slinking back in, tail between my legs.

so this little blog baby has been neglected for some time, no? apologies all around, but i've been cuh-razy busy this summer, including:

- a get-away to montauk, where we got ENGAGED (!)
(thumbs up for weddings!)

- visits nearly every weekend from family and friends
(eating our way around the city with guests--this was at co)

- major work events (including a promotion and the departure of two of my coworkers)
(the goodbyes are killing me!)

- some wedding planning
(didn't pick this one. duh.)

- trips out of town (upstate new york, d.c.)
(miss you, spitfire lake.)

consider this my (maybe) comeback.

happy new year!

february 14th marked the first day of the lunar new year, a holiday i have been celebrating over the entire month (and will continue to celebrate) with the museum. events and programs at work and in other venues have abounded, and i was lucky to attend the met's recent event in honor of the new year, which included delicious food, strong drinks, and (best of all) a private viewing of mastering the art of chinese painting: xie zhiliu (1910-1997).

the show is truly epic--it spans decades of the artists life and work, including early studies as well as their final finished products. the studies are always my favorite. as a student of art history, i am interested in the pieces themselves, but i am also completely fascinated by the process. what inspired them? how did they learn their skills and artistry? how was that applied to this piece? there was a study of birds' feet that particularly captivated me, as xie zhiliu had spent hours and hours observing and illustrating the incredible detail of the scaly skin and long talons of the toes. to then see those same feet in a painting gives me such joy--it's like i know a secret about the artist and his work.

my other favorite part of the exhibit were the seals. chinese artists sign their pieces using seals (called chops) that are at once both their name and a representation of the self--xie zhiliu used different chops over the course of his life. many of them were truly lovely, and often very clever in translation. again, it's the element of getting a look behind the curtain, a look at the artist as a person and not just a master, that i really enjoyed.

there is a lot to see (and it is somewhat tucked away upstairs) but it is well-worth a trip to see his studies and seals. i was so grateful to be included in the event, and get a rare behind-the-scenes glimpse of the met and a master at work.

*if you are interested in lunar new year events, check out explore chinatown's calendar of events. the main parade is next weekend, so there's still time to celebrate!

independence days

bonjour! c'est bastille . . . day. (jour du bastille? je ne sais pas--my high school french is starting to fail me.)

today is bastille day, the celebration of french independence (post-marie antoinette, right? my high school history is starting to fail me.) there is a little french community here in cobble hill, so on bastille day a few neighborhood restaurants get together to put on festivities. i met up with aa and her boyfriend p on smith street, for sausages (p), ice cream sandwiches (aa) and iced tea (me.) in spite of the heat, it was surprisingly crowded, as people ate and drank and played petanque in the streets. it was such a fun little celebration and i enjoyed hearing random passersby speaking french. i love how new york cultural events bring out people of that nationality; as i mentioned to p, if i lived in paris and they threw a 4th of july paty, i'd totally go. there's something so universal about the need to spend special occasions with people who share your traditions.

speaking of the 4th, we had a really great experience this year. we hadn't made plans to leave town, as s's family was headed into town for vacation last sunday. this turned out in our favor, as his boss invited us to watch the fireworks--over the hudson this year--from their offices on the 11th floor of the film center, on 9th avenue. after a day of chores, visiting with family, and board games and dinner on the balcony, it ended up being the perfect way to spend the evening. low key, but a perfect vantage point and comfy chairs, and without the pressure of the crowds usually associated with big city events. as we toasted with champagne and one of the adults softly sang the star-spangled banner, i felt very patriotic indeed.

top ten

i've been out of town for the holidays in d.c., but i head back to my beloveds (ny and the boy) tomorrow, just in time for new year's eve. in honor of the end of this year and the start of the next, i would like to present my top 10 list of things that happened this year. some are specific, and some are more general, and all are previously referenced in this here blog (which means you can go back and read more!) and everything meant something to me, whether meaningful or just fun. now we've had plenty of ado. and so . . .

10. i enjoyed all that restaurant week had to offer. i love a fancy night out to dinner and drinks, and restaurant week is a great way to experience places i might not normally be able to afford. i've marked my calendar for this year, too.

