Lonely Robot searching for a home in Park Slope.

Last you heard from me, I was typing to keep myself awake as I waited for a car to take me to the airport. The car showed up on time, although I stepped in a snow drift up to my knees as I tried to make it to the street to get in. The ride went smoothly; there was no ice on the roads and the streets were nearly empty. However, when I got to LaGuardia at about 3:30 am it was already crowded. People were sleeping against the walls, wrapped in towels and jackets, or huddled over their luggage in the three lines. I got in the self check in line, expecting to just print off my boarding pass and drop off my bag. However, as the line slowly trudged forward and people didn’t seem to understand that they could use any of the available machines, I soon found I was in the wrong line for the 6 am Atlanta flight and was told to go to the other end of the Delta terminal. There was no line for the machines there, so I printed off my boarding pass and looked around for the baggage drop. It turned out there was no separate baggage drop line and I had to get in the line of about 80 people who were checking in or trying to get on a flight after being delayed by the snow. Every staff member was incredibly unhelpful, with no one confirming that I was actually in the right line. And it was more of a mob than a line, and it wasn’t moving at all. Finally, the Delta people started shouting out flight numbers and you had to shoot your hand up in the air. Then, they would point to you, and you could get in a special line. If you dared to get in the special line without being called, you were severely scolded. I did finally get in the special line and got a “6 am” orange tag on my bag and then waited for about half an hour for an agent. What a relief when I finally got the tag on my luggage and was able to go through security! Security had no line, because everyone was stuck checking in. I’ve never so desperately wished I had brought carry-on luggage. Anyway, my flights went smoothly and I am now in Oklahoma City. But you probably want to hear about the snow that helped cause the insanity at LaGuardia, right?

Snow blanketing Elizabeth's street in the East Village.

Saturday there was snow. Lots of snow. It started falling just as I left my apartment to meet Elizabeth and Eszter at the Brooklyn Lyceum holiday market. I took shelter in a coffee shop, where one of the barista’s pointed out that I was reading the suddenly appropriate Snow by Orhan Pamuk. It was like living the literature! The snow was blowing horizontal on the street and felt like little ice knives on our faces as we walked around Park Slope. I was tempted to buy a necklace depicting a whale capsizing a boat, but I’m resisting purchases until January.

Snow covering the normally busy Astor Place, sometime around 1 am.

The snow kept falling, and after some brief holiday shopping in SoHo we retreated to Elizabeth’s apartment in the East Village. We checked in on City Drive Live, the cameras always showing live images from Times Square and other places in New York, and saw the snow starting the pile up as the night brought the colder weather. At around 1 am, I finally decided to go back to Brooklyn and stepped out into an East Village that could have been mistaken for a street in Geneva. Most of the snow was untouched and few people were out. Above, you can see Astor Place. It’s hard to tell from the picture, but it was still snowing.

Snow in the subway.

Although it may be surprising for people not from Oklahoma, I really did see a lot of snow growing up in Bartlesville. And I love snowboarding and generally think all cities and landscapes are improved in beauty with snow. However, walking to the subway that night while it was still windy and snowing was freezing and I spent the better part of the subway ride trying to dry off my scarf and scrape the ice from my gloves.

Snow outside my apartment. Yes, I live by a funeral parlor. I'm a block from the cemetery, after all.

When I got back to my neighborhood my footprints were the first to mark the snow on my apartment steps. It was still snowing when I finally fell asleep.

Floral shop near my apartment.

When I woke up, I felt some of the same excitement I used to have as a kid, eager to see the way the snow had changed my world before it was marred by cars and people. I put on as many warm clothes as I could layer and headed out to the street, where my footsteps were still the only ones on the stairs, although they had been partly filled in by the last of the snow.

Can you see the Statue of Liberty from here? It's just visible from this hill by the cemetery near my apartment.

I first headed to Green-Wood Cemetery, remembering how amazing Père Lachaise was when it snowed in Paris (I’ll forget momentarily that that story ends with me accidentally getting locked in the cemetery). Unfortunately, Green-Wood was closed, so I walked around the perimeter a little before going into Manhattan to meet Elizabeth in the East Village.

Taxi covered in snow in the East Village.

It wasn’t as dreamlike as when I’d left it the night before, but there was still plenty of snow in the East Village. I feel bad for the people who had to try to get their cars out from the snow banks created by the plows.

McSorley's in the East Village.

We decided to go exploring, and I was immediately glad I’d worn my waterproof boots as the snow at the intersections was melting into slushy, gray piles under the car tires and pedestrians.

