Hot Town, Summer in the City

My June NYC adventures are being cut short by Israel adventures that will take me through the first week of July.  I am staffing a Taglit Birthright Israel trip for the fourth time, and likely the last being that I am soon entering the world of the employed. This has been a hard month for me.  I've had too much time to think and too much time to indulge in bad habits.  Holding myself accountable to this blog has definitely been helpful, as it has forced me to get out there and do something fun every single day, and forced me to sit and write about it and think about how much I appreciate all these New York experiences I am having.  I look forward to looking back on this blog days, months, and years from now and remembering all the silliness, just like I do with the blog I wrote last summer. But there are bigger things going on with me.  This is one of the most striking transitions I've ever experienced, and it's unique in a lot of ways.  Graduating college was anti-climactic; most of my college experience was about working at Disney, and I still did that post college.  I was stressed about not knowing what I wanted to do with my life, but I did have a job that I loved, and I was moving forward within the company.  Plus, I always knew that some day I would go back to school. Moving to New York was definitely not easy, but it was exciting and full of possibilities. There were moments during that first semester when it seemed so impossible that this would ever feel like home, that I would create a network of friends that would be like my family.  But I still had school and work and a city to discover, so there were clear things laid out for me. My grad school experience meant so much more to me than my college experience, and so graduation was a much more special and moving experience.  But now, there's no clear path ahead of me.  I spent this year creating things that would help define me and my success: finishing my Master's degree, writing a thesis, running a half marathon, working a gazillion jobs...all at the same time.  And now all that is done.  I succeeded...I even surpassed my expectations for myself.  The End. So...now what? Now I have to find new ways of defining myself and of defining what success and happiness means for me at this point.  And I think what I've been struggling with the most has been not really knowing how to make those definitions.  I mean, I know I want a husband and a dog, but I can't possibly be ready for either of those things until I figure out all the other stuff.  I currently lack a strong sense of purpose, a driving force. Leading Birthright trips gives me that sense of purpose.  It couldn't have come at a better time.  I wasn't accepting trips because I felt that I should be here, interviewing and being available for jobs.  But I have some things in the works, and the trip popped up and it was kismet.  This one will be extra special, because while I am there I will be purchasing my first ever tallit (prayer shawl), which I recently decided I wanted to start taking on, as a role model and as a champion of egalitarianism. So as I write this, I officially put an end to the month of trying new things.  That's not to say I'll stop blogging; au contraire, I intend to keep it up.  Every time I do something new, I shall blog the experience for posterity. What this blog helped me to do was to make every day significant.  Even if I had nothing going on, each day was the day I went to Alice's Tea Cup for the first time, or finally went to Coney Island, or whatever it was.  That's a trend I want to keep up: make each day matter. "...the love you take is equal to the love you make." The goodness I take from the world depends on the goodness I put into the world, and the goodness I take from myself depends on the goodness I put into myself.  I have done well with putting goodness into my world; now I need to focus on being good to myself, which seems to be harder for me than it should be.  But...no time like the present to make that change.  Especially when the present is in Israel, the most special place on earth to me, the place that showed me who I was 3.5 years ago, and that has simultaneously kept me grounded and on cloud 9 ever since. PLAYLIST The Beatles - Abbey Road (album)

I actually had planned on going to Coney Island last Saturday, but my friend saw that the Mermaid Parade was this week.  I had vaguely heard of it, and I figured in the name of kitsch appreciation I should postpone the trip to take in this unique offering.  I did absolutely no research on it; it was to be a "go where the wind takes us" Coney Island experience.  This is usually the best way to handle something you anticipate as being utterly absurd, in my vast experience. I've wanted to come to Coney Island since I've moved here, and every time I'd planned to do it there was always some reason not to, be it weird off-season hours or bad weather.  Once I saw it on Girls, I absolutely HAD to go.  I figured it would probably be kind of shitty, but sort of charming, too.  And when I saw that there were streets called Surf Ave and Mermaid Ave, my prediction was looking to be promisingly accurate.

Clearly this is a popular event.

So people are dressed up for the hell of it, or because they are in the parade?  What kind of parade IS this, exactly?

Male pasties!  (This was the first of many, many sets of pasties I would see on this day.)

Eek.  She was more covered up than a lot of others, actually.  And most of the people going naked are people who reeeeeeeally have no business doing that.  But isn't it always that way?  Case in point: Gasparilla.

Most of the charm was in the street and building signs.

And the theme parked looked not so carney-ish.  I saw no small hands, and no one smelled like cabbage...though we never ventured inside.  More on that later.

The classic Cyclone!

The parade started off with a fire truck that sprayed water on everyone except us.  I wore my hair curly today; for heaven's sake, spritz me!!!!!

This was followed by an array of classic cars.  It was weird, though, because there was really no music, and it really didn't feel like much of a parade.

My friend was smart and brought a sunbrella.

Finally, a mermaid!

"There's an owl coming up next!" ~little girl in front of us It's an otter.

That's right...men on unicycles in Spanx.  Because when I think of mermaids, I think of men on unicycles in Spanx.

And I thought I had Marilyn Monroe wind problems...sheesh.

I'm not much of a parade person to begin with.  I hate just standing there in the heat watching stuff, sweating twice as much as normal because of the body heat of the crowd and fighting for a spot to take pictures.  This parade was worse than most, both because it was so trashy and because it was SO LONG. At least the people on the floats seemed to be having fun.

I do love the Metrocard as a fashion statement.  I've been toying with buying a Metrocard shirt for some time now...but it's just too lame to own that when you live here.

Same weekend as NYC Pride...awwww!  Mazel tov!

Is that a RayHawk?

Some people had much more creative (and probably infinitely more enjoyable) parade viewing ideas.

Once we decided we'd had enough of the parade (an hour into this THREE HOUR MONSTROSITY), we headed towards Nathan's.  We couldn't very well leave Coney Island without having a Nathan's Famous Frank, could we? In retrospect, we probably should have. Nathan's was on the opposite side of the street, so we had to wait for official breaks in the parade to cross.  We found an outlet and waiting it out for about 10 minutes...

picked up some Potted Potter glasses along the way...

and slowly realized we were in the 7th circle of hell.  Oh Nathan's...so close and yet SO FAR!

