Ohhh the MTA

My commute in the morning has always been somewhat torturous. I live in the middle of several different subway lines.

The F line, which gets me 2 blocks away from my office, but it's jam-packed and makes 12 stops. It takes forever so I rarely take the F.

The 2/3, which is probably the longest walk. It gets me one long block and 4 short blocks away from work. It also makes a ton of stops, I don't think I've ever taken the 2/3 to work.

The Q, which gets me one long block and one short block away, but it's jam-packed in the morning and I often have to wait for several trains to go by before I can squeeze on. I don't often take the Q direct.

The B, I have to transfer for the F at Broadway-Lafayette or West 4th, but it's a pretty quick ride. However, like the Q, it's often packed and I have to wait for several to pass me by before I can shove on. I almost never take the B direct.

The R, which I can take all the way to work, it gets me one long block and one short block away, but it's local so it makes a lot of stops. However, I usually can get a seat. I think I've only taken it to work once.

Then there is my preferred option, taking the R one stop to the N which then gets me one long block and one short block away from work and only makes 2 stops. If I'm lazy I'll take the R to the D to the F, but I prefer the longer walk in the morning to listen to music and relax. Plus, the spring, summer, and fall there is the Greenmarket in Union Square.

However, mornings have been bad on the subways. I've waited 5-10 mins for the R to come and by that point the train and the platform are filled with people. Then nearly everyone gets off the R at the next stop to transfer and most of them want to transfer to the N or D, just like me. Which means that those trains are then packed. So for the past few mornings I've taken the R one more stop to DeKalb Ave. where I can get on the Q or the B, and although they're both usually packed, they have fewer people getting on them at DeKalb so I usually have some room.

All I want on the subway is a bit of personal space, something to hold onto (although I prefer a door to lean against), and room to hold my book. Oh and no smelly people. Unfortunately it's usually too much to ask for.

I realized that I forgot one of my favorite things...



I love this cookbook. Tonight I made the chicken taco salad and it's delicious. 5 stars!

And, sad note, Helen Levitt, NYC photographer died. Hers certainly weren't the most attractive photographs, but they're real and interesting.

Things I Like

Here's what I'm into right now...

A quote from this NY Times article:

After moving in, however, she discovered the apartment had some quirks, including little sunlight, the smell of greasy meat from the restaurant below (Ms. Sterling does not eat meat) and an acupuncture parlor down the hall that stayed open very, very late and served a male clientele.

This story from Morning Edition. I just think it's so endearing.

Rahm Emanuel



Pasadena Purple nail polish




Clinique Redness Solutions




Burt's Bees Soap Bark and Chamomile Cleanser




Peppermint Tea




Multigrain Wasa Crackers




The book I'm currently reading

Writer's Block

I did nothing today. Literally nothing. Went to the bagel place, watched basketball, watched 60 Minutes, watched HGTV, got into bed. Cue pathetic music.

However, to not let this post turn into a complete bore I went back and looked at the Livejournal I kept my first two years of college. (I will never post the link here, I don't know what was wrong with me during those two years, but reading the posts makes me want to cry. Although, it doesn't always seem like I've learned much and there seems to be a lot that I've repressed/forgotten.)

So here's what was happening March 29, 2005

There was a specific reason I wanted to update, but I can't remember what it was.

I got a lot done today, I wrote 2 papers for Geology, talked to history professor about my reasearch paper, met with TNE and the Network, watched my media history movie, and read about 120 pages for African American history. And the really sad part is, I didn't mind doing any of it. I'm happy to do work lately, I think it takes away from how much I really just want to be home, and I don't even know why I want to be home, I think it's mostly just to be around all my friends, but most of them aren't even home. Strange one there. Anyway, I'm counting the days til LD comes to visit and I have two very fun people to spend time with for once.

I made a list of everything I have to do before the semester ends, it's a lot of stuff and I'm sure there's only going to be more added to it. Oh well if it kills the next 6 weeks it is fine with me.

I had a really great discussion today with KJ about SGA stuff and the housing situation next year, I came away from it really feeling good and happy, very not expected, but very nice.

Tomorrow I want to try to go to the mall before I go to tutor, I need to buy paper for Ways and Means and there's pants I want to get from the Gap with my giftcard. I was going to try to do the mall and Northampton on Thursday, but I think that's too hard. I'll do the mall tomorrow and Noho for Nick's birthday gift Thursday afternoon.

