On writing fiction

I just read an interview with Tessa Hadley, whose short story appeared in a recent edition of the New Yorker. In one part of the interview, Hadley says of the main character:

"He exempts her from the ordinary effort of being her rather carefully constructed self, because he doesn’t recognize the self that she is." 

I suppose this quote doesn't look terribly ground breaking when it's taken out of context, but it hit me (again) how amazing it is that writers are able to so perfectly describe our thoughts and beliefs and our construction of various "selves." We may think that these thoughts and beliefs are unique to us, but they really connect us all; we all think in a similar way. 

But can you imagine being a person who is regularly able to peel back all of those layers and put it into words? I'm not sure I'd have the courage to do it. 

OK, deep thought of the day is over. 

Almost spring break

My spring break starts on Monday! But really, it starts tomorrow, after I finish teaching my 9-12pm class at Columbia.

I am not going anywhere special for spring break, except for maybe tagging along on a one-night stay in Philly if a couple of my friends decide to make the trip. 

For the rest of the week off, I am looking forward to an awesome STAYCATION. I kind of dislike that cheesy term, but it's the best way to describe my break. Plans include attempting to win lottery tickets to a Broadway show (maybe Matilda?) and getting a Frozen Hot Chocolate (R) at Serendipity. (I loved that drink when I visited NYC my very first time in the summer of 2007; I hear the line's not too long when it's 40 degrees out.)

Also, Ari and I got back from a really nice wedding last weekend in Austin. The bride was one of Ari's high school friends, and in exchange for Ari playing at her wedding, she paid for our hotel and rental car. On Saturday morning we had a very rushed, but worthwhile, visit to the actual downtown area of Austin (where it was rained all day and was chillier than NYC, alas), and had a blast at the rehearsal dinner and actual ceremony. I will post some pictures as soon as I can--it appears I left my camera cord back in Monrovia at Christmas, so it may take a while….

Playing Catch Up

One of the main reasons I haven't posted on this blog in quite a while is that I recently--well, six weeks ago--started working at another ESL school, and while I'm grateful to have more hours, I am still figuring out the balance of work. Add some snow days with mandatory make-up classes, and the week feels pretty long, with not enough time to grade stuff on the weekend before the next week hits.

So I've been feeling overly stressed the last couple of weeks, which is annoying. But today, in the middle of lesson planning, it just occurred to me how one of my favorite things about teaching is the fact that I am constantly trying to improve myself as a teacher. I never feel bored of teaching, because if it's starting to feel boring, I can change the lesson plan by taking the students to museum, or watching a movie with them, or playing a game that gets them moving around the room.

Because I'm constantly trying to improve myself (and trying not to compare myself too harshly with my co-teachers at Columbia who has taught ESL for 30+ years), I sometimes feel inadequate or like I'm not up to the task. But I try to remind myself that I'm doing the best I can, and it takes years to become the kind of assured teacher that I look up to--people like my mother, who has written her own pronunciation book, and my co-teacher Frances, who was the editor of the NorthStar book series (only ESL teachers know what that is!).

So I guess I wrote this post to say 1. I'm still keeping a blog! and 2. I'm still figuring out this whole teaching thing, but I think I like it!

Also, on a completely different topic, I secretly wrote this whole post so that I could add a note at the bottom about how THE OSCARS are on tonight. While I realize the Oscars are pretty dumb and out of touch and waaay too long, they are still FUN for me to watch. AND I saw six of the 9 nominees (Her, Dallas Buyers Club, Wolf of Wall Street, Gravity, American Hustle, and 12 Years a Slave), and I think they were all good, so I'm glad some good movies are getting some recognition. Just too bad that Llewyn Davis didn't get nominated for Best Picture, and that Her will pretty much definitely not win. (It's my fave.) 

Triple Whammy

I just went out to check the mail (which is now working just fine, as of last week, thanks), and had the best mail SCORE:

Three pieces of mail, all for me. 