We bailed on the parade breaks and just decided to walk all the way down to the beginning and loop around, figuring it would be quicker and not as hectic.  This was true, but it was definitely a bit of a hike.  At least I got to see this tribute to the Dodgers, right next to where the Cyclones play.

FINALLY got there.

I went for the original, of course.  It had this weird break in it, like a conjoined twin or something.  I covered it in ketchup and mustard.

They put the corn on the cob in a paper bag for me, and it immediately bore a hole in the bottom.  Fucking fabulous.  The corn was intact, but my annoyance level managed to get even HIGHER.

Moment of truth.

I mean it was good, but there was nothing special about it.  The footlongs at Yankee Stadium are better.

I've never really cared about soccer.  My college boyfriend was really into it so I feigned at least a modicum of interest, but really the only thing that interests me about soccer is that soccer players are, without question, the sexiest athletes there are.  They have this magical mix of runners body with an extra perfect butt, maybe from all the kicking?  I don't know.  But I really do feel that David Beckham is arguably the most attractive man in the world; at least top 3.

Anyway, while I am not specifically interested in soccer, I am broadly interested in things I've never done...the more random, the better.  So when my friend invited me to a viewing of one of the Euro Cup games, which included free beer, I was game.  (See what I did there?) Started out at lunch and tried a new beer...deLISH!

In the journey from Union Square to wherever the hell we were in Brooklyn, the clouds grew increasingly ominous.  As we set out on foot to find the place, the lightning bolts seemed to be getting closer and closer, which was unsettling.  And then--not two blocks from our final destination--the heavens proceded to open up on us, JUST in time for us to be completely soaked for the rest of the day. This photo doesn't really capture the rain, but it does capture the gloom.  New York has been experiencing a MISerable heat wave over the past couple of days; clearly the atmosphere desperately needed this thunderstorm tantrum.

It's a good thing I was wearing my hair curly today.  I would have been PISSED.  Also, it's really annoying when you get rained on wearing glasses.  You can't clean your glasses with your shirt, because your shirt is wet!  It's horrible.

Still, free beer and great company helped.

As did this adorable setup.

Soaked through.

The free beer was not just Crisp...

it was THE Crisp.

The crowd waited with bated breath as they took care of some technical difficulties...

but it was fixed, and all was right with the world.  The game was Greece versus Germany, "GRE V GER."  I decided to root for Greece, both because I have spent more time there and because Greece could use a win right now, just in general.   There were definitely fans of both in attendance, and a pretty decent showing, actually.  Turns out there ARE people who follow soccer.

Alas...4 to 1 Germany. Another awesome, random day doing awesome, random things with awesome, not-so-random people. PLAYLIST Andrea's Oldies Mix Volume 1

I needed to be awesome yesterday.  And I was totally awesome.  And the situation in which I needed to be awesome happens to be located very close to Dylan's Candy Bar in Midtown East. I've only ever been here once, and surprisingly it was to use their cafe to work on my thesis.  My friend and I had passed 3 different Starbucks' in our search for a place to sit, and on a whim thought we'd see if Dylan's had such a place.

While there that time I was only interested in coffee...

But I spotted THIS.  Build your own PB&J!  PBJ AND BEYOND!

I kicked ass today.  I deserved a reward that is Nutty, Jammy, AND Fluffy!

I went with white bread, white chocolate peanut butter, strawberry jelly, marshmallow creme (one of my favorite things in life), bananas and clodhoppers.  The clodhoppers were a stretch, but they're always so damn good at 16 Handles!  I splurged.

It took a little while to make the sandwich (longer than it should have, honestly), so I took in my surroundings, as I often do.

HOLY SHIT.  This was too much.  Fortunately, there were too many I wanted, so I decided to buy none of them.

There's a bar here?

I had a seat and took a moment to love myself a little bit.  Things might be going in the right direction for me as a result of today.

At long last...

SHIT.  How do I even begin to eat this thing?

It was obviously delicious, but the bread was no good.  It was too dry, and it could not handle the contents of the sandwich.  I don't think the contents should have to suffer just because they couldn't spring for better bread! I had to take it in a doggy bag.  It was overwhelming.  But I couldn't leave without exploring this place more.  Once again, I find myself at a place full of colors! Gotta love the British section...Solar Queen!

I.  NEED.  THIS.

Downstairs there is more merchandise and candy, a fudge shop and a wall of celebrity candy picks.  I now pay homage to the most important ones.

Dylan is a girl?  FIERCE.

I always love old school advertisements, just like in the MTA Museum.  They both have Clark Bar ads!

I loved this Candyland history of the store.  AND I LOVE THE COLORS.

It was not starting off as a great day.  Many people might relish the notion of having absolutely nothing to do, but I am not "many people."  I am a creature of habit, chaos and purpose.  It's hard for me to function with none of those things. It helps, though, to have amazing friends that cheer you up just by existing.  I happen to be lucky enough to have Double My Pleasure, Double My Fun; that is, my good friends who just so happen to be twin brothers.  We had set this day aside to hang out, and I needed it. I had been to Bar Thalia, the bar behind the Symphony Space (owned by MY birthday twin, Leonard Nemoy) a few times, once for trivia which I know they have every Wednesday night.  When I'd gone for trivia we'd gotten there late and the place was packed.  So while I was disappointed, I was excited to take advantage of this in the future, as it was quite the scene.  Thus, this was to be tonight's activity.  I started the night like every night should start: with fabulous shoes on.  New ones, to boot.  They were a retail therapy splurge and I am hopelessly in love with them.  I walk better in heels!

We stopped for dinner at Hummus Place, where I got mentally prepared for my impending Birthright Israel trip.

Dinner ran a little later than expected, as happens when you're out with good friends.  When we approached the bar, things looked grim...it was definitely poppin', and seats were hard to find.  We got the LAST table available...KISMET!

We devoted our team name to our fourth group member, who was having wisdom tooth surgery and couldn't join us for the festivities.

I haven't played much trivia, surprisingly.  I have really only ever done NTN trivia before at Buffalo Wildwings, where it's on this Gameboy type thing and it's all electronic...I think I've done this kind once before, and I just remember being confused.  But this guy was an amazing emcee...I actually kind of want his job.  How fun would that be?  I would be AWESOME at that!

I sipped on a Hennepin (for the first time) as we pored over our answers.  Some of the questions were really, really hard...but between my knowledge of pop culture and their knowledge of sports and politics, we were a pretty solid team.

