My article on how video game design provides lessons for website designers just got published on Boxes and Arrows. Very excited!
Boxes and Arrows is a peer-written industry journal for information architects, interaction designers, graphic designers and other user experience professionals. Readers vote on story ideas that you submit and then the editors greenlight your piece if you get enough votes.
('Boxes' and 'arrows' refer to the diagrams that designers have to draw to show how you move from screen to screen on a website and what happens where.)
All those hours playing Singstar, Age of Empires and Call of Duty 4 on my PS2, and claiming the Playstation as a tax deduction, just paid off.
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Thursday, August 07, 2008
Wednesday, August 06, 2008
They just keep on coming
I beg to differ, Carme75Conne52. I think, somehow, physical pain is still out there, somewhere, on this planet.
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
Street view hits Melbourne
Thanks Colette for letting me know that Google street view has now expanded to Melbourne, which has allowed us to see our little house in Flemington in all its glory. It looks hot and dry in the photo. And clean. And empty. Fabulous that we can see it and kind of scary. I am so looking forward to moving in there and rattling around all those rooms. It's a frequent fantasy of mine when I scan the plants at the Union Square market and obsess over Kitchen Aid appliances in Williams Sonoma. Might sound nuts but Jus and I have started buying stuff that we know we won't really use here but we know we will need (need? read: can buy cheaper here than home and may as well) in Australia. Like extra place settings of silverware. And said appliances. And clothes. I don't expect to buy any clothes for about 3 years when I get home. Especially winter stuff. I don't think I will ever need to buy another coat again. (I can already hear Jus throwing that one back at me in 2031.) Ugh, just thinking of winter stuff makes me feel sweaty.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Celebrity sighting #30
Saw Julianne Moore in the West Village on Sunday afternoon with her two kids. Smaller IRL than I expected, but luminous.
Jus and I were scooting through the Village on our way to the Hudson for a bit of picnicking and Scrabble on the grass but got caught in a thunderstorm. Ate our ham and American cheese (there is such a variety, apparently: its entirely non-descript) sandwiches watching fork and sheet lightning ravage Jersey City and the financial district. Stayed there for a bit and then fled home by clinging to streets with scaffolding (that got us three blocks) and eventually hopping in a taxi.
Sunday roast for dinner. Beef with gravy, roast potatoes, peas, hard-to-come-by squash, the works. Blueberry pie for dessert. Actually the best pie I've had since I got here. Juicy, whole little blueberries and authentic buttery pastry. All washed down with ginger beer (also hard to come by: went to 4 supermarkets to find it).
Jus and I were scooting through the Village on our way to the Hudson for a bit of picnicking and Scrabble on the grass but got caught in a thunderstorm. Ate our ham and American cheese (there is such a variety, apparently: its entirely non-descript) sandwiches watching fork and sheet lightning ravage Jersey City and the financial district. Stayed there for a bit and then fled home by clinging to streets with scaffolding (that got us three blocks) and eventually hopping in a taxi.
Sunday roast for dinner. Beef with gravy, roast potatoes, peas, hard-to-come-by squash, the works. Blueberry pie for dessert. Actually the best pie I've had since I got here. Juicy, whole little blueberries and authentic buttery pastry. All washed down with ginger beer (also hard to come by: went to 4 supermarkets to find it).
Friday, July 25, 2008
via Songza
An old fave (Japanese electro pop song called 'Paris Hilton' replete with chicken noises, how can it be bad?) that I dug up on Songza, a website that lets you search for songs and just play them, free, then and there. Don't ask, can't be legal.
Lyrics, to wit:
Shake your body body Move your body body Jump your body body Shake your body body Paris Hilton!
Go ahead! Say What?
I'm the richest party dumb girl
Would you like to look at my sex tape?
Natural beauty, photogenic
Always ready to pose for nice shoots
Put my puppy Chanel dress
He sleeps Louis Vuitton bag
Silver spoon, champagne bath
Mom! I want that one, please!
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Montecarlo Review
Review date: Aug.242007
Review by: Anonymous from Seattle, WA
Montecarlo
The Montecarlo features an oversized stainless steel case. Leather band. Stainless steel buckle. Date window. Solid curved mineral crystal. 3 Hand analog movement and digital time. 5 ATM. Thick wrist.
Fantastic and unique - ...
Reviewer Comments: Fantastic and unique - Great watch, very stylish and unique. The face isn't that tall, making it great for guys with smaller wrists. Has date, time, stopwatch, and alarm functionality. A little on the expensive side, but when you are wearing it, you'll love every minute of it.
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Friday, July 18, 2008
About Face
couple of months. I thought they were painful, pointless and petty.
But i'm wondering now if I just had a few unlucky experiences with
shonky nail aestheticians (one of the names I've come across.) there's
a joint next to the office where it's $10 and I've actually gone there
with a colleague for a meeting. Hard to take notes but we walk out
with manis that last for weeks. Not petty at all, right?
Btw it's 11.27pm and 31c outside. Another heatwave. 35c tomorrow and
30+ all week. Oy vey. Bought a fan and haven't worn closed shoes for
weeks. One extreme to another.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Real Life New Yorker #7 - Mike
This is Mike, who I used to work with, live several blocks from, and enjoy teasing very much. He gave me 5 packets of wasabi peas for my birthday and has such a serious thing for Italian red wine that he has tastings chez lui every week. He's yet another Gen Y person making me feel old.
Where did you grow up?
Grew up in Ohio. Dayton, OH. Which is, as I’m sure everyone in the world knows, the birthplace of aviation. Those bastard usurpers in north carolina deserve little to no credit for being ‘first in flight.’ The Wright brothers were born in Dayton, OH. They grew up in Dayton, OH. The owned and operated a bike shop in Dayton, OH. They conceived of, designed and built the world’s first lighter than air flying machine in Dayton, OH. Decided they needed some soft sand and some wind, so they went to kittyhawk to test things out. And from that, North Carolina deceivingly put ‘first in flight’ on their license plate AND their quarter. The world should know, great minds come from Dayton, OH; all that north Carolina has is sand and wind.
What brought you to New York?
School and wanting to be someplace new.
School and wanting to be someplace new.
What do you like about the US?
Is this the same as asking what I dislike about other countries? Well, we have a lot of freedom and liberty here, which is pretty great stuff. Also, manifest destiny is one of the more kick-ass life philosophies I’ve come across.
Is this the same as asking what I dislike about other countries? Well, we have a lot of freedom and liberty here, which is pretty great stuff. Also, manifest destiny is one of the more kick-ass life philosophies I’ve come across.
Is there anything you hate about America?
Immigrants that fail to properly assimilate. You don’t have to actually love it here to stay, but our unspoken social contract very explicitly stipulates that all Americans should always outwardly project a deep love for their country. Also, all immigrants should bring with them detailed knowledge of their country’s traditional cuisine; we love ur food.
Immigrants that fail to properly assimilate. You don’t have to actually love it here to stay, but our unspoken social contract very explicitly stipulates that all Americans should always outwardly project a deep love for their country. Also, all immigrants should bring with them detailed knowledge of their country’s traditional cuisine; we love ur food.
What do you think of when you think of Australia?
Eh…probably exactly what you think Americans think of when they think of Australia. (Ed note: kangaroos, sharks, The Crocodile Hunter)
Eh…probably exactly what you think Americans think of when they think of Australia. (Ed note: kangaroos, sharks, The Crocodile Hunter)
Who do you think is going to win the US election and why?
Hmm…I’d say McCain. Obama’s race and his lack of experience probably being the deciding factors. Although, McCain is a decidedly less eloquent speaker so he might really take a beating in the debates; it should be interesting.
Hmm…I’d say McCain. Obama’s race and his lack of experience probably being the deciding factors. Although, McCain is a decidedly less eloquent speaker so he might really take a beating in the debates; it should be interesting.
Will you work in New York forever?
No. I’m starting to get impatient. Not with being in NYC (which I doubt will ever get old), so much as with not being other places.
No. I’m starting to get impatient. Not with being in NYC (which I doubt will ever get old), so much as with not being other places.
If you could visit one place in Australia where would you go and why?
New Zealand.
New Zealand.
Who is the most famous Australian, in your mind?
Russell Crowe; anyone that throws a phone at someone is tops in my book
Russell Crowe; anyone that throws a phone at someone is tops in my book
What’s one thing everyone should know about New York?
It belongs to everybody.
It belongs to everybody.
Monday, July 14, 2008
More whinging, and then some fun stuff
Am writing myself out of my bank-induced bad mood.
Saturday Justin and I thought we would head to the public pool in Central Park for a swim. Like normal people we get there with our bags, replete with towel, SPF 15, book, hat, ipod, sunnies, newspaper, water, snack. The usual. We're settling in for the arvo.
We rock up at about 1.20pm (no one knows the term 'rock up' BTW).
As we enter we get asked to show our locks. What locks? we ask. we're told we need to have a padlock because you have to stow your bags in lockers. We say that one of us will swim and one will keep an eye on the stuff. We're told its not for safety, its so that bags don't take up precious poolside space. We don't have locks so we leave. I sit in a huff and Jus wanders up to Harlem to find a shop that sells locks because the pool doesn't sell locks to those who didn't know or forgot one (every second person there.)
We return with locks. Its now 1.50pm. We're told that this session finishes at 3pm and we'll have to leave then. We ask, What session? The pool has two sessions and this one started at 11am, and the next one starts at 4pm and they vacate the pool in between for an hour. So we can only stay an hour and a bit. Not what we had planned but what are you gonna do?
We go inside. I remove all the things I need and give my bag to Jus, and he stuffs both our bags in a locker. I'm wearing my dress with my bathers underneath. We wander out to the pool. I'm stopped and told I can't wear my dress by the pool. Why? I ask. You can only wear your bathing suit, otherwise people's clothes would be taking up precious poolside space (NB: there's HEAPS of space like every outdoor public pool you've ever been to in Oz). So I have to take off my dress and give it to Jus who goes back inside and stuffs it in the locker.
There are 6 lifeguards at the pool, which is about the size of the Prahran pool. Each lifeguard has a whistle, which they use continously. There is one swimming lane and about a third of the pool is roped off and unexplicably nobody is allowed in it. Maybe not enough lifeguar coverage? At 2.45 the lifeguards descend from their highchair perches and blow their whistles and yell at everyone to get out of the water. Other park guards come and start yelling all the people poolside to pack up and leave. They're yelling and herding hundreds of people into the locker rooms, which are the size of your average public pool changing room. There is no way for all those people to fit.
