i will be here.

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jace the face at the place setting the pace

Last night Jace and I went into the city to have dinner with my friend Erica and her husband Spencer at their amazing little apartment in Hell's Kitchen. Yesterday and the day before it snowed a crazy amount out here and in the city. NYU (where Spencer is attending law school) even closed their campus for the second time in 10 years (the first time was a few weeks ago when another crazy snow storm struck) because of the weather. I knew this, and yet somehow I thought that it wouldn't be all that bad. And, compared to the suburbs, it wasn't. Jace, my family and I have been shoveling snow twice a day for the last two days and I tell you what, my arms are sore. We have mountains of snow piled up on the sides of the sidewalks and roads that are almost as tall as I am. Or, at least, it feels that way. In the city the snow was not piled nearly as high. There were, however, hidden icy slush moats found on the corner of every block. While I'd worn my thrift store hiking boots that were fine for mountains of snow, they were no match for the slushy puddles of doom. By the time we'd walked the 12 blocks or so to the Rick's apartment both Jace and I had at least one very wet foot. 

 

We were able, however, to snap this photo of Jace terrorizing the Empire State Building. He really is a giant of epic proportions. (Also, please note his amazing Canada tuque that I got him at the Olympics. He WILL love Canada! He WILL!) The top of the Empire State Building is always lit up in colors for different occasions, like red/pink/white for Valentine's Day or red/green for Christmas which is fun. Right now it's lit up different colors depending on which side of the building you're on, which is pretty unusual. The north side is blue/black/blue, the east side is yellow/black/yellow, the south side is green/black/green and the west side is red/black/red. What? I looked it up and it's because of...dun dada dunnnnn...the Olympics! This weekend is the closing ceremonies so they've lit up the building in the colors of the Olympic rings. Fun fact! Now go impress your friends with your knowledge.

After an amazing bean soup and cheesy muffins dinner we hit the town! Erica and Spencer took Jace and I on a small tour of downtown Manhattan. I've been to the city countless times but it was fun to be there and not be one of the people in charge of showing people around. Erica and Spencer did a great job of hitting such hot spots as Times Square and Central Park. Jace finally gave in to his tourist side and was snapping pictures right and left. It had been years since I'd been to Times Square and I'd forgotten how bright it is at night! During the day it doesn't pop as much as it does at night when the only light is man-made. It was pretty fun.

Central Park was great too because it was dark and snowy and even though we still saw people it was more or less quiet and it was almost as if the city that never sleeps was asleep under all the snow. Apparently early that day someone had gotten killed walking through the park because a branch that was heavy with snow broke off its tree and fell on them. I never know what to make of stuff like that. It's so weird and so bazar that it could only happen in New York. Luckily, we were safe and did not encounter any killer trees while we were there.

We went back to the house, ate delicious chocolate fondue (made with chocolate orange chocolate which is amazing and clever) and watched the Olympics. Jace and I caught the 12:34 train home and didn't get back to Summit until 1:30 am, but it was one of the best nights we've had while he's been here. Hooray for friends, the city, and adventure!

make books not war

Today after a long day of state-line-crossing babysitting jobs I went into the city for a bookbinding workshop hosted by The Center for Book Arts and taught by Esther K. Smith. I own two of her books already—How to Make Books and Magic Books and Paper Toys—so when I saw her name on The Center for Book Arts events page I KNEW I had to go to that workshop. I got there a little late because of work, but I found the place no problem and walked right in. The location was on the third floor of a skinny New York building and was deliciously artsty. The elevator opened up right into the studio area and after putting my name on their email list and dropping of my layers of warmth on the completely overstuffed coat rack in the back, I entered the open workshop area. There were four tables set up for working, all high working tables, and they were packed with people. I slipped in next to a younger looking woman and asked her to fill me in on what project we were working on: snake books. I was a little disappointed because this was a fairly simple structure that I had known about and had been using for years, first being introduced to it by my lovely cousin-in-law Jenny. However, the basis for the workshop was Esther's new book The Paper Bride and she gave the book a new context by suggesting that you extend the book to make it into both a guest book and a decorative chain that could be hung up, perhaps in your home, after the wedding and reception are over. I think I may have just decided to make my own guest book for my as-of-yet completely hypothetical future wedding, friends. But that's what this blog is all about anyway, isn't it? The future?

Anyway, we made a few other projects from the book which were also fun but I felt like only the last one was really "practical" (I use that term loosely) in terms of standard bookbinding in that it could be incorporated into an actual book. (The other project was how to make a paper stand up snack holder—cool, but somewhat limited in application...) After the projects I went and asked Esther to sign my books and I asked her how one gets into the bookbinding world. I told her I was looking to go to bookbinding school but that I wasn't sure that was the most profitable decision, and she told me about various options, some of which were contingent upon my proficiency, and asked if I had brought any of my work with me. ...No. Why would I have thought to do something so painfully obvious? I proceeded to mentally kick myself for the rest of the conversation, though she went on to tell me that she was teaching a class at Cooper Union that I could sign up for which would allow her to talk to her more about what I wanted to do and how to do it. I am going to take it. I am excited. (Despite the lack of exclamation point, I promise, I am. Very. Excited. Very.)

friends in the city

The day before I left for Ecuador I met my friend Erica in the city for lunch. She and her husband recently moved there so he can attend law school at NYU and this was the first chance I'd had to come to visit. It was a pretty busy day for me, seeing as I was leaving for Ecuador the next morning, but Erica had been hounding me to come visit for weeks so I made the time AND I'M SO GLAD THAT I DID! I met her at her apartment in Hell's Kitchen where we made cucumber and cheese sandwiches, then walked over to the pier and ate them. We talked about living in the city, job hunting, married life, and life in general. I had forgotten how nice it is to have a friend that I don't have to explain religious things to because she already knows, often better than I do myself. Erica is seriously an amazing individual that I am lucky to have met in my many travels and even luckier to have kept in touch with since then. I snagged the above picture as we parted ways for her to head off to an interview that she was hoping wasn't a sales position (it was). Luckily since then she has found honest employment elsewhere. Yay for adulthood!

Additionally, I forgot how dirty walking along the streets of Manhattan can make your feet when you are wearing flip flops. Exhibit A:

Note that this is dirtier, in fact, than the dusty roads of Lake Como, PA AND the fields and roads of Ecuador. Things to think about...

money matters

This last week my family was in New York City for my dad's book relaunching. The company was kind enough to give everyone in the family who was there (in other words, everyone but me) $100 to spend while they were in the city. Here's what everyone got:

Brinden: signed poster of Billy Elliot for his school choreographer & kept the rest to help pay for the graphing calculator he lost

Mom: reusable grocery bags

Garrett: clothes (Billabong, PacSun, etc)

Dad: cufflinks

Carter: nothing

Translation:

Brinden: something for someone else, nothing for him

Mom: something practical

Garrett: clothes

Dad: something expensive just for him

Carter: unimpressed with everything and unwilling to settle for less