OBviously I owned the Name That Tune section.  I was particularly proud of the Jim Croce identification.

We finished in 9th out of about 13 or 14, which I thought was pretty impressive considering how hard the questions were and how little we had played trivia previously.  And the place is so, so cute...it has long been a favorite of mine, solely for the ambiance and the design.  The place even matched my Captain Eo shirt!  Totally unplanned; totally awesome.  You know me and colors.

A night with my posse was just what I needed.  Angsty Andrea is no fun, and she has been rearing her ugly head all too often recently.  These guys help keep me in check, and remind me to lighten up and just appreciate who I am and where I am.

The subway is arguably my favorite thing about being a New Yorker.  I remember working at camp the summer after my first year here and coming back with such a renewed appreciation for being able to travel wherever I want, whenever I want.  I am truly in awe of the fact that someone thought up this whole system, and at what an impact it has on the psyche of New Yorkers.  Not only do they live in a city that has endless possibilities, but they have FULL ACCESS to that city.  Incredible. As an enthusiast, I had long since wanted to visit the New York Transit Museum.  I felt Brooklyn's charm instantly as I got off the 3 train at Borough Hall.  The building was so old and beautiful and, of course, there was a farmer's market in front of it. I love farmer's markets, except that while I love looking at all the home grown stuff, the products are always so expensive.  I mean come on...$16 dollars for a pie?  What am I, Donald Trump?

I got a bit turned around trying to find the museum, as I wasn't even sure what kind of building to look for.  This map was helpful...and I love seeing that Brooklyn loves itself as I love it.

Found it!  But which building is it in, exactly?

Wait a minute...it's not in a building at all, but an old subway station!  Charming!  

Of course, my plugged-in brain immediately jumped to, "I guess I won't have cell service."  And then I rolled my eyes at myself.

The museum was extremely well done.  I was impressed at how many interactive features they had, which appealed to both kids and uninformed adults like myself.

This is what the view might look like from one of the tunnels.

I love this sign.  I want it for my apartment.

Actually, I want ALL of these for my apartment.

I was also impressed with this hands-on section about electricity. Wait, that sounded wrong...no one got electrocuted.  But it reminded me out of something from the Museum of Science and Industry.  It made education an activity.

I kinda skimmed this section, because I was really more interested in the history of the subway.  But I had to give props to Tesla; everything I know about him I learned from Drunk History.  And also, one of the streets next to Bryant Park is named after him.

Visually, the place was extremely stimulating.  There was conceptual art...

fun, kitschy theming with lots of colors...

a photographic timeline...

and lots of old things!

These people were placed around in random places.  When you pushed their button, they told you about what they do at the MTA.  They were, of course, fierce.

The buttons on these two didn't work...strong, silent types I guess.

This section had scary cartoon smog...

a kid named Diesel (doesn't it look like that's supposed to be his name?)...

and DINOSAURS!  KEY TO MY HEART!

I thought the museum seemed kind of small and was about to leave disappointed until I noticed that there was another set of stairs.  These led to the piece de resistance...the trains!  They dated all the way back to the 1900s. Some of them looked like they had been Pimped.

But my favorite thing was that each of the trains had ads on them, just like the trains do today.  Again, I wanted to decorate my apartment with all of these.

I wanna be Miss Subway!  (She has my old haircut!)

Of course I couldn't resist a visit to the gift shop. If I ever move away from New York, I'm buying this bag.

I started the blog to have something fun and exciting to focus on during this time when I have so little going on and so much time to pore over that.  Most of the time I'm fine, but every so often I get kinda blue.  This started out as one of those days, so I took a moment to try to attain some perspective. When I was in Israel last summer, I had countless days like this, and I relished them.  Every day was just all about doing whatever I wanted to do that day, and I spent so many days killing hours in Israeli cafes, sipping lattes and reading books in Hebrew with a Hebrew translation app on my iPod.  I don't know if I've ever been so happy in my life. In the spirit of that, I decided to check out Alice's Tea Cup--a spot I'd been "curiouser and curiouser" about for a while--and bring my Hebrew copy of Alice In Wonderland (a children's book, not the real deal).  In addition, I decided to look cute and Alice-y for the occasion, so I donned a blue and white dress and added a spruce of red lipstick for my ego.  When I wear red lipstick, my outlook tends to change...at least a little bit. With Beatles in my ear, I decided to walk the 30 blocks...get some strutting in.  Also good for my ego.

Inevitably, since I was wearing a dress, it was windy.  SO ANNOYING.  Buuuut kind of a funny problem.

I can't walk in front of a mirror without fixing my hair.  It's not even a narcissistic thing at this point; it's like legit OCD. Well, this might have been a bit of narcissism.  I was having an eh day; I needed it.

I almost walked right by Alice's.  It's so teeny and cute!  I hadn't realized that it's actually a sit-down restaurant; I thought it was more like Starbucks.  AND there's a gift shop...like Cracker Barrel, but gay friendly.

As a huge Alice devotee, I was immediately enchanted.  And by immediately, I mean I went to the bathroom before I sat down and even THAT was enchanting.

I'm really not a tea drinker...I only drink tea in Israel and at camp, where the coffee is repulsive.  But I couldn't very well have a latte here, especially when they had a whole MENU of teas.

Of course there was an Unbirthday tea...I went with the Trafalgar Tea (some kind of vanilla mint black tea) and a lemon goat cheese scone with clotted cream and raspberry jam.  DELISH.

For a second I felt kind of cheesy for reading Alice in Wonderland at Alice's Tea Cup.  And then I remembered that I AM cheesy, and that I don't care.

Got my Morfix prepped...

Instantly I was back in my happy place.  This was just what I needed!  I was so pleased with how little I needed the dictionary...really it just slowed me down.

Gotta love the lipstick stain.  I always try to leave my mark.

Some of my favorite Google translate searches...(Morfix pooped out on me)

At a certain point I put my feet up under the table and thought I'd broken something...turns out it was some kind of old sewing machine!  So adorable!

I could have spent the entire time taking pictures, it was so precious.  And the clientele were also classy, sipping on their tea and lunching.  It all felt so proper and cute, without feeling at all stuffy.  It was...perfect.  Hit the spot.