Astor Place, not quite a blizzard anymore.

The snow didn’t stop people from coming out, although people in the East Village seemed to have two fashion approaches to it. One was to wear absolutely everything remotely warm, resulting in little ability for movement. The other was to dress like it was any other day and pretend there was no snow, resulting in wet skinny jeans.

The lions at the New York Public Library were blinded by snow.

We took the train up to the New York Public Library and saw the snow covering the regal lions.

Snow in Bryant Park.

Then we went around to Bryant Park, where the snow had made the temporary holiday village and decorations even more charming.

Christmas tree in Bryant Park.

The Christmas tree in Bryant Park also had some snow on its branches and it was ringed by people getting their photos taken, probably for next year’s Christmas cards. The ice skating rink was also packed and people were building miniature snowmen around the park.

Atlas shrugged beneath the weight of winter.

We then walked up 5th Avenue to Rockefeller Center, which was just as insane as any other holiday day. We even got to witness a woman meandering in front of a bus, to which the NYPD traffic director said: “Ma’am!!! There’s a bus behind you! You almost got hit by a bus! OH MY GOD!!”

Horse-drawn carriages in Central Park.

We took a break and got a coffee inside and then walked to Central Park. It seemed like everyone, whether tourist or New Yorker, was there building snowmen, sledding, or marveling at the snowy trees as if they were in Narnia.

Snowman in Central Park, wearing a fancy leaf crown.

If I had worn waterproof gloves, I would have built a snowman myself, but we just admired other people’s work. Some of the snowmen had jackets and pipes, and this one had a lovely hat made of leaves.

Snow in Central Park.

Surprisingly, I only saw one person fall on the ice, and surprisingly it wasn’t me. I guess I’m somewhat balanced, but I’m also terribly accident prone. We also saw some people unwisely thinking of walking on the ice over the above pond. Luckily, they changed their mind.

Mouse on the snow in Central Park.

There was a little mouse scampering over the snow, probably looking for somewhere to hide, that was being stalked by a horde of photographers. Look, I think I found some of those photographs on flickr. It isn’t the celebrities that get the most paparazzi in New York, it’s the rare wildlife. I hope this mouse survived his day in the spotlight. As you can see if you look at other people’s pictures, people actually picked the mouse up. Probably the same people who would freak the hell out if they saw the same mouse in their kitchen.

Bethesda Terrace in Central Park.

Our last stop in Central Park was Bethesda Terrace, where the angel on the fountain was surrounded by snow and people. I especially liked the St. Bernard dog that you can see in this picture, who was probably having the best day of his year. How did that poor dog make it through August? Well, he had no brandy around his neck so we decided to head back to the East Village.

Saxophone player in Central Park.

On the way out of the park, we heard this saxophone player adding improv to some holiday songs and just down the path there was a choir. I imagine they make a lot more money when people have the holiday spirit spurred in their hearts by the snow. After the park, we had soup and apple cider at Elizabeth’s apartment and then I went home, stayed up all night, and got the car to the airport. You know what happens after that. The end of the story is I didn’t go to sleep until Monday night.

]]> http://allezallie.wordpress.com/2009/12/24/snow/feed/ 0 Allie robot east village astor subway apartment florist hill taxi mcsorleys astor lion bryant tree atlas horses snowman park mouse bethesda saxophone http://allezallie.wordpress.com/2009/12/21/christmas/ http://allezallie.wordpress.com/2009/12/21/christmas/#comments Mon, 21 Dec 2009 06:48:42 +0000 Allie http://allezallie.wordpress.com/?p=497 ]]>

Living Objects installation in McCarren Park.

I’m currently keeping myself awake until a car comes to pick me up for the airport at 3 am. My flight to Oklahoma City is at 6 am, so I’m passing a “nuit blanche” to keep from accidentally missing it. As you may have seen on the news, New York City got blanketed with snow this weekend and I’m hoping enough has melted to not delay my flight.

This past week was pretty busy, as I was at the very important film studio this working as their temporary receptionist. I was charged with the very important tasks of answering the phone, signing for packages, keeping the coffee machine stocked, and avoiding eye contact with the very important film producers. Luckily, my unimportance made me invisible, a superpower granted to all temps. Mostly, I just had to sit at a desk, not having to do much more than the light people pictured above, who are currently installed in McCarren Park in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

Christmas tree at the Rockefeller Center ice skating rink.

