It's been awhile

Wow, really been awhile since I posted. Just goes to show you what a hectic school year can do to a teacher.

Things are good and the prospect of spring arriving soon is making my spirits lift. I've found myself obsessed with Ken Ken puzzles (currently mastering the medium level) and taking city buses. For most of the winter, I was taking cabs. Listen, I know you're all groaning and you have every right to. I was basically throwing money away. But I was deliciously warm and that's all that mattered in that moment. Anyway, I've realized not only was I throwing money away, but I was missing the absurdity that is the New York City bus system. Anything goes on those buses.

My favorite example to date?

I arrive at the bus at approximately 6:45AM one morning and the bus is sitting with all the doors open and the wheelchair ramp extended. I walk toward the bus and I'm told by a passerby that the bus driver is waiting for a "violent passenger" to leave the bus. I resign to wait for the next one. As minutes grow longer, I see the man starting to come off the bus. As he comes off, I realize he is, indeed, in a wheelchair and missing both legs. He rolls off the bus and the bus driver says, "Okay, we can get back in." As we start to move toward the bus, the guy in the wheelchair floors it back on the bus. We played this game one more time before the next bus came. It was a pretty eventful morning.


This evening, Adam and I watched "W." which made me uncomfortable...and now I'm trying not to watch him play Street Fighter.

Tomorrow, I will go to a dog fashion show, which quite possibly might be the best event I ever attend.

And with that, goodbye.

just because...

just because Fourth of July was fun this year and I love the muppets.

So my mom swept through New York City these past few days and you know what that means! Dinner at fancy restaurants and shopping for things I can't afford. Namely, a dress for my brother's wedding.

Sak's makes me uncomfortable although all you lovers of fancy designers, the third floor is having a major sale on all of their upscale clothing.

But the best part about my mom coming into town? Taking cabs. I never take cabs. I don't have the money and it's usually quicker to take public transit. But, I welcome taxi rides whenever someone is willing to subsidize. Over the last couple of days, I've encountered a couple of types of drivers:
-pump the gas man - you are especially annoying because you make me want to vomit all over your seats.
-pump the break man - you are equally annoying as I'm not in love with hitting my head on the partition
-need for speed man - I don't have a huge problem with you as long as I get to my destination alive
and finally
-slow and steady man - I have no need for you. This is New York City and I have places to be.


In other news, there was quite a hubbub in my neighborhood yesterday evening as a small dog in a garden behind my apartment was crying all night. While some were simply annoyed by the barking, there were quite a few of us who are concerned because the dog is left out there all hours of the day and night with no food or water. Needless to say, at midnight I was scaling the fence in my backyard in attempt to save the pup, but to no avail. My neighbor was supposed to call the animal precinct this morning and I hope she did!

This Sunday, I'll be with my brother and his fiance promoting pet adoptions at the gay pride parade. Look for me! I'll be marching in the parade. I'll be the one who isn't making out with a lesbian.

red string on my forefinger

Once in a great while, I need to remind myself of why I made the choices I did.

Man, I have no regrets.





My life was intense for awhile there. I guess I can be alright with a rather calm and quiet existence.

Well, I'm back from the country in one piece, hardly. Despite various minor mishaps, like my dog running away, my weekend jaunt was much appreciated.

Now I'm back in the humid abyss that is New York City, and let me say, I have realized why I like winter better than summer.

Regulating temperature in New York City is an art form which I have not mastered. It is generally at least 10 degrees warmer in my apartment than outdoors at all times. I'm one of the lucky Manhattanites who enjoys TWO functioning air conditioning units. Nonetheless, I'm sitting here sweating at 9:30PM.

Let me make one more comment about my day today. I went to go pick up a prescription at a different Duane Reade than I normally go to. This is because the most recent construction crane debacle destroyed my beloved pharmacy around the corner from my apartment. The pharmacist was giving me a hard time about switching my prescription to another Duane Reade, to which I said, "But a crane fell on my Duane Reade!" and he relented. I then realized that there will never be another city in the world that I choose to live in that will ever put in me in the situation I was in today.

