Well. Things are going pretty well. Certainly better than I’d thought they would go. Just a quick update of what I’ve managed to line up thus far.
A day or two a week interning for a photographer (follow the link below, hit the menu ‘photographers’ then hit ‘klynt’). Klynt
A very exciting internship with an outfit called c-trl. Their office is a real trip, crazy like. Check their showreel. c-trl
A job at Apple, selling my favourite machines. A kid in a candy store. Apple – Fifth Avenue
And because I’m a glutton for punishment I went out and got another job as well. I’m now the proud employee of Film Forum. Film Forum
And finally, we got a house yesterday. A big space with no cockroaches in a polish neighborhood called Greenpoint that’s midway through gentrification. Check out the Satellite photo below and follow the link below for google-map-a-magic (second stop on the L-Trai. Giggety). Greenpoint, Brooklyn
So since tomorrow marks the last day of three weeks in NYC, I’d say I’m doing pretty well. Head above water at least and that’s all I ask for. I am however excited as to what the next update will be like….
I’m annoyed I’m missing the election coverage. However this brings me right back into it. Anyone have any idea where it’s from? It’s not the Chaser boys I don’t think.
Last night I was sitting in the courtyard outside the Hostel which is surrounded by buildings on all sides. While on the phone to Amy something suddenly dropped heavily out of the sky and hit the table on the other side of the courtyard. It feel so heavily that I didn’t think anything would be able to survive it.
I initially thought that it was a rat or something that had trod to close to the edge on the building above. It had also fallen straight down so I thought that it was something that had fallen not flown. Getting closer though it was clear that it was a bird of some sort. The light was bad, so I couldn’t really make much of it out, but I thought that it might be a pidgeon or something similar, since they’re the only birds I’ve seen in New York City.
I sat back down and told Amy all about it over the phone, thinking that I’ll have to get something to dispose of the poor bird somehow. After chatting with Amy for a while, we hung up and I went over to the bird to have another closer look. As I was getting quite close it’s head suddenly whipped right around, and jumped up. I’m not sure which one of us were more surprised that it was still alive. It staggered around and collected itself. It had taken a massive knock and it was still very groggy.
After a short while it tried to fly, which is then that I realised what had happened. It could fly, but not well. It was so small because it was a child. It had fallen not flown because it’s mother had tried to teach it to fly by pushing it off the building above. It had survived the fall because it was a hardass. It couldn’t however fly out of the courtyard. So, with help, we caught it and put it into the park next door, perfectly okay except for probably splitting headache and a slightly swollen eye.
The whole episode reminded me of the following, only this bird had a second chance.
I never saw a wild thing
sorry for itself.
A small bird will drop frozen dead from a bough
without ever having felt sorry for itself.
D.H Lawrence
The photo below is not the Owl I saw, but is provided for coolness value only. It’s a pretty cool photo.
Going to an amazing little indepandant cinema called the IFC Center I was able to catch a documentary called Helvetica. Which was well worth the look. However the experience that I had was what has left the largest impression on me.
The IFC is on west 4th street, right on the edge of the Village, and when I went to take a look it was the first session of the day. Usually the first session is a pretty small affair, but there were at least 20 – 30 of us in the cosy 100 seat cinema, it’s always more enjoyable to go to a film with a crowd. Being excited about seeing a film that I had thought that I would never get to see in a cinema I was already up for a good time, however before the film the IFC had it’s “Short Attention Span Cinema” program. Which is a series of short films put on before different features, the one today being a film called ‘D.I.Y’ by Royston Tan and was also a contributing factor to my very good mood. That and the flyer afterwards that I found for a series of midnight weekend screenings that the IFC is doing over the next few months! Welcome to New York!
Below is a still from the film Helvetica using as an example the signage on the NYC subways.
I have discovered the miracle that is the Bodega (thankyou Linnea!). It’s exactly like the old corner store you grew up with in Oz, but with the addition of the takeaway and also massive amounts of cheap beer, and it has populated NYC abundantly. I always thought that the Americans we’re the poor cousins when it comes to alcohol consumption, but dear friends I have been humbled. You can buy (for $4!!!) a litre of beer in a can. One massive hulking can of beer. Cantastic!
Check out 201 Bleecker St in the Village. Great coffee. They even have trained baristas. Definitely tip worthy (I’m struggling with when and how much to tip, but this was no problem).
A double espresso later and I’m smiling back at NYC.
Other than the dramas of trying to get an Social Security Number, which is like entering Brazil (the film, not the country), the biggest drama here is trying to get a decent cup of coffee.
I haven’t bothered with Starbucks because, seriously, I’m trying to find coffee not look like a douche. And most places when they say coffee they mean something that’s been sitting on the stove all day, for example dirty caffeinated water. I still haven’t made it to little Italy and that remains my one great hope after what happened today.
I walked into a “Super Food” store. Yeah, shoulda been skeptical of that one. And to my delight I saw a coffee machine, complete with pipes, steamers and taps behind the counter. I grabbed a sandwich and asked timidly if I could possibly have a double shot espresso. The girl smiled and said ’sure!’ My hopes were smashed when she opened up the cupboard underneath and pulled out a packet which she then tore, pulled out yet another packet, put it in the tap and started pouring my coffee. It was then that I noticed that there was no grinder in sight. Godamnit.
Stupid Americans and their pre-packaged *everything*.
It’s everything I thought it was going to be and also a complete surprise. Probably because until I got here NYC existed as a semi-mystical place in my brain. A bit of a mental shift in gears.
No photos yet as I’m struggling with the god awful computers in the hostel. Hopefully I’ll be able to find an internet cafe somewhere that’ll let me play around with things a little, but until then they’re going to stay on my camera.
I’ll post again in a few days and update about how I’m going with getting a job and a place.
