The 'Hood

So, still moving in, still putting stuff away. I've been hanging my "invisible" bookshelves the past few days--I would've finished on Wednesday but social obligations prevailed that night and yesterday.

Something that I'm loving about this apartment is the location. For one thing I have a metric shitton of commuting options. To get to work, I can:

*Take the 6 (about 33 minutes, including about 10 minutes of walking)*Take the 2 or 3 to connect to the 1 (about 35 minutes plus maybe 7 minutes of walking)
*Take any one of a number of 5th Avenues buses
*Walk. It's a hike, about an hour, but it's doable and I have done it several times since I moved in.

I like all these options because I detest taking the subway (so dark and dirty and SO EFFING SLOW) unless I have to, plus I don't have a routine. I can vary according to my mood, the weather, if I need exercise, whatever! And Midtown is soooooo much closer than it was before--I went to O'Flaherty's Wednesday night to celebrate Anya's b-day and it was such a short trip, under 30 minutes! Plus the 2/3 do not stop going express after 10:30 the way the A does. And this will sound dorky but I even like the 2/3 station at 110th St.--it's curved and funky-looking.

Another thing I love about the location is the neighborhood. I'm actually really starting to like this little section of the city--Central Park is so close by, it feels like another neighbor. Did you know that you can fish in Harlem Meer? Fishing! In Central Park! Who knew? Plus there are genuine byGod WOODS in the upper section of the park--you can actually hike there. There are also several little plazas/squares near my building (one right by the northeast corner of the Park) that I love, they give the neighborhood a kind of lazy, relaxed feeling, like I'm in Europe. And the architecture--I've walked along Cathedral Parkway several times now and those buildings are effing PALACES. Absolutely gorgeous.

Where I live in East Harlem or Spanish Harlem (since we are just this side of Fifth Avenue) which means that Harlem proper is next door--and Harlem is BOOMING. I've discovered that there are two Harlem Restaurant Rows, both starting around 110th and going up to 125th--one is along Frederick Douglass Blvd and the other along Lenox. JUST CHECK THIS SHIT OUT. Harlem Shake (I can't wait to try out this place, it sounds so yummy), Red Rooster, Amy Ruth's, Harlem Tavern, Chocolat--all within walking distance of my place! I love it!!!

I am so happy. I love my new place.

The Fourth

Had such a great day yesterday. I played two hours of pickup soccer at Riverside Park--the heat/humidity were pretty bad, certainly the worst so far this season, and it took me awhile to adjust. During the breaks I was just pouring water over my arms, legs and head to try to cool down--after the second game I'd finally acclimated some, so I was able to play a little better and ended up scoring 3 goals. (I'd taken a ton of shots on goal but hadn't scored yet.) Afterwards a bunch of us went to a nearby place called Cascabel's. First of all, those poor reviews on Yelp are BS--the food was FANTASTIC and the place is adorable. I loved this restaurant--all the food was amazing, they offered a terrific selection of beers, and they had this awesome housemade spicy sauce. I loved it so much, I asked the waiter if I could buy some. He said they didn't sell it but he'd look the other way if I wanted to slip it into my bad. So I did :) IT IS SO YUMMY.

I stayed for MUCH longer than I'd intended to--it was me and about 7 guys and we were all just having a great time. I was planning to leave around 2 and then someone ordered a round of tequila shots and well, that turned into MORE shots, and beer and...well, it was a long afternoon :) Can't think of a better way to spend the glorious Fourth than with an internationally mixed group of New Yorkers (Israeli, Colombian, Mexican plus a couple of WASPy Southerners) throwing back shots and nomming Mexican food! Then I staggered home, napped a bit, and dragged myself over to Paula's where we had Paula-made nachos and Paula-crafted margaritas SO YUMMY. Also I met their newest bebbeh, a tiny fuzzy black thing.

All in all, a wonderful Fourth.

Trayvon Martin Trial

I'm very, very nervous about the Trayvon Martin trial. Very nervous that boy will not get justice for his murder.

Very nervous. Way, way too many racists are cheering on this wannabe couldn't-hack-it cop. I'm hoping the all-female jury will 1) identify with Trayvon's mother and 2) see right through Zimmerman's BS "ooh, I thought he was a criminal" story. Hey, guys? When women see someone who "might be a criminal" we CROSS THE STREET. If you are genuinely worried for your safety you GET AWAY FROM THE GUY. You don't FOLLOW Him against all orders--you don't pull out your prosthetic penis and start shit--YOU DON'T ENGAGE.

The whole story just makes me so sad. Angry, but mostly sad. The murderer has gone on record as saying he doesn't regret what he did, or any of the choices that night. Jesus, dude--a kid is DEAD because of you. What kind of a sociopath are you--really, you don't regret that?

Very worried. I'd like to say if he's acquitted, he'll be a pariah but he does have supporters--he'll turn into some kind of psycho hero for the Stormfront crowd.