In the mood for images instead of words today? Photos above are by fabulous New York City photographer Diana Levine. Snapped during Social Media Week. See more party pics. For personal snapshots and other stuff, you can check out my TwitPic, Flickr or the “In Pictures” series on Funky Brown Chick.
Big thank you to the ever-lovely Nick McGlynn and his co-organizers for
renting Times Square Art Center’s loft space for last night’s New Year’s Eve bash. Partied with 400+ people overlooking tourists awaiting the ball drop. See photos at Random Night Out.
Just got back from an extended trip to Illinois. When I’m in the Midwest, I get really nostalgic and I wonder why I ever left. Sometimes, I fucking hate New York. Seriously. I want to be near my Chicago-based family and friends again. And, I miss having a decent standard of living that didn’t require forking over my entire paycheck to support it. If I lived in Chicago, I’d see my closest relatives on a regular basis. My Midwest mortgage + car payment would be less than my NYC rent. Sometimes, I look at my friends back home and I’m jealous that they’re able to live in an extremely comfortable world. They go on nice vacations. They own the spaces in which they live. They have what seems like — from the outside at least — VERY easy lives. Yes, I know the facade often hides what’s beneath. And, yes, I know I shouldn’t compare myself to others. (But, sometimes, I do.) Fuck me; I’m human.
I think back to the years I lived in the CHI. I had a great job, wonderful apartment, padded savings account, etc. But, I felt soooo alone and out of place there. I didn’t feel like I could be myself because people would judge me. I’ve said it before: People generally come from all over the entire world to live in New York City. People generally come from all over the entire Midwest to live in Chicago. In my mind, Illinois is provincial. That doesn’t make it a bad place. Actually, on the contrary, that’s one of its good points. The place is STUFFED with decent fucking down home people — the kind that often seem sparce on the Isle of Manhattan. It’s as if Illinois is the “sensible guy” I should be dating. But, I can’t help it. I’ve never been any good at: (1) being good or (2) doing something solely because it was good for me. Give me a stable, healthy existence without any real challenges (i.e. Illinois) and I’ll bore. I want thrills. Fun. Adventure. Shitty experiences that I’ll bitch and moan about for ages until, years later, I’ll be thankful they caused to me grow into a better person. To me, that’s better than experiencing regrets and unfulfilled dreams. I want to live. You know, like, REALLY live instead of just settling for something that’s the sensible/right thing to do.
Anyway. So, yeah, I really fucking hate New York sometimes. But, I love it too.
Changing the subject. Kind of.
You know it snowed in Illinois on Christmas, right? Snow can be pretty. But, sometimes, it makes cold, damp, grey and cloudy weather.
Sure, it snows in New York, too. But, we have fun with it.
Ages ago, before I moved to Manhattan, a guy friend who is a New Yorker-turned-Chicagoan described Manhattan to me by saying, “It was like watching color TV after only having experienced black and white.” I understand. I really do.
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* Pssssst, the dating culture here is whack, too. But that’s a topic for tomorrow’s post.
A few years ago, I met Ethan Hawke at an event where he promoted his book, Ash Wednesday. During the Q&A, I asked him: “So, you’re an actor, director and writer. Which role do you prefer and/or find most fulfilling?” I remember he said something like: They’re all the same thing. It’s all different versions of storytelling. Wise, right? His comment stuck with me because it was a different way of thinking. I enjoy documentary film, listen to This American Life, laugh at comedians and read memoirs. I like that stuff. A lot. Especially non-fiction. Though I hadn’t considered it until he said it, all collectively create the craft of storytelling – evoking meaning, conveying messages and sharing lives whether through comedians, writers, bloggers, journalists, actors or others. I mean, who doesn’t answer “SURE!” when asked, “Wanna hear a great story?”
Hosted by the lovely George Bodarky’s Cityscape explores “the people, places and spirit of New York City and its surroundings.” I’m honored he had me as a guest to share my story about being a solo woman in New York. “According to the Census,” WFUV reminds us, “more than half of all Manhattan residents live alone, and the number of singles in New York City is rising to historic levels.” If you’d like to hear what I — and a few other fun-spirited New Yorkers — had to say about being Single in the City, listen to the show. I missed the 7:30am Saturday broadcast because I was in Illinois en route to Chicago O’Hare for my return flight to New York. Luckily, thanks to listener contributions, the audio clip is available online. Listen to it. (Yay! Support public radio.) Also, if you like Cityscape, be sure to head over to another one of my favorites, Nora Young’s CBC Spark. For a recent show, Daemon Fairless and I briefly chatted about relationships & texting — or, to use Daemon’s words, “romancing the phone.” Clever, huh? We had great fun! Listen to it.
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Credit paid: Image is by Atilla Kefeli
Shout out and extra special thanks to everyone at Cafe 50 West for being so kind to our crazy group.
I love New York, but I don’t necessarily see myself growing old here. In later life, I’d like less noise, more money. At the moment, given the current economy, I feel fortunate to have any income streams at all. Things will eventually get better for all of us; eventually, I’d like to build a security blanket of substantial savings, buy a tiny home of my own, take nicer vacations and do other things fairly difficult to accomplish while living in expensive NYC. I’m not saying I’m moving away next week, next year or even a few years from now. Just saying, you know, I’m not 100% convinced Manhattan is my permanent home. For now, I’m OK sandwiched in between the hustle and bustle of Manhattan’s most vibrant, crazy streets. I do my best to take full advantage of everything the city has to offer.
