Friday Footnotes

Here is what I am loving on this stormy Friday:

The "Swamp Water" we ordered at our work happy hour tonight. Not only did it make for some interesting pictures, but the multi colored straws provided much entertainment!

Image Via 

My plans for tonight! M. has planned a full night filled with dinner followed by donuts and coffee at Flex Mussels, which is one of my favorite restaurants. Can't. Wait.

The fact that I leave for San Francisco on Sunday morning for a week of professional development capstoned by a weekend with one of my favorite people! On the agenda: A trip to Napa for some good wine and some good eats, a hike in Muir Woods followed by a stop at an ultra hidden middle of the woods beer garden, a rooftop party on Saturday night with a friends of friends of friends type of thing, some shopping, a lot of eating, and some San Francisco city wandering. So excited!

My latest read: The Witches of East End by Melissa De La Cruz: 

Happy Reading and Happy Weekend!

An Answer to #Manhattan Problems

Today at work one of my coworkers was talking about her invented hash tag, #ManhattanProblems. On this list? Not getting a free bloody mary with brunch. Not having Jake Gyllenhaal in your spin class. We contributed to this list and it helped to pass the time during a very, very slow work day.

On my way home (after a beautiful walk through Central Park where, even despite the heat, Make Music New York kept me highly entertained), I stopped to pick up some crafting supplies for an organizational project that brought to mind the #ManhattanProblems that we had joked about all morning.

Perhaps I am wrong and other people have this issue as well, but M. and I have this drawer overflowing with menus that drives both of us crazy. With so many great restaurants in a close proximity, we inevitably order in quite a bit. I wouldn't consider either of us to be much of a cook, so we do frequently rely on the food prepared by the large variety of nearby restaurants. Subsequently, we have developed a terrible menu accumulation problem. Every time we get a new menu it goes into the menu drawer and this drawer has reached a point where I am scared to open it. While the age of technology makes it easy to pop on your Iphone and order through seamless web, there is still something I really like about being able to look at menus and mark dishes you liked or didn't like on the physical menu.

Therefore, when I got home today, I decided to create a file folder of menus organized by the geographical location of the cuisine. Inside each labeled continent, I broke the file into subregions and categorized the menus accordingly. Yay!

Menu Holder-in Progress

While I am sure this drawer will now turn into a dumping ground for some other random collection M. and I have going on, in the meantime, I am still excited to have resolved this particular organizational issue.
On that note, off to meet M. for some dinner. Tonight, it's too hot to stay home!
Happy Thursday!

Summer in the City

Via Pinterest

For the first time in many years of living in New York City, I am staying primarily in the city over the summer. This is a daunting prospect as I a.) get bored really easily b.) hate the heat and c.) view summers as sacred travel time. August is still up in the air in regards to travel plans, but I know that in July as I wallow through two graduate school classes, I will be here in the city. With the same fervor that I would imagine many moms apply to crafting and executing summer plans for their children over the summer, I have a devised a summer schedule that will ensure that I do not complain about being in the city this summer and make sure that I do not drive M. crazy.

Here are my plans so far:

Image Credit: Via This Adorable Etsy Shop:

Coney Island: Yup. I am doing it. I have never been. I have a well-known aversion to hour long subway rides. That said, the lure of The New York Aquarium's 4D movie theater, the spectacle of Coney Island, the boardwalk food, and the prospect of riding "The Cyclone" is enough to make me want to head there at least once this summer!

The Ferry to Greenpoint to have Seafood at The Lobster Joint: Now that I have discovered the East River ferry service, I plan to make extensive use of the waterways this summer. I will definitely head to the old standbys, Brooklyn Flea and Smorgasburg, via the water taxi, but one place I have not yet been, but plan to go this summer is Greenpoint, Brooklyn where I will eat some New England style seafood at the new(er) restaurant The Lobster Joint. Yum!

Image Credit: Via 

Midsummer Night Swing: Although I will avoid the Lincoln Center area as much as possible this summer since I work over there and have seen quite enough of it this year, thank you very much, I will make one exception when I head over there for the dance lesson followed by live big band dance music at the annual outdoor dance party. Can't wait to pretend I'm the Ginger to my Fred...

Shakespeare in the Park: Not-to-be-missed! This is always one of my favorite summer activities in New York City. While I think that I have seen As You Like It enough times to last me a lifetime, I am very excited to see Into the Woods!