Bedtime.

And what did I learn from his post? I still kind of feel like I drag through life waiting for something better to come along (not good) and I need to buy my brother a birthday present.

As I said 4 (holy shit I'm old!) years ago, bedtime.

Another Day

I had a boring day today. My plans got canceled so I ended up just sticking around the neighborhood and enjoying the gorgeous day.

This reminds me of a point I've wanted to make. I claim I have a "lame" life, but ever since I started this blog my social life has been pretty good. I've been going out most nights after work and weekends haven't been too bad either. It's nice. And I hope it continues. One of my roommates was talking about her book club and I thought that might be a good way for me to meet people in a pretty normal setting. I just have to get up the motivation to find one to join.

It was such a nice day today, warm and sunny. I took some pictures while I was out and about...



The Greenmarket before it's jam-packed in the spring/summer



Flowers



and more flowers



Grand Army Plaza



I think this is my favorite building in Park Slope. It was covered in scaffolding all winter and I forgot how amazing it is.



This was pretty much the only sign of spring I could find in the neighborhood



This is a typical Park Slope street, it will be even more beautiful when everything is in bloom



Finally, here is the peanut butter pie I made. I kind of don't like it...

Gallery Opening

Tonight I went to a gallery opening. Not because I'm some type of art aficionado, but because my friend from work needed to check out the space for an event she's having there in a few weeks. The photographs they were showing were really nice, not really eye-catching or striking, but interesting for their simplicity and depth (eww, I sound pretentious). I thought we'd stay for an hour at the most, but we ended up being there for a good two hours or so. They had the best food of any gallery opening I've ever been to. Also a great alcohol selection and good desserts. Plus, the gallery owner seemed like a really nice guy. He talked to us twice and shockingly he seemed pretty genuine and cool.

And I took some pictures...







The flower was on the food table, it was huge and gorgeous. The DJ was really cool. He's the Vintage DJ.

Things I want to do this weekend:

--Watch all the TV shows I missed this week--Kings (jury is still out on how I feel about it), Real Housewives of NYC, Samantha Who, Grey's Anatomy, and I feel like there are more...
--Fix my dresser drawers that are falling apart
--Go to the MOMA
--Go see the artists' cars in Grand Central
--Watch basketball
--Make coworker's chocolate and peanut butter cream pie??
--Brooklyn Flea sunday morning??
--SLEEP!