I must have delivered at least one bottle a day of Cristal champagne to people’s desks at the temp job, along with bountiful food gift baskets and numerous boxes marked with “perishable.” Well, I worked some holiday cheer of my own into my temporary professional life, including a visit to the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center. That place is CRAZY right now. It was more crowded than Times Square. However, it was still worth it and we saw the Saks snowflake display synchronized to an electronic remix of Carol of the Bells. An NYPD officer even danced along to it as he directed traffic.

An Edward Scissorhands-style topiary at the MoMa as part of the Tim Burton exhibit.

We also stopped by the free Friday hours at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), hoping to see the Tim Burton exhibit. Unfortunately, tickets were already sold out, but we still got to see this Edward Scissorhands-esque topiary in the courtyard. Don’t worry, I’ll be back to see it.

Gabriel Orozco’s “Mobile Matrix” whale skeleton at the MoMa.

The MoMa is also showing an exhibit of Mexican artist Gabriel Orozco’s work, which includes “Mobile Matrix,” the giant, decorated whale skeleton shown above. We checked out the Bauhaus exhibit and some of the permanent collections as well, but the whale was the highlight for me.

Alice in Wonderland-style shenanigans at the holiday window displays at Bergdorf Goodman.

We also checked out some holiday window displays. While Saks and Juicy Couture win for most unsettling, with maniacal snowflakes and circus insanity, Bergdorf Goodman won for entertainment, creativity, and detail. For the women’s store, they had Lewis Carroll-inspired displays with taxidermy animals and high fashion. This picture of a squirrel on a bicycle is only an example.

Bears at Bergdorf Goodman.

There were also dancing bears holding canes, as well as ostriches playing bagpipes, ravens typing, cats lurking around corners, and prancing horses made from plants.

Fantastic Mr. Fox at Bergdorf Goodman.

At the men’s store, the windows had the miniature characters from the Fantastic Mr. Fox movie, which I still haven’t got around to seeing. The little characters are adorable, even if they look a little bit like taxidermies of dead animals, maybe caused by them being across the street from the real taxidermies in the other windows. I’ll have to see the movie to judge if that makes it creepy.

I guess I’m just an hour and a half from my trip to the airport. I’ll be in the Oklahoma City soon and am looking forward to warmer weather and seeing friends and family. Good luck to my fellow holiday travelers!

Ice skating rink at Bryant Park.

As the FedEx delivery person just reminded me, Christmas is a little over a week away. And scarier still, 2010 is just two weeks away.  I’m temping this week at the very important film studio and ducking potential confrontation with very important film producers. These people are serious about their movies.  My desk is next to a TV that plays the same 16 minutes of movie trailers over and over and over with the sound off. Well, anyway, last week I happened to walk by the Bryant Park ice skating rink one my way back from the library.  It was packed, but everyone seemed to be having a great time and people were giving away chocolates.

Empire State Building lit for Hanukkah, seen from the Bryant Park ice skating rink.

This past Saturday a couple of college friends were visiting town and we met up in SoHo where it seemed like everyone was panicking over last minute holiday shopping. We also visited Chinatown where there was a surplus pashmina store where people were frantically rifling through and ripping open packages of brightly colored silk scarves in the narrowest rows possible. That evening, there was a volunteer party at the Dumbo Arts Center that I stopped by and saw some people I hadn’t seen for a while and had a couple of drinks, and then headed to Park Slope for Patty’s classy holiday celebration. Check out her blog for some great pictures of her charming tree, which includes a wooden hand grasping the top and strings of cranberries and popcorn.  I had eggnog and cookies decorated with sprinkles, so I guess Christmas is officially here.

Bull and Bear Market.

On Sunday, I volunteered at the Bull and Bear Market at the Invisible Dog in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn. I have been doing some public relations help for the organizers, Recession Art, and although the day was very rainy and cut down on our crowds, it went really well and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. As you can see in the picture, it was in a huge industrial loft space and was decorated with lights and a Christmas tree made from belts. There was also music on ukuleles and keyboards, gingerbread shantytown building, an abundance of sweets, and wine. At the end, our mascots Bull and Bear destroyed a pinata full of candy.

Dinosaurs in a shop window, for some reason. I like the one with the cowboy hat.

I made a decision this week to extend my stay in Oklahoma from December 29 to January 3, so that I could spend some more time with family and friends out West and see the Flaming Lips New Year’s Eve concert. Or, as it’s officially called, the Flaming Lips New Year’s Eve FREAKOUT, which promises balloons, crazy Okie fans, and a cover of Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon. So I’m pretty excited. Better start learning the words to those new Embryonic songs now.

Christmas trees at Macy's.

