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October 31, 2004
Perfect autumn day
It was a gorgeous day today and instead of going to Manhattan as I had originally planned, I managed to convince Adam to go horseback riding at the park near us. I had been wanting to go horseback riding for a while and, at the same time, Adam and I had talked about going to the park by us for a while and after hearing that the park had a stable and seeing the beautiful weather today, I knew we had no excuse not to go! Remarkably, the stable was only a hop, skip, and a jump away from our apartment and being there almost made you forget you were in New York City. Neither of us had been horseback riding since we were kids so we were both a little apprehensive. We waited patiently for our horses, hopped on, and almost immediately, my horse walked over to the building across the street to munch on some weeds. Perhaps it was my mistake for not preventing him from doing so, perhaps he was just hungry or tired and didn't want to go on another walk through the woods, perhaps I was just too inexperienced at riding, or perhaps it was a little of all of the above but my horse would just not listen to me the entire ride. I ended up lagging behind all everyone else and whenever I would do what I could to get my horse to catch up, it would just ignore me and only occasionally break into a trot but just randomly so. At one point, when I was trying to get the horse to catch up, it just stopped for a moment, in the middle of a clearing, as if to drive home the point that it could do whatever it wanted to do. Horse issues aside, it was a nice experience--we took the bridle path through the woods in this park and the canopy and fall leaves were lovely. Wish I had some photos to share--hopefully, I'll either be getting a new digital camera or a camera phone around the holidays!
Posted by Jennifer at 04:42 PM | Comments (0)
October 29, 2004
Possible boost for Kerry?
Just heard about the Bin Laden tape--it could go either way given the amount of people who equate Bush with security but hopefully it'll convince more people to vote for Kerry rather than Bush. I was pretty surprised by the last part where he said that Bush's lag in reacting to the events of September 11th gave his operatives more than enough time to carry out their strikes. Who knew that Bill Maher would be vindicated in his weekly railing against Bush on this issue? (he's always railed against religion, marriage, and obesity/the toxins in the food we eat and added Bush's lag in response to the events of September 11 to his repetoire of frequent diatribes on Real Time).
Posted by Jennifer at 07:31 PM | Comments (0)
October 28, 2004
Seasons change
Not to put the cart before the horse, but I just realized today that we may be closer to closing on the co-op than I thought. We've been approved for a loan and should be getting the commitment letter shortly which, along with our board application, will get sent to the building management company who will forward the material to the co-op board who will contact us to set up an interview. For months, I've been telling people, we're still in waiting mode, that there are still many steps involved, and we're now actually only a month and a half away from the date we agreed to close by and Adam pointed out to me tonight that it could happen sooner than that. I hope the board approves us first of all, and, secondly, that we do close sooner than the middle of December since we're going on our annual holiday migration to L.A. on December 22nd.
At the same time, I'm apprehensive about an impending move--Adam and I have lived in our current apartment for nearly three and a half years and, save for the spate of water-related disasters this past year, it's served us well. We have a good-sized study room which I is hard for me to imagine not having, I have a large closet which is great for storing the numerous boxes of clothing I have, and we have a pretty expansive living room which is large enough to accomodate the numerous boxes of paper-based stuff Adam and I have. We also live in one of the best neighborhoods in Queens. It will be hard to leave. On top of this, we have so much stuff it is hard to fathom the amount of effort it will require to move. One task, in particular, that has been hanging over my head is transferring all the files I need to transfer from my old computer to this computer--even though Adam gave this computer to me back in March, I still haven't gone through all the files in my old computer so I can determine what needs or doesn't need to be transferred (this is the computer that got me through graduate school, a stint doing research for and writing a guidebook, a prolonged job search involving many cover letters and resumes, a zine issue, and the belief that I would publish another issue so there's a lot of files to go through). In some ways, I can't wait--this is the thing we've been waiting for since the beginning of the summer. In other ways, I'm having difficulty adjusting to the idea of having to say goodbye to the place we've called home for the past three plus years, the longest period of time I've lived in one place since high school or perhaps even longer.
