I've been so restless these last couple of days. Have I forgotten how to relax? I remember loving summer days in high school: wake up at noon, eat whatever was in the fridge, watch tv for several hours, take a walk, listen to music, go on the internet, eat with family, watch tv for several hours, listen to music, go to sleep. What a life! Somewhere between then and now--through a first job, high school graduation, moving, college, moving, a second job, moving, more college, moving, a third job, moving, more college, moving, a fourth job, graduation, moving, more school, moving, and job searching--I lost track of how to putz around for hours and love it. Right now it is my goal to retrain that ability before I get caught up in the cycle.

This is a perfect time to think about this for several reasons:
1. John David is coming to visit tomorrow, and I want to relax, show him around town, and have a lot of fun.
2. I've finally adjusted to my sublet and have made a comfortable nest for myself (for at least 15 more days, but let's not think about that).
3. I got a job! Yessssssssssughgughgughghgg. Big sigh of relief, and happiness. I'll be working for a division of Random House called Crown. It is a great job, and I start on Wednesday.

So yeah, time to chill. Any suggestions?

Things are about to hit critical mass. More on that soon.

I've never payed much attention to Feist. She never quite had the same mood that Cat Power had, and so I was fine sticking with Cat Power. This recent single "My Moon My Man" has changed my mind. I am a sucker for subtle and simple atmospheric compositions: Cat Power and Erik Satie come to my mind first as favorites. I think Leslie Feist has really hit the perfect note, and the video is really good (think OK Go and that Fatboy Slim video with Christopher Walken and others)

I'll definitely consider buying the new album now.

Right now I am just waiting for phone calls and emails. I hope this weekend is my breath of relief.

Today's blog is about exciting new things.
First of all, the latest single from one of my favorite bands The Go! Team

They are playing at the end of October in both Brooklyn and Manhattan. Egads, I must go.

Next, the Espresso Paperback Machine, the first on-demand commercial book printer in the world. For a plodding video of this new machine, please copy this address into your browser:
http://www.ondemandbooks.com/perfectbook.mov

Third, the TurboBroiler:
This machine somehow cooks meat very evenly and very quickly. My roommate, who owns it, does not know how it works, but she says that every Filipino family owns one. I swear, it cooks a great burger in 5-7 minutes.

Finally, on the life front, things are moving ahead really well. John David has an interview sometime next week. I have a second interview for an exciting job tomorrow morning. I hope everything works out. Monday is the hardest day when looking for a job. Everyone else is out and about, working and contributing to society, while you wait for someone in a mysterious office to make a move, give you a call, email you, whatever.

Hopefully this will be my last jobless Monday.

Big gasp of relief here in New York. After several weeks of painful heat, things are beginning to cool down. Yesterday it drizzled all day and all night. This proved annoying while I rushed around the city for an interview and phone interview. My big, borrowed umbrella was caught in a tug of war between me and the wind. I made it through the day without a scratch or splash, however, and spent the evening at Jess's house in New Jersey. A nice day. A nice night. Aaaaaaaaannnnnnnddddddd . . . a very nice morning:
Ignore the window screen and focus on several facts. First, my window is open, and the cool air is floating through my apartment. It is almost like spring. Next, see the sky, how it shines, cloudless. Very pretty outside, and though this neighborhood is wearing a little thin on me, I'm definitely going to take a walk as soon as I change (I know, I know, it is already 3:30, but I've been taking it easy).

It has been a long week, and though I haven't found a job yet (perhaps that is next week's goal), I've had a good time. I've stayed in contact with friends, discovered a cheap dumpling place, and visited New Jersey for the first time in my life. I spent an afternoon in Hoboken, NJ, in fact, which is surprisingly small (about one or two square miles) and holds the honor of being Frank Sinatra's birthplace.

I'm going to start a weekly feature where I explore a specific monument of New York. Soon to come is the Brooklyn Bridge. I need more time to get this together, so please be patient.

The job search is taxing. I am often tired and worried about the coming weeks. I know all the pieces will fall into place, but I am just at a moment when these pieces haven't all arrived, or they are obscured. So now I'm waiting and hoping that when they do come or come within grasp, I will know what to do. I just have to be strong, honest, and ready to make something good out of what opportunities arise.

I hope all is well with you.

In one of my classes I read selections from Dorothy Wordsworth's Grasmere Journals. I remember being both bored and amazed by her lifestyle: gardening, letter writing, poem transcribing, letter writing, walking, eating, letter writing. That's about it. What a strange daily life. There was such a sturdy difference between that world and mine, I thought.

Today I feel differently. I have no job. It is raining. The cable is broken. Today I woke up, put on a clean shirt, read, stared off, checked my email, read, made a phone call, read, stared off, checked my email, and now I'm blogging. I think I might take a walk later, perhaps after reading, staring off, and checking my email. It isn't even noon yet, and I am not even Dorothy Wordsworth. I don't have a garden. That may be the problem.

Or perhaps this morning just seems slow because yesterday was so fun. I went to a free concert day in Brooklyn. During the summer they hold these "beach party" festivals in a gigantic abandoned pool.

I got there very early (2PM) and waited in a very long line for a very long time. Inside the promoters had set up a waterslide, a water volleyball net, and a dodgeball court. Stands along the perimeter sold overpriced hotdogs, hamburgers, beer, and water. The opening band really didn't catch my eye or my ear, but the second act I'm from Barcelona was really fun. It reminded me of the fun Athens collective bands I am now missing. They even threw beach balls into the audience:

When I figured out how to use zoom, I could actually get a shot of the band. Here is my favorite out of the group:

I was lucky enough to run into some CPC kids there and finally had some company among the huge crowd. After a long break, Blonde Redhead finally came on stage and really gave a good show. I haven't bought the new album yet, but I think it will be my next CD purchase. This was a good idea to go. I had been trapped in my apartment living my Dorothy Wordsworth life for two days before Sunday, and I was ready to get out.

One final note:
I'm sure everyone is relieved to hear that the hipster clap is still well and alive in Brooklyn, along with skull-fitting, angular haircuts and $100 shirts that look like they came out of the dumpster. Great people watching, though. All the cool kids from Brooklyn and Manhattan seemed to be there, and as the beginning snare and whistle of Peter, Bjorn, and John's "Young Folks" spread from the concert PAs, I could hear faint, fanboy screams reverberate across the peeling pool floor:

Yesterday, today, and tomorrow I am taking a short break from job searching and job worrying. Good thing, too, because this week has been a maelstrom of online applications, interviews, temp agencies, and resumes. For example:

See here Miles in his natural habitat, pawing gracelessly at the computer screen. Give me a job. *scratch scratch*

This weekend has been nice. Friday I read in bed and made a visit to my friend's birthday party in Astoria. Today I also read in bed, finishing off Chabon's new book and starting another. Don't think I've grown soft, though. I also took a long walk around the neighborhood, snapped some pictures, ate at a Greek diner, and picked up dry cleaning. Here are the fruits of today's labor:

This is the diner I live above. In the morning, the stairs are swamped with a cloud of grease, hot diner air, and flies. Luckily, they close around 4. I have yet to eat here; I already spend too much time eating junk food in this building.

So easily I pass into another neighborhood, one with a completely different feeling and with completely different people.

A Saturday market in front of the Brooklyn triumph.

One of the large lawns of Prospect Park. I have yet to spend much time here. It doesn't quite have the same blissful atmosphere of Central Park, but perhaps I will change my mind over time.

Alright, enough quickly-shot photos. Tomorrow I am going to a free Blonde Redhead concert in Brooklyn. I am looking forward to being outside of the apartment for more than a couple hours.