We did it all.

Riva came to visit this weekend. Themes: art, food, Chelsea. We took in a couple shows at the MOMA, then rushed to a gallery so Riva could see Nikki S. Lee's work.


Joseph and I found an orphaned My Little Pony balloon,


who wanted to fly free(ly).


Riva and I entertained ourselves while Joe studied some art made in Berlin.


Time to move on.


And then he arrived.


Riva treated us to slices.


We.


Us.


We each posed for a woman who is taking pictures of "people's outfits." I thought we were special until I caught her snapping shots of some other people on the street.


The other theme: Bubble Tape from Paige's birthday party.


Riva tried Yogurtland for the first time.


With the help of a list of pros and cons (collaboratively written and illustrated by Joe and me), it's settled: Yogurtland is better than 16 Handles, but 16 Handles came first in my life, and I'm not about to give up on an old friend.


We went to see Goodbye Solo by Ramin Bahrani, who also wrote and directed Chop Shop. The film wasn't as amazing as Chop Shop, but we witnessed the best Q&A I've ever attended. Ramin Bahrani and Souleymane Sy Savane answered questions that kept me engaged and interested in continuing to follow both of their career paths.

A successful weekend was had by all, if I do say so myself. And I do.

cruise to nowhere

On a gloomy Thursday night, there's nothing better than riding the Staten Island Ferry.




No other mode of transportation in New York is free, so why is there no charge to ride the ferry?














Joseph and I were trying to figure out the difference between "freedom" and "liberty." Etymologists?










(photos by grw and jet)

Ageless

Yesterday while I was waiting for the train, I got a little paranoid. I began to wonder if maybe my parents have been lying about my age, and I’m not actually about to turn thirty. I have a lot of friends that are younger than me. I’m carded almost every time I go to a bar. Unlike my sister’s birth, which was documented on film, there’s no evidence of my birth. The question remains: why do my parents want me to think I'm older than I actually am?

Further, they’ve been lying about my mysterious scar for as long as I’ve noticed that there’s something different about me.


Something is going on here and I’m going to get to the bottom of it.

Can a person ever really know the truth?

Let's pretend we're in Hawaii, Vanessa.

Vanessa is the Queen of Food Adventures. Today, she treated me to an old favorite, L&L Hawaiian Barbecue.


We've had the opportunity to spend much more time together thanks to my lack of employment.


I never eat Mahi-Mahi outside of Florida, but I made an exception for the deep fried version.


Happy birthday to my wonderful friend, Sandra!


Vanessa and I met a nice young man in town from Hamburg, who was hanging out at South Street Seaport.


He helped out with the cartwheeling photo shoot.


I flashed many tourists in my attempt to synchronize with Vanessa.


With all this socializing, who has time to get a job?

Living rootless

Veronica and Paige came over for haircutting. Veronica had never tried root beer before, so we decided to make root beer floats. I bought A&W because it's kind of the gestalt American classic. Veronica is generally a picky eater, and I predicted that she wouldn't like the taste. She wasn't shy with her feelings. It's hard for me to get my mind around the fact that some people live their entire lives without experiencing root beer.

A moment of silence for the deprived.

Misplaced romance and getting laid (off)

Getting laid off has many perks, especially if you have friends like Vanessa.


Yesterday was one of the first perfect spring days New York has seen since last year.


To celebrate, Vanessa took me out, rowing in Central Park.


I did none of the work.


Vanessa developed her own technique for rowing the boat. While everyone else rowed backwards, Vanessa was determined to row forwards.


We got where we wanted to go, even if it did take us a bit longer.


I practiced photographing scenery.


We have an endless list of (misplaced?) romantic activities we do together.


That's a good looking day if I've ever seen one.


And a good looking woman!


No perfect day can be complete without a series of cartwheels.