Whoa!
Via the GDBF, I found out that Doug Monroe – the “haggard old man himself” – is moving to New York City!
(“Get a rope.”) <– obligatory
I can hardly believe it!
Doug’s blog, Peachtree Screed, is one of the best sources of information about local goings-on, especially transit issues and the machinations of the DOT. He also has a lot to say about old media and new media, and you should listen because he knows what he’s talking about.
Best of luck in Brooklyn, Doug! I know you’ll have a wonderful time. I should introduce you to some of my friends up there… I bet they’re not the people you’d normally rub shoulders with! (And I am?)
Come to the Red Light Café Saturday night to bid Doug adieu. Rusty’s got the info.
NYC update
A few bullet points of how things have gone today…
- Rusty was violently ill at the Atlanta airport. He was literally (yes, literally!) rolling around on the floor, groaning in agony. By the time the paramedics showed up, he was back to his old self, though. He joked with them about not liking the President.
- The pilot sounded drunk and joked about gaming the system. He managed to get us to New York in one piece, though, so I guess it’s okay.
- Our suitcase has been lost somewhere. The very calm (maybe too calm) woman at the luggage information desk at LaGuardia said it probably was put on the next flight. (Because that makes sense.) She filed a report and gave me a claim number and all that… I called the information number about two hours ago and the recording told me that the delivery service had my bag and it would be delivered to me “any time before 12:30 p.m.” (which, of course, is tomorrow afternoon).
- The cab driver that took us from the airport to Dacia’s house didn’t know where anything was, and kept yelling at me, as if it were my fault he didn’t know his way around Brooklyn. It didn’t matter that I kept repeating, “I don’t know. I don’t live here.” The weirdest rant of his was something that started with, “B neighborhood… Brooklyn… Bronx…” WTF?
So anyway… here we are. Hopefully the suitcase will show up sooner rather than later, and we’ll be able to go out and do stuff tomorrow instead of waiting around for it. Not wearing day-old clothes would be nice, too. At least our soap and toothbrushes are with us.
Off to NYC
In about an hour or so, the GDBF and I will be heading to the airport, bound for New York City. We’ll be hanging out with Dacia, going to PodCamp NYC, and hopefully meeting Belledame at some point. It’s going to be a great weekend!
I’m not bringing my laptop, but Rusty is bringing his, so I might borrow it for a bit on Saturday and try to sneak in some live-blogging. Regardless, there will be plenty of photos, and most likely a podcast or two.
Next post, from New York! (Hopefully the snow will be gone.)
The ‘5 years later’ post
So, it’s 9/11… and each year on this anniversary, I never know what to write. I feel like anything I could say would just be insipid.
Here’s what some fellow bloggers are saying:
- Grabbingsand: What to do with when
- Fetch Me My Axe: So. Here we are.
- Feministe: Remembering September 11th, 2001
On Sept. 11, 2001, I was in awe. I couldn’t believe this was really happening. I had skipped my morning class, and Chris had woken me up with, “We’re being attacked by terrorists!” I bolted upright in bed, heart pounding.
CNN was already on downstairs. We saw the second plane hit. We watched as the buildings burned and collapsed. When the towers fell, no one bothered to bleep out the swear words everyone was saying (live feed, and all), and you know, nobody cared. I don’t know why I remember that little tidbit.
I don’t know why I dragged myself to my 12:35 class… I should’ve known classes would be cancelled. I guess I wasn’t thinking.
I worried about my friends in New York. I sent emails, asking if they were okay. When I received the first email response, I stupidly wrote something flippant by way of reply… I think it was, “My mom says she doesn’t want me visiting you anymore. ;)” Yes, with the winky-smiley and everything. Soon after I sent it, I felt ashamed of that. I wrote another email, apologizing. It’s weird… I know I responded in that manner as a way of trying to cope with all the overwhelming feelings. But what’s weird is I had never been one to use humor to try to cope with tragedy… but then, nothing like that had ever happened before.
Soon an impromptu memorial had sprung up at the Arch. A few days later (I think? maybe it was the same night? I don’t remember), Chris and I went downtown. There was a guy standing in the middle of Broad St. waving a huge American flag. I took a photo of him. At the Arch memorial, there were tons of candles, flowers, random paraphernalia… and there was a notebook, where people were writing their thoughts. I picked it up and wrote something… I don’t remember much of what I wrote, but I know it started out with, “Dear New York City.” And there was something about survivor’s guilt (though I didn’t call it that, because I hadn’t yet identified it as such) in there. Chris took a photo of me writing in the journal. I didn’t know whether I should smile or not. I ended up smiling, and then later I felt like that was totally inappropriate.
Maybe tonight or tomorrow night I’ll try to find those photos. (This was before I had a digital camera, of course.)
Update: Also, here’s what I wrote on Sept. 11, 2002. I didn’t write anything in 2003, 2004, or 2005.
A few more observations/outtakes from NYC
Anecdotes, ya know.
- As my friends and I were walking to dinner in the rain, my umbrella got caught and tangled in a tree. “Gah!!” I exclaimed, trying to untangle it. “Brooklyn hates you,” Dacia declared. I couldn’t help but think that sounded like a really good name for a band… and then I realized why.