9. i heard a lot of new music. from hearing friends play downtown, to the mars volta at terminal five, to eric bibb on governor's island, to fred sherry plays zorn, we had a lot of great auditory experiences this year. i look forward to discovering more new music in 2009.

8. i watched men battle to eat the most hot dogs at coney island. i know it may sound strange that this was one of my favorite things, but the contest was hilarious, coney island was as weird and wonderful as i had expected, and the day was all-around perfect. i will always remember my view from the top of the wonder wheel.

7. there were some great celebrity sightings this year, including christian bale, tony danza and the johns (hodgeman and oliver) of comedy central fame. i promise i'm not a rubbernecker, but come one--there's something kind of cool about seeing someone famous right next to you.

6. i went to a number of museums, and saw courbet at the met, miro at moma, and the next generation at the whitney biennial. there's a lot of art in this city, and i aim to see more in 2009.

5. s and i enjoyed "spring awakening" and my mom and i were enthralled with "gypsy", among other shows. i saw some fabulous theater, and even got an autograph from miss patti lupone.

4. we got to see a game in the soon-to-be-old yankee stadium. all team loyalties aside, there was something special about going to a game in the same stadium my grandfather had visited. as new york grows and changes, the opportunity for that gets smaller and smaller (my g'pa lived here in the 20s through the 50s--this is a different city.) plus i am a huge nerd for baseball, so it was a great time for me. we'll see if i can convince s to go again this spring.

3. i've had some "only in new york" experiences, including seeing paul simon perform at "revenge of the book eaters" and crashing a vampire weekend after-party with some delightful new friends. for me, this is why i moved here, why i stay here--i don't always love the challenges, but i do enjoy the rewards.

2. i made a lot of new friends, like mk, aa, my neighbor, ls, and others, and got to reconnect with other people, including jay and zp. for me, it is the people that make the place, and i am thankful to have such wonderful people in my life here in the city.

1. we moved into our own apartment. we'd been in progressive co-habitation since college, and of course we lived with the boys in boyland when i first arrived, but this was the biggest step we've taken towards saying "you are the one i will be with for good." and it feels good; it feels great. even when things are not so perfect, there is no one in the world i would rather buy towels with, wake up to in the morning, cook dinner for on the weekends, share a tiny apartment with. in a year that often felt like growing pains, this was the easiest, best and most rewarding step towards adulthood.

thanks for following me down memory lane. what did you love about 2008? (oh, and if one thing you loved about 2008 was this business, magical new york, fear not: my new year's resolution is to blog more. yay!)

boo.

i love halloween in this city. truthfully, i can see people in costumes more regularly throughout the year here than other places i have lived, but on oct 31, people really come out of their shells. there were costumes on the streets, costumes on the subway, costumes at work. i spent the week in a tizzy, trying desperately to find my dress (s and i went as ned and chuck from pushing daisies--apparently we are the only ones who watch that show, but whatevs), and finally found something at the atlantic center last night (thank the gods for target, am i right?), where children were trick-or-treating through the mall.

i always wondered where children trick or treat here in the city. we were encouraged to sit outside our building with candy if we wanted to, but i got home a little too late for that. seventh ave in park slope hosts a huge halloween parade, and i saw some darn cute kid costumes. little critters, a lot of tiny superheros, even a miniature buckingham palace guard. though what i particularly loved were the parents. to see a joker pushing a stroller . . . well, it's a pretty funny anachronistic visual. (side note: s was wearing a tie and cardigan with dress pants and converse as his costume, and said to me "i could've just gone as a park slope stay-at-home-dad" and i laughed so so hard.)

we went to a really fun halloween party thrown by my neighbor, and had a great time, despite having to explain our costumes to all of the tv-less attendees. there was candy aplenty, and some pretty potent punch, as well as a great dance party. i think i'm kind of an elaine when it comes to dancing. my moves aren't too smooth, but they're pretty entertaining. for me, at least. the best part was the homemade pinata, a "punkin" (pumpkin with a mohawk) filled with adult treats like scratch-off lottery tickets and mini bottles of dewar's. i was the only one who wanted to take a whack, so to speak, and so i kicked off my shoes and went in swinging. i haven't laughed so hard in awhile. it was a great night.

