preparations

monday was hair cut day. i always like to get a fresh do, pre-trip. just makes you feel better and cuter and ready for anything! if any of you need an awesome hair-stylist in NY, i highly recommend my lady. email me if you're interested. here are the results (one dorkier than thou pose and one that says "wanna hop in the shower with me and my fab new do?"):




tuesday was crazy costume sale day. i saw on NY1 that there was going to be a giant sale at a costume warehouse that was going out of business. just in time for the halloween chaos! i couldn't resist... $20 to fill a shopping full of random costumes? come on now. thing is, i have tons of costume gear in storage, but none of it with me here. i know, just what i need to fill my tiny closet is more once or twice a year costume regalia, but i just can't help myself when an opportunity like this comes a-knocking.

the sale started at 10am and i figured i'd arrive at 10, knowing it might be crazy inside, but not really expecting a big line (it was a week day you know. and how many unemployed NYers interested in a costume sale could there be?). boy, was i WRONG! when i finally made it over to the desolate area of 26th and 11th ave, all i could see was an enormous line. i couldn't even tell where it started or ended. it looked like a line for a britney spears concert a few years back (when she was a hot ticket)... where people had been camping out the night before. i couldn't believe it.

as i started my way further and further and further down the line, i realized i might be waiting all friggin day to get some lame costume. but then, about half way down 27th (yes people, the line went AROUND to the next block), i heard someone call my name. it was the cool girl, vanessa from my one day a week office job! and she told me to cut in with her. what luck! when i asked what the hell she was doing there, she said she was so excited, that she took the day off work! guess other people in line had the same idea. who knew cheap costumes would be such a draw? only in ny man, only in ny.


(the line that continued behind where i was standing)

after about an hour and half of waiting, we'd probably moved about 40 feet, all the way up to 11th ave (the line continued down that block to 26th, then around the corner and half way down that street). we were never going to make in the hour or so we were hoping. a few more minutes of restlessness, vanessa and i decided to see what the deal was up front. when we got there, she realized she knew about a gallery in the bldg. and thought we might be able to go up and use their bathroom. the guard asked where we were going and lo and behold, we got in. after the pee break, we discovered we were in! all we had to do was take the express elevator up to the 17th to the sale. could it really be that easy?

YEP! we walked right in. heheheheeeeee (evil cackle)!!! i paid my $20 and got my big bag. vanessa was blessed that day. not only did we get in without the ridiculous wait, she was mistakenly given 4 bags for $20! one of which she gave to me. so 2 bags for $20! hahahahaaaaa (repeated evil cackle)! once inside it was a costume free for all. racks upon racks of random outfits ranging from every period. i filled my bags full of everything from a princess dress to a couple broadway sparkly showgirl outfits to a couple pairs of crazy pants to a 40s starlet's robe to hats and shawls and bizarre pieces just for the cool fabrics AND my halloween outfit: 2 little girl dresses to choose from for my "whatever happened to baby jane" betty davis character. so excited. they both don't quite fit, but i'll make it work. excited! i usually go for the sexy halloween outfit, but this one will be totally creepy. yay!

all in all, the preps for halloween and the trip are right on track. weeee...

twankers and balls

british humor at it's finest!
(thanks to sara, care of chris)

1 whole year!

looking back at my first post (scroll to bottom of page) to this here blog, i noticed that today marks the one year anniversary of my posting to good ol' blogger. the year has totally flown by. literally. still can't get over that i've been in NY for a whole year now. and what a year it's been. like i've mentioned before, i think this year has been the biggest roller coaster yet. super high highs, really low lows and plenty of inbetweens. i've been both good and bad mentally and physically. i've learned some major life lessons like how lucky/grateful i am to my family and friends who have been there for me, about coping with the harsh realities life throws us, how not to get stupidly drunk and make dumb choices, what qualities in dudes i'm still searching for, how to get along just fine all on my own, and on and on. i'm sure these so-called lessons will become much clearer on my upcoming trip. but i'll tell you this much, i'm already looking forward to coming back to new york city... i say that until i go to new zealand and start planning for my next move. ;)
thanks for reading! plenty more roller coaster rides to come...