Make Music New York: Tomorrow I am heading to this outdoor music extravaganza, which will take place at different locations all over New York City. My coworker's boyfriend is the brains behind this music festival and I am excited to sample some of the musical acts and interactive endeavors that are a part of this public music festival! My friend has already informed me that one of the musical acts at the lake at Central Park will involve a bunch of Morgan Stanley bankers rowing boats filled with musicians performing Alvin Curran's Maritime Rights. Should be interesting, to say the least!

Accomplice: My friend went to this awesome scavenger hunt/New York tour/game a few weeks ago and said it was so much fun. I think that, for my July birthday, I am going to gather a group of people to engage in this activity. That would definitely be a memorable way to spend my birthday!

The Bryant Park Summer Film Festival: I plan on making a picnic, gathering some friends and heading out to watch a film at sundown on the green of Bryant Park. Roman Holiday is my first choice...I adore Audrey Hepburn!

This ought to keep me busy...

Well, M. and I are off to grab some Thai food. Right now in New York City, it feels hotter than Bangkok. Let's just hope this is not indicative of the summer weather that lies ahead.

Summer Opportunities for Educators

Some of my best teacher experiences have happened because of word-of-mouth recommendations about various programs and opportunities. One of my friends who received a Fund for Teacher's grant (A totally amazing summer opportunity that allows teachers to create a plan for something he or she wants to do over the summer--oh, and this program funds it!), passed along information about NEH, or the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Through NEH, I went to study Steinbeck out in California a few years ago and will leave in less than a week to participate in my second NEH grant, which will hopefully be just as awesome! The NEH programs are amazing not only because of the content taught or the field trips planned for participants, but also for the caliber of people to whom you are introduced at these programs. Case-in-point, my roommate for the Steinbeck program is not only someone who I befriended at the program, but we have gone on to stay in touch and even co-taught together in Cambodia!

So, for any teachers out there looking for great summer opportunities in the future, check out NEH!

Currently Reading: Julian Barnes The Sense of an Ending...I'll report back, but so far, so good.

Happy Reading!

A Day Trip from NYC

This Saturday M. and I met friends, jumped on the ferry, and headed over for a day of 1920s fun on Governors Island. The weather made for a perfect ferry ride as we departed Battery Park; sky cerulean and warm rays of sunshine balanced with just a pinch of salty cool air. The 1920s party at Governors Island is always one of my favorite New York City events. People really go all out. The ferry is always filled with people wearing 20s costumes so realistic that you really feel as though you have been transported to Gatsby's world where "In his blue gardens men and girls came like moths among with the whisperings and the champagne and the stars." From the hair styles to the pearls to the intricate hats, dresses, and bags it was difficult to reconcile the then and the now on that New York ferry Saturday.

After sampling some cocktails (St Germaine is one of the sponsors of the event), we watched the Charleston dancers, and tried on some hats at the vintage stores.

I totally want this hat. Too bad it was $125.00!

We solemnly vowed that when the event happens again in August we will win the Charleston contest and wear more accurate period attire!

The event was over at five and we were still enjoying the sunshine so we decided to explore Governors Island for a bit. First, we went to see the Figment display. This is an interactive art exhibit in which you can slide down slides out of tree houses, build towers out of life size blocks, and, my personal favorite, walk around on the face of Lady Liberty! After we had our fill of childhood nostalgia inspired art exhibits, we headed over to this fort that is in the middle of the island all before catching the last ferry back to the other island--Manhattan!

When we arrived back in Manhattan we headed over to the East Village to sample some delicious Korean food. All in all a lovely day!

If you are looking for a day trip from Manhattan, I would definitely recommend Governors Island. There are free ferries that travel to the island every half an hour from Battery Park. The ride is quick, docking in under twenty minutes. You can pack a picnic, rent some bikes, run through a field that makes up one of the few open spaces not totally overcrowded in the area, or come for one of the many free events that the island is host to throughout the summer.

Enjoy!

Friday Footnotes (On Saturday AM...Again!)

Here is what I am loving on this lovely June weekend:

My Dinner Plans Last Night: M. texted me in the morning yesterday to tell me that he had made dinner plans for us. Usually, Fridays tend to consist of an after work happy hour and then an early bedtime, so it was fun to look forward to out-of-neighborhood dining plans. It has also been a really busy week, so it was so nice to have time to catch up leisurely over dinner.

