Sunny Side of the Street

So my father paid us an extended weekend visit and we did many fun New York-y type things such as:

* see a show at Radio City Music Hall (Loreena McKennitt, quite nice)

* visit the new Hall of Human Origins at the Museum of Natural Histroy

* eat at our favorite Ukranian restaurant

* ride the subway, a lot

* ride the subway, a lot more

* guess as to why the Empire State building was lit green (Earth Day, Dad was right)

* buy stuff off sketchy street vendors

* visit the ships at South Street Seaport

* take picture of bad-ass old buildings

* walk across Central Park

* witness a tv show being filmed in our park

We had a great time because with him my father brought the California weather.

We rejoiced and frolicked in the sun; all was well.

Back to rain, back to work!

Comments

I've disabled my comments because I'm sick of having to delete the snatchy remarks some people have been leaving.

To my loyal friends and family readers, you can email me comments if you like. I will continue to update you on my life here because I miss you people and wish you were here with me.

To my readers who find themselves so bored with my "excuse for a blog" that they have to leave me messages telling me how lame it is, I pose this question: if it's so bad, why have you come back to leave the same comment every time I delete it? Haven't you some other blog to spat upon? Cheers, pal. You win the "Cooler Than Me" award.

Visitation

My father's here for a visit, and here's what that means: the evening was spent playing the following instruments with much enthusiasm and little skill: cello, guitar, piano, violin (after much tuning)and singing various crazy songs that he seems to remember from god-knows-where. We discovered that Leonard Cohen's "Famous Blue Raincoat" seems to have inspired Mason William's "Saturday Night at the World" and spent a good amount of time getting creative with musical forensics - it was sort of like CSI, only with late 60's music instead of dead bodies.

I actually have a couple of days off of work to entertain my guest (shocker!) and tomorrow we are going to wander the Pretty City known as Manhattan. He's already seen Greenpoint and the only comment he had was that the Cheap Aluminum SIding Salesman really cleaned up when he came here. That's my hood... you want vinyl siding?! We got vinyl siding!! On every precious street.

In other exciting news, it's supposed to be 77 degrees on Monday. I can't fucking believe it. I mean seriously, I've been waiting a long time for Spring to show up so I'm trucking out naughty swear words just to make sure you know how excited I really am.

La la la

I couldn't think of a better title. Sorry.

Let's see... New York news: Yesterday while waiting for the L train into Manhattan there was a girl singing and playing her guitar on the subway platform. She had the kind of voice that I would kill to have; the kind of voice that I would give up all my other talents for. Textured, original, not too pretty, but soulful and versitile. No one was giving her any change even though she sounded amazing, so I gave her $5.00 for her efforts.

And the other day as I was coming out of the F train to go to work, I spied a mom trying to a) hang onto her stroller with her toddler while b) she flailed about behind herself unsuccessfuly to grab the two long straps that had come loose on her baby-in-the-front carrier. She was juggling to kids and couldn't manage. With out saying a word, I came up next to her on one side while a workman passing by came up on the other. We each grabbed a strap, circled around her and pulled them into her waiting hands and she was able to re-tie her carrier. And then we all laughed at our little impromptu ballet and went on our way. It's moments like that when I am glad that I live in a close-quarters city where people really do look out for one another.

Jacky and I took a long walk home this evening, stopping at both of the dog parks on the way home. It rained all day so she had a great time chasing her dog friends through the mud and dirt. (Of course she just had a bath yesterday. Couldn't stay clean for too long.) They have been giving tickets/summonses to people who have their dogs off leash in the park by our house so we have had to be careful about playing only in the actual dog park instead of letting her play ball or stick in the open grass. This is not exciting news. I have no idea why I am telling you guys this.

Alrighty... off to do some sort of "Bring Spring and/or Summer" dance and try to will away the cold.

Winter Redux

This morning there were snow flurries. Last week it was 65. The constant about New York weather seems to be its ability to screw with me on a weekly and sometimes daily basis. I want June. I need June. Please send June.

In other new and exciting news, I got some new glasses. Two pair actually, and both have the correct presciptions in them. For the first time. Ever. See, the thing is that I have actually needed glasses for about 4 or 5 years now, but when I went to Sears so many years back they succeeded in a)giving me pink-eye so badly that I ended up the ER and b)giving me the wrong prescription and being mean to me when I went back to get it fixed. So I kept the glasses (with the incorrect lenses), and wore them on the rare occasion that I felt I could stand the headache that came with them. But now the world is beautiful again, thanks to health insurance and a really great eye doctor. I was literally stunned at how well I can see now. It's quite fabulous. But I had no idea that so much dog fur had settled in the nooks and crannies of my house.

