I haven't blogged much lately. I'm going to get better at that... I promise this time.
But on a separate note, I wanted to let any interested reader know that I, together with 5 of my friends here in NYC, have launched a new blog called the Ems Blog Project. What is "Ems" you might ask? Great question, and you can find out by reading the first post (mostly because it's been a long day at work and I am too lazy to type it all out here). Feel free to participate by commenting on any of the posts or emailing us at contact.the.ems@gmail.com. The web address is http://emsblogproject.wordpress.com.
So I just saw on New York magazine's webpage that Fran Drescher is interested in Hilary Clinton's Senate seat and is throwing her hat in the ring for consideration. Unbelievable. Please, Governor Patterson, resist her nasal charms.
I don't watch that much tv, compared to some/most people. There's shows that I'll watch if I happen to be around and find on, but there are only 5 shows that I really follow and always make sure to catch (or watch online after the fact, more often than not): Mad Men, Gossip Girl, 30 Rock and the Office. And Lipstick Jungle.
It's a little bit embarrassing to admit, even to myself, how much I LOVE Lipstick Jungle. I was soooo disappointed last week when I heard it had been cancelled, but so glad and relieved when I found out tonight that the cancellation was only a rumor (for now). I've never heard anyone I know talk about that show or admit to watching it, and I'm not sure if anyone else reading this is a fan, but it sure is nice to be out in the open with my love and support for it.
I listen to my ipod everyday, like virtually everyone else, but I rarely listen to music. I would estimate that maybe 5% of what I listen to, either on my ipod or through my computer at my apartment, is actual music. The rest is podcasts, news, symposiums, lectures, science shows, and the like. I'm certainly not against music, and I actually really like it. I don't feel like I have a lack of music in my life, and now that I think about it, I think it's because I go to a decent amount of live shows, which I suppose is a perk of where I live. Anyway, when it comes to what I listen to on my own, I just normally prefer to be fed a constant diet of information.
That said, last night it took me almost 3 hours to get home from Tribeca, courtesy of some ill-time flightiness on my own part and some scheduled train delays/track work. It was awful. But, I listened to music the entire time. I decided to go with an old fave, Caedmon's Call, and I listened to a ton of their stuff. I was both delighted and comforted to discover that, after all these years, they still totally hold up. I listen to a song or two of theirs in isolation every so often, but I just really enjoyed going back through their whole body of work. I'm curious to know what I might think of them if I were exposed to them now for the first time. Would I like them so much? I suppose that doesn't really matter. I find them incredibly talented, and their lyrics refreshingly honest and challenging.
So, last night I compiled a "Best of Caedmon's" list. That's not easy, because they've got so much out there. I gave myself a limit of no more than 3 songs from each cd. I've listed the song first, followed by the cd it's from.
1. What You Want, Long Line of Leavers 2. The Rich Song, Intimate Portrait 3. I Boast No More, In the Company of Angels 4. The Truth, Intimate Portrait 5. Wings of the Morning, Share the Well 6. Somewhere North, 40 Acres 7. Mystery of Mercy, Back Home 8. You Created, Back Home 9. Dance, Long Line of Leavers** 10. International Love Song, Share the Well 11. Bus Driver, Caedmon's Call 12. Prove Me Wrong, Long Line of Leavers 13. There's Only One (Holy One), Share the Well 14. Awake My Soul, Back Home 15. Center Aisle, Caedmon's Call 16. Table for Two, 40 Acres
**this song is not be confused with "The Danse," from In the Company of Angels Honorable Mention, in no particular order:
Mistake of My Life, Long Line of Leavers The Innocent's Corner, Share the Well Where I Began, 40 Acres Manner and Means, Back Home Beautiful Mystery, Back Home This World, Caedmon's Call Before There Was Time, In the Company of Angels Never Gonna Let Go, Back Home April Showers, Intimate Portrait
So Fall 2008 is turning out to be really great. Here's some highlights.
Halloween - I went to a kickin' Halloween party and had a really great time. My idea was to go with a friend of mine as D.J. Tanner and Kimmie Gibler, but by the time I mentioned it to her she had already bought and tailored a costume of her own. So my friend Matt and I went tag-team as a Metrocard and a turnstile. My brothers didn't seem to find that all that funny, so I think maybe it's more funny if you live here and use those things several times a day. So he made an impressively accurate Metrocard costume (complete w/ emergency info on the back) and I engineered a costume with a functioning turnstile. It went over really well, but I think that, on the whole, I find it more amusing to go as a person than as an inanimate object. Good to know for the future, I guess.
last Monday - I went to see the documentary "Dear Zachary." It was devastating, but in a hopeful, haunting way. The filmmaker demands a lot of the viewer, but it's one of the best things I've ever seen. Don't research it a lot, because it's better if you go into it with fewer details. But, if you find yourself in NYC, LA, Chicago, Portland, Nashville, San Jose or Sante Fe anytime soon, DEFINITELY check it out. It's so moving.
