Kate's NYC Weekend

I am a little late in blogging this, but Kate came to visit for the weekend of Nov. 16, and we packed the two days full of stuff. Here, proof in pics.

She's going to kill me for posting two pics of her eating, but that's ok. We went to a Malaysian restaurant for dinner in Chinatown. . .

We ate at the nothing-but-peanut-butter-sandwiches restaurant in the West Village for lunch--Kate had the Elvis, of course--a sandwich that consisted of peanut butter, bananas, honey, and bacon. Mmmmm. . .

We went to the Museum of Natural History to check out the always-amazing butterfly exhibit. . .

Kate buys a souvenir for Matt from the museum gift shop. . .

And we saw a jovial Bob Saget in Times Square in front of the Drowsy Chaperone (in which he's starring right now) theater, supporting the striking stagehands.

A good was time had by all. :-)

Meeting Avery for the First Time

Went to Albany this weekend to meet my newest love--Miss Avery. Kristie came home from Texas to spend the winter months with her family in New York while Tony's deployed. Avery gets to hang out with her cousins and Kristie gets a hand from her mom and sister. This little girl is the sweetest baby. I don't even think she minded that I thought her pacifier was for teething though she's only 8 weeks old. But seriously, how do you know that kind of stuff if you don't have kids? I could've held her in my arms forever.

The New Faces of J-School, Oh Yeah!

An ad in the New York Post yesterday.

This Guy is a Genius

There is no better way to get me to donate a WHOLE DOLLAR than by having a kitten as your mascot. It helped that when I bent to pet her, she climbed into my lap and purred. SO sweet.

The Apartment

Sorry it took me so long to get photos up. Here are some views of our place. . . Click on them for a closer look.

Studio:

Bathroom:

Nate's Room:

Guest Room:

Hallway Leading to (clockwise from bottom left) Linen Closet, Bathroom, Studio, Nate's Room, and Guest Room: Living Room looking toward the hallway to the front door:

Living Room looking toward the back of the apartment (and brick wall out the window):

Front Hallway looking toward door:

Kitchen:My Room:

A Funny

This is one of the most hysterical things I have seen in a long long time. Dog owners especially will enjoy it.

Feeding Time

The five monsters, a.k.a. the Thunder Cat Army.

Update

My brother seems to be doing ok, and I have taken up a collection to get him a new computer since he lost a brand-new one in the fire. It's likely that most of you who read this blog have gotten the email. (If you didn't, just let me know.) Thanks so, so much to those of you who have already donated. We are eternally grateful for your generosity and support.

Mitch is now looking for places to live in Troy so he can be closer to school. If anyone in the area knows of anything available, please let me know.

Fire

My brother's house burned down today. He and his girlfriend and his dog got out. Everything is lost. More later when I can see straight.

3 . . . 2 . . . 1 . . .

Holy shit, I'm 28.

Shmutzy

This made me giggle.

Deluge of Fall Birthdays

Sept. 25: Happy birthday NATE!!!!
Oct. 10: Happy birthday MOM!!!!!!
Oct. 25: Happy birthday ROBIN!!!!!
Oct. 28: Happy 30th birthday MIKE!!!!!
Nov. 4: Happy birthday KATHY!!!!!
Nov. 6: Happy birthday KEN!!!!
Nov. 9: Happy birthday ME!!!!
Nov. 15: Happy birthday HEATHER!!!!

alright, now everyone stop getting older. ready? ok... go!

Today's Assignment

Abi, Erin and I are about to walk the half-block to Port Authority to profile it for our afternoon drill. Upon hearing about our assignment, Dana says, "Ew.. You guys have to go inhale dried piss??"

Port Authority, here we come.

Sometimes Lectures Just Need to END

Over-read on my classmate Steve's computer during lecture today (which, by the way, is closing in on three hours right about now):

"Dear Sister,
I am in class and I want to die."

Gotta love laptops--for visual eavesdropping alone. ;-)

Our Humble Abode

Nate's selling a keyboard on Craigslist and a girl came to look at it this evening. She was pleasant and took her time playing the keyboard in the foyer while Nate and I chatted in the kitchen. She talked to Nate for a minute about the instrument and then proceeded to gush about our apartment. Among other things, she said, "I've never seen an apartment this put together in New York." We thought that was cute, and it made us feel even more proud of our very cool apartment.

Oh the Trauma

Augh. We had a vet emergency today. An expensive one. So yeah we have five cats (I know, I know) and the (three) boys fight once in a while. We usually let them duke it out, our logic being that maybe one day they'll realize just how silly they've been putting so much energy into being enemies and they'll start loving each other, as cats should. Well. Apparently Jonah was bitten on his back by one of the evil boys the other day and last night, Nate discovered that a huge lump had developed in the area of the wound. After a bit of Internet research I discover that it's an abscess, and that yeah, we should probably go to the vet (DAMNIT). So we go to a vet's office in Park Slope, one that Nate researched out when he got a couple of his cats' shots updated, and learn from our vet that the abscess has to be lanced. So lance it they did and poor Jonah had to be drained. Poor thing. He was so terrified and in so much pain that he peed in the cat carrier on the way home, so Nate tried his best to clean him up in the tub before we gave him his first round of pain meds and antibiotics. This was extremely difficult, you know, what with the large gaping wound that we weren't supposed to touch on his back. We were instructed to place him in solitary confinement for a few days, so he's in the guest room with his own litter, food, and bed. I feel awful for Jonah, but ohmygod, what a pain in the ass.Jonah in his sickbed. The wound is on the other side. Believe me, you don't want to see it.

