Ramblings of A Queer Neurotic

reappearance

2007-01-05T16:45:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!

O, humpday

2006-11-29T10:39:00.001-08:00

Lots going on in my head...it's Wednesday and I'm finally up and hanging out at Society.

have to mention last night. Rae's friend Carmen and Martini are in the states from Germany for a visit. They spent the first few days in Providence having Happy Gay Thanksgiving with Rae and the gang and came back to the city over the weekend. Since I missed them in RI, we coordinated meeting up for a drink and intros last night. We met at elmo after work and had a blast talking about backgrounds, life in the states and in Germany, politics of sorts, traveling, and of course, Rae. We had a few beers until they closed and headed over to Cafeteria. Martini had mentioned that the food she has had at restaurants has been disappointing - not the case at Cafeteria. She ordered the meatloaf, Carmen the chicken with arugula and I, the bacon and gouda mac and cheese. Martini and I ordered up more beer and we sat in for more convo and laughs. Martini was very pleased with her meatloaf and the fact that is was hot when it arrived at the table - that was basically her biggest 'beef' with American food, that and the fact that they had to flavor almost everything with salt and pepper. We parted around 1:30 and I finally made it home around 2:15 after waiting and waiting and waiting for the freaking 2,3.

So I oversleep today and finally get my happy ass up around 12:30. I hate sleeping that late when I have a day off. So I am definitely getting into 'A Million Little Pieces'. I do like his story and have stopped trying to determine if things are true or not. Most fiction is based in part on personal experience anyhow. I've recently seen in a guy's profile that we are shaped by the people in our lives and what we read. As I was walking to Society today I realized how interesting it is that I'm reading a book on a guy's addiction and I have to walk through an area where guys sell the drugs that feed other people's addictions. Now I haven't seen any drug deals going down as of yet but Dana and I have talked about it. Whatever gets you through the day, you know. I don't need to know what's going down, I'm only concerned with getting over to my coffeeshop and getting my caffeine on. A drug of sorts, I suppose.

And now that I'm caffeinated it's time for food.
Later.

rocky start. smooth finish.

2006-11-26T23:38:00.000-08:00

Black Friday at work was uneventful so I decided to head down to Benny's for a black flower and some guacamole. I had some salsa (just a few bites) and I paid for that later in the night as it came back to bite me in the ass. Had good conversation with Dana that night, talking about lots, including how stress manifests itself in our bodies. I sprung out of bed at 3:40 and ran for the bathroom, where I stayed until almost 7:30. The entire time I was in the bathroom all I could think about was how this used to be my routine when I was younger - getting upset and spending lots of time in the bathroom. I've been trying to figure out what changed that would have stressed me out to the point that I was so violently ill. Could have been the salsa, could have been a fluke.

Other than being sick, Saturday was rather slow at work.

Sunday's the usual day off so I was at Society to try and score a table in case there was a repeat of last weekend with the brunch crowd. I settled in and hung out for a good long while. Since I had recently found a gift card from months ago I decided it was time to spend it - all $20 of it. So the only place I could cash this thing in was at South Street Seaport. Not that I really wanted to travel down to the tip of Manhattan but if not today, when? I headed out mid-afternoon to make the 8:00 plans for dinner with Niraj. With the $20 I was figuring I could use a new scarf. I had Guess, J. Crew and the Gap to choose from. I shopped all three before making a decision - ended up with this mammoth one from Gap. Since I was at the end of Manhattan (without my camera, of course - CURSES!) I headed over to Target. Although Rae was nice enough to bring my lamp down with her, I've since been in the dark (still) as I need a new bulb. Of course Target doesn't have the 3-way bulbs so my trip over was for naught. Well, at least I know how to get to the Target from the subway station now. My previous treks there have been with Jas and Biz and they knew exactly where they were going so of course I didn't pay attention. When with them we never went outside; this time, I went outside. Not the most comfortable of experiences for me but I made it. Did my shopping and made it back to the apt just in time to change and head back out for dinner.

So I met Niraj on Thanksgiving and we hung out. This was the follow-up and maybe Date #1. I have yet to have sushi since moving here so he was going to take me for sushi. After being sick Friday night and not feeling well on Saturday, I was more in the mood for comfort food - something hot to eat with a fork. We went to The City Grill on Columbus - good food, good wine, good conversation.

Came home and immediately called Chris to get neurotic about my feelings. It was a good chat. Hell, it was a good day.

Thanksgiving

2006-11-23T13:59:00.000-08:00

While the weather has been dreary all day, the day has been good. Got up and out around 6:30 this morning to meet Biz and Nathan to head down and try and grab a spot for the Macy's Day Parade. I was quite the chipper little beaver this morning waiting for the train:

- this lasted until we got out in the rain and cold. Biz and Nathan weren't so "up" yet..

We found a spot on 51st and Broadway. We were just shy of a McDonald's and a Starbucks. Too bad we couldn't get across the street to the Starbucks - the NYPD was the only thing standing between us and our caffiene fix. We decided to make do with McDonald's for breakfast, including the coffee. Since I took Twany's big umbrella down, we saved our spread and our spots staying in place with the umbrella - it's all about the strategy. So I headed over to Mickey D's for what I thought was breakfast sandwiches - not. For some reason, this particular Mickey D's was only serving lunch - ask me why, please. I'm still trying to figure that one out. So I called Biz and we settled on double cheeseburgers with a large coffee for breakfast. So there we stood at 7:30 in the freezing rain woofing down our cheeseburgers and coffee for breakfast - the cheeseburger was more manageable than the coffee.

Our spot was actually great for seeing up Broadway for the balloons that were coming toward us.
The view behind us was good also, but since we don't have eyes in the back of our heads, well, it's a moot point but I like the picture so I'm going to share it anyway...
So we stood and waited, and stood some more and waited some more for the parade to start. We waited through wind gusts, umbrellas turned inside out and plenty of freezing rain but Biz and Nathan managed to flash some pearly whites my way..

and all three of us flashing ;-)

It was unfortunate that there was a large analog clock directly in our line of vision because the more we checked the clock, the slower time seemed to move and the more we started to focus on how numb our feet were becoming. The sirens started coming toward us around 10:00. Although it wasn't as exciting as the Dykes on Bikes that start Gay Pride, it was thrilling just to know that things were getting underway and that we had something to distract us from the cold, the rain and our ever-numbing feet. So here are a few pics from the front lines..

After seeing Big Bird looking sad and droopy, we decided we had had enough and made a mad dash for the subway. The first few steps were agonizing for our numb feet; all I could focus on was a hot shower, even better was turning the bathroom into a sauna. Thankfully the trains were running as normal so we hopped the express and were thankful that we would be home that much faster to start the thawing process.

While the morning wasn't the traditional Thanksgiving, I am thankful and lucky that this was not my Thanksgiving..

and I have to give a shout out to Rae and the guys in Providence having Happy Gay Thanksgiving without me.

pre-thanks that blows

2006-11-22T10:08:00.000-08:00

So I have two days off ... pre-Thanksgiving and Thanksgiving day. I'm completely mellow and not having many thoughts right now. I'm so far behind on talking to and replying to people that I'm wondering should I take today to catch-up or procrastinate even longer. Right now procrastination is winning. I'm thinking a lot about people in my life and trying to maintain those connections and I don't feel like I'm doing such a great job of that lately. My mental elephant is here again - I have so much to think about and do that it seems overwhelming. I don't know that I'll ever catch up or have things the way I see them in my head - and that puts a lot of pressure on me. Since it's the season for giving thanks, maybe I should just chill and be thankful for being here and things going rather well right now. Ok, now that I got that out ... let's move on.

I started reading "A Million Little Pieces" yesterday. Wow ... this dude is whacked. Or a new phrase I learned from Thomas a couple weeks back - whack ass. I have a copy of the book that was published after the scandal broke so I read his foreword. Interesting twist that he tries to put on his story and his actions now. So when I read the first few pages I was exhausted because I was trying to figure out what was real and where he was embellishing. Now I realize that I have to read the entire book as a work of ficiton based on personal experience. An interesting tidbit in the foreword is that he claims that the first 40 pages of the book are what he initially began writing in 1997 and then stopped because he wasn't ready to uncover and express some of the trauma that followed. I wonder if that's the true part of the book and if he had "writer's block" about the remainder of the story. Maybe it took him until 2000 for his conscience to allow him to go forth not being exactly honest or to forgive him for embellishing. Who the hell knows. Obviously he doesn't really know since he was blacked out for a majority of his early twenties. I probably shouldn't be questioning his words or actions as they are his; I should just read the book. And so I will.

So with the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade going and me being in NYC, it's time to be there in person something I have watched on television for years. It's kinda awesome being in a place in person that so many millions of people across the nation are tuning in to watch. Of course there is a trade-off, the experience of being here but not being with family on Thanksgiving, surrounded by family, friends and the aroma of mom's cooking. Maybe when the parents are here for a visit - that will be my Thanksgiving, just a few days late. Of course Thanksgiving can happen every day if we allow it.

I'm out for now ... need to have breakfast and get out and about, hoping to head down and watch the balloons being blown up for the parade tomorrow - too bad that it's raining. that blows.

Enjoy your day, kids and go forth and be thankful.

are you serious?

2006-11-20T11:50:00.000-08:00

so I'm now being referred to in the apartment as "he" ... again, a pronoun. The first time I encountered this was with Rae's mom, Anna. Anna just could not grasp the concept of me, of Rae and I being friends, or of my name. So now here I am thinking I'm connecting with the housemates and I'm being referred to as a pronoun again. I am not well with this. I'm in the next room and I can hear you. Not very welcoming or nice but who the hell is nice anymore?

So I don't sleep well and then wake up this morning having to run for the bathroom. Go figure that housemate #2 is in there .. how apropos. So I'm praying that she'll be out soon and after a couple of minutes she pops her head out and says she'll be five more minutes ... now I'm standing there obviously almost in tears because I need to go and she asks if I'm late. What am I? On my period or something? I'm not late, I have to get in there. And do we have to apply our face in the bathroom? I mean, what are our rooms for? I get in and get out. I want to get over to Society and chill for a while. Since my new schedule started yesterday I have Monday and Tuesday mornings free - more time to spend at Society having my latte and relaxing. Not. I waste time till about 9:30 thinking for some reason that they open at 9:00. I bundle up and walk over - closed. So I'm wondering if I have my times mixed up ... guess not, the sign on the door says open at 7:00. Not.

I'm on the phone with mom so I decide that I want coffee while I'm out and don't want to wait so I head over to Saurin Parke. I had written this place off because of the bitch behind the counter that's there every F'ing time I go in there. And when I say bitch, I'm being nice. I don't use the C word that often but it is most fitting for her. I decided that I could wait till 10, thinking that Society would open at 10 so I walk back home. My phone was almost dead so I decided I'd plug it in and then head back over to Society for the 10 a.m opening. I decide to call Society just to make sure - good thing I did, they open at noon on Mondays. Excuse me? WTF? Why the hell would you open late on the one freaking day that people really need coffee. Mondays are rough enough then we have to put up with this shit? Stupid. I didn't curse the guy out although I'm sure I used some sort of expletive and headed to Saurin Parke. Great, C is here. Of course she's just as sour as always. I order up my latte and muffin and sit down.

What a crock. So I'm trying to blog while there and lose my connection twice. Surf and Sip is a misnomer. The tides out on that one. After losing my connection twice and only finding two blueberries in my muffin I decided that I had had enough.

That's my morning. It's now 11:49. I'm over it (insert hand motion). Next.

Sunday walk-about

2006-11-19T19:41:00.000-08:00

Yawn and stretch and try to come to life ... so says Dolly and so is my morning.

Rolled over and called Rae to make sure she got in okay (done) then got up and got showered and was off to Society. Got in and got a two-topper in the corner and got there just in time. And okay .. what a crowd. This place was hopping - and with a great mix of people - the gays, a couple of families, friends and singles, all brunching it up. Count me in. I ordered up coffee and began writing. I'm still doing some catch-up for work and for me.

Hung out for a while and finished writing and enjoying the scenery while chatting with Rae. Funny that I was sitting there enjoying the morning and the mix of people at Society and thinking about how much I enjoyed being in Harlem and where I live and then her comment from Friday night. Thanks, Rae, but I'm happy here. I don't think it's going to last that long since my sublet is up the end of December but I'm enjoying it while I can.

Scarfed down the coffee and eggs and gave up my table for paying customers. Since the day was mildly cool I decided to get out and head down to Riverside Park and hang out. I got off at 96th and walked south along the water for a while. I wish I had taken my camera - the sun was breaking through the clouds a little and there was a great view of the GWB from where I was. I walked south for a while then back up north. Didn't set out with a specific destination but ended up walking north to 125th. The park takes a detour through some construction here so I headed back into the city - decided to forgo the subway and walk the few blocks south and east to the apartment. Lots of backtracking going on.

Napped and hung out for the rest of the afternoon. The search continues for some friends to hang out with.

Lazy day and a great catch-up day. Peace out.

Is that your liver on the table?

2006-11-18T09:52:00.000-08:00

up before dawn today to head down for an early a.m. meeting and then work all day in the new position - and what an experience that turned out to be. Since I usually don't work on Fridays it was interesting that my first Friday was the day we role out the new role. There were times I thought I wasn't going to make it.

