HAPPY FRIDAY OUT THERE!
This is way cool. I ride the 6 train (subway) to and from work every day and the other day when I sat down I found myself engulfed, and thoroughly entertained....and I'm not talking about the people who sing for money. I used to think that was sooooooooooo cool when I first moved here, but now it's just plain annoying.
Okay, so I sat down and across from me was a young guy (about my age) in shorts and a t-shirt. He was Asian and had a Louie Vuitton "man bag" (actually pretty much every guy carries some sort of bag with them here, usually ones messenger style where the straps lay across the body and the bag sits at their hip or behind....it's just practical since we don't have cars to keep our sh$#%t in). So, he sat there with his headphones in his ears and now the cool part......and a Rubik's Cube in his hands. I found myself drawn to watching him rapidly twist the cube in all directions. When as I looked around, I noticed that I wasn't the only one intrigued......like the whole train was watching him. This guy twisted and turned around and about this colorful cube so dang fast!!!!! He was doing it so fast, and so nonchalantly....like he just sat kickin it listening to his music, moving the cube, and looking down at it every few seconds. I wasn't sure if he had some methodical plan in the way he moved the pieces, or if he was just playing around with it, passing time as he rode the train.
Then low and behold, and to the excitement of us all, he solved it! The kid next to me yelled out...."he solved it!" However, the guy (whom I must note had just achieved a dire feat that many of us had spent hours in the 80's trying to accomplish, but all we really did was accomplish getting ourselves frustrated to no end) didn't even blink an eye!! He just kept on moving the cube at rapid pace. I mean, the guy didn't even pause for effect nor take a second to look at the thing to see it all lined up. I mean...I would have held this thing up in the air and let the Angels come down with a ray of light displaying my cube....but no.......just another ride on the subway for this guy, and for us.
Now that was cool.
Friday, August 28, 2009
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Tales of a Starving Waitress
Hello! Happy Day to everyone!
So the other night I went out with a friend for dinner. We traveled over to the infamous Greenwich Village to explore and find some good eats. After walking around a bit (there are lots to see in this eclectic area of NYC) we decided on a stylish and welcoming place called 1849 on Bleeker St. They are known for their wings...and many of you reading this know how much I LOOOOVE me some good wings!
The set up of the place is much like many others here in which it's narrow and long. The bar was in the back of the restaurant and in the front was a sitting area. On one side there are a line of cozy lounge chairs (much like the ones at The Old Spaghetti Factory for those of you who can relate) and on the other side is a line of wooden tables against the wall. So, me and my homeboy had dinner, and drinks, and enjoyed these fabulous wings all at the bar. When we were ready to leave he excused himself to use the facilities and I proceeded to get up and sit in one of those cozy lounge chairs that I had been eyeing.
So I go and sit and almost immediately this tiny thing of a waitress comes over and says to me that that area is for dining only and that I'm not allowed to sit there. Okay.....I move. Oh....and it should also be noted that amongst the about 40 or so tables, there were probably like 3 of them occupied.
I move over to one of the wooden tables to sit, drink the rest of my beer, and wait for my friend. This waitress comes over again. I think she's coming to apologize for snipping at me.....no....she says again that those tables as well are for people who are only there for dinner and again, I have to move. Now I'm getting pissed. I tell her that I had just finished dining at the bar and am simply sitting here for a minute to wait for my friend to come out of the bathroom. "What", I said, "I spent money here and bought a meal, but just because I didn't eat in your station I can't sit down?" Guess not...she tells me I have to get up.
So I go back to the bar and my friend comes back. I said, "Ohhhhhh..... do I have something to tell you." "What?" "It's cool," I say, "let's just leave and I'll tell you outside." So we walk out of the restaurant and just as we are doing so the girl walks right past us....I couldn't resist. I looked her dead in the face and said, "Have a nice night Bitch."
She follows us arms up a-blaring and once we get outside on the other side of the bouncer/doorman, she stands on the other side of him pointing at me and telling him not to let me back in EVER. I just look at her and blurt, "Oh come on....why don't you go back to night school and get yourself a real job. "
She huffed away and I tell the bouncer, and of course he apologizes, all the while flexing his cheeks doing his best not to burst out laughing. He then turns around to look and see where I had "tried" to sit; seeing now that ALL of the tables are empty.
Well.......that's another night in the Big Apple for ya. We all know the economy's bad, but geezzzzz how desperate for money can a girl get?
So the other night I went out with a friend for dinner. We traveled over to the infamous Greenwich Village to explore and find some good eats. After walking around a bit (there are lots to see in this eclectic area of NYC) we decided on a stylish and welcoming place called 1849 on Bleeker St. They are known for their wings...and many of you reading this know how much I LOOOOVE me some good wings!
The set up of the place is much like many others here in which it's narrow and long. The bar was in the back of the restaurant and in the front was a sitting area. On one side there are a line of cozy lounge chairs (much like the ones at The Old Spaghetti Factory for those of you who can relate) and on the other side is a line of wooden tables against the wall. So, me and my homeboy had dinner, and drinks, and enjoyed these fabulous wings all at the bar. When we were ready to leave he excused himself to use the facilities and I proceeded to get up and sit in one of those cozy lounge chairs that I had been eyeing.
