Sweet Blog O'Mine

Author: Laren

  • Laren, Unplugged

    I had a great weekend. I had an out-of-town visitor, and we had a fun-filled, yet relaxing, New York weekend. We went to a karaoke party, cooked brunch, wandered through the Lower East Side (searching for Guss’ Pickles, which was closed, but went to Economy Candy instead), saw the Eldridge Street Synagogue (the first synagogue built in NYC), walked around Chinatown (got to eat at Fried Dumpling and New Green Bo), saw the John Waters exhibit at the New Museum, went to a margarita party, and had drinks at Great Jones Cafe. Over the course of the weekend, I took a bunch of pictures. So, last night, I had a quiet night planned at home. I was hoping to post some of the pictures from the weekend, post some other pictures that I have neglected for a while, and take care of a few ministerial things — pay some bills, buy plane tickets for Passover, etc. I arrived at home, sat down at my computer, and DISASTER — my cable modem seemed to be on the fritz. After spending some time on the phone with the RCN technician chatting about Wilkes-Barre, PA (did you know that it’s home to Sallie Mae? I did, thanks to having a friend who grew up there (hi, geek!)) while I unplugged, replugged, and generally adjusted my dead cable modem, we had no choice but to schedule a service call for later this week.

    It made me realize how, in the span of about five years, I have gone from someone who scoffed at the notion of reading news, paying bills, or buying groceries on the internet, to someone who does all of those things and more online. Granted, while I pay all of my bills and make the majority of my travel arrangements online, sometimes there’s no substitute for the old-fashioned version. I still get the Sunday New York Times delivered. I go to the local farmers’ market and neighborhood stores in addition to shopping at Fresh Direct. But, despite all that, I was certainly flustered last night. Plus, I have been trying not to write in my blog during work hours, so the death of my home cable modem certainly didn’t help any.

    So, here I am at work, blogging away, but for those of you eagerly awaiting the karaoke (and other) pictures. You’ll have to wait until after Thursday. I doubt that any of you are reading this, but if you are, I’m sure you’re devastated.

  • Mutually Exclusive?

    I sure hope not. Personally, I think there’s room for both in my life, loser that I am . . .

    sex.jpg
    Courtesy of Gaping Void

  • Moving to Brooklyn?

    Apparently, for all of you out there who have been gunning for me to move to Brooklyn, there may be yet another reason for me to move out there. According to “The Sexual Organization of the City,” (which is based on Chicago, but has been analyzed by the New York Post for NYC), some neighborhoods are “transactional” and others are “relational marketplaces.” My ‘hood? Transactional — good for short-term non-committed relationships. Tell me about it. Basically, the world below 14th street, which is where I spend the majority of my social time, “attracts young, single people who spend the bulk of their time in local hangouts – bars, gyms, coffee shops, clubs.” Park Slope and Carroll Gardens (neighborhoods in which I’ve thought about living in Brooklyn)? Relational. “These neighborhoods tend to be peopled with married or cohabiting couples, and their single friends tend to meet potential partners through already-committed mutual friends.” The article and the book go on to say that there’s no guarantee that a move to a relational neighborhood will guarantee a long-term relationship, so it’s somewhat of a Catch-22 situation.

    Hmm. Decisions, decisions. My current lease isn’t up until September, and the thought of moving yet again makes me nauseous. It’s not outside of the realm of possibility, however. What do you recommend? Should I move to Carroll Gardens in hope of finding love? Trade in the ability to walk to work for a long schlep on the F train and a boyfriend? Or stay in my centrally-located, Greenwich Village apartment, and live a life of singledom, surrounded by my extended social network of fellow “transactional” neighborhood folks? Any and all thoughts are welcome. Does your neighborhood help or hurt your chances of finding love?

  • Dumpsville

    Maccers has written an excellent guide on how to survive a breakup. She provides concrete, practical advice, such as:

  • Wallow, wallow, wallow. Bore your friends shitless with constant droning.
  • Drink yourself into a coma and have a one night stand with the most hideous individual you can find.
  • Call every single guy you’ve met in the last 10 years and invite them out for drinks. Tell them you’re paying.
  • Beg your friends to call every single guy they’ve met in the last 10 years and to fix you up on a blind date. Tell them you’re paying.
    and one of her readers provided a gem:

  • When he comes crawling back in 3-6 months time, sleep with him precisely once and then dump him.

    • Some of these things I managed to figure out myself during the course of various breakups over the years, but it’s always nice to get additional pointers.
    [via NewYorkish]

  • Look What I Made!

