"I feel so Midtown" is the quote that I choose to quote today from our lunchbreak. "I feel so Midtown."
Tuesday
Monday
Thursday
I got the new Polly Jean. It's the only album I've bought in a while - not counting 99 cent downloads on itunes. I like it. Obviously the 'Stories of the City' boy left. The silent air-guitar rocker in me is kind of glad. I always felt like PJ was better when she was generally discontent (id est: albums like Dry & Rid of Me). That’s her best. Guys disagree. Girls agree. Seems like just another boy/girl thing.
SHAME (my fave part is the accordian.)
I don't need no rising moon
I don't need no ball and chain
I don't need anything but you
Such a shame, shame, shame
Shame, shame, shame
Shame is the shadow of love
You changed my life
We were as green as grass
And I was hypnotized
From the first 'til the last
Kiss of shame, shame, shame
Shame is the shadow of love
I'd jump for you into the fire
I'd jump for you into the flame
Tried to go forward with my life
I just feel shame, shame, shame
Shame, shame, shame
Shame is the shadow of love
If you tell a lie
I still would take the blame
If you pass me by
It's such a shame, shame, shame
SHAME (my fave part is the accordian.)
I don't need no rising moon
I don't need no ball and chain
I don't need anything but you
Such a shame, shame, shame
Shame, shame, shame
Shame is the shadow of love
You changed my life
We were as green as grass
And I was hypnotized
From the first 'til the last
Kiss of shame, shame, shame
Shame is the shadow of love
I'd jump for you into the fire
I'd jump for you into the flame
Tried to go forward with my life
I just feel shame, shame, shame
Shame, shame, shame
Shame is the shadow of love
If you tell a lie
I still would take the blame
If you pass me by
It's such a shame, shame, shame
Monday
Friday
“Surrender to the hill!” she screamed through her rectangle glasses and headset microphone. All 9 of us were panting slowly pedaling up an imaginary hill. Slowly.
I was thinking about Triplets of Belleville and wondering why Peter wasn’t in class. How could he miss the comical hippie-instructor on this rainy day?
Back to surrendering myself. I tried to hear the whistle from Triplets of Belleville again. “Brrrpt brrrpt brrrpt brrrpt.”
Whew. After the hill, during our cool-down, the hippie instructor cooed in a calm chatter -
“You might remember I told you earlier to surrender to the hill”
Us nodding and pedaling, some giving a slight “uh-huh” like a tired Baptist.
“Well this doesn’t mean give up, or turn the resistance down. This means stop fighting it – stop fighting and fearing the hill. Surrender your souls, stop asking questions. Feel your body and bike.”
I thought about this and I thought “damn. She is so crazy.”
She continued. “Can you imagine if everyone stopped fighting and fearing? We would live in a different city. I recently began talking about this with my therapist”
Oh. She has a therapist. That makes sense. So we all kept pedaling, listening to her talk about this cocktail party she attended last weekend, and how everyone was out of shape.
We moved on to stretches.
“Yes. Breathe deeply. Remember – your body is your house. Your body is the house of your soul. This is all you have. Give yourself a hug.”
Giving my sweaty body a hug. I start thinking about my phone, in hopes that someone had called or at least sent a text during the past hour.
“Well guys I just wanted to tell you that I will be subbing next week on 86th St. I won’t be here next week. So if you like my classes – check me out on 86th.”
Then she started chatting about the position of her foot on the pedal.
Frowning at my silent phone, I started thinking about what I would say if I had a spin class.
I was thinking about Triplets of Belleville and wondering why Peter wasn’t in class. How could he miss the comical hippie-instructor on this rainy day?
Back to surrendering myself. I tried to hear the whistle from Triplets of Belleville again. “Brrrpt brrrpt brrrpt brrrpt.”
Whew. After the hill, during our cool-down, the hippie instructor cooed in a calm chatter -
“You might remember I told you earlier to surrender to the hill”
Us nodding and pedaling, some giving a slight “uh-huh” like a tired Baptist.
“Well this doesn’t mean give up, or turn the resistance down. This means stop fighting it – stop fighting and fearing the hill. Surrender your souls, stop asking questions. Feel your body and bike.”
I thought about this and I thought “damn. She is so crazy.”
She continued. “Can you imagine if everyone stopped fighting and fearing? We would live in a different city. I recently began talking about this with my therapist”
Oh. She has a therapist. That makes sense. So we all kept pedaling, listening to her talk about this cocktail party she attended last weekend, and how everyone was out of shape.
We moved on to stretches.
“Yes. Breathe deeply. Remember – your body is your house. Your body is the house of your soul. This is all you have. Give yourself a hug.”
Giving my sweaty body a hug. I start thinking about my phone, in hopes that someone had called or at least sent a text during the past hour.
“Well guys I just wanted to tell you that I will be subbing next week on 86th St. I won’t be here next week. So if you like my classes – check me out on 86th.”
Then she started chatting about the position of her foot on the pedal.
Frowning at my silent phone, I started thinking about what I would say if I had a spin class.
Wednesday
Today I walked into Daily Soup to never walk into Daily Soup again. There was a cockroach walking around the sandwiches.
Yesterday I walked into Ben & Jerry's to never walk into Ben & Jerry's again. There was a cashier eating ice cream from the bins.
Scratch my head, shuffle my feet. What does this mean? Does it mean I should stop eating? Does it mean I should stop going out? I just don't know.
It reminds me of a song by Tesla. It went a little like this: "Signs signs everywhere are signs blocking up the scenery, something my mind. Do this don't do that, can't you read the signs??"
Yesterday I walked into Ben & Jerry's to never walk into Ben & Jerry's again. There was a cashier eating ice cream from the bins.
Scratch my head, shuffle my feet. What does this mean? Does it mean I should stop eating? Does it mean I should stop going out? I just don't know.
It reminds me of a song by Tesla. It went a little like this: "Signs signs everywhere are signs blocking up the scenery, something my mind. Do this don't do that, can't you read the signs??"
Tuesday
A homeless man is always referred to as ‘a homeless man’ in the media. Its always something like: ‘a homeless man was found doing blah blah blah’. Well, today there was actually a report about a homeless man and then they actually gave him a name: Kevin Lee. So they said ‘Homeless man Kevin Lee was caught doing blah blah blah’. I thought “huh. Wouldn’t it be strange if we were all defined by our status of home ownership?” Like, some of us have homes – so we are obviously not homeless, but some of us are missing other elements of the ‘home’ - for example, some of us might be dog-less, some of us might be couch-less, some of us might be family-less. So wouldn’t it be strange if media were to start giving everyone home-ownership labels? Yeah. That would be strange.
Monday
Things I enjoyed about Bukowski - Born Into This:
1. Linda's bangs
2. 1/2 of the movie was blurry
3. his talk about how easily women love
4. hating those who were laughing at his drinking
5. this poem:
Oh, yes.
there are worse things than
being alone
but it often takes decades
to realize this
and most often
when you do
it's too late
and there's nothing worse
than
too late.
-Charles Bukowski
1. Linda's bangs
2. 1/2 of the movie was blurry
3. his talk about how easily women love
4. hating those who were laughing at his drinking
5. this poem:
Oh, yes.
there are worse things than
being alone
but it often takes decades
to realize this
and most often
when you do
it's too late
and there's nothing worse
than
too late.
-Charles Bukowski
During Coffee and Cigarettes, when Meg White & Jack White are having their silent coffee and cigarette – I got the feeling that Meg White is the girl that Jack White can’t really seem to leave, (alone).
Like, he goes off and gets all of these fun girlfriends – but he always goes back to Meg to tell her about his thoughts & projects. Of course Meg just kind of hangs - us never really hearing about who she is dating, or where she was last night. All we really see is her standing or sitting or staring herself bored, behind Jack.
Maybe he never will never admit this, and maybe they were just reading lines from a script.
Like, he goes off and gets all of these fun girlfriends – but he always goes back to Meg to tell her about his thoughts & projects. Of course Meg just kind of hangs - us never really hearing about who she is dating, or where she was last night. All we really see is her standing or sitting or staring herself bored, behind Jack.
Maybe he never will never admit this, and maybe they were just reading lines from a script.
The more and more time I spend in Queens, the more and more I feel that Queens is similar to L.A. in layout & architecture. Specifically the area around the Museum of the Moving Image. Everything is white-washed, or light in color - and nothing is above 5 floors. I couldn't help but wish for a few palm trees.
Thursday
I have a theory that after 6 years of living in NYC, (I have been here for 8 – but I noticed it on my 6th year) you see someone you know or recognize every two days RANDOMLY in the city. By random – this excludes the obvious like – seeing your co-worker smoking outside the office, or seeing the same people on your commute. I would like to project that maybe after 12 years of living in NYC – it would be possible that on random excursions and errands you run into people once a day. Wow. There’s a perk.
Here are my examples from the past week:
Wednesday – Near Strand downtown I saw this crooked woman that used to work in Mona’s office. I growled.
Thursday – no one.
Friday – Near 23rd St. saw Matt from college. He still has the same backpack.
Saturday – no one.