In Greenpoint Neighborhood News, we seem to have some sort of a local Guerilla Theatre group. A Middle-aged Polish Man Guerilla Theatre Group. Of which all them members/performers seem to be drunk by about 9am. But they really enjoy hanging out in large numbers by the dog park and lately they have taken it upon themselves to sing, dance, and (the kicker) play the harmonica. (I use "play" lightly. Really they make the kind of harmonica sounds that I used to make as a 7-year-old who thought she was playing the harmonica.) Occasionally one of the members/performers will wander over the the dog park fence and then Jack takes it upon herself to berate the aforementioned with extremely loud large-dog barks and taunts. It really is a sideshow of glee for all involved.

I'm still playing the cello (well, still studying the cello) and still not very good at it. My main problem is a complete and utter lack talent, follwed closely by my inability to just relax and breathe. Lame, especially since I spent so many years in school learning how to breathe (yeah... acting school really prepares you for the real world.) I do have a good time plugging away at trying to learn the thing (the cello that is, and I have named her Misty. Because she's a cheap girl with a shiny finish, kind of like a stripper. Or a My Little Pony.)

This concludes our update.


Editors note: My husband gets credit for the "Guerilla Theatre" joke.

Man, you're tall.

Today, as I walked home from work through the park, there was a guy on ten-foot stilts.

And he was dressed in Victorian era clothing. Lots of black velvet and such.

Yep. Gotta love it here.

Poetic justice.

How nice is it that, after I have written two days ago about how lovely it is outside, that yesterday it snow-iced 4 inches? Yes, indeed. Let's hope this is winter's swan song becuase I can't take much more sleet-in-the-face.

Today is Saint Patrick's Day. Parade, revelry and drinking - none of which I am participating in. But let's reflect: Saint Patrick's day in New York makes me think of a day exactly four years ago, which for me was another Saint Patrick's day spent in New York. I was a senior at Fresno State, performing in a show, trying to graduate in two months and knee-deep in the Grad School panic. In Februray of 2003 in San Francisco, I auditioned for Tisch and the graduate acting program at NYU. I got a much-desired callback and on the 16th of March, I flew on a red-eye to NYC to secure my education for the next 3 years - or so I thought. I was trying desperately to convince myself that an MFA in acting was worth the $100,000 in loan debt that would follw me around for 35 years after graduating from such a pretigious school. I was trying to pretend also that I actually enjoyed acting - that it was something that I wanted to continue doing and it wasn't just something that I did because people said I was good at it.

Let's just say that I did not present myself well at this particular callback. In fact, I venture to say that it ranks number one as my Worst Audition Ever. However, if I had gotten into NYU, I never would have accepted my offer at the Chicago Conservatory of Performing Arts. Now, y'all know what I think of that "educational institution". But it took moving to Chicago and going to a super-crappy school in order to arrange my life path so that it would cross that of my darling husband. And now look where we are... in New York, on Saint Patrick's day, four years later. The Empire State Buling is lit green and I am in the same green sweater that I wore four years ago. (Even though I should be wearing orange, but we won't go into that.)

And now I shall go scrape the ice-snow off the car before it solidifies into an ice-block that won't melt until June.

All the windows are open...

...in our apartment. Right now. Cause it's beautiful outside.

Things are pretty okay in this fair city of ours. Aside from working entirely too much and sort of fighting off the mild depression that comes with having been sick for a week, I am okay. I am also a little (LOT!) bummed out because Nicole and her husband have decided to leave our little Polish ghetto for sunnyier skies, specifically Los Angeles. You can't actually get further away from here in the continental U.S. and now one more person who keeps me sane is going back to Cali. It is safe to assume that aside from my husband, the people that I care about most almost ALL live in California. Which leads to me ask the following: why don't I live in California?! To tell you the truth, I do love it. But I love New York, too, in a completely different way. I feel like this is where I am supposed to live, and not for some lame existential reason but for the simple fact that it feels good to me. It feels especially good to live here, despite the percieved rat-race overtones of it all.

