Quick update...
I explored another new neighborhood the other night, the Meatpacking District. It's supposed to be this ubertrendy area with upscale bars...
While wandering around, I'm about 95-100 percent certain I walked by Tim Meadows, from SNL,... so that was kind of neat. The "Lady's Man" was out with a lady friend.
The Meatpacking District was alright, I could see it being more fun with a group of people.
I didn't stay out too late, so when I got home the club across from my apartment was still open. I still hadn't checked it out yet, so I wandered over,
Oh my God was it lame. They try to project this fancy image, but it was the saddest thing I've seen since coming to the city. The worse part is that there is a line out there on a lot of nights... It's also only open on weekend nights, which is kind of odd. I wonder how they stay in business, but I probably don't want to know...
Anyway, so I walk to the front door and a bouncer in a full suit cards me. Then I go inside, and there are two more bouncers and a girl taking money.
They tell me there's a $20 cover. Ha! I ask if that was every night or if tonight was special... they tell me that's every night.
I kindly tell them that I have no interest in paying a $20 cover. As I start leaving, they say I can go in for free... (I think they were just trying to fleece me for cash, but they epic failed... I sincerely doubt they usually charge $20 admission).
Next I get a full pat down for weapons, an odd little surprise, then I go through a big curtain to the club... the very, very empty club. It was dark and had loud Spanish music playing, which makes sense... but there was nobody dancing or anything.
There were a couple pairs of people at the bar, and that was about it. There was more staff than clubgoers.
It gets better. I figure, that I'd order at least one drink and see how things play out. I order a rum and coke and just chill. It was the worst drink I've ever had. I couldn't even finish half of it. I guess it was just clear rum on the rocks with a splash of cola... I don't even know. It was just gross.
After a while, I gave up on sipping my nasty beverage and asked to cash out.
$12! For one rum and coke. Who'd have thought the most expensive drink I've found in the city so far would be an awful rum and coke at a feaux trendy dance club in my little Dominican neighborhood.
I actually chuckled when she told me.
Heck, the actual trendy club I went to in the fancy pants Meatpacking District wasn't nearly that expensive. I got a Maker's Mark and an import beer and it came to $14 for the two... and people were saying the drinks were expensive on the cruise, hehe.
Also, I found a bar in SoHo that has free beer-cooked hot dogs on Wednesdays... so you know where I'll be Wednesdays. They were actually pretty good.
Showing posts with label my neighborhood. Show all posts
Showing posts with label my neighborhood. Show all posts
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Not-so-open house and some fun museums...
So... anyone want to guess how many neighbors came to the open house?
I'll give you a hint... zero. Yes, zero, which is kind of weak, but what are you going to do?
Lisa and I had a blast anyway. Also, an old friend from high school who is going to Columbia now came by and we basically all just hang out and drank all night... it was tons of fun.
Some highlights from the evening include:
* repairing the Atari and rocking some insane Warlords and Combat action
* calling my friend in Colorado and asking him to pretend he was Meatloaf on speaker phone to help me win some sort of bet... he was pretty darned confused
* Watched Captain EO, of course (Part 1 on YouTube, Part 2 on YouTube)
* Rocked to the soundtracks from both Dirty Dancing and Footloose
Those are just a few of the random highlights from the well-behaved evening that lacked debauchery of all kinds. I swear it.
After waking up Sunday, none to early I assure you, Lisa and I walked to The Cloisters which is right near my apartment.
Put simply, it is a museum focused on medieval art... but the twist is that the museum itself is built from parts of monasteries torn down in France (and I think one in Austria too). Yup, J.D. Rockefeller Jr. was just plain rich enough that in the '30s he was able to afford to tear down precious history in France, ship it to Manhattan, harvest his favorite parts and have his own monastery built.
It gave me a special sense of pride to know that the museum I was enjoying in my neighborhood was built at the expense of history elsewhere.
Also, many of the sculptures and statues are missing arms and forearms, like the "Figure of a King" below. All I could think of when I saw each one was "they could rectify the situation with some chainsaws, a la Ash in Army of Darkness. Word?...
"Say hello to the twenty-first century!"
I bet if that king had chainsaws for arms, nobody would give him crap for being a cheapskate and bringing Myrrh anymore... nobody would mess with him at all.
Maybe they could put him at the entrance of the museum to scare people into donating more money on the way in. The admission is a "suggested" donation of $20... but thats of course suggested, right? As we were paying, a guy tried to walk in without a donation and he was accosted by the guards who curtly explained that he had better pay some sort of donation or go back from whence he came.
So after the Cloisters, we went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where they're doing this crazy special exhibition - Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy. It was pretty strange to say the least. They took classic superheroes, like Spider-Man, Wonder Woman, The Incredible Hulk, etc... and had crazy designers make outfits "inspired" by each hero. You know, the kind of designer clothes that nobody could ever possibly wear... at least not since the '80s.
This stuff was just off the wall... but it was vaguely entertaining and pretty funny to stroll through the exhibit. Plus, they did have some original costumes on display too, like a Batman costume from The Dark Knight and a Spider-Man costume from the recent movies.
They didn't allow pictures at all (the guards seemed angry to be there), so these are taken from around the Internet.
Spidey's outfits were some of the less ridiculous of the bunch.
These are a couple of the outfits "inspired" by Wonder Woman's costume (the Lynda Carter one from the '70s). In case you were wondering, yes - those are indeed Coke cans on tops of the heads. I actually burst out laughing when I saw these ones. I shouldn't be allowed in some museums.
Iron Man was another who got the fashion treatment. I swear, apparently all of these outfits were worn by models on the runway at some point... weird.
Imagine wearing this Batman-inspired gem to a job interview... or maybe the airport?...
Who needs hands anyway, right?
This Hulk-inspired mess would turn some heads...
Apparently Hulk symbolizes masculinity in its purest form, so the designer figured he would add a big protruding penis to the outfit. I might try this one on a casual Friday at the office.
If you follow this link and look around, you can actually click on the comic book covers and look at a whole lot more of the crazy outfits.
I'll give you a hint... zero. Yes, zero, which is kind of weak, but what are you going to do?
Lisa and I had a blast anyway. Also, an old friend from high school who is going to Columbia now came by and we basically all just hang out and drank all night... it was tons of fun.
