NYC: I Love Thee

Finally I have plowed through all the photos, and uploaded them. I've also had a few days to reflect on the trip to New York, and I'm ready to write about it. (All links lead to Flickr)

First: let me say that Melissa and I stayed in a gorgeous apartment. We were given the 2nd bedroom/bathroom combination, and this made all the difference. Having a place to stay where we weren't forcing someone out of their bed, or sleeping on their couch was so nice. Not to mention that having stomach flu the first day and spending some quality time on the toilet was a much smaller ordeal knowing I wasn't hogging the only bathroom in the place.

Second: I must mention the exquisite weather we experienced while there. Having packed for the expected cold weather I usually experience there in March, I barely wore half of it. There were actually days where we left the apartment without our coats! For the most part it was sunny, breezy and blue skies. Big 'ups' to God for providing this on our trip-it made all the difference in the world.

Third: there is the art we saw. We went to the Whitney the first day, and spent a long time mowing through all the work. We started at the top, and worked our way down each floor, giving all our attention to the work presented. I am sad to say that in a show with over 100 artists, there were just over a dozen that inspired me, and the rest I found either grim, uninteresting or poorly made. Melissa and I agreed that it was not a good show, and decided we needed some cheering up after walking out of there. Works we did like included Jennie Smith, Florian Maler-Aichen, Monica Majoli, Nari Ward, Hannah Greely, Jim O'Rourke and a video by T. Kelly Mason and Diane Thater. My favorite was definitely Amy Blakemore's medium format photographs, taken with a junky Diana camera, which Melissa and I now want to try using. Instead of buying the catalog, we opted for a modest book about Blakemore and her work. Having been to the last Whitney Biennial, I was sad to admit that this one wasn't nearly as inspiring. I have no images of this, and photos aren't allowed in the museum.

Fourth: We spent an overwhelming day at the Armory, looking through both piers at an enormous amount of work. Rather than taking notes here, I used my camera as a sketchbook. I did this last time as well, and it proved very useful. Melissa did the same, and at some point soon we will exchange images to compare 'notes'. With far more work to see, it seems obvious that I'd find more to be inspired by. For this reason, I think it would be unfair to compare the two, but I certainly liked the Armory show more. We were also able to find Matthew Higgs, sitting at the White Columns booth, to say hello. I love Matthew, and was very excited to see him, even if only for a few minutes.

Fifth: Organizing Ben's studio. When I moved into mine last Fall, Ben was in town. He had his mom's space station minivan, and he spent 2 weeks helping me move my stuff out of storage and into the studio; setting up shelves and putting everything away. He really helped me to make it the workable space that it is now. Subsequently, he has moved into a space near his apartment, and he needed help organizing. We went to the container store and picked out numerous things to help make life easier. I took before and after pics, and we were both impressed with how much better things looked when we were done. It literally took until 9pm, but we got it done. I thought his space had such a nice vibe, and there was so much to see. This guy doesn't fuck around. He makes a ton of work! It was also very inspiring.

Sixth: My friends. It is very hard when those you care about the most are far away, and I really loved hanging out with Ben and Jose so soon after my birthday last year. Both of them have beautiful homes, adorable pets and seem to be happy in their lives. What more could I hope for?! I gave Ben and Jose and full day alone. Ben's was spent in his studio. Jose's was spent going to the movies, because he told me: That's what we do. This is true. No one sees as many movies as we do, other than Jose. That evening we hung out at his place, watched tv, and ate delicious burritos. I was thrilled that the place made vegan burritos (black beans, brown rice and soy cheese) It was very relaxing, and I felt so ate home, lying on the couch with his dog Sasha next to me. Traveling with Melissa was like floating on a cloud. She is so easy going, and just went with the flow... Bringing excellent restaurant recommendations, dancing with me at a Bulgarian Disco and putting up with all my annoying diet restrictions and general annoying habits was just par for the course with her. She is a fantastic travel companion, and I had a blast with her. We also met Ben's boyfriend Dustin. It's official, we adore him! Who knew that in the end Ben wouldn't be the funny one. This guy had us laughing so hard there were tears.

And lastly, New York City: I love you. This is a place where things are happening 24 hours a day. Whatever I needed, there was a place that sold it. The cab drivers all knew where they were going, and the cost of a ride was dramatically cheaper than San Francisco. I never felt unsafe, and everyone we talked to was so friendly. While eating lunch one day, Melissa, Jose and I started talking to a very nice woman next to us, who ended up writing down a two page list of restaurant recommendations - specifically for vegan and vegetarian diets. We ate dinner the next night at Counter, and will forever be in her debt. This is now officially my favorite vegan place to eat, possibly in the world! I once wrote about almost going to New York instead of San Francisco for school. I don't know what would have happened if I'd continued with that choice, because I love the laid back nature of California, and I love the life we've built here. Visiting a city isn't the same if there aren't people living there who can show you around, share yummy eats with you and their special little parks and places of interest. It feels good to know that New York is there for me whenever I want it, and I suppose I have the best of both worlds, having my cake and eating it too.