Dismantling Routine and Labor Day Fun!

Yet another published piece! The long-awaited publication of my creative nonfiction piece, "Dismantling Routine" has finally been published in The Shadyside Review.

And speaking of dismantling routine, no time better to do it than the long Labor Day weekend. I am definitely going to attend The Palms pool party again tonight, which features Reggie Watts as headliner, along with other amazing performances, DJ's, a masseuse, the infamous dumpster pools, food trucks and more. 

Happy Labor Day weekend, everyone!

"Held Hostage in this Dance with Plagiarism" Poem Published!

A prose poem of mine, "Held Hostage in this Dance with Plagiarism" was published today in The Common Voice! I am steeling myself for another semester of plagiarism-fighting this Fall...

Also, in terms of real dancing, this new party is amazing! - The Palms party in Long Island City, replete with pools, hula hoops, food trucks and incredible DJs!

"A Monday in May," Published!

Another poem was accepted for publication!

Below is "A Monday in May, just published in Subliminal Interiors.

A Monday in May

Endless rain today, interminable rain this past week, a steady backdrop of gray: this muted, wet urban landscape. Bleary, tumultuous, congested. Then the sky this afternoon broke out in baby blue, with cotton candy clouds. Unexpected sunshine, color, vividness. The backdrop suddenly warm, bright, inviting. Dream weather: a balmy, idyllic NYC Spring evening. A ridiculously fitting analogy for this medicine-induced clearing of my head, of my body. Like the urban landscape I inhabit, my body has lately been a tired, weak, runny, polluted machine. But tonight looms large as my body is at least temporarily restored and imminent adventure and connection await, as the hint of promise and rebirth beckon and liven up this spirit, this body. It may be Monday, but May is the Friday of the months: full of promise, activity, life.

Ecuador Story Published!

Ta-da. My story on my Ecuador travels was published in Scholars and Rogues online. I think I need to work on expanding on my experience there, beyond these phantom images that haunt me, to describe my host family and their landscape a bit more. Stay tuned...

Art Published!

I have two tree-themed artworks published in The Common Voice.

With all these recent acceptances, I have to get cracking... Time to write and make more art!

Grind, Vindication and Wanderlust

I just got a poem published in Burning Word! Entitled "Approaching My Own Version Of Adulthood," it pretty much speaks for itself.

How amazing (and gratifying) it was to receive three publication acceptance emails the same day while traveling abroad. Such is my summer. More works already accepted for publication are on their way. It feels good to be vindicated/appreciated sometimes.

In other words, returning to NYC after having been away for awhile is both surreal and bittersweet. I've missed it, and my friends and home, but I already miss being elsewhere. I find myself relating to Elisabeth Eaves's Wanderlust, the book I am currently reading.

And life and time continue to move forward. I saw this odd contraption today in Williamsburg, reminding me of how strange, unexpected and creatively saturated NYC life is.

Apparently Red Bull is hosting some kind of inventors' contest (dubbed "The Ordinary Becomes the Extraordinary") this Sunday in McCarren Park.

I might have to check it out. (Free to the public from 3-7 pm). And then I have my own individual projects to pursue, like getting more work published...

Coney Island Mermaid Parade

The mermaid parade was a terrifically crowded celebration of everything nautical, and then some, in true Coney Island fashion.

Expanded Highline!

Yesterday I explored the newly opened extension of the Highline. The newest addition includes art installations that double as bird feeders, more seating areas, and additional spectacular views and railroad-based gardens.

It's worth checking out!

Lower Manhattan Splendor

While I typically don't hang around in the Financial District or Battery Park during my leisure time, this Sunday was an exception. And an absolutely lovely, mellow and fulfilling exception it was. So much so that it merits being called a staycation.

