i keep a diary

November, 2012

The November Roundup

Here are all the photos I took in November 2012 that didn't end up in their own entry.

Thursday, November 1st

meredith
Thursday was Meredith, Ellen and my third, consecutive day cooped-up in an 8' x 10' room with 3 dogs in Meredith's parent's apartment, after being displaced by Hurricane Sandy! Meredith is laughing because I don't like to eat pumpkin or squash and so now that we'd split up she was reading-up on pumpkin & squash recipes. Hahahah. So good
book ˆ hurricane sandy ˆ laugh ˆ meredith

Friday, November 2nd

maddy
Friday was our fourth day together at Chez Silverman. Mer and Ellen went out to run some errands...
couch ˆ tv ˆ maddy
maddy
...Maddy and I snoozed and I read.
asleep ˆ maddy
maddy
Around 7pm that evening, the power was restored to the East Village and we were all able to return to our apartments!
e9th apt ˆ maddy
Later that night, after getting settled back in, I went out to explore the still-mostly-evacuated neighborhood.
east village ˆ hurricane sandy
The police station looked like something out of a Resident Evil movie. Cracked glass door, nobody inside, dark except for STROBING emergency lighting. STAY AWAY!
hurricane sandy ˆ nypd
amanda, meredith
I walked up to meet Amanda and Meredith for a celebratory drink at DreamBaby, one of the few places open.
amanda ˆ meredith
Bright, three-quarter moon behind church clock tower on the walk home.
church ˆ moon ˆ payphone
It's good to be home.
east village ˆ graffiti ˆ sign
I wasn't tired so I popped this guy in and let her rip until the middle of the night. Hehehe.
tv ˆ videogames

Saturday, November 3rd

On Saturday afternoon I went over to Sarah's for a hang.
apt 3a
maddy
Maddy doing her laps of excitement.
apt 3a ˆ couch ˆ excited ˆ maddy
We split a cookie...
cookie
...and took turns playing the new Assassins Creed game she'd just gotten.
apt 3a ˆ tv ˆ videogames
We had ourselves a lil' afternoon Thai feast. Mmmm.
food ˆ thai food
sarah
Haha.
apt 3a ˆ videogames ˆ xbox ˆ sarah
Fire truck shenanigans across the street.
firetruck ˆ nyfd
grant
Later that evening Grant came over and as an early birthday present I got him a massage with my friend Niko who massages REALLY hard. His face was feeling all swollen...
laugh ˆ grant
grant
...and funny from getting deep-tissued. Haha.
living room ˆ grant
Afterwards, we walked down to Bowery to grab a bite. On the way, we noticed all sorts of signs of Sandy in the neighborhood. Like these palettes of food piled up on the street outside of the church.
east village ˆ food ˆ hurricane sandy
Contaminated by flood water. Do not eat.
hurricane sandy ˆ sign
grant
RIP Bowery Diner.
sign ˆ walking ˆ grant
amanda, grant
Milkshakes and a late night snack with Amanda...
diner ˆ milkshake ˆ amanda ˆ grant
david k, me
...and DKNY!
diner ˆ david k ˆ me

Sunday, November 4th

On Sunday afternoon, Maddy and I went to the park...
park ˆ tompkins
grant
...and grabbed a coffee with this guy.
park ˆ tompkins ˆ grant
jenny penny, josh adcock
Later that afternoon, I walked over to the West Village to join...
birthday ˆ jenny penny ˆ josh adcock
ellen, quinn, samantha
...two tables of people I love to celebrate...
ellen ˆ quinn ˆ samantha
Jenny's birthday!
jenny penny
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JENNY PENNY!
birthday ˆ cake ˆ candles ˆ jenny penny
Tofu scramble biscuit with mushroom gravy. *DROOLS*
food
Laughed about this van parked on my block while I was out walking Maddy. (After being underwater, Avenue C = Avenue Sea)
east village ˆ hurricane sandy ˆ van
maddy, me
Reflection portrait of me and the hound.
east village ˆ hurricane sandy ˆ mirror ˆ van ˆ window ˆ maddy ˆ me

