Goodbye Dollar Dream in the Borough

Well I should start off by saying happy new year. woo-hoo 2008! Isn't that great.

not all the news is good.

Dollar Dream is gone.

It started off like any other Saturday, a nice walk, a tasty bagel and then the horror of it all! My soul dropped as I rounded the corner..my haven of dollar items ..gone!

It's the sign of the times...the rising of condo towers means the demise of all that is cheap and somewhat good (if you read the labels). I will miss my never ending supply of tacky picture frames, washcloths and plastic containers. The reggae blares throughout the warehouse sized store. the echoes of french and patois fill the aisles. sure something s were $1.19, but overall a most amazing place for crap, and stuff n'junk. all within walking distance of my house.

say goodbye to dollar dream. we'll miss them. those crazy patois.

Happy Holidays From The Borough

I know you were expecting my usual politically correct - non-specific winter e-mail greeting. It's the non-tree using way I've been saying "Happy Holidays" for the last few years.

This year however, I'm feeling the Yule vibe. And in just a few hours comes the Solstice (1:08 AM Saturday, for those who care). So enjoy the time with family and friends. Eat too much chocolate. Spread the magic and joy. Give away an old coat. Revel in the fact that the days only get longer from this point on.

Sending warm wishes and butter cookies.

First Snow In The Borough

Now playing: The Beatles - I'm Only Sleeping
via FoxyTunes

And a lovely Sunday morning it was, with crisp white snow everywhere In The Borough.

I wasn't adventurous enough to go up to the park and see if the snow was folded around the trees that only a few days earlier had been bright red and full of leaves, but I'm sure they were.

I'm looking forward to some BIG snows this season...

Pie Time In The Borough

----------------
Now playing: The Beatles - I Should Have Known Better
via FoxyTunes Pie. Yummmy Pie. Have you had enough pie? Would you like a slice of pie? Pie Time is when the pies come out. Have some pie.

Save room for the Pie!

A Park In The Borough Redux

Now playing: Nick Drake - Northern Sky
via FoxyTunes
I know it's been a while. While I'm spending my days feeling like Goldilocks in a suit "no this one is too big, and this one is too small!" I haven't been keeping up my touring duties in The Borough. I was able to spend a whole day back in Prospect Park - basking in the sun and continually amazed by vistas and hues. The walk that we took, is my favorite up and down route through the park - starting at the Vale of Cashmere- taking the back route over to the pond and up and down and around the hiking trails (Lullwater is one of my favorites)- eventually ending up at the boat house. Then the most lovely part are the new hiking trails (complete with markers) that take you down to the carousel. I love that Audubon has taken over the boat house as some kind of real facility - but I still wish there was a restaurant there, or at least a 24-hour bathroom of some kind. Check out the hiking trail infoby downloading the pdf park map from their website - the trails are all in ocher dots - in reality there are a few of them and my guess is eventually Audubon will produce a better quality - more detailed trail map - that would be cool, right?

I say, even though there is big damp out there - every day the leaves are still bright and blazing - and maybe a bit mushy - but dying to be made in paper mache or centerpieces or simply arranged in a funny way. It's not just the tress and leaves that make me so ga-ga. It's all the freakin' animals.

During part of my hike I had some close encounters with mallards and other duck like creatures, and then I managed to creep up on a giant blue heron near the carousel, standing in the reeds. sweet.

Gobble. Gobble.

That Other Borough

Now playing: Slayer - Human Disease
via FoxyTunes So it was a busy weekend in that other borough (aka Manhattan). It is a well known fact that life in The Borough is deeply and directly connected to life in that other borough. I don't usually drop names, in fact I usually prefer to keep it all pretty anonymous - but I don't think MetalJohn would disapprove of being featured for the wild and wacky in the city posting.

It was a very metal birthday for John. Since it was across from Stuy town - I did manage to invite some of my local yokels to come by for a drink (or 5) and it was good. The bar is what used to b a neighborhood pharmacy, then turned into a bar (aptly names Barmacy) now converted into a tiki hut in Alphabet City called Otto's Shrunken Head. Other than some Hawaiian and Hawaiina decor and some rather festive drinks on the menu - its pretty much still basically a bar with a back room (really tiny) for bands and some games. It has a comfortable feel and still retains some of the downtown vibe.

John enjoyed my gift of old Iron Maiden LP's from the back of my closet and I played some pinball which I have been yearning to do for some while now. The flash of the lights, the sharp skills commingled with cunning reflexes. That's what I miss most about hanging out in bars, aside from the loose men and free drinks.

Now as if one big party night in the city wasn't enough, last night was the monthly meeting (read: drinking) of native new yorkers that I always enjoy. This month my cohort was going to be in full effect - it wasn't as huge a turnout as I had thought might happen (based solely on emails and the sheer number of people forwarded the info) but it was a solid group of people that I was really psyched to see.

I still find it amazing that people who maybe I haven't seen in many, many a moon, after a few minutes -the time seems to melt away - and for bad or good - I am stripped of everything except me. I am 14 again. I smile and hug everyone as much as possible. Of course it was like 85 degrees and 100% humidity at 11pm and with all the alcohol consumption after hugging so many people my shirt smelled like a gym towel by the time I got home. That 3 am shower felt good too.

Limited by the amount of time an evening can hold, by the time you've finished having a long conversation with one person - someone else has left and you can only hope they'll show up next month so you can catch up with them.

Life Goes On In The Borough

Ah yes, I've been thinking alot lately about so many different things - aside from the actual tasks that need to get done: finding a job and growing up. I'm constantly amazed at how much time it takes me to do anything. The curtains are finally up in my bedroom - it only took a little over 4 months to go from concept to done. So with that time frame in mind, something more serious, like finding a new job and changing the direction of my life - well I don't think I've exceeded my boundaries of allowable time yet.

Here in The Borough, and in the rest of the city as well - it seems noone ever has time for anything that isn't directly related to what they need to do in a day, as much as they may say otherwise. I'm talking about not returning phone calls, not answering emails, canceling lunch or dinner or drink plans "I just don't have time". How often have you said "I wish I had time to do that" or "If only there were 2 of me, then I'd have time for fun things" Well I'm here as your wake-up call. You have time, all day everyday, it's how you choose to use it, what is really important to you and a bit of how you manage your time.

Please don't get me wrong - identifying a modern social condition and placing a value judgment on that condition are two completely different things. I'm not trying to send out a secret message to anyone about their ability or inability to respond to modern communication. It's purely an observation.

I've decided that today we should all ponder the passing of time and take stock in what we can and do accomplish everyday, even if you've left a trail of unanswered communication or unfinished projects. So take some time and reflect on these words of wisdom, some coincide with my view, others are reminders that it is most difficult to exist within a time frame:

"They say that time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself." - Andy Warhol

"How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives." - Annie Dillard

"To live is so startling it leaves little time for anything else." - Emily Dickinson

"By labor we can find food and water, but all of our labor will not find for us another hour." - Kenneth Patton

"Half our life is spent trying to find something to do with the time we have rushed through life trying to save." - Will Rogers

"To think too long about doing a thing often becomes its undoing." - Eva Young

"Nothing is a waste of time if you use the experience wisely"- Auguste Rodin

"Time is the most valuable thing one can spend." - Theophrastus

"Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana." - Groucho Marx