Posted by Jennifer at 09:08 PM | Comments (0)
October 26, 2004
Half year wedding anniversary
As a tribute to our half year wedding anniversary which was yesterday, thought I'd share some wedding and non-wedding related trivia about Adam and I:
Last movie we saw before we got married: Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind
Movie we were watching when Adam proposed: Mystery Train
Place we ate at the day we met: Yummy Noodle
Wedding song: Underneath It All (No Doubt)
Other songs/bands that were played at our wedding: Pizzicato Five, Phyllis Dillon, Boogie Woogie No. 5 (Puffy Ami Yumi), Yellow (Coldplay), The Ramones, The Magnificent Seven (The Clash), Beastie Boys, Safety Dance (Men with Hats)
Song that I wanted played but Adam vetoed: Diamond Sea (Sonic Youth)
Songs/bands that were on the mixed cd's we gave our DJ but he didn't play: Coffee & TV (Blur), Me Gustas Tu (Manu Chao), Kinky, Mr T Experience, The Queers, Bouncing Souls, Cool Kids (Screeching Weasel)
What time yesterday I realized we had been married for six months: 6:15pm
What we did last night: Ate at Supper, watched our friend Sy play, ate cupcakes
Posted by Jennifer at 09:20 PM | Comments (1)
October 24, 2004
The Colossus of New York
Every once in a while, a book grabs me in such a way that I want to buy it for all my friends and acquaintances. I just started reading such a book today. The Colossus of New York captures the poetry of living in New York City beautifully. I highly recommend you buy the book if you don't recieve presents from me regularly. An excerpt which elaborates upon what I posted yesterday:
There are unheralded tipping points, a certain number of times that we will unlock the front door of an apartment. At some point you were closer to the last time than you were to the first time, and you didn't even know it. You didn't know that each time you passed the threshold you were saying good-bye.
And another:
Consider what all your old apartments would say if they got together to swap stories. They could piece together the starts and finishes of your relationships, complain about your wardrobe and musical tastes, gossip about who you are after midnight. 7J says, So that's what happened to Lucy--I knew it would never work out. You picked up yoga, you put down yoga, you tried various cures. You tried on selves and got rid of them, and this makes your old rooms wistful: why must things change? 3R goes, Saxophone, you say--I knew him when he played the guitar. Cherish your old apartments and pause for a moment when you pass them. Pay tribute, for they are the caretakers of your reinventions.
Posted by Jennifer at 04:51 PM | Comments (0)
October 23, 2004
Mourning
Madal Bal Bakery, my favorite bakery is no longer. After cajoling Adam into driving there, we walked inside to see the interior completely changed. I asked the woman behind the counter where their baked goods were and she brought me over to a freezer with Junior's cheescakes and other frozen desserts. When I asked what happened to their bakery, she said that they were finding that they would be busy during the holidays but business had gotten increasingly slower during the non-holiday times so they decided to become a health food store instead. I was so crushed--it'd been so long since I'd had their yummy cupcakes and brownies and I was soo looking forward to eating them. This is a bakery I've posted about before--they're run by a group of women who are followers of guru Sri Chimnoy and have been a favorite of mine since my uncle used to take my siblings and I there when were younger. First it was my favorite cafe in Soho, then it was my favorite bar/restaurant on Ludlow Street, now my favorite bakery in Queens. I know the city is a place of flux but I hate it when my favorite places disappear.
Posted by Jennifer at 01:21 PM | Comments (2)
October 22, 2004
Yum
I got off two stops early to go to the bank and do some grocery shopping when I decided to stop by the empanada store in the neighborhood to pick up a chicken empanada. As I was getting ready to pay, I noticed that had some empanadas on the counter sprinkled with powdered sugar and found out these were an assortment of dessert empanadas. As soon as I heard the words banana and chocolate I knew I had to get one. The empanada turned out to be as good as the combination--imagine a flaky empanada with slices of bananas, chocolate spread, and a touch of cinnamon. Yum!
