Broadway, on and off

The internet is for porn! This is a catchy line from Avenue Q, an off Broadway musical satire of Sesame Street featuring puppets and simplistic, sarcastic songs.  I really liked this witty, very adult play on my old nursery friends. It's fun to watch the humans and puppets interact- one of the puppets even has two people manipulating him. The songs were great and catchy- "I wish I could go back to college" and "If you were gay" are two of my favorites. The writing was tight and funny and the cast was amazingly talented. And if the plot seemed to simplistic- an afterthought really- it was easy to see that as following the Sesame Street Structure. Fun!

The second play I saw was on Broadway although it also took place in the mythical world of New York City in another borough; in the margins, or In the Heights. I thought it was funny when in the opening title number they specify that the Heights does not include Harlem- no, no you have to go past Harlem on the A train to get to this magical inner city neighborhood where everyone sings and dances and wins the lottery. Besides the sentimental syrup, the play was filled with a great enthusiastic energy. Rap on Bway, yup yup. Those kids really sang their hearts out and it was awesome to be there live to really heart. That's the great benefit of Broadway and one that simply doesn't transfer through the screen.

Both plays were exhilarating and a real treat.

Paper Heart

Background: Paper Heart stars Charlyne Yi as a young comedienne looking for a definition, a meaning, a feel for the four letter word LOVE. The mix of fiction, documentary and animation gives the film a loose, whimsical feel and reinforces Charlyne's background in comedy. Paper Heart always feels like a big joke, and really like a big in-joke that we in the audience will never really get. 

The shot above shows Charlyne and Michael Cera running from the documentary camera crew. Plot wise, this was because they had fallen in love and craved some time away from the invading camera that was ruining their natural love. Beneath the surface it's another constructed image- this shot obviously reveals that they are running towards another camera capturing them running away from the cameras behind.

The relationship between fact/fiction and love/hate is mirrored by the camera's inability to capture the essence of love. Maybe this is why the audience is not allowed in to the last scene, where Char disappears in Michael's house, shutting the door quietly behind her.

I liked this movie because it was about a girl and a camera. I liked the scenes where the apparatus of film making was revealed. The two lovers sit on a couch, kissing. They stop, looking awkward. The scene pulls back to show a camera guy and a sound guy, their attention focused on the young couple. It sounds simple but this kind of transparency is rarely used, and is especially relevant in asking about our female protagonist's relationship to the power of the camera. Indeed, much of the tension is about how much the camera gets to penetrate into her life and how much narrative control she has.

London vs New York

I just got back from a week long trip to London and it was fabulous! I really do love London, but this was the first time I've been back after living in another big city. It was interesting to see the differences between NYC and London.

First, London is physically prettier. The streets are curvy and lined with older, more stately buildings in a mix of styles. There are parks and squares dotting the city, and pretty pubs dripping with potted plants (nice alliteration!). London just has a more romantic, gothic atmosphere. New York is all skyscrapers, angles and concrete, albeit you can find pockets of cobbled streets and elegant brownstones.

The downside of all these wavy streets and hidden alleys is that London is quite hard to negotiate. NYC is tons easier to get around with the grid system and the plethora of public transportation. The tube is more expensive and less efficient than the subway; in London you are better off sticking to the double decker buses.

NYC wins on nightlife- almost everything closes down in London around 11pm except for a few skeezy clubs. London social hour is right after work, while New Yorkers tend to go home, eat dinner and then come out to a bar around 9 or 10pm.

London wins on accents! Yay for Scottish, Welsh and Irish accents not to mention the English classic :)

London also wins on castles and palaces. Yes, NYC has great museums but does it have ancient castles where Queen Elizabeth once walked? or Shakespeare? or Jane Austen?

New York might win on food, simply because it has such variety and cheap options as well as gourmet. Although I love fattening pasties and steak and ale pies, it's great to be able to eat almost anything at any price.

The two cities have very different alcohol cultures. London is all beer. Great beer- fresh, sweet Guinness; Trappist and Abbey Belgian ales; Bavarian beer houses; Irish pubs.  NYC is about liquor. Rum and coke is the dominant and cheapest option but the city is also known for its cocktails (the Manhattan, the Cosmo) and mix-ology trend. This may be the reason for the different styles of nightlife.

So the solution? Visit Paris and see how it compares!

star sighting

I saw Christopher Lloyd (back to the future!) today :)

party crashers

Ever dreamed of an endless stream of free drinks and tasty food in a hot nightclub with no cover and great dance music? Well it can happen- if you are willing to crash. The party I crashed was a friend's work's partnering company holiday party. It was meant as a networking event lubricated with dark lighting and fruity drinks (mmm sangria!). 

I was an impostor with a fake, lying nametag and a weak back story. And that story fell all into pieces the moment someone- who just happened to be a COO or something- started asking me what I did and throwing out names. I responded meekly with "I'm new" and sipped my drink and tried to look tipsy. 

Besides the interrogation, the party was a lot of fun. My friends and I ate, drank and danced the night away. One of us even won an Ipod Touch through a texting guessing game! I really enjoyed it, but I also love the parties where we potluck cheap booze and cheezy puffs, board games and computer playlists. Those home grown budget friendly parties also don't require bad lies!

pet peeve

People who insist on adding my name to every single sentence. Do you really need to punctuate every "thank you" or "good morning" or "hey" with my name? I'm not formal- I like casual interactions and don't like to feel dogged by someone who always has to have the last word, arg!

mmmmm cookie

Mmm dark chocolate chocolate chip cookie at Levain Bakery. Cookies are done on the outside but still doughy on the inside and served warm...so good. At $4 a pop they are part of the NYC foodie craze but still worth it as the occasional treat after a few educational hours at the nearby Natural History Musuem.

 

Fall in Central Park

 

 

Wishful Drinking

So last night was another successful Hiptix night! I went with the girls to see Carrie Fisher's one woman play which has gotten pretty decent reviews so I had high hopes. As it turns out, there was no need to worry. Carrie right away reminded me all the good parts of my mother: warm, friendly, sassy, articulate, and funny as hell. Thankfully, my mother is not batshit crazy, lol, as Carrie calls herself. 


The play was a bit out of place in the huge Studio 54 theater. It was definitely written for a smaller, more intimate and confessional space. Carrie made the best of it by wearing pajamas, directly interacting with the audience and using a comfy living room set. She was just completely charming from the first as she honestly revealed all the drama in her life and had a good time with it. There was a great quote like if it ain't funny, then it's just the truth. She satisfied all the voyeuristic-fan vibes from the audience and also managed to guide us, in the second and more somber act, to thinking about addiction to narrative. She was an addict most of her life and most of that was in the public eye. 

It was a great night at the theater- lots of laughs and even a little wisdom sprinkled in :)

big apple gem: tea & sympathy

When I first moved to NYC I ended up moving in with one of the girls who shared a semester abroad in London with me. We congregated at a little tea house run by "real" Brits with firm manners and great accents. There's a little strip of 3 shops generously labeled Little Britain down by 8th ave and 14th st where you can get hot and fresh fish and chips at A Salt & Battery, cream tea at Tea & Sympathy and British goodies, candies and tea accessories at their store.

They have a variety of teas which come with a variety of eccentric tea pots in a teeny tiny shop crammed with tables and stacks of cakes and scones.

The place is also known for its list of house rules and strict waiting policy, but the staff is fair and efficient- the only problem comes from other pushy new yorkers trying to get in their british goodies.

Their other food is pretty good. I've had a very decent quiche and salad. But's it really afternoon tea that shines. Their clotted cream is just right- oh so buttery and creamy but not to sweet.

I love to go their with friends and slowly drink my little pot of looseleaf tea. I love wondering which pot or cup I will get this time. On a rainy NYC day I could almost be in London again.

The hunt

Over the weekend I went apartment hunting with a friend of mine because NYC real estate fascinates me. Not the negotiating, lease signing, background checking side; just the visual side and voyeuristic thrill of peeking into buildings to see how other New Yorkers live their life. Dealing with the financial side of getting an apartment in NYC is a real pain in the arse, so I was glad just to tag along for fun.