Some highlights from the evening include:
* repairing the Atari and rocking some insane Warlords and Combat action
* calling my friend in Colorado and asking him to pretend he was Meatloaf on speaker phone to help me win some sort of bet... he was pretty darned confused
* Watched Captain EO, of course (Part 1 on YouTube, Part 2 on YouTube)
* Rocked to the soundtracks from both Dirty Dancing and Footloose
Those are just a few of the random highlights from the well-behaved evening that lacked debauchery of all kinds. I swear it.
After waking up Sunday, none to early I assure you, Lisa and I walked to The Cloisters which is right near my apartment.
Put simply, it is a museum focused on medieval art... but the twist is that the museum itself is built from parts of monasteries torn down in France (and I think one in Austria too). Yup, J.D. Rockefeller Jr. was just plain rich enough that in the '30s he was able to afford to tear down precious history in France, ship it to Manhattan, harvest his favorite parts and have his own monastery built.
It gave me a special sense of pride to know that the museum I was enjoying in my neighborhood was built at the expense of history elsewhere.
Also, many of the sculptures and statues are missing arms and forearms, like the "Figure of a King" below. All I could think of when I saw each one was "they could rectify the situation with some chainsaws, a la Ash in Army of Darkness. Word?...
I bet if that king had chainsaws for arms, nobody would give him crap for being a cheapskate and bringing Myrrh anymore... nobody would mess with him at all.
Maybe they could put him at the entrance of the museum to scare people into donating more money on the way in. The admission is a "suggested" donation of $20... but thats of course suggested, right? As we were paying, a guy tried to walk in without a donation and he was accosted by the guards who curtly explained that he had better pay some sort of donation or go back from whence he came.
So after the Cloisters, we went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where they're doing this crazy special exhibition - Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy. It was pretty strange to say the least. They took classic superheroes, like Spider-Man, Wonder Woman, The Incredible Hulk, etc... and had crazy designers make outfits "inspired" by each hero. You know, the kind of designer clothes that nobody could ever possibly wear... at least not since the '80s.
This stuff was just off the wall... but it was vaguely entertaining and pretty funny to stroll through the exhibit. Plus, they did have some original costumes on display too, like a Batman costume from The Dark Knight and a Spider-Man costume from the recent movies.
They didn't allow pictures at all (the guards seemed angry to be there), so these are taken from around the Internet.
Imagine wearing this Batman-inspired gem to a job interview... or maybe the airport?...
This Hulk-inspired mess would turn some heads...
If you follow this link and look around, you can actually click on the comic book covers and look at a whole lot more of the crazy outfits.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Open House, Bollywood, knocked up and well-hung bulls?
So... it's not looking like the open house this Saturday will be in too much danger of being overcrowded to say the least. Oh well, I can't say I'm too surprised though.
I went door to door and knocked on the doors on my floor, the floor above me and the floor below me... which people have told me I'm crazy for doing, but oh well. "You can't do that in New York," "It's not a dorm," and similar assertions have come up in conversation, often.
I'm pretty sure most people thought I was trying to sell them something (possibly wacky weed?) and ignored me. The very few people who did answer the door were actually pretty nice, but most said they probably wouldn't be able to come by.
The realtor in the leasing office said she might swing by... but she likely has to at least say that as part of her job description. (That's right, I mentioned it to her when I paid my rent.)
There were a couple of people who seemed pretty cool and sounded like they may swing by... so we'll see.
One person asked if I was the apartment who's always throwing parties on our floor... so that means I'll definitely have to find that apartment at some point.
Either way it will be fun. Lisa will be here, and a few other people I happen to know in the city may swing by, so no matter what we'll have a good time breaking in the apartment...
Much to the chagrin of my future-cop friend, I left a little mini-flier on my floor (which has about six rooms)... he thinks I'm going to get killed. I guess if he's right, I owe him a coke.
Also, I forgot to write in my last post about a debate from this past not-so-sobertastic weekend... How many people have really read Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen?
My buddy from Philly, we'll call him, ummm... either Filly or Thanatos (I'll let him decide), says that everybody has read the book. I told him he was crazy, since the book is old and smelly. Plus, I noted that I hadn't read the book, but apparently I don't fall into the "everybody" category since I'm either too cool or I'm an avid non-reader... something like that.
So I decided to punch a hole is in feeble theory through an impromptu drunken text-message survey... I won and now he totally owes me a KFC dinner. Mmmm...
Though, out of curiosity, I'm going to put a poll here and see if more than just one in a million people have actually read the entire book. Remember, watching the movie doesn't count - not even the Bollywood version - which, of course, is a musical in case you didn't know.
That's the only version I've ever seen, not entirely of my own will. Though it is where I found my absolute favorite Bollywood song ever!
This song is actually on my iTunes and frequently appears on my iPod... it's just so fun to sing along with the refrain. I'll have to put learning the dance they do onto my "to-do list."
So also, my friend from Alabama totally got knocked up... but it was by her husband of several years, so it's not too off-the-wall I suppose.
They're starting to get a nursery ready, and I suggested they consider a mural similar to the one they painted in Carla and Turk's nursery on Scrubs...
Anywho, they are both great and I'm totally happy for them. They even started a blog, which I've added to my "blogroll" to the right.
File this one under totally random... apparently the high school I went to spent $8,000 to put a giant, anatomically-correct (read: well hung) bronze bull in front of the school a while ago, and apparently someone just bajanked it.
Sidenote: I've always used the term "bajank" as a synonym for stealing... but according to www.UrbanDictionary.com, its definition is "The act of intercourse with a girl who is loose, and odorous." I guess we all learn something new everyday. I like how for the word "bajanked" to be appropriate, the girl in question needs to have been "odorous." I guess that's to prevent any confusion.
So, back to the bull, they're saying it could have either been pranksters from another school, or scrappers looking to make money by junking the bronze.
Sadly, I'd bet a KFC dinner that ish is headed for a scrapyard, if it's not already at one.
Well, whether folks show up or not, the apartment is really starting to look clean and orderly. I've got most everything put away somewhere... except for about 25 or 30 bottles of booze I still haven't found a home for. Too much booze? Crazy talk! I'll figure somewhere out, even if I have to arrange them on the floor stylishly lined up against the wall of the living room or something. I'll figure it out.