Today, I met up with a friend for mimosas and a deep southern brunch at Bone Lick Park. After, we strolled through quaint tree-lined streets in the West Village, drank freshly brewed coffee at Roasting Plant, gobbled cupcakes at Sweet Revenge and nibbled on stinky cheeses at Murray’s. I LOVE the Village. I snapped pictures the whole day; you can see them on Twitpic. Actually, since it’s time for another Saturday roundup, this time let’s highlight PICTURES.
The beautiful “Manhattan Sunset” above is from photographer Demetrius González. He’s a pro. I’m not. If you’d like to see amateur snapshots of me in goofing off in NY, I’ve got tons of stuff loaded on my Facebook. A few of you (214 to be exact) sent me friend requests. I also owe a some of you emails. Fret not; you are not being ignored. I see you! Sorry for the delay. I’m only one little brown person, and my “To Do” list fills quickly. I’ll get around to it. (For now, other things like “work on my book” and “follow up with student loan deferment/forbearance status” take priority.) Whether we’re already friends on Facebook or not, you can still see how my camera captured the New Island Festival celebrating Holland on the Hudson. There’s also a video of me speaking Dutch while riding a bicycle in a skirt. On Flickr, there are New York-themed pictures from the Harold & Maude at Bryant Park movie night and one of my trips to the The Metropolitan Museum of Art. If you want to see my other Empire State images, type “in pictures” (in quotes) in the search box located on the upper right corner of Funky Brown Chick.
I’ve been running around like crazy this week and I haven’t posted as much as I’d like to. It’s the city. It’s fast, maddening, weird, fun, exciting and heartbreaking. I’ll be more active on the blog next week. In the meantime … As I mentioned last week, this year’s remaining Saturdays on Funky Brown Chick are dedicated to highlighting your favorite posts. I often forget new people stumble on the site and/or some of the longterm readers may have missed random older stuff. I have nearly 5 years and more than 900+ entries uploaded, and I neatly file everything in categories. Last Saturday’s post linked to readers favorites from the “Dating and Mating” section. Today, in case you missed it, below are a few reader favorite “New York” posts:
In Pictures: Tuesday, November 4, 2008. (Psst! When you vote in New York, you get free condoms.)
Happy New Year, I’m Starting Over!
Greetings from The Empire State!
How To Kiss A Boy and/or a Girl
“A Guide to Embracing Life as a Single …”
Interracial Dating: The Brown Chick Who Sometimes Dates White Dudes
And, because I like it and it’s relevant, here’s the MTV VMA clip from native New Yorkers Jay-Z and Alicia Keys’ performance of Empire State of Mind. As a native Midwesterner who moved to the city nearly five years ago, my favorite line from song is: “New York, concrete jungle where dreams are made of. There’s nothin’ you can’t do out of New York. These streets will make you feel brand new. Big lights will inspire you.” So true.
Come home with me. Peek inside my bedroom, kitchen / dining area, bathroom and living room. It’s tiny, right? I could get a larger place for cheaper rent in the Bronx or Jersey. But, I’m a single woman who goes out a lot and often doesn’t stumble home until well after 1:00am. Manhattan feels convenient and safe. Of course, the choice to live here comes at a cost — literally and figuratively speaking.
My humble abode is approximately 459 square feet. A walkup, I march up what feels like 2,147 stairs to get there. And, it’s a super quiet building, so everyone hears everything. (I pump the volume on my iTunes when I masturbate so my neighbors won’t know. I also tiptoe when I come home late at night because I don’t want to wake anyone.) Because there are no interior walls, when I’m not sleeping, from my bed I have a clear view of my couch, toilet, kitchen chairs and stove. Having said all of that, for me, I still think the place is actually worth the high rent. It’s clean, safe and smack in the middle of a really cute, tree-lined neighborhood. Plus, I’m only inches away from Central Park. What’s more? I’m filling my counters, drawers and open spaces with a few of my favorite things. Like an original Beatles Album I scored ages ago and fun stuff that reminds me of home. New York, similar to life in general, is about compromise. Liking where I live is about learning to be at peace with what I have and what I don’t. Actually, I highly recommend Apartment Therapy as a really helpful resource in this respect. Their mission:
We believe a calm, healthy, beautiful home is a necessary foundation for happiness and success in the world. Creating this home doesn’t require large amounts of money or space. It requires inspiration, connection to resources and motivation to do something about it. The basic elements of good home design can be learned and achieved by all. Simplicity and luxury are not mutually exclusive.
Great, right? Speaking of New York apartments and stuff, I just plopped down $25 to go to a “Live the Life You Love” panel at Saks Fifth Avenue tonight. (I can walk there! Yet another reason I love my place.) I heard about tonight’s event because it’s sponsored by the group that hooked me up with that hiking trip, Single Edition. The panel discussion will supposedly tell me how to maintain a financially secure household as a single person. I can always use more information about that! I’ll let you know how it goes.
By the way, the pictures above and others on Flickr are “before” images taken three months ago. I’ve made quite a bit of progress, so I’ll post “after” pictures in the weeks and months ahead. I’m still working on my place. So, if you know any other resources for setting up small apartments, please use the comments section below to share!! :)
Hi, I'm Twanna. I'm a sex, dating and relationships writer in NYC.