1. First issue of the New Yorker subscription Ari got me for Christmas

2. An early birthday postcard from my sister Leah in France. First piece of mail from her! 

3. My new Netflix DVD, which I actually have time to watch tonight! (It's Ed Wood.)

In short, this week is going much better than last week. 

I'm quite shocked and saddened by the news of Philip Seymour Hoffman's death today. I think he's one of the first actors who has died during my lifetime whose acting I really was a fan of. I made an effort to see his new movies specifically because he was in them, and thought he was probably in the top 20 actors making movies today.

The fact that he died of an apparent drug overdose (rather than a heart attack or other health problem, as I assumed initially) is even more depressing.

I'll always remember him most strongly in the role where I first noticed him: as the butler in The Big Lebowski. His facial expressions cracked me up.

One of those weeks

This has been a pretty crappy week so far. Allow me to complain:

• Sunday morning: I cut my thumb pretty badly with a brand new knife my mom had given Ari for Christmas. Blood everywhere and decreased mobility. 
• Sunday afternoon: I tried to do laundry in the basement of our building, only to discover that the center washing machine is broken. This left our clothes soaking wet, with nowhere to put them but hang them dripping in the shower. I also got my thumb blood all over everything in the process of carrying laundry up and down the stairs. 
• Monday afternoon: I found out at the last minute that I would be teaching an extra class. I had to scramble for material and basically wing it. 
• Wednesday afternoon (today): DUN DUN DUN. Got my wallet stolen on the subway. I couldn't believe it, because I literally swiped into the subway, rode four stations, and then got off, and my wallet was gone. The kind of funny thing is, I think I know exactly when it got stolen: two guys bumped into me at the same time on the subway platform, which was weird, because the subway wasn't crowded at all. I'm pretty sure they planned to bump into me. So I guess it serves me right for having my wallet all exposed. 

So now I have to get new Metrocard, new credit cards, a new drivers license, new Pace ID, new Columbia ID, and a new Film Forum membership card. I hope it's manageable. Fingers crossed.

Old stuff is cool

I guess the coolness of looking at old stuff is the basic premise of most museums. And it certainly applies to the Transit Museum in Brooklyn. Ari and I were free this Saturday, so we decided to make the relatively short trek out to see this place, which was recommended by my friend Jenny as a fun, cheap way to spend an afternoon.

And it was! The best part is the lower level, where they have all these subway cars from different decades lined up along the platform (the whole museum is a converted subway station from the thirties). You can get on each one and see ads from that time period.

This ad was my favorite (dating from some time in the 40s or 50s, I believe):

The most remarkably different train cars were the wooden ones from the 1910's. So rustic! With wicker seats! 

At the end of the trip, I made Ari pitch in for a "Q" subway magnet for our fridge. That's the subway line that stops closest to our apartment (Parkside Ave.), and it's basically one of the best lines there is in the city, considering it runs express into Manhattan, and rarely has delays. Thanks, Q! 

Snow

Some belated pictures of the snowy day we had last week.

Columbia's Butler Library

View out the window from Lewisohn Hall

Main entrance to Columbia

Ocean Avenue, the main street by our apartment in Brooklyn. 

Reflections on being back in New York (and America)

I figure I'll take advantage of one of my last free evenings to write this blog post, since I'll be starting up with a new, more hectic teaching schedule next week (spring semester, woo hoo!).

