Top 10 of 2011

Time to reflect and reset. So, here it is, my personal top ten from two thousand eleven.

10. Dancing to Lynx and the Polish Ambassador post-Wicker Park Fest at the Double Door.

9. Perfect lemon squares. (last weekend in Chicago)

8. Kickboxing. (all the time)

7. IPR Goodbye Party, complete with Cozy pad see-ewe and whoopie pies, just after falling off my bike and accepting the kindness of strangers who fixed me up and drove me where I needed to go.

6. Snowpocalypse (first rhubarb pie, walking in the snow-filled street, and waking up to the acceptance call from Cardozo).

5. Last pre-move night in St. Louis with family and friends around the bonfire at my sister's fabulous new, old house in Tower Grove.

4. Surprise Pretty Lights set in the actual forest of the Electric Forest, and endless nights of dancing and fun with my oldest best bestie at my first real music fest.

3. Pre-Future Rock time in NYC with a new friend/fellow law student who cheered me up and spent two hours scribbling new storylines and comic characters for Traynor Wins on the placemat of a shared plate of guacamole.

2. Exploring the new city with an old friend (culminating in my first 6 a.m. New York pizza), and bumping into my (little did I know) new best friend at an outdoor concert at the MOMA PS1.

1. Hiking 5 miles through the Redwood Forest and back to spend the afternoon in the California, Pacific-ocean breeze, reading alone at Pebble Beach.

A close 11th was also returning from Thanksgiving, dragging myself to class, and walking outside afterward to find some great comfort in seeing the regular circle just waiting outside so we could all grab our coffee during the break. I think that was the day I finally used my saved-up coupon for a free Newsbar coffee. And by coffee, I mean a giant dirty chai. This seems like a rather insignificant memory in light of all the great change and experiences I've had this year. But something about the regularity it represents makes it all the more special.

To new friends and old, I miss you and love you all. Hope the new year brings you all comfort and challenge, as the last one did for me. <3

***

Oh, no! How could I forget? This was definitely #1.

Future Rock

So, it wasn't quite like this. But it was a dance party. At least I think so. I was at the front and didn't stop much to turn around. So, thanks, Future Rock. I needed that.




(Electric Forest, Summer 2011, but I was there, too.)


That video is not so good. Tunes are here: http://www.myspace.com/futurerock

World Series

We made it!

Redbirds' Road to October is complete, and now they're on their way to the World Series since, well, since the first time I really cared. Unbelievable. That is all. I'm so happy. Terribly homesick. But so happy.

Would post a pic of the NLCS/Pennant win, but my favorite image was still the pre-edited shot of Molina (fav player) racing toward Motte (fav reliever) and lifting him in the air, about two seconds before they were bombarded by the rest of the team and sprayed with Budweiser. And Pujols got his homer. (Just sign him already!) And Freese, the STL native, got his MVP. (Albert is great, but Freese really carried this team through the post-season, and I think he really deserved it.)

Oh, and I just spent money I don't have on this:

But thanks to Amazon Prime, it will be here by first W.S. game on Wednesday.
OK, back to real life. But Go Cards!

Insanity

- noun [in-san-i-tee]; pl. insanities

1. the state of being insane; madness.
2. extreme foolishness or irrationality.
3. doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results. *

Not too much has changed here. I've made it more than halfway through the mandatory "I hate New York" time I understand is expected for newcomers, although I've also heard that syndrome can last as long as six months for the more culturally "shocked."

Anyway, I've come to link my insanity to the record of the Cardinals, who like me, keep doing the same thing over and over again (score a bunch of runs, give up a bunch of runs) and expecting a different result. But lately, unpredictably, they're getting it. Knowing my World Series wishes might all come crashing down this week, I'm just thankful for the heart-popping post-season run we've had so far, and the bragging rights to say, "We beat the best team in baseball!" [Take that, Phillies!] As my friend pointed out, "I guess that means you are the best team in baseball." Double-bragging rights!

Backing up, about a month ago, the Cardinals were 10 games back from their division rivals (and now Championship rivals) and 8 1/2 back from the Wildcard (which they got, see the Post-Dispatch above, or MLB: Go Wild, folks.). But somehow, in their frustrating routine of randomness, they started picking up games, just here and there. And now look at em', head-to-head with the Brewers for the National League Championship. So, I figure, if they can do it — that is, win, with extremely sporadic effort — then so can I. Whatever win means.
I guess, just, "I'll get there."

Filling in on the rest of the month's activities will have to wait, but had to write tonight because...

[indulging in the fact that somewhere to the West, it is still October 9th]

1: I promised I wouldn't let a month go by without posting. So, "Whew!" Just made the deadline (PST).

2: It just so happens to be the birthday of my dear friend and forever companion, John Lennon. He is missing here in my apartment. For some reason I can't remember, I decided not to cart him out to New York. So for the first time in seven years, I've been without that iconic image of him standing in front of the NYC skyline in a "New York City" t-shirt, looking very NYC and all. (Or maybe that was the reason.) Anyway, it's strange now to think I used to see him like that every morning before I left home and then again every night, whether he was tacked up in a crowded dorm room or staring down majestically from the aqua walls of my giant living room on Paulina (between a golden 70s pole lamp and a zebra-printed shag rug, of course).

The point is, having an occasion to look him up, John saves me once again. He's a reminder of what I want NYC to be, what drew me here in the first place. Him and the 99% still shouting out on Wall Street. (Debate as you will on the merits, but, hey, it's still happening. Read more on New York Times, Room for Debate, October 6.)

And apparently, for other Lennon fans/NYC doubtfuls, there is also this: LENNONYC, "a new film [aired last year on PBS] that takes an intimate look at the time Lennon, Yoko Ono and their son, Sean, spent living in New York City during the 1970s."

* For those interested in wonky trivia, this "quote" does not actually belong in quotes because Albert Einstein did not say it, nor did Benjamin Franklin, or at least no one can prove it.

***

!!!, and "Chicago" is my nickname.

On the art and music front:

Last weekend was filled with tourist-y adventures with a friend visiting
from Boston, including a trip to the MoMA -- which, in addition to the
classic Warhols and Pollocks, has a fantastic exhibition right now
on the interaction between people and objects, called "Talk to Me"
(click here to see some of the works).

*******************************************************************************************

The Warm-Up concert series at PS1
(ps1.org/warmup), the MoMA's all-
contemporary sister gallery in Queens,
offered a pleasant space to chill
in the last days of summer ...
and an amazing outdoor dance party
in the gallery's urban garden.

Highlight of the evening:
Horse Meat Disco (video below).




I was dancing about 20 feet to the left of this video.
(Starting at 1:49, I totally lost it. Safety Dance -->
the remix. --> Awesome.)

*******************************************************************************************

Last night the band !!! put on a fantastic show at the Bell House in Brooklyn.
First (literal) brush with fame: dancing, literally, with the lead singer for a whole 5 seconds after he jumped from the stage and bounced his way through the front of the crowd. In addition to the hyper-energized dance floor, bonus points to the band for stage presence. I'll save everyone the trouble of trying to Google this annoyingly impossible name (pronounced, roughly, "chk chk chk"): www.myspace.com/chkchkchk.

Not ready to end the evening, I finally wandered back into Ryan's Pub last night for the first time since the very first night I arrived in New York. The bartender recognized me immediately -- "Hey, Chicago!" -- and chastised me for taking a whole month to get back. Technically, it was four weeks to the day. Nice to be remembered, though. Besides the comped drinks, I appreciate the comfort that comes along with being recognized, if only by a growing pool of friendly bartenders and baristas. (Sure, it's good to explore new places, but going back to Mudspot instead of searching out a new perk got me free coffee this afternoon, too.)

Tomorrow will be interesting as a non-New Yorker in the middle of New York on the 10-year anniversary of 9/11. Mostly I'm ready for it to be Monday so all the extra police will go away and things can be more back to normal. In the mean time, Krugman's Sept. 6 column in the Times offers the best reflection on this issue and the attacks' impact over the last decade that I can find:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/07/opinion/friedman-the-whole-truth-and-nothing-but.html?_r=2&src=ISMR_HP_LO_MST_FB

***

See the forest through the trees.

It has been exactly one month since I packed up and left Chicago for good.
Nothing to say, so here are the pictures I promised (coast to coast):

One month ago.






West Coast.














East Coast.











*****

Notwithstanding

Today, I ordered a rug, and finally came up with lots of decorating ideas. A lot of them specifically involve objects re-purposed for function, or just plain fun, which makes me excited. I need to find a new creative outlet and way to keep artsy for my own sanity.

Other accomplishments include: ****

Seeing the "Top of the Rock" (Rockefeller Center) and the CBS Late Show building.

Finding a dive bar with a good jukebox (and the occasional free shot and free cannoli).

Meeting up with an old friend from Chicago.

Making it through my first classes, and actually understanding the reading.

Doing all my homework.

Walking up and down the stairs in my apartment building at least once a day (on average) instead of taking the elevator all the time.

Buying lots of fresh fruit off the street and not even bothering with Whole Foods.

Cooking omelets and broccoli for myself (hey, at least it's cooking).

Buying six notebooks today for a penny each! And general coupon-clipping.

Learning when to walk away from conversations that a) make me unhappy and b) I don't need to be a part of. (Mostly, I am referring to the table talk at the student housing pizza party that revolved around exams. I moved tables.)

Planning a different outing to a different show with a new music buddy. (!) Or rather !!!, that is [chk chk chk] in Brooklyn in just a couple of weeks. I'm excited. New band. New venue. New friend. New new new = new excitement.

**** I do want to point out that almost none of the things mentioned in my last entry ever happened/came true/still hold. I did not go to that show, or join that gym, or invite anyone upstairs for honey wine after the pizza party. But in spite of all that, I feel pretty good. Not settled, but on my way.