Got through the day and got off just as Rae was pulling into town. Walked up to Penn Station to meet up and we headed uptown for a drink and to transition to dinner. Since we were heading to Society before home we took the A,C,E up but my direction wasn't as good as it was the night before. Whether it was from being tired or just being distracted by talking to Rae it took us quite a few train twists and turns before making it to Society. Maybe I should check out hopstop.com, a website I've heard about that will give you the subway lines and connections you need to make from Point A to Point B in the city.

At Society, we toasted our reds and tore into conversation and the mini cheese platter and tried to figure out what to have for dinner. Got home and I sat down which I knew was the wrong thing to do. Unfortunately I didn't have a choice since Rae wanted to shower. I've learned that I can go as long as I'm out but as soon as I sit down it's almost over. With Rae showering I tried desperately not to crash - as much as I love wine it probably wasn't the best choice but I wanted to introduce Rae to Society.

With Rae transitioned into a new outfit we set out for dinner - still having no idea what we wanted or where the hell we were headed, other than the west village. While walking and exploring, Rae throws the following at me - "I want you to live down here and not in Harlem". Since I've been in Harlem and in the new place I can't stop raving about how much I like it and how I want to stay here. It took me a minute to process her statement. Now as much as I wouldn't mind living downtown, I just can't afford it. I honestly don't understand how a lot of people who do live there can actually afford it and still be able to go out and spend money on food, drink and shopping. Not my problem. I'm digging living in Harlem - not that I have to justify it but I like being in a place where there is diversity. Isn't that one of the big things about NYC? It's the center of the universe - a place where there is representation of everyone and everything. It's the everycenter. I never had this culture or this diversity growing up and I am loving being in a place where I can get a taste of things I've missed out on for years. As long as I feel safe I see no harm. Hell, Ashley was telling me that she and Jen barely avoided being mugged a few weeks back in the heart of Chelsea. Why pay all that money to be there (money I don't have) and still wonder about safety. And even there in the heart of Chelsea she was saying that her neighbors were extremely homophobic. It's just about creating comfort where you are. And for me, now, I'm comfortable.

Back to Rae and Ti's Adventure .... we decided to hitch-up at Cowgirl.

I was introduced to Cowgirl by Paul the nigth before he left for St. Louis. Very cool place to get some comfort food - fried and smothered and covered. Yes, please. We saddled up to the bar for our 40 minute wait and ordered two cowsmopolitans. I'm just about over cocktails in this city - a $10 drink and all you get is the mixer. Excuse me, why the hell would I want a glass of triple sec and cranberry juice? Stupid. Stupid, stupid bartenders. And again, a cosmo is supposed to be PINK, not red. Some of you idiots need to bury yourself in a cocktail recipe book for a weekend. When I open my place my customers will get exactly what they want and expect - one kick-ass drink. But I digress.

We got seated and couldn't help but notice how huge the portions were. Now I like things big in general (well, in some cases) but this was borderline obnoxious and gluttonous. We decided this was just what we needed and commenced ordering. Started with the black eyed pea salsa (SO, SO good - they should sell this stuff by the gallon!), Rae got the pork chop special and I, the fried shrimp with mac and cheese (very dry) and baked potato - my entire plate was practically one hue of yellow - kinda followed the theme of the restaurant - yellow and orange, lights, decor, walls. It became a little tripy for me the longer we stayed there ..... hmmmm, maybe that cowsmo did have some vodka in it after all. So with the second round, I had that thought again - a flash of my liver. A little while back Ruth sent me an email about an alcholics recovery program for gay men here in the city. I've had recurring thoughts about my drinking and my liver ever since. This is good as I need to be conscious of how I treat my body. She made a good point .. that our bodies can't bounce back as well when we're older as they could when we were younger. I haven't really processed this fully (her email, that is) but it keeps coming back to the top of my mind so I know that I'm mulling it over subconsciously. So with this thought, I say to Rae "'I've been focused on my liver a lot lately..." After a brief pause we just looked at each other and howled. Who actually says something like this at dinner? Hell, who says that anywhere? After we regained our composure, we discussed this briefly - how fond of the drink I am and that I drink more than a moderate amount. We both agree that we don't believe I'm an alcoholic, just that I am very fond of my vodka tonics, or Tonia, as I have affectionately begun referring to them.

We had had enough and I wanted to introduce Rae to the Black Flower at Benny's. It was a nice night so we decided to meander through the west village. We arrived and ensonced ourselves into a corner spot and ordered up for more convo. My liver didn't appear to me this time so we chatted unhowlingly over our concoctions before tiring out and heading back to the apt. I think we both passed out on the train briefly and then got back and crashed for the day a little after midnight.

I fell asleep mid-sentence.

ending on a mellow note

2006-11-16T23:23:00.000-08:00

my last day on the sales floor before starting my new position tomorrow and what a day! I just don't understand people sometimes - really. If I saw a coworker struggling to make something happen I would be right there to see what I could do to help them ... not the case when I needed help today. I suppose I should let this one go since I got the customers what they wanted (after a hellacious ordeal) but this coworker thing is really bugging me. I couldn't shake it off so I went to a manager to try and refocus. What an ordeal.

Fortunately the day got better and I was outta there as soon as possible so I could get up to Society for the Thursday night DJ. I'm finally figuring out more of the train system and the neighborhood. Got to Society and it was pretty much empty. In a way good and in a way a little disappointing. The night Dana and I came over it was packed - guess I just expected the same. The Djs for Thursday night are awesome .. I keep thinking I'll get their info and see where else they play or if they have a CD - they've got a great sound, and they're both hot. So I sat and had a glass of cabernet with the mini cheese platter - brie, blue and parmesan with crackers and kalamata olives. I stayed for another glass and did some writing then headed home to try and catch some rest before being up at 5:00 to head down for the full-time meeting and then working all day.

NYC reminders..

2006-11-15T22:22:00.000-08:00

another good day downtown .. since the weather has been warmer this week I decided to head out for a drink after work. I chose the $3 frozen margarita at Benny's in the west village. Of course the weather started turning on the walk over but I was determined to salvage some outside time from this day between the intermittent drizzle. Got there and secured my seat outside and met Ruby. Outside the staff at Soceity, Ruby is now my favorite server in Manhattan - excellent timing and attentiveness. I was just about to spew my order for a frozen beverage when she asked if I was familiar with the drink specials. Now I thought I knew but I'm all about finding out about the specials before I make my choice. She rattled off the frozen margarita but then introduced two new additions - the mojito and the Black Flower. I capitalize this becuase it deserves it. I now have a new drink - too bad warmer weather is not here because this is the perfect summer drink. Hell, this drink is perfect any time of year. The Black Flower is a frozen margarita topped off or drizzled or mixed (choose your verb) with sangria. And what a kick-ass combination this is. Ruby was right ... once you go Black Flower, you won't go back. Hot damn! So as I sat there writing and taking it all in (the Black Flower, that is) I continued to people watch. The stream of beautiful boys is the first reminder of being in the city and I love it. Yes, please.

I had my fill after a couple hours and headed back up town ... walking up 7th Avenue to my subway stop I noticed the lights of Times Square. This is not my first time noticing the lights but they seemed much brighter tonight ... maybe it's taking time to slow down and have a sense of ownership about being in the city and having little places to go to and relax and feel more at home that makes me see things differently. It's little moments like that and seeing the changing colors of the Empire State Building that remind me of living in NYC. Getting caught up in work and the daily grind I forget where I am sometimes. Guess it's time to start slowing down more.

and on that soft note - goodnight.

going back and coming up

2006-11-14T23:35:00.000-08:00

I was back in my store today - thankfully. I enjoyed my time uptown but I was definitely glad to be back in my home store. I was practically giddy all day - an easier commute, familiar faces and good conversations. Who knew that I would be so happy to be back in Chelsea. I've had this notion that I wouldn't want to live in Chelsea because of the attitue there but that is nothing compared to uptown east - sheesh. Coming back to Chelsea was almost like visiting the South, just not so syrupy nice. :)

And speaking of the South, when the hell did Thanksgiving creep up so fast? I can't believe that it's next week and I won't be going home - not for Thanksgiving or for Christmas. And now I get an email from the parents that they are thinking about not coming because they don't want to be a burden on me. I can't even respond to that right now - I'm so tired from talking and problem solving for people all day I can barely make decisions for myself - much less my parents too. I really want to see them again this year - it would be really awkward for me to see them only once this year. Not cool. And not that I want time to fly by, as it already seems to be doing ... because I will possibly be without a place to stay at the end of December or January. :( I really want to stay at the current place but if not, I would definitely like to stay in Harlem. I don't want to give up Society. I'm addicted to this place - as I sit here and blog. I've introduced Ryan to it, Rae will get the introduction this coming weekend and then Chris in December. I am excited for Chris' visit - I hope we can tear this town up. Good times. We haven't really been here together for some hanging out since we were here for my 30th a few years back. It's definitely time again. Chris, start making your list and checking it twice cause we're gonna be some naughty boys.

Oh! forgot to mention and give a shout out to my girl Theo for sending me "A Million Little Pieces". Thanks babe, I received it over the weekend. I'm finishing "Running With Scissors" and will start on it. I'm very excited. Since I refused to buy 'Pieces' I've been waiting a while till someone had a copy they were discarding - and now my wait is over.

Enough said for now, it's time to read.

On The Move. Go-Go. Compulsive Going.

2006-11-12T22:42:00.000-08:00

Ryan and I started Saturday with breakfast at Society and discussed options for his ventures in and around the city while I worked. We hung out a while and headed south to go our separate ways for a while. He hung out and shopped most of the day and then met Thomas and I after work to head over to Burger Joint and grab a late dinner. While working at Lex this past week, it was cool to connect with Thomas instead of just chatting when I would visit the store. So in all of our conversations this week we discussed food more than a number of times and I suggested the joint. After closing up we three finally headed over (sans Jason). The place was not too busy but the burger (again) was slamming. Hung out chatting and decided to try and find a place close by for a drink. We ended up walking in a huge circle to end up at Oscar Wilde's which is a block from the store. Interesting place. Thomas kept mentioning drag queens which I was in no mood to see. We arrived to find an overaged go-go dancer in place of the drag queens - is there a lesser of two evils here? We ordered up and people watched for a while. I hate to admit that we were actually watching the go-go dancer, actually both of them. The first one (a middle-aged white guy) was doing the usual slow grind but kept throwing his left leg up in the air - not a high kick or anything but just bending his knee and sort of grinding in a circle - very interesting. The second dancer was much, much more interesting. Not only was he a little more attractive but his outfit was more interesting - a see through speedo. Whoa. He barely danced .. mostly just grabbed his partial and sort of bent down toward the floor or actually got on the floor and showed the guys at the bar his ass. Wow ... totally not expecting this but it made for some interesting conversation - and a distraction. The crowd here is very interesting - not pretentious per se and very much not like downtown. I kept trying to figure out what the clientele there is since the bar is more uptown/midtown. Doesn't seem to be the typical crowd you'd think of. Anyhow .. we stayed for a couple rounds and left out around 1:00. It was past Ryan and Thomas' bedtime.

Sunday was a lazy day. Ryan's friend Kris had mentioned the Annie Leibovitz showing at The Brooklyn Museum so we headed out around lunch since he needed to be back for a 5:00 train. I'm not much for popular culture so I was a little hesitant about taking it in. The obsession with celebrities really does not interest me - why the obsession and distraction? I obsess about myself enough. Luckily the exhibition wasn't just the celebrities that she has photographed but also of her family and her friend Susan Sontag - a good portion of the exhibit focused on Susan's travels and struggles fighting cancer. That was the part of the exhibit that interested me the most. The two celebrities that she did photograph that caught my attention were Tony Kushner and Leigh Bowery. Tony Kushner is the author of "Angels in America" - very interesting that the two people who caught my attention are two examples of the diversity of the gay community.

I'm still figuring out how to connect and start a group of friends here in the city. I'm not so sure that the city is the place to have a group like I had in Atlanta. I wonder if I'll have that type of group again.

So with all of this going on over the weekend I'm still distracted and pondering the interactions I had with TCS directors last week. Not being the type of just sit back and let things happen, I'm finding that my aggressiveness in communication and/or the way in which I communicate is hindering me at TCS. I like to know exactly when and where I'm supposed to be and make every effort to get the correct information. I believe this is being misinterpreted as too aggressive so I have some angst going on right now. One person advised me to stop being so emotional and when communicating to stop before responding. To seriously just stop. Don't even think about coming up with a response but to just stop. I'm worried about even trying to go back to the two directors and talk about the interactions last week or if I should just let things go and let it wash. Again, it's the concept of 'stop' that I'm struggling with. When do I stop obsessing?

Wow .. who knew that a job in retail would be such a struggle. I'm having more angst about fitting in and making sure things are right than really enjoying the job. Jesus ... no wonder I'm so freaking tired all the time - I can't turn my obsessive thinking off.

Is your head spinning? Mine sure is.

a good long day

2006-11-10T23:54:00.000-08:00

started the day back over at Society trying to wrap my mind around what all had to be done prior to Ryan's arrival as well as trying to read as much of Running With Scissors as I could since we're seeing the movie tonight. Spent some good quality time with Elizabeth down in Chelsea doing some shopping and running around. Back at the apartment I spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning and trying to figure out the deal with my iPod - of course now I start having trouble with it. I foresee a trip to the Apple store this weekend.

