We're Doomed, Doomed!

I'm sure you've all heard by now that the gears of our economy are about to grind to a halt, and soon us New Yorkers will have to hunt pigeons for sustenance. (They should, at any rate, last a while.) I was sitting in a bar in Park Slope today where, as the bartender put it, they had on, "a 90210 rerun, the White Sox game, and the End of the World".

Now, having a rent I can afford and, hopefully, being very close to selling my Rhode Island house may make me a little less panicky than if I was more maxed out, but I have to say that this bailout hysteria is getting a little ridiculous. Some people are going to go through hard times, and decent people should do whatever they can to help. But constantly trying to bail out the economy with more and more desperate measures is just going to kick the can down the road until the problem is too big to fix. We've forgotten that hard times happen every once in a while, and you just have to muddle through and do your best to come through it stronger and smarter.

But for those of you who can't stop watching your rapidly diminishing 401k balance, may I recommend having a happy hour drink at the Lighthouse Bar on 5th Avenue in Brooklyn. And try to focus on the TV with the game or the dated teen drama.

A Grey Day

Well, today is the first rainy day we've had here in NYC since the move and it's quite a sad day as well. As I sit here facing the countless windows across from me in the New York Life building, it's hard to rouse myself into doing anything positive while I listen to NPR for the smallest morsel of hope that the stock market isn't going to crash and leave me unemployed.


So...I'll think about my new dinette set that I purchased last weekend from Atlantis Found in Red Hook (http://www.atlantisredhook.com/). Here's a picture of it.




One of the reasons why I like to buy old things is because of their history. It's fun to wonder who sat at this table and ate dinner...what the chairs looked like when this set was brand new. Someone obviously cared for my little grey and silver dinette set...the formica table is completely spotless.


I was never a fan of history or memorizing all of those dates and names, but I do know about all of the wonderful "stuff" that was created during that era. People back then knew a lot more suffering than we do now, but they still created art and beauty nonetheless. I would think because they couldn't just go out and buy it the way we do now.


Maybe this country could use a little sobering...maybe I could too. I think that human beings thrive in times of difficulty and perhaps a little less prosperity could force us to be more creative and thoughtful and less consuming and materialistic...myself included.


Maybe that's why for so many years we've been regurgitating the design and fashion from bygone eras...because our own lives have become so "store bought" that we don't have the experience to create our own.


It's time for me to get up off my ass and do something different...and interesting...and meaningful. Shit...I live in New York and I have no more excuses.


“The great thing is, if one can, to stop regarding all the unpleasant things as interruptions in one's "own" or "real" life. The truth is, of course, that what one regards as interruptions are precisely one's life.” - C.S. Lewis

Senseless Acts of Brilliant Vandalism

I have been meaning to blog about this for a few weeks now, but my camera wasn't charged and I don't have a good camera on my phone to do this artwork justice. This particular work of art is one of my favorites...especially because Rod's last name is spelled incorrectly. The palm trees (fireworks?) make it extra special.

...and as for the below, I really love the use of media here. I really wish I knew the person who created this one.

More to come! The camera is charged and waiting.

Demon Dog

The one downside of moving to Brooklyn is that your dog becomes possessed by the demon spirit of the Italian housewives who inhabited this land before all the upper-middle class social climbers moved in.

Kim and I should be blogging more, but the lack of updates should tell you we're having a great time. We've been busy going out a lot, getting the apartment in order, and adjusting to new routines. But the weekends are pretty great. The past few days, we went out to the Lower East Side (very fun), shopped in Red Hook, saw the Pats get destroyed at the Old Carriage Inn, and went on a major expedition to Target. Now it's time to make it through another work week and get charged for the weekend to come.

Thank You, Time Warner Cable

What's worse than waiting 30 minutes in line at the post office? Waiting 30 minutes in line at the post office, only to go to the Time Warner Cable office to wait in line 45 minutes to swap out your non-HD cable box for the HD cable box you were supposed to get in the first place.

This was last weekend, so my burning, raging anger has somewhat abetted, which is why I need the picture I'm including to bring it all back to vivid focus. The women in the center of that shot stood at the counter for more than half of the 45 minutes I was there. I can only assume that they had some sort of dementia related to syphilis. I was not amused.

Basically, in case you ever move to Brooklyn, understand that Time Warner outsources its cable installation to third party contractors who spend their whole visit scratching their heads, wondering where the HD box is, and worrying that they're going to be accused of stealing them, while in their next breath bitching about their child support payments and describing their exciting trip to go gambling in the Bahamas. When you call Time Warner to bitch, you are told you'll pay another $30 for a second visit by a tech, of course still with no guarantee he has the right box. Or, "You can just come into the office and swap it." Judging by the line, there's been an epidemic of lost boxes in the recent past.

I'd suggest Time Warner set up a separate, "We screwed you over" express line, but everyone would be in it.

A Sober September Day

I'm working on a pitch, and Kim and I went out to a restaurant in DUMBO after work. So it wasn't until about 8:30 when I walked out of the subway to see the beams of light shooting up from the WTC site. It was a visceral reminder of a day that can seem almost unreal when you're anywhere else.

As new New Yorkers, thinking of that day makes me exceptionally grateful both to the soldiers oversees who were inspired by that day to defend our country, and the cops and firemen here who stand ready to put themselves in harm's way even though the worst case scenario can always happen here.

