I was able to go to the White House today and watch the Press Conference with Tony Snow. He is a handsome man.
We went in through the West Gate, on the corner of 17th and Pennsylvania and were able to walk around the driveway to the Press room. Entering the room, the podium is on your right, the seats right in front of you, and the cameras to the left. My impression of the room from TV (televised press conferences, movies, West Wing) was that it was very big. It is not. In fact, it's quite cozy.
We headed to the back of the room, where the tv cameras are, and went downstairs. Here are the offices where the newspaper writers write and the radio reporters report. These offices are very very small. The C-SPAN office is the size of a bath tub. The AP office is the size of your average office cubicle, but four reporters have to use it. Fox Radio has an office big enough for a chair and a desk just big enough for a computer. The radio gear itself is shelved/stacked high along the walls. Each newspaper there has a desk just big enough for their computers. Amazing.
We took seats in the back. The seats in the last row, all of them broken in some way, are for guests. In come all the regulars – Helen Thomas was the highlight, of course, but so was the other AP guy Thomas Mann, I think his name was. Lot of folks you see on TV. Pretty cool.
I wanted to go eat at the White House Mess (hall), but didn't want to get introuble, or C-SPAN in trouble and dash any hopes of a return trip, no matter how unlikely. What a trip, though, to be in the White House.
I had many, many moments where I was thinking, "I'm in the frickin White House, man!" Or, "I'm on the driveway of the frickin White House, man!" Or, "That's one of the door-opening Marines. Of the frickin White House, man!"
27 July 2006
24 July 2006
sold! to the gentleman from Sayville
I sold Persuasion. JMcG came out and took a look at the boat on Sunday and to my great surprise, after a little bit of a look around and walkabout, bought it. I am very happy for him. He got a great little boat that will serve him, and his family, very well. He and I are going to go out sailing in the beginning of August, just to give him a little more info about the process of sailing on Persuasion.
I was surprised because I expect all buyers to be hesitant to actually fork over the cash. And sometimes the idea of buying a boat is better than actually buying a boat. I guess that could be true of any large item.
The sale is bittersweet - I have had so many good times on Persuasion, so of course I am sad to see it go. On the other hand I am excited for my new life, and series of projects, on/with Redwing.
I was surprised because I expect all buyers to be hesitant to actually fork over the cash. And sometimes the idea of buying a boat is better than actually buying a boat. I guess that could be true of any large item.
The sale is bittersweet - I have had so many good times on Persuasion, so of course I am sad to see it go. On the other hand I am excited for my new life, and series of projects, on/with Redwing.
21 July 2006
DC's National Portrait Gallery response
I want to live in a Albert Pinkham Ryder painting.
Like the Hudson River School painters, who I like the most, especially the ones at the NY Historical Society, the Ryder paintings seem to capture the mood of real nature the best. The viewer is in the weather.
I also strongly recommend you read the short story All Gold Canyon by Jack London. A short story in my top three.
Like the Hudson River School painters, who I like the most, especially the ones at the NY Historical Society, the Ryder paintings seem to capture the mood of real nature the best. The viewer is in the weather.
I also strongly recommend you read the short story All Gold Canyon by Jack London. A short story in my top three.
12. Sea Change by Peter Nichols
A short book about this guy who plans to sail from England to Maine.
He wants to sail to Maine because he has this old wooden boat to sell and the market in Maine is better than anywhere else for old wooden boats. He also goes for the adventure, and to conquer a bad experience he had on his first blue-water experience.
He is also escaping the melt down of his marriage. At the start of the book, say, in the first two chapters I found myself wanting to know more about why the marriage failed. Unfortunately we spend a lot of time in the rest of the book poring over details of his ex-wife's diaries (found in the boat during the trip).
I shouldn't complain too much, because ultimately I thought the book had some value as a crossing the ocean adventure and I learned a little bit more about trade winds and boat maintenance.
He wants to sail to Maine because he has this old wooden boat to sell and the market in Maine is better than anywhere else for old wooden boats. He also goes for the adventure, and to conquer a bad experience he had on his first blue-water experience.
He is also escaping the melt down of his marriage. At the start of the book, say, in the first two chapters I found myself wanting to know more about why the marriage failed. Unfortunately we spend a lot of time in the rest of the book poring over details of his ex-wife's diaries (found in the boat during the trip).
I shouldn't complain too much, because ultimately I thought the book had some value as a crossing the ocean adventure and I learned a little bit more about trade winds and boat maintenance.