At the same time they're removing all the chairs and tables so there's nowhere to put your stuff while you're getting changed. The floor is wet and that's the only place for your bag and your dry clothes. Its a 30c day and there are over 100 people trying to get changed at the same time in a space meant for 30. There's a little boy crying outside the door because his mum is inside and he's not allowed in, and he's scared he's lost her.
We go to leave. They've blocked the exit so that only one gate is open and hundreds of people squeeze out. There are so many people that Jus and I lose each other and I wait ten minutes in one area while he's waiting in another. We find each other and vow never to return.
You take something easy and fun like going for a swim, you add in ridiculous rules and treat everyone like dickheads, and you get a wholly unrelaxing, frustrating experience. In this 'land of the free' they sure like to control things to a dizzying extent.
Fun stuff: heading to Miami for the Labor Day long weekend and flitting through the Keys and the Everglades. Booked a trip to Jamaica over Christmas and New Years Eve to see the relos and thaw and dive and soak up the sun. Heading to Providence and Newport for our anniversary weekend to see some more New England cutesiness and use up some of my Amtrak points. I really need a holiday.
Saturday Justin and I thought we would head to the public pool in Central Park for a swim. Like normal people we get there with our bags, replete with towel, SPF 15, book, hat, ipod, sunnies, newspaper, water, snack. The usual. We're settling in for the arvo.
We rock up at about 1.20pm (no one knows the term 'rock up' BTW).
As we enter we get asked to show our locks. What locks? we ask. we're told we need to have a padlock because you have to stow your bags in lockers. We say that one of us will swim and one will keep an eye on the stuff. We're told its not for safety, its so that bags don't take up precious poolside space. We don't have locks so we leave. I sit in a huff and Jus wanders up to Harlem to find a shop that sells locks because the pool doesn't sell locks to those who didn't know or forgot one (every second person there.)
We return with locks. Its now 1.50pm. We're told that this session finishes at 3pm and we'll have to leave then. We ask, What session? The pool has two sessions and this one started at 11am, and the next one starts at 4pm and they vacate the pool in between for an hour. So we can only stay an hour and a bit. Not what we had planned but what are you gonna do?
We go inside. I remove all the things I need and give my bag to Jus, and he stuffs both our bags in a locker. I'm wearing my dress with my bathers underneath. We wander out to the pool. I'm stopped and told I can't wear my dress by the pool. Why? I ask. You can only wear your bathing suit, otherwise people's clothes would be taking up precious poolside space (NB: there's HEAPS of space like every outdoor public pool you've ever been to in Oz). So I have to take off my dress and give it to Jus who goes back inside and stuffs it in the locker.
There are 6 lifeguards at the pool, which is about the size of the Prahran pool. Each lifeguard has a whistle, which they use continously. There is one swimming lane and about a third of the pool is roped off and unexplicably nobody is allowed in it. Maybe not enough lifeguar coverage? At 2.45 the lifeguards descend from their highchair perches and blow their whistles and yell at everyone to get out of the water. Other park guards come and start yelling all the people poolside to pack up and leave. They're yelling and herding hundreds of people into the locker rooms, which are the size of your average public pool changing room. There is no way for all those people to fit.
At the same time they're removing all the chairs and tables so there's nowhere to put your stuff while you're getting changed. The floor is wet and that's the only place for your bag and your dry clothes. Its a 30c day and there are over 100 people trying to get changed at the same time in a space meant for 30. There's a little boy crying outside the door because his mum is inside and he's not allowed in, and he's scared he's lost her.
We go to leave. They've blocked the exit so that only one gate is open and hundreds of people squeeze out. There are so many people that Jus and I lose each other and I wait ten minutes in one area while he's waiting in another. We find each other and vow never to return.
You take something easy and fun like going for a swim, you add in ridiculous rules and treat everyone like dickheads, and you get a wholly unrelaxing, frustrating experience. In this 'land of the free' they sure like to control things to a dizzying extent.
Fun stuff: heading to Miami for the Labor Day long weekend and flitting through the Keys and the Everglades. Booked a trip to Jamaica over Christmas and New Years Eve to see the relos and thaw and dive and soak up the sun. Heading to Providence and Newport for our anniversary weekend to see some more New England cutesiness and use up some of my Amtrak points. I really need a holiday.
The pits, the shits, the irrits
Banking and paying bills here is the pits. The absolute pits. There's no BPAY: there's a couple of different EFT systems that different companies and financial institutions support. Our utilities companies charge extra fees if you pay online anyway. They prefer cheques! And they include an addressed envelope with their bill but you have to fork out for a stamp.
The online payment screens for the credit card, bank and utility firms are shockingly badly designed and not processed real time. So if you make a data entry error - type in an account number that has too many characters, for example or try and pay with an account and there is insufficient funds - instead of coming back with a 'there were too many numbers entered' message or an 'insufficient funds' message it gives you an an approved status and a reference number and says you've paid, until you get a letter in the mail three days later saying something went wrong and you've been charged a whole bunch of fees.
The lack of real time confirmation means that you can go over your limit or make other errors without any alarm bells going off until days later when they've processed your transactions and realise you've spent too much or entered something wrong. Then they slap you with more fees.
I can't believe how bad it is. I can't believe that a snail mail letter gets sent to deal with payment problems, when they have my email and multiple telephone numbers and every error results in multiple fees. They can call me to tell me I have an unrequested credit limit increase but unusual activity on my account just slips by. Its such bad service I'm livid.
Contrast that with ANZ who called me less than 4 hours after I'd splashed out and bought some airfares, to check the transaction was legit. Or with NAB who called me to check the date I had written was correct because they thought it was a bit odd. Australian banking is so much more sophisticated and human that I can't wait to rid myself of these dickensian financial institutions and their ridiculous check books and shite online capabilities.
Its like banking in 1988!
Aaarrrggghhhh.
The online payment screens for the credit card, bank and utility firms are shockingly badly designed and not processed real time. So if you make a data entry error - type in an account number that has too many characters, for example or try and pay with an account and there is insufficient funds - instead of coming back with a 'there were too many numbers entered' message or an 'insufficient funds' message it gives you an an approved status and a reference number and says you've paid, until you get a letter in the mail three days later saying something went wrong and you've been charged a whole bunch of fees.
The lack of real time confirmation means that you can go over your limit or make other errors without any alarm bells going off until days later when they've processed your transactions and realise you've spent too much or entered something wrong. Then they slap you with more fees.
I can't believe how bad it is. I can't believe that a snail mail letter gets sent to deal with payment problems, when they have my email and multiple telephone numbers and every error results in multiple fees. They can call me to tell me I have an unrequested credit limit increase but unusual activity on my account just slips by. Its such bad service I'm livid.
Contrast that with ANZ who called me less than 4 hours after I'd splashed out and bought some airfares, to check the transaction was legit. Or with NAB who called me to check the date I had written was correct because they thought it was a bit odd. Australian banking is so much more sophisticated and human that I can't wait to rid myself of these dickensian financial institutions and their ridiculous check books and shite online capabilities.
Its like banking in 1988!
Aaarrrggghhhh.
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Tuesday, July 08, 2008
Cutting a long story short
So we didn't go anywhere for the long weekend and I feel like I squandered it :( I could have been in Costa Rica or the Keys or New Orleans but I did not get my act together and the airfares all skyrocketed. So now I am in holiday planning mode for later in the year so we don't miss out on more travel opportunities. The clock is ticking loudly for me.
There were two highlights: wandering around the West Village in the sun and getting cupcakes at Magnolia (of Sex and the City fame) with Lisa and Jus on Thursday, and heading out to Brooklyn for a July 4 party with Corrie, Kerry et al with access to a real live backyard (more fireflies!) and a rooftop at the same party.
At the party people sang the anthem and America The Beautiful and any other America-centric songs they could remember after a lot of beer, wine & champas (we hadn't tuned in to the simulcast and we couldn't really hear the fireworks so the void had to be filled somehow) as fireworks splashed through the sky in New Jersey and on Manhattan. At one stage we were watching three separate fireworks displays, and the two Macy's ones were coordinated.
It was actually so hot and humid it rained during the fireworks, which made them a little lower than usual due to the cloud cover.
It's going to be 30c+ all week and my head is hurting at the thought of our electricity bill and the black balloons pouring out of our always-on aircon. Sorry, Kyoto. Though we did change a lightbulb over to the new kind this week!
That wasn't so short in the end, was it? Ciao.
There were two highlights: wandering around the West Village in the sun and getting cupcakes at Magnolia (of Sex and the City fame) with Lisa and Jus on Thursday, and heading out to Brooklyn for a July 4 party with Corrie, Kerry et al with access to a real live backyard (more fireflies!) and a rooftop at the same party.
At the party people sang the anthem and America The Beautiful and any other America-centric songs they could remember after a lot of beer, wine & champas (we hadn't tuned in to the simulcast and we couldn't really hear the fireworks so the void had to be filled somehow) as fireworks splashed through the sky in New Jersey and on Manhattan. At one stage we were watching three separate fireworks displays, and the two Macy's ones were coordinated.
It was actually so hot and humid it rained during the fireworks, which made them a little lower than usual due to the cloud cover.
It's going to be 30c+ all week and my head is hurting at the thought of our electricity bill and the black balloons pouring out of our always-on aircon. Sorry, Kyoto. Though we did change a lightbulb over to the new kind this week!
That wasn't so short in the end, was it? Ciao.
If it walks like a duck
I just bought the Village People's Milkshake song on iTunes (apparently Gen Y people around the office have never heard of it and I have to share its glorious educational fluffiness with them).
I got my Itunes receipt and I had to laugh at the 'Those who bought your selections also bought' recommendations: Miss Bette Davis, Gloria Gaynor I Will Survive: The Anthology and The Best of Meco (best known for his galactic funk disco version of Star Wars).
Just who do you think I am, iTunes?
