9.11.2008
So...
I totally failed at the 365 days of photo...but I have a really good reason, I promise. The new apartment search is killing my will to live, much less my will to take photos of anything. The first day of the 365, we went to see an apartment on Bennett which is one of the quieter (read uber selected coops) in Washington Heights -- or as real estate people call it, Hudson Heights.
That apartment was nice, but ultimately a disaster. It was a coop so it would've been leased to us by owner. Not a bad thing if the owner wasn't so fixated on charging a ridiculous 2325 for a 2 bedroom apartment. I mean, even if you split that down the middle between two people, its insane. And, to be honest, apartment wasn't all that great. The bathroom was out of date and the kitchen was pretty small. Yeah yeah, elevator building and laundry in the building but it was just too much money any way you take it. So we didn't go for that one.
This past Sunday, we saw a few more failures. This time, with a broker who was just such an asswipe for lack of a better word. We told him and the other brokers at their offices exactly what we wanted and they showed us 3 apartments that were the exact opposite of what we wanted and then tried to drag us to see one apartment that had not yet been vacated (the current occupants were mighty mad too)! Not cool.
Luckily, we ended up find a place that we are interested in with a different broker that was far more straightforward. I'm hoping we get the place. I'm supposed to hear official word tomorrow but our broker called today to say that everything was looking good so far. Cross your fingers, legs and toes for us because it would be great if we locked this down now. I'm very excited because there's the possibility that I could get the piano in our new place. :D My mom definitely wants it out of her house so hopefully we can get it into mine! I might need to get piano movers so it might be a bit expensive. We'll see. Anthony claims he'd be able to do this moving with a few friends....but I don't know about that. I think getting a dolly on which to move it would be ideal. My brother knows how to use those so, in any event, I'd enlist his help.
Speaking of which, Sunday is his birthday and I still haven't got a clue what to give him for his birthday. Maybe it'll come to me in a dream. Going to go lie down and hope an idea strikes me.
8.17.2008
365 Days of Photo
Oooh, so I've decided that I'm joining a group on Flickr where I have to take one photo every day for 365 days. I kind of decided to do this on a whim to see if it will get me to really study photography a bit more. I love taking photos but often don't get around to it for pretty lame reasons. To see my photos for the next year, you can check me out on Flickr at www.flickr.com/photos/notoriousjen.
To sum it up
Summer is almost over and it makes me kind of sad. I had vowed to myself to really appreciate the summer months -- get out to the area beaches more, enjoy the warmer weather, maybe go jogging -- and I have done very little of what I'd set out to do.
Now, obviously, life happens and some of these things get delayed. It's inevitable. My transitioning to a new job in the middle of the summer is a big piece of this. I really didn't have the brain space to think about going to the beach. However, it is one of the better decisions I've made as now I can go to work, do my job, come home, and not do my job anymore. It's a wonderful feeling. I think it's helped my physical well-being as well (I'm not as tired or achy as I had been -- and I don't dread Mondays as much).
Though, as sad as I am to see summer go, I'm very happy to see all the new fall magazines and fashions. Today in Duane Reade (the drugstore by my house) my sister and I both gravitated to the new Vogue September issue. I swear to you it is at least 3 or 4 pounds. I took pictures on my phone to prove it!
On the topic of fashion, I am very enthusiastic to wear the navy corduroy blazer I bought at Filene's or the awesome jacket I bought at Zara. I know it is jumping the gun a bit, but I'm very excited by the colors for fall -- navy, greys, shades of purple, all my favorite colors. I'm actually wondering how last year's fall/winter clothes are going to hold up this year. Last fall I was more or less 50 pounds heavier. I have a strong feeling that my winter coat is too big, it was kind of already too big last winter. Sadly, it is a really fun coat -- bright red (another one of my fav colors). I also think my fabulous trench coat (a wardrobe staple!) is too big. I should really see if Dress for Success would accept some of my work appropriate garb. Ideally, I would love for someone who is losing weight to get my hand me downs, but Dress for Success is such an awesome charitable alternative.
I'm hoping that my upper body weight doesn't change too much as I'd really like to be able to keep some of my new found clothes! I have about 10 pounds to go to get to what, I believe, is my final goal. I don't really want to be stick thin because I don't think I would be able to maintain it. I think another 10 pounds and I'm done. I'll be right in the middle of a healthy weight range for my height and my BMI will also be healthy. Right now I'm kind of liking the way I look. I just would like to get a little bit slimmer in certain places (read: my stomach) and toned.