Welcome to the Super Cube

Can anything be perfect? I love my apartment, am thrilled to be in New York, have been having a lot of good food and good times, and of course am madly in love with my wife and only slightly less pleased with my dog. And my job has been great so far in every aspect save one.

I hate, hate, HATE where I sit everyday.

If you walked into the offices of my agency, you'd see a modern, sophisticated lobby. You'd find an elegant, high tech series of conference rooms for impressive client meetings. If you went upstairs to the creative area, you'd see a funky kitchen with pub tables, high-end espresso machines, and funny graphics on the walls. There's even a brainstorming area surrounded by translucent orange panels that just screams, "you are in a creative place, dammit."

However, if you happened to walk through the kitchen door and take a left down a little hallway, you'd find a dark, depressing, poorly lit corner. And if you poked your head through the doorless entryway, you'd find me ensconced in my Super Cube.

There is no furniture but a desk and a weird old armchair. The back corner is so dark you assume it will eventually be a crime scene on Law and Order. The walls are grey cube fabric up to small window-like glass panels that don't really let in any light. There's a panel missing that exposes a bunch of wiring. In short, it's loud when someone's talking near me, isolated and hard to find, depressing to be in, and the poor lighting gives me a headache. I hate the Super Cube.

As you can see from the picture, I put up my "happy wall" much as I had it at my old job, which does help a bit. But some days I sit there and think of my huge window and light, airy office at my old job, which made the happy wall look much better. What will really make me happy is if and when I get a new office, which, to his credit, my boss has said he will work on. Hopefully it won't be too long. When the weather gets crappy, it will really ruin my days to go from a dreary New York street to a semi-office that feels like a dark alley.

A Good Weekend

Well, I certainly enjoyed myself the past few days. (I suppose the fact that we might be about to sell the house in RI doesn't hurt.)

Because it was kind of a whirlwind, I'm going to just drop the events of the weekend onto the page rapid-fire.


FRIDAY:

Flew back from Chicago. Got the towncar home. Hung out waiting for Kim to get home from her haircut. Went out to dinner on Smith Street. Ate good Italian food and drank Sangrita for the first time at Caserta Vecchia. Went to the Gowanus Yacht Club for a nightcap. Went home.

SATURDAY:

Woke up. Had a relaxing morning. Kim made me an omelet. Went to the Key Foods for the week's food. Hit up the movie theater by Prospect Park to see Tropic Thunder. [Tropic Thunder made me piss myself a little bit.] Hung out at home while the rain raged. Had some delicious Italian wedding soup. Watched Glengarry Glen Ross. Went to Rhythm and Booze (my new neighborhood bar) for a drink once the rain stopped. Came home. Went to sleep.

SUNDAY:

Woke up. Watched Joe Biden babble on Meet the Press. Went to our new church, Immaculate Heart. Watched football (no Patriots!), drank beer, hung bar stuff. Walked the Stell Block through Prospect Park. Saw a woman walking a parrot, and listened to some Rastafarian music. Went to Park Slope. Had cheap margaritas and good tortilla chips at Barrio. Went to the Old Carriage Inn (see the picture) and discovered my pool-playing bar. Came home. Gassed Kim's car. Panicked about Tom Brady's knee. Started blogging.

I love Brooklyn

Snack Thoughts - September 3rd 2008

I often find myself thinking of short little puzzling questions about New York whenever I am out and about, so this is my first post called "Snack Thoughts" to capture these midday musings...it's also an homage to the wonderful New York bagels that tempt my fat loving taste buds on every corner...


....what are they doing to the bagels here to make them taste so good...they're narcotic for god's sake!


....how do women where high heeled and platform shoes walking around all day? my feet hurt just looking at them.


....is the legal age for acquiring a tattoo lower here? it seems like 5 years olds are sporting ink.


....is it safe to eat Mr. Softee? it's really good, but i am somehow nervous that is comes out of a truck.


....when is Polar Seltzer going to increase it's distribution to the tri state area?


....are you uncool if you accept the things (free posters, gum, etc) that are being given away on the street? speaking of which, does anyone want a poster of Roger Federer or some Stride gum...

....why does "cholo" keep tagging the walking bridge to the Fort Hamilton Parkway subway station? i wonder if we'll ever meet him....hopefully he won't mug us.

....how do they teach the dogs to all walk together in bunches. stella would never stand for that!

....can you complain about ANYTHING by dialing 311? who picks up the phone? can they track back to where you're calling from like 911?

....do any of the take out places in Brooklyn deliver dessert or beer? they deliver everything else.

....why do people sit outside of their houses on the sidewalk in folding chairs to play cards or just talk?


....was the asian man in the liquor store on Church street mute or was he angry about something?

....how long do you have to live here to feel like you actually live here?

A Day at the Museum

It's weird to now live in a cultural center. It's wonderful to be able to decide, on a random weekend day, that we're going to head out to a museum. However, you can no longer blame your slacking off on not having any interesting things to do or see. The MoMA, for example, is less than an hour away on the subway.

This weekend, they had some cool exhibits: a study of how Dali worked in film, and how it was reflected in his paintings, and a display of modular housing technology from yesterday and today.

I don't really have any coherent thoughts about the museum...I don't think my review is going to make anyone go check out a modern art museum who wouldn't have gone already. I will say that my favorite part wasn't any of the abstract art or funky design...it was our friend, the helicopter.