My Friend in The New York Times: A couple of years ago, I taught in Siem Reap, Cambodia during my summer vacation. It was there that (through a friend who told me about the program) I met a group of amazing people who I ended up traveling around Vietnam with after the program ended. I have stayed in touch with all of them despite the fact that they live in Sweden. They have visited me in New York, observed my classes and taught my students some Swedish phrases, their students were "pen pals" with my students, and we even met up in Spain where my friend who originally told me about the program in Cambodia is now teaching. This is why it so cool to read The New York Times this morning and see my friend's picture and Stockholm travel suggestions in the paper! Go Anna!

The 1920s Party on Governor's Island: Excited to dress up in my 1920s garb, meet up with my friends, and dance the Charleston. This is one of my absolute favorite events in New York City and I can't wait to jump the ferry to Governor's Island and time travel back to the 20s this afternoon!

The Second Book of The Chemical Garden Trilogy: I just finished the second book in this trilogy and I am dying to see what will happen to the characters in the final book. Unfortunately, the final book has not yet been written, so I will have to wait until next February to find out...

Happy Weekend Everyone!

Restore, Revive, Relax

Conde Nast Traveler just wrote a feature on trips with health benefits called "Restore, Revive, Relax." After having "one of those days" today, I decided that they had the right idea! Although my grades are due tomorrow and I have some students taking the state exam in the morning, I am carving out an hour all to myself so that I can restore, revive, and relax.

On the agenda this half hour (Since I already spent a half hour on an evening run):

A glass of red: I actually picked up this bottle the other day because I thought that the graphic was adorable and was pleasantly surprised when the wine turned out to be really good--especially for the unbeatable price! I tend to just pick a price range followed by a cute graphic and that is the extent of my wine scouting; however, the more I read about wines, the less I think price range is always the best route for picking out wine!

A Good Read: While I am currently reading the next book in The Chemical Garden Trilogy (turns out it has totally sucked me in!), there will be no time for book lounging tonight, so I will content myself with book's little sister, magazine. Travel magazines are the best. I love staring at the pictures and planning my next trip. I am excited to read the article on Thailand and reminisce about my trip there last summer. Having traveled in South East Asia the past two summers, I am feeling nostalgic, so it will be fun to daydream over Thai temples, tuk tuks, and Thai traditions.

A Dark Chocolate Snack: When I wandered into Trader Joe's with my coworker on our lunch break today, she pointed out a chocolate bar with the most adorable packaging I have ever seen. It is the kind of packaging that makes me wish I taught some nautical novels and could have a sea-themed classroom party. For now though, I'll just content myself to lounge in my favorite pink chair, read my magazine, and nibble on some dark chocolate with caramel and sea salt. Yum...

Have a relaxing evening!

The Latest in Speculative Fiction

Apologies for the lack of posting yesterday... It was the last day with students, and thus the unofficial end of the school year, so I took the day off from blogging!

Just a quick post to discuss my latest read:

One of my students recommended the "Young Adult" books from The Chemical Garden Trilogy and, since the book made the summer reading list, I decided that it was time to read it. I began with the first book of the series by Lauren DeStefano, Wither.

So, at first I must admit that I was profoundly disturbed at the thought of this book being a "teen read." This work of speculative fiction begins with the eerie premise that, after developing human beings that are born without any potential for disease development, something goes terrible wrong and humans only live into their twenties, with males living five years longer than females. As scientists race to determine how to stop the virus that kills the population in their twenties, the disparities between the wealthy and the poor lend to a world in which the rich take on many wives (poor women hand selected by "Gatherers") in order to begin the production of a well of offspring who will hopefully be immune to the deadly virus.

From the not so subtle rape references to a character who heads blindly and happily into being a "bridesister," I immediately had huge issues with the series. However, upon reading the book in its entirety, I think that the disturbing gender dynamics of the society are dealt with in a more Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid's Tale, way than I originally expected. For this reason, and the fact that the main character is fairly "empowered" and acutely aware of the fallacy of the gender dynamics in her society, I think that this is actually a really teachable text and, while I wouldn't necessarily want to see a young reader undertake it on their own without discussion, I do think that the potential discussion engendered from this book could be rich and advantageous! Essentially, the application of a feminist reading to this novel would offer a high interest approach to discussions about gender, class, and technology (there is even an allusion to Shelley's Frankenstein in one scene). So, for this reason, I recommend this book, with the caveat that a discussion must follow!