back to solitude

my mom left last night. it was definitely a nice time with her. we went all over, did plenty of NY kinds of things like dining, shopping and going to plays and museums. i think she got a good sense of my life here and knows why i like it and am staying. i really wanted to just show her around and have some mom time. and she was a trouper too. someone who hardly ever walks kept up pretty well with going from to the LES to nolita to soho and back then all over the east and west village. even i was tired.

the new yorky highlights were two nights of broadway in a row. first night was 42nd street. and yes, the claim is true... it IS the biggest show on broadway. so many people on stage with about a million costume changes, HUGE song and dance numbers, crazy sets and on and on. it was pretty awesome. i mean, if you want broadway flash, then this is it! cheesy yes but pretty damn spectacular.

the next night we saw the tony award winning play i am my own wife. brilliant! so well written, so well acted. a truly great dramatic piece that is worthy of broadway and all it's awards. i loved it!

the other big highlight was finally going to the lower east side tenement museum. i'd been by the museum a few times and was always fascinated. finally got to go this time and man, was it interesting. if you've ever been to the ann frank house in amsterdam, this is sort of the same idea. the organization acquired this abandoned tenement building and managed to find out the entire history of the place, dating back to the 1890s! i mean they knew about every family that ever crammed into the tiny spaces. early new york immigrant families' stories of their struggles making it in the new world. you could just visualize their painful existence by standing in the accurately dressed rooms of the different time periods. i mean these apartments were smaller than my place and they had 9 people living in there! really gave you a sense of the conditions and what these people went through back in the day. highly recommended for tourists to the city!

mumsy in the house!

my mom made it here this morning. very early. haven't been up that early in a while. but i was happy to see her. unfortunately, it's totally raining and cold which makes it difficult to go out and do stuff. especially for a "senior citizen" (i can't believe my mom fits into that age bracket now) from california. but i convinced her we should walk around, get some breakfast, do a little shopping and go see a movie.

you see, my mother is the one who instilled a love of counter-culture cinema in me and they don't really show that stuff in her hometown. so she was thrilled to see that the film section in time out was about 10 pages long, filled with all kinds of crazy independents.

we decided on mike leigh's new film, vera drake at the film forum. it was excellent! a pretty bleek picture of illegal abortions performed by a saintly woman in england in the 1950s. i know, it sounds rather grim, but the performances!!! so so so great! there are sure to be some oscar nods for a couple of the actors. that mike leigh, man. if you ever saw "secrets and lies" then you know what you're in for... a family drama that could play out as a bad movie of the week, but instead is an intimate portrait with fascinating character studies played by remarkable actors. highly recommended!

mumsy and i are now back at the pad chilling. going for dinner later. i think this will be a very chill week with her, which is exactly what i wanted and needed. perfect.

18 days and counting

i have to say i think i'm pretty clever for deciding to leave for my trip on november 2nd, the day of the big presidential election. i don't have to look at a calendar to see how many more days til i leave, i just look online or read/see the news to find out. there's always some blurb mentioning how many more days til election day. ha! so yeah, in 18 days i'm off.

i'm rather unprepared as far as going away for a month alone to a new country goes (don't even have the so-called travel bible--lonely planet book!). i have my ticket to get there. i have my reservation for the hostel i will stay at for my first two nights in auckland. the lovely and helpful amanda, an auckland resident, is willing to take me out and show me the ropes when i arrive (very grateful!). and i've got a reservation for the camping trip for my first two weeks. other than that, i have myself, my backpack and my travel know-how to get me around the islands. i'm extremely excited and ready for anything! a month seems like a long time, but i'm sure it's going to fly by.

until i leave, i'll remain busy. my mom finally decided to come out here for a visit. yet again, i will be a tour guide, but this should be a little different. no going out dancing and getting drunk. it'll be more like museums and eating and shopping. and i'm really hoping we get to rent a car to take a drive out to the country. i'm dying to see those colored leaves before they all blow away!

