and ... we're back!

did you miss me?

the days have been too pretty lately to focus on blogging. but, as anyone in the tri-state area knows, today is not one of those days.

so, in a recap of the lovely month of august ... my life, in lists.

things i have eaten
- baked cheetos
- orecchiette with roasted garlic and shredded parmigiano reggiano
- momofuku's ramen soup
- caracas arepas bar's chorizo and chicken stuffed arepas
- korean curry
- massaman curry
- green curry
- rickshaw dumpling bar's dumplings, including the delicious chocolate soup dumpling
- taco chulo's fish burritos
- max's ricotta & spinach ravioli
- lots and lots of fage's greek yogurt

things i have seen
- outstanding performances by meryl streep and kevin kline in brecht's mother courage, on central park's summerstage
- a disappointing display of graffiti at the brooklyn museum of art
- a beautiful, moody piece of work by C
- questlove inspiring dirty hipsters to dance, drink lager and play dodgeball in mccarren park
- new mothers grooving in the wee hours of a monday night at deep space, with francois k
- a white girl having a bachlorette party at bembe (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!), complete with a veil decorated with tiny rubber penises
- a cat diving into a kitchen sink in order to get wet
- little miss sunshine, twice
- motherfucking snakes on a motherfucking plane, once

things i have felt
- writing anxiety
- MTD
- joy
- insecurity
- exhaustion
- anger at getting sick
- stomach cramps
- hot
- bliss

things i have written
- a poem about boundaries
- a story about a japanese retailer overtaking the meatpacking district
- REIT earnings
- a story about the troubles of a major international developer
- a preview of design exhibits at the cooper-hewitt
- approximately 12 thousand one-line poems
- approximately 13 thousand emails

things i have learned
- all kinds of salsa steps
- how to replant and mulch potted plants and trees
- when to let go
- to never postpone taking antibiotics. ev.er.a.gain.
- how to plan a tea party
- how to shave a head
- that a titmouse is a small songbird

things i have bought
- food. lots and lots of food.
- plane tickets
- floor repairs
- 2 wedding presents
- 1 baby shower present

things i have listened to
- lots of cheesy trance. lots and lots of it.
- pandora internet radio, my miguel migs and bloc party stations
- salsa, samba, and cumbia
- an architect telling me about the "theory of global warming" that i "might" believe in if i "happen to believe" that people "might" contribute to global warming. because it's "just a theory."
- francois k
- rich medina
- earnings calls. lots and lots of earnings calls.
- workmen tearing up my parquet floors

there are lots of extraordinary things soon to come, too. maybe it's not so bad to be a grownup and to go back to school. er, work. i mean ... five-day work weeks. anyways.

here's to all the fun stuff to come!
- a booze cruise, featuring jamie lidell
- ps1's final party with carl craig
- a baby shower for my dearest nephew at lady mendl's
- dinner party with the steel family
- a visit from JH
- a visit from my parents
- my nephew!

and just a few months down the line, when winter is starting to look really, really, unavoidable ... A TRIP TO KAUAI WITH MY FAMILY, MY NEW BABY NEPHEW, AND C!!!! and then a trip to my beloved chicago for new year's with G. snorkeling, java kai, roosters, green zebra, and giordano's stuffed spinach here i come.

so ...

i walked smack into a subway pole this morning while reading the kite runner.

yeah.

que hora son, mi corazon?

me gusta sonar, me gustas tu.
me gusta la mar, me gustas tu.

newest addiction ... manu chao.

y me gustan los libros. here's a survey, lifted from CK, also known as hyungi:

0ne book that changed your life?
darkness visible by william styron. i think maybe it actually saved my life.

one book you have read more than once?
i've reread all my favorites a couple times ... the most dog-eared are probably the constructor by john koethe and a thousand acres by jane smiley.

one book you would want on a desert island?
the collected poems of kenneth koch by kenneth koch.

one book that made you laugh?
lies and the lying liars that tell them by al franken.

one book that made you cry?
i wept, wept, i mean wept, when i read les miserables by victor hugo. the amazing thing was that while i was weeping and reading, sitting in my parents' convenience store as an emotional, chubby 14-year-old, my dad came up to me and hugged me and said, "it's okay. i cried when i read it, too."

one book you wish had been written?
half pint: the dark side of laura ingalls wilder by almanzo wilder.

one book you wish had never been written?
a night without armor by jewel.

book you are currently reading?
what's the matter with kansas by thomas frank.

one book you have been meaning to read?
a year of magical thinking by joan didion.

me gusta la lluvia, me gustas tu.
me gusta volver, me gustas tu ...