Monday, November 5th

On Monday afternoon I biked up to StyleCaster's office for a chat.
flux capacity ˆ sign ˆ work
grant
On Monday evening Grant had a craving for wings (!!!) and I accompanied him on our first visit to one of the many fine new multi-televsioned establishments that have seemingly migrated from Murray Hill into the East Village. I begrudgingly ate some curly fries. (Mmmmm...curly fries).
food ˆ grant

Tuesday, November 6th

jon s, me
On Tuesday afternoon I had lunch with my friend Jon. We went to summer camp together the summer after middle school and hadn't seen each other since 1990! From 14 to 36 in the blink of an eye! Great to see you, Jon!
jon s ˆ me
On the way home I got my vote on.
election ˆ waiting in line
Why just these five?
election ˆ sign
On the walk home I bought myself a little treat.
videogames ˆ xbox
sarah
Later that night, I went over to 3A...
apt 3a ˆ sarah
jared, laura
...to watch the election results.
apt 3a ˆ election ˆ tv ˆ jared ˆ laura

Wednesday, November 7th

Snow in early November!
east village ˆ snow ˆ walking
maddy
Maddy's low-clearance means she has low tolerance for being out in the snow. She usually makes it about thirty feet before wanting to head home.
dogs ˆ snow ˆ trash ˆ walking ˆ maddy
This dude on the other hand was sitting in the snow, waiting for his owner like no bid deal.
dogs ˆ east village ˆ snow
me
All bundled up and trudging through the snow for a late night...
snow ˆ walking ˆ me
...screening of House of Games.
movie ˆ poster

Thursday, November 8th

On Thursday I had lunch with my friend Happy who was in town visiting from LA, and her friend Christine. Afterwards, we walked up to the "plant district" to check out...
flower ˆ happy ˆ plant ˆ walking
The store is incredible. The have so many beautiful crystals and other geological oddities.
crystal
Smoky quartz & hessonite.
crystal
Trilobite fossils! H.R.Giger's quarter-billion year-old inspiration.
fossil
Love the plants everywhere on this block.
flower ˆ plant
fatty
Fatty!
graffiti ˆ fatty
Later that afternoon I met up with a former college at Poppin.
flux capacity ˆ work
They have the best office supplies closet I've ever seen!
flux capacity ˆ work
maddy, meredith
Later on, Meredith and I met up to take Maddy to one of her final dog training classes.
dogs in outfits ˆ maddy ˆ meredith
maddy
Trying on a hot dog costume they had lying around.
dogs in outfits ˆ hot dog ˆ maddy

Friday, November 9th

grant
Celebrated my day off on Friday with breakfast-for-lunch.
breakfast ˆ diner ˆ food ˆ odessa ˆ pancakes ˆ grant
Had a little couch time with Edie.
dogs ˆ edie
Later that afternoon, I hung out with Mer and the two puppies she fostered for a week. This one and...
dogs ˆ puppy
...this one! Adorable.
dogs ˆ puppy
Got my back walked-on on the way home. Sooo good.
massage

Sunday, November 11th

Perfect lazy fall Sunday!
fall ˆ la plaza cultural
maddy
Sunday was my last day of dog-sitting Edie so I wanted to get my two-houndsworth.
dogs ˆ edie ˆ maddy
La Plaza looking lovely.
la plaza cultural
Met up with Grant for some hot Falafel Shop and people-watching.
falafel ˆ food

Monday, November 12th

maddy
When the weather is decent and I don't have to see clients in the morning, Maddy insists on...
east river park ˆ walking ˆ maddy
...taking me on a long walk over to East River park to chase squirrels.
east river park ˆ sign
maddy
Such tiny legs!
east river park ˆ maddy
Later that afternoon I went down to SinglePlatform's offices to help out with a few projects.
flux capacity ˆ singleplatform ˆ work