So Ryan arrived and it's been non-stop ever since. Lots of running around (of course) and hanging out catching up. After dropping his (and my) things off at the apt (with a brief introduction to the housemates), we headed to the East Village. The EV on a weekend night is much different than the other times I've been there - couldn't understand the tourists that flooded the streets ... ewwwww. Both being hungry we settled on pub food and found the Telephone Bar & Grill on 2nd Avenue. Cool place, good menu. We settled in to eat and catch up but were soon privy to the most horrific dinner neighbors - two straight couples of which the men seemed to be on a date and the girls were just there to watch them verbally fornicate in public. Disgusting I tell you. Ryan and I had our fill of the conversation that they were shouting in all directions as well as our fish and chips and beelined it over to Eastern Bloc for a quick drink before running to meet Liz Biz for the movie. Unbeknownst to me that beers before 10:00 are two-for-one. I chugged the first and when I went to get the second was accosted by the bartender. Now I'm sorry, there are all of 15 people in the bar and he thought I was trying to get a third for free. We start to get into this tiff at the bar as he continued to accuse me of already having gotten my second beer. Now if I had already cashed in my second beer why would I be waving the ticket in front of him? Honestly ... twinks these days. So we rushed out and cabbed it over to the theater. Since we were running late we met Biz at TCS and hustled over together. The theater was packed. We found sporadic seats and nestled in for the two hours. And I really, really liked the movie. I was hesitant having read the book so many times and seen the trailer - I was trying to keep an open mind that they hadn't produced the movie to be all about his mother. I mean he is where he is because of his mother but I thought it was done really well. And since he worked on the movie I have to keep in mind that it's his work. I'm rereading (for the sixth time) the book .. didn't finish prior to the movie but also thinking that I need to revisit some of his other pieces.

Been talking books to a few people and "The Kite Runner" keeps being mentioned so that will be the read following "A Million Little Pieces". And on that note I say goodnight.

home..

2006-11-09T21:48:00.000-08:00

things are finally coming together. the housemate situation is in place while I'm here for the next two months. Hillary and Dana are awesome - what a great combination. I'm excited about hanging out and learning more about each other - and I have to admit that I'm a little sad that I'm only here till the end of December. I am loving this neighborhood also. I like the convenience to the subway but better, I like the variety of people, and how nice people are. I have to keep in mind it's still Harlem and that there are sketchies lurking but I am a HUGE fan of being here right now. I'm definitely Happy Ti in regard to my living arrangement right now.

So Dana and I just got back from Society - my new favorite coffeeshop. I've been spending some quality time there since moving into the neighborhood. So when my schedule was whack-ass a couple weeks ago I had Thursday off and was hanging out there late in the day. Come to find out that they have a live DJ come in and play Thursday nights. I thought it would be a great housemate outing to take in some mellow tunes and a glass of wine. Hillary wasn't feeling so great so she's catching it on the next go-round. Dana and I did some guy watching and had some great convo. One half of the DJ combo that plays there is amazingly hot and sexy. Yes, please.

Ok ... so today's TFTD is to enjoy the people in our lives and the opportunities to connect with other people around us. And if the cute DJ wants to connect, well .....

So let me relate one observation I had on the way into work today ... I took the E train over from the 2,3 and sat in front of the booth for the train operator. He left the door open so every time we made a stop he checked the subway map that he was carrying in his pocket .... interesting that the guy operating the train was referencing a subway map. I couldn't even wrap my mind around this one but it made for a great moment. One more moment in the day that relates the subject line for today's post. I was having coffee at Society this morning and Michael Buble's 'Home' came on ... interesting that that song is what always makes me think of Ryan and he arrives tomorrow for a visit. I'm definitely looking forward to him being here and catching up with him and introducing him to some places here in the city.

Overall, today has been a great day. If only all days could be like today. Great moments and great interactions - what life should be about.

Ok ... before I get too soft on you I'll close.

Peace out people.

no subject

2006-11-09T08:03:00.000-08:00

Thursday morning at Society and finally catching a moment to relax this week..
been in training and have been exhausted at the end of every day this week. So I'm not coming up with any observations or thoughts this week - just in case some of you were sitting on the edge of your seat for them. If so, I apologize. :) Now that I reflect my thought is to try and focus and recap a day's events and process it more instead of just experiencing it.

I finished the two books by Allison Burnett. I'm now looking for my next read. I don't think I'm going to be able to finish Running With Scissors before we see the movie tomorrow night. Ryan arrives tomorrow in the evening and we are meeting up with Elizabeth after work for a late show - very excited.

Had lunch with the director of training at TCS yesterday - which I thought went well but now that I reflect, I could have overshared. I know what some of you are thinking right now. I find it interesting that people tend to compartmentalize so quickly. I discussed some of my long-term goals and he was concerned about my investment with the company having the goals that I do. I find it interesting that he thought I could only do one or the other. I guess we'll see how that progresses. I need to think on this more.

And at the same time I need to ponder the implementation of my long term goals. Do I really need to research a venture capitalist? Build my business plan out? Why do I always open my big mouth?

Conundrums abound.

make it a triple..

2006-11-04T20:39:00.000-08:00

hello folks..

let me just say that the triple soy latte I had at 1:00 is still kicking my ass some 10+ hours later - and I kinda like it. :)

today has been a good one - one of those beautiful NY days with great weather and lots of beautiful people sightings. since I worked today I don't have much to offer for this posting except that one Allison Burnett commented on my reading of his current novel, The House Beautiful. Kinda interesting to see that my ramblings are read by more than just my friends. Who knew that my ramblings might be of interest to someone other than my narcissistic self. My only other exciting and entertaining moment came when a customer complemented my jeans today ... who knew that half-priced, cheap-ass jeans could evoke such a great interaction. She was floored and so was her cute boyfriend.

so what's todays TFTD? hmmmmm..... maybe that one should not underestimate his or her impact; you never know where you'll make a difference or even influence the moment.

I heart life ... and my friends. You all are saints for putting up with me for so long.

OK, before I get too soft (cause you know I've done it all of four times in my life), I'm closing this down ... it's way too warm and fuzzy right now.

ciao kids.

go and make love ... and if you can't make love, make happy - translated, BE GAY!

cheers .. I leave you with one of my favorite all-time images..........

My Not-So-Beautiful Laundrette experience

2006-11-03T07:49:00.000-08:00

so I've been up less than two hours and have been very productive ... until I encountered "Rose" at the laundromat. I got up and gathered my laundry that desperately needs some attention and was dropping off to be washed and fluffed and folded while I head over for coffee and then run errands and try and enjoy my day off. Would you believe she says that I need to bring my 40 pounds of laundry back around 1:30 .... uh, excuse me? I was so flabbergasted that I couldn't really comprehend what she was saying at first. I just stared at her in disbelief and trying to formulate a thought or a question or a grunt at minimum just to give some sort of response. Why do I attempt these difficult interactions pre-coffee? Honestly. So here I am standing with my backpack and 40 pound sack of soiled garments (ewww, that just sounds yucky) and another bag of cleaning products for their use - wasn't that considerate of me? So as I deflate in front of her and the other patrons there in the store, still without words or a reaction of any sort, I realize what she is saying and starting to comprehend my thoughts of carrying this monstrosity back to my apartment while also thinking of a comeback and a counter-argument for me to actually leave my laundry there and also figure out where the hell I'll be at 1:30 and how this will impact my day. It was not a great interaction. Woe is I but alas, the day continues. TFTD: be more assertive and quicker in my processing/thinking.

In My Mind...

2006-11-02T21:11:00.000-08:00

what a day!

other than a voicemail first thing from the parents that they haven't heard from me in two days it was a great start, albeit a groggy one. headed over to society for some java and to get online. we don't have regular internet access at the apartment since Sublet #3 moved out on Monday. bummer. guess I'll have to invest in a wireless router - not even looking forward to starting that project. but i digress.

i finally checked my account balance and was able to afford more than just the cup-o-java. I ordered up a turkey, avocado and white cheddar omelet and sat back to work through the neuroses of the new position I took at work and try and mull over mom and dad's visit in December.

in the interim I was chatting with rae online about the new position I'm taking. we were coming at it from different perspectives and I cut things off because I was obsessing and fraeaking out a little ...... which leads me to today's TFTD (thought for the day). I need to start trusting my decisions and being more comfortable with the decisions I make. I seem to make a decision and then analyze and obsess about it to the point of extreme neuroses until I'm uneasy with the decision - which is not good. I need to trust myself more and be confident in my decisons. We'll see if I remember that perspective past this weekend.....

i downloaded some pics that Devon sent from her and Theo's visit last week which i hope to get uploaded over the weekend but for now, i bid you adieu and goodnight..

Hump Day observations

2006-11-01T23:37:00.000-08:00

while out on my lunch break I was amused to pass a guy sweeping up the sidewalk ... he fell asleep standing up with his broom and pan in hand. It was a perfect moment ... also makes you wonder if the job is that boring or he just doesn't care or if maybe he's working so much to make ends meet that he gets so little sleep that he can actually fall asleep while standing up. And falling asleep at a job that requires constant physical movement and activity. Very interesting.

On the opposite end of the spectrum in regard to peripateticism ... I realized today that I could never date a guy who drags his feet as he walks. That is the ultimate show of laziness if you can't pick your feet up as you walk.

and to expand upon being lazy ... I just finished 'Christopher' by Allison Burnett - very interesting character. I wasn't really liking the main character because he was obsessively pursuing his next door neighbor. It made me uncomfortable for his character and for the guy he was pursuing but then I realized that we have ALL been there. Hell, I'm there now but I'm going down that road on here. So I was turned onto the author incidentally. A lady was standing in front of me on the train reading Burnett's current work, The House Beautiful. Whie she read the detailed version I read the condensed version of the back cover. Seemed like an interesting piece so I set out to find the book online during which I learned that 'house beautiful' is the follow-up to his first novel. Of course I set out to find the first installment, 'Christopher'. Have to say that I am now a huge fan of The Strand bookstore. I got both Burnett's novels for the price of one. Love it! I'm all about a bargain.

stay tuned for more observations .. I'm going to try and get better about making an observation a day or a thought for the day - and here on the debut entry you get both. I'm a giver. :)

stay tuned, reader .. more neuroses is forthcoming. guaranteed.

3 Starbuckian .. 2 Starbuckian .. 1

2006-10-24T20:13:00.000-07:00

Theo and Devon arrived this morning for an overnight tour/reunion. My former Starbucks coworkers in Providence were heading in for a visit and some sightseeing of The Big Apple.

Let me just preface that this mini-tour was a helluva lot of fun and took me back to when Chris and I were here for my 30th birthday - it was all about the food. The duo arrived mid-morning and we headed straight for breakfast at Cafeteria. I've been told that Cafeteria is where the restaurant scenes from Sex and The City were filmed so figured it was a good place to start their New York experience, plus they have awesome food at great prices. The 'three eggs' is the best you can get in the city for the money. Believe me when I say since I love eating breakfast at all hours of the day wherever I can get it. And Cafeteria is the place to get it. We gorged ourselves on eggs and toast and bacon, washed it down with coffee and were off to our next adventure - the East Village, my favorite. Since Devon had been quoting places and events from my blog all morning she was curious about lots of things and Theo wanted to hit Mud again. Since we were eating our way through and across The Apple we decided to walk to the EV, making a quick stop off at TCS to give Devon an overview. We muddled around, taking in shops, street vendors (from which we captured this fun moment)

We contined on to Mud, Tompkins Square Park and pommes frites. We decided that our eyes were bigger than the room in our stomachs and ordered the double with three dipping sauces - and hot damn! Our sauces were the Irish curry, parmesan peppercorn and garlic aioli - all good choices, see for yourself:

The day was progressing nicely and rapidly .. we headed north to get them checked into their hostel - and what a steal this place is. Devon, you need to email me the name and address of this place. The place is near 102 and West End but the girls got a two-bunk with a toilet in the room for $54 for the night. Ummmm, hello! In Manhattan - yes, please. And this place was much nicer and cleaner than the one Rae stayed at just a couple weeks prior. Since we were in the area we rode onward north to Harlem to see my new digs and hang out and rest momentarily. Since I had to work the overnight shift I also needed to pick up work clothes and relax for a bit. We began to talk about dinner - hell, who am I kidding, we had been talking about dinner ever since we finished breakfast. I was trying to get them some place trendy, fun with good food and great value. Thanks to Ashley I had the perfect place ... Room Service - excellent Thai reco and it was in Chelsea so was convenient for me and for them to hit the village afterward for cupcakes at Magnolia. We stuffed ourselves (again) and walked around for a bit before I had to head into work. A most excellent and food-filled day. The girls were supposed to meet me for pizza during my 1:00 am lunch break but they started crashing after the cupcake and stood me up.

And good night.

ok, ok..

2006-10-12T07:28:00.000-07:00

so I've heard from a couple of you about my being slack on the posts. Sorry! It's been quite the month getting hired and starting work. I'm not used to being on the go and "on" for nine hours a day plus learning LOTS of new stuff at work and about the city, etc. The pace has been frenetic and I'm finally starting to get my groove going - I think. My base training of 240 hours at work has started and I've been in a training class most of the last three weeks. Whew .. talk about a lot of information.