happy halloween to all. i hope you had a sweet night.

history in the making

hey, america. happy birthday!

in honor of your special day, we spent the day yesterday at the international nathan's famous hot-dog eating contest.



s had done his research, and we knew we needed to get there somewhat early in order to get a good view of the contest. we showed up around 11:30 am (it is supposed to start around noon) and were able to squeeze in close enough to get a view of the left side of the stage. there's quite a bit of pre-show (got to give those espn talking heads time to speculate about kobayashi's odds), and we immensely enjoyed the dancing hot dogs. after a half hour of bad emcee jokes and ineffectual cheerleaders, the eaters took the stage to pumped-up music and bios like "the mayonnaise-eating champion of the woooooorld!" while something like 10 people competed, including an old man and a couple of women, as well as a possibly-retired rapper who had entertained the crowd during the pre-show, the real contest was between "america's son" joey chestnut and the injured-yet-still-fearsome takeru kobayashi. the two have squared off on multiple prior occasions, and seem to trade titles back and forth. (i highly recommend reading their bios, if only for the hilarity. they discuss their training regimens, previous world records, and other ridiculousness typically reserved for actual sports.) after the introductions, there was a big count down, and then they started the shoveling. (at that point i turned to s and said "so now we just watch them eat for ten minutes?" he just laughed at me.) it ended up being remarkably entertaining, as i felt a kind of disgusted awe and began cheering along with everyone else. seriously. the emcee would yell "and joey chestnut has just eaten TEN hot dogs in ONE minute!" and the crowd would go wild. this year, they both managed to get down 59 hot dogs in the regulation ten minutes, for a history-making tie. the overtime round required one to eat five hot dogs faster than the other, and joey just barely eked out a win. (an OT that favored his start-strong, finish-weak style; had it been to eat more in a certain amount of time, i think kobayashi, even injured, could have pulled out a win. but that's just my amateur opinion.) it was over quickly, and the crowd didn't stick around to watch the closing ceremony.

we wandered along the boardwalk, avoiding the fried clams and freak-shooting, and eventually ended up near the wonder wheel, which at 150 feet is the tallest ferris wheel in the world. i wasn't about to jump on the cyclone (the scary rattling wooden coaster), so i convinced s to go on the wheel with me.



it's a fairly calm, slow ride, but you do get a great view of the beach and surrounding area, and we enjoyed sitting on top of the world for awhile. once we got back down, we strolled around a bit more, looking at the rides and snack shacks and old posters. i had wanted to come to coney island before it's changed by gentrification, and we got to see a little bit of everything it's known for; dirt and grime, games, rides, an old-fashioned freak show. i don't know how to feel about "the future of coney island"; on the one hand, it's kind of a gross place. on the other, it's always been that way, it's sort-of famous for being proud of being that way, and i don't agree with the need to clean everything up. i'd like to go back, if only to take more pictures and maybe to work up the bravery to ride the cyclone. s considered a hot dog (in honor of the day), but the wait was at least a half hour (everyone else was feeling honorific), so we headed home to eat.

the former co-inhabitants of boyland moved out to a former furniture factory in greenpoint and they've carved out a recording studio and some bedrooms on one of the floors. (it's really an amazing space, although the entrance leaves a little something to be desired. let's just say i'd rather visit.) their building has an incredible roof, with amazing views of manhattan, so last night we camped out up there to ooh and ahh over the fireworks. last year i spent the fourth in d.c., but i honestly felt the display here was more beautiful and inspiring. i'm not particularly patriotic, but i do love fireworks. (as ls and i agreed, i like to feel the boom.) we were a little far away to feel anything, but we had an excellent vantage point, and watched the fireworks explode over the river with the skyline in the background. it rained a little, but, intrepid city-folk that we are, we stood around under umbrellas watching the fireworks light up the sky. there were people i knew, and people i didn't, but i felt no shame in clapping my hands with glee over it all. i felt proud to be a new yorker, at the very least.

happy new year!

i knew i was home on saturday night. the city was cold, and i passed people of every size, shape and color, and the buildings twinkled like the stars. cab fare was donated to me, and my very heavy suitcase was happy to get loaded into a trunk and driven home across the brooklyn bridge, which looks like it is held up by fairies.

