I love the one train. I have to. But just look at this guy. I hope to someday be as completely New York as he is. This was taken around 11:00 PM on a Saturday night, heading uptown. Waaaay uptown. Where was he going?
And this? I'm sure there was a perfectly reasonable explanation for this, but I'd rather not hear it if it's all the same to you. Let's conjecture.
Joe and I discovered that there is a national park in (on?) Staten Island called Gateway. As always, in the spirit of adventure, we hopped on the subway, had a ride on the ferry, caught a bus, and trekked into the part called Great Kills. Actually, it took about 3 hours to get all the way there, and yet the following pictures are technically still New York City. The rest of Staten Island, at least the parts visible from the bus, look a lot like Iowa or New Jersey. It's not only a lot of mom and pop shops and concrete strip malls, it boasts the King of the Burrito, the King of Souvlaki, Panini King, and Princess Travel. I also want to mention that we stopped by El Rey del Sandwich in our neighborhood to gather picnic supplies. Best. Cuban. Ever. If you don't know what a Cuban is, come visit me.
This might be the creepiest beach ever. No swimming, lots of garbage, and most oddly, a salt marsh, so no wading even.
How did these steel supports become so tangled together? It's been driving me nuts! Did the ocean do it? Did the demolition crew? HOW?
Yes, these are wild turkeys. In New York City. Technically.
Yankee Stadium is about to become "the site fo the old Yankee Stadium." This is, of course, both disappointing and super exciting. The old Yankee Stadium is quite awesome to visit, while being a little uncomfortable and old fashioned. The NEW Yankee Stadium (as opposed to the New Yankee Workshop) is being built from the original blueprints with major upgrades. We can walk to both stadiums, and as the following photos attest, they are literally right next to each other. I have been to several seasons of OYS, and I'm quite excited to see a few more games this year (go stupid Yankee losers!). We have tickets to three games. Then, when the season is over, they are going to implode the old stadium, just in time to declare the new one, a near exact replica, open. Cheers for bizarre decisions! These pics are from November, I think. Hopefully, there will be a construction update soon. Old stadium
Last night, Huzbin and I were wondering, what can we do for cheap around here? I googled "free NYC" and got a website called freenyc which lists all kinds of free and cheap events around the city. So after a dinner at Otto paid for with a gift card (thank you Rebecca and Mario!) Joe and I walked up to Union Square, where I'd heard about an event called "Silent Rave." I'm sure you all know about Flash Mobs by now and this is a variation on that theme. The way it's done is that everyone shows up to a previously decided upon spot, and in this case, brings their own iPod charged and loaded with their favorite songs. Everyone wears their own headphones and dances to their own music. To onlookers, the event is entirely silent. The following video will show you.
Huzbin and I didn't dance, but we did watch breakdancers and even a limbo contest (if 2 or more comments request the limbo vid, I will post it). Someone started a drum circle (damn hippies!) and so you can hear that in the background, but these people really stuck with the silent theme.
Of course this all leads me to philosophize about the youth of today. One can argue that things like text messaging and IM and Facebook are making people less social. One can also argue that these things are making people more social, but less apt to be able to interact in physical social situations. This event was totally odd to me, because I could clearly see both sides of the coin happening at once. The event was originally posted on Facebook, but hundreds of people showed up. They were (mostly) all listening to their own music, but they were dancing together. This isn't entirely different from a club, where the music is way too loud to converse with anyone, so you just dance. So I wonder, is it the future to be entirely on your own? And is this really a bad thing? New York City lends itself to anonymity, and is one of the most populated places on Earth. What's the difference if we find out about a club which costs $20 to get in, or whether we bring our own music and interact in the same way?
K, one of the things about the new format is "I'm just here for the food" isn't working anymore. This will be a "tales from NYC" or "day to day" kind of thing, but the new title isn't making itself obvious to me. Please help me to brainstorm new things, with apples, cities, new york, whatever you think is New York clever or witty. The winner will get her or his picture right here and a whole post to her or himself!
Brainstorm kick off: A Tale of One City Apple-icous Apple of My Eye Apple of I Apple Spy I Spy New York City O'My Heart Start Spreadin' the News etc etc none of the above are actually in contention. They are merely a jumping off place for your creative spirit. Have fun!
It's a sing-along! Everyone, please put on your best easy listening voice and join me:
Baby, if you ever wondered Wondered whatever became of me I'm living on the air in Cincinnati Cincinnati WKRP (key change!) I got tired of all that packing and unpacking Town to town, up and down the dial Maybe you and me were never meant to be Maybe think of me once in a while. I'm at W K R P in Cinciiinnnaaaaaatiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
I am Andy Travis, your new program director, and I'm here to shake things up. This ol' blog is stale and dull (cue Adelaide from Diff'rent Strokes: Heck no, we won't go!) and it's time that this blog made a profit. A virtual one, at least. Mama Carlson has granted me a few months to see if the new format will take hold, and I intend to make it work. I don't know how many listeners I have, and I know I'll lose Sleepy Corner Rest Home (what was that called?) as an advertiser, but that's okay with me.
What is this new format, you say? I'm thinking "I Love New York" or something equally, uh, generic? No. Heartfelt? Maybe. Inspired? I hope so. So please, stay tuned.
Okay, I am unreasonably excited about having a cubicle. I got a new job, which I start on Monday, and I am having cubicle fantasies. To me, this bit of office drudgery is an extension of my home, and I intend to decorate it as such. I have spent my last few days as the receptionist with nothing to do scanning all my favorite sites, nosing out inexpensive, inoffensive to co-workers accessories. I have found out which plants clean the icky corporate air most efficiently (Areca Palms!) and have even gone so far as to wonder if I can get into the office on weekends to bring these new friends in, or if I have to schlep them on the subway during rush hour. I have looked for new planters for succulents, which take up little space and need little care. I found a nice thin, inexpensive rug that will allow for wheeling all over it, I think. I'm currently looking for an interesting table lamp. I wonder what color the horrible burlap walls will be...and am searching for fabric to cover them with. I will try to sneak in a few "before" shots, although if I can't I'm sure you'll all be able to imagine what a boring "before" cubicle looks like. Am I old fashioned for calling it a cubicle instead of a cube? I picture the whole thing to have a bit of a sun-room feeling to it, lots of colors and textures and plants. And books. Millions of books, of course. No Pimp My Cube for me! Mine will be a chic place where all the work will be done in a cheerful and not dusty environment. I'm thinking a fruit bowl will be nice so I can just load it up on Mondays. Maybe a little box that I can keep my snacks in. Getting a new job is expensive!
I love the one train. I have to. But just look at this guy. I hope to someday be as completely New York as he is. This was taken around 11:00 PM on a Saturday night, heading uptown. Waaaay uptown. Where was he going?
Joe and I discovered that there is a national park in (on?) Staten Island called Gateway. As always, in the spirit of adventure, we hopped on the subway, had a ride on the ferry, caught a bus, and trekked into the part called Great Kills. Actually, it took about 3 hours to get all the way there, and yet the following pictures are technically still New York City. The rest of Staten Island, at least the parts visible from the bus, look a lot like Iowa or New Jersey. It's not only a lot of mom and pop shops and concrete strip malls, it boasts the King of the Burrito, the King of Souvlaki, Panini King, and Princess Travel. I also want to mention that we stopped by El Rey del Sandwich in our neighborhood to gather picnic supplies. Best. Cuban. Ever. If you don't know what a Cuban is, come visit me.
New stadium
Both stadiums
It's a sing-along! Everyone, please put on your best easy listening voice and join me:
