east river blues

My Summer Vacation

2006-11-13T21:06:00.000-05:00

Remember when summer vacations used to be 3 glorious months long??

Well now they're a meager 2 weeks, so you have to choose and plan them meticulously. I think I did pretty well with a few days in Lithuania plus my whirlwind Lithuanian bus tour of Italy!

Italy is gorgeous, delicious, and unflinchingly Italian. The houses dotting the rolling hills are standardized down to the shade of red/brown they can be, to maintain the landscape's Italian flavor. Rampant fields of sunflowers, vineyards, lone church steeples, ruins, gorgeous and stylish Italian folk (atop the ubiquitous vespa), and oh the food...

Don't even get me started on the Sistine Chapel - it was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen, and so overwhelming that it brought me to tears. The sheer amount of content you are faced with is too much to comprehend at once. I now refer to anything uber breathtaking as eliciting the Sistine Chapel Effect.

My mom and I flew into the tiny airport in Rijeka, Croatia, and proceded to visit Florence, Pisa, Siena, Rome, Vatican City, Pompei, Naples, Burano, Murano, Venice, and Opatija, Croatia.

Italy was spectacular - and seeing it through the eyes of a budget Lithuanian bus tour - priceless. My mom and I endured EIGHT days on a bus, driven by our trusty Hercules (or whatever the strapping young Croatian man's unpronounceable name was), probably the safest bus driver in the world. It was a pleasant surprise!

The trip was delightful and sublime, and we saw just about all our minds and eyes could absorb.
More details to come!

New York's Biggest Block Party

2006-06-13T21:15:00.000-04:00

I noticed some hubub today around the guggenheim museum as I left work, and my street was blocked off, so I decided it must be interesing and went to check it out. Live music every few feet, artists on display, chalk drawings completely obscuring fifth avenue along the entire stretch of museum mile. I saw a guy juggle fire, then juggle 3 batons...while balancing an upside down unicycle on his chin. He also then climbed onto the unicycle, and juggled a fire baton, a sword, and an apple while riding around. Apparently I had stumbled onto the Museum Mile Festival and it was fantastic!

OOoooo Shiny and New

2006-06-07T21:30:00.000-04:00

I'm back. Sporting a shiny new beautiful laptop. It's lovely.

Otherwise, it rained all day today, and I had a mini umbrella incident. Well, it was more like 2 incidents in one. So..I was just walking - minding my own business - when my umbrella accidentally, suddenly and simultaneously became entwined with TWO other umbrellas. As the three of us little ladies were wrestling our respective umbrellas, they themselves, in turn, were wrestling 2 other umbrellas. I thought this was a pretty hilarious spectacle. The other participants were not amused. I'm sure that anyone that knows me would assume it was my fault. They would probably be correct.

Vineyards in Alaska

2006-01-27T14:38:00.000-05:00

Yeah, there are some! I am embarking on a cross country journey now that I'm newly unemployed, so what better way to spend the free time than going out on the road...

I'm tagging along with (mooching of off) my friend Autumn on her drive out to Portland, Oregon, soon to be her new home (and home to 2 of our other friends from college, Kate and Pam). We plan on covering over 3,000 miles. That's almost 3 times the distance from Vilnius, Lithuania to Paris, France. Boy is Europe tiny.

We will be traversing 11 states in our travels, those being New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Colorado, Utah, Idaho and Oregon! And of course, we will be seeing the magnificent and majestic (so I hear) Pacific Ocean...they're just going to have to try and stop me from jumping right in there. Well, ok maybe not, it is winter.

While looking up things to do in corn-field abundant Nebraska (there are as few attractions as you would imagine), I discovered that Nebraska has wineries...SCORE! This made me curious....so I looked into wine production in the US and apparently every single state in the US has vineyards. Even Alaska and North Dakota! What a country, eh?

Scooty Pants

2006-01-18T17:06:00.000-05:00

What are scooty pants you ask? Well, see for yourself. Scooty pants are quite possibly the most interesting thing I've ever seen.

I also would like the world to know that I looked up the word "doodle" in the dictionary, and one of its definitions is: to make a doodle. I looked it up because I learned of a breed of dog that is a cross between a dachshund and a poodle--a doodle. I think that might be the cutest puppy I've ever seen. Though I say that about pretty much every puppy I have ever seen, so....

I just recounted this story in an email, and realized it was prime blog material:

The other night I was with my roommate in her car (she was driving), and we had just picked up our friends in a part of Brooklyn she doesn't usually drive in. We're driving, and my roommate suddenly realizes that we are in the middle of an intersection, with 2 options, going straight, or turning left. The problem is, we don't know where we're going, and we think we need to make a right. Going straight would take us over the Brooklyn Bridge into Manhattan.

