January, 2014

The January Roundup

Here are all the photos I took in January of 2014 that didn't end up in their own entry.

Thursday, January 2nd

Early morning doctor's appointment uptown.

Friday, January 3rd

Friday was cold and snowy.

I stayed holed up inside with this one...

maddy — ...and this one!

maddy, matt lesser — Matt came over in the evening to receive a reiki treatment from me. Maddy likes to nap between people's feet when they're up on the reiki table!

maddy, matt lesser — Sweetest dog in the world!

maddy — When Maddy wants to be loved she arches her back extra hard and sticks her pointy barrel chest up in the air.

maddy — How could you resist a face like this?

Sunday, January 5th

ellen, maddy — Ellen came over for lunch and a hang on Sunday afternoon.

ellen, maddy — Maddy is a big fan of Ellen.

Was excited to have a random 50-degree day in the midst of artic temperatures.

Monday, January 6th

On Monday night I went up to Union Square to do group reiki.

Weird mannequin head on a spike on the walk home.

I was going through a really difficult and bleak month of January blues and life-stuff.

Spent the evening sitting with, and trying to bring awareness to, the full feelings of my dissatisfaction.

Wednesday, January 8th

Wednesday was fifteen-degrees with flat-white skies.

Took Maddy for a walk and she went bananas for...

..the one squirrel that was out trying to find himself something to eat!

Down by the East River...

...there were cool breaks in the cloud from thermal up-drafts.

Cool to see how the cloud coverage is a dome that ends right above the horizon.

Mirela came over for reiki in the evening!

Thursday, January 9th

maddy — You know it's cold out when you ask your weiner dog if she wants to go out for a walk...

maddy — ...and she can barely be bothered to poke her pointy little face out from under the blankets! Ha.

Thursday, January 9th

theresa — On Thursday evening I went downstairs to help my neighbor Theresa turn her apartment into a nursery!

maddy — Came home late and stayed up with this one...

...watching the fantastic documentary about the life and work of theoretical physicist Richard Feynman, The Pleasure of Finding Things Out. (Excellent - worth watching!)

Saturday, January 11th

maddy — Every January they collect all the Christmas trees in Tompkins Square Park and turn them into giant piles of fragrant mulch...

maddy — ...that Maddy absolutely cannot pass by without diving in and rolling around with grunty-pleasure.

jared, jeet — That evening Gurj & Jared came over for Vietnamese sammiches and then we walked over to 3rd Ave to see American Hustle.

Sunday, January 12th

Spent Sunday afternoon getting a long and intense energy treatment up in Inwood.

Man lunch!

Spent most of the evening...

...working with a new tarot deck.

Pulled a bunch of cards about various things going on in my life.

After spending a few years learning to throw coins and interpret the I Ching...

...it was really interesting to start learning the Western equivalent and see how much they have in common! (Although tarot still seems way more complicated and overwhelming to me - fun to try to incorporate all the extra meaning and symbols.)

maddy — Maddy is terrible at starting contests. She can only last like ten seconds before all the effort...

maddy — ...starts making her SO SLEEPY.

Tuesday, January 14th

miye — On Tuesday afternoon I had lunch with Miye and her friend Nicka.

Did a long reiki session and then got down with a korean feast!

Wednesday, January 15th

While walking Maddy near the East River on Wednesday, the river was covered with a drifting mist of dust...

...from the concrete plant across the river...

...making cement and loading it onto boats to bring over to Manhattan skyscraper construction sites!

grant — Got my Odessa on with Grant for lunch...

meredith — ...and then later in the evening went out to Williamsburg to see Meredith's apartment! Congrats on the new place, Mer!

Mer's new roommate has a cat.

He looks like this.

Thursday, January 16th

Stopped to admire the candles and booze that someone had left out on the overpass to mourn a friend.

Four candles and some Henny. He was LOVED!

Friday, January 17th

Contrails made a giant backwards N in the sky.

I always love watching the winds..

...slowly rearrange the skies.

I busted out my compass set to draw a design on my newly-painted living room wall, but I couldn't figure out how to attach the paint market I wanted to draw with.

So I ended up making this "homemade compass" with a ruler, some duct tape and a finishing nail. It doesn't look pretty...