Last night as I walked down into the F train to come home from work, I heard what sounded like cello music. And there, on the subway platform, was a guy tuning his cello. I was surprised because he looked (as best as I can describe) like Kevin Federline. By which I mean he was a little scrappy, a little bit gangsta, and not someone who you would immediately associate with Bach, which is what he began to play. I asked him where he was last night, cause last night I had my cello with me down here and we could've jammed. He got a kick out of that. Then when the F train came, he got on with all the rest of us, sat down, and began to play the prelude from the Bach Cello Suites. It was so beautiful, no where close to technically correct, and as the train climbed out of the tunnel and became an "el" train you could see out of the dirty windows the glittery Manhattan skyline against the sunset. It was truly a magical New York moment to be on the train, and I was instantly and deeply glad to be where I was. He finished the piece with a flourish and I applauded wildly, alone. He said thanks, got some change donations from some fellow riders, and hopped off as the doors were closing.

I think I shall practice on the subway playform one day, too. I don't sound nearly as good as that guy, but who will I offend? Yoyo Ma? I don't think he rides the F train very often.

I will conclude this blog with a plea to my friends and family: As it gets warmer here in the New York City, I urge you to think of just how much you long to come visit. Don't try to hide it; I know you lay awake at night thinking of ways to fly out here and visit Lonely Me. Think of the things we could do together... frolic in Central Park, eat at Katz's Deli, take pictures of skyscrapers. Doesn't that sound super-fun? And if you haven't met Jack the Dog, well... you should.

What day is it?

My lack of new and interesting blog posts is directly related to the fact that all I have done lately is work. I get up and go to work, and then I come home. I think there mught be some dinner-eating in there somewhere, and maybe a little bit of tv watching, but really all I have been doing is working. Good thing I like my job as much as I do. However, I feel a cold coming on and I'm in the middle of working about 7 days straight. Who knew the Brooklyn wedding industry was so demanding...

That aside, all is well. My better half has been accepted to a PhD program and plans to begin this Fall. Doctor in the house! Exciting.

In other news, our doggy has overcome her tremendous anxiety and can once again be left alone for hours at a time. Anyone who knows us knows what a commitment it has been to help Jacky through her trauma, but we love that damn dog so much it's been worth every minute. She is the best. She has also learned the trick "gimme five". Except that she expects a treat everytime she "gives you five". So, we'll be sitting on the couch, watching tv, and she walk over and give us her paw. And then blink at us like "where's my treat? hello?" It's pretty amusing.

We had one day of Spring on Saturday... it was 62 degrees. It was lovely. I went for a run and then (of course) had to go to work. Story of my life. Now the temperatures are supposed to drop again, back into the 20's. Aw, crap. Here I am, talking about the weather. I am so boring.

And tired.

ps - my fingers hurt really bad from practicing the cello. However, I have the sneaking suspicion that I'm not getting any better...

!

Not New York...

...but a visit last week to the mountains of Arizona:

Dog Show!

Yesterday my friend from work and I attended the Westminster Dog Show at Madison Square Garden. It was quite an experience. The best part, by far, was being able to be "backstage" in the benching area where the dogs hang out and get primped for their big show moment. We watched some of the best of breed judging, but that part actually takes a really loooong time. And to my eye, when you put 50 Vizla's in a ring they all look alike. Cute, every darn one.

The other awesome thing is that Pedigree (dog food company) sponsered the show. What's so great about this fact is that Pedigree is in the middle of one of the biggest campaigns ever that promotes shelter dog adoption. So here you have these hundreds and hundreds of pure-bread dogs showing off their stuff, but the main sponser of the event is saying "don't forget that shelter dogs makes great pets, too!" I was really impressed by them. As you all know, Jack is a sehlter dog that we rescued. She was one day from being put down, and we saved her furry little life! Pedigree was handing out swag bags as well, and me and Mal got knitted ski hats that say "Dogs Rule" and treats for Jack and a frisbee, too. Good times.

I have put together a slideshow of some of the best pictures that I took backstage. It was too dark in the arena to take shots, but these will make you smile.

http://www.rockyou.com/show_my_gallery.php?instanceid=55516618 (here's the link to copy and paste if the promt doesn't send you to the slideshow.)

Ps: 3 inches of icy snow on the ground this morning!