Tuesday, November 13th

Rainy Tuesday commute through Tompkins.
fall ˆ park ˆ tompkins
New building going up near Astor.
buildings ˆ construction ˆ east village

Wednesday, November 14th

Had the park to myself for the afternoon.
tompkins
maddy
Except for these two.
dogs ˆ edie ˆ tompkins ˆ maddy

Thursday, November 15th

maddy
Wants to stay under blankets instead of going for her morning walk!
blanket ˆ sleepy ˆ maddy
I got up early Thursday morning, packed up my photo bag...
book ˆ camera
...took the subway with my super-faded but-still-working Metrocard...
metrocard ˆ subway platform
...out to Brooklyn...
clouds ˆ walking
...to meet up with Jeff Crystal, one of the founders of Voltaic Systems. Jeff had organized a way for people to donate Voltaic's solar chargers to folks volunteering with Operation Sandy and I met up with him to help hand them out in the Rockaways and take some photos. (Check out Operation Sandy with Voltaic Systems
box ˆ solar
Later that afternoon, I came home, downloaded my pics...
camera
...and put together an edit of the Operation Sandy photos for Jeff.
meta ˆ occupy sandy ˆ photo
maddy
Maddy is too long and wienery to fit on my lap but that doesn't stop her from curling up there all the time.
dogs ˆ maddy
meredith
Later in the afternoon, Meredith came over for a visit...
meredith
...and we took the hound for a hound-walk in the park.
sunset ˆ tompkins
jeet
Gurj came over after work! We destroyed...
computer ˆ laptop ˆ jeet
...our usual Thai feast.
food ˆ thai food
jeet, maddy
Frozen fruit bars for dessert. Strawberry Popsicle Lounging. I was trying to get a photo of Maddy's head all tucked under Jeet's feet...
couch ˆ dogs ˆ edie ˆ freeze pop ˆ treats ˆ jeet ˆ maddy
jeet, maddy
...but she woke up when she heard me giggling. Haha.
best ˆ couch ˆ dogs ˆ e9th apt ˆ edie ˆ freeze pop ˆ treats ˆ jeet ˆ maddy

Saturday, November 17th

maddy
Jeet crashed on the couch and got her legs snuggled by these two idjits. Haha. (I hung out with Catrinel in the evening, but didn't take any pics I guess!)
couch ˆ dogs ˆ e9th apt ˆ edie ˆ maddy

Sunday, November 18th

Quiet Sunday.
tompkins

Monday, November 19th

Signed up for a class at General Assembly to go over some Python basics. As a developer, I am C- at C++. (This is my favorite product manager joke. Never fails to get a chuckle from devs)
flux capacity ˆ food ˆ salad ˆ work
Once you start seeing patterns in nature....
plant
...you start to see them elsewhere.
shadow
amanda, grant
Went to meet up with Grant and Amanda at Lucy's, but it was closed. So we went to Sasko instead.
peace ˆ amanda ˆ grant

Wednesday, November 21st

Watched some kind of kid's Thanksgiving parade go down the street on Wednesday morning.
east village ˆ parade
john roche
Hung this painting I love in my living room.
art ˆ painting ˆ john roche
Later that night, I went to see Simon Amstell's show, NUMB, at St. Mark's Theater.
comedy
Shadows on the walk home.
shadow

Thursday, November 22nd

ellen, grant, hans
Going through the holidays after our break-up was a bummer. I didn't want to have to talk about myself or answer any questions about my life. So I'd originally planned on spending Thanksgiving hiding out in my apartment.