- Everyone has a fucking iPod in New York. I mean, they’re pretty prevalent in Atlanta, but they are fucking omnipresent in New York. (Which, apparently, is a good thing for criminals. Goddammit.)
Clearly, I am in a swearing mood today.
Later, expect a post about how exicted – fucking excited, even – I am about AthFest 2005. Pylon, w00t!
Defining Home
My weekend in New York was awesome – aside from me getting sick Sunday night and staying that way through most of Monday, that is. (But that actually proved to be helpful, which I’ll get to in a minute.) I was able to spend more time in the Village than during the business trip 2 months ago, and walked around checking out some of my old haunts from the NYU days (many of which have changed, of course). To my delight, I didn’t feel a pang of longing for the past – that part of my life is in the past and I look back on it fondly, but I don’t feel the need to go back. And I learned something: I realized I don’t want to move back to New York. Sure, there’s always a part of me that’s thinking it would be cool to live there again. But if I had to flip a coin to decide which city to live in, I know which one I would choose – Atlanta in a heartbeat.
When I was sick Sunday night with stomach cramps so bad I couldn’t stand up and wanted to cry, I was homesick for Atlanta. I felt lost and out of place in New York, and I just wished I could go home.
Maybe home is where you want to be when you feel terrible.
Greetings from NYC
Yup, I’m in the Big Apple, which explains the dearth of blogging. I apologize, dear readers, if I did not adequately prepare you for what must have seemed like my sudden departure. Anyway, I am leaving this fine city in a few hours, to return to the ATL (for which I was insanely homesick during a period of perilously low blood sugar and debilitating stomach cramps – I need to stop forgetting to eat, gah!). When I get home I shall spend the rest of the afternoon sleeping and catching up on blogs. I checked my email this morning and was pretty disappointed at the lack thereof; c’mon people, send me some email, make me feel important! But I’m sure the blog reading will consume a considerable amount of time, as my Bloglines account is pretty out of control at this point.
Oh, and I might also go to a little league baseball game. Cute and funny: 10-year-olds playing baseball. Funnier: Sam and Ryan coaching them.
This has officially been a post about nothing.
New York in Review (Business Trip Version)
Despite picking up some sort of cold bug in the Big Apple, and dealing with all the challenges the workday presents, the trip to NYC was a huge success in the enjoyment department, like the trips to DC, Boston, and Vegas before it. (I really wish I had a suitcase with stickers all over it!)
We arrived Monday afternoon at around 2:30, just as it was beginning to snow. We flew into Newark; our cab ride into Manhattan took for damn ever, because whenever the cab would go above ~35 mph, it would start shaking and making suspicious noises. We checked into the hotel, got a couple of quick slices at a deli (New York pizza, how I missed you!), and headed to the office. As soon as we got there, we heard that the New York office had been officially closed due to weather. We stayed for a couple hours anyway… such dedicated workers.
That night we decided to go down to the Village. Patrick had suggested a restaurant on 2nd St. & 7th Ave., so we thought we’d check that out. We thought the snow was going to let up… how wrong we were. When we emerged from the subway at 8th & Broadway, there was whiteness everywhere… it looked really cool, but it wasn’t that great to walk in, especially in cheap shoes from Target. (I took some pictures, which turned out pretty good.) Actually, at first it wasn’t that bad, so we headed in the direction of the restaurant. By the time we got to Washington Square Park, we realized it was not happening. So, we ate at the famous Cafe De La Universidad (not called that anymore) across from NYU’s Main Building. We walked around the general NYU area, and it was kind of weird to be back there, and suddenly feel significantly older than the handful of students running hither and thither in the snow. (Ryan went to NYU for a bit too… interesting. So we were swapping stories and whatnot.) I mean, not that I’m so ancient at 25, but… you know. It was a different time. Sorry, I’ll try not to wax poetic in this entry. Not too much, anyway.
The next morning, we stopped for bagels on the way to the office. (Can I also just say – never before have I taken so many cabs in New York.) In addition to the pizza, how I had missed New York bagels! Actually, we went to that same bagel place 3 mornings in a row.
Ryan spent a good chunk of the day at the Search Engine Strategies conference. I cabbed it up to Columbia to meet Dacia for lunch. Hadn’t seen her in almost 4 years; it was good to catch up. We ate at a noodle place and went somewhere else for hot chocolate afterward.
Several other work people were in NY at the same time for the SES conference, so that night everyone met up at a place called Tortilla Flats, for Bingo night/drunken revelry. I stayed for about an hour and then ducked out to head to a party that Dacia had invited me to (to which…). It was fun. I hate that I have to censor myself, but I recognize that that’s the nature of the internet sometimes; one has to be pragmatic. Especially when one’s readership contains one’s boss and, potentially, one’s mom. So, let’s just say that I can put a checkmark beside one of my New Year’s resolutions. Two checkmarks, actually. (I will impart further details to the chosen few.)
