...or addicted to drugs, other than caffeine. Still, its a lot like RENT.
I am broke and currently underemployed. I spend my days walking, because that doesn't cost me anything except calories, and people watching. At night, I spend a significant portion of my daily budget on beer, trying to make friends.
There was an entire story in the NYTimes about people like me this weekend and it tipped me off to a great site called www.myopenbar.com where it lists events all over the city where you don't have to pay to drink. Dreamy!
Tonight I am riding my bike up to Park Slope to Bar BQ, which reports to have the best 'cue in Brooklyn. Not that it matters to me because I'm vegetarian, but just so you know.
It is also boasting free "Rebel Yell Bourbon" drinks from 7-9pm and $2 draft beers, along with live blues music. I don't have anyone to go with but I hope that some other broke hipsters from Brooklyn will be joining me. If not, I'll buy one beer, take my free shot, and come back home and blog about it. A good $2 experiment.
Other things I have learned about living cheaply: If you go into a coffee shop and they have day-olds, politely ask what kind they are, as if you're just curious. 50-50 chance they'll give it to you free.
Today I scored a raisin scone from Flying Saucer (where I also got a job offer, but more on that later). I brought it home and tried an experiment in lunch-time. I crumbled the dry scone into a bowl, added a sliced banana and some cheap soymilk from the nearby asian market and voila! Cheapo bread budding. Kind of. But it was pretty good. Glad I asked about the raisin scone though and not the corn muffin, because that would have been awful.
More, post Bar BQ
Monday, May 26, 2008
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Out and About
Everyone I know that lives here left town for the weekend, so I've had to entertain myself for a while.
I went to Aneal's school for a visit on Friday and hope to go back for an interview soon. Her coworkers are all really nice and seem to like me, which is always good. I get along with the students as well and most of them seemed happy to have me there.
I have interviews on Wednesday and Thursday of this week as well, one at the Urban Assembly of Music and Art (possible dream school) and one at the Urban Assembly of Arts and Letters.
On Friday night I biked to Park Slope to the Cattyshack, one of two lesbian bars in that neighborhood. The closest scene that I can relate it to is like the lesbian version of R Place in Seattle. Multiple stories, dancing, bars, pool table. According to the staff it was a slow night due to the holiday weekend (apparently everyone leaves town on a three day), but there were a decent number of people there. I met a Swedish model that looks like Scarlett Johansen, but with short hair (read: hot) and some nice girls from Jersey that bought me beer. Oh, and the upstairs bouncer grew up in Dallas and knows where White Settlement is. Small world.
Saturday I wandered more around Brooklyn and walked a ton. I stopped into my new favorite coffee shop, the Flying Saucer, and visited with the staff there, most of whom I'd met on Thursday. Today I walked by again and they joked about me just needing to get a job there. Gave my number to a guy named Robert who seems cool. Maybe we'll hang sometime.
Saturday night I went to an event called GirlNation at a bar near Times Square called Nation. Again with the story about thin crowds. This crowd, while younger and more well-groomed than most at Cattyshack was definitely harder to get into. I only really talked to the girl walking around selling jello shots. I left around 12:30 and wandered Times Square, marveling at how all the neon and billboard light makes it seem like daytime, at night.
Today I went into the East Village to a farmers market and talked to Andrew, the Bee Dude, about working for him in my free time this summer, selling honey. I sat in at the booth for a while and handled it well. We're going to check in re: my schedule and his and see if there is any time I can squeeze out to sell some sweet stuff. $10/hr under the table ain't bad.
On my way home I stopped by Ginger's, the other lesbian bar in Park Slope, to see what the scene is like. This bar is pretty similar to the Rose-- good happy hour and sports playing, mostly older crowd, which I think is par unless there is some special event happening. The staff were nice though and I could see it being a chill place to go.
Possibly I think some of the problem is that there are so many things to do and so many places to go that it's hard to pin down any one crowd.
