Would you like me to work for you?

 Oh hello. Have I mentioned lately that I am a freelance writer? And that I would love to work for you?

I can help you with:

• Blog posting
• Writing test questions for a book you're publishing
• Writing chapter summaries for a book you're publishing
• Pitches
• Marketing materials
• Proofreading documents
• Responses to RFPs

What's that now? You have a job for me? Email me at janice.rodden@gmail.com.

GenArt Fresh Faces in Fashion

Like Fashion, but suck at slipping past security at the shows? You’re not a magazine editor either? Don’t be resigned to oogling fashion shows on your teensy TV screen. You could try to win tickets (like I did last year). OR just bit the bullet and purchase them to see Gen Art’s Fresh Faces in Fashion New York show. 

The event goes down on September 9^th from 7pm-midnight at the Grand Ballroom of Manhattan Center. The show is designed to showcase up-and-comers in the ready to wear and accessories realms. It’s kicking off fashion week on its first night, and has been the launch pad for designers including Zac Posen, Phillip Lim, Rebecca Taylor, Eugenia Kim, Twinkle, and Lulu Frost.

It’s the real way to be on the cutting edge of what’s hot before its in every store window. The event will show collections from  

Womenswear designers:

• Ann Yee
• William Okpo
• Sunghee Bang
• ace & jig
• Eighteenth
• Jennifer Chun

Menswear designer:

• Baron Wells

Accessory Designers:

• Osborn
• Falconiere
• Wool and the gang
• Collina Strada

You can stand and watch the show for a reasonable $50. With your ticket you get access to a pre-reception at 7pm, the runway show at 8pm, and the After-party at 404 starting at 10pm. The After-After-Party is up to you. Get the details here.

Rolling into Summer

Get out your neon hot pants, and get ready to pretend it’s the early 90’s. No, I’m not promoting becoming a hipster, I actually have a good reason! Uniqlo is making my dreams come true and bringing a roller rink to NYC (albeit temporarily). The 8,000 square foot oval is opening today under the High Line and has moved to the top of my to-do list for the weekend. The first 500 skaters today through Saturday get in free. After that it’s $12 for admission including skate rental. Enter at West 30^th street and 10^th Avenue. $12 for a flashback to roller skating parties of my youth, and pretending to be a roller disco diva for a few hours? A bargain if you ask me. If only they handed out little gummy bracelets and stickers as prizes to the best skaters. Sigh. And when you’re too sweaty to skate any more, pop up to the high line and lounge in one of their reclining chairs with a refreshing beverage.

Groupon Now

Over the long weekend, I was chatting with a friend about living in NYC (read: the most expensive place ever) on a young professional’s salary (read: not exactly rolling in the dough). We were talking about how its practically impossible to survive and still have fun without cutting financial corners here and there, and knowing about secret little bargains that will save you money. Buying your non-perishables in bulk at Costco, shopping at stores like Nordstrom Rack and TJ Maxx, knowing the best happy hours deals—all of these things that save you $5 or $10 bucks at a time add up to living the life you want all within your budget.

Now Groupon has come out with a new way to save money. It’s called Groupon Now, and it’s particularly rad for people with iPhones and blackberries. I still live in the dark ages and have a regular old cell phone, but for those of you on the cutting edge, well-it’s pretty awesome. You go to the website, put in your current zip code (in NYC, it changes by the part of town you’re in), select a category and it pulls up deals happening RIGHT NOW in your area. You can choose from several activities: eat something, have fun, get pampered, go shopping, go out, exercise, take a class, get flowers, take care of myself, or treat my kid. Then groupon picks deals accordingly.

It takes the guesswork out of finding savings, and gets you a coupon for just about anything you’re in the mood for at the moment. Drinking? Well, it has drink specials. Eating? Discounted food. Gone are the days of waiting around for the semi-annual sale at Victoria’s Secret or the Labor Day savings at Macy’s to get your shopping highs. With Groupon Now, you can get the thrill of getting just about anything on sale, instantaneously.