So, she cuts off 3 lanes of traffic to make an illegal right turn, warranting a shower of honking from all angles. Naturally, there is a police van parked in the median on the street we turned down, so he turns on his flashers and sirens. Of course, we assume its not meant for us, at which point the officer steps into the middle of the street in front of us, waving his arms wildly, motioning for us to pull over. Crap!

So, we pull over, and the guy is like, you can't make a right turn there. And my roommate, in rare form, says, "Oh really? I didn't know!" The guy goes, well, there are signs clearly saying no right turn. Christina, almost in tears, voice shaking says, "But officer, we're lost and I've never droven over here before!" The guy looks at her license, verifies this, points us in the right direction and tells us to be more careful. We barely had the windows rolled up before everyone started cracking up, and the use of the word "droven" will never be lived down....

Turkey Day in the Motherland

2005-12-03T09:49:00.000-05:00

You've had the hotel next door cook three turkeys for you, you've borrowed 100 wine glasses, there are still 7 side dishes to prepare, 40 guests are due to arrive in 20 minutes for your Thanksgiving/Housewarming party, and your power goes out. How my mother's head didn't explode at this point I really don't know. I calmly lit a candle and continued to chop cucumbers. Fortunately Darius apparently picked up some tricks during his wayward youth and picked the lock to the fuse box, and was certainly hero of the hour. It was a fantastic party, and fun to explain to the Lithuanians what yams, Stove Top stuffing, string beans, and pumpkin pie were. The sweet potatoes garnered the most interesting reactions. Most people thought they were mashed carrots. One guess was mashed potatoes mixed with carrot juice.

In a nutshell, me, Darius and my Dad popped over to Vilnius to celebrate turkey day with my mom and her fabulous new apartment. 24 hours before we had arrived, there was not yet a floor, and it took about 6 months for the renovations to finally be completed. Her workmen, are, how shall we say, not the most highly motivated of individuals.

Interestingly, my mom starts asking me these questions:
"When you guys had your plumber over...about how old was he?"
"And, like what did he kind of look like?"
"MMhm, I thought so."
"Vaiva I think I have the same one-eyed plumber who worked on your apartment"

Ridiculous.

It was a splendid time, but WAY too short of a trip...we managed to go to the theater, the ballet, Aras' place in Reise complete with pirtis (sauna), and of course a range of the new and old hangouts/restaurants/watering holes.

So many things have changed in Vilnius since I was there last in the summer of 2003! My old apartment looks like it hasn't changed from the outside. I would imagine any renovations would have resulted in the removal of the WWF (World Wildlife Fund) sticker in the window. My old street, Ausros Vartu, is now almost entirely made up of the ubiquitous "Shop of Amber". Very classy.

Sadly SoHo baras, the old haunt of choice, is a goner...replaced by a sterile wine bar with no character whatsoever. But, happily, there is a place we ate at called "Grasas" that has astroturf on the wall with plastic flowers gowing out sideways. Pretty awesome. To those who doubt that Vilnius has changed, let it be known that there is a salad bar in Vilnius. Where the key ingredient in the salads is not mayonnaise but rather lettuce. It was a little overwhelming.

I managed to get in the traditional staples: koldunai (meat-filled dumplings covered with sour cream and bacon), cepelinai (meat-filled potato "zeppelins" covered with sour cream and bacon), barsciai (beet soup with bacon), and of course, the lovely and amazing Svyturys, my favorite Lithuanian beer.

Have you ever heard a mouse cry?

2005-11-19T12:38:00.000-05:00

Well, I have. And its quite as horrifying as it sounds. So we had a little pepino problem. I say had because it seems that the $150 sharper image "mouse mover" system my roommate purchased is doing the trick in sending those pepinos back to their origin. my roommate scares easily, and is not tolerant of any sort of rodent life--she has a fear of butter, so you can imagine how she feels about mice.

It seems that my $3 glue traps smeared with peanut butter weren't really doing the trick, hence the ultrasonic wave system that makes an environment "unpleasant" for mice, sending them back to their "origin", as the box graciously noted. They didn't mention anything about the crying.

So we plug this thing in, and then we hear "eeeee......eeee.........eeeee", much like the whimpers of a puppy, only ten times as high pitched.

Lord. But that didn't last too long, and now the apt seems to be rodent free. I was a little bit afraid that the mouse had been "unpleasanted" to death, but there's no stench, so i guess he or she escaped.