then it'll be halloween preparations, catching up with work, prepping my house for my subletter and packing! woo-hoo!

the big debate

well crap. bush, the fuck, didn't fall on his face as i was hoping. they both had plenty to say and for the most part what they said came off as pretty intelligent. unfortunately, it was a lot more of the same. bush continued to regurgitate the same fucking shit he's been spewing since day one (although i don't think the dreaded term "weapons of mass destruction" was said once). it's like the same speach, different day (for both of them).

i feel like these guys have flashcards they must memorize with statistics for each possible question they may be asked. it's like a big national oral test and we are all grading them on who memorized the facts and delivered them best. the millions of statistical facts stated aren't even necessarily relevent when ABC's after show reports who's facts were actually right or wrong. there were so many numbers of this fiscal year's deficit and that econimic brackets' tax cut percentage, it was hard to keep up. bo-ring.

i do like some of kerry's ideas on health care, job reform and taxes... i'm just not sure he can actually do what he says. it seems an impossible feat. but bush's response to health is a big fat joke. he said america's health care is the envy of the world! i can think of a ton more countries that have WAY better socialized health care that are far more enviable than our mainly privatized version. when i have to wait for 2 hours to see my overly busy doctor at the "cheap" clinic and pay $80 for a 5 day treatment, i think we have a problem.

AND bush's answer to job loss... another JOKE. telling an unemployed person that they should use his eduction reform plan and go back to community college to get a job! what is that? what about the employees that have lost their jobs to workers in china or india? is going back to college going to get them that job back in our own country? i don't think so. ugh! i could go on.

the one major disappointment of the debate on DOMESTIC POLICY was there wasn't one single question geared towards the environment. i wanted to hear what these dudes had to say about that.

obviously i'm no political analyst, but the bottom line is i just hope bush, the big fat liar, gets kicked to the curb.

playing with myself

yesterday i went to staten island, solo style. it was another lovely day and thought it would be a good time to take the ol' free ferry which i'd never taken before. i was planning to go to this free architecture open house thing. i tried calling my new SI friend from the dr.'s office, but no answer. it was gonna be a "me afternoon" after all. i ended up going to the st. george theater which was pretty spectacular. i adore old theaters.

after the tour, i tooled around the island. it seemed nice enough. didn't really get a great sense of the place, but i liked being out of the city for a minute. while i waited for the next ferry to come i sat on the steps of a big gov't buidling, listening to my ipod. jef gilson to be exact (thanks mark!). i also broke out the old digi cam and snapped some pics of myself. instant boredom cure. love it.
here are some of the results:




rode the ferry back to manhattan, met up with chase and damaris and the members of vagenius, had dinner and drinks and quizzed each other on movie trivia. my fave. all in all it was a good balance of alone time and social time.

i'm learning this is what NY is becoming for me. i'm either on a social high or a lonely low. but the discovery is that it's OK to have both. this town can feel super lonely when you don't have anyone you want to call. you can step outside and see the hoards of people all around you with places to go and people to see. and when you don't have either, it kinda sucks. but i'm learning to be ok with just me sometimes. hey, that's what i wanted when i moved here, right? guess it took a year to figure that one out. let's see what one more year brings, shall we?

madonna's waiting room

today i had a lady doctor appointment. i hate doctors appointments in general, but knew i should probably go. blah! i even called the office to see if i could reschedule, but alas, it would take too long to come back. so i begrudgingly went in.

now let me set the record straight. in my humble opinion, a good lady doctor is hard to find. you have to feel comfortable with this person to go down there (if you know what i mean). i picked this particular woman from 50 or so candidates that accepted my insurance. and i picked her soley for her name: madonna holder. i figured an ob/gyn with the name madonna had to be pretty cool. turned out, i really liked her the first time i went. she's from trinidad with a heavy accent, a mid-wife and super down to earth with a good sense of humor. the office was only 5 minutes walk from my house too so i knew i picked the right place. funny thing is, i'm the only white girl i've ever seen in that office and ms. madonna remembers me (i'm guessing because of that).

