blog

finding my banksy

When Banksy took New York by storm during the month of October, I jumped right on the bandwagon. I followed his instagram account so that I could know the minute his new art was revealed each day, and much to my excitement, I was able to track down a couple of his pieces in some of the neighborhoods I frequent.

While making my way to the first Banksy sighting, I made this video that literally tracked my steps; and if you look closely I'm pretty sure you'll see that there's an extra pep in my step as I make my way across Central Park and the New York City terrain. I sure am glad I got a small taste of Banksy during his New York City jaunt. You're welcome here anytime, Mr. Banksy.

hi, from beacon

Last week I went on a quick trip to Beacon, NY for a staff retreat at work. If you haven't been there, you should definitely make the effort to go. And make sure to check out the Beacon Roundhouse. Because there is a waterfall there, and you will feel like you are a million miles from the city.

last week I moved.

Last week I moved and this was my view for pretty much the first 30 minutes. And then things got crazy. And have continued to be crazy ever since. But I'm finally beginning to resurface amidst the sea of boxes and screwdrivers and hammers & here's hoping to some normalcy again very soon...

cheeky sandwiches

Brendan's been raving for a month now about this new lunch spot he found: Cheeky. When Brendan raves, I'm always game to try it because he knows good food, and I like good food.

And he rarely ever raves.

I'm here to say: Brendan's raving is always worth the hypeβ€”despite having to trek to a restaurant in the pits of Chinatown. This was one of the best chicken sandwiches I've hadβ€”ever. The chicken was perfectly cooked with the perfect flavor (which I often have trouble finding in NYC) and the biscuit was unbelievably tasty, buttered, and not the least bit overcooked (also, a feat to find in NYC). I was nervous about the "cole slaw" and the gravy on the sandwich. I like gravy, but only in its proper place and on a lunch sandwich isn't the place for me. But for the fellow naysayers: I stand corrected, this gravy added the perfect touch. I could have eaten two or three of these sandwiches...but, I was able to exert some self control (and have bread pudding for dessert instead.) To top it off, all of this heavenly goodnessβ€”or, the sandwich at leastβ€”for $6.50.

Take my word for it, you can't beat that.

summer daze

I think I'm in the mood for a slurpee (again) today. Seeing this picture from last week reminded me.

my day,

consisted mostly of this: 

staring at doors and people close to the royal baby, but not the royal baby.

until I went to lunch, rushed back to get to my desk, found a coworker using my computer while this was happening. I literally missed it by 4 minutes.

Thanks to Kyo for sending this screenshot. Almost as good as seeing it myself...
Now back to regularly scheduled life. Much less interesting, much more productive.

a book to read

If you're looking for a good summer read, this should be on the top of your list: Rules of Civility.

It's a beautifully written novel about New York in the 1930s. The story follows two girlsβ€”who live as roommatesβ€”on their journey of making life work in this big city (but with much more drama and interest, of course, than just watching how they "make it work"). It's funny to see how all these years later, some things never change in the Big Apple. And never will,  I suppose.

(...Keep this on the quiet, and I'm not making any promises, but I heard the author speak last fall and he said there may be a movie deal in the works for this book! All fingers crossed.)

taylor swift's photo

If you follow Taylor Swift on twitter (who doesn't, right?), you may have seen this picture in a tweet from her on Saturday night.

This is a photo from her concert at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

Iβ€”along with 55,000 other teenyboppersβ€”was there!!! It was a wonderfully entertaining time, and I have more pictures to share. But thanks to TSwift for kindly letting me use her photo for now.

hi, from my giant black hole


Does it look like I'm in a black hole in this picture? That's the look I was going for.

Er, by black holeβ€”I'm referring to the giant time suck that has swallowed me in my entirety and kept me from doing anything on this blog in, well, months. But let's call a spade a spade: some of the space away from this page was much needed and much welcomed. Now that a lot of my day job is consumed by social media, facebook, blogs, blogs, writing, editing, reading, blogs, twitter, and more social media....I decided looking at one more blog when I got home from work might send me over the edge. But now I'm feeling better about the prospect of devoting some time to this again, 

so...welcome back & here goes...

pumpcast news

There is something so inspiring about watching people do what they loveβ€”completely uninhibited.

Jack Rafferty surprises this musical couple at the gas pump!

...so much so, that I just choked up a little watching these people interviewed on the Today Show.

Gah, I've gotta get a grip. But just watch for yourself....

lives of new yorkers

Last night as I was walking home I overheard a conversation between a homeless man (or perhaps just a beggar) and a passerby leaving the grocery store. The beggar was asking for money for food as a man with the grocery bag passed by him. The man with the one bag stopped suddenly, turned around, and said something I found so fascinating and have never heard before.

"You know what, this loaf of bread was bought with food stamps. I have $ 0.78 to my name, so I'm not sure I can share anything with you tonight."

Everyone has a story. Big or small, it's always there. I like having the chance to see glimpses of those stories, especially when on first glance I erroneously perceive so many to be just like me.

NY ❀ Boston

I've been a part of this great city for almost five years now, and I've seen tragedies big and small strike during my time here. And every time - without fail - the people of this city have come together as one. It's spectacular, really. I've never seen anything like it anywhere else before.

A city of 8 million people, united together. For our city and other cities alike.