Wednesday, July 02, 2008
ID4
So on Friday its Independence Day and I have Thursday off too. And because Jus and I haven't quite adjusted to the US holiday schedule we have not planned a getaway. Four days off and no plan! I'm beside myself. Tonight I'm going to be scouring the interweb for last minute flights to anywhere and cruises to the closer Caribbean islands. If it all goes to pot we'll end up on an Amtrak train to Philly or in a rental car touring the Carolinas and staying in crappy motels.
Who knows from where my next post will be? Crossing fingers its not from 15th Street.
Happy July 4, patriots.
Who knows from where my next post will be? Crossing fingers its not from 15th Street.
Happy July 4, patriots.
Real Life New Yorker # 6 - Olivia
This is Olivia who I used to work with but who has now spread her wings to the wonderful world of entertainment. And its appropriate because she is so entertaining. This gal has stories. About her Katrina-orphan pooch, her fave Italian joint in Miami and her feeling of obligation to take leaflets from desperate looking people on the street.Where did you grow up?
I grew up all over the U.S. I was born in New Orleans, LA spending some of my childhood there as well. I also lived in Manhattan, Canton-Ohio, Louisville-KY, Austin-TX. Following high school I spent a summer in Munich Germany and then moved to San Francisco, CA where I lived for 14 years before a brief 2 year stint in Miami, FL and then back to where I am now which is in one of the greatest cities in the world....NY, NY (of course!).
What brought you to New York?
I came to NY for the opportunity, culture, creativity, and lifestyle that the city offers. I knew I loved it before I decided to make it home. Not liking Miami and having lived so many other places before.....it was NY or bust.
What do you like about the US?
This is a hard question. As a generalization there's not a lot that I like about the U.S. I guess I appreciate that there is so much opportunity here and that if a person sets there mind to something they can achieve it.
Is there anything you hate about America?
I have a strong dislike for our politics without question. I also am often repulsed by the overall superiority and waste that goes on. I hate that as a country we consume so much without seemingly much mindfulness for other countries' lack.
What do you think of when you think of Australia?
I've been meeting a lot of Aussie's lately - first thing that comes to mind is the visa that's allowing so many Australians to live and work here in the U.S.
Who do you think is going to win the US election and why?
I have very little faith in our political system. I'd like for Obama to win but my cynicism has me thinking that it will be McCain.
Will you work in New York forever?
I have hopes and plans to eventually live abroad; as long as I'm in the U.S., yes, I think I'll be in NY.
If you could visit one place in Australia where would you go and why?
Perth. Heard great things about it! It's on the "Life List"
Who is the most famous Australian, in your mind?
Because of recent events I'd have to say Heath Ledger. There are also many of the other Australian actors/actresses such as Nicole Kidman. Cate Blanchett? Isn't she Australian?
What’s one thing everyone should know about New York?
It's the most efficiently ran place on the planet. Nowhere else in the world does time = money like it does here. One more thing, anyone who visits quickly realizes that the people are really nice here.
I have a dream
No, not that kind of dream. The overbearing stage mother with hopes of stardom for her daughters, kind.
Jus and I went to see Gypsy on Broadway last night, starring the indomitable Patti Lupone. Lupone won a Tony for her performance and even before the show opened in March the musical theatre lovers were thrilling about her performance.
Jus and I have been yelling 'Patti Lupone' in our best Long Island accents (think loud nasal drawl) since we bought the tickets and we were very curious about how the whole thing would go down.
And it went down like you would expect on a Tuesday night during the summer when the tourists are in heavy numbers and the Gay Pride Parade was the weekend past: gasps and applause as soon as Lupone's voice thunders from the audience (she approaches the stage from the stalls), rousing applause whenever she did a gutsy number and a standing ovation during her three bows. Have I mentioned before that the locals love a standing ovation?
Lupone may not have the most nuanced, controlled voice but she is so comfortable on stage and so clearly in character, and her performance is so raw and gutsy that she is wonderfully compelling. The first act I was struggling: a 1959 musical with 50s arrangements, lyrics and choreography felt a bit limited after the fun of Xanadu and the realism of August: Osage County. But Act II redeemed the musical with a great scene among three ageing strippers and the final transformation of one of the daughters into a burlesque star.
Didn't realise til we got home that the musical is based on the memoir of a real striptease artist. If I had have known that going in I think it would have helped me cope with the first act.
Frances McDormand, Peter Gallagher and Morgan Freeman are in a play at the moment: hoping to catch tix to that next.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Supping on the Great Lawn
Central Park was a mecca for classical music and picnic lovers on Tuesday night. Being picnic maestros we jumped on the idea of seeing the New York Philharmonic Orchestra doing a free concert and headed off with Dave, Melissa and thousands of others to nosh on a rug on the Great Lawn. And fireworks spelled the grand finale after a rather lacklustre 1812 Overture (fake cannons just don't do the piece justice).
We were so far from the stage that we could only hear the music coming through speakers but it was delightful to be out in the sultry evening, people watch and get amongst it, as they say. Any excuse to eat prosciutto and goats cheese al fresco.
Real Life New Yorker #4 - James
I'm kinda cheating here because Jus knew James from college days but what the hell he's still a New Yorker, right? And he's a New Yorker who blogs about basketball and works in web design. So you gotta love it.
Where did you grow up?
I was born in London, raised in Washington DC, went to University in Melbourne, Australia.
I was born in London, raised in Washington DC, went to University in Melbourne, Australia.
What brought you to New York?
Every young person who grows up in DC eventually gives New York a shot. New York is like DC's cool older brother. I was lured up in 2000 for a dotcom paycheck. I worked at a Razorfish wannabe called Concrete Media. I think I was literally the last person hired by a dotcom in New York before the bubble burst. When I arrived it was all free sushi and in-office massages and cashed-up geeks. It was a bizarro world - where way too many people behind the velvet ropes knew html.
Every young person who grows up in DC eventually gives New York a shot. New York is like DC's cool older brother. I was lured up in 2000 for a dotcom paycheck. I worked at a Razorfish wannabe called Concrete Media. I think I was literally the last person hired by a dotcom in New York before the bubble burst. When I arrived it was all free sushi and in-office massages and cashed-up geeks. It was a bizarro world - where way too many people behind the velvet ropes knew html.
I worked in a fancy space on the far West side of downtown, where a number of upstart tech companies had offices. Every morning the young techies would pour from our modest subway stop in their black manpris, thick glasses, carrying smartphones, zipping across the street on Razor scooters like some herd of albino water buffalo. 3 months later they were all gone. The watering hole was dry, the herd died off or moved on. Maybe you would still spy, from the corner of your eye, the occassional, startled, pale manboy darting across traffic on a scooter, with a tattered Kozmo messenger bag, but otherwise they left no trace.
What do you like about the US?
I like it's lack of modesty, and how earnest and enthusiastic people are. You feel very free here to pursue very stupid dreams. I like the diversity. And the generous return policies on purchases.
I like it's lack of modesty, and how earnest and enthusiastic people are. You feel very free here to pursue very stupid dreams. I like the diversity. And the generous return policies on purchases.
Is there anything you hate about America?
Well New York is very untypical of America. What I hate about New York: the rents, the noise, never seeing the horizon, and how difficult it is to get out of town. What I hate about the rest of the country: tackiness, sameness, mass cultureness, chain restaurants, subdivisions, stripmalls, megachurches... I hate the talk radio, the sexual anxiety, that 79% of people here believe in angels, that woman who had 17 kids, the celebrity tabloids, the advertisements on TV for diarrhea medicines, the complete lack of interest in the rest of the world... I hate stories on the news about gas prices that use the phrase "pain at the pump", skyscrapers on beaches, adults who dress like children on weekends.
Well New York is very untypical of America. What I hate about New York: the rents, the noise, never seeing the horizon, and how difficult it is to get out of town. What I hate about the rest of the country: tackiness, sameness, mass cultureness, chain restaurants, subdivisions, stripmalls, megachurches... I hate the talk radio, the sexual anxiety, that 79% of people here believe in angels, that woman who had 17 kids, the celebrity tabloids, the advertisements on TV for diarrhea medicines, the complete lack of interest in the rest of the world... I hate stories on the news about gas prices that use the phrase "pain at the pump", skyscrapers on beaches, adults who dress like children on weekends.
What do you think of when you think of Australia?
I think of wide open space, breathtaking coastlines, screaming cockatoos, Victorian architecture, redheads, bad nicknames, really bad television, good music, great food, kids in pubs, drinking in public, cafes, happy people, lucky people.
I think of wide open space, breathtaking coastlines, screaming cockatoos, Victorian architecture, redheads, bad nicknames, really bad television, good music, great food, kids in pubs, drinking in public, cafes, happy people, lucky people.
Who do you think is going to win the US election and why?
I think it's Obamas to lose. The Bush republicans have obviously run things into the ground, and Obama is the first charismatic liberal since Clinton. But you just never know. It will definitely be much closer than it should be.
Will you work in New York forever?
As long as I'm in America, I don't think I would want to live anywhere but New York. I am lucky enough to have 3 passports though, including one of those magical EU ones, so I would be crazy to say forever.
I think it's Obamas to lose. The Bush republicans have obviously run things into the ground, and Obama is the first charismatic liberal since Clinton. But you just never know. It will definitely be much closer than it should be.
Will you work in New York forever?
As long as I'm in America, I don't think I would want to live anywhere but New York. I am lucky enough to have 3 passports though, including one of those magical EU ones, so I would be crazy to say forever.
If you could visit one place in Australia where would you go and why?
Of places I have not seen, I would love to visit the Western Australian coast, and the rainforests of Kakadu and Dainbtree, and of course the outlet shops at Bendigo Shopping Plaza.
Who is the most famous Australian, in your mind?
I'd wish I could say that the first name that came to mind was someone like Gough Whitlam or, Patrick White, or Banjo Patterson or Vincent Lingiari, and not Russell Crowe. But I can't.
Of places I have not seen, I would love to visit the Western Australian coast, and the rainforests of Kakadu and Dainbtree, and of course the outlet shops at Bendigo Shopping Plaza.
Who is the most famous Australian, in your mind?
I'd wish I could say that the first name that came to mind was someone like Gough Whitlam or, Patrick White, or Banjo Patterson or Vincent Lingiari, and not Russell Crowe. But I can't.
What's one thing everyone should know about New York?