I'm very thankful for Grant who came and dug me out of my hidey-hole and convinced me to head upstate with him to have Thanksgiving with the Fatemans! We were going to take the train, but then Ellen texted and offered to lend us her car! We stopped by their apartment and found Hans in...
thanksgiving ˆ ellen ˆ grant ˆ hans
...FULL BAKING MODE!
pie ˆ thanksgiving
grant, maddy, me
Very thankful for this guy.
laugh ˆ thanksgiving ˆ grant ˆ maddy ˆ me
fatty, jaden, pepper
Thanks so much for having us, Andy & Pepper!
thanksgiving ˆ fatty ˆ jaden ˆ pepper
andy f
Four tables frankensteined together.
thanksgiving ˆ andy f
Grant's turkey plate.
thanksgiving
Veggie plate.
thanksgiving
fatty, grant
Thankful for all the years I've known these two.
thanksgiving ˆ fatty ˆ grant
jaden
Andy & Pepper's kids are growing up so quickly!
stairs ˆ thanksgiving ˆ jaden
henry, pepper
After dinner, it was time for Pepper to unveil the 10,000 desserts!
dessert ˆ thanksgiving ˆ treats ˆ henry ˆ pepper
henry, pepper
(And maybe also Henry's birthday?)
candles ˆ cupcakes ˆ thanksgiving ˆ henry ˆ pepper
henry, pepper
Holy moly, dig in!
dessert ˆ thanksgiving ˆ treats ˆ henry ˆ pepper

Friday, November 23rd

On Friday, I went up to Inwood for my second kinesiology session with Jeffrey Main. Cleaning out the attic one box at a time. Good stuff.
sign ˆ subway
Later that evening, I went to see Matt at a UCB show...
church ˆ clouds ˆ east village
brandon
...and then I biked over to Piano's late night to see....
band ˆ guitar ˆ brandon
brandon
...Brandon play an awesome acoustic set!
band ˆ guitar ˆ sing ˆ brandon

Thursday, November 22nd

leigh
Leigh is the MASTER of photoshopped party invites! Here's her Martha-Stewart-cooking-an-Edie-turkey Thanksgiving Invite! Hahaha. They get better every year!
best ˆ edie ˆ flyer ˆ photoshop ˆ thanksgiving ˆ leigh
alex d, leigh
Leigh working on dinner while Alex supervises.
cooking ˆ kitchen ˆ thanksgiving ˆ alex d ˆ leigh
Feastin' time!
food ˆ kitchen ˆ thanksgiving
maddy, randy d
Two dogs, one lap!
dogs ˆ edie ˆ thanksgiving ˆ maddy ˆ randy d
Leigh and Randy had just recently moved into this apartment. In the middle of getting a tour (a joke in Manhattan because it only takes like 90 seconds to see the entirety of pretty much anyone's apt), someone looked out the window and noticed...
peep ˆ strangers ˆ thanksgiving ˆ window
...neighbors across the street and down a floor were celebrating their thankfulness with some fucking!
nsfw ˆ nyc ˆ peep ˆ strangers ˆ window
Keeping dem socks on like a boss!
nsfw ˆ nyc ˆ peep ˆ strangers ˆ window
alex d, leigh, maddy
Maddy's all worn out from making sure that Edie doesn't get to play WITH ANY toys. Thanks so much for having us all over, Leigh & Randy!
asleep ˆ thanksgiving ˆ alex d ˆ leigh ˆ maddy

Sunday, November 25th

amanda, gina, grant, maddy, meredith
On Sunday evening people came over to watch the much anticipated...
e9th apt ˆ living room ˆ peep show ˆ amanda ˆ gina ˆ grant ˆ maddy ˆ meredith
...Season 8 debut of Peep Show, my favorite show on TV! (Season 9 is supposed to be coming out sometime in 2015!).
computer ˆ laptop ˆ peep show
amanda, gina, grant, meredith
Jeremy Therapized did not disappoint!
couch ˆ e9th apt ˆ peep show ˆ amanda ˆ gina ˆ grant ˆ meredith

Monday, November 26th

me
Awww, sad! Meredith and I spent a few week experimenting with joint custody of Maddy before eventually deciding, based on our schedules, that it made sense for me to take her full-time. I took this photo after Maddy had been over at Mer's for three days. It can be so sad to come home to an empty apartment when you're used to being greeted by a little wiener. In my journal for the day I wrote, "I keep rushing home to discover there's nothing to rush home to."
emo ˆ sad ˆ me
After holding them for three days and reflecting on how they might relate to my life, later that evening I took the notes Jeffrey wrote out during our kinesiology session and destroyed them with fire, per his specific instruction!

