Kansas Day

January 29th is a good day. Though I've always been fond of Kansas Day, I've celebrated it with much more gusto since moving away from the Sunflower State. And I always like to find a good reason to celebrate.

Last year Sterling and I celebrated together by making cookies in her apartment. This year we are roommates and I find that living with a Kansan makes the holiday even better. We had planned to make sugar cookies again on the 28th, but Sterling did not feel well, so it was up to me. I tried to use the Jayhawk cookie cutter, but all the detail in the tool makes it tedious to use successfully. I also tried to cut dough into the shape of Kansas, but some of the cookies looked a little more like Nebraska (blasphemy!) and then the borders expanded into the surrounding states as they baked. I guess it's the thought that counts.

By the end of the night I was reminded about why I should wear an apron when I bake.


Fortunately, the cookies were a big hit around the office and I felt that I had done my part to spread the joy of Kansas to a tiny corner of New York City. After work, SeaTac, Sterling, Baltimore and I ate great burgers, tots and sweet potato fries at the Trailer Park Lounge and Grill in Chelsea. A dessert of Moon Pies followed.


Even though Sterling and I attended rival universities, I find that celebrating our common heritage and homeland only brings more peace and comradery to our little apartment in Brooklyn.

Happy Kansas Day, Everyone!

Ad astra per aspera!

I love my apartment building. One of our neighbors just came to the door and asked if she could climb through my window. It cracks me up to type that. Perhaps I should clarify. She didn't have her keys and her roommate is traveling, so she was stuck out of her place. I have access to the fire escape through my bedroom window and it leads to her roommate's bedroom window as well, so out the window she went and into her apartment. The same thing happened a few months ago, except that neighbor was going to the apartment above me. It's funny to be able to help each other out in such an unconventional way.

I've never posted any pictures of this apartment for all of my far-away family members to see. I suppose this is an appropriate post in which to do that. So below you will see my bedroom, our dining room and our living room (with festive party decorations), and our skinny kitchen and skinny bathroom, followed by a short video of my summer street-view from the well-used fire escape. And I apologize in advance if you've never wanted to see someone's bathroom posted online. I'm just trying to give you an overall sense of my space.

Glass and Light

I thought tonight I would share some photos I've taken which show light and shadow on a few of the beautiful glass buildings in Manhattan.

The first photo is of the Time Warner Center at Columbus Circle. After spending the day watching some great kids for a friend, we came out of the subway at 59th Street to see a large and ferocious-looking storm approaching. I told the kids we were going to make a run for their mom's office because we didn't have an umbrella and it looked like the rain would come any moment (though I obviously found time to stop and snap a picture). You can see the storm clouds reflected on the top portion of the buildings and the bright sky reflected below. I was pleased with the picture, but of course the image is not nearly as striking as the actual sight. (And in case you are wondering, we did make it indoors before the rain started.)



The next few photos were taken just outside of Ground Zero. SeaTac and I were on our way to meet friends at Michigan's place a few days before the September 11th anniversary. I attempted to take photos using a variety of settings on my camera, but one can only do so much with a point-and-click, so most of them did not turn out very well, but I did find a few interesting images. The glass building on the left is World Trade Seven.

A Fresh Job Idea

I have some great friends who pass along job leads to me when they find something that might be a good fit. Michigan sent me the following job post from Craigslist today. I really do need a job, but I'm not sure if this is the career path that I want to pursue.

need someone to sit on lap

Date: 2009-09-22, 5:45AM

I have bad back problems, and need someone to sit on my lap for four hours a day ,it helps me straigten my, back I know it sound weird but it helps , willing to pay ten dollars and hour for four hours , twice a week , has to be in good shape and looking for a male to do it because they are stronger to do this sort of job, if you are interested e mail , this is not bs ,you could watch tv, use computer I will even give you food, please respond , thank you

• Location: lynbrook
• This is a part-time job.
• Principals only. Recruiters, please don't contact this job poster.
• Please, no phone calls about this job!
• Please do not contact job poster about other services, products or commercial interests.