The day started easy and breezy.  Another Sunday laying out in the park, this time in Sheep Meadow.  It was overcast (unfortunately for our tans), and actually a bit chilly, at least for our bikini clad bodies.  

Being that it was Father's Day, the park was full of families...

THIS ADORABLE 4 MONTH OLD ENGLISH BULLDOG PUPPY NAMED CHESTER...

and these insanely overmusclefied freesbeeing gay tumblers.  We couldn't stop gawking at this guy...it was way too much.  Borderline disgusting.

But his boyfriend did some pretty awesome acrobatics!

On that note, I moved on to my real adventure of the day, one that was much gayer: the Big Gay Ice Cream Shop!  The woman in line in front of me for handpies at the Madison Square barbecue last week was talking about this place, and I just had to check it out and see what about it was big and gay.

Turns out, it pretty much just describes the unicorns.

The variety of treats was amazing, with clever names to boot.  I went with the Salty Pimp, having heard the lady from the 'cue rave about it.  Also I just really loved that name.  My sister went with the Monday Sundae.

They used crazy, new-agey ingredients like cayenne pepper.  I mean, on ice cream it's new age-y at least.  This IS the Lower East Side; even the ice cream is hip.

The lady had also warned about the line.  We only waited about 10 or 15 minutes, but we got out just in time, it appeared.  But I was happy that the place was doing so well.  It's nice to see small businesses thriving.

I give you the Monday Sundae...

and the Salty Pimp.

Moment of truth...

and it's goooooood!  Except I don't really know how to eat it.

The sea salt really added something special.  It was overwhelming, though, and I didn't think I could finish it.  But just when I thought I couldn't handle anymore, I realized that the bottom of the cone was FILLED WITH CARAMEL AND SEA SALT.

I love a good street fair, and I was itching to get out of Manhattan for the day.  Time Out New York gave me a tip about the Atlantic Avenue Extravaganza, which appeared to be a celebration of local businesses around this major street in Brooklyn.  It sounded suitably adorable and random, and I'd never explored Atlantic Avenue before, so my friend and I embarked upon our journey to my second favorite borough.

There were charming characters in the street and unique merchandise everywhere...like these chairs that look like Sixlets!

We were a little confused as to where the action was and figured out that it was more like little things going on in and outside the small stores throughout the day.  So we figured we'd just take a stroll and see where the wind took us.  We started with a wine tasting at this store with an amazing purple ceiling that almost exactly matched my glasses!

I learned a lot, like how a rose wine is just a red grape with the peel taken off, and that you can do it with any red grape.  We had a Pinot Noir (my favorite) rose...yum!

The samples were pretty generous...not a bad way to kick start this extravaganza!

I always feel bad that as much as I want to support small businesses, they are always SO much more expensive.  Still, this place was adorable...she was starting her own wine label.  So fierce.

We continued our journey, running into more crazy characters and crazy storefronts. I saw this cow with latte horns, and thought it would be funny to drink from one of them.  Little did I know, I was setting myself up for a much dirtier, much awesome-er picture. Anything For A Laugh is my middle name!

There were tons of bands in the street.  I heard the clarinet and asked if they were a klezmer band; they are actually a "gypsy" band.  And they were, naturally, providing accompaniment for people on stilts.

Street music was increasingly abounding as we made our way further down the street.

We were feeling a little peckish and were looking for a place to get a bite to eat, until I stopped dead in my tracks at a storefront advertising Montreal style bagels.  My mom is from Montreal, and my Bubbie lived there almost her entire life.  When she used to come down to Florida to visit, she came armed with bags and bags of Montreal bagels.  They are the best in the world; it's such a specific taste...some kind of mixture of sugar, magic and crack, maybe.  (Probably.)  I was skeptical as to whether or not they were the real thing, but I HAD to check.

Moment of truth...

aaaaaaand I'm immediately faclempt.  TOTALLY the real thing!  SO DELICIOUS!  Bubbie would be so pleased. :)

I continued to snap an array of fun photos in an attempt to capture how cute this neighborhood is.  It's like an ACTUAL neighborhood, and there were families everywhere...and I just wanted to move here and make babies.  Err...make babies and move here...I don't know.  I loved it.

Walked all the way to the park at the end of the BQE...

there was a boat to Governor's Island...

a mini water park for kids...

PUPPIES...SLEEPING PUPPIES...

baskers...

pirate ships decorating the skyline...

Spiderman kites...

greenhouses...

DILFS and kids with balloon hats...

and random kooky stuff.  This was a puppet wearing a Lady Gaga outfit.

So much ambiance to take in...

People were dancing to the music and loving life.

There were food samples, and people who were so passionate about the food that they spoke about it with lively hands!

We saw these weirdo ladies in red at the beginning of the day and knew there must be something up with them.  We then saw in the program that they would be unveiling the new public works uniforms, and that they would be presented with an interpretive dance from a local company.  Turns out it was these ladies.  Things got weirder and weirder, awesomer and awesomer, Brooklynier and Brooklynier.

Fortunately, neon is very in for summer.

This was a snippet of the interpretive dance...we unfortunately missed most of it.

It was a lovely day, and seeing all the families (including two daddies and their Asian baby...I LOVE BROOKLYN) made the prospect of moving to Brooklyn to settle down increasingly attractive and increasingly inevitable.  I just can't fight this feeling that I cannot wait to get to that point in my life, when I know what the next step is, and that it is one that involves putting down roots somewhere.  Brooklyn has these beautiful, intimate-feeling neighborhoods with the big, bad city still within reach.  In many ways, it's kind of perfect for me. Someday.

Lord knows I have run the Central Park Loop COUNTLESS times.  It's a part of New York that means so much to me, as it was such a huge part of my half marathon-ing experience.  Some of my greatest athletic moments have occurred on that loop. But while I had spent a lot of time on my two feet with Kanye and Fatboy Slim in my ears on this path, I had never experienced it on a bike.  I've never been a huge bike rider; while I enjoy doing it recreationally, I never feel like (at least in the gym) it is enough of a workout.  Still, I wanted to do it just to say I've done it.

