Bubble Battle

For no reason at all, a bunch of strangers met at Astor Place to fill the air with bubbles. Everyone was smiling.

Jewelry shoot

I've never worn a $13,000 ring... until now.

Assisting in DUMBO

Another neighborhood name created by realtors. It stands for Down Under Manhattan Bridge Overpass. I was assisting on an editorial shoot at the portrait subject's sweet apartment. How's this for a decent view from your living room?:




Oh, and there's a park:



All these pictures were taken from the inside, see?:




Pretty sweet pad, huh?

Hilary Duff

So Hilary Duff just walked past me in the reception area of Juicy Couture. I'm not really up on my pop culture, but I found out from her web site that she's only 18. She's been in a lot of movies and I hear she sings, too. Everyone here got very excited. She wasn't alone of course: there were two cameras, a sound guy, a bodyguard and like 4 or 5 assistants. I don't know why they were filming her. Maybe it was a Juicy PR thing. Like wear our clothes for free and we get to tell everyone. I don't know.

Lulu goes to the vet.

We rode in a cab to the vet on the Upper East Side. I had both pooches in a Juicy doggy carrier. They were really crammed in there, poor girls! Little Lulu put her head on my arm for the whole cab ride.

Today we're going to Barney's to have two of my boss's purses repaired. I think I'll probably drop the dogs off at her apartment first. She said to tell Barney's to fix the purses and if they give me a problem to tell them her name. So her name will bring respect at Barney's, a place where they sell cotton shirts that cost $450 dollars. Not to mention leather and silk and satin things that cost $1000's. Crazy. I'll be glad to get back to the relatively sane world of photo assisting after this temp job ends.

Today I was 15 minutes late due to leaving the house a few minutes late and then getting stuck on the subway because of "signal problems." Then I left the dog gate open in my boss's office and Ellie ran out and took off and I had to chase her around an entire floor of the Empire State Building. Then, the best part of 6/6/06 so far, I went to Starbucks to get coffee for my boss and after navigating 33rd Street, a revolving door, the security metal detector, a throng of tourists, the elevator, the Juicy lobby door and office door and a long hallway, I finally tried to remove the doggy gate to go into RB's office and I dropped the triple tall hot americano all over myself and the floor. Damn it! I cried just a little and no one saw. Just squeezed out a few tears and got over it. I was ready to go back to Starbucks, but RB just had me get coffee from the break room. It's 11 am now, just 7 hours to go here at work...

Lulu

another day, another dog...

This is Lulu, the vice president of sales and merchandising's petite. Not pictured: Ellie, the other one of the bosses "girls." I am temping at Juicy Couture as an executive admin assistant. This has involved getting Starbucks every morning, picking up mascara, stamps, and 50% less fat Herr's Air Popped Popcorn for the VP, my boss. I also was sent out with a wad of cash to pick up doggy medicine at the vet and dog food at the pet store. After completing my doggy errands, I stopped to get a hot dog before hailing a cab on the corner. It was a beautiful day and as we headed back to the Empire State building from the Upper East Side, I rolled down the windows and enjoyed the breeze while noshing on my tasty treat. I didn't realize until we were half way back to work that I had left my cell phone behind. I had the taxi take me back to the hot dog cart, but he didn't have my phone. Retracing my steps I found it back at the pet store. I returned to hail another cab and the very concerned vendor was so happy that I had found my phone that he offered me another free hot dog! A very doggy day.

By the way, I'm not complaining about the lack of admin in my assisting. I would rather run errands than sit in a cubicle all day. And the VP's dogs are actually really sweet little things despite my natural distrust of yappy lapdogs. This is a Juicy job for sure!

The Stuff People Throw Away.....

Yes folks that is a Sony plasma flat-screen TV. 50" I think! This TV costs around $2000 new, yet its just thrown haphazardly to the sidewalk with the rest of the garbage. Melissa and I saw this in lower Manhattan.

Working girl

I'm beat. I've had the never ending cold to beat all colds. I've been sick for 2 solid weeks and finally tomorrow I'm going to see a doctor because my cough, wheezing and sore throat are getting worse instead of better. I am so sick of being sick. (I think Riff might be sick of it, too.)