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

9am arrive at work, delayed by leaving late and the subway taking forever
9 get tea, talk to coworker in kitchen
905 read personal emails, look at link for Nars blush from Sephora, I think this will be my next purchase. Reminded of the fact I have no money, damn. Also look at links from Allrecipes, white chili sounds good. Also gchat coworker about all these people around me sneezing and how annoyed it makes me.
916 updated order form and sent back to fulfillment people
917 emailed royalties asking them to send a statement
919 read ArtDaily newsletter, this new initiative sounds interesting 1
922 get email from publicist asking for an image I know I’ve sent her several times before, grow more and more annoyed as I search for the image, it’s right where it should be, I write a rather snippy email letting her know
925 back to ArtDaily. This sounds interesting too although I’ve never really understood what makes the Graduate so great, maybe when I’m in my 40s and have an affair with a teenager (of age!) I’ll get it.
927 back to my personal email, why does JCrew think they can charge $55+ for their crappy jewelry?
929 try to figure out question for one of the distributes who I really like, end up emailing managing editorial and a designer
932 back to work email, read Shelf Awareness which is mostly about the decline of books, cheery. Hmm Al Gore’s new book is coming out soon I’m ashamed to say I haven’t seen or read An Inconvenient Truth. Friend who I’m having dinner with tonight tells me she feels some hesitation about where we’re going, I tell her to find somewhere else then.
940 read coworkers blog
945 reminder pops up for me to go see BMW artists cars at Grand Central, maybe I’ll do that this weekend
945 read emails public sends in via our website. First is in some other language, delete. Second is from a mother who’s been laid off and can’t afford to buy books for her three sons. These always make me feel bad, she describes how even buying food and paying the mortgage is eating away at her savings and the boys are straight A students and play instruments. It’s a sad story. But in the end I think, “Isn’t this what libraries are for? Why do the kids need to own the books?” Forward email to marketing manager. Third is from someone who is “interested in expanding distribution of my ELA/reading e-books and hard copy products” I don’t know what this means and his rather long email doesn’t help me figure it out, delete. Fourth is from a company that doesn’t receive our catalogs but would like to get them, I go to their website to figure out who here would handle them, they have cool stuff
951 explore the website jesus Christ this stuff is expensive! Do these people not understand we’re in a recession? Way too overpriced.
955 back to website email, forward shopcomposition email to special sales. Fifth email is from a guy who wants to know the pub date of a book and how to buy it. I never understand the people who ask how to buy books. Go to a bookstore! Here’s my reply “The book will be published in May. You can order via our website, a bookstore, or a website like Amazon.com.” That’s the end of new emails, now we’re onto the ones I ignored from yesterday. Someone who wants to know if we’ve reviewed her book proposal, she has a Ph.D. in something, she’s sure to mention this several times. Delete. Someone who wants a desk copy, forward them generic letter. Next an email addressed a specific person in the office. Forward. Someone who wants their kid’s book signed. Forward to publicity. Another desk copy request, forward standard letter.
1002 check to see what’s in NYT dining section, so stupid I can’t even post it. gchat with friend instead. Ok, give NYT another chance. This sounds good. This sounds good too, but what is a tomatillo?
1007 explore other restaurants where I could eat tonight, not in the mood, give up
1010 bathroom, the ab workout I did yesterday has made my legs and lower back very sore, standing and sitting is torture. Also get advil.
1014 back to nytimes while I eat my granola bar. Tomatillo where do I buy this? Clearly I will never make that salsa. Interrupted with more questions about dinner.
1020 talk to ceo’s assistant about almonds
1022 trying to go back to nytimes, boss comes by, she asks about dinner, likes the ring I’m wearing. Ceo’s assistant comes back to discuss almonds more.
1026 go into sales and marketing meeting
1142 cover front desk for the receptionist to go on break, read part of the metro paper, today is the anniversary of the triangle shirtwaist factory fire. Talked to the receptionist about the house she wants to buy.
1159 Eat almonds and read personal and work emails I missed while in the meeting and covering break. Got newsletter from kashi, they should explain why they don’t have the granola bars I want in any store. Self.com’s tip of the day is especially helpful, it says to get a strong lower back to balance ab exercises I should “Lie on your stomach and lift up arms and legs. Hold for five counts, release, then repeat 10 times.” NY Times email alert about the MTA raising fares “Board members called the measures a disaster for commuters in the New York area but said they could no longer wait for lawmakers in Albany to rescue them.” Lovely.
1207 read Publisher’s Lunch, virtually no articles
1208 read PW Daily. I kind of want a Kindle, is this against everything the industry I work for stands for?