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    It’s a baby hat! It was my first knitting experiment outside of the realm of scarves, so it was somewhat intimidating. But it actually looks like a hat, so I’m pretty damn proud of myself. I got the pattern from Stitch ‘N Bitch — it’s the Umbilical Cord hat (because of the little knot on top). I’m sending it off tomorrow — perfect timing too, because I just received the birth announcement for the intended recipient today!

  • The Power of Genetics

    Both my sister and my brother forwarded me an action alert from Democrats.org this morning. I thought that was fabulous — the political activist twins to the rescue! Good thing that genetics (among other things) have made us all Democrats. On a side note, not sure what I think about the title of the DNC’s blog — Kicking Ass. Any thoughts?

  • These Are a Few of My Favorite Things

    Manhattan Users Guide interviewed a number of New York bloggers (some of whom are on my links list, on the left) to get lists of their top ten favorite things about New York. I agree with many of their picks. The Morning News ranks pizza as one of their favorites — it’s hard to explain to people outside of New York why their pizza sucks. Take our word for it, folks. It does. For a great slice, I recommend Joe’s. Remy Stern, (a fellow Jumbo) of NewYorkish, has a list that is almost identical to something I might put together, highlighting things like Chinatown, the Mud trucks, and Community Gardens. Maybe our time in Boston similarly shaped our opinions about what we love about New York. Amy Langfield ranks the Bistro Burger at Corner Bistro and dog runs as some of her faves, and they’d be on my list as well. Read Part 1 and Part 2 of the top ten lists.

    Once again, it makes me thankful that I can enjoy so much of what NYC has to offer, and I realize each day how much I still have to explore. So, folks, what are your favorite things about NYC? What have they missed? One thing I’d add — a good neighborhood bar.

  • Easily Amused

    I know I’ve written an entire post on the topic, but I think I’ve come up with a new favorite search that has pulled up my blog: “free naked Italian buns e-card.” The first runner up is “do me sweet girls.” What kind of shady operation do they think I’m running here, huh?!

  • What About Me?

    I Am Woman, Hear Me Blog highlights ten female bloggers in New York City. Guess I haven’t hit the big time quite yet. Oh well! But — I will agree with my sisters on one point in the article: “Almost all those women interviewed said blogging facilitates social interactions with readers and other bloggers at local gatherings of online writers.” Well — I haven’t been to a “local gathering of online writers,” but I have met a bunch of great people through my blog so far. By “met,” I really mean “emailed with” (for the most part), with the exception of Erika, Adam, Kevin, Hugh, and soon, Hilary.

    And an interesting counterpoint — Blogging Off, where the author has determined that blogs are ruining, rather than enhancing, her social life.

  • Picks in the ‘Hood, Round 1

    Here’s the substance of that email I mentioned in an earlier post. I was out for a drink with a friend who had recently moved to the neighborhood, and I was giving him recommendations for some of my favorite places nearby. Although some are technically outside of Greenwich Village (reaching into far off places such as the Lower East Side and Nolita), in my book, they are all within walking distance (at least for city walkers, who are used to half-hour walks). Why do I like these places? Overall, they are modestly priced, have comfortable atmospheres, and good-quality food. Each one has a little something about it that makes it particularly appealing. Check them out and let me know what you think!

    Italian antipasti/panini

  • ‘ino — Beford btw 6th Ave & Downing
  • Bar Veloce — 2nd Ave and 12th St.
  • ‘inoteca — Ludlow & Rivington
  • Perbacco — E 4th btw A & B (I think)

    Asian

  • Taste of Tokyo (sushi) — 13th St. btw 5th & 6th
  • Spice (thai) — University and 10th

    Latin

  • Flor’s Kitchen — Waverly Pl btw 6th & 7th Aves; also on 1st Ave & 9th St.
  • Caracas Arepa Bar — 7th St btw 1st & A
  • La Palapa — St. Mark’s between 1st & A
  • La Palapa Rockola — 6th Ave. & W 4th
  • Cafe El Portal — Elizabeth btw Spring & Kenmare

    Seafood

  • Pearl Oyster Bar — Cornelia btw W 4th St. and Bleeker
  • Mary’s Fish Camp — W 4th St. btw W 10th and Charles

    Indian

  • Milon — 1st Ave btw. 5th & 6th

    Other

  • Westville (home cooking?) — W 4th St. btw Bleeker and W 10th

    This is just the first installment. As I’ve said to those who have asked, there are plenty more where those came from!