Sunday – 85th & Lexington I saw my Subway crush. I stopped taking the subway – because I like the bus better – so it was nice to see him.
Monday – I was at Macy’s and I saw my water aerobics instructor.
Tuesday – no one.
Wednesday – I was riding the bus home late at night and I saw one of my co-workers on the corner. We weren’t by work – so I am counting this.
Here are my examples from the past week:
Wednesday – Near Strand downtown I saw this crooked woman that used to work in Mona’s office. I growled.
Thursday – no one.
Friday – Near 23rd St. saw Matt from college. He still has the same backpack.
Saturday – no one.
Sunday – 85th & Lexington I saw my Subway crush. I stopped taking the subway – because I like the bus better – so it was nice to see him.
Monday – I was at Macy’s and I saw my water aerobics instructor.
Tuesday – no one.
Wednesday – I was riding the bus home late at night and I saw one of my co-workers on the corner. We weren’t by work – so I am counting this.
Wednesday
Monday
I interviewed for this small part-time cashier job at this really cool video store in my neighborhood. I want to work there after work, and on weekends so I can meet people, & make some extra cash before I hit the road. Little did I know they take “rentailing” (he said they call retail “rentail”) VERY SERIOUSLY. I was handed a 2 page film quiz before my interview. I am terrified by pop quizzes. I always fail miserably. I couldn’t remember a Fellini film to save my life.
To show an example of my interview finesse (joke) –
Him: We put that Ewok/Jawa question on there as a joke
Me: Oh yeah - I didn't know that one. (realizing what an ass I was making of myself.)
Him giving me blank stare.
I mean, Ewoks are pretty short. So I figured a Jawa was taller.
Okay. So I take it you are interested in a part-time job only?
Yes.
Anyway, here is what I can remember of the film quiz.
1. Name 3 favorite movies, 2 stars from each & the genre.
2. 3 woody allen films.
3. 3 fellini films.
4. who is john williams.
5. 2 movies with lemmon and matthau.
6. 5 disney classics.
7. what is taller, an ewok or a jawa?
8. a sequel to silence of the lambs.
9. 3 actors in orginal oceans 11?
10. 3 members of the rat pack
11. 2 films with scorsese and deniro
12. 2 films by copolla
13. name as many james bond actors as you can.
14. name the type of movie (comedy, drama, etc.)
knife in water:
hopscotch:
kings of comedy:
To show an example of my interview finesse (joke) –
Him: We put that Ewok/Jawa question on there as a joke
Me: Oh yeah - I didn't know that one. (realizing what an ass I was making of myself.)
Him giving me blank stare.
I mean, Ewoks are pretty short. So I figured a Jawa was taller.
Okay. So I take it you are interested in a part-time job only?
Yes.
Anyway, here is what I can remember of the film quiz.
1. Name 3 favorite movies, 2 stars from each & the genre.
2. 3 woody allen films.
3. 3 fellini films.
4. who is john williams.
5. 2 movies with lemmon and matthau.
6. 5 disney classics.
7. what is taller, an ewok or a jawa?
8. a sequel to silence of the lambs.
9. 3 actors in orginal oceans 11?
10. 3 members of the rat pack
11. 2 films with scorsese and deniro
12. 2 films by copolla
13. name as many james bond actors as you can.
14. name the type of movie (comedy, drama, etc.)
knife in water:
hopscotch:
kings of comedy:
End of the Line no more??
NYC is proposing banning cameras - or better said "the taking of pictures" on NYC Subways. They are saying this is in attempts to stop potential terrorists from learning more about the NYC Subway system. Yikes. That's crazy. I mean, if we look at what the terroists have done in the past, it seems more apt that they would enroll in Subway School if they really wanted to learn the under-workings of the subway. It just doesn't seem like they will learn the under-workings of the largest subway system in the world, via riding it and snapping pictures of the passengers from time to time...
I guess we need a Spiderman. I don't want to stop taking pictures on the subway. Have you seen those scenes of him whipping around the subway system in the new preview?? its pretty hot.
End of the line trips to do:
1/9 – Van Cortland Park
6 – Pelham Bay Park
5 – Eastchester
F – Jamaica
J/Z/E – Jamaica Center
L – Canarsie
M – Middle village
R – Bay Ridge
Done:
R/G/V – Forest hills
A – Rockaway & Inwood
7 – 42nd St. & Flushing
4 – Woodlawn
L – 14th
1/9 – South Ferry
N/W – Astoria
3 – New Lots
Q/B/D/F – Coney Island
NYC is proposing banning cameras - or better said "the taking of pictures" on NYC Subways. They are saying this is in attempts to stop potential terrorists from learning more about the NYC Subway system. Yikes. That's crazy. I mean, if we look at what the terroists have done in the past, it seems more apt that they would enroll in Subway School if they really wanted to learn the under-workings of the subway. It just doesn't seem like they will learn the under-workings of the largest subway system in the world, via riding it and snapping pictures of the passengers from time to time...