It's way safer and friendler than you think. Also dirtier. Also when a broker describes an apartment as "loft-like" what they really mean is "not loft-like"
It's way safer and friendler than you think. Also dirtier. Also when a broker describes an apartment as "loft-like" what they really mean is "not loft-like"
Shop It To Me
A little plug for an email newsletter I've subscribed to called Shop It To Me. It's a free service where you:
Once a week I get an email telling me all the items that are on sale in my size, with photos, original and sale prices and links through to online shops where I can purchase then and there.
You can control how often you get the emails and pause them if you're all shopped out. And you can set it up so only retailers who ship to Australia are included!
With the Aussie dollar so strong you can snap up a Diane von Furstenburg dress for $200, Michael Kors shoes for $150 etc. The list of brands is exhaustive. Enjoy.
- sign up
- select your clothes sizes
- select the brands (200+) and online retailers you like
- choose the types of clothing and accessories you are interested in (dresses, shoes, pants)
- specify the level of discount you want (20-70% off)
Once a week I get an email telling me all the items that are on sale in my size, with photos, original and sale prices and links through to online shops where I can purchase then and there.
You can control how often you get the emails and pause them if you're all shopped out. And you can set it up so only retailers who ship to Australia are included!
With the Aussie dollar so strong you can snap up a Diane von Furstenburg dress for $200, Michael Kors shoes for $150 etc. The list of brands is exhaustive. Enjoy.
I'm loving the clothes shopping here. So much choice. And so cheap. And the sales are frequent and serious. I never thought I was that deeply into fashion but I think my previous reticence was just a function of not being willing to spend heaps of money on the things I liked. Here, where items are way more affordable, I have become a veritable shopaholic.
I've started clothes shopping in stores in a new way in an attempt to get out of my comfort zone and try new things. And because I usually shop alone its sometimes hard to tell whether something is flattering.
So I grab everything that takes my fancy. Everything. The whim items. The 'not sure if I can carry that off' items. The 'this is ridiculosuly expensive but what the hell' items. I get in the change room and try everything on. And I take photos of myself with my camera phone. And then I look at the photos and a strange thing happens: I get more of an objective view of myself and it becomes immediately apparent that certain colours wash me out, or the cut of the dress really does nothing for me, or that the top sits much better than I thought it would.
And for things that I'm a bit iffy about, or should wait for the next paycheck for, I carry around the photo to refer to later. I show Jus when I get home and get his opinion. And sometimes I go poke around in my wardrobe and see if the item will go with anything else. If in a week I still think its awesome and looks good then so be it, but often I go off it and save myself the regretted purchase. Or sometimes its handy to just have it there and then remember to check when it goes on sale.
Taking ohotos has made me buy things that don't look like things I already have. And its made me more aware of what suits me. Try it!
Monday, June 23, 2008
In the Poconos
Played Scrabs and drank wine and spotted chipmunks and squirrels and then fireflies came out. Enchanting.
Lots of US flags at the campsites, lots of hotdog condiments, lots of tin foil bainmaries with pre-prepared food in them and little tealight candles warming them up, bamboo tiki torches, lots of BIG tents.
Massive thunderstorm the next morning and saw a tree get hit by lightning and a branch flew off. Havoc. Staff freaked out, computers down, strange burning smell coming from camp office basement. Never been that close before to a lightning fork. It was so bright I didn't really see anything.
We waited for the torrential rain to stop and then hired some kayaks and paddled down the river, wary of getting staurated at some point. We were lucky. Clouds parted and the sun revealed its sunburning glory to us who had dismissed hats and sunglasses during the storm.
Saw a beaver. They're tiny! Like a platypus. Saw a few russet deer and bald eagles and shad at the end of their upstream spawning swan song.
Lay on a pebbly beach to get some sun. Walked upstream and floated down, swimming against the current and staying still and then spinning downstream and wooshing along with our eyes open underwater, the rocks whizzing by. Sprinted through tadpole-infested shallows and did it again.
When we got back to the campsite the lightning tree had been felled and all 50 metres of it lay in the carpark. The lightning had split it in half. You could see the burnt timber right through its core to the stump in the ground.
Within moments of us being back at camp the thunder rolled again and we hightailed it back to the train, back to Hoboken, back to NYC.
I love a taut tent in the morning
Jus and I are camping in Pennsylvania, where they sell fireworks and have drive thru discount cigarette stores for out of state visitors.
Caught the train up here and got picked up by the camp site from the station.
Warm and gentle and green and lovely. Some Scrabble and red wine from the nalgene this arvo, canoeing in the morning.
Many tadpoles but will try not to think of what that implies.
Caught the train up here and got picked up by the camp site from the station.
Warm and gentle and green and lovely. Some Scrabble and red wine from the nalgene this arvo, canoeing in the morning.
Many tadpoles but will try not to think of what that implies.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Real life New Yorker #3 - Meredith
This is Meredith, who sits in the next set of cubicles over from me at work, and is a baking fiend and obssessed with a particular dwarf minitiature horse.
Where did you grow up?
I spent my first 6 years in Cleveland followed by a 5 year stint in Chicago and I’ve been in New York since (although not the city – my family lives in northern Westchester (the county just north of the city).
What brought you to New York?
College at NYU and I’ve been in the city since.
What do you like about the US?
Freedom?
Is there anything you hate about America?
I can’t say I’m terribly proud of being a “fat” people.
What do you think of when you think of Australia?
If I were playing word association right now, and you said Australia, I’d say Kangaroo
Who do you think is going to win the US election and why?
Hard to say. The democrats really blew it with the whole long, drawn-out primary, but McCain is old and kinda crazy.
Will you work in New York forever?
Forever is a pretty long time. But yes.
If you could visit one place in Australia where would you go and why?
I’m not sure. I suppose Sydney, but I hear that giant spiders are all over the place and I really hate spiders. (Or the island with all of the Quokka, but I think that might be a part of New Zealand.)
Who is the most famous Australian, in your mind?
I think Mel Gibson is probably the most famous, but 1. he’s not actually from Australia and 2. I doubt you want to associate with him anymore.* So I’ll go with Nicole Kidman.
What’s one thing everyone should know about New York?
Contrary to popular belief, you can’t actually get anything at any hour here, or at least not easily. Oh and bring hand sanitizer.
*If you do still want to associate with him, I think that means you hate Jewish people.
Cue laughter
David Sedaris, memoirist, funny funny man, was doing a reading at our local Barnes & Noble and we thought we'd go along with Katie, who was in town. Seems like about four thousand other locals had the same idea.
This is a 4 storey bookstore and the reading was up the top. Each storey had TV monitors set up because the top storey, where we crammed ourselves, was overflowing and standing room only to the extent that people just stood in the book aisles craning to either see the man in the flesh at a podium about 50 metres away, or a TV screen about 10 metres away. The people sitting down in front of the podium must have been there since midday.
Not the best conditions, but Sedaris read a short story and the entire building literally shook with laughter, and then we climbed our way out of there and had some tapas and lots of red wine. We relentlessly grilled a very jetlagged Katie for news from home:
- What was everyone making of Mr Rudd?
- What's happening with the Opposition?
- When is everyone in Sydney moving back to Melbourne?
- What's happening with the property market?
- Have you watched Underbelly?
- Has it been raining?
- Are people getting excited about the Olympics?
- Has there been much attention on the US primaries?
- Do people prefer Hillary or Obama?
- Have we told you how we are the reasons why Peter Russell Clarke's career has been revived?
Hot hot heat II: Sunday
On the hot hot weekend the other week, Jus and I dragged our drippingly sweaty selves to Madison Square Park where the Big Apple BBQ Block Party was in full swing. Jus and I thought we'd make the quick walk from our place and check it out briefly and then head to Governors Island, thinking it might be some sleepy affair with a few stands of ribs. How is it that we've lived here all this time and still think anything could be small scale in a city of 18 million? Bit daft due to the heat perhaps.
We arrived and the square had been transformed into a BBQ-off between various Pitmasters from Texas and the Carolinas, the true home of BBQ (or perhaps the closest BBQ-obsessed states to NY). Thousands of people were lining up to get their full of beef brisket, pulled pork, cornbread, potato buns, beans, coleslaw, sausage, crawfish and okra hush puppies and pickles, washed down with beer or Snapple or the latest version of Vitamin Water or root beer floats, followed by S'mores or bourbon, banana & nilla (vanilla) pudding, double chock brownies and PB&J (peanut butter and jelly) cupcakes.
There were VIP queues for people to get the crackling ("that don't come free, sugar") and to skip the lines of plebs who just thought they could rock up and sample a few novelties. Jus and I split up to cover more gourmet ground and reassembled with beef, sausage and a pulled pork sandwich. Sat on the lawn and listened to bluegrass and twangy country tunes, while our t-shirts clung to our back and our legs got sticky itchy on the grass. Couldn't stay in this un-airconned locale for long.
Due to the sweltering temperature we weren't really that hungry but we made room for S'mores and Nilla pudding on the way out.
We caught the train downtown and took the ferry to Governors Island, a tiny islet about 10 minutes ride away. There was a jazz performance featuring music from the Great Gatsby era, and people were encouraged to dress up and go along. We didn't dress up but there were plenty of flappers and men in shirtsleeves and vests and boaters dancing away to the band, who were also dressed in shirts and bowties and hats and had a microphone from WWI and a megaphone to broadcast their tunes. It was very 'wah wah' if you know what I mean.
Governors Island is car free and there is a bike hire place so you can explore. Tour buggies make laps of the island and explain its previous use and the significance of all the old buildings that once housed the Coast Guard. Thousands of people used to live there and now it is one big national trust site. It would make a great uni campus.
It was cooler on the island - actual sea breeze! - and after people watching for a bit we walked to a spot that looked out to 
the Statue of Liberty and spread our towels and read. Cruise ships slid by, obscuring the statue so that each vessel looked like it had a hand and a torch poking out of its roof.
the Statue of Liberty and spread our towels and read. Cruise ships slid by, obscuring the statue so that each vessel looked like it had a hand and a torch poking out of its roof. NYC does excellent thunderstorms, and we ended up fleeing the island when extreme weather warnings were issued and the tour buggies turned into 'round everyone up and get them out of here' vehicles. On the ferry ride back we watched fork and sheet lighting dazzle Brooklyn and felt the air get so heavy with humidity that the eventual torrential rain was just a formality.
