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June 14, 2007
Peanuts and Crackerjacks and...
We finally broke down and bought a new camera a few weeks ago, a real sweet Panasonic Lumix with a Leica lens. 10 megapixels. 16:9 aspect ratio. Good in low light and great zoom. It looks kind of old school but it's all good. I haven't even begun to experiment with all of its features, but so far it's been great because we're finally taking more photos. Tonight I was trying to upload some to the computer and while using Google's Picasa application I found a tool to make collages with- how crafty! But obviously I have no idea what I'm doing because look how tiny these photos turned out:
Oh well. As you can see, we went to a Yankees game last night- hence the Yankees collage. My first ever baseball game. I was surprised to learn that they really do sing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" during what is referred to as the "7th inning stretch." I had heard about these traditions but I had never seen them first hand. I must admit I was very sheltered from sports as a child- both the watching of and the participating in. I thought I'd be bored out of my mind, but it was great fun people watching and buying $9 cups of Bud Light. So much fun I hardly paid attention to the game itself, but that was probably for the best since the only thing I know about baseball is...nothing. I know absolutely nothing, except that three strikes means you're out. And that you're supposed to get peanuts and crackerjacks.
See that picture in the upper right hand corner? That's me moments after Rafe discovered a bone in his hot dog. A bone. A very small bone, but a bone nonetheless. There's no need to freak out or ask any questions. It was a bone, let's just leave it at that. And maybe let's make a mental note of this incident to add to the very long list of reasons NOT to eat hot dogs. I finished mine but that's only because I really like hot dogs and it had been a very long time since I had last enjoyed one. What? Don't judge me. What would you have done?
Posted by debbie at 10:24 PM | Comments (1)
June 12, 2007
- I joined FaceBook the other day. I had previously assumed it was for high schoolers and college kids. Not so! Any old schmoe can join now. I'm still not sure about keeping up with yet another one of these social networking sites. I was the 300th person on Friendster (impressed? you should be, if you even remember that site) and I felt really on top of my game with that. Then came MySpace and now FaceBook---ahhhh! I've been obsessed with it for the past few days trying to find friends old and new and learning how to navigate the site (still perplexed with the "poking" but give me a minute). So far, it's been a surprisingly productive way to spend my time. How else would my 15 friends on there know the important things I've been up to without my real-time status updates ("In the bathroom," "sleeping," "enjoying a turkey sandwich," etc.)?
- So I just FedExed my dad a huge tin of the best rugelach for Father's Day. Kind of excessive, especially since I'm always harping on him to eat healthier. But it's his favorite thing in the world. When I fly out to see him, he expects me to walk off the plane with a bag of rugelach, fresh from New York. Without so much as a hug or hello, he asks if I've come with the goods. In his eyes, I'm merely his personal pastry courier. One time I brought him some very choice (a dollar per piece!) rugelach from Mazzola's, the bakery across the street, but I had failed to wrap them properly and they become...wait for it...slightly stale in transit. I'll never forget that sullen look on his face; I had let him down as a daughter. These ones better be moist and delicious upon delivery.
- I'm going to walk to work tomorrow- and I'm putting it in words right here and now as a way to motivate myself. Uh oh, it's going to be raining tomorrow. So Thursday. Thursday for sure. A while ago I bought a pedometer to track how many steps per day I was taking. It made me more conscious of myself as a walker- with every little click of the pedometer I felt like I was doing myself some good but then I started adopting a Ned Flanders-style walk with my elbows all high and making sure each step was toe-to-heel, toe-to-heel. I was averaging around 5,000 steps a day- not bad, and that was just in my daily getting around, to and from work and doing errands. But to get any benefit from walking for exercise, you're supposed to aim for more like 10,000. Walking is also really meditative for me, so I figure this is a good idea, one that maybe I can do with some regularity. I just mapped out how long it would take me to walk to work on HopStop: 1 hour and 20 minutes (that's without stopping and with their particular route) or 4.3 miles. It takes me 25-30 minutes door to door by taking the subway, so we'll see how this goes. This means I'll have to wake up pretty early- but since I don't start work until 10, I think I can make it. Honestly don't know how I could come to work any earlier than I already do. Some people say they are not morning people...I have nothing to say- if you've ever seen me in the morning than you know what I'm talking about. I've turned down jobs that start too early. Once I was offered a job at "news" station (the WB!) that required I arrive there at 4 AM! I said thanks, but no thanks, and then I went back to bed...lately, I've been running into Vince on the subway on the way to work (he started a new job a few months ago and our timing works out as such that we both sometimes arrive at the stop at the same exact time). That's something I will miss if we move- being able to run into my brother on the street like that instead of having to fly across the country for a visit.