This week I assisted in a really cool loft near the Empire State Building. Here's the view from the fire escape:



And here's what you see when you look down:



The photographer and his digital assistant had flown in from London to shoot for a company that makes bows and hair clips for little girls. The campaign was to shoot girls doing mischievous things like writing with crayon on a wall or stealing a cupcake while mom's back is turned (all with bows in their hair, of course.) The girls were all terribly cute and we had a lot of fun goofing off.



I might just steal a cupcake for myself...



Today I worked a temp assignment in the Empire State Building. It was weird. I'll write more about it soon. When I'm feeling better.

DR Pride

A plethora of Dominican Republic flags strung between two buildings in Williamsburg.

More work!

Shooting a delicious Casserole.

Naomi rides again!

Check out Naomi on my sweet bike on my sweet deck:




Whoosh!

Gallery walk

Here is Travis blogging my copy of New York Magazine featuring our favorite borough. We, however, are having a Manhattan moment as we have just stumbled onto a hot gallery opening graced by that icon of college indie pop, Michael Stipe. That's right, I squeezed past him on the 6th floor where we had just left the debut of Christy Bush's "Soundtrack to Nothing" photography exhibit at Bespoke Gallery. The audio track accompanying the photographs of fans at Interpol, The Others, Elefant and The Secret Machines shows was written for the exhibit by Sam Fog of Interpol and Dagon James in collaboration with Stipe and other music biz luminaries. So I'm sure Stipe wasn't the only star there, just the only one so easily recognizable. I wonder how I can get a soundtrack to my food photography...

Marcello as Nixon

My friend Marcello atop the brooklyn warehouse where we work
"follow me people, i am not crook"

I'd like to thank the academy...

Assisting with Emmys. Or is that Emmies??

Another assisting gig!

This one is portraits of cbs soap opera actors. I'm holding a color chart.

Assisting!

Still life job for a bridal mag.

Stuck in Farmingdale

Reading bus station

temp job #2

Thursday. A dreaded reception gig. Everyone was really nice and it was pretty easy. Good news: I'm assisting on Monday and Tuesday! I can't wait.

Soda

Drinking after work!

Ken, if you liked the post about my brother, you'll love this one about my job!

The world of temping, part two: The pee test. Yes, dear devoted readers, what you are about to see is my pee. Turn away now, if you are faint of heart. The temp agency gave me a form to take to the testing facility. Note the specimen bottle seals on the bottom of the form:




Am I getting a job as a driver of a car, boat or plane? Will I be around small children or animals? Performing medical procedures? Balancing on a tight rope, swinging from a trapeze or juggling flaming objects? Ok, how about operating a forklift, using a welding tool or even a sharp knife? The answer to all of the above is NO. I will be updating Excel spreadsheets. That's it. For 3 or 4 days. Me and some spreadsheets. Thank god they will know that I am not a pot smoker, coke snorter, pill popper or heroin user. Can you imagine how fucked up their spreadsheets might end up?

So I took the form and walked down Lexington until I got to the fancy testing place:



I had to sit in the waiting room for about 20 minutes drinking water. Eric, the nice gentleman waiting to handle my pee, was patient and jovial. In the waiting room, he told another guest not to worry about his upcoming blood test, and then said, "I'm new." The guest asked how long he'd been doing this and Eric answered, "What time is it?" and laughed heartily. Diagnostic humor.

When you are being screened for drugs, there is a ritual that must be observed. You must remove all outer garments. You must remove everything from your pockets (including my cell phone - too bad for all of you.) You must lock the contents of your pockets in a padded box and take the key with you into the bathroom. Eric watches you go into the bathroom with your plastic cup, upon which he has drawn a black line to indicate how much urine you must provide. Once inside you are instructed to urinate, and come out without flushing. If you accidentally flush, you fail the test. There is no sink in the bathroom. You pee, zip up and come out. Eric then instructs you to hand him the cup, pours a portion into a specimen bottle and hands it back to you. "Dump this in the toilet, flush and then you can wash your hands." I follow his orders carefully as I do not want to fail.

Once we are finished Eric gracefully allows me to photograph the final product:



After the photo op, Eric seals the bottle into a plastic bag with my form and tosses it into what I assume is an "out" bin. My part is over, now it's in their hands.

But wait, the best part: The corporation that wants me to be clean and sober for my 4 day office job is, (drum roll..........) the owner of a major tobacco company! Yea, temping!

My ride

My (semi) sweet company van. Today it got a flat.

