Amber Waves of Grain

Alas, Nina assures me all I’m bound to see this time of year are dry cornstalks but, regardless, I will be gone a few days as we journey West to her hometown, right smack in the middle of the fabled BreadCornbasket of America. Y’all behave while I’m away.

The Buck Stops Here

Soooo, my IBM gig wound down this week. (You can view the results at The Teaching Commission website.) That’s when things got funny. For one, what was supposed to be a seamless transition into a new gig with iVillage… wasn’t. Add to that a smattering of wrong turns on the subway (what’s becoming a regular occurrence with me), buying a junker bike that came pre-locked (alas, no Bic pen handy to jimmy the lock open) and an inordinate number of consecutive bad-hair-days and you may guess, this hasn’t been my favorite week. On the other hand, my extant bills are paid, I have a beautiful genius for company, my friends in Florida are all okay and my keister is still firmly parked in New-York-frickin-City. Yee haw, but I got it made.

No Soup For You

The Real Soup Man (don’t call him “Soup N—”) serves here. I’ll see if I can get in and try a bowl sometime.

Much Ado About Nothing

I just noticed I haven’t said much about life-in-general lately. So lemme rectify that:

• I got a (freelance) gig doing web development for IBM. Yes, that IBM.
• I moved to Astoria, Queens. To hear downtowners talk you might think it’s just beyond the North Pole but, really, it’s a mere 15 minutes to midtown by subway. That’s what the broker says, anyway. Astoria is brimming with great places to eat and the night life is vibrant (especially if you enjoy it Borat-style). I now share a great apartment with two guys who work in theatre. The downside is, it’s a sublet so I can’t stay there forever. (So if you should hear of a great place-for-rent in town let me know!)
• You’ve already heard about Nina, from the ride. When her site comes back up you oughta go feast your eyes. She’s insanely talented.
• I have tasted the King of cheesecakes and, quite possibly, the Queen of hot fudge sundaes also, at Junior’s, in Brooklyn. Not in the same day.

I’m sure I’ve done plenty more but can’t for the life of me think of it now. So talk amongst yourselves!

North Fork Century Bike Ride

To you non-bikey people out there, a “century” is when you ride a hundred miles in a day. A “metric century” — a hundred kilometers, or about 66 miles — was devised to make us wussier riders feel included. So Nina and I took the shorter ride: seventy miles (just over 100km) of hills, farms and idyllic Long Island countryside. I had intended to do more stopping-to-smell-the-roses and maybe take a scenic photo or two but the ride proved way the heck too daunting and after a while I just wanted it to be over. Hence, the photos of my North Fork Century Bike Ride all happened during rest stops. A jillion thanks to uber-talented illustrator Wallace Keller for letting me borrow his awe-inspiring Alex Moulton bicycle.