Tomorrow I might try back at the open mic night at Cattyshack. Or stop by the Park Slope Food Co-op, which is where Aneal meets girls.
Anyhow. Off to my first early to bed night. Have to run tomorrow morning.
I went to Aneal's school for a visit on Friday and hope to go back for an interview soon. Her coworkers are all really nice and seem to like me, which is always good. I get along with the students as well and most of them seemed happy to have me there.
I have interviews on Wednesday and Thursday of this week as well, one at the Urban Assembly of Music and Art (possible dream school) and one at the Urban Assembly of Arts and Letters.
On Friday night I biked to Park Slope to the Cattyshack, one of two lesbian bars in that neighborhood. The closest scene that I can relate it to is like the lesbian version of R Place in Seattle. Multiple stories, dancing, bars, pool table. According to the staff it was a slow night due to the holiday weekend (apparently everyone leaves town on a three day), but there were a decent number of people there. I met a Swedish model that looks like Scarlett Johansen, but with short hair (read: hot) and some nice girls from Jersey that bought me beer. Oh, and the upstairs bouncer grew up in Dallas and knows where White Settlement is. Small world.
Saturday I wandered more around Brooklyn and walked a ton. I stopped into my new favorite coffee shop, the Flying Saucer, and visited with the staff there, most of whom I'd met on Thursday. Today I walked by again and they joked about me just needing to get a job there. Gave my number to a guy named Robert who seems cool. Maybe we'll hang sometime.
Saturday night I went to an event called GirlNation at a bar near Times Square called Nation. Again with the story about thin crowds. This crowd, while younger and more well-groomed than most at Cattyshack was definitely harder to get into. I only really talked to the girl walking around selling jello shots. I left around 12:30 and wandered Times Square, marveling at how all the neon and billboard light makes it seem like daytime, at night.
Today I went into the East Village to a farmers market and talked to Andrew, the Bee Dude, about working for him in my free time this summer, selling honey. I sat in at the booth for a while and handled it well. We're going to check in re: my schedule and his and see if there is any time I can squeeze out to sell some sweet stuff. $10/hr under the table ain't bad.
On my way home I stopped by Ginger's, the other lesbian bar in Park Slope, to see what the scene is like. This bar is pretty similar to the Rose-- good happy hour and sports playing, mostly older crowd, which I think is par unless there is some special event happening. The staff were nice though and I could see it being a chill place to go.
Possibly I think some of the problem is that there are so many things to do and so many places to go that it's hard to pin down any one crowd.
Tomorrow I might try back at the open mic night at Cattyshack. Or stop by the Park Slope Food Co-op, which is where Aneal meets girls.
Anyhow. Off to my first early to bed night. Have to run tomorrow morning.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
my first night-- and last night
its been a while since i last wrote, and apologies. had lots and lots to do, lots of people to see, and lots, apparently, to drink.
but first a word from our sponsors:
thanks lauren!
okay so last night was my going away happy hour-turned full blowout. started at the war room (i highly recommend high 5 there on tuesdays. drinks are good, bartender is hot) and ended up at havana, i'm not sure why.
first, a word form another sponsor:
tecate. gets me in trouble.
so there was drinking, there was dancing, there was me awkwardly trying to make out with a roomdawg. at some point i ripped a hole in the sleeve of my new mermaid shirt and there is a pretty wicked scratch on my arm under where it must have happened. i have no idea.
i cried a few times, laughed a lot, and got some pretty great hugs. roni uploaded some of the most amazing photos to facebook.
now i'm in brooklyn. it took me most of the plane ride to sleep off the booze, but i was feeling fresh when i got here. my new roommate gretchen and her boyfriend jose came to pick me up so i wouldn't have to schlep all my luggage around.
the neighborhood here is cool- very multicultural. i found an asian and a mexican market across the street from each other, about four blocks from my house. i ate an eggplant calzone from vincent's down the street. i went into the market and bought eggs, beans, bread, yogurt and oatmeal. tomorrow i will look for fresh veggies and crunchy stuff like soy milk and tofu.