Talking to Strangers

It’s something your parents have taught you not to do since you were a little kid, especially ones offering strange candy. Yet, in NYC I find myself talking to people I’ve never seen before, and am likely to never see again on a regular basis. Strangers often approach me and strike up a conversation too. I was talking to a friend over the long weekend, and she said in London, this is something people absolutely do not do, and she kind of misses it.

Think about it, you’re standing in line at Starbucks, and it’s taking forever. It’s more likely than not that someone in the line will want to commiserate with you. Or you and one other stranger happen to be the only people around to witness that totally crazy thing that homeless person is doing. It’s nice to be able to check and make sure that’s actually happening with another sane individual. A few days ago, I asked a woman to borrow a section of her paper on the subway so I could read an article about how to prepare for music festivals (Yes, I’m going to Bonnaroo, and I AM unbelievably excited). Just last evening, I was checking out at the supermarket, and not only did the girl in front of me strike up a convo, but the checkout boy decided it would be a good opportunity to flirt with me the entire time he was ringing up my groceries (Yes, it made things a little awkward). People chit chat with me at the gym who I’ve never met before about what college I went to (because they saw it on my t-shirt), or how difficult the yoga class I’m waiting for is.

I never really thought about how much I talk to people I don’t know until I thought about not being able to do it anymore if I lived in a different city. Maybe I just appear friendly, so people feel comfortable chatting me up. Or maybe I’ve been living in NYC so long that I don’t really have any boundaries any more about speaking with people I don’t know. One thing’s for sure, in a city of 8 million and counting even though I have a lot of friends, the people I don’t know will definitely always outnumber the people I do. Why not spice up our days by actually treating the people around us like human beings? The people you encounter tend to have a big impact on whether your day is a good one, or a bad one. Being nice to strangers is a really good way to make it a better one, or at the very least to make little kids afraid to bother you during your commute.

If you live in NYC, when’s the last time you made conversation with a stranger? If you live somewhere else, do you talk to people you don’t know?

Bike In Theatre

From the makers of Forking Tasty comes NYC's take on the drive in theater. Since there's obviously no place large enough for hundreds of New Yorker's to park their cars (like we own them anyways), this members only movie club asks that you bring your two wheeled ride (or skateboard, or roller blades, or sneakers) to save the environment and space. Here's how it works. You sign up for the club, and they email you details of the secret location in the days leading up to the screening. You show up, and take in the flick while munching on popcorn flavors inspired by classic cinema. Daily Candy reported that the treats include:  A Streetcar Named Desire (Cajun), Indiana Jones (garam masala), Goodfellas (Parmesan and parsley), and Austin Powers (salt and vinegar). Check out the details and sign up here. I know I'm looking forward to adding this to my summer repertoire of free movies!

Madison Sq. Park Eats

If you live or work near Madison Sq. Park, be sure to pop over for some good food between now and June 3rd. Running daily, delicious food vendors from all over NYC are setting up shop from 11am to 9pm every day. I recommend avoiding your typical lunch hour rush, and going after 2pm if you don't want to wait in line forever. I went today, and with the help of my coworkers, we sampled most of the boothes. I had the fried ribs from Eataly, and the Crack pie from Momofuku Milk Bar. I will be going back for a shaved ice (right off the block before your very eyes!) from People's pop. Another person tried the bee sting pizza covered in sopressata, mozzerella, and a hint of honey from Roberta's. While two got the braised beef sandwich from Resto. A fourth had a pork bun and Thai tea from Hong Kong Street Cart. The people at the table next to mine gave the burgers from Cafe Suzette rave reviews. I wanted to try a taco from Calexico, but the 45 minute wait was more than I could handle. And Asia dog has a ling wrapped around the park. Everything we tasted was yummy, and made even better by the fact that you could enjoy it while lounging around under the sunshine.The longer we stayed the more we wanted to eat. And for when you're done stuffing your face? There are vendors to shop at while you walk off the sugar coma from the cookies or mini key lime cannolies you just couldn't resist trying. Get the official info here.