We were looking in two neighborhoods- East Gramercy (in the 20s around 1st and 2nd ave) and Midtown West (in  the 40s and 50s around 10th and 11th ave). These two areas are pretty lively but still far enough to the east or west to avoid the price rise of central buildings. They also have a lower "cool" factor, ie they are not as chic or well known as their neighboors like St.Marks or Astor place near Gramercy or Chlesea and the UWS on either side of Midtown west. This is a picture from Best Apartments website where we looked at some apts.

We saw a whole range of quality, too. One apartment in MW had exposed brick, a washing machine, a dishwasher, a fireplace, wood floors and two evenly sized bedrooms. What a looker! The flaws in other places: being on the first floor or basement, tiny bathrooms, no living room, bathroom access only through the bedrooms, railroad style narrow hallways. One apartment had a roof deck with a giant couch, a table and tons of beer bottles- a little too frat. Another was right next to a bakery and made the building smell delicious. One had a rundown entrance way but a beautiful apartment interior. Far from the subway or close; five flights or one; big bedrooms or small. There are so many options in New York!

Update: now the search has become a battle between Midtown West and Midtown East. There are some nice apartments on 57th st and 9th ave- right near Columbus Circle & Central Park. The NYC quirk: all of the bedrooms have built in loft beds, which is kind of interesting. Another traditional 3 bedroom in the 50s on 2nd ave but since all of our friends live on the West side (including me!) that seems far away and not as interesting as Gramercy. All of these average out to about $850 a person.

Update to the update: my friend just put down a deposit on a first floor apartment at 52nd and 9th ave which apparently has a nice little patio! Can't wait to see it :) extra sq footage always wins in the end

I can has cheezeburger

Orion is now a LOL Cat

Google is adorable

In honor of Sesame Street's 40th birthday!

In West Philadelphia...

so yes I am a dork for actually singing the Fresh Prince theme song when I went to visit a friend in West Philly last weekend. Although Septa was on strike, I got a ride with a friend to Philly and spent the weekend doing things within walking distance.

Philadelphia is a nice change of pace from NYC. I loved the residential streets with those stone quaker houses and trees dripping with autumn leaves. The weather was quite warm and we walked around Clark Park and through the Penn Campus which is full of red brick buildings and curiously charming dilapidated frat buildings.

We also stuffed our faces- with lavender mint chocolate sauce from the farmer's market, Ethiopian food from a nearby restaurant, stove popped popcorn, a six pack of Jamaican Red Stripe, dark chocolate dipped biscuits, numerous cups of coffee and a gluttonous breakfast of cheese grits, eggs, bacon and cider. What a glorious time!

We also made it halfway through a 26 episode long Anime series called Ouran High School Host Club, which I really enjoyed. It's a light hearted and surreal anime about high school kids acting out a whole variety of fetishes and fantasies in a PG-13 way. All in all a great weekend!

Rating NYC yogurt

I love me some yogurt! Here are my ratings based on taste, location, price and line wait

1. Brown Cow Maple Cream Top: $3-4 at Whole Foods depending when it's on sale. rich and creamy, fattylicious and decadent. Lines are medium wait- locations more convenient.

2. Brown Cow Vanilla: $3-4 at Whole Foods depending when it's on sale. not as decadent as the maple cream, but still the richest of the brands.

3. Whole Foods Vanilla: a 365 organic brand, $3
nicely creamy, not very sweet so good for breakfast

4. Trader Joe's Vanilla: $3
little too sweet- you can taste the sweetner, but still creamy. Ridiculous lines and inconvenient location.

5. Pathmark Vanilla: $2-3 depending on sales
emergency yogurt- not worth the discount for this grainy yogurt. Bad lines, great location.

Jane Austen fan fic

So big nerd moment of the week: I watched Lost in Austen. It's a about a modern day reader of Jane Austen who trades place with Elizabeth Bennett in a time machine switch-a-roo sort of way. Except she doesn't travel back in time but into Austen's Pride & Prejudice.

The main character, Amanda, then bungles the entire novel in a delightful way that highlights the differences in our modern world. For example, Jane Bennett does marry Mr.Collins because it is the practical thing to do, but then Mr.Bingly starts drinking and they decide to run away together to America- a "modern" choice if ever there was one.

This is blatant fan fiction as it places a modern day fan smack dab in the Austen world. The movie depends on the viewer's synchronous placement as a fan- it's a web of Austen jokes, turns of language, play with character and above all, the at home fan's complete and utter love for Mr.Darcy. Amanda is our on screen replacement. Not only does she love Austen's work she loves the recreations and adaptations just as much. Right from the beginning, she says that Mr.Darcy (the Lost in Austen Mr. Darcy) is no Colin Firth (one of the other and perhaps most famous Mr. Darcy, who also appeared in Bridget Jones' Diary as the modern Mr.Darcy). The best moment for me is when Darcy declares he loves Amanda and she asks him to do her a favor. The next thing you see is this:



which is a visual homage to Colin Firth's diving into the lake scene which has been over analyzed and enjoyed by every Austen nerd out there. It's a moment of pure visual fetishization of the male body/masculine ideal. Everyone always wonders at the fact that Elizabeth's feelings start to change when she sees Pemberley. Well, it's because she starts to feel desire- for beauty, for belonging, for wealth, for physical presences and bodies. This moment of female desire is rare in fiction in general, and it has been drawn out of Austen (scene never happens in the book) and treasured.

To be explicit, it's rare for female desire to exist and not be punished in some way. Lizzy is bold about her desire and she gets rewarded for it. In the film, Lizzy is also pretty straight about not wanting to leave the modern world. She ditches Darcy for London, short hair and a cell phone :)

Needless to say, I very much enjoyed this series- the Brits do tend to get it right! Austen has long been one of my favorite writers because she combined such great melodrama with biting social criticism and excellent wit. Lost in Austen managed to capture some of that by re-interpreting the plot and characters and all the what ifs. But it still gave priority to the female reader's pleasure which is fabulous!

cyber buy

I just bought this camera:
and instead of giving my home address I gave my work address because it is much easier for me to get things shipped to work. About 10 seconds after I ordered the camera, my bank called me from the fraud department because I had not used my home address. Talk about on the ball! They were very nice and added my work address to my folder but boy did I feel monitored. Panopticon anyone?

Anyway I'm excited about getting my new sony digital camera, which I heavily researched and is supposed to be pretty good for it's price point (under $200). It's not as sleeky and Zoolander tiny as some of the other brands but it's supposed to have good image quality and that's what I am looking for, along with rechargeable batteries- go green everyone :)

I can't wait to take pictures of London and New York and add some personality to this blog.

After Miss Julie

It's that time again! Time to purchase $20 Hiptix tickets and see a play, snack, drink and enjoy free issues of Time Out New York.

This time it was After Miss Julie. The play stars Sienna Miller, famous for being blond and dating a lot of people. The only thing I ever really liked her in was Casanova, where she played opposite Heath Ledger as a rebellious feminist tomboy out of place in a formal, male dominated world. The good news: she has tons of stage presence, just absolutely draws your eye. She's a stunner! Bad news: she acted stiffly and self consciously and kept making me remember that she was Sienna Miller instead of Miss Julie.

The play is about a one night stand between a servant and his mistress and the tension over class and gender that such line crossing generates. It was not particularly resonant in this day and age, although there was a lot of discourse about WWII that could be applied to our culture now- about what it means to go to war, to be around death and blood, to try and come home and go back to all those social norms that no longer make sense. After Miss Julie was dramatic but not moving; there was no one character to feel through and not enough distance to be meta.

But all this intellectual furor was appropriately quelled by free selections of cheese, bread and veggies and glasses of beer or proseco, not to mention Halloween candy! The American Airlines theater has a nice penthouse lobby with an outdoor deck. Next play is Carrie Fisher's one woman show Wishful Drinking later this month. When in New York!

