Monthly Archive for July, 2009

New House News

Published
by
Dory
on July 26, 2009
in The World
. 0 Comments

Kalin Reads the New House News

(That there is Kalin Reading the New House News)

So it happened! I moved into the new place–a wonderful apartment with a big kitchen, high ceilings, wood floors, a fire escape and windows that don’t overlook the highway, a reasonable amount of stairs from the ground–and a whole new neighbourhood (and it’s requisite neighbourhood blog).

Huge thanks to the fine friends who helped me pack, move, clean, disassemble and reassemble my furniture: Caitlin Dourmashkin, Adam Esrig, Avi Fox-Rosen, Emily Frye, Rachel Gurstein, Leah Koenig, Ben Murane, David H Rosen, Ari Shapiro, Abby Weiner, Joe Wielgosz, and Sarah Zarrow.

As a present to the new house, I bought a set of the New York Postcards from Yellow Owl – they haven’t arrived yet, but they’ve already got a spot on the wall by the door waiting for ‘em.

Thing is, less than a week after moving in, I took a tumble down the stairs and f’d up my left ankle something good, so I spent 5 days housebound&bedridden, imagining what walls get what things once I can freely move about the apartment (and the world).

I’m getting there, though! Yesterday I wandered the neighbourhood, hitting up the oh-so-cute Franklin Flea (5 vendors!) where I bought some pinapple pepper salsa from a very earnest young man, walked through the About Time kid’s skate day, and towards the Grand Army Plaza Greenmarket (which is so huge and overwhelming compared to McCarren park, but I’m sure I’ll get used to it), and a picnic in Prospect Park.

When I got home I totally overcompensated for not being able to do projects the past week (other than knitting while watching Battlestar Galactica)–I set some pickles to ferment, made bread, and put some suntea out on the fire escape to brew.

I will stop typing now before I get all earnest and gushy about how lovely the world is when you’re allowed out of your house on a sunny day. Instead, here are some photographs of my trip to America for the 4th of July (from Vancouver to Bellingham/Anacortes, I know that I live in America but such voyages are still exciting).

billboard blues

Published
by
Dory
on July 8, 2009
in The World and brooklyn
. 1 Comment

When I moved into the apartment on South Fourth Street, the billboard outside the kitchen window (target audience: BQE drivers) was for a Land Rover. I made the joke that in 15 years I’ll buy a Land Rover, and though I won’t remember living by the billboard, it will have made its impression on me. Then the billboard was for paint, and then insurance.

But then things started to go downhill. One morning the words outside the window were large, in yellow, and said “STOP CUTS TO DOWNSTATE MEDICAL AND OUR SUNY SCHOOLS.” The pictures were bad flash photos of doctors and 20-year-olds standing in a line. The billboard was still annoying, yes, but this one kind of amused me.

I started to talk about how this billboard was an indicator of the recession, getting less and less high-paying advertisers. Zach said I should submit it to Andrew Sullivan for BOTH his “The View From Your Window” and “The View from Your Recession” projects.

And then things got ugly:

got hemorrohids?

A “Got Hemrrhoids?” billboard with a butt as the “o” in “proctology.” I started keeping the curtains drawn.

But now that I’m leaving this apartment, the view has changed. Kurt sent me this cameraphone photo of the swtichover while I was in Vancouver:

on cbc radio or sirius sattelite radio 137

So maybe the economy is getting better along with the view?

…in bed

Published
by
Dory
on July 4, 2009
in up to something
. 1 Comment

Thanks the the lovely&talented Jake Pritchard. I’m on the internet. And so are other people. Take a look.

(10 points if you can find Infinite Jest in the shot)