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...