Debate Night Inspiration, Part 2

We don't need no debate! Minnesota has voted, people! Well, at least Jeremy and I have. We filled in our absentee ballots and are mailing them today. After this election, we'll register in New York and try to catch up on local politics here, but for this fall, we feel the most informed about how Minnesotans should be casting their lots...

Also, here's a festive photo of the brownstone across the street from us. I can see this out of my office window. These people are psyched about Halloween! Or really trying to keep trick-or-treaters off their stoop.

Speaking of psyched, we're flying off to the wedding of my dear dear friend Shawn Reifsteck tomorrow. He's marrying the smart, sassy, and beautiful Beth Kuenstler in Stinson Beach, north of San Francisco. I am a groomsmaid, and I seriously can't wait!

Explore Dark Alleys

Jeremy's parents gave us a sweet good-bye card when we left for New York extolling the virtues of exploring all of life's experiences, including dead ends and dark alleys. In the past four days, we've hung out in three new parts of town and explored some dark and interesting places. We went to galleries in Chelsea with Mike + Friends, and ended up in the Meatpacking District at a BBQ restaurant on the verge of bankruptcy. The Hog Pit reminded Jeremy of the Boulder Beer Bar, in Boulder Junction, Wisconsin, with plenty of boar and deer heads on the wall, and even the Buck Hunter II video game. The Hog Pit's been in the neighborhood forever, but the Meatpacking District became super trendy in the past decade (and for the first time in NY, I really thought we might see "famous people" as we walked past high end cafes on our way there). Their rent is increasing from $4,000/mo to $40,000/mo., so they are closing soon.

On Saturday we met our friend Susan in an area of Brooklyn called Gowanus where a new music venue (the Bellhouse) was opening for the first time -- some friends of Susan were one of the three bands we saw. The music was OK (terrible sound mixing), but the club was really nice, created from an old warehouse. Here's a photo of me at the bar. I ordered a Hot Toddy since I was sick all week. The walk from the train to the Bellhouse was definitely the sketchiest moment we've had so far in NYC (empty dark streets, under highways, etc...sorry Moms), but we're safe and sound.

We also got to meet a friend from Minneapolis - Brian - at a restaurant in part of the East Village where we've never been. Lil' Frankie's was fantastic -- Brian bought an appetizer made of delicious fresh ricotta served with unusual olives (see photo). You must go with us sometime. We sat in the "garden" - the dark outside area with space for four tables, created in the tiny backyard between all the buildings. Nice and dark, in New York.

Please Visit Our Home! (virtually)

I finally created a video tour of our apartment for you! Apologies for the overexposed bedroom -- the sun is really coming in those windows this afternoon. Enjoy, and we look forward to hearing from you.

Friends In Town

Hello, dear blogosphere readers. Sorry for the slow posting speed this week -- I have been really under the weather. I did want to share some photos from visits with out-of-town friends back on Sunday. First, our dear Boston friends Julie and Michael met us for brunch and then took us on a stroll through the Lower East Side and Chinatown, since they've been here much more than we have! A highlight was Katz's Deli, where a famous movie scene was filmed (see photo). I then had the great pleasure of meeting up with my friend and colleague Angie and visiting the Lower Eastside Tenement Museum. I love that place so much I became a member, so when you come to visit, I can take you for free! Angie and I chatted for a few hours over drinks, pickles, and popcorn (of course) before leaving in opposite directions on the train. Here is a blurry photo of her (in red scarf) across the platform.


In job news, I had two great interviews this week, and believe I'll have final interviews with both next week sometime. Keep the good vibes flowing!

Let Us Eat Cake

We spent a great Saturday evening for FREE at the Brooklyn Museum of Art. It was the 10th birthday of "Target Free Saturdays," and Heidi suggested we all go. The celebration included bands, professional dance performances, curator talks, and the opening of a huge retrospective exhibition by Gilbert and George. They were actually there and did a little talk. Here's Jeremy, cozying up to famous artists once again! (G & G are the older gentlemen in the photo.)

Did I mention there was free birthday cake? After taking in a dance performance, we hurried to the front of the cake line, only to be told "the cake will be served in 35 minutes." We gave up our prized spots, much to Heidi's dismay. From the gallery we visited next we could see the masses below waiting for cake. Here is a photo of Heidi sadly taking in the view of all the people, and the limited cake. But wait! It turns out Target bought plenty of red and white cake and we got some after all!




And quick job search update -- I just got home from my in-person interview with a certain public radio program and it went GREAT! They already asked me back for another interview next week! I have an interview with another place tomorrow, too.

20 Minute Stroll - Handy!

I thought it might do me some good to do get out and do some errands this afternoon. Of course I thought of you along the way, and thought you might like to see the sights. One block south of us and parallel to our street is Fulton Street. Fulton is lined with stores, restaurants, convenience marts, etc. None are particularly nice, most are just "handy." In a two-block walk, I went...