I...was wrong.  It's a workout. There are a lot of inclines on the Central Park Loop, and going downhill--while a bit terrifying--is an amazing rush.  It feels like a gift for making it through the tougher parts.  Running downhill is a similar sensation, but it's still not a break in the same way it is on a bike.  Towards the beginning I was pretty terrified about taking people down, but I started to get a handle on it.  There is something to be said about the old adage "like riding a bike;" it really does come right back to you, and it didn't take long for me to feel like I was in control. One thing that I've never understood and that I still don't understand is the different speeds.  I kept playing with them the whole time until I ultimately just left it on a 2.  I was also paranoid, because when I rented the bike the guy warned me that it's pretty common for the chains to break if you shift gears in a certain way.  A smart person would have asked him about the gears at that point, but I was like "naaaaaah that doesn't apply to me."  This translated to me fiddling with the speeds in constant fear that I was ruining the bike; at a certain point I got off just to make sure I didn't break it.  (I didn't, but that's about the point that I decided to stop shifting altogether.) The north part of the park is my favorite to run in, because it's so gorgeous and so quiet.  However, the inclines feel almost worse on a bike than on foot.  This part of the path is a doozy...usually I make a rule to myself that I'll just walk this part when I'm out for a run.  But you can't just go into a walk when you're on a bike...you're still peddling.  This was the very point at which I had to just stop and walk with the bike for a second.  It was too much.

Another concern I've always had about riding a bike is that it's extremely uncomfortable on the ladyparts.  I really don't know how men do it.  Between that and my aching sit bones...I needed a stretch...

and a moment to breath.

I rented the bike for two hours, unsure of how long I'd really want to be on it.  (It was 15 bucks for one hour, and they charge 8 bucks if you're late, whereas two hours was only 20.)  The guys told me that if I was looking for a "Lance Armstrong-type experience" it'd take me about an hour.  In the back of my head, I laughed...it takes me a little over an hour to run the entire thing...there's no way it would take me that long.  Sure enough, I finished it in 36 minutes, and that's including my stopping to stretch.  Not too shabby! I decided to take a little break and then do another go-around to get my money's worth, even though if I was being honest with myself, I absolutely did not want to get back on.  I was all sorts of uncomfortable. Here's the helmet damage...the helmets were optional, but considering I can't recall the last time I was on a bike, I went ahead and did the right thing.  Safe D begins with me!  (Fun story that was already a Facebook status: I asked if that had different sizes of helmets because my head is really big, and the guy asked if I was bragging.  Ha!)

HOT. Anyway, it was a GORgeous day in the park, so I found a tree, picked up my book and took a load off.

I did another go-around, this time a bit shorter (there's a little road at around 103th street that you can cut through) and it took me about 30 minutes.  As I passed the pedicab dudes, I had a newfound respect for them.  I always had respect for their ability to lug people around, but considering what a workout I just had all by my lonesome, I cannot imagine what their crotches and sit bones must endure on a daily basis. 

RESPECT. I'm really glad I did it, and it was an amazing workout.  Plus, I got this killer blue Gatorade mustache.

It was a lazy NYC day...a fabulous one, but quite lazy and full of indulgence.  My grand plans of organizing my room and my life while watching the Rays-Mets game got sidetracked by a much more lucrative exploit.  Plus, the Rays got spanked AGAIN, giving the Mets a sweep...I was in no mood to organize. Still, by the end of the day I felt that I HAD to do something productive, and I needed SOMEthing for the blog...watching the Rays from my home television was a topic I considered, since I am not usually able to do that, but again...the game was tragic, and that just wouldn't do. So I decided to revert to the organizing my room plan, and as part of that my "first" for the day was a trip to The Container Store.  My good friend has a knack (and strange love) for organizing and speaks of this place like I speak about the theming at Walt Disney World.  We made tentative plans a while ago for her to come whip my room into shape after a journey to The Container Store for which she would be my VIP tour guide, but I decided to take the bull by the horns and check the place out for myself, at least to get an idea of what the possibilities could be, storage-wise.

Closet chaos no more, eh?  We'll see about that. The place was immaculate; I had to drag myself away from all the fun luggage.  I was drawn to the travel stuff what with my upcoming trip to Israel, but I had to stay focused.  Sorry, adorable children's suitcases...maybe next time.

What attracted me more than anything was the sea of colors.  Whenever someone asks me my favorite color, I just can't commit...I usually just say "rainbow."  Actually as a child, I was never much of an artist...I would just color rainbow after rainbow, because I relished the opportunity to use as many colors as possible (they didn't always follow the ROYGBIV pattern).  When I first moved into my room, my style choice was to leave the walls white and decorate with pops of color, starting with my Amazing Technicolor Carpet.  Thus far, I have done absolutely no decorating...being here reminded me of just how much work is to be done.

It was really overwhelming.  I probably should have taken measurements and stuff...I didn't even know where to begin.  Like, I need something to hold my cassette tapes (you read that right; my dad makes me cassette tapes because he is stubborn and refuses to upgrade), but I don't know how big, or what color, or...SO MANY OPTIONS.  OVERLOAD.

Still, I loved the store.  I could have spent hours just looking at the colors and the designs.  And also, I really wanted to dance to Billie Jean on these stairs.

The multicolor theme extended to the clientele; it's hard to see, but this dog's fur is dyed in florescent pinks and oranges.  FIERCE.

It's a good thing I just upgraded to felt hangers...I would've had a field day with this.

I had gone to the location on 58th and Lexington and decided to walk to Columbus Circle to get home and enjoy this beautiful evening.  The theme of bright colors extended to this gorgeous sunset.  (The iPhone takes great pictures, but it never manages to capture sunset the way I wish it could.  Alas.)

I passed The Plaza along the way and came across a huge crowd.  I'd actually passed it on my way to the store initially and didn't think anything of the crowd and the barricades and the cops...such a desensitized New Yorker.  But clearly something was up.

I asked a guy in the crowd who told me that Obama was to be at an event there, which actually was my guess...I'd heard something about an event going down.  Turns out it was a philanthropy event run by him, Michelle and Sarah Jessica Parker.  A part of me wanted to hang around, but I don't do crowds.  And there was no way anyone was catching a glimpse of him.

I only bought a few things and, once I got home, whipped my bottom two shelves into shape.  Not too shabby, for me.

I'd been toying with the idea of becoming a Knicks fan for a little while, being that my basketball loyalties are not fixed...and I really don't give a crap about basketball anyway, so why not support a New York team?  Then, when Linsanity happened a few months ago, I was sold.  A great underdog story gets me every time. I live right next to a Modell's Sporting Goods store, and I'd been eyeing the Linsanity merchandise in the window for what seemed like forever.  I'd seen that the New York Giants Super Bowl tee shirts had, with time, gone down to 5 bucks, and that was about what I wanted to pay for my Linsanity shirt.  After weeks and weeks and months of this, I finally actually went IN to the Modell's to scope out the Linsanity clearance situation. Ten bucks. Sold!

So this was to be my first day of publicly laying claim to my newfound Knicks fandom.  And my mint/burnt orange shoes went perfectly with my outfit!

My very dear friend was in town just for the day and didn't want to spend a lot of money, but did make a request for a hot dog.  We decided to stroll through the park, pop out at Strawberry Fields and go to Grey's Papaya, a New York staple. As we made our way through the park in the overcast weather, we came upon a group of really hot guys doing a soccer camp for what appeared to be 4 to 5 year-olds.  We didn't think things could get any better, until we found THIS:

COULD IT BE?  IS IT REAL?  LARPING!?!?!?!?! Degrassi dream come true!

We made it to Grey's just as the rains came, and I recommended that my friend get the "Recession Special," two franks and a drink for $4.95.

It was a good decision.  As was the decision to download the "I'd Cap That" random captioning app.

The heavens continued to open up on us.  Franks a lot, rain!

We wandered around the Upper West Side and Morningside Heights a bit more...I showed him where my school and old apartment are and took him to Grant's Tomb at the top of Riverside Park.  It was nice to show him around for the first time; I've lived here for over three years, and he's never visited before.  Sometimes it takes showing someone around to remind you how far you've come, and how much your life is pretty okay, and worth showing off a bit. Later that night I enjoyed another first...the premiere of the new Dallas reboot!  I went to go watch it with my sister, as we share a deep love and history with the series.  She lives in Alphabet City, and every so often the building across from her projects movies onto the brick wall on the corner.  This was a Marilyn Monroe film...I wasn't sure which one, but it always makes me happy to see Marilyn.

I had an interview in Westchester, and while riding the Metro North may not seem like the most exciting NYC adventure, it DOES qualify as something I've never done before and always wondered about.  

I had an arduous journey ahead of me to White Plains, which is in Westchester.  Many deem it the Bestchester, but that was to be determined.

It felt pretty cool--albeit a bit overwhelming--to be a part of the hustle and bustle of Grand Central Station in the morning.  I was dressed for an interview, so I looked like one professional in a sea of others, pushing to get to work on time while nursing coffee and contributing to the "click clack"ing of businesswoman heels on the floor.

I've heard a lot about the ceiling here...it was just okay.  There were constellations and everything, but with the shade they chose I found them kind of hard to make out.  Still, it brought back fond memories of when I dated an outdoorsman and he used to point out the North Star and everything to me.

I was pleased at myself for allowing enough time that I could sashay onto the train with style and flair (rather than run and spill my coffee, as usual).

There was almost no one on the train, and I picked a car where I could enjoy the rare peace and quiet of MTA solitude.

I don't really know what this face meant.

This is what I wanted to do, but I figured that would be a bad idea in case I missed my stop and ended up in BFE.

No one opted to sit in my car until a few stops later.  Luxury!

I went to see my friend Toby's band, GoGoGhost, and while it was not my first time seeing them it WAS my first time seeing them in Manhattan, specifically at Piano's in the Lower East Side. I walked in and wasn't sure where to go, but heard music upstairs and followed the sound.  I wander around looking for my friends and all of a sudden this guy says, "HI!" like he knows me.  So I start distractedly talking to him while looking for my friends, and realize that this guy is actually hitting on me.  I decided this must be the place he's playing, and that maybe he's backstage or something and everyone else is running late.  The guy continues to hit on me, and is then joined by his friend in a suit who commences with hitting on me as well.  Suit guy won, though, in the pickup line department: Him: Is it 8:45, or 9:45? Me: It's 9:45. Him: Really? Let me see that...[looks at my phone] wow. It IS 9:45. Hi, I'm Charles. HAHAHA!  The other guy asked if I wanted to hang out, and I said, "but we've only just met, and I really just need to find my friend, so don't be offended if I'm totally distracted while I talk to you."  I was basically impervious. Anyway, my friend saved me and we found Toby's show.  And it rocked!

My friend got a beer that was TEN DOLLARS!  I tried to chronicle my sampling of it, expressing that it was good but not ten bucks worth.  The chronicling attempt was a failure.

Who wears short shorts?

This drummer was UNREAL.  The drums drowned out the guitar and piano a lot, but I kinda dug it.  It seemed like a choice they made as opposed to an accident...it probably wasn't, but it was cool enough that they could get away with it.

This chick was my favorite though.  I approached her afterward to make sure she was aware of how fierce she was.  She was just so adorable and had such a presence, AND she just kept playing when her tank top strap fell down.  COMMITMENT.

It was a great night.  And even though I hate hipsters...I like a lot of their clothes.

I wouldn't call myself a lover of barbecue.  It's definitely my least favorite potato chip flavor.  But when my friend invited me to join him for the annual Big Apple Barbecue Block Party in Madison Square Park, I couldn't resist the opportunity to do something New York-y for the blog. It occurred to me pretty quickly that barbecue is almost solely focused on pork, which I don't eat.  Still, I was really more there for the ambiance anyway...and I figured there should be some solid dessert options.

My friend had access to fastpasses...they actually call them fastpasses!  Immediately, this Disney-phile was intrigued.

"I'm...kind of a big deal." ~me with fastpass lanyard on And yes, that's my underwear.  Oops!  Victoria's Secret has just been revealed...and it's a neon secret.

The fastpass area was still pretty crowded, but we made our way to our first destination where I was able to secure a pulled turkey sandwich in lieu of my lack of pig eating.  This guy is the main chef, I guess, and thus ACTUALLY a big deal, lanyard or otherwise.

The sandwich fell apart immediately as I tried to pick it up; the Pepperidge Farm bun just could not handle the juices...which was kind of ironic, because my main feedback was that while the taste was good, the meat was too dry.  Perhaps all the juice went to the bun?  I don't know...I'm no sandwich scientist.  All I know is that it was really hard to eat, and that it ended up all over me, and I was placing pieces of meat back into the sandwich only to have them keep falling out...I felt like there was a hidden camera somewhere or something, intended solely to catch my idiocy on tape.