my cab driver asked me what i did, and i said i worked for a community arts program, that i had degrees in theatre and art history, that i miss acting but i like a life of stability. he then proceeded to tell me that he used to be an actor, that he stage political works and hosted benefits back home in bangladesh. this was an extra-curricular, because during the day he was a general manager for pfizer. he was also a photographer, and had had a few shows back home. (a nice life, right?) then when his daughter was four years old she lost consciousness, and spent a week in the hospital. she is now brain-damaged, and they moved to the u.s. thirteen years ago to get her better medical attention. he and his wife and his son live here, and he drives a cab. and still organizes benefits to help human rights groups and natural disaster relief campaigns back home. i hope i have that much fortitude someday.

new hampshire was lovely, tranquil and snowy and full of family, food and games upon games upon games. i like the extended s family very much, and i think they've taken a shine to me too. (all of his little cousins are convinced that we are going to get married. and very giggly about it.) also, they are all adorable. s's brother sent little o down to see how long dinner would be. he came back and said "5 or 10 minutes." "oh, good" d said. "i don't know which one," o said. "five or ten, i don't know which one!" i love babies.

i went back to work today, trudging through the coldest winds, sitting on a belated f train for 40 minutes, bracing myself against the fire alarm that was tested every five minutes for three hours at work. and still i am glad to be back. i missed new york, i missed the walk up broadway from columbus circle, i missed my neighborhood and my cold little bedroom (now with bed frame, hallelujah!), i missed drinks out with mk and coming home to the roommates and their jokes and videogames. i am carving out a life for myself here, making it work one day at a time, and i am loving it all along the way.

things i should have blogged about

i should have wished everyone a very merry christmas. (and sorry jews, i missed the boat on hanukkah a few weeks ago. also, happy kwanzaa.)

i should have mentioned how pleasant the train is. i love train travel.

i should have written about how this year i got a beautiful digital camera, pie-baking accoutrements, the bobby pins i wanted (weird, yes) and other lovely things.

i should have blogged about how on christmas day, we went down to the ellipse opposite the whitehouse and saw the national christmas tree, and the trees from every state, and took silly self-portraits before walking to the national botanical gardens. the gardens have an incredible toy train set up made entirely out of wood and bark and mosses, and inside are wood-bark-moss replicas of all of the monuments and capital hill neighborhoods.

i should have described our wednesday with my mother's family, and today with my father's family, eating and talking and reconnecting with family members. i know every comedian makes jokes about holidays with the family, but since we grew up out west, i never spent a christmas with extended family, which means i still think it is special and fun. (i also will never get mother-in-law jokes, since i get along so well with s's family.)

but i didn't. so there you go. tomorrow i hop on the train back home to new york only to bus to new hampshire with s on sunday. world travelers, that's what we are. ok blog, love you.

hap-happiest season of all

while i have toned down my enthusiasm for the sake of my overtly enthusiastic blog, i am a big fan of christmas. not necessarily as a christian holiday, though i am catholic, and i will go to mass, and i love jesus and everything (though do NOT tell me "he's the reason for the season", because i hate rhymed cliches.) i love christmas as a time of year, as an excuse to put up silly decorations, eat a lot of chocolate (oh boy, do i ever work in a chocolate office), and wander around new york. this is a truly magical time to be here. this is my second winter in new york, and one thing i particularly love are the store windows. i am a frustrated interior designer, i love installations, i love fashion, i love creating unique vignettes, and if i could have found a way to become a window decorator, aside from just deciding to be a window decorator, i would have. christmas time is a perfect time to be a window display fanatic, especially here. i had to go up to rockefeller center to do a little last-minute picking up for others, and while it was crazy around there--oh, the lines to take a picture with the tree!--i used the afternoon as an excuse to go see the store windows. (i have been unable to convince s to come look with me. he flew home to indiana this morning, so i was free to ramble.) the best windows were in bergdorf's, celebrating the recent publishing of a book about tony duquette, a hollywood regency design icon with a thing for coral. (habitually chic has excellent pictures.) the windows utilize duquette pieces and inspirations, with incredible glitz and glamour, centered around the theme of the elements. my favorite was "earth"; i cannot resist a green giraffe. it was not particularly cold, but it did start to spritz a little, and i was wishing i had someone to coo over windows with, so i headed home early.

i leave for d.c. tomorrow, so anticipate some postings from another city soon.

