Tourist Season is Over

19Sep07

Hey new ITP readers. Now that you’re here, I guess I should start steering this thing in some kind of meaningful direction. Thus far, I’ve been writing posts that amount to: “They sure do wacky things in this here New York City!” If it’s annoying me, I’m sure you’re none too thrilled. So, because it’s on my mind, let’s try a direction I like to call My Life.

My day began with a very painful procedure at the NYU doctor’s office. Worse-than-my-tattoo painful. Seriously. I have a lot of work to do and am feeling very behind*, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to get anything done without having some kind of breakdown after that fiasco, so I decided to indulge a little.

I headed to my new favorite haunt, Think, for some tea and a buttered bagel. There, I ran into the delightfully sweet Jessica Francis Kane, who’s also a recent transplant for NYU-related reasons. We had a brief chat before I headed to the nearest outlet to plug in my laptop and start programming away in Processing.

I spent a couple of hours there, which is a long stretch of time for me to do anything these days. They were playing music that was only vaguely familiar and interesting until something kind of amazing came on. The only lyrics I could make out were “running scared,” but I managed to find it through a quick search. Turns out it was Roy Orbison. Apparently I like an artist who recorded PRIOR TO MY BIRTH, contradicting my own recent assertion that I tend not to be into anything pre-’95.

Here’s Orbison live in Holland. “Running Scared” is the second in the set. You miss a little of the buildup here, but, God, it’s still chillingly good. How great it would have been to be at that show.

Then it was work, work, study, study, broken up by the second personal highlight of the day: Greenmarket. I was in a hurry while I was there (heading to Barnes and Noble to shoot video for CommLab), but it was still lovely to be surrounded by all those natural, local goods and the people who enjoy them. I did manage to stop for some homemade cookies, of course. There will ALWAYS be time for cookies. They live in my locker now, on standby to comfort my through the next mini-crisis, which I anticipate will begin tomorrow.

Narrative too boring for you? How about some lists…

Recent Purchases

Noea boots at Aldo. They look kind of militant here, but, trust me, they’re adorable. Yes, it’s a little early, but I’m terrified of that crazy thing they have up here called winter. I hear boots are good for beating it.

Wide leg jeans at Forever 21. Because I think they might actually catch on this time. And because they came cuffed, which meant that I could just rip a couple of threads to uncuff them to an appropriate length, rather than ending up with an unflattering fit from Gap because it’s the only place that makes pants long enough for me.

Recent Tunes:

“Him” - Biirdie [file under: sugary pop]

“Last Words” - The Real Tuesday Weld [file under: slightly less sugary pop]

“Sudden Rush (The Twelves Remix)” - Erlend Oye [file under: remixes of dance standards]

“My Love” - Mojib [file under: depressing electro]

*Actually, everyone I’ve spoken with at ITP has remarked that they’re behind. But if we’re all feeling the same amount of pressure, then we’re probably actually exactly on track, but just not in the way we’d like to be? Yeah?