I went door to door and knocked on the doors on my floor, the floor above me and the floor below me... which people have told me I'm crazy for doing, but oh well. "You can't do that in New York," "It's not a dorm," and similar assertions have come up in conversation, often.
I'm pretty sure most people thought I was trying to sell them something (possibly wacky weed?) and ignored me. The very few people who did answer the door were actually pretty nice, but most said they probably wouldn't be able to come by.
The realtor in the leasing office said she might swing by... but she likely has to at least say that as part of her job description. (That's right, I mentioned it to her when I paid my rent.)
There were a couple of people who seemed pretty cool and sounded like they may swing by... so we'll see.
One person asked if I was the apartment who's always throwing parties on our floor... so that means I'll definitely have to find that apartment at some point.
Either way it will be fun. Lisa will be here, and a few other people I happen to know in the city may swing by, so no matter what we'll have a good time breaking in the apartment...
Much to the chagrin of my future-cop friend, I left a little mini-flier on my floor (which has about six rooms)... he thinks I'm going to get killed. I guess if he's right, I owe him a coke.
Also, I forgot to write in my last post about a debate from this past not-so-sobertastic weekend... How many people have really read Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen?
My buddy from Philly, we'll call him, ummm... either Filly or Thanatos (I'll let him decide), says that everybody has read the book. I told him he was crazy, since the book is old and smelly. Plus, I noted that I hadn't read the book, but apparently I don't fall into the "everybody" category since I'm either too cool or I'm an avid non-reader... something like that.
So I decided to punch a hole is in feeble theory through an impromptu drunken text-message survey... I won and now he totally owes me a KFC dinner. Mmmm...
Though, out of curiosity, I'm going to put a poll here and see if more than just one in a million people have actually read the entire book. Remember, watching the movie doesn't count - not even the Bollywood version - which, of course, is a musical in case you didn't know.
That's the only version I've ever seen, not entirely of my own will. Though it is where I found my absolute favorite Bollywood song ever!
This song is actually on my iTunes and frequently appears on my iPod... it's just so fun to sing along with the refrain. I'll have to put learning the dance they do onto my "to-do list."
So also, my friend from Alabama totally got knocked up... but it was by her husband of several years, so it's not too off-the-wall I suppose.
They're starting to get a nursery ready, and I suggested they consider a mural similar to the one they painted in Carla and Turk's nursery on Scrubs...
Anywho, they are both great and I'm totally happy for them. They even started a blog, which I've added to my "blogroll" to the right.
File this one under totally random... apparently the high school I went to spent $8,000 to put a giant, anatomically-correct (read: well hung) bronze bull in front of the school a while ago, and apparently someone just bajanked it.
Sidenote: I've always used the term "bajank" as a synonym for stealing... but according to www.UrbanDictionary.com, its definition is "The act of intercourse with a girl who is loose, and odorous." I guess we all learn something new everyday. I like how for the word "bajanked" to be appropriate, the girl in question needs to have been "odorous." I guess that's to prevent any confusion.
So, back to the bull, they're saying it could have either been pranksters from another school, or scrappers looking to make money by junking the bronze.
Sadly, I'd bet a KFC dinner that ish is headed for a scrapyard, if it's not already at one.
Well, whether folks show up or not, the apartment is really starting to look clean and orderly. I've got most everything put away somewhere... except for about 25 or 30 bottles of booze I still haven't found a home for. Too much booze? Crazy talk! I'll figure somewhere out, even if I have to arrange them on the floor stylishly lined up against the wall of the living room or something. I'll figure it out.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
A couple of quick things from today...
I actually hadn't planned on posting anything today, but in New York City, weird stuff just keeps happening....
So I checked out this dive bar I've been meaning to try for a while. I noticed it near the office and had read good things about it online. It was actually pretty cool. It was laid back, with cheap food and drinks (cheap Pabst by the can - always a plus). I got the summer intern in the office to come along with me too, which was cool.
I'm not going to lie, the first thing I noticed when I walked in was the bartender, who literally had breasts the size of your head. Judging by her look and accent, I want to say she was like Croatian, or some other kind of Eastern European.
Now, a ridiculously endowed bartender is really not too uncommon, but this bartender wasn't content hiding the gals away behind her sports bra (masquerading as a "top")... she periodically let them out for air, which was a surprise to say the least.
We were first treated to them as we tried to order some cheeseburgers from her.
I guess we stumbled on the bar's secret code, apparently cheeseburgers = ta-tas. Makes sense to me.
So we order the burgers, and the bartender (in her broken English) tried to explain to us that they were small, like sliders. We were confused, so she decides to use a visual aid and tells us they're "very small, like these..." then she proceeds to flash us and point to her nipple as a size example.
She didn't lie. Sure enough, they were indeed nipple-sized sliders.
I'm pretty sure after that she showed them off to various other groups up and down the bar.
I'm going to hazard to guess she generally does well in the tips department.
Even without taking into account the exhibitionist bartender, it was a cool little bar with good prices and we shot the shit with the other guys who came in and had a lot of fun, so I think I'll be going back. Plus the bartender was a goofy bonus.
I wonder what was going through my coworker's head after I invited him to this bar? I'm sure he thinks I'm the pinnacle of class, right? Oh well...
So after having a few drinks at the bar, I decided to go grocery shopping on the way home.
All I have in my kitchen is some spices, booze and some water in the fridge. I figured it's about time to start stocking up on some actual foodstuffs and the like.
So I finally went to the big grocery store in my neighborhood... it was kind of strange though. Until today, I've been the lone non-Dominican everywhere I've visited in my neighborhood... but at this grocery store I was the lone Gentile.
At least that means I probably was getting a decent deal, right? (I'm going to hell, and I know it... oh well...)
My main purpose was to get the basics for cold cuts, so I went straight to the deli counter.
It was a little counter run by a kid with a yarmulke... after I noticed that, I noticed that I was totally the only guy in line without one.
I was the lone naked-headed weirdo. I wasn't styling and profiling at all... maybe I'll have to add one to my wardrobe.
It turns out it I was at the kosher deli... I didn't realize until I was heading out that it wasn't the only deli in the store. There was apparently also a whole other regular deli counter on the opposite side of the store.
No matter, that just means I'll just have much more blessed sandwiches for the next couple of weeks.