18 July 2006
11. Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie
A good little story about the Cultural Revolution. I'll admit that I know next to nothing about Chinese history. I have a little bit of stuff rattling around about the dynasties and the Revolution and establishment of Taiwan.
This story is about two young men who are relocated to a remote mountain village for re-education. As part of the Cultural Revolution city slickers were sent into the country to work alongside the peasants. The peasants decided how long the re-education would last, and in the case of the two main characters there is almost no hope that the re-education will end because each of the boys' parents are considered radicals.
Conditions on the mountain are harsh. Rains cause so much flooding that their little, drafty house is on stilts. Because they have been to the movies, and because of the natural story-telling gifts of Luo, the boys get special treatment (fewer work details and opportunities to go to the city to watch new movies).
During their travels they meet, and Luo falls in love with the Little Seamstress, the daughter of the tailor who works on the mountain. Luo teaches her how to read, and takes her to the movies in the city. Eventually she catches up with Luo's skills and wants to go to the city all the time. And she starts dressing a little more cosmopolitan (she can make her own clothes, you see).
Luo, who has to stay on the mountain, can only watch helplessly as she is pulled out of her old self.
Another section of the story deals with Four Eyes, a fellow city-slicker sent to the mountain who smuggles in a suitcase full of books. In exchange for some help, Four Eyes lends Luo a copy of Balzac. Luo uses the novel his story-telling and wooing of the Little Seamstress.
To say anymore would be to reveal too much. This is a short book, and the story is well told, in a spare style that leaves us as isolated as the two protagonists.
This story is about two young men who are relocated to a remote mountain village for re-education. As part of the Cultural Revolution city slickers were sent into the country to work alongside the peasants. The peasants decided how long the re-education would last, and in the case of the two main characters there is almost no hope that the re-education will end because each of the boys' parents are considered radicals.
Conditions on the mountain are harsh. Rains cause so much flooding that their little, drafty house is on stilts. Because they have been to the movies, and because of the natural story-telling gifts of Luo, the boys get special treatment (fewer work details and opportunities to go to the city to watch new movies).
During their travels they meet, and Luo falls in love with the Little Seamstress, the daughter of the tailor who works on the mountain. Luo teaches her how to read, and takes her to the movies in the city. Eventually she catches up with Luo's skills and wants to go to the city all the time. And she starts dressing a little more cosmopolitan (she can make her own clothes, you see).
Luo, who has to stay on the mountain, can only watch helplessly as she is pulled out of her old self.
Another section of the story deals with Four Eyes, a fellow city-slicker sent to the mountain who smuggles in a suitcase full of books. In exchange for some help, Four Eyes lends Luo a copy of Balzac. Luo uses the novel his story-telling and wooing of the Little Seamstress.
To say anymore would be to reveal too much. This is a short book, and the story is well told, in a spare style that leaves us as isolated as the two protagonists.
17 July 2006
so far so good
So I have been down here in our nation's capitol for a whole week and I am loving every minute of it. I haven't had many more star sightings, but I have seen some very cool sites.
First, a description of what I have been doing. For the past week we have been working on the CSPAN website, working on creating a list of keywords, working on putting some more videos onto the CSPAN Classroom website. We also had a reunion of most of the former Fellows. That proved to be fun and valuable. A lot of smart, motivated people and it was quite refreshing. I had partly dreaded it as another run of boring meetings. Not so.
Second, I have done some serious sight-seeing. After a grueling bike ride (hills, humidity, I'm a wuss) I spent the day visitng some museums. The first stop was the Holocaust Memorial. That was chilling, gripping, and sobering. It was packed. Next was the Smithsonian American History Museum. I went here mostly to see the Foucault's Pendulum only to find out it has't been here for ten years. I had an old guide book. But I did see the flag that flew over Ft William Henry, that FS Key wrote the poem for. (When I was in the Navy I was stationed on the Francis Scott Key (SSBN 657).)
On Sunday I went to the Native American Museum, probably the best museum I have been to. I spent six hours there after vowing no more than three. Next was the National Archives where I saw the Declaration, the Constitution, and the Billof Rights. There was plenty more there, but those, obviously where the highlights.
