bird by bird

I have to say that I'm proud to know you And I'll never be the same because we met You might not miss this But I will

On my walk to the train, I passed a truck full of pumpkins that was parked outside my grocery store. There was a man inside the truck who passed a pumpkin to a man standing on the sidewalk who then passed the pumpkin to a man who put it in a shopping cart. It didn't seem like a terribly efficient way to unload a truck full of pumpkins, but it made me smile outloud and to myself. Lately I've been drinking a lot of cider beer, and it's made me feel quite festive. Cider beer at the Renissance Faire. Cider beer outside at my local watering hole. Cider beer with candlelit dinner and friends. It makes me wonder if this sudden craving is caused by the changing season, the way that summertime makes me listen to country music, and spring makes me want to cut my hair. This will be my 26th autumn, my second in New York, and my first in Brooklyn. I don't know how many more autumns I'll have in Brooklyn or in New York or even at all, bu...

I had a lot to do today; I did about half of it (all the easy/fun stuff). I finally finished putting my room together thanks in large part to my discovery of duct tape in a kitchen drawer and a power drill in our hallway closet. I was all sorts of Tim Taylor today, grunting and sweating and building and messing up and building again. There might be some unnecessary holes in my walls, but eventually I got it right. (I hope that is a metaphor for my job search.) The only bummer about finished my room today is that (ok two bummers): 1. I had all my friends over last night before any of this was done! 2. I have to leave my bedroom door closed because I'm allergic to the cat! Since I can't show my friends and I can't really show my roommates, I'm going to show you. My new-ish Brooklyn bedroom! (I used a panoramic app on my phone - that's why the lines are weird..)  

Source: google.com via Amanda on Pinterest

On Labor Day afternoon I met WA and WL a few blocks from my apartment, and we took the train into the city to do a non-city thing. We got off the train on the W4 stop and walked to Chelsea Piers to check out free kayaking which we had all heard of but never experienced first-hand. A familiar cool breeze in the air was back in a friendly, and warmly welcomed way. It ushered us along as we followed signs and arrows pointing to "free kayaking," and we arrived on the pier with New Jersey straight ahead and the Freedom Tower and the rest of the downtown Manhattan to our left. We signed release forms, borrowed a padlock for a shared locker, and sadly put our iPhones away so they wouldn't get wet on our adventure. The volunteers working instructed us to remain in the bay and not to go out into the Hudson past the pier because of the current, and I nodded enthusiastically. Currents and I do not get along. We strapped on brightly colored life-jackets because my mother was very ada...

Thanks to GG for dropping this gem in my box this week! I listened to it for the first time today as I hurried to the bus stop in between interviews, and it kept me calm in the madness of ego and art, strengths and weaknesses, eye contact and firm handshakes.   I keep running around Trying to find the ground But my head is in the stars And my feet are in the sky Well I'm nobody's baby I'm everybody's girl I'm the queen of nothing I'm the king of the world

1. Find a job 2. Apply for the job 3. Interview for the job 4. Get the job

Source: franklyesoteric.tumblr.com via Amanda on Pinterest

Last weekend I went to an English folk rock show in Williamsburg, a Brooklyn rooftop on Saturday to sunbathe, the Nebraska Husker Bar to watch the first game of the season, and to the Chelsea Piers to kayak for free in the Hudson. On Tuesday I started another new job at a hedge fund, and on Thursday I went with KS to Fashion's Night Out where we saw Solange Knowles (Beyonce's little sis!) DJ'ing at Diane Von Furstenberg. AND this morning I found out that I got another interview at the Guggenheim next week! WHOA. When I type it all out like that, it sounds so cool!! I'm living the life, right?? What could I possibly have to complain about*?! I've said it before (and will likely again), but New York City is a place of high highs and and low lows. My goal is to keep myself somewhere in the middle. Grounded, yet enthusiastic. Realistic, yet hopeful. Grateful, yet never totally satisfied. This blog is one way that I try to balance between the ups of luxury skyscrap...

Tonight is Fashion's Night Out, and in its honor, I'm posting a video that TB did last fashion week (and she's doing again this Sunday.) So cool, right? Antonio Azzuolo FW 12/13 Menswear Collection from Taylor Ballantyne on Vimeo .

Have you heard/I told you about Kickstarter yet?? It's this amazing platform for artists, writers, creators, etc. to raise money for their creative endeavors. They put together a video and a profile explaining their project, how much money they need and what it's for, and they offer rewards to people for donating or 'backing' their project. I've donated to a couple projects already not because I'm rolling in the dough and need someone else to give it to (obvi), but I back projects because some of them are SO COOL. People are so creative and inspiring, and it feels cool to be a part (a small part) in helping an artist fulfill something that he/she feels inspired to do! Anyway, I'm all about it. The catch is this... a project creator sets a goal and a deadline, and if she/she doesn't meet that deadline, none of the backers' credit cards are charged and the creator falls short. BIG BUMMER. This way, it's really important that creators meet their ...

Source: Uploaded by user via Amanda on Pinterest

Being a temp has got to be one of the weirdest jobs there is. You're kind of like a real employee, but the company doesn't really want you to work there forever and you don't really want to work there forever. *contemplating making a comparison to a one-night-stand... remembering my mom reads this* But really, the whole idea of being "temporary" is strange. Whether the company has high or low expectations and regardless of how much you're getting paid an hour or how long the assignment is, the whole experience is totally awkward. Let me give you an example, or thirteen. [Disclaimer: Despite the following confessions, I'm actually a pretty kick-ass temp. But when you change jobs and offices and coworkers every single week, there are bound to be a few hiccups here and there. So, future employer reading this, I promise that I'm actually a really capable and reliable employee. Plus, I have a sunny disposition and charming wit! Right?] It's just so...

  Source: google.com via Becca on Pinterest I went to college in a small, Midwest town that wore red on Saturdays, drank a lot of beer, and made fall feel like the only season that mattered. I feel nostalgic for that time and that place more than ever now that I live in NYC where sometimes everything seems foreign and unfamiliar. This longing for college and community was satiated last fall the first time that I stepped into the Husker Bar. It's just a regular bar in Hell's Kitchen, on 44th street between 8th and 9th Ave and blocks from Times Square. There were tourists walking past with shopping bags and I heart NYC shirts, but as I got closer I saw a giant red flag with a white N in the middle, and I knew that I was getting close to where I belonged. This is how I felt again on Saturday as I watched the first game of the college football season with Nebraska Cornhusker fans new and old. I felt like I was home. Okay, okay, so I didn't actually go to Lincoln, Nebras...

Slow Club! I saw them Friday night with SS, TB, and WL. $25 got me a ticket, two Stellas, and a new favorite band. Cheers!