these last few weeks...

i have really just been relishing time with my new york friends, applying for jobs, watching a lot of TLC and doing a little shopping here and there. for the most part the weather has been really cold and i hate it, but jes says that it is supposed to start warming up this week. we'll see if that happens.

so last weekend jes and ali and i went out to the target by jfk. it was supposed to be a quick trip to just get a few things and b/c we are the three most spontaneous people in the world (not really we are all serious PLANNERS), it ending up taking us hours as we hopped from target to staples to old navy. i got a new pair of jeans at target and i am thrilled with them. they are a dark wash, the right size in the body and legs, but way too long, so for now i fold them over and let the sidewalk wear away at them. eventually they will start to tear and i can just rip off the part of the bottom i don't need. or maybe i will get crazy and have them altered. i just think its cheaper to let the sidewalk do it.

at old navy we all tried on a lots of clothes. ali bought three things and only one was black (for those of you who don't know she pretty much only wears black). jes and i got a bunch of stuff we can share like two pair of boy shorts, two polos, a button down linen shirt that would be good for work or play and then jes got this real nice brown leather belt. i wasn't feeling great that day so when we got back, i took an amazing three hour nap and jes and ali went to barcade and played video games. ali had never been and she loved it.

some time last week we also went with supper club folks to this new restaurant in north slope called chiles & chocolate. it is authentic oaxacan mexican food and i thought it was really good. the guacamole was good, but the portion was small, and i got some sopa de tortilla y pollo (chicken tortilla soup) and it was DIVINE. jes loved it too. she got something called enchiladas xoxo. they were chicken with mole sauce and they were pretty good the night she got them but they were DIVINE the next afternoon for lunch as left overs. i was seriously floored at how much better they were the next day. glennda got chicken with mole, kim got chicken quesadillas and ali got some veggie plate something. they all thought their food was ok, but they were not overwhelmed with joy over it. after dinner we went back to ali's and played a mean game of apples to apples. i think that all three of them are sufficiently hooked on the game which is great. i look forward to playing it again with them some time soon. i can't remember who won, i think it was kim or glennda.

last monday kim and ali joined jes, me, christian and steph at nowhere (a bar in the city) to play wii, that video game system where you hold a wand and actually play the sport. we had played with christian the week before and i was immediately hooked. ali had played before but kim hadn't, nor had steph. everyone was hooked by the end. i still like tennis the best. jes and christian still played tennis with a beer in their hand (nice) and i tried a new drink called a kamikaze. its buy one get one free and i wanted something fruity, but not too sweet and sort of fizzy and refreshing. it really hit the spizzot. i think we might meet up again tomorrow night to start a sort of wii playing league.

yesterday jes and i went into the city to turn in some of her old cell phones to the body shop. they donate them to the national coalition against domestic violence. i think they give them to women who are in abusive relationships so they have a safe way to call 911 if their partners are threatening them. i am sure i got that wrong, ali can comment and correct me. anywho, we turned those in and then went shopping for nicole's birthday which is in a week or two. it was kind of fun. we also looked at shoes. both jes and i have been looking for this certain type of adidas and i think she was looking for a nice affordable pair of slip ons too for the summer. we didn't buy any shoes, but again, it was kind of fun to look. i can handle the city on the weekends in small doses, and luckily i was dressed warm enough b/c it was cold again.

then last night jes and i took the bus up to the brooklyn museum of art where ali and glennda met us (kim was in staten island with her familia) for first saturday. this is a free event every first saturday of the month sponsored by target. the theme for this time was feminist art (YEAH FOR FEMINISTS). we got to see all this amazing art by feminists (my favorite was the photograph by cass bird that i think is titled "i look like my daddy"). what we did not get to see b/c it was booked solid was the dinner table by judy chicago. jes and i are going to try and see it this week or next. after we looked at the art, we went to the dance party that was deejayed by jd who used to be in le tigre. she was spinning all kinds of old school stuff from aretha to salt n pepa and there was all kinds of people cutting a rug. i mean all kinds. old folks and young toddlers, straight families, queers, people of all races and abilities. it was seriously the most diverse environment i think i have been in maybe ever. sort of like if the subway just got dumped in a room. anywho it was so great b/c everyone was having such a great time and all these little kids were running around and just going bonkers b/c they felt so free. it made me really, really happy. after that, g & a went and got some food and me and jes went to carroll gardens to say happy birthday to her classmate max (wolverine max not bike max) who just turned thirty. bless his heart.

along with miami ink, i have fallen in love with this other tv show called "little people, big world" about this family in oregon called the roloffs. the mom and dad are both little people (formerly known as "dwarfs") and they own this farm (and the mom is a teacher too i think) and then they have four kids. the oldest are twin boys who are 16, one is average size and the other is a little person. then they have a girl who is like 11, who is average size, and a boy who is maybe 8 and is also average size. ali told me about it and i watched it and now i am hooked. i tivoed six episodes and she came over today and we watched them. it is by far my new favorite show.

we have also watched a few movies over the last few weeks. they are:

1. the namesake. saw this at BAM with the bambucks higgins got us. it stars kal penn (of harold and kumar fame) and i loved it. about a south asian (indian) family that moves to new york and what is it like to navigate indian and american identity at the same time. really great film. jes thought it was a tad too long. go see it or at least rent it. i love kal and the guy who plays the dad, and the woman who plays the mom is hot.

2. volver. watched it at glennda's on friday night. had no idea what it was about. was very surprised by the storyline and i loved it. first of all, penelope cruz is one of the most beautiful women in the world. she did an outstanding job in this (as did most of the actors) and she is also one of the prettiest cryers i have ever seen. it has subtitles, so if you don't like to read your movies, this ain't for you. but really you should rent it. pretty powerful stuff and very very funny in places.

3. the holiday. with cameron d. kate winslet, jack black and jude law. lots of pretty people in this movie. pretty predictable mainstream romance, but i still liked it a lot. pretty scenery, pretty people, good soundtrack, jack black is fucking hilarious, and so on. a good mindless movie to pick you up if you are blue.

4. babel. yeah so i have wanted to see this since it was in the theaters, but just never got to it. it came on netflix and i was so excited. dude that movie is INTENSE. it really focuses on several different stories that are interrelated (not just on brad pitt and cate blanchett like the commericals lead you to believe). there is some amazing acting and i was seriously stressed out and involved in each story. i would forget the other ones were happening b/c i was so engrossed on the one i was focusing on. i liked that it told the story of a young japanese woman who was deaf (how often is that a focus of a mainstream movie) but i wish she would have stopped flashing her parts to everyone. yeah you are intrigued and now you want to see it. do rent it, it's intense and fairly thoughtful.

as soon as jes finishes studying we are going to watch the good shepard. i love me some matt damon and angelina jolie. hope your easter and passover went well (if you celebrate them) and if not, hope your weekend was restful and divine.

peace.