* Past Clean Rite, our laundromat.
* To the post office, where you should note that dogs are not allowed in the lobby!
* To Met, a grocery store, which aggressively advertises their array of organic products, but we have found the produce there is disappointing, and lots of things on the shelf are expired. It is handy for things like cat litter, which I bought today. I also enjoyed watching the dude painting Halloween decor on the front windows.
* Past Green Planet, a small and overpriced natural foods store, also with disappointing produce, but with bulk items. Handy to have so close by.
* Past our train stop.
* To our pharmacy, where a sign on the door said "Closed from 1 - 2 today." Since it was 2:02 and I needed to pick up my prescription, I waited. Afternoon prayers at the mosque two doors down were just getting out, and the sidewalk filled with men greeting each other, "salaam, salaam" (peace, peace). Turns out the pharmacist was at the prayer service, but was back in action by 2:05.
* Then, it was just one block north and I'm home!

Inspiration for Debate Night

Over the summer, our dear friend Angie Talle put her amazing artistic skills to work and created a mosaic project for the Democratic National Convention. She found 50 volunteers -- one from every state -- to make a mosaic panel that became part of an installation she did at a big art show next door to the DNC. She just sent me some photos of the project yesterday, and on this day of the Vice Presidential debate, I wanted to share the beauty and inspiration. Angie (pictured here, thanking her volunteers) created the large center panel of Obama and gave the volunteers guidance on creating their own panels. Two friends of ours (Eleanor in Iowa and Cheryl in Arkansas) contributed. You can see their panels in the close-up below. The Obama quote reads:
"Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time.
We are the ones we've been waiting for.
We are the change we seek."

Organic Bandwagon

A phenomenon we noticed right away out here is that even the corner shops -- like the ones that seem to mostly sell pop and cigarettes -- are getting on the organic products bandwagon. There are a lot of these little places everywhere, because so few people have cars. People still need to run out for little food and household products all the time (in Minnesota we'd be stopping at Target a lot, but Target is a lot less convenient here), so these places fill that need. And everybody must want "organic." Product lines we only saw at the co-op back home can be found even in these little corner haunts (for plenty of money). I saw this sign when we were on our way to the neighborhood farmer's market on Sunday, where we were thrilled to find beautiful local produce, cheeses, flowers, fish, etc. (also for plenty of money). Quality has its price, folks.

Ed-tastic Weekend

Our longtime friend and Jeremy's old studiomate Ed Charbonneau came into town on Friday afternoon, and suffice it to say, Ed is why I wasn't checking the internet (or getting enough sleep) all weekend. For those who know Ed, you'll understand how much we loved having him here. Ed is a man who inspires antics. Here is a quick recap of some highlights...

* Friday afternoon began at Mike & Arianne's apartment with the traditional sharing of a glass of whiskey among the group.

* We "progressed" to McSorley's, a famous old bar in the East Village, where the only way to order beer there is "light" or "dark," and either way, you get two mugs of it. One of the only food items is the "cheese plate," consisting of a package of Saltines, chedder cheese, and raw onions. This all resulted in much discussion of art and politics, including watching the Presidential debate.

* On Saturday, we had the pleasure of watching Mike's softball game and then heading back to Mike & Arianne's for Ed's famous white chili. Ed surprised Jeremy and Mike by giving them each one of his sketchbooks from college, full of amazing drawings, notes, and memories.
* On Sunday, we made brunch for everyone at our place -- our first "gathering" here since arriving in New York! Everyone commemorated the experience by wearing their napkins on their heads.





* The real highlight of Sunday was the Studio Visits where we all went to Jeremy's studio at Pratt and Mike's studio in Queens to see the artwork and make comments. Visit Mike's website to see his amazing paintings, based on maps of New York. The evening ended with some sizzling Korean BBQ, and a sad farewell to Ed. Thankfully, he keeps threatening to make his visits to NYC a regular occasion! You should, too.

Grand Army Plaza At Night

After our food co-op orientation the other night, we missed our bus by just a minute. The next one was 30 minutes later. It was already 10:15 PM (those co-op people know how to talk...) so we contemplated taking a taxi the 1.5 miles home (with all our groceries in tow), but instead walked an extra two blocks to take in Grand Army Plaza, lit beautifully at night. This large plaza is a memorial for Northern soldiers and sailors in the Civil War (of course I call it the War of Northern Aggression, but I digress...). The plaza is a "gateway" to Prospect Park, and reminds me of something you'd find in a European capital. There is a design competition to redesign it underway, and even that late at night we could wander through an exhibition of the design ideas. Not a bad way to bide our time, waiting for the bus...