last Tuesday - Obama was elected!!! The election night party that I went to was a blast! Although I kinda wish I would've went to a party in Harlem and been a part of the celebrating there. But, I really did enjoy spending the night with the people I was with! The feeling of electricity here on Wednesday was palpable, like on New Year's Eve or the day after the Giants won the Super Bowl. So we'll see what happens in the coming months/years.
last Thursday - My friend Caleb made the top 5 (out of 4,000!) in The Bitter End's Songwriter's Circle (songwriting contest). I was on "the list" for the final night so I got in free and managed to get good seats. In addition to the top 5 playing, Marc Cohn and Dave Barnes were the guest performers. That was kinda strange, b/c they are two very different musicians and are in two very different places in their careers, but it worked out ok. FYI... If it's not immediately familiar, Marc Cohn is the guy who did "Walking in Memphis." I thought it might be a little bit cheesy, but actually it was amazing. Hearing him do that song on the piano live, and in a dark venue with great seats, was an unexpectedly moving experience.
yesterday - My friend hosted a beer tasting party, and it was soooo fun. I think we ended up having more than 20 different types of beer. My favorite... drum roll please... Delerium Tremens.
today - Great conversation with a friend this morning; the Bears lost but it was to the last undefeated team, and they don't really suck so bad this year; I was able to get both a great nap and some quality violin practice in earlier this afternoon. I also figured out the perfect Christmas gift for my younger brother, so I can cross that one off the list.
Wednesday- I am hanging out with a really fun group of people among whom good conversation always seems to materialize.
Thursday - My good friend and HFM (hopefully future me) will be in town and I am so excited to hang out with her!
Friday - Two of the BCG's, Faith and Laura Ashely, will be in town, and we are going to one of my fave restaurants in the city. I haven't seen Laura Ashely since her wedding in 2005, and since Faith moved to Boston I don't see her all that often either. There is NOTHING like hanging out with old friends!
Plus:
*The Giants are winning. Hopefully they can hold on. *The city is starting to get holiday-ized. It's a little bit annoying b/c it's happening before Thanksgiving. But, it's not happening to an overwhelming degree, and when I encounter it, it's sort of like a little glimpse of the wonderment to come. *The weather continues to hover in the mid to high 50's and sometimes ventures into the low 60's. I haven't even had to bust out any scarves yet!
I haven't gotten a manicure in a little over two weeks, and the situation is really starting to become unbearable. This extended time between salon visits has, however, provided some unexpected amusement. The polish on my nails is chipping away on its own, bit by bit, and what's left of the polish on my left index finger looks exactly like Africa. For some reason that really cracked me up, so I started examining my other fingers for geographically shaped remnants. I discovered that I had a U.S.S.R. shaped blob of polish on my right middle finger, naturally. Take that, Commies!
Like pretty much everyone else, I've been closely following the economic developments of the last couple of weeks. I've been reading, watching and listening to anything I possibly can in order to get the latest and most comprehensive information about what's happening. Somewhat surprisingly, it's making me really think through my basic thoughts on systems of life and how cultures and societies function. I'm trying not to think about it too much, because I have another more pressing matter on which to spend my mental energy, but I may blog a little bit about it after I take the LSAT on Saturday.
In the meantime, I wanted to link to an episode of This American Life that I first heard several months ago. I know many people have heard this before the past couple of weeks, and it's been even more widely circulated since Lehman Bros. went under. But, I thought I would link to it anyway in case anyone was interested and hasn't yet heard it. In this program they explain the situation involving the collapse of the housing market and the rest of Wall Street (to the extent it was already happening when the show was produced last spring) in a way that's tailored towards the everyday, non-financial genius person. If you are watching the news and know what's happening but are at a loss as to why or how, this would definitely be a helpful thing to listen to.
You can either stream the episode for free or download it for less than a buck. If the link above doesn't work, here's the URL:
Two of my new favorite things are the steam room and the sauna at the gym. I like to do 20 minutes in one or the other after my workout. Tonight, though, the steam room had a little more action than normal. There was a girl who decided to multi-task and do her stretching in the steam room. She was sitting there doing a full split while in turn leaning forward and to each side. Then she started doing side lunges, and then front lunges. Keep in mind that most people, this woman included, prefer to steam in the nude. I'm not making this up.
Now, I know I'm a relative newbie to the big city gym world, but in what universe is this considered appropriate?
The Olympics are officially over, and I now officially owe my sister $50.