Once I get to my goal weight, I can really start investing in some quality wardrobe pieces. I've been toying with the idea of getting a tattoo when I get to that point, but Anthony doesn't think it is a good idea. I have no idea what I'd want to get -- I know the style I like, that's about it. I'll think about it and see if I can think of anything. The other alternative is that my gift to myself then could be a new cellphone. I've been coveting every smart phone on the market for a long time now. I like the iPhone but dislike a few things; Blackberry's are cool but seem to encourage working from home; and then there are the Nokia N-Series (nice, nice phones). Those, unfortunately, are $500 and up, so I don't know if that's going to work.
Maybe a $500 dress or pair of shoes would be better...
8.07.2008
Sweet!
So that sample sale was AMAZING! There was a ton of stuff for men and women (jackets, coats, skirts, dresses, shirts, bags, etc). I'm glad I went today because I was able to score a pretty hot and awesome "theory" magenta mini skirt for $25 (marked down from $160!). Sweet!
I think with that skirt, I'm pretty good on fall clothes for the moment. I bought a Ben Sherman navy blazer that was very generously discounted at Filene's Basement along with a mauvy colored cardigan sweater. Then, I went to Zara and bought myself a real cold weather jacket. I'll have to check my closet and see if I still fit into my coats from last year. I think my trench coat is unfortunately too big. My red wool coat I'm sure is too big, but I was meaning to get rid of it anyway since it left the draft in way too easily. Luckily, the new jacket is quite toasty. The skirt I bought would look cool with black leggings, I imagine, and a fairly modest top. I bought it a size smaller than I usually wear (it was all I could find) but I'm planning on losing another 10 pounds from where I am, so I'm hoping it'll fit better by then.
I can't WAIT to get these last 10 pounds off. Once I complete 8 weeks of maintenance, I won't have to pay for WeightWatchers anymore. That's obviously one of my major motivations. The other motivation is to not have to worry when shopping for clothes. A lot of my "middle-of-process" clothes no longer fit and I spent a lot of money for them (like the dress I bought at Bloomingdales in Florida in February, I believe, is huge on me now)! I will enjoy being able to amass a wardrobe of clothes I like and feel good in. Now, if only I could tackle the bathing suit problem (I have one, but I'm not sure if I'm ready to do a two-piece...) -- I think that will take some time and I've got to go off to bed.
8.06.2008
Hello, Sample Sale!
Today I'm feeling very un-tired. It's probably because today is the first time in a long time that I've slept the whole night through without interruption. I woke up this morning because my alarm went off, not because I was tossing or turning. And also, despite going to sleep a little bit late, I stayed up doing things I'd meaning to do for months now, so that gave me a sense of accomplishment and self-satisfaction.
Usually, my morning ritual consists of eating breakfast (either I'll make myself eggs or if I'm lazy, I'll eat a couple of Nutri-Grain bars and call it a day) and watching NY1 news. NY1 news is really great in that it packs in a whole lot of information in the span of an hour.
Even though I had watched my fill of news, I was still compelled to pick up an AMNY (one of the local free papers here in NYC) on my way into the subway; and I'm so glad I did! Hello, Sample Sale! Here's the details:
***SAMPLE SALE***
Samples and Irregulars from:
theory, HELMUT LANG, alice + olivia, GRYPHON New York
All Items Between $20 - $109
Get the Fashion, Save the Tax!
Wednesday, Aug 6th: 10AM - 6PM
Thursday, Aug 7th: 10AM - 7PM
261 West 36th Street, 2nd floor
(Between 7th and 8th Avenues)
212.947.8748
www.clothingline.com
Now, all I have to figure out is whether I will head over during my lunch break or after work. Decisions, decisions!
Okay, this time I promise I will blog...
Seriously. I will blog. I just haven't really had the time. Between getting older and making more money, I've been really busy. Seriously.
I promise I will blog. Even if just very short and sweet.
To begin on the right foot, here's a short message I need to get off my chest. I FINALLY have gotten the Seattle photos off my camera. Right now I'm processing them on Aperture so that they will upload to Facebook. They are currently on my Flickr (in a set called "Seattle, WA") in case you are interested. The Seattle photos were less "cinematic" and more just for fun. I apologize in advance for my hasty captions (I was trying to get that done really quickly).
