Tag Archives: nyc

My Move, or An Actual American Horror Story

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As some of you know, my lease ended in April of this year, so at the end of the month it was time to find a new place, load up, and make the move. I’ve moved most of my earthly possessions multiple times in my life, and so far have found it to be a fairly innocuous process. Maybe a misstep here or there, but overall all accomplished in one day with time and laughter to spare.

However, this time? That was not the case. We had everything planned out in advance, so it wasn’t a lack of planning or coordination that was the problem. Everything was just off by just enough to make it not work, which I think may have been more frustrating than had something been wrong because it was my own fault.

Harry took a day off work to help me, which honestly I could not appreciate more, and I’m sure I wouldn’t have been able to do this without him. We rented a U-Haul truck, loaded everything up in it with the help of his roommate and my good friend Michelle, and just when we were ready to leave, I found out that I had crossed wires with one of my new roommates and couldn’t get the keys until later that afternoon, after we had to return our U-Haul. So we put most of my things in Harry and Michelle’s apartment (which is two blocks from my new place, so it’s not too inconvenient) and drove to the storage unit where we were going to put my big furniture. Unfortunately, we then had the wrong key, so all of that had to go back and be put in their apartment, too, and the U-Haul had to go back immediately. So we then cleaned my apartment and got everything out, and then quit for the evening.

So really, we got everything out, but just not quite with the timing we’d hoped for, and most of my stuff is still in Harry and Michelle’s living room, to be moved this next week when we have car access. Not ideal, but it really could have been a lot worse, I suppose.

I’ve had better moves, and even though pretty much everything went wrong with this one, I have to say that it wasn’t the worst day. I still got to spend my day with people I love, and we had a good time, even though I was out of my mind with stress. And the good thing is that now I have six months until I have to move again, so I’ll be able to take this and make sure it doesn’t happen again.

I’m able to take a step back this weekend, though, and relax at Harry’s parents’ house in upstate New York, so I’ll be back with a much more relaxed mind, body and soul after the weekend. See you next week, friends!

Spring Cleaned: An Etsy Super Sale

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ad spring cleaning1Just a friendly reminder about my Etsy store :) I’m getting ready to move at the end of the month and I’d like to make room for more jewelry, so I’m giving a whopping 30% off code through the end of the month. You have two weeks to use this code and give me a big helping hand, and I would really, really appreciate it!

Use code SPRINGCLEANER to get 30% off your entire order, through April 30th :)

Inequality and the Subway, A Love/Hate Story

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Yesterday afternoon, The New Yorker posted an interactive infographic about the average income per subway stop, for every line in the city (including Brooklyn and Queens, which are, in fact, still New York City). And, in a twist of brand new information, readers realized just how vast the income gap is between not just subway lines, but the individual stops on the lines themselves.

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For example, you can see here on the L (one of the more popular subway lines among the younger crowd) that income disparity increases dramatically once you go through the tunnel into Brooklyn. The total income per stop is still generally laughably high, considering the fact that everything, including salaries, is almost always higher in NYC. But still, the slice through Manhattan on 14th street tells you pretty much what you need to know about the way things are structured here, which is part of the reason I chose the L for this example. I personally live just about halfway through the Brooklyn half of the graph, where median income is still fairly high, although almost everyone I know out here works in a low-paying service industry job, living in Brooklyn to make it work.

Quoth Gothamist,

For instance, despite severalarticlesto the contrary, it appears that even artisan-packed Williamsburg has a ways to go before it will even approach Manhattan’s level of wealth—the median income drops precipitously between 14th Street and the hipster belt, dipping to $23,865 at Montrose Avenue, and enjoying a brief resurgence before plummeting to $12,288 at Sutter Avenue—the lowest point of any stop in the system. For comparison, the median income at 14th Street is $150,110. In just 18 stops—an estimated 30 minutes—there’s an income disparity of $137,822. The line with the most sweeping range, however, is the 2, which shuttles straphangers all the way from Lower Manhattan (Chambers Street: $205,192) to the Bronx (East 180th Street: $13,750).

The most ridiculous part, too–though it’s hard to pick just one–is that this is from 2011. With the way Brooklyn has come into being the hip new place to live, especially off the L in Williamsburg and Bushwick, this data may be more invalid than it seems. For example, I really doubt that Montrose Ave is the second-lowest on the income step anymore. Rent increased in Bushwick almost 300% in the last year, which means the average income may be higher now and the next US Census will probably see a sweeping change in the makeup of residents.