...but it got the job done! Drawing 19 circles with a paint marker was an exercise in steady-hands.

Ta-ha! (The design changes when viewed at an angle - you can more-easily see the "cube" inside)

Treated myself to a deliciously snacky dinner around the corner...

...and then spent the evening having my tiny mind blown wide open reading The Tibetan Yogas of Dream and Sleep

Walked Maddy late and night and admired this monster that's still for sale right down the street from my apartment.

Whenever I'm feeling a little trapped and cagey and find myself walking past it to make sure it's still there. Like an escape pod from 1981.

Walked over to the Sunshine for the midnight showing of The Big Lebowski.

maddy, me — Woke up on the couch in the middle of the night with this tiny beast cuddling my neck. Awww, best buddy.

Saturday, January 18th

Spent Saturday morning reading this excellent Alan Watts book on The Spirit of Zen.

You are not separate from reality!

Sunday, January 19th

jared, jeet — On Sunday afternoon I went over to Jared & Gurj's to celebrate Jared's birthday! Before heading out for the evening, I gave them a sneak peek of some upcoming IKAD pics that I'd just uploaded)

jeet — Then we drove over to Whitestone Lanes!

jared — A little bit of this...

...plus some of this...

...and a few of these!

jared, jeet — Happy 31st, J-rod! Love you, buddy.

Back at home, I doubled-down on my Alan Watts streak and finished reading The Wisdom of Insecurity: A Message for an Age of Anxiety

Then I sat on my living room floor and stared at this for an hour.

Monday, January 20th

theresa — On Monday afternoon, I visited my neighbor Theresa and helped her put together some baby furniture for her forthcoming baby!

Diaper changing station all set up!

Working with Simeon to put the final touches on the crib!

theresa — T-minus 3-weeks!

fran, jared, jeet — Later that evening, I biked over to Soho to have dinner with Fran, Gurj, Jared...

karen, sarah — ...and Karen & Sarah at Miss Lily's.

Tuesday, January 21st

Tuesday was snowy and 10-degrees Fahrenheit!

Work-from-home lunch. Haha.

Talking with the universe.

Wednesday, January 22nd

maddy, meredith — Maddy loves when she can nuzzle you from behind.

maddy, meredith — Paw on the shoulder! Awwww.

Thursday, January 23rd

Thursday afternoon I spent time attending to my growing collection of plant friends!

Ferny's doing alright...

...but Petra's seen better days.

Swished coconut oil around in my mouth for 20 minutes...

...then made juice. You know, just my normal weirdo activities.

Friday, January 24th

Had lunch at Organic Grill and ordered a sandwich that was served on WAFFLE bread!

Sunday, January 26th

Tough wintery January Sunday.

Spent most of the day...

...hanging out on the couch with my favorite bud reading...

...the very excellent and highly recommended The Book On the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are

Tuesday, January 28th

Cloud stripes and...

...sky bands

Tuesday, January 28th

Tuesday was 14 degrees.

Like a punch in the gut.

books — Went to the library to stock-up on reading material...

books — ...and then headed over to Odessa...

...to one of the most all time COMFORT meals I've ever ordered.

Aliens in the Prime of Their Lives by Brad Watson is one of the best collections of short stories I've read in the last few years. Really strange and haunting. Several years later and most of them have still stuck with me. Definitley worth a read!

Wednesday, January 29th

Working for yourself is kind of like being single. You got to go on lots of dates until you find some chemistry. Ultimately, it didn't work out between me and Hollywood.com / Spill.com.

Friday, January 31st

catrinel — On Friday night Catrinel and I went over to Ben & Sarah's apartment to cook dinner and meet their new baby Charlie for the first time!

I'm, at best, a lowly kitchen helper.

We got the table ready...

...and invited these handsome new parents to dinner!

ben, charlie — After we'd finished eating, baby Charlie came out of his baby sling to hang out!

ben, books, charlie, sarah h — Peep Ben & Sarah's bookshelf that is awesomely-organized by color!

ben, charlie, me, sarah h — Thanks for having us over, guys!

ben, charlie, sarah h — Noggin kissin! Happy January 2014!