My day in Brooklyn

Before I moved to New York I remember hearing that you live in Manhattan when you're young or single or hip or any combination of the three. You move to Brooklyn when you become un-hip or you want to settle down and raise a family. I got my first taste of Brooklyn today, and I can see how those perceptions make sense. It's not that I thought Brooklyn was un-hip; it just wasn't so in-your-face about it. Manhattan's so exposed that even places which mean to be underground and off the beaten track are all up in your grill about how hip they are.

Brooklyn was much quieter by comparison. I imagine I saw one of the nicer areas of the borough, and I'm glad I made the trip. The neighborhood was filled with tree-lined residential areas and bustling commercial spaces. Bookstores, art shops, and Indian restaurants filled my walk through the city streets. It almost reminded me of Lincoln Park, except not as overtly commercial (sometimes Lincoln Park feels to me like Old Orchard with bars and condos). There was an interesting mixture of young families walking with strollers and busy lawyers and civil servants catching lunch during their break from court.

The Brooklyn side of the Brooklyn Bridge provided gorgeous views of southern Manhattan and Lady Liberty--the first I've seen of her since I moved to New York. I made sure to grab a chocolate chunk ice cream cone from the shop beneath the bridge, and I ordered a pizza from Grimaldi's, which lived up to its legendary status. Brooklyn proved to be quieter, cozier, and greener than Manhattan, and I am sure I will make my way back to continue my explorations.

My first New York pie

Here's a picture of the first pie I baked in New York City. It just came out of the oven--a peach and apricot pie with cinnamon, nutmeg, and cardamom. You can never have too much cardamom.



Now I bet you guys really miss me.

Hey Mister! Check out my coz

A few days ago I received a text message from my sister telling me that my cousin Mike from Las Vegas would be coming to Chicago in June to play a couple shows with his band Hey Mister. Mike's played bass for multiple bands in Sin City over the past few years, and he's worked hard to learn all he can about the industry, even releasing his own clothing line, MIMORTL (Music Is My Only Reason To Live). Well, it looks like MIMORTL the clothing line has also become MIMORTL the record label, and Hey Mister is off and running with their first EP, Buy! Borrow! Steal!.

Holly and I are undeniably stoked for our coz, and we hope his upcoming tour turns out to be his big break. Here's a link to the myspace page for Hey Mister. Mike's the serious looking one with the glasses, the only one not sporting a plunging neck line. In fact, he has two shirts on to ensure the minimum amount of chest exposure. Come on, Mike! Let the sexy out!

If there's anything I've always admired about Mike, it's his knack for getting to know the right people, and Hey Mister is no exception. Their polished pop sound is due in large part to producer Kevin Churko, the father of lead singer Kane Churko. Papa Churko produced records for Shania Twain, Ringo Starr, and Ozzy Osbourne.

The band has a nice sound, they're coming to a city near you, and they plucked their name from a line in A Hard Day's Night (earning them much respect in my book). Congratulations, Mike, and I'll see you in NYC!

Hello from Astoria!

Hi everybody!

Welcome to my blog world. I'm so glad you could make it. I hope you're not too cramped. This is all new territory for me (both writing a blog and living in New York), so I hope I'm doing okay for a beginner. I moved into Astoria, New York a couple of days ago with my partner in bromance, Zev, and we spent the last few days scoping out Manhattan and part of Queens.

The highlight was probably winning the lottery and getting $20 front row seats for Rent, which was a tremendous performance. I'm not always big on Broadway shows, but this one's great. It's also closing soon, which makes it all the more special that we were able to land these tickets.

Zev has made his way back to Chicago, and I settled myself into my new place. It's strange because I'm walking down different streets (there's hills here--hills!), eating at different restaurants, and seeing different people, but there's still something familiar about everything. For example, when I went grocery shopping today I walked past Whole Foods (my favorite Evanston haunt) to go to Trader Joe's (my favorite grocery store that was usually too far out of my way). I bought the same things I would have bought at the store in Glenview. The only difference was that the people in line were more impatient. Moving to a new place isn't quite as big of a deal as it used to be, especially when you're moving from a big city to another big city.

That's not to say I don't feel the difference, but the biggest change is not having my family and friends around the corner. That's going to be the largest adjustment. Anyways, I really do like New York (a lot, actually, which scares me), and I'm excited to get going on my new adventures. Here's a quick tour of my room for all those who are interested. I should be blogging again soon. I miss everyone back home.

Enjoy:

At long last...

Here is the "spontaneous" rap Kristina and I made at the end of our trip to Kauai. The way our eyes move to the side as if we are reading--that's a character choice. We are not actually reading. Then the rap would not be spontaneous. Again, the rap is spontaneous.

Enjoy: