'Music' in Prospect Park

1 comment (closed), posted on july 30, 2005, tags: entertainment, me, new york

Before tonight, I had never seen The Sound of Music. I am not a fan of musicals. In fact, one might say I have an outright hated for them. I've gone on wild, hour-long rampages before, yelling about how the very idea of a musical angers me. So when Katia told me she wanted to see one of her favorite movies, The Sound of Music in Prospect Park, I wasn't thrilled at the idea.

But, as it turns out, I could not have enjoyed it more. There's something about seeing a movie with 200 other people who all love it. I mean, they love that movie. People cheered when songs started, when something good happened, and they booed and hissed—hissed—at the nazis. There was an energy in the air, something that made my hatred for musicals melt away instantly. After the aerial shots of Salzburg, just as Julie Andrews is visible for the first time and just before she begins to belt out the title song, the audience began to cheer and scream and clap. It was crazy. I've never witnessed such excitement and love for any movie, let alone a musical from the 60s.

I'm glad I hadn't seen the movie before tonight. It was such a great experience to be surrounded by so many fans the first time.

Blizzard!

no comments (closed), posted on january 24, 2005, tags: new york

First real snow of the year fell yesterday, and it fell hard. We got about 20 inches of snow! Growing up in Seattle, this amount of snow was only possible in dreams; now that I live in New York, I seem to be one of the few people who absolutely loves it when it snows. Everything seems so peaceful when covered in two feet of snow.

We ventured out last night to meet Shawn for dinner and then to hang out at a few bars on Bedford Avenue. On the way to dinner I snapped some photos of the snowfall and then today we walked around the neighborhood taking in the white streets. You can find my pictures from the blizzard on Flickr.

Now I just have to worry about digging out our car.

Four More Years

14 comments (closed), posted on november 3, 2004, tags: new york

So, that's that. Kerry just conceded. Congratulations, America—you've voted for four more years of invasions and war, economic decline, deficit, poor education, fucking the environment, shitty healthcare, running Social Security into the ground and more. Good for you. Oh, and let's not forget that Bush might have the opportunity to nominate three justices to the Supreme Court. See you later, Roe v. Wade. Oh, and I hope none of you people with cancer or Parkinson's expect to see a cure any time soon. At least not in this country.

The saddest thing about this whole election is that America is changing for the worse. We're becoming more and more conservative. What happened to the progressive America? What the fuck is wrong with you people? Is this all that you want in life? Is this the American dream? You think Bush is a fiscally responsible president? All you bastards who lost your jobs over the past 4 years still voted for him. What's wrong with you?

I'm especially outraged by the exit poll statistics on how many people voted for Bush because of his "morals." This is the closest election we've had in a long time and for all intents and purposes, it was decided by religion. I'm sickened. Canada looks really good to me right now. I'm sure I'll write something a little more eloquent at some point but for right now I can't even get it all out. This is a sad, sad day for this country. I'm ashamed.

Vote!

7 comments (closed), posted on november 2, 2004, tags: new york

It's your responsibility and your duty as a citizen of this country to vote today. Don't let anyone fool you—not voting is not exercising your democratic right. There's no excuse for not voting. If you don't like the candidates then write someone in. Voting is one of the few things you have as a citizen of this country that allows you to help change things for the better. Today is a very important day for our country.

I've been reading a lot of weblogs recently who have resigned themselves to saying that thinking this election is more important than others is silly. I disagree. We are currently at war in Iraq—a war which is dragging on and on and in which the casualty rates are climbing steadily. Women are beginning to lose their right to choose. Our education system isn't getting better. Our environmental policies are a joke. We still don't have nation-wide healthcare. Social Security is in danger. We lost our projected surplus and now we have one of the largest projected deficits in our history. We are declining. Things aren't getting better. We need to fix things here or it's only going to get worse.

Anyone who tells you that we're doing well in Iraq is brainwashed. Anyone who tells you the middle class was the major benefactor to the most recent tax cut is brainwashed. There's a lot of fucking brainwashing going on these days. I'll tell you this much: I don't think Kerry will be the best president we've ever had. But I do know he won't be one of the worst. If Kerry even manages to stop the deficit increase and repair our relationship with other countries, he'll have done better than Bush.

Please—even if you disagree with me: vote. Today is important. I'm going to leave comments open on this entry because I am interested in hearing your thoughts on the subject (especially those of you outside of the US), but I will be quick to remove any comments that are spam, attacks or off-topic.

More Passport Trouble

3 comments (closed), posted on march 28, 2004, tags: new york

I received a letter on Thursday from the United Department of State requesting further proof of identification in order to process my request for a passport. They said they needed—in addition to my original birth certificate (which they have, physically, in their office), social security card, and signed affidavit from Katia—a photocopy of at least three (3) additional proofs of identification that were at least five years old.

First of all—five years ago I was 18. I don't really have anything older than five years (at least that was on their list), let alone three items. Apparently that wasn't a big deal, however, because when I called the passport agency the man on the phone didn't even let me finish describing my situation before cutting me off with, "Don't worry about it. Just send what you have. Doesn't matter how old it is." If it doesn't matter, pal, why do you specify an age?

I sent copies of my college ID, my high school ID, my expired New Jersey driver's license, New York State ID, social security card, employee ID, pay stub, bank statement, and a hand-written note about my phone call to the agency. At this point there's really not much else I can do to prove I'm me, so they had better give me a passport.

Passport, Birthday, Party, Note

2 comments (closed), posted on march 14, 2004, tags: new york

My passport should be on its way. Katia came down to the post office with me on her day off and solemnly swore she knew me and that I was who I said I was. We had to have it expedited, because we're leaving in about 6 weeks, and I don't want to take my chances with the US Government and the US Post Office. They're both bad enough on their own, but together—good lord.

Today is Katia's 23rd birthday. Last night we had a party at a bar near our apartment which we called a week ago to ask whether or not there were any parties planned for the 13th. We were told there was nothing going on, but when we walked into the bar, 3/4 of it was sectioned off for someone else's birthday party. Meanwhile, we had invited 40 people. I complained that we were screwed and we got happy-hour prices for the rest of the night, which somewhat made up for the fact that we all had to cram into one corner of the place.

We had a really nice time and got home some time around 3AM, which is the latest we've been out in a very long time. Both of us had drunk an insane amount of Vodka, and neither of us were at all intoxicated, which was nice. In fact, the only drawback to the night was waking up this morning—hangover free—with a liquidly feeling about my body. It's probably from the four glasses of water I drank before bed.

For her birthday, I got Katia a pink iPod mini. Unfortunately, it won't arrive until sometime around March 24. I waited too long to order it—only because I wanted to see it in person before purchasing it. It's currently being engraved and packaged and hopefully she'll get it soon.

On a site-related note: The reason for the lack of content lately is that I've been completely recoding the back-end of the site. I'm leaving Movable Type after a great two years, and I'm going back to creating my own system. I'm also switching to a new data model based on XML and XSL, which has been a lot of fun to play with. There's a ton of work to be done yet, so it might be slow around here in the interim.

What it Takes to Get a Passport

10 comments (closed), posted on march 11, 2004, tags: new york

I stood in line for an hour and a half to get my picture taken and then, after waiting an additional half-hour, I paid $9.50 and received a piece of paper. The lady told me I would receive my New York State ID card in two to three weeks. Confused as to why I didn't get it right away, since they took my picture, had all my information, just had to fucking print it, I was told they handled all processing in Albany. Fine.

Two weeks later I received my ID. I'm not sure where they got the photo they printed on the card, because I don't remember having a black eye and doing what appears to be at least 20 lines of cocaine. None the less, I had a valid photo ID with my signature, and that was the last piece I needed to apply for a passport. I took my birth certificate, social security card, photo ID and self to the US Post Office on Canal Street in Manhattan.

I stood in line for 25 minutes. I was then told by the woman in booth 6 to go to booth 20. I stood in line for 5 minutes. I was told by the man in booth 20 to go to booth 16. I waited for 5 minutes. Finally, the booth opened and the postal clerk asked me for all of my information. He looked at the form and then asked me for my birth certificate and driver's license. I told him I didn't have one, I only had a photo ID, and please ignore the fact that I appear as a zombie in the photo. He told me he couldn't accept it.

Apparently, in the United States, one cannot get a passport without a valid driver's license. If you do not have said license, you have to bring someone with you who will sign, in the presence of a postal clerk, an affidavit stating they have known you for two years. That person must have a valid driver's license and be a citizen.