Also, it turns out the grocery store is where all the beautiful girls in the neighborhood are hiding... so that's a good thing to know.
I'll have to study up on Lethal Weapon II for tips on how to pick up women at the grocery store... though Mel Gibson himself might not be overly welcome at this particular store.
Well, just another day in the city...
So I checked out this dive bar I've been meaning to try for a while. I noticed it near the office and had read good things about it online. It was actually pretty cool. It was laid back, with cheap food and drinks (cheap Pabst by the can - always a plus). I got the summer intern in the office to come along with me too, which was cool.
I'm not going to lie, the first thing I noticed when I walked in was the bartender, who literally had breasts the size of your head. Judging by her look and accent, I want to say she was like Croatian, or some other kind of Eastern European.
Now, a ridiculously endowed bartender is really not too uncommon, but this bartender wasn't content hiding the gals away behind her sports bra (masquerading as a "top")... she periodically let them out for air, which was a surprise to say the least.
We were first treated to them as we tried to order some cheeseburgers from her.
I guess we stumbled on the bar's secret code, apparently cheeseburgers = ta-tas. Makes sense to me.
So we order the burgers, and the bartender (in her broken English) tried to explain to us that they were small, like sliders. We were confused, so she decides to use a visual aid and tells us they're "very small, like these..." then she proceeds to flash us and point to her nipple as a size example.
She didn't lie. Sure enough, they were indeed nipple-sized sliders.
I'm pretty sure after that she showed them off to various other groups up and down the bar.
I'm going to hazard to guess she generally does well in the tips department.
Even without taking into account the exhibitionist bartender, it was a cool little bar with good prices and we shot the shit with the other guys who came in and had a lot of fun, so I think I'll be going back. Plus the bartender was a goofy bonus.
I wonder what was going through my coworker's head after I invited him to this bar? I'm sure he thinks I'm the pinnacle of class, right? Oh well...
So after having a few drinks at the bar, I decided to go grocery shopping on the way home.
All I have in my kitchen is some spices, booze and some water in the fridge. I figured it's about time to start stocking up on some actual foodstuffs and the like.
So I finally went to the big grocery store in my neighborhood... it was kind of strange though. Until today, I've been the lone non-Dominican everywhere I've visited in my neighborhood... but at this grocery store I was the lone Gentile.
At least that means I probably was getting a decent deal, right? (I'm going to hell, and I know it... oh well...)
My main purpose was to get the basics for cold cuts, so I went straight to the deli counter.
It was a little counter run by a kid with a yarmulke... after I noticed that, I noticed that I was totally the only guy in line without one.
I was the lone naked-headed weirdo. I wasn't styling and profiling at all... maybe I'll have to add one to my wardrobe.
It turns out it I was at the kosher deli... I didn't realize until I was heading out that it wasn't the only deli in the store. There was apparently also a whole other regular deli counter on the opposite side of the store.
No matter, that just means I'll just have much more blessed sandwiches for the next couple of weeks.
Also, it turns out the grocery store is where all the beautiful girls in the neighborhood are hiding... so that's a good thing to know.
I'll have to study up on Lethal Weapon II for tips on how to pick up women at the grocery store... though Mel Gibson himself might not be overly welcome at this particular store.
Well, just another day in the city...
Thursday, July 17, 2008
I'm a member of the 21st century again, hooray!
So my apartment is now hooked up to the Internet... so that's a big plus.
I did my last post sitting in a downtown Starbucks with my little white Macbook... yeah, I was totally that guy.
Getting hooked up to the Internet is pretty much my big news of the day. I did some wandering around my new neighborhood and found if I go about six blocks south I hit an area packed with stores, restaurants and pretty much anything else you can think of. I even found a Staples... right next to a little titty bar... well, actually judging by the signs it looks more like a big titty bar, but whatever.
Come to think of it.. immediately north the Staples is an elementary school and playground and immediately south of the Staples is the bar... hmmm. I wonder if they have guest speakers for sex ed?
Sidenote... the playground is open to the public and along with basketball courts, which are always fun, they have some mad crazy four-square areas painted. Mmmm... four square.
I also picked my favorite nearby (within a block or two) restaurant, aptly named "No. 1 Restaurant." They specialize in Chinese and Tex-Mex. Makes sense, right? They share very similar cultures and cuisines, right?
It is run by a Chinese family, and I've had their Chinese a couple of times and been pleased. Originally I hesitated to order from the Tex-Mex side of their menu, but today I tried a shrimp burrito from there and it was honestly pretty damn good. I thought it was better than Chipotle.
Their main competition was disqualified. I'm pretty sure I brought a cockroach home with me from the Chinese restaurant across the street from them. I've only seen one roach in my apartment so far and it was wandering around the bag I brought home from there... I haven't been back since.
I also walked to the George Washington Bridge... which I could walk across to New Jersey if I ever had the urge for whatever reason.
I thought this was kind of funny when I saw it... it kind of ties back to my last post, about the All-Star Game. I saw this clip in a post on a sports blog done by the New York Daily News and thought it was pretty funny.
Apparently Mr. Met wasn't too excited about Yankee Stadium hosting the big game and decided to make his feelings known during the parade through downtown...
Also, I saw a few more of those "rodenticide" posters today, all at Penn Station and all saying the station had been sprayed just last week... so maybe that's why I hadn't seen them before. That's the only other place so far though.
The movers should bring my stuff Saturday (Oops, I had Friday in my original post... I guess it was wishful thinking, hehe), which I am so excited about. I can't wait to have a bed! A couch! My bar! A microwave! A damn shower curtain! My bar! The list could go on and on. I can't wait to start getting my place all organized and not spend my evenings on the hard floor.
That means the doors will be open to anyone wanting to see the big city pretty soon!
I did my last post sitting in a downtown Starbucks with my little white Macbook... yeah, I was totally that guy.
Getting hooked up to the Internet is pretty much my big news of the day. I did some wandering around my new neighborhood and found if I go about six blocks south I hit an area packed with stores, restaurants and pretty much anything else you can think of. I even found a Staples... right next to a little titty bar... well, actually judging by the signs it looks more like a big titty bar, but whatever.
Come to think of it.. immediately north the Staples is an elementary school and playground and immediately south of the Staples is the bar... hmmm. I wonder if they have guest speakers for sex ed?