Back in middle school, I insisted that I would one day be an Olympian. It was a foregone conclusion; I didn't even entertain the possibility that I wouldn't one day attend the Opening Ceremonies, hang out in the Athletes' Village, and maybe, hopefully, come home with a medal. We ended up making an official (or as official as a 12 or 13 year old can make it) contract, which stated that I would pay her $50 if I did not compete in the Olympic Games by 2008. I'm sure I was mostly aiming for the Summer Games, which gave me 1996, 2000, 2004 and 2008 to make my move, but I think we left the contract open to appearances in Winter Olympics as well.
She's mentioned this contract from time to time, usually saying something like "only 3 more years until you have to pay me $50." When this happens, I usually pretend that I don't know what she's talking about. I say something about vaguely remembering some sort of summer competition between us, and then I try to convince her that she's made the rest of it up, and that I would never make a bet like that. When she persists, I say smugly something along the lines of, "Ok, fine. It's not true, but whatever. I'll go with it if you're going to insist on being delusional. Produce the contract and prove it, and I'll pay up." This was always the ace in my pocket because I knew there was no way she would have kept this contract for over a decade.
Fast forward to two weeks ago. My mom was in town for about 18 hours because of flight delays and a long layover at JFK. She stayed at my house overnight, and we spent the evening watching the Olympics. At one point she said, "You know, you owe your sister fifty bucks." I laughed and couldn't believe she remembered our bet. Then I told her, in the same smug way I always told my sister, that if Sarah can produce the contract, I'll gladly pay her. It was quiet for a few seconds, and then my mom piped up and said, "Your father has the contract."
I couldn't believe it. Apparently my father has a little box on top of his dresser where he keeps papers, trinkets, odds and ends. Our contract has been sitting in that dang box for 13 or 14 years. I was practically beside myself; I was in such a state of disbelief. I mean, I really can't believe he kept it all these years. How did he even get it? I have no idea about that, but if I had to guess, the sad thing is that I probably gave it to him for safekeeping so that my sister couldn't back out after I finished my Olympic run. Woops.
On a separate but related note, I actually played high school basketball against Oganna Nnami, one of the members of our silver medal winning indoor volleyball team! I recognized her immediately when I saw her on TV. When you come from a small midwestern town where the only black kid was a foster kid, it sort of sticks in your mind when you play against a girl named Oganna Nnami who can dunk as a sophomore or junior in high school. I think it goes without saying that her team always beat ours. I was telling a friend the other day that I feel like I did my part towards the American Olympic effort. I contributed to her athletic development by providing competition, which as any athlete knows not only builds skill, but character as well. I felt like, in my own little way, I had the tiniest little bit to do with their silver medal effort. Yesterday I realized that maybe I can use this reasoning to campaign that I, by extention, did actually compete in the Olympics by 2008. I don't think that will work, but it's worth a shot.
i'm taking a quick break from olympic-themed posts to announce that, for the first time ever, I just saw a doublemint gum commercial that did not feature any twins.
I really, really, really love the Olympics. I've pretty much dropped off the face of the earth for these two weeks. I have watched them every single night from 8 pm until 2 am, and I spend as much time as I can get away with at work on nbcolympics.com. Incidentally, I'm extremely impressed with the thoroughness and depth of that website, including extensive video coverage of many events. The site is like a black hole that just sucks me right in. If I could, I would sit and watch different events on the NBC cable affiliates all day every day. I don't really get into long distance cycling, boxing, or wrestling, but everything else is totally in my wheelhouse. I mean, when else do American audiences get to see competitive handball, trampoline, badminton, water polo, or table tennis? It's awesome.
I've started to put my finger on why I enjoy the Olympic experience so much. Simply put, the Olympics are the best of what it means to be a human. I truly believe that there's something transcendent about pure, extreme athletic achievement. I experienced that to a certain degree when I completed a marathon about 3 years ago... pushing your body to that level is such an unexpectedly visceral and emotional experience. It's hard to describe. There's something about extreme physical achievement that makes you feel connected with the rest of the human race in a way that nothing else I've experienced can. The crazy (and wonderful) thing is that I don't even have to be the athlete - these same feelings are swirling around inside of me just from watching others who are truly the best at what they do. They are marvels of physicality. The things the human body can do are mind-blowingly spectacular, with the power to bring us places outside of ourselves. The Olympics capture that perfectly, and it's replicated dozens of times by hundreds of athletes over the course of two incredible weeks. I'm so proud of humanity.
When it comes to New York Times Bestsellers, I usually run the other way screaming. So naturally, I had no intention of reading Elizabeth Gilbert's Eat, Pray, Love -- even if it meant I was the only female under age 35 in all of New York City who hadn't read it. The book's popularity went nuts about a year ago, and by this past spring it seemed the entire city had read it. My plan was to lay low and wait it out, hoping that eventually everyone would stop talking about it.