The thick heavy drops that rain here are a revelation. I think living in a drout for so long at home does something to your relationship with water. Jus and I stand in our living room and just watch it pour out of the sky, hour after hour, tropical strength. "It's still raining. " "Will you just look at it. " "Is that more rain?" "Has it stopped yet?" Within minutes the African immigrants are selling umbrellas on every corner, there are drenched cyclists tooling along aimlessly and shrieking women protecting their do's.
Keepin' busy
I'm covered in bruises at the moment. The calves have green patches and the hips have brown smudges and the sides of my kness have little purple dots. Why? I hear you ask as you roll your ergonomic desk c
hair closer to get better a look. Because I have been doing lots of this:
hair closer to get better a look. Because I have been doing lots of this:That's me hula hooping on our bed. Earphones in, iPod on, going for it. Has she regressed to childhood? I hear you wonder. Has NY made Meesy lose her marbles?
No, dear reader. It's all very rational and grown up. Sort of. Several weeks ago I read that hula hooping is a great workout for your core muscles, strengthens your lower back and all those invisible ab muscles that do the real work, burns lots of calories and is very, very fun.
So, being generally over the Y and its weak promise of Family Guy eps while I kill time on a treadmill or elliptical or having to swim through the brine of the Y's terribly overburdened 25 yard pool, and also ignoring the stultifyingly boring exercises outlined to me by my physical therapists, I scouted the local toy and sport stores for hula hoops. Came up with nothing.
Then, one fateful Friday night I was strolling through Union Sq and what do I see but a bunch of short fat kids hula hooping away and a glowing yoga type handing out leaflets about a hula hooping workshop in Brooklyn that Sunday afternoon, where they sold hoops too. Ofcourse!
I trekked to Brooklyn, I attended said workshop with 6 other women and 1 guy (who happened to be an Australian yoga instructor), I learnt how to spin the hoop in both directions, in several stances, above my head and on my hands, and I bought a secondhand hoop to take home. It was sweaty, funny fun: hoops fizzling at the hips and crashing to the floor, spinning across the room, bumping neighbouring hoops, bruises blossoming like clover.
Walking down Flatbush and to Prospect Park afterwards with a hoop over my shoulder attracted lots of interesting cat calls and I focused on daydreaming about how long it would be until I could audition for Circus Oz, or whether there were hooping clips of Cirque de Soleil on Youtube (there are. Very humbling).
Since then I have been having a 30 minute session every other day and my back has been pain free for the first time in months, and Justin finds it a convenient source of comedy so we're both happy. It's a surprisingly joyful activity and so I give this phase as good a chance as any of my previous leisure activity fads such as kung fu, ballroom dancing and badminton.
Friday, June 13, 2008
Real life New Yorker #2 - Bob
Bob started the same day I did and was my pod buddy for a bit. Say hello to Bob. He's one of those people who knows every band, book and movie you've never heard of but should. Were people born in the 80s equipped with bigger memories?
Where did you grow up?
Southern Italy. And Northeast Florida. And the Aleutian Islands.
What brought you to New York?
My job at Razorfish. I’m a Content Strategist.
Southern Italy. And Northeast Florida. And the Aleutian Islands.
What brought you to New York?
My job at Razorfish. I’m a Content Strategist.
What do you like about the US?
Freedom, faith and family. Joke! Actually, I do love my family. (And what little freedom I have left.) I guess I like the country’s history best of all: lots of fascinating characters and freaky subplots, from Thomas Jefferson to the Haymarket Riots to Buckminster Fuller to Patty Hearst. It’s all good.
Is there anything you hate about America?
Yes! The ubiquitous racism and bigotry that we pretend doesn’t exist anymore. Drove me nuts in the South. It’s one of the (many) reasons I relocated to NYC.
What do you think of when you think of Australia?
“The Land of Deadly Everything”? That, and kangas.
Who do you think is going to win the US election and why?
John McCain. Cause we’re a bunch of latent racists.
Will you work in New York forever?
Nah. Probably got another 5 years in me. Then off to California.
If you could visit one place in Australia where would you go and why?
Ayers Rock, yeah? Elevate the scenario. Activate the dreamtime.
Who is the most famous Australian, in your mind?
Eek. Paul Hogan? The Crocodile Hunter? Those are terrible answers.
What’s one thing everyone should know about New York?
Anything and everything for twice the price. And the weed’s delivered to your door : )
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Hot hot heat
In case you've been going to the loo when the international weather forecast comes on SBS World News, let me tell you there has been a heat wave in NY. We've had five days of 30c+ weather in a row although summer has not officially started yet.
Totally melting. sweaty messes. rivulets of sweat running where they shouldn't be. icecream runs at 11pm. waking at 5am. wearing dresses and open toed shoes to work 5 days in a row. taking cooling showers and wandering around house in sarong. Jus working all day in his undies. stinky streets, garbage fermenting in bags on the sidewalk. getting dizzy standing up like a sardine on the subway. birds panting with their beaks open. aircon all night, Kyoto be damned...
On Saturday, although it reached 34c, we decided to cycle the entire way around Manhattan Island. At 9.30am I rented a bike from the shop across the rode and Jus and I pedalled off to the West Side Hwy to begin the slog up to the Cloisters. We sailed up the path, dodging rollerbladers and joggers, right up to the George Washington Bridge and into Washington Heights and Inwood, pleasant family neighbourhoods that I'd never visited before.
View Larger Map
Having reached the pointy top, where I was face to face with the Bronx and saw the start of Broadway, we headed down the east side through a desolate, relentless shimmering mirage of highway and concrete (we were alone on the path at this stage. weird in a city of 8 million), and then Harlem and Spanish Harlem (where I saw the biggest ass I have ever seen on anyone ever: I think it was about 2 ft of horizontal flesh. I was thinking medical condition rather than obesity. Crazy. )and the Upper East Side. I finally saw the Triborough Bridge and Roosevelt Island in their glory.
The shores were lined with fisherman, lots of Puerto Ricans with their flags displaying (Sunday was the PR Day Parade).
At one stage a medical examiner's van pulled onto the path and I quipped "Hope they haven't come to fish a dead body out of the water", and lo and behold, five minutes later, there were the cop cars and plainclothes detectives and a man wrapped in white plastic sheeting on the jetty, his fishing rod beside him. Law & Order in real life, again.
Started to feel very hot, legs getting tired, head a bit achy. Calves covered with grime. Tan lines developing. We stopped and had our picnic lunch: a couple of roast beef sandwiches that tasted like manna at this stage.
The fancy gardens, bikini-clad sunbathers roses and manicured lawns and boardwalk of the UES disappeared in Midtown and we had to take to the streets, which was fairly nerve wracking and suprisingly hilly. I couldn't wait to get back on the path, and when we did it was a complete contrast. The 'between the bridges area' (Manhattan, Brooklyn) and Lower East Side were shady glades where kids played Little League and splashed in water features, a 50s retro band shelter was being set up with band equipment, families picnicked and walk up games of basketball and handball were in full swing.
This morphed again as we got further dowtown and into the touristy metroplis of the South Street Seaport. Suddenly bus loads of people were wandering all over the bike trails and I may have exhibited some NY attitude telling people to get out of the goddam way. Then it was the Staten Island Ferry dock, Battery Park and hordes of visitors stumbling to queue for the ferries to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. We dodged handbag and sunglass and I Love NY t-shirt sellers, and people hunched over maps, and people licking icecreams and we managed to squeeze through by pedalling standing up so people could see us over the crowds.
Rounded the pointy bottom and then started north once more. We found a restaurant overlooking a park with direct views of the Statue, that screams 'take out of towners here for dinner'. Whoever comes next we're definitely going there.
Landscaped boardwalks extended around Battery Park City, the residential adjunct to the Financial District. A few coves, restaurants with al fresco margarita sippers (you may think I refer to the margaritas too often but seriously its what everyone is drinking. i've become a convert), and then past Dennis Conner's Stars & Stripes and America II again, (people are oblivious to their fame, no plaque, nothing!) and then on to more familiar territory within jogging range of our pad.
We got to our local park and beelined to the icrecream man and quickly wolfed down a Good Humor Giant King, the Streets Drumstick equivalent, and Gatorade, and collapsed on the grass where, last time we visited, a homeless man was sleeping. The entire lawn was crammed with sunbathers now, flicking through their NY Times and WSJ. I lasted about 10 minutes before I feared that I would not be able to climb back onto the bike seat and make it home, so we slowly pedalled back to the rental place. Got there at about 2.30pm.
Felt great and was utterly fascinated with what I saw. 60 kilometres of contrasts, pleasant surprises and leads worth further exploration. A must do for anyone with a half day in the city and a desire to see it from a different angle.
Totally melting. sweaty messes. rivulets of sweat running where they shouldn't be. icecream runs at 11pm. waking at 5am. wearing dresses and open toed shoes to work 5 days in a row. taking cooling showers and wandering around house in sarong. Jus working all day in his undies. stinky streets, garbage fermenting in bags on the sidewalk. getting dizzy standing up like a sardine on the subway. birds panting with their beaks open. aircon all night, Kyoto be damned...
On Saturday, although it reached 34c, we decided to cycle the entire way around Manhattan Island. At 9.30am I rented a bike from the shop across the rode and Jus and I pedalled off to the West Side Hwy to begin the slog up to the Cloisters. We sailed up the path, dodging rollerbladers and joggers, right up to the George Washington Bridge and into Washington Heights and Inwood, pleasant family neighbourhoods that I'd never visited before.
View Larger Map
Having reached the pointy top, where I was face to face with the Bronx and saw the start of Broadway, we headed down the east side through a desolate, relentless shimmering mirage of highway and concrete (we were alone on the path at this stage. weird in a city of 8 million), and then Harlem and Spanish Harlem (where I saw the biggest ass I have ever seen on anyone ever: I think it was about 2 ft of horizontal flesh. I was thinking medical condition rather than obesity. Crazy. )and the Upper East Side. I finally saw the Triborough Bridge and Roosevelt Island in their glory.
The shores were lined with fisherman, lots of Puerto Ricans with their flags displaying (Sunday was the PR Day Parade).
At one stage a medical examiner's van pulled onto the path and I quipped "Hope they haven't come to fish a dead body out of the water", and lo and behold, five minutes later, there were the cop cars and plainclothes detectives and a man wrapped in white plastic sheeting on the jetty, his fishing rod beside him. Law & Order in real life, again.
