Monday, July 28, 2008

beached.

I was at the beach this weekend, with a few friends (and friends of friends) from high school. It was great.

We stayed in a cabin:


We did yoga on the beach:


And we cooked with fire:


I ended up with various ailments, however: a dozen mosquito bites, a sunburn in unfortunate places, and semi-permanent black lines on my feet. (Rubber flip-flops + insect repellent = mysterious chemical reaction.) I also got my ass kicked by a wave and, in addition to swallowing a gallon of salt water and nearly ending up topless, I got raked over a bunch of shells and now have a moderately-sized, moderately-painful abrasion down my back. My jeans also smell like a campfire.

All in all, a very satisfying trip to the beach.

Thursday, July 24, 2008

small-time crime.

Last night, in the ladies' room of the Brooklyn Public Library, there was a girl, maybe 17 years old, primping in front of the mirror. While I washed my hands, she fixed her hair, inspected her makeup. She also had a very large piece of toilet paper hanging out of the back of her skirt.

I didn't tell her it was there. Does this make me a bad person?

Could I possibly blame my crime on the fact that I had just failed a GRE math practice test?

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

all about the benjamins.

JuVo and I didn't get that apartment we wanted. Clearly, you all did not pray hard enough.

When we called the brokers (notice, we had to call them, the injustice never ceases) the reason they gave was that we don't make enough money. This is all well and good, but also untrue: we would have paid exactly the same amount for this apartment as we do for our current one. Probably this excuse was just that: an excuse.

Or, perhaps not. After all, I do spend half of my post-tax income on rent. Isn't there some (cosmic) rule stating that one should not spend more than a third of one's salary on rent? But is salary in this scenario post-tax or pre-tax income? If it's pre-tax income, I'm doing OK. If it's post-tax income, then I should be living with my parents, or in Bushwick/BedStuy/Brighton Beach. I do make more than the average New Yorker, though, and if you combine our salaries, Juvo and I make a whole lot more than the median American household. So how much money does it take to get a decent sized, moderately bright, two bedroom apartment, in a neighborhood where I can walk home alone at night? Am I asking too much? Yes? Well. That sucks.

What's worse, I am not even a struggling artist/musician/free-lance writer. If I were, I could be too poor for that apartment I want now but still dream about The Great Payday (bidding war over manuscript, major record deal, work displayed in Whitney Biennial, etc.) looming on my horizon. As it is, this is all I've got, and it's not likely to change much in the next decade.

To take Keith Gessen slightly out of context: "That should be enough. I hope that's enough."

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

top five reasons i won't rent your apartment.*

1. All the windows face brick walls.
2. The bedrooms have no windows.
3. The bedrooms are underground.
4. I would only walk home alone at night if I was carrying mace and a large heavy object.
5. Any of the above, at a price I still can't afford.

*Based on real events. (Kill me now.)

8pm update: We saw an apartment we love! In a great location! For the right price! Everyone pray that we are approved. I'm serious -- PRAY.