So I met Ashely at work and we've hit it off as fast friends. She's from Montreal but has lived all over the U.S., she's awesome and fascinating. She and her partner have been in the city since April and have had time to explore restaurants and bars in the city and she knows every gay bar in NYC - even the dive bars! I love it! So our first week of training we decided to head out for a happy hour drink and get acquainted. She took me to a bar in the village, Pieces, that has $2 drinks for happy hour. Yes, people you can get a cheap drink in the city. And let say that at $2 a pop, we INDULGED! We decided that we were bonding and having so much fun that we would stay waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay past happy hour. Not a good idea. Not. At. All. I could barely walk the blocks over to the subway and I definitely was not looking forward to the 100 blocks I had to travel on the subway. And let me say that neither of us had any dinner - unless you count the limes in our drinks. I made it to the subway (don't know how) and passed out on the train once I sat down. Luckily it wasn't packed. I awoke at 103rd, got nauseous and ran out of the subway car to the trash can directly in my line of sight but not before getting sick on the train. Luckily I contained it but then let loose once I got to the trash receptacle. All I could think was 'get out of me, get out!' A lady was nice enough to leave me her bottle of water - so who says New Yorkers aren't nice?! Not me certainly. I finally got home, staggering the rest of the way and made it straight (well, as straight as I could) to the bathroom. Dry heaving ensued. It was not pretty but luckily I don't remember most of this. Luckily, Jason and Elizabeth took this little momento for me....

So the next day at work for AWFUL! Truly agonizing. Eight hours of training like that - luckily Ashley was there to commiserate with.

Ashley and I took off a few days. We waited until the weekend to have a drink after her hair appointment in the east village. Now this was a much better experience. Another sort of dive bar but this one I loved! Eastern Bloc - another addition to the new faves list. Reminds me of my favorite bar in Atlanta, just without the dance floor. Good times .. especially since neither of us ended up in the bathroom all night after that one. Our only other outing was to one of her favorite burrito places in the village, Benny's Burritos .... $3 frozen margaritas! Yes, please.

Ok, since this has turned into a somewhat decadent post, I should close and let you guys absorb some of that. Plus I have to get ready for work and then Rae is here this afternoon. Yay! More drinking and fun.

Stay tuned.

Jason took some pictures on the roof so I'm uploading sporadicaly - in my typical style :)

this one's my fav..

hello?!?!?!??!

2006-10-10T20:27:00.000-07:00

is this thing still on?

I'm back!

2006-09-10T23:50:00.000-07:00

Whew! what a week..

So what's been happening over the past few days? LOTS! ...... friendly visits, hospital stays, anxiety, call backs, lotsa love and support and some crying.

Theo was passing through the city last Wednesday. Here she is...

Of course now that I'm here in the city she decides to move back to Providence. Whatever, girl. (j/k .. wish you the best going back to school). She arrived mid-morning and we hung out all day exploring and walking the city until she left for Long Island about 10:30 that night. What a day! We started the day at MUD in the east village having coffee and brunch and just catching up.

Excpet for me sitting in water and soaking my bum first thing, it was all good. good frittatas! We strolled the east village then headed back up to town to try and catch Jason at work and to introduce Theo to The Container Store. We continued uptown to the apt to relax and zone out for a bit before heading back out. We hit Central Park on the way back downtown and snapped some photos at the entrance to the park ...

After walking so much we needed some replenishment and just our luck, it was happy hour! We found a pub in the village and settled in at the bar for $3 beers and some very entertaining drunk ladies. I don't know which was more amusing, the one with no lips who reapplied her lipstick by her reflection in the beer tap (whoa!) or the compact version of Mother Jefferson sitting with her. What a pair ... perfect to go with our cheap beer. We were so busy laughing we forgot to snap pictures of them - I'm sure they wouldn't have even noticed. After wasting a few dollars and some time here we decided to walk our tipsy selves over to Pier 45 and catch the sunset. A couple snapshots from our stroll..

More of me and Theo on the pier ... hey, it's my blog, I'm allowed. :)

Heading back into the city a little after dusk, we got a great view of the lights from Ground Zero commemorating 9-11.

Back in the streets in Chelsea we were starved but couldn't decided on our cuisine. We both wanted Indian but had no idea where to go .... stumbled on a GREAT Indian restaurant off Bleeker .. the Ghandi Cafe, great nan and chicken tandoori. I'll be back! It was about time for Theo to head out to Long Island so we finished off the day with one more drink and then headed over to Penn Station. What a day! Thanks, Miss Theo ... miss you.

So I finally got back to the apt after 11:30. Jas had come home from work early with a fever and was in bed when I got home. I rubbed my feet and crashed.

Was sleeping nicely when Jas woke me to go with him to the outpatient clinic since his fever was hovering over 100 at times. I was half awake and rolling over so he decided to head out without me and for me to meet up with him when I woke. I got up not long after he was out the door and headed downtown to the clinic. He wasn't in sight so I called to find out his location. Well wouldn't you know it .... he had passed out on the train as he was exiting at his stop and had gashed his forehead and eye open and was taken by ambulance to Bellevue Hospital. Luckily I was close to the hospital and then of course, the guilt sat in. I was beside myself the whole way over. Then I kept thinking that if I had been with him when he passed out that things might have been worse because I'm not the best in situations like that and would probably been in hysterics. Either way I still have the guilt and he has ammunition for the next couple years.

The day at the hospital was exhausting for Jason and for me. That hospital needs a little more training in the patient focus and details department. I was (insert hand motion) over it after they lost him for two hours. He was finally getting stitches mid-afternoon when the doc decided that Jas needed to stay overnight for observation. That 'overnight' turned into three overnights. I was practically his sexless lover for these days; I'm sure the hospital staff thought we were the odd couple. I got in plenty of reading time during which I finally finished "Fall On Your Knees" (great book! definite reco) and started "The Zookeeper". By Friday I was down in the depths because I hadn't heard from TCS. I thought things went so well during the last interview and couldn't understand what was taking so long since they said I should hear from them within a couple days. Since almost four days had passed I was fit for an emotional plunge into the depths. And the fact that I have no savings at this point and am almost in the 'ramen noodle' stage of my finances didn't help either. So Saturday while hanging at the hospital and sitting in the window crying about hopelesssness and worthlessness my phone rang. Of course TCS would have to call while I was in the middle of a crying fit that they had unknowingly invoked! Irony peope, irony .... coupled with a side helping of drama! Welcome to my life. As so many of my friends reading this are shaking their heads in affirmation at this very moment. Bitches! just kidding. :)

So TCS called to offer me a full-time sales position. Yay! We chatted for a while about logistics and upcoming dates and I hung up with him to call the parents about the job offer. I was still somewhat down (imagine that, all doom and gloom) but mom and dad were excited enough for all of us - and yes, that was a good thing. After talking about it with them and then with Jason I began feeling better although I wasn't going to say I had the job until I was actually on the clock for training. Don't count your chickens before the eggs hatch, ya know.. (now ain't that a southern metaphor!)

Jas started feeling better and was ready to get the hell outta that place and be back in his own bed. Hell, I was ready for him to be out of that place. Sunday was the day ... by the time I arrived for visiting hours he was dressed and sitting up ready to go. Atta boy.

The rest of the weekend was low key with him resting and me zoning out until my Tuesday meeting at TCS for paperwork.

What a crazy last five days!

to the point

2006-09-05T18:38:00.000-07:00

awoke early this morning to get ready for the interview at TCS. I wanted to do another round of teeth whitening, eat something and have some coffee before the 9:15 departure time. With so many beautiful people living here, I have started paying more attention to grooming .. facial masks, teeth whitening, shaving, and when I can afford it mani's and pedi's. I'm so ready to get into an orthodontist it's ridiculous.

Got to TCS at 10:00 sharp and met with the director for an hour and a half. Didn't realize how much time had passed till I was out and checked my phone. I had been nervous going in ... because of how well the second one went and the information I received, etc. I was putting pressure on myself to 'perform' again - which was absolutely unnecessary. I actually didn't have to do a lot of talking, thankfully. I needed clarification on a couple things but the remainder of the time was casual, free-flowing conversation. I felt good once I left even though I didn't get a job offer.

Called the parents on the way home, spoke to dad for a while. It's been great that they have been and are so supportive of the move here. Everyone has been so supportive actually. Thanks to each of you!

Walked over to the EV again to have coffee at MUD and read some more ... "Fall On Your Knees" is getting really good. Hell, it's been good but now it's in the 'don't-put-it-down' category. This was a reco from Liz and we are both talking about purchasing our own copy. This is a keeper. By the way, the author is Ann-Marie MacDonald. Get it. Read it.

Rain was forecast so I headed back to the apt shortly after 1. Hung out here for a bit chatting with Chris. Liz got back from Florida mid-afternoon. Rae was home from the first day of classes and we chatted for a bit and finalized her plans for a visit. Yay!

ok, more teeth whitening and reading.
ciao bella..

EV and lazy labor

2006-09-04T20:24:00.000-07:00

slept in again today but knew that I wanted to hit EV again also..
took my time getting started, chatted with Jas then headed out around lunch.

it was another great day .. mostly sunny and in the 70s - great for sitting out reading and walking around again.

some random subway art:

headed for an iced coffee at MUD then over to Tompkin Square Park .. nice greenspace and I did remember my camera but forgot to take pics of the park and a statue there that I really like. on my way to MUD I passed by a small place advertising Belgian frittes - yes, please! made a mental note of that one to revisit.

walked through the park at first just to scope it out and noticed off one of the eastern-most streets a huge willow tree. It struck me funny that a willow tree that size would flourish in the city - I was under the impression that they need LOTS of water to flourish. The tree was over four stories high and as wide as an apartment building. Back in the park I found my own tree to sit under (not a willow) and have my coffee and read more. Sat out for a couple hours reading and occasionally taking in the passers-by - again, a great mix of people. the people in the area remind me of a trendier, not-so-grungy and more educated version of Providence. As much as I had a hard time with my time in Providence, I did enjoy some groups of people there. I can't believe I'm actually admitting that.

I was really into the book until some guy walked up talking to two ladies sitting near me and started talking about being molested as a child and then getting mad at one of the ladies and started throwing a tantrum. He completely ruined my moment. I guess after two hours it was time for a new moment - and frittes!

Headed back over to 2nd Ave for frittes ... here's a pic of the place

such a small space! and quintessential New York - Belgain frittes served up by a Chinese couple! multiculturalism to the max! I love it! stood in line for a good 10 minutes. so you have three sizes - regular, large and double - and a HUGE selection of sauces. I chose a regular with aioli (this week's sauce is Irish Curry - very tempting) and went around the corner to find a place to park and enjoy my snack.

the frittes were salty .. just the way I like em! a definite pit-stop if you're in the EV. It's at 123 2nd Ave. Go there - I command you! :)

While sitting enjoying my frittes I was privy to more characters passing along 2nd Avenue ... I couldn't zoom close enough to get a good shot but loved this one - especially the neon green cane.

I know this will sound queer but I began to wander if cane's are the new accessory. I saw at least four men walking with canes that didn't need them. One of them was sitting near me in the park .. I took special notice because and his plastic wife looked out of place - not only reading but reading between the lines again as well. I'm such the little multitasker. So the guy gets up to take a phone call and has the cane in his right hand (not really using it) and when he leaves with Ms. Plastic it's in his left hand. Have no idea why any of this is even noteworthy. Guess it's really not ... but if cane's are the next "thing" then I'm definitely a trendspotter.

Full-o-frittes, I decided to head west to Pier 45 and watch the sun go down over the Hudson. The weather was starting to cool down some, especially at the water .. hung out for a bit reading and long enough to snap this picture before heading back to take the train.

I wanted to get back to the apt kinda early to do some grooming since the big interview is tomorrow. I headed back over via Christopher Street and started noticing how dirty that area is. I have no interest in hanging out in that area - just seems skanky and gross. Maybe it's just that section of street - who knows - but it really turned me off. Ewwww.

I learn by doing ... and exploring the city bit by bit is the way to learn my way around and where landmarks and neighborhoods, etc. are located and the proximity of certain places. On the walk back over to the 6 I got to 5th Avenue and realized how close I was to Washington Square Park ... it helped that it was dusk and the arch was lite up like Christmas.

The park is near NYU and is so-named after President George Washington. not sure if you can read the inscription but here's a shot..

It reads: To commemorate the one hundredth anniversay of the inaguaration of George Washingotn as first president of the United States.

A few more (blurry) pictures and then home to groom and wait for Jas to come home so I could hear about his manly adventures for the day.

more EV love and fridge art

2006-09-03T20:54:00.000-07:00

good morning sleepy Sunday.. finally arose this morning and the sun was out. I knew that I had to get out and soak up some sun. Took me a while to get going but finally got out after lunch and headed straight to the EV..on the hunt for MUD and to just hang out in the area for a while. Hopped the 6 down to Astor Place .. I had never seen the cube so I of course wanted a picture .. didn't realize the thing spins nor did I realize how close NYU is to the East Village.

The cube is officially known as the Alamo and has been in it's location at Astor Place on St. Marks since 1968 ... over that time the cube has seen LOTS of graffiti. I tried to get pics of the cube without the graffiti today. I googled the cube and more results about graffiti came up than historical info ... I like the prank of turning the Alamo into the Rubik's cube, check it out..

I moved east to find MUD....it was easier than I expected. It's just across 2nd Ave on 9th - a tiny space but a great coffeeshop.