I spent three days this week temping at a marketing company, where I just had to answer the phone and open the door for people, maybe sign for a couple of packages. Oh, and I solved the crisis of the milk shortage by ordering more, but that was the extent of my troubles. Next week I’m going back to the very important film studio, where I hope to avoid the wrath of any very important film executives. And then on December 21 I’m flying to Oklahoma City, on a very early 6 am flight. I might just have to not sleep that night and get a car at an obscene hour.

Christmas tree at Macy's and the Empire State Building.

I happened to go by Macy’s on my way to an interview and saw their window displays. One has creepy puppets acting out the Miracle on 34th Street film, the version from hell where everyone has looks of horror and despair permanently slapped across their faces and their arms hang stiffly far below their knees. Apparently these are up every year, so maybe this was the height of puppetry when they were first built. Because they were nothing compared to the high tech animatronics that were in the other windows in a nightmare that was a mix of Disneyworld and a casino. There was some sort of “Write Letters to Santa” station that at first glance looked like a slot machine and then windows with a vortex of swirling letters accompanied by an ominous Santa voice, cackling elves,  and clanking mail sorting machines, all in colors out of an LSD trip.

Entrance to Green-Wood Cemetery.

On Thursday, Elizabeth came to see my new apartment and we sampled some of the Mexican food in the area. It wasn’t exactly vegetarian friendly, but I did have a papaya smoothie that was delicious. Yes, I realize that it’s freezing outside and even now my fingers are cold, but I refuse to give up my smoothies. We walked a little around my neighborhood and stepped into the Green-Wood Cemetery, which has the gorgeous entrance in the picture above. I feel like there should be a good name for the area I’m living in with its proximity to the cemetery and all the funeral parlors. The District of Death? Tomb Town? I don’t know, I’ll need help on this. And I think that any names I think of would drive developers away.

Borough Hall in Brookln, ready for the holidays.

Yesterday I had a promising job interview and training for next week’s temp job. I recently finished reading one of the best books I’ve read in a long time: A Death in the Family by James Agee. It barely had any plot, but the writing was perfect, more like a long poem than a novel. I could open it up to any page and get absorbed in the imagery. Apparently it was published posthumously and went on to win the Pulitzer. Right now I’m reading On Beauty by Zadie Smith, which is an easy subway book. Although I’m really enjoying it and find it very entertaining, it seems like the same characters from White Teeth.

Today I went for a run around the Green-Wood Cemetery, although this time I didn’t try to make it around the entire perimeter. While running back down the hill to my apartment, the Statue of Liberty comes into view just above a smokestack before disappearing into the smoke. Four months into living in New York and I’m still mesmerized by the way the city hides and then suddenly reveals its icons.

My new bedroom in my new apartment.

I just spent the day temping at a marketing place that represents brands and people. Right next to my desk, there was a TV that played the same five Lady Gaga music videos in a continuous loop. I’m listening to all the catchy music in my iTunes library in the hopes that I don’t have to fall asleep with a mash up of all five spinning in my head. I’m going back to the same position tomorrow. I hope I get to hear a new artist.

Anyway, I’m sure you want to know about the new apartment in south Brooklyn. I’m really liking it so far, and have started to adjust from the hip Williamsburg to more family-oriented Park Slope. Above, you can see my new bedroom with its wood floors, exposed bricks, and white moldings on the walls. Sorry for the clutter, I’m still finding a place for everything.

Other side of my new bedroom.

And above is the other side of my bedroom. There’s also an alcove to the right where the door is, so I actually have a lot of space. I got the wardrobe for free when the girl who was moving out couldn’t fit it down the stairs. So far, I haven’t had to buy any furniture in New York. It’s kind of awesome. Now if only some warm clothing could come about in that way, although I wouldn’t trust picking up any fabrics from the streets for fear of bedbugs.

My neighbor, the dog.

There’s a cute dog that lives below my window and I haven’t heard him bark once. It’s mostly pretty quiet here, and the only noises are other tenants walking up the stairs and occasionally I feel the floor tremble as a subway train goes beneath us.

My neighbors, the cats.

There is also a group of cats that lives on the roof across from my window. I thought it was nice of them to all pose for this picture.

View from my window.

I can also see a church from my window. I found that there is a church with almost the exact same steeple as I was running around Green-Wood Cemetery. I was running the exterior of the cemetery, outside of the gates, and underestimated how big it was and how many turns I would take before I made it back. I saw a green steeple like this at one point and was getting my hopes up about almost being back, when I saw that the street signs still kept me many blocks away. Apparently, Green-Wood is 478 acres, so no wonder it seemed to go on forever. I’ll be doing some exploring in it soon, too.