NYPD pumpkin busting

Last night we held a successful Pumpkin Xtravaganza! where we had friends over to carve pumpkins, drink pumpkintinis and pumpkin ale, listen to scary music and have fun :)

Around 10pm the cops showed up at our door. They were responding to a domestic disturbance call that one of our neighbors had made (either to try and intimidate us by getting the cops to show up b/c cops have to respond to all domestic complaints as opposed to noise complaints or because they actually thought there was domestic violence happening in our usually quite apt).

So the two cops show up and ask us if there is a problem. We tell them we are having a pumpkin carving party. Here's what the cops see: a group of around 10 twenty somethings carving pumpkins and drinking beer. As my roommate says, we are pretty lame. The cops try to fight smiles but they are secretly cracking up. They asked is we were watching the game, but we were not even that cool. We were watching America's funniest videos with the sounds turned off and the Halloween soundtrack on.

The best part is then I asked them if we needed to be quieter- b/c the neighbors ALWAYS complain when we make the least amount of noise. And the cop shrugged and said "if you want to." That was the best! They smiled again and said goodnight. Quite an action filled party!

Here are our pumpkins:

teatime

Drinking Mighty Leaf Vanilla Bean tea in it's little silk baggie. Sometimes life is purely good :) Adding the "bean" in vanilla products is a new trend to verify vanilla's green naturalness but it's more believable in tea bags where you can see bits of it floating around.

Eating at fancy places for a living

I just finished reading Frank Bruni's autobiography "Born Round"

Everyone's a critic, right? But it truly does seem like a dream job to get to eat multi-course meals at all the best restaurants in town and then have the power to uplift or skewer their trajectories. Basically writing+food=happiness. Yay!

But the path to this dream job was harder for Bruni, who recently retired after a five year stint as the NYT restaurant critic. The book is astonishingly frank (no pun intended) as it discusses Bruni's eating disorders, body hate and eventual path towards a sort of punishing exercise routine to balance out the thousands of calories he consumed every night. The highlights of Born Round are Bruni's honesty and his likability as a byronic hero.

The worst of it his body hate, the complete opposite of the current trend toward fat acceptance. For anyone who finds themselves fat and happy, reading through Bruni's cycles of bingeing & purging along with his own caustic self disgust is not really helpful. In fact it's a pretty big slide backwards. Bruni's answer to his own fat is to exercise 80 minutes plus 2 out of every 3 days with the help of a couple of trainers. That's great for him, but what about all the other fatties? Why isn't it ever okay to be fat, to eat what you want, and to exercise at a normal, manageable and affordable rate? These issues are impossible to avoid in Bruni's book.

The book ends on a more even note. Bruni was able to satiate his hunger- a larger hunger than others, he allows- and enjoy his tenure as a food critic. He learns to like his imperfect body and share it with others. Born Round is an interesting, compelling read. I just wish our society was not poisoned with such body hate in the first place or as Bruni points out, the need to super size everything. There has to be a happy balance somewhere!

Parks and Rec

NYC gyms are $75 a year. That beats any other gym by far. Even crappy gyms are usually about $10-20 a month. So it seemed obvious to me that it was the recession-ista thing to do. Plus I'm not a big gym person. Treadmills bore me to death. I have no idea what to do with weights. But I do love to swim, and in the winter I need somewhere warm to expend excess energy. Woe is me when the pretty, sun dappled paths of Central Park are slick with ice.

For the most part, the city gyms are fine. They are decently clean and safe. And in the summer the outdoor pools are fantastic :)

But the downside is that they are filled with other savvy, pushy New Yorkers. It's like the subway version of a gym. Some of the people who work there are drunk on their small amount of power and their uniforms with badges. I usually can't go there more than once a week because that's all the patience I have for the men who try to dominate all the spaces (especially obvious in the pool & weight room) and the guards who demand to see locks and enforce bureaucratic tyranny.

So it's a mixed bag. At this point I can't spend more money on a better gym, and usually I get what I need. Just sometimes, you realize why it's only $75 a year.

OMG! I'm having a gasp moment

So heard through the Perez vine that VERONICA MARS (aka Kristin Bell) will be joining the cast of Party Down, the way under appreciated new Showtime comedy about cater-waiters. I'm literally have a television nerdgasm. This makes perfect sense because VM and PD have the same producing team and tons of the VM peeps have already appeared in the show.

This is the best consolation I could have for losing Dollhouse mid second season.

The Office binge

For a long time I had no desire to watch the Office. Zip. For one, it was a show based on awkward, humiliating humor and irritating characters. Two, it was yet another American rip off of British brilliance. Three, it was based in an office and I was on a vibrantly green college campus.

But then, I got a job in an office. With a cubicle. And office politics, funny coworkers, vacation requests and recession shuffling. So I started watching because now it applied to my life, the humor was mocking things I dealt with everyday and allowing me to see a new funny light on the complex shenanigans of office interaction. And like other shows that seem acrid and biting from the outside, it turns out the Office has a heart. Even the worst of bosses can have a bit of humanity in them (ie Michael). Or love can flourish in a stifling & stale environment (Jim & Pam).

But it's really the side characters that get me. Dwight and Angela- omg they are so brilliantly funny. Its the cast dynamics that make this show. Dare I say, it's sort of like Friends that way. You tune in to watch the interpersonal dynamics, to watch Ross lose his Rachel again and again, to see everyone dependably not change. That's one of the best parts of comedy as opposed to drama- the static, reliable world that becomes like an old friend.

I still skip some parts when the show goes over the top. That's what Netflix is for!

Pumpkin Ale in the Big Apple

Ah, fall in new york. It's like a cover girl commercial: easy, breezy, beautiful. And with it comes the delicious influx of pumpkin flavored goods. Pumpkin is great as a seasonal flavor because it can go sweet or it can go spicy. It can be incorporated into soups, gelatos, muffins, breads, cookies, pies, cocktails and my most favorite of all, beer!

I've done two tastings so far of pumpkin ale and they were markedly different. I will finish off next week with the last tasting, Smuttynose's Pumpkin ale.

I started with a trip to the Brooklyn Brewery which opens it doors every Friday night and transforms the small warehouse into a frat-like party barn. $20 bucks gets you six tokens which you can trade at the bar for 6 party cups (not pints) of seasonal brews. All of the beer is pretty good but my two favorites are the Brooklyn Brown (with a malty, coca-cola flavor) and the pumpkin ale. The pumpkin is perfect; all the notes of nutmeg and spice but still a very light, crisp beer.

The next beer I had was the Coors seasonal Harvestmoon Pumpkin Ale. Now, I have a very extreme relationship with Coors. I hate Blue Moon. Detest. But I love their summer seasonal, Honeymoon. Love! So I thought I'd give this more budget friendly beer a try ($10-12 a six pack, depending on your location). It was disappointing. The pumpkin flavor was underwhelming, although if it had been marketed as a brown beer it would have been pretty decent. I thought it even tasted a little like Dogfish Head's Raison D'etre, which is in my top five of brown, malty, caramel beers.

One left to go- Smuttynose! I'll update next week.

work & play

I've been a busy little bee! Traning for new stuff at work! going to plays! having fun! work, work, play, play

Last week I attended a play of the Night of Free Theater which is a national night where theaters give out a certain amount of free tickets to get people to come. So they are usually off broadway and not much in the spotlight. I went to see Penny Penniworth at Emerging Artists Theater. It was funny because you would never find this place unless you were seeking it out. The theater is on the second floor and is not marked, but it was quite a nice space and pretty big for off broadway (well technically broadway and 19th st I think). The play was a four person farce, with the joke on Dickens. There must have been only about 20 people in the audience, but they really acted their butts off and I laughed and laughed. We gladly donated $5 at the end and received a nice pumpkin oatmeal cookie in return :)

This past weekend I worked the New York Food and Wine festival, which is basically a 3 hour tasting session where people pay around $200 to taste the food and drink of a bazillion different vendors. It was crazy! I did see some Top Chef & Iron chef celebs and enjoyed the utter chaos that is mixing wine, liquor, food and people all together.