i have to go into manhattan tomorrow to be fingerprinted. i also have to take my wheel to the bike shop to get the rotor fixed because it got all messed up in transit. hopefully that works out- there's a bike shop right down the street!
right now i'm catching up on internet and thinking about something to eat again before bed. all i managed up until the calzone was a bagel i bought at the airport this morning.
big shout out to ruth for being on time, and thus waking me up after alarm failed. whew.
more on my adventures tomorrow, when i actually have them.
g'night brooklyn!
but first a word from our sponsors:
thanks lauren!
okay so last night was my going away happy hour-turned full blowout. started at the war room (i highly recommend high 5 there on tuesdays. drinks are good, bartender is hot) and ended up at havana, i'm not sure why.
first, a word form another sponsor:
tecate. gets me in trouble.
so there was drinking, there was dancing, there was me awkwardly trying to make out with a roomdawg. at some point i ripped a hole in the sleeve of my new mermaid shirt and there is a pretty wicked scratch on my arm under where it must have happened. i have no idea.
i cried a few times, laughed a lot, and got some pretty great hugs. roni uploaded some of the most amazing photos to facebook.
now i'm in brooklyn. it took me most of the plane ride to sleep off the booze, but i was feeling fresh when i got here. my new roommate gretchen and her boyfriend jose came to pick me up so i wouldn't have to schlep all my luggage around.
the neighborhood here is cool- very multicultural. i found an asian and a mexican market across the street from each other, about four blocks from my house. i ate an eggplant calzone from vincent's down the street. i went into the market and bought eggs, beans, bread, yogurt and oatmeal. tomorrow i will look for fresh veggies and crunchy stuff like soy milk and tofu.
i have to go into manhattan tomorrow to be fingerprinted. i also have to take my wheel to the bike shop to get the rotor fixed because it got all messed up in transit. hopefully that works out- there's a bike shop right down the street!
right now i'm catching up on internet and thinking about something to eat again before bed. all i managed up until the calzone was a bagel i bought at the airport this morning.
big shout out to ruth for being on time, and thus waking me up after alarm failed. whew.
more on my adventures tomorrow, when i actually have them.
g'night brooklyn!
Monday, May 12, 2008
Horoscopic Truths
"What makes a river so restful to people is that it doesn't have any doubt," wrote columnist Hal Boyle. "It is sure to get where it is going, and it doesn't want to go anywhere else." Your assignment for the rest of 2008, Libra, is to do whatever's necessary to make yourself fit this description. The next eight months will provide unprecedented opportunities to turn yourself into a river flowing toward your destiny with surprisingly sublime freedom.
For some reason, the guy who writes Free Will Astrology always has me spot on. I'd say this one hits the mark again.
www.freewillastrology.com
The Little Red Hen, and other things I should have done
Now that I'm gearing up to leave Seattle I keep experiencing all these things that I should have done more of while here.
Last night a group of us went to the Little Red Hen, a country bar close to where I live (maybe the only country bar in Seattle? I don't know.) The people in the bar were straight out of Texas and it was amazing. We danced with some Coast Guard boys, I did the western swing with a grandma, drank cheap beer, played pool. It was fantastic. It left me wondering why I chose to go now, so soon before leaving, and not sooner when I could have made it a tradition. I can't think of many better ways to spend a Sunday than I did last night!
There are other things that I realize I should have done more of-- but I'm working on it. I have a list that I carry in my back pocket so if for any reason I have unexpected free time, I have an idea of what I can do:
Memorize the view from Gasworks
Get a t-shirt from the Little Red Hen
Go to Pike Place Market and get a pumpkin cookie
Have a salmon sandwich
I took today off work because I have to get boxes and pack. Maybe I'll do something fun too.