Happy Reading!

Happy Monday

Well, I wouldn't exactly say that this weekend was relaxing, but it was definitely fun. Friday, I raced home from work and did some errands that I needed to get done, packed, and jumped on the train to Connecticut to stay at my friend's house in anticipation of "The Warrior Dash" Saturday morning.

We woke at 6 AM and jumped in the car to go meet our other friend, who is, incidentally, the most efficient person I have ever met. She actually used to time herself drying her hair and subsequently try to beat her best times. And that little anecdote just scratches the surface! When we woke up Saturday morning and stumbled our way into the car to go get coffee, my friend N. and I joked that our other friend had probably already been up for two hours and had worked out and baked cookies. And, trust me, that it is not that off base! Anyway, we met up and continued our drive for another hour and a half whereupon we arrived at the most neglected part of the state to partake in the obstacle littered race. After meeting up with my efficient friend's sister, we sized up the course, which looked quite intimidating. My pictures do not do it justice. 

I realize that those "flames" do not look scary at all, but I assure you, pictures can be deceiving! 

After taking some pre mud covered photos, we were off! The course was actually so fun and we had a blast! We are already planning our strategy for next year, which will definitely include team costumes!

After the race, we drove two hours back to my friend's house where I jumped on the train for another hour and half and came home exhausted. I also decided that I was so tired that I just wanted to get home thereby convincing myself that it was a good idea to get on the train un-showered after an event that ended in a mud pit. I cannot even begin to tell you the looks that I got in Grand Central when I arrived. 

After crashing on the couch for two hours in sheer exhaustion, we headed out for dinner at a local place we love where the best part of the meal was definitely the appetizer; crab cakes with mango, fennel, and cilantro salad. Delicious. 

Sunday involved a very short run, a lovely morning coffee, a manicure and pedicure to remove the mud lodged under my fingernails, a trip to get new (NEON!) sneakers (since my sneakers from the race did not fare well in the mud pit!) and an evening dinner with M. and his dad at another local place that has an awesome Sunday night special comprised of mussels, fries, and a draft beer...a delicious way to close the weekend!

The interior of a local restaurant; repurposed wood, fresh tulips, and beer that arrived in mason jars=love...

On the reading front: I just finished a light beach read that was perfect for quick Sunday night reading completion. The Lucky Dog Matchmaking Service by Beth Kendrick is adorable and, while I know I have a severe dog book genre affliction, this book really would appeal to a much broader audience. Loved it for those times when you are tired and just want to read something light and fluffy...

Here's to a lovely week!

Friday Footnotes

Here is what I am loving on this June Friday:

My friends who have dragged me into the "Warrior Dash" on Saturday: All at once excited and terrified to crawl through mud, jump over fire, shimmy under barbed wires, and leap over tires with some of my favorite people!

Ask me if I still feel this way come Saturday afternoon when the novelty has worn off...

Book Expo America: While I was disappointed not to make it to the book and publishing expo this week, I was excited to reap all of the rewards since our librarian friend went and brought me a bunch of really great books to peruse and pass on to my students.

The Prometheus Opening This Weekend: Call me a nerd all you want. I love Ridley Scott. I will be watching Saturday night since I am guessing by that time I will hardly be able to move.

HBO-Go: The New York Times wrote this (highly accurate!) article regarding the use of HBO-Go by people who, in the case of this article, don't have televisions or prefer not to subscribe to HBO. M. and I have enjoyed taking advantage of the multitude of movies and shows available online. I am currently obsessed with a series emerging out of a series of books that I also loved: Game of Thrones!

As always, but especially on a Friday, I am appreciative of my peaceful walk home through Central Park. Today, I stopped for a lemonade at the Le Pain Quotidien that is in the middle of the park. I definitely need to make this a pitstop on my walk far more often!

Happy Weekend!