Greenpoint, Home of the Largest Oil Spill Ever in the Whole Universe

Came across this tidbit in the New York Times the other day.

Seems my quaint little Polish-ghetto of a neighborhood is still suffering the effects of a massive oil spill that happened 50 years ago. (we're right on the water in the northern-most point of Brooklyn.)My favorite part is where they talk about the silt from the river being one-tenth toxic oil.

Sweet. The ground here is literally soaked with oil. That's really great.

Cosmic Collisions and Dinosaur Bones

Yesterday the husband and I took a trip to the Museum of Natural History. It was nearly tourist-free, which was nice. Actually, it was nearly empty. Which was really nice. Not that I mind tourists, I just like an empty museum experience a lot more.

We said hello the dinosaurs, stood in front of models of Pangea, and weighed ourselves on the moon. (I weigh about 20 pounds on the moon.) We sat in one of those huge dome theatres and watched an interective film about star collisions in the universe, and it blew our minds. Well, the film didn't blow our minds, but the general idea of the universe blew our minds. Trying to understand the enormity of it all blew my mind. The we had heated discussions about how awesome and wonderful science is and how people who don't believe in it or trust it must be delusional. I wish I had become a scientist instead of an actor sometimes.

We poked around in the gems and rocks and I (as I often am) was bewildered by the fact that so many people demand diamonds to wear when there are so many very beautiful and amazing stones in the world. We explored the Earth science section and watxched earthquakes happen all over the world (Hello, Central Valley!) and we jumped on a special spot that recorded our shockwaves like a little quake. We stared in awe at a slice of a tree that began growning in 1444 and didn't die until the mid-twentieth century. (!) We decided that we should take a vacation to Yellowstone someday.

We saw the big, blue whale that hangs from the ceiling of the sea life room. Nicole tells me that every child growing up in New York remembers this huge, life-sized whale from field trips. We saw a crab-spider that was about the size of Jack (ew) and learned that there are many species of sea-dwelling things that light up on their own. Which I think is pretty darn cool.

So, that was our day. Good times.

I heart science, and I heart NY.

New York, New York. The city so nice...

...they named it twice.

My dad sent me this link.

If you even like New York City a teensy bit, this website will fascinate you.

Monday

Monday: A log

Bundle on as much clothing as possible, head outside to freezey cold wind.

Take the G train to the E train to the C train to the 1 Train.

Almost get hit by taxi while crossing street to go to doctor's appointment, late. Because I had to take 4 trains, which takes a while.

Get poked by way too many needles... things like tetnus shots and whooping cough (is that even an issue anymore?) and flu shot and blood drawn for things like cholesterol. Needles are not my friend, so I had to sit in the office for half and hour before I could walk away without passing out. I took four trains for this?

Pop into nice, New York land-mark tpe coffee shop for OJ and scrambies, so I can take four trains home without going into shock from my needle adventure.

Buy prosciutto. $4.99

Buy sunglasses. $9.99

Take the 1 train to the C train to the E train (get lost in 42nd street station) to the G train.

Gads... it's only 1pm and I feel like going back to bed.

Catch... and release.

This morning, while out walking, Jack and I came across the most wonderful bit of sidewalk trash.

One of the many Catholic churches in the neighborhood had thrown out a big, old, wooden pew. One of the very long ones that would hold maybe 8 or 10 people. One of the side-panel-arm-rest-pieces was detached and therefore it was no longer standing on its own. Being that one girl and one dog could not schlep both the cool, carved wood end piece as well as the bench part itself the 4 blocks home, I opted to just take the beautiful (and heavy) end part. It was gorgeous, and I thought I might hang it on the wall of just prop it in a corner.

We passed a guy who asked with a smile "Did you steal that from the church?" and I told him that no, I didn't steal it from the church. But I did steal it from the gutter in front of the church. So we drug the item home, and hauled it upstairs, and then turned around to go back out and continue our walk. When we got back into the park,I could see across the street to the church where someone was now loading the pew (sans decorative end cap) into an orange PT Cruiser. A fellow sidewalk shopper! I ran over to him and asked what he was going to do with it. He said he didn't know, but he couldn't pass it up. I told him I had the other piece. His eyes lit up. "There's another piece?" he asked. I told what I'd taken, and then made the split-second decision that he needed to have that part as well. "Do you want it?" I asked. He very obviously did, so I told him to meet me on our street and I would give it to him.