On the road of life...

there are potholes and pitstops. And there are people who chose a different path, like my brother, Emile. His mother met my father the same day we met each other. I would say that was a fateful day, although the influences on my life have faded into memory at this point. When my dad announced that he would be marrying the mother of Emile, I whined that I didn't want a brother. (I was only nine years old, and used to having my parents to myself.) I have a picture of Emile and myself on their wedding day, and I look as though I don't mind so much that I have someone to goof around with. We spent summers together and then 6th grade in Kansas City. We had skateboards, listened to ELO, watched the Dukes of Hazzard (secretly, because my stepmother thought it was too violent,) played D&D (you go 10, 20, 30 feet, and you come to a door...,) did chores for poker chips and got our first dog, who we named Bolt.

After sixth grade I moved to Washington, DC to live with my mom for three years. My parents have both been into transcendental meditation (TM) since I was born. While I lived in DC, my mom took part in a project where the meditators attempted to measure the effects of large groups of people meditating together on a regular basis on crime levels in the city. They even set up a school called the Age of Enlightenment school, which I attended for a year and a half. Meanwhile, Emile also went to a TM school where he lived with my dad and stepmother in Fairfield, Iowa. When we lived together again in Pennsylvania, Emile didn't want anyone at our school to know that our family was different in any way. He continued to meditate but we were far away from the community he had known in Iowa. We went to a private school, had a pool, got drunk for the first time together on the warm beer Emile had hidden in his closet and gin pilfered from our parents' dusty liquor supply (and replaced with tap water.) We had lots of good times, and sadly, plenty of bad times as our parents' marriage deteriorated. The object of much of my stepmother's anger, I was often running from the house in tears. Once, Emile held his mother back while I made my escape. He was always steady and fair minded, although I remember how when he was angry he would stomp around and clench his jaw and growl if you tried to tease him. He liked to joke around and have fun and he was the sweetest brother. He loved to tickle and torment our sisters, Eva and Tarah, who were little kids when we were in high school. Our family finally divided during my last year in high school. My dad and I moved into an apartment and eventually my stepmother moved herself and the kids back to Fairfield. Emile went back to the TM school there and graduated from the college, a meditator thru and thru.

For the last few years (or more?) Emile has been in a TM program in which he spends most of his time meditating, studying the Vedas, and living simply, like a monk. Although I have seen my dad and sisters every year or so, my path has not intersected Emile's in a long time. This year, he was able to go to India where he got to meet pundits (Hindu scholars,) meditate in an ashram and see an amazing country. My dad forwarded on some photos and I had to laugh. My brother, the monk! Still wearing silly glasses, but now with a lot more hair!

Breakfast of champions

What's on riff's mind?

Usually Marta!

Little cat

big yawn

Hot Wings!

Ashley, Naomi & Melissa cook it up

Silent hill silent no more.

My first temp job

Look. Look at the chair and desk. See where Melissa types. Type melissa, type. Do you know what a cubicle is? Can you see yourself there for many, many years? Type faster, melissa, faster.

Taken at "june" restaurant this morning with my new camera phone. We had a nice Sunday brunch with Naomi, Farhad, Ashley and David, then we all went to the Alibi, a local dive bar and sat out in the sun, Spring is here in NYC!!

my new boyfriend

Max Arlo. Isn't he adorable?




His first love: mom.




...but I think he likes me, too...

seattle rulz!

Holy crap I've missed my girlfriends since I moved to nyc! These bitches have been around for a long time and I can't believe I don't get to see them all the time anymore. (I'm tempted to use an emoticon here, but I'm going to hold back.) This "bring the rock" photo is from the Silent Extinction show on 3/16 at the Fun House. Ears bled. Faces melted. Here's a crowd shot (I think Claudia forgot her earplugs!):



Mad drum skillz:



Jim and Riff:

iSight

Now Riff and I have iTravis, thanks to his nifty new MacBook with a built in camera. Sweet video conferencing!

in like a lion

We actually got some snow, hail, and freezing rain yesterday. Oh, and then in the late afternoon it snowed again. Somewhere in there I was on my way back from the pool so it was extra special. Yeah, that was during the freezing rain to hail transition. This morning there really isn't any accumulation - everything pretty much turned to slush yesterday and today it's frozen into sheets of ice. Here's our back deck again: the sled belongs to one of our neighbors above - it's been abandoned since it leapt from its balcony on a past windy day. Poor sleddy. You only got out once this year.