Sidenote... the playground is open to the public and along with basketball courts, which are always fun, they have some mad crazy four-square areas painted. Mmmm... four square.
I also picked my favorite nearby (within a block or two) restaurant, aptly named "No. 1 Restaurant." They specialize in Chinese and Tex-Mex. Makes sense, right? They share very similar cultures and cuisines, right?
It is run by a Chinese family, and I've had their Chinese a couple of times and been pleased. Originally I hesitated to order from the Tex-Mex side of their menu, but today I tried a shrimp burrito from there and it was honestly pretty damn good. I thought it was better than Chipotle.
Their main competition was disqualified. I'm pretty sure I brought a cockroach home with me from the Chinese restaurant across the street from them. I've only seen one roach in my apartment so far and it was wandering around the bag I brought home from there... I haven't been back since.
I also walked to the George Washington Bridge... which I could walk across to New Jersey if I ever had the urge for whatever reason.
I thought this was kind of funny when I saw it... it kind of ties back to my last post, about the All-Star Game. I saw this clip in a post on a sports blog done by the New York Daily News and thought it was pretty funny.
Apparently Mr. Met wasn't too excited about Yankee Stadium hosting the big game and decided to make his feelings known during the parade through downtown...
Also, I saw a few more of those "rodenticide" posters today, all at Penn Station and all saying the station had been sprayed just last week... so maybe that's why I hadn't seen them before. That's the only other place so far though.
The movers should bring my stuff Saturday (Oops, I had Friday in my original post... I guess it was wishful thinking, hehe), which I am so excited about. I can't wait to have a bed! A couch! My bar! A microwave! A damn shower curtain! My bar! The list could go on and on. I can't wait to start getting my place all organized and not spend my evenings on the hard floor.
That means the doors will be open to anyone wanting to see the big city pretty soon!
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
The MLB All-Star through the eyes of a commoner - a photo essay
So I got home from work Tuesday and figured, "What they hey... why not hop a subway train over to Yankee Stadium where the All-Star game is tonight?" I decided to throw on a Devil Rays shirt and go check out the scene since I hadn't seen the stadium and the area around it yet. No matter what I figured it would be pretty neat... despite being a lowly commoner with nowhere near the means to be allowed anywhere near an entrance of course. Oh well...I mean, how often am I going to be a 15-minute train ride from the All-Star game, right?
So I hop on the train and it literally was only like 15-20 minutes max to get to the Yankee Stadium station. So that was pretty neat. You can see that they support everybody's favorite Belgian brewer, :(, on their sign. I read today that they might sell off Bud's theme park assets, including Busch Gardens... which is just plain sad. Oh well...
Sidenote, some of the people exiting the station were really weirded out that I was taking pictures of "them," even though I was just being an uber-tourist and taking pictures of the Yankee Stadium's subway station entrance/exit.
The station itself was not too different than any other station... save for one thing that sort of caught my eye...
I have never seen one of these at any other station, not even the main touristy ones like Times Square or at the main West Side stop for Central Park. Apparently the Yankees are just that special that their stop gets to be rodent-free?
I wonder if there are signs like that near Shea Stadium? I bet not... how could there ever be any rats in Flushing anyway, right?
I guess it's all kind of a moot point anyway, I haven't seen any rats in any subway stations or on any tracks yet... oh wait... except for the PATH Train tracks in Jersey. The PATH is the subway that connects New Jersey to Manhattan (remember Journal Square?... I vaguely do). I saw lots of mice on the PATH track at Newark Penn Station.
Don't tell me you're even the slightest bit surprised at the only place I've seen subway rodents so far... because I know you're not.
So back to the game (or outside at least for commoners like myself). New York's finest were out en masse for the All-Star game. They were everywhere, literally in the hundreds. I couldn't get a picture to convey the massive police presence. There were also rows and rows of police cars and police vans on lots of nearby streets too.
It wouldn't surprise me if there was a lot of crime in other parts of the Bronx last night, since it seems every cop in the Bronx got pulled for "show of force" duty at Yankee Stadium.
Not that I would have been able to afford one, but that many cops make buying a scalped ticket not the most appealing thing. I did see a deal go down though at one point... it looked like enough cash changed hands to fund a small Colombian guerilla force. One guy offered me a ticket for $675. I almost debated the idea of skipping food and beverage for the next month or so... key word being "almost."
There were tons of people trying to get tickets. One guy asked someone heading into the game for a ticket, and the guy on his way in jokingly said "maybe for $5,000." The guy wanting a ticket said "sure," totally stunning the first guy... who thought about it for a good bit but decided to go in the game and not ditch his family... which could have made for an awkward All-Star game experience for all parties involved.
For non-ticket-having folks like myself there were some neat things and free stuff... most notably gobs of free candy. "The House that Ruth Built?" ... sure, Baby Ruth.
Baby Ruth was out in force with people like this guy giving out Baby Ruth's by the handful... it was awesome.
I don't want to know how many I had, but I do know my stomach was getting a little off... though that definitely could have been a result of being surrounded by thousands of Yankees fans... either way...
I did see a couple of other Devil Rays fans pass by in the throngs, which was kind of neat.
The area around the stadium had plenty of bars and memorabilia stores and such. I like when a stadium has an actual district around it to keep folks busy and entertained. There was one store selling baseball cards including various Rod Carew cards for $20-$30... weird... he's inescapable.
There was also a little fanfest kind of area set up with plenty of ways to drop some cash, but I just wandered and snapped a shot. At least there was a kind of cool mural behind it.
The new stadium being built is right across the street from the old one...
Hopefully I'll be catching some Devil Rays games there in the future (I already have plans to catch one at old Yankee Stadium before it's demolished), but who knows how much tickets to the games at the new stadium will cost, especially since George Steinbrenner is apparently greedy (shocker, right?)... Apparently some folks, like this guy wandering around the throngs, aren't too pleased with the idea of replacing the old Yankee Stadium... oh well..
So after wandering around I decided to find a bar near my apartment and watch the game since one of the biggest names in the game is from Washington Heights... Manny Ramirez... who is affectionately nicknamed ManRam... which I maintain is the worst nickname ever, but whatev I suppose...