However, a friend of mine would not get off my back about this book. I finally caved in just so that I'd stop having to hear about it from her. To my absolute shock (and sort of horror) I didn't totally hate it. To be clear, I mostly hated it... but not completely. While Gilbert's tone was annoying and sometimes teetered on grating, a couple of the thoughts and ideas she fleshed out on her journey really resonated with ones I have found growing in my heart and mind.
If you've been living under a rock and are not familiar with the basic premise, here it is: this journalist with a seemingly perfect life leaves her crummy marriage and embarks on a year-long journey around the world to connect with her spiritual side and explore who she is.
Here's a couple of the more appealing snippets:
Her description of what it's like to truly merge with the infinite: "I got pulled through the wormhole of the Absolute, and in that rush I suddenly understood the workings of the universe completely . . . I stepped through time and I entered the void. I was inside the void, but also was the void and I was looking at the void, all at the same time. The void was a place of limitless peace and wisdom. The void was conscious and it was intelligent. The void was God, which means that I was inside God. . . I was just a part of God. In addition to being God. I was both a tiny piece of the universe and exactly the same size as the universe."
I get what she's saying with that, and she gets 2 points for the wormhole reference.
I get this one too: ". . . bowed flat on my face in gratitude to my God, to the revolutionary power of love, to myself, to my Guru and to my nephew --briefly understanding on a molecular level (not an intellectual level) that there was no difference whatsoever between any of these words or any of these ideas or any of these people."
30 pages later she writes: "God dwells within you as you yourself, exactly the way you are. (emphasis in original). God isn't interested in watching you enact some performance of personality in order to comply with some crackpot notion that you have about how a spiritual person looks or behaves. We all seem to get this idea that, in order to be sacred . . . we have to renounce our individuality . . . To know God, you need only to renounce one thing -- your sense of division from God."
I'm pretty much on board with that she says about getting rid of division from God to know God, but I'm not sure if I totally agree with what she is saying about individuality. I wonder if it's possible that, in God, a person both completely finds and completely loses his individuality. Can both of those be simultaneously realized without eliminating either or reducing either to the other? As a Western person, the concept of the individual is ingrained to the point where I don't really question it without a concerted effort. I guess it could be said that individuality is one of the most significant bi-products of capitalism. In contrast, I recently learned that the Japanese language didn't even have a word for "individual" until the late 19th century. I'm going to have to think some more on this one.
Although there would be tons of better choices, this wouldn't be the worst book to pick up if you're looking for a quick, pool/beach side, sorta-deep-but-not-really-heavy summer read. I can't believe I just said that. But don't expect me to be reading Water for Elephants or The Alchemist anytime soon. :)
Over the past few months, I’ve learned quite a bit about the state of Florida’s foster care system. My sister and brother-in-law started the process of becoming foster parents last fall. Ideally they would like to adopt the child that is placed in their care. This happens if the parent(s) either voluntarily give up rights, or by default if they fail to complete each part of the judge’s prescribed plan in one year (things like: hold a steady job for 8 months, attend 4 months of parenting/budgeting classes, live in the same apartment for 6 months, etc.) So far they have had three foster babies. The first was Elijah, and they only had him for 2 days. Then there was Monty, who they had for a little less than 2 months. Now they have a little boy named Christian.
It’s such a weird, strange set of emotions that come with this whole experience. It’s such a tall order to really commit to and love these children, all the while knowing that you likely will have to give them up. It also must be borne in mind that, if that happens, the program was a success. The foster care system is set up so that children can be responsibly cared for while their parent or other family member becomes a fit guardian. At its core, the goal of the system is to reunite children with their natural families. Sarah and Mike have really embarked on a tough journey, and I’m proud of them for that… and a little in awe too.
Christian was born Wednesday, June 11, so he’ll be two weeks old tomorrow. On Saturday, June 14, Sarah and Mike got a call to pick him up from the hospital. They brought him home that day, and they’ve been the only parents he’s known. I guess he has some older siblings who have all been adopted out of foster care, so Christian was taken away immediately as a preventative measure. From what I understand, his mom hasn’t shown any interest in working with the State thus far. That’s a good sign, because if the parent shows no effort, the judge will sometimes let the child be adopted before the one year period passes. Here’s hoping.
I’ve included a couple of pictures of him, because, like all babies, he’s just adorable :)
I haven't been blogging much lately. Most of that is due to an extremely busy schedule, and the rest is due to good old-fashioned laziness.
Over the last couple of months I've run across a lot of interesting and/or thought provoking things. I'm endeavoring to share one of them each day or so over the next several days. My hope is that by first announcing my intention in this post, I will be bound to actually do it. So we'll see how that works.
For a few months now my mind has been largely preoccupied with different ideas of time. Below are two things I've run across in the process. The first is compressed time. In the 1960's, audio documentarian Tony Schwartz recorded his niece from birth to high school, and then condensed it into a little over 2 minutes. The second is time sped up. Photographer Noah Kalina took a photo of himself every day for eight years, and made the first six and a half years into a video.