None of this is shocking to me, I guess. Everyone knows that Manhattan is ridiculously expensive, and it’s really no surprise that Brooklyn and Queens are headed that way, too. It doesn’t change the fact that I love living here and that every day makes it worth it for me. But really, this isn’t about me, and it is worth studying. As always, things are changing in New York, and only time will tell if it’s for the better.

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I know I haven’t been around much lately – I’ve been crazy busy with both of my jobs as well as hanging out with friends and maybe possibly definitely a little bit of dating as well, but here’s a really lovely picture I took a few days ago. This is from the Seneca Ave M platform out in my hood, and it was really beautiful the other day in the snow even though it was also really cold.

I don’t have any updates with regard to Etsy yet, but hopefully it’ll be back up and running soon. I’m considering a full revamp and redesign, so it may be December before it’s back, but I have a lot of really good ideas that I’m hammering out right now.

Plus, NaNoWriMo is totally kicking my butt this year. I’m behind again, but it’s okay because I’m not super about winning this year. I’m into kick-starting my writing again.

But just know that my life is really really amazing right now. Really amazing. Nothing could be better and I couldn’t be happier. I hope you’re all having a wonderful November, and I look forward to regular posting again soon.

 

Life Lately: October 1, 2012

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Since I can’t seem to find time to sit down and write a real post lately, here are some quick caps of what’s going on.

working I’m working two jobs right now (plus Etsy!) and about 50-60 hours a week, depending on what needs to get done. It’s a busy life! I love it, though. I feel like I’ve really lucked out with two dream jobs and I could not ask for anything more.

writing Gearing up for this year’s NaNoWriMo and planning to use it to finish the book I’ve been working on this year. One month away! If you’re writing this year, please add me as a friend on the site. I’m a firm believer that nothing pushes NaNo success like friendly competition in statistics, so the more people you have to “beat,” the better!

reading Looking at my Goodreads goal this year, I’m not quite sure I’m going to make it, but I can say that I’ve read some really quality books this year. I’m currently reading both Deborah Harkness’s A Discovery of Witches and I just started JK Rowling’s new book, The Casual Vacancy. What are you reading? Always looking for recs!

listening This one’s easy – I’ve basically been listening to the new Ben Folds Five album, The Sound of the Life of the Mind, on repeat for days and days. It just could not be any better, you know? It’s basically exactly what I wanted it to be in every single way.

watching TV season is back with a vengeance, and as usual, I’m watching pretty much everything that there is to be watched. I was super into the Emmys last weekend and was cheering for Homeland all the way – if you haven’t watched that show yet, you really don’t know what you’re missing out on. It’s definitely better than Mad Men, I’ll tell you that. Remember, ABPW is still going, so if you want our thoughts on TV or you’re interested in sharing your own, click through!

New Yorking Fall is here, and that means wearing jackets and boots without having to be bundled up. I know I keep saying this, but this is the first time I’ve ever really experienced actual fall. Last night I was wearing a chambray jacket over a sweater with jeans and boots, and it was incredibly comfortable. I love this city so much.

Friday night, however, was probably the jackpot of the year. A friend and I got $30 For 30 tickets (an initiative to get people under 30 to go to shows by selling a limited number of tickets for $30) to see Grace at the Cort Theatre, starring Paul Rudd, Michael Shannon, Kate Arrington and Ed Asner. Not only was it one of the best plays I’ve ever seen (Seminar with Alan Rickman holds that spot), they did a special Q&A with the actors afterward about the themes of the play and their characters, which was incredible. I respect all of these actors so much already, and seeing them here was phenomenal.

And did I mention that I stayed at the stage door and met all of them AND got a picture with Paul Rudd? This is the part where I seem less composed, because I have been a massive Paul Rudd fan for many years now, and this is basically the pinnacle of what my life has been building toward. Maybe that’s dramatic, but whatever. I love Paul Rudd more than I love a lot of things, and even though I look like a dingus in this picture, I’m probably going to keep it in my heart forever because this is the greatest thing that’s happened to me in a long time.So what have you been up to lately? Anything fun going on? Reading new books? Listening to new music? Watching new shows or movies? You, my friends and blog readers, are a large part of who I rely on as tastemakers, and I always want to know what you’re up to!

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I went to see Beasts of the Southern Wild with a good friend last night and fell in love. It wasn’t what I thought it was going to be, but I didn’t know much about it going in so I was pleasantly surprised (and also slightly torn apart by emotion, so, you know). If you haven’t seen it yet, I highly recommend that you do so as soon as you can.

One of my favorite theaters here is the Landmark Sunshine Cinemain the Lower East Side. They only have a few screens and show pretty much only indie or cult films. While I was buying my ticket, I noticed they’re having midnight showings of American Psycho all weekend. I mean, how great is that?