20 Cornelia Street: April 2008

Wednesday, April 30

Kalamazoo College Friends

It's a long story, but I've become friends with a number of Kalamazoo College graduates since I've moved to the city. The reason being that this girl, Jess, pictured here with Al, went to school with cousin Kate at DePauw.

We were all hanging out one day when she mentioned her friend worked at Random House. This friend was not a DePauw grad, but instead went to "a little school in Michigan called Kalamazoo." I couldn't believe it! This is that friend, Emily, who works with me and is one of my good friends now.

I took these pictures Saturday at yet another "K" College grad's 25th Birthday BBQ. This is Drew Brockington, whose older brother was actually my freshman year RA. Weird!

Saturday, April 26

Ali's Birthday Party

Last night, Friday, was my friend Ali's 29th birthday party. She just moved in with her boyfriend, Jin, down on Wall Street. In fact, their apartment is right across from the New York Stock Exchange. That area is cool during the day in terms of sight seeing, but there's really no night life to speak of...in fact, that's the first time since Alex and I moved here that we've gone out down there. So it was fun to be in a different neighborhood, and because it's not such a hot spot, the apartments are pretty amazing. As you can see by the ridiculously huge chandelier in the entrance of their building:

Deb (my friend that I worked with at the travel agency in Boston all those years ago who now lives in New York. I lived with her and our friend Sarah when I first moved here last July for a whole month!), Alex and the birthday girl:

Me and Ali:

Tribeca Film Festival

This past Wednesday marked the start of the Tribeca Film Festival. There are five categories of competition with five films in each one. It ranges from documentaries, to short films, to ones with famous people, and lots with not so famous people. It's pretty tough to get tickets to the red carpet premieres for the big films, but Alex and I managed to score some for a British comedy/horror film that premiered for the first time in the US on Thursday night. It was called THE COTTAGE.

The pictures aren't very good, but the first one is of the line, which thanks to me, we got there super early and were almost at the front (that was really good for two reasons, one, we got the best seats, and two, we got to see all of the actors congregate out front and get their pictures taken before going inside).

This second one is of the director speaking before the movie began:

It started out kind of weak, but imagine a comedic Texas Chain Saw Massacre, that made me laugh so hard I cried, but was still scary enough to make scream out loud...twice. The movie didn't really matter though, it was more just the experience of doing something that only happens in New York.

Wednesday, April 23

Neighborhood discoveries...

Today was one of the most beautiful spring days yet. So I took advantage and walked down a few unexplored streets near my apartment. I discovered two amazing things...

First of all, Winston Churchill Square!

It's such a peaceful, little oasis in the middle of two very busy avenues, literally, right around the corner from my place, I had just never noticed it before. It has some gorgeous blooming tulips, but, as with any New York park, the smaller, the more potential for creepy people and gross trash. This one appeared to be well taken care of however, and within daylight hours, I would deem it safe. There was even a park employee there picking up trash and tending to the flowers. I can definitely see myself sitting on a bench reading a book for an hour or two.

My second find is VERY exciting, a brand new ice cream store right on the corner!! But not just ice cream, gelato. It's made right there in the store and they have a million flavors from Italian pistacio to Ecuadorian chocolate chip. I can't wait to give it a try.

Sunday, April 20

Night out on the town...

My friend Diana had her 25th birthday on Saturday at a club called Retreat in Chelsea on Saturday. It was a bit pricey, but lots of fun, and Alex even made it out! That's my friend Dave in the top picture, and Chastity and Jillian in the second one.

Saturday, April 19

Abby Normal

Like most New Yorkers, I've learned to avoid Time Square at all costs. No place in NY is dirtier or more crowded than that place. However, when a good deal comes along I grab it, and that's what happened last month when I was offered discount tickets to Young Frankenstein. Not only do I love Mel Brooks, but that movie in particular is such a classic I had to go see the Broadway version. It did not disappoint! It was spot on with the movie - we laughed through the entire thing. It's still hard to believe I have access to all these great shows on a daily basis. It's by far one of the greatest things about living in this city - even if it means mixing with the tourists in the square.

Friday, April 18

Last Soccer Game

Last night we had our final indoor soccer game. It was so much fun to be playing a competitive sport again! Our team, RH United, was made up of children's book designers, business book editors, cover artists, and more from the halls of Random House. No one really knew each other before we started, but after an entire season of getting killed, (and by killed I mean our final game we lost 17-8, but still had the best game of the year because it was the least we had ever lost by) we really bonded. Getting pounded upon by all-male, ex-professional, foreign soccer stars for a few months straight will really pull a group of strangers together! That, and the company sponsored post-game happy hours helped too ;-)

Wednesday, April 16

Welcome to 20 Cornelia Street

Due to popular demand, and the hectic schedules of all our lives that prevent us from talking as much as I'd like, I'm starting this blog. It is inspired by Becky, my sister-in-law and master blogger, who chronicles my dear nephew's life to such a meticulous degree that those of us far away feel like we see him every day. Now, you don't need to know what I do every day, but, an insight every few days will hopefully keep us closer together.

As for the name, Cornelia is my street. It's a beautiful little side street between Bleecker and West 4th in the West Village that I share with Esther Nguonly, a friend I met in journalism school and lived with in D.C. last year. We work hard, but manage to have a lot of fun too. Thanks for reading and enjoy!

Book Reviews

Are you there Vodka? It's me Chelsea - This is Chelsea Handler's second book of humorous essays. I've never seen her show, but all of her books have been on the bestseller list FOREVER so I checked it out out of curiousity. SO funny! Some are kind of shocking - think Sex and the City extreme escapades, but many made me laugh out loud. I'm definitely getting the other two now. If you need a quick, fun read, and aren't too easily offended (and a woman), read this!
Let the Great World Spin - This won the National Book Award last year and it's so well deserved. The writing is just beautiful and it's a great portrait of NY in the 70's.
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies - If you like Pride and Prejudice, then you will love this. Somehow, this author worked in zombies and ninjas into this Austen classic. It is hilarious!
Saving Sammy - This book just came out and is the best thing I've read since Born to Run. It's about a boy who very suddenly starts to display OCD symptoms at the age of 12. It gets to the point where this previously brilliant math student, outgoing, friendly kid, stopped bathing, eating, and was so debilitated by his ticks that he couldn't leave the house or sleep. His mother perserved with doctor after doctor and finally found the cause that saved his life. It's hear-breaking, but worth it, as it does have a very happy ending.
Born to Run - I know I label almost every book on here as soooooooo good, but the truth is, I only post about the ones I really, really like. And this one tops them all. I'm not kidding, this book is incredible. It will inspire you to not only get out there and run, but to be a better person. There are so many interesting things in this book I can't begin to list them all. Let's just say I learned about a native Mexican tribe of the fastest runners on earth; ultramarathoners who run 100s of miles through mountains and deserts; and how homo sapiens overcame the neanderthals by becoming long distance runners and so much more. And it's told in a narrative story that keeps you turning the page. Read this book.
The Lost City of Z by David Grann. This is a nonfiction account of a great explorer in the early 1900s who was one of the first Europeans to map out the Amazon. It's incredibly well researched and written, and is a thrilling adventure story.
Nabeel's Song (aka The Poet of Baghdad, as it was renamed in paperback) This is the true story of the poet, Nabeel Yasin. He was born and raised in Baghdad in the '50s before such a harsh regime took over. Universitites flourished, women were encouraged to go to school, and opposition to the government wasn't punishable by death. He had to flee in the '80s when he was persecuted for his writings and continues to this day to live in Europe with his family. It's such a good book! Very well written, you would think it's a novel. What a different look at a city that we only hear about in terms of war and bombs.
Ship Ablaze. This is an incredible book! It has a bit of a morbid theme, as it focuses on a 1904 steam boat fire on the Hudson River that killed almost 1000 people, but don't let that stop you! The author describes in such fascinating detail the people aboard the ship and what it was like in turn of the century New York. I highly recommend it!
Marley and Me, by John Grogan. For anyone who's a pet lover, especially a dog lover, this book is for you. It is such a sweet story of a man and his out-of-control dog. It's funny and sad - just a great read.
The Kabul Beauty School, by Deborah Rodriguez is the best book!! It's such an incredible true story about an eccentric hairdresser from Michigan who picks up and moves to Afghanistan to open a beauty school. The point is to help the women there gain some independence from their husbands and earn money for themselves. It's a crazy story, I can't believe it's true, but such a good read.
The Geography of Love, by Glenda Burgess. This is a nonfiction WONDERFUL love story. It's so beautifully written and is so touching. It's basically about a woman finding love late in life and then how she deals with her love's cancer diagnosis. Read it (with a tissue)!
Mr. Sebastian and the Negro Magician, by Daniel Wallace. Wallace is the author of Big Fish, you may have seen the movie. I wasn't a fan of it, but this title intrigued me and I really enjoyed it. It takes place in the 1950s South and follows Henry, a magician, through the tales of his circus coworkers. It's very moving/entertaining fiction. It's a quick read that is tough to put down. I finished it with a better understanding of that time period and our perception of truth. I recommend it.
The Appeal, by John Grisham. At first, I really hated this book. It's rather slow, and there's not too much action like A TIME TO KILL or some of his other classics. It's more of a, "I'm John Grisham, and I've written so many bestsellers I don't need to worry about that anymore, instead, I'm going to teach you a lesson about the law." Well, I wanted a commercial, mindless, action/thriller, not a law lesson. So I ened the book in frustration. Then I thought about it a bit and realized, learning isn't so bad. Still, I wouldn't recommend it.
The Sex Lives of Cannibals, by J. Maarten Troost. Okay, get over the title, and this book is a really fun read. Maarten and his girlfriend move to Tarawa, a remote island in the South Pacific and spend two years trying to make sense of a conflicted culture torn between tradition and modern day. The setting is at once an island paradise, and an imploding infrastructure. Maarten writes with humor and candidness, teaching the reader about this distant land and making you laugh out loud while you do so. (Plus I'm helping to edit his next two books, so I'm a little biased).
Unaccustomed Earth, by Jhumpa Lahiri. I've been hearing people rave about this author for a long time, but shied away from her stuff because so much of it is fiction. However, that was a HUGE mistake! She is amazing. And even though she writes mainly about Indian culture and the clash of older, Indian generations, with younger, Americanized ones, underneath the surface her themes are universal. Everyone should read this collection of stories!
The Unlikely Lavendar Queen, by Jeannie Ralston. This was a great book! She's a successful journalist who meets a National Geographic photographer and they fall in love. She loves Manhattan, and he needs the country. Somehow he convices her to move to Texas in the middle of nowhere and then manages to get her to try planting lavender fields. She's a great writer who puts a comic spin on life's ups and downs. She's a bit whiny at times, but this is a great memoir of a life turned upside down.
The Lace Reader. This book was all the rage at BookExpo America as the big summer book, but I thought it stank. Well, maybe the hype was just too much so my expectations were too high, but the storyline of a family who can see the future by reading lace, just didn't do it for me. I recommend you skip this and read something with a more cohesive plot!
The Lovely Bones, by Alice Sebold. This book would be really hard to read if you have a daughter. However, if you can get past the gruesome act in the beginning, it is a beautiful story told from the point of view of a young girl. It's also a very interesting look at the after life and what happens to us when we pass. Some parts were hard to hear, but overall, it is an amazing read.
A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers, Xiaolu Guo. A fictional account of a Chinese girl studying English in London. This is her perspective on Western culture and its sharp contrast to the Chinese way of life. It drags a bit in the middle, but is definitely worth the read for a new perspective and a good laugh.
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly - Jamie mocked this guy, but I think it's pretty incredible he wrote the entire book while paralyzed, by blinking his left eye. Insane. Aside from that, it's a beautiful, while heart breaking, look at life and freedom. I was so impressed by it.
sTORI TELLING, Tori Spelling's autobigraphy. I'm not ashamed to say I read this...and LOVED it. For any 90210 fans, it's a guilty pleasure/must read.
Devil in the White City, Erik Larson - Highly Recommend!