Bossypants

For book club this month we decided to read Tiny Fey's new novel, Bossypants. Why, you ask? First, because she is absolutely hilarious, and we all enjoy a book that makes us laugh out loud on the subway, creeping out any strangers nearby. Second, because she's based in NYC, and living here, I feel like I'm having a bit of an inside joke with any author who also calls this city home. Book club members, if you haven't finished the book yet, you may want to stop reading here. Or, if you're not planning to read the book anyways, keep on going and then you'll have something to talk about at our next meeting.

When I picked up Bossypants, I expected a funny collection of essays about Tina Fey's life. What I got was so much more. Here are some of the highlights:

1. Anecdotes about how a scary Dad (read: Don Fey) can intimidate just about anyone, including Alec Baldwin and Lorne Michaels
2. A healthy dose of girl power from a woman who started out without a whole lot, and forged ahead until she had her dream job, dream family, and the admission that yes, quite a bit of exhaustion comes along with having it all (but you can get it if you want!)
3. An explanation for why when something is really awesome, I also refer to it as sick, a word whose synonyms include: ill, nauseous, dizzy, queasy, bored and fed up. Why, you ask? To quote Tina Fey, because, "The more New Yorkers like something, the more disgusted they are." Read: The marble counters in the apartment were so sick they made me want to break my own jaw with a golf club. I can't take it (loosely paraphrased from Bossypants).
4. Finally understanding that New Yorkers love manicures so much, because according to Tina, it is a good exercise to "sit in an enclosed space full of fumes, holding hands with a stranger for twenty minutes while everyone around you speaks a language you don't understand" that will prepare you for coping with riding the subway. Especially the 6 train.
5. Admissions that despite being the ultimately successful superstar that she is, Tina still harbors anxieties about her body, has issues with photoshop, and has little fears like telling her babysitter what do do

Then, finally her Rules for Improvisation, that could really be applied to as rules for most life situations (we're really only improvising as we go along right? Right.). Rule number uno is AGREE and SAY YES. If you're into sketch comedy, you understand why this is important to keep the fictional scenario you're improvising from falling flat. In life, though I don't recommend you exclusively agree and say yes, it makes sense to, "start from an open-minded place. Start with a YES and see where that takes you." Wouldn't it be so much nicer if everyone came from a place of yes rather than starting with no? Agreement rather than discordance?

Rule two is not only to say yes, but to say YES, AND. In this part, you agree to respect what the person you're interacting with has laid down, and now it's your turn to add something of your own. In other words, contribute, give your two cents, throw your hat in the ring, always make sure that your presence is adding something no matter where you are, or what the situation is. 

The next rule is MAKE STATEMENTS. This means rather than putting all the burden on everyone else in your life to find answers for you, start out with some answers of your own for them to react to. And for women especially, it means break that obnoxious habit of crescendoing at the end of every sentence so you seem unsure. Just go out there and tell people how it is.

Finally, THERE ARE NO MISTAKES. Isn't this a nice way to think about life? If you're in an improv scene, you're not going to stop the show and say no, no, no, this is not how it was supposed to go. In life, you don't often have the opportunity to go back and get a redo, so you might as well just start thinking of all your colossal screw ups as opportunities to either go in a different direction, or reinvent yourself in the current scenario.

Have I convinced you to go out and buy the book yet? 

AIDS Walk NY

I registered for AIDS Walk New York and am very excited! It is the second time I'm walking, with a team of 3 of my friends from college (I'm almost as excited for the cool team shirts we're bound to make, with Puffy paint! and glitter!). You'll remember from this post, that last time I walked I spotted Lourdes (Madonna's daughter) and her hottie dad. Annddd from this post that Hilary Duff walked in 2009 too! Bottom line is, I want to do as much as I can to make a difference in the lives of people living with HIV and AIDS, and have some fun while doing it. My team has fundraising goal of $1000. My personal fundraising goal is $300. If you feel a connection to this cause, I would greatly appreciate your help reaching it!