Started to feel very hot, legs getting tired, head a bit achy. Calves covered with grime. Tan lines developing. We stopped and had our picnic lunch: a couple of roast beef sandwiches that tasted like manna at this stage.
The fancy gardens, bikini-clad sunbathers roses and manicured lawns and boardwalk of the UES disappeared in Midtown and we had to take to the streets, which was fairly nerve wracking and suprisingly hilly. I couldn't wait to get back on the path, and when we did it was a complete contrast. The 'between the bridges area' (Manhattan, Brooklyn) and Lower East Side were shady glades where kids played Little League and splashed in water features, a 50s retro band shelter was being set up with band equipment, families picnicked and walk up games of basketball and handball were in full swing.
This morphed again as we got further dowtown and into the touristy metroplis of the South Street Seaport. Suddenly bus loads of people were wandering all over the bike trails and I may have exhibited some NY attitude telling people to get out of the goddam way. Then it was the Staten Island Ferry dock, Battery Park and hordes of visitors stumbling to queue for the ferries to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. We dodged handbag and sunglass and I Love NY t-shirt sellers, and people hunched over maps, and people licking icecreams and we managed to squeeze through by pedalling standing up so people could see us over the crowds.
Rounded the pointy bottom and then started north once more. We found a restaurant overlooking a park with direct views of the Statue, that screams 'take out of towners here for dinner'. Whoever comes next we're definitely going there.
Landscaped boardwalks extended around Battery Park City, the residential adjunct to the Financial District. A few coves, restaurants with al fresco margarita sippers (you may think I refer to the margaritas too often but seriously its what everyone is drinking. i've become a convert), and then past Dennis Conner's Stars & Stripes and America II again, (people are oblivious to their fame, no plaque, nothing!) and then on to more familiar territory within jogging range of our pad.
We got to our local park and beelined to the icrecream man and quickly wolfed down a Good Humor Giant King, the Streets Drumstick equivalent, and Gatorade, and collapsed on the grass where, last time we visited, a homeless man was sleeping. The entire lawn was crammed with sunbathers now, flicking through their NY Times and WSJ. I lasted about 10 minutes before I feared that I would not be able to climb back onto the bike seat and make it home, so we slowly pedalled back to the rental place. Got there at about 2.30pm.
Felt great and was utterly fascinated with what I saw. 60 kilometres of contrasts, pleasant surprises and leads worth further exploration. A must do for anyone with a half day in the city and a desire to see it from a different angle.
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
Real life New Yorker #1 - Deneva
Welcome to the first of many interviews with some pals and colleagues of mine. Hopefully their uncensored responses to my 10 questions will shed some insight into who I'm meeting and working with and what real life New Yorkers actually think about NY, America and Australia. Feel free to ask questions and comment on your impressions and reactions.
To kick it all off, meet Deneva. Enjoy!
What do you think of when you think of Australia?
Accents and David Gulpilil – one of my favorite actors of color.
Who do you think is going to win the US election and why?
I hate to be a pessimist, BUT .. I have no idea. Ideally it would be Obama.. at worst (or best depending on your take), I will need to immigrate to a poor tropical country and start my own business.
Will you work in New York forever?
Heck no! Even if Obama does win.. eventually I will go to a tropical country and start a business :) Having children in NYC does seem a bit stressful so I plan to do that elsewhere.
If you could visit one place in Australia where would you go and why?
I have no idea.. somewhere in the beach..and somewhere near aboriginals. I love the beach and I’m always interested in indigenous people.
Who is the most famous Australian, in your mind?
Gulpilil
What’s one thing everyone should know about New York?
Time is money. Every moment you aren’t making money, you are losing it. Sure, they say money isn’t everything, just 99%. Its wise to come to NYC with money saved. Its not easy here without it, but if you have great skills and a plan you its possible to make it here.
To kick it all off, meet Deneva. Enjoy!
Where did you grow up?
I was born in Ohio.. Midwest!
What brought you to New York?
Hmm.. a while back, I moved from Germany to Los Angeles and had a crazy culture shock. I yearned for Europe but did not foresee the possibility of going back any time soon, so I figured, NYC is as close as I can get physically. With all the outgoing flights, I thought I could take short trips to see my friends in Europe and they could also come to visit me.
What do you like about the US?
Umm. Good question. Since I am American, I can work here. That’s pretty much what I like. Oh yeah.. lets not forget the software development industry is here.
Is there anything you hate about America?
- People can be less than cultured and sometimes not educated about non-entertainment subjects
- People eat to much and have poor eating habits (eating junk or eating out)
- Too much individualism. I don’t like the ‘its all about me’ attitude
- Too much idealism. If your 45 and performing in shows with an audience made of your mom and your friends, you might not become a rockstar in your lifetime!
- Apathetic attitudes and folks blaming others for their misfortunes. This lends itself to the ‘I’ll sue!’ culture and the ‘customer is always right’
- Too many meds! Everyone is on pharmaceutical drugs!
What do you think of when you think of Australia?
Accents and David Gulpilil – one of my favorite actors of color.
Who do you think is going to win the US election and why?
I hate to be a pessimist, BUT .. I have no idea. Ideally it would be Obama.. at worst (or best depending on your take), I will need to immigrate to a poor tropical country and start my own business.
Will you work in New York forever?
Heck no! Even if Obama does win.. eventually I will go to a tropical country and start a business :) Having children in NYC does seem a bit stressful so I plan to do that elsewhere.
If you could visit one place in Australia where would you go and why?
I have no idea.. somewhere in the beach..and somewhere near aboriginals. I love the beach and I’m always interested in indigenous people.
Who is the most famous Australian, in your mind?
Gulpilil
What’s one thing everyone should know about New York?
Time is money. Every moment you aren’t making money, you are losing it. Sure, they say money isn’t everything, just 99%. Its wise to come to NYC with money saved. Its not easy here without it, but if you have great skills and a plan you its possible to make it here.
Do I really want to know?
I finally put some site measurement code on the blog so I can see how many people are visiting and where they're visiting from. I can't see individuals, it's all aggregated, so your preference to lurk out there in the mists of cyberspace is respected.
Funnily enough I've had a few visits from people who typed the word 'botty' into Yahoo or Google and ended up on my post about the Village Voice feature on badonkadonk. Another visitor came by to check the DOA reference hoping to find recourse for their dead Apple Mac. Finally, some poor soul thought they would be able to find the Big Apple Summer Free program here. Oh well, hate to disappoint.
I might spice up the traffic numbers with gratuitous references to Britney Spears nude pics and Lindsay Lohan drug photos and the like. Watch that graph spike, baby.
Funnily enough I've had a few visits from people who typed the word 'botty' into Yahoo or Google and ended up on my post about the Village Voice feature on badonkadonk. Another visitor came by to check the DOA reference hoping to find recourse for their dead Apple Mac. Finally, some poor soul thought they would be able to find the Big Apple Summer Free program here. Oh well, hate to disappoint.
I might spice up the traffic numbers with gratuitous references to Britney Spears nude pics and Lindsay Lohan drug photos and the like. Watch that graph spike, baby.
Pounding the pavement
9pm. Hot. Humid. Sitting in the dark watching season one of 30 Rock. Restless. We decide to go for a run. This is our new resolution, the beginning of another get fit campaign. We dust off shorts, lace up creaky sneaks and take the stairs to the ground floor. We strike out along West 15th towards the Hudson.
The street is busy. Countless men in khaki shorts, pastel tank tops and leather sandals walking fluffy yappy dogs. Women sitting on stoops whispering into their mobile phones. Older couples strolling hand in hand after dinner. Other joggers glancing at us as they run past. Rollerbladers with headphones on cruising down the middle of the road. Delivery guys on bikes - no helmuts!- trying to make good time, plastic bags of food swinging from their handlebars.
We hit 7th Ave and the traffic light is against us so we turn up towards 16th. Past the over-priced flashy Chelsea furniture store, past a dark lit restaurant with its glass walls retracted, heaving with margarita ("A good source of vitamin c") sipping diners.
We make another turn towards the river and jog past the Maritime Hotel, where tinted window cars are idling and clutches of glamazons are hailing cabs. We skip through cabs at the lights and run past another dog walker and through what will be our first of three clouds of ganga smoke for the evening.
Crossing the Westside Hwy we finally feel the cool breath of the Hudson. The lights of Jersey City twinkle on the water. It is relatively quiet and the lapping of the dirty river is almost soothing. We turn south and head for the avenue of pink rose bushes masking the stink of the local garbage truck depot. There are walkers, runners, rollerbladers, couples strolling, bikers, skateboarders all passing silently, whirs of feet and wheels.
We're sweaty now, clamming up. We don't talk, we concentrate on breathing, we're absorbing the smells and sights and sounds. We spy a stretch of grass and we know we'll take a break for some sit ups and stuff.
We slow down and flop onto the grass. There's a guy there sitting in lotus position, his eyes closed, palms turned upwards on his knees, in his own world. There's a homeless person sleeping on cardboard with a sleeping bag draped over his torso and his luggage stacked neatly at his head. We sit between them and start to do our exercises, counting quietly.
My legs are stiffening already. We decide to head back. We cross the highway and are in the West Village, jogging on uneven cobble stones down treelined streets. Al fresco diners chatter as we run past. The aroma of pizza fills the street and I roll my eyes. We zig zag through the named streets: we're off the grid now and the roads go in every direction. The streets are cosier, quainter, dominated by brownstones and neat terrace houses, older style apartment buildings. Our eyes are busy roaming and dreaming.
We cut back to 15th and I can see our building at the next avenue. We're dripping now. Thirsty. My knees hurt and I wonder how stiff I'll feel tomorrow or whether my back will protest that night. We cross the lights and stop to pant in front of our building. Pedestrians glance at us as we loiter, huffing, shiny, preparing to go up to our little apartment and blast the a/c.
The street is busy. Countless men in khaki shorts, pastel tank tops and leather sandals walking fluffy yappy dogs. Women sitting on stoops whispering into their mobile phones. Older couples strolling hand in hand after dinner. Other joggers glancing at us as they run past. Rollerbladers with headphones on cruising down the middle of the road. Delivery guys on bikes - no helmuts!- trying to make good time, plastic bags of food swinging from their handlebars.