The music was rocking and the guy behind the counter was cute. I ordered an iced coffee (black), grabbed a table with a view of the counter and commenced "Fall On Your Knees". I got a pint of iced coffee for $2.75, which he said I could pay for on the way out. I ordered it black so that I could get the flavor of the coffee without any additives ... and it's kick-ass coffee as-is. No need for additives. The place is long and narrow and has garden seating in back. great coffee, great music and atmosphere, cool staff .. now to get some money so I can afford to try the food. Just move me in upstairs - that would make me gay, as in happy (hahahahaha). The restroom is TIGHT (welcome to NYC!) and has an awesome stained glass window. I could only capture a portion of it since the space was so tight..

"Fall On Your Knees" is good so far. Good reco. The idea crossed my mind at some point that it would be cool to start a book exchange program as a way to meet people ... of course, again, I have to have money to purchase books to pass along first. All in due time little one (as I can hear Chris say). Dammit, Chris, will you move here already! Was in MUD for an hour-plus and the place was busy for 4:00 in the afternoon; nice mix of people also. I'm definitely a MUD convert.

Headed out to walk around and walk off the caffiene buzz. Was planning on heading west toward Chelsea but it started clouding up again. Hung out and called the parents .. chatted for a half-hour or so .. was cool to be standing in Cooper Square talking to mom, since Cooper is her maiden name. This area is not named after mom or her family (now that would be cool) but is named after Peter Cooper, a successful inventor and entrepreneur and self-made millionaire who founded The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, one of the most selective institutions in the country. Amazing that a man with less than a year of formal schooling would/could go on to be so successful - guess he didn't have many insecurities.

Cooper Triangle, a small greenspace between E 6th and 7th Streets between 3rd and 4th Avenues, has a statue of and dedication to Peter Cooper.

I was heading back since the clouds started looking like definite rain and got a call from Susanne just as I entered the subway. Glad I caught it since I get no cell reception "down under". We chatted for a good long while about my job interviews and her two new friends way down there in Ohio. She's in her own little triangle down there in Ohio, apparently very close to both Indiana and Kentucky. Hopefully this year won't be as bad as she first expected. Hang in there, Sus .. and if gets really bad, come to New York! We've yet to be here together and hit the town. Guess it would be good, though, if I have money to actually hit the town when you're here. Mojitos and Sammy's - let's do it!

The rest of today has been uneventful .. dinner, cleaning and writing (and making magnet sentences on the fridge), some of my art work:

Now to read and try and wind down.

P.S. If anyone out there has a book reco, please advise. I generally only read by recommendation.

peace out.

rain then MUD, which is good

2006-09-03T20:15:00.000-07:00

Saturday ... soaking wet.

What a day .. didn't leave the apartment all day. Jas worked all day so I had the place to myself .. watched TiVo, read some trying to finish "Still Life With June", napped and kept checking to see if the rain had let up - not so. Ran out for tortilla chips to finish off the guacamole and that was enough. It was totally gross out - and I only went to the bodega at the corner. I did manage to remember to look up MUD coffee - a most excellent find .. now to find it's actual location in the EV and get myself in there to try out the coffee. Definitely check their website, http://www.themudtruck.com. No more BIG BAD COFFEE for me.

Jas and I amused ourselves throughout the evening by taking turns trying on Liz's wig ... of course we took pictures and of course they will not be uploaded. I know some of you would just love to get your grimy paws on those for your evil ways - and you know who you are. Chris.

Finally finished "Still Life With June" .. interesting read, lots of twists. good book, though. Next read is a pass-along from Liz, "Fall On Your Knees", an Oprah book club selection.

Never saw myself reading something from her list. I'm really not a fan - I'm definitely in the minority on that one but hey, I'm used to being in the minority.

enough for now.

I heart EV

2006-09-03T17:18:00.000-07:00

got up in time to shower, check my destination for that morning's meeting with the owner of Cafe Gitane and headed out. Got there right at 10 .. I'm getting better with directions - finally. So what's up with the lack of cell service in the subway tunnels? Honestly, why can't we remedy this people? I guess in a way it's sort of like cellphones on airplanes. Anyhow, I had a voicemail when I ascended from the depths of the NYC transit system, decided not to check the message till after the meeting with Luke so I could stay focused on the cafe situation.

His space is in Chinatown - and what a huge space. We chatted for a bit; I listened to him talk about the cafe, how busy it can get and maintaining the quality of the beverages. I didn't ask if I had the job or not but felt like it since he asked if I could be contacted at the number on my resume. I felt confident. I also made a note to do some research on "gitane". Apparently Gitane is a manufacturer of bicycles in Europe as well as a brand of cigarettes.

Now that I reflect on the situation, I wonder if there is another round. Seems like if I have the job that he would have mentioned the smocks, etc. (the employees all wear blue smocks). Oh well .. I'll follow-up next week.

So the voicemail was from TCS wanting to set up the next interview. I was surprised that they called so soon .. I was expecting another week and a half. I have my meeting with the store director Tuesday morning. I'm a little nervous but excited as well - especially that they called back so soon. Stay tuned.

I was going to head straight back to the apartment after the interview but knew that Jas was possibly having company. Decided to stop off and head east toward the East Village and Lower East Side to explore some - new territory for me. Hell, so much of NYC is still new territory. Can't recall where I exited the subway but walked through the EV (passed an awesome botanical garden between Avenues A and B, on 6th Street I believe) and on through Alphabet City and over toward the East River Park. Alphabet City is so-named (I believe) because the Avenues run A, B, C and D. Very interesting and eclectic neighborhoods. I had nowhere to be so I leisurely strolled the streets and then over to East River Park, which is currently under construction. Couldn't get over to the water but close enough .. the weather was awesome .. slightly overcast and in the lower 70s. Perfect. But of course I didn't have my camera. I looked at my pocket map and decided to head up to 10th Street, which would take me to the north side of Tompkins Park. I had no reference to this other than Jason mentioning at one point that he wanted to check it out ... and also because Alphabet City, the LES and EV were the setting for the Broadway show RENT (http://www.siteforrent.com). Passed the Life Cafe (mentioned in RENT) walking back west but decided to pass it by since I was only looking for coffee. Don't know why I didn't just check the menu for prices but I walked on. I got back over to 2nd Ave and started looking for a place to rest my feet. Got back over to 2nd and spotted a Starbucks .. I opted for it since I could get away with charging a small coffee and since I hadn't seen another coffeeshop along the way. While sitting there at the corner I was taking in passerbys - a number of which had coffee cups from MUD. I made a mental note to check for the location once I was back online. In letting my mind wander I was staring out the windows just as a priest walked by and I started to wonder what it's like to invest your life in something that has lost so much respect over the past few years - especially with no fault of your own. While my mind was wandering, it wandered repeatedly to the cafe across the street, Veselka (http://www.veselka.com), which boasted a coffee bar. I decided to wrap up at BIG BAD COFFEE (from "Still Life With June") and head over and check out Veselka.
There is a Ukranian presence in the EV. I grabbed an outside table to check out the coffee (or so I thought) and the menu. So much for only resting my feet and having coffee. Since it was cooler out I was hungry for soup. The cabbage soup here is amazing! Head down to 9th Street @ 2nd Avenue and try it for yourself - yummers. I didn't have coffee but hung out for a bit reading and writing a little and watching pedestrians. A homeless man walked by hauling, of all things, a torchiere lamp ... now I ponder why a homeless man would be carrying around a lamp (with no bulbs mind you) that he cannot plug in. Just one of the interesting sights for the day. Finished up my moment and since it was starting to cool off, decided to head back. It was a quick walk over to Union Square to catch the 6 back up to the apt but I knew I would be back. So much so that I made a note of the real estate office doors down from the Life Cafe. The EV just trumped Hell's Kitchen as the primary locale for my first NYC address .. can't give specific reasons but I'm going with the gut feeling.

Hung out with Jas for the afternoon and headed down to Say Cheese to accompany him to get dinner. Got back and watched Scary Movie and I watched The Mirror Has Two Faces after he crashed for the night.

Reminder for self: check out MUD coffee.

Round 2

2006-08-31T08:52:00.000-07:00

Friday, September 1

what awful dreams last night! honeslty ... I was screaming and crying and late for my job interview because I was stuck behind a desk ... how telling is that? The nightmare that I'm going miss out on things because I'm wasting my life away behind a desk. Ick! kept waking up and having to get up .. awful. finally got to sleep after 5:07 - the last time I remember looking at the clock before rolling over after 10. bad boy. I should have gotten up and started preparing for my day sooner - oh well.

So I'm online and Shon hits me up .. haven't talked to him in a long time. Shon is a singer/songwriter and friend back in Atlanta .. check him out at www.myspace.com/shonjackson2. So we're catching up and chatting about the struggles of making it, etc. in the city so before he signs off he tells me to "take the 9". Since my favorite number is 9 I thought he was giving me advice but I was just out of the loop and was missing something. Then he follows up with "like j-lo did" .... it was a riot! I loved it .. totally made my morning. Thanks, babe! You can tell how big a j-lo fan Shon is...

I made it out of the house around 2 to get back to down to Cafe Gitane for the barista position ... what a freaking trip this was! Lord Today and misdirection for sure. My appointment was for 3:00 and I thought leaving the apartment at 2:00 would give me enough time ............... NOT! Maybe if I knew the subway lines better. I was on the right line but who the hell knew that I would catch two local trains back to back and bypass my stop @ Prince by about 6 blocks .... 6 LONG blocks. I was over it. I made it to the cafe about 10 after. I was nervous about arriving late since I had to be at TCS by 4. I hung out waiting and was surprised how busy the cafe was in the middle of the afternoon. I met with Emily in her outside office - across the street from the cafe. We chatted for a few minutes about my experience at "that coffee place" and she asked if I was available to meet the owner, Luke, tomorrow morning. We set the time and I was off to TCS.

I arrived about 10 of 4:00 .. stood outside gathering my thoughts and giving myself a little pep talk. I was a little nervous but it was a great interview and they want me to talk to another manager.

I was rather satisfied with the day and headed home. I stopped off for a bottle of wine and came home to relax and try and think or not think about the day. Had a little too much wine but hey, I was in for the night.

hot dog - meal or snack?

2006-08-31T07:33:00.001-07:00

after posing a thought about whether or not a hot dog is a meal or a snack, I'm being told that the hot dog is definitely a meal. I'm still having trouble wrapping my mind around this one (ha! mind around, mouth around ... sorry, couldn't resist) ... anyhow, when I think of meal I'm thinking ordering from a menu or sitting down to eat ... I can't recall the last time I saw a hot dog on a menu.

anyone else care to chime in? I'm going to have to think about this more.

more convincing is needed..

I take mine with mustard and sauerkraut, how about you?

recovery

2006-08-30T21:25:00.000-07:00

I make no apologies for sleeping late today. Jas and Liz had training at TCS starting at 9 so they were out early and I rolled right back over and tucked my head firmly under the pillow. I was blocking out the sunlight and the reality of my bank account and my employment status. I have to rectify this situation. I stayed in till mid-morning and got up and watched television. I checked email (no job responses of course), no personal email ... great start to the day (sarcasm as my usual form of conversation). The worse my mood gets the more cynical I become ... but moving on

I've gotten into the habit of forwarding myself the job postings from craigslist that I apply for so I'll have the description as reference just in case someone calls me back. Ha! So when checking my personal email I had all the listings from Tuesday that I had found just sitting there staring me in the face. Instead of thinking about them I flipped over to TiVo and watched a couple episodes of Sex and the City. Ahhhhh, mental relief. If only I can have that sort of NYC experience. I don't know what snapped but I finally got myself in gear, got showered and got myself as pretty as I could given what I have to work with. I wrote down my three cafes to hit in order of southern-most on the island and working my way back north. Considering my proclivity for getting lost and always heading in the wrong direction I decided to write down directions for which way I should walk from place to place. And I mean seriously I wrote down left out of building to Houston, left on Houston for approximately six blocks then right toward Prince (one block over). This is what I do now. It's a strategy for now .. and as a former manager taught me, "it's all about strategy". And boy is she right. So I set my plan into motion and hit the pavement. Since I just missed the crosstown bus to the 2,3 line I walked it over. I placed a call to Sarah to try and connect with her. Since her call on Saturday I wasn't letting this falter this time; I was determined to talk to her and find out what was going on. Left her a voicemail and hopped the train to TriBeCa reading "Still Life". I'm really enjoying this book .. lots of twists, definitely a page-turner.

