The year kicked off with a lot of writing for me. Don’t think I don’t feel guilty about putting the blog on hiatus. Here’s what I did instead…
Monday:
Woke up and checked a website to see if they ran the story I wrote for them, which had now peaked in relevance. (It was about New Year’s Eve).
A few minutes later, got an email explanation of “Oops. Forgot to run that. Feel free to publish elsewhere.” Grrr.
But, that’s alright! I’d previously pitched what is basically the same story in a different style and voice to New York Press. I emailed the completed draft to the editor and hoped this version wouldn’t get rejected, too.
Went to Hunch and wrote about men’s underwear all day long.
Nerve accepted two of my pitches, so I went about getting ready to ask strangers for sex and dating advice. (It gets easier the more you do it. I could get flirting tips from a dead guy at this point).
The songs that capture 2010 for me weren’t the most esoteric or classic. These eight summed up a year of change, starting over, and potential dressed as heartbreak.
“Tighten Up” by The Black Keys:
The story of life in pretty much any year: “I wanted love. I needed love. Most of all.” Here’s to finding it in unexpected places.
Heavy snow still mesmerizes me, though it becomes a pain in the ass more quickly nowadays. Sunday was rough, because I had to vacate my apartment before the blizzard left me stuck in my unheated apartment.
But once I safely got to the warmth of Brooklyn, I was ready to play for a few minutes.
A few days as a snow hobo made the fun part of Christmas - or my version of it, anyway - seem very far away.
Here’s what I did and didn’t do with my last few items on the list:
3. Celebrate Jim’s birthday - Oops. Didn’t happen. I’ll have to catch up with him at a gay bar one of the other 364 days this year.
5. Write my New Year’s resolutions - Still trying to finish these.
6. Eat pastrami croissants at Momofuku Milk Bar - Went over there, and they didn’t have any. Ugh.
Latest update: Another time. It’s a trek. I dislike the East side.
8. Take a picture of the first winter’s snow - Here you go. And for good measure, here’s one from the early hours of this weekend’s blizzard:
The bull on Wall Street has a new coat this Christmas thanks to the artist Olek who crocheted the massive coat as a gift to those who have no coats this holiday season. She hopes the image of the bull with a new coat will be the symbol of a prosperous New Year for everyone.
The artist, Olek, also says the bull’s new coat is a tribute to the sculptor of the bull, Arturo di Modica, who in another guerilla act, placed the bull on Wall Street in Christmas of 1989 as a symbol of the “strength and power of the American people” following the 1987 Stock Market crash. She says she’d like to apologize to the sculptor for adding another layer to his work but hopes he understands - incidentally,the coat is removable and in no way harms the original sculpture.
There’s a blizzard coming to NYC, and my building has no heat or hot water. I haven’t used hot water since December 24 when I woke up early to work at the soup kitchen.
Everything’s been reported and should be fixed within 72 hours, but I’m going to be staying with friends today and maybe tomorrow. (Unfortunately, many people are still out of town for the holidays).
Anyway, last great adventure of 2010! Let’s do this!
Please linger under the hot streams of water coming from your shower head or faucet today, and think of me.