City Livin' 2

I just figured it out. The kids are rollerskating up there. I am so serious. Rollerskating! Or rollerblading, whatever it is they do these days. You've GOT to be kidding me.

City Livin'

A very nice family moved into the apartment directly above us about three weeks ago. Until then the apartment had been blissfully empty, and we enjoyed the uninterrupted silence for a good month and a half. The new family has three very cute, very bouncy children. They bounce a lot. Like, all evening long sometimes. And apparently the family rearranges their furniture almost every evening as well. At least, that's what it sounds like. All of a sudden something will roll from one side of my ceiling to the other. I don't know quite what to do about it. All I know is that I'm on deadline. And they're moving furniture. Again.

Post-script: By the way--though really annoying, mostly because I have to write right now--this isn't as bad as it was in my bedroom in Albany. I'm sure some of you remember me telling you about the morning when the guy who lived upstairs from me there threw a chair through the window, which was located directly above my bed, at about 4:30 AM. That was fun.

Politics as Usual

Mike shows me a Web site that is designed to help you choose who you're going to vote for.

Me: it tells me i should vote for kucinich
Me: wasn't expecting that
Me: 95.92%
Mike: uh oh. you better change your mind to start better suiting the band wagon
Me: oh? which bandwagon am i supposedly on?
Mike: knowing you? well. i'd say obama for you....let's see...
Mike: young?
Mike: yes
Mike: female?
Mike: yes
Mike: jewish?
Mike: yes
Mike: NYC?
Mike: yes
Mike: works next to the times? mouth piece of the left?
Mike: yes
Me: lol
Mike: that's an obama supporter.

Midterms DONE

Ugh let's not do that again soon, shall we?

I got some awesome feedback from school peeps (like professors and such) tonight, and I am riding high. That is, until I pass out. Which will be in 3... 2... 1.

Oh God

Two midterms tomorrow. HELP!

Week in Review

The week, in highlights:

--Wednesday, I went on a ride-along with a couple of NYPD cops to check out what they do every day (hence the bulletproof vest a couple posts down). I went to Precinct 107, which is in Queens, where apparently they don't have cabs. I had a mile-and-a-half walk (run) from the subway stop. Other then that, it was fun--I got paired with a couple of young cops who were very sweet and chatted openly about the force and about public perception of policepeeps. Very informational.
--Wednesday night I attended Stephen Colbert's reading/signing of his book, I Am America (and So Can You) at the Union Square Barnes & Noble. The guy is good.
--Yesterday, I attended a study session for the Legal & Ethics midterm that's looming in my immediate future. AKA Monday. I am, in a word, terrified. Also Monday: Research Methods midterm. Here's hoping I survive the day.
--This morning in Interactive, we made our first audio slideshows public, and got our first video assignments. We made mini-docs about making PB sandwiches as practice. I have to say--so far, video is seeming like a lot more fun than straight audio. We'll see.

Cranberry Cap

Bullet Proof

I will be wearing one of these tomorrow.

Nate's Random Pearls of Wisdom

"I feel like in other countries, the only thing that excuses you from being American is being from New York."

Girls

Me: I want to come to Switzerland.

Mario: You can come whenever you want, but it's cold here.

Me: I want cold! I want autumn! I'm sick of this heat.

Mario: You're crazy. As soon as it's cold you will change your mind!

Me: I know, but for now my mind's made up.

Mario: . . . girls.

Firewalls Be Damned

Mike and I are able to video chat, finally!

Busy Busy

SOOOO-freakin'-BUSY!!!!

A lot has been going on, needless to say. Grad school has me going mach 3 at all times. Very little sleep going on over here. It's beginning to pay off, I think. I got my first freelance story published in Chelsea Now. Hooray! Hopefully there will be many more clips to come. I'm working on a story now that I hope will end up in a paper somewhere. I will link it if it does.

Gram came into the city yesterday and we had dinner at Carnegie Deli, which was appropriate, as we went to Carnegie Hall for a show after. Brian Stokes Mitchell, Mr. King-O-Broadway himself, gave a concert to benefit the Actors Fund. There were a bunch of guests, including Reba McEntire and Phylicia Rashad, who were both great.

In the midst of my grad-school busy-ness, Mike came to visit for the weekend, which was a blast. We went to see Chicago (which is now starring Brian McKnight, who knew?), ran into some Albany peeps in the Village, chilled in Central Park, etc.

Mike and I had Ethiopian for lunch on Sunday.

I Heart New York

Safety first!
14th Street

Avery Has a Middle Name

Her name: Avery Mae Chase. Too cute. :-)

Love This

Courtesy of the New Yorker, of course.