Kitchen in my new apartment.

The kitchen in the apartment is a pretty big size by New York City standards. I got a ton of  my old kitchen things from my mom and brother over Thanksgiving, and it was fun to unpack them again. In my last apartment, I really only had a coffee cup to my name. Being that I’m in the South Park Slope/North Sunset Park area, I have a lot of grocery store options, including some Mexican and Vietnamese places. This is an improvement from the gourmet-only stores in Williamsburg.

Our spartan living room.

We’re a little short on decorations in the apartment right now, so I might pick up some things while in Oklahoma City for Christmas. This is our living room, and the sliding doors go to my roommate’s room. There’s a hallway between the living room and my room and the kitchen where there is the bathroom, which is almost as big as my bedroom. It’s very nice to have so much space, but even better is having privacy. I feel like in New York, you’re with huge masses of people all the time, that it’s important to be able to come home and have some solitude.

View of Manhattan from our roof.

Maybe the best part is the view from the roof, where you can see all of Manhattan. It’s even better at night.

This evening, I went to see Patty’s dad speak at the library about his book Dissection: Photographs of a Rite of Passage in American Medicine 1880-1930. Ah, to have a book on Amazon. Someday, maybe. Anyway, it was really interesting look at how medical students would take portraits done with the cadavers they were dissecting. It was fascinating to see men with bowler hats cradling flayed flesh in bare hands, or posing playfully with cigarettes jammed in the warped cadaver lips. Afterward, we ate at an Italian restaurant in Greenwich Village where I had penne with zucchini, walnuts, and gorgonzola cheese.

I’m going to sleep early to prepare for more temping. Well, early by my standards.

Inside the Metropolitan Opera at Lincoln Center.

This week has been full of music. I started on Monday with the free dress rehearsal of Les Contes d’Hoffmann by Jacques Offenbach at the Metropolitan Opera. Our seats were way up at the top balcony, but how can I complain about seeing one of the best opera companies in the world at no charge? And it was an incredible show, although it turned out to be a four hour commitment. Most of the other people there were retirees that had brought miniature bottles of red wine and sandwiches for the two intermissions, whereas Sean and I just had one scone to sustain us. The production itself was stunning and half the fun was seeing what new set and costumes were going to be unveiled next. There was a giant rotating dragon, a gondola rowing across the stage, a horde of umbrellas decorated with giant eyes, even a skeleton dressed in a top hat that wandered in the background. The details were incredible, even from the top balcony. The lead, Joseph Calleja, took a break after the first act due to a cold (saving himself for this week’s premiere), but even in one act his voice got ingrained in my head. The understudy wasn’t bad, but it was unfortunate that there was a reprise of one of the first songs at the end for comparison.The whole thing was in French, although I wasn’t able to understand anything as this was opera, but there were cool subtitle screens on the seats that made it easy to follow.

The plot was a little insane, but I’ll try to sum it up. As the translation of the French title is The Tales of Hoffmann, the plot is the story of Hoffmann’s three loves. Or rather, people he loves, as none of the women reciprocates. And each is more tragic for Hoffmann than the last. The first, Olympia, turns out to be a robot. The second, Antonia, is an artist with a bad heart and dies when the ghost of her mother comes and encourages her to sing. The third, Giulietta, is a prostitute who steals Hoffmann’s reflection. And throughout all these stories, Hoffmann is accompanied by his muse in disguise and is followed by a nemesis who is played by the same actor in different characters. The villain was my favorite. Played by Alan Held, he had this ridiculously evil laugh each time he entered the stage. But the whole cast was really incredible. I don’t know much about opera, and honestly hadn’t much enjoyed my previous opera experiences, but I would totally see this again. I’m going to have to keep my eye out for future free dress rehearsal tickets. You can see some clips from Les Contes d’Hoffmann in this YouTube interview with the director, Bartlett Sher.

Live floral arranging at Japan Brand.

That evening, after packing up my apartment, we visited the holiday market in Union Square and had apple cider before going to a Japan Brand event at Felissimo. There were tons of products made in Japan, as well as sake and various Japanese appetizers. The entertainment was live floral arranging that represented the seasons. That’s right, we watched someone arrange flowers and it was actually quite entertaining.

Ticket to the Mountain Goats/Final Fantasy concert.

Tuesday was moving day, which went relatively smooth. I got all my things packed into the van and we made it quickly to my new place, only to find that the girl who was moving out was still there. So, we had to move my things temporarily into the living room, but I don’t have many possessions so it wasn’t a big deal.