The first stop, CIMA, may not turn out to be anything .. the girl behind the counter gave me a somewhat disdainful look but handed over the application anyhow. That look could have been my paranoia. Finished the application and handed it in .. I couldn't tell if she was the one I should talk to or not .. she paused me and I assume went to speak to the manager or whomever was behind the closed door. I was checking out the menu, coffee drinks, etc. and the inevitable happens. I get the call from The Container Store. I had practically memorized the numbers so I knew I had to take the call. How awkward. I had to put TCS on hold briefly while the counter girl said Mr. Closed Door would call me tomorrow - don't call us, we'll call you. I had my appointment with TCS for Thursday at 4:00. I practically skipped up to SoHo. I was too late for the second place on my list since they were only taking apps until 4:00 so I was then in search of the library to return Jas' videos. So of course his library would be in the village ... Sarah returned my call about this time so I was on the phone trying to catch up and walk and find my way around - it was all too much. I think I circled the same block two or three times, passing the library each time. Such a good I am sometimes. Anyhow, was good to catch up with Sarah - unfortunately she didn't all good news from her end. Her dad has been diagnosed with liver cancer and is not going to try and fight it. She may head into the city this weekend .. would be good to see her and catch up in person. With insecurities still in tow I headed off in the direction of the final cafe on my list. I still get so intimidated by certain types of people or scenes. SoHo is one of them ... not to mention that it's very touristy and I try and avoid these places at all cost! The great thing about the last place is that it said it's in SoHo but it's actually on the verge of numerous neighborhoods .. SoHo, NoLita, the village, the east village and it's near NYU - a great mix. The place is awesome ... outside seating, great clientele, fantastic atmosphere - I could see myself working here and definitely hanging out there. Small, intimate space with a counter (with seating) and a walk-up window for, I believe, drink orders. so cute .. so chic. I want to be there. I had just missed the manager and she asked me to come back at 3:00 tomorrow. Stay tuned, this should be a little tricky. I'm figuring 15-20 minutes for the commute from the cafe to the interview at TCS. I am still pondering what to wear for The Container Store interview. Another great thing about the cafe locale ... it's three blocks from the subway. nice. It's not the 6 but the N,R,W which loops up and intersects with the 6 at 59th .. very easy commute home. I headed out a little before 6, just in time for the rush hour commute. I buried myself in "Still Life" and pressed in for the ride home. I figured I would be getting home about the same time as Jas since he was getting off at 6:00 today .. we were actually on the same train, as was Kelly (the sex-crazed downstairs neighbor). We walked home and I promptly started annoying Jas with the news from my day.

Went into the kitchen for more cathartic moments .. decided on pasta with vegetable marinara which I've now nicknamed my garden pasta and made a second round of guacamole, this time with the roasted garlic - much better. too bad I ran out of chips - dammit!

winding down and trying to prepare for tomorrow ... I need to make sure I have my thoughts in order for the Container Store interview, need to get some questions together and figure out my long-term plans in the company. I'm still interested in the visual merchandising manager that was posted on craigslist.

lots of thoughts to process but for now, goodnight.

the worse day so far..

2006-08-30T19:57:00.000-07:00

Tuesday was a complete downer .. searched online for all sorts of positions ... ad agencies, office, admin, restaurant, part-time, etc. .. anything I could think of. Found some barista opps downtown but grew more and more agitated that I've gotten absolutely no call backs. I was quickly coming to the end of my sane rope. yeah, it's already short so I didn't have long to go before crazy came for a visit. I brooded for most of the day, read some and worked on my myspace page just to zone out. I still had the barista positions in the back of my mind creepinig up. I decided to try making guacamole for the first time. It seemed so simple once I checked a recipe on epicurious.com (great site, btw!) ... so I went to chopping to get me moving and get my mind off things. Cooking is always so cathardic for me .. just being in the kitchen and working on something. I used two avocados, one roma tomato, two cloves of garlic, some red onion and the juice of one lime. It was good but VERY "garlicy" - too much so. I knew that next time I would roast the garlic a while to take some of the bite out. Liz and I headed over to the wine store on 1st Ave to try and score a cheap bottle of wine. I found a new (and cheap) table wine ... Michel Picard, a French vineyard (the second largest in Burgundy) and at $6.99 per bottle a new favorite. Excellent end to a crappy day.

did manage to read more in "Still Life With June" ... good writing, interesting characters.

Pi fini and June begins

2006-08-29T20:16:00.000-07:00

2-day recap...

what's to tell? finished Life of Pi Sunday morning while hanging out at Starbucks. really wanted to hit DTUT but the credit card minimum there is like $7 or $8 and of course at Starbucks you can charge 50 cents if necessary. since I'm on a tight budget I opted for Starbucks. Of course getting there wasn't fun since it was pouring rain. The rain made it easy to stay put and finish the book while waiting for Jason to finish his appointment and meet up with me. Sat down near a barely-read Sunday Times and of course there was almost every section except the NY Times magazine. That section of the paper is just as elusive as the job I'm looking for. So I sat and read .. the book and parts of the paper. Found an interesting article on executive coaching .. thought about Judy and Stephanie from The Container Store.

Jas finally showed and we traveresed it down to the village again .. nothing exciting from this outing.

Monday was all about making calls for a job and following up with people from the week prior. By mid-afternoon I was so sick of typing "hello my name is Ti". I feel like I have applied for every type of job available in the city yet to no avail. I finally went into a depressed coma and went out while Jas had company. I thought I would head down to the village and try and find a coffeeshop looking for a barista. I'd kinda like to get into a barista position again (part-time) without having to work for Starbucks again. I don't mind shopping there but hell if I want to work for that sorry-ass company again after getting screwed by them last year. But I digress. I don't know what in hell possessed me to think I could find my way around the village and I can't even get basic north, south, east and west down. But I couldn't stay in the apt so off I went with a new book in tow. Jas loaned me "Still Life With June" and so far the main character is a neurotic gay writer in NYC .... feels like home. Jas is very protective about his books so he rarely loans them out ... for his hardcovers he makes sleeves like I used to do in junior high. I scored the Tiffany & Co. book sleeve .. it was a great accessory. The book so far is great...lots of twists and turns so I'm curious to see where it's going.

Since I hadn't heard from Jason I decided to hit DTUT and hang out for a bit - read and have a glass of wine. It was cool to hang out for a while ... I got a cabernet for $5.50 .. it was a good time except for being so dark in there, which didn't make it so easy for reading but a nice time anyhow.

I'm still so miffed about the job situation here. I cannot believe that I've gone through two years of hell in Providence at that school and still have problems getting a call back or acknowledgement from a potential employer. Why the hell did I even bother to get a degree? I could have had these same problems without a degree! Dammit! This is a huge source of frustration. I guess the pool of applicants and talent here in NYC is much larger than what I've previously experienced. Still doesn't make it any easier. I just can't believe that when I was searching the paper on Sunday that I defaulted to the admin section. Why the hell am I putting myself back into that compartment? Alas, I'm unemployed and desperate. Go figure.

hotdog, Chinatown! the elusive coffeehouse

2006-08-27T08:46:00.000-07:00

Saturday is Jas' long day at TCS and Liz and I are off .... a-hahahahahaha, slight little joke about myself there.

Liz and I finally arose and got going late morning .. breakfast, a visit to the grocery then back to the apt. I wanted to do more exploring and I'm still looking for a coffeeshop in TriBeCa. TriBeCa stands for "traingle below Canal" ... and it's the area on the west side beneath Canal and toward the southern point of the island and over to the Hudson River. I love how it's spelled with upper and lower caps and that it's an acronym. One more aside .. TriBeCa is the 12th most expensive zipcode in the country. Of course I want to live there ... always reaching outside my norm. No wonder I get crazy so often!

In addition to looking for a coffeeshop I wanted to head back and get a photo of Duane and Reade streets. When I was in TriBeCa last week I crossed over Duane Street and the next block was Reade Street. So for those of you familiar with NYC, you know how prolific the drugstore chain DuaneReade is around here. So when I crossed the streets I wondered if the cloxe proximity of the streets had any relation to the drugstore. I visited the website's company information page and bingo! The chain started as the first full-service drugstore. So of course I wanted a picture of the streets ... here's my attempt (if you look closely you can see the Reade Street sign to the lower left of the photo)

Since TriBeCa and SoHo and Chinatown are all so close, I hit all of them and some of Littly Italy where a street festival was going on. And now, ladies and gentlemen, a mini photo tour:

I passed this building and was struck by it's design .. it's stricking and intriguing and it's a Hebrew school. Is it just me or does this look like an oversized upside down whistle? Can you imagine the sound that thing would make if it were a whistle and someone blew it?

This is a picture of the entrance from the Manhattan Bridge entering the island and the second pic is a close-up of some of the architecture on the arch.

Once you get onto the island this sign welcomes you to Manhattan. Canal Street is in the background, the heart of Chinatown (sort of) and the northern part of TriBeCa (sort of); make a right and you are greeted by the Chrysler Building in the distance

As I was taking the above pictures I noticed an inlet in a row of shops to my right. It's a small hotdog stand among these Chinese food stores. I loved that in the heart of Chinatown you can get an all-American snack food. I say snack food because is a hotdog really a meal? Would you consider a meal something that you can walk and eat? Just not sure about this one..anyhow, I got my 92 cents dog with mustard and sauerkraut, for a total of $1.10. It was a great balancing act carrying my pack, my camera and the dog .. I'm sure numerous people got a chuckle off me trying to eat that dog. Here's a picture of the hotdog "stand"

This picture I took for Liz ... just so she can see how to write her name in Chinese

The rest of the afternoon was spent in Tribeca, with a slight stint over to the Hudson to walk along the pier for a sec. I never found a coffeehouse but during the search I found this awesome (working) thermometer .. and yes it was in the low 70s in later August. It was a nice temp to be out exploring, sans the rain of course. Anyhow, the thermometer and the clock on the far end of the building (also working) are attached to The Sun Building. Now another mission .. to learn the history of this building .. Jas thinks it may have housed a newspaper at one point. I like the saying on the thermometer ... "The Sun ... it shines for all." The sun wasn't shining this day, at least not where we could see it .. no less, it was a nice day to be out exploring the city.

Three snapshots from along the Hudson before it started raining and I retreated to a Starbucks near my subway stop to read more of "Life of Pi"

end of week ramblings and pics

2006-08-26T19:16:00.000-07:00

So it's the end of the week and not much else has really happened. I followed up with Karen's contact, called a couple more agencies and looked up jobs on craigslist. I applied to be a NYC dog walker. I'm really excited about this .. sure hope this one would work out. The job covers lower Manhattan only and they only walk one dog at a time. I applied for the full-time position. Applicants have a choice of four shifts - part time, 5 hours per day, full time, or weekend. The full-time positions earn as much as $1,200 per week. So yeah, sign me up. They receive a hellacious amount of applications so who knows if I'll even hear anything ... so far that's status quo for me. So mid-day on Friday I missed a call ... it was The Container Store calling me back for a 1-on-1 interview. I was very excited. Still am. Apparently they are looking at me for Merchandise Processing or Manhattan Logistics. I have to call Monday and schedule my follow-up. So I found out that they pay bi-weekly so even if I start the following week, it will probably be at least three weeks until I get paid. The next few weeks are going to be a monetary tightrope walk for me. I finally ventured out Friday evening .. Jas was on a date and Liz was working. I had to get out or I'd go stir-crazy. I decided that Union Square would be good since there are always people milling about and it's bustling with musicians, etc.

So ... a few pictures:

This is an estimate of our nations' debt ... it scrolls continually - and FAST! If you click on the picture you'll notice that the debt increases by the millions at a time.

And a few shots of the Empire State Building. I love how the clouds above are tinted green from the lights .. it's was an eerie Wizard of Oz sort of moment for me for some reason.

and one final shot that I really like..

What a day Wednesday

2006-08-26T19:03:00.000-07:00

So the day started calling Derrick about my car. Of course he didn’t answer so I called the junk place and speak to Mr. Junk to find out if they had picked up the car and mentioned that I had someone interested in it. The guy says they haven’t gotten the car but for me to call him back in a couple hours. So I wait the couple hours Mr. Junk requested before calling and told him that I had not heard from the guy and to go and pick up the car. So Mr. Junk tells me at the end of this conversation that if I hear back from the guy to call him back. I thought this was a little queer but I put it in the back of my mind. Derrick called around 1130 and expressed interest in the car. I explained that I was miffed about not hearing from him and jerking the guy at the junk place around. So Derrick gives me a brief earful about working and running a business, blah blah blah and said he was still interested in the car. So he says that he will go out and look at the car and buy it if I’ll just give him the directions. I was unsure about what to do so I hung up and conferred with Jason and Rae. I felt bad jerking Mr. Junk around but also wanted to make as much money on the car as I could. So I called Derrick and gave him the green light on my non-cranking and undriveable car. I called Rae and gave her the details and she and Jas both said to wait about calling Mr. Junk until I knew for sure that Derrick had picked up the car. In the meantime I called to cancel my insurance and was informed that I would need to receive a fax and sign-off on the car. I knew that Liz was at The Ladies and that they have a fax machine. It also worked out that she had invited me over to do laundry so it was a two-birds-with-one-stone kind of moment. Had a voicemail from Rae when emerging from the subway that the car was gone and he paid me $100. Wow, a whopping $50 more that Mr. Junk was going to give me. All this frustration for $50 …. but at least the car was sold. So I arrive at Liz’s and the insurance paper is waiting for me. I call Mr. Junk (as he had requested) and wouldn’t you know he went Rhode Island on me and told me that I’d get mine causing him so much grief and that karma would get me. Honestly. I didn’t say anything and he hung up on me. Good riddance. I suppose to the car and to that episode. So I followed-up on my list from the night before and asked Liz if she ever found out what agency her friend works for. She checked to see if Karen was online to ask her and just my luck she was online. Liz chatted with her briefly and then I took over. Her name is Karen, she's in training to become a massage therapist, she's a struggling actor and works temp jobs to make ends meet. She's been temping for 7 years. So Karen thought I was green to work I suppose and started asking elementary questions .. if I am male or female (because Ti can be either (I hadn't thought about my name being unisex) and whether or not I had heard of Goldman Sachs. It was at this point that I felt like I should bring Karen into my not-to-subtle world. I mentioned to her that I was not a starter kit, that I am familiar with Goldman and that I have been working much longer than she has been. After cutting through the nicities we got down to business and she gave me a contact and a couple other agency leads. Atta girl. Thanks, Karen. :) Now let's hope something pans out.