The AIDS Walk New York is the world's largest AIDS fundraising event. It occurs on Sunday, May 15th, 2011, and is 6.2 miles long looping through Central Park, and along the edges of the city. All donations support GMHC and other AIDS service organizations in the tri-state area. GMHC is the nation’s oldest and most comprehensive AIDS service organization, serving approximately 15,000 people living with HIV and AIDS and their families each year, and countless more through its prevention and advocacy work locally and nationally.

Even though there has been success with drug treatments that are prolonging some people's lives, they don't work for everyone. These treatments can also take their toll physically, and for many cause awful side-effects. I am also concerned that so many young people in New York City are getting infected. There is a dire need for comprehensive prevention programs and services that target youth in their language. And above all, there is still no cure in sight.

I would really appreciate your help. If you would like to make a donation, and sponsor me, use this link below to visit my personal fundraising Web page. Please feel free to share the link with anyone you think might want to make a donation.

Guaranteed Food Coma

Tomorrow is Fat Tuesday everyone! So, start preparing a hedonistic day for yourself, in which you indulge in all of your pleasures (whatever they may be) before the 40 days of abstaining that begin with Ash Wednesday. Each year, my fat Tuesday celebration takes a slightly different route.

A couple years ago, I went to a Cajun festival at the delicious creole restaurant Delta Grill. They had all my favorite New Orleans-esque cuisine (Jambalaya! Crayfish! Hurricaines! Oh Yum!). Then to top it off, they had the most delicious Cajun Martinis made with vodka marinated in jalapenos for a long long time, served with a refreshing floating okra pod when you need a break from the heat. Delish. I christened them the Dirty Cajun, for being like a wonderful dirty martini with a Cajun twist.

This year, I've been abstaining from carbs and junk food as part of a get fit plan for my 26th birthday. So, naturally, the pleasure I'm dreaming of on fat Tuesday is a large greasy doughnut. Not just any doughtnut mind you, a special Polish doughnut that is only made once a year, the Paczki.

Pronounced poonch-ki, this little devil is like the godfather of the Boston Creme. Thanks to my Polish heritage, and my mother's gigantic sweet tooth, I grew up eating these delights once a year. They are a doughnut-like pastry (but heavier, thicker dough), filled with an array of delicious custard flavors including: apple, lemon, raspberry, and then deep fried. They'll cost you about 500 calories, and 25 grams of fat. And yes, that is per doughnut, not for the entire box (which you'll be tempted to wolf down). The Poles? We actually call Fat Tuesday Paczki Day (Fat, big custard filled doughnut? similar meanings there, right?), and use the day to consume these in large quantities. But beware, an irresistible food coma will follow. Be sure you are near a comfy bed with a cozy blanket and some warmed milk before eating too many.

For all of you New Yorkers checking in, I did a little Yelping, and it looks like Star Bakery in Williamsburg is the place to go for these treats, anywhere in Greenpoint where the name ends in ski, or the East Village Meat Market on 2nd. I myself will be checking out the Polish GI Deli on 1st and 7th for my yearly treat.

What will you do to indulge this year?

Become your dream and all the crap

 Every week, around trash day, or all the time when it snows, and the garbage collectors don't come, I'm subjected to this crap, or motivational message, or graffiti, or ART as some people call it. I live on the Upper East Side, and someone has run rampant with this pithy little saying, and writes it all over whatever discarded furniture/large box/piece of junk they can find. It's been getting on my nerves for a while now, and so I finally did a little googling.

Apparently, the mantra is attributed to James De La Vega, an artist who lives in Soho, but has worked in NYC, Paris, Italy, and Tokyo (thanks Wikipedia!). Though with the frequency of his message in my hood, I'm not entirely convinced that he hasn't relocated to the slightly less artsy locale of the UES, and just hasn't told his hipster friends yet.