My skeptical & scientific exploration of magic & ritual very quickly gave way to a mystical & non-rational exploration of magic.

"Whatever the Thinker thinks, the Prover proves" - Robert Anton Wilson. The Thinker is the non-language-based, right-hemisphere of your brain. Whatever it believes is true, the Prover, the left-hemisphere of your brain will seek to parse out of reality. Tim Leary called these reality tunnels.

All the way back back to Egypt: As above so below.

Mind precedes Matter.

"Every event in the visible world is the effect of an 'image,' that is, of an idea in the unseen world. Accordingly, everything that happens on earth is only a reproduction, as it were, of an event in a world beyond our sense perception." - Wilhelm Reich

The Primacy of Consciousness. An argument as to why the ultimate nature of reality is mental not material. Peter Russel David Bohm's Implicate and Explicate Order.

"Those who don't believe in magic will never find it." - Roald Dahl

In all my reading, I was pleasantly surprised to make the connection that magic is similar to meditation in that it's fascinating to read about or discuss, but you don't actually get any benefit from "believing" in it. You actually have to practice it. Over and over again. It's like getting a prescription from the doctor and reading it everyday instead of taking it to the pharmacist and taking the actual medicine.

If you believe magic doesn't work, it won't. You probably already live in a "reality tunnel" where belief in magic = superstition. That is the place I was coming from at the time. What's interesting about magic is that it doesn't require that you believe in it, it just requires that you actually practice it.

When you first start out practicing any kind of magic ceremony, you're probably going to feel stupid. You won't really "belive" that it's going to do anything. But if you "fake it until you make it" and stick with it a few times, and over time as you repeatedly suspend your dis-belief, what you're actually doing is practicing tricking your brain. And when you're brain gets tricked, you'll start noticing strange sychronistic events in the real world. Whatever the Thinker thinks, the Prover proves. Magic is the western-tradition of re-programming your mind.

Ever had the experience of learning a new word and then suddenly hearing it spoken everywhere? What if that happened with more than words? (Not just the Extreme song)

Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it!

TLDR: I burnt some paper, reprogrammed the non-language side of my brain, and felt better.
fire ˆ magic ˆ smoke

Tuesday, November 27th

Rainbow lasers in the sky on Tuesday night when I walked over to the West Village to meet up with Meredith (for our last session of couples therapy).
art ˆ laser ˆ nyc
Yvette Mattern's "Global Rainbow", a super-neato light installation projected from the Standard hotel.
art ˆ laser ˆ nyc

Wednesday, November 28th

Wednesday evening food party at Casa Wang was...
house party ˆ party
kai
...FASCINATING! That joke is only funny if you know that this lacy little hat is called a fascinator.
fascinator ˆ hat ˆ kai
It's actually called a fascinator because it clips-on.
me
If it clips-on but gets so big that it looks like a hat, then it becomes a hatinator, which sounds like something professional haters drink when they are thirsty.
fascinator ˆ hat ˆ me
grant, kristina
Kristina & Grant!
fascinator ˆ hat ˆ grant ˆ kristina
matt
From the Latin, fascinum. To bewitch.
fascinator ˆ matt
matt
(Take 2 is also noteworthy)
fascinator ˆ matt
siege
The man behind the glass always knows how to do a perfect pout. It's just a matter of finding the right hat.
fascinator ˆ siege
Thanks for having us, Cynthia! (And letting us play with your little lacy hat).
house party ˆ party

Thursday, November 29th

Home-cooked lunch.
e9th apt ˆ egg ˆ food ˆ juice ˆ kitchen ˆ salad
Really pushing the envelope of my culinary skills here! Happy November 2012!
egg ˆ food ˆ juice ˆ salad