So I wandered to the "dos por uno cervesas" bar down the street and parked myself for the game. It was actually pretty fun. They spoke all Spanish for about 90 percent of the time. However, I was able to gather that they, like all good-hearted people, hate E-Rod. They say he should help the Domican Republic more after natural disasters, like many other big-name players do... they also hate him for the other normal reasons too.
One guy, for whatever reason started talking trash about Julio Lugo, which was pretty funny... and especially random since he wasn't in the All-Star game... he didn't speak English, but I could talk with him a little in Spanish and gather that apparently Lugo hits into too many double plays for his liking... and he hates him with a passion because of it.
We bonded over me being a Devil Rays fan... though Navarro totally made me look like a bitch with all his "awesome" plays and strikeouts... oh well... I've been a Rays fan long enough that I'm used to a little ribbing.
Overall it was fun, and the guys were all nice and I think it will be a good place to hone my Spanish skills.
Anyway... dinner time... I think I'll grab something in Chinatown, mmm....
Monday, July 14, 2008
Back in the city after a super fun cruise... in my very empty apartment...
So I've got lots of random things to write about from the past week and a half, but I'll probably keep each thing fairly brief since my head is kind of all over the place today... but here goes...
So I did eventually got back to my apartment in Washington Heights which is a plus. It just involved the AirTrain, subway and a shuttle bus because the tracks were being repaired (it took me a while to figure that one out) The train stopped before my stop and I was just sitting there listening to my iPod and the conductor had to yell at me to get me off.
How was I supposed to know they were arbitrarily going to stop four stops earlier than every other day... the signs plastered everywhere on the train and in the stations? Psh, please... reading is for the weak.
When I got home, the apartment was just like I left it. Barren. It has a nice echo though, and you can't beat the interior decorating... the fresh coat of white paint on all the walls and doors goes quite well with the white/slightly off-white linoleum floors.
It has electricity and water and the stuff I had in my car when I was in Maryland and the Pentagon... so mainly just clothes and toiletries essentially... and whatever useless junk I decided I needed that took like, two years to unpack out of my car two weeks ago when I first moved in a couple weeks ago.
So I have made a lovely bed on my linoleum floor made out of my winter clothes... it's not terribly comfortable, but the price is right. I talked with the movers this afternoon and they said the soonest they could get me my stuff was Saturday, and I said sign me the hell up. My butt can't roll with the hard floor too much longer. I think my tailbone is bruised, but I maintain that is from my buddy's Irish Pub birthday bash Saturday night in Tampa (in the wee night hours between getting in from the cruise and flying out to JFK)... possibly more on that later...
The lack of a bed? I can roll with that... there are a few other things lacking that I'm kind of having to work around... like a shower curtain (I made kind of a wet mess in the bathroom this morning to say the least), or any kind of curtains or blinds for that matter. Every room has a window, and nothing covering them. I am pretty sure I mistakenly showed everyone on Broadway the goods this morning.
The only place not visible to the outside at the moment is the bathroom and in the hallway between the two bedrooms, if I close their doors. That's what I'm using as my makeshift bedroom at the moment.
I'll have cable and internet come Thursday, so that's a plus. I'm actually still at the office trolling things like Facebook and updating this to keep myself distracted.
Oh yeah, and apartments in the city rarely come with air conditioning, mine included. Normally I would just open the windows, but along with having no curtains or blinds, they also have no screen to obstruct the view of me getting dressed or to keep bugs out.
I know where to get screens though, so that shouldn't be a problem... they were just closed Sunday.
So that's essentially the apartment situation in a nutshell barren bomb shelter for the moment, lush with cable, internet and household goods Saturday... things are starting to come together...
So the cruise was a blast to say the least. Along with my buddy from Philly who I roomed with, there was more than 20 or so family and friends on board. I love my family, we do our best to always have a good time and this trip was no exception.
While there are of course plenty of ridiculous stories, I'll just throw a few fun ones in...
The main one that will likely haunt me for the rest of my days is my chance to be an Elvis impersonator in front of probably somewhere between 500 and 1,000 cruisegoers.
It started innocently enough with showing up drunk to karoake... which is nothing unusual, right? Somehow I ended up winning, by default an Elvis karaoke competition. The real winner quit... because he was much, much smarter than me.
Basically, a cute girl said I should sing an Elvis song, and logically I thought to myself, that sounds like a great idea, not realizing at all what I was getting into.
Next thing I know, I wake up the next morning with a plastic bag by my bed... and my first thoughts when I saw it were "What the hell is that?"
What it was, was the bag they gave me after I won the Elvis competition with a little iPod thing in it with big headphones (I had to return the iPod thing and headphones) and very detailed instructions for my role in the final production of the cruise.
Jiggawha?
The instructions said I was to learn the song on the music player (a medley of Jailhouse Rock and Hounddog) and be ready to perform it on stage during the final production of the cruise with the orchestra playing and dancers... without lyrics on a monitor. It was part of a show where they trick about nine other drunks into playing "Legends" in their final show, including folks like Britney Spears, James Brown, Frank Sinatra, etc...
I got to wear a white studded jumpsuit, an Elvis whig and some pimptacular sunglasses and perform (hammered of course).
The important thing is that it's over and... well, that's about all that counts.
Actually it was pretty fun, but also very strange to say the least.
Sidenote... after I "won" the Elvis Karaoke competition, I was at the ship's dance club called, no joke, "White Heat" and this cougar starts kind of dancing with me and hitting on me saying she liked my singing of Elvis. We started talking and when she came to the gripping realization that I was born long after Elvis died she said she was too old for me... to which I looked straight at her and drunkenly responded in a very confident-meets-sleazy-70's-swinger kind of tone "Well... I beg to differ." (remember, I was drunk enough that night to enter an Elvis karaoke competition) That conversation didn't last too much longer, but at least she got a good laugh.
Also, if anyone tells you anything about me in a topless dancing competition, just remember they're full of lies.
Actually, unfortunately, the above sentence is a lie... my uncle roped me into a hairy chest/dance like an idiot competition one afternoon, which was pretty bad.
I was eliminated after the pole dancing competition in the second round.
The best part about the hairy chest competition of course was that they videotaped it, and made a little montage music video of it and looped it on one of the closed circuit channels in all the cabins (along with some other events), clearly to make sure there was no escaping the eternal shame. They also sold DVDs of their montages of events from the week... unfortunately between that and Elvis, I won't ever be running for office.