A Little Respite from the Workday

Rarely in the teaching profession do I have the opportunity to have a leisurely workday lunch. My lunches normally consist of something that I grab quickly at a nearby cafe and eat in my classroom rapidly in the presence of students, punctuated by comments during meetings, or, occasionally, if I am lucky, peacefully on the terrace outside of my building. This is why I really appreciated my work lunch today. We had professional development and so we had a little more flexibility when it came to lunch time options. That said, my colleagues and I did slip slightly shamefully back into the meeting a few minutes late; however, easier to do that than come late when there are students waiting eagerly for you to teach!

With two of my favorite co-workers, I headed over to Lincoln Center where, in the Film Society of Lincoln Center there is an adorable cafe called "Indie: Food and Wine." What a respite from the day! I ordered the most delicious turkey club sandwich. On it: bacon, lemon mayonaise, bibb lettuce, green tomato and...wait for it...potato chips! It was so good! In addition, I learned from my co-worker that you can actually get food in the cafe to go and bring it into the movie theater. I am definitely going to need to do this as that is a major upgrade from my usual movie theater fare of greasy popcorn and/or sour patch kids.

From the Indie Food and Wine Website 

While there, I also picked up a brochure for the Human Rights Watch Film Festival. While all of the films look amazing for different reasons, I would really like to see Little Heaven. Check it out!

One more workday this week...
Here's to Fridays!

Visions of Venus

Ray Bradbury 

Last night marked a rare encounter of the Earth with the planet Venus. This phenomenon happens only once every 129 years. One of my favorite short stories is Ray Bradbury's "All Summer in a Day," a heartbreaking story about a little girl who experiences a bullying incident that robs her of the chance to see the sun from her rainy home on the planet Venus. On the fictionalized planet Venus of Bradbury's short story, the sun only makes a brief appearance just two hours once every seven years. It seems almost poetic that it is within hours of this rare planetary phenomenon that Ray Bradbury, an author of rare talent, passed away at the age of 91. A genius. An artist. A legend. A moment of silence for an incredible speculative fiction/science fiction writer.

Must See Movies

I promised my sister a list of must-see-movies for a group that she is organizing at her library (her job is so cool), so I decided why not turn it into a blog post??!

I am sure that many would disagree with the films that make my list; however, I love these movies and think that they deserve to be seen by all.

If you can screen them on a rooftop at night, a backyard under the stars, or a cozy night on the couch with people you love... even better!

So...
In no particular order...

The New World Okay, so while Terrence Malick films are definitely not for everyone (I was once in a theater to watch Tree of Life and people were actually complaining out loud and walking out), they definitely push your thinking and the cinematography often stuns and impresses viewers. This particular film is a whole new take on Pocahontas--Say goodbye to your Walt Disney crafted versions!

A Single Man: An achingly powerful story of love and of loneliness.
The Garden: An inspiring (while simultaneously depressing) documentary about a community garden.

Precious Knowledge: I love this documentary--evidenced by the fact that I have seen it three times. A must see, especially for educators.
Bulworth: I first saw this screened at the Museum of Moving Image (You absolutely must visit this Queens museum if you have not before). The film is hilarious and poignant and provokes great discussion on race and politics.

The Visitor: A film that is, at its core, about immigration, but beautifully weaves in so many other thought-provoking themes. A must-see!

There are obviously so many others, but this list is a start!

Happy Viewing! 

New York at Night

Whenever I think of walking in New York City at night, I think of old Woody Allen films. His love letters to New York City as embodied in his scripts always seem to capture my sentiments as I walk this city at night. Last night, M. and I headed out for a walk around the neighborhood; the breeze was cool and it felt like fall, the moon was nearly full lending a romantic air to the city streets, and, apart from the random rat skittering across the sidewalk, this New York night was the New York night of movies. 

Moon Over the East River 

"Buildings and Bridges are Made to Bend in the Wind"

Cars in Motion

Ahhh yes...New York at Night is Lovely...

This afternoon (by light of day!) I met up with a friend to share a pot of mint tea and catch up on the comings and goings of our lives. I met my friend when we were both English teachers at the first school where I started teaching. She served as my unofficial mentor teacher and I learned so much from her. Anytime I meet up with her, one of the things that we are always sure to do is exchange favorite recent reads. I have had some great recommendations from her over the years. Her latest recommendation did not disappoint: Jennifer Egan's short story "Black Box" in the recent issue of The New Yorker was awesome. Find it here...

Happy Reading!