Confused as to why my photo ID—which has my vital information, photo and signature—was less valid than a driver's license—whose only addition would be the fact that I could parallel park a car on cue and pass a written test—I asked the clerk why there was a difference. He said, "You see, in America, if you have a driver's license, you can drive in every state." I agreed—it's true—but asked what that had to do with anything. "But a New York State photo ID," he continued, "is only valid in New York." I was going to disagree, since I can use my New York ID to buy alcohol in New Jersey, but before I had a chance the clerk said, "With the New York ID you're only a citizen of New York, with a driver's license you're a citizen of the whole United States. Even Alaska."

I was baffled. I countered with an onslaught of short, angry sentences like, "You're telling me I'm a citizen if I have a driver's license?" and "What does Alaska have to do with me getting my damned passport?" The clerk was upset that I was upset, and he told me it was not a big deal—I could bring someone with me who had the proper identification and they could sign for me. I said something about how ridiculous it was that I, a natural born United States citizen, who had never lived outside the country, who had his birth certificate, social security card and photo ID, couldn't get a passport because I wasn't licensed to drive and yet any idiot who could pass a driver's test and forge a birth certificate could. The clerk was noticeably upset and kept saying, "I don't make the rules, it's not me."

So I didn't get my passport. Tomorrow Katia and I have to go to a post office together and she has to sign an affidavit so that I, a natural born citizen of the US, can get a passport. She being a Russian-born woman who is now a naturalized US citizen and has lived in two other countries, who got her US passport years ago by providing her proof-of-citizenship, even though she didn't have a driver's license.

I don't have proof of citizenship. I was born here and I have always been a citizen. There's no proof of that. But apparently the closest thing is being able to steer a Buick.

It's Snowing in New York

5 comments (closed), posted on december 5, 2003, tags: new york

Big, Bright, Horrible!

2 comments (closed), posted on october 28, 2003, tags: new york

Regal Cinemas 14 in Union Square is sending a message to people who think Manhattan doesn't need any more bright, huge signs: Yes it does.

I know it's hard to see from the crappy picture taken with my cell phone, but let me describe: it's a high sign that wraps around the whole corner of the theater building (the 13th and Broadway corner), with 5-foot-tall lighted letters spelling out "REGAL CINEMAS 14" across the top, and a 5-foot-tall electronic marquee underneath. Flanking the left and right of the marquee are two more, smaller lighted signs that only say "REGAL."

While I can understand wanting to advertise your theater to the crowds in Union Square, I just think this is a waste of time (and power), since the sign is hard to see from most places in the Square. In fact, because the theater is on the corner a block south of the park, you can't see the sign unless you're on that street, or within 20-30 feet west or east of the street in the park.

I think maybe instead of paying for that sign, Regal Cinemas 14 should spend a little more money getting big movies when they open—after not having The Matrix Reloaded and several other big films recently, who cares about that damned sign? If there are no good films it means nothing. Oh, except it's huge and bright and horrible.

Two Years Ago

1 comment (closed), posted on september 11, 2003, tags: new york

I was supposed to write an entry about September 11 today. Last year I took my site down for the day, and put up a picture I took of the towers just a few days before they collapsed. At the beginning of this week, I started thinking about whether or not I would do the same thing this year, what I would write if I didn't, or if I should just not do anything today.

I still remember September 11, 2001 very clearly. I have vivid images, sounds and emotions from that day permanently etched into my brain. I still remember what I was like to walk through that courtyard every day for months on my way to work. I know what it's like to walk by the empty space every day now.

September 11 still bothers me frequently. Not in the general sense, that it happened, or why or what specifically, but in the sense that it placed a fear, small but substantial, inside my head. Every now and then, when I hear a loud plane when at work, I get a flash of fear. When the blackout started, and our office went dark, I was instantly frightened. I'd like to think I'm the kind of person who doesn't let their emotions or fears inhibit the way they live, but September 11 definitely gave me a serious fear that has yet to go away, even though I find it frustrating and, at times, embarassing.

Obviously I will never forget that day. I don't think anyone will. Will it happen again in the future? I don't know. I never thought it would happen in the first place. I don't want to talk about the politics of the situation. I don't want to talk about whose fault it was, what we've done about it, or any of that today. I just want to quietly remember what it looked like before those towers collapsed, and try not to think about what it looked like from across the street when they were burning.

Fun! No, Wait, Not Fun

posted on august 15, 2003, tags: new york

Unbelievable that something like this could happen not only to NYC, but to several states and Canada all at once. It's a bit scary national-security-wise that by doing something to one power station, you can effectively shut down half of the country. Sitting ducks. But, none the less, it seems to be nearly over now and hopefully this will initiate a massive investigation on how our current system needs to be reworked so this doesn't happen again.