Vega is well known for his semi-permanent art. He does chalk murals, and other "art" that technically (and by technically I mean legally) classifies as graffiti around NYC. He also has a store/museum on St. Marks where he peddles his wares in the form of small drawings, and reproductions of art on coffee mugs and the like.

De La Vega doesn't take credit for every sighting of his signature phrase on the UES, but uses its prominence to insist that he has started a movement, that people are looking at trash in a different light. In other words, it's not just useless garbage, it's a form of artistic communication.

Personally? My interpretation of this expression? I find it annoying.

And every time I see that stupid little fish, I wonder. What's with the fish, is it a Jesus Fish? Is De La Vega really really religious? Am I swimming in the sea of life towards my dreams? Then I wonder, was this the best the guy could come up with? A less interesting version of Thoreau's, "Live the life you've imagined" quote? Why is this guy I don't even know bossing me around?


The constant vision of trash written on in permanent marker doesn't brighten my day. It makes me think, MAN, someone ruined a piece of furniture that otherwise someone else may have taken home and re-purposed. It makes me think, GEEZ I really wish they would collect the trash more often. It makes me wonder, who has the time to run around writing on trash? And lastly, it just gets on my nerves.

Generally people who are ambitious, and going after their life goals, aka dreams, are taking forward steps and moving towards achieving them. That's probably a big part of the reason they live in NYC. They're not just aimlessly meandering the streets, looking for a sign from a mysterious bandit armed with a writing utensil to point them in the right direction. I'm just saying.

A Girl's Best Friend

Do you like to ogle jewelry you may never be able to afford? Good, me too. Van Cleef and Arpels, the legendary Parisian jeweler, responsible for the easily recognizable clover motif, is having an exhibition at NYC’s Cooper Hewitt Museum starting February 18^th going though June 5^th. Just in time to take your Valentine’s date and show him what he could have bought you. Van Cleef and Arpels has been a jewelry landmark in NYC since WWII. The exhibition will show over 250 pieces with themes of innovation, nature as inspiration, exoticism, and fashion and celebrity. Famous ladies including Grace Kelly and Elizabeth Taylor loved the brand. Imagine yourself floating around New York in furs and diamonds. Oh, and try not to drool on the glass.

Excuse Me While I Rant

What is it with Superintendents in NYC? I’m not going to generalize and say that ALL supers suck, but I’m going to go with the fair understanding the MOST are absolutely terrible. Here’s the scenario: you get paid, or get free rent to take care of stuff in the building. So, when someone calls with something wrong, just do your job and fix it. How hard is that?

Maybe I’ve been a little spoiled in the past, so it makes my current situation rather difficult to live with. My first super was a doll. He owned and maintained the first apartment I lived in while I was still in college. We called him Peter Cottontail simply because his name was Peter and he was such a little cutie (and maybe his last name started with a C?). I liked him from the moment he took us apartment viewing with his small daughter, and while telling stories about football players ramming their heads in helmets through his walls quietly was instructing his child not to touch anything in the boys’ apartments because it was too dirty. Smart man. He came whenever we needed him, and even talked us through what to do when we saw our first mouse. He even came when we didn’t call to fix our shower, and never minded when we threw parties and he had to scrub puke off the steps.

My next super was called Angel, and he was. He lived in the complex, and came by within minutes of a call. He fixed things with a smile, and even helped us out on the weekends when he wasn’t supposed to be working because he was just so. darn. nice.I rewarded him with cupcakes on more than one occasion.

Now, imagine my shock to have a super as useless as the one I’ve had in my apartment for the past 3 years. Each year I have considered moving simply because it is such a headache any time anything goes wrong, which is not often, I might add. I only call him with emergencies and things I absolutely cannot fix myself because he is such a lazy douche. I am not a problem tenant. In the past 3 years, I can count the number of times I have called him on my fingers.

First, to fix closet doors and a towel bar that were broken when I moved in. The closet doors took him over two years to fix. The towel bar still never been replaced. At the same time as this call I asked him to help replace a light bulb as the ceilings are so high, and he was there anyhow “evaluating” the door situation. His response was that he did not have a ladder. Really? You don’t have any basic tools?