I'm also a little worried about what kind of photos from the week will be ending up on Facebook, hmmm...
Oh yeah, the Irish Pub party I mentioned earlier was hellafun to say the least. You know it is going to be an interesting night when the DD pulls up to pick up the last person (the birthday boy as it were) and he has a round of triple shots of Irish Whiskey already set up and ready to be downed.
I don't remember too many specifics, but it would not surprise me if I fell on my tailbone at some point during the evening...
Well, I guess that's it for now... As you can tell I try to keep things boring...
I'll try to post again once I get the Internet going on in my apartment.
So I did eventually got back to my apartment in Washington Heights which is a plus. It just involved the AirTrain, subway and a shuttle bus because the tracks were being repaired (it took me a while to figure that one out) The train stopped before my stop and I was just sitting there listening to my iPod and the conductor had to yell at me to get me off.
How was I supposed to know they were arbitrarily going to stop four stops earlier than every other day... the signs plastered everywhere on the train and in the stations? Psh, please... reading is for the weak.
When I got home, the apartment was just like I left it. Barren. It has a nice echo though, and you can't beat the interior decorating... the fresh coat of white paint on all the walls and doors goes quite well with the white/slightly off-white linoleum floors.
It has electricity and water and the stuff I had in my car when I was in Maryland and the Pentagon... so mainly just clothes and toiletries essentially... and whatever useless junk I decided I needed that took like, two years to unpack out of my car two weeks ago when I first moved in a couple weeks ago.
So I have made a lovely bed on my linoleum floor made out of my winter clothes... it's not terribly comfortable, but the price is right. I talked with the movers this afternoon and they said the soonest they could get me my stuff was Saturday, and I said sign me the hell up. My butt can't roll with the hard floor too much longer. I think my tailbone is bruised, but I maintain that is from my buddy's Irish Pub birthday bash Saturday night in Tampa (in the wee night hours between getting in from the cruise and flying out to JFK)... possibly more on that later...
The lack of a bed? I can roll with that... there are a few other things lacking that I'm kind of having to work around... like a shower curtain (I made kind of a wet mess in the bathroom this morning to say the least), or any kind of curtains or blinds for that matter. Every room has a window, and nothing covering them. I am pretty sure I mistakenly showed everyone on Broadway the goods this morning.
The only place not visible to the outside at the moment is the bathroom and in the hallway between the two bedrooms, if I close their doors. That's what I'm using as my makeshift bedroom at the moment.
I'll have cable and internet come Thursday, so that's a plus. I'm actually still at the office trolling things like Facebook and updating this to keep myself distracted.
Oh yeah, and apartments in the city rarely come with air conditioning, mine included. Normally I would just open the windows, but along with having no curtains or blinds, they also have no screen to obstruct the view of me getting dressed or to keep bugs out.
I know where to get screens though, so that shouldn't be a problem... they were just closed Sunday.
So that's essentially the apartment situation in a nutshell barren bomb shelter for the moment, lush with cable, internet and household goods Saturday... things are starting to come together...
So the cruise was a blast to say the least. Along with my buddy from Philly who I roomed with, there was more than 20 or so family and friends on board. I love my family, we do our best to always have a good time and this trip was no exception.
While there are of course plenty of ridiculous stories, I'll just throw a few fun ones in...
The main one that will likely haunt me for the rest of my days is my chance to be an Elvis impersonator in front of probably somewhere between 500 and 1,000 cruisegoers.
It started innocently enough with showing up drunk to karoake... which is nothing unusual, right? Somehow I ended up winning, by default an Elvis karaoke competition. The real winner quit... because he was much, much smarter than me.
Basically, a cute girl said I should sing an Elvis song, and logically I thought to myself, that sounds like a great idea, not realizing at all what I was getting into.
Next thing I know, I wake up the next morning with a plastic bag by my bed... and my first thoughts when I saw it were "What the hell is that?"
What it was, was the bag they gave me after I won the Elvis competition with a little iPod thing in it with big headphones (I had to return the iPod thing and headphones) and very detailed instructions for my role in the final production of the cruise.
Jiggawha?
The instructions said I was to learn the song on the music player (a medley of Jailhouse Rock and Hounddog) and be ready to perform it on stage during the final production of the cruise with the orchestra playing and dancers... without lyrics on a monitor. It was part of a show where they trick about nine other drunks into playing "Legends" in their final show, including folks like Britney Spears, James Brown, Frank Sinatra, etc...
I got to wear a white studded jumpsuit, an Elvis whig and some pimptacular sunglasses and perform (hammered of course).
The important thing is that it's over and... well, that's about all that counts.
Actually it was pretty fun, but also very strange to say the least.
Sidenote... after I "won" the Elvis Karaoke competition, I was at the ship's dance club called, no joke, "White Heat" and this cougar starts kind of dancing with me and hitting on me saying she liked my singing of Elvis. We started talking and when she came to the gripping realization that I was born long after Elvis died she said she was too old for me... to which I looked straight at her and drunkenly responded in a very confident-meets-sleazy-70's-swinger kind of tone "Well... I beg to differ." (remember, I was drunk enough that night to enter an Elvis karaoke competition) That conversation didn't last too much longer, but at least she got a good laugh.
Also, if anyone tells you anything about me in a topless dancing competition, just remember they're full of lies.
Actually, unfortunately, the above sentence is a lie... my uncle roped me into a hairy chest/dance like an idiot competition one afternoon, which was pretty bad.
I was eliminated after the pole dancing competition in the second round.
The best part about the hairy chest competition of course was that they videotaped it, and made a little montage music video of it and looped it on one of the closed circuit channels in all the cabins (along with some other events), clearly to make sure there was no escaping the eternal shame. They also sold DVDs of their montages of events from the week... unfortunately between that and Elvis, I won't ever be running for office.
I'm also a little worried about what kind of photos from the week will be ending up on Facebook, hmmm...
Oh yeah, the Irish Pub party I mentioned earlier was hellafun to say the least. You know it is going to be an interesting night when the DD pulls up to pick up the last person (the birthday boy as it were) and he has a round of triple shots of Irish Whiskey already set up and ready to be downed.
I don't remember too many specifics, but it would not surprise me if I fell on my tailbone at some point during the evening...
Well, I guess that's it for now... As you can tell I try to keep things boring...
