Waterfalls, Water Taxis and the Brooklyn Ikea

After getting my butt handed to me last night by a certain boxing instructor at my gym, I've decided rest up today, with plenty of fluids and balanced meals. (And when I say balanced, I mean I balanced out my lunchtime salad with several mini peanut butter cups.)

So let's talk about wanderings from a time when I could walk without pain... On the last day of my parents' visit, we headed downtown to the South Street Seaport to check out the Waterfalls in the harbor. Interesting, but not as impressive as The Gates in Central Park a few years back... More entertaining was the yogi performing in the Seaport - I missed his better tricks with my camera, but they included stuffing himself into a 17-inch box, and putting his legs behind his head, propping himself on his hands and swinging like a pendulum. Wild...

Afterwards, my mother was intrigued by the free water taxi to the new Ikea in Brooklyn and convinced us to take a ride. Good times - the ride across the harbor was great, and Red Hook's waterfront lovely. Even if they weren't, the gorgeous new Ikea and a fabulous outpost of Fairway, our favorite NYC grocery store, were well worth a visit. Just remember: no Ikea receipt, no ride back for you... we ended up buying lingonberry sauce and a hotdog just to get back to Manhattan. -A

Ode to a Dead Tree

One of my favorite things about living in NYC is the incredible creativity of my fellow residents. Display found near York Avenue... -A

No means no

Dear Craigslist,

I understand that you are a bastion of frugality.  I do.  I really do.  But in the end basic economics really does win the day.  When you're absolutely in a tight budget, and you tell me so, you can't tell me the second email around that you've managed to scrape together an extra 5 Washingtons as your best offer.  

Especially when the somebody else had already agreed to pay my  asking price.  Supply and demand.  It works.

I know you weren't aware of the other bidder... but you really should get your Caps Lock fixed.  

Sincerely,

H

Three-One-One, Over and Out

Yesterday was my last day at the city call center - I'm taking a few weeks off before business school starts in the fall.

I'm proud to have played a part in building an iconic NYC institution, working with an amazing group of dedicated civil servants. I miss them already. -A

Customer Service Through Dance

This week Risa Jaroslow & Dancers were performing a piece in front of the Municipal Building, inspired by NYC’s own citywide call center. After 18 years of dance class and 4 years in the call center, I cannot express the joy this idea brought me – it was like a personal going away gift.

In execution, I admit a tiny bit of disappointment that they were so, well, serious about it (obviously the troupe does not share my irreverent sense of humor), but it was still fun to see art composed about my place of business. I even got picked to share my thoughts on city government (a little nerve-wracking), and they seemed delighted to have call center employees in attendance. I chatted a bit with Risa Jaroslow afterwards and while she expresses some strong views (one portion showed a dancer being relentlessly excluded from the group, which she referred to as “government giving the cold shoulder” – in another part dancers seemed to falling without a “safety net”), I liked how her work looked to gently engage the lunchtime crowd in examining their relationship with city government. -A

Absolut Kanye

On Friday's commute, I stared at this ad for at least three dumbstruck minutes - until I noticed tiny lettering on the side marked this as an ad for Absolut Vodka. And then I freaked out my fellow riders by snapping a picture. -A

Waiting for the M31

Shot this while waiting for the M31 bus - a somewhat mythical creature, which conveniently runs from West 57th Street to the east side near our apartment, though not always when we wish to take it. (It came eventually, this time.) Right before a summer rainstorm... -A

Fashion Epiphany

One day, it was like a lightbulb went off in my head as I gazed into my closet - hey, I love cardigans! Also, I work in an office which insists on being 55 degrees year-round... so why do I not own more of this fabulous layering item?

So I bought the first one from the Gap - comfy AND affordable. (In fact, I may soon own it in multiple colors...) And I'm eyeing the second at JCrew... loving the orange, but may need to head to the store for a little in-person reality check on whether that color and my pale skin play together nicely. And people, who knows WHAT craziness will ensue come fall... -A

Ikea Knappa Tulpan Lamp

It's a little unreasonable how much I love our new lamp. But Heron understands.

I think.

-A

Be Kind Rewind

Rent Be Kind Rewind - this movie made us laugh out loud harder than any we've seen in awhile. It's perfectly cast, and showcases Jack Black's talents without the strained ZANINESS seen in his more commercial movies... Mos Def and Danny Glover are also fantastic.

If you saw it in the theatres, rent it for the mini-documentary on filming in Passaic, NJ... incredibly sweet. -A