Not as bad I guess as when a whole family of mice fell out of the ceiling on top of my mother when she moved into her first house with my dad. Ughhh.

Lyrics from the hit song, "Pepino, the Italian Mouse" by Lou Monte:

Pepino, oh, you little mouse Oh, won't you go away Find yourself another house to run around and play You scare my girl, you eat my cheese, you even drink my wine I try so hard to catch you but you trick me all the time

The other night I called my girl I asked her could we meet I said let's go to my house We could have a bite to eat And as we walked in through the door she screamed at what she saw There was little Pepino Doin' the cha, cha on the floor

Public Urination

2005-11-03T19:11:00.000-05:00

So, I thought i lived on a pretty nice street until this evening when i was walking down it. There was an elderly drunken polish gentleman urinating freely....on a car. Sadly this is the second time i've seen someone urinating on a car in nyc, although the first time was on canal street in chinatown on a bustling sunday in the middle of the day. A bit more conspicuous.

Seeing someone pee on a car is one thing. When its on your street, that's another. All i have say is i'm glad i don't have a car.

Astronaut or Cartoonist?

2005-10-25T18:23:00.000-04:00

As a child, Watterson knew he would be an astronaut or a cartoonist. "I kept my options open until seventh grade, but when I stopped understanding math and science, my choice was made," he wrote in the introduction to "The Complete Calvin and Hobbes." (from cnn.com)

I wanted to be an ice skating ballerina princess. Just a bit off the mark.

Rachel Rae is insane and I love it. She just made mock Halloween "sushi" with twizzlers, rice krispie treat goo and a fruit roll up. She is a genius in my book, albeit a hokey one.

Too bad 2 gas leaks have shelved my spatulas for now...soon soon there will be banana muffins and you're all invited.

Perfectly Cromulent

2005-10-17T19:06:00.000-04:00

Things are finally back to being cromulent again! i had some seriously shady issues...these involved a roof deck, possibly the mafia, and eventually being paid 8,000 dollars. The day before moving into our new apt we were told, sorry, you ain't moving in. Then ensued a ridiculous and frustrating ordeal, 2 weeks spent finding a new apt, a stupid jerk named sal and us finally coming out on top.

Our new fab apartment is in greenpoint, a neighborhood of brooklyn, a quaint polish area, and true to form for eastern europeans: chock full of delicious pork chops as well as delicious beers-- like Lezajsk. The label explains: In 1525, the Polish King Sigmund the Old granted the exclusive beer brewing right to Lezajsk Brewers as a token of respect for their mastery. This is a true flavor of the legend of Lezajsk. Pronounced: "le-zhaysk" or sometimes we like to call em Lez-Jacks.

On a completely different note, I was hoping that cromulence was a word, I wanted that to be my title, but it's not. Happily though, crapulence, is indeed a word.

Over the past 2 weeks Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Maine (for about 3 minutes), and Atlantic City were graced with my presence! Whew. No moose sightings, but I did get to see my friend get hitched on top of a black diamond ski mountain.

I also paid a dollar at the san genaro festival in little italy to see the world's smallest horse (it's really alive!), the amazing snake woman (beautiful angelic head! 200 pounds of ugly scaly snake body!), and the 29 inch tall woman (two inch hands! she's really alive!).

Enticing and educational as the announcers make it sound, a word of advice for you. Never, EVER fall victim to their lures. Save those 3 bcuks and buy yourself a churro.

i love cell phones and

2005-08-10T23:17:00.000-04:00

i love cell phones and Blogs!

14,400 Pounds of Dirt

2005-06-10T20:38:00.000-04:00

The other day at work, a group of co-workers and I moved 14,400 pounds of dirt, for a garden project at PS 375 in Brooklyn. It was awesome. The 6 pallets (1 pallet=60 bags, 1 bag=40 lbs.) were moved in a flatbed truck making multiple trips from home depot, then we carried them to the beds, ripped them open and using shovels and rakes broke up the soil and spread it out.

I think the one thing I've never seen on the subway (and I thought I'd pretty much seen everything) is a person covered in dirt. Not a "dirty" person (which are countless really), but someone actually covered in soil. Well folks, that was me. It was really refreshing. A little gross, but refreshing. People kind of stared at me like they didn't really get it. You sort of forget what its like to touch soil when you live in the city.

Summer begins...

2005-06-06T18:38:00.000-04:00

Today at my weekly sales meeting my boss goes, "Summer begins June 20th..." We were all like, yup. it does. and then we realized she was talking about our department's new Associate Director. Summer. Is her name. I now have a best friend named Autumn, and will soon have a boss named Summer. And that makes me happy.