On an exciting note, my birthday came and went with presents and cake and good times with good people. Today, however, I received the birthday gift my sister ordered for me. It's a pretty awesome side table whose legs look like the letter "X." It holds magazines which is exactly what I needed to clear off my coffee table. I realized that I'm a bit of a magazine-junkie. Luckily the TimeOutNY subscription is ending soon but I tend to pick up fashion magazines regularly (my equivalent of the daily latte, except more like weekly). Incredibly, I already have the September issue of Glamour magazine and its barely August. How time flies!
Speaking of time flying, I can't wait until Anthony and I can seriously begin looking for the new apartment. I saw a really awesome one on Craigslist but the block it is on is a bit sketchy, at best.
That's all I've got for today.
6.05.2008
Blogging is not my strong suit
It seems that blogging regularly has not been in the cards for me. But god knows I've tried! I've often thought about topics to blog about and then gotten home, exhausted and fallen asleep in front of the television at 11 pm.
The past two days were very much in keeping with that. Last night, Anthony and I got home pretty late and so we decided to order in some Chinese food. After eating, I was pretty much comatose. I finally went to bed around midnight just about because I really wanted to watch the Detroit Red Wings win their Stanley Cup (which they did). I'm not normally a Red Wings fan (I root for the Rangers by association because Anthony is a rabid Rangers fan and I'm agnostic when it comes to hockey) but in this case I couldn't root for the Penguins because they had downed the Rangers.
Not only have I been falling asleep early but I've also been having very lucid dreams on the nights that I do go to bed early. The night before last, I had a dream that seemed like a cheesy high school horror flick. Though, I'm not good with horror movies so I woke up at about 5:25 in the morning kind of startled. Not startled enough to wake Anthony up but just enough to reach for him as my security blanket as I shut my eyes and try to forget what woke me up in the first place. Last night was a bit different. I know I was dreaming but now I can't remember at all what transpired. It must've been good though, because I woke up this morning feeling rested at 7 in the morning thinking, "Ah, Saturday is a good day." Only, I realized shortly thereafter that it wasn't actually Saturday. Not even Friday. Still just Thursday. I went back to sleep and woke up again about 4 minutes before my alarm was scheduled to sound. I spent those extra 4 minutes wallowing in bed, upset that it had to be Thursday and not Saturday.
Today at work was fine, though I was greeted by some negative energy upon walking through the door. I wasn't really sure why that was directed at me but I think that some people just wake up on the wrong side of the bed sometimes. But good things did happen today. I was able to mark at least one or two things off my to-do list so that always counts for something! There's just so much to do and not enough time -- seems to be my mantra these days.
My new resolution -- I guess you can say its a half-year resolution -- is to change that around. I want to have enough time, or arguably make time, for all the things that I want to do. I have a slew of personal projects that I've never really started for lack of time like making a couple of new websites or painting. I've come to the realization that its up to me to make time for me. No one is looking out for my best interests except me -- so I need to stay true to me and figure out what it is I need to make myself happy. I definitely think I'm heading in that direction so I'm really excited. Hopefully it all works out the way I've dreamed it will.
2.24.2008
Apartment Hunting
I had originally said, perhaps not in this blog but at the very least in my head, that Anthony and I would not look for a new apartment until our lease here is up (November 2008, quite a few months away, mind you). However, I'm beginning to believe that there is a chance we will be able to leave here earlier than that.
We've been slightly dipping our feet into the pool that is the rental market in our area. I'm not surprised at the prices for 2 bedroom apartments -- which is what we would like to have. We are realizing that this one bedroom apartment is not nearly enough space for the lifestyle we lead. Anthony and I like to have friends and family over and entertain. We don't have much space in our living area for our very tame movie nights.
Moreover, our bedroom/office space is just not cutting it. It would be great to have an office for our computers and our creative hobbies (film and photography equipment, knitting needles, canvas, etc). And of course, to have a bedroom that is just about relaxation would be awesome.
The other problem I have with our current space is the lack of kitchen area in all senses of the word. We have not enough cabinet space, not enough counter space and definitely not large enough appliances -- our stove is way too small and our refrigerator is also very small.