So I go and sit and almost immediately this tiny thing of a waitress comes over and says to me that that area is for dining only and that I'm not allowed to sit there. Okay.....I move. Oh....and it should also be noted that amongst the about 40 or so tables, there were probably like 3 of them occupied.
I move over to one of the wooden tables to sit, drink the rest of my beer, and wait for my friend. This waitress comes over again. I think she's coming to apologize for snipping at me.....no....she says again that those tables as well are for people who are only there for dinner and again, I have to move. Now I'm getting pissed. I tell her that I had just finished dining at the bar and am simply sitting here for a minute to wait for my friend to come out of the bathroom. "What", I said, "I spent money here and bought a meal, but just because I didn't eat in your station I can't sit down?" Guess not...she tells me I have to get up.
So I go back to the bar and my friend comes back. I said, "Ohhhhhh..... do I have something to tell you." "What?" "It's cool," I say, "let's just leave and I'll tell you outside." So we walk out of the restaurant and just as we are doing so the girl walks right past us....I couldn't resist. I looked her dead in the face and said, "Have a nice night Bitch."
She follows us arms up a-blaring and once we get outside on the other side of the bouncer/doorman, she stands on the other side of him pointing at me and telling him not to let me back in EVER. I just look at her and blurt, "Oh come on....why don't you go back to night school and get yourself a real job. "
She huffed away and I tell the bouncer, and of course he apologizes, all the while flexing his cheeks doing his best not to burst out laughing. He then turns around to look and see where I had "tried" to sit; seeing now that ALL of the tables are empty.
Well.......that's another night in the Big Apple for ya. We all know the economy's bad, but geezzzzz how desperate for money can a girl get?
Sunday, August 23, 2009
NY so far
So I moved here in March 2009 without a place to live or a job. It had been something I'd wanted to do ever since college and one day I just had to go for it. And boy am I glad I did!
It's been rocky....and ugly.....and hard, but everything seems to be falling into place now. I finally found a decent job (it's my third attempt) and a great apartment all to myself! Well, my two little ones Pierre and Charlette live here too. :-)
The first apartment I lived in was in the East Village. That's a more edgy place in the city. They film a lot of movies/shows there and have a big gay population. People were friendly, and interesting, and dress pretty funky and stylish. It's an area where I hardly ever saw any kids and most of the bars allow you to bring in your dogs! It's a trip.....all these little dogs running around the bar. Very nice. I liked it.
The East Village is very expensive and the apartments are super small. When my roommate told me he was leaving NY, I had to start my search for one bedrooms there. Wow. You hear about it, but nothing takes the place of you actually standing in what is called a "bedroom" when it's clearly not even large enough for a twin size mattress to fit on the floor!
The biggest thing about the East Village (besides St. Marks....which is a way funky spunky street that I'll talk about later) is the huge existence of night life. There is seriously bars and restaurants on every corner and like four on every street. All pretty much tavern or art-y like with cool chalkboard signs out front announcing their drink specials. Oh, and don't forget the doggies in them just sitting there waiting to greet you.
But now I live in the Upper East Side. The area of NYC that is referred to as very residential, (where people live with families and lots of strollers) and is very very very posh. Every morning I walk up 77th street to the 6 train (I'm talking about the subway, but for some reason New Yorkers always call it "the train.") and wonder if Louie Vuitton has announced hault of further production. Every woman is a size two, dressed plain and preppy, and carrying a Louie of some sort. Well actually many of them are the same sort. And every morning when I see this I wonder are these women really happy or are they just being what they're supposed to be.....boring??
Another super wonderful thing about this area is how super fricken nice, courteous, giving, and respectful the businesses and residents are. Let me tell you. No one I've met at all has shown me anything other than genuine kindness and complete lack of being stuck on themselves. Okay I'm kidding.
I have 3 experiences to demonstrate this. First, one Saturday night I went out here with some friends to a karaoke bar. I had just sang and a guy came up to me to say hello. We sat at the bar talking and laughing. Making conversation, I asked where he lived. He told me Brooklyn...oh....I said...."I feel so lucky. I found this huge apartment here. I just moved and only live a block away." His reaction, and I quote, "I'm not going to go home and sleep with you." Uhhh....okay. Just trying to be friendly buddy. You might think he was making a joke; no. He proceeded to rant about how all these women he meets always just want to take him home for sex. Alrightly then......
My second example is equally weird. A few weeks ago I wanted to go get a beer after work. I walked around my neighborhood looking for signs outside places displaying their drink specials (I had become accustomed to this from living in the East Village) and I found one that said $2 Domestic Drafts. So I went in and asked the female bartender what beers it included. She said..."Oh no...our beers are $4." I told her about the sign and she said another bartender must had written that and again insisted they were $4. Okay....after another attempt to explain this to her (pointing at the sign none-the-less) she exclaimed "Okay...I'll give you ONE for $2 but that's all." She was doing me a favor after-all.