Fortunately, I had fingerbowls to rescue me from my mess.  And, more importantly, I commenced with making as many fingerbowl jokes as possible.

My friend continued to enjoy his pork, particularly in this cozy spot next to the Port-O-Potties, where we had a lovely conversation about the science of ribs from a Kansas City Ribs Judge.  (I capitalize it in his honor because he was so friendly and cool, but it was unclear whether he was FROM Kansas City or just specialized in those kinds of ribs.  What WAS clear was his awesomeness.)

Despite the gorgeous weather and good company, it was kind of a rough morning for me...I was pretty hung over.  Gatorade and grease were definitely my saviors.

This is the fastpass line.  The FASTpass line!  Just like at Disney, the fastpass is not a guarantee of a short wait, just a shortER wait.  And this was right at the beginning of the day!  New Yorkers certainly love them some BBQ...

and I love me some New Yorkers.

It was quite the scene.  There was so much fancy, smokey equipment, and so many people working their asses off for the cause...the cause being pork.

So much visual stimuli...but this one is the winner.  Well...tied with that guy in the pink outfit with the Statue of Liberty hat.

I saw the pie truck from afar, and I lit up from the depths of my innermost being.  If there's one thing I love in this world, it's Jon Hamm.  But if there are two things I love in this world, it's Jon Hamm and apple pie...not necessarily in that order.  Like a moth to a flame, I was drawn to the handpies.  I clarified with the cashier that "handpies" refers to them being made by hand, not eating them by hand.  Au contraire, he stressed that I use a fork so as not to miss a morsel, and I respected the passion with which he described each bite of this glorious product.

It was a beaut, but can it live up to my pie standards?  After all, I'm more of a Dutch crumb kinda gal.

The moment of truth...was...GLORIOUS.

Post-pie, I stuck around to take in the aforementioned ambiance.  It was a great time, and cool to be a part of.

There are no rules at the BBQ.  Er...everyone at least defies this one.

One of the girls I was with had mentioned that the Coolhaus Ice Cream Sandwich truck was parked nearby.  She said she was debating going to it, because it's out all the time and so much of what was going on at the actual block party was unique to that event.  I'd never heard of it, and despite having already had my dessert I figured there is always room for more.  And even if there wasn't, curiosity ultimately killed this sweets-loving cat. The truck makes specialty ice cream sandwiches, with fun flavors of both cookie and ice cream.  I went with the hotcake cookie and dirty mint chip ice cream ("dirty" refers to the mint leaves in it).  This seemed like a weird combo when I ordered it...

and it was when I ate it.

Still, I had a successfully gluttonous day, one that only a New Yorker could enjoy.  And that's the whole point of this venture anyway, right? PLAYLIST -  my Mariah/Madonna/Janet 90s-focused compilation MARIAH CAREY

My All We Belong Together Fantasy Honey Always Be My Baby Heartbreaker One Sweet Day (with Boyz II Men) When You Believe (with Whitney Houston) MADONNA Hung Up Get Together Holiday What It Feels Like For A Girl Ray of Light Beautiful Stranger Dress You Up In My Love Don't Tell Me 4 Minutes (feat. Justin Timberlake and Timbaland)

I have recently taken on a pretty lucrative side career of tutoring bar and bat mitzvah students.  This weekend, my very first student became a woman.  (Not in a creepy way; in a Jewy way.) Like most 13 year old girls, she was extremely insecure about the whole thing and completely terrified.  Her dad called me the day before asking if I could give her a call, because she may or may not be totally freaking out...I didn't even realize she had my number until I heard a shaky voiced, "hiiii Andrea..." on the other end of the line, which just melted my heart.  It clearly meant a lot to her that I called, and I would like to think I chilled her out a bit.  Just sing to me, I said.  Pretend nobody else is there; we're just sitting at your kitchen table, and it's just the two of us. I have always felt like a big sister, or a cool aunt...but in that exchange, it started to hit me what an impact I have had on her. When I showed up at the synagogue, she was freaking out, but maintaining her poise.  I reiterated to her...it's just you and me, girl.  You might make a mistake, but so will everyone else here.  It's just us in your house talking about Twilight and Draco Malfoy. It seemed like forever until it was finally time for her to be up.  I stood up with her and reminded her again, "remember.  You, me, Twilight, Draco Malfoy.  That's all you should think about." She sings so beautifully, and carries herself so well, and she just doesn't even realize it.  And she doesn't believe me when I tell her.  She made some minor mistakes here and there, but she totally nailed it, and I did not stop telling her that, despite her bemoaning her mistakes.  Afterwards I gave her a big hug and told her that regardless of how she might feel about it, she has made me so unbelievably proud...I don't even have proper words to describe the pride that she gave me.  On top of that, everyone in the shul came up to ME and congratulated me on MY accomplishment, which felt amazing.  I didn't need that kind of recognition, but it meant a lot all the same. If nothing else, I hope this can be a memory for her of what it feels like to accomplish a goal that seems so impossible.  Life sucks at 13; everything makes you embarrassed, and you are constantly comparing yourself to others, measuring your self worth by other people's standards.  But if this can be a moment where she understands what it is like to be proud and confident, and to be the center of attention and be okay with that, then this is truly a coming of age moment for her.

The bat mitzvah fell on the same day as Brooklyn Pride, which was taking place a block away from the synagogue.  The rabbi, a member of the LGBTQ community, said some beautiful words urging us to take go to the Pride street fair wearing our Shabbat clothes and kippahs.  Displaying that kind of support in association with being Jewish, she said, could truly change someone's life.  So many gay people feel so rejected by their religion; wishing someone a "Shabbat Shalom" along with a "Happy Pride" has the potential to touch a lot of people.  I was inspired by these words, and decided to explore.  There was a booth on behalf of another local synagogue, and I wished them a Shabbat Shalom, and as they responded I could tell how much they appreciated it.

I was accosted by some very aggressive Asian woman asking if I wanted a massage.  I kept trying to say, "no, that's okay," but they literally manhandled me.  This woman grabbed me and started massaging my shoulders, saying "one minute for free."  About ten seconds later she and another woman literally grabbed my hands and dragged me into a chair.  I kept saying no and they kept forcing it; it was Asian massage rape!  

