad
Two Years Ago Today: Ageless Love
My signature is now on file in the Buncombe County Courthouse, logged at 3:15am on Saturday, July 26, 2008, where we had a mini-highschool reunion with former classmates waiting for sisters, boyfriends and husbands, who had been arrested for disorderly conduct, public drunkeness and/or harsher charges.
A Year Ago Today: Lunch Break Post - Street Photography Permit?
Super Bad Brad
Two Years Ago Today: Ageless Love
Friday, July 25, 2008
NYC Airports + Bad Weather = Equation for Chaos
Flying out of JFK on time is ranked in my Top 10 List of Impossible Things to Do, just below finding a rent-stabilized apartment in New York City and right above solving the general quintic equation in radicals.
My original flight to Asheville, connecting through Cincinnati on Wednesday evening was cancelled due to bad weather, and every subsequent flight through which I attempted to rebook was cancelled one at a time throughout the evening until no options to Asheville were left. JFK to Atlanta. Cancelled. JFK to Charlotte. Cancelled. La Guardia to Charlotte. Cancelled.
I preferred to remain at JFK for seven hours trying every rebooking equation possible rather than lug my bags around the circumference of the airport on the AirTrain for 20 minutes ($5 each way) to the E ($2 per MetroCard swipe) and ride for another 40 minutes back to Midtown. Only to have to return the following day for a 6am flight. I even considered hopping an express bus to La Guardia - until all their flights were cancelled, too.
To those foreign to middle-class Manhattan dwelling, problem solving in JFK for what was roughly equivalent to a workday may have seemed a fatuous alternative to a 3-hour round-trip commute. But when a 15-mile trip to the airport, dragging your luggage on public transportation, can take an hour and a half door-to-door, you'd almost prefer to sleep at the airport.
Luckily, Mayra and her boyfriend recently moved into a house in Queens, a few stops on the A from JFK. And luckier still, her boyfriend has a brother, who was willing to sleep over and drive me to La Guardia at 5:30am. The ultimate resolution to the quadratic JFK squared equation was to reroute me out of La Guardia and through Atlanta with a final destination of Asheville, North Carolina, at 11am on Thursday.
But the puzzle continued to become more complicated. The following denominators were factored into the following morning.
1) Torrential rain and slow traffic
2) Blown transmission at the exit to the airport
3) Cabs unwilling to stop on the expressway
4) Dodging highway traffic with my small carry-on suitcase to get to a willing cab waiting on the shoulder (still pouring rain)
4) Longest check-in and security lines I've ever seen at LGA
5) First-class security line comes to a halt over a suspicious item when an airport official moves me and another 6:50am passenger to the shorter line
6) The security attendant suddenly decides to go on break and won't let me through the metal detector until someone "tags her out" when the same airport official cuts us back into our previous line
7) The woman sitting next to me in the exit row was unable to assist in the event of an emergency and there was confusion in switching seats with a man who "was promised a window seat for switching"
8) Our plane arrived at a gate at the far end of Terminal A at ATL; my connection was at the far end of Terminal D (click here to see why that sucks)
This blog was posted from Asheville, NC.
A Year Ago Today: Phone Photo Ops - 40/40 Club
My Blog Blows, But It's My Life
Two Years Ago Today: Top Ten Favorite Cullowhee Memories
My original flight to Asheville, connecting through Cincinnati on Wednesday evening was cancelled due to bad weather, and every subsequent flight through which I attempted to rebook was cancelled one at a time throughout the evening until no options to Asheville were left. JFK to Atlanta. Cancelled. JFK to Charlotte. Cancelled. La Guardia to Charlotte. Cancelled.
I preferred to remain at JFK for seven hours trying every rebooking equation possible rather than lug my bags around the circumference of the airport on the AirTrain for 20 minutes ($5 each way) to the E ($2 per MetroCard swipe) and ride for another 40 minutes back to Midtown. Only to have to return the following day for a 6am flight. I even considered hopping an express bus to La Guardia - until all their flights were cancelled, too.
To those foreign to middle-class Manhattan dwelling, problem solving in JFK for what was roughly equivalent to a workday may have seemed a fatuous alternative to a 3-hour round-trip commute. But when a 15-mile trip to the airport, dragging your luggage on public transportation, can take an hour and a half door-to-door, you'd almost prefer to sleep at the airport.
Luckily, Mayra and her boyfriend recently moved into a house in Queens, a few stops on the A from JFK. And luckier still, her boyfriend has a brother, who was willing to sleep over and drive me to La Guardia at 5:30am. The ultimate resolution to the quadratic JFK squared equation was to reroute me out of La Guardia and through Atlanta with a final destination of Asheville, North Carolina, at 11am on Thursday.