Some highlights of the day:

Lock Bikes to Street Fixtures At Your Own Risk

Huh. Apparently a few years ago NYC decided to apply an administrative code, 16-122-B, to not only cars but to bicycles. The website, Bicycletter suggests that NYC decided to institute this code to bikes in order to protest events such as Critical Mass. According to their website,


"Previous City administrations deliberately did not apply 16-122(b) to bicycles so as not to discourage bicycle use. This new interpretation appears to be related to recent police actions against cyclists participating in Critical Mass, where NYPD has removed bicycles locked up by Mass participants. Outside of these actions, NYPD has removed locked bikes from the street in only a handful of isolated incidents: from areas in Midtown during the RNC, and from the Bedford Ave (L) and Second Ave (F/V) subway station entrances.


The 5BBC has not heard of any other use of this policy against everyday cyclists. But we suggest that cyclists avoid locking to subway entrances, or in any way that might block pedestrian traffic."


I apparently parked my bike this afternoon to a pole in front of some (self-)important building in Greenpoint this afternoon and returned to it a few hours later with this sign affixed:

Would NYPD actually have removed my bike if I hadn't returned back to it in such a timely manner? I don't know, but the threat effectively scared me.... so be warned!

Highline Goodness!

My friend and I strolled through the Highline Park the other day. Truly a lovely urban park! And gorgeous, dare I say breathtaking, views.

Radio Play and NYPL Centennial

The trend is to celebrate the past. Especially with the threat of the imminent Rapture, it makes sense. Last night I saw Reggie Watts's and Tommy Smith's Radio Play at PS 122, a comedic, surreal send-up of old radio programs. Fittingly, it takes place mostly in the dark.

I recommend the show; it plays through May 28. Catch it! And/or a Reggie Watts performance anytime you have the chance.

(Reggie Watts, photo credit: Noah Kalina)

And this weekend marks the New York Public Library Centennial. Interesting, one of the free events for the centennial is a performance installation (really, isn't "play" such an antiquated, vague term anyway?) called Shuffle, which features passages from 1920s literature shuffled by computer algorithms. I expect the result will be as surreal and disorienting - and even humorous - as Radio Play.

(Photo credit: Caroline Voagen Nelson)

Carroll Gardens, Gowanus and Rainy Day Musings on Love

I didn't let the rain last night stop me from an adventure. My friends got in touch with me to see this indie documentary, My Heart Is An Idiot, at Littlefield, a performance and art space in the Gowanus.

Coming from Williamsburg, I figured my easiest route would be to take the G to Carroll Gardens and then walk over on Carroll St. to the Park Slope side of the Gowanus. And what a gorgeous walk. I even passed the old location of ISSUE Project Room, a gorgeous space on Carroll St. between Bond and Nevins that is now BKLYN Yard.

I snapped a couple of shots during my walk. These don't capture the ethereal beauty of the place, the fragrant gardens and the humid, earthly feeling of the misty night.

My Heart Is An Idiot was a thoughtful documentary that followed around one man, Davy Rothbart and his professed search for true love. Rothbart, the creator of Found Magazine, tours around the country promoting Found and musing about love, namely in the form of two girls: the one he is obsessed with but with whom he has yet to forge anything more than a friendship with sexual overtones, and the girl with whom he is romantically involved but with whom he lacks a sense of commitment. As even his mother said in the doc, he is a "con artist" who is more focused on the pursuit of true love than the actual commitment of a relationship; as his one female friend put it, he is good at romance but not relationships. The beauty of this documentary is that it portrays Rothbart as the flawed, quirky individual he is in a very humanistic and sympathetic way. Thank director, collaborator and friend David Meiklejohn for that.  

Museums in the Spring!

I just wrote and published an article on Suite 101, A Brief Guide to Midtown and Uptown NYC Museums.  There is also the Target First Saturday at BAM this Saturday and so many more events!

Aesthetic, Musical, Political, and Culinary Flurry in NYC!

This past week presented a flurry of work, cultural, aesthetic, musical, political and culinary experiences. As it should be.