I felt like I was seeing some ancient artifact, I mean, I have large parts of all three documents memorized, so why would I feel compelled to go see the real, actual copies? It didn't make any rational sense to me at any part of the visit, but I am glad tohave done it. Another interesting thing about the visit was the people who I was in line with, both in front and behind me parents were making their kids look at the documents (and in some cases reading to them) and telling them how they would be studying these in school. I had two reactions. First that teachers have an extraordinary responsibility to teach citizenship and civics, and that parents, or at least these parents (and in my experience, most parents) are abdicating, or giving over a shared responsibility to the Social Studies/Civics teachers. And not even many teachers, but the 7th and 11th grade teachers who, in NY, are tasked with teaching US history.
Anyway. Washington is great. People keep bracing me for disappointment, knowing I am from NYC, that DC isn't going to be so great. So far I am fully loving it.
First, a description of what I have been doing. For the past week we have been working on the CSPAN website, working on creating a list of keywords, working on putting some more videos onto the CSPAN Classroom website. We also had a reunion of most of the former Fellows. That proved to be fun and valuable. A lot of smart, motivated people and it was quite refreshing. I had partly dreaded it as another run of boring meetings. Not so.
Second, I have done some serious sight-seeing. After a grueling bike ride (hills, humidity, I'm a wuss) I spent the day visitng some museums. The first stop was the Holocaust Memorial. That was chilling, gripping, and sobering. It was packed. Next was the Smithsonian American History Museum. I went here mostly to see the Foucault's Pendulum only to find out it has't been here for ten years. I had an old guide book. But I did see the flag that flew over Ft William Henry, that FS Key wrote the poem for. (When I was in the Navy I was stationed on the Francis Scott Key (SSBN 657).)
On Sunday I went to the Native American Museum, probably the best museum I have been to. I spent six hours there after vowing no more than three. Next was the National Archives where I saw the Declaration, the Constitution, and the Billof Rights. There was plenty more there, but those, obviously where the highlights.
I felt like I was seeing some ancient artifact, I mean, I have large parts of all three documents memorized, so why would I feel compelled to go see the real, actual copies? It didn't make any rational sense to me at any part of the visit, but I am glad tohave done it. Another interesting thing about the visit was the people who I was in line with, both in front and behind me parents were making their kids look at the documents (and in some cases reading to them) and telling them how they would be studying these in school. I had two reactions. First that teachers have an extraordinary responsibility to teach citizenship and civics, and that parents, or at least these parents (and in my experience, most parents) are abdicating, or giving over a shared responsibility to the Social Studies/Civics teachers. And not even many teachers, but the 7th and 11th grade teachers who, in NY, are tasked with teaching US history.
Anyway. Washington is great. People keep bracing me for disappointment, knowing I am from NYC, that DC isn't going to be so great. So far I am fully loving it.
12 July 2006
DC, baby. Lovin' it.
After less than a week in DC I am absolutely loving the city.
I am here working with CSPAN, working in/with their education department. The other Fellows and I are creating the clip of the week for the CSPAN Classroom website, and we are working on some other web projects, combining the video of the Congress and the education programs. So far so good.
There are many differences between living in NYC and living in DC, and I may get to listing them later when I have more experience here in DC. But one cool thing, so far, is that there are many star sightings for a political junkie like me. For example, on the first day of work, at Monday's lunch I crossed paths with the Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa and his retinue (and Secret Service folks). He was coming in to talk on either CSPAN or MSNBC (we are in the same building). Later that day, as my fellow Fellow and I were leaving work, she yelled across the lobby, "Hello Charles." Turns out she knows conservative writer Charles Krauthammer.
Yesterday at happy hour, Howard Dean walked by. This morning, I met Ben Cohen from Ben and Jerry's. Right after that I met Brian Lamb, the CEO and brain behind CSPAN – he started CSPAN.
The work day is long enough to prevent much museum-hopping, but I am going to hit some up this weekend, starting with the Smithsonian.
I also brought my bike and will be having some bike rides this weekend.
27 June 2006
21 June 2006
Steinhardt update
I'm baffled and frustrated.
After receiving a letter from the Admissions Director explaining that the Steinhardt admissions process is rigorous, and that my credentials don't warrant my admission, and that because of the number of appplicants there is no way for them to explain on a case by case basis why an applicant was rejected I appealed to the Dean one more time. I asked for a meeting so we could discuss the logic of the admissions department's decision. I see it as a failure on their part of some kind that I am allowed to TEACH STEINHARDT'S STUDENTS but CAN'T BE ONE.
She promptly replied, "Dear Mr F, I have reviewed your application and see no reason to change it. I do not think it would serve a purpose for us to meet. I wish you the best in all your pursuits.
Sincerely,
Mary M. B, Ph.D.