Posted by Jennifer at 11:09 PM | Comments (0)
October 21, 2004
Grandmother
My poor grandma--she took a bad fall last week and fractured her shoulder. She's 87 and, while she's grown increasingly frail the last few years (she broke her hip while she still lived in NYC and never fully recovered from it), she still hugs Adam and I fiercely when we walk through her door each year to visit during the holidays. She has to wear a sling to keep her arm immobile and I feel really bad because this has significantly restricted the amount of things she can do on her own. If you or I fractured our shoulder and had to wear it in a sling we'd be affected in our day-to-day activities, add the challenges of old age and a bad hip and you have almost complete reliance on assistance with even the most routine of things. This has definitely dampened my grandma's spirits. Anyway, send her some well wishes and perhaps she'll heal a little faster and be back on her feet! Anyway, here's a cute picture of her dancing with Adam's grandfather at our wedding:
Posted by Jennifer at 08:57 PM | Comments (0)
October 20, 2004
Find
I rarely shop around Soho but on Saturday, I had time to kill in between lunch with a friend and dinner and after lunch, ended up in Soho to go to a sample sale. Not really having anywhere else to go, I decided to walk down Broadway and stopped by American Eagle Outfitters. I've never bought anything at AE--they used to be too Aeropostale and now, post-makeover, they have better clothes but have gone from inexpensive too a little too expensive for an aspiring Abercrombie & Fitch. But I was waiting for a dressing room when a stack of jeans caught my eye--they appeared to be my size and the color I coveted so I headed over to the jeans section and was happy to see the selection they had. I've been trying to find a pair of jeans I like for over a year but most of the stores I frequent only have dark jeans (which hasn't been what I've been looking for) or when they do have jean colors I like, tend to exceed my limit for jeans. I know Seven jeans are coveted and are supposed to make you look your ass look fabulous and while, admittedly, my experience with them has been limited because I refuse to shell out over $100 for a pair of jeans (I even hesitate at $50), I think they're overrated. And I'm glad I held out--after trying on a stack of jeans, I found the perfect pair--not too low, the right color, and totally comfortable. Now if I could only find the perfect boots..
Posted by Jennifer at 12:15 AM | Comments (0)
October 19, 2004
Out of town guests
My friend Karima and her boyfriend Greg came to visit from Trinidad last Thursday and the past few days have been spent at restaurants and bars. It's been really fun--Karima and I have been close friends since college (she was one of my bridesmaids) but this is the first time we've met Greg and he turned out to be a really cool person who's regaled with stories of living in Trinidad and England and other adventures. This was the first time he'd been to NYC and he and Karima eroded even my jaded New Yorker exterior. Unfortunately, they're leaving tomorrow and I must confess that I'll miss hearing the Trinidadian accent. Hopefully, Adam and I will visit them next year though..
Seen for the first time on the subway--last night, a man boarded the subway car I was on pushing what looked like a shopping cart covered in sparkly fabric. He stopped the cart halfway and started doing magic tricks and, despite pulling out a dove from a magic hat and a bunny from an empty box, I seemed to be the only one who was even looking. Everyone else seemed intent on ignoring him, perhaps thinking if they so much as glanced in his direction they would be obliged to contribute to his tip jar. But I was impressed--I've heard of magicians on the subway before but this is the first time I've ever seen one and how can you resist a magician who pulls doves from hats and bunnies from boxes on an empty subway car?
Posted by Jennifer at 12:46 AM | Comments (0)
October 16, 2004
I know that Jon Stewart tends to be franker than most in interviews but this is really exceptional. A must read!
Wow, is a ray of light shining down on Britney's brain? Who knows, maybe she'll start convincing her readers to vote for John Kerry next!
This is my new favorite video.
Posted by Jennifer at 10:47 AM | Comments (0)
October 15, 2004
I was pretty impressed when I read that the first Asian woman was promoted to a deputy chief for the FDNY today. But I think I was even more impressed when I saw that her hair is dyed red!
Posted by Jennifer at 12:00 AM | Comments (0)
October 10, 2004
End of an Era?