And don't get me started on the rodent/pest problems. Due to living on the first floor of a not very well maintained building, we get a lot of roaches and centipedes (believe it or not, centipedes!). I've used Raid and boric acid to keep the critters at bay but despite my best efforts, there's always a random bug sighting (which of course means that thousands lay in wait). I don't really want to talk about the mice, but now that I'm airing grievances, we've had mice. One day, I was cleaning our bedroom -- our bedroom, mind you! -- and found a large amount of rat droppings behind my dresser. I realized that the baseboards of the walls did not quite meet the floorboards and as a result, mice were creeping in through these tiny entrances. I spent a whole lovely Sunday afternoon stuffing coarse steel wool into the cracks -- something I wouldn't mind doing if I owned the apartment, but not for a rental.
Then, to make matters worse, I've noticed water damage on our ceiling near the bathroom and in areas adjacent to the bathroom. In fact, just this Saturday water was leaking from three distinct spots in our bathroom ceiling. Anthony has noticed a leaking at another point in time, and who knows how often the ceiling has leaked and we just haven't been home to notice! I have a feeling that the ceiling is going to fall in and I don't want to be living here when that happens. Our superintendent, of course, has no idea what is causing the leaks -- which is just some insight into how little we can rely on his expertise.
Those are the many reasons that we've outgrown our current space and would like to move. I was discussing this with a friend of mine just this Friday and found a rental space near where my sister used to live (right next to the park) that is available. A 2 bedroom apartment for less than we are paying for this one bedroom. My initial response was "where do I sign?" and so I decided to email and inquire. I did hear back and had to send in some income/credit score information but we are definitely in a much better place than we were when we got this apartment a year and a half ago. Anthony and I both have full-time jobs and combined make a good amount of money. Also, my credit score is in the high 700's which is excellent according to a lot of the websites I've researched. So, with our stability in income and credit, I think we have a good chance of securing this apartment. I just hope that it is in the cards for us to do so.
We recently applied for a fair housing apartment thing which was similarly priced for a 2 bedroom apartment in Union Square (yes, Union Square!) but unfortunately were turned down. Well, I shouldn't say turned down, we just didn't get it and someone else did. It also cost us $80 to apply for that so it was very unfortunately that we didn't get it because we had to pay so much. While the company that we sent this money to is legitimate and listed with the Better Business Bureau and all that, I think going forward we won't waste our efforts on stuff like that.
Also, the other nice thing about the apartment we are currently looking at is that it appears to be an apartment sold by owner meaning there is no broker involved. I don't really mind brokers but if we can get around that fee that would save us a ton of money considering that we'd have to pay initial security to move into the new apartment plus the costs of the physical act of moving.
Well, I hope it all works out with the 2 bedroom by the park. I've already started imagining going jogging regularly and having more space and better appliances so I really hope this works out for us. Hopefully, if you are reading this, you are sending good vibes our way.
1.18.2008
Anthony just saw the movie Cloverfield today. I didn't really have a strong interest in seeing the movie (I'm not much for monster flix), but I did love hearing about the not-so-rave reviews it got. Anthony sent me the New York Times review which is really witty and well-written. My favorite passage follows:
“Cloverfield” is nominally a monster movie, but mostly it’s a feature-length gimmick. It opens with some official-looking United States government text claiming that the following images were retrieved from what was once known as Central Park. The big (or rather only) idea here is that almost everything we subsequently see is the presumably unedited video material shot by Hud, who, though initially reluctant to pick up the camera, develops a mania for documentation once the monster strikes. So consummate is his dedication to his version of cinéma vérité that he keeps the camera plugged to his eye even while he’s running through hailstorms of debris, trying to cross a fast-collapsing bridge and witnessing friends melt down, bleed out and even die.
For a brief, hopeful moment, I thought the filmmakers might be making a point about how the contemporary compulsion to record the world has dulled us to actual lived experience, including the suffering of others — you know, something about the simulacrum syndrome in the post-Godzilla age at the intersection of the camera eye with the narcissistic “I.” Certainly this straw-grasping seemed the most charitable way to explain characters whose lack of personality (“This is crazy, dude!”) is matched only by their incomprehensible stupidity. Smart as Tater Tots and just as differentiated, Rob and his ragtag crew behave like people who have never watched a monster movie or the genre-savvy “Scream” flicks or even an episode of “Lost” (Hello, Mr. Abrams!), much less experienced the real horrors of Sept. 11.
I really enjoyed the part where he mentions that Hud becomes dedicated to cinema verite. Working in the doc film work, I hear verite almost everyday -- this is the best use of the term ever in my book.
