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.

this is an old memory.

my friend erin just blogged (on her sweet mommy blog swonderland) about catching someone propose in a driveway as she went past, and it made me think of one of my favorite new york memories.

christmas of my freshman year of college (when i was at nyu and didn’t know what to do with myself), my friend chelsey wanted to go see the tree at rockefeller center. we took the train uptown and looked at the window displays, and gazed at the tree and went to watch the ice skaters. while we were standing there, a couple came up to us. “can you take our picture?” the man asked, and we agreed, and the woman went to stand against the railing as he showed us how to use the film camera. before joining her, he leaned in and whispered “and can you take a lot? i’m going to propose.” we squealed as quietly as possible, and instructed them to say cheese. “take another!” the woman shouted. “just in case!” and i happily snapped away as the man pulled out a blue tiffany’s box and got down on a knee.

i still think of them sometimes. i was so thrilled to take those photos that i hope they showed off and maybe occasionally still look at. it felt so magical, being asked to help someone propose to the person they love, in rockefeller center with the skaters and the windows and the tree. there is something so sweet about love in the city.

so this is embarrassing.

this evening i saw simon, the husband of alex mccord (a real housewife of new york city) in the neighborhood. i guess i vaguely knew that they lived in or around the heights but i never really thought about seeing them. though i've seen maybe two episodes of the show, i totally recognized him, which i'm kind of ashamed to admit (and i refuse to call this a celebrity sighting.) but the new york times loves the housewives franchise (especially the new jersey-ites), so i guess i'm in good high-low company.

a night with the "hi-def yo-yo ma"

note: this was originally published on my museum's blog. i have pulled portions and added a few details.

hold on,
one strong,
and you’ll never be alone,
each day, each night,
we pray our dreams take flight,
cuz i need you, and you need me,
and together we stand for unity.

so goes the hook of “the forum”, a song off of dana leong’s latest album, milk & jade. the artist and his multi-talented collaborators celebrated the CD release at symphony space on friday, march 5 with an audience filled with fans and friends. it was a night that rejoiced in unlikely unions, the chance for long-time listeners and first-time initiates to enjoy leong and his unique blend of hip-hop, jazz, electronic and classical music. dana leong in concert is unlike any other musician i have seen—he is incredibly inventive, weaving his personal history (classically-trained cellist and trombonist, of chinese and japanese descent) with his artistic influences (jazz and pop greats, local NYC MCs, film and fashion), to create a new kind of performance. with a foot propped on his electric cello, he bobbed and moved, occasionally grabbing the mic to emphasize a lyric or reaching to hit his laptop to introduce a new electronic element to the sonic landscape. his biography includes a mention about his work with artists including dafnis prieto, ryuichi sakamoto, DJ spooky, wynton marsalis, yoko ono and kanye west, and i think this best describes him: if all those amazing and disparate artists got together and had a baby (just go with me on this one), it would be dana leong. he is more than one influence, he is more than one style, he is even more than one instrument (and somehow manages to play many at once.) he unites cultures and musical styles in a new way, and makes it wholly his own.

his guests that evening were equally talented. hagar ben ari (who performed live but is not on the album) rocked out on the bass for much of the evening, and added a wistful solo to the opening of “opus one ‘why i cry’”, a hauntingly beautiful song about the tragedies of human life. it is rare that electric bass is played as a melodic (rather than strictly rhythmic) instrument in concert, and it made me wish for more of that. as a former cellist, i recognized some of her technique and was jealous of her skils. core rhythm, the anchoring MC of the evening, is leong’s most frequent collaborator on milk & jade projects, and their chemistry is apparent. it is a pleasure to watch fellow musicians enjoy each other’s work and processes (core rhythm spent much of the night nodding his head and pounding his heart when not rapping), and these two clearly work well together. core rhythm’s lyrics are clever and deep at the same time, and while it can be tough to decipher those lyrics in a live show, the audience got a copy of the words in their programs, which helped quite a bit. the guest rappers were a somewhat weaker bunch in person, though it gets better on CD. as a total "america's best dance crew" nerd, i also thoroughly enjoyed the popping and locking of dancer tommy “hypno” chan, who did a fantastic and fun robot to a song that combined human and technological sounds for a truly modern performance. dana closed the show with a cover of "a change is gonna come" by sam cooke, with his trombone singing the melody. it is a testament to his training and his artistry that i had tears in my eyes; his trombone sounded like a human lament, and it made for a powerful end to the show.

i was lucky to get enough tickets for myself, s, a friend and my mother, who was in town for the weekend. we all loved the show, despite being of different ages (and musical persuasions.) i look forward to hearing him again. symphony space, by the way, is awesome. it looks like it may have been recently renovated, but it is a beautiful space, and a great, intimate place to hear a concert. too bad it's so far up on the west side.

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!

gawker stalker

yesterday, at my fancy business lunch in rockefeller center at ruhlmann brasserie (i know, i know, i'm totally awesome), my boss came back to the table from the restroom and was like "oh my gosh! celebrity sighting! eliot spitzer is right by the bathroom!" (of course, we made a few jokes about his proximity to the ladies' room...) later, i had to use said facilities, and as i passed his table, he looked up and kinda checked me out. we even made eye contact. i'm not necessarily proud of that, but i do think it's really funny.

also of note: this was by far the schmanciest lunch i've ever had--everyone was in suits eating steaks drinking wine and making deals. it was not my usual scene, but it was kind of fun to try it on for size.

the view from the top

s and i celebrated our five-year anniversary on thursday with dinner out at mexican radio and a surprise trip to the empire state building. the esb has been on the us map for awhile now, but tickets are a little expensive, and we'd heard horror stories about the lines, so we'd skipped it in favor of other excursions. i am so, so happy we finally went! (although i highly recommend going on a weeknight in the winter--we practically ran through the building. i cannot imagine waiting in room after room of lines.)

it was cold and windy and eerily quiet and totally beautiful. (ok, full disclosure: it was freezing cold. but getting the 86th floor almost completely to ourselves? totally worth it.) the view was incredible. i took great delight in pointing out landmarks we're used to seeing from ground level: theatres we've visited, the washington square park arch, the bridge we've walked across. it was also strangely silent--we were too high up to hear street noise, not even honking horns, which is unheard of (ha!) in new york.

i felt like i got a new perspective on new york from so high up. the city at once feels enormous and tiny. from the sidewalk, 10 blocks can feel far and neighborhoods are defined by individual blocks. from up in the air, the city is distilled into heights and lights. at one point, i turned to s and exclaimed "this is our city!"

as i explained to a friend the other day, i often have moments where i am thrilled that this is my life. i spent much of my youth wanting to live in new york. when it didn't work out the first time, i was disappointed, but i knew that i wanted to try again when i had the time and energy to make this place my own. moving here as an adult, i've been able to really create a space here (between career, friendships, apartment, and fabulous relationship) that has helped me fall in love with this city for real--not a film new york or a fiction new york but a true new york. and seeing it all from the top of the empire state building helped put it all into perspective.