I heart fall

NYC is crisp and cool these days. I broke out the black boots and the cozy sweaters. It's fall! My favorite time of year. Turning leaves, pumpkin everything! I've been watching two new funny shows to honor fall sweeps.

Glee- watched b/c everyone was talking about it. Sort of like High School Musical meets The Office. The awkward moments of high school brilliantly counterbalanced by professional song and dance sequences. Characters interesting but flat; if they can make them more dynamic I will keep watching.

Party Down- skated completely under the cultural radar. Show about a tiny catering company in LA. Very accurate, which makes it hilarious, and also very awkward. By god, this show had to happen one day because so much drama goes down during catering, and everyone is an artistic type. best line (which I hear all the time): "we are not waiters, we are actors!"
Plus: produced by Rob Thomas of Veronica Mars glory, so the show is populated by former VM actors. Yay Logan! and Dick! and Meg!

Both shows feature Jane Lynch (she actually left Party Down to do Glee), so that's a plus. She's frakkin hilarious.

Santorini

When we got to Santorini (the honeymoon island!) it was pouring down rain. We took a bus on a road that hairpins all the way up a cliff right by the port. Santorini is an amazing mix of cliffs and beach and volcano. Our bus dropped us off in Perissa, a lazy little beach town chock full of tourists. We had a nice night exploring the town- bars, restaurants, tourist offices and souvenir shops.

The next day we went on a day long excursion. First- the volcano! It was quite surreal to walk around on the black, rocky, smoky volcanic island. Then they took us to a natural hot spring in the ocean tucked into the rocky cliffs. Or, luke warm hotspring. I actually had to jump off the boat into the ocean and then swim through cold water into the warm, red soiled water and then back through the cold water and clamber onto the boat again. It was fun! Then they dropped us off on a tiny coastal town on another little island. Well, you could climb the 45 minute hill to the town on top of the cliff or like we did you could stay at the bottom and chill out.

Our last stop was Oia, the famous honey moon destination, sunset watching, expensive blue and white hotel hotspot. The beauty! It was full of white washed buildings, blue doors and ironwork, bright pink bougainvillea! just perfect. we washed down some chokingly expensive sangria and enjoyed the glittery sunset before heading back to perissa. the next few days we just relaxed & enjoyed being beachy and swimming in the crystal clear ocean before finally flying up and over the islands!

The Greek Islands

After Athens, we were on our way to the Greek Islands. I got up at around 5:30 am to get on the Athens metro and go to Piraeus, the dock where you catch the Island bound ferries. Our ferry left Athens at 7:25 and was supposed to get into Naxos at around 1pm. The ferry was a multi-level boat with a huge parking garage for cars and cargo and then two passenger decks, one mostly inside and the others on an open air deck. I didn't get too sick but the last hour made my tummy feel funny. Finally we landed at Naxos, one of the bigger Islands in the Cyclades.

We arrived at Pension Sofi around 2pm, exhausted and travel weary. Our friendly hotel hosts gave us a plate of tomatoes, olives and cheese as well as glasses of wine that they made in the vineyard across the street. The hotel was quite pretty, full of blue and white furniture, floral fabrics and pastel colored rooms. We then ventured out to the center of Naxos Town, which is on the top of a hill and gives quite a view of the island. There we had wonderful meal at Taverna to Kastro, where we ate grilled fish, lamb stew and other fun dishes and finished it off by sipping cognac and watching the magnificent sunset.

The next day, we rented a Fiat Panda and decided to explore the island by car. The roads were very twisty, high up and on the edge of large cliffs so needless to say I was quite scared. We made it to Halki, where there is a Kitron distillery, or the touristic remains of one. Kitron is a large citrus fruit that they make into a very pungent lemon/lime flavored alcohol. There are three different variations: yellow (the least sugar, the highest alcohol content), the most popular clear (medium sugar), and green (most sugar, least alcohol content). We also sampled some grappa with spices and honey and cognac.

From Halki we got completely lost and ended up- after a series of gut churning hair pin turns on high cliffs- at the little beach town of Lionas. Look it up on Google maps and you can see what I mean by lost. Only one road goes to Lionas. After that we drove back and around the rest of the island getting an incredible view of the hilly, cliffy terrain and great sunset.

The next day we went to the pristine sandy beaches and lounged around, then prepared to take another ferry to Santorini!

200th post!

My goodness I can't believe where all the time has gone! I started this blog right at the tail end of college because I always have something to say and there were no longer paid professors for me to say it to, lol. It's amazing to think how much my life has changed in the last couple of years and wonder how much it will change in the next two. All I can say is bon voyage!

From the end, Istanbul

Istanbul is just cool. I arrived at my hostel, Bahous Guesthouse, to find a four story building with a bar/roofdeck all decorated in a sort of mishmash of Turkish carpets, chairs, mirrors and knick knacks. There are a group of Turkish guys who work here and as far as I can figure out their job is to make nice with the guests, joke around and teach us bits of Turkish. And flirt. A lot. It makes for an interesting experience and I wonder what guys think of Turkey because all of our interactions here seem to be flirations with Turkish men.

We are staying in Sultanhamet which is very touristy, pretty and expensive. Kind of like the West Village with mosques, museums and palaces. A little further away from us is the Grand Bazaar (didn't like, too touristy) and the Spice Market (loved! spent all my liras here). The spice market is full of dried fruit, spices, water pipes, Turkish Delight (lokum), scarves, and jewelry. The market smells wonderful and was full of sounds and sights and Turkish men asking us where we were from and wouldn't we like to buy something. It shaped like a large cross with each line about three city blocks long. Outside of the spice market is a vast open air market that sells everything from undies to kitchen utensils to school supplies. I bought Turkish coffee, turkish delight, a scarf, olive oil soap, dates, etc.

Next to the market is Galata bridge which spans the Golden Horn. On the other side of the bridge is Beyoğlu (pronounced Bey-a-lou) on the Anatolian side. We wandered over the bridge and the up, up, up the steep stairs to the modern streets that lead to Taksim Square. This is where the majority of people work and play. It was very modern- like Broadway and Soho if they were completely pedestrian.

Luckily, one of my friends had a Turkish friend who took us to a local place for dinner. He led us to this out of the way storefront where there was a lone elevator with no sign and markings. You took this elevator to the 6th floor where there was a tiny rooftop tavern. We ate lamb with mushrooms, dolmas with yogurt sauce, and various other casseroles. It was delish!

The next day we went to Topkapi palace and saw the famous dagger and the harems. There wasn't much to see, per se, as most of the palace is quite empty and has all the same luxuriously tiled walls, elaborate windows and wall length couches. But I was quite happy to let my imagination run wild and picture the Sultan with his wives, his mother and his sons in that warren of rooms.

We also made our way to the hammans, or Turkish bath. So you get there and then take off your clothes (most people kept their underwear on but went topless) and go down to the steam room. Here this was a very hot, steamy room with a giant marble stone circle in the middle. You lie on top of this stone for fifteen minutes or so until you are quite sweaty. Then the bathing lady comes and starts scrubbing you down hard core. Then they splash water on you and soap you up. Then more water and they shampoo you. Then more water and you are done. Then you are free to enjoy the sauna and hot tub and marble slab as you please, dousing yourself with hot or cold water as you feel the need. After all this you get a warm towel and can sit in the tea room for a while. Very relaxing!

From the beginning, Athens

I arrived in Athens on a Saturday night after a long flight. It was pretty easy to figure out the metro system and then walk to our hotel, which was a few blocks from the Syntagma stop. Syntagma is where the main parliment stop is and we went the next morning to watch the changing of the guard, a long process involving guards in full costume with big puffy balls on their feet walking around.

From there we walked further into the market/tourist district where you can see the acropolis from almost everywhere and the streets are lined with souvlaki and gyro places, selling greek salads thick with feta and cold Mythos or Alpha beers (Alpha being the sweeter/maliter, Mythos more like Corona or Stella).

