I now sit in an Econo Lodge motel room in what I have been told is the ghetto of New Haven, CT. How did I arrive here? I'll tell you. Friday during the day I did some work at the Boston Tea Stop, of course, made myself a sandwich at Jeremy and Dan's apartment, watched some Family Matters on TV, got some more work done, then walked around Harvard Square for a couple hours while waiting for Brett to arrive. Because the traffic was so bad, Brett ended up having to park near his old school, ENC, which is on the very outskirts of Boston in Walleston - a 30 minute subway ride away. While walking around Harvard Square it actually got extremely cloudy and then rained on me for about an hour. I ducked in to a Gap and also an Urban Outfitters for a while and spent my time comparing my threads to the latest trends. After the rain subsided, I took a brief walk around the streets and took some pictures - a number of which in a local cemetery where I found a teenage girl sitting on a tomb holding a teddy bear. She seemed depressed, but not like she was about to do anything to harm herself - so she made for some interesting pictures in the cemetery. Ya, very odd. I met up with Brett when he finally arrived and we went back to the apartment for a couple hours. We met Jeremy's co-worker Darcy that works in the inventory room at Apple as well. Brett and I decided to head to downtown Boston to catch some stores that were still open and grab a bite to eat. We made it to H&M for about 20 minutes but just missed the closing of Filene's Basement. Too bad. We walked around the city a little more and made our way to the South Side Diner. A Bostonian landmark, this 1950's style trailer/diner actually had some good food for 9pm on a Friday night. He said a lot of times the line is out the door after the clubs get out - it being one of the only 24 hour restaurants. After eating, we waited around for a few minutes until meeting up with Brett's friend, Anthony, from ENC. Anthony lives in CT but was in Boston with his friend Greg to ride bikes in the city. (Quick side story - Anthony once was hit by a car while on his bike, was sent to the ER with a concussion, and then sued the driver for 10k and bought a new Jeep Grand Cherokee) Planning to meet with us later, Anthony and Greg sped off. Brett and I walked back to the T station and got back to Harvard Square. Jeremy had gone to Darcy's house, but Dan was home. Unfortunately he was asleep, so Brett and I had no way of getting in to the apartment to get out stuff to leave for Providence. We went back to the Boston Tea Stop for my last Strawberry Snow and then walked around to see the famous library and extravagant landscape that is the ivy leagueness of Harvard University. Brett wanted to get back to Providence that night to sleep in his own bed, so we sat around waiting for either Jeremy to get home, or Dan to answer our calls. While waiting by the Harvard Square station, a man in his mid-50's walks up to us and begins a conversation. This Patriots jersey wearing man is a real estate broker in Newton, MA which is 20 minutes west of Boston. Apparently he comes in to Cambridge/Boston about 2 times a week to meet friends and hang out. Very socially awkward and anxious, the man I dubbed "Random Wally" stuck around as we tried to make conversation for about 15 minutes. Brett asked how he got in to Boston - he drove. "Why, do you guys need a ride somewhere?" Brett's eyes lit up as he said that ya, he did - he needed a ride to Walleston to get his car. By this time it was 11:50pm and the T was closing at 12:30am. Last train at 12:10am. Brett said he would let him know if he needed the ride and Random Wally said he'd be over by the chess players if we needed anything. We got back over to the apartment and got inside. We rushed to get my stuff together so we could get a ride with Random Wally - an adventure was surely to take place. We couldn't find him anywhere and have decided he was a few bricks short of a load and probably got picked up by the police. Dan drove Brett and I to Brett's car out in Nowhere, Boston so we could drive back to Providence and arrive at 3am. I didn't go with Brett. The following morning, Dan and Jeremy were heading to NYC for Saturday and Sunday - long story short, instead of going to Providence, I decided to go to NYC for Dan's 30th birthday party.