Spotted: clock saying 7:53. That means the Gossip Girl season finale starts in only 7 minutes, and I can't wait! It is such a good show! Seriously, if you don't already watch it, you should definitely start. Download the episodes from itunes, or there's plenty of websites where you can watch them for free (e.g. sidereel.com). You won't be sorry. And I love that this show doesn't even have to be a guilty pleasure... it counts as just a regular pleasure since it's so immensely popular with adults and has been covered by legitimate media outlets. It's definitely not in the same category as previous "teen" shows, like The O.C.
Anyway, I gotta make some dinner real quick before the show starts.
Tonight is going to be a fun night. In a few minutes I'm heading out from work to join a friend of mine at an advanced screening for "Smart People," starring Ellen Page and Sarah Jessica Parker. I haven't heard too much about this film, especially after all the Sundance buzz calmed down. But from what I have heard it's supposed to be pretty good. Then, it's off to meet up with another friend for the culminating evening of March Madness. For tonight, I proudly count myself as part of Jayhawk Nation!
A couple of months ago I heard the first hint of a rumor that New Kids on the Block was getting back together for a reunion show, or even (better yet) a reunion tour. I promptly navigated over to their recently revitalized website and signed up for the mailing list, thereby making sure I would receive all the late breaking news.
Monday, I had an email in my inbox from NKOTB with the subject line "ARE YOU READY!?". No, it didn't announce their concert dates and locations like I was hoping. But, it did announce that they are playing Friday morning on the Today show. This is definitely good news. I don't think they would do this if a tour announcement wasn't far off. And let's not forget, this year marks the 20th anniversary of "Hangin' Tough," so the timing would be perfect...
If they get back together, maybe I should try to organize a reunion of New Chicks on the Block, which was the neighborhood club I started with all the girls and fellow NKOTBers who lived on my block :)
The movie "Hoosiers" just finished, the kitchen is stocked with beer and soda, chinese food is on the way, my bracket is taped to the wall by the tv with two highlighters (green for games I got right, red for ones I didn't), and I've supposedly got some sort of food poisoning that's keeping me home from work for the next two days...it can only mean one thing. MARCH MADNESS IS HERE!
I'm really excited about my bracket pics this year. Since Illinois is not in the tournament (sigh), I'm not 100% emotionally invested in any of the teams. Yeah, I'm a fan of and like a few of them, but it's not like it is with the boys in orange and blue. So for some reason, the absence of Illinois has made me incredibly liberal with my picks. My final winner isn't all that outrageous, but I've certainly picked a good amount of upsets and surprises. Most of them are completely within the realm of possibility, so I'm really banking on what we all know to be true about this time of year... it's one and done, and sometimes when the planets align just right, virtually ANY team can beat ANY OTHER team once.
Best of luck to everyone with their brackets, and here's to the best two days of the year (with the possible exception of Christmas Eve and Christmas). Let the games begin...
Last night I saw the U2 3D movie. I had heard that it was awesome, but was completely blown away by just how awesome. It was incredible. Phenomenal. Bono is so freakin cool. So is The Edge.
I had the good fortune of watching it on an IMAX screen, which comes with that great IMAX surround sound... it just added to the beauty. I wiki'd it today and found out that the standard IMAX screen is approximately 53 ft x 73 ft; The IMAX screen where I saw it last night is 80 ft x 100 ft. Later I realized that this screen is taller than ANY building in my hometown.
Seriously, you have GOT to see this. Especially if you have an IMAX theater nearby. Even if you're a moderate or even nominal U2 fan, the experience is totally worthwhile. I normally don't go for gimmicky things like 3D movies, but this is a major exception. It's not necessarily my favorite movie of all time, but it's definitely my favorite movie-going experience of all time. And, it's probably the most entertaining hour and a half I've had in several months. It's just that good.
This is such a great Friday... mostly because I don't have to work. Instead, I slept in until 11 and then watched tv for awhile before whipping up a delicious lunch. Here at my new apartment, I now have cable for the first time since college and I can't stop watching trashy tv. If Celebrity Rehab, E! True Hollywood Story, or anything about Britney Spears is on, I have NO hope of tearing myself away. Despite this, I still got some stuff accomplished. I made a lot of progress in my effort to unpack past the "unpacked enough to move around" stage.
Tonight is dinner with a good friend, and then off to my church's 3rd annual Celebration of All That Is Good. I'm pretty sure it's basically just an excuse to party. We are meeting at some bar for free food, karaoke, and Guitar Hero. I'm not sure, but maybe there's free booze too, but that's probably just wishful thinking. This afternoon I've been thinking about karoake songs, and here's my top contenders:
"I Would Do Anything For Love" - Meatloaf "Overprotected" - Britney Spears "Turn the Beat Around" - Gloria Estefan (I really like the rat-tat-tat-tat- on the drum part) "Love is a Battlefied" - Pat Benetar "Islands in the Stream" by Dolly and Kenny as my male duet option
I used to be pretty good at keeping up with people/things. Somehow I've gotten really bad at it in the last couple of months. My list of people to email back/email is sitting at 18. I've seriously gotta tackle this soon.