I'll try to post again once I get the Internet going on in my apartment.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
I got myself an apartment today... and genuine NYC parking ticket... I feel like a real New Yorker now, geez...
First and foremost, I have an apartment, it is awesome (and surprisingly spacious) and come August the doors are open and folks should totally come visit.
I drove there today and unloaded my car of everything I've been living off of for the past six months in Baltimore and D.C.
In doing so, I was reminded why I don't plan on keeping my car in New York.
So, I have my car in the city for not even 24 hours before I got a parking ticket. That's efficiency, I'll tell you what.
I got a parking ticket for breaking the Alternate Street Parking Law... everybody's familiar with that, right? Of course you are.
Twice a week on each side of the street, there is a time set aside for the street cleaners to come by and clean that side of the street... this creates an hour and a half window for the parking police to go hog wild. (I.E. Monday and Wednesday from 11:30 to 1:00 one side of the street has to be cleared and the same for the other side on Tuesday and Thursday... after some searching I found a sign explaining it on another street... I assume there was one somewhere on the street I was parked on too)
So folks are supposed to know (and most locals do apparently) these two windows each week when they need to move their cars and which streets are impacted when.
When I parked there were cars in front and back of me... in fact, the guy in the car behind me made fun of my feeble parallel parking skills...
"Wow, you really are from Florida, aren't you?" he yelled from his car and chuckled (friendly-like)
I can't even park in a straight-spot... so parallel parking, psh... hell to the no. Some of you have probably had the joy of watching me try to parallel park (and consequently the shame of having to buy new underwear afterwards due to peeing yourself from laughing)
Sure enough though, I come back from taking a load of stuff up to my new apartment to find that all the other nearby cars had moved to doublepark on the other side of the street and find a $45 ticket right on the hood of my car. Awesome. I guess it's kind of a rite of passage for the city, right?
Sure... something like that...
It totally just reminded me of the episode of the Simpsons where Homer's car ends up at the Twin Towers... and his flashback to his trip to the city.
My trip has actually been pretty awesome so far, unlike poor Homer's though... no pimps or C.H.U.D.s yet... as far as I know...
In case you're wondering, the area they are parodying is right where I've been staying. He starts at the Port Authority Bus Terminal, which is the subway stop I've been taking to work every morning. That portrayal of here is pre-Guiliani though. Locals refer to the 90's as the "Disneyfication" of this area into the tourist-friendly area it is today.
Oh well, that's why I'm taking the car in Florida when I go down for the family reunion/cruise and not bringing it back.
I picked up the car the Lisa's and brought it into Midtown late Monday night and by the time I leave early Wednesday I figured out it will have cost me more than $100 to have my car in the city for that time taking into account pleasing the law, paying garage fees and of course the ubiquitous tolls. I'm not counting gas money at all.
Also, I did a little more exploring of my new neighborhood, and it looks like I will definitely get to practice my Spanish... which I think will actually be neat.
I looked at a sign for a nearby bar special: "Dos por uno cervezas, 5-10, Viernes!" ... I had to reach a little to remember that Viernes = Friday.
Se donde voy a ser muchos Viernes!
Well...I'm heading for Florida first thing tomorrow... and I don't really know if I'll post before the cruise... we'll see... so if I don't, I probably won't post for another week and a half... so have a good week and a half - I know I will :)
I drove there today and unloaded my car of everything I've been living off of for the past six months in Baltimore and D.C.
In doing so, I was reminded why I don't plan on keeping my car in New York.
So, I have my car in the city for not even 24 hours before I got a parking ticket. That's efficiency, I'll tell you what.
I got a parking ticket for breaking the Alternate Street Parking Law... everybody's familiar with that, right? Of course you are.
Twice a week on each side of the street, there is a time set aside for the street cleaners to come by and clean that side of the street... this creates an hour and a half window for the parking police to go hog wild. (I.E. Monday and Wednesday from 11:30 to 1:00 one side of the street has to be cleared and the same for the other side on Tuesday and Thursday... after some searching I found a sign explaining it on another street... I assume there was one somewhere on the street I was parked on too)
So folks are supposed to know (and most locals do apparently) these two windows each week when they need to move their cars and which streets are impacted when.
When I parked there were cars in front and back of me... in fact, the guy in the car behind me made fun of my feeble parallel parking skills...
"Wow, you really are from Florida, aren't you?" he yelled from his car and chuckled (friendly-like)
I can't even park in a straight-spot... so parallel parking, psh... hell to the no. Some of you have probably had the joy of watching me try to parallel park (and consequently the shame of having to buy new underwear afterwards due to peeing yourself from laughing)
Sure enough though, I come back from taking a load of stuff up to my new apartment to find that all the other nearby cars had moved to doublepark on the other side of the street and find a $45 ticket right on the hood of my car. Awesome. I guess it's kind of a rite of passage for the city, right?
Sure... something like that...
It totally just reminded me of the episode of the Simpsons where Homer's car ends up at the Twin Towers... and his flashback to his trip to the city.
My trip has actually been pretty awesome so far, unlike poor Homer's though... no pimps or C.H.U.D.s yet... as far as I know...
In case you're wondering, the area they are parodying is right where I've been staying. He starts at the Port Authority Bus Terminal, which is the subway stop I've been taking to work every morning. That portrayal of here is pre-Guiliani though. Locals refer to the 90's as the "Disneyfication" of this area into the tourist-friendly area it is today.
Oh well, that's why I'm taking the car in Florida when I go down for the family reunion/cruise and not bringing it back.
I picked up the car the Lisa's and brought it into Midtown late Monday night and by the time I leave early Wednesday I figured out it will have cost me more than $100 to have my car in the city for that time taking into account pleasing the law, paying garage fees and of course the ubiquitous tolls. I'm not counting gas money at all.
Also, I did a little more exploring of my new neighborhood, and it looks like I will definitely get to practice my Spanish... which I think will actually be neat.
I looked at a sign for a nearby bar special: "Dos por uno cervezas, 5-10, Viernes!" ... I had to reach a little to remember that Viernes = Friday.
Se donde voy a ser muchos Viernes!
Well...I'm heading for Florida first thing tomorrow... and I don't really know if I'll post before the cruise... we'll see... so if I don't, I probably won't post for another week and a half... so have a good week and a half - I know I will :)
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