Jeremy and Dan's friends Mike, Dave, and Rebecca (Bex) showed up at the apartment around noon to head out. Jeremy made us a delicious turkey sandwich, and we were on our way - an hour later because we couldn't decide if we wanted to eat before or after leaving Boston. We arrived in NYC around 5pm. We stayed in the south of Manhattan by the World Trade Center sight in the Embassy Suites. Nice spot, sweet (suite) room. The nights follies began at 6:30pm when the 5 guys (we dropped Bex off on the East Side where she used to live) went down for free snacks and beverages in the hotel lounge. After an hour of chatting it up there we took off for dinner. We cabbed it to 3rd and B and arrived around 8:10pm for dinner at Max - an Italian food restaurant around in the same building where Dan lived for a while (come to find out it was only a month sublet, but Dave quickly saved Dan's pride by pointing out it was probably one of the 31-day months). We waited around for Dave's friends Robbie and John - to pass the time we purchased and played with bouncy balls on the sidewalk. Didn't cause a crash, but pretty dang close. We got in to the very dimly lit restaurant around 8:45pm. My black spaghetti with shrimp and cajun tomato sauce was great. A couple more friends showed up, Cindy and Betsy (who became my girl friends for the night), and we were off to O'Maley's near Madison Square Park for the birthday festivities around 10:45pm. Of Dan's group of friends there were 6 that had birthdays within a few weeks of each other - coincidentally turning 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, and 30 years old. So this was a gathering of old college friends, and friends of friends. The pub was hot and although around 60 people showed up, it was more of a meet-and-greet than a party. By 12:45am, Cindy, Betsy, Mike and I made the unanimous decision to take whomever wanted to follow and make our way to a club on the Upper East Side - No Malice Palace. Normally a fairly subdued club, it was hoppin' last night. After a short wait in line we got in and made a bee-line for the back where we confiscated a few sofas and promptly put our groove on. Dan and Jeremy showed up a few minutes later after saying their good-byes at O'Maley's and we partied hard until 4:00am. We took a little stroll around the corner for some falafel sandwiches and titillating early morning conversation, then took a cab back to the hotel to crash hardcore until 11am this morning.
Dan, Mike, and Dave left NYC around noon, but Jeremy and I decided we weren't yet done with the Big Apple. We gathered our belongings and took off to meet up with Jeremy's friend Rachel. We grabbed some lunch in the middle of the largest street fair I've ever seen, and then had a fantastic time walking around the MoMA (Museum of Modern Art) for about 4 hours. After my backpacking trip to Europe I thought I would never be truly stunned by the collection of a single gallery or museum, but the 3,200 pieces at the MoMA in New York were amazing. I couldn't really stop to fully appreciate a single piece. I ended up being so giddy with the art I was surrounded by that I started making art of my own. I now have a collection of pictures that I plan to make in to a book of people in museums. I've had this idea for a while, ever since I visited dozens of collections in Europe two years ago, but the MoMA finalized that this needed to be done. Artistic pictures of people looking at art. I can't wait to finish it. Note - I also need a much better camera and a lot more time. It's a beginning. There was also a special exhibition of Lee Friedlander's photography that solidified my concept. What Friedlander refers to as photography of the social landscape. After the MoMA we grabbed some Chinese food near Times Square where Rachel works and then hopped on the subway to make our way back to the car and leave the city. We ended up leaving around 7:15pm. Planning on going to Providence tonight, I gave Brett a call to which he said "No, go to Boston instead and then take a train to New Haven". I decided this didn't make much sense, so I told Brett I would stay with him tonight and then see RISD tomorrow and go to New Haven on Tuesday morning. This didn't work with his plans either, and I had to leave tomorrow morning for New Haven. I called Danae, and by stroke of luck, her and Layne got in to New Haven tonight instead. I called Stef to find me a place to stay in New Haven, and had Jeremy drop me off downtown. For helping me through a tiresome excursion to New Haven, I treated Jeremy and myself to some cuisine at Spooner's restaurant a few blocks away from the Econo Lodge. Our waitress was extremely delightful, made some pleasant conversation, and then asked what we were doing around New Haven. I said I was staying up at the Econo Lodge and visiting friends. She said "oohhhh... the Econo Lodge huh?..." I asked what was wrong with it and she said she'd be back in a minute. She got back and sat down at the table with us and told us all about the four hotels that surround this area. Apparently the majority of tenants in the hotels here are rather... dicey characters. She said they have a shooting once every couple days around here. The number on the room makes all the difference though - 300 and 400 level rooms are normally fine... I'm staying in room 117. Oops. Apparently the Econo Lodge is the best of the four, but she suggested that I not make any sudden movements. It's actually all quiet on the western front outside, and I've only seen one other occupant at the motel. No problems at all, so it was amusing to hear some stories from the middle-aged waitress that was once the manager of a "No-Tell Motel" in Oceanside, CA. Gotta love making friends with the locals. Tomorrow I'll receive a call from Danae in the morning and we'll head over to Yale. Who knows what we'll end up doing, but I can't wait to see the campus and especially the art department. As unscheduled and random a weekend as it's been, I've loved it and can now say I truly appreciate the city of New York.