The next day (Wednesday), I actually attended some of the SES conference. Specifically, the session (or whatever you call it) entitled “CSS Myths, Mistakes, & Reality.” I was so excited when I found out that one of the speakers was Eric Meyer. Ryan and the other work people who were with us thought it was hilarious. They said I should try to get his autograph. But I became such a schoolgirl, and I was too embarassed. Yes, it’s true, I have a crush on Eric Meyer. What can I say, CSS expertise is a huge turn-on! (As I recounted this on the way back from the airport Thursday night, Chris said, “Wow. That’s pretty nerdy.”)
Wednesday night, I hung out with Matt. I met up with him at a pub called McSorley’s (which dates to the 1850s and used to be a speakeasy, so supposedly it has all kinds of trapdoors and whatnot), with several work people in tow. (Hmm, that makes it sound like I was the one leading the pack. Oh well… I like that construction too much to change it.) At McSorley’s, they have two types of beer: pale and dark. And a single order automatically consists of two glasses. Obviously, I did not partake, but I found the place very amusing. We left there and Matt and I headed in one direction for a quick dinner at a deli, while everyone else went off to find a much fancier restaurant. Matt and I would’ve joined them, but then we wouldn’t have been able to go to the UCB Theatre. Which was freaking hilarious. There were two shows: the first one was called Laid Up, and consisted of several skits all with the underlying theme somehow related to prison. The second one was called Tick Tick Tick, and was “25 sketches in 25 minutes.” Good stuff.
Thursday morning I pretty much felt like crap. I spent most of the day complaining about my various aches, pains, and ailments. One thing was, my leg muscles were terribly sore, especially the backs of my calves… which confused me greatly, because we didn’t do an inordinate amount of walking. Maybe it had to do with lugging around that 5000 lb. laptop bag (I’ve told you a million times not to exagerrate!). Ryan was feeling crappy too. Don’t know when or where we picked something up, but you can always just blame it on “the dirty city.”
Anyway, Thursday was pretty much just work. We had a few meetings and they went well. By the time we got to the airport I think we were both definitely ready to head back to the ATL. The weather in NYC on Thursday was terrible; cold and so windy that it was difficult to breathe. People were asking me, “Now, are you sure you want to move back here?” (And I haven’t yet decided on that issue. There are pros and cons that need to be carefully weighed and considered.) Oh, and I mustn’t forget… getting to the airport was a major ordeal, and involved lots of going up and down escalators with our suitcases. We took a cramped New Jersey Transit train to a stop that said it was the Newark Airport, but was apparently waaaay on the outskirts. It took us to a station where we would normally get on the “AirTrain” monorail to ride to the actual airport, but the AirTrain wasn’t working at that point, so we had to wait for a bus. About fifty million people with cumbersone luggage piled onto this bus, which proceeded to take a long, roundabout route to the airport, stopping at one point to drop off two airport employees at what appeared to be their house. Ryan and I were incredulous, but I said, “Hey, at least it’s blogworthy.” It was shortly thereafter that a loud Jersey woman started yelling, “Would you mind telling us where we’re going? A little information would help!” and so on. Finally we arrived at our destination, which was a remote parking lot. The monorail was working along that stretch, so we got on and rode it to the terminal. It was a good thing we left for the airport early… all that runaround must’ve taken at least an hour.
So… that’s it. I think Chris and I are going to Augusta today, unless plans change at the last minute.
Amusing Conversation
I talked to my grandmother today. Our conversation went something like this:
Gran: Your mother tells me you’re going to New York this week.
Me: That’s right.
Gran: She says you’re going with… a man.
Me: [laughing] He’s my boss.
Gran: Oh… he’s your boss?
Me: [still laughing] Yes.
Gran: [pause] Is he married?
Me: Yes, he’s married.
Gran: [pause] Oh. Well, then you’ll be very well protected!
Me: [laughing] What? Okay…
Gran: He must really think you’re something special to ask you to go on a business trip!
Me: I guess!
Gran: Well, I know you’ll have fun. Even if he is a man.
ROFL!! WTF?
On that note… must pack! (I’ve had a lingering headache all day. Acetaminophen is shite. Excedrin is the only way to go.)
Mitch, NYC, & Sick
Well, earlier I said I would write about the Mitch Hedberg show later, but really, what is there to say other than he was freaking hilarious? The show was awesome. We were in the 4th row — props to Eli for buying those tickets early! He did a lot of new material. And apparently he’s much more widely known than I’d thought… the show was sold out and there were people standing out front with “I Need Mitch Tix” signs. I would’ve taken a picture if I hadn’t thought they would probably chase me away.
Have I mentioned that I’ll be in New York City Monday-Thursday? Well, I will be. For work. I’ll probably write more about that later.
I’m staying in tonight, eating leftover spaghetti and attempting to start some of the cleaning of my apartment, which will stretch into tomorrow. I feel kind of sick tonight. I took a nap from 6:15-8:15 and I think that only made me feel worse, actually. I should probably go to the grocery store and buy something other than Crystal Lite to drink, but that would require putting on semi-presentable and climate-appropriate clothing and walking across the street. Too much effort.