That night I went to see the Mountain Goats play at Webster Hall. I had actually seen them once before at Webster Hall, back in March 2008 when I came to visit Elizabeth. It’s not exactly an intimate venue, but they always put on a great show regardless of the space, even if I think the more delicate John Darnielle songs work better in small venues like the Opolis in Norman. I really miss the Opolis sometimes, where people were unfailingly polite, while crammed in a space the size of my current apartment. The crowd was horrible at Webster Hall, or at least the three people I was standing in front of. The whole time they were complaining that they “didn’t sign up for this” and that there wasn’t enough music to dance to and they didn’t recognize the songs. And I was just thinking, why the hell would you pay $25 for a concert for a band you’re not familiar with if you’re not willing to be surprised? And then ruin the experience for everyone around you? It was a much better experience after I moved further back.

Well, back to the music. Final Fantasy was the opener and I was blown away. I was familiar with his music, but hadn’t really thought about how it would be performed live. He recorded each violin part himself, then played them back while adding new strings over them. It was one of the coolest sets I’ve ever seen. This video of “The Butcher” should give you a good idea of his live presence (video is from another concert, not the one I went to).

The Mountain Goats were great as always. I think this was my fourth time seeing them. And it was a nice to surprise to see that they were joined by Perry Owen Wright of the Prayers and Tears of Arthur Digby Sellers. I still regularly listen to The Mother Of Love Emulates The Shapes Of Cynthia and think he is a wonderful musician. I awkwardly interviewed him for a story I wrote for the OU paper way back when I was a young journalism student and the Mountain Goats were doing a show with Prayers and Tears in Norman. I hope he creates a new album and tours again soon.

The Mountain Goats set included tracks from the new album, The Life of the World to Come, as well as older songs like “Going to Georgia,” “Hast Thou Considered the Tetrapod?,” and my favorite, “Against Pollution.” Which actually, I have a recording of Perry Owen Wright singing. God, I hope he doesn’t google himself and think I am insane. Well, enough fangirling, I’ll just say that the show was breathtaking and much needed after a rough fall of unemployment. If you want, there’s a complete set list and great audio of the show at nyctaper. You can also watch a good video from the concert of “Old College Try” on YouTube.

My cousin Sofia made me this welcome sign.

I’m all moved into my apartment, if not completely unpacked. Park Slope has a different vibe than Williamsburg, but I think I will like it here. I need to find a new jogging path now that I’m not living next to the running track. I’m starting to get oriented, as I took the subway to Target, Ikea, and Trade Joe’s today for supplies. I’ll post pictures of the new place later. Last Wednesday, I flew to San Antonio, Texas to celebrate Thanksgiving with my family and relatives. The trip to La Guardia from my apartment went smoothly and the car I’d requested showed up on time. Actually, it was two minutes late and the driver was really apologetic. I wish I could take cars more often. After a transfer in the fancy Dallas airport where you can use a credit card in the vending machines, I was landing in San Antonio and was greeted at the airport by my dad and brother. We then drove to my aunt, uncle, and three cousins’ house where I was formally welcomed by the above sign that Sofia made. The rest of my family only got their initials added at the top.

New part of the Riverwalk.

It was good to spend Thanksgiving in Texas, as I wasn’t able to come back to the States from France last year. It was such a nice change to be away from New York and the subway rides. I know I shouldn’t, but I do miss driving. I miss the ability to just drive anywhere you want, wherever you want. To have the freedom to drive all the way to Canada or Mexico if you wanted.

Fish installation at the Riverwalk.

That first night we walked along the newest section of the Riverwalk, where they had cool art installations under each overpass. I especially liked the above illuminated fish, which were suspended over the water. As the sun set we watched the bats fly out from under the bridge. Nature is something else I miss in New York. I remember a few weeks ago I was walking in Union Square and saw all these people gathered below a tree, flashing their cameras. I turned out there was a frazzled eagle perched there, feathers loose on its head. I feel lucky that I was able to grow up somewhere so close to nature that sometimes there would be a deer wandering in the street, a possum under the porch, or a fox at the tennis court.

Black Crowned Crane at the San Antonio Zoo.

The next day was Thanksgiving, and one of our family traditions is participating in a morning race. I only started running this fall, so I was wary about trying to run a 5K, as I had yet to run a mile in one go. However, my mom convinced me so we walked down to the Turkey Challenge. When the race started, we kept a steady pace and I was shocked to see the mile market appear before I was even tired. So I ran my first mile! We took a short walking break and started running again and the second mile marker appeared soon after. I think we took one more walking break before running the rest. My time came in at 36:57, which I don’t think is bad at all for my first 5K. My goal was to run a mile by the end of the year, so I guess that is accomplished.