Hector at the Mercury Lounge

The other night my pals Jeb and Clayton (together they are Hector on Stilts) played the Mercury Lounge, so I went to see them. Post-show, they posed for a very impromptu photo shoot. Characters, these two.

Welcome, Little Avery

So Kristie finally had this little cutie yesterday, Sept. 29, at 1:30 AM. Her name, Avery Chase, is incomplete--they have yet to decide on a middle name. (Any day now, guys, clock's a-tickin'. . .) She made her grand entrance weighing in at 8 lbs. 2 oz. And of course, Kristie is already almost back at her pre-pregnancy weight. Amazing. Anyway, congrats to the new parents! I can't wait to meet the lil' tyke.

Hip-Hop Mario

Yeah, we were bored waiting for the train.

Pic of the Day

Nate and I spontaneously, and inexplicably, fall in love with the Astor Place subway station. Dunno, don't ask.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NATE!!!

Mario Comes to NYC

My Swiss mister Mario came to visit me for 10 days earlier this month. It was his first time to the states, so I was really looking forward to showing him around the city. It was a great, great time. We did sooooooo much sightseeing and exploring, it was terrific (and exhausting!). It also served as a really efficient and fun refresher of the city for me.

Here are some of the things we did:
--saw three Broadway shows: Spamalot, Avenue Q and Stomp. I had seen both Ave Q and Stomp before; Spamalot was fun and charming, and hysterical. Nate came with us to Stomp, and we sat in the first row, which was quite the experience. MUCH funnier than I remembered.

--saw two movies: Once, and Stardust. Already saw Once, but it was just as great the second time. Loooooved Stardust.

--attended two sporting events: a Mets game and the U.S. Open Final. Mets are always fun; the Open was an amazing experience. Roger Federer, the champion of that match and of the world, is Swiss, so of course Mario was very excited to see the game.
--went to a Letterman taping. The guests were Jessica Alba, and a band that I never heard of before, but they were pretty cool--Manchester Orchestra.

--went to the Museum of Natural History, where we chilled with the dinosaurs for a bit and went to the IMAX movie, about dinosaurs, of course.

--went to Coney Island, and the New York Aquarium, which is right on the boardwalk. Favorite part: the walrus feeding, by far! :-)
--went to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. Hadn't done this since I was like, 10, maybe?
--walked across the Brooklyn Bridge at night. My first time ever! There are gorgeous views of Manhattan from there.

--visited Ground Zero on 9/11. Seemed like the right thing to do.

Also, we had dinner in Chinatown, walked around (and bought lunch at) Zabar's, had drinks in the West--and East--Villages, walked around Central Park, went to the United Nations (but the flags were down, so it was a pretty boring sight), walked and shopped on Fifth, and so many other things I completely lost track. All in all, a great time. :-)

10 Year High School Reunion

The weekend before my move (yes, I'm going just a bit out of sequence here), I traveled to my little itty bitty home town of Susquehanna, PA, to attend my 10-year high school reunion.

The party was a lot of fun--it was so good to see the people I grew up with and what they were doing with their lives. Here are (from left to right) Mike Medlar, Jake Lee, Justin and me.

Here's the president of our class (and organizer of the party), Adam Albert, gettin' down at a bar post-reunion. Adam's now a doctor doing humanitarian work in places like Guatemala.
And here's Justin, my best friend from high school, who is now a tour manager for Roadrunner Records in NYC. He's an exception to the rule of a 10-year reunion, though--I've been in touch with him ever since high school. :-)

The Move

Since the last time I posted (excluding my laundry epiphany), a lot has happened. Nate and I moved to Brooklyn on Aug. 31. I drove to Albany from my gram's (from where I had been commuting into Manhattan) on Wednesday night, and then on Thursday, we packed my stuff, and then his stuff, into a 24-foot truck, which took a looong time. Thank goodness the entire Buccieri clan was there to help (a clan that includes two very large, very strong brothers).

In order to avoid traffic, Nate and I decided we should head down in the middle of Thursday night, which would make parking the truck a lot easier, too. So, after the truck was all packed, we went to bed for a few hours, and then Nate, his brother Trevor and I left for Brooklyn at 4:30 AM on Friday. I had class at 9 AM that morning, so my plan was to follow them down, throw my car into a parking spot, and then hop on a train to school. Which is ultimately what happened. But the ride took longer then expected, because we didn't account for the fact that trucks weren't allowed on the Henry Hudson Parkway, so we ended up driving down the east side of Manhattan. It was fine in the end, it just took longer than necessary.

After class (during which, needless to say, I was a complete zombie), I went back to my new home to help unload the truck, which was already a good halfway done (again, thank goodness for those Buccieri boys!!). Then, to reward ourselves for a job well done, we went to the village for some drinks, but we were all so exhausted that we came back sooner than expected.

The Buccieri boys, patiently waiting for the Q.

We are still unpacking and organizing, but the place is almost done, and looking good. It's just a lot to handle on top of school. It'll be done eventually. :-)

Laundry

I'm pretty confidant in saying that I have acquired the world's largest collection of tiny black T-shirts.