I guess we need a Spiderman. I don't want to stop taking pictures on the subway. Have you seen those scenes of him whipping around the subway system in the new preview?? its pretty hot.
End of the line trips to do:
1/9 – Van Cortland Park
6 – Pelham Bay Park
5 – Eastchester
F – Jamaica
J/Z/E – Jamaica Center
L – Canarsie
M – Middle village
R – Bay Ridge
Done:
R/G/V – Forest hills
A – Rockaway & Inwood
7 – 42nd St. & Flushing
4 – Woodlawn
L – 14th
1/9 – South Ferry
N/W – Astoria
3 – New Lots
Q/B/D/F – Coney Island
Friday
At home, I was interested in these drive-thru coffee barns. I took pictures at each one that we visited. They are just as expensive as a Starbucks. I didn’t however, feel bad about buying a drink – because, well they are independent. In fact, there are only 9 Starbucks in the state of Alaska. All of them in Anchorage. I was actually surprised by this, being that our sister city is Seattle.
So here we are ordering a drink - menu on the right.
And here we are drinking our tasty coffee. Two satisfied customers indeed!
I feel like this is worth sharing.
So the other day in the break room talking to my friend. One of those girls that never says "hello" or "smiles" says to the guy:
"Hey. Talking to yourself again Charlie?"
to which he replies (he actually has manners and a cheerful disposition) "No Jane, I am actually talking to Anise. She is standing right here."
(I was literally standing right there)
Blank stare. She stands there, looking right through me.
I just stood there smiling. Still shaking from jet-lag, and in the silly-grin state of after-vacation bliss/letdown. In any other state-of-mind I probably would have come back with a smart-ass comment. I think I actually mumbled something like "oh gosh - he can't be talking to me! I mean seriously. What a fool." But no one heard it or anything.
So the other day in the break room talking to my friend. One of those girls that never says "hello" or "smiles" says to the guy:
"Hey. Talking to yourself again Charlie?"
to which he replies (he actually has manners and a cheerful disposition) "No Jane, I am actually talking to Anise. She is standing right here."
(I was literally standing right there)
Blank stare. She stands there, looking right through me.
I just stood there smiling. Still shaking from jet-lag, and in the silly-grin state of after-vacation bliss/letdown. In any other state-of-mind I probably would have come back with a smart-ass comment. I think I actually mumbled something like "oh gosh - he can't be talking to me! I mean seriously. What a fool." But no one heard it or anything.
Thursday
I was looking at my calendar - the kind of calendar that lays flat, and each day gets it's own page - and realized that both piles of pages are even, and that we are smack dab in the middle of the year. I was thinking about the year and its two halves. The first half, and the last half. I guess the last half of the year is my favorite. It starts out warm, and ends pretty cold tho, but fall is always just simply delicious. But then again - my birthday is in the first half - and i just love the month of may. so I am kind of torn - I guess the first half would be like the "save the best for last" type attitude - (because it starts cold and ends warm.) oh - i just realized that my shift is over. a domani.
Tuesday
On my last night in town, my brother and I went to watch famed Alaska entertainer Hobo Jim, sing at a local bar. It was great. He actually told some stories about his recent visit to sing to our troops in Iraq. His famous hit song that topped the charts in Nome, Alaska was a bar sing-along from the get-go. "I did, I did, I did, I did, I did the Iditarod trail."
Here are some shots of the night we all ate Dave Burgers. My dad makes a mean burger. They are legendary. The whole family was present, as were some neighbors following their noses...
And here we have the burgers cooking, and Dave.
And here we have the mess we made, and Joshua eating a Dave Burger. He managed to eat two that night. Legend has it he once at 6 in one night.
And here we have the burgers cooking, and Dave.
And here we have the mess we made, and Joshua eating a Dave Burger. He managed to eat two that night. Legend has it he once at 6 in one night.
So here is the deal with the Salty Dawg Saloon. It is located in Homer, Alaska. Homer is cool because it is the end of the northern part of the Pacific Coast Highway. You go there, you drink a beer with the fishermen, you tack a dollar on the wall/ceiling/whatever. My dollar said "If you are a hot Homer Hippie, please call ____". Ha ha. Its a well known fact that I love boys from Homer. So I thought I should do a little soliciting... I will keep you posted. Oh, and I did a little blog-self-promotion, and singed it with my website.