• Teaching adult ESL in this city is stressful. I have a master's degree now, which allows me to earn a living wage, but I can't imagine teaching in this city long term. I was teaching 18 hours at Pace University last semester. This coming semester they offered me nine hours--no warning, no apology. So I was luckily able to supplement those hours by joining the adjunct staff at Columbia. We'll see how the juggling of hours goes. I'm a little nervous. 
• The weather here is not that bad. No really, I think I psyched myself out while living in the last year in Indonesia. I totally forgot that cold weather, for the most part, is manageable. SURE, it was literally 3 degrees during the daytime last week. And I realize we still have a few more months of winter left, during which time I may rescind this exact comment. But really--I have generally been able to stay warm enough and still have a life. 
• I can't get enough movies or theater/music/cultural stuff. It's not New-York-specific, but it's been wonderful being able to use Netflix again. Add Film Forum (my one true theater love) and numerous free/discount show options, and it's hard to get bored. 
• I really missed General Tso's tofu. I can't think of anything more worth the $5.50.
• I don't want to live in New York City beyond the next couple years. 
• I really wish our apartment was big enough for a cat. 

I just got back from a comedy show

Wherein I watched John Hodgman dress up like Ayn Rand and tell libertarian jokes in a Russian accent. It's funnier than it sounds, I swear.

Here's the mail! It never fails!

Except that it did fail.

Ari and I have been living in our new apartment since October 1st. At first we didn't receive mail because our address hadn't been officially registered with the post office, and our building hadn't installed mailboxes yet. Then, when the mailboxes were finally installed, we still didn't get anything, despite the fact that my parents had definitely sent us stuff and friends had asked where to send Christmas cards.

This morning, our neighbor from 2C knocked on our door and handed us a stack of mail. Apparently our mail (2B) is being delivered to his mailbox. Whaaaa??

Why is this such a freaking hassle??

At least I have lots of nice Christmas cards to look at until this thing gets figured out.

Snow Storm!

My first day of work was supposed to be today, but thanks to an impending snowstorm, classes were cancelled.

This morning, we woke up with a good few inches of sparkling snow. It's nothing like the snow we got in December of 2010, but it's pretty! Ari and I went for a little walk around Prospect Park during the warmest part of the day (21 degrees).

Pardon the slanted shots--it was too cold for me to stop and hold the iPhone correctly! 

We are now safely inside! 

Resolutions

I think I've got to post my New Year's resolutions before it gets too late. According to an NPR story I heard a few years ago, women are more likely to keep their resolutions if they tell people about them (but apparently this rule doesn't apply to men). 

So here are my resolutions: 

1. Write down one good memory from every day. This resolution will hopefully be made easier by the fact that my sister gave me a cute little French notebook that's designed specifically for this purpose. 
2. Start tracking my spending more carefully and keep within a budget. I hope some kind of miracle app on my new iPhone will help with this goal. Anyone have good recommendations? 
3. Commit more seriously to volunteering. Ideally volunteer at an animal shelter. 
4. Try to be more patient. This is something I have gotten especially bad at since living in New York City. 
5. Make more of an effort to keep in touch with and spend time with friends and family. 

And before I close out this post, a quick mention of big things that happened in my life in 2013 (off the top of my head):

• I lived in Indonesia; and returned home from Indonesia after being away for over 10 months. I also traveled to Singapore, Vietnam, and Hong Kong this year. 
• I moved back to New York City to start a part-time teaching job at Pace University and rented an apartment with Ari. 
• My grandmother on my dad's side passed away on December 20th. Her death was not unexpected; she had been doing poorly for quite a few years and had recently taken a turn for the worse. My family remembers her as a compassionate and giving woman who loved to laugh. We all miss her. 

(I got a new app that allows me to put text on photos.)

(Happy New Year's Eve!)

Belated holiday lights

We drove around Hastings Ranch with the family on Leah's last night in the States.

We're all sad to see her go!

I got an iPhone

As an early Christmas present. Now I can blog remotely!

Last night, I went to see A Christmas Carol at A Noise Within, with my sis (back from Paris for a week!) and my cousin, and of course the family. 

Beginning the end-of-year reflections

Goodreads just notified me that I read 24 books in 2013.

I'm pretty proud of that. Two books a month? Granted, I was in Indonesia (land of virtually no exercise or leaving the house after 6 pm) for six months of that time. But still, not bad. Now if I can just finish Cloud Atlas before 2014 to make it an even 25....