We hit 7th Ave and the traffic light is against us so we turn up towards 16th. Past the over-priced flashy Chelsea furniture store, past a dark lit restaurant with its glass walls retracted, heaving with margarita ("A good source of vitamin c") sipping diners.
We make another turn towards the river and jog past the Maritime Hotel, where tinted window cars are idling and clutches of glamazons are hailing cabs. We skip through cabs at the lights and run past another dog walker and through what will be our first of three clouds of ganga smoke for the evening.
Crossing the Westside Hwy we finally feel the cool breath of the Hudson. The lights of Jersey City twinkle on the water. It is relatively quiet and the lapping of the dirty river is almost soothing. We turn south and head for the avenue of pink rose bushes masking the stink of the local garbage truck depot. There are walkers, runners, rollerbladers, couples strolling, bikers, skateboarders all passing silently, whirs of feet and wheels.
We're sweaty now, clamming up. We don't talk, we concentrate on breathing, we're absorbing the smells and sights and sounds. We spy a stretch of grass and we know we'll take a break for some sit ups and stuff.
We slow down and flop onto the grass. There's a guy there sitting in lotus position, his eyes closed, palms turned upwards on his knees, in his own world. There's a homeless person sleeping on cardboard with a sleeping bag draped over his torso and his luggage stacked neatly at his head. We sit between them and start to do our exercises, counting quietly.
My legs are stiffening already. We decide to head back. We cross the highway and are in the West Village, jogging on uneven cobble stones down treelined streets. Al fresco diners chatter as we run past. The aroma of pizza fills the street and I roll my eyes. We zig zag through the named streets: we're off the grid now and the roads go in every direction. The streets are cosier, quainter, dominated by brownstones and neat terrace houses, older style apartment buildings. Our eyes are busy roaming and dreaming.
We cut back to 15th and I can see our building at the next avenue. We're dripping now. Thirsty. My knees hurt and I wonder how stiff I'll feel tomorrow or whether my back will protest that night. We cross the lights and stop to pant in front of our building. Pedestrians glance at us as we loiter, huffing, shiny, preparing to go up to our little apartment and blast the a/c.
Friday, May 30, 2008
1 year anniversary
So I arrived in NY roughly this time last year. Since then I have:
- posted 269 blog entries. That's a 73.6% daily blogging rate, which I'm pretty happy with. Perhaps in the name of personal development I should increase my KPI to 80% for next year. Or perhaps for personal development I should blog less and live more. It's contentious as a recent NY Times article demonstrated.
- put on 6 kgs. I don't want to talk about it.
- been to 4 Broadway shows: Spamalot, Xanadu, August: Osage Country, Putnam County Spelling Bee. When I see this list I realise I really have to amp up the calibre of my theatre choices. I guess that puts Avenue Q and Boeing Boeing on hold.
- been on 1 bike ride. But it was awesome and next weekend I'm thinking a lap of the island.
- visited 7 out of state cities and drove through amusing place names like Poughkeepsie, Yonkers, New City, Gaylordsville, Climax and Surprise ( I kind you not).
- been to New Jersey once. For lunch.
- seen 29 celebs at various levels of the A-D List scale
- lived in 4 apartments and one squalid room, which I'm trying to forget
- worked with 6 different clients ranging from weight loss supplements to cars to finance to video games and radio
- had 0 cases of food poisoning from my halal street meat man
- had 5 friends come to crash on our delightful sofa bed
- eaten 47 hamburgers. I finally have a favourite. The Chicago, from NY Burger Co.
- been to all 5 boroughs of New York
- declined one marriage proposal from a checkout guy in Staples, the local equivalent of Office Works. Nothing but the best for me.
- cooked dinner less than 10 times. This I feel guilty about. Poor Jus.
- not learned Spanish, like I intended to.
- had a ball. Mostly.
- missed my peeps terribly!
Manhattanhenge
Today is a special day on this little island.
A few times a year the sun sets and rises in perfect alignment with the Manhattan street grid system.
This means that the sun sets at the vanishing point of the streets. If you go to the end of one of the long cross-island (east-west) streets (14th, 23rd, 34th, 42nd, 57th) you can watch the sun slip between the buildings to the horizon.
The sun doesn't set until 8.20pm now so we're going to miss it as we head out of the city for a secret weekend away. Apparently is happens again on Jul 12 so I'll pencil in some sunsetwatching for then.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
memorial day weekend
The first long weekend of the summer ,perfect weather and lots to do. Friday night we caught up with Mike & Annie and realized we were the last people on the internet to see the 'Charlie bit my finger' Youtube clip. We promptly watched it the next day and it is surprisingly funny for some innocent 'let's get the kids on tape' footage.
Saturday we woke up to a street fair right outside our window. 6th Ave's annual street fair took over the road and we wandered through, resisting the temptation to try deep fried Oreos, funnel cake and slabs of flank steak being grilled in the sun. Nearly bought a hat but opted instead to subscribe to the NY Times weekend papers because they were giving away free thermos mug thingies and I'm a sucker for free swag with NY stuff on it as souvenirs to gaze at when I'm pinning nappies to the hills hoist back in Flemo...
Anyway, Binky & Jez were visiting from Abu Dhabi and we caught up with them and some local pals on Saturday night for a bit of outdoor dining in the Meatpacking district. So delicious to be eating outside and see the three stars in the sky that NY light pollution affords.
Sunday we met up with the same crew and boarded Ventura, an historic yacht that's moored in North Cove Marina near the World Financial Center, for a bit of cruising around the harbour. The cruise is associated with a bar in the LES called DBA, which is known for its crazy range of beers, so we sampled boutique beers as we got up close and personal with Liberty Island, Ellis Island, cruise ships leaving port and jet skiers.
As you can imagine, drinking in the sun for four hours descended into mayhem, messy nachos and margaritas and then dark & stormies at an aptly named bar called the Rusty Knot. Gave new meaning to dark &stormies: 3 types of rum, lime and ginger cordial and ginger beer, served in a tiki glass with an umbrella. It was almost spicy in its gingeriness: my fave drink taken to new heights.
Jus and I bailed before any fights, stolen warheads or back of the cab redecoration went on.
Monday we hired bikes and tootled up the Hudson in the sunshine, circling back near Columbia Uni to Central Park where we had a picnic with about 40,000 other New Yorkers. Bikini clad frisbee players, roller disco, crazy 8 playing crowd that provided endless people watching. Riding the bike was a revelation: such a speedy and enlightenting way to the city. Saw places along the water that I've never spied before - free kayaking, little cafes, parks and coves - and the city was suddently more accessible, smaller and human than before.
Lots of photos of the weekend on flickr. Check them out.
Saturday we woke up to a street fair right outside our window. 6th Ave's annual street fair took over the road and we wandered through, resisting the temptation to try deep fried Oreos, funnel cake and slabs of flank steak being grilled in the sun. Nearly bought a hat but opted instead to subscribe to the NY Times weekend papers because they were giving away free thermos mug thingies and I'm a sucker for free swag with NY stuff on it as souvenirs to gaze at when I'm pinning nappies to the hills hoist back in Flemo...
Anyway, Binky & Jez were visiting from Abu Dhabi and we caught up with them and some local pals on Saturday night for a bit of outdoor dining in the Meatpacking district. So delicious to be eating outside and see the three stars in the sky that NY light pollution affords.
Sunday we met up with the same crew and boarded Ventura, an historic yacht that's moored in North Cove Marina near the World Financial Center, for a bit of cruising around the harbour. The cruise is associated with a bar in the LES called DBA, which is known for its crazy range of beers, so we sampled boutique beers as we got up close and personal with Liberty Island, Ellis Island, cruise ships leaving port and jet skiers.
As you can imagine, drinking in the sun for four hours descended into mayhem, messy nachos and margaritas and then dark & stormies at an aptly named bar called the Rusty Knot. Gave new meaning to dark &stormies: 3 types of rum, lime and ginger cordial and ginger beer, served in a tiki glass with an umbrella. It was almost spicy in its gingeriness: my fave drink taken to new heights.
Jus and I bailed before any fights, stolen warheads or back of the cab redecoration went on.
Monday we hired bikes and tootled up the Hudson in the sunshine, circling back near Columbia Uni to Central Park where we had a picnic with about 40,000 other New Yorkers. Bikini clad frisbee players, roller disco, crazy 8 playing crowd that provided endless people watching. Riding the bike was a revelation: such a speedy and enlightenting way to the city. Saw places along the water that I've never spied before - free kayaking, little cafes, parks and coves - and the city was suddently more accessible, smaller and human than before.
Lots of photos of the weekend on flickr. Check them out.
Saturday, May 24, 2008
In the Summertime
Sing along:
The tax mans taken all my dough,And left me in my stately home,Lazing on a sunny afternoon.
And I cant sail my yacht,Hes taken everything Ive got,All Ive gots this sunny afternoon.
Save me, save me, save me from this squeeze.
I got a big fat mama trying to break me.
And I love to live so pleasantly,
Live this life of luxury,Lazing on a sunny afternoon.
In the summertimeIn the summertimeIn the summertime
My girlfriends run off with my car
,And gone back to her ma and pa,
Telling tales of drunkenness and cruelty.
Now Im sitting here,
Sipping at my ice cold beer,
Lazing on a sunny afternoon.
Help me, help me, help me sail away,
Well give me two good reasons why I oughta stay.
cause I love to live so pleasantly,
Live this life of luxury
,Lazing on a sunny afternoon.
In the summertimeIn the summertimeIn the summertime
Ah, save me, save me, save me from this squeeze.
I got a big fat mama trying to break me.
And I love to live so pleasantly,
Live this life of luxury,
Lazing on a sunny afternoon.
In the summertimeIn the summertimeIn the summertime...
Friday, May 23, 2008
Everybody likes a good chart
This is like I Can Haz Cheeseburger for charts. You can see more and make your own here.
No excuses now for boring PowerPoint presentations.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
American English
Well Justin listened to quite the eye (ear?) opening radio show yesterday on good old WNYC about the differences between British English and American English. Listen to the show here. It's about 30 minutes.
