bird by bird

To a girl who is inspiring, charming, kind-hearted, and fun. Happy Birthday JG!! An oldie but a goodie (also before I knew how to use photoshop properly...)

So then it was Monday night and before leaving work I put on some lipstick and hopped on a downtown train to meet DP and BH who were in town for the night. It was raining and I was without an umbrella so I popped into Strand for a bit and googled for a happy hour. I found one called 13 and found a spot at the bar; I ordered something with vodka and waited for them to come. We grabbed a couch and filled each other in. Nebraska and camp friends joined us, and before we knew it, the place was crowded with poets, a baby, and a plastic pet carrier with an unidentifiable pet inside. Impromptu poetry slam. We stayed for two, then left for Moroccan food. We walked to St. Martin's, got cozy at our table, and devoured couscous. I said goodbye on the rainy street outside and walked back to the train. I bought a peanut butter cookie on my way and smiled while I ate it (even though I'm allergic). And it was wonderful.

A typical day: I wake up in my apartment with no a/c (until recently) and to the sound of sirens and garbage trucks. My alarm hasn't gone off yet, but it's too loud and too hot to sleep anymore anyway. I think, "God, I hate this." I sit in my dining room and eat a bagel with cream cheese for breakfast while reading (or re-reading) the weekend edition of the NY Times. I read 'Modern Love' and the style section entirely. I think, "God, I love this." I leave my apartment and walk down to the train and wait for the express to 34th street. I see rats and homeless people and garbage. It smells and I sweat. I think, "God, I hate this." I walk into work and say hello to other teachers and my students. They are happy to see me! They ask me about my weekend or my night and make inside jokes about crossword puzzles and cats. I think, "God, I love this." I stand in front of a class for 6 hours teaching adverb clauses of time and cause a...

Ok when I was in South Dakota, I had a conversation with someone that went something like this: Person: "Do you ever watch ______?" Me: "YES! I love that show! I wish I had cable!" Person: "It's on Netflix!" Me: "Instant Queue?" Person: "YES!" The problem is... I can't remember what show it was. Someone help me! Do you know?

He bought me a barbie lifejacket. :)

"We are all alone, born alone, die alone, and -- in spite of True Romance magazines -- we shall all someday look back on our lives and see that, in spite of our company, we were alone the whole way. I do not say lonely -- at least, not all the time -- but essentially, and finally, alone. This is what makes your self-respect so important, and I don't see how you can respect yourself if you must look in the hearts and minds of others for your happiness." — Hunter S. Thompson (The Proud Highway: Saga of a Desperate Southern Gentleman 1955-67)

It might not have technically been a full moon last night, but it was close enough for me. Friday morning I woke up dizzy and had to say goodbye to my favorite class; I'm getting a new batch on Monday, but it just won't be the same. My news didn't rain on our parade, but it did put a damper on our Central Park picnic. I decided I could never be a foster parent. I get too attached! After picnicking, I ran to the Regean's for nannying. Doorman Juan was there, but luckily no kisses. The kids were naughty, whinny, and exhausted. I commiserated with the daytime nanny and put them to bed early. 5 hours, 6 bedtime stories, 3 lullabies, and 2 celebrity gossip magazines later, the Reagan's came home, and I put $100 in my pocket and ran home to change. I snapped a moon pic from their terrace before I left. Met up with EH at a wine bar on 80th and Amsterdam. She had made friends with the bartenders, and I arrived just in time to take advantage of their new friendship...

Jackson Browne

I've been feeling a little neglectful about blogging lately, and since the future of The Post isn't looking very good, I went perusing in my "drafts" folder to check out what I have started writing in the past couple of months but didn't actually post. And this is what I found.  It's fragmented and choppy and unpolished. But then again, so is life in NYC. One weekend in June: On Friday I slept in and taught from 1-5. Idioms. Then I ran the Reagan's to babysit.. Doorman Juan asked me about kids and pizza.. then I see all the scooters. A pizza party cooking class with 8 preschoolers and 10 adults (nannies, mothers, pizza party instructors). I wiped hands, picked up plates, and stood around idly like all the other nannies, mothers, and pizza party instructors. The kids threw playdough at each other. I really did nothing nothing.. bathed them, yelled at them, put them to bed... $60 and I was off to the rooftop film festival with the Polish gang. Smelle...

I met Tanya in the fall of 2004. We were both nerdy college freshman at the University of South Dakota and new members at Kappa Alpha Theta. I still think that the main reason we became friends was because we were two of the only students at USD that didn’t drink. Well, that obviously didn’t last long. But I’m happy to say that our friendship did. We have remained friends through all these years even though we once shared one bedroom with 18 other women in our sorority house. We went backpacking in Europe together for three weeks and even without regularly showering we came back to the states as friends. We spent a crazy summer in Vermillion, SD throwing parties and recycling beer cans. It wasn’t all fun and games though, we also survived some tough stuff in life that I know I couldn’t have gone through without Tanya by my side. And for most of our friendship, we were both single. (I still am!) She would occasionally go on dates with guys but when she would come home and we would ...