But the puzzle continued to become more complicated. The following denominators were factored into the following morning.
1) Torrential rain and slow traffic
2) Blown transmission at the exit to the airport
3) Cabs unwilling to stop on the expressway
4) Dodging highway traffic with my small carry-on suitcase to get to a willing cab waiting on the shoulder (still pouring rain)
4) Longest check-in and security lines I've ever seen at LGA
5) First-class security line comes to a halt over a suspicious item when an airport official moves me and another 6:50am passenger to the shorter line
6) The security attendant suddenly decides to go on break and won't let me through the metal detector until someone "tags her out" when the same airport official cuts us back into our previous line
7) The woman sitting next to me in the exit row was unable to assist in the event of an emergency and there was confusion in switching seats with a man who "was promised a window seat for switching"
8) Our plane arrived at a gate at the far end of Terminal A at ATL; my connection was at the far end of Terminal D (click here to see why that sucks)
This blog was posted from Asheville, NC.
A Year Ago Today: Phone Photo Ops - 40/40 Club
My Blog Blows, But It's My Life
Two Years Ago Today: Top Ten Favorite Cullowhee Memories
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
My Vegas Weekend in Photo Essay
I returned to New York on the redeye and went straight to work on Monday after a weekend in Vegas, where the girlfriends joined the boys at NBA Summer League. They were there to support a new teammate, and we were there to live in fantasyland and take a break from our regular lives. Two days later, I am still red-eyed in the office. It is a harsh reminder than I am not 19 anymore. Too tired to summarize the weekend, but a few photos say it better.
A Year Ago Today: Phone Photo Op - Beagle in Bed, Bath & Beyond
Two Years Ago Today: TV Dinner Days and Pan de Sal Nights
A Year Ago Today: Phone Photo Op - Beagle in Bed, Bath & Beyond
Two Years Ago Today: TV Dinner Days and Pan de Sal Nights
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Weekend EnPost
July 11
This was the scene on Fifth Avenue between 58th and 59th as I was leaving for Las Vegas on Friday. I didn't see it first hand, but I read about it on Monday on AdAge.com:
The line outside Apple's Fifth Avenue flagship store on July 11 was an event unto itself. The crowd was of a size usually reserved for papal visits and Michael Jackson court appearances. Hundreds of would-be customers eager to buy the iPhone 3G snaked around police barricades and stretched well down 58th Street in front of FAO Schwartz and children content with more modest toys.
I have coworkers who used vacation time to stand in line for their iPhones.
Photo from AdAge.com
A Year Ago Today: Phone Photo Ops - Things I Found Interesting Tonight
Two Years Ago Today: Countdown: 20 Days
July 12
See Las Vegas recap
A Year Ago Today: Phone Photo Ops - Office Shiznit
Two Years Ago Today: No post
July 13
See Las Vegas recap
A Year Ago Today: Phone Photo Op - Commuter Peeve
Triskaidekaphobia
Two Years Ago Today: No post
This was the scene on Fifth Avenue between 58th and 59th as I was leaving for Las Vegas on Friday. I didn't see it first hand, but I read about it on Monday on AdAge.com:
The line outside Apple's Fifth Avenue flagship store on July 11 was an event unto itself. The crowd was of a size usually reserved for papal visits and Michael Jackson court appearances. Hundreds of would-be customers eager to buy the iPhone 3G snaked around police barricades and stretched well down 58th Street in front of FAO Schwartz and children content with more modest toys.
I have coworkers who used vacation time to stand in line for their iPhones.
Photo from AdAge.com
A Year Ago Today: Phone Photo Ops - Things I Found Interesting Tonight
Two Years Ago Today: Countdown: 20 Days
July 12
See Las Vegas recap
A Year Ago Today: Phone Photo Ops - Office Shiznit
Two Years Ago Today: No post
July 13
See Las Vegas recap
A Year Ago Today: Phone Photo Op - Commuter Peeve
Triskaidekaphobia
Two Years Ago Today: No post
Thursday, May 15, 2008
"Things I Love" Thursdays - My Friends (Again)
While I was in Atlanta last weekend, Debasha told me that my girlfriends kept saying there was an extra person in their party at various nightlife hotspots, and later Debasha realized they were counting me.
"Things I Love" Thursdays are inspired by "I Love New York" (BNY, February 14, 2007).
"Things I Love" Thursdays are inspired by "I Love New York" (BNY, February 14, 2007).
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