And with that, I'm going back to reading On the Road, which by the way is not as good as everyone says. It's the only book that's taken me forever to read because I'm just plain bored.

Peace.

I feel extra Jewish

So I'm home. The trip to Israel went off without a hitch and I'm happy to say that I wasn't sure I wanted to return to New York City. That's right, this blog almost became "Sincerely (,) Israel." And it still might.

But besides that, it was an incredible trip in a beautiful and vibrant country that I will never forget. Everyone should get there once in their life.

Pictures (all 577 of them) are posted in my flickr account, which can be seen here... http://flickr.com/photos/jessicablair/sets/72157605470103878/

But enough about that.

Yesterday I had a wonderfully New York day and I'd like to share, if I may. Barney Greengrass, the quintessential breakfast and smoked fish spot on the Upper West Side, turned 100 years old. Now, I'll be honest, I'd never heard of the place. Never been there, never even thought about it. But I'm Jewish and I love smoked fish. Well, in honor of their 100th anniversary of existing (!), they rolled back their prices to what they would have been should it be 1908. That's right...Adam and I spent a total of 6.50 (tax included) on four glasses of orange juice, smoked salmon and sturgeon with eggs, and a smoked salmon and sturgeon sandwich. Let me just remind you non-New Yorkers that 6.50 is about how much I would have paid for my salad fork if these were 2008 prices. It was delicious and the line was worth it.

We skipped the bus home and took a walk through Central Park. Believe it or not, I've never actually taken the time to stroll through there. I've been in and out a couple of times, but now I was able to feel one with nature for half an hour. And now I understand why people hang out there. There's a lot more oxygen within those trees.

And finally, we ended our night at top chef, Wylie Dufresne's WD-50 for a belated birthday gift to Adam. Not only was the food excellent, but I swindled the staff into letting Adam take a tour through the kitchen and meet Dufresne himself. It was a night to remember.

And today, I'm doing what any New Yorker would do as the weekend approaches. I'm leaving. That's right, it's off to the country for me. Time for swimming, eating meat, and taking naps.

Shalom!

long time no see.

So, I'm officially living life post graduate degree. That's right, it's Master Jessi to you.

And everything's coming up Milhouse, if you will.

Less than a month after receiving my receipt for graduate school (ie. my diploma), I have gone and gotten myself a job at a charter school in Harlem.

On top of that, I'm going to the land of milk and honey tomorrow. That's right folks, Israel. I'll be making my pilgrimage tomorrow evening via El Al with a group of 40 people I've never met before. It's sure to be filled with awkward moments, cheesey photo opportunities, and a fair amount of xanax. But, for real, it's going to be pretty amazing. I've heard nothing but good things, so I'm pretty excited to make this jaunt.

But, rewind a little, to my graduation. How New York could my graduation get? I had two ceremonies. My graduate commencement was at....that's right, Radio City Music Hall. And the all university commencement? Yankee Stadium.

In the course of 24 hours, I walked across the stage that countless high kicks were executed on, sat in a famous baseball arena packed with 32,000 of my classmates, and took a celebretory shot of tequila with my immediate family at a dingy bar across the street from the stadium in the Bronx.

I rounded off the celebratory week with an equally fabulous and overwhelming shopping experience with my best friend Mica. On a Saturday afternoon, we went to SoHo, Chinatown, and Century 21. Basically, we were just asking to be mauled by tourists. But Mica managed to score three realistic looking handbags in the course of 10 minutes, while I spoke french to a West African man named Sharif, who could sell flaming feces to just about anyone.

So, it was a pretty New York type of week. Actually, it's been a pretty New York kind of year and a half.
And it's sure to be a pretty New York type of trip to Israel.

Here's to traveling for 10 days with East Coasters!