Lorikeet at the San Antonio Zoo.

That afternoon we visited the San Antonio Zoo and saw many excellent birds and beasts, including the most giant hippopotamus that I’ve ever seen.

Lion hiding at the San Antonio Zoo.

After the visit to the zoo, we had Thanksgiving dinner, which was delicious and had many vegetarian-friendly side dishes, as well as a pumpkin pie.

Praying mantis wearing a scarf at the San Antonio Botanical Garden.

The next day we visited the San Antonio Botanical Garden, where they had these giant wooden insects displayed throughout the park. I loved the addition of a holiday scarf to this praying mantis. That afternoon we visited my great-aunt, who I hadn’t seen in a long time. That night we went to the River Parade, where boats decorated with holiday lights and blasting Christmas music cruised down the Riverwalk.

Cacti at Government Canyon.

On my last day, we took a hike in Government Canyon and saw many cacti and risked twisted ankles on rocky paths. I think this was my first time to be out of hearing distance of a car horn in quite a while. It also made me miss how I would go to a new place almost every weekend while in France. I should try to take some train trips out of the city.

Government Canyon seen from the top of the trail.

The next day I got to the airport early and flew back to NYC. I yet again got a cab driver who had no clue where Williamsburg was. I knew the right exit to take and was looking around at the buildings to orient myself when he pulled out an iPhone and was putting in the address. He asked me whether we were in Brooklyn or Queens, which made me want to scream. Anyway, we turned out to be a block away and I was soon dragging my suitcase up the stairs. Unfortunately, my suitcase got a broken wheel, but I guess it’s five years old and has been a lot of places. I also broke the zipper on my coat last night. Why??? Well, after leaving all my broken things in my apartment I met up with Elizabeth for falafel in the East Village and we compared our Texas Thanksgivings. I guess it’s officially the holiday season now. Time for my traditional last minute gift buying.

There is going to be a slight delay in blogging as I move from my apartment in Williamsburg to a new place in Park Slope. I’m all packed and the movers are coming by tomorrow. In the meantime, I have a few photos from San Antonio on my flickr and I’ll be posting about that, as well as recent NYC adventures, as soon as I can!

Robot with some other street art in SoHo.

Tomorrow, for the first time since I arrived in August, I will be leaving New York. I’m flying to San Antonio to celebrate Thanksgiving with my family and am looking forward to some warm Texas weather and a break from the subways and crowds. I’m a little nervous to be traveling from one of the busiest airports in the country on one of the busiest travel days of the year, but I’m charging my iPod and have a good book, so I’m ready. Speaking of books, I just finished reading Dead Souls by Nikolai Gogol. I had no idea until I got to the last page that the book apparently ends mid-sentence, as Gogol destroyed the rest of it. It was kind of anticlimactic.

A mix of SoHo things: graffiti, old ads, and a copy of a Michaelangelo.

Last Saturday, Elizabeth and I attempted to watch the OU football game, but it was another depressing match and we didn’t make it all the way through. Instead, we walk to Union Square, where we had falafel and then bought delicious apple ciders from the green market. The market is almost entirely apples now, as there is not much else in the way of November produce. We then walked to SoHo and perused the stores, both thrift and fancy.

The Brooklyn Bridge, as seen from DUMBO.

On Sunday, I met up with Christina, who is from Denmark, but is doing a university project in New York. We walked around Williamsburg and got bagels and then got to train down to DUMBO. There is already a drastic temperature difference between the parts of Brooklyn near the wind off the harbor and those far from it. I don’t know if I would want to be anywhere near DUMBO in the cold of winter. But we’ve been having rather nice weather lately, so it wasn’t too bad.

Flea market in DUMBO.

We looked at an art book store; apparently nude male photography is really popular right now, as that was the subject of every other book. There was also an unsettling book of child beauty pageant participants. We also visited the green market and the flea market, going on beneath the Brooklyn Bridge.

Pizza oven at the flea market in DUMBO.

All the food at the flea market was tempting, but we decided to try the Salvadorean pupusas. We shared an order with one that was spinach and cheese and the other which was zucchini, served with cream and chilies. They were absolutely amazing, and we ate them with a view of the sun setting next to the Statue of Liberty.

I’ll be posting of Texas adventures soon. Happy Thanksgiving!

The Gates bar in Chelsea.