Jeremy and Dan's friends Mike, Dave, and Rebecca (Bex) showed up at the apartment around noon to head out. Jeremy made us a delicious turkey sandwich, and we were on our way - an hour later because we couldn't decide if we wanted to eat before or after leaving Boston. We arrived in NYC around 5pm. We stayed in the south of Manhattan by the World Trade Center sight in the Embassy Suites. Nice spot, sweet (suite) room. The nights follies began at 6:30pm when the 5 guys (we dropped Bex off on the East Side where she used to live) went down for free snacks and beverages in the hotel lounge. After an hour of chatting it up there we took off for dinner. We cabbed it to 3rd and B and arrived around 8:10pm for dinner at Max - an Italian food restaurant around in the same building where Dan lived for a while (come to find out it was only a month sublet, but Dave quickly saved Dan's pride by pointing out it was probably one of the 31-day months). We waited around for Dave's friends Robbie and John - to pass the time we purchased and played with bouncy balls on the sidewalk. Didn't cause a crash, but pretty dang close. We got in to the very dimly lit restaurant around 8:45pm. My black spaghetti with shrimp and cajun tomato sauce was great. A couple more friends showed up, Cindy and Betsy (who became my girl friends for the night), and we were off to O'Maley's near Madison Square Park for the birthday festivities around 10:45pm. Of Dan's group of friends there were 6 that had birthdays within a few weeks of each other - coincidentally turning 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, and 30 years old. So this was a gathering of old college friends, and friends of friends. The pub was hot and although around 60 people showed up, it was more of a meet-and-greet than a party. By 12:45am, Cindy, Betsy, Mike and I made the unanimous decision to take whomever wanted to follow and make our way to a club on the Upper East Side - No Malice Palace. Normally a fairly subdued club, it was hoppin' last night. After a short wait in line we got in and made a bee-line for the back where we confiscated a few sofas and promptly put our groove on. Dan and Jeremy showed up a few minutes later after saying their good-byes at O'Maley's and we partied hard until 4:00am. We took a little stroll around the corner for some falafel sandwiches and titillating early morning conversation, then took a cab back to the hotel to crash hardcore until 11am this morning.
Dan, Mike, and Dave left NYC around noon, but Jeremy and I decided we weren't yet done with the Big Apple. We gathered our belongings and took off to meet up with Jeremy's friend Rachel. We grabbed some lunch in the middle of the largest street fair I've ever seen, and then had a fantastic time walking around the MoMA (Museum of Modern Art) for about 4 hours. After my backpacking trip to Europe I thought I would never be truly stunned by the collection of a single gallery or museum, but the 3,200 pieces at the MoMA in New York were amazing. I couldn't really stop to fully appreciate a single piece. I ended up being so giddy with the art I was surrounded by that I started making art of my own. I now have a collection of pictures that I plan to make in to a book of people in museums. I've had this idea for a while, ever since I visited dozens of collections in Europe two years ago, but the MoMA finalized that this needed to be done. Artistic pictures of people looking at art. I can't wait to finish it. Note - I also need a much better camera and a lot more time. It's a beginning. There was also a special exhibition of Lee Friedlander's photography that solidified my concept. What Friedlander refers to as photography of the social landscape. After the MoMA we grabbed some Chinese food near Times Square where Rachel works and then hopped on the subway to make our way back to the car and leave the city. We ended up leaving around 7:15pm. Planning on going to Providence tonight, I gave Brett a call to which he said "No, go to Boston instead and then take a train to New Haven". I decided this didn't make much sense, so I told Brett I would stay with him tonight and then see RISD tomorrow and go to New Haven on Tuesday morning. This didn't work with his plans either, and I had to leave tomorrow morning for New Haven. I called Danae, and by stroke of luck, her and Layne got in to New Haven tonight instead. I called Stef to find me a place to stay in New Haven, and had Jeremy drop me off downtown. For helping me through a tiresome excursion to New Haven, I treated Jeremy and myself to some cuisine at Spooner's restaurant a few blocks away from the Econo Lodge. Our waitress was extremely delightful, made some pleasant conversation, and then asked what we were doing around New Haven. I said I was staying up at the Econo Lodge and visiting friends. She said "oohhhh... the Econo Lodge huh?..." I asked what was wrong with it and she said she'd be back in a minute. She got back and sat down at the table with us and told us all about the four hotels that surround this area. Apparently the majority of tenants in the hotels here are rather... dicey characters. She said they have a shooting once every couple days around here. The number on the room makes all the difference though - 300 and 400 level rooms are normally fine... I'm staying in room 117. Oops. Apparently the Econo Lodge is the best of the four, but she suggested that I not make any sudden movements. It's actually all quiet on the western front outside, and I've only seen one other occupant at the motel. No problems at all, so it was amusing to hear some stories from the middle-aged waitress that was once the manager of a "No-Tell Motel" in Oceanside, CA. Gotta love making friends with the locals. Tomorrow I'll receive a call from Danae in the morning and we'll head over to Yale. Who knows what we'll end up doing, but I can't wait to see the campus and especially the art department. As unscheduled and random a weekend as it's been, I've loved it and can now say I truly appreciate the city of New York.
POSTED AT 8:40 AM Permanent Link |