Drink Till it's Not Sticky

2005-06-02T21:22:00.000-04:00

While in Austin, Texas last weekend for my cousin's wedding (who is exactly one day older than me) we had the best BBQ in the world ever. The table we were at was all sticky, and my aunt decided this was just because we hadn't had enough beer. Thus, drink till it's not sticky!

People bring coolers and tailgate during the hour-long wait outside the delicious smelling restaurant (saltlickbbq.com). It's in the middle of nowhere, byob, and all family style, all-you-can-eat meat. I must say, I loved Texas. Hence the second catch phrase of the weekend: Everyone should get married in Texas. I believe I was biting into a foot-long rib as I said this. Nice.

Austin is awesome and unreal, in that you would never believe you were in Texas. Except for all the tumbleweeds (just kidding). I was shocked that there was no desert where we were, no ten gallon hats, no spurs, not even tumbleweeds, wtf??

Austin is actually a liberal city, their motto being: keep austin weird (www.keepaustinweird.com). This may be misleading though, as my cousin spent some time there canvassing for the Kerry campaign, and to put it lightly, he was not well received.

Two days at home, then tomorrow I'm off to Neringa in Vermont to roll up those sleeves and sqeeze out a little elbow grease cleaning up the place for all the little guys coming for the summer.......cheers to lithuanians, paint fumes, manual labor and bonfires

...Except for All the Formaldehyde

2005-03-27T09:31:00.000-05:00

I have a job now. My title is this: Scheduler/Sales Assistant of Educational Initiatives at the Brooklyn Center for the Urban Environment. What that really means is I am a professional scheduler (of our science/environmental/urban design programs for NYC school kids). Although one time I got off the subway after work on a Tuesday and told my co-worker "have a good weekend" so maybe I'm not that great at what I do.

I love my job because I get to work in Prospect Park, and I wear jeans a sneakers to work, and my desk is right near the turtle and frog tanks. The turtle is cute, but the frogs are Albino African Clawed frogs. They kind of look like chicken breasts. They are gross.

One time I was rescheduling something, and the teacher said nonchalantly that he really loved the programs and "everything has been going great....except for the kids passing out from all the formaldehyde."

Among some of our school contacts are a Dr. Strange, Mrs. Raspberry, Ms. Mystery Lisk, and a woman named Sondra with a husband named Irving who named their son "Irvondra". Wow.

www.bcue.org

The Month of Alaska

2004-12-14T19:56:00.000-05:00

This guy on the subway as I get on starts singing: "When it's cold outside....When it's cold outside......I got the month of...Alaska." Later in the song instead of singing, "My Girl, etc" he sang, "Goldfish, Talking 'bout...Fresh Fish". He actually had an awesome voice. Then he spent the rest of the 15 minute ride rambling that sounded part telling stories, part rapping, part poetry slam. He mimicked all the voices of everyone in his stories, and used sound effects: "whoo whoo! boom boom! clank clank!" At one point he actually said "the slippery sailor was squeamishly seasick." It was weird and awesome.

"Vat-everrr"

2004-12-13T17:10:00.000-05:00

Apparently the Mayor of Vilnius, Lithuania has adopted saying "Whatever" with a thick Lithuanian accent (Vat-everrr), and apparently its my fault! My mom, who works for him, was blamed for saying it a lot. She vehemently denied it until she realized she did say it unknowingly. She claims she got it from me, and I claimed I didn't say it a lot. She goes, "Ha! You just used it 3 times in the past 2 minutes. I counted!" Oh. So, Mayor Zuokas, I apologize for corrupting your vocabulary.

"Thank you, Meat"

2004-12-13T13:02:00.000-05:00

So, I'm starting one of these things. I need something to do with my time. I hope it's not too boring or stupid. If it is, tell me so.

I just finished reading Bluebeard by Kurt Vonnegut. It is an autobiography of Rabo Karabekian, a fictional Abstract Expressionist artist. At the end of the novel, Rabo Karabekian says, "Thank you, Meat." Its not as good as any other Vonnegut I have read, so read anything else by him before this one.

I'm looking for a job, if you have one for me please let me know. So far, all I've been offered is walking Claire and Amy's puppy pug in Brooklyn. You would think a college degree would have gotten me somewhere. Oh well.

I live in Long Island City, thats in Queens people, and it is wonderful. I live next to the "PepsiCola" sign, the 59th Street Bridge, the "piers", and across from 42nd Street and the UN and Chrysler Building.

~~east river blues~~