- Also, we just booked a trip to Saba! Where the f is that? It's a tiny rustic island off the coast of St. Maarten in the Dutch West Indies. All we wanted was somewhere somewhat isolated and preferably tropical, somewhere to just unwind and recharge before the fall. But the last thing we wanted was some Club Med type resort full of...Americans. Like most other self-hating Americans, we travel to get away from Americans, not to be surrounded by them. After a little research, we found just what we were looking for - El Momo, an "eco-cottage in the sky". It will be hot in the Caribbean when we go in early July but probably not as hot as New York. Where do people go with one week's vacation time in the summer? The Hamptons? Screw that. We're going to Booby Hill, and I can't wait.
Posted by debbie at 12:51 PM | Comments (0)
June 7, 2007
Friday's Post: Choice Bits
These BACON-WRAPPED DATES from Alta, an insanely tasty tapas restaurant in the West Village. Just look at these little guys:
GNU BARS:
If you need more fiber in your diet (and let's admit we could all use more fiber), I can't recommend these highly enough and I'm the last person to be buying into the claims of weird energy bars. But 50 percent of your recommended daily fiber intake- IN ONE SERVING! No artificial flavors or colors or high fructose corn syrup. Filling and non-gritty texture and tasty like a cookie. Sure beats Metamucil.I love you Gnu. And, apparently I'm not the only one. Too bad they are like $2 a pop. The price I'm willing to pay for being regular (TMI?)
Passiveagressivenotes.com:
Takes me back to the days of having five roommates in a cramped NYU-owned apartment in pre-gentrification Chinatown. Oh those were the days. Check it the rest of the site.
Posted by debbie at 3:36 PM | Comments (1)
June 5, 2007
Must All Good Things Come to an End?
This is the last time I'll blog about tacos. The only reason I care to mention them (again) is for a good reason. On Sunday, we finally made the pilgrimage of the season to the Red Hook Soccer Field with Vince and his lady friend Melanie and Rafe's newly-arrive-in-New-York brother Luke. We sat in the rain and devoured tacos and huaraches (Spanish for "big taco") and elote (Spanish for "corn that is more delicious than corn has the right to be") and watermelon juice until we were barely able to roll our soggy selves home. It was as great as I remembered it.
And today I read this might be the end! From nymag.com:
Cesar Fuentes, the executive director of the Food Vendors Committee of Red Hook Park, Inc. “The only person that can extend our permit beyond this season is the Commissioner of Parks.” Fuentes says that the only hope the park has is for New Yorkers to write the commissioner and to testify on behalf of the vendors as a cultural institution.
The Taco Field, as I like to refer to it, is a special place in New York- where else can one sample a variety of authentic Central American foodstuffs in a lively outdoor setting? And I imagine that for the many immigrants that come here, it also provides a little taste of home.
This year I noticed more Hondurans. Lest you think I have a sixth Honduran-spotting sense (I don't) I could tell they were Honduran because some of them were wearing shirts saying "Hondureno, 100%". Rafe joked that Vince and I should have ones that say "Hondureno, 50%". Come to think of it, that would have been helpful when I was actually in Honduras. If only there were shirts for all of us out there!
This reminds of this funny baby t-shirt site I once visited while gift shopping for Laura's baby. I especially like the "I'm Swirled" one. Is that funny? I think so. Rafe could have that says "So white my ancestors literally came over on the Mayflower." Ho ho. Jokes aside, Honduran or gringo, I think we can all come together and agree the food is damn good and the park a wonderful(ly delicious) asset to the community. I just sent a message to Parks Commissioner Benepe full of rage and exclamation marks.* You can, too.
*Here is my actual message that you can cut and paste if you wish:
Please let the Red Hook soccer field food stands stay open! They provide a valuable meeting place for families in the community and the stands provide income for the many talented and hard working people who run them. Also, many people come from all over New York City just to get a taste of the excellent food here, bringing people who might not otherwise come to Red Hook a chance to see what a safe, lively, and diverse neighborhood it truly is. Please let the soccer field remain a wonderful neighborhood tradition!
UPDATE: Check out this article from the New York Times today:
Red Hook Vendors Pressed to Get New Permit
Posted by debbie at 2:22 PM | Comments (0)
June 1, 2007
The Beginning of the End
I received an email from my boss this morning. It read:
Debbie, look at this video. Find the owner and set up interview for next week. Can cat come to Japan? Thanks. -Boss.
This is the video:
Posted by debbie at 2:13 PM | Comments (3)
The Start of Summer
This morning while rummaging blindly through the dark depths of my closet, I pulled out a cute summery wood-handled tote bag that I totally forgot I owned and loved. That was nice. Later on, I was searching around my keys, and I got stabbed by a sewing needle. As I bled violently into my tote, I also found no less than five other sewing needles, three spools of thread, approximately five dollars worth of change in several currencies, a combination lock, and a half eaten package of petrified Junior Mints. All of my many bags contain a similar MacGuyver-esque assortment of crap. I am in need of Spring cleaning. They say that physical clutter = mental clutter and I believe this to be true...
Wait, spring has already come and gone and my brain is too cluttered to remember where that train of thought was going. Anyhow, summer's here! If you live on my block, you can tell summer has arrived because Mario (our landlord who lives in the basement) will have beached himself on the stoop. He can now be found shirtless, belly taut and red like a boiled knockwurst, smoldering cigar betwixt his fingers- sunning himself sunrise till sunset, now through Labor Day. And when he puts his shirt back on, that's the sign that you can open your eyes again (and that summer is officially over).
So here are some photos from Ladies Weekend 2007. You might have read "Ladies Weekend" and thought "ooh, pillow fights, bubble baths, sharing of the same bed, etc) All except the last one (we have a very large bed!) would be false. When four former college roommates friends get together, they do this:
And this:
At least that's what mine do.
(UPDATE: I'm having computer problems, you'll have to wait on those photos. I'm a tease)
In other happenings, as you may know, Rafe and I have been in "negotiations" for some time regarding the decision to stay put or move. Now that we've eliminated the flyover states, it's between San Francisco and New York. Both coastal cosmopolitan places- one just happens to be Not New York. I don't want to get into the hairy details, but we're both...squeezed out. I picked up that phrase the other day while watching Dog Day Afternoon, when Sonny the bank robber is all stressed because his plan is going to shit and the hostage negotiator asks him- "What's the matter Sonny? you look all squeezed out." I dare you to ask someone if they're squeezed out at next opportunity. Together, we can bring the phrase back into fashion.
Sometimes it seems like Rafe and I are trapped in our very own hostage situation. It's dramatic! And intense! And we're just both trying to come out of it alive! Unfortunate for us, we are not hostage to a machine gun wielding strapping young Al Pacino but to ourselves, and our inability to communicate and decide on what's really important here. I'm not sure either one of us can handle one more night sitting down at the dining room table under the harsh overhead light, sweating, beating around the bush, squeezing ourselves out, and negotiating until one of ends up in tears. In all seriousness, I have faith that if we approach this from a more loving open-minded point of view, we will do what's right. We have a few more weeks (the "real" deadline was extended) until he has to enroll...somewhere. And make up dinners are sure to speed things along.
Dare I say make up dinners are better than make up sex? I dare not, but I a great dinner last night at Palo Santo, an usual pan-Latin restaurant on a brownstone block between Fourth and Fifth Avenues in Park Slope, completely unassuming from the outside but the interior is warm and woodsy with an unstudied tropical vibe. Here is a camera phone picture of my meal- a toothsome bluefish fillet with whole fried plantain:
That plantain looks black, but that was just the peel. Inside it was custardy and smooth. I could eat plantains everyday. The wine list was fresh too- all Central and South American selections (have you ever had a Mexican wine?) and the spunky server was helpful without being intrusive. And nothing beats a good pre-fixe deal (Sunday- Thursday, $25 for three courses). A perfect Summer restaurant.
Alright friends, it's Friday and the day is done. I'm off to see Animal Collective (free show down at the South Street Seaport), and then to a BBQ hosted by a friend with an actual BACKYARD. If this is to be our last summer in New York (for a while anyway), than I'm sure as hell going to be make it a good one. One with plenty of grilled meats and outdoor shows. I'm getting nostalgic already.
Posted by debbie at 5:28 AM | Comments (0)