Jack and I walked home and I hauled the wooden monstrosity back down the stairs and out to the street where the guy and his orange PT Cruiser were waiting. He was so happy. He said we was going to put it back together and make a couch. He also seemed to not comprehend why I was giving up my sidewalk treasure, but I told him the pew would be happier if was all back on one piece. He thanked me again and drove away.

I should've taken a picture before I gave it away, but I didn't.

I wonder if those cool, little old windows are still sitting on the curb over on Humbolt Street...

Okay, winter. We get it.

Actual temperature: 11 degrees.

Feels like: -5.

Ack! Send palm trees and tropical breezes, asap.

In the catagory of "overheard"

This is a (fairly accurate) transcript of a conversation that I overheard on the bus this evening. Imagine a girl my age, but with a slightly Americanized British accent. Her phone rings, and it goes a little something like this:

Hello? Hello? Mummy, where are you? No, where are you? What? You're in Dubai! Yes... I'm sorry I missed your call this morning, I was so disappointed! No, no-- it's good that you called. Mummy, I'm on the bus. I'm on the bus because the G train isn't working but it's nice to be above ground, no? I rather like it. Mummy, I have news! You know David? Uncle David? Yes, Uncle David... I've spoken with him, Mummy, I've spoken with him and the most wonderful thing... I'm going to Connecticut, Mummy to see him, but it's because --yes, to Connecticut-- it's because Grandpa's being admitted --no, listen, Mummy-- Grandpa's being admitted to the Hall of Fame! There'll be a ceremony and Uncle David invited me! It's wonderful news! Oh, and Mummy, it was sort of sad today because it was Aria's last day. But she went and got a tattoo today, a tattoo of a red Corvette on her foot, because she loves Prince so much. And Mummy, we all went with her and got tattoos as well. Yes, I got one on my foot... because I really wanted to Mummy, I really did. I got "pula" written in very pretty script. You know, for Botswana. It means so much to me and there really isn't anything more Botswana than "pula." It's so pretty, Mummy. I love it. David got a skull on his hand, and Heather put "mother" on her back. And Jeff got a little triangle on his wrist. Yes, a triangle. It's for protection, he says. But I'm just so exhausted Mummy, we were there for six hours. It just takes so much energy, and I went last. I'm just so tired. It hurt so much I screamed the whole time. Yes, Mummy, I'm so glad you phoned. I'm so glad. Have a lovely trip and I love you massive amounts. Massive amounts! I love you. I love you. Mummy, I love you. Okay. Bye then.

It was quite an interestinf conversation to overhear.

I heart NY.

At long last...

January Check Up

For the record, I did not smell any weird smells the other day, despite what all the news shows said about New York being smelling-like with natural gas. Then again, I was in Brooklyn... specifcally Greenpoint, which is always smelly. Smelly like bums and and booze, but that's what makes it charming. Oops, I mean cheap.

Let's see... what else. Went into Manhattan today, and it was COLD! We actually had flurries this morning, thanks be to the weather gods.

While my better half had a meeting to go to, I tried to find a new pair of pants at Urban Outfitters. Which ended up just making me feel old and grumpy, because their music was too loud and all the pants too weird. And my back and shoulders hurt, so I grabbed some clothes that I didn't even really want to try on and went into the dressing room, where I proceeded to do yoga stretches.

My latest celebrity sighting was a few weeks ago in Brooklyn; I saw Heath Ledger. He didn't recognize me.

We through the Christnmas tree out the window the other night. It was dropping needles like... well, like a tree that's been up for a month. We did it in the dark of the night and then my landlords cleaned up the needle mess outside before I could. I felt bad and apologized.

We watched "Little Miss Sunshine" and "An Inconvenient Truth". Both good; but not everyone will like them as much as I did. The Al Gore movie convinced me to buy those expensive light bulbs that use less energy and last five years. And of course, to continue walking everywhere and taking the subway. But since I'm too terrified to drive anywhere, I guess that wasn't really a problem.

Most of family probably thinks I'm delinquent because I didn't get the holiday presents out in time. So sorry about that, but I have been literally working my butt off and my husband is trying to get into a PhD program, so we've had our hands full. Hopefully none of you are offended by the fact that your Christmas has been extended a bit.


Ugh, this blog is really boring. Sorry 'bout that, it's late and I'm sleepy. But I miss you all desperately!