I have been simply mesmerized by this growing photo group on Flickr called What’s In Your Bag? I am especially taken by the photos from men, travelers and technophiles. The content of most men’s bags seem so streamlined. How do they get away with so little “stuff?”
Click the photo to see notes on my “stuff.”
What's In Yo Bag?
My bag’s contents vary on a weekly basis. Continue reading
“Yes, that’s it. Guys, I just want you to pay attention here, okay?”
It was Saturday morning and I was in practice with the junior dance company. I was 11 years old, in a room with girls ranging from 10 to 14 along with my dance teacher, Mark.
I stood with my back to the mirror, a short distance away from the barre. A couple of fellow dancers to my left, Mark to my right. Hands lightly on my hips, I pulsed my ribcage so my chest stuck out and my back curved. Then I showed the girls what the move looked like when I pulsed my ribcage inwards, sucking my belly in to meet my back, chest sinking. Mark laughed, “That’s exactly right.” Continue reading
Just a quick heads up – I found out last Tuesday that I needed to find a new apt. by Sept. 1. My roommate’s allergic to my cat and she’s the one who’s on the lease, so I’m out. I’ve been thinking and talking about moving for a while. I hate commuting, and I wanted to be closer to work. But I also love my neighborhood and being a Brooklynite.
God provides: I emailed someone about an apt. Thursday night, heard back from her Friday, saw the apartment Sat. morning before I headed to the beach and by the time I got home from the beach I had a new apartment and an appointment to sign the lease Sunday morning. And it’s in my neighborhood in Brooklyn, but only a half hour from my office in the city. Continue reading
What I Did:
1. Go to four out of the five NYC boroughs.
2. Go to the ballet.
3. Take several cooking classes.
– One in putting together beautiful salads, to celebrate the summertime opening of an enormous new Whole Foods
– One in Food Photography with Food Blog Award nominee with Matt Armendariz
– One with blogger and cookbook author Shauna James Ahern and her husband, The Chef, in gluten-free cooking.
4. Go to a show at The Knitting Factory
5. Saw Tiki Barber playing in a park in midtown with his sons and his wife
6. Lived with the same roommates in the same apartment and loved working for the same company for an entire New York City year. Unheard of.
7. Went to musuems (International Center for Photography, MOMA, The Brooklyn Museum and the Museum of Natural History. Oh, and the Lower East Side Museum, for just a few minutes with Neil.)
8. Went to lots of farmer’s markets and cool places like the new Urban Rustic.
9. Have tons (let’s see, nine or 10) friends come visit me here, and who let me drag them all over creation to see my new home.
10. Learned the art of reading on the train.
11. Went to a house party in the Bronx.
12. Went to a Yankees game (By the way, the Red Sox won 11-4, b*tches! We all know how THAT season worked out. GO SOX!)
13. Met a few “top bloggers.” (I don’t kiss and tell. They know who they are, and they are all “top” in my book.)
14. Went to Peter Luger‘s.
15. Helped run a conference to help men, um, pick up women. Yes, seriously. Oh, Neil’s new book(s) comes out today, I think. It’s an awesome set.
16. Met a few top MySpace executives. (Josh, give me a call.)
17. Saw Margaret Cho naked! (In her “Sensuous Woman” show at The Zipper Factory.)
What I Didn’t Do (Yet. Or Maybe Ever.)
1. Go to Staten Island. This is only important because I’m Italian, and they gots Eye-talians there.
2. Go to art house cinema. This is only worth noting because I want to and because I live within walking distance of BAM. I need to go. Immediately.
3. Go to the Statue of Liberty (though Bunny and I did go look at it from Manhattan while she was in town)
4. Go to a concert of an artist I’ve always wanted to see
5. Meet Ruth Reichl, Jay-Z or Lil’ Kim
6. Move to Manhattan to be closer to my office, or get my own place in Bklyn
7. Go to enough museums (there’s still The Met, the Whitney and The Museum of Sex).
8. Join the Park Slope food coop. :-( This is something I want to do, but just can’t justify due to the distance and time commitment.
9. Take a dance class.
10. Write more.
11. Go to some famous New York places, like Biggie’s apartment, “233rd and White Plains” or Queensbridge.
12. Joined the New York City Public Library (my only resolution for 2008).
13. Go to Coney Island
14. Go visit the Latino food vendors (famous for their food’s authenticity) at the Brooklyn ballparks.
15 . . . I give up. I did more of what I wanted to do, and less of what I didn’t want to do. That was the point of moving to New York City. The “things I want to do” list will always be full, even as I cross off dozens of items on a weekly basis.
Goals For 2008
– Join the NYC Public Library (see above).
– Launch that damn food blog I’ve been “researching” for a year now. I’m not leaving this city until I get all those ideas out on the World Wide Web.
– Leave work at a reasonable hour or move closer to my office, so I can have more of a life.
– Love more. And be loved more (if and when possible).
– Seek out new authors, musicians and visual artists and start to explore theater.
– Buy some new furniture and invest more in my home, regardless of whether or not the street address itself is permanent. I am worth the investment and the feeling of security that stability brings.
And, while I’m here, I have to say congratulations to Nina and Donny on the new life they’re creating. Can’t wait to see you this weekend, Neens!
Tagged brooklyn, Friends, goals, Life, margaretcho, neilstrauss, nyc, peterluger, thebunny
This is bits and pieces written over the course of about a week.
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(Thoughts) Something that made me sad today: A man was walking ahead of me on Madison Avenue as I was on my way back to my office. I saw him saying “Excuse me. Excuse me,” to a lady in front of him. She had earmuffs on. Whether or not she heard him or not, I don’t know. He shook his head and she kept walking.
I couldn’t help but make eye contact with him when I passed. He said, “Excuse me,” so I paused. It was a busy street, I wasn’t worried about myself. He said, “Are you from New York? I’m from Yonkers – I’ve been in the city since last night and I’ve been walking a very long time. All I’ve been asking people, what I want to ask you is, I’m very hungry. Can you help me get something to eat?” Continue reading
Dangerously Enthusiastic 