We stayed at the Student Traveler's Inn which was footsteps from the Plaka, or center of Athens. Plaka is like little italy. It is pedestrian only with cobblestone streets, cute little sidewalk eateries and people selling all kinds of Greek chotchkes. It was enchanting for a few days but quickly became old and tiresome. The setting was great- the arched doorways covered with flowers and vines. It was just all the people trying to sell you stuff all the time.

The hostel was cute with a garden terrace and lots of friendly internationals. It was just a little too loud. Around 5 am before we had to get up to catch the 7am ferry to Naxos, we heard an american girl come in loudly saying that she had made out with a greek boy and nobody better tell her boyfriend! That "don't tell my boyfriend" became an instant inside joke througout our trip.

The historical sites of athens are pretty cool. For 12 euro you can buy a ticket to all the main sites including Hadrian's Arch/library, the acropolis, the two agoras, theaters and other places. The Acropolis had amazing views of the city but was very very hot on a 90 plus degree day. I enjoyed getting to know this side of Athens.
We also went to see a traditional greek dance but got rained out in the middle of this outdoor performance.

In Turkey!

I'm writing this blogpost from Turkey. I have a few free moments since I just arrived at my hostel in Istanbul, which appears to be pretty awesome- ie rooftop bar filled with pillows, hookah, and a view of the city.

This morning I was in Perissa town, Santorini Island, Greece. I stumbled out of my beachside hostel around 8am and went into the sleepy town to catch a bus into Fira, the main town on the island. From there I took another bus to the airport and took the 1/2 hour flight to Athens, and then quickly turned around and took another 45 minute flight to Istanbul. The views out my plane window were amazing! and worth all the schlepping.

I have to admit I am a little exhausted from traveling. It's been more than a week already! But I am glad to be in a new place and look forward to exploring it in the next few days. I guess it can't really get any better than enjoying where you are and also getting to look forward to going home, so that's nice

Sunshine Cleaning

This movie was a pleasure to watch. It was simple and not conceited, well acted and elegantly written and unpredictable enough to keep me interested.

Sunshine Cleaning stars Amy Adams and Emily Blunt as two sisters trying to find their way in life as adults after they mother committed suicide when they were kids. They start a crime scene/blood & guts cleaning business together.

I liked this movie because- gasp- it was about the relationship between two women and their family dynamics. There was no forced heterosexual resolution. It was sort of in the vein of Thelma and Louise but more subtle and less desperate; more cathartic and less edgy. It was the kind of old school melodrama that I like but it didn't have to punish the women for not being with a man, for not being financially successful, for not being married. It was nice to breathe a sigh of relief and enjoy a movie that was not just dripping with Hollywood slickness (although both Adams and Blunt are distractingly gorgeous).

:)

pet peeve

people who force me to interact socially in the morning. I feel all those "good mornings" directed at me when I obviously didn't initiate said interactions are vaguely ominous. if i want to talk to you in the morning I will; if not, please do not make me.

that is all

Opportunities

In about a week I head to Greece for two glorious weeks of paid vacation! I'm really excited about going somewhere completely new, taking a break from my everyday life and satisfying my travel lust.

When I get back, I will be training for a completely new job. Right now I am training coworkers to take over all my duties and that favor will be returned after my vacation. It's going to be interesting over here and I am not adverse to learning new things. And now for something completely different!

a three tiered fork in the road

I've come to a point in my life where everyone around me is experiencing the tug of change. And I can't be immune. Friends are applying to graduate school (both masters and PhDs), leaving the country, leaving jobs, being laid off, searching for something more fulfilling. I essentially believe that in the next year I need to decide on a path. Here are my options as I see them:

1) stay in the office/corporate world and try to move closer to the production & creative side.

It took a lot of work to get my foot in the door and I am reluctant to walk away from the opening. I am also hopeful that in a few years the economy will recover and I will have enough of a TV network and experience in the workplace to jump up the ladder a few rungs. After all, I now a have a job in my field. Cons are a tense workplace and a non creatively challenging job.

2) get a master's in education and become a teacher.

This would be a quarter life crisis move. I could become a teacher, get paid more, play with kids, and do something more along my personality line. I know it's hard work but I love kids and I think I could really get a kick out of teaching. Cons are that it is not related to film/media. But at a high school level...there's wiggle room. Education is a reliable field choice with a high demand and good benefits.

3) go to graduate school in Media/Film Studies

This is the passion, the dream. However, it is expensive, debt-inducing and in no way promising of a future career in Film or Media. A big indulgence with high risk- but really fun. Kind of foreboding in this kind of economy. Also does not really address my interest in production.

I'm hoping two weeks in the Grecian sun will pull an epiphany out of me!

District 9

The first movie I've seen in months...only because on two nights in a row, the BF's friends were all planning to go and I got dragged along. I'd read reviews that said the movie was good for what it was- a low budget scifi action thriller. An alien spaceship comes to a halt above Johannesburg and the humans rescue the stranded aliens and put them in District 9, a concentration camp/apartheid metaphor.

There were plenty of problems with this movie. Logic questions, character questions. Too many explosions. A bad guy who realllly would not die. Extremely masculine and women play nothing than brief plot blips. And it really hit you over the head with the alien-human metaphor of "who really is the monster/alien/unknown/other."

But I liked it! It was enjoyable to a film student because it was a big stinky piece of popular culture, just ripe for deconstruction. What paper material! What classroom fodder! It switched from documentary style to action movie midstream, which was an interesting shift to try and pass by an audience. The main character was also such a douche bag at the beginning but by the end he is our Byronic hero. It was compelling, well directed, and just plain fun to imagine. And viscerally so alien-y; satisfying oozes and guts and blood and gore. :)

puppets & air travel

Interesting title, you say? Oh, it gets better.

On Wednesday I was invited by a friend to a dinner party at her apartment in Roosevelt Island. I had never been to this tiny island sandwiched between Manhattan & Queens. It felt like a resort, with one Main St flanked by glistening water. It is mostly residential with a lot of landscaping and a homey/retirement kind of feel. The apartment had a whole wall of windows with an amazing view of Manhattan and the water and for not much more rent that one pays for a non-doorman apartment downtown. The coolest part was they have a cable car that leaves Roosevelt Island and lands on 59th st and 2nd Ave in Manhattan. And this cable car is part of the subway system, so my monthly unlimited worked like a ticket! It sweeps you up alongside the bridge with an amazing view. What a commute!

On Thursday, I went to a show with friends of mine called- hold it- Puppetry of the Penis. Yes this show was exactly what the title implies. Their genital origami was hilarious, gross, astonishing and just silly. I saw "installations" like the hamburger, the turtle, the windsurfer- its endless. But surprisingly I almost enjoyed the opening comedic act as much as the actual show. They had Amy Schumer, who was on Last Comic Standing (she got 4th place). She was frakkin' hilarious. Truly had me in stitches- and also a lot dirtier than on on TV, so nice! She just had the best delivery and seemed like one of those people that would be so fun to go to dinner with and just laugh your ass off.

and TGIF!!!

Dept update!

Summoned to an important early morning meeting to find out...that our immediate boss is now the big boss! So wahoo, I guess. Doesn't much change anything except acknowledge that everything is still changing.

I also saw the secret 13th episode of Dollhouse, Joss Whedon's newest show. It was a fun dystopian glimpse of a future where people's memories & personalities can be wiped away through wireless technology and made into army zombies. Fun times! No, it was typical Joss- clear characters, nicely witty, strong females. I can see why Fox did not want to air it as the season finale. It's quite a deviation from the regular plot. A sort of a petit four; not quite related to the meal that came before, but delicious none the less. It felt more like an episode of Firefly (the Whedon space cowboy series) to me.