1211 look at website for the store I bought nuts from yesterday. It is a local Brooklyn store! Yay, I like it even more. My half pound of almonds was $2.49; can there be a better price? Corn nuts look good, I doubt they’re very good for you. Oh they have peanuts (duh) maybe I can buy their peanuts and make the NY Times recipe. Why are pine nuts so expensive? What is a pine nut? Oh dark chocolate covered almonds, so healthy! “Our supersized Grade A Almonds are packed with nutrients, high in protein, calcium, and Vitamin E! These are covered with Pure Dark Chocolate that adds flavenols which studies prove are good for your heart.” Oh they have malt balls, I love malt balls.
1220 call from guy at one of my boss’s accounts, transferred to boss because I don’t know the answer. Back to nuts. I wish I liked dried fruit, I don’t know, it freaks me out. Maybe I should give it another try.
1223 read email from website, someone from France who wants to order Simon and Schuster books, delete.
1224 Really want to read the NY Times, but instead update grid I keep with numbers people have emailed me. Coworker comes over to chat.
1235 now I’m distracted. Look at people’s gchat statuses. Someone’s quoting Robert Pattinson, nasty. VP of sales sends me to track someone down.
1237 still distracted
1238 I want chocolate, ok, back to spreadsheet
1241 done with spreadsheet, leave it open so it appears that I’m working in case anyone walks past.
1243 this headline in the Huffington post has almost nothing to do with the actual article
1245 go get water
1247 eat more almonds and continue reading The Huffington Post, I love that David Letterman got married This doesn’t sound so bad to me
1252 back to NY Times. This sounds tasty, and I could eat it at work this sounds good too on a fatass day
1256 boss gchats me asking what my “ohh lord” status means. Thankfully I don’t even have to lie, it’s about my eyes.
1257 back to ny times
100 I’m so hungry, normally we eat around 1230 (my exclusionary lunch group) but people are taking their sweet time today
102 Oh they’re back, time to eat!
202 back from lunch, exactly an hour; that never happens
203 put the rest of my lunch back in the fridge, go to the bathroom
207 listen to my voicemails, call from reception I immediately delete, another call from someone wanting us to donate books, immediately delete
208 I haven’t changed my poop calendar today, today’s entry deals with the popularity of the book Everyone Poops
209 My contacts are really driving me nuts. Should I take them out?
210 check website emails, someone who can’t get a link on our website to work, forward to editor. Someone in Canada who wants to buy books, forward to Canada.
211 delete two personal emails
212 contacts need to come out
214 much better, let’s check some work emails that I may have ignored over the past few days
222 let’s see what’s new on the internets
224 oh, I haven’t looked at facebook today, away I go
229 haven’t looked at Mrs. O today either, until now! I like the pictures on the site, but I think their coverage and tone is a bit condescending
231 time for the SCOTUS blog, nothing interesting
233 Back to the Huffington Post
239 At least this account of this guy’s death provides more information but it doesn’t tell me anything about a wild sex romp
245 Just read George Weber’s blog, really creepy
247 now here’s the article I’ve been searching for
249 I don’t think she’s that well-dressed, it’s just a lot of black
259 I’m getting bored of this list
301 back to NY Times
316 I’ve reached the time of day that I dread. I’ve read the NY Times, I’ve read the Huffington Post, I’ve read Mrs. O, I’ve read the SCOTUS blog, I’ve looked at Facebook, I have no new emails to address, no work to do. Where do I go from here?
331 Alright, after playing with Google Maps I guess I’ll do some desk copy orders. Maybe I’ll read through this list first.
336 Forwarded email from publicity to one of the distribution clients
337 Phone call from coworker asking if I can go check something in her email since she’s out of the office
342 Back at my desk, there’s a message from the receptionist telling me I don’t need to cover her break
343 I really like the name Ben. If I don’t marry a Ben I think I’ll name my son (if I have one) Ben. Is Ben a really Jewish name?
411 Finished very long discussion with my boss and other coworkers about the MTA service cuts
445 Just sat in coworkers office for a while gossiping
500 Researching places to go in Phoenix when I go with my boss for the Museum Store Association Show
521 wandered around for a while, now I’m requesting free books from my Random House connection. It sounds like someone’s jumping up and down on paper in the hallway.
523 I still really want a Kindle
525 now this is a really cool thing about the Kindle “By using the QWERTY keyboard, you can add annotations to text, just like you might write in the margins of a book. And because it is digital, you can edit, delete, and export your notes. Using the new 5-way controller, you can highlight and clip key passages and bookmark pages for future use. You'll never need to bookmark your last place in the book, because Kindle remembers for you and always opens to the last page you read.”
529 friend who I’m having dinner with wanted to leave at 530, no sign of her yet
533 still waiting, ugh my stomach hurts
534 I’m going to look for her
538 she’s still not ready
541 wooo, she’s ready!