the shitty thing about the place is that in the few visits i've had there, i've never waited less than 2 hours in that little waiting room! just the way it is. i brought my ipod and book for my long wait and when i arrived, of course the office was full. only one chair left to sit and wait. it was directly across from an older black woman with a big ol' wrap around her head (a la erykah badu in her head wrap days). i immediately sensed a good vibe from this woman. i can't quite remember how we started talking, but as soon as we did, the conversation just flowed.

we chatted on and on about ms. madonna and how great she was, about brooklyn and the neighborhood, about how she moved to staten island to get away from the riff raff in brooklyn to find some peace and quiet. we just bonded. then, she mentioned how she lost her son almost a year to the day. i opened my eyes wide... "that's strange" i said, "it's my father's birthday today. and he passed away this year as well." "oh girl!" she said with comforting eyes and a sensitive touch to my knee. "i know what you're going through. believe me, i do."

then we got into this whole counseling session. just the two of us, sitting across from each other, knees practically touching in that tiny waiting room, killing time before taking our pants off for ms. madonna. we talked about our struggles this year. the good days, the bad days. how hard it is for a mother to lose her child, and likewise a daughter to lose her father etc, etc. it was fascinating. a 29 year old white girl from california and a 57 year old black woman from NY had this bizarre connection.

we traded phone numbers before our appointments. i'm going to visit her in staten island this weekend i think. i've never been and she just raved about it. would be nice to see it from someone who lives there and takes pride in her neighborhood. who knew? i'm glad i actually went to that appointment! the universe sure works in mysterious ways...

happy birthday daddy-o

today is my dad's birthday. he would have been 58. i woke up with him in my head and had a lot to say to him. sang him the little dorky birthday song i always did on this day. i know he heard me. i love and miss him more than ever.

that's my favorite photo of him (in his hippie/burly man phase, early 70s in the amazon, peru).

under the tuscan sun 2

well, actually, in this case, it's the roman sun. my dear friend chase flew into NY yesterday after spending about 6 weeks in rome. tonight i get to meet with her and hear the tales of her fantasy life. check out her (i hate to say it, but it's true) cliché holiday story...
she goes to rome to escape life in LA (she was bored, needed a trip away alone to figure some stuff out, etc, etc. sounds familiar right?). anyway, she's there for one week and meets a hot boy who rents her a vespa. he sees her later at some bar, recognizes her, they proceed to chat away, and THEN they kiss for the first time in the coloseum (see dude... cliché!). she ends up spending her whole holiday with him and now she's decided to move back to rome. she's coming back now to sort out her shit... sell car, put crap in storage, sublet apartment and move in with him in rome! CRAZY! and i love it. it gives me faith that fantasy shit like that really does happen. if you want the full story, be sure to read her travel blog. believe me, i was living vicariously! now, who's gonna direct the under the roman sun 2 movie? HA!!!

enjoy the silence?

today was my first guest-free day in a week. it's so quiet around here. i half like it and half don't. sometimes i forget that i'm working in total silence and have to remind myself to put on a record or listen to itunes at the computer. it was great having two dj's stay with me. there was never a moment of silence. they were always playing some cool record or cd. i guess i got used to it. now it's all up to me to be the selector.

been a couple mellow days here at the old homestead. got my sleeping schedule back on track. i think i slept a whole 8, maybe even 9 hours last night. ahhh! and the weather right now is perfect. i love fall weather so much. it's sunny and bright with a hint of a chill in the air. the leaves are starting to fall, so when you walk, you get a good crunch under your feet. and the colors! oh the colors! i don't know what it is, but the light of fall is just the best. i took a walk to the bagel shop this morning and couldn't get over how vivid the red bricks looked on the buildings. or how blue the sky was against the red of the buildings. or how yellow the leaves were turning, contrasting the reds and the blues in the sky. love it!