So ready for the weekend! Going to a new BBQ place in Williamsburg tomorrow where they purportedly sell beer by the gallon.

british guys singing

So I went to another Summer Play Festival play last friday and what a different tone it was from the first play, Tender! This play, Departure Lounge, was a frolicking dramedy about four UK guys in a Spanish airport waiting to fly back to London the summer after they ended school and before going to university. It was amazingly fun- I mean, four cute guys with delicious accents singing and dancing! It was quite light hearted and the guys really shined during their musical numbers. They had great voices and could really rock the small theater space. The writing was good enough; some sentimentality and everything wrapped up a little too easily, but it did the job of stringing all the songs together in a coherent whole.

It was interesting to see the range of different type of plays at the SPF. Tender was so wordy, intellectual, all about how to manipulate writing and the audience. Departure Lounge was more Broadway (actually very akin to Altar Boyz, an off Bway play that has run for years about a faux Christian boy band). I enjoyed both plays equally, but the BF got much more of a kick out of Departure Lounge. And he didn't fall asleep, so there you go.

Closing in on Obama

Yes, that's right now I'm two separate two degrees of separation from Mr.Prez. First I met Michelle (or served/stalked her) and then walaa, this thing with Henry Louis Gates. The prof did a PBS show and so stopped by several different local affiliates, one of them being my station. And I rode the elevator with him. This was of course before the whole key door debacle. It's only a matter of time Obama! Way to go for thinking a beer can solve racial profiling. I do admire him for actually acknowledging American cultural tensions.

Willa the World Wanderer

That sounded silly but...I have officially spent over one thousand dollars on a trip. It better be one hell of a vacation! It's from Sept 4-19, and we are spending about 10 days in Greece and 5 days in Turkey. I'm scared *#$%#*less but super excited. Last night I could barely sleep because I spent so much money on this trip & it is such an uncertain economy, and I haven't done serious backpacking like this ever really and I had to give myself a pep talk. But it's a good kind of scared I think. I keep talking the talk about taking risks and shaking things up. Well, this is a risk and an adventure and that's the point of life as far as I'm concerned! The traveling is the way I like it too, with at least three days in each place so that you can get a feel for it without being totally wiped out from getting place to place. Wooooo!

Recession Blues

The recession finally hit me this week. One of my most wonderful friends and fabulous colleague was let go and it made me so angry, tearful and really feeling that it is unfair. I guess that's one of the points of this recession: a lot of nasty stuff is going to happen to good people. We didn't directly participate in all the greedy practices and foolish spending that led to this point, but it affects everyone. and damn, it's really not fair!

So more people got laid off after we were told that was the end of it. And now our department is going through a complete overhaul and merging with other departments, moving around, getting new bosses and a new work flow. But none of it hurts like losing my friend here...it really won't be the same. It's a big loss :( and I can't even imagine how it will affect her life.

The future remains uncertain. In a way, it's good. It shakes up my complacency and makes me think what else I could, would, should do with my life. I've had a lot of good luck and wonderful things in my life- really been very blessed- so I'm trying to approach this turn in the road in a positive, confident way. But it is not easy and is a hard lesson to learn.

SPF 10

Every summer the Public theater has a Summer Play Festival where they give the stage to several up and coming playwrights for cheap $15 tickets. These plays run throughout July. I love that in New York you can go to reasonably priced independent plays and see budding talents. This is a non profit project so none of the plays expect to do anything more than break even. They really spend the money on getting a good cast and director and making the best out of their performance space.

Last night I went to Tender by Nikki Bloom. The criticism I often have for plays is that they tend to be too wordy. Writers love to write after all, and often have difficulty limiting their egos or their words. Tender did not have that problem. This concise 1 hour play did not have an intermission and flowed through tightly choreographed scenes. The plot was forgettable- something traumatic happens to a family, they deal with it. But the writing was pitch perfect. It swung you through different emotions and viewpoints, twisting around language in different ways, and only a few times becoming superfluous.

Of the four person ensemble, the only one who really shined was the main actress, Kerry Bishe. At first I didn't want to like her because I thought oh, another skinny blonde actress. But she could actually act quite well!

Well worth the money :)

Bah humbug

Drew Barrymore is shooting a new movie in and around my building and I haven't seen her at all! pouty face. also lurking around should be Justin Long and Christina Applegate

New york is a scream

From a little media bee I heard the buzz that David Arquette was in a glass box in front of Madison Square Garden. Waaaa? I said. Why? Well it turns out he was supporting a charity called Feed American and taking a stand (in a glass/plastic box) for hunger. I went to check it and they have perched this plastic tent on the top of MSG right next to the big marquee. Well, cool, I guess. I really liked David in Scream and think he and Courtney Cox are a cute couple. Anything goes in new yawk.

Chugging along

Life has been going at a pretty smooth rate these days. I had a good 4th of July weekend: watched the fireworks on a friend's roof, sunbathed in Prospect Park and Coney Island, ate lots of delicious food.

The job has been kind of crazy, what with me managing myself! Yep, I'm surviving but learning a lot along the way. Which is good in the long run but hard right now. I guess a lot more people in the company are noticing/working with me without my manager because he usually did most of that. I just hope they are getting a good impression.

On the media front, I'm still watching 30 Rock, Kathy Griffin: My life on the D-list, Tori & Dean, The Tudors, and started re-watching Dexter because the 3rd season comes out in August. That show is so good! It makes you realize how much intention crafts our cultural idea of crime. The differences between a serial killer, a vigilante and a solider are finely drawn. You are doing it for the common good, the country, patriotism, justice or all the other glowing euphemisms? Then we can empathize! Anyway, interesting stuff.

30 Rock binge

Currently watching at least one episode of 30 Rock a day. I blame it on Netflix and their instant tv watching abilities. But I love this show! It's about television, smart women, cultural mockery, vaudevillian slapstick and sharply sketched characters.
LOVE! IT! Tina Fey really rocks my world, pun intended :)

Vampire Romance

Vampires are back in style! Or vamping their way to the forefront of American culture. True Blood & Twilight both feature pale tortured male vamps in love with beautiful, vulnerable young women. The thing with vamp stories is that it is almost ALWAYS about a male vamp and a human woman. The traits of a vampire- the strength, the predatory ways, the penetration of the fangs- make it a traditionally masculine role. The human woman is frailer and is the prey. The interesting thing about male vampires is that they are the most tortured, melancholy, romantic of males. For some reason, their undead state and superhuman strength (not to mention godly beauty) allows them to be in touch with their emotions, wahoo!

Both series are also based on books, which says something both about the long literary history of vampires and also their place in pulp/romantic fiction- or women's fiction. Debate about the literary merit of this genre continues and it might not help that they are so ripe for film adaptation. Lots of imagery, action and making out. The True Blood books are definitely aimed at women. Twilight is aimed at young people in general but makes its audience mostly out of females from 14-24 (the money market).

And they both feature prominent female leads, the same as Buffy. (for a very fun time, check out the mashed up sequence where fans have edited Buffy into Twilight so that she kills Edward). And so I watch them. And I wonder where the female vampires are. Why are there no female vamps? Of course, they are given side stories in all of these texts but that is not a focusing relationship. Hard to picture a rock hard, physically strong woman in a romantic relationship with a comparitively weaker, normal and non supernatural man? Because then it's not sexy if she scares him, if she bites him, if she dominates? Hmmm

And once again Jezebel proves how awesome it is by commenting on the this exact topic:
http://jezebel.com/5301189/the-allure-of-books-with-bite

Crawling back to Netflix

So...I caved. I went back. After six solid months off the juice, I just couldn't take it anymore. Yes this happens to coincide with the end of the television season and the beginning of the giant reality wasteland that is summer programming. But it's also because Netflix now offers instant streaming for Macs (before it was just PCs)which means I can watch stuff on my computer now! And we all now how much instant gratification is important to Americans. So far I managed to watch the premiere of Nurse Jackie (on Netflix as a promotional tool) and it was good! Smart show, cliched premise, good acting. I also watched the first episode of the Tudor's, season 2- all of which is available instantly on Netflix. There goes my social life! But seriously, I just couldn't hold out any longer- there was a back list of movies I've been wanting to see for a while. So for $10 a month, its really not bad- almost cheaper than going to see one movie in the theater. But we all know that I'm a film and media junkie and i need my hook-up, stat!