Another time, there was a leak in the apartment above that was causing the ceiling in my room to bulge, and threaten to collapse. It took the super over a week to come to my apartment to see the damage despite many pleas and messages about the severity of the situation. When he showed up, he was completely SHOCKED and appalled about how bad the situation was. I flipped out.

Then there was the time I called him to tend to the lack of cold water in the building, in the summer. Not only was it hot, but it was red. I may have been being poisoned, and was nearly burned every time I took a metallic smelling shower. The lack of cold water was not resolved until I, personally, contacted the EPA via 311 and forced the issue to a resolution.

Fast forward several months to today. I go to try to get a pair of boots to wear to work, and the knob to my closet door is broken. It just turns and turns and turns without unlatching. Of course, I called my super. I kind of need to be able to wear clothes over the weekend.

His typical response:

• Well, I wasn’t planning to be at the building today: Oh really? Well I wasn’t planning on having my closet break today. Shit happens, spontaneously, and that’s when, wait for it, you DO YOUR JOB and fix it.
• I only work between 9 and 5: I can’t imagine that I am the only other person in the building who also works 9-6, how will he ever fix anything?
• I’ll be at the building at 10:30am, I can fix it then: Obviously I am at work like 90% of the population.
• I’m not sure if I can do that, I’ll get back to you: This is usually followed by a series of unreturned phone calls in which he never gets back to me, or returns my phone calls asking why he never got back.

His response today:

• I’m not sure if I can make it when you’re not at work. You should try to push the door open.

I’m sure that will work really really well. Does your super suck too?

Alligator Invasion in Queens

The urban legend is true. There ARE alligators living in NYC’s sewers. Gothamist reports that yesterday during the torrential down pours an 18 inch babeh gator appeared near a storm drain in Astoria. Police are reluctant to admit that the critter came from the sewers, and suggested rather that someone had dropped it out of a car. Sure. I travel with loose alligators in the front seat to ditch during rain storms all the time, I don’t know about you. I think we know the truth here. Urban legends are real, and this time there’s proof. Bystanders at Newton Ave and 29^th street took cell phone pics, and documented the event, it’s not just something you heard happened to your cousin’s ex-girlfriend’s sister-in-law’s baby sitter. Don’t worry for the little fella though, police have turned him over to a licensed reptile rehabilitation center. Check out the full story here.

Central Park Movie Series

Attention all you outdoor movie lovers (read: everyone). The Central Park film festival kicks off a week from tomorrow. They'll be showing a total of 5 movies, all picked to highlight "Iconic New York" between Tuesday and Saturday. For everyone who loves outdoor movies, but hasn't been able to make the time to see enough of them this summer now is your chance to get in a bunch before summer ends. The movies start at 8, though gates open to the public at 6:30pm. I recommend bringing some wine, snacks, and a blanket and getting there early to score a good spot. They are showing just north of sheeps meadow at mid-park and 69th street. You can find more info on this website.

 

• Tuesday 8/24: Fame
• Wednesday 8/25: The Taking of Pelham 1,2, 3 (The new version with Denzel)
• Thursday 8/26: Saturday Night Fever (this would have been a better choice for a Saturday NYC...)
• Friday 8/27: King Kong (the old version, not the stupid Naomi Watts version)
• Saturday 8/28: Manhattan (Woddy Allen and Diane Keaton, how can you go wrong?)

 

I'd like to see all of them, but I'm guessing I'll definitely try to fit in Saturday Night Fever. I think I'll pass on The Taking of Pelham 1,2,3. Riding the subway this time of year is scary enough with all the smelly people. I don't need to have nightmares of train hijackings too. Thank-you-very-much. Get out there and enjoy!

Home sweet home? Not if NYC can help it

Why is it so hard to find apartments in NYC? Well, I have a few ideas. Welcome to the top 5 reasons finding a place to live sucks.

