Things I Miss...

I left my beloved Brooklyn a few months ago, and I wanted to make a list of the things I will miss about living there. More than anything, it is a celebration of the 12 years I have spent in Brooklyn in that little apartment on 17th st. That picture above is of a free beer I enjoyed at Steinhof during last years Sound of Music Sing-A-Long. One of the many things I will miss.

Here's my list, in no particular order:

Celebrity tag - Whenever one of us see a celebrity in their natural habitat, we text each other regarding the sighting. I think the most sited celebs would be Robert DeNiro, Bebe Neuwirth and Alec Baldwin. Fun for the whole family. Now that I am in a relatively celeb-free city, my participation will be limited.

Reading on the commute - A guaranteed hour or two a day of reading on the subway ride into the city. Also a great way to ignore the the crazy of public transportation.

The crazy - Whether on the subway or walking down the street, I have seen all kinds of crazy. Some very entertaining, some very scary, but all right in your face. A variety that always appealed to me.

Cute boys! - The city is crawling with cute boys. Unfortunately, many of the hottest are gay, but that didn't stop me from admiring the view. Honestly, you could find them everywhere.

The seasons - Spring and Fall are amazing in New York City. These are my favorite seasons in general, but the change is always welcome from the dirty dreariness of winter, or from the sweaty heat of the summer.

Impromptu drinks at Steinhof - Many a night I would get a call from one of my neighborhood friends to meet them at Steinhof for a drink. I love that place, christened by me and Fran after 9/11.

Delivery! - Basically every restaurant, cafe, deli, diner and market will deliver pretty much anything you want, including a cup of coffee or a cup of soup. An especially awesome thing when you are home alone and sick as a dog.

Seeing the Statue of Liberty every day - Something very comforting about seeing her out there. A good view from down the block, a even better view from the Smith & 9th elevated subway stop.

Being a New York City snob - I know everyone outside of the city hates it, but being a NYC snob is fun. Can't help it, I loved being one sometimes.

Pizza & bagels - An extension of the above. NYC has ruined me for pizza and bagels anywhere else. There are good bagels and pizza in other cities, but I honestly feel like there really isn't any comparison.

The neighborhood - From the deli guys to the crew at my favorite coffee shop, they all greet me with a smile and a quick conversation.

Hanging out with Joanne - The awesomest roommate ever! We bonded over our love of television and Yankees baseball, and spent many an evening drinking booze, watching TV and generally having a good time. I will especially miss watching baseball, Big Brother, Lost, BSG, The Amazing Race, Survivor, Buffy (over and over) and all those stupid but hilarious movies together.

Babysitting/walking Maggie - Rhonda and Paul put their trust in me to take care of their doggie more than once. The best doggie ever, and one of the only dogs I think I could ever actually live with.

I am fine with where I am living now. There are plenty of lovely things here, and a great group of friends too, but I still get a pang every time I see a movie or TV show that shoots in New York. It was a huge part of my growing into the woman I am right now, and I will always have a big ol' spot for it in my heart.

Right Now, I HATE The Salvation Army...

HA HA HA HA HA!!! Now that is a funny picture (thanks GilRuiz1 over on photobucket). Normally, I have nothing against The Salvation Army, and what happened to me was probably my fault, but still, it was one of those things that made me so mad...

I recently moved outta Brooklyn, and had a lot of good crap to hand over to The Salvation Army. The night before I was gonna go to the SA, I got out my roommates old lady cart and packed it up with about 40 books, two bags of clothes, a bag of shoes and some other odds 'n' ends. The first load of what I expected to be another two or three trips. I got up the next day all ready to get rid of all this stuff that has been cluttering up my place for years, and I drag the full cart down the stairs from our second floor apartment and head down 6th ave towards Flatbush, where the closest SA was, about 20 blocks away.

After blocks and blocks, dragging the old lady cart through intersections and over uneven sidewalks, breaking a pretty good sweat for September, I finally get there, and find out that they have closed that store and moved to Quincy St. WHERE THE FUCK IS QUINCY ST????

I was SOOOOO pissed. If that cart was mine, I would have left the damn thing right there on the sidewalk. I seriously was thisclose to ditching the damn thing and walking home. So, after cursing a bunch, I turn around and start wheeling the damn thing back home. I was definitely one of the mumbling people on my walk back. I honestly considered leaving bags and books randomly in front of buildings on the way home. No one would know where it came from, but it would be free stuff for everyone! Then I considered leaving it in the park for anyone to have. Maybe the homeless and downtrodden would like my free crap. Then I got all guilty about leaving my crap strewn all over my neighborhood, and didn't do any of that.

When I got home, I knew I wouldn't be able to drag that heavy cart back up all those stairs, so I took out all the bags and unloaded the books onto the front stoop, reloaded the cart, and pulled it back up into the entryway. I left it there and headed back out to grab some groceries and a coffee, things I was planning on doing on the way back with an EMPTY CART! By the time I got back home I had cooled down and got pro-active on the interwebs. I found a thrift store on 5th ave & 16th that will take everything. After all of that, I was only four blocks away from a thrift store that would take all my crap!!!!!!! And, the kicker is, the stuff they didn't want for the store, they would donate to... wait for it... The Salvation Army! Arrrggghhhhhhhh....

But good news in the end, I suppose. Sometimes it's hard to be good. *sigh*

Fun in The Slope!

Last weekend we saw a couple of fun fun fun things going on here in Park Slope. The annual Seventh Heaven street fair happened, even though we were dodging raindrops (ok, downpours) for the bulk of the morning, lots of people showed up to join the festivities. There were artists and crafters, t-shirt and baubles sellers, lots of different food vendors and music. The fun of a good street fair here in New York City is the diversity of goods. From the schlockey tables of discount goods, to the cheezy t-shirts, to some really astounding jewelery and art. Everyone loves to walk 7th Avenue and hang out with their neighbors, buy some stuff and eat some good food. I am glad that the weather clamed down and let us enjoy the day.

Then, over on 5th Avenue, I stumbled across the latest public performances of the Artichoke Dance Company. They had four locations along the avenue that were marked by colorfully knit markers, like this one on the railings leading into Ozzie's coffee shop. Once I went inside (to get an iced coffee), I realized that there was a perrformance going on right then! Two women at one of the tables performing a piece silently. Seems that if i had known about this beforehand, I could have gone to their website and downloaded the music to my iPod, and listened along. It is a brilliant idea, giving everyone a peek into their dance project, but not bothering those who weren't interested by blasting music into their day.

Once I realized what was going on, I went back up the avenue to see the other spots where performances were going on. One was in the display window of a clothing boutique, and the other was inside The Gate, a local watering hole that I used to frequent in my younger days (it is a bit of a haul from my apartment).

After checking out their website, I see they are gonna be out this Sunday once again. I may just have to check them out!

One of my favorite things about living here is stumbling upon random stuff like this. And this weekend is the Gay Pride parade here in Brooklyn. Now that is always a kicker!