And now number three.........I've needed to do my laundry for about a month now...so I walked all around my new neighborhood looking for a Laundromat or Wash and Fold (that's a cleaners that does for you exactly as it sounds) that looked appealing. They are everywhere! Wash and Folds that is. So I settled on one around the corner on 77th and 2nd because it had a big red sign displaying "Wash and Fold Same Day Service 75 cents a pound." This is good....everywhere else is like a buck a pound. So yesterday I dropped off my goods. When I went and picked it up, the guy rang it up at 85 cents a pound. I, again pointing at the sign, spoke out. He said, "No .85 cents." I said "Sir...you have 2 large signs posted that say 75 cents and that is why I went here rather than anywhere else." "No. 85 cents." Well then, I said "you should change your sign." "Oh no....I don't need to change my sign. 85 cents."
So what has this new New Yorker learned so far????.....Well, a lot. And I'll continue to.........and I'll continue to write it all down for you to enjoy and comment on..........just know that I don't care that you live just down the street......... because I'm NOT going to go home and sleep with you! LOL
It's been rocky....and ugly.....and hard, but everything seems to be falling into place now. I finally found a decent job (it's my third attempt) and a great apartment all to myself! Well, my two little ones Pierre and Charlette live here too. :-)
The first apartment I lived in was in the East Village. That's a more edgy place in the city. They film a lot of movies/shows there and have a big gay population. People were friendly, and interesting, and dress pretty funky and stylish. It's an area where I hardly ever saw any kids and most of the bars allow you to bring in your dogs! It's a trip.....all these little dogs running around the bar. Very nice. I liked it.
The East Village is very expensive and the apartments are super small. When my roommate told me he was leaving NY, I had to start my search for one bedrooms there. Wow. You hear about it, but nothing takes the place of you actually standing in what is called a "bedroom" when it's clearly not even large enough for a twin size mattress to fit on the floor!
The biggest thing about the East Village (besides St. Marks....which is a way funky spunky street that I'll talk about later) is the huge existence of night life. There is seriously bars and restaurants on every corner and like four on every street. All pretty much tavern or art-y like with cool chalkboard signs out front announcing their drink specials. Oh, and don't forget the doggies in them just sitting there waiting to greet you.
But now I live in the Upper East Side. The area of NYC that is referred to as very residential, (where people live with families and lots of strollers) and is very very very posh. Every morning I walk up 77th street to the 6 train (I'm talking about the subway, but for some reason New Yorkers always call it "the train.") and wonder if Louie Vuitton has announced hault of further production. Every woman is a size two, dressed plain and preppy, and carrying a Louie of some sort. Well actually many of them are the same sort. And every morning when I see this I wonder are these women really happy or are they just being what they're supposed to be.....boring??
Another super wonderful thing about this area is how super fricken nice, courteous, giving, and respectful the businesses and residents are. Let me tell you. No one I've met at all has shown me anything other than genuine kindness and complete lack of being stuck on themselves. Okay I'm kidding.
I have 3 experiences to demonstrate this. First, one Saturday night I went out here with some friends to a karaoke bar. I had just sang and a guy came up to me to say hello. We sat at the bar talking and laughing. Making conversation, I asked where he lived. He told me Brooklyn...oh....I said...."I feel so lucky. I found this huge apartment here. I just moved and only live a block away." His reaction, and I quote, "I'm not going to go home and sleep with you." Uhhh....okay. Just trying to be friendly buddy. You might think he was making a joke; no. He proceeded to rant about how all these women he meets always just want to take him home for sex. Alrightly then......
My second example is equally weird. A few weeks ago I wanted to go get a beer after work. I walked around my neighborhood looking for signs outside places displaying their drink specials (I had become accustomed to this from living in the East Village) and I found one that said $2 Domestic Drafts. So I went in and asked the female bartender what beers it included. She said..."Oh no...our beers are $4." I told her about the sign and she said another bartender must had written that and again insisted they were $4. Okay....after another attempt to explain this to her (pointing at the sign none-the-less) she exclaimed "Okay...I'll give you ONE for $2 but that's all." She was doing me a favor after-all.
And now number three.........I've needed to do my laundry for about a month now...so I walked all around my new neighborhood looking for a Laundromat or Wash and Fold (that's a cleaners that does for you exactly as it sounds) that looked appealing. They are everywhere! Wash and Folds that is. So I settled on one around the corner on 77th and 2nd because it had a big red sign displaying "Wash and Fold Same Day Service 75 cents a pound." This is good....everywhere else is like a buck a pound. So yesterday I dropped off my goods. When I went and picked it up, the guy rang it up at 85 cents a pound. I, again pointing at the sign, spoke out. He said, "No .85 cents." I said "Sir...you have 2 large signs posted that say 75 cents and that is why I went here rather than anywhere else." "No. 85 cents." Well then, I said "you should change your sign." "Oh no....I don't need to change my sign. 85 cents."
So what has this new New Yorker learned so far????.....Well, a lot. And I'll continue to.........and I'll continue to write it all down for you to enjoy and comment on..........just know that I don't care that you live just down the street......... because I'm NOT going to go home and sleep with you! LOL
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