1. Broker=Liar
I think first and foremost is that the word broker seems to be synonymous with liar. Did they list a 3 bedroom? Certainly. Does that imply that there are actually 3 bedrooms? And a living room? Not on your life. It actually might be a loft. Did you make at appointment at 12pm? Don’t plan on being back to within your lunch hour. Did they say it was $3595 a month? Well, they meant $3800, oh, and even though it was listed as no-fee. Surprise! There is one.

Brokers bend the truth, outright lie, and use bait and switch techniques to get you to see an apartment then have that apartment not exist, but another more expensive or less alluring one nearby up their sleeve to show you. I’m not really sure what they think this technique works, all that happens is a big waste of time for everyone involved. I’m sick of it. Can we get some ethics in this industry? People?

2. You can only start looking the month you want to move.
Which means that it is super stressful because you know that in 30 days or less when your lease is up, you become homeless if you don’t lock one of these bad boys down, ASAP. Welcome to devoting your entire life to hunting for listings and going to see places that there is a 90% chance will be a total mess. It is like a full time job. Other cities seem to have places available to rent a couple months in advance, I’m not sure why we can’t do that too.

3. Leases end on the 31st and Start on the 1st
This is what I don’t get. If my lease starts on September first of 2009, why can’t it end on September first of 2010? Instead, management companies seem to finagle it so that you have to either move in early to your next place, or make everyone else mad by squatting in your apartment for an extra day until your new lease starts. Why can’t leases just start the day you see the apartment? It would avoid the whole crush of everyone moving on certain days that makes it difficult to secure movers, and the elevator of your new building.

4. High pressure tactics
Brokers and real estate management companies capitalize on the stress they know you are feeling. They try to pressure you to sign immediately since the apartment may be gone a half hour later when they show it to someone else. Do you like it? Do you want to commit to spending the next year of your life there? Can you decide in the next five minutes?

And last but not lease. I mean least.

5. The ridiculous paperwork
Is it really necessary to make 40x the monthly rent? Well, for 90% of places yes. And if you need a guarantor (read: can pressure your parents into cosigning with you to get that awesome place) it’s 80x the annual rent. I mean really? Do most people have that kind of money? Then while you fill out the paperwork, prepare to fear that your identity may be stolen as they require bank statements, tax returns and verification from your employer in addition to a credit check, and yes. You have to give it all (and possibly your first born) to the sketchy guy who was not on time to meet you and lied about the apartment. Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside, how about you?

Today's Free Performance

Tonight and tomorrow the Alvin Ailey dance company are performing FOR FREE at Central Park's main Summerstage. The show starts at 8pm, but with attendances as high as 30,000 at previous performances, I recommend getting there early to snag a spot. They are world-renowned, and the website tells us that you don't just see an Ailey performance, you feel it. It is the Dance Theater's first appearance at SummerStage since 1993, and who knows when they'll be back again, which I'm pretty sure means don't miss it. Fingers crossed it doesn't rain!

Summer Guide

Lately I have been attending a great many free events in NYC. No place really does it like New York in the summer time. There are endless really fun, really free things going on nearly any night of the week. And they couldn’t have come along too soon.

NYC is the kind of city that gets on your nerves from time to time. Sometimes it is just too expensive and too crowded. Sometimes it makes you want to move away where everything isn’t dirty and people aren’t swarming everything. And then, it goes and does something fabulous like these AWESOME free summer activities, and lures you back in again. All plans of moving are forgotten, and the love affair begins anew.

I received a copy of the Vanity Fair guide to summer.  It is a good start to events and awesome places to go all over the city, but it is not exhaustive. I suggest checking the websites of common venues listed to find out more info that didn’t make the cut, and stopping by the South Street Seaport to pick up a guide of the river to river music festivals going on. There were so many things listed inside that I had to make a google calendar to capture everything I want to do, just so I don’t miss anything important. I am not messing around with my summer fun.