After the power went out I went downstairs to see if I could get cellphone reception (I couldn't), and I couldn't get back into my floor (11) because the stair entrance is only one way from there. So I waited for about an hour for my coworkers, but they never showed up. I decided I should start walking home.

It took me four and a half hours, which isn't too bad considering the fact that I walked about 6 miles from work to home. The journey included walking across the Williamsburg Bridge, which is something I've wanted to do since I moved to Brooklyn anyway. I just wouldn't have picked such a hot day to do it, and especially not when thousands of others were doing it too.

But it wasn't terrible, the walk. The worst part of everything was trying to sleep last night with no AC. We also lost all of the food in the refrigerator, but luckily yesterday was supposed to be grocery shopping day anyway, so there wasn't much in there.

We finally got power back about an hour ago. The air-conditioners are running, the Internet is working, and we have television again. Life is good. Things to buy now so we have them next time something happens: a battery operated radio, a non-powered, corded phone, batteries, and a few more candles. Never hurts to be prepared.

Come On, You're Starbucks!

7 comments (closed), posted on june 21, 2003, tags: new york

Yesterday I needed to download some updates on my Powerbook, and since my connection here is still dial-up, I decided to head over to Union Square and use the WiFi access at Starbucks, since I remembered seeing signs about it the last time I was in there.

After ordering my mocha Frappuccino, I sat down at a table in the back and took out my laptop. My Airport Extreme Card instantly found a WiFi network called "tmobile" and I accessed it. I opened Software Update to start the download, but it couldn't connect. I opened Camino and I was instantly taken to a T-Mobile page on which you are given three choices for your WiFi subscription. Monthly, something else, and by-the-minute. Confused, I looked at the subscription details. Monthly was 29.95 and by the minute was 10¢ per. Really confused, I looked around me and saw four other people browsing the Internet. They were paying for it? That's crazy.

You mean to tell me that after I order a $5 drink composed of 90% water, I have to pay you 10¢ a minute to use your WiFi connection? I don't think so pal. There's no way in fuck I'm paying Starbucks, one of the most intrusive corporations in my life (there's one on both sides of fucking Union Square) money so that I can access their Internet connection. You would think they could maybe just have something like that for free, wouldn't you? I mean, Jesus, there are normal everyday people providing WiFi networks all around the city for free, but Starbucks, the megalocorporation, has to charge for it. Stupid.

Ikea, I Love/Hate You

11 comments (closed), posted on february 9, 2003, tags: new york

Yesterday we spent a while at IKEA, finding some furniture to fill our new apartment. It took us about three hours to find a kitchen table, a television stand* and a coffee table. We also managed to get some curtains and some really great lights for the living room.

I don't know how many of you have actually been to an IKEA, since there aren't many locations in the US, but if you have, you'll know exactly how it feels to be in that place on a Saturday. It's horrible. There are usually at least 30,000 people all crammed in there—it's loud, crowded, and frustrating—and from the moment you get in you just want to be out as quickly as you can.

And it's not like their furniture is all that great, either. It's all fake wood on top of particle board, but for some reason you just ignore that when you realize that in a short amount of time (and usually for a relatively good price), you can completely furnish your house or apartment.

But the place makes me so mad. By the time I leave I'm pissed off for reasons I don't even understand, and I just want to scream at all the employees for their lack of customer service skills. I want to cry out in anger that the coffee table we picked out is in the "self-service" area, and it's not sold out, but we get down there and it is in fact sold out. And I hate that I get told by a cashier that she's closed because her light is off, so I find someone with their light on only to be told that she's closed too because her "gate" is closed.

IKEA, I hate you. But I'll be back in a week to pick up that coffee table. Damn you.

* On a related note, we bought our television at Circuit City, which is remarkably different to do in New York than in New Jersey. We couldn't fit it in our car, so we had to pay some random guy with a van $25 to drive it back to our house (he didn't even work for Circuit City, he just sits outside the entrance and works like a cab-driver for your purchased items). Then he even helped us carry it up the stairs, although he almost broke my leg in doing so.

Closing Doors

4 comments (closed), posted on february 6, 2003, tags: new york

There's a reason subway conductors (and that annoying recorded voice) tell you to "Stand clear of the closing doors, please." It's because when those doors close, they do so with a force that's both frightening and powerful.

I've never been the type of person to force my way through closing doors, due to the fact that I've seen how strongly they close as well as heard the stories of people who get stuck in there and have their arms ripped off. But, unlike me, there are countless people who do it with regularity every day. Every now and then you'll see a look of fear as they grab both sides—almost as if they are suddenly realizing they could get stuck—but usually people do it as if it were actually the proper way to board the train.

Today, though, I witness something absolutely fantastic. After boarding the L train at 14th Street, I watched from my seat as a young woman ran up to the closing doors with a large hard-cover book open in her hands. She managed to get her two hands into the train, still holding the book, just far enough for the doors to close directly on the book in its open state. The doors closed quickly, bending the book obtusely until I heard the spine crack, and then they opened again for a moment before closing again—this time catching the book perfectly horizontally and smashing both covers toward one another, sending pages flying outward.

As if this weren't enough, the doors opened once more and the woman, paralyzed in shock and disbelief, stood staring as the doors closed one final time, taking the book by the remaining pages. She pulled back as hard as she could, and I watched through the window as the train pulled away from her standing there with a mangled pile of paper and board in her hands.

Signature Required

11 comments (closed), posted on january 29, 2003, tags: new york

Well, that would have been bad. You see, we found a place on the Lower East Side (I wrote about it vaguely in my last entry as the "place we found today"), but it wasn't all that great. With our price range and the other apartments we'd seen, we figured it was the best of the lot and decided to settle for it... even though it had a bedroom that literally measured 9'x7'.

As I wrote, we decided to visit two final places in Williamsburg before going 100% with the LES apartment. The first place sounded fantastic, but unrealistic. As if we would get there and it would be a horrible misprint and a waste of our time. But it wasn't. At all.

In fact, it was the most fantastic place we had seen. The moment we walked in I knew it was the perfect place, and instantly began mumbling "I want it, I want it, I want it," under my breath. That mumbling didn't stop until today when we signed the lease.

It's ours. I am now officially a resident of Brooklyn.

Look Out New York

posted on january 25, 2003, tags: new york

For the last few weeks, I have privy to the absolutely painful task of attempting to find residence in New York City. She's a rough, harsh bitch, and she doesn't want to be inhabited without a serious fight. After many visits to many places (most of which instantly screamed "Fuck you, pal!" to me), today we finally found what will most likely become our home for at least the next year.

Tomorrow we travel to Williamsburg for a look at two more places, and if neither beats the place we found today, we're done. If one of the two places tomorrow is better, we're done. Basically, we're done. Thank god.

And so, with that, the next process will begin shortly: moving. Yuck. Yuck, yuck, yuck. Here I come, New York.

On the Subject of Smoking

33 comments (closed), posted on january 25, 2003, tags: new york

I haven't written anything about Dictator Bloomberg's NYC smoking ban. I haven't really felt it was necessary, as many other people have put my thoughts into their own words anyway and said basically what I was going to say. That is, until two days ago.

Because I've been commuting from New Jersey again, I've been in close proximity to a lot of the places I spent a great deal of time in during college and high school. One of the places I frequented (more than frequented—I almost lived there) was a diner in Madison called Nautilus. Two days ago, Katia and I decided to visit the diner for some pancakes. We sat in the smoking section and ate our food, talking about my college days and other nonsense. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed a sign over the soda fountain. It read, in short, that as of March 1, 2003, the Nautilus diner would be 100% non-smoking due to the (loose quote) "request of our valued patrons."

Am I not valued? Because I smoke do I somehow register as less important to this diner? Furthermore, do they assign less value to all of the college students from two universities that visit this diner day in and day out? Apparently. I asked one of the staff members why they decided to take this drastic step. He told me, "The boss wants it this way." I asked why and he replied, "I don't know. Doesn't make sense to me." He smokes. I don't know if a non-smoking employee would have said something different, but I doubt it since a majority of the daily income is from the smoking section (midday the non-smoking section is completely empty).

The reason I bring this up is that I feel Bloomberg's mission to rid New York of smokers is now, for some reason, making it acceptable for other places outside the city to do the same. Soon we won't be allowed to smoke on the street, in our cars or in our houses. But, like Dennis Leary says, you can jack the prices sky-high, you can make all black packs with a skull and cross bones on it, call them poison, and we'll still fucking smoke them. You can outlaw smoking in restaurants, and we'll eat quickly and then loiter in front of the building smoking to our hearts' content. You can outlaw smoking in my car and I'll stick my head out the window like Ace Ventura. You can make it illegal to smoke on the planet Earth and I'll steal a fucking spaceship and smoke on the Moon.