In the news

I don't have internet or TV, and haven't been keeping up with the news, but today I did some laundry, and picked up a copy of The Times while my quarters went to work. I sat on a chair in the sun and read about the shooting at Fort Hood, the Health Care reform passing in the House, people living in poverty directly on top of enormous oil fields in Iraq--these were all in the front section--in the other sections we had stories about "the decline and fall of the bachelor pad" in NYC, 40 pages in the Auto section, some sprawling story about Sesame Street or Big Bird, etc. In between these stories were ads about the Yankees recent victory, music events and real estate.

If you take a train from Brooklyn and get off up in the Bronx, it's like reading the weekend Times. You see so many things that are so different that you get weary just from traveling across that spectrum--from weighty and interesting to trite and airy--and then back again. It's hard to see things that you dislike existing so close to the things that you think are more important. fashion should go to hell. hell should leave the people alone.

And what do you do about it?

You update a blog and make split pea soup. yep, that's definitely what you do.

new place + lost in the bronx

Welp-

I will finally be moving out of this 70 sq ft piece of garbage room and into my own apartment. I found a small 1 bdrm apartment in Astoria, Queens, which is quite a great place, I do say. Hopefully next weekend I will be up early on Saturday with a Uhaul van moving my stuff and getting furniture. Right now the only things in the apartment are a refrigerator and a bed, but I am so proud that I forced myself to by a shower curtain for the bathroom, which I would normally put off doing for a good while. I doubt there are many people on earth who hate shopping for home decor more than I do, but since I'm going to be the one living there, and will have to show it to people, I'm going to attempt to make my own home respectably decorated, organized, etc.

For the most part, I haven't had too much trouble finding my way around. But I often, and far too consistently get lost in the Bronx. We finally got a GPS in the cars last week, but before that I was driving around and getting stuck in traffic with way too many things left to do, and not enough time to do them. Wait, that's the job no matter what, but it makes it worse if you discover that you accidentally crossed the Triborough Bridge into Queens when you have a clients blood you had just drawn, which is only good for a certain amount of time--that is not fun.

Also, I am trying to decide whether I want to get a TV or internet in my place. I'm thinking that I won't. But maybe I'll give in.

that's all

crackers in my bed

So I made the mistake of trying to open an already opened box of wheat thins while laying on my bed last week. I was planning to eat them while continuing to lay there for two very good reasons: 1) I can do whatever I want, and 2) It's one of two places in my room where I can comfortably eat.

After opening the wrong side and wrestling with the package, I came to realize that crackers and crumbs were spilling all over me and my sheets. This was both amusing and frustrating, as I have a history of bed-food incidents, not only with crackers, but also scalding hot tea, a milkshake, a subway foot long, and most notably a candy bar (imagine scene from Godfather where man finds horse's head in his sheets and substitute horse for chocolate and almonds). Please refrain from making the obvious suggestion here, people. The point is that I have a problem; a food-in-my-bed-problem, and I hate to admit it, but the crumbs are not all gone because I forgot to wash my sheets last weekend. It's not the worst problem ever. You know what a worse problem is? Trying to figure out how a person on SSI should shop for healthy food in Harlem. You know what an even worse problem is? Being the person who has diabetes and mental illness and trying to figure out how to eat healthy and manage your weight on SSI while getting mugged semi-frequently. I mean, this guy might want crackers in his bed, right?

In other news:
President Obama was in NYC today, and apparently he was at The Met tonight, which is right near my place, and is along the route that I run on the way to the glory that is central park. Anyway, you wouldn't believe the amount of police officers who were around The Met. I literally saw more cops than people, which is significant, but the things is that they were all just standing in groups of two or more...just talking...getting paid. It made me resent police officers and our 44th president for requiring so much attention. I think NYC is rubbing off on me as I was annoyed by such a slight inconvenience. Or maybe it was the fact that, uh, THEY WEREN'T DOING ANYTHING!! I hope they all spill cracker crumbs on their sheets.

In alternative news:
I went to a Yankees game a couple weeks ago and spent way too much on a burrito and got semi-soaked, but also saw derek jeter surpass Lou gehrig's (sp?) as all-time hits leader.

Tetris and the Compassion Rebellion

You know when you are about to lose at tetris, and you start to panic and think, "oh, sh**, oh sh**" as the blocks seem to be coming faster and the rows move higher quicker? Well, I was born playing a brand new, beginner level tetris game. If you are born into poverty and have a mental illness, an abusive past, a poor education, addictions, no support, no dignity, are treated without respect, are sometimes given bread but never roses, are surrounded by violence, live in a society that is individualistic and calloused, well...I started out talking about tetris, but now I don't think a computer game is an appropriate analogy, but, you get the idea. Oh, sh**, oh sh**, you're f***ed (unless someone is willing to stand by you with a pocket full of quarters, patience, encouragement and teaching) this is just the way it seems to be. And most people don't spend a lot of time in arcades...I know I don't.

Upcoming events this week:
1) ultimate frisbee in central park
2) yankees game
3) will either give myself a haircut or pay for one
4) not writing another blog

Also, I will be composing a list of things that kill your soul. Feel free to comment on your own "soul-killers". I have two for you:
1) standing in line. this is just the worst ever!!!!!!
2) Shopping/thinking about stores like American Apparel- save your soul. don't do this.

PS- This is called blogventing (which is a term i just created). No need to comment or analyze. Just let it happen. Pictures to follow someday.
PPS- I found this link to be pretty simple way of presenting our health care problem in America

Where I work and Where I live

Having a combined first week in New York/new job was a little daunting at the outset, but it didn't end up being so bad. My only complaint is that I sweat profusely every time I go outside, and I don't have much space to myself when I get back home. Other than that, everything's good. I live about 5 min from the subway and have only a 10min ride to work everyday. I get off at 125th st. (Martin Luther King Jr. blvd) and walk about 4 blocks to my office. My office is in the heart of Harlem, and the sights on the way (disclaimer: I've only been here 1 week) I liken to something from a developing nation rather than someplace 15 min from Prada stores. I could talk a lot about my job, and the people I've met already, but I don't really feel like it. Just know that my job is fantastic, and I still internally chuckle at how I ended up here.

Tangent: I chuckled out loud on my first day of work as I walked along Martin Luther King Jr. blvd to the cross street, Malcom X blvd, where the main pathways office is located. My decisions keep leading me into situations where I don't really belong, but they make for good stories. Being from Spokane(=white), I found this scenario to be novel and quite amusing. They say that if you can make yourself laugh, then you will live about 10 years longer. Notice the irony in the fact that I made myself laugh by moving to Harlem, and therefore increased my life expectancy, which is really bucking a few trends, and that is also funny. Now if I can just steer clear of any "drug-deals-gone-bad" when I visit clients, I should be good well into my eighties.

anyway:
I really like my job, and my co-workers. I like the diversity here and the ridiculous amount of restaurants and models. I walk in central park most days, and went to the American Museum of Natural History about 30 min ago. All is good here. Now if I can just find where the cockroaches hid my wallet and keys...

232 E 78th NY, NY

Ok, so I'm here. I live in NYC now. I never planned to be living 4 blocks from Central Park, but oh well. I will post a link to a site I will be uploading pictures to. More later.


http://www.flickr.com/photos/63576705@N00/