So far without shelling out any dough, I have seen:
-Maxwell perform 3 sets (sound check, warm up, actual show for Today)—This kind of changed my life it was so great
-The Macy’s fireworks display –If you think it looks fantastic on TV, it is simply amazing in person
-Annie Hall screened outdoors on Pier 1 of the Brooklyn Bridge Park –The city just redid this park, and it is brand spanking new. The grass is plush, the view of Manhattan is perfect.
-The Roots and Talib Kweli in Prospect Park as part of Celebrate Brooklyn (this was a $3 donation, but totally worth it!!)

These events haven’t just been mediocre. I have had nothing short of a FANTASTIC time at all of the things listed above. Maxwell performed for much longer than televised, and I was within 15 feet of him the entire time. I shudder to think what tickets that close must have cost at Madison Square Garden. I viewed the fireworks from a blanket on a grassy area that I had been picnicking on all day long (with cocktails), and waited only a half hour until everyone dispersed. Annie Hall was crowded, but we arrived around 7 (movie starting at 9), and managed to snag a spot right up front. They had dj’s playing until the movie started, food vendors, and a very relaxed policy towards drinking wine in public. The Roots and Talib Kweli were just wonderful. They are really two performers who are even better live than on CD-out of control good. I couldn’t stop marveling that it was free the entire time I was there. The concert went on for about 4 hours straight with a couple brief bouts of dj’ed music in between. I could not believe how long they performed for, while dancing around the stage. It was incredible.

Put simply, when NYC does something, it does it right, and almost makes up for how hot and gross it is during the summer. I plan to try to attend as many of these summer events as I can.

Today's Free Concert

A free concert? A free Roots and Talib Kweli concert? Why yes please! Today I will be attending this wonderful line up presented by Celebrate Brooklyn! in the Prospect Park Bandshell. I am on a mission this summer to take advantage of all the fabulous free activities that NYC has to offer during the summer months. I cannot think of a more lovely way to spend a warm Sunday evening.

No plant is safe from the evil urban squirell

There is a unique pride involved in gardening. You plant these fragile little seedlings, and nurture them to be big strong, fruit or flower producing plants. You fertilize them. You water them daily. You get them a nice fancy pot so they look nice while growing. Granted, it is for selfish reasons. You want to enjoy their flowers, or eat the veggies the plants produce. But along the way you become invested in the organism that you are prodding to flourish, and become proud at the green thumb you are developing.

And then. The weather, or some marauding little beast comes along and steals your pride and joy away. It’s a feeling akin to raising a child and then having it snatched up and devoured by goblins.
Ok. Maybe it’s not quite that devastating, but I am still feeling very freshly wounded by the evil squirrel that stole my prize tomato this morning.

I climbed out on to my fire escape this morning (per usual), which was not an easy feat, since I only remembered to do it AFTER I was dressed for work, and in a constricting knee length skirt. I poured in the small pitcher of water and lifted up the leaves to check in on the one large tomato that I’ve been eagerly watching get bigger and bigger, and dreaming about what a tasty sandwich it would make when it finally ripened. There are other tomatoes on the plant, but they are all much smaller, and some are prone to turning black and falling away (though I’m still not really sure why this is happening). I searched. My prize tomato was not there.

HORRORS! I heard a rustling above me. I looked up, and crouched on the fire escape above my head sat the evil squirrel that haunts my only outdoor area. Then I look over and see the half-knawed remains of my prize tomato discarded below him. I wasn’t sure whether to cry or throw the little creature off the fire escape right then and there.

Don’t worry. I’m not that crazy as to try to touch an animal living on the streets of NYC, but I did gesture angrily until he took off. I’m not sure why he has to hunt for food 4 stories up. I really thought that my plants were safe from the intrusions of wild life that high up.

I just don’t get it. There are plenty of tress on the ground level. There is lots of garbage to forage. Maybe it’s some strange adaptation to wildlife living in the city, the need to check out fire escapes for plants. I should have known that little bugger would cause trouble when he made off with the top of my jack-o-lantern last year. Darn squirells.