My Eyes!

I wear contacts. I've worn contacts for about 8 years now. I've never had a problem besides the occasional dry eye or whatever. Right before Christmas I made a huge mistake and slept with my contacts in. Since then my eyes haven't been the same. I couldn't go back to my old contacts because they gave me a headache. We tried another pair; not comfortable. We tried another pair; I ripped 4 contacts in a weekend. We tried another pair; I couldn't see out of them. So today he said my only option was going to daily-wear lenses for a few months. I hate wearing my glasses so I was pretty much willing to try anything. I put in the trial pair and everything seemed fine. But it was still like I couldn't see, something was off. So I told him this and he asked if it was a problem focusing. I said, yes, that indeed was what it was like. He did some tests and it turns out that I have focus issues! And he's not sure if I've had these my entire life and never noticed because I wasn't paying attention to what was happening with my eyes or if it's come on recently because of stress or because of the trauma my eyes experienced, but I have a real problem, that explains my eye strain and headaches and fatigue! And there's a solution. I can either not wear my contacts (stupid solution) or I can get a light pair of "computer glasses" as my issues focusing are only up-close. So I have the focus of a 60 year old, but who cares? At least I know what's wrong and that there's a solution.

And, on another good note, I had a lovely dinner tonight. It's restaurant week here in Brooklyn and I went to a very nice Mexican restaurant with a friend from work who had never been to Brooklyn before. The restaurant is on the water and in addition to having amazing pork tacos and strawberry bread pudding, they have a wonderful view. Here's the evidence...

Oh the drama...

I had a completely middle school experience at work today. There is this man that works with us, he's a sales manager, which is a mid-level position. He's weird. And I don't mean that in a rude way, he just is. And I know lots of weird people that I love dearly, but he is not one of them. He's awkward, he says strange things, and he does magic tricks. No one in our office really cares for him, but my boss is nice to him because she feels bad for him. Getting to my point, apparently last week this man went to my boss and vented to her about how unfair and rude it is that we never invite him to eat lunch with us. Now our lunch group started at about 4 people and is now sometimes as large as 12, but most days is between 8 and 10. We eat in the conference room because it has windows and it's just an escape from work. We're all good friends and most of us are friends outside of work. So the fact that this man, who has never had a normal conversation with any of us, wants to eat with us is just odd. But wait, it gets better, apparently he thinks that I'm the ringleader of the lunch group and that I'm the one that doesn't want to invite him!

So now I feel like some kind of middle school mean girl! Clearly I am not making an effort to exclude him from our lunch group. Do I want him there? No, not at all, but if someone else wanted to invite him or if he just came in I wouldn't say anything to him. Hell, I wouldn't even be rude because I work with him and that's not appropriate. My boss, who is very honest, told him that if he wants to eat with us he should come in and eat with us. That we don't invite her or several other people, but that if any of them wanted to they would come in and join us. This man is in his mid-30s, married, and has a child. I'm just shocked that this is what he spends his time thinking about. 

Ok, petty drama over. I hate being sucked into this crap. Speaking of petty drama, Gossip Girl really sucked tonight. I swear one of the previews for the second half of the season showed Dorota getting a boyfriend, when will that happen? And Blair and Nate back together? Blair belongs with Chuck. And they need to kill off Serena. And Dan. 

More Madness

You can totally tell how exhausted I am by reading my posts. I went back through this past week just to see how things were shaping up and there is a definite difference on the posts where I've thought things through and I'm lucid and on the posts where I'm falling asleep as I type. 

This in an in-between post. 

I had a college friend contact me on Friday. I hadn't spoken to her since last summer, we kind of fell out of touch and she wrote me a Facebook message I never got around to answering and I wrote her an email around the holidays that she never answered. I had pretty much written off the relationship. But she sent me a text message saying she would be in the city this weekend, could we meet up. I responded sure and we made tentative plans for dinner Saturday night. Saturday rolls around and I hear from her once in the afternoon, answer her question and there hear nothing until around 9:30 when she asks if I want to meet around 11:30 about an hour away from my apartment for a drink. I say no. She then asks about brunch Sunday morning, I say sure, she tells me she'll call between 8 and 9 Sunday morning. Well I wake up at 8:30 and hear nothing, 9 still nothing, 9:30 nothing, 10:15 nothing. I decide screw this, I go get breakfast around 10:30. She called a little before 11, I ignored the call and then deleted her message without listening to it. Was this passive aggressive? I don't know, maybe. It just reached a point where I didn't want to deal with it. I don't feel like I need to chase people around to get them to hang out with me and I'm not into relationships that involve a lot of drama. My life is no different now than when I first heard from her on Friday. Nothing lost, nothing gained.

In terms of good Madness there was great basketball on today. I went to an amazing bar with about 50 (not joking) TVs. We sat at a booth where there were TVs hanging from the ceiling so we both had our own personal TVs to watch. Thankfully Pitt won (my friend is a big Pitt fan, but it's also good for my bracket). And then there were some really close games that went until the end. And my bracket has recovered nicely, I only missed 2 teams in the Sweet Sixteen.