Dean
New York University
Steinhardt School of Education
So now I am wondering what to do next.
I have 18 credits or so from College of St Rose, which is upstate. They offer discounted correspondence classes to UFT members. Very soon I will no longer be a UFT member (thankfully).
And I have three credits from Brooklyn College.
I have nine credits from NYU completed and have another nine credits coming because of the last three student teachers (Cooperating teachers earn three credits as compensation for hosting).
Because of the 18 credits I will have completed at NYU I want to get an NYU English Ed Masters - transfer all my credits in to NYU and finish the degree requirements there. NYU has a great reputation. And I'm so nearly done anyway. (In fact, by the time I am accepted I may be able to petition for graduation right away. Weird.)
Possible options I have considered:
Writing to the President of the University
Writing to the NYU school newspaper
Shutting up and writing an overwhelming application next time (letters of recommendation from all six of my former student teachers (seven if you count the one from Hofstra), my principals, assistant principals, the guys I worked with at NYU coordinating the student teaching, Gallatin and School of Ed professors I have taken class with, C-SPAN, Ralph Nader, parents of my students, etc.
Saying fuggit and skipping over the Eng Ed Masters and getting a PhD in something.
After receiving a letter from the Admissions Director explaining that the Steinhardt admissions process is rigorous, and that my credentials don't warrant my admission, and that because of the number of appplicants there is no way for them to explain on a case by case basis why an applicant was rejected I appealed to the Dean one more time. I asked for a meeting so we could discuss the logic of the admissions department's decision. I see it as a failure on their part of some kind that I am allowed to TEACH STEINHARDT'S STUDENTS but CAN'T BE ONE.
She promptly replied, "Dear Mr F, I have reviewed your application and see no reason to change it. I do not think it would serve a purpose for us to meet. I wish you the best in all your pursuits.
Sincerely,
Mary M. B, Ph.D.
Dean
New York University
Steinhardt School of Education
So now I am wondering what to do next.
I have 18 credits or so from College of St Rose, which is upstate. They offer discounted correspondence classes to UFT members. Very soon I will no longer be a UFT member (thankfully).
And I have three credits from Brooklyn College.
I have nine credits from NYU completed and have another nine credits coming because of the last three student teachers (Cooperating teachers earn three credits as compensation for hosting).
Because of the 18 credits I will have completed at NYU I want to get an NYU English Ed Masters - transfer all my credits in to NYU and finish the degree requirements there. NYU has a great reputation. And I'm so nearly done anyway. (In fact, by the time I am accepted I may be able to petition for graduation right away. Weird.)
Possible options I have considered:
Writing to the President of the University
Writing to the NYU school newspaper
Shutting up and writing an overwhelming application next time (letters of recommendation from all six of my former student teachers (seven if you count the one from Hofstra), my principals, assistant principals, the guys I worked with at NYU coordinating the student teaching, Gallatin and School of Ed professors I have taken class with, C-SPAN, Ralph Nader, parents of my students, etc.
Saying fuggit and skipping over the Eng Ed Masters and getting a PhD in something.
19 June 2006
10. Victory: An Island Tale by Joseph Conrad
First let me quote about what Jack London said about the book: "I am glad I am alive, if, for no other reason, because of the joy of reading this book."
And in my estimation, this is an understatement. This is a fine fine book and will be read again.
The book, finished in 1914 and is set in the 1890s, is divided into four parts.
In the first we see our hero Axel Heyst, a Swedish baron and drifter-gentleman drifting through the South Pacific. Soon he meets up with an English trader (remember we are in the era of imperialism) who was come on hard times. Morrison's brig has been impounded in Delli, a city in East Timor, by some shady Portuguese customs officials and unless he can pay the fines, Morrison is going to lose his ship. The fine is ridiculously small, and the Portuguese are just trying to get his boat for cheap. Everyone knows Morrison is broke because he trades with the natives for credit, always vowing to squeeze the native villages "next time." Morrison, all hang-dog, meets up with Heyst and Heyst, in a decision he doesn't even reflect on, offers to loan Morrison the money. Heyst realizes that he isn't going to see any money back, and Morrison is so thankful for Heyst's miracle act of salvation that he acts with super/hyper gratefulness to Heyst. They have quite a scene on board the ship and in order to get Morrison to stop crying, and to get the relationship a little more balanced, Heyst and Morrison decide to team up on a coal mining operation on the island of Samburan. They find backers, set up operations, and even manage to get a little coal out of the island. Morrison goes home to England to get some more backers, but while he is there catches a bad cold and dies. The news gets back to Sourabaya, the headquarters for the white traders in the book, and the hotel manager, this German named Schomberg, begins gossiping about Heyst and how he managed to get Morrison's money and send him back to England to die. All he does all day is work on Heyst and how the Swede manipulated Morrison, etc. He's a bully.