On Tuesday I saw Eve Ensler give a talk at the Russian Tea Room. She is truly an inspiring, incredible and powerful woman. Once I get that next paycheck, I am going to contribute to V-Day, "A Global Movement to End Violence Against Women and Girls Worldwide". Her stories were truly both frightful and awe-inspiring and speak volumes about both the endurance of women and the extent to which patriarchy continues to exert its powerful force throughout the world. I am looking forward to reading her new book, I am an Emotional Creature: The Secret Life of Girls Around the World.

Wednesday evening was a bit more light-hearted. I went to see Fujiya and Miyagi play at Santos Party House, with openers Project Jenny, Project Jan and Body Language. Despite the hail, thunder and lightning outside, the show managed to lure a big crowd and entice some soul-clapping dancing.

(pictured above, singer Jeremy Haines of Project Jenny, Project Jen)

And Thursday I had a little culinary adventure in the West Village, starting at Café Angelique in the West Village and then splurged at Il Cantuccio Bakery, a very authentic Italian bakery and cafe specializing in divine biscotti (that also happens to be oil-free).

 Yum!

With a week like this, who knows what the weekend will bring. Though definitely time with friends.

Only in NYC...

Doing a collage and being good, especially as who knows what to anticipate for St. Patrick's Day tomorrow... And I stumbled upon this post on Craigslist.

Hmm. A Google search on "Whole Foods" and "free mustaches" yielded little more than a link to this post. It could possibly be related to promoting rBGH-free milk, but who knows. Tomorrow will definitely be interesting! I wonder if they'll have green 'staches...

East Village Faves

Blog, I neglect you. This calls for another TOP 5 LIST. 

Top new 5 Favorite East Village Spots, all around good ol' St. Mark's Place.

 5) Sunrise Mart - Asian grocery story on 3rd Ave. You have to take an elevator up, but this hidden little market has its fair of treasures and seems a little more authentic than M2M down the block. (Not that I don't also love M2M!)

4) The Spot Dessert Bar, so hidden and adorable you could almost miss it. 13 St. Mark's Pl. I recommend the milk teas and the chocolate chunk coconut cookie. But then again, everything looks good.

3) While we're talking dessert: The Chocolate Library, at 111 St. Mark's Pl. I stumbled upon this place on President's Day weekend. The salesperson was wise enough to stay open late. Combined with the free samples and the offer of a free orchid with purchase, I walked away with a $10 chocolate bar and an orchid that's still alive! I can't guarantee your experience will be quite so special, but they do have some delectable gourmet chocolate here.

2) And on to drinks. 10 Degrees Bar, a hop and a skip away from The Chocolate Library, at 121 St. Mark's Pl. The place has gorgeous and charming ambiance. Weekdays it tends to be a lot more low-key (and under the radar) than weekends!

1) Another bar. Ninth Ward. At 180 2nd Ave, with large wooden doors, it is easy to pass by. This bar not only has a fireplace, terrific ambiance (think speakeasy-esque) and serves food, but it also has delectable (and strong) cocktails. Absinthe included.

Williamsburg Glasslands Fashion

So last night I stood in line with friends to attend Williamsburg Fashion Weekend, "where art meets fashion." 

Or would it be more appropriate to say, where hipster art and fashion converge in a geometrical animal spirit union?

Take it away, Glasslands.

Life Lately

I've decided to lay off the blog a bit and keep my personal wanderings a little, well, more personal. And private.

That said, current top five favorites:

5. The fried chicken at Boka. Part of the Korean chain BonChon, their fried chicken is truly mouth watering.

4. Gay dance parties. I recommend Urge and Gumbo. Also, That's My Jam.

3. Shows and openings. Beans yesterday, a slew of art at Bushwick Beat Nite tomorrow, Lady Gaga Monday and many more to come.

2. Random conversations with strangers. My top two favorite of these happened on the same day. A little kid said hello to me outside a pet store and gushed about going to visit the guinea pigs, while his parents and I listened with amusement. And a waiter couldn't stop talking about Godiva and their free chocolates.

1. My NYC circle of friends and partners in crime. Mwah.