on my doorstep

an unusually humane june, it seems. The rain comes frequently and it's cool. The leaves still feel tender, new on the trees. 

good morning, brooklyn!

out my kitchen window. happiness.
when i was a little girl i used every opportunity to make a wish--usually on the first star--to wish it would snow. and while a trace dusting about twice in my lifetime did wake me up squealing, i'm thinking new york is just a delayed answer to my little girl wishes. this is what east coast winter should be. enough of the cold and dreary with no white, business!
i like it!

primping, brooklyn style

ever had somewhere you really cared about going—like, say—a book launch where you’d first see your name published? say that you’ve even chosen just the right dress to wear--and not merely because it’s the only clean thing in your closet. okay, so maybe it is, but nevertheless, can we just drop the laundry issue already?
and then a few days prior to said exciting event, the landlord leaves this note taped to every surface in the building resembling a wall.

you recognize the date as an important one, a day you could probably benefit from the use of some hot water, but shrug. so what. you’ve been taking cold showers all summer anyway.
and then the day comes and you're all discombobulated anyway. instead of being pedicures and peace you're all hot, schleppy, sweaty and running late. that cold shower starts sounding pretty good.
except when you turn on the tub to full blast cold, this is the amount of water coming out.

again, don't hassle me about my dirty tub.

you wait for the pipe to bring forth your fountain of youth but the only thing coming is a hollow gurgling sound, kind of like a hoarse donkey (not like a horse-donkey, which, i guess, would be a mule...)

so you wash your hair under this trickle because you still smell like woodsmoke and marshmallows from the weekend camping trip. as you employ your yoga practice to maneuver yourself under the spitting faucet, all the while adding interesting bruises to your collection, your frazzled mind busies itself crossing errands off your list to compensate for the time-sucking shower olympics.

but you may as well have left the hair dirty because once you're done haphazardly loading it up with bizarre products you don't really know how to use in an attempt to 'style' your newly cropped red mane you just come out looking like sharon osbourne. more shrugs. what are you gonna do?

as you initially expected, none of it matters anyway, because at above mentioned party, you're far too busy meeting nice people and laughing at the awesome and beautifully put together book you're so proud to be a part of.
the end.

200 ways to waste your day or spackleshot's 200th post

p.s. the mystery colors in the kitchen mat came right out in the wash...

her fatal step

from the 'ancient diner' series....to see more click here.

i'd like to thank god, the academy & evan

this post serves duals duty as:

1) something ridiculous to share with my adoring audience

2) a big fat thank you to evan, who 'loaned' me his canon powershot a95 point and shoot when he upgraded to a gorgeous leica p&s.

why, you ask, would i want a point and shoot when i spend all my loot on my nikon dslr system? the answer is the above photo, taken last night at midnight as emre and i tottled back from our favorite new bar, the mark bar, WHICH HAS SKEE BALL, darts, pool, candyland, an ouiji board and very often FREE FOOD. emre had a true 'beginner's luck' moment, nailing the impossible 100 slot on his first ball, which crushed his heart with each subsequent 10er. the sad news--no tickets for redeeming swirly candy sticks.



anyhoo, in another part of greenpoint, where i don't often tread, we came across the above 'chinese musician' restaurant. wow. what a name. where did it come from? was it opened by a proud chinese musician? can you only eat there if you are a chinese musician? or are the diners graced with the music of a chinese musician? first i had my usual, 'man--i wish i had a camera with me!' moment. my d70s is just to bulky and valuable to tote everywhere i roam in this city. then disappointment gave way to excitement and supreme thanks to evan for the loan. yeah, i suppose, relating to my last post, that a camera phone would do the trick. but did i mention how much fun i'm having with the video?

i just want to mention that the following segment was not coached (except i asked her to repeat it for the camera). one day my friend kim reported that ginger just came out with the following statement, and now periodically declares:

bridgewalk

from that day i shot the brooklyn bridge 23,457 times....

i heart brooklyn

yesterday, while taking a break from hard manual labor (explanations in a later, exhustingly long post with photo documentation, i promise/threaten!), emre and i took a stroll down to 'el burrito loco.' while it may not be california, it's the best we got, and since it's on williamsburg's south side--about 22 blocks from our house--we don't venture there on a very regular basis. but it was a beautiful holiday and the streets were teeming with happy hipsters relaxing. we picked up our burritos and took them to mc garren park, where we laid out our alien grass blanket and picniked, watching kids fly kites and noticing the usual stiking resemblance between owners and their dogs. while we stood in line slightly swaying to the salsa beat (okay, i was the one swaying. emre, of course, was not), watching actual mexican people assemble our burritos (let's facce it, if we were in manhattan, we'd be listening to def leppard) and taking in the mellow scene, i felt a wave of love crash over me. i recalled the previous night's encounter with a stupid girl we all agreed must be new to new york, ranting, "i work a hard, fast paced life, and on the weekends, i want immediate options options options NOW. that's what manhattan gives me." okay girl, don't look now, but it's the weekend, and you and 25% of manhattan has taken the L train (or a cab for the not so easy to commit to the borough) out to brooklyn because it's cooler. so there. i love brooklyn. i love my neighborhood. and i love using these sticks attached to my hips to walk all over it enjoying life and love. thankfully, emre is a pro-walking brooklyn lover too. all smiles.


p.s. i do love manhattan too, but brooklyn is home. don't think i don't understand that its proximity to manhattan is one thing that makes it great.

p.p.s. very often, the way i write post is just to choose a photograph to share and see what words it brings. the above, was not the originally intended photo for this post. it was actually this:





and the title was 'i heart new york'. but i found my writing taking me to the 'i heart brooklyn' statement, then it just didn't seem right to use a photo that i shot in union square, manhattan, though it suited the mood better. so there it is. i heart manhattan, too. (okay, eddie and maria, happy?)