This is shaping up to be a great weekend. It's a type of weekend I haven't had in a looong time: one with nothing to do.
It started last night with a new tradition some friends and I have started in order to officially usher in the weekend: Take a Shot Fridays. It's pretty much exactly what it sounds like. We take a shot whenever we get home on Fridays, whether it's super early at 2 pm or at 2 am after a night on the town. Only one shot is allowed, unless it's your birthday week or a 3-day holiday weekend. In that case, two shots are taken. Unfortunately, my boss moved President's Day to the following Monday, February 25, so I was only able to down a single.
Later on, I went to Rite-Aid and made out like a bandit. My $11 mascara was on sale for $4.14, I got $4.99 shampoo and conditioner for $1.99 each, and I picked up some regularly priced $4.19 cereal for $1.99 as well. It was awesome.
I slept in till noon today, and have nothing I have to do except unpack, since I moved this past week. I guess that's sort of a big job, but it doesn't require a lot of out-and-about-ness. Then tonight, my new roomie and I are having a girly movie double feature -- "Chasing Liberty" and "The Prince and Me." I'll probably stay up pretty late tonight, which sets me up perfectly for my Sunday afternoon nap tomorrow.
None of these are really earth-shattering life developments, of course, but just the type of things that make life a little bit better.
Yesterday was the best Tuesday ever; it was truly a triple threat.
First, it was the New York Giants Super Bowl victory parade. I watched some of the pre-parade festivities on TV before work, and it just sucked me even further into Giants mania. Growing up as an Illinois resident/Chicago Bulls fan during the Michael Jordan era, I've certainly seen my fair share of unbelievable sporting accomplishments. However, the Giants' victory on Sunday was one of the best sports spectacles I've been privileged enough to witness during my quarter-century on this planet. Pulling from my last couple years of memories, it ranks right up there with the game that sent the University of Illinois basketball team to the Final Four in 2005. They were losing to Arizona by 15 points with just 3 or 4 minutes left, and then tied the game with a 3-pointer in the final seconds. Then they went on to win by 1 point in overtime. Unbelievable. What a great night. Anyway, this Giants victory is similarly amazing. Besides the sheer athletic aspect, I love how it's pulling the city together in ways I've only witnessed twice before. After the game, it was so fun being outside and I didn't really want to go back to my apartment. Cars were driving around honking like crazy, I was high-fiving strangers I passed on the sidewalks, and we were all whooping, hollering and cheering at/with each other like crazy people. It was so fun. In the past, I've experienced this same sort of city-wide unity only on New Year's Eve, when we were reveling in the streets/subways with the rest of the hoi polloi, and also when the final Harry Potter book came out and people would strike up conversations with any number of the dozen or so strangers holding a Potter book that would be in any person's line of sight at any given time. To me, the Giants parade represented the city at its best. And fyi… they used 50 TONS of confetti. I can't even wrap my mind around the amount of paper it would take to comprise 50 tons. At first, this seemed to me supremely wasteful. Then, however, I discovered that they used recycled paper, so no additional trees were harmed. Also, throughout this whole thing, I was reminded of what I love about sports: it's completely unscripted and no one knows what's going to happen. It's virtually the only thing like that. Movies, tv shows, books, pictures, etc. are all organized and created. Somebody made/produced it, and so knows how it will end. Even live things, like concerts, are planned out. Sports are so great because no one knows what's going to happen, and that unpredictability is addictive and fascinating.
The second awesome thing about yesterday was, of course, that it was election day. I am having a BLAST following politics this year. I mean, forget about the writer's strike… we've got all the drama we need with this race! I felt so privileged to exercise my democratic right and go to the polls. And well, I was going to write more about this, but this post is already WAY longer than I thought it was going to be, and I'm getting tired. So, real quick, the third awesome thing about yesterday was that it was MARDI GRAS! I had this great party to go to, but I forgot to vote before work, so I had to go vote after work, and after that I didn't feel like trucking it all the way to the Village for the party. So I had my own little Mardi Gras celebration while watching all of the election coverage. I love Mardi Gras... what a great excuse to have a party. I've never been to a really crazy Mardi Gras party, but some day I hope to. Maybe I'll even make it to New Orleans one of these Februaries.
Ok, so more on politics later. It's only 11:30, but for now I'm going to bed.