Twelfth Night in the park

was magical! really fun. The weather turned out to be perfect, with pink & blue streaked skies, perfect temperature & no rain. This version of 12th nite was definitely on the campy side. They played up the cross-dressing homosexual tension & the foolery, so that it was light hearted & fun. The play, especially the side story of Malvolio's hubris, has elements of humiliation, discomfort, madness and power that can be played on to bring out the tragedy in the story. However, this version was sort of like 12th nite recession style: all upbeat and funny and happily queer. I had a great time and thought that Anne Hathaway was perfect!! She has such an interesting look, not at all typical but very compelling.

A fabulous NYT write up:http://theater2.nytimes.com/2009/06/26/theater/reviews/26night.html?hp=&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1246024924-uM4JzSAGby7CSemiB3CQSA

Digital, baby!

TV has pulled the plug on analog, sorry poor old people with old tvs. It's all sexy digital now, yeah baby!

and i scored tiks to Shakespeare in the Park's Twelfth Night (my abs fav shakespeare play) with Anne Hathaway (adorable!). I'm super duper excited and hope that this miserable rain takes a hike, because I don't think sitting through several hours of drizzle would be good for my cold. Yay Shakes!

wow

My manager is leaving to go back to grad school...big drama! 2 weeks left to soak up all the answers to every problem. sigh.

Long week

It's been a long hard week. In addition to my full time job, I squeezed in 20+ hours catering in the last three days. And it was not glamorous. It was hard and dirty and now I'm really tired. Last night I realized ten minutes after my bath that I had only shaved one leg- and this was at 2am. And today at work everything feels overwhelming- find myself on the verge of tears. I need to slow down I guess.

Last night could have been cool. It was the Apollo's 75th anniversary and they decked out the back parking lot in a completely white tent with white carpeting, huge chandeliers covering vines, gothic white mirrors: such a 70s vibe. But the party was teeming, the trays were huge and heavy, and I just wanted to sleep.

Sigh...

Deja Hood

So I have this thing in NYC where I won't go to a certain neighborhood for weeks or months, and then I go there three times in one week. It happened to me with the world trade center- I hadn't been there in a year and then I went there to cater, for an event and with friends all in one week. It's like NYC has a weird flux movement and certain places don't exist all the time- or maybe the city is just too big!

Dollhouse is renewed!

And Joss Whedon strikes again! Dollhouse picks up another season, which means I get more of my butt-kicking Faith/Echo/Buffy character and all the delightful Whedon-esque comedy, camp, wit and action. YAY! finally a good show makes the cut. Fox said it agreed to renew the show because Whedon picked up the pace and made the show more thriller-ish and actiony. well, whatever you have to do to survive :)

On set

Today I woke up and walked 10 blocks from my apartment to visit the set of Electric Company, a PBS Kids show. My department was offered this opportunity because we are in contact with their production office. It was a beautiful warm day in the green Jackie Robinson park, and I enjoyed watching them film a musical number involving a basketball dance, a Cyrano-like love song, and lots of pre-teens in bright clothing. It was nice to realize a perk to my job and be on set at a production again.

Real Esate Buzz

I was never really interested in real estate until I moved to NYC. But here in the city, people talk about real estate as a matter of course. In the same breath that they discuss the best subway routes or the best bars, or the newest movie/scandal/current events, New Yorkers talk real estate. They discuss the boundaries and flavors of different neighborhoods, the accessibility and benefits of living near different transit systems, the deals and the rip-offs, the social life and the quiet, landlords and supers, rents and fees, Chelsea & Hamilton Heights & Chinatown & Williamsburg. I find it fascinating- one particular, multi-faceted doorway to understanding this city and how it works.

Today in the NYT there was an article about how Hamilton Heights in Harlem is a good place for value (duh!). It was insultingly titled "Not a Dive after all!" as if anything that isn't below 96th st is baseline terrible. That's my hood now and where most of my friends have congregated because we can have nice, spacious, amenity half-filled apartments at a reasonable price and a reasonable commute. But the NYT just had this attitude like a secret had been discovered when in fact it has been a long buzzed about 'hood among people my age -less of a commute than Sunset Park, Astoria or Bushwick; less pricey than W'burg; and a twenty minute ride to the heart of the West Village for as much night life as you can stand. Their example was three girls paying $750 each for a fifth floor walk up three bedroom with a dish washer and a washer/dryer. I pay $750 for a fifth floor elevator building with laundry in the basement and only one roommate! And it wasn't particularly hard to find, either. And one of my friends pays $800 for a three bedroom in Hell's Kitchen at 43rd st and 11th Ave- fourth floor walk up with a nice sized living room. Another pays $900 total for a studio on 137th st on the BC line- and it is so cute with pre-war detailing and a great fireplace.

Endlessly fascinating!

No longer waiting for Godot

So this week has been pretty awesome! NYC's really letting me have it with all the culture/arts/celebrity funtastic city times. Bring it on NYC. bring. it. on.

The fun continued last night when the BF & I had one of our great date nights. We went to see Waiting for Godot through Roundabout Theater. It just got nominated for 2 Tonys, yay! Starred Nathan Lane, Bill Irwin, John Goodman & John Glover. Really well acted and interesting and intellectual and funny and uncomfortable and weird and sympathetic- well everything this play is supposed to be. Then because we are Hiptix members we went to the after party at the Iguana club with free wine, dinner and a cool band. It was just a blast. :)

Time 100

When I found out I was catering the Time 100 most influential people party, I flipped through a copy of the magazine. I thought to myself, it's too much to hope for Michelle or Brad- but just give me one or two minor celebs and I will be happy.

Then I arrived at the Time party to find out that secret service was there because Michelle Obama was the guest of honor. We all had to wear catering security badges. I got my assignment and found out that my partner table was the VIP (and I mean V-I-P with emphasis) table. So they took the four waiters aside and gave us golden apples to pin on our uniforms. This signified to the secret service that we were allowed to approach the table with Michelle. Any other waiters were not allowed past the golden apple zone. That golden apple is now one of my treasured mementos :)

The evening just got better from there. While I was manning coat check, OPRAH strolled in with Gale and Baraba Walters and went over to hug Diane Sawyer. The photogs went wild and I just stared in awe. Oprah was also at the VIP table apparently with Lorne Micheals (who I never saw). After her I saw Tavis Smiley, Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar, Dan Barber, the Twitter Guys, Somaly Mam, JJ Abrams and Suze Orman (at my table).

But then...MICHELLE OBAMA arrives looking stunning in a tight fitting black gown with a black satin corset and long dangly necklaces. She gave an amazing speech about giving back to one's community and was gracious and very compelling. Love!
Michelle and Oprah on gawker. This was my view if I turned my back to the stage.

But then...A.R. RAHMAN (also at the VIP table) comes on stage- which is literally five feet from me- and performs two songs! Amazing. 

Then they did spotlight toasts and Oprah spoke, and STELLA MCCARTNEY spoke, and the Twitter guys tweeted. Stella brought LIV TYLER AND KATE HUDSON as her girl posse and they spent the night playing with each other's hair and rocking dagger like stilettos. (Liv in lacy black and Louboutin, Kate in all white with gold heels). 

But then...freakin' JIMMY FALLON runs onto the stage with his guitar and hilariously roasts the guests. He said that Michelle was in a new comic book fighting her arch nemesis- sleeves :) 

But then...JOHN LEGEND took the stage with a full band to end the evening with a four song set. Amazing! His girlfriend was there and didn't pay attention most of the time he was singing but I sure did and so did Whoopi who was mouthing the words to some of the songs. 

Amazing night and I got paid to attend!

check out the red carpet video from time.com  time 100 red carpet

A tease

The full post will come later but here are some of the celebs I recently spotted:

Kate Hudson

Liv Tyler

Whoopi Goldberg

Joy Behar

The Twitter Guys

Diane Sawyer

& more! coming soon

My Big Fat Greek Star moment

I saw Nia Vardalos- here's the image for those of you without name recognition.