In Book 2 Heyst appears at Schomberg's hotel. Since Morrison died the coal mining operation has been liquidated and Heyst has been living on Samburan by himself, which everyone in Sourabaya thinks is weird, especially Schomberg, of course. Schomberg hates Heyst for some reason, and has got himself into the habit of turning every tidbit about Heyst into something terrible and revealing Heyst as a devil/user/manipulator/etc. Most of the traders staying at the hotel are content to leave the business in the past, but Schomberg keeps the Heyst/Morrison scandal in everyone's ear.
As entertainment, Schomberg has hired the Zangiacomo Ladies Orchestra. Heyst comes in and is basically swept away by one of the girls, Alma. Of course the girl is also Schomberg's favorite, too. She is a lost soul, and grew up poor in England. When her father was put in the invalid home she shipped off with the music tour. She has no idea where on the globe she is and has basically died inside. Until she meets Heyst, who decides to "steal" her from the orchestra. Unfortunately for Heyst, the girl is Schomberg's new toy - he hasn't tried anything yet, but the pressure has been building, and the time for Schomberg to make his move is nigh. And, unfortunately for Schomberg, he is married to a woman who Conrad's narrator describes as, "the most unattractive object in existence - miserable, insignificant, faded, crushed, old." And this is one of the flattering descriptions of her. So when Heyst steals her, Schomberg doesn't even have a good case for being usurped. Heyst and Alma get away to Samburan, Heyst's old coal mining headquarters.
In Book 3, two strangers show up at Schomberg's hotel. Almost immediately they get hold of Schomberg and set up a illegal gambling operation in the dance hall where the Ladies Orchestra used to play. Schomberg is beside himself with misery: a terrible wife, would-be girlfriend stolen (by the abominable Heyst no less!), and these two hooligans bullying him and running his hotel. And no end in sight to any of his misery.
Book 4 is set up when Schomberg gets the ear of one of the bandits and describes the riches that Heyst must have hidden on his island hideaway. I'm not even going to speak about the conclusion. Even the back cover gives too much away.
Critics, or so says the editor's introduction, consider Victory to be Conrad's worst book. It was the first book he wrote after his first big commercial success, the novel Chance, and they feel like it was a bit too commercial for an artist like Conrad. But even the editor confesses that the major critics admit that Victory has "great aesthetic and intellectual value."
Bob Dylan so loved the book he put a picture of Joseph Conrad on the back of the album cover for Desire and wrote a song titled Black Diamond Bay which is the name of the bay on Samburan where Morrison and Heyst planned to have their coal operation. The lyrics have nothing to do with the book, so don't try to glean anything from the song.
The book was awesome! The scene when Heyst saves Morrison is described so well and so cleanly I feel lucky to be alive to have read it. The scene when Heyst and Alma meet is described so well and so cleanly I feel lucky to be alive to have read it. The ruffians who take over Schomberg's hotel are described so well and so cleanly I feel lucky to be alive to have read about them (it's a study in creating NPCs). And the conclusion of the novel is plotted and described so well and so cleanly I feel lucky to be alive to have read it. I'm not kidding.
And in my estimation, this is an understatement. This is a fine fine book and will be read again.
The book, finished in 1914 and is set in the 1890s, is divided into four parts.
In the first we see our hero Axel Heyst, a Swedish baron and drifter-gentleman drifting through the South Pacific. Soon he meets up with an English trader (remember we are in the era of imperialism) who was come on hard times. Morrison's brig has been impounded in Delli, a city in East Timor, by some shady Portuguese customs officials and unless he can pay the fines, Morrison is going to lose his ship. The fine is ridiculously small, and the Portuguese are just trying to get his boat for cheap. Everyone knows Morrison is broke because he trades with the natives for credit, always vowing to squeeze the native villages "next time." Morrison, all hang-dog, meets up with Heyst and Heyst, in a decision he doesn't even reflect on, offers to loan Morrison the money. Heyst realizes that he isn't going to see any money back, and Morrison is so thankful for Heyst's miracle act of salvation that he acts with super/hyper gratefulness to Heyst. They have quite a scene on board the ship and in order to get Morrison to stop crying, and to get the relationship a little more balanced, Heyst and Morrison decide to team up on a coal mining operation on the island of Samburan. They find backers, set up operations, and even manage to get a little coal out of the island. Morrison goes home to England to get some more backers, but while he is there catches a bad cold and dies. The news gets back to Sourabaya, the headquarters for the white traders in the book, and the hotel manager, this German named Schomberg, begins gossiping about Heyst and how he managed to get Morrison's money and send him back to England to die. All he does all day is work on Heyst and how the Swede manipulated Morrison, etc. He's a bully.