Fascinatingly, the -ize ending used to be British English until they got all Frenchified and moved to -ise, same with the move from -er to -re. The Americans hung on to the original spelling. The British pronunication of dropping syllables in words ending with -ory and -ary (eg lav-A-tory to lav-rat-ry)only started happening in England in the 1800s: the Americans stuck with the old pronunciation. Basically British English was changing: Americans didn't change it.
Shockingly, the English used to pronounce all their 'ers' instead of 'ahs' (eg mothER instead of mothAH) and so the radio presenter states that performing Shakespeare with an American accent is closer to the original pronunciation than an English accent now!
So all these people who claim the Americans stuffed up the English language (and I was one of them) can now quietly know that its closer to an older form of English and not a series of bastardisations. They're not so bad after all, hey?
Fascinatingly, the -ize ending used to be British English until they got all Frenchified and moved to -ise, same with the move from -er to -re. The Americans hung on to the original spelling. The British pronunication of dropping syllables in words ending with -ory and -ary (eg lav-A-tory to lav-rat-ry)only started happening in England in the 1800s: the Americans stuck with the old pronunciation. Basically British English was changing: Americans didn't change it.
Shockingly, the English used to pronounce all their 'ers' instead of 'ahs' (eg mothER instead of mothAH) and so the radio presenter states that performing Shakespeare with an American accent is closer to the original pronunciation than an English accent now!
So all these people who claim the Americans stuffed up the English language (and I was one of them) can now quietly know that its closer to an older form of English and not a series of bastardisations. They're not so bad after all, hey?
Free summer fun
I have to say that New York loves a free outdoor event and there are so many of them I'm truly excited about the cultural excess of the next few months.
Yesterday I grabbed some lunch with pals and we walked to Bryant Park and listened to author, Augusten Burroughs, speak about his childhood and his new memoir about his father.
An area of Bryant Park is the Reading Room, an outdoor newsagent & bookstore that caters to people who want to buy a read and sprawl in the grass or grab one of those chairs with the attached table top (is there a name for those?). This is where people flocked with their lunches to hear Augusten outline his eccentric upbringing.
He looks quite different in real life to his author's photo on the back of his novels. Based on his author's photo I was expecting a pale, softly spoken, cuddly, neurotic guy with a bit of a paunch. In the flesh he was tanned, jutting cheek and jaw bones, truckers cap and reflective aviators. He looked more like someone weathered by drugs & alcohol than perhaps the bloated post-rehab dough boy I was expecting.
Augusten was articulate, passionate, loud, a little angry maybe, extroverted, evocative vocab. A great speaker. I shall rush to buy his new book.
D.O.A.
I got home from work the other night to find two of the building superintendents hovering at our neighbours door. I could hear a bit of commotion inside and I said kinda flippantly 'Hi guys what's happening?' and one of them took a few steps towards me and whispered, 'She died. In the tub. And has flooded her apartment and the one below'.
It was all very Law & Order. The supers had to force their way in when the neighbour downstairs had water pouring through the ceiling and they found poor Susie naked in the bath.
The NYPD were there doing whatever they had to do. Gurneys in the hall. Ambos. Drama drama drama. The door to her apartment is now sealed with a 'dead on arrival' sticker, which is a little creepy.
She was an old woman, died of natural causes. I saw her maybe once every couple of weeks shuffling to the lift and we exchanged polite greetings. Jus said she came and went a lot and had lots of visitors during the day. She was active and happy and evidently had the quickest and most painless of deaths.
But moments after the police had left I did hear some neighbours milling in the hallway talking about when her lease contract was up. Never an inappropriate moment to talk about available apartments in this town, it seems. I felt like I was on Seinfeld.
Bom bom da na na na na....
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Let's to Yankees let's go
Went to see the baseball during the last season at the original Yankee
stadium with colleagues from work. Out to the Bronx, which means I
finally made it to all 5 boroughs. Bud Light, dogs, crackerjack,
peanuts and pretzels.bases loaded a few times: did not know where to look and felt like I was constantly missing the action. where is a slow mo replay when you need it?
Started with the anthem, also squeezed in Glod Bless America and Take Me Out to the Ballpark during the 10 innings.
Jeter and A-rod and Matsui the
heroes. Surprisingly exciting if a little lengthy.
Footy and
basketball to go to check off the 'American sports look-see'.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Suck it up
'Suck it up' seems to be the new saying on the street: I hear it atleast once a day either at work, walking around or on TV. This video is related in the slimmest of ways but is too funny not to share.
Parents: you might want to watch with no sound.
Monday, May 19, 2008
This time last year
This time last year was my going away party, a bittersweet affair. Now that a year is ticking over I've gone into overdrive planning all the holidays that Jus and I want to squeeze in before two years arrives and we turn into pumpkins.
New Orleans. DC. Maine. Newfoundland. Utah. Jamaica. Central America. Florida Keys. Wyoming. Vegas. Jade. Ced. Lyons family. Between Amtrak and AA and Starwood Hotel points we might just pull it off, or we could end up blowing our discretionary income on broadway shows and shoes, or pissy nights out in the Meatpacking district with visiting pals and family.
If only we'd won that lotto jackpot.
New Orleans. DC. Maine. Newfoundland. Utah. Jamaica. Central America. Florida Keys. Wyoming. Vegas. Jade. Ced. Lyons family. Between Amtrak and AA and Starwood Hotel points we might just pull it off, or we could end up blowing our discretionary income on broadway shows and shoes, or pissy nights out in the Meatpacking district with visiting pals and family.
If only we'd won that lotto jackpot.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Confessions
There are many online confession websites where people post anonymous thoughts and feelings. I stumbled upon Group Hug today. There's something as fascinating here as some of the questions I see on Yahoo Answers. Strange glimpses into people's fears and hopes and worries and confusion.
Lucky numbers
Can you believe how high the jackpots get here? Imagine winning US $196 million.
I shall be entering.
Let the fantasy of what you'd do when you found out you won and what you'd do with all the money begin...
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Recruiting spies
Ever wondered what the job ad for a spy might look like? Wonder no more. The CIA was advertising on nytimes.com today and I took a look.
My favourite parts:
"An OO’s career can include assignments in the NCS’s three key areas of activity—human intelligence collection, counterintelligence, and covert action—on issues of highest interest to US national security, such as international terrorism, weapons proliferation, international crime and narcotics trafficking, and capabilities and intentions of rogue nations.
They must know themselves very well and a sense of humor is also a plus.
Knowledge by non-Agency personnel of your association with the Central Intelligence Agency or the Intelligence Community may limit your ability to perform or preclude you from certain assignments. NCS applicants should therefore endeavor to protect the fact that they have applied and/or are thinking of applying to the NCS. We urge your discretion throughout the entire hiring process to ensure maximum flexibility for your potential NCS career. Further guidance will be provided as competitive applicants move through the hiring steps."
I guess I just blew my chance.
My favourite parts:
"An OO’s career can include assignments in the NCS’s three key areas of activity—human intelligence collection, counterintelligence, and covert action—on issues of highest interest to US national security, such as international terrorism, weapons proliferation, international crime and narcotics trafficking, and capabilities and intentions of rogue nations.
They must know themselves very well and a sense of humor is also a plus.
Knowledge by non-Agency personnel of your association with the Central Intelligence Agency or the Intelligence Community may limit your ability to perform or preclude you from certain assignments. NCS applicants should therefore endeavor to protect the fact that they have applied and/or are thinking of applying to the NCS. We urge your discretion throughout the entire hiring process to ensure maximum flexibility for your potential NCS career. Further guidance will be provided as competitive applicants move through the hiring steps."
I guess I just blew my chance.
Hooray Australia
Unscrewamerica.org is not a Get Up for the US. It's about changing to more energy efficient lightbulbs. And Australia gets a shout out via a kangaroo playing the national anthem.
I think it's safe to say that this site is targetting the youth.
Another night, another blurry restaurant interior shot
AK, Ross and Anita have hit town. We're on a roll with our Aussie visitors and I have to say its lovely. Yes the credit card is melting but there's nothing I like more than swapping stories and hearing news over a dining table. AK is here for a spell then off to Alaska to visit her sister. Ross is exhibiting his furniture at a trade show and here for a week or so and Anita is here for two weeks to catch up with people she used to know when she lived here many moons ago (how does she squeeze it all in?).
What are they loving: the gingko plants on the street, the cheap clothes & shoes and hare on the menu.
Update on whirlwind week
Ben and Lisa interviewed all over town and Ben was offered his dream job designing skyscrapers. So they're moving to New York for good! Lisa can relax and now take her time to find a role she can get truly excited about (she realised that there's a heap of cycling and outdoor publication websites based in NY) and not have to jump at the first thing that comes up. They are now on the next leg of their holiday (another 3 weeks of rest and relaxation in Europe) before they head back to Melbourne, pack up shop and ship out.
Justin and I are really excited about them moving here. It feels a bit like the groundswell that was going on to get friends to move to St Kilda all those years ago. New York is a bit harder but what the hell? There's a Chinatown in every city isn't there?
Justin and I are really excited about them moving here. It feels a bit like the groundswell that was going on to get friends to move to St Kilda all those years ago. New York is a bit harder but what the hell? There's a Chinatown in every city isn't there?
Celebrity sighting #27, 28 and 29
I haven't been keeping up with my spotting.
In the LES wandering down the street I saw Kathryn Erbe, who you may know better as Detective Goran's partner on Law & Order Criminal Intent.
In the East Village I was buying underwear and so was Patricia Clarkson, who is just as striking in real life as on screen. She was in the recent release Married Life with Pierce Brosnan, and used to be in Six Feet Under as the alternative aunt, among other things.
Then last night Hugh Grant walked into the restaurant we were dining at in the LES. (No explanation required for him, I take it.) He was shorter than I expected and looked exceedingly like an English academic from Maida Vale.
In the LES wandering down the street I saw Kathryn Erbe, who you may know better as Detective Goran's partner on Law & Order Criminal Intent.
In the East Village I was buying underwear and so was Patricia Clarkson, who is just as striking in real life as on screen. She was in the recent release Married Life with Pierce Brosnan, and used to be in Six Feet Under as the alternative aunt, among other things.
Then last night Hugh Grant walked into the restaurant we were dining at in the LES. (No explanation required for him, I take it.) He was shorter than I expected and looked exceedingly like an English academic from Maida Vale.
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