I finally said screw it and went for the 10 minute 10 dollar massage, and about 8 minutes later it was done.  I didn't feel like fighting and gave her 10, and then she added, "and also a little tip for me.  Thank you!"  I gave her a dollar, but not without snidely remarking on how they really should use timers, because there was no way that was ten minutes.

I then passed the Foreskin Awareness Booth.  I was a little confused; are people not aware of foreskin?  I asked for one of their handouts, clearly Jewish (wearing a kippah) and clearly opposed to this.  They asked if I wanted to see the live performance...live performance?   "It's a foreskin.  Well, it's a guy, and he has a foreskin.  And he'll show it to you and talk about it, and do things with it."   "Oh," I replied, "Like Puppetry of the Penis?" "Yeah, kinda like that." "Thanks...I'll pass.  I've seen one before."

Got some stickers to show my support...

got to see some divas...

and of course, some accessories.

I actually don't really like Evita that much as a show; never have.  I've only ever seen the movie, and while I didn't DISlike it, I found it to be pretty boring.  Plus, I think I was in middle school when I saw it, so I didn't really follow the story and didn't catch as many of the "sleep your way to the top undertones" as I probably should have.  I unabashedly love Andrew Lloyd Webber music, so I appreciated that aspect of it, but as a show...not my favorite.  One of the problems with the "thru-musicals" that Webber likes to do (meaning no dialogue) is that sometimes it can just be a bit...much. However, this production I did want to see.  Ricky Martin was certainly a factor in that, but mostly I wanted to go support Rachel Potter as the Mistress.  Rachel and I were in show choir together back in the day in middle school/high school, and we have shared in some really embarrassing moments in really embarrassing show choir costumes, typically performing for old people.  Even then, though, Rachel was a star.  Her voice is just...it's uncommonly stunning.  And she's beautiful, and has always been a nice person to boot.  Plus, her mom was my voice teacher/makeshift therapist for many years; one of the songs I used to practice with Mrs. Potter (now Mrs. Shaw) was actually "You Must Love Me" from Evita!  Anyway, I saw Rachel as Wednesday in The Addams Family, and I was so excited to be able to support her again.

It was in the theater in the Marriott Times Square, which definitely has a much different feel than the smaller old school theaters surrounding it.  It immediately felt more like a theme park stage than a Broadway stage, much like Spiderman: Turn Off The Dark. I prepped myself for some big, fat blockbusting!

Upon walking into the theater, my friend and I immediately burst out in laughter at what was before us.

These are authentic portraits of Juan and Eva Peron, I guess...they are also HYSTERICAL.  What a weird thing to be greeted by!  And then when the curtains went up and the portraits went up with them, we laughed even harder.  It was like something out of the Haunted Mansion preshow. The show really surprised me, actually.  I had heard that Ricky was not very good, and that the woman playing Eva was terrible, so I naturally assumed that the whole production would be...subpar.  I think I also made a judgment about it based on the theater reminding me of Spiderman, as I mentioned.  But actually, the production was of an enormously high quality.  Sets and costumes were spectacular, and I loved the choreography.  They made such excellent use of the chorus, which must have had at least 20-25 people; HUGE for a Broadway production, which usually has closer to 8-12.  For the purposes of this show, however, crowd scenes are essential.  The chorus is in almost every number, and they were very diverse, of all shapes and sizes unlike the typical Broadway dancer types. Ricky did a solid job.  His voice sounded beautiful; he is clearly a professional, with a wonderful tonal quality and remarkable vocal control.  His acting left a little something to be desired.  Che (the narrator who interacts with the characters while also remaining an omniscient third, sometimes first person), in my mind, should be brooding and manly.  I wouldn't say he played it flamboyant or gay or anything, just very Broadway, very theatrical.  Too many hand motions; not very natural.  But his voice...stunning. Elena Roger as Evita was definitely more disputed in terms of her talent.  Her voice is definitely not extremely strong, and definitely not of a Broadway quality.  But honestly, I found that sort of refreshing.  She is actually Argentinian, so sometimes there were issues understanding her, but I actually really dug that she had such a thick accent.  I BELIEVED her in the role.  She is also like 4 feet tall but has enough spunk to make up for it, which totally worked for the character.  She did have some good moments vocally (not spectacular, but solid), but unfortunately those moments were not in her big songs, namely "Don't Cry For Me Argentina."  She sang it with a lot of control and emotion, but that's her powerhouse number, the most memorable in the show, and her performance was hardly that. Still, despite the fact that she was not in the same league vocally as most Broadway stars, including the rest of the cast, I dug her.  I was rooting for her.  It's very well that you leave a Broadway show remarking about the acting, and her acting was fantastic. And then there was Rachel.  The Mistress is a very small part; she only has one scene and performs a solo, but it is arguably the best song in the show.  (Really every part that is not Che, Evita or Peron is a tiny part.)  The song is called "Another Suitcase In Another Hall," which she performs after Eva unceremoniously kicks her out of Juan Peron's room and, by extension, his life.  Rachel was absolutely spellbinding; her talent is so effortless and yet so mature and controlled.  She took this character you know nothing about and made you genuinely feel for her in all of her jilted beauty.  Her applause at the curtain call was almost as big as Ricky's, but honestly, she was the best part of the whole show.  And not just because we both went to Seminole Middle. Cut to after the show...

I'm not really into the stage door scene; I don't like crowds, especially Broadway tourist crowds.  But I did want to try to see Rachel and, if possible, Ricky.  Plus, the friend I was with is totally Broadway obsessed; she "stage doors" as a hobby (that's right, I used it as a verb).

Found her!  Watch this face.  This girl is seriously going places. Now, the annoying part of the stage door for this particular show is that most of the people there hadn't even seen it, and they were passing out Playbills at the door!  It was a lot of Spanish-speaking fans, one of which was waving a Brazilian flag.  I know a lot of Brazilians, and they do NOT like to be confused with Argentinians.  I was a little surprised that of all crowds, this one would walk that line. Anyway, it was really hard to get a shot of him.  There was one car waiting outside the theater, and it was for him.  He signed a few autographs, but he was in and out pretty quickly.  This is the best I got, courtesy of zooming in and taking a screen shot on my phone:

It was a wonderful night with great people and, again, a surprisingly fantastic production.  I guess we'll see just how fantastic come Tony time.  Until then, in the spirit of the fabulous Eva Peron...