Original URL: http://newyork.craigslist.org/lgi/lab/1386413954.html

To Remember and To Act

It's a blustery and rainy day in Borough Park. I love the feel of a cool and rainy September morning. One of the joys (and sometimes pains) of living in a mass-transit city is that you get to walk in the midst of the weather, instead of being more insulated and apart from it. As I was walking to the laundromat just before the rain this morning, I saw the flag at half-mast in the local elementary schoolyard, and the memory of September 11, 2001 came back strikingly clear. The weather today is much different from what I saw in New York on the television eight years ago, but somehow it seems fitting that the weather is so dreary on this day of remembrance. I don't remember feeling this sad about that day for a long time.

It is important and right that we move along and progress and improve after those terrorist attacks, but it is also appropriate and right to take time to remember and reflect and mourn the losses of that day as well. And I hope that in remembering, we will be motivated to make choices and take actions that improve ourselves and the world around us. It is fitting that the President declared September 11th a National Day of Service and Remembrance and that volunteerism was such a central theme of the memorial service in Lower Manhattan this morning.

These are pictures of the Tribute in Lights from 2008. The first picture is from City Hall Park and the second is from my fire-escape in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn.

Look! Up in the Sky....

....It's a bird!

It's a plane!

No! It's a cleaning lady!!

I was visiting some friends at the mid-town school office recently when Michigan noticed this woman holding onto a window so she could clean it. I estimated that she was probably about ten or eleven stories above 56th Street. We just stared at her in amazement... but not the kind of amazement which leads you to want to emulate the person you are amazed by. The kind of amazement that just makes it almost impossible to tear your eyes away from the person doing the stupid thing you are "amazed" by.

I suppose I should clarify that I didn't just stare at the woman. I obviously took the time to find my camera and take some pictures. Michigan was the compassionate one, repeatedly saying, "Please don't fall. Don't fall, lady. Please don't fall..." I mean, really? Come on, lady! How badly do you need the outside of those windows cleaned? If the windows were for her, then she needs to re-think her cleaning chart. If the windows were for an employer, either she's just an over-achiever, or those employers need to be taken to task for expectations that are WAY too high (no pun intended). We have equipment for those sorts of jobs!

I took a crummy video (I always forget I can't turn the camera sideways) that you are welcome to watch below.

n-e-v-e-r

Tonight I want to reiterate the fact that I love my town. Sometimes I am a little disheartened when others visit New York City and don't really like it here, or don't even seem open to visiting the city and giving it a chance. New York is certainly not for everyone. I get that. But it is for me, at least for this time in my life. I fell in love with this city and I am truly happy to be here.

I will obviously never be a native New Yorker. I'm not even sure how many years I have to be here before long-time New Yorkers will truly feel I am worthy of the title "New Yorker" (if ever). I will always be a native Kansan. Kansas is my homeland, which I also love. El Dorado and Wichita have been long-time and life-shaping homes for me. And I know I always have a home waiting for me in El Dorado or wherever my parents reside. The word "home" can carry various meanings. I want to stake my claim where I am and be a part of what's going on around me, and I like to make a home for myself in that place. And right now, New York City is my home.

I feel like some people will not understand this, and I guess that's okay. I don't mean to offend with these statements. But sometimes I want to throw these thoughts out there and let them be known to whoever happens to stumble across them. And maybe in trying to express myself in writing, pieces of my life will become clearer to me, and to others if they want to follow along.

My dad and I were recently laughing about how we used to say, "I'll never.... [fill in the blank, i.e. go do such-and-such, or live in this place or that place, etc...]. We've learned we ought not to say that, but when we do, we quickly repent and say we didn't mean it. I have come to the understanding that I can rarely predict what will happen in my life. And I see that life has a way of surprising me with what's next. And even though sometimes that seems really crappy, it can also be really exciting and positive.

Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.

So I plan to be in New York City indefinitely. I refuse to use the word "never" when trying to make decisions and plans for my future. I don't know what's in store. But for now, I am happy to be at home here. And even if this town is not for everyone, I hope that when people visit, they will discover some of the things that I think make this place really wonderful.

By the way, I seem to recall saying on more than one occasion that "I could never ride a bike in New York City. Those people are crazy!" Click here to read how that turned out. Or here. Or here. Or here.