Lavender

I think I've found a solution to my hair issue. I have curly hair. Not just any curly hair; it's super fine and generally just obnoxious. Yet I love it. I love having curly hair, I actually think it defines a big part of my personality. However, winning the battle is another story. But I think I've finally found something that allows me to come out on top. When I got my hair cut last week the instructor (I go to a student place) told the student to get my hair soaking wet, mix a conditioner and a gel, put the conditioner and gel on my hair, and then dry it with a towel. The student didn't really do this, but I still thought it was an interesting idea. The thought of leaving conditioner in my hair kind of grossed me out so I thought I'd try the gel with the product I already use. And, miracle of miracle, it works!! I should take a picture tomorrow. My hair isn't frizzy, the curls look defined and bouncy, and, for the most part, it stays nice looking all day. 

I bought lavender and parsley plants at the Green Market today. I'm hoping they can survive in my apartment. The man who sold them to me told me, in a pretty condescending voice, that herbs do well in very sunny environments so here's hoping. 

A Bad Day

Today was definitely an I-hate-my-job day. I'm just bored out of my mind. There's stupid little things to do, but that's about it. I just went through a few months of absolute insanity, so a little break is nice, but to this much of an extreme is just torture. I want to be busy and I prefer to be busy with things I want to do. However, it seems like more and more often that's just not realistic. And that sucks.

On a good note the VP of sales did tell us all to go home at around 3:50, so at least I didn't have to withstand the torture until 5. 

Back to the bad, my March Madness bracket has been completely destroyed. Fucking Ohio State, WAKE FOREST, West Virginia, Tennessee, and Florida State all lost. I mean I had some other ones that were just guesses, but these teams should have won. Mass, fucking, chaos. I'll end on a good note though. I did have a great time tonight watching the games at the Dram Shop with two friends and then going back to one of their apartments to play Rock Band. 

Ok, that sounds kind of lame.

March Madness

Another quick-before-I-go-to-bed post. I'm going to have to start writing posts in advance so I'm not rushed every night. So March Madness has begun. I love sports. Name a sport and I love it. Anything with competition and men and drinking and screaming and I am there. However, going to an all-womens college really took away the fun of sports. It's only now that I'm out in the real world that I'm getting that back. So, for the second year in a row, I'm doing a March Madness pool. I've got North Carolina winning and Louisville, Pittsburgh, Memphis, and UNC in the final four. We'll see. So far I've only missed one (damn you BYU).

I Feel Like I've Been Hit by a Bus

I worked all day, went to dinner, went to see Reasons to be Pretty on Broadway, came home, walked in the door, stopped for a second, and realized that I feel like I've been hit by a bus. I am exhausted and sore. It's like the feeling you have right before you get sick. I just hope I'm not getting sick. The day(s) off from work would be nice, but the rest of it just sucks.

So I wouldn't recommend Reasons to be Pretty. It was actually much better than I expected, but I wouldn't pay to see it. An editor at work has a friend in the theater business and she gets us all free tickets from time to time. So for free it wasn't too bad, but to pay it's a little much. Piper Perabo was in it and all I could think when she was on stage was, "OMG it's the girl from Coyote Ugly!"

And finally before I throw my computer on my desk and collapse into bed, I bought the coolest thing at the Container Store (thanks for the idea NY Magazine). I am even more excited than normal for lunch tomorrow.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

I lost 5lbs this week! Tuesday is my official weigh day and I shed 5lbs. Not too bad! That's like a thing of flour. It makes me feel like my getting up early to workout is working out and is definitely a motivator when that alarm goes off at 6:07. Of course I ate one and a half doughnuts, 2 pieces of pizza, a beer, and then a burger and fries tonight, but what are you going to do? It's St. Patrick's Day. If god gives people fasting for Lent a dispensation I think I should get one too.

I've wanted to write a post about the economy since I decided to start this blog. The recession/depression/run of bad luck that we're having now is really scary. My company is doing well and we're very lucky. Everyone in the company got a (fairly modest) bonus last week, thanks mainly to the success of our biggest title. However, things aren't so good elsewhere. The company in the offices downstairs from us laid off 100 (!!!) people last week. The Metropolitan Museum's book buying office laid off 3 people out of the 7 or 8 that work there. And overall you just see a general sense of panic.