I started laundry and mentioned to Liz that I could use a little snack. We bounded out and while Liz was at the bank depositing checks for The Ladies I was unsuccessfully trying to withdraw $20 from my account. I was devastated .. not even $20 in my account. I went over the edge. So much so that I didn’t even want to check my account balance to see just how bad it was. I thought I had been frugal but I now realize that with such low funds and no job that I am going to have to check the funds almost daily to check the diminishing process. Not good times, sister. Don’t recall too much more this the afternoon … finished laundry and headed home to sleep. When depressed, and especially broke and depressed, sleep is a good answer. No thinking but blackness sans the flying dollar signs on the back of my eyelids. Oy!

Tuesday of Week 2

2006-08-26T10:17:00.000-07:00

The job search was in full force today. I set about calling agencies and doing more internet research. I was also set on finishing my homework. After unsuccessfully trying to solve the ENTIRE kitchen storage problem I decided on one small item that would make my life so much easier – the magnetic wall-mounted knife strip. Since Jas eats out a lot and Liz doesn’t seem to cook much either, I am the anomaly in the house … always cutting various vegetables for my stir-frys. Before my arrival all knifes of chopping functionality were kept wrapped in towels under the sink. Since my arrival the knifes have found their place on top of the fridge. I finally found the knife strip on the website and printed out my homework. The remainder of the afternoon was absorbed by scheduling a pick-up time and price for junking my car, a nap and then getting ready to head out for the interview. The dress for this group interview was “business casual” … now I wondered if this was really necessary since the uniform was either jeans or khakis. I decided that I would wear blank pants and a black long-sleeve pullover – typical uniform of the gay when making an outing, it’s completely versatile (no comments necessary on that one). I hopped on the cross-town bus at exactly 5:25 and got off the train at exactly 5:55 .. plenty of time to waste before the 6:30 meeting. I arrived a few minutes early and was surprised to find that the group interview was on the sales floor – very interesting indeed. I assumed that we would be in an office somewhere, totally unexpected and unconventional – I loved it. A couple of people were already present and a couple more arrived with me … now, being the sometimes-outgoing Southerner and always-neurotic that I am, I spoke to the people around me. Wouldn’t you assume that if interviewees are having an interview on the sales floor that people are watching us and seeing maybe how we interact and how “social” we are with those around us? Two people out of six spoke. Whatever, not my beef. So Stephanie arrives and I feel like I’ve found a new friend – love her energy. I hope she represents a majority of TCS employees cause she is awesome. After some brief interviews and information, it comes time for homework. The second guy to speak about his ‘container conundrum’ took snapshots of Container Store products in his house because he already uses so many of them. He put them all on one page and was telling us stories of how he uses each of them. I loved it … thought it was very well-executed. So this one girl, Mary Beth (who btw, came in late), says ‘you overachiever’ …. Yes, in front of everyone. I glared at her, along with some others. I could not believe that she would think that was okay to say and belittle someone’s idea in front of ten people. So not cool. So post-homework, the interview/information session is going along well and then Stephanie wants to do some role-playing. She would be the customer and someone who was interested in sales would be the Container Store rep. So she asks who would like to go into sales and three people (who I noticed) raised their hands and she says ‘great, you people are going to be selling me the products’. Surprising Group Interview Fact #2 – wouldn’t you know that not one of the people who raised their hand for sales positions would role-play with her. I ended up doing the two scenarios with her and I wasn’t even really interested in sales. Again, I just don’t understand how people wouldn’t think that this reflects on them and how they might actually perform on the job. Go figure. Again, not my beef … or chicken … or pork. Hahahaha. So Stephanie gives us the low-down on TCS areas and then warps up. Of course I had questions. I stuck around as did Mary Beth. I wonder if she wasn’t just trying to make-up for being late and belittling Matthew. Ewwww, bad form, sister. She finally finished talking about nothing and Stephanie and I chatted for a while. I mentioned I was interested in possibly moving into the in-house training division in the future and asked a couple questions about feasibility. When I mentioned that I had been using a life coach she jumped all over it. We talked about coaching for a while and that led us into another direction of using training at TCS in her department, Manhattan Logistics. It was a great session and two hours later I was on my way back to the apt feeling great about the interview and wearing a big smile on my face. Good times. Went back and jammed out with Jas and Liz about TCS and how great it is. Now why was I nervous again? Fooey on that.

So after the jam session I checked email. And would you believe that I had a response to the ad for selling my car. Of course … as soon as I make plans to junk the car someone may actually want to buy it. I emailed back and forth with the guy a few times, decided against calling him since it was so late. So in the last email I mention that I had made plans to junk the car the next day and that I would call him the next morning to determine what he thought about buying the car for $500 since I needed to put the junk people on hold. Made my list of things to do the next day, mainly talk to Jas and Liz and try and get their contacts that are currently temping since I’m having such an issue of getting in to see any of them I’ve applied to, and then, some sleep.

outings, homework and a landmark

2006-08-25T15:16:00.000-07:00

Monday of Week 2

The start of the week 2 was rather uneventful. Hung out and did some job searching in the morning .. Jas wanted to head back up to The Cloisters again later in the afternoon. While job hunting online I got a call back from The Container Store about my application .. I had first round interviews on Tuesday evening at the Chelsea location ... and I had homework!

I was curious and a little nervous about the group interview. So for homework I had to find a storage problem in my apt and then browse the website for the product that would alleviate that problem and expain why. Lovely, my first group performance in the city. And of course because Jas and Liz are 'take out' and 'boil water' respectively, I knew that my "container conundrum" was in the kitchen. I spent some time on the issue in my head during the day and was thinking about a wall-mounted storage rack that would solve all spacial kitchen issues but quickly decided against that!

Later in the day Jas and I boarded the 98 and headed back up to The Cloisters. We spent more time there capturing some great pics again. We walked and covered the areas we didn't hit last time .. I honestly think you could go there daily and discover something new every day. More pics from the day...

After watching the sun set, I headed back into the city via the A train. The only subway line that runs to the tip of Manhattan, at least in that direction. I had borrowed "Life of Pi" from Jas and had that to read on the ride back into the city. I didn't realize how quiet parts of Manhattan could be until I got to the subway station at 190th. When I first got to the subway platform I was a little freaked and thought maybe the trains weren't running any longer but that didn't make sense because it was only 9 or so. After waiting for a while I realized what a great moment this was .. me, alone in the subway station ... so I started snapping pics like crazy. Here are a couple I really like..

Since the A runs along the west side I had to figure out how to get back to the apt on the east side. I exited at 125th thinking I would walk the few blocks east and south to the apt. After exiting the station at 125th and getting to street level I was greeted by a NYC legend, the Apollo Theater. I snapped a couple pictures of the landmark..

After unsuccessfully trying to determine my location and direction in which I should walk home I called Jas for directions, again. I can't believe that I still have problems figuring this out. I feel like Chapman ... always calling me for directions to and from places (good times Chris .. and btw, I love that you called me two weeks ago for directions to Decatur - how long have I been gone from Atlanta?). Jas directed me to the correct place to catch the bus that would practically drop me at the apt and I stood reading "Life of Pi" by the glow from the Old Navy behind me. Two ladies were carrying on a vivid conversation in front of me when one stopped and interjected how much she loved the book and how much I would. I agreed that I hadn't been able to put it down since starting it. It was a nice moment. Thanks, New York. Thanks for not being a land of cold strangers like so many people think.

Back home and hungry so I hit Wendy's on the way home. All these big bacon classics at midnight are catching up to my waist line!

a FULL day

2006-08-22T21:21:00.000-07:00

Sunday, August 20

Been in the city for one week now and what a great week so far! I headed out after noon for my first hookup in NYC (this one’s for you Amanda!) then down to meet Jason in Hell’s Kitchen at Say Cheese for a late lunch.
I was planning on heading back to the apt. but decided to go with him down to the village to roam around .. he showed me the grassy pier in Chelsea at Christopher Street.
The pier is officially known as Pier 45 and is part of the Hudson River Park. We hung out for a while people watching and then headed to Oscar Wilde’s bookstore. I finally scored a pocket-size subway map!

I was crashing from the huge lunch we had and needed to either take a nap or have a beer .. I also wanted to hit Saurin Parke at some point and hang out. Since we were on the west side it was easy to hop the train straight up the park and go to Saurin Parke for beers. The trains on Sundays are an interesting and tiring experience. First, there are no express trains. Since we were in the village and were headed back to the top of the park, we made every freaking stop along the way on a barely air conditioned train. If you refer to the map at your left, Jason and Liz's place is on the green line at 116, we were in the village, on the red line toward the bottom left @ Christopher Street - and Saurin Parke is on the A.C/B,D line (the blue orange) at Cathedral Parkway. (I talk about the cathedral later in this post). So the other thing about the subway on Sundays is that all the beggars come out. Along this particular ride we were treated to a drunk homeless man preaching about the number of homeless people in the city and other ramblings, a trio of Mexican guys who played their guitars and serenaded the car with a very brief ditty and the clincher …. A homeless man making his way through the subway car on his knees. Now this was a new one on me. First off, ouch. I did fee some sympathy for this man, don’t think I was that crass. But then I began to ponder this … how does he cross from one subway car to the next, can he walk at all? And is he walking or crawling? Can one walk on their knees? Then of course I went to the opposite end of the sympathy spectrum and wondered if he was not being a very clever beggar and just giving his performance that “edge” that New Yorkers have, enjoy and seek? Does he have the next big idea in a theater of a different sort? I am going to have to start remembering my camera to capture pics of these characters!

After that very interesting ride, we started making our way to Saurin Parke. Along the way, there is a huge cathedral off 110th that is undergoing renovations after a fire in 2001. Jason tells me the Statue of Liberty can fit in this church three times. I was briefly gazing up while listening to Jason and noticed an incredible statue. I wanted to get some pictures of it so we walked a little out of our way. On the grounds of this cathedral is a fenced-in area .. wasn’t exactly sure what it's for but as the albino peacock made it’s way over to us I realized why. I tried unsuccessfully to snap a good picture of the bird. After standing in amazement at not only seeing a peacock in Manhattan, and an albino peacock to boot, we made our way up to the statue that had drawn my attention in the first place.

Jason was not kidding .. the place is amazingly gigantic. The one picture does not even begin to capture it.

We finally arrived at Saurin Parke for beers. We hung out for a while and had a few good laughs, mostly Jason at my expense, but fun nonetheless.

After being home for a while and catching up online, I was invited to the village for a rooftop get-together. I was a little reluctant to go since the train was still running local but decided to do it. The building is a 6-story walk-up and the view from the roof is amazing .. you could practically reach out and touch the Empire State Building. It was a great time. I stole one of The New Yorker magazines to read on the ride back uptown. Got home late and crashed … a nice full day and a full first week.

Reunion and Discovery

2006-08-22T12:42:00.000-07:00

Saturday, August 19

Met up with my former Providence housemate Marne after bumping into her on the subway (literally) the week prior. She suggested meeting at dtut .. after googling I discovered that it's a cafe / coffeehouse just down 2nd Avenue from the apt and they have free wireless! two wireless spots in the first week - one on the east and one on the west, awesome!

Sat down with a spinach and mushroom quiche to hear all about Marne, her job and her life in NYC. It was great seeing her and catching up with her outside of Providence. I stayed and settled into a comfy chair to do some work before heading out to do more walking and trying to learn my way around, etc. I was on the hunt for a pocket-sized subway map. A lady overheard me asking the subway attendant and suggested trying to library annex at the main branch. So I headed north but to no avail. The rest of the day was uneventful. Have scored two new coffeehouses, now just to score a job - or two.

Oh yeah, dtut stands for Downtown Uptown .. it's on 2nd Avenue between 84 and 85 and I definitely say try it .. nice staff, hot guy behind the counter, great atmosphere (although there were a couple kids running mad later in the morning) and good coffee/food.

98 to the hills

2006-08-19T10:10:00.000-07:00

After a lazy afternoon in the park doing some online work, I was ready to bust a move and venture out for a while or take a nap. Jas mentioned taking the bus up to Washington Heights (the upper most part of the island on the west side) and checking things out. So again we pack up and head out..I actually remembered my camera this time and of course the battery started dying as soon as we got off the bus. We walked around for a couple hours, here's a mini photo tour:

Back for wine – one hell of an experience trying to get a man who only understands Chinese to get a wine from behind a glass encasement in the heart of a Latin neighborhood .. a couple of the people in there finally had to help me. The guy was pointing to everything other than the bottle I wanted .. I wanted two different wines but decided that it was best not to go through that again so I ordered two of the same. Sweet Jesus.

Went home and chilled with Jason watching Sordid Lives and reminiscing about watching it for the first time together, him playing Odell in the play back in Atlanta and of course quoting line after line after line. Liz came home and joined in partaking of wine with me … nice wind-down.

Exit Only? Either pull or belt it out!