The move to my new apartment is creeping up on me. I realized that tonight might have been the last time I visit the laundromat I use in Greenpoint and it made me weirdly sentimental. I know that no matter how long I live in New York, I’ll always remember vividly my first place in the city. I’ll miss seeing the colored lights of the Empire State Building when I unlock the front door at night and the silhouette of the Orthodox church. I’ll miss the sound of skateboarders outside the window and the view of the abandoned McCarren Pool that makes me feel like I’m in Eastern Europe. But I’m already looking forward to the roof with a view of Manhattan and a bedroom with a door.

This week I worked on some freelance writing, including two stories for a Greenpoint/Williamsburg newspaper on a butcher shop and a pet spa. As a vegetarian with no pets, I don’t know if I was the most qualified to cover those things, but then again I write about contemporary art almost every week and I’m in no way a contemporary artist. The butcher shop interview was a little awkward, and I tried to hide my repulsion as a 92-year-old man described to me how he used to cut apart a whole cow with a bowie knife. Anyway, I also attended a couple of parties. One was on Tuesday at The Gates, a lounge in Chelsea created from the salvaged interior of the Biltmore Room that was originally in the old Biltmore Hotel. The space was gorgeous and sumptuous, although the lighting wasn’t working with my camera, but you can see a much better picture here. Apparently the marble walls are worth $2.5 million dollars and the place itself was barely marked and guarded with some gates and even a gatekeeper. I felt like I was getting into an exclusive club, even though once inside I couldn’t afford a drink. The party was in honor of the release of the book Going Rouge. As you might guess from the title, this is a counter to the new Sarah Palin book and it examines “the nightmarish prospect of her continuing to dominate the nation’s political scene.” The party was attended by two Sarah Palin look-a-likes, one of whom read some of Palin’s “poetry.” After the party, we headed to the much, much less glamorous Dallas BBQ, where we could afford giant sugary margaritas that could only be served in a restaurant referencing Texas.

Radio City Music Hall with its Christmas tree.

On Wednesday, I woke up to a call from the temp agency with a one-day position. Eager to earn a bit of money, I took it and scrambled into all the Ann Taylor clothes I own and jumped on the subway. It turned out this was a rather famous film studio where I was temping, and one I will not name, just in case I ever want to write a screenplay or work in Hollywood someday. It also turns out that I was working the reception desk right outside the office of the very important founder of the film studio. The instructions for the job were basic: answer the phone, transfer calls (which I did with varying degrees of success), and greet people who came in. Except, I was not supposed to greet the founder, just smile. And in case my trainer wasn’t clear, that instruction was typed and printed on a manual in front of me. I was worried, because although he’s a “very famous film studio founder” I had absolutely no clue what he looked like. But we he stepped off the elevator with two minions I instantly knew, and his eyes only glanced at me once with uninterested sneering before he retreated into his office. All day people ran in and out of his office in a frenzy, and scripts for movies that are being released right now kept coming and going from my desk. There seemed to be about 30 interns, one of whom told me with absolutely no irony that he was interning there until he “makes it big.” Most everyone who came into the office returned my receptionist greetings with a sigh and I answered a few depressing calls, one from a mother who was desperately trying to get someone to look at her daughter’s art portfolio. On the bright side, I’m starting to think a book about my first year in New York might be interesting if I keep getting temp jobs like this.

Ice skating rink at Rockefeller Plaza.

After a day experiencing the stress of life at a very important film studio, I met up with a couple of friends at Rockefeller Plaza for another book release party at Anthropologie, where there was free champagne and hors d’oeuvres. This one was for the release of a book from Elle Decor. I also enjoyed watching the ice skaters in the Rockefeller rink, some showing off and spinning in circles and others attempting to walk on their skates, causing them to tumble backwards like planks of wood onto the ice. The big Christmas tree hasn’t been unveiled yet and was still covered in scaffolding, but the crystal Swarovski star that’s going to top it was displayed nearby. I’m sure the tree lighting ceremony is insane, but I’ll definitely stop by once it is in its full splendor.

I made the mistake of discovering that there are quite a few “Best of the 2000’s” music lists being blogged, and I’m busy catching up on music I missed while I start to organize my things for packing. I’m also looking forward to going to San Antonio next week for Thanksgiving. Being in New York, it’s almost like the rest of the world doesn’t exist in a weird way, and I’m ready to drink some more Texas margaritas and see my family. I feel like end 2009 is going to be a blur as New York gets taken over by Holiday craziness. While the developing New Yorker in me will complain, the Oklahoma girl is excited to see the pretty lights in the big city.