She was at the Apple store promoting her new flick "My Life in Ruins." I didn't make it through the whole Q&A because the interviewer was really boring and asking inane questions. But it was neat to see Nia who was really glowing. She was wearing a sparkly zebra striped top and leggings and proudly told the audience that she got the dress/top from Strawberry's for $12 and the jewelry she was wearing was borrowed and worth millions. I liked her immediately and it was cool to see how close she was to the characters she played- ie down to earth, intelligent and quite funny. And of course, Greek. Which in of itself makes her different than all the other white washed actresses. She's also a writer too and a good one. yay!

the time out New York article

Bring your Own Wine: a TONY article

where I am sitting at the same table in the chinese restaurant that you see in the pictures! I wrote about it a few weeks ago

working hard for the money

Oh, manual labor. You forget how much it sucks til you do it again. I had my first catering job in six months recently and boy oh boy are my girly arms complaining about the hours of holding trays stacked with drinks (pomegranate infused martinis for the curious), hauling tables/boxes/chairs and cleaning up other people's trash. It made me grateful for intellectually stimulating and physically undemanding job with benefits and steady hours. However, it's a very nice perk to have an interesting second job that doesn't require my brain to work. It also makes me thing the economy is *hopefully* improving if I am once again catering parties.

That said...the party was cool! It was for an arts organization based downtown so the party was at the World Trade center on the 40 something floor so I got an amazing view of foggy Manhattan. It was all modern and odd, with a giant screen showing an indie art film on a loop, mobile-like art projects 

hanging from the ceiling and Indian music. The bar was half electric blue plastic and three dimensional mirror/shiny tiles with pink and blue light cords over top. There were stools that looked like tree trunks painted white and ottomans and pillows scattered around. 

And I saw the Hoff! No, not the Baywatch one but Phillip Seymore Hoffman! Actually he was at my table and declined both the dinner rolls and wine that I offered.

Tori & Dean

I went to see Tori Spelling at a book signing in Columbus Circle. I like her reality show because for most of it she's preggers or plump with baby weight, burping, complaining, ineptly cooking or otherwise being relatable. However when I when I saw her in person I was put off by her complete fakeness. Incredibly skinny, orange tan, bleached platinum blond, caked with make-up. There was very little that reminded me of her reality show "character." 

When she came out, the photogs went wild shouting "Tori! to the left, in the corner Tori! to the right! over here Tori! Tori!" and then for about ten seconds they shouted

 "Tori & Dean!" and then went right back to just "TORI!". They were so overwhelming and overpowering for a moment I really understood how paparazzi could interfere with your life and frighten you. 

Dean sat in the corner looking bored (but cute! and very similar to how he appears on the show). I don't know if I will like this season as much. Tori's completely manufactured appearance doesn't speak well for any pretense to reality. It reminded me too much of acting- broke the illusion.

big city

Last night as I was walking home from a party about a ten minute walk away from where I live in Harlem, I passed by a couple of guys on the street. One of them followed me for about ten paces and called out "hey white girl!"  This was not particularly frightening but it was intimidating and made me feel like an outsider. It also got me thinking about my experiences in NYC. 

The first thing I have to say is I am pretty ignorant about racial dynamics in the city- perhaps more familiar with the sexual dynamics (like having my ass groped while walking down the street with an eleven year old or the ever constant litany of "how you doing," & "smile, girl"). In my almost two years here I have had only a handful of people talk to me on the street, saying versions of everything from "white girl" to "cracker bitch" from everywhere to downtown Manhattan to the Bronx. Somewhere in there is a messy conflict between race, class & gender dynamics. 

I know that all the neighborhoods in New York have distinct flavors and personalities and that these change over time and cause tension. Living here has been the first time for me to be a racial minority- both in Sunset Park and Harlem. Not a particularly awful burden, seeing as how I still retain a lot of white privilege. But an eye opener. I see how as apartments become available in my building, white people move in. I see how the majority of people are polite and friendly in both of the neighborhoods where I have lived. I honestly cannot afford the "white" neighborhoods of NYC like Union Square, West Village or Upper East/West side. 

thought of the day

talk about timing...would i have had the nerve to try and "make it" in NYC if the recession had started righted after graduation? who knows and knock on wood

Candyland

Yesterday I went to see Candy Spelling (real name Carole!) speak at the Borders at the Time Warner Center in Columbus Circle. This is a building where I have worked many times as a caterer and I never get tired of the amazing glass walls that look over Central Park and Columbus Circle. The majesty of the place seemed to fit television royalty like Candy. 

Now I am familiar with Tori, having watched all the seasons of Tori & Dean, read her first book and caught up with 90210. Tori fascinates me because she seems both smart and naive- a television princess who carved her own path but stumbled quite a bit on the way. Her childhood stories were incredible and definitely painted Candy as overly perfectionist and distant (both from Tori and the real world). And I understand why Candy has emerged to tell her own story- it's obviously not for the money, maybe for the attention.

In her book, Candy paints herself as a shy (she even stumbled a bit during her speech) traditional young woman groomed to be the perfect wife and mother. With a respectable honestly she admits to being a trophy wife and to enjoying the role in the background. 

There is also this amazing unconscious acceptance of her enormous wealth. Going to Europe? Why not take 30 pieces of luggage? Why not have a gift wrapping room or an endless list of collections? Why not? That's the part I can't understand- living in that type of extreme luxury. She also had a bone to pick with Tori and repeats over and over that her daughter has "millions" and shouldn't be disgruntled. But personally it's easy to see how that level of money could disrupt familial relationships. Complicated, indeed.

Candy in person seemed like a very mannered and nice lady but she also seemed like the type of woman you do NOT want to cross. It would terrify me to eat dinner with her because she's the type that would notice every single etiquette mistake. It seems obvious that Tori's main sin was airing the dirty laundry. But then again, she is the daughter of a television mogul who made it rich on melodrama...

A good book

is a great thing. Just finished reading Laura Lippman's What the Dead Know, the first book in a long time that I haven't been able to put down. It was a well written mystery novel with just the right amount of twist so that I kind of guessed but was still satisfied to be right. Great to escape into a fictional, if dark, world and be held in the hands of a good writer.

Chillin' with Time Out NY

This was a fun experience that happened out of the blue yesterday. J & I decided to go to Joe's Dumplings, a touristy and hyped up dumpling house in Chinatown. We figured it was a Tuesday at 7pm and we would be early enough to avoid the annoyingly long line that usually snakes out of the restaurant. When we got there, we were seated right away at a ten person table as they often do in Chinatown.

We ordered our soup dumplings right away and then lo and behold three guys were ushered to our table, one of whom was snapping photographs right and left. Of the other two, one was a writer for Time Out New York and the other was a chef. They were doing a piece on restaurants that let your bring your own booze and had the lofty goal of going to four places in one night- and were starting said night at Joe's. This elite press corp got their soup dumplings in seconds while we stared in envy (after all we had got there a good ten minutes before them and yet waited ten more minutes for our dumplings!).

Here's the article in TONY: http://newyork.timeout.com/articles/restaurants-bars/73456/byowine-at-new-york-city-restaurants-feature-article/2.html

On a side note, the soup dumplings were larger and soup-ier than my favorite Chinatown place Green Bo, but other than that not that different and certainly not worth a long wait. Maybe it was our glutionous looks that prompted the writer/chef to pour us tastes of the red and white wines he brought and solicit our humble people-of-the street opinions. But my taste of fame was brief- soon another family joined our table with a blindingly cute and charming Shirley Temple-esque five year old who completely stole the show.

The photographer explained his dream of a job. He was a food photographer and often went to five plus restraunts on any given day doing food press and gobbling up all the deliciousness. On that note, J asked him for Japanese recommendations and the photog rattled off a list of downtown eateries that we have to try now. All in all, a fun reminder on a bland Tuesday that I live in NYC. Sometimes the city likes to remind you just where you are.