In Book 2 Heyst appears at Schomberg's hotel. Since Morrison died the coal mining operation has been liquidated and Heyst has been living on Samburan by himself, which everyone in Sourabaya thinks is weird, especially Schomberg, of course. Schomberg hates Heyst for some reason, and has got himself into the habit of turning every tidbit about Heyst into something terrible and revealing Heyst as a devil/user/manipulator/etc. Most of the traders staying at the hotel are content to leave the business in the past, but Schomberg keeps the Heyst/Morrison scandal in everyone's ear.
As entertainment, Schomberg has hired the Zangiacomo Ladies Orchestra. Heyst comes in and is basically swept away by one of the girls, Alma. Of course the girl is also Schomberg's favorite, too. She is a lost soul, and grew up poor in England. When her father was put in the invalid home she shipped off with the music tour. She has no idea where on the globe she is and has basically died inside. Until she meets Heyst, who decides to "steal" her from the orchestra. Unfortunately for Heyst, the girl is Schomberg's new toy - he hasn't tried anything yet, but the pressure has been building, and the time for Schomberg to make his move is nigh. And, unfortunately for Schomberg, he is married to a woman who Conrad's narrator describes as, "the most unattractive object in existence - miserable, insignificant, faded, crushed, old." And this is one of the flattering descriptions of her. So when Heyst steals her, Schomberg doesn't even have a good case for being usurped. Heyst and Alma get away to Samburan, Heyst's old coal mining headquarters.
In Book 3, two strangers show up at Schomberg's hotel. Almost immediately they get hold of Schomberg and set up a illegal gambling operation in the dance hall where the Ladies Orchestra used to play. Schomberg is beside himself with misery: a terrible wife, would-be girlfriend stolen (by the abominable Heyst no less!), and these two hooligans bullying him and running his hotel. And no end in sight to any of his misery.
Book 4 is set up when Schomberg gets the ear of one of the bandits and describes the riches that Heyst must have hidden on his island hideaway. I'm not even going to speak about the conclusion. Even the back cover gives too much away.
Critics, or so says the editor's introduction, consider Victory to be Conrad's worst book. It was the first book he wrote after his first big commercial success, the novel Chance, and they feel like it was a bit too commercial for an artist like Conrad. But even the editor confesses that the major critics admit that Victory has "great aesthetic and intellectual value."
Bob Dylan so loved the book he put a picture of Joseph Conrad on the back of the album cover for Desire and wrote a song titled Black Diamond Bay which is the name of the bay on Samburan where Morrison and Heyst planned to have their coal operation. The lyrics have nothing to do with the book, so don't try to glean anything from the song.
The book was awesome! The scene when Heyst saves Morrison is described so well and so cleanly I feel lucky to be alive to have read it. The scene when Heyst and Alma meet is described so well and so cleanly I feel lucky to be alive to have read it. The ruffians who take over Schomberg's hotel are described so well and so cleanly I feel lucky to be alive to have read about them (it's a study in creating NPCs). And the conclusion of the novel is plotted and described so well and so cleanly I feel lucky to be alive to have read it. I'm not kidding.
new boat + new job = new apt
I got a new apartment!
It's a 1BR in West Babylon, which is a hair closer to where the boat will be than where the job will be, but it's all so close it doesn't really matter. The whole trip from school to the boat is 12 miles, so we aren't talking about a big difference.
Right by the apartment I have two giant LI-sized supermarkets, an IHOP, and a 7-11. Behind the back yard (yes!) is a parking lot for what has to be one of the last independent music stores in the Northeast. Across the street is a 7-11 (handy for beer runs).
The bedroom is the same size as the living room, about 20x20. The living room is slightly bigger because it also shares the kitchen. Overall the place is excellent for what I need - enough space and a god price. I'll include some pictures here, but the dude who is living there now doesn't have much of his stuff packed up.
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