New York Magazine had an interesting little piece about how people in NYC tend to panic more and about how much worse the impact if the recession seems to be in NYC. It's crazy to go to work every day and hear about how much money we're making, yet we're still in this recession mode and everywhere else I look there is bad news.

All that said, one thing did make me feel a lot better. The interview with Ben Bernake on 60 Minutes this week was fascinating. If you haven't see it you need to check it out. I'm ashamed to say I didn't know much about how the Fed worked before last week's 60 Minutes and I'm even more ashamed to say that I didn't know anything about Ben Bernanke until this week. Since he was appointed by Bush I assumed he was an under-qualified-corrupt-idiot, but apparently he's not at all. I was very impressed and reassured. 

Another Museum

I will, in the near future, do a post about my job. It's a job, it makes me a very modest amount of money and most of the time I enjoy it, a lot of the time I'm bored, and a small amount of the time I hate it and start planning my out. But, in the end, I get to do some cool stuff. Like today, I got to go with my boss to the International Center of Photography on a sales call. 

 

Witnessing the sales calls was as to be expected (not too thrilling), but the really exciting part came after the sales call was over. They are currently in the beginning of a series of exhibits called A Year in Fashion. Normally the museum is closed on Monday, but since we were there and it's about the most relaxed place in the world we got a private view of the exhibits. We saw Edward Steichen's Conde Nast years, which are gorgeous pictures, if a little repetitive. Then we went to look at the This is Not a Fashion Photograph exhibit, which was my favorite. It showed how contemporary photographers from WeeGee to Gordon Parks to Walker Evans to Cindy Sherman and their decidedly not fashion photography photographs had an impact on fashion photography. I would definitely recommend going to see it before it closes.

Something I would not recommend is the movie Sunshine Cleaning. It was cute enough and Emily Blunt, Amy Adams, and Alan Arkin are all great, but it just fell flat. The story isn't developed enough and it's one of those movies where all the funny parts are in the preview. Definitely a DVD movie.

A Completely Random Day

For a while now I've been wanting to go to P.S. 1, the MOMA's contemporary art center. Not that I know much about contemporary art, but I read an article about Jonathan Horowitz, whose show is currently on, and I wanted to go see it for myself. It was really interesting, like an idiot I forgot my camera, but it was pretty much what I expected. Here's the NYT review of the show. I would definitely recommend it. 

One of the coolest things I saw was Leoandro Elrich's Swimming Pool; that's what I wish I had my camera for, I might have to go back just to take a picture of it. It's really cool looking down and seeing people below, but then it's really freaky to be one of the people below. The room is just so blue and, I don't know, I almost felt like I couldn't breathe. I don't know if it was because I associated it with being underwater or if I felt claustrophobic, or what. 

If you're going to P.S. 1 I would also check out the Lutz Bacher exhibit. 

The oddest and most fortuitous NY moment happened to me today. I took several subways to get to where I was going, first the F, then the G, then the 7, then the F, then the F again and each time I waited no more than 2 minutes for a train to arrive. In NYC on any day that's almost a miracle, but on a weekend it's practically the second coming.

I actually had a pretty lucky day. I went to Aveda to buy hair gel and finally decided to join their Pure Privileges rewards program and I got not only a free sample hair mask, but also a delightful neck rub. Then I went to a lovely ice cream place in Soho to get a treat (I was going to post the link but when I Googled I was disappointed to find that it's actually a chain). Then I went to Whole Foods, which is what it is, and then had a nice, relaxing evening at home. 

I'm still trying to work out what form this blog will take, if it will be just for me, if I'll share it with my friends, if I'll seek out a readership, or what. I think I'll do something contrary to my personality and just see how it evolves.

Welcome

Greetings! Welcome to my blog. As someone who has mercilessly mocked blogs before I suppose it is ironic that I now have a blog. But, I thought it would be a fun thing to do. 

My mission statement is to write about my pretty lame life in the city; my job, my friends, my pretty much nonexistent social life. I figure in addition to mildly entertaining people perhaps it will motivate me to make my life less lame or help me to better embrace my lame life.

Anyway, here we go!