On my way to meet my sister and her boyfriend for dinner on Friday, I went to See Hear to look at zines and saw that they were no longer there and in fact were replaced by some other store. See Hear is a zine store, the only one that was dedicated solely to zines and comics in NYC I believe that had been in the city for as long as I've been into zines. While I resented the fact that when they carried my zine they placed it on the bottom shelf where it sat forlorn and unbought, I still liked the store because they carried zines, and I could count on finding the most recent Cometbus there. I got into zines in the mid 90's, in between college and graduate school, and published one of my own until a few years ago. I enjoyed it but it was hard work, and I'm not a natural writer. And while my readership was very modest, my zine did help me meet a few instrumental people, including my husband. Now, when I go through my many boxes of papers, including my zine material, I think gosh, how different my life was then. I almost forgot that I took a photography class at FIT. I wasn't very good at it but I really enjoyed it. I almost panicked when I thought a box containing a bunch of my photos had been lost.
It's unfortunate that See Hear is no longer around, because while my interest in zines has waned over the years, sometimes it's good to have a small piece of your past.
Posted by Jennifer at 09:20 PM | Comments (1)
October 09, 2004
Puffy Ami Yumi
Adam and I first heard of Puffy Ami Yumi through Cliptrip, a show that aired music videos from around the world on MuchMusic USA when the channel was still in the states. The video for Boogie Woogie No. 5 was a favorite video on the show as well as one of our favorites, featuring the band, headed by two Japanese girls, in a video where the male band members did swing dance type moves, similar to the former Gap commercial. We bought Spike, the album that featured the song, and even though I liked the album, I wouldn't say that I was necessarily a fan of the band because my affinity didn't go much beyond the one album and mainly that one song. So when I saw that Puffy was playing in New York, I debated whether we should go or not and thought, why not? The show was last night and I have to confess that they won us over. They're not like the typical bands we like--after all, they are J-pop, but they're good. They're cute too--they're anti-Britney in that they wear wool sweaters and T-shirts but they have a lot of pop songs and look like they're about 18 years old even though they're probably closer to 30. The funniest aspect of the concert though had to be some of the, can we say enthusiastic male fans? This one guy was throwing his hands in the air throughout their first few songs, and even formed hearts with his hands to send his love to Puffy. It was pretty funny--I guess male J-pop fans can be a whole different breed.. Ami and Yumi (the two female singers) also revealed that the band will be featured in a new cartoon on Cartoon Network. I don't have high hopes for this cartoon, but it's amusing nonetheless.
Posted by Jennifer at 01:25 PM | Comments (0)
October 07, 2004
I have a sore throat and it's all our landlords' fault. Our landlords live above us and since Sunday, have been blasting the heat at night. While we don't have central heat, we do have pipes running along our study room and bedroom ceilings and our bedroom, in particular, has been unbearably warm at night. Picture intense heat emanating from pipes a few feet away from your head. To provide some relief, we've been opening the window a crack and turning on our fan but end up cold by the middle of the night. Well, last night my throat decided it wasn't going to take any more of this abuse and I woke up in the middle of the night realizing it was sore--despite my attempts to battle it with my standard cold cocktails (ginger ale, Emer-gen-C, and echinecea), zinc tablets, and homeopathic cold medicine my throat (and nose) haven't seemed to get any better.
I knew when the temperatures dipped earlier this week that someone in my office would get sick but as I generally do not fall victim to falling temperatures I just assumed it would be someone else. No thanks to our dumb landlords however, it looks like it might be me.
Oh my god, someone please get me one.
Posted by Jennifer at 09:07 PM | Comments (0)
October 05, 2004
The hazards of being female
Had a long workshop today and after the workshop started, I noticed that the stomach of a colleague was noticeably larger but it wasn't large enough to know for sure whether she was pregnant or not. I wanted to ask her but hesitated as I did not want to embarrass her and myself in case she wasn't. Then I got my cue--at one point she rested her hands on her belly--a pretty good sign she was pregnant as this is not an uncommon gesture for women who are pregnant. I asked her, and sure enough she was and I breathed a sigh of relief.
What's up with Bloomberg btw? First it was the Republican National Convention, now it's the Country Music Association Awards. What next, the National Rifle Association convention?
