Ugly Me

I started watching Ugly Betty last year. When I saw previews of the show in the past, I thought it was certainly something I would not be watching. Instead, I've found that the quirky and creative nature of the show keeps me coming back every week. And it seems that weekly, my life is more of a reflection of the show's storyline than I could have foreseen.

For instance, a few episodes ago a blackout struck New York City just when Marc needed to get his presentation to lower Manhattan in order to be promoted to an editor position. The building super had just installed an electronic lock on the main floor, and because of the power outage no one was able to leave the building. (Suspend reality enough to ignore the fact that in a power outage the door would be unlocked.) "Oh please," I said. "If it's that important, ask a first floor neighbor if you can climb out of their window."

Cut to last week when I was at SeaTac's building and we needed to get to the train. We went to the first floor and the magnetic lock was stuck. Would not budge. In fact, the entire door frame was about to come loose when we pushed on the door. We went back upstairs to call the management company, then went back downstairs about ten minutes later to try again. Finally, by pushing my fingers into the space between the door and the frame, I managed to pry the two apart. Ridiculous. But I wasn't about to knock on 1A's door and ask if I could climb out of her window.

In the following episode, Betty is informed that she has just won a Blobbie Award for her blog. (No, I have not been informed of any awards for my blog.) After asking her boss to introduce her at the ceremony, they hit a rocky place in their relationship and she decides to blog a rant about her boss and the situation. Of course the information in the post gets out to the masses, which goes very badly, and it turns out to be the worst idea for a blog entry ever.

Upon beginning my blog two years ago, I decided that I would keep it upbeat and positive as much as possible, and I plan to continue in that spirit. Last week I had an unexpected development occur and I now find myself back on the job market. I will not be writing much about that development, but I will most likely be writing a little bit about my newest experiences in the world of unemployment. And I will keep it upbeat. I would not like for my life to parallel the Blobbie Award storyline.

Despite the nature of this new adventure I find myself in the midst of (if you've ever been unemployed, you know what I mean), I am feeling mostly good about a chance to start again with a fresh perspective. Even though this means that I will not be moving anytime soon, I still feel a sense of renewal. In that spirit, I spent much of today rearranging my bedroom furniture while watching the snow fall all day long outside my window. It was a great day. Tomorrow I will be updating my resume and applying for jobs. Let's hope some of today's good feelings carry over into tomorrow's tasks.

Through the course of the TV series, Betty has gone from an underling at a major magazine to an associate editor. I wouldn't mind my career following the general path of her career's storyline. You never know. It could happen. After all, Marc did manage to get out of the building and he did get his promotion.

It's Decided.

My roommate is planning to move closer to the garden where she works, and I am finally ready to get my own place. I am hoping to find an "affordable" studio in Manhattan at the end of March. I've begun exploring neighborhoods (in-person and online), emailing friends for any leads they may have, and figuring out the finances of it all. The neighborhood I am currently fixed on is Washington Heights. That is subject to change, but after taking a long walk around the Ft. Tryon Park area I decided it is a neighborhood I would be glad to consider. We'll see what happens.

More to come...

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.