this time of year also puts me in nesting mode. i think i'll give myself some homey projects. i need to paint my little table. and i've been wanting to do something about the neon light fixture over my turntable. and knitting! this is the perfect time to start up knitting again. and i really really really need to learn how to make soup this winter. shit, i've got to get busy. enough blogging for one day. :)

too much fun

my little vacation with the all the kids in town is starting to wind down now. i'm sad they are all leaving, but i'm ready to get my life back together. it's been one long week of partying and my body needs a rest. i'm not built like i used to be. back in the day i could go for hours and hours, days and days of non-stop partying. not anymore. i crave that downtime. actually got my 8 hours sleep last night and already feel better. ha!

i did have a fantastic time with the boys who stayed with me as well as the big old group of LA kids who were here. everyone was so great and into enjoying NY to the fullest. same as when i had visitors to LA... it was always my goal to show people a good time, rediscovering the place i resided. you get to see your city in a new light, all fresh from the visitors eyes. really makes you appreciate it. and boy, do i love NYC.

some highlights included:
- friday with tommy: eating at madiba, learning how to roll a proper euro spliff, smoking it in the park and record shopping (i miss record shopping!!)

- the up our sleeve show.


- the after party at my place: a cranium challenge, belgian beers, chocolates, spliffs and mark being ridiculously hilarious

- the gang gang dance show and downstairs dance party (i NEVER dance to 60s psych rock or whatever that was, but dang, was it fun!)

- coney island with mark and tommy.

i think that may have been the ultimate highlight. the weather was amazing that day. that place is just such a trip. we drank beers out of soda cups on the beach and marveled at all the jewish families in matching outfits. then a ride on the mighty cyclone roller coaster. i can't believe i'd never done it before. it was SO MUCH FUN!!! forgot how much i love roller coasters.


- meeting up with 12 visitors to walk across the brooklyn bridge (from manhattan to brooklyn). i'd never done that before either and it was fantastic (highly recommended to ny tourists). as we started on our way over, we heard these really loud booms, and couldn't tell where they were coming from. at first we were all a little nervous. was it bombs or something? as we got closer to a clearing, we noticed it was a huge fireworks show happening just to the right of the bridge. it was like they were having a fireworks display just for us. awesome!!!


- dining at grimaldi's pizza. by far thee best pizza in town. everyone seemed to agree after downing 4 large pizzas. YUM!

- brazilian night at black betty's in williamsburg was the finish to the best day. had drinks and chatted it up with everyone. even got to dance with a couple strangers. super super fun.

and that's that. now, can you see why i'm sooooo tired? out til 5am every night and partying like there's no tomorrow. i love guests in town.

boys in my bed

the past few nights, i have had 2 boys staying in my apartment (mark aka frosty and tommy from belgium). first, they were sleeping on my air mattress. now they are taking turns sharing my bed. it's been really fun having them here. i'm back on the fun track. i haven't been in bed until 5 am every night since they arrived. how i'm still doing it, i have no idea. i'm definitely an 8 hour a night person, but it's been 4 to 6 at best and we're still going.

the up our sleeve show was pretty amazing. it was packed the entire night. everyone was in great spirits. the weather was perfect for an indoor/outdoor event. the music was fantastic. people were mingling with strangers, getting drunk, having who can pee the fastest contest in line at the bathroom, and shakin in up on the dancefloor. i'll post some pics of the night later. but overall, it was a swimming success! yay for the guys. they pulled off a totaly professional dope ass party in NYC. and the new yorkers loved it.

been so many LA kids here in town this week too. it's like a little slice of LA in the city, which isn't too uncommon. but it's literally been like 20+ angelinos at every little spot we hit up. i like it. makes me super comfortable everywhere i go. sooo much drinking has been going on though. i gotta chill on that or i'm gonna crash pretty hard when they leave. i think i might go back to hermit world for a couple days after they go, just to get my sleep schedule back on the right track.

anyway, we're off to breakfast. been learning a lot about these guys. they are all doing such good things, for the love of music and and art and doing cool stuff in general. it's inspiring and refreshing. funny that the people from the place that i left are providing the stimulation i need in my new city now. happy to be their little tour guide to nyc though. i've been enjoying that. makes me feel good to navigate and not have to use the map. HA!