Posted by Jennifer at 06:32 PM | Comments (0)
October 04, 2004
Apple picking
Every year for the last four years, Adam and I have gone apple-picking with my sister and her then-boyfriend/now ex and this year was no different. We always go to the same orchard because they have a winery and a very good bakery. Yesterday, however, we had the misfortune of going there during Apple Fest and we had to contend with slow traffic and throngs of people at the winery and bakery. There were ten minute plus lines for everything--the bathroom, the bakery, buying wine, etc. It was pretty annoying but the payoff was a bag full of apples, yummy baked goods, picturesque views, and the promise of apple pies.
I'm glad that there seem to be an increasing number of articles regarding Bush's environmental record but, I find it unfortunate that environmental issues seem to have taken a backburner in this election year because of Iraq which is a big reason why I miss Gore. While a number of anti-war activists and others point to the connections between the war in Iraq and oil, few people seem to make the connections between the war and our extremely unsustainable consumption patterns here in the U.S. which is why I applaud this writer. Another good article which provides some insights into the recent cluster of hurricanes and other natural disasters.
Apologies, btw, for those who have posted comments and didn't see their comments on the site. I had this site upgraded so I could filter through all the spammers that were posting in my comments section and only realized today that I had to go to the comments section of my publishing platform to approve any posts before they'd get posted.
Seen for the first time on the subway today- a guy pull out his dentures (from his mouth) and stuff them in his pant pocket. One word- gross. Have any good subway stories? Please share!
Posted by Jennifer at 09:38 PM | Comments (0)
October 02, 2004
Open House
There's a large apartment building I walk by to and from the subway everyday and today, I noticed that there was an open house in one of the co-ops. Even though we're already in contract for the co-op I've been posting about, I decided to check it out since I couldn't resist seeing a the co-op in that building. They have a really nice lobby (at least, by Queens standards) which I had noticed as of late and, apparently, this was the result of a recent renovation. The elevator was nicer than any of the elevators in the buildings I've been to to look at co-ops. The hallway, eh, but with different paint colors could be improved significantly. The co-op itself was o.k.--nice but not necessarily nicer than some of the co-ops we've seen (including the co-op we're trying to buy) but the views, oh the views. The building overlooks my neighborhood which happens to be one of the nicest neighborhoods in Queens and I had never seen the view from above--besides the standard tops of buildings there was a vast expanse of trees and air and park and from every room and I was instantly dazzled. Unfortunately, it is also a little out of our price range and a little smaller than what we're aiming for--if only we were a few years younger and a few ducats richer.
Posted by Jennifer at 07:13 PM | Comments (0)
New Yorker Festival
I've been a huge fan of Sherman Alexie for years and try to catch him whenever he's in town which, unfortunately, isn't very often. The last time I tried to catch him, we were meeting with the rabbi who we ended up choosing to officiate our wedding and it took longer than I expected so I ended up missing the event. The time before that I schlepped down to and waited in front of St. Mark's Church in cold rainy weather only to later find out that the event had been cancelled at the last minute due to a family emergency. So when I saw that he was going to be at The New Yorker Festival, I quickly bought a ticket for the event. The fact that Dave Eggers was part of this event was a bonus but nothing significant to me. I tried reading A Heartbreaking Work of a Staggering Genius but stopped reading it halfway for some reason that is lost to me now and I've never been a fan of McSweeney's. But they both turned out to be equally good--Alexie's always been very funny everytime I've seen him and the book in progress that he read from sounded really good and Eggers read some short pieces that were really funny and one serious piece that was quite good. I have to say though that Alexie was a little mean in his response to one person's question for him during the Q&A session afterwards but other than that he and Eggers did not disappoint.
How Berkeley Can You Be? parade photos and commentary. The funniest images have to be the protestors against circumcision. Did I tell you I went to Berkeley? (just for one semester tho')
Posted by Jennifer at 01:12 AM | Comments (0)
October 01, 2004
Baby Boom
Damn, that's a lot of babies in Manhattan. Maybe this is why the market for 3-bedroom apartments has become so frenzied.
Posted by Jennifer at 12:47 AM | Comments (0)