January has absolutely flown by! I got back to NYC from my parents' house the morning of December 31 and went right from the airport to work... and it seems like things haven't let up yet. Here's some of the highlights:
*New Year's Eve was the most fun New Year's Eve yet. Had an amazingly fun dinner and then celebrated the stroke of midnight with great friends and great drinks on a Manhattan rooftop. *Went to the New York City Ballet at Lincoln Center. *After going to the ballet, I decided to sign up for ballet classes. This week will be the third week. Maybe someday I'll make my own Lincoln Center debut :) *Mandy and I sang karaoke, and it was both of our first times ever doing it. We picked a classic... "Hold On" by Wilson Phillips. And we totally rocked the bar! *I decided to spend two weeks next Thanksgiving in South Africa. I'll be volunteering at a great white shark research center, spending the days cage diving and assisting the scientists with all of their data collection. I am provisionally booked and just got my days off at work approved. *I had fondue for the first time ever... so delicious. We had the cheese fondue and also the chocolate. *I cashed my winning check from family Deal or No Deal. I ended up picking the briefcase with the top prize of $300, and never sold it to the banker! *Last weekend was a super fun martini party... unbelievalbe appletinis and vanilla cosmos (my new fave!) *I got to take a little road trip to my grandparents' house in Mystic, CT. It's so beautiful up there, and it was great to get away from the city for a bit. *Tonight was our monthly cultural dinner party. It was North African night, and I made Egyptian Kebabs. After all, who doesn't love a nice kebab?!? *My roommate is moving to Boston, so I'm moving in with my good friend Whitney. It's just a couple of blocks away, and I have a view of the Manhattan skyline from the bedroom window! *I registered to vote, and am VERY excited to participate in Super Tuesday on February 5.
So far 2008 is off to a great start. I hope the rest of the year is as fun as January was!
Check out this video from youtube.com. It's hysterical! Make sure you listen until the end, because the most funny part is how the live TV news anchors completely lose it and start laughing uncontrollably on air.
Undoubtedly, one of the best things about New York City is that EVERYBODY delivers.
There's delivery for every type of food, first of all. There's the obvious pizza, Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese, Mexican, and Indian. Diners deliver too, so you never have to wait too long for a nice omelet or BLT. Even McDonald's delivers.
Besides restaurants, virtually all grocery stores deliver. Trader Joe's Wine Shop takes it a step further and delivers alcohol as well. Laundry places deliver fresh, clean and nicely folded clothes, and Barnes & Noble delivers book purchases right to your door. It really doesn't get much better!
Several months ago I realized that I somehow became a reasonably well-educated adult without learning hardly any Shakespeare. It's a little embarassing, but my Shakepearean familiarity is pathetic, at best. However, I finally decided to do something about it. I joined this Shakespeare reading group, and last night was the first meeting I attended. It's essentially exactly what is sounds like... a group of people who get together and read Shakespeare plays. We don't act them out or anything. It's more of a table read, with everyone getting assigned a role or two.
Last night we did Henry IV, part 1, and I played both Hostess and Worcester. It was actually really great. I haven't read more than two lines of Shakespeare since my junior year of high school, so I was shocked at how easily it rolled off my tongue. The prose is really quite beautiful. I'm really looking forward to next month's reading, and am glad I now have this fun way to familiarize myself with Shakespeare's body of work!
Sims:
Maybe someone can help me with this. I've decided that I would really like to become wrapped up in some sort of game (preferably computer but maybe simple game system?) where I can create something and/or be in control. Ideally, I could play over the internet without having to really download anything, and I would be able to create a world, or a character/team or creature of some sort, maybe a society or at least some buildings. I don't really know. For some reason I just really think this sounds like fun. I've never really been into this sort of thing before, so I'm not sure what my options are. I know the Sims series has been popular in the past, but I'm not exactly sure what it is/how to play, or even if it's really what I'm looking for. My brother suggested a game called Civilization. I haven't looked into that one, but I guess it's a possibility. Does anyone have any other ideas/suggestions?
Last night I was reading my most recent issue of the literary magainze "Believer," and particularly enjoyed the one-page book reviews. Besides the review itself, each page includes some interesting info about the book and a representative sentence, chapter title, etc. Additionally, the theme/tone of each book is widdled down to a central question. These are often interesting and thought provoking. Here are this month's:
Are there any futures worth thinking about? - Love in a Fallen City, by Eileen Chang
Can sense and nonsense, melody and dissonance, together make a single work of art? - A Fiddle Pulled from the Throat of a Sparrow, by Noah Eli Gordon
From this angle, does the world look tiny or huge? - All Over, by Roy Kesey
What does love look like when two unlovable people incapable of expressing love fall in love? - Laura Warholic, by Alexander Theroux
How many good poems can a person write about quantum physics? - Quantum Lyrics, by A. Van Jordan
Is there any such thing as continuity? - Zeroville, by Steve Erickson
Besides the reviews, I also liked what was written about art critic/writer Dave Hickey in the intro of his interview. I sometimes feel like this... "His passions are idiosyncratic, he drives at no major thesis, nor is he seeking a revolution in taste or even acolytes. It seems he wants to construct an edifice of true things--or, at least, the least likely wrong things--that can be said about whatever subjects are most interesting and at hand."
Ok, so I know there are a couple readers of this blog who are big reality tv fans. If that's you, please help me out! Apparently my parents have purchased the Deal or No Deal board game, and our whole family is going to have a tournament or something out at their house in California over Christmas. The awesome part is that on the last day we will be playing with real money -- mom and pops haven't decided on a final amount yet, but said probably around $250-300.
The problem is that my parents and my sister and brother-in-law are all fans of the show. I, however, have literally never even seen one second of it on tv. I have no idea how to play. Is it trivia based, do you have to win challenges? What is the strategy involved? I have no clue. This is way too big of a pot for me not to study up and master the strategy of the game before arriving out there next Sunday. If you are a fan of the show or know how it works, please please please help out and clue me in to the best tactics!
The following is an almost verbatim excerpt from a conversation I had last night with my friend Jenny.
Jenny: Hey do you want to run the San Francisco marathon with me this year? Me: Absolutely not. No Way. Do you have any idea how hilly it is there? Jenny: Yeah, but when you cross the finish line you get a necklace from Tiffany's put around your neck by a fire fighter. Me: How much is the entrance fee?
1. I think I should start wearing leggins or leg warmers under my pants each day to stay a little warmer. 2. I really don't like Katharine McPhee. 3. I am going to look into purchasing a hat. 4. Revolving doors are preferable because I don't have to take my hands out of my pockets to go through them. 5. Christmas is less than 3 weeks away. 6. My new goal is to go to bed by midnight at least one day a week. I think that may help a bit with my perpetual morning tiredness. 7. Facebook is sooo much better than Myspace. 8. "Gossip Girl" is the best new show this season, and while it can't replace "Gilmore Girls," it's a solid second place. 9. More websites should have free shipping, like Amazon. 10. You really can never have too many Christmas parties.
I'm realizing that one of my favorite things about the city is the extensive public space system. Besides the obvious outdoor parks, there are many skyscrapers (at least in the area of town where I work) where the bottom floor is a giant space open to the public. There are usually plenty of tables and chairs, so people are kickin' back in there at all times. The public space in the building next to mine has beautiful indoor landscaping complete with a two-story waterfall, a Starbucks, and a piano player from noon-3 pm (like at Von Maur!!). The Sony building down the street has an Ilalian coffee shop and restrooms, so that's an important one. The strangest is one about a block away in the bottom floor of Lever House. This one is known for having sort of odd, modernist art, and the current display is an arragement of 2 or 3dozen sheep carcasses. It's actually a very interesting exhibit, and you can check out the NY Times article about it here.
It's just nice that there's still some interesting stuff you can check out around here for free!
I almost don't really care that the Bears lost a tough one today, because Illinois is going to the Rose Bowl, baby! It's normally at least semi-fun to be an Illinois fan during basketball season, but this is bonus year because the football team is actually something to write home about too. We've won 9 games this year, which is one more than the total number of wins over the last four seasons COMBINED. I know what I'll be doing at 4:30pm on January 1st!
And the cherry on top is that Ohio State is in the national championship game. I cheer for and enjoy the Buckeyes, unless they are playing Illinois, but I wouldn't call myself a super dedicated or "true" fan. They are really the only other college football team I feel any sort of substantial affinity for, so I'm pretty excited for them too.
I've been pretty excited for the holidays since the day after Thanksgiving, but today I finally feel like the Christmas season is upon us. There's basically two reasons for that. First, this morning I woke up to a nice little snowshower. It was so pretty, and I was really suprised by the fact that I didn't really mind the cold all that much. I took a couple pictures... one is outside the door of my building, and the other is at the subway stop. Second, our Christmas tree is finally up for good. It's a 7 foot live tree, so it's not the easiest thing to maneuver. We put it up last Saturday, the 24th, but on Tuesday it fell over. It leaned against the wall until late Friday night when my roomate and I were both home at the same time and could deal with it. We couldn't get it to stay in the stand without falling, so we decided to secure it by tying it up. We used 2 large 3M Command hooks and tied sturdy ribbon from one hook, around the trunk of the tree, and then to the other hook. This worked pretty well for a couple of hours, but then the weight of the tree pulled the hooks off the wall and it fell again. Yesterday I was able to pick up a different stand and get the tree standing upright without any sort of jerry-rigging. Then this afternoon I spent a few hours taking off all of the lights and ornaments (they were all messed up from all the falling and leaning) and putting them all back on again. Now, finally, our tree is up for good and our apartment officially feels Christmasy.