Infinite Jest

Today I finished the longest book I've ever read: Infinite Jest, by David Foster Wallace.

I felt like I should write at least something about it in a blog post, considering that I spent about two-and-a-half months reading it exclusively, which, now that I think about it, is really not that long in the grand scheme of things. But book worked itself into both my conscious and subconscious thoughts in that period of time, and it's hard to let go of the story, especially considering how frustratingly and abruptly the story ends. Ari read the book before me, and really loved it, which I think was part of my motivation for picking it up in the first place. However, he also prepared me for the disappointment of getting through all 1,000+ pages and feeling like there could have been at least another 1,000 or so more. (Not that I WANT to read anymore! I'm perfectly happy to be done with it!)

I've now spent the last two hours researching different analyses and interpretations of the story, and it's just making me even more frustrated. I'm glad I was able to get insight into the strange, amazing, and extremely twisted mind of a writer like David Foster Wallace. However, now that I have finished his "masterwork", I think I can safely say that I don't need to read any more of his fiction.

And that concludes my rather incoherent rambling on this topic.

Oh look, another blog post!

And so soon after the last one! I'm sure you're all thrilled.

Well, I just had a couple more pictures from the past couple days that I couldn't wait to show you.

First of all, this is how I spent Halloween night:

I wore my Sriracha costume to Michelle's apartment (who lives where Ari used to live, just 2 blocks away), and we watched bad TV (well, a bad movie: The Campaign) and drank wine and ate cupcakes and candy. It was quite pleasant.

Then on Friday night we had Michelle and my old friend Kaylan and her husband Jerrod over for dinner. Our first event at our new apartment! Ari cooked dinner, we played Cranium (boys against girls, and girls WON!) and I think everyone had a good time. 

On Saturday I went jogging in the park and couldn't resist taking a few more fall photos, because the sun was finally out, and there are still some beautiful colors to be seen:

I saw ponies too! 

Today (Sunday), Ari and I had some time to spare, so we walked to the Prospect Park Zoo, which is just about 15 minutes' walk from our apartment, and only costs $8. It was a bit chilly outside (55 degrees or so), but we had a really nice time. The highlights were the red pandas (ring-tailed pandas? lesser pandas?) and the sea lions. I've been on a photography roll since Halloween, so I took a couple pictures. 

The red pandas were SO CUTE. Two of them were babies, so they were really struggling to climb around on the branches. Ari and I could have watched them for hours, but it was just a little too cold. So we stuck around to watch sea lion feeding and training (which was also pretty fun) and then headed home. 

The autumn leaves drift by my window

Actually, we have no autumn leaves by our window; the trees by our apartment are still green. But, if you walk a block north, you end up in the southernmost corner of Prospect Park, where the autumn leaves are in full, orangey-yellowy color.

Ari and I are both relatively free on Thursdays, so we took a short walk through the park to get some shots of the trees before they all fall off in the next few days. Annoyingly, it's been cloudy ever since I charged my camera to take pictures, but--I am worried I may not get another chance to photograph how gorgeous it is!

And, just for good measure, I took some shots of our new apartment, finally put together in a way Ari and I are both happy with. We spent last Saturday morning carrying the yellow couch from Ari's old apartment (about 3 blocks away) to our new place. I wouldn't have made it, so thank goodness our wonderful building super helped Ari heave the couch up the final flight of stairs to our place. 

The main living room

Here you can see our tiny kitchen (with a dishwasher! That we still haven't used!) on the left. 

The bedroom, with an actual BED!, and the same Ikea bedspread I've had since freshman year of undergrad....

So that gives you an idea of the place. We're pretty happy with it, barring a few non-deal-breaker issues (central heating is SUPER loud, kitchen sink leaks a little, oven is difficult to turn on). We also hope to get a nice area rug for the main area to really tie the room together.  Hooray for not living out of my suitcase anymore!