2006-08-19T09:49:00.000-07:00

Friday, August 18, 2006

Liz and I are off to Bryant Park to take in Opera in the Park from the City Opera but beforehand we have to drop off some overdue books for Jason at the public library across the street. I wait for Liz outside, no sense standing in that line and someone has to hold our coffees ... so I'm standing at the exit and find the sign two signs on the door quite entertaining and sad and disgraceful - see for yourself..

Live from Bryant Park … Elizabeth and Ti are taking in Opera in the Park with the NYC Opera .. kinda bummed that I didn’t know about this sooner, since they sang songs from RENT on Tuesday. Blasted! This is so freaking awesome .. we’re both mac’d out while they are warming up. Rude? Maybe. Totally New York? Absolutely.

So that was the first part of the day ...

cafe, coffee, wine and a 47-pound rooster

2006-08-18T21:46:00.000-07:00

Thursday, August 17, 2006

Slept till about 830 and got up with Liz … she was heading over to the west side to work for the lesbians so I decided to head out with her and hit Saurin Parke. What an easy ride .. catch the 116 bus and it drops me off one block from the café. And what a great spot … it’s one of my new favorites. I completely recommend it. And what a great crowd … hotties, Columbia students, Harlem folk and UWSiders – love it!

I spent most of the day there working on my package to Taylor Hodson, a placement firm. They place in I.T., Finance and advertising agencies … they have a couple of ad agency positions listed, entry level, so I’ve put in for those. I’m really hoping this firm calls me back. Was chatting online with Jas, Chris and Elizabeth about how awesome Saurin Parke is so Liz decided to pop up and meet me there for lunch to check it out. And P.S., the iced soy latte there is fucking amazing! Hung out with Liz then watched the hotties come and go as I worked on the TH package. Finally departed mid-afternoon to go and check out the lesbian’s apartment and hang out until Liz was ready to go to Zabar’s. What a place those lesbians have! UWS 2 bedroom condo just off Broadway. Scorching hot. Fantastico. And now me, envious as all hell but damn they have really bad art – skulls and replicas of the devil – so lesbian and gross. Hung out and started playing catch-up on capturing moments from the last few days and then we were off to Zabar’s – and what a great place. Great New York market with great products.
… picked up havarti for cheap, great flatbread (JJ Flats brand), olive bread and cheap dried cranberries. Liz is starting her ventures into red wine so we stopped into a wine store to pick up a selection for our cheese and crackers we just picked up. Scored a bottle of Rex Goliath cabernet for $8.99 - one of my all-time favorites.

Meanwhile, over in Times Square, Jas is trying to get tickets for Lester & Company to see Dirty Rotten Scoundrels tonight. Apparently Jas gets these deals and has to be the one to pick up the tickets or repercussions and blah blah blah … well since Lester is a drama queen Jas was afraid he wouldn’t be able to handle being “Jas” or at minimum, a New Yorker, and would screw up picking up the tickets at will call so he wanted me to run down and get the tickets. What drama! After seeing Lester acting up while I was there I can see that he might not be able to pull off being a New Yorker. Lord Today. The good thing is that I got some experience with the bus and the 2,3 express train. Got back to the apt and had some cheese and crackers with salami and the cabernet with Liz. Been scouring the New York magazine Liz brought me earlier today and found a gig in Bryant Park with a City Opera event at lunchtime on Friday .. totally wanting to check that out and will hopefully remember to bring my camera! Maybe Jas will be up for walking the Brooklyn bridge and check out the park I noticed when walking the other night. So that’s the update, more to come.

And just FYI … I’ve left out Jason’s hookup, our constant talks about sex and the hot, hot photographer I may be having a date with.

Stay tuned!

uneventful humpday

2006-08-18T21:35:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, August 16, 2006

Worked on the job search, chatted with Jas before he went to work and didn’t do much else for the remainder of the day ….. didn’t even leave the building all day. While working on the job search I did remember to search for independent coffeehouses on the 6, in the UES and in Tribeca along with free wireless. Found a place on the UWS at the corner of the park @ 110th .. Saurin Parke Café, www.saurinparke.com. Elizabeth and I hung out and chatted in the evening and talked about food and wine and we made a plan to go to Zabar’s, a local market of good foods on the UWS. Nothing spectacular to report … more roof time and more deals going down in the street. Welcome to Spanish Harlem.

UES to Brooklyn and back

2006-08-18T21:03:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, August 15, 2006

Day 2 didn’t start as early as Day 1 … after walking all over the city I needed some rest. Jason rose early b/c Christina’s new album came out and he wanted to get it ASAP and get uploaded before he headed off to work. I went with him to the UES and he scored the CD for $11.99, followed up by hash rounds and a biscuit.

I was enjoying a cup-o-java as he drug me all over northeastern Manhattan. Back at the apartment I applied with The Container Store and he played with his music. He passed Christina off to me when he finished and we’ve been having a love affair ever since.

So Tuesday afternoon was my time since Jason was off to work … more job research, a nap and then down to meet Jas for his lunch hour. I had decided I would head down to Chelsea and try and find Matchbox Café, a little coffeehouse I visited last year. The café is now closed so I wandered around aimlessly for a while, ending up at Chelsea Piers and then heading down toward Battery Park. I walked along the water for a while and eventually cut back over into a neighborhood to try and figure out where I was and how to get back uptown. I wanted to stop off at Whole Foods in Union Square for rice and greenery then hop the 6 back home. I ended up walking through the village and down toward and through Tribeca. Funny thing and not sure if this is coincidence or not is that as I rounded one corner I looked up and was in front of the offices for Saatchi & Saatchi. Is this a sign? Was it destiny? Who knows but I was freaked out again about the manifestation. In a city of millions, first Marne and then aimlessly wandering the city to end up in front of the offices of the one advertising agency that I am really wanting to work for. How bizarre. Queer even. I continued my walk, checking my subway map frequently to try and find the right train when I came upon a spot that was familiar to me. I couldn’t figure out exactly how I knew this place but I knew that I had been there before. I then recognized City Hall and realized that the Brooklyn Bridge was just beyond that building.

I had been there with Sarah the year before and just up one block was where I laughed at the kid who fell in the street when he pushed over a police barricade. Physical humor … yes, please. Anyhow, I wanted to see the Brooklyn bridge and ended up walking over the bridge and back. It was sunset and the sky was gorgeous. It was perfect. As I walked over the bridge back toward Manhattan I realized that this is my town and I will make it here. Yes, please. I felt very empowered walking the bridge and exploring the city that night. I made my Whole Foods stop and again met the “end of line” guy. This is a concept that was introduced to me while visiting Trader Joe’s in Mass a couple weeks back. I couldn’t believe that someone was paid to stand and direct people to checkout registers – amazing. I experienced it again at Best Buy the next week. So here this is apparently a big deal. Jas and Elizabeth said that at TCS they are referred to as Line Leaders and they are a God-send. Imagine. So while at Whole Foods you file into these stalls just like a horse taking off at the races … it’s unreal. There are three lanes in two different sections. So when a register is open the cashier will put their register number marker, the light, to blink. I wanted to bolt whenever I would see a light blink but I was also intimidated by the “end of line” guy. Interesting that what seemed like a fluff position earlier was now so empowered. I felt like if I went out of turn I would be accosted and thrashed and banned from the store for infinity. Not a good feeling. So I got checked out and headed up town to meet Jas after work since it was after 9.

Jas had mentioned earlier in the day that the subway ride was his time to zone out and relax so I realized that I was potentially intruding on his alone time and would need to explain myself. I was also eager to share everywhere I had been that day. I was the explorer and Manhattan was my unknown territory to conquer. Back home for more drinks and chopping broccoli for an hour then up to the roof to zone out and watch the deals go down across the street.

here I go..

2006-08-18T20:25:00.000-07:00

Day 1, Monday, August 14, 2006

I’m coining it Day 1 since it’s the first day that I have woken up in NYC as a future resident .. the start of my first full day. I popped up in bed at 7:00 and was ready to go. No one in the house was awake, sans Amanda since I woke her up rolling over her to get out of bed.

I grabbed pen and paper and went to the roof to make my list. Lists are the key when I have a lot going on in my head … quiets the voices. After making some calls to various contacts and friends back in Atlanta (who also all happen to be NYC lovers), it was just me. Jason came up to get me while still in his robe and welcomed me to NYC (again) with a quick flash, and to make sure he covered all his bases he turned around and mooned me. I’m still kicking myself for not having my camera with me.

So before we headed out, I revisited a moment with Jason. When I left Atlanta over two years ago, Jas gave me a one-pager known as “Jason Salutes…” .. it captures all the moments from our friendship from moment one up till present. It’s a great, great thing. So we spent some time reading it and reminiscing about our most memorable moments and catch phrases …. Some of the top ones are “you fucking bitch”, “being ‘over it’” with the hand motion to go with it, teaching Jason how to say “eat my ass”, “pimento cheese” as code for sex speak, and “remnants”. We finally got up and out and headed to the theater district with Jason to run some errands … we ended up in Columbus Circle and Jason captured Amanda and I in a tight embrace with the CNN building as our backdrop.

We had walked up an appetite so we headed off to Say Cheese in Hell’s Kitchen. Jason had introduced me to this eatery while I was here for Pride earlier in the summer. The chicken pesto sandwich there is awesome! It was so good the first time that I went back the next day and had it again. Elizabeth met us for lunch and we had another jam session of laughter. Wouldn’t you know that Jas, Liz and Amanda all bonded over talking about how dramatic I am and how I go from nice to crazy in a matter of seconds – love it. It’s better to be talked about than not talked about I suppose.

Jason, Amanda and I headed over to Union Square – me for food at Trader Joe’s and Jason to PC Richards for his new iPod .. how convenient that they are side by side. I also wanted to hit The Strand and check it out …. talk about literary overload! Wow! I was blown away .. that place is awesome. 18 miles of books in one store – sweet. So as we’re coming out of the subway stop I notice there is a street fair (or so I thought) of some sort happening. Much to my delight, on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays there is an organic market set up with farmers from surrounding states and areas that come to sell their produce in Union Square. I scored some awesome veggies and Amanda got fresh fruits and goat cheese. What a find! I’ll be headed back there, definitely.

With bags in hand we headed back to the apartment to hang out before Amanda headed back north to Providence. I knew I was going to fall apart as soon as she left … being “on my own” so to speak and because we don’t know when we’ll see each other again. Hell, we both have to find jobs in order to have travel money.

I zoned out for a while as Amanda was leaving and then left but my focus was then turned to dinner plans that Jason had for us that evening. His friend Lester was in town for the week and wanted to meet up. So off the UWS we go … Lester was waiting for us and we soon skipped off to Oz, all we were missing was the dog since Lester and I both have enough personality for two or three people. Dinner at Vinyl and then down to Chelsea to shop for trinkets. As we boarded the bus, Lester decided to give the riders a show and did a little pole dance for everyone. The girl of the couple near where we sat and Lester became fast friends and the picture-taking games began.

Shopping in Chelsea was uneventful and Jas and I headed home. As we boarded the subway I ran into (literally) my former housemate in Providence, Marne. I was completely taken aback. WTF? In a city of 8 million, what are the chances of running into someone you used to live with? And within 24 hours of being in the city! We spent the next few subway stops catching up, mostly I caught her up on our third housemate and how we weren’t really in contact any longer. She said she’d call and have dinner but who knows … not holding my breath. The rest of the evening was home, drinks, chatting and eventually bed – people do sleep in this town, you know.

Day 1 accomplished – and a good time was had by all!

My arrival in NYC

2006-08-18T20:11:00.000-07:00

Sunday, August 13, 2006

It was a beautiful day to leave Rhode Island … and leave is what I had been wanting to do for so long. Amanda agreed to drive me down ... so we are about 10 minutes into Connecticut and she tells me she has to pee … now this after she orders a venti latte knowing she has a small bladder at the start of a 3+ hour drive. So we exit and talk about how we hate exits where they advertise a restroom but you have to drive 8 miles down some country-ass two-lane road to find NOTHING. So welcome to our world. I drive this two lane narrow ass road for miles for not a freaking thing until we get to Old Mystic … no pizza, no restrooms, no cute people. At one point we crest this hill and see nothing in sight but miles and miles of rolling hills so which I pulled the dramatic gay card and channeled Vanna White and scanned the horizon with a dramatic wave of my right hand and blurted that I didn’t see any restrooms in sight. After stopping twice and finally turning around to try and get back to the interstate we pulled off on a small roadside pull-off and walked into the woods to mark our respective plots of Connecticut countryside. Well don’t you know ALL of that was fodder once Amanda and Jas and Liz got together later.

After hellacious traffic through Connecticut, Amanda and I arrived in the city just after 7:30 pm. Jason came down to greet me and welcome me to New York. Good times. We took a few things up stairs and then headed OUT … went to meet Elizabeth in Chelsea and have a drink. We decided to go back to The View since we had had such a good time there Pride weekend. The drink and service to get the drink were awful .. I don’t recommend The View after hours on a Sunday night. After an $8 cranberry juice (which was supposed to have vodka with it) we decided we could do much better hanging out on the roof of Jason and Liz’s building. Amanda had brought a bottle of champagne so we were all set. Got back to Spanish Harlem and headed up to the roof … had fun hanging out and toasting to friends and new beginnings … yeah, yeah … cheesy but it was a moment. Jas invited up a friend who lives in the building, Kelly, and we exchanged sex stories and laughed our asses off until after 1. What a riot and a great end and beginning.