$15 worth of awesome

i promised a weekend update (because i'm magical-newyork and you're not), so here we go.

saturday s and i began with our new tradition of bagels and coffee. (i am easily coaxed out of a warm saturday morning bed with the promise of terrace bagels.) after brunch, we took the train uptown to grand central station to go to the holiday market. this trip was not without adventure. there is no easy way to get to the 6 from the f, so we went above ground to walk to the bleecker street stop. not being familiar with this stop, we got a little confused in the light of day (and had to pull out a map. which i hate. i pretended like i didn't know him when it seemed as though someone might be looking.) it was a pity we had to get off the f, one of my most favorite subway stories happened. a man got on with us, the "mta volunteer santa," and sang us songs like "rockin' around the christmas tree/have a merry christmas now/you'll get some presents/we're having fun/in the sun . . . merry christmas!" he then harassed the man who went to sit next to a woman, saying "you can't sit next to her. she isn't interested in you, she's taken. once women get married, they start wearing pants." (i was wearing jeans. what could this mean?!) then he started talking about how he didn't need a woman since his wife had died nine year earlier. he just went a got a massage once a month and that was all the female contact he needed. he was crazy for sure, but his whole "job" as santa was to bring people together and enjoy themselves on the train, and as i looked around, people were laughing and smiling at each other, and we started talking to the guy next to us. so i guess crazy santa was doing his job. the grand central holiday market was a bit of a bust, kind of expensive and not much variety (i appreciate crafts as much as the next girl, but i still didn't want to pay $50 for a trashcan.) the bryant park market was more fun, although much colder. i found something for my dad and s picked up a gift for his brother, so it was well worth it. we took pictures in front of the tree and marveled that people would stand in line for hours to ice skate. then it was time to head home.

saturday night my friend jay invited me to an ugly christmas sweater party thrown by kat. apparently these are all the rage among hip young things; while shopping for my amazing sweater at burlington coat factory (so much more than great coats), the only other people christmas-sweater-shopping has similar looks of disdain on their mid-twenties faces. i should also note that i had read kat, and therefore knew about her, in a blog way. i am always hesitant to link to blogs i like if i don't know the person (except for clink; everyone feels like they know clink), but now i can add kat, because she's really funny and smart. in person and in writing. my roommate camp came with me and jay (s had to work.) we looked pretty ridiculous (their sweaters even had bells on the zippers.) and it was a lot of fun. we went to a couple of bars in the west village, and i got to meet some new people, and camp and i eventually made our way home in the freezing sleet. it was the most festive thing i have done so far, other than fluff out my small pink tinsel tree.

this week was primarily filled with work and falling asleep while watching movies. today i was teased by my coworkers for looking "french." when i got dressed this morning, i put on tights, cropped pants, flats, a top and a cardigan, and a beret. none of these elements alone looked particularly anything, but when i finally saw myself in a mirror (while shopping on my lunch break with a), i had to admit i looked exceedingly parisien. as m put it, "you look like carrie in those final episodes of sex and the city." which is basically the best compliment ever. so, merci beaucoup. tonight i baked cookies. now we are going to watch project runway. i have a really nice life and i know it.

christmas is all around me

i am a big fan of christmas, and all the holiday tradition that entails, but i had not thought about it at all yet, in large part due to my unemployment, and my time being more about countdown to job than countdown to holiday. but it suddenly was winter in new york this past week, and cold cold cold, and i have not been able to find my winter coat, so this past friday after meeting s for dinner (he worked eight hours friday day and then seven hours friday night, poor thing) i took myself shopping. i went into macy's for a puffy coat with a fake-fur hood (i know, i know, so ghetto-fabulous, right?) and i was taken aback by the christmas decorations. and i know that they've probably been up since before labor day, but there is nothing like cold hands and red tinsel to make me feel like the holidays are upon us. macy's just looked so lovely and cheerful and welcoming and it made me smile.

i need to make a list of presents to buy.