Last night a group of us went to the Little Red Hen, a country bar close to where I live (maybe the only country bar in Seattle? I don't know.) The people in the bar were straight out of Texas and it was amazing. We danced with some Coast Guard boys, I did the western swing with a grandma, drank cheap beer, played pool. It was fantastic. It left me wondering why I chose to go now, so soon before leaving, and not sooner when I could have made it a tradition. I can't think of many better ways to spend a Sunday than I did last night!
There are other things that I realize I should have done more of-- but I'm working on it. I have a list that I carry in my back pocket so if for any reason I have unexpected free time, I have an idea of what I can do:
Memorize the view from Gasworks
Get a t-shirt from the Little Red Hen
Go to Pike Place Market and get a pumpkin cookie
Have a salmon sandwich
I took today off work because I have to get boxes and pack. Maybe I'll do something fun too.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Wrapping things up-- ongoing process
It just hit me yesterday that I'm leaving in two weeks. For so long it felt like forever away, but now-- it feels so real. I put my bike on consignment at the shop today, I'm bringing home boxes later. I'm planning my going away party, making dates to see people one last time before I leave.
this is the part that feels a little scary.
in some ways i feel like i'm leaving so many things that i'm just getting to know-- i have met some very cool people in the last few months and am sad to be leaving them so soon. like i told someone earlier, its a shame that we met when we did, and not a year or two ago when i could have really used it. the good thing, though, is that internet and phones will keep us close until a plane can make it back and forth.
i got an invite for an interview at my dream school this week. its an art and music high school looking for a science teacher. the school itself is in a warehouse-y area of brooklyn and has complete recording studios, art studios, dance studios... all my favorite things! all of the arts teachers are professionals and the core subject teachers are regular NY public schools faculty, so the environment seems like it would be a great mix of folk. being able to entertain both my academic and artistic sides would be a dream.
i am conceptualizing a science lesson involving waves and wave technology to incorporate music and sound into science. cross your fingers that i pull it off!
this is the part that feels a little scary.
in some ways i feel like i'm leaving so many things that i'm just getting to know-- i have met some very cool people in the last few months and am sad to be leaving them so soon. like i told someone earlier, its a shame that we met when we did, and not a year or two ago when i could have really used it. the good thing, though, is that internet and phones will keep us close until a plane can make it back and forth.
i got an invite for an interview at my dream school this week. its an art and music high school looking for a science teacher. the school itself is in a warehouse-y area of brooklyn and has complete recording studios, art studios, dance studios... all my favorite things! all of the arts teachers are professionals and the core subject teachers are regular NY public schools faculty, so the environment seems like it would be a great mix of folk. being able to entertain both my academic and artistic sides would be a dream.
i am conceptualizing a science lesson involving waves and wave technology to incorporate music and sound into science. cross your fingers that i pull it off!
Saturday, May 3, 2008
Am I really going to be in graduate school?
A big part of the Fellows program, but one that I often forget about, is the graduate program. I've been trying to go back to school for a few years now-- thinking about public health, an MPA, urban planning, law school, but none of them ever really seemed to happen. Either I'd realize that I was trying to go to school just because I needed something to do, or the programs seemed to not be 100% what I wanted to do. Getting a master's degree in education is not something that I would have come to on my own if it were not in the NYCTF, but here I am-- I'm going back to school.
Suddenly I'm having the same dreams I used to have before my first day, from Kindergarten through college-- will I find my school? Will I remember my books? I love school, its true, and I'm a good student, but a big part of me wonders if I've forgotten how to do all of this?
Got my university assignment yesterday. Going to Brooklyn College, not too far from where I'm going to be living. Awesome.
Suddenly I'm having the same dreams I used to have before my first day, from Kindergarten through college-- will I find my school? Will I remember my books? I love school, its true, and I'm a good student, but a big part of me wonders if I've forgotten how to do all of this